AirPods Pro Get FDA Approved as Hearing Aids; EVgo & GM Roll Out Fast Charger Stations; Harris Did Not Have Audio Earrings; Trump Media Dropped After Debate
Posted: September 12, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AirPods, Apple, Headphones, Tech, technology Leave a commentComing quickly after Apple rolled out its new AirPods Pro 2 with hearing testing and the ability to be used as hearing aids, the FDA has now approved Cupertino’s selling of the devices as such. Techcrunch.com reports that the FDA on Thursday announced that it has granted what it calls “the first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid software device, Hearing Aid Feature.” Specifically, it has approved the software update that enables that functionality. With the AirPods Pro 2 selling for $249, and most hearing aids costing $600 to several thousand, this is significant. The AirPods Pro 2 are designed to help with mild to moderate hearing loss. You can upload the results of the apple hearing test to a doctor, too.
EVgo and GM have unveiled their fast charger station ‘experience.’ So what exactly does that mean? Well, the General and EVgo will configure fast charging electric vehicle stations like gas stations, with the chargers where gas pumps usually are, and a well lighted canopy above. According to arstechnica.com, the chargers will be rated for 350Kw, so that an 800 volt EV can minimize charging time. It is expected that both J3400 and CCS1 type plugs will be available on each charger. Most stations will have up to 20 charging stalls. All they need now is to add a stop and rob with chips and other munchies to snack on while you wait for your EV to charge up. the first one will open next year…with earliest states getting them being Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New York, and Texas.
The internet, particularly X, lit up with rumors that Kamala Harris was wearing audio earrings at the debate with Donald Trump…and was being fed answers. Engadget.com says some were claiming she was using Nova’s H1 Audio Earrings. There’s a problem with that little conspiracy though…those were from a failed Kickstarter project and wrecked actually never made or sold. Nova’s website was picked up by a guy in Germany who plans to make such earpieces…it’s called Icebach Sound Solutions…but yep…those aren’t available either. Maybe she just did her homework!
The debate between Ex-President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris sure didn’t help Trump Media. CNBC notes that on Wednesday, the day after, the share price dived more than 10%. The stock closed at its lowest price since it started publicly trading. As of this report it is down 3% at 16.18.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Huawei Tri-Fold Phone-Eye-Popping Price; Google Loses EU Shopping Antitrust Decision; Apple Loses EU Tax Dispute; Tesla Reveals Wireless Home EV Charging Patents
Posted: September 10, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: antitrust, Apple, business, Google, technology Leave a commentWe just reported about Huawei’s launch of the world’s first trifold phone, just an hour and a half after Apple’s big show yesterday. The verge.com reports that we now know that this new trifold phone will cost a wallet destroying $2809…that’s $300 bucks more than a 16 inch MacBook Pro. The Mate XT Ultimate Design comes with 16 Gigs of RAM, and you can get up to a terabyte of RAM…for $3370…almost the price of Apple’s nosebleed priced Vision Pro headset. The double hinge folds in a Z shape, allowing a number off formats…and fully open, you do get a 10.2 inch screen…or you can use it partially open and have a 7.9 inch screen. It does come with a 5600 mAh battery, a 50 MP main cam, and 12MP ultra wide and 12MP periscope cam. Thinking about a screen the size of my iPad with two creases, I think I will stick to multiple devices…like a phone, tablet, and laptop…but if you want to be the first kid on your block…now you know what it will set you back.
Google has again lost in its attempt to overturn an antitrust decision by the European Commission dating from 2017. According to techcrunch.com, Alphabet, parent company of Google, will have to cough up about $2.7 billion dollars as a penalty, and will have to make changes to how it operates its service. The Court of Justice of the EU wrote in a press release about their opinion “[I]n light of the characteristics of the market and the specific circumstances of the case, Google’s conduct was discriminatory and did not fall within the scope of competition on the merits.” EU Competition Chief Margrethe Vestager said “It was one of the first significant antitrust cases brought by a competition agency against a major digital company and I think this case marked a pivotal shift in how digital companies were regulated and also perceived.” Google put out a statement saying it was disappointed with the ruling. This is the highest EU court, so probably the end of the line for Google…they will have to comply with EU rules on competition.
