Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Samsung reportedly makes surprise decision about which chip will power the Galaxy S11 line

    Samsung reportedly makes surprise decision about which chip will power the Galaxy S11 line

    Traditionally, Samsung powers its latest flagship phones in the vast majority of markets with chipsets it designs and produces itself. In the U.S., China, and Japan, Galaxy S and Galaxy Note handsets typically employ the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC. That’s because Qualcomm’s chips work better with the 4G networks in those regions. For example, earlier this year Samsung packed the Snapdragon 855 into U.S., Chinese and Japanese versions of the Galaxy S10 series. In other markets, these phones were equipped with the Exynos 9820 chipset.
    Now, the reverse could happen with the new Galaxy S11 line rumored to be unveiled in San Francisco on February 18 of next year. According to a report in South Korea’s The Elec, the Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform will be employed in Galaxy S11 devices in all regions except one. Samsung Galaxy S11 models launching in Europe next year will be powered by the Exynos 990 SoC; elsewhere, these units will have the Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform under the hood. The reason? According to the report, Samsung executives noted that the Snapdragon 865 outperforms the Exynos 990. The latter was unveiled by Samsung in October and the manufacturer said that the chip offers a 20% performance boost over the Exynos 9825 SoC. Interestingly, both the Exynos 990 and Snapdragon 865 are manufactured by Samsung using its 7nm EUV process. We should note that Samsung has stopped developing its own custom cores.

    One difference between the Snapdragon 865 and the Exynos 990 involves the CPU cores being used. The former features ARM’s latest and most powerful Cortex-A77 while the latter includes the older Cortex-A76. In addition, the new flagship Snapdragon chipset’s Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for AI functionality runs up to 15 Tera Operations Per Second (TOPS) compared to 10 TOPS for the Exynos 990. The Image Signal Processor (ISP) on Qualcomm’s chip has support for 200MP cameras while Sammy’s chip supports cameras up to 108MP. Interestingly, Samsung has decided to use MediaTek’s 5G processor on some of its low to mid-range models.

    You might recall that Samsung had to adjust which chip to use on 2015’s Samsung Galaxy S6 in the U.S., China, and Japan. That’s because the Snapdragon 810 SoC was fond of overheating. So Samsung decided to employ the Exynos 7420 chipset in Galaxy S6 units that normally would have featured the Snapdragon 810. But that adjustment lasted all of a year before Samsung reverted to its previous pattern.
    We expect the Samsung Galaxy S11 family to include a 6.2-inch Galaxy S11e, 6.5-inch Galaxy S11, and a 6.8-inch Galaxy S11+. All three displays are expected to refresh at 120Hz allowing for buttery smooth scrolling and improved animation. The Galaxy S11+ should come with five camera sensors on the back including a 108MP primary (producing 27MP images with pixel binning), an ultra-wide camera, a telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom, a telephoto camera with 5x hybrid zoom and a Time of Flight depth sensor. Using a combination of sensors the Galaxy S11+ could offer 50x hybrid zoom and 100x digital zoom.
    It should be interesting to see what Samsung does in 2021 when TSMC will manufacture the 5nm Snapdragon 875 Mobile Platform and Samsung turns to its 5nm process to produce the successor to the Exynos 990. At 5nm, both chips will be packed with billions of transistors making them more powerful and energy-efficient than next year’s chips. The 2021 integrated circuits will contain as many as 171.3 million transistors per square millimeter. Both TSMC and Samsung have roadmaps taking their chip manufacturing down to 2nm over the next few years.
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  • Tesla’s German Plant To Produce 500,000 Cars A Year

    Tesla’s German Plant To Produce 500,000 Cars A Year

    Tesla plans to build 500,000 electric vehicles a year at its new factory on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany’s Bild newspaper reported on Wednesday.

    Last month, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk announced that a site in Gruenheide, Brandenburg, had been chosen to build Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.

    German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that Tesla will invest up to 4 billion euros ($4.41 billion) in the plant.

