#did Android users ever get the memo?

[ivan-fyodorovich-k]

I'm glad that we as a society have moved past considering the use of Apple products a personality trait

[rk800downloading]

“Save me” Chapter 13 - Connor x Reader

Disclaimer: WOW, long wait! I am so sorry, school has been kicking my butt - but hopefully this will tie you over until the next one! ❤ As always, thank you so much for all of your likes / reblogs / comments / messages!!

Again, thank you so much to @autumn-become-human​ for all of your awesome help (and for dealing with all my shenanigans) you can thank her for convincing me to write the end of the chapter the way it is *cough, cough* ENJOY!

Previous Chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12

“Stupid… It’s so unfair.”

You kicked a bucket of clothes over, spilling it’s folded contents into disarray. You wanted to step on the cotton, to take your angst out on it - why wouldn’t George let you take the car to Detroit? You couldn’t understand.

You sighed, picking up the fabric - the clothes hadn’t done anything to incur your wrath.

“Is something wrong?”

Tim hovered over you, his hazel eyes peering into yours.

“George wouldn’t let me drive to Detroit.” You sighed again, refolding a shirt with a snap of your wrist “I’m so bored here. There’s no one my age - this place just sucks.”

“Detroit can be a dangerous place for a young lady like you.” Tim’s voice was as silky as always, honey dripping from his Illinois accent “George isn’t doing it to be mean.”

“You only say that ‘cause you can do whatever you want.”

Tim’s face scrunched into a lopsided grin “Since when did androids get to do whatever they wanted? Did I miss a memo somewhere?”

“No,” You glanced down to the floor, embarrassed. “I’m sorry.”

Tim gave you a gentle pat on the head, ruffling your hair “It’s okay, I know it’s easy to forget I’m not human - but nevermind that, I’ve got a plan.”

Your curiosity was piqued.

“How about I tell George I need to go do some shopping in Detroit - you sneak along, we take five dollars from the swear jar, and get you some ice cream- you in?”

“I’m pretty sure that those are all of my quarters though.”

Tim rolled his eyes “You in? Or are you in?”

You smiled.

“I’m in.”

---

“A nightmare?” Hank’s voice roused you from sleep.

“A memory,” You groaned, removing your cheek from the car window.

The drive to Rosewater was a long five hours. The orphanage was located on the outskirts of Geneva in Illinois - a place you hadn’t been to since you had left it.

A morbid gut instinct told you that Tim would be there. The Detroit police had sealed off the warehouse and apartments, yet you had overheard Hank talking about about how cases of the contaminated red ice continued to pour in.

The orphanage was the best lead - the only lead.

Hank glanced over his shoulder, noticing your grim expression.

“Reach into the seat pocket behind Connor.”

You nodded, stealing a quick look at the brown haired man in the passenger seat. His eyes were closed.

“Is Connor okay?” you questioned “Can androids sleep?”

Hank grumbled, gaze now focused on the road ahead “Said something about sending a report to Cyberlife.”

“Um?” your voice was skeptical “Won’t they be able to tell he’s… you know?”

“I asked the same thing, but he said that he had the situation” Hank mimicked Connor’s voice “‘under control’. Now reach into that damn pocket will ya?”

You nodded again, this time obliging. Your hand fought through napkins and wrappers finding a rectangular object.

It was a Nintendo 3DS.

You quickly looked up at Hank and back down to the gaming system. You clicked the power button, eagerly anticipating what game would load.

“Animal crossing?” you gasped aloud, but Hank didn’t indulge.

On the screen, a small dog welcomed you back to Sumoville. Your character was named-

You smiled.

Mayor Cole.

“Was this your son's?” You asked, exploring the well furnished virtual home.

“It’s mine.” Hank responded this time, voice strict “This information does not leave the car, you understand? I just thought that if you had that scowl on any longer, it’d be permanently engraved into your face.”

“I promise to keep your secret.” you beamed, suddenly surprised by Hank’s arm extending back.

“Cole used to make me do this,” his little finger reached towards you “a pinky promise he called it.”

You paused, looking in awe at his hand. Warmth spread throughout your chest, filling a deep hole that had been empty since birth.

“Ah, shit, I’m treating you like a kid- forget it-” Hank tried to take back his gesture, red subtly creeping up the tips of his ears.

You grabbed his hand, tightly wrapping your pinky around his.

“No!” you spoke bashfully “It’s not! I just- I never had the chance to do stuff like this before - it’s nice. I pinky promise to keep your secret!”

“Okay already!” Hank stammered, pulling free of your grip “Don’t get us into a damn car crash.”

“You started it!”

“Yeah, yeah.” He casually drummed his fingers against the wheel, seemingly embarrassed “So, how are you feeling about the whole Tim thing?”

Your hands hovered over the buttons of the 3DS.

How did you feel?

“I don’t know how I feel about a lot of things these days,” you started “I still feel that I should be more shocked, more upset. Truthfully, I guess I just feel really alone.”

Hank was silent and you were grateful for it. You stared out the window, processing your feelings. It felt selfish to dwell on your own misfortune, but the black hole in your heart refused to subside - it was sucking you in, making you feel numb.

“Kid,”

Hank’s soft voice pulled you from your thoughts.

“Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with us now.”

You gulped hard “What do you mean?”

Hank turned the car, headlights faintly illuminating ‘Welcome to Geneva’ through the darkness of the night.

“I mean that after all of this GOR business is over with, you’re free to stay with me and Connor.”

Hank glanced at you through the rearview mirror.

“For three years I hadn’t opened Cole’s room. I trapped him and my feelings inside there- and it’s just that, uh,” He nodded to himself, a small smile spreading across his face  “I think Cole would be happy if you got some use outta his old room. Connor would be happy too, and me, I guess-”

“Hank, I-” you struggled to find the words matching your feelings. You wanted more than anything to accept his offer, to jump up and down screaming yes - but were you allowed to feel this way? Was it okay for an orphan like you to find a ‘home’ in Hank and Connor?

“Nobody is forcing you.” he interrupted “I’m not asking you to replace Cole - but you’re part of the family now in your own way. Think about it-”

You arms wrapped around Hank from the backseat.

“Thank you…” you spoke, although the two words could just barely convey the multitude of what you felt. Hank seemed to understand, giving your hand a few light pats.

“It feels as if you’ve hugged Hank more than me lately,”

You looked to the passenger’s side where Connor’s eyes were open and on you. He playfully pouted, crossing his arms over his chest “is this what jealousy feels like?”

“I am the better looking one.” Hank smirked “Welcome back. How’d the Cyberlife thing go?”

Connor’s gaze narrowed “It went well. I don’t think that they suspect anything.”

“Good.” Hank didn’t ask anymore as he pulled the car into a motel “We’ll be staying here for the night.”

---

The motel wasn’t something you recognized from your childhood; it was simple, modern - vastly different from the preserved 1900’s architecture known of Geneva. Blue glowed from strips of light that ran alongside the cubistic building, matching the incandescent room numbers on the doors.

You walked with Hank to the motel lobby; an android stood dressed in fashion resembling the building’s aesthetic, a bright smile across her face “Welcome. What may I help you with today?”

“Two adjacent rooms, please.” Hank asked, leaning against the counter.

“Of course. I will need two pieces of ID, one from each human over 18 years of age.”

You slid your ID beside Hanks. The attendant’s fingers dangled over them, pausing atop yours. Yellow spun from her temple.

“Welcome back Miss, have you come to collect your belongings from your last visit?”

“I don’t- I haven’t been here before.” you tilted your head in confusion “Are you mixing me up with someone else?”

Connor stepped in front of you, LED blinking in rhythm with the attendant’s. He grabbed her arm, skin fading into white where they touched.

His brows furrowed at the results. 

“You were here, 12 days ago. You rented room 23, but never returned after leaving in the afternoon.” he released the android “Did you visit the orphanage by yourself?”

You closed your eyes in frustration. You were such a mess - one problem after another, one missing memory after another.

“I don’t know.” you replied - now an overused saying of yours “Maybe if I see it, I’ll be able to remember something.”

The attendant left, reappearing with your backpack. 

You were tired of forgetting - you would force yourself to remember.

You thanked her, stepping outside - barely waiting a second before tearing into the bag, taking your annoyance out on its zipper.

“My love,” Connor whispered, his warm hands stopping you “I think it would be best if we took a small break from the investigation tonight.”

“What?” You looked up, hair wild across your face.

“He’s right.” Hank appeared from behind, two key cards in hand “Rest tonight, watch TV, order some food if you want - but that’s an order from a cop. Okay?”

You sighed “I’m just so tired of not being able to remember - just constant roadblocks. I could have been Tim’s accomplice for all I know!”

“My love,” Connor repeated, softer this time - his fingers tightening around yours. “you know that isn’t true.”

You felt your shoulders drop, anger disappearing.

“Room 10 kid.” Hank grabbed the bag, handing you one of the cards “Go take a long shower. We’ll be next door if you need us.”

---

A shower did refresh you, even if only a little.

You hadn’t moved from the bed ever since, mindlessly watching TV, still warm despite only wearing a towel.

“Red ice; named after its appearance. It is known to induce rage and mental instability in its users - and now is creating instability in the United States of America. This is CTN TV, with all the current news on street crime, and your scoop on the latest drug terrorizing America.”

“Thank you for that opening, Dave. The introduction of androids into the workplace has created a significant impact on the economy. Unemployment is at an all time low, leaving humans unsatisfied and turning to red ice for an escape from reality - but can it really be called that? It has been reported that over 97% of people that smoke red ice experience extreme symptoms of anger, often leading to cases of violence and assault-”

A small beep rang from your door, the sound of a turning handle in its wake.

“I noticed you weren’t sleeping yet, I hope that Hank’s drunken snore isn’t keeping-” Connor walked in, freezing as he saw you.

“TV off.” You commanded, tucking the towel tighter around yourself. “It’s okay, come in. I was just watching some news.”

“I can return at a later time…”

“Hurry! you’re letting the cold air in!”

Connor cleared his throat, hastily shutting the door behind him “We have a robe in our room if you would like to use it.”

“Is the towel bothering you?”

“Well it is certainly distracting me.”

You patted the spot next to you, gesturing him to join. He reluctantly approached.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.” he spoke dryly, knuckles tight, fingers grasping at his jeans as he sat. His whole body was rigid, eyes forward, jaw locked into place.

“Is the towel that uncomfortable? I just thought since you’ve seen me before- I’m sorry, I’ll go change…” you mumbled self-consciously, rising from the bed.

“No-” Connor reached for your arm “I believe you’re misinterpreting my actions. I am restraining myself.”

“Restraining?”

“What I spoke about before.” his voice was laboured “The ache.”

“Ache? You can kiss me whenever you want. I thought you were going to start being selfish?”  