A day after Apple’s big gear fest, when they rolled out the new iPhones, Watches, and the rest, the EU’s Court of Justice affirmed the EU Commission decision of 2016 which found that Ireland gave illegal tax benefits to Apple worth 13 billion Euros between 1991 and 2014. Macrumors.com says Ireland will now be required to recover those funds…which Apple had to deposit in an escrow account 6 years ago. The Commission’s decision had been reversed in 2020 by the EU General Court, but the Court of Justice has now set that aside, so Ireland will collect. Ireland actually had sided with Apple, but said it would respect the Court of Justice decision. Apple made a filing today with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, saying that the company would take a one-time income tax charge in their 4th fiscal quarter…which ends September 30th. The amount in dollars is up to $10 billion. Not too bad a hit for a company worth trillions.
Several patent applications indicate that Tesla is working on wireless home charging for its cars. This is not a first…BMW has had it for a while now, but with Tesla’s large customer base, it would be quite a move to have wireless charging more widely available. Electrek.co notes that this is pretty well a first world problem..after all, you can have plug in charging wired into your garage if you have a garage…and if you don’t, wireless won’t help anyway. Still, it would automate the task. You’d just park in the garage over the charging pad at night, and you’re ready to go in the morning. The Cybertruck is being built with inductive charging connectors, and it appears like they are something that could be retrofitted to a Tesla sedan or SUV….for a princely price, of course!
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘technified’ for now.
Apple Hardware Event ’24 Recap
Posted: September 9, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Apple Watch, iPhone, Tech, technology Leave a commentMore time was spent on the Watches than usual…rivaling the amount spent on the iPhones.
The new Apple Watch 10’s get a larger screen with 30% more screen area. The corners are more rounded corners and the Watch is slimmer. Apple says it is 40% brighter at an angle. It now updates every second instead of every minute, but is more power efficient. They showed a new Jet Black aluminum finish. A new Rose Gold also joins the silver aluminum color.
The Watch is 10% thinner than the Watch 9 and 10% lighter. It has 50 meter water resistance. Now, there’s a larger and more efficient charging coil. Expect 30 minutes to 80% charge and 18 hour battery life. Recycled aerospace titanium is the other case material. It comes in natural, gold, and slate grey. The sizes are 42mm and 46mm..not as large as predicted. Watch 10 Starts at $399, available to preorder today, out on Sept. 20th.
Watch Ultra 2 has dual GPS, auto track detection. auto stroke detection and lap count for swimmers. It supports off line maps. There is a new finish….satin black. all are 95% recycled grade 5 titanium. The Ultra 2 starts at $799. Again…preorder today, available Sept. 20th.
The new Air Pods 4 run the H2 chip…Apple claims richer bass and crystal clear highs. They also tout ‘Personalized’ spatial audio. Now, you can nod yes or shake head no to accept or ignore calls. Apple says the 4 has better noise suppression than before. the charging case is smaller and has USB-C. You get 30 hours of charge including case.
An active noise cancellation version is now available for the Air Pods 4 and what they call transparency mode. They will switch from regular to quiet mode automatically. The sound also drops in level when they sense you are talking to someone, which will be handy. The case has a speaker to help use Find My.
AirPods 4 start at $129, the Active Noise Cancellation ones are $179. Preorder today, available the 20th, as with the Watches.
AirPods Max get new color, personalized spatial audio, and USB-C charging. Same price as before. Basically, they are unchanged.
AirPods Pro 2 gets new features to help protect hearing. Hearing protection is on as a default. They are introducing a 5 min hearing test that will run on iPhone and is developed from their 100,000 person hearing study. AirPods Pro will have over the counter hearing aid feature, which you can use after running the haring test. Easy to use pro grade hearing aid.