    Tesla’s Gigafactory will create 10,000 jobs, Bild said, citing planning documents to develop the site which is as large as 420 soccer pitches.

    Construction will start in 2020, the newspaper reported. Tesla declined to comment on the Bild article or on its expansion plans.

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  • Tesla Could Make Electric Dirt Bikes In The Future

    Tesla Could Make Electric Dirt Bikes In The Future

    Tesla is known to make outrageous electric vehicles and we mean outrageous in a good way. The US-based electric vehicle manufacturer recently showcased the Cybertruck which is a piece of work and has divided opinions about its design, though no doubt, it is a radical, futuristic model that will be available for purchase in a couple of years’ time. But our ears pricked up when we heard about Musk responding to a tweet on the electric ATV. A twitter user asked about the availability of Tesla Electric ATV, which was showcased along with the Tesla Cybertruck. Elon Musk responded by tweeting that the electric ATV will be ready along with the truck, which is about two years from now.

    We’ll aim to have it come out at the same time as a truck. Two-seater electric ATV designed to work with Cybertruck will be fun! Electric dirt bikes would be cool too. We won’t do road bikes, as too dangerous. I was hit by a truck & almost died on one when I was 17.

    But he also mentioned that it would be cool to make electric dirt bikes. Although Tesla will never venture into making road bikes as they are too dangerous. Musk had a close brush with death when he was 17, riding a motorcycle and a truck hit him.

    Dirt bikes are fun and electric dirt bikes! Well, knowing Tesla, its electric dirt bikes could definitely have a significant impact on the global two-wheeler industry. Tesla has always been a car manufacturer but diversification is the name of the game and it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Tesla to venture out into the two-wheeler industry.

    Electric dirt bikes are not a new thing though and one of the most popular electric dirt bikes is the KTM Freeride E-XC which is probably as competent as its petrol-powered rivals and most importantly, it looks like a proper dirt bike too. Other electric dirt bike makers include Alta, Cake and so on. We would love to see a radically designed electric dirt bike from Tesla with Elon Musk doing a few wheelies and jumps on it, soon!

  • Tesla Plans Increasing Imported Model 3 Prices In China From January

    Tesla Plans Increasing Imported Model 3 Prices In China From January

    U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc plans to increase prices of imported Model 3 vehicles in China in January, sources familiar with the matter said.

    Tesla plans to increase prices of imported Model 3 vehicles with a longer range and those with performance function, which are currently priced at 439,900 yuan ($62,495.56) and 509,900 yuan, respectively.

    The move comes as Tesla, which is building a car plant in Shanghai, aims to deliver China-made Model 3 sedans, which are priced at 355,800 yuan, to customers before Jan. 25 next year.

    It was unclear by how much Tesla plans to increase China prices. The sources declined to be named as they are not authorized to speak to media.

    Tesla declined to comment.

    The electric vehicle maker began production in the Shanghai factory in October on a trial basis and aims to produce at least 1,000 Model 3 cars a week by the end of this year.

    The plant’s mass production schedule is crucial for Tesla’s hopes of raising its annual production rate to 500,000 vehicles by the end of this year.

    The $2 billion factories, Tesla’s first car manufacturing site outside the United States, is the centerpiece of its ambitions to boost sales in the world’s biggest auto market and avoid higher import tariffs imposed on U.S.-made cars.

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  • Hanoi-Saigon flight time climbs 5 mins a month

    Hanoi-Saigon flight time climbs 5 mins a month

    Flying from Hanoi to Saigon takes five minutes more per month due to overload at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Duong Tri Thana, Vietnam Airlines CEO, told a forum Wednesday continued delays at Tan Son Nhat could drag down flight quality and hamper economic growth.

    The route itself ranked as the sixth busiest domestic route in the world for 2019, up one spot from last year. Le Hong Ha, deputy general director of the flag carrier, said Tan Son Nhat has recorded low punctuality due to overload, with airlines forced to adjust flight times that cause take-off delays up to 15 minutes.

