DOJ Investigating Google Payments to Apple to be iOS Default; Facebook Streaming Android Games from Cloud; Fresh AirPods Early Next Year; Samsung Partners With Stanford on ‘Flawless VR’

One of the aspects of the DOJ investigation into Google is the hefty payment to Apple to be the default iOS search engine. The price is apparently between $8-$12 billion a year! This is believed to be the biggest single payment Google makes to anyone, and it accounts for 14 to 21% of Apple’s annual profits. The legal intervention poses a threat to a significant chunk of Apple’s revenue, but it is a bigger danger for Google, which would seemingly have no way to replace the traffic it would lose. 

Facebook Gaming has announced the ability to stream Android games to your phone or other device via Facebook.com or the Android app. According to 9to5google.com, the games will be free, but will be ad supported. Right now, only 5 are available: Asphalt 9: Legends, Mobile Legends: Adventure, PGA Tour Golf Shootout, Solitaire: Arthur’s Tale, and WWE Supercard. Facebook has said they will be getting the games to iOS, but are blaming Apple for ‘limitations to what we can offer on Safari for iOS.’

Apple is reportedly working on redesigned AirPods and AirPods Pro models that could be out early next year. Theverge.com says that they will have upgraded wireless chips, but also a new form factor…the iconic stems that hang down out of your ears may be gone from the Pro version. They will still feature noise cancellation, but will use a design more like Samsung and Google muse on their ear buds. The over ear headphones that were delayed due to too-tight headbands may be rolled out at the same time as the new model earbuds. 

VR users complain about the ‘screen door’ effect…gaps between pixels when you are using an on-face display. Now, engadget.com reports that Samsung has partnered with Stanford to develop OLED tech that supports resolutions of up to 10,000 pixels per inch…far above any existing display’s count. They claim virtually ‘flawless’ images with their process…but it may be years away. It takes a massive amount of computing power to generate it. That said, the OLED tech is no longer an issue.