The new iPhone 16s are designed for Apple Intelligence from the ground up. Teal and Pink join other colors. The sizes are 6.1 inches for the 16, 6.7 inches for 16 Plus. They get the New Camera Control button. You can press or slide finger to adjust the cam parameters.
The 16s run the new A18 chip, optimized to run generative models. The phone is 30% faster than last year but more energy efficient…it uses 30% less power. The new 5 core GPU is 40% faster than last year, at 35% less power.
Apple Intelligence—Apple says it will key to you but stay on the phone to protect your privacy. As touted last summer, some features will access the Private Cloud Compute off-phone. Your data only runs on the secure servers…they are allowing outside experts to check them on this.
Apple is integrating writing tools into all the apps that you write with, to help you write better. You can also make your own emoji by writing descriptions.
For Photos, if you type in a description to find one you can’t, AI will go look for it and find it for you. It can also stitch related pics into a little movie like sequence.
In Mail, you can get a little summary of the message, not just the subject line. They claim Siri will be more natural, more personally relevant, and maybe it will actually work well…that would be a first. You can type to Siri instead of dictate for more privacy. Messages can use satellite now where WiFi isn’t available…on 4 continents.
Price same as last year on the iPhone16’s. $799 and $899.
As for the iPhone Pros, the screen sizes grow to 6.3” on Pro and 6.9” for Pro Max. Smaller bezels help keep the actual device size from growing quite as much to accommodate the new screens. Colors are black, white, natural, and Desert gold titanium. Without specifying…as usual…Apple says the Pros have larger batteries and advanced power management…they claim best battery life ever.
The Pros get a new A18 Pro chip. More neural engine cores Intelligence features will run 17% faster than on last year’s phone with A17 Pro. New CPU is 15% faster than last year with 20% less power. They claim fastest CPU in any smartphone.
New cam features include a new 48MP fusion cam that can read data 2 times faster, and there’s a new 48MP ultra wide. The 5X telephoto cam is same as before on the Max, but the smaller Pro gets the good 5x telephoto that was exclusive to the Pro Max last year.
There is a new MagSafe charger that is faster and comes in 2 cord lengths, and Qi2 is supported for wireless charging if you don’t want to pay Apple prices for a magnetic charger. Prices stay the same…$999 for Pro and $1199 for Pro Max. Both are
available for preorder this Friday and on sale September 20.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘technified’ for now.
Grok Chatbot Trains on X User Data; Apple Intelligence Delayed Until October in iOS 18.1; DOJ says TikTok Collected User Data on Controversial Issues; Microsoft Will Make Windows Security more Mac-Like
Posted: July 29, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, Microsoft, security, technology Leave a commentThe Grok chatbot Elon Musk has is apparently training on data from any and all X users. According to thenextweb.com, this could get Musk into trouble with the European Union. The data use may be in violation of EU rules. You can make sure you are not included in this. Go to settings in X, and look for a box that is checked by default…it says “Allow your posts as well as your interactions, inputs, and results with Grok to be used for training and fine-tuning.” This may violate the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. That law restricts companies from expanding data collection without telling users, and providing users a clear opt-out.
Apparently Apple Intelligence won’t graduate in time to make it for the rollout of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. If you were all pumped about that shiny new iPhone 16 using Apple Intelligence, macrumors.com reports that you will have to wait until the operating systems’ first updates in October. Apple Intelligence should be released in the upcoming beta versions of the software, probably next week, but Apple must feel it isn’t quite ready for prime time yet. The upgraded Siri with AI was already scheduled to bow next spring.
The Department of Justice went to court late Friday to ask the bench to reject the TikTok bid to have the law to ban it overturned. Engadget.com says the feds name national security concerns that include its alleged use of internal search tools to collect information on users’ views around sensitive topics. The government wrote in its filing that ByteDance has been using a search tool within their Lark suite of tools that “allowed ByteDance and TikTok employees in the United States and China to collect bulk user information based on the user’s content or expressions, including views on gun control, abortion, and religion.” The DOJ also argues in the filings that TikTok could be using the data to subject US users to content manipulation, and that their sensitive information could end up stored on servers in China. TikTok has denied the allegations.