    Lai Xuan Thanh, chairman of the Airports Corporation of Vietnam, said this year, foreign airlines have struggled to find berths at Tan Son Nhat.

    The airport could only provide 2-3 percent more slots this year, meaning passenger growth is capped at 5 percent year-on-year, he added.

    However, the country is allowing the operation of new airlines despite the overload. Private carrier Bamboo Airways launched its first flights earlier this year, while three more airlines are awaiting licensing.

    Dinh Viet Thang, head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), said Vietnam still holds great aviation potential, with an estimated 150-180 million air passengers predicted by 2025.

    Only five airlines operate daily routes in Vietnam, with the figure in Thailand at 16, Indonesia at 12, the Philippines at 10 and Singapore at 6.

    Vietnam plans to upgrade existing and build new airports to accommodate surging travel demand, a third terminal proposed for Tan Son Nhat to up capacity by 20 million passengers a year. Tesla Plans Increasing Imported Model 3 Prices In China From January

  • Sabeco to charter aircraft to transport outstanding workers home for New Year

    Sabeco to charter aircraft to transport outstanding workers home for New Year

    Vietnam’s biggest brewer Sabeco is set to charter four aircraft and a number of buses to ferry 2,000 outstanding workers home for Tet. It will cost Sabeco over VND5 billion ($217,000), and the company will identify the workers together with the management of industrial parks in HCMC and the neighboring provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai.

    A charter flight each will fly from HCMC to Hanoi and the central towns of Vinh, Dong Hoi and Quy Nhon.

    The 1,000 people going by bus will go to the central provinces of Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, and Khanh Hoa, the Central Highlands provinces of Dak Lak and Lam Dong and the southern provinces of Kien Giang and Ca Mau.

    Hoang Dao Hiep, deputy general director of Sabeco, said this would be the second year the company and the Youth Union provide transportation for the best-performing workers for Lunar New Year.

    This year it is on a larger scale, and the process to select the workers too started earlier — at the beginning of December.

    Tet (The Lunar New Year) falls in late January 2020. Last year too the company had chartered four aircraft.

    Sabeco is owned 53.59 percent by Vietnam Beverage, a subsidiary of Thai beverage company ThaiBev. The Vietnamese government, represented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, owns a 36 percent stake in the company.

    In its latest financial report, Sabeco reported revenues of over VND28.3 trillion ($1.22 billion) in nine months, up 10 percent year-on-year. Revenue from beer in the period accounted for 86 percent of total, or VND24.3 trillion ($1.05 billion).

    In the third quarter alone, post-tax profit was highest among all brewers in Vietnam at almost VND1.46 trillion ($63 million), up over 40 percent year-on-year.

  • China forces new mobile network subscribers to provide facial scans

    China forces new mobile network subscribers to provide facial scans

    A controversial law which forces new mobile subscribers in China to first provide scans of their face has now been implemented.

    To sign up for a new plan, Chinese consumers will still need their national ID card but will now also be forced to supply facial scans. First announced in September, Beijing says it’s taking the step to “protect the legitimate rights and interest of citizens in cyberspace.”

    The measure is designed to reduce fraud. However, privacy campaigners believe it’s also part of Beijing’s desire to ensure no-one is truly anonymous online.

    Being able to link digital identities to real-world individuals helps to silence dissenters. At a time when protestors in Hong Kong are facing brutality for expressing their view that Beijing has infringed on the country’s autonomy, the new measures have naturally raised further concerns.

    Another fear is how the collected facial scans are being used after verification. Strict data laws in many Western countries require explicit consent as to how data is stored and used, but such laws are practically nonexistent in China.

    Facial scans may be used to further train national facial recognition algorithms that have already been used for oppressive purposes.

    China uses a robust facial recognition system in Xinjiang, a Muslim-dominated region. Geofencing is used in tandem with facial recognition to alert the authorities if targets venture beyond a 300-meter safe zone.

