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Even the smaller iPhone will have major improvements to camera

Written by Matti Robinson @ 20 Aug 2016 2:27

Even the smaller iPhone will have major improvements to camera Largely leaked iPhone 7 has been seen in pictures and even modelled into dummy units. From outside it looks really close to its predecessor only change really being the camera, especially in the bigger version.

Of course the larger, likely to be named iPhone 7 Plus, has been rumored to have a dual camera system which is something completely different from previous iPhones. However, now new leak reveals that there are some major changes to the single camera in the smaller iPhone 7's back as well.

According to pictures released by Nowhereelse.fr iPhone 7 will be getting OIS or optical image stabilization. This means that feature found already in the larger version of the previous year's model is coming finally to the 4,7 inch iPhone 7.

It must also be noted that the camera seems to be a bit larger from the outside but it's hard to tell if that is the case for the module itself. The pictures do show indication of OIS, as Nowhereelse points out, but other changed cannot be confirmed from it.




AfterDawn: News

Watch out Pokemon Go cheaters, you could be banned permanently

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Aug 2016 10:48

Watch out Pokemon Go cheaters, you could be banned permanently Developer Niantic has warned gamers that they could be permanently banned from Pokemon Go if they go about violating the game's terms of service.

For the most part, those that are getting banned have used GPS spoofing or bots/automation to help themselves in the game, and Niantic isn't having it anymore.

The message gamers have been receiving:

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AfterDawn: News

New York Times acquires a VR company

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Aug 2016 10:31

New York Times acquires a VR company Newspaper company The New York Times has acquired VR firm Fake Love as the company looks to expand its offerings.

Fake Love, based in Brooklyn, will continue to operate and brand independent of the NYT. The company has 50 employees.

"We're really interested in playing a bigger role in the marketing services value chain -- coming up with an idea, creating it, distributing the idea, measuring it," said Sebastian Tomich, SVP of advertising and innovation at the Times.

Fake Love will help the Times with special requests regarding augmented reality (think Pokemon Go), and VR projects.

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AfterDawn: News

Silk Road admin to be extradited to US

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Aug 2016 9:57

Silk Road admin to be extradited to US The Irish High Court has ruled that Gary Davis, aka Libertas, will be extradited to the U.S. to face charges that he was the top administrator for the online black market "Silk Road."

Davis, along with other alleged staffers, are accused of narcotics trafficking conspiracy, computer hacking conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. The Silk Road's founder, Ross Ulbricht, was convicted last year and is currently serving a life sentence. Another administrator pled guilty and served 60 days.

The accused says he expects to challenge the seizure of servers related to Silk Road:

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AfterDawn: News

Google fined $6.8 million in Russia over antitrust violations

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Aug 2016 11:42

Google fined $6.8 million in Russia over antitrust violations Russian officials have fined search giant Google $6.8 million for antitrust violations.

The antitrust authorities ruled that Google favored its digital services over those of rivals and did so by abusing their massive market lead with Android. In the ruling, the Federation Antimonopoly Service said that Google blocked out rivals from including their own services on Android, such as Maps, search and more.

"We have received notice of the fine from F.A.S. and will analyze closely before deciding our next steps," Google said in a statement on Thursday.

Google has faced similar allegations from the EU and other countries and is facing much larger fines.

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AfterDawn: News

Microsoft acquires game streaming service Beam

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Aug 2016 10:18

Microsoft acquires game streaming service Beam Microsoft has used a small portion of its huge cash position to acquire interactive game streaming service Beam.

Beam allows viewers to "play along" with streamers as they watch, giving them ways to interact with gamers - a nice step-up from similar services like Twitch. The service would let you "do things like setting which weapon loadout they take into battle for multiplayer shooters [or the] ability to help players pick quests, and... assign challenges that alter the gameplay considerably from what you'd get via a typical play through," says TechCrunch.

The team at Beam will merge into Microsoft's Xbox team. "I'm really excited about Xbox's focus on community," said Beam founder and CEO Matt Salsamendi. "Beam is fundamentally built on a connected group of passionate individuals that love gaming, and Xbox is super in tune with that."

Terms were undisclosed.




AfterDawn: News

Netflix launches FAST speed test app for iOS, Android

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Aug 2016 9:36

Netflix launches FAST speed test app for iOS, Android Earlier this year, Netflix launched Fast.com, a very simple site for testing your connection speed.

