Samsung Bows Tiny 50MP Cam Sensor; Microsoft-Xbox Everywhere; Ford Tallies 100,000 F-150 EV Preorders; Facebook Plans Smartwatch

Samsung has revealed a new 50MP camera sensor module that is small enough to use for selfies, and would cut down on the camera ‘bumps’ we all know and hate. According to 9to5google.com, the JN1 sensor will be able to capture more light than smaller sensors, and in fact, has an improvement in light sensitivity of 16%. More importantly for most of us, it is small enough to cut the stupid camera bumps down by 10%. The sensor has already gone into production…it should be out in smartphones later this year. 

Microsoft continues to push for the ability to play Xbox games anywhere. Whether you are playing on one of their $499 or $399 gaming boxes, or on a PC, or dropping $15 a month to play on your tablet or phone, apparently Redmond wants even more reach for their game platform. Cnet.com reports that Microsoft is looking at getting Xbox games to you over a hotel room TV or via a small streaming set top box you can jack into at TV or monitor at a friend’s house (or work, if you can get away with it!) Microsoft is working with internet capable TV makers to build the streaming platform in like many other streaming services, so that all you would need is a controller. E3 is coming up on Sunday, there may be more announcements then.

Ford has now banked 100,000 preorders for its F-150 Lightening electric pickup in 3 weeks. Although that’s not near what Tesla did with the Cybertruck….250,000 preorders in 5 days…it’s significant in that Ford isn’t known for a line of EVs, and IS the biggest seller of pickups in the world. Engadget.com says Ford sold some 787,000 F-150 pickups last year….and there are over 16 million Ford trucks on the road in the US. With the announce of the under $20 grand Maverick Hybrid pickup this week, Ford now says the Explorer SUV will be the next big Ford model to get and EV version. 

Given Facebook’s…well, just plain crappy track record with hardware so far, you’d think Zuck would get a clue and leave hardware to companies who are better at making and selling it. Nope. According to theverge.com, Facebook iss working on a smartwatch to drop next summer with two cameras and a heart rate monitor. Apparently, the display can be popped off the wrist for shooting video or taking pics, which can be shared over Facebook, Instagram, and other Facebook apps. They are apparently working with US carriers to be able to have LTE connectivity in the watch, which means they will work without having to be paired with a smartphone. Facebook is shooting for making the watch in black, white, and gold colors. It is believed they would also use the watch eventually as an input device for the smart glasses they are still working on. The watch would be priced around $400, according to rumors.

Pixel Folder in Production by October; Apple WWDC Recap; Website Outages Early Tuesday Morning; Ford Building Cheap Hybrid Maverick-Truck

We recently reported that Google was looking at building a folding phone…now, it appears that they not only are, but that it will go into production in October. 9to5google.com reports that The Elec has picked up information that Samsung Display will start building folding OLED screens for Google, Vivo, and Xiaomi by October. That would mean that Google will announce the phone in October, but it will not be available until later. The Pixel will probably have a similar style to the Galaxy Z Fold 2, and will have a 7.6 inch internal display. 

Apple announced a number of features to its upcoming operating systems at WWDC yesterday, but to the disappointment of many…no hardware announcements. A MacBook Pro with an M series chip may not be seen until October now. According to engadget.com, a big feature was the expansion of FaceTime. The Apple video calling system gets spatial audio, background blur like in the portrait mode photos, and a grid view (Zoom, anyone?) It will now work with Android and PC devices via a web app, too. iOS will feature more privacy improvements, and Apple has announced Focus…which is really just a way to filter and block notifications so they won’t constantly interrupt you. 

For Mac OS, a cool feature is that your mouse or trackpad for your Mac or MacBook will now automatically control the screen for an iPad nearby if you set it up. You can drag files from screen to screen, use it as a second screen (which I do often, but haven’t had this ability), or cast the iPad display to your bigger Apple screen.

Watch OS didn’t have much new to announce….a Mindfulness app adds to the Breathe app to help you mellow out. Watch will allow you to track more metrics now while you sleep if you wear a watch while sleeping. You can follow time to sleep, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and respiratory rate. 

If you were trying to hit certain big websites at about 2 Pacific Tuesday morning, you probably had trouble. Techcrunch.com says things were back to normal by a bit before 4am Pacific, but the outage was with a provider called Fastly. This wasn’t just a few dinky or rarely hit sites…it included Reddit, Spotify, Twitch, Stack Overflow, GitHub, gov.uk, Hulu, HBO Max, Quora, PayPal, Vimeo, Shopify, Stripe, and news outlets CNN, The Guardian, The New York Times, BBC and Financial Times. A content delivery network (CDN) glitch was apparently the culprit. CDNs act as proxy servers and cache some data as close to the end user as possible.