    Beijing maintains the system in Xinjiang is vital to tackle numerous incidents of violence and unrest, which it links to Islamic extremists. However, Human Rights Watch has condemned the policies as a “violation of international human rights norms.”

    China boasts the world’s largest surveillance network with around 170 million security cameras and plans to install a further 400 million over the next three years.

    In a bid to quickly understand this massive resource and provide actionable insights, Beijing is turning to AI.

    The world’s most valuable AI startup, SenseTime, is a Chinese firm that provides technology for the government’s surveillance network.

    SenseTime’s Viper system aims to process and analyze over 100,000 simultaneous real-time streams from traffic cameras, ATMs, and more, to automatically tag and keep track of individuals.

    It’s unclear whether SenseTime will have direct access to facial scans collected by the Chinese government, but it seems likely scans will be used by the authorities to find those it deems a threat.

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  • South Korea boasts of hitting almost four million 5G subscribers

    South Korea boasts of hitting almost four million 5G subscribers

    The Ministry of Science and ICT in South Korea reports the country is close to hitting the milestone of four million 5G subscribers.

    While it’s often debated whether South Korea or the US was first to launch a commercially available 5G network, both countries were among the first.

    This leadership makes South Korea closely watched by industry observers for how their 5G rollout is progressing, including the pace of adoption.

    5G adoption is happening fast in South Korea. As of October, the ministry reports that 5G networks across the country had 3.98 million subscribers.

    In September, the ministry says 516,000 more people subscribed to 5G services. In fact, a minimum of half a million new 5G subscribers have been added every month since networks launched in April.

    If that pace continued throughout October and November, it’s likely the four million 5G subscribers milestone has already been exceeded. While Christmas in South Korea isn’t as present-oriented as in the West, the holiday may also provide some further uptick in adoption in December.

    To date, the highest rise in subscribers was in August when Samsung launched its Galaxy Note 10 5G smartphone.

    SK Telecom has the most 5G subscribers with 1.77 million, followed by KT’s 1.21 million and LG Uplus’ 1 million.

    Traffic growth has also been substantial. In October, the ministry notes a total of 105,000 terabytes of traffic was recorded on 5G networks. Users consumed an average of 28 gigabytes of data that month.

    In a bid to handle the exploding amount of traffic, South Korea plans to double 5G spectrum allocation by 2026.

    While 5G networks in South Korea are currently not standalone and use 3.5GHz spectrum, the country plans to develop standalone 2.8GHz spectrums early next year.

  • Russia seeks to replace Wikipedia as it accelerates ‘sovereign internet’ plans

    Russia seeks to replace Wikipedia as it accelerates ‘sovereign internet’ plans

    Russia is reportedly seeking to replace Wikipedia with a state-run online encyclopedia as it accelerates plans for a “sovereign internet”.

    According to a Reuters report, Russia plans to spend around $30 million setting up the Wikipedia replacement and creating a department to keep it stocked with manipulated verified content.

    Russian president Vladimir Putin is said to believe that Wikipedia contains misinformation. Given Putin’s background as a foreign intelligence officer in the KGB, and the alleged disinformation campaigns spread by Russia’s infamous “troll farms,” it’s likely he knows a thing or two about the subject.

    Being a community-driven resource, Wikipedia has certainly found itself hosting misinformation from the amusing to the dangerous. Of course, rights campaigners are concerned it’s just an excuse to control what information Russian citizens can access – especially given Russia already has a history on this issue.

    Back in 2015, Roscomnadzor – the branch of the Russian government which polices media and the internet – ordered ISPs to block Wikipedia. The offending article was about charas, a form of marijuana. Roscomnadzor claimed the page constitutes instructions on how to make the drug.

    That same year, Russia blocked the entirety of Reddit over a post about hallucinogenic mushrooms.

