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iPhone 12 and 5G: For once, the iPhone’s experience will be out of Apple’s hands

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Whether or not this concept rendering of the iPhone 12 Pro from the YouTube channel ConceptsiPhone is accurate, the new iPhone is expected to support 5G connectivity.

 


ConceptsiPhone

It’s safe to say 2020 has been a garbage year for human beings, but it’s been a fruitful one for new phones, cameras and gaming consoles. It’s only September and a slew of new products have launched or been announced, including the upcoming Xbox Series X and PS5, the new Sony A7S iii mirrorless camera and the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. As we start “Techtember” the most anticipated release is the next iPhone which is rumored to be called the iPhone 12.

Leaks and rumors point to a slew of new features for the next Apple phone including a high refresh rate display, more sizes and lidar. But the most significant addition won’t be the cameras or the expected A14 processor. It’ll be the support for 5G.

That means the biggest feature on the iPhone 12 will be largely out of Apple’s control and firmly in the hands of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. Depending on your carrier and where you live, your 5G experience on an iPhone 12 could vary greatly. It’s an unusual position for Apple, which is known for its insistence on crafting virtually every aspect of its products, from the hardware to its software.

By contrast, the current state of 5G in the US is a mix of hype, hope and whatever the opposite of harmony is. Depending on the carrier, 5G comes in a variety of frequencies, some that offer truly mind-bending speeds but lack the reach to connect to your phone all the time. Other frequencies have a long reach and stable connectivity but offer speeds that aren’t much faster than 4G LTE. Some parts of the US have 5G networks from all three major US carriers, others have absolutely zero coverage.

Does this mean 5G will determine if the iPhone 12 is a flop or not? In terms of sales, of course not. Apple will likely sell millions of new iPhones. But that doesn’t mean that everyone who buys an iPhone 12 will have a great experience getting it connected to and working on a 5G network. And the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of new users that do get connected will drive a massive spike in traffic on 5G networks that are still in their infancy. There’s a huge potential for many people to have a bad 5G experience on their new iPhone. Possibly even worse than if they just stuck with 4G.

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In 2013 when the iPhone 5 was released, its 4G LTE data connectivity drove massive spikes in network traffic and congestion.

 


Patrick Holland/CNET

I remember in 2013 when the iPhone 5 launched with 4G LTE support. I bought the phone in September when it first came out and I experienced lightning speeds. But by the time Thanksgiving rolled around, a lot of other people had an iPhone 5 and my 4G LTE speeds leveled out due to all the new traffic on the same network. Luckily over the years, 4G LTE got more robust and networks were able to handle more capacity on them.

When it comes to 5G, things get more complicated because not all 5G is created equal. That superfast 5G I mentioned earlier requires different antennas than mid-band and low-band 5G. Those different antennas means multiple models of the same iPhone. 5G suffers from fragmentation and, even for someone like me who’s pretty knowledgeable about such things, the topic can be overwhelming.

So why is Apple taking a gamble with 5G? The company has to. Even if the path isn’t fully paved now, in a couple years, 5G will be the way most of us get cellular data. The other reason is 4G LTE is a great safety net. Someone on an iPhone 12 without a 5G radio in their neighborhood would still be able to connect via 4G LTE. But it would be a shame if that same person paid a premium to get a 5G iPhone only to have zero or spotty 5G coverage.

But if my friends and family members are any indication, a 5G iPhone is something many of them are longing for. It’s not that the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro aren’t great or that my friends are particularly excited about 5G. To them a 5G iPhone is all about future-proofing, even if 5G connectivity isn’t ready to use out of the gate.

 

If you’ve been waiting to buy an iPhone until it has 5G support, chances are you’ll be rewarded this fall. But do your research about the 5G connectivity in your area and what your carrier offers. If you don’t care about 5G and are on an upgrade year for your iPhone, then you’re in a great position. You’ll still be able to use the reliable and comfortable 4G LTE that you’ve grown accustomed to, and over the coming years you might notice faster service as 5G and its multiple flavors of connectivity expand across the US.

That should offer a modicum of comfort in this horrible year.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Source:- CNET

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Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

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LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

X

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.

The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”

San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.

Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”

“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.

The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Kuwait bans ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’ video game, likely over it featuring Saddam Hussein in 1990s

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The tiny Mideast nation of Kuwait has banned the release of the video game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” which features the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and is set in part in the 1990s Gulf War.

Kuwait has not publicly acknowledged banning the game, which is a tentpole product for the Microsoft-owned developer Activision and is set to be released on Friday worldwide. However, it comes as Kuwait still wrestles with the aftermath of the invasion and as video game makers more broadly deal with addressing historical and cultural issues in their work.

The video game, a first-person shooter, follows CIA operators fighting at times in the United States and also in the Middle East. Game-play trailers for the game show burning oilfields, a painful reminder for Kuwaitis who saw Iraqis set fire to the fields, causing vast ecological and economic damage. Iraqi troops damaged or set fire to over 700 wells.

There also are images of Saddam and Iraq’s old three-star flag in the footage released by developers ahead of the game’s launch. The game’s multiplayer section, a popular feature of the series, includes what appears to be a desert shootout in Kuwait called Scud after the Soviet missiles Saddam fired in the war. Another is called Babylon, after the ancient city in Iraq.

Activision acknowledged in a statement that the game “has not been approved for release in Kuwait,” but did not elaborate.

“All pre-orders in Kuwait will be cancelled and refunded to the original point of purchase,” the company said. “We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider, and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy this all-new experience in the Black Ops series.”

Kuwait’s Media Ministry did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press over the decision.

“Call of Duty,” which first began in 2003 as a first-person shooter set in World War II, has expanded into an empire worth billions of dollars now owned by Microsoft. But it also has been controversial as its gameplay entered the realm of geopolitics. China and Russia both banned chapters in the franchise. In 2009, an entry in the gaming franchise allowed players to take part in a militant attack at a Russian airport, killing civilians.

But there have been other games recently that won praise for their handling of the Mideast. Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed: Mirage” published last year won praise for its portrayal of Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age in the 9th century.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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