Galaxy S21 Leaks; iPhone 13-Apple Back on Schedule; Facebook Launches Collab-Experimental Music Video App; Amazon Sidewalk & ‘Forced Opt-In’

There have been a myriad of leaks about the Samsung Galaxy S21 already, but over the weekend, there was a video out that shows the handset…apparently the real thing…working alongside a new iPhone, so you can see the smaller bezels and flat screen. Theverge.com reports that the S21 continues with a hole punch selfie cam, as opposed to the much maligned notch of the Apple phones. The new S21 phones should out next month, with a standard, a Plus, and an Ultra model. The Ultra has 5 rear cams, and the S21 and Plus feature 3. The S21 has a 6.2 inch screen, the Plus 6.7 inch, and the Ultra 6.8 inch. Like Apple’s latest, all the Samsung phones will have 5G.

As we see the vaccine for COVID-19 go into arms today, the hope is for a lot more relative normalcy in 2021. One of those normal things apparently will be the release of the iPhone 13 series. According to 9to5mac.com, noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is advising that the production and release schedule should be in the normal range for the next iPhone models…so we can expect all of them to be rolled out in mid-September 2021, as most have been in the past. Kuo also says iPhone 12 Pro sales are staying strong, and that, in fact, they are better than expected. The only hitch is that Apple is having supply issues with the Sony cam sensors used in the 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max. Ah, normal…what a concept!

Facebook has released a public version of Collab, their experimental app for making collaborative music videos. Techcrunch.com says it is available at the App Store. With the pandemic, and live music pretty well non-existent, this will allow musicians to work together, and even let non-pros to sing and play along with one another in videos. The app handles the complexities of audio and video syncing, and gives you a tool to move your clip back into alignment with the one you are playing with to sync up just right. You can also use external audio interfaces and bring in your keyboards, guitars, and drum sets to the mix. Note that the app does not have direct integration to Facebook, but links can be shared to your Instagram Story or even TikTok. 

Amazon has started automatically activating Sidewalk in the Echo and other devices. According to geekwire.com, the Sidewalk program was initially announced as a solution for connectivity for small Internet of Things gadgets…like pet trackers or Tile. It seems intrusive, to carve out a bit of your home network to keep things always connected, but right now it only works for Amazon customers and Sidewalk-enabled devices. The wireless Sidewalk taps into ‘is encrypted and capped to segregate it from the rest of the customer’s traffic and minimize disruption.’ according to Amazon. 

This is not unlike Comcast’s Xfinity Wi-Fi, which is beamed out from your Comcast cable modem/router, and can be accessed by any Xfinity customer wherever the service appears. The issue is the ‘forced opt-in’ part. When you lease a Comcast modem, you have to agree to the semi-public channel. You can opt out, but it’s a big hassle. While Amazon is mainly following Comcast’s model, they do get a gold star for actually giving notice about Sidewalk. They even give steps in an email about opting out without having to hunt for a support website. This forced opt-in could be pretty common in the future, and probably needs some government oversight…at least to make firms give clear notice and clear, simple ways to choose to opt out!

FTC & 48 States Sue Facebook; Amazon Launches HealthLake; YouTube Bans Videos Claiming Trump Won; Hackers Grab COVID-19 Vaccine Documents

The FTC and a coalition of the attorneys general from 48 states have sued Facebook in two separate actions filed today. CNBC reports that the suits target two of Facebook’s major acquisitions….Instagram and WhatsApp. Both seek remedies for alleged anticompetitive conduct, and would likely require Facebook to divest the two apps. Facebook has only responded by noting that they are reviewing the suits and ‘we will have more to say soon. Years after the FTC cleared our acquisitions, the government now wants a do-over with no regard for the impact that precedent would have on the broader business community or the people who choose our products every day.”