    Russia is once again clamping down on web access in the country and even intends to create a “sovereign internet” that can still function cut off from the outside world if needed.

    Russia was going to temporarily unplug from the global internet as part of an experiment to ensure that the nation can still function without it.

    Russia’s fear is that – due to organizations that maintain the international DNS system is based around the world, but none in Russia itself – the nation could be disconnected from the web in an extreme scenario.

    A draft law called the Digital Economy National Program would require Russian ISPs to ensure they’re able to operate if foreign powers isolate the country.

    The second experiment in Russia tasked ISPs with redirecting traffic to government routing points to filter and censor it similar to China’s so-called Great Firewall. It’s likely this approach that will be used by Russia to redirect Wikipedia traffic to the state-run alternative.

    While there’s been relative physical peace between Russia and other world powers for decades, cyberwarfare has been ongoing and increased in recent years amid high-profile attacks on critical infrastructure linked to Russian state hackers and the aforementioned disinformation campaigns.

    International coalitions such as NATO have threatened Russia over allegations of cyberattacks and political interference. NATO allies are drawing up cyber warfare principles for more robust future responses to attacks.

    NATO has even said a cyberattack may trigger Article 5 which stipulates an attack on one member is seen as an attack on all, and commits to a joint response. To date, it’s only been triggered once following the September 11th terrorist attacks in the US.

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  • Optus claims making world’s first 5G data call using 2300MHz spectrum

    Optus claims making world’s first 5G data call using 2300MHz spectrum

    Australian telecommunication company Optus is claiming that it has made the world’s first 5G data call by making use of a 2300MHz spectrum.

    Optus conducted the test in Sydney with Ericsson kit. According to the company, it is the only Australian telecommunications firm with shares in the 2300MHz and 3500MHz spectrum bands.

    Optus network managing director Dennis Wong said: “With its lowest frequency, the 2300MHz spectrum band, in the future, will finally offer our customers even higher speeds, as well as provide greater depth of coverage that will allow even more customers to benefit from 5G services.” Optus was looking to activate its 2300MHz spectrum “sometime” in 2020, Wong added.

    In its latest Mobility Report, published last month, Ericsson predicted that global 5G subscriptions will exceed 2.6 billion within the next six years. By this time, 5G will cover 65% of the world. The firm also believes that total mobile subscriptions, including to previous generation networks, will reach 8.9bn from 8bn over the next six years. The current average monthly data-traffic-per-smartphone is expected to increase from around 7.2GB today to 24GB in the same timeframe. Over a quarter of the worldwide subscriptions will be 5G by 2025 and will account for around 45% of global mobile data traffic.

    A Deloitte survey published last week argued that two in three consumers are more likely to buy a new phone once 5G-compatible devices are available. The survey also found that 16% of consumers who are using smartphones said that 5G capabilities will be the most crucial factor when they choose their next phone. While 26% chose display quality as their top preference, 22% opted for brand.

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  • Inmarsat has high hopes for fitting GX to carriers across Asia-Pacific

    Inmarsat has high hopes for fitting GX to carriers across Asia-Pacific

    Even as Indian carriers lag behind in introducing inflight connectivity for passengers, there is action in the Asia-Pacific region, which is expected to account for roughly 40% of new commercial aircraft deliveries over the next 20 years.

    Inmarsat, which has high hopes for the region, says six AirAsia aircraft have been fitted with its GX Aviation Ka-band connectivity system.

    The service offers an improved experience over the Inmarsat SwiftBroadband-powered texting solution on offer at AirAsia.

    Passengers can avail of MB packages of data for the GX service, a model that is being increasingly adopted by airlines but which is not without its detractors. A 200MB package for MYR58 (roughly $14US) is positioned by AirAsia as being the “best for streaming”.

    For its part, AirAsia is thrilled to be offering GX on half-a-dozen aircraft. The company’s RedBeat Ventures subsidiary, ROKKI, manages the service, which has been integrated into its broader entertainment and e-commerce platform.