After the CrowdStrike mess, Microsoft has indicated it will make Windows security more Mac-like. What does that mean? 9t5mac.com reports that Redmond will limit kernel access. Microsoft wrote about it on their IT blog. The company won’t be stripping away kernel privileges in a forthcoming Windows update. A shift like this will take significant time. But Microsoft’s direction for the future appears clear. Apple’s strict Mac security protocols don’t allow the same kind of kernel access to third parties as Windows does. This is why Macs weren’t impacted by the CrowdStrike outage. Let’s hope that another CloudStrike-type event doesn’t occur before Microsoft gets restricting kernel access in place.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple-May Finally Use Own Modem Chip; Google Gemini AI Gets Speed Boost; Data Breach Exposes US Spyware Maker; CrowdStrike Offed $10 Uber Eats Voucher-Some Didn’t Work
Posted: July 25, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, Google, Internet, technology Leave a commentApple has been toiling away on its own in-house 5G modem for iPhones for the last 6 years at least. Now, it looks like they finally may be getting near using it in the handsets. Macrumors.com reports that iPhone 17 may get the modem chip in 2025. Apple has been using Qualcomm modems for cellular for quite a while, and they have a deal with Qualcomm that runs through 2026. Apple had scooped up most of Intel’s smartphone modem business back in 2019 for the purpose of making their own 5G modem chips.
Google has upgraded Gemini AI to 1.5 Flash. According to theverge.com, you should see “across-the-board improvements in quality and latency, with especially noticeable improvements in reasoning and image understanding.” The upgrade is available in the free version starting today on both Gemini web and mobile. Google is also going to start rolling out Gemini ‘gradually’ in google Messages in Europe and the UK, and Gemini for teens will be available in over 40 languages ‘in the coming week.’
You have to laugh when a hack exposes a spyware maker! An under the radar Minnesota company called Spytech, which snooped on thousands of devices around the world remotely, was the victim of the hack. Techcrunch.com says the breach of Spytech’s servers contained detailed device activity logs from the phones, tablets, and computers that Spytech monitors, with some of the files dated as recently as early June. The company makes products called Realtime-Spy and SpyAgent, and some others. They have apparently been used to compromise over 10,000 devices since 2013…including Androids, Chromebooks, Macs, and PCs all over the world. The company has advertised the products as keeping tabs on your kids’ devices or ‘on your spouse’s suspicious behavior.’ Sometimes the programs have been called stalker ware. They almost always have to be loaded in by someone with physical access to the device and knowledge of the password. Once installed, they are difficult to detect and remove. The company wouldn’t say that they would notify customers, the people whose devices were monitored, or the US government…as required by law.