Amazon has launched HealthLake, a new platform for storing and analyzing healthcare data. According to venturebeat.com, Amazon is saying the service will give health care services a way to store, transform, and analyze petabytes of life science data in Amazon Web Services. HealthLake is HIPAA eligible and it can automatically understand and extract medical information including rules, procedures, and diagnoses in real time. Amazon claims it will be able to accept data from a number of differing sources, then allow the health care professionals to analyze and monitor….for example, whether a patient has been properly prescribed a drug, pulling out information from blood glucose monitoring systems, physicians notes, insurance forms and lab reports, and more to inform its conclusions. The AI healthcare market is expected to be a $19 billion dollar market by 2026. 

Effective today, YouTube is all done with bogus claims about the US election. Arstechnica.com says the Google subsidiary posted that “We will start removing any piece of content uploaded today (or anytime after) that misleads people by alleging that widespread fraud or errors changed the outcome of the 2020 US Presidential election.” Now that most of Trump’s legal challenges have been thrown out of court, YouTube says that the legitimacy of Biden’s election is no longer up for debate.

Hackers hit the European Medicines Agency, and were able to get documents related to approved COVID-19 vaccines. Cnet.com reports that the agency reviews vaccine effectiveness. They didn’t say what documents had been stolen. The prime suspects are from Russia, China, and North Korea, all of which have targeted pharma firms working on COVID-19 vaccines.. BioNTEch…which is the partner with Pfizer, said its own servers were intact. 

Uber Sells Self-Driving Unit; Apple Announces AirPods Max Over Ear Headphones; Dish-$210 Million Telemarketing Fine; Mercedes May Bring eSprinter to US

Uber is exiting the self-driving biz. The company has sold Uber ATG to startup Aurora (backed by Sequoia Capital and Amazon) for $10 billion. Techcrunch.com reports that the deal isn a complicated one which includes NO cash. It will give the combined company a valuation of the $10 billion. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will take a board seat in the newly expanded Aurora. Aurora intends to bring autonomous trucks to market before other vehicles, but they are still planning to enter the robotaxi market with their full self-driving stack later on. 

No big dog-and-pony show at the spaceship campus in Cupertino streamed over the net, but Apple today announced the AirPods Max Over Ear headphones with noise cancellation. According to macrumors.com, they will sell for…are you sitting down? $549…yes, that’s just for the cans! They are available for order today, and feature high-fidelity audio (one would hope for THAT price!), Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, and spatial audio. The pricey cans will ship December 15th. You can choose from 5 colors: space gray, silver, sky blue, green, and pink. 

Dish Network just got whacked by the DOJ to the tune of $210 million for telemarketing violations. The Department of Justice posted that it will include $126 million in civil penalties, and $84 million to four states for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The case was filed clear back in 2009 and went to trial in 2016….but was just settled. The states are California, Illinois, North Carolina, and Ohio. The suit had claimed that Dish made millions of unlawful telemarketing calls..some 66 million in fact. They were also charged with getting retailers to make even more telemarketing calls. 

Mercedes announced an eSprinter for the Euro market earlier this year, but with no plans for a US model. The reason for no US model was supposedly limited range. Now, cnet.com reports that Stuttgart is considering rolling out a US model in 2023. It appears the US model would be beefed up with a 120 kWh battery to increase range, The Euro one on sale now only has a 55 kWh battery pack. Ford’s planned electric cargo van only has a 55 kWh pack right now. Amazon has ordered 100,000 e-vans from startup Rivian, and Mercedes is no doubt looking at the expanding delivery market here a lot more positively now. 

Samsung-600 MP Sensor; Apple Blazes Ahead To All-ARM MacBooks; Amazon Zoox Robotaxi Spotted; Bond-James Bond-Free on YouTube

Two ’21 MacBook Pros Getting mini-LEDs; GPU Shipments Up; Waymo’s New Mock City; 5 Tech Firms’ Employees Rate Them

Noted Apple watcher analyst Ming-Chi-Kuo predicts that Cupertino will roll out 2 MacBook Pro models next year that will use mini LED screens. According to appleinsider.com, one will be the new 14 inch MacBook Pro, which will also have a redesigned form factor. Kuo also sees a new, ‘more affordable’ MacBook Air in 2022. The advantage to mini LED screens is they can be located all through the backlight layer of the screen….giving a more even lighting and higher level of contrast, but at a price point lower than OLEDs. While they DO cost more than the present LEDs, Kuo says Apple will make up the difference with savings from using their own silicon. Kuo also makes a rather amazing prediction that apple will be shipping some 30 million MacBook Pro and Air models by 2023. 

