Taking a look back at seven days of news and headlines across the world of Android, this week’s Android Circuit includes the latest Galaxy S21 leaks, a review of the Samsung Dex, Google’s new products, changes to Play Store payments, OnePlus’ missing smartphone, Xiaomi’s Mi 10T and 10T Pro, and the compromises in Microsoft’s Surface Duo.
Next year’s Samsung flagship, the presumptively named Galaxy S21 Ultra, looks to have picked up a new Chinese certification. That offers some more details around the specs of the upcoming smartphone. Domink Bošnjak reports:
“[this leak is] coming out of China, i.e. Chinese telecom authority 3C. The documentation concerns a battery carrying model number EB-BG998ABY. Which is a pretty unambiguous reference to the SM-998, previously identified as the Galaxy S21 Ultra. According to this particular source, the Galaxy S21 Ultra will feature a non-removable battery with a rated capacity of 4,885mAh, amounting to a typical capacity in the ballpark of 5,000mAh”
Samsung’s DeX system allows you to use your Samsung smartphone as the driver for a ‘desktop-like’ experience by hooking the phone into an HDMI monitor, and a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. That’s the theory, how does it work in practice? Zaeem Sawar decided to find out:
“Samsung did a pretty good job with the user interface overall. Everything is nicely laid out and the overall feel is very similar to Chrome OS. I was able to connect my Apple mouse and keyboard pretty easily and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that a lot of the shortcut keys worked with Samsung Dex. I could adjust the brightness, volume, and playback controls directly from the keyboard.
“In terms of issues, I had a couple. For some reason, the scroll gesture didn’t work on my Magic Mouse and I experienced slight lag while typing things. Both things can easily be fixed with a software update I believe.”
Previously trailed at the launch of the Pixel 4a, Google has announced the Pixel 5. Once more Google has dodged the flagship end of the market, instead focusing on the capable mid-range space with this years portfolio. Nathan Ingraham reports:
“The most notable design change for the 4a was its no-notch screen, which included a pinhole front-facing camera. The same style screen is here on the Pixel 5 — as expected, it’s a 6-inch, 2340 x 1080 screen that sits between the 5.7-inch display on the Pixel 4 and the 6.3-inch one on the 4 XL. (Speaking of the XL, there isn’t one this year; there’s just one Pixel 5.) It also includes the faster 90Hz refresh rate Google introduced in last year’s Pixel 4.”
Damian Wilde picks up on the Pixel 4a 5G, an already mentioned second model in the 4a family. As the name implies, this is the handset that sports 5G connectivity, although I’m not ready to forgive “putting the G in 5G.” Damien Wilde looks at the update:
“As the largest of the 2020 Google smartphone lineup, the Pixel 4a 5G measures in at 6.2 inches. The display comes with an upper-left punch hole notch, while the OLED panel has an FHD+ 1,080 by 2,340-pixel resolution at 413ppi. The Gorilla Glass 3 display is capped at 60Hz, unlike the 90Hz panel found on the Pixel 5. It also has a slightly larger chin and forehead than it’s more premium stablemate.”
Google also took the opportunity to reveal its move away from ‘Google Home’ to ‘Google Nest’ for its smart home products. Although not strictly Android, the newly announced Google Nest Audio speaker ties in tightly with your Google account, while belting out a solid sound. Becky Roberts has a listen:
“As the Nest Audio’s name suggests, Google has worked to improve the sound quality over the original – which we’re pleased to hear, as we described the Google Home’s sonic performance as “average”.
“The result of 500 hours of tuning, the Nest Audio supposedly goes 75 per cent louder and can deliver 50 per cent stronger bass. Its 75mm mid/bass driver and 19mm tweeter makes for a rather different driver array, too, with the Home sporting a 2in driver and twin 2in passive radiators.”
Google has “clarified the language in our Payments Policy” for developers using the Google Play Store, and will be requiring all in-app purchases to use Google’s own payments system exclusively from September 30 202. Developers will also be under similar restrictions to Apple’s App Store and be barred from providing informing in the app telling customers of alternative payment routes. Abner Li explains:
“Today, Netflix, Spotify, and other big services do not use Google Play In-app Billing. Consumers directly enter their credit card information with that third-party. As such, those services get the entire cut of the payment/subscription. Google says this is the case with “less than 3% of developers with apps” on the Play Store.