In an almost silly move, CrowdStrike offered a $10 voucher for UberEats…some small consolation after more than 8 million had their PCs screwed up by their buggy software update. As Ron Popiel of the Pocket Fisherman and Hollywood Grill used to say…’But wait, there’s more!’ Mashable.com reports that some the vouchers didn’t actually work. Some journalists at TechCrunch.com discovered the secondary fail that came with CrowdStrike’s ‘heartfelt thanks.’ CrowdStrike blames Uber. They say apparently Uber flagged the gifts as fraud because of high usage rates.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Samsung Unpacked Recap; Google One ‘Dark Web Reports’ Coming to All; Microsoft Boosting Xbox Gam Pass Ultimate Prices; Apple Hopes AI Will Boost iPhone Shipments 10% in 2024
Posted: July 10, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, iPhone, Samsung, Smartphone, technology Leave a commentCovering Samsung Galaxy Unpacked events is so different from covering Apple’s. With famously secretive Apple, there is always a lot to reveal. Samsung, on the other hand, tends to leak like a sieve. Anyway, here are some high lights. The titanium Galaxy Ring bowed, loaded with an accelerometer, PPG sensors to measure blood flow, and skin temperature detection. According to engadget.com, It can track metrics such as sleep score, movement during your slumber, heart rate, respiratory rate and menstrual cycles. Samsung will give you an overall Energy Score to help give you a snapshot of your overall health, and it will offer some suggestions on how to improve things. There’s no subscription required. The ring should run 7 days on a charge, and it is priced at $400. It will ship July 24th. The foldable get a fresh coat of paint, so to speak. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6 have a better folding edge to support the dual rail hinge…and they claim the crease is less noticeable. Both have Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for durability. Both rock a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip set. Both the folders got a price bump with the Z Fold 6 starting at $1900 and the Z Flip 6 at $1100. Preorders are open, and they ship July 24th. Samsung rolled out a Galaxy Watch Ultra as a companion to its Galaxy Watch. Like the Apple Ultra Watch, it is aimed at outdoor activities and extreme sports. The Ultra is 47 mm in size, and will set you back $650.00. The Galaxy Watch 7 comes in 40 mm and 44 mm sizes, and it starts at $300. It is also open for preorders, with shipping July 24th.
Google has had ‘Dark web reports’ for Google One subscribers for a while now. With the Google One VPN shutdown in June, Google says the feature will become available to all Google Account holders starting in late July. 9to5google.com reports that after setting up a profile, Google monitors the dark web so you are aware if your personal data has been found in data breaches and leaks. At the time of writing, these reports are available in 46 countries. Instead of requiring the application or login to the Google One service, this information will now be integrated into the “Results about you” section to help you stay aware of any personal data breaches.
Microsoft is goosing up the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in September…it will go to $19.99, up from the present $16.99. Theverge.com says Redmond will also roll out a new ‘standard’ subscription that doesn’t include day-one access to first-party Xbox games for less money. The price hike will hit on September 12th. This all comes as Microsoft is going to add Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and some other big first-party games later this year. The Standard subscription will set you back $14.99 a month.
Apple is shooting for shipping at least 90 million iPhone 16 models in 2024. That’s according to macrumors.com, citing a Bloomberg report. This would be 10% growth over 2023, when Apple shipped 81 million iPhone 15’s. Apple believes that Apple Intelligence will boost demand for the iPhone 16 models, and shore up sales in China, where Xiaomi and Huawei have AI features already, that has helped those brands to cut into iPhone sales there.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple Watch 10 Grows & Siri Gets Smarter-Later; Amazon Updates Echo Spot; MS Notepad Finally Gets Spellcheck; YouTube Improved Eraser Tool
Posted: July 8, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, iPhone, News, technology Leave a commentThere has been more and more buzz about the upcoming Apple Watch 10. Now, 9to5mac.com reports that Mark Gurman in his PowerOn newsletter is confirming that both models of the Watch will have bigger screens…the larger one will be about the size of the Apple Watch Ultra screen. As others have leaked, the new Watch 10 series will be thinner, and will have a more powerful processor…possibly one that can run some of the Apple AI features coming soon. It looks like health features like blood pressure monitoring and sleep apnea monitoring won’t make it by the rollout in September. Apple has hit some speed bumps. Back to the Apple AI…word is, the fully upgraded Siri with AI won’t be ready for September, either. Now, it appears the better Siri will drop with iOS 18.4 in the spring of 2025. There will be some features like Chat GPT integration that will make the big fall Apple extravaganza.
Aș a lead in to Prime Day, Amazon has bowed a refreshed version of the Echo Spot. According to TechCrunch.com, the Alexa-enabled smart alarm clock will sell for $79.99, but Prime members can pick it up on sale right now for $44.99. The upgraded Spot has better visuals and improved audio. It comes in Black, White, or Blue. The display shows alarms, the time, weather, and song titles. There’s a 1.73” front-firing directional speaker that Amazon says delivers ‘clear vocals and deep bass.’ The camera for video calling has been dropped…who ever wanted this in their bedroom, really? It relies on Alexa to set your time, alarms, play songs, make a phone call, or make intercom announcements through your home.