Ford continues to make waves in the massive pickup market that they dominate. After a big splash, and thousands of preorders for the new electric F-150 Lightening pickup, Dearborn has now revealed an affordable, efficient pickup bearing a heritage name….Maverick. Arstechnica.com reports that the new Maverick will ride on a monocoque chassis instead of a body on frame. It is a small pickup…200 inches compared to 232 for the F-150. The Maverick will run on a hybrid system with a 162 HP four cylinder Atkinson motor (like Honda and Toyota hybrids run), and a 126 HP electric motor. It will drive the front wheels with a continuously variable transmission. The Maverick will be able to haul 1500 lbs and tow loads of up to 2,000 lbs. An upgraded engine model with tow package will be able to drag along 4,000 lbs worth or trailer. Here’s the key…the entry level version starts at $19,995! Deliveries should start this fall, and online preorders are available now!

TikTok Collecting Biometrics; Facebook-Trump & Politicians; Air Tags Update; Cops Can’t Get Ring Video Privately Now

A change to TikTok’s U.S. privacy policy has introduced a new section that says the social video app “may collect biometric identifiers and biometric information” from its users’ content. Techcrunch.com reports that this includes things like “faceprints and voiceprints”. They are claiming they will ask permission first.  While that may sound creepy, other social networks do object recognition on images you upload to power accessibility features, as well as for ad targeting purposes. Yeah..it’s still creepy.  

You have no doubt heard that Donald Trump is now suspended for 2 years from Facebook and Instagram. In addition to that, Facebook is also ending its controversial policy that mostly shields politicians from the content moderation rules that apply to other users, a sharp reversal that could have global ramifications for how elected officials use the social network. Theverge.com reports that the Facebook Oversight Board decided the “same rules should apply to all users.” Facebook is also set to begin disclosing when it uses a special newsworthiness exemption to keep up content from politicians and others that would otherwise violate its rules. 

Apple’s AirTag tracker discs are getting a firmware update to prevent them from being used to track unsuspecting third-parties (in other words, stalkers and exes.) According to cnet.com, existing AirTags will be updated automatically when in range of an internet-connected iPhone. Apple will cut the time before the tags away from the owner start to beep from 3 days to 8 to 24 hours. To further reassure people about its AirTags,  Apple also announced that it is working on an app for Android devices. That should be out by the end of the year. 

In an effort to lessen concerns about privacy and civil liberties, Amazon will require police departments seeking Ring doorbell video data to make public requests for the information in the open user portal and not anymore as private inquiries to individuals who possess the footage. Geekwire.com notes that an estimated 2,000 police departments across the country contract with Ring and the Neighbors app to get access to footage gathered by millions of the popular camera doorbells. 

Facebook Adding Features to Messenger and Instagram; TSMC Building Chip Plant in Arizona; Apple Trademarks May Reveal MacOS 12 Name; Trump Kills His Blog

Facebook is adding multiplayer AR to video calls in Messenger and Instagram. Think of the craziness that will reign when people in a game or chat start sharing the effects. By the way, cnet.com notes that none of the effects are actually new…but the sharing part and in gam part is. Expect some new material though…as Facebook is opening things to creators. Some are speculating that Facebook, via its Oculus division, will be adding hardware to that line that will support the expanded feature set in Messenger and Instagram.

TSMC is building a semiconductor plant in Arizona. Considering the chip shortage that has been raging since the pandemic, and the always present threat from China to Taiwan, this has to be considered a good thing. Reuters.com reports that TSMC expects to be building 5 nanometer chips there by 2024. Intel is also building 2 plants in Arizona, and TSMC plans up to 6 in the next 10-15 years. Samsung is also in the mix to be building in the US. 

It is always a big deal…at least until Apple actually releases an operating system update, then the name of the thing generally recedes, and we all call it macOS 12 (which is the upcoming version.) 9to5mac.com says that, after poring over trademarks for the OS, it looks like it will be either Monterey or Mammoth. Apple trademarked a number of area names from California in 2013-14. We already have seen Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, and Big Sur. I’m betting on Monterey. World Wide Developers Conference starts next week…virtually again. We will know soon about this and what host of features Cupertino has for Mac users that upgrade.