“I want to be, but if I kiss you right now-”

Connor’s hands cautiously reached towards the towel’s hem. He brought his gaze to your figure, mouth parting in thirst.

“I’ll want even more.”

Fingers traced up your leg - brushing against the inside of your thigh.

You throbbed, swelled - your body pleaded for his touch.

“Then kiss me,” you begged, his eyes wavering in response. 

“Do you understand what you’re asking me?”

You leaned forward, softly pressing your mouth against his.

“I know exactly what I’m asking you.”

Connor inhaled sharply, breathing you in, hands grasping at your skin. His shoulders squared - posture straightened.

And then he kissed you again.

He kissed you deep and hungry. You groaned as his tongue found yours, shuddered as he bit your lip. You felt him grin as a gasp escaped you.

Lust pounded throughout your chest, pulsated between your legs. You wanted him on you, against you - in you.

“Tell me if you want me to stop.” He whispered between kisses, his grip dipping under the towel. He pressed into the skin of your bare hips, lifting you, straddling you across his lap. You greedily pressed your body against his, back arching into the feeling of his lips against your collarbone.

All you could think about was the maddening pressure building inside you - how it threatened to drive you insane if Connor didn’t relieve it, if he didn’t save you.

You craved him, needed him.

You let the towel drop to the floor.

Next Chapter: CHAPTER 14

[shandragdotson]

Sweet Little YNAB Tricks You Might Not Know Existed

Learn how to add emojis in YNAB, use the quick budget lightning bolt, search on mobile, and more! The hacks will have you budgeting with more efficiency than a Tim Ferriss fanboy.

YNAB Mobile Hacks

Did you know in YNAB you could….

Add Emojis

Anywhere you can add text in YNAB, you can add emojis. The easiest route is through an app on your phone or tablet.

Here’s how to do it on mobile:

Tap the Category

Tap Details

Scroll to the bottom and tap Rename Category

Use your keyboard emojis to add some flair to YNAB

You can add them to any Category names—in fact—you can add more than one! Go crazy!

You can add them to Account names, Notes, and Memos, oh my!

Budget Quicker With Shortcuts

You don’t have to start from scratch every month! There are options for Quick Budgeting from the lightning icon on mobile. It’s entirely customizable depending on what you need.

For example, here we have $3300 to be budgeted. Last month we budgeted $3800. So we can’t just budget exactly the same as last month. However, you can select just some of the categories and Quick Budget will change. Here I’ve selected Credit Card Payments, Immediate Obligations and True Expenses.

Now Quick Budget just analyzes those categories. Last month, $2505 was budgeted for those two categories so there is enough to copy those amounts. How easy is that!?

Search Like Crazy

Trying to remember how much you spend on that new helmet three months ago? Search away on desktop or mobile (currently only available on iOS. Android users, we’re working on it!). You want to know how many times you talked to your friendly neighborhood barista in the last month? No problem. Just start typing in the search field and YNAB will suggest some more specific options to help you find exactly what you are looking for:

View All Scheduled Transactions In One Place

Are a lot of your bills on autopay across multiple accounts? Ever wish you could see them all at a glance? We are all about granting wishes here at YNAB! Just head on over to Accounts>All Accounts:

YNAB Web App Goodies

We’ve even got a bagful of extra features that are available from the web app. Fire up your laptop and check out these handy trick.

Get More Info On Your Income Sources

Ever wonder how much you’re bringing in from each of your income sources?  The Income and Expense report can be viewed from the web app, and it has all the answers. Open up your reports and there’s all your sources based on the payee information you entered in the register.

What’s really cool is you can see the averages and totals for each income source on the right. Isn’t looking at income so much more fun than looking at expenses!?

Undo And Redo

Chances are there’s been a time where you really wished this existed. This little feature flies under the radar but when you need it, you need it. And here it is, available on the web app from your laptop:

Keep in mind YNAB can only undo or redo what’s happened in a current session.  If you refresh or logout, it can’t go back beyond that point.

Live Push Notifications

Team YNAB is pleased to announce a new feature that can help you avoid unnecessary overspending. Check out our live push notifications we debuted last April…

…April 1, that is. We couldn’t help but give you one trick among all these treats.

Enjoy your new undoing/redoing, added use of the avocado emoji, and all the time you’ll save quick budgeting so you have more time to search and analyze your income sources! More time for trick-or-treating. Happy Halloween!

Editor’s note: this post was originally published in October 2016. We gave it a bath to make it so fresh, so clean, and so full of updated information.

The post Sweet Little YNAB Tricks You Might Not Know Existed appeared first on You Need A Budget.

from Finance https://www.youneedabudget.com/tricks-treats-sweet-little-ynab-goodies-you-may-not-even-know-existed/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[josephlrushing]

‘Easy Break Pixel’ Caps off a Month of Self-Induced Failures by Google

Perhaps you have heard about this – the new Google Pixel 4 bends and breaks unlike any midrange or flagship phone since the 2014 iPhone 6 … which aside from causing embarrassment for Apple, also caused a shift in testing, design, and materials of construction across the industry.

Perhaps Google didn’t get the memo – or maybe they did polling and found that a significant amount of people didn’t care if their phone was easily broken. Either way, this is just the latest in a series of failures of Google’s own doing that has occurred over the last several weeks. I wanted to round some of them up because I feel they have been either overlooked or downplayed in much of the tech media.

Image from CNet.

Pixel 4 Atrocious Battery Life: This is the #1 complaint about the new line. Bottom line is that the Pixel 4XL has about 50% worse battery life compared to other flagships … and the Pixel 4 has ~20% shorter battery life than the previous generation – which itself was criticized for poor battery life. We will dig into this more in our upcoming review of the Pixel 4 series, but suffice to say that it has already become a punchline – and deservedly so.

Pixel 4 Inexplicably Poor Performance: Another area the Pixel 4/XL lags is performance. Apple’s $100 cheaper iPhone 11 is TWICE as fast across a half dozen real and synthetic benchmarks. But what is worse for me is how it compares to other phones using the same SnapDragon 855 chipset – the Pixel 4 ends up ~15 – 25% below other phones such as the Galaxy Note 10+ using the same processor SoC. That performance lag is not explained by the RAM difference, so it points to poorly optimized OS software or fundamental design problems. Or – slowing the processor to save battery life.

Dim Screen Capped for Battery Life: After learning that the 90Hz display needs to come with a big asterisk due to the conditions that must all be in play to enable it, yet another thing we learned this week was that the gorgeous OLED panel is intentionally dimmed to ~450nits compared to the >900 on the iPhone 11 and Galaxy Note 10+. Again – it is obvious, and also appears to be something done to play for more battery life.

Other Outcomes of ‘Design By Survey’: There is a famous Steve Jobs reworking of a Henry Ford quote “It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” And yet companies do it all the time – and it shows. It certainly shows on the Pixel 4/XL in more than a few ways: – Adding a telephoto lens but not a wide-angle lens. Look for a wide-angle lens in the Pixel 5. – Missing several popular video modes (literally a “surveys said” decision) – Unfinished FaceID clone with security holes which is lacking buy-in from banks and others

Tech Looking for a Home: People have criticized the large ‘forehead’ on the Pixel 4 correctly, which brings me to another Steve Jobs quote “You can’t start with the technology and try to figure out where can I sell it.” The forehead on the Pixel 4/XL is large despite losing a camera this year because it picked up FaceID – and also the Motion Sense radar sensor that … um, lets you wave your hand to change songs like something that would have seemed cool in the late 90s. Maybe ‘Project Soli’ will be useful someday for something. But right now all it does is decrease the screen to phone ratio for no apparent reason.

Google Stadia ‘Negative Latency’ Kerfuffle: One of my core arguments about Stadia has been that the math between normal latency and promised frame rates don’t converge. Last week we finally got some insight from Google that they plan to limit the devices and control schemes to minimize issues, but also that they are implementing predictive analytics to smooth over intermittent lag. While it won’t help with persistent bad connections, it could be what is needed to make server-based solutions actually sustainable. But for many, it is an admission that they can’t eliminate latency so will simulate gameplay and ‘push the button for you’ instead. Reality? Too early to tell.

No Earbuds for You: Not news, but I have seen more people complaining about the lack of earbuds based on many of the other shortcomings of the Pixel 4/XL. In other words, while they don’t as much care about the lack of earbuds, given the price of the phone compared to the various shortcomings, suddenly the lack of earbuds seems like another way Google has ‘cheaped out’ on users.

Late to Your Own Party: One of the key selling points for the Pixel (and Nexus before that) is that it offers a ‘pure Android experience’ similar to the control Apple has with the iPhone. We have already seen that despite this, the Android implementation on every Pixel phone has been quite buggy on release and taken a while to stabilize while performing better on existing phones. Now Google has slipped even further, most Pixel 4/XL phones have not seen the November 1st update that has been delivered to phones from pretty much every other vendor including Samsung – heck, even my Galaxy Tab S6 has gotten the update! So much for that selling point!

Holiday Coal for Pixel 4/XL Early Adopters: Stop me if you have heard this one before — a company introduces a new product and people rush out to buy it, only to see it on sale a few weeks later for a significant discount, and then they get upset that someone else got a better deal. Google’s Pixel 4/XL Black Friday deals have been revealed – and many people aren’t happy. Honestly, early adopters should know better by now!

Pixel 3 Joins the “Yes, in Fact, Your Battery IS Dead” Crowd: Joining yet another inauspicious iPhone 6 club, Since getting Android 10 Pixel 3 users have been reporting that the already short Pixel 3 battery life has been made worse as the phone has started shutting down without warning with the 30-40% battery remaining. Again, this is very likely the result of over-aggressive battery life management as it was with the iPhone 6 years ago, but given how poor the battery life already is on the Pixel 3, this is really adding insult to injury! The only upside is it isn’t happening to Pixel 4 users!

All Your Health Data Are Belong to US! This one emerged even as I was compiling this list – Google has been working with health care provider Ascension, the second-largest provider in the US. In the deal, Google has had access to the health records of millions of patients across 21 states … without their knowledge. While this is all *legal*, having someone who makes their money turning personal internet data into targeted advertising suddenly having access to health records for those same ‘advertising targets’ is at least somewhat disconcerting.

All 50 State Attorney’s General Expanding Anti-Trust Investigations to Include Android and Search Google is somewhat of an over-achiever here, having received the largest fines and punishments in history based on privacy violations and anti-competitive behavior amongst other things. Their advertising business has attracted extensive global scrutiny due to concerns of anti-competitive practices, and now based on those investigations, it appears that Google has been leveraging their monopolies in anti-competitive ways that include Android and Search.

Bottom Line: How do you feel about these? Do they mostly feel pretty small to you? I mean, sure – we are getting a pretty clear picture that the Pixel 4/XL is a disappointment that suffers from some of the most common failure modes that have occurred across pretty much every major company ever.