As amazing as it seems, Microsoft Notepad has been around 40 years, and Redmond has never gotten around to giving it spellcheck…until now. Engadget.com says the functionality has just been rolled out in the Notepad app for Windows 11. Not to snark too much, but I write these reports in Apple’s TextEdit, which has had spellcheck for years, and also has other correction features…some of which are irritating when writing about tech….it will un-helpfully change a word that is correct which it doesn’t know. Anyway, back to Microsoft…the spell check works the same as the one in Word or Edge…you see a red underline, then you can right click on the word and get a list of correct spellings. Amazingly, Microsoft has also just now added autocorrect! Maybe it will be smarter than Apple’s…which with some new AI seems to be less helpful than before!
YouTube released an updated eraser tool late last week. The tool makes it easy to remove copyrighted material from a video without affecting other audio like spoken word or sound effects. YouTube chief Neal Mohan posted about the tool on X and said, “Good news, creators: our updated Erase Song tool helps you easily remove copyright-claimed music from your video (while leaving the rest of your audio intact).” They have designed a new AI-powered algorithm that specifically detects and removes the song without impacting other audio in the clip. Note that YouTube says it still isn’t perfect, but it goes a long way towards removal without having to recut the whole video.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
EU Says Apple Breaches the DMA-Big Fine Looms; Amazon’s AI ‘Remarkable Alexa’-for a fee; Google Bringing Gemini Access to Teens in School; Dozens of Cybertrucks Vandalized
Posted: June 24, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, Artificial Intelligence, News, technology Leave a commentThe European Union has announced preliminary findings that Apple is in breach of its Digital Markets Act. 9to5mac.com reports that violating the DMA’s App Store anti-steering rules could get Cupertino socked with and enormous fine…up to 10% of the company’s worldwide revenue. A final decision is expected by March 2025. The DMA rules require that an app store should inform customers of alternative purchase options, direct them to those offers and make those purchases — free of charge. Apple doesn’t do that at present. The DMA does say Apple may charge a fee for facilitating ‘the initial acquisition of a new customer’ via the App Store…it just can’t charge for each ongoing transaction. Expect Apple to fight this.
Amazon is getting set to unleash what they are calling ‘Remarkable Alexa.’ The AI powered version will hit users with a monthly fee of $5-10 a month. According to androidpolice.com, there will still be a free tier of Alexa. Amazon has been playing catch up on the AI front, as has Apple. Remarkable Alexa (sorry, sounds clunky Amazon) will feature improved home automation…although users will probably have to buy additional Alexa-branded hardware to use that. The paid tier won’t be bundled with your Prime subscription, it will be on top of that $139 per year. The company has apparently set a deadline of this August for Remarkable Alexa to be ready, so you early adapters be ready to shell out another $120 a year.
Google has announced that it is bringing its Gemini AI tech to teens using their school accounts. This is in addition to allowing them to access it through personal accounts. Techcrunch.com says that Google believe3s this will help prepare them with skills they will need in the future when generative AI is more commonplace. Google also says it will not use data from chats with students to train and improve its AI models, and has taken steps to ensure it’s bringing this technology to students responsibly. Gemini has guardrails that will prevent inappropriate responses, such as illegal or age-gated substances, from appearing in responses. It will also actively recommend teens use its double-check feature to help them develop information literacy and critical thinking skills.
This was obviously not a Musk super fan or fans. Dozens of Cybertrucks in Fort Lauderdale got a paint job of sorts last week. Someone sprayed the tailgates with ‘EFF’ Elon. Theverge.com reports the trucks were being held on a public parking lot due to a reported warranty problem with the windshield wiper. The tagging was apparently easily removed from the stainless steel trucks. One reporter said it wouldn’t surprise him if Elon started selling EFF Elon decals for a price…as he has monetized insults in the past.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
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