The blog ‘From the Desk of Donald J. Trump’ is dead. According to CNBC, quoting Trump aide Jason Miller, it was mainly intended as a backup to being kicked off Facebook permanently. The Facebook Oversight Board punted, and threw that decision back to Facebook. The Ex-president’s advisors must feel that Zuckerberg and company will allow him back on the platform by year’s end. Miller claims there is something else in the works. As engadget.com notes…’There’s always podcasts and TikTok…’

Pixel May Get Samsung’s Ultra-Thin, Folding Glass; iPhone 13-Maybe 18% Bump in Battery Capacity; Twitter Launching Local Weather Service; Amazon Customers Can Now Sue Amazon in Court

After a truly disastrous roll out and later restart of its folding phone offerings, Samsung seems to have hit a certain stride. There are almost no reports of the folders having the kind of problems the initial models had. Now, according to 9to5google.com, Samsung may be ready to sell its ultra-thin glass used in the folding models to others. At the top of the list, according to a late rumor…the Google Pixel! After an initial rumor of a folding Pixel over a year ago, the code name for that device has showed up again in the past few weeks. Meanwhile, expect to see a Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Flip 3 coming out from Samsung in August. 

There can never be too much when it comes to some things. One of those is smartphone battery capacity. Now, 9to5mac.com reports that we may see up to an 18% increase in the ones coming in the iPhone 13 models. It will be needed too, if the rumor that Apple is adding power hungry ProMotion displays and an always on display. Of course, the phones will be heavier, and most likely thicker with a beefier battery. 

In a move to roll out something that no one knows they need, Twitter is teaming up with veteran climate journalist and meteorologist Eric Holthaus in a local weather news service. Axios.com says it will be called ‘Tomorrow, and will be constructed with Twitter’s new creator products…which we’ve covered here, and include paid newsletters, ticketed live audio rooms and other creator products that can be monetized. The weather service expects to ramp up to 18 meteorologists, 20-30 climate writers, and a handful of part time editorial staffers. They will generate newsletters and long form content, ass well as members only short form material. If you are an uber weather junkie, and your phone apps just don’t cut it, maybe this will be for you!

Amazon has…up to now…required customer disputes to go to arbitration. After being swamped by thousands of individual arb cases, the online giant has quietly changed its terms of service: “Any dispute or claim relating in any way to your use of any Amazon Service will be adjudicated in the state or Federal courts in King County, Washington, and you consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in these courts. We each waive any right to a jury trial.”  Cnet.com notes that the cases have to be brought in Amazon’s ‘home court’ as it were, and I note that customers still have to waive their right to a jury trial…which realistically would have put Amazon at a hell of a disadvantage. Amazon was out millions in filing fees under the arbitration requirement…now, with customers having to file their own fees to get into court, it may stem the flood to some degree. 

Amazon Buys MGM Studios; Microsoft Working on Next Version of Windows; Valve Making a Switch Clone-‘SteamPal?’; Tesla Dumps Radar from Models 3 and Y

Amazon has just announced the second biggest purchase in their history…second only to the swallowing of Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in 2017. According to CNBC, Amazon is buying MGM Studios for $8.45 billion! This will bring Amazon Prime some 4,000 movies and 17,000 TV shows….to say nothing of bring some new (old) blood to amazon Studios. The purchase should put Amazon in a better position to compete with the likes of Disney and Netflix, as well as Discovery’s merger with the WarnerMedia spinoff from AT&T. The deal will need to clear some antitrust hurdles before being finalized. 

At Microsoft’s Build 2021, CEO Satya Nadella announced that they were working on the biggest and most significant update to Windows in the last 10 years. Engadget.com reports the CEO said “Soon we will share one of the most significant updates to Windows of the past decade to unlock greater economic opportunity for developers and creators.” Nadella went on to say he has personally been testing the new build over the past several months. This announcement comes just after Redmond admitted that it was killing development on Windows 10, the ’skinny’ version of its OS designed for dual-screen devices. Some of the elements of Windows 10X will be rolled out in regular Windows 10 later this year. 

Valve has been working on building a Switch type portable gaming platform on the down low, which is designed to run a large number of games on the Steam PC platform using Linux. Arstechnica.com says the system could launch by the end of the year. Some new hardware related code has been spotted in the latest version of Steam, which further indicates that the new box…dubbed ‘SteamPal’…is on the way before long. The project had formerly been named Neptune in code. It is expected to run on a system on a chip from Intel or AMD. No details about battery life, or price…but many observers think it will be a notch above the $299 list price for the Nintendo Switch. 

