New 16 Inch MacBook Pro-Sept; Samsung’s SmartThings Cam; Congress Looks at Making Tech Companies Reveal Your Data Value, Microsoft 2-Screen Tablet May Run Android Apps

Apple will unveil a 16 inch MacBook Pro in September, with an LCD screen made by LG. Macrumors.com reports that Jeff Lin, an analyst at IHS Markit broke the story. The screen resolution would be 3,072×1,920 pixels. That’s a bump up from the current 15 incher, which has a screen res of 2,880×1,800. Earlier reports had Apple using and OLED display from Samsung. No details, but expect a newer, more powerful processor as well. As Apple has historically dropped laptops in October, instead of close to…or at their iPhone event, some Apple watchers think this one will follow that course and come out in October.

More smart home gadgets from Samsung are out. According to theverge.com, the Korean company has released the SmartThings Cam for $89.99, SmartThings WiFi Smart Plug for $17.99, and a SmartThings Smart Bulb for $9.99. The cam and bulb can be used without a SmartThings hub. The Smart Bulb runs Zigbee 3.0, and does rely on the hub. All of them work with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Samsung’s Bixby. The smart cam has full HD video with HDR, and has IR for night vision, two-way audio, ‘person detection’, and a 145 degree field of view. It comes with 24 hour cloud backup (for up to 4 cams) at no extra charge. Stand and shelf mount are both included. Samsung’s SmartThings platform works with over 600 devices from some 60 companies.

A bipartisan bill has been introduced that wold require tech companies to reveal how much your data is worth to them. Businessinsider.com says Senators Mark Warner (D) and Josh Hawley (R) are behind the bill, which…if passed into law…would require tech companies like Facebook and Google to let you know every 90 days what info they had collected about/from you, and how much it is worth to them. Senator Warner opined that the data could be worth as little as $5 a month per user, but others have estimated a higher figure. Warner noted that Facebook probably knows more about active users than the US government knows about you. Senator Hawley also introduced a separate bill that would strip tech giants of a legal protection that shields them from liability for content posted by users. The jointly introduced bill on data would apply to companies that have over 100 million monthly users…which would hit Twitter and Amazon in addition to Facebook and Google.

Microsoft is apparently looking at releasing a dual screen Surface tablet as early as the 1st half of next year. Such a tab was previewed to employees earlier this month. Now, engadget.com is reporting that the new Surface will also run both Android apps and Apple’s iCloud. The screens would both be 9 inchers, and have a 4:3 aspect ratio. It will run Windows Lite OS. It is rumored to be a folder, and have always on LTE or 5G.