    “Some people are noticing what we are doing,” enthused AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes in a tweet. He added: “Making products affordable and increasing quality. Bravo!”

    The service is slated to be implemented fleet-wide across AirAsia’s Airbus A320 and A330 models in 2020. This requires installation of the Honeywell JetWave terminals atop AirAsia’s fuselages, a time-consuming endeavor. But AirAsia may be compelled to quickly equip, as passengers are eager to get online.

    Other GX Aviation airline customers in the Asia-Pacific region include Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Philippine Airlines.

    But new business opportunities abound. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to become the largest single market for broadband-enabled services in the next two decades, says Inmarsat regional vice president APAC Chris Rogerson, and Inmarsat believes it is in the right position to help them realize the full potential of a fully connected fleet today.

    “We foresee that by 2021 the majority of airlines will be offering inflight connectivity,” Rogerson tells RGN.

    Whether these carriers will ultimately offer free Internet browsing remains to be seen. Air New Zealand has already done it, and passengers are pleased. Inmarsat Aviation president Philip Balaam tells RGN that when a free WiFi service first goes live, passengers tend to push the system hard, but that “usage tends to settle back into more normal usage” thereafter.

    Regarding the free model, he says, “I strongly suspect that that’s a trend that we will see in general over time” or at least “a component of free. Now whether you provide full free and full free to everyone is something else. That’s more of a segmentation issue than anything else. But the idea of having ubiquitous free service to some level of SLA [service level agreement], I think we are on that journey.”

    In addition to supporting cabin connectivity and connected IFE, airlines are adopting GX for operational benefits, including real-time mapping for pilot electronic flight bags (EFBs) as well as other real-time crew and health monitoring applications.

    But GX is not the only service on offer for Asia-Pacific carriers. Among competitors in the space, Panasonic Avionics has an entrenched position in the region, counting several Chinese airlines as customers for its eXConnect-branded Ku-band connectivity solution, in addition to All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and Thai Airways.

    Last year, Panasonic further bolstered its connectivity portfolio by becoming a strategic value-added reseller for GX. Intriguingly, Rogerson tells RGN that the deal also enables Inmarsat to offer Panasonic’s NEXT IFE solutions to Inmarsat’s commercial aviation customers.

    “Over the past year, Inmarsat and Panasonic have made significant progress with aligning our processes and systems. This has been our core focus… [covering] important areas such as sales process, contracts, technology, and operations processes,” he says.

    India, meanwhile, one of the fastest-growing countries in civil aviation, is still in a huddle over inflight connectivity. Last year, licenses for In-flight and Maritime Communications (IFMC) were cleared by regulators.

    Inmarsat’s Indian teleco partner, state-owned telco BSNL, holds approval to offer connectivity to Indian airlines operating within and outside India, as well as foreign airlines transiting through Indian airspace. “As a result, Inmarsat will be set to begin offering GX Aviation services over Indian skies from early 2020,” assures Rogerson.

    Some carriers are already primed to offer the GX service to passengers. Indian budget carrier SpiceJet, for instance, has GX equipment installed on 13 Boeing MAX 737s. But these, like the rest of the MAX world fleet, have been grounded since last March.

    Even when the MAX is recertified, a hurdle awaits. Clearances are required from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for a foreign satellite to be used.

  • Apple Card holders can buy an iPhone and make 24 monthly interest-free payments

    Apple Card holders can buy an iPhone and make 24 monthly interest-free payments

    Sure, Apple iPhone buyers can purchase an iPhone from their carrier and pay it off interest-free by making 24-monthly payments. Starting tomorrow, that option will be available to Apple Cardholders purchasing a new iPhone from the Apple Store. The monthly amount owed for the phone will be added to each month’s minimum amount due for 24 months. Cardholders using the Apple Card to make purchases at the Apple Store will receive a 6% cashback bonus until the end of this year. That is twice the usual 3% that they get back on Apple Store purchases made with the card.