On the heels of backpedaling about using lidar, which we just reported, now Elon Musk says Tesla will drop radar from the Model 3 and Model Y. According to thenextweb.com, the Muskman claims they will be able to do just fine with only TeslaVision…that is, cameras, when it comes to self-driving. Actually, as has been noted by people inside the auto business and out, cars will really need a combination of cameras, radar, and lidar if they are ever to be fully self-driving. Tesla is keeping radar on the Model S and Model X, so it really appears to be purely a cost-cutting move. 

Possible 10 New US Chip Factories; Apple WWDC in 2 Weeks; Peloton Factory Coming to US, Musk Backtracks-Tesla Deal for Lidar

After the pandemic has made a hash of worldwide supply chains for over a year, more firms are looking at bringing manufacturing back to the US. Now, Reuters reports that US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in Senate testimony that a boost of $52 billion in government funding for semiconductor production and research could sprout 10 new US factories. Of course, Senator Bernie Sanders whined about giving money to the rich tech sector….but 10 new US factories would employ a decent number of US employees in good paying jobs, and that is nothing to sneeze at. Considering the global chip shortage that has hampered the auto industry’s comeback, in addition to the computer and electronic devices that have had to throttle back production, it seems like a worthwhile expenditure. In 1990, the US made 37% of semiconductors and microelectronics. Today that number is around 12%.

Apple WWDC is less than 2 weeks away, kicking off with a keynote on June 7th at 10AM Pacific. According to zdnet.com, Cupertino should preview iOS 15, iPad OS 15, WatchOS 8, MacOS 12, and TVOS 15. Other than that, the biggest rumor to seep out so far is a major redesign to the PAD OS home screen, which will let users put widgets anywhere, like iOS users can do. The invite features several Memoji faces, and the tag line….’And away we go.’ If not a purposeful one, that’s at least an inadvertent hat tip to the Great One, the late Jackie Gleason…who used to start every show with that line. 

Despite the fallout from a death and some 70 injuries involving its treadmills lately, Peloton is moving to build its first dedicated factory in the US. Cnet.com says the Peloton Output Park will make the Bike, Bile Plus, and Tread products. the plant will be in Wood County, Ohio. It should employ around 2,000 workers when finished, and will operate using renewable energy sources. Peloton said that the pandemic has “demonstrated the need to on-shore manufacturing and rebuild supply chains.” The factory will be up and running by 2023. 

After bad-mouthing lidar earlier as a ‘crutch’ a while back, Elon Musk has backtracked. Theverge.com reports that Tesla has partnered up with Luminar to use lidar for ‘testing and developing.’ It seems logical to add lidar to the mix…cameras alone won’t really get us to full self-driving. In fact, it may take a cocktail of cameras, lidar, and radar…plus the computers in car interacting with other nearby vehicles…to really make that dream come true. Lidar units have been spotted lately on a Model Y, a Cybertruck prototype, and another Tesla model…all with Tesla manufacturer license tags. 

Samsung 43 Inch Studio Monitor; Ford F-150 Lightening Pro; Beats Studio Buds Get FCC Go-Ahead; Pro-Palestine Activists Ding Facebook Ranking

So…a 27 or 32-inch monitor isn’t enough screen for you? You’re in luck…Samsung is rolling out a 43-inch Smart Monitor. Engadget.com notes that that is a size lending itself to both productivity and entertainment. It has built in speakers, and the smart TV functionality runs on the Tizen OS, letting you stream Netflix or Amazon Prime without powering on your computer. While this seems like overkill for productivity, it will be nice for entertainment. I have a Samsung smart TV of about that size, and can easily mirror my laptop screen on it, so Samsung will do well to keep the price down. None has been released yet, but the 27-incher is $230 and the 32-inch one runs $400. 

Ford has released more info about its upcoming F-150 Lightning electric pickup. According to arstechnica.com, the previous info wass that the base priced model starts at $39,974 before incentives or tax credits, and has a 230 mile range. Today, Ford announced that the pro model, with 300 mile range, will tart at $49,974…also before incentives and credits. They are putting together an online tool for fleet managers and commercial customers for them to calculate the cost of going electric. At rollout, Ford expects to have 644 EV certified Ford Commercial vehicle centers around the country, on top of Ford’s 2,300 EV certified dealerships. The pro version will lack some of the whistles and bells of the pimped out top line trucks, but will have some cool features. It will have the 2.4kW onboard AC power outlets..with option to upgrade to 9.6kW. They will also offer their Co-Pilot 360 2.0 driver assistance system…but NOT the Blue Cruise hands-free system. 