Google is a company that has tremendous goodwill even among cynics and skeptics such as myself – if for no other reason than I know that they are better than anyone at keeping that massive trove of data they collect about all of us secure. However, Google has also paid more fines than any tech company in history — due to invading user privacy and using data without permission repeatedly. At a time when governments are becoming increasingly wary of the power held by tech giants, these sorts of self-induced issues can leave a lasting impact.

What do you think? Any other things I might have missed?

from Joseph Rushing https://geardiary.com/2019/11/15/easy-break-pixel-caps-off-a-month-of-self-induced-failures-by-google/

[digitalmark18-blog]

Galaxy Note 9 release date, specs and price: iFixit slaps handset with dismal repairability score

New Post has been published on https://britishdigitalmarketingnews.com/galaxy-note-9-release-date-specs-and-price-ifixit-slaps-handset-with-dismal-repairability-score/

Galaxy Note 9 release date, specs and price: iFixit slaps handset with dismal repairability score

THE SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 9 is finally here, but it doesn’t have many surprises in store.

Thanks to the huge number of leaks building up to the smartphone’s launch, we already knew almost all there is to know: it’ll ship with a new Bluetooth-enabled S Pen; will pack a hefty 4,000mAh battery; and it’ll start shipping on 24 August.

We’ve rounded up everything you need to know about picking up the smartphone below. You can also check out our Galaxy Note 9 hands-on review. 

Release date The Galaxy Noe 9 started shipping in the UK on 24 August. 

At the time of writing, however, the 512GB variant – in both ‘Ocean Blue’ and ‘Midnight Black’ – will be shipped by Samsung on 7 September. 

Price Here in Blighty, the 6GB/128GB Galaxy Note 9 model is available for £899 SIM-free, while the higher-spec 8GB/512GB version is priced at £1,099. 

It can be picked up SIM-free from Carphone Warehouse, though, which is also offering tariffs with EE, iD, O2, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone. 

EE is flogging the Note 9, and the operators’ cheapest plan, which comes with 4GB data, comes in at £63 per month – but this can be upgraded to 100GB for, er, £88 per month. 

Over on the O2 website, the Note 9 can be picked up from £58 per month with 2GB data, a tariff that also comes with a £99 upfront cost. The network is also offering deals with 8GB, 1GB, 30GB and 50GB data. 

Sky Mobile is offering the Note 9 from £42 per month, a deal that’ll get you 2GB data and unlimited calls and texts. 4GB, 5GB and 10GB plans are also available. 

There is selling the Galaxy Note 9, and it’s offering £48, £53 and £62 tariffs that’ll bag you 4GB, 30GB and 100GB data, respectively. 

Over on the Virgin Mobile website, the Note 9 is available from £37 per month with 1GB monthly data. This can be upped to 5GB, 20GB and 30GB, for £40, £46 and £51 per month, respectively. 

Vodafone has also been quick to start taking Note 9 orders. It’s offering the handset for, er, £63 per month with a £79 upfront cost, a deal that gets you 20GB data for the price of 4GB. 

In the US, the Galaxy Note 9 can be pre-ordered at AT&T, Best Buy, Samsung, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon.

Latest news 28/8/18: Teardown experts at iFixit have slapped the Galaxy Note 9 with a shonky four out of 10 repairability score, citing its hard to pull apart chassis and glued-down battery, along with its difficult to remove display, which requires “replacing the entire chassis or tediously separating the gluey cracked glass.” Even the bundled S Pen was difficult to open without breaking, iFixit noted.

It’s not all bad news, though, as iFixit notes  It claims that the components are more modular for easy removal, and the screws used are standard Phillips screws making it easy to unscrew them.

24/8/18: The Galaxy Note 9 has started shipping in the UK, but some early buyers won’t be getting their smartphone just yet. We’ve heard from multiple INQ readers who pre-ordered their device via Argos that they’ve been warned of shipment delays, with the retailer blaming “customs issues”. 

Others have been complaining about the hold-up on Twitter, with one disgruntled buyer saying: “Did anybody hear that Samsung won’t be shipping the note 9 to the UK on 24 Aug? did pre-order at Argos but now they say it’s not available for delivery and they don’t know when.”

It’s unclear how widespread the issue is, nor do we know whether it’s affecting all configurations of the Note 9. We’ve contacted both Argos and Samsung for comment but have yet to receive a response. 

20/8/18: The Galaxy Note 9 hasn’t been released yet, but that hasn’t stopped Samsung from pushing out a software update to the smartphone. The update, spotted by SamMobile, adds a toggle in the Super Slow-mo camera mode to allow users to record either 0.2-second or 0.4-second moments in manual mode in the in the 960fps or 480fps modes, respectively.

The update, which carries the build number N960FXXU1ARH5, also includes the August 2018 security patch, which plugs holes in both Android OS and Samsung’s own Experience software.

17/8/18: Pre-orders for the Galaxy Note 9 are reportedly “trailing” last year’s Galaxy Note 8, Yonhap News reports. Citing sources from South Korean mobile carriers, the report notes that while pre-orders are higher than the S9, the Note 9 is struggling to match the demand seen by last year’s flagship phablet – which racked up 850,000 pre-orders.

“The number of preorders we are receiving for the Galaxy Note 9 are higher than the Galaxy S9, although they are smaller than the Galaxy Note 8,” an official told Yonhap News.

“It is hard to beat the record of the Galaxy Note 8, as there was a lot of demand following the suspended production of the Galaxy Note 7,” an official said.

13/8/18: A teardown of the Galaxy Note 9 has revealed that while the smartphone is near identical to its Note 8 predecessor, it packs a new notebook-class water carbon cooling system. This, according to Samsung, will help protect the Note 9 against overheating and allows the smartphone to run at peak for longer periods of time.

Elsewhere, Hi-Tech’s teardown reveals that Samsung has also rejigged its stylus mechanism so that the S Pen is held in place more tightly so that it’s more likely to fall out of the smartphone and get damaged. 

10/8/18: You might struggle if you’re looking to pick up a Note 9 from Samsung, as the company’s website has gone down for “maintenance”. While the firm’s online shop lets you add a Note 9 to your basket, if you try to check out, you’re currently greeted with a message that says: “Uh oh, looks like this page is currently under maintenance, sorry!”

It’s unclear if the site is struggling under demand for the Galaxy Note 9, or whether it’s taken a temporary trip to Borksville. We’ve asked Samsung for more information. 

9/8/18: Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Note 9, and it’s exactly what you were expecting it to be. 

The big-screened smartphone (6.4in, to be precise) looks near identical to its Note 8 predecessor with its edge-to-edge display and glossy IP68-certified chassis, but Samsung is touting a number of upgrades.

Firstly, the Note 9 ships with a new and improved S Pen, which comes with Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) baked-in for the first time. Users can now use the bundled stylus to pause and resume music playback, for example, or as a makeshift camera shutter button.

Samsung even boasted that it controlled its Note 9 presentation using the banana-a-like stylus, before announcing that it plans to open up the SDK to developers so functionality can be built into third-party apps. 

Bigged-up by Samsung as the “world’s most powerful smartphone”, the Note 9 also boasts an under the hood rejig. It’ll ship with Samsung’s in-house 10nm Exynos 9810 CPU (or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 in the US), paired with either 6GB or 8GB RAM depending on whether you pick up the 128GB or 512GB model. Both offer microSD slots, allowing users to expand the Note 9’s onboard storage up to 1TB. 

There’s also a 4,000mAh battery inside, the largest ever to feature inside a Note smartphone which Samsung is promising will deliver “all day” battery life. 

There’s also been an upgrade in the camera department. While, on paper, the Note 9’s dual 12MP camera sounds identical to that on last year’s model, Samsung claims that the new horizontally-aligned sensors are “more intelligent” than before, with its AI-fuelled camera app now letting you know when an image is flawed; if someone has blinked, for example. 

Elsewhere, the Note 9 features AKG-tuned stereo speakers that are the “loudest ever” on a Samsung phone, a rear-positioned fingerprint scanner, Google’s Android 8.1 Oreo OS, USB-C, a 3.5mm headphone jack, support for wireless charging and Samsung DeX, which can now be enabled using an HDMI adaptor. 

And, as expected, Samsung announced that Fornite for Android will also make its long-awaited debut on the Galaxy Note 9. 

The Galaxy Note 9 will be made available in four colours: blue (with yellow S Pen), lavender, copper and black. 

8/8/18: The Galaxy Note 9’s UK pricing has leaked just one day ahead of its official launch. Twitter tipster Roland Quandt has the scoop and claims that the 128GB variant will cost £899, while the 512GB model will set you back by £1,099. 

Samsung Galaxy Note9 128GB unlocked price in UK: 899 GBP.

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) August 7, 2018

Samsung Galaxy Note9 512GB unlocked price in UK: 1099 GBP.

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) August 7, 2018

If legit, this means the Note 9 will be pricier than its Note 8 predecessor, which was available from £869 SIM-free. However, it’s worth noting that the base model was made available with a lesser 64GB storage. 

7/8/18: You’ll be able to buy the Galaxy Note 9 in a ‘Value Pack’, according to an image posted to Facebook. As you can see (below), the presumably-not-cheap ‘Value’ bundle contains a pair of AKG headphones, a Galaxy Note 9 case, an HDMI cable, a car charger and what looks like a 3M-branded car mount. 

6/8/18: A Reddit user, who is allegedly close with a ‘Samsung national trainer’, has spilled some new details about the Galaxy Note 9 just days ahead of its official unveiling. 

The leak reveals that the 6.4in Note 9 will feature a “very similar” footprint to the Note 8, but will feature an upgraded camera with AI tech that optimises the camera based on what you are shooting.

Samsung will sell its S Pens in different colours, the Reddit post notes, with the colour of the S Pen corresponding to the colour of the stork when taking an off-screen memo. 40 seconds of S Pen charging will reportedly give you 30 minutes of use, while double tapping the stylus’ button mechanic will flip the camera from regular to selfie mode. 

The Reddit poster notes that Note 9 pre-orders will come with either AKG wireless noise-cancelling headphones or a Fortnite gaming package, or users can get both for $99. 

3/8/18: Samsung has slipped up yet again, this time posting an official Note 9 intro video to its YouTube channel. Spotted by SamMobile, the since-deleted video was posted by Samsung New Zealand and shows off the blue Note 9 with its accompanying yellow stylus. It also confirms that a 512GB version of the Note 9 is coming that will support 512GB microSD cards, meaning users could have up to 1TB storage on the device.

2/8/18: Samsung has opened up reservations for the as-yet-unannounced Galaxy Note 9. Ahead of the smartphone’s 9 August launch, users in the US can now register their details over at Samsung’s website to guarantee that their Note 9 is delivered on 24 August. Samsung is also letting users in Blighty reserve the handset but makes no mention of its release date. 