    Apple CEO Tim Cook, after Apple reported its fiscal fourth-quarter results in October, announced that the company was going to allow Apple Cardholders to pay for iPhone purchases monthly. At the time, Cook said, “One of the things we are doing is trying to make it simpler and simpler for people to get on these sort of monthly financing kind of things. That’s a part of what we announced with the Apple Card earlier in the call and so we are cognizant that there are lots of users out there that want sort of a recurring payment like that.”

    The company does offer the iPhone Upgrade Program, which includes 24 interest-free monthly payments for an iPhone bundled with the AppleCare+ extended warranty. After 12 monthly payments, the iPhone being paid off can be exchanged for the latest model and the payments continue. For example, those signed up for the upgrade program are paying $54.08 monthly for the 64GB iPhone 11 Pro Max.
    Apple posted a message about installment payments inside the Wallet app on Monday that read “Installments are not subject to interest like other purchases made with Apple Card. If you pay more toward your installment balance, you may reduce the overall number of payments, but are still scheduled to pay your installment payment the following month.” The tech firm introduced the Apple Card in March and launched it in August. The card is the result of a partnership between Apple and securities firm Goldman Sachs. In addition to receiving 3% back on purchases of Apple products using the card (as we pointed out earlier, until the end of the year this is doubled to 6% for Apple Store purchases), users get a 1% cash back bonus on purchases while Apple Pay transactions give users back 2% of the amount charged. These cashback payments are computed and added to the user’s account daily. And there are no fees for Apple Cardholders; Apple does not collect late fees, annual fees, or over-the-limit fees.
    Apple iPhone users can apply for the card through the Wallet app or from the Apple Card site. And once they are approved, the card can be used immediately using Apple Pay and the Wallet app. While those approved can use the card immediately, a physical titanium card is subsequently mailed to the account holder. And while most credit card companies clap their hands together in glee and drool when customers pay the minimum amount due each month, Apple will show users how much interest they can expect to pay overtime based on the amount they are paying each month. This might give cardholders the incentive to pay down more of their balance each billing cycle.
    With the Wallet app, users can see their account as it stands right at that moment. And if a subscriber spots a charge that he or she doesn’t remember, tapping on it will show the location where the transaction took place on a map.
    So if you have an Apple Card, starting tomorrow, you can purchase a new iPhone from the Apple Store and make 24 monthly installment payments interest-free; there’s no additional application required to finance the purchase of an iPhone using the card.
  • Apple drops iOS 13.3, iPadOS 13.3, tvOS 13.3 and more

    Apple drops iOS 13.3, iPadOS 13.3, tvOS 13.3 and more

    Today is a day of operating system updates for Apple as the company dropped iOS 13.3, iPad OS 13.3, HomePod 13.3, tvOS 13.3 and watchOS 6.1.1. The update to iOS 13.3 for the iPhone and iPad OS 13.3 for, well, you know, adds Communication Limits support in Screen Time. The latter measures how long you use your phone or tablet, what apps you use the most, and allows parents to limit their children’s use of certain apps.

    With the new feature, users can decide who they can communicate with and when they can communicate with them during “Downtime.” This is a setting on Screen Time that when enabled, prevents the user from opening certain apps, receiving notifications and getting phone calls during certain time periods except for apps and callers that are selected as “Always Allowed.” By default, Downtime, when enabled, will run from 10 pm to 7 am local time. With the new Communication Limits, parents can prevent their kids from calling, texting or using FaceTime with anyone else but them after a certain time of day.

    With the update, Apple answered complaints from users about Memoji and Animoji stickers. The stickers were showing up alongside the emoji keyboard and users went into a conniption. But after installing iOS or iPad OS 13.3, users can disable this feature by going to Settings > General > Keyboard > Emoji.  In Apple News+, stories from The Wall Street Journal and other newspapers now have a new layout and stories can be liked or disliked with a tap. In Canada, articles in the Stocks app are now available in both English and French. Top stories can now have a “Breaking” or “Developing” label to users find the latest and most important content.