With the work from home boom due to the pandemic, consumers have been snapping up new computers, and that has pushed demand for GPUs way up. Nvidia, Intel, and AMD are reporting a 10.8% increase in shipments during third quarter, year over year. Venturebeat.com reports that the overall PC market increased 9.47% year over year. Discrete GPUs from AMD and Nvidia were up 13.44% quarter to quarter. 

Waymo is opening a couple of new autonomous vehicle facilities, which include a dense, simulated urban area to test out the self-driving abilities of their cars. Slashgear.com says a new R&D facility for self-driving trucks will open in Menlo Park, CA some time next year. They are also working with Transportation Research Center in East Liberty, Ohio. That one will be primarily for cars. Waymo already has a 91 acre city mock up at Castle Air Force Base in Merced, CA. 

Anonymous professional network Blind used it’s BlindHub data analysis tool to see what employees thought of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Apple, and Google. Zdnet.com reports how things stacked up, considering best leadership teams and companies with most equal opportunities. In the top slot…Los Gatos based Netflix. 67% of Netflix employees said they would recommend it as a great place to work. #2 was Facebook, where 42% said that about the social net firm. Apple, Google, and Amazon following along behind. 

Salesforce Buys Slack; Samsung May Drop High End Galaxy Notes; Nikola Cancels Badger PU; Zoom Revenue Quadruples

In a deal that’s been rumored for at least a week, Salesforce has announced it is picking up Slack for a whopping $27.7 billion! Techcrunch.com reports that Marc Benioff, Salesforce’s CEO is saying “This is a match made in heaven. Together, Salesforce and Slack will shape the future of enterprise software and transform the way everyone works in the all-digital, work-from-anywhere world.” This will put Salesforce in direct competition with rival and frenemy Microsoft, as it will allow Salesforce to compete directly with Teams…which Slack has been doing, but now with the financial muscle of Salesforce. 

Samsung appears poised to drop its premium Galaxy Note phone next year. According to Reuters, it’s due to a sharp drop in demand for high end smart phones due to the coronavirus pandemic. Samsung will still offer its top line Galaxy S phone, but will no longer have a phablet with a large screen and stylus as a separate product. The Galaxy S21 will have a stylus instead, and apparently the company will also add a stylus to their big foldable phone. 

In a move that has hit their stock hard, Nikola has announced that the deal they tentatively had with General Motors won’t happen. Arstechnica.com says GM won’t take a position in Nikola as previously indicated, but will furnish fuel cells to Nikola’s future big rig trucks. Nikola had planned on having GM build the Badger for them, but the General decided not to allow a re-badged GM vehicle be sold by the fledgling alternate fuel vehicle firm. In a controversy earlier, the CEO of Nikola, Trevor Milton, had to leave when it was disclosed that the big rig the company had showed off as being an actual prototype was a fake, and was filmed rolling down hill….not moving on its own. 

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin asked in song years ago, ‘Who’s Zooming Who,’ and it turned out it’s all of us! Zoom continues to mint money as people work from home during the pandemic. Theverge.com reports that Zoom has again quadrupled revenue year over year. The third quarter haul was $777 million in revenue. Zoom says they expect to quadruple revenue year over year again in the 4th quarter. The company claims 433,700 subscribers with over 10 employees…up from 370,000 last quarter. 

Tesla Sentry Expansion; China Leads Data Flows; Apple Fitness+; Facebook & Looted Goods

Tesla’s Sentry Mode is about to bring things to a whole new level by enabling Tesla owners to remotely see what their cars can see through Autopilot cameras. Electrek.co reports that Tesla is planning a big software update, to be pushed to its fleet around the holidays. The rumor is that the automaker is working on letting owners remote livestream what their cars’ see with their Autopilot cameras. Everything is apparently going to be handled through the app.Tesla owners can already have an extensive look at the status of their vehicles, including the doors open or close, same for windows, charge port, and more.