1/8/18: The Galaxy Note 9 has cropped up in its first hands-on video (below), courtesy of Mobile Fun. The clip, which the accessory flogger obtained via its “extensive contacts in China”, sadly doesn’t show the Note 9 switched on, but does give us a good look at the handset’s chassis and confirms that it’ll feature thinner bezels than its Note 8 predecessor. 

As shown in previous leaks, the hands-on tour also shows off the handset’s dual-camera sensor and its rear-positioned fingerprint sensor.

30/7/18: The Galaxy Note 9 might not be as expensive as first feared if a leaked pre-order poster from Indonesia is the real deal. While earlier rumours had claimed the Note 9 would be Samsung’s most expensive smartphone yet with a starting price of £935, the leaked poster lists the 128GB model with a 13,500,000 IDR price-tag, which works out around £714. 

The 512GB model is listed as 17,500,000 IDR – around £926, much cheaper than earlier rumours that pegged it around the £1,100 mark. 

27/7/18: Fortnite for Android might arrive as an exclusive for the Galaxy Note 9, both 9to5Google and XDA Developers are reporting. 

Samsung will have a 30-day exclusive on the battle royal game, according to the reports, which note that Fornite might even arrive as a pre-loaded application complete with added S Pen functionality. Note 9 buyers might also be rewarded with some bonus content for pre-ordering the device, including complimentary V-Bucks, player skins, and more. 

26/7/18: Samsung has released a new teaser video (below) that appears to confirm rumours that the Note 9 will pack a souped-up battery. The clip, which is clearly a shot at rival Apple, show how frustrating it can be when your battery dies, and promises that Samsung’s incoming flagship will save the day.

If online murmurs are to be believed, the Galaxy Note 9 will feature a 4,000mAh battery, a 20 per cent improvement over the Galaxy Note 8’s 3,300mAh offering and the largest ever to feature in a Samsung smartphone. 

25/7/18: Predictably, the Galaxy Note 9 has leaked yet again. Its latest outing comes courtesy of Twitter tipster Evan Blass (below), who has outed the handset’s official black, blue and, er, brown colour versions. There’s no sighting of the mooted lilac model, so it remains unclear whether or not this version will be made available at launch.

Note9 in (from L to R) black, blue, and brown. pic.twitter.com/Akr1tnrxiS

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) July 24, 2018

The legit-looking leak, while not giving much new information away, appears to confirm that the blue model will ship with a contrasting yellow S-Pen, while the black and brown models will come with matching styluses.

24/7/18: Despite earlier rumours stating that the Note 9 will cost around £869, a new report from WinFuture claims the price of the flagship might exceed €1,000.

According to the report, the Galaxy Note 9’s base 128GB variant will cost €1,050 (£935)  with Samsung opting not to release its 64GB model in Europe. It will, according to the report, release its 512GB variant, however, which could fetch as much as €1,250 (£1,115).

23/7/18: A ‘Coral Blue’ variant of the Galaxy Note 9 (below) has shown up online, courtesy of MySmartPrice. The official-looking render doesn’t tell us much new, but the 24 August date on the handset’s screen adds weight to rumours that this is when the smartphone will go on sale. This blue-hued model will be joined by n Black, Gray, Brown, and Lilac colour variants, according to the report.

20/7/18: Samsung is reportedly planning to merge its Galaxy Note and S ranges, hinting that the incoming Note 9 might be the last in the lineup. 

The Bell, citing sources in the electronics industry, reports that the product line merger has been under discussion for the last year or so given the similarities between Samsung’s Plus-branded Galaxy S and Note models. The decision isn’t final yet, though, and the report notes that Samsung is “struggling” to unify the brands “because the concepts of Galaxy S Plus and Note products are overlapping.” 

18/7/18: With just weeks to go until the Note 9’s unveiling, the smartphone has finally been pictured in the flesh. 

While the images (above) – posted and since deleted by a Twitter user in China – don’t tell us much that we don’t already know, they appear to confirm that the incoming Note will be just as fragile as its Note 8 predecessor. The device in the images is covered in scratches and scuffs, and there also appears to be some chips the edges.

Seperately, Evan Blass has shared an official-looking image of the Note 9 and its accompanying yellow S Pen. 

S Pen? pic.twitter.com/xizmWw9J2W

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) July 17, 2018

17/7/18: The Galaxy Note 9 has been pictured in public – in the hands of, er, Samsung CEO Dj Koh. As you can see if you look at closely the image (below), snapped by @ShungNin, the device in Koh’s hands sports a horizontally-aligned camera setup with a fingerprint sensor placed underneath – likely the only cosmetic difference between the incoming flagship and last year’s Galaxy Note 8. 

We can also see Koh using Samsung’s new S Pen, which will reportedly come with Bluetooth support for the first time. 

At the same media event where Koh was pictured, he commented on Samsung’s plans to integrate in-display fingerprint technology into its upcoming phones, including the Galaxy S10 and Note 10. He also let slip that the new Bluetooth-enabled S-Pen will include some gaming-related features.

16/7/18: Polish blog Spidersweb, citing a tipster familiar with Samsung’s plans and a local Samsung representative, claims the Galaxy Note 9 will cost PLN 4,299 (around £880) when it goes on sale next month, a sign that it might not cost much more than its predecessor. The blog also adds weight to earlier rumours that the smartphone will arrive on shelves on 24 August.

13/7/18: An official-looking poster, shared via Ice Universe (below), has given us a good look at the blue Galaxy Note 9, and its accompanying, er, yellow S Pen.

Galaxy Note9/S Pen pic.twitter.com/uAqOpZY2VC

— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) July 12, 2018

Given the number of leaks the Note 9 has suffered the legit-looking poster doesn’t tell us much we didn’t already know, but does confirm the Note 9’s horizontal dual camera system and rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, along with its USB-C port, headphone jack and S Pen slot. The poster also carried the tag-line ‘The super powerful Note’, suggesting that an under-the-hood upgrade is also likely.  

12/7/18: The Galaxy Note 9 will go on sale earlier than expected, according to a report at ET News. The Korean site writes that Samsung’s flagship phablet will arrive on shelves on 24 August, two weeks after its 9 August unveiling. In comparison, last year, the Galaxy Note 8 was launched on 23 August and went on sale on 15 September.

This early launch, ET News claims, comes as Samsung looks to offset the “sluggish performance” of the Galaxy S9 and S9+, which are reportedly the most unpopular S series smartphones since the Galaxy S3. Samsung is also looking to beat Apple’s next-generation iPhones to market, with the so-called iPhone 9, iPhone 11 and 11 Plus set to debut in September. 

11/7/18: Android Headlines has got its hands on what it claims to be an official render of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (below). The image, obtained via a ‘reliable source’, doesn’t tell us much about the incoming flagship, but does confirm that it will be near identical to its Note 8 predecessor, albeit for a slightly smaller chin. The render shows off the same curved infinity display, its unmoved front-facing camera and iris scanner and its identically-placed power and Bitby keys. 

6/7/18: Samsung has prematurely published its official support page for the Galaxy Note 9, weeks before it’s officially launched. Spotted by SamMobile, the official pages, which have cropped on Samsung’s websites in Denmark, France, Finland and Norway, don’t reveal any details about the device, other than its SM-N960F model number which is already known.

5/7/18: Accessory maker Olixar has started flogging cases (below) for the Galaxy Note 9, all-but-confirming that the Samsung flagship won’t have many surprises in store. That is unless you’re likely to be shocked by the handset’s “chin”, similar to that seen on the Galaxy S9 and S9+, as earlier rumours had suggested that Samsung would opt for a fully bezel-less design. 

The cases, which are now available for pre-order at MobileFun, also confirm that the Note 9 will pack dual cameras placed horizontally with a fingerprint sensor and heart rate module placed underneath. It also offers a glimpse at the handset’s curved screen, and the Note 9’s slot for Samsung’s new-and-improved S-Pen.  

4/7/18:  The Galaxy Note 9 isn’t launching for another five weeks, but that hasn’t stopped the first hands-on review from surfacing online. The fondling, which comes courtesy of Mobile-Review‘s Eldar Murtazin, who claims to have “had the opportunity to see this device, to evaluate the hardware” on a recent trip to the US. 

Murtazin doesn’t reveal much we don’t already know. He confirms the Note 9 will be almost identical to the Note 8 besides its slightly heavier design, and he also caught sight of Samsung’s new S Pen, which boasts added Bluetooth connectivity and improved accuracy.

The Galaxy Note 9’s dual cameras will be aligned horizontally, Murtizan notes, with a fingerprint scanner sat underneath – rather than embedded the AMOLED display. This screen boasts “increased brightness” compared to the Galaxy S9+, but boasts the same curved edges.

Elsewhere, the so-called review confirms that the Note 9 will pack a 4,000mAh battery – which Murtazin claims delivers 25 hours of video playback with the screen set to maximum brightness, and will be made available with a choice of 6/128GB, 8/256GB and 8/512GB RAM and storage.

2/7/18: The Galaxy Note 9’s bundled S-Pen will come with baked-in Bluetooth, enabling it to “do something unrelated to the pen”. So says Ice Universe (below), and while it’s unclear what functionality the stylus will offer, online rumours suggest the S Pen will be able to pause and resume music playback, and be able to act as a camera shutter button. 

The Galaxy Note9 SPen can be used to control long-range self-timer, control music playback, because it is a Bluetooth device, it will do something unrelated to the pen. pic.twitter.com/WPS83xUskq

— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) July 1, 2018

27/6/18: Samsung has unveiled its new ISOCELL Plus camera sensor that looks set to debut on the Galaxy Note 9, SamMobile reports.

The sensor, shown off at MWC Shanghai this week, promises sharper and more accurate photos, even in poor lighting conditions. Samsung claims the upgraded tech will deliver higher colour fidelity along with up to a 15 per cent enhancement in light sensitivity. 

The technology also enables image sensors to equip 0.8-micrometer (µm) and smaller-sized pixels without any loss in performance, making it an optimal solution for developing “super-resolution” cameras with over 20MP.

“The ISOCELL Plus will not only enable the development of ultra-high-resolution sensors with incredibly small pixel dimensions but also bring performance advancements for sensors with larger pixel designs,” Samsung said. 

26/6/18: The Galaxy Note 9 just showed up at the FCC a month earlier than the Galaxy Note 8 did. 

While the listing gives little away beside the handset’s SM-N960F model number and confirmation of its bundled stylus, it adds weight to earlier rumours that the Note 9 will see an early-August launch. Previous reports claim that Samsung will show off its 2018 Note-branded flagship at an event in New York on 9 August.

25/6/18: The Galaxy Note 9 will ship with a new version of Samsung’s S Pen stylus that comes with a feature that’s “worth the wait”, Ice Universe claims.

Do you often use SPen for Galaxy Note? The Note9 SPen feature is worth the wait.

— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) June 24, 2018

While it’s unclear what this feature is, earlier rumours claimed this year’s S upgraded Pen will feature Bluetooth, allowing the stylus to be used both as a wireless speaker and as a microphone for making and receiving phone calls. 

20/6/18: Good news – the Galaxy Note 9, much like the newly-announced Oppo Find X, isn’t going to jump on the notch bandwagon. That’s if a leaked front panel (below), obtained by Ice Universe, is legit, as it suggests that the Samsung flagship will boast a near bezel-less design without adopting an awkward cutout.

Screen Panel of Galaxy Note9 pic.twitter.com/OPcMOhGVSN

— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) June 19, 2018

The bezels are visibly thinner than those on the Note 8, too, despite appearing to house an additional sensor up top – perhaps for improved face recognition. 

19/6/18: A slip-up by South Korean retailer KT Plaza Shop has revealed some pre-order information about the Galaxy Note 9 ahead of its rumoured August launch.

The listing, which was screen grabbed by an eagle-eyed Twitter user before being deleted, all-but-confirms that the Note 9 will be available in 64GB, 246GB and 512GB variants, but if recent rumours are to be believed, the latter will only be made available in China and South Korea. The page also suggests that Note 9 pre-orders will ship with a free DeX dock, although it’s unclear if the same deal will be offered in Blighty. 

Further reading

Source: https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3020485/galaxy-note-9-release-date-specs-and-price-ifixit-slaps-handset-with-dismal-repairability-score

[neptunecreek]

Seven Awful DRM Moments from the Year (and Two Bright Spots!): 2017 in Review

The Apollo 1201 project is dedicated to ending all the DRM in the world, in all its forms, in our lifetime. The DRM parade of horribles has been going strong since the Clinton administration stuck America with Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") in 1998. That law gave DRM special, hazardous legal protection: under that law, you're not allowed to remove DRM, even for a lawful purpose, without risking legal penalties that can include jailtime and even six-figure fines for a first offense.

That's a powerful legal weapon to dangle in front of the corporations of the world, who've figured out if they add a thin scrim of DRM to their products, they can make it a literal felony to use their products in ways that they don't approve of -- including creative uses, repair, tinkering and security research. (There's an exemption process, but it's burdensome and inadequate to protect many otherwise legal activities.

EFF is committed to halting that parade of horribles, but it hasn't been easy. Here are seven of the DRM low-points from 2017, and two bright spots that give us hope for the year to come.

The World Wide Web Consortium published its standard for browser-based DRM. We fought this from its inception, and even conceived of a compromise that would allow the corporate members of the W3C to get DRM in browser, but limit their ability to leverage the DRM to inhibit security research; stop a11ies from making their products accessible for people with disabilities; thwart archiving by libraries; and control who got to compete with them. The corporate members refused and the W3C caved, publishing the Encrypted Media Extensions standard without the consensus that the organization has prided itself on for 25 years. Three billion web users now have browsers with new attack-surfaces and new risks to their financial, familial, educational, personal and professional life.

Sony revives the DRM-encumbered robot pet. It's been 15 years since Sony used Section 1201 of the DMCA to shut down the community that had sprung up to extend the functionality of its Aibo robot dogs, threatening people with lawsuits and jailtime for modifying their dogs' operating systems. Now, Sony has brought back the Aibo and with it, revived its view that you can never truly own a product you buy from the company. The new, $1700 Aibo has a mandatory $26/month subscription fee, tethering it permanently to a Sony server. I will bet you anything that anyone releasing a mod that allows the Aibo to run as a standalone will get both a DMCA 1201 (circumventing DRM) and CFAA (violating terms of service) threat. Just your latest reminder that in the 21st century, we are increasingly relegated to the status of digital tenants, renting our gadgets on terms unilaterally set by their manufacturers.

The most powerful DRM in the video games industry is cracked within hours of release. Denuvo is billed as the video game industry's "best in class" DRM, charging games publishers a premium to prevent people from playing their games without paying for them. In years gone by, Denuvo DRM would remain intact for as long as a month before cracks were widely disseminated. But the latest crop of Denuvo-restricted games were all publicly cracked within 24 hours. It's almost as though hiding secrets in code you give to your adversary was a fool's errand.

Someone made a $400 kettle that only took DRM tea-leaves, and irony died forever. Did you buy a useless $400 "smart" juicer and now feel the need to accessorize it with more extrusions from the DRM dystopia timeline? Then The Leaf from Teaforia is just the thing: it was a tea-maker that used DRM-locked tea-pods to brew tea in your kitchen so you don't have to endure the hassle of having the freedom to decide whose tea you brew in your tea-brewing apparatus, and so that you can contribute to the impending environmental apocalypse by generating e-waste every time you make a cup of tea. If you were unfortunate enough to shell out $400 for this thing, you got played, because they went bankrupt in October.

All the virtual rabbits in Second Life faced starvation because of DRM virtual rabbit-food. Every Ozimal digirabbit in the venerable virtual world Second Life faced terminal starvation (well, permanent hibernation) this year because a legal threat has shut down their food-server, and the virtual pets are designed so that they can only eat DRM-locked food, so the official food server's shutdown has doomed them all. Ozimals LLC, the company that created the digipets, shut down last year, and Malkavyn Eldritch, a volunteer, kept their food-server online. Edward Distelhurst and Akimeta Ltd say that Ozimals shut down owing him a lot of money. The case has dragged out at great length, with court orders and reported bad faith from the owners of Ozimals. Edward Distelhurst and Akimeta Ltd sent a cease-and-desist to Eldritch, demanding that he "cease all use of Ozimals intellectual property." This means that he's shut down the server, which immediately killed every virtual puffin in Second Life -- the virtual rabbits will take longer to die, because they can retain some virtual, DRM-locked food in their bellies before they starve to death.

North Korea unveiled a DRM-encrusted surveillance tablet. The Ullim Tablet is the latest mobile device from North Korea to be subjected to independent analysis, and it takes the surveilling, creepy nature of the country's notoriously surveillant Android devices to new heights of badness. The Ullim analysis was conducted by researchers from Heidelberg's Enno Rey Netzwerke and presented at last year's Chaos Communications Congress in Hamburg. The Ullim tablet was made by installing a custom Android 4.4.2 version on a Chinese Z100 tablet that has had its network interfaces removed -- you get it online by attached a tightly-controlled network dongle that does wifi, Ethernet and dial-up. The Ullim Android customization removes many of the stock Google apps (such as Gmail) and adds in several apps designed to spy on the tablet's users. These include Red Flag, a background app that takes a screenshot every time an app is opened, logs browser history and reports on any attempts to tamper with the OS; and Trace Viewer, an app that for examining the forensic data created by Red Flag. Any logged in user can launch and use Trace Viewer, providing a reminder that everything you do with the tablet is being watched. The Ullim also watermarks all the files generated by the OS, linking them to the device's unique serial number, locks out any app not on a whitelist, and refuses to play back any media files that are not on a nationally maintained whitelist of approved programs.

Oh, John Deere. Don't ever change. Meaning please, please change. John Deere claims that fixing your own tractor violates its copyright, because of DRM. So American farmers are installing bootleg Ukrainian firmware in their tractors, just to get the harvest in. Canadian farmers are braving Big Ag's wrath, too, and American farmers are coming up with Made in America ways to seize the means of production and make hay while the sun shines.

And now, a couple of most welcome bright spots:

Portugal passes the world's first reasonable DRM law: Last June, Portugal enacted Law No. 36/2017 which bans putting DRM on public domain media or government works, and allows the public to break DRM that interferes with their rights in copyright, including private copying, accessibility adaptation, archiving, reporting and commentary and more. Regrettably, the law doesn't go so far as to authorize the creation of tools to break DRM that has been improperly used, so the public is forced to hunt around online for semi-legal tools with anonymous authors of unknown quality. (cough Ukrainian tractor firmware cough).

Behold! The paleohistory of DRM, revealed! Redditor Vadermeer was in a local Goodwill Outlet and happened on a trove of files from Apple engineer Jack MacDonald from 1979-80, when he was manager of system software for the Apple II and ///. MacDonald's files include more than 100 pages of printed and handwritten notes for a scheme to create DRM for the Apple /// (then called the Sara) and the Lisa, a failed precursor to the Mac. These constitute a fascinating, candid and intimate history of the creation of a DRM scheme, a kind of microcosm for all the problems we see with DRM today, in which a platform tries to offer products to its sellers that it knows its customers will hate, and also be able to break. ne of the most amusing back-and-forths is the tick-tock between Randy Wigginton and Steve "Woz" Wozniak, who propose and then demolish rival DRM schemes, while also tearing apart successive versions of Visicalc DRM, which was then the state of the art. New managers come in and write memos saying, basically, "Are you nuts? You've proposed a grotesquely expensive hardware dongle that's going to eat one of the four expansion slots on this computer, that will stop working if the user upgrades their OS, that will require them to bring corrupt floppies back to the store to get a backup to work, and that we think people will be able to break in an hour -- let's go back to the drawing board, shall we?"

This article is part of our Year In Review series. Read other articles about the fight for digital rights in 2017.

Like what you're reading? Support digital freedom defense today!

from Deeplinks http://ift.tt/2pCqs8T

[vioncentral-blog]

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 review

https://www.vionafrica.cf/samsung-galaxy-note-8-review/

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 review

The Galaxy Note 8 is the biggest reimagining of Samsung’s best smartphones for productivity, and more than enough to right the major wrongs of the recalled Note 7. This is a mega-sized mea culpa.

Our month of testing has us convinced: this is a true redesign of your average smartphone from top-to-bottom, edge-to-edge, and rear camera to, well, rear camera. There are now two cameras on the back, a first for a Samsung flagship smartphone. It takes brilliant portrait photos, and you can even edit them post-capture to adjust the depth of field.

The S Pen stylus returns, and it has a larger 6.3-inch ‘Infinity Display’ to work with – but one that doesn’t increase the dimensions of the actual phone too much. The Note 8 acts like a big, borderless glass canvas for your important handwritten notes and masterpiece doodles.

Watch our video review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 below.

Why buy this instead of the 6.2-inch Galaxy S8 Plus? The extra tenth of an inch doesn’t really matter, but loyal Note fans adore the S Pen functionality, power users are going to benefit from the 6GB of RAM, and we loved the superior dual-lens camera in our tests – you will too.

This is the most powerful Samsung phone yet. It does, however, cost you in three ways. It’s too big for some – it’s technically Samsung’s best, but not the best for everyone. You’re going to need a Note 8 case to confidently hold this unwieldy glass beast, and two hands to operate it.

The big screen also comes at the cost of the Note’s usual oval-shaped fingerprint sensor home button. It’s gone. The on-screen button that replaces it works fine, but the fingerprint sensor is now located on the back of the device and off-center – it’s a textbook flawed design, and the alternative iris scanner doesn’t always work when you want to unlock the phone.