    Several bug fixes and improvements are part of the new update. When trimming a video in Photos, users will be able to create a new video clip. Bugs have been exterminated that prevented a message from being deleted in Gmail and prevented new messages from loading in Mail. With the update, screenshots shouldn’t look blurry any more when disseminated via Messages, and if you cropped or used Markup on a screenshot, it will save with the changes that were made. Missed call badges should now disappear, and Voice Memo recordings can now be shared with other audio apps. In addition, Apple says that the update addresses an issue that made some wireless chargers charge more slowly than expected. It also corrects an issue that had the Cellular Data setting incorrectly show as being “off,” and one that prevented users from turning off Dark Mode when Smart Invert was enabled. The update also takes care of an issue that caused incorrect characters to show up in Messages and duplicate sent messages in Exchange accounts.

    In tvOS 13.3, Apple gives users the option to bring back the “Up Next” queue in the Top Shelf app. Apple had changed this to show clips of previews and trailers called “What to Watch.” This is found in the Home Screen section and after updating to tvOS 13.3 users can go to Settings > Apps > TV to make the change. Apple is also disseminating watchOS 6.1.1 for Apple Watch users. There are no new features in the update, but it does contain some bug fixes and performance improvements.

    And HomePod OS 13.3 has also been released.  With the update, Apple’s smart speaker will do better at recognizing the voice profile of family members. It also will allow family members to enable or disable personal requests and fixes an issue that could prevent music playback from resuming on a stereo pair after a phone call.

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  • Android Auto now lets you customize your app drawer

    Android Auto now lets you customize your app drawer

    Android Auto went through a lot of changes lately that made it a much better app, and the improvements are still coming. The only issue with these timely updates is that they’re not available to everyone at the same time. The latest Android Auto update has just starting to roll out and it includes one highly-requested feature – the ability to customize the app drawer.

    Redditor pkoya1 claims Google now lets Android Auto users choose which apps they want to appear in the app drawer. Unfortunately, the new feature is not available for everyone yet, and trying to download the Android Auto app from the Google Play Store won’t help.

    It looks like this is a server-side update that will be pushed out in waves, so it will probably take some time to reach all customers. In the screenshot attached to the article, several apps can be selected to appear in the Android Auto app drawer.

    Some of them like Google Play Music or Maps can’t be removed since they are core system apps. However, depending on what phone you use, you might be able to uninstall Google Play Music if you’d rather use Spotify instead. Keep an eye out on the new feature if you’re using Android Auto.

  • Tencent’s WeBank to Power China’s Blockchain Network

    Tencent’s WeBank to Power China’s Blockchain Network

    The Shenzhen-based firm will provide the tech for the country’s national blockchain consortium. WeBank, China’s first digital bank, will provide the technical infrastructure for the country’s nationwide blockchain-based service network (BSN), according to a Chinese state media report.

    BSN plans to offer infrastructure services for any Chinese or international entity that uses blockchain. According to the agreement, BSN will use WeBank’s open-source FISCO BCOS blockchain application ecosystem, and WeBank will provide technical support and training for BSN developers, the report said.a

    China is attempting to build a nationwide blockchain network to serve a range of state-controlled public services across the country, including telecommunications and energy management.

    Users in various industries often face dilemmas such as high cost of forming a chain, heterogeneity of the underlying platform, and inability to interact with data. Promoting the construction of public infrastructure at the bottom of the blockchain has become the meaning of pursuing the development of the digital economy, the report said.

    Led by the State Information Center, a think tank affiliated with the National Development and Research Commission, China’s highest central planning agency, the BSN consortium includes firms like WeBank, Huobi China, UnionPay, China Mobile and China Telecom.

    The project has been tested in 25 cities across China as well as Hong Kong and Singapore. It is expected to be tried out in more than 200 cities by 2020.

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