Back in 2001, the U.S. was the dominant country when it came to cross-border data flows. But the global data order is changing rapidly. Nikkei.com says China now accounts for 23% of cross-border data flows, nearly twice the share of the U.S., which ranks a distant second with 12%. And the Chinese lead could turn into a dominant advantage as the formerly world-spanning internet shatters into the “splinternet”: a balkanized mosaic of information networks marked off by national borders. The source of Beijing’s power lies in its connections with the rest of Asia. While the U.S. accounted for 45% of data flows in and out of China in 2001, that figure dropped to just 25% last year.

Promotion for Apple Fitness+ is ramping up, with advertising initiatives and teases from instructors being spotted on social media, indicating that the new subscription service may be launching imminently. Macrumors.com notes that Best Buy has started advertising six-month free trials of Apple Fitness+ with Apple Watch purchases. As retailers have started to actively promote Apple Fitness+, the service’s launch is likely to follow soon. In addition, Apple Fitness+ instructors have begun promoting their workout videos on Instagram.  Priced at $9.99 per month, Fitness+ is designed to help Apple Watch users keep fit through a series of guided workouts.

The black market for looted goods is flourishing on Facebook. While the company banned the sale of historical artifacts in June, many of the posts are in Arabic, and Facebook lacks the expertise to properly enforce its new policy. According to theverge.com, when Facebook is able to identify groups that flout its guidelines, experts say the company simply deletes them, expunging crucial documentation for researchers studying stolen art. Facebook has effectively created a problem and rather than turning that into something they could contribute to, they are making it worse. Facebook had no comment about this situation.

Netflix, Amazon, Electrify America, Apple, & American Express

Ho, ho, ho! Now that Netflix did another round of price increases, Hulu has gifted its Live TV customers with an 18% price increase just ahead of Christmas— on December 18. Reported by TechCrunch, the company confirmed that its Hulu + Live plans will be jumping about 18% for both existing and new customers.The Hulu + Live plan that was $54.99 is increasing to $64.99 and the ad-free version is going from $60.99 to $70.99. The price changes only appear to be affecting the Hulu plans with Live TV. 

A little over two years after its $753 million acquisition of the prescription medicine delivery service Pillpack, Amazon has finally launched Amazon Pharmacy, its online and mobile prescription medication ordering and fulfillment service. Techcrunch.com says that through Amazon’s portal, you can even speak to pharmacists either via web or over the phone, for advice…24/7! Online pharmacy services are projected to hit revenues of $131 billion by 2025 worldwide. 

A big plus of Tesla’s Superchargers has been ease of use. Now, fast charging at an Electrify America station just got a lot more seamless. Arstechnica.com reports the company has now implemented Plug&Charge, which enables an electric car to talk to the charger and handle authentication and billing. So far, 2021 Porsche Taycans, Lucid Airs, and Ford Mustang Mach-Es will all support Plug&Charge, and expect more cars to add the feature soon. 

Apple has announced a reduction to its longstanding App Store commission rate, as part of a new program for small businesses. According to theverge.com, the new App Store Small Business Program will allow any developer who earns less than $1 million in annual sales per year from all of their apps to qualify for a reduced App Store cut of 15 percent, half of Apple’s standard 30 percent fee, on all paid app revenue and in-app purchases.

American Express is deepening its integration with Apple Pay. The company has announced today that when you’re approved for a new American Express credit card, you can now instantly add that card to Apple Pay and begin using it immediately. According to 9to5mac.com, once you’ve added your new American Express Card to Apple Pay, you can use it in retail stores, online, and in-app, just like you can do with any other card via Apple Pay. There’s more info at Amex’s website. 