“The alternative (with In-app Billing) sees users give their payment information to the Play Store, which acts as a middle party. The big advantage of this approach is that customers do not have to repeatedly enter their billing information and can cancel services from a consolidated “Subscriptions” page in Google Play. However, companies have to forgo a percentage to Google for facilitating the transaction.”
“For apps and in-app products offered through Google Play, the service fee is equivalent to 30% of the price. You receive 70% of the payment. The remaining 30% goes to the distribution partner and operating fees.”
With OnePlus’ announcement of the OnePlus 8T, many wondered where equivalent T upgrade was for this summer’s OnePlus 8 Pro. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has confirmed that there is no 8T Pro coming. Hadlee Simons reports:
“Lau directs users wanting a “Pro-level” phone to get the OnePlus 8 Pro instead. The machine-translated text also suggests that OnePlus felt they couldn’t deliver a major upgrade from the OnePlus 8 Pro by offering a OnePlus 8T Pro.
“For what it’s worth, last year’s OnePlus 7T Pro wasn’t a major upgrade from the OnePlus 7 Pro at all. However, the OnePlus 7T earned critical acclaim for gaining several major upgrades over the OnePlus 7, such as a high refresh rate screen and a telephoto rear camera. So it seems like the company doesn’t want to repeat the OnePlus 7T Pro situation of launching a Pro model for the sake of it.
One ‘T ‘ that has been announced is Xiaomi’s mid-range version of the popular Mi10 family. They share the name with the premium line, but these are definitely in the mid-range price with high-end ambitions category Max Weinbach has the details on both the Mi 10T and the Mi 10T Pro:
“Both phones run on the Snapdragon 865. They support WiFi 6 and 5G MultiLink — a software feature that Xiaomi uses to connect to 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 5G network at the same time to boost download speeds. They also have higher-quality LRAs for haptics, dual speakers with Hi-Res Audio certification, and a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging (a compatible charger will be included in the box). The lack of fast wireless charging is disappointing, especially after the seeing it go up to 55W on the Mi 10 Ultra.
“The Xiaomi Mi 10T’s starting price is €499, as previous rumors had insinuated, while the Mi 10T Pro starts at €599.”
Microsoft’s new Surface Duo is the new Android kid on the block, and there reviews of the dual-screened device are coming in. Like many, Matthew Millar notes the compromises that he has to make in his workflow, and there are too many to make the Duo meet his needs:
“One would think the Surface Duo would be perfect for a person like me who spends many hours a day on a phone. Prior to the coronavirus lockdown, I was commuting two hours a day on a train, traveling for business monthly, using Microsoft products for work (Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, and OneNote), and using my phone as my secondary computer. Things have changed a bit with remote work, but even then there were a few of my standard practices over the past three weeks that are compromised on the Surface Duo, and for more than $1,400 I’m not ready to make those compromises.”
Android Circuit rounds up the news from the Android world every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future, and of course read the sister column in Apple Loop!Last week’s Android Circuit can be found here, and if you have any news and links you’d like to see featured in Android Circuit, get in touch!
Although no one likes a know-it-all, they dominate the Internet.
The Internet began as a vast repository of information. It quickly became a breeding ground for self-proclaimed experts seeking what most people desire: recognition and money.
Today, anyone with an Internet connection and some typing skills can position themselves, regardless of their education or experience, as a subject matter expert (SME). From relationship advice, career coaching, and health and nutrition tips to citizen journalists practicing pseudo-journalism, the Internet is awash with individuals—Internet talking heads—sharing their “insights,” which are, in large part, essentially educated guesses without the education or experience.
The Internet has become a 24/7/365 sitcom where armchair experts think they’re the star.
Not long ago, years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work and acquiring education in one’s field was once required to be recognized as an expert. The knowledge and opinions of doctors, scientists, historians, et al. were respected due to their education and experience. Today, a social media account and a knack for hyperbole are all it takes to present oneself as an “expert” to achieve Internet fame that can be monetized.
On the Internet, nearly every piece of content is self-serving in some way.