Then there’s the Note 8 price. If you want top-of-the-line specs, the one of the most advanced cameras, a stunning display, and streamlined multitasking on a phone, you’re really going to pay for them. The Note 8 costs more than the S8 Plus, although if you’re going to sink a lot of money into a device that you use everyday, you may as well go all the way.

Can your wallet, and the extent of your grip, handle the Note 8? That’s pretty much all that you – if you have faith in Samsung again – need to ask yourself before buying this phone.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8's biggest rival is the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, and Google's camera is slightly better but its screen is worse, in our opinion. And the all-new iPhone X launches on November 3 with a borderless display, facial recognition and an equally sizable prize tag, but that requires switching over from Android to iOS 11.

The Note 8 rules supreme in the big-screen, big-power, big-price arena, as we'll demonstrate in our full review.

Price and release date

At $929 (£869, AU$1,499), it's the most expensive phone you'll buy

Deals for have popped up before Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Released on September 15 in US and UK, September 22 in Australia

The Galaxy Note 8 release date was Friday, September 15 in the US and UK, while Australia will got the new phone on September 22.

Note 8 on the right

The official Note 8 price is $929 (£869, AU$1,499), and US carriers have it for as much as $40 a month for 24 months, though we’d suggest getting the unlocked, carrier-agnostic version. The best deal we can find is on Amazon US for $914.

Either way, it’s going to be the most expensive smartphone you’ve ever bought. The Galaxy S8 Plus, for comparison, cost $829 (£779, AU$1,349) at launch, but you can now get Plus for around $750 in the US, while Galaxy S8 deals make the smaller version almost half the price of the Note 8.

Good news, though: you can already find Galaxy Note 8 deals in the US and also in the UK. At launch in the US, it came with either a free Gear 360 camera or a 128GB memory card and fast wireless charger. We expect similar repeat deals.

In the UK the freebie was a DeX docking station, and there’s a dual-SIM version available. Best Buy is also offering $150 off the phone, and T-Mobile offers a $200 rebate via Samsung Pay offer and throws in a free Samsung tablet.

Design and display

6.3-inch 'Infinity Display' redefines the Note look and feel

But it's 9mm taller than any Note phone – it's the new big

Water-resistant up to 1.5m (5ft) for 30 minutes

The best color, Deep Sea Blue, won't launch right away

The Note 8 maximizes Samsung’s dual curved edge and nearly bezel-less Infinity Display to the point where this phone feels like a mini tablet from the future. It’s impressive-looking, but also big and heavy – 9mm taller than any previous Note phone, and 195g.

Stretching your fingers is well worth if you can physically manage it. Its expansive 6.3-inch display – now without a physical home button – has an unheard-of 83% screen-to-body ratio. The iPhones have a 67% screen-to-body ratio for comparison. That's a lot less screen for such big phones, at least until iPhone 8 arrives to change everything.

Samsung keeps topping itself, launching phones with the world’s best display every six months. Its maximum brightness, 3K resolution with Mobile HDR Premium, and wider color gamut are hard for anyone else to compete with. It's Always-On Display continues to be an appealing feature in a smartphone.

Lit up, the all-screen Note 8 feels like we’re carrying around a piece of light when we’re out and about. It's much better than the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL display, Google's biggest weakness.

The entire front glows with unimpeded information – as long as you don’t drop and crack it, and you’ll need to be extra careful as the entire phone is enveloped in glass wrapped around an aluminum frame. Combined with its size, this makes for one slippery smartphone.

While we spent most of the time using this phone naked (that’s without a case), we did test several Note 8 cases and instantly felt more confident carrying it around. Why? The added grip (and peace of mind) let us operate it with one hand, whereas we struggled with the pure glass body at such tall and wide dimensions. Sorry – you’re going to need a case with this phone.

There are very few Note 8 colors. It comes in muted tones of Midnight Black and Orchid Gray, while the Maple Gold and Deep Sea Blue colors will launch in other regions, which will likely come out later this year or early next year if you don’t see them yet; Samsung, annoyingly, refreshes its phones with new colors after a few months, much to the chagrin of loyal early adopters.

You also won’t get the best sound from the Note 8. It's a multimedia powerhouse visually, but its bottom-firing speaker still had us cupping the bottom of the phone to get better audio. Samsung has yet to deliver dual front-facing speakers like the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, or customizable Hi-Fi audio like the LG V30. Maybe next year.

The Note 8 is IP68 water-resistant, so it can survive up to 1.5m (5ft) underwater for 30 minutes, and it uses the reversible USB-C standard. Both are new perks for most Note fans. There’s also no camera bump, and that gaudy Samsung logo has been moved to the rear, no longer staring you in the face. Unfortunately, the fingerprint sensor has moved there, too.

The fingerprint sensor has marginally improved

No physical home button means a rear fingerprint sensor

It's further away from the camera vs the S8 and S8 Plus sensor

Iris scanner and face unlock are poor substitutes

We hate the fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy Note 8, just as we did on the S8 and S8 Plus. Maybe a tiny bit less, but we still don’t like its off-center rear location for the same reason: we keep blindly smudging the far-too-close dual-lens camera. It’s really difficult to unlock the phone.

Still awkward

What’s improved – slightly? The offset fingerprint sensor and center-aligned camera are a few milimeters further away from each other. Samsung wisely moved the flash and heart rate monitor in between the sensor (which requires your fingerprints) and the camera (which always gets fingerprint smudges all over it). That built-in heart rate monitor you forget still existed on Samsung phones now serves a purpose again.

Samsung’s unlocking alternatives don’t work as advertised. Face unlock has proven to be less secure, so much so that we don’t even suggest using it. And while you won’t fool the iris scanner, it won’t recognize you wearing sunglasses, or walking and holding the phone at the improper distance.

It’s ironic that we have a phone that looks like it comes from the future, yet it’s been designed with a fingerprint sensor that’s become a textbook design misfire on smartphones. Samsung could fix this issue with an in-glass front fingerprint sensor, but the technology isn’t ready yet. Expect this to be a grand announcement for the Galaxy S9 or Note 9 – please act surprised.

The S Pen is full of new and old tricks

Easy to sign documents and write directly on screenshots

Note-taking expands with convenient off-screen memos

Live Messages, GIF Capture add fun to this productivity tool

There are two types of people in the world – those who will use the Note 8’s S Pen, and those who think they’re going to use it, but will stop taking it out of its holster after about a week. It’s like everyone’s desire to own a Fitbit – you had good intentions when you set out to buy it.

Anyone who sticks with the S Pen, however, will get their money’s worth from the Note 8. We signed a PDF contract last week without having to print or scan it – in fact, we didn’t even have to leave the email app. We also jotted down handwritten notes and took screenshots that we were instantly able to mark up.

Plus the S Pen is also great for sketching with over 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity.

These features – usually reserved for pro-level tablets or 2-in-1 computers – are even handier on a phone. After all, the best note-taking device is the one you have with you all the time.

Frequent note-takers will love the off-screen memo feature, which lets you jot down white-ink notes on the turned-off black screen as soon as you eject the S Pen. Off-screen memos, introduced with the doomed Note 7, enable you to capture your thoughts without having to unlock the phone first.

The Note 7 also debuted S Pen features like GIF Capture and Translate, but these will be new to most Note 8 users. And new to the Note 8 is the ability to write out ‘Live Messages’, creating sparkly animations that you can send to anyone in GIF form.

If the S Pen lets you skip a few archaic steps – like printing, finding a working pen, and scanning a document – the Note 8 may be worth the extra $105 over the similarly sized S8 Plus.

Specs and performance

Impossible to slow down thanks to the new 6GB of RAM

The Snapdragon 835 chip is fast. The Exynos chip is faster

64GB, but includes a microSD card slot for extra storage

The Galaxy Note 8 is the fastest Samsung phone you can buy thanks to its souped-up internal specs, including the all-new 6GB of RAM and latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset. In the UK and other regions it’s even faster, courtesy of Samsung’s Exynos chipsets.

We couldn’t slow this phone down if we tried – and we did try. Running Geekbench software, the Note 8 CPU averaged a 6,524 multi-core score under normal use.

We couldn’t even get below the 6,000 mark when weighing it down by downloading a ridiculous number of apps, running Google Maps and playing music in the background all at the same time (6,164 was the lowest we hit).

This is much faster than our S8 Plus tests, which finally did break the 6,000 barrier, but under ideal conditions.

All of this is awesome news for multitaskers and power-users who want to fully take advantage of this S Pen-equipped device and harness the productivity benefits of the plug-and-play DeX docking station. And while the Note 8 comes with just the one storage option – 64GB of internal storage – it includes a microSD card slot for expansion. It’s not lacking in any way productivity-wise.

Interface and apps

Streamlined menus make for the best Samsung interface yet

App Pairing opens up multitasking windows more quickly

No timetable on the Android 8.0 Oreo update

While everyone waits for Google’s Android Oreo update, Samsung’s software is just as good, and in some cases even better. It’s steadily been burying its TouchWiz menu complexities and app bloatware; you shouldn’t dismiss Samsung anymore for its past software mistakes.

The Note 8 showcases the best of its ‘Samsung Experience’ software, touting a finely balanced interface that’s streamlined, yet has more options than stock Android 7.0 Nougat. Its menus are laid out logically and, when you can’t find something, there’s always a helpful suggestion.

Our favorite new feature is App Pairing. Its a new custom slide out menu that removes a step to multitasking, launching two apps at the same time. Real-life examples where this has helped included being on a video call, and needing to constantly reference emails (Hangouts + Gmail). Likewise, if you're constantly cross-references who's looking at your LinkedIn profile with Facebook, you can immediately launch both, one on top one of bottom, with App Pairing.

Bixby was great that one time it worked right

Bixby could be better than Siri and Assistant, but isn't

It can fully execute commands, replacing the need for touch

The biggest problem? It'll have trouble understanding you

Bixby 2.0 is on the way, Samsung announced in October

“Blow the pooper app” is what Bixby heard. What we actually said was “Download the Uber app”, on a New York City street that wasn’t particularly loud. We were 80% amused and 20% annoyed at its mistake, but, since we were carrying heavy stuff and clutching a large phone, those percentages flipped after about five ill-fated attempts.

This is Samsung’s voice-powered virtual assistant in a nutshell. It has a lot of potential, and is leagues smarter than the company’s S Voice software, but the execution isn’t as smooth as Apple’s Siri or Google’s Assistant just yet. It would be better than its rivals if it could just understand us.

When it did finally nail “Download the Uber app”, it fulfilled Samsung’s promise of “Anything you can do with touch, you can do with Bixby.” How? It navigated to Google’s app store, downloaded the Uber app and I was ready to go. Siri and Assistant both were a stop short by comparison, requiring you to hit buttons to install the app.