Older MacBook Pro? Wait On Update to Big Sur; 1.4 Million Dumped from Airbnb-Wouldn’t Sign No-Bigotry Agreement; Samsung Galaxy S21 Leak; Hyundai Looks to Flying Cars

Last week, Apple released the latest update to the macOS, Big Sur. Macrumors.com and others have reported that a substantial numbers of late 2013 and mid 2014 13-inch MacBook Pros have had their laptops bricked when they tried to update to the new OS. Reports have popped up in the Apple Support communities, on Reddit, and have reportedly hit a large enough numbers that things have been escalated to Apple’s engineering team. Until this issue is resolved, and an update to Big Sur comes out, stay away from updating if you are running an older Mac…or you are running complex software that the developer recommends holding off for now…as is true of Universal Audio, Avid, and others. 

Bigotry is alive and well in a segment of the hospitality industry, calling into question the hospitality of some. According to gizmodo.com, Airbnb had to ban 1.4 million individuals because they declined to click ‘accept’ on the company’s non-discrimination agreement. Black guests have shared numerous instances of being denied bookings based on their avatars, which has resulted in multiple lawsuits. Although 1.4 million is a substantial number, Airbnb hosts some 7 million rentals worldwide. 

Android Police has seen an official press blurb, which has now been confirmed by multiple sources. They say there will be 3 models of the S21, like the S20…a regular, a Plus, and an Ultra. You will have a choice of Phantom Violet, Phantom Gray, Phantom White, and Phantom Pink for the S21. The S21+ will feature Phantom Sliver, Phantom Black, and Phantom Violet. For the Ultra, it’s only Phantom Silver and Phantom Black. The handsets will run on Snapdragon 875 (yet to be released), and Exynos 2100. It appears they will all be 5G compatable, but only the Ultra will have WiFi 6E support…which Samsung claims is 2X faster than standard WiFi 6. Cameras appear to be the same on the S21 and + models as on the 20, but the Ultra will have an improved 108MP sensor. There will be two telephoto sensors…a 3x optical telephoto, and a 10x optical ‘super’ telephoto. 

Hyundai is high on flying cars. In fact, they are planning a full lineup of airborne vehicles. Bloomberg.com reports that they will offer models that will carry 5-6 people and flit around metro areas, as well ass bigger ones to fly between cities. A Morgan Stanley analysis finds that this sector of flying vehicles could lead to a $2.9 trillion dollar industry by 2040…a pessimistic view even shows a value of $615 billion. Airbus, Boeing, and startup Lilium, and Chinese maker XPeng are hot on the path to the skies. Happy landings!

Apple’s New Macs With ARM Chips EU Charges Amazon With Breaking Competition Law; Uber- Users Can book 30 Days Ahead and Pick Drivers

Apple showed off their previously announced Arm chips for Macs today in a record short online presentation…only 45 minutes! Theverge.com reports that the new M1 chip will give the upgraded Macs the longest battery life ever in a Mac…by a considerable amount. The new chip will power the MacBook Air, the entry level 13 inch MacBook Pro, and the Mac Mini for now. All other Macs will continue to use Intel silicon. Power efficiency gets a huge boost…the Arm chips are noted fr that. It is also faster Apple plans to move all Macs over to the new processors in the next couple years. The new MacBook Air will stay at $999, and the Pro at $1299. The Mac Mini starts at $699. Preorders are open now, and the new Macs ship next week.

The European Union’s top competition regulator filed charges against Amazon today, claiming that the online giant has abused its size, position, and access to data to gain unfair advantages over competitors. According to arstechinca.com, the EU’s statement of objections flows from Amazon’s ‘dual role’ in e-commerce..i.e. as both a retailer and a platform for third-party retailers. As a platform, Amazon has access to proprietary data about all those other merchants’ online business, which it then gathers and uses anticompetitively to get a leg up in its own retail operations, the EU alleges. In the US, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have been investigating Amazon for similar reasons. 

Uber is bowing a new feature this week. Techcrunch.com says users will be able to reserve a ride up to 30 days in advance, and can pick a favorite driver. The feature is intended to try to bring in new customers during the ongoing pandemic. It’s called Uber Reserve, and should show up on your app this week.