The line between actual expertise and self-professed knowledge has become blurry as an out-of-focus selfie. Inadvertently, social media platforms have created an informal degree program where likes and shares are equivalent to degrees. After reading selective articles, they’ve found via and watching some TikTok videos, a person can post a video claiming they’re an herbal medicine expert. Their new “knowledge,” which their followers will absorb, claims that Panda dung tea—one of the most expensive teas in the world and isn’t what its name implies—cures everything from hypertension to existential crisis. Meanwhile, registered dietitians are shaking their heads, wondering how to compete against all the misinformation their clients are exposed to.
More disturbing are individuals obsessed with evangelizing their beliefs or conspiracy theories. These people write in-depth blog posts, such as Elvis Is Alive and the Moon Landings Were Staged, with links to obscure YouTube videos, websites, social media accounts, and blogs. Regardless of your beliefs, someone or a group on the Internet shares them, thus confirming your beliefs.
Misinformation is the Internet’s currency used to get likes, shares, and engagement; thus, it often spreads like a cosmic joke. Consider the prevalence of clickbait headlines:
You Won’t Believe What Taylor Swift Says About Climate Change!
This Bedtime Drink Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep!
In One Week, I Turned $10 Into $1 Million!
Titles that make outrageous claims are how the content creator gets reads and views, which generates revenue via affiliate marketing, product placement, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Clickbait headlines are how you end up watching a TikTok video by a purported nutrition expert adamantly asserting you can lose belly fat while you sleep by drinking, for 14 consecutive days, a concoction of raw eggs, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar 15 minutes before going to bed.
Our constant search for answers that’ll explain our convoluted world and our desire for shortcuts to success is how Internet talking heads achieve influencer status. Because we tend to seek low-hanging fruits, we listen to those with little experience or knowledge of the topics they discuss yet are astute enough to know what most people want to hear.
There’s a trend, more disturbing than spreading misinformation, that needs to be called out: individuals who’ve never achieved significant wealth or traded stocks giving how-to-make-easy-money advice, the appeal of which is undeniable. Several people I know have lost substantial money by following the “advice” of Internet talking heads.
Anyone on social media claiming to have a foolproof money-making strategy is lying. They wouldn’t be peddling their money-making strategy if they could make easy money.
Successful people tend to be secretive.
Social media companies design their respective algorithms to serve their advertisers—their source of revenue—interest; hence, content from Internet talking heads appears most prominent in your feeds. When a video of a self-professed expert goes viral, likely because it pressed an emotional button, the more people see it, the more engagement it receives, such as likes, shares and comments, creating a cycle akin to a tornado.
Imagine scrolling through your TikTok feed and stumbling upon a “scientist” who claims they can predict the weather using only aluminum foil, copper wire, sea salt and baking soda. You chuckle, but you notice his video got over 7,000 likes, has been shared over 600 times and received over 400 comments. You think to yourself, “Maybe this guy is onto something.” What started as a quest to achieve Internet fame evolved into an Internet-wide belief that weather forecasting can be as easy as DIY crafts.
Since anyone can call themselves “an expert,” you must cultivate critical thinking skills to distinguish genuine expertise from self-professed experts’ self-promoting nonsense. While the absurdity of the Internet can be entertaining, misinformation has serious consequences. The next time you read a headline that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably an Internet talking head making an educated guess; without the education seeking Internet fame, they can monetize.
TORONTO – A new survey says a majority of software engineers and developers feel tight project deadlines can put safety at risk.
Seventy-five per cent of the 1,000 global workers who responded to the survey released Tuesday say pressure to deliver projects on time and on budget could be compromising critical aspects like safety.
The concern is even higher among engineers and developers in North America, with 77 per cent of those surveyed on the continent reporting the urgency of projects could be straining safety.
The study was conducted between July and September by research agency Coleman Parkes and commissioned by BlackBerry Ltd.’s QNX division, which builds connected-car technology.
The results reflect a timeless tug of war engineers and developers grapple with as they balance the need to meet project deadlines with regulations and safety checks that can slow down the process.
Finding that balance is an issue that developers of even the simplest appliances face because of advancements in technology, said John Wall, a senior vice-president at BlackBerry and head of QNX.
“The software is getting more complicated and there is more software whether it’s in a vehicle, robotics, a toaster, you name it… so being able to patch vulnerabilities, to prevent bad actors from doing malicious acts is becoming more and more important,” he said.
