Samsung Unpacked 2 Oct. 20th; Sony & TSMC May Partner to Ease Chip Shortage; Future AirPods Might Monitor Body Temp; Facebook ‘Dangerous’ List Leaked

Samsung has announced its Unpacked 2 event for next Wednesday, October 20th. According to theverge.com, it will be online only, and will be at 7AM Pacific, 10AM Eastern. It may not be for next gen Galaxy phones, but could be iterations on existing models. The date is interesting, because it appears that Apple and Samsung, the two biggest smartphone players, are bracketing Google, and will likely steal most of the thunder for their Pixel event on Tuesday the 19th. Apple, of course, announced earlier this week that they will hold an event on Monday, the 18th (instead of the usual Tuesday.) Although the Apple event is expected to be MacBook Pro centric, the coverage of it will spill into Tuesday, and then…boom…along comes Samsung to steal more of Google’s Pixel thunder. We will do our best to cover all three here, however!

It’s not a done deal, but the world chip shortage may make for some strange corporate bedfellows. Engadget.com reports that Sony and TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor) are looking at joint creation of a semiconductor factor in Japan…specifically in the western Kumamoto Prefecture. TSMC would have majority ownership, but the plant would operate on Sony land. The Japanese government is allegedly poised to pony up about half of the $7 billion investment. Chips would be made for cameras, cars, and other products. 

Apple continues to have an intense interest in health when it comes to their products…from iPhones, to the Apple Watch, and now AirPods. Appleinsider.com says future AirPods might have amplifications like a hearing aid, be able to monitor core body temperature, and track a user’s posture…a feature I would certainly have to turn off if I ever used AirPods! Apple already has patents for sensors to track heart rate, movement, and other health metrics. No timetable for any of these at this point, though. 

The intercept has published a Facebook list of ‘dangerous individuals and organizations’ that was leaked. The social network bans more than 4,000 people and groups that the company considers dangerous…including white supremacists, militarized social movements and alleged terrorists. More than half of the list consists of alleged foreign terrorists that are predominately Middle Eastern, South Asian and Muslim. Facebook has a three-tiered system that indicates the type of enforcement the company will take in regard to content. Terrorist groups, hate groups and criminal organizations are part of the most restrictive level, Tier 1. The least restrictive level, Tier 3, includes militarized social movements, which The Intercept said “is mostly right-wing American anti-government militias, which are virtually entirely white.”