Samsung is so invested in Bixby that it’s included a ‘Bixby button’ on the left side of Note 8, below the volume rocker. It can’t be remapped and, oddly, you have to press and hold this button in while talking to Bixby, as if this was the world’s most expensive walkie talkie. Worrying about holding in this button is a difficult ask when you’re on foot or in a car. By comparison, the Google Pixel 2 XL and Pixel 2 launch Google Assistant by squeezing the sides of the phone, resulting in far fewer accidental presses, or squeezes.

Bixby doesn’t have trouble hearing – just hearing things correctly. While running our battery life test, it constantly interrupted (forcing a do-over), thinking the news channel I was watching was talking about Bixby every minute. Sorry, Bixby, you’re not that popular or newsworthy just yet.

Thankfully, Samsung announced Bixby 2.0 during the Samsung Developers Conference in October, and we await Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant-rivaling improvements and expansion.

Camera

Two 12MP cameras with optical image stabilization best iPhone 7 Plus

We loved its 2x optical zoom for telephoto pictures, portrait photos

Its 4K video quality and OIS are great, but LG offers more controls

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 camera is the best on any phone we’ve tested for three reasons: it captures clear, colorful photos, has a brilliant new bokeh (background blur) effect, and it sets you up with an easy-to-use, yet full-featured camera app.

Having two rear cameras makes a world of difference for bokeh-rich ‘Live Focus’ photos. This is Samsung’s answer to the iPhone 7 Plus portrait mode. It too blurs photo backgrounds, which reduces photobombing distractions and lets your important subject stand out. Don’t worry though, it saves both the zoomed-in Live Focus photo and the wider original photo by default, which is a unique and welcome touch.

What’s different is that Samsung lets you adjust the depth of field blur. A bokeh slider bar is displayed when you’re taking the photo, and it doesn’t go away after you’ve snapped the picture. Having more control over this background blur effect further highlights the power of two cameras.

Samsung’s telephoto lens is also better. Its second rear camera’s 2x optical zoom benefits from optical image stabilization (OIS). OIS means the internal lens actually moves to compensate for your shaky hands, and it’s something the iPhone’s telephoto camera lacks. The Note 8 makes great strides in reducing photographer’s remorse.

Samsung’s quick camera launch feature (previously ‘double-tap the home button’ on the Note series) has moved to the power button, and it’s nearly as convenient. We also appreciate the ability to quickly flip between the rear and selfie cameras by simply flicking the screen up or down. No more hunting for that pesky camera flip button.

The Note 8 has no shortage of photo modes: Auto, Pro, Panorama and Food, while missing favorites can be downloaded from the Galaxy App Store. There’s also a new Full View camera option, which caters to the dimensions of Snapchat and Instagram Stories.

The only thing we dislike? The fact that the timer is now hidden in the settings menu. You can activate the camera timer with a hand gesture, but it doesn’t always work immediately, and often makes you look like an idiot in public.

Video options include recording in 4K with smooth OIS, but while the Note 8 crisply captures everything directly in front of you, the LG V30 outclasses it with more manual and cinematic video controls. LG’s new Point Zoom ability lets you choose where to zoom in, while on the Note 8, you can just zoom into the center of the screen. Samsung’s video options include the more usual modes, like Slow Motion and Hyperlapse.

Battery life

Smaller 3,300mAh battery has Samsung going conservative

All-day battery life, but depletes faster and charges slower

The Note 8 battery doesn’t explode – or at least it hasn’t after about two weeks of extensive testing. We even tried to overclock it by cycling through many power-hungry apps. No dice.

Everything is safer, according to Samsung. Its eight-point battery safety check, introduced in the wake of the Note 7 debacle, set strict rules for the S8, S8 Plus and Note 8 battery review process.

What’s more obvious is that Samsung isn’t pushing the battery life boundaries of the sizable Note 8. It has a 3,300mAh battery, while the Note 7 and S8 Plus have a 3,500mAh power pack.

You’ll still get all-day battery life, and Samsung’s power-saving software tricks can can extend that to slightly over 24 hours. However, our on-screen tests showed a noticeable drop in the Note 8’s ability to hold onto power, partly due to its intense brightness and wider 18.5:9 screen.

For once, Samsung isn’t pushing the envelope on battery life with the Note 8. Instead, the Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom is the one touting a 5,000mAh battery behind a 5.5-inch screen. That’s a shame – but in Samsung’s embattled eyes it’s a case of better safe than sorry.

The Note 8 also dials back on rapid charging. It’s still a ‘Fast Charging’ device, but during our tests it took longer (115 mins) to charge with the included USB-C cable. And, remember, it has a smaller battery so it technically should be faster than S8 Plus (101 mins) and Note 7 (98 mins) charge times. Clearly Samsung doesn’t want to make the same mistake twice.

Fact: wireless charging is great – but it’s never fast. Testing Samsung’s newest Fast Charge Wireless Convertible pad, it brought the Note 8 to 100% after two hours and 35 minutes (155 minutes). You should know this before buying a wireless charging pad if you want it for anything other than convenience.

Big battery sizes used to be a defining Note phone feature until the Note 7 became defined by its disastrous battery. All-day battery life is good enough, but the Note does feels like it’s missing a hallmark feature. We’re paying here for the sins of the 7.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is the best big phone you can buy. For once, it’s more than just the size of the screen and the power of the S Pen that count. It also captures superior telephoto and bokeh-rich photos with its new dual-lens array, and it clocks in faster with 6GB of RAM.

There a price to pay, however. It’s a taller phone with a steeper price tag. It takes a lot of finger-stretching to reach the outer edges of the screen, and costs more money than any previous Note phone. You’re also only getting all-day battery life that’s lower than expected, probably thanks to last year’s recall. It’s less, shall we say, Note-worthy.

The Note 8 is Samsung’s big phone homecoming, its dual-lens camera debut and its 6GB of RAM premier wrapped into one. It makes quite an entrance. Let’s just hope it doesn’t make another quick exit.

Who’s it for?

Can you handle the Note 8 size and price? Yes? Then this phone is for you. There’s more screen than ever, it has the best camera on a phone and you can’t slow it down. It’s Samsung’s best – but it can’t be recommended to everyone.

Upgrading from an old Note? It’s a big jump from 2015’s Note 5, the last Note with more than a two-month lifespan. And for those in the UK, it’s the first Note since the plastic-clad Note 4. It’s going to be like upgrading to the future – and sorry, futuristic inflation rates apply.

Competition

Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus

We liked the S8 Plus six months ago and still do, but we’re in favor of you buying the Note 8. Why? Because if you’re going to spend this much money on a Samsung phone, you might as well get the very best. They both have sizable all-screen displays, fast chipsets and stunning cameras, but only the Note 8 has the dual-lens camera, 6GB of RAM and the S Pen. For the extra $105, you’re more futureproofed.

iPhone 7 Plus

Apple is about to retire the iPhone 7 Plus as its flagship, but it features a dual-lens camera with a similar telephoto lens and bokeh-rich portrait photos. There’s no optical image stabilization on the telephoto lens, and we just plain like the Samsung camera more these days. But Apple’s phone is – and this is shocking – a lot cheaper at $769, and current iPhone 7 Plus deals make it even less expensive. Plus, once iMessages and Apple’s streamlined ecosystem get a hold of you, it’s hard to leave.

LG V30

Hear me out. This LG smartphone is worth looking into for one reason, even if you’re a lifelong camp Samsung supporter: the V30 has more robust video features. It may not take better photos in the end, but we dig its wide dual-lens camera, and LG finally put an OLED display inside second all-screen phone. It doesn’t have a stylus, but will launch with a lower price tag than the Note 8 at the end of this month.

[attendantdesign-blog]

New Post has been published on Attendantdesign

New Post has been published on https://attendantdesign.com/android-o-will-sorta-be-the-end-of-the-road/

Android O will (sorta) be the end of the road

When it involves Samsung, a great deal of the eye has been on its pair of Galaxy S8 flagships and upcoming Galaxy Note eight, and rightfully so – the phones look to be the most famous selections inside the land of Android. What has quietly gone beneath the radar is Samsung Internet, Samsung’s cell browser that can now be used across almost any Android tool.

The declaration comes as a welcome deal with, on account that Samsung Internet turned into different to Samsung telephones and pills. At the same time, the announcement is the corporation’s crescendo from an earlier Samsung Internet beta that spread its wings on Google Nexus and Pixel gadgets in March. In other words, it was best a depend on time till that list protected different Android gadgets.

: Samsung Galaxy Note 8 to come with force touch/three-D  sorta contact Android  road 

  Samsung Galaxy Note eight to come with force touch/3D touch? 2 days in the past Samsung Internet is in incredibly of an unenviable role, however. Even even though the browser has over one hundred million downloads, the likes of Chrome, Opera, and Firefox dominate the cellular browser panorama.

Even so, there may be masses to like approximately Samsung Internet. For one, the cutting-edge beta replace introduces a high assessment mode that ought to make the reading greater cozy for people with impaired vision. The replace additionally lets you play around with Bluetooth and WebVR from the browser, as well as sync across multiple devices.

Finally, and probably the feature as a way to interest the most folks, is the fast access to content material blockers. Samsung was given critical about content material blocking off whilst it gave Samsung Internet ad block support, and the company has most effective doubled down in that location ever given that. The present day beta replace maintains that trend, with a listing of extensions constructed into the settings menu.

If you already use Samsung Internet or are interested in trying out Samsung’s cellular browser, the beta update with all the aforementioned capabilities will roll out global over the following few days. Those on the strong model will need to wait for a chunk longer because the beta will be up to date several instances earlier than prime time.

  Just ensure your Android device is noticeably cutting-edge – Samsung Internet will not paintings on whatever older than Android 5.0 Lollipop.