The medical, industrial and automotive industries have standardized safety measures and anything they produce undergoes rigorous testing, but that work doesn’t happen overnight. It has to be carried out from the start and then at every step of the development process.
“What makes safety and security difficult is it’s an ongoing thing,” Wall said. “It’s not something where you’ve done it, and you are finished.”
The Waterloo, Ont.-based business found 90 per cent of its survey respondents reported that organizations are prioritizing safety.
However, when asked about why safety may not be a priority for their organization, 46 per cent of those surveyed answered cost pressures and 35 per cent said a lack of resources.
That doesn’t surprise Wall. Delays have become rampant in the development of tech, and in some cases, stand to push back the launch of vehicle lines by two years, he said.
“We have to make sure that people don’t compromise on safety and security to be able to get products out quicker,” he said.
“What we don’t want to see is people cutting corners and creating unsafe situations.”
The survey also took a peek at security breaches, which have hit major companies like London Drugs, Indigo Books & Music, Giant Tiger and Ticketmaster in recent years.
About 40 per cent of the survey’s respondents said they have encountered a security breach in their employer’s operating system. Those breaches resulted in major impacts for 27 per cent of respondents, moderate impacts for 42 per cent and minor impacts for 27 per cent.
“There are vulnerabilities all the time and this is what makes the job very difficult because when you ship the software, presumably the software has no security vulnerabilities, but things get discovered after the fact,” Wall said.
Security issues, he added, have really come to the forefront of the problems developers face, so “really without security, you have no safety.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
As online shoppers hunt for bargains offered by Amazon during its annual fall sale this week, cybersecurity researchers are warning Canadians to beware of an influx of scammers posing as the tech giant.
In the 30 days leading up to Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, there were more than 1,000 newly registered Amazon-related web domains, according to Check Point Software Technologies, a company that offers cybersecurity solutions.
The company said it deemed 88 per cent of those domains malicious or suspicious, suggesting they could have been set up by scammers to prey on vulnerable consumers. One in every 54 newly created Amazon-related domain included the phrase “Amazon Prime.”
“They’re almost indiscernible from the real Amazon domain,” said Robert Falzon, head of engineering at Check Point in Canada.
“With all these domains registered that look so similar, it’s tricking a lot of people. And that’s the whole intent here.”
Falzon said Check Point Research sees an uptick in attempted scams around big online shopping days throughout the year, including Prime Days.
Scams often come in the form of phishing emails, which are deceptive messages that appear to be from a reputable source in attempt to steal sensitive information.
In this case, he said scammers posing as Amazon commonly offer “outrageous” deals that appear to be associated with Prime Days, in order to trick recipients into clicking on a malicious link.
The cybersecurity firm said it has identified and blocked 100 unique Amazon Prime-themed scam emails targeting organizations and consumers over the past two weeks.
Scammers also target Prime members with unsolicited calls, claiming urgent account issues and requesting payment information.
“It’s like Christmas for them,” said Falzon.
“People expect there to be significant savings on Prime Day, so they’re not shocked that they see something of significant value. Usually, the old adage applies: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
Amazon’s website lists a number of red flags that it recommends customers watch for to identify a potential impersonation scam.
Those include false urgency, requests for personal information, or indications that the sender prefers to complete the purchase outside of the Amazon website or mobile app.
Scammers may also request that customers exclusively pay with gift cards, a claim code or PIN. Any notifications about an order or delivery for an unexpected item should also raise alarm bells, the company says.
“During busy shopping moments, we tend to see a rise in impersonation scams reported by customers,” said Amazon spokeswoman Octavia Roufogalis in a statement.
“We will continue to invest in protecting consumers and educating the public on scam avoidance. We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe.”
Falzon added that these scams are more successful than people might think.
As of June 30, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said there had been $284 million lost to fraud so far this year, affecting 15,941 victims.
But Falzon said many incidents go unreported, as some Canadians who are targeted do not know how or where to flag a scam, or may choose not to out of embarrassment.
Check Point recommends Amazon customers take precautions while shopping on Prime Days, including by checking URLs carefully, creating strong passwords on their accounts, and avoiding personal information being shared such as their birthday or social security number.
The cybersecurity company said consumers should also look for “https” at the beginning of a website URL, which indicates a secure connection, and use credit cards rather than debit cards for online shopping, which offer better protection and less liability if stolen.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