In the latest release of iOS that went to developers, new Beats Studio Buds showed up. Now, 9to5mac.com says those buds have gotten the official FCC sign-off, so they could be unveiled at any time. As with most higher end buds, there will be a true wireless design and a smart charging case, in addition to Noise Cancellation. They will have the easy pairing chip and Siri support built in. No hint of cost, but the present Powerbeats Pro model sells for $199. 

In a twist to the old boycott technique for protesting about the behavior of companies, pro-Palestine activists have flooded Apple and Google’s app stores with 1-star ratings for Facebook. According to theverge.com, this is in protest of what they see ass Facebook’s censorship of Palestinian accounts on the platform. Apparently, Facebook is treating this with a pretty high level of priority. As of yesterday, the Facebook app on iOS at the Apple App Store was 2.3 out of 5! It was at 2.4 out of 5 on Google’s! Neither Apple nor Google had a comment, and Facebook didn’t respond for requests to comment, either. 

Google I/O Highlights; Amazon ‘Pauses’ Selling Facial Recognition Software to Police; Auto-Transcribe Zoom Meetings With Otter

Google kicked off I/O yesterday, and there is a lot of buzz about the new Android 12 look. Theverge.com reports that one of the big features is allowing more customization of the interface and apps by users. 

On a less whimsical note, there is also a new privacy dashboard. The beta is out. Google has also made Workspace more connected. They are touting ‘smart canvas,’ and you should find it easier to work between products. Included is the ability to start a Meet video call right from Google Doc, Sheet, or Slide.

On the Wear front, a big move…Wear OS and Samsung’s Tizen are being rolled into one platform. The result should be more seamless operation, faster app launches, and extended battery life. 

The AR Live View tool has more info in Maps now. Different restaurants at different times of the day and points of interest will be featured, in addition to being able to see how busy an area of town is. 

Digital car keys will come to ‘select Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones.’ Right now, BMW is the only car maker supporting, just as they were the first with Apple’s iOS.

There has been no shortage of criticism of Amazon’s facial recognition software, and its use by police agencies. Now, according to cnet.comm, Amazon will pause sale of the software to police ‘indefinitely.’ There have been numerous accounts of the Rekognition software disproportionately misidentified women and also people with dark skin tones, incorrectly flagging them as matches to photographs. Amazon had already paused selling the software after the killing of George Floyd, but it was due to start back up next month. 

Couldn’t make the Zoom meeting, but really need a recap of what went on? Now, there’s a way. Mashable.com says that Otter Assistant can be linked to your Google or Microsoft Outlook calendar, and can instantly join and transcribe meetings as they happen…with a link shared to the attendees. Attendees can even collaborate on the transcription, highlighting parts, or adding slides. The Assistant is available with Otter.ai Business accounts, which run $20 a month. 

MacBook Pros With Apple Silicon Coming Soon; Twitter ‘Blue’; Amazon Go Becomes Amazon Fresh

Apple is preparing to roll out multiple redesigned Macs with the new Apple silicon…starting this summer. Appleinsider.com reports that there will be a Mac mini, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro freshen. A new report indicates that the Pros may even drop this summer, with the redesigned Air debuting by the end of the year. The Pro will have two different processor options. Both will have 8 performance cores and 2 efficient ones, but there will be versions with either 16 or 32 graphics cores.  They will reportedly support up to 64GB of Unified RAM, up from 16 gigs in the present MacBook Pros. It’ unclear if the refreshed Pros will have the M1 chip or the successor that is in the works. There will be a MagSafe charging port, HDMI, and SD card support, as well more Thunderbolt ports that the present model. 

The rumored Twitter paid service, ‘Twitter Blue,’ will apparently cost $2.99 a month, and will carry exclusive features. Mashable.com says the premium features will include tools for better organizing bookmarks and an ‘undo’ button that will let users delete a Tweet within a certain time frame. It’s not known at this point if the ‘Blue’ features will be included in the ’Super Follow’ Twitter announced in February. That one is $4.99 a month, and lets users subscribe to certain accounts for exclusive content. 

Amazon is rebranding its Amazon Go Grocery stores as Amazon Fresh, and closing the store near Microsoft’s HQ in Redmond. According to geekwire.com, Amazon plans to continue to open the larger Amazon Fresh markets with the smart grocery carts and cashier-less checkout. The employees at the Redmond store are being transferred to a new store opening up in Bellevue, WA. It and one in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle will remain the two stores in that area for now, although 2 more will be opened soon.