GET THE SAMSUNG INTERNET BETA FROM THE PLAY STORE NEWS Samsung Internet Samsung Internet Developers Williams Pelegrin Having written news articles on video games for several years, Williams shifted his recognition to the mobile generation. From 2014 via the first quarter of 2017, he wrote for Digital Trends earlier than becoming a member of the Android Authority squad. Make him sense welcome on Twitter and you would possibly see a chunk of happiness head your way (or articles, whichever comes first). Popular In the Community

LG V30 AND V30 PLUS REPORTEDLY ARRIVING ON THE SAME DAY FOR $700 AND $875 a gigantic midget 15h More of this stock Nazi bullshit… I would like them to use much less bloat and to roll updates out faster, however, I wouldn’t want them to apply stock Android because I don’t want each cell phone to feel the same. I assume every emblem ought to have their personal particular consumer revel in. EXCLUSIVE: HTC ‘OCEAN LIFE’ WILL LAUNCH AS HTC U11 LIFE LATER THIS YEAR Ron Lunsford 1d I love the concept, however, a lot relies upon on fee factor. First off, did they ditch the glass back to keep the cash? Second, is the shape thing the SAME (and I mean EXACTLY THE SAME) as the U11? Finally, the charge… If they ditch the glass in favor of plastic, and then kept the exact length of the 11 and fee it underneath $three hundred, it’s a total winner. I suppose the SD6xx is plenty fast to run 7.1.X so there is no hassle there. Moving from sixty-four to 32GB on the garage is not any trouble if the rate drops as nicely. Hopefully, they’ll run a great rear sensor and a decent the front facing one. Overall, I suppose if they nail the price factor and allow customers to get the U11 add-ons for it, it is going to be a brilliant tool for T-Mo users! SECURITY FIRM DISCOVERS SEVERAL MAJOR SECURITY FLAWS IN XIAOMI’S MIUI GTasOz 22h Did I just examine a non-article? Xiaomi’s rebuttal is proper on. Given the hardware configuration of these gadgets who does now not have passwords, and/or the fingerprint register on! SOME GALAXY NOTE eight UNITS MIGHT COME WITH 256 GB OF INTERNAL STORAGE BAILEY45 3d Do I hate Samsung for giving their first-rate to different international locations, like why can’t we get the Exynos chips? And then 6GB of RAM in the s8…However simplest in Korea?! And now this? I just don’t get it Samsung, you’ll make extra cash in case you dealt with us all equally. I recognize I’d pay more to destiny-evidence myself a piece and get a 6GB S8, however, I’m not dealing with ordering it out of Korea off a few shady supplier on eBay or some thing. ANDROID O WILL (SORTA) BE THE END OF THE ROAD FOR THE ONEPLUS three/3T RedTag 6h Only one year of updates… Also really mad about the beta element.

OnePlus got here out with one exact cell phone which turned into the 3. They’re by no means going to get mainstream if they keep doing this to their fan base. TURING APPASSIONATO FIRST LOOK: A SOLID PHONE FROM A COMPANY WITH A SHAKY PAST OliveBulb 1d Unrelated to the item, no person cares. ASUS ZENFONE four AND ZENFONE four SELFIE DUO LEAK IN FULL GoldTrumpet 5h Better buy a Zenfone three – five, five. I own one and it is definitely excellent. SET IT AND FORGET IT: 5 THINGS YOU SHOULD ALWAYS AUTOMATE ON YOUR PHONE Ralphfighter33 6h There’s not anything wrong with the place I even have in no way touched the digital camera. I wish human beings might stop bitching approximately it. XIAOMI STARTS ROLLING OUT ANDROID 7.Zero NOUGAT UPDATE FOR REDMI NOTE 4 USERS IN INDIA praba2006 13h Hi, I am in Indian and now not getting the Android N replace. Still expecting it. THE NEXT STEP IN MOBILE GRAPHICS LOOKS LIKE A GAME CHANGER (LITERALLY) OliveDog second But Apple GPU’s are manner beforehand of Mali GPU’S OFFICIAL: LG V30 TO Sports F/1.6 APERTURE LENS, THE LARGEST IN ANY SMARTPHONE CAMERA Vishnu Vadlamudi second The decrease the f forestall, the broader the aperture. Wide apertures allow greater mild improving the exceptional of pictures, especially in low light. EXCLUSIVE: THIS IS THE MOTO X4 NotoriousNeo 14h It’s starting to get to the factor now with Motorola which you can’t buy a telephone from them that exams all the marks. You both want mods (Z), need IP68 (X) protection or want an inexpensively accurate performer (G5 Plus). I recognize preference and all, but they literally haven’t any flagship that offers it all in one package deal just like the rest of the %. I’m also now not absolutely positive what their method is right here with their specs and pricing. A G5 Plus with a Snapdragon 625 and 4GB of RAM is $299 or inexpensive. If the X4 (with a 630 and 3GB of RAM) is priced any higher than $399, I suggest why bother? If it’s priced underneath that then what is the factor of the G5? It seems like they need to begin streamlining matters a piece as it’s starting to get a touch out of hand. TWO YEARS IN, SUNDAR PICHAI FACING HIS TOUGHEST MOMENT AS CEO OliveBowtie 9h There become definitely not anything arguable about that memo. And for him to be fired and this to purpose this kind of big uproar indicates how huge the internal echo chamber is.

THE NEXT STEP IN MOBILE GRAPHICS LOOKS LIKE A GAME CHANGER (LITERALLY)

  BlueCloud 12h I’m going to must agree with ImJaoqinTheDog, the cell sports enterprise is one of the worst with exceptional manipulate. The so referred to as “builders” that need a slice of the pie generally load their games with worrying commercials, IAPs and pay to win mechanics, which lead to a poorly made sport and a cash seize for builders. Games like pulse are great, but it genuinely isn’t always ideal for you to play a shooter on a cell. When you can play on structures intended to play games consisting of a laptop which could perform better than cell phones, in the equal rate range and meant for at the move gaming. Such as laptops that encompass a get 1050, which is one of the satisfactory finances portraits playing cards you may get at the moment. MIUI 9 GLOBAL BETA NOW AVAILABLE ON XIAOMI MI 6 AND REDMI NOTE 4/4X GoldWeights 4h I actually have a Note four and I got the replacement. Popular In the Community

SOME GALAXY NOTE eight UNITS MIGHT COME WITH 256 GB OF INTERNAL STORAGE BAILEY45 3d Do I hate Samsung for giving their first-rate to different international locations, like why can not we get the Exynos chips? And then 6GB of RAM in the s8…However simplest in Korea?! And now this? I just do not get it Samsung, you would make extra cash if you treated us all equally. I recognize I’d pay extra to future-proof

[breakingnewsandsports]

I can pinpoint the exact moment I realised buying an iPhone 7 Plus was a mistake: When I tried to interview a London venture capitalist over the phone.

Apple has rigged the iPhone so that you cannot record a phone call. It is not illegal to tape phone calls, especially if you disclose to the other person that your call is being recorded. And phones have had call-recording functions on them for more than a decade. But for some reason Apple just does not allow call-taping to happen on the iPhone.

OK, I thought. Not a problem. I will simply download an app to record the call for me.

Nope!

Turns out that because of Apple's ban, call-taping apps only work if you merge your call with a second call to the app, which the app then records. Clunky but not impossible.

But ... no!

I discovered that my wireless carrier doesn't support merged calling on my iPhone calling plan, so I couldn't even do that. 

OK, I thought. I'll just put the call on speaker, and use Apple's Voice Memos app to record the sound.

Thrice no!

The iPhone is rigged to prevent that, too.

So I solved the problem by putting my iPhone 7 Plus on speaker, and putting my old Android phone next to it, which taped the call through Voice Recorder by Appliqato.

My old Samsung Note 5 recorded the conversation wonderfully and shared it instantly into Dropbox for me. In fact, had I taken the call on the Note 5, I could have used Automatic Call Recorder by Appliqato to do the exact same job in a single step. 

But neither of these apps, and none of these functions, are available on iPhone.

As someone who relies on their phone for work, someone who uses it 18 hours a day, a smartphone is the most important device in my entire life. I need my phone to do everything for me. The Note 5 was the first phone that did all that. But I dropped it, putting a big crack in the back of its beautiful ivory gold case. 

You have probably guessed why I bought an iPhone: I was one of the people eagerly looking forward to the Note 7, until it started blowing up in people's faces.

So when the Note 7 was recalled on the day I placed my order, I bought an iPhone 7 Plus instead.

There is a lot to like on iPhone but ...

I wanted a big-screen phablet that had a great camera and fantastic battery life. That narrowed my choice down to the Samsung Galaxy S7, the Google Pixel, and the iPhone 7 Plus. I was in the mood for a change, so that ruled out the Samsung. And I believe that people who write about tech should use both Apple and Android devices, especially as about 80% of smartphones are Androids. (Tech bloggers are 90% iPhone users, which is why their coverage of Android is often biased or riddled with errors.)

My last Apple phone was the iPhone 5, which I liked a lot. The camera on that phone was a huge step up. I knew that Apple would have a good battery and a good camera, so I thought what the heck — I'll go back to iPhone.

There is a lot to like on iPhone 7 Plus.

The battery life is fantastic — it's actually disappointing if I go below 50% by the end of the day. If battery life is one of your main worries then the iPhone 7 Plus is a good choice for you.

In fact, there is a shopping list of little things that just seem to perform better on iPhone than Android, such as wifi capture, Twitter, and Gmail (ironically, given that it's made by Android parent Google).

Oddly, Instagram is a worse experience, probably something to do with Apple's historic disinterest in fully integrated sharing tools in iOS.

iPhone no longer has the best camera

The most surprising thing, however, is the camera: It's just not as good as Samsung's Galaxy cameras, even with the fancy new dual-lens system. Samsung has been getting great reviews for its cameras for a while now, and I think I know why: The company seems to have realised that most photos are taken in low-light conditions: Nighttime, indoors, and the winter/autumn months. Only a minority of pictures are ever taken in full sun or the natural light of summer. Thus, Samsung appears to have optimised its cameras for the darkness, extracting decent pictures from even the most gloomy source material. iPhone, by contrast, produces much more muddy images, as these side-by-side photos from my colleague Rafi Letzter show:

It's not that the iPhone's camera is bad. It's just that once you've used a Samsung going to Apple feels like a step down — especially given the price you're paying.

The little things

There are a few other things that make the iPhone 7 Plus feel like it's a yard behind the competition, too:

There is still no dedicated "back" button on iPhone, even though Apple has gone to lengths to add a "go back" function into virtually everything. Sometimes you get an arrow, sometimes a little label showing the last app you were in, sometimes nothing. Mostly it's fine. But a proper back button makes everything simpler and neater.

I really missed Android's "menu" button, too. Not all apps are intuitively designed, but in Android there is a rescue button for dummies — hit "menu" and you get a list of all the things you can do on the immediate screen you're looking at. Not on iPhone. 

The Control Center lets you turn wifi on and off but not mobile data. That feels like an oversight. 

And not having a full keyboard, including the numbers, creates extra steps when you type that don't exist on Android.

But the place where iPhone really is a generation behind Android is the notification screen. iPhone has come a long way on this, and the level and functionality of the notifications and the status bar are so much better than they used to be. But on Android you can basically control the entire phone from the notifications screen. And you can customise it to your heart's content.

iOS offers only a basic version of all that. Once you're used to Android's system navigation speed it feels crippling to tap — and tap, and tap again — to get where you need to be in iOS.

So, bottom line: My iPhone 7 Plus is very good. But it was not worth the £938/$1,159 (including Applecare) that I paid for it. Which is why I'll be looking very carefully at the new Androids coming from Google and Samsung later this year.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Forget the iPhone 7 — here are 11 reasons the next iPhone will blow everyone away

http://read.bi/2iSsv48