The streaming giant has now expanded their services to mobile users, launching FAST speed test apps for iOS and Android. Install the app and open the app to see your current Internet speed. There are no other options in the app except a refresh button if you want to run the test again.

FAST will only show you your download speed unlike rival Speedtest.net that shows both download and upload and Netflix says most users don't care about upload speed (and they are right).

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AfterDawn: News

Hulu to get rid of free, ad-supported service

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 08 Aug 2016 9:06

Hulu to get rid of free, ad-supported service Hulu has gone full-premium by announcing the elimination of its free, ad-supported service.

The company also announced an expanded distribution deal with Yahoo, which includes the launch of Yahoo View. Yahoo View will give users the five most recent episodes of shows from NBC, ABC and Fox for free (with ads), eight days after they air on live TV.

Hulu is owned by Disney, Fox, Comcast and Time Warner.

"For the past couple years, we've been focused on building a subscription service that provides the deepest, most personalized content experience possible to our viewers," said Hulu senior VP and head of experience Ben Smith. "As we have continued to enhance that offering with new originals, exclusive acquisitions, and movies, the free service became very limited and no longer aligned with the Hulu experience or content strategy."

The service costs $7.99 per month with minimal ads, or $11.99 without them.

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AfterDawn: News

Apple reinvents the home button with iPhone 7?

Written by Matti Robinson @ 08 Aug 2016 4:48

Apple reinvents the home button with iPhone 7? One thing about iPhone has remained superficially largely the same from the first iPhone. Even though we now have the Touch ID inside and the square is no longer present, the iPhone's round home button is largely the same as it was back in 2007.

Now Apple is said to update the key feature and remove one key aspect of it entirely.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is removing the physical button and replacing it with a capacitive home button.

This means of course that the clickiness of the button will be removed completely. This can be considered both a good and a bad thing but obviously Apple has come to the conclusion – if the rumors hold true – that the pros outweigh the cons.

Even though there is no mechanical click anymore, Apple is said to have inserted a haptic motor under the button which will give feedback from a press of the button. Also the button senses pressure in different force levels which enables new features not unlike the ones 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s display and Force Touch on Apple Watch have shown us.

Mark Gurman of Bloomberg also reiterated that the dual camera feature is likely to be found only on the larger 5.5 inch Plus version of iPhone 7.




AfterDawn: News

Apple Watch update to come in two versions

Written by Matti Robinson @ 08 Aug 2016 2:27

Apple Watch update to come in two versions It's been over 15 months since Apple released its first and only Apple Watch. It was meant to rock the world unlike any other smartwatch and finally show the potential of wearables. Well, it has oversold competitors but there's no question that it hasn't done as well as the company probably hoped.

Clearly there still were things, be it battery life or apps among others, that need improvement. We've been waiting for the second generation since the initial release and it was rumored that Apple would shows us the version two this spring. No Apple Watch was released, however, but we might see one, or in fact two, this fall.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities has detailed that Apple will be releasing not one but two different Apple Watch versions this fall in addition to the new iPhone 7. The first of the versions is a slight upgrade, including a better core chip, to the first Apple Watch. The second one, dubbed Apple Watch 2, on the other hand has new features such as location service improving GPS radio, barometer, and a larger battery.

Apple Insider reports that according to Kuo no major design changes are expected with either of the two models. That means that we'll have to wait until fall of 2018 for significantly different aesthetics in the core product. However, Apple has been providing new colors and band materials along the way and that will likely be Apple's approach to keep the hardware fresh this time around as well.




AfterDawn: News

Apple buys AI company for 200 million

Written by Matti Robinson @ 08 Aug 2016 1:47

Apple buys AI company for 200 million Apple has bought a US-based company focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), reports GeekWire. The company known as Turi is from Seattle area just like Apple's main rival of past decades, the Redmond-based competitor Microsoft.

As both AI as well as machine learning have become huge factors in the tech industry Apple is looking to make an impact with investments in the space. Obviously the company was one of the first to introduce a voice assistant, Siri, in mobile after acquiring the company with the same name.

At this point it's hard to tell what exactly Apple is looking for in Turi, after all, Turi's range of AI products is very wide. Turi's core products include analyzing and development tools for app developers and service providers which allows their apps to learn from the users and adapt to the audience.

It has been speculated that iOS 10's core AI functions already use some Turi technology which lead the Cupertino giant to acquire the company as a whole. At this point the details of it all remain very much in secret but obtaining such an asset is very likely going to make Siri a better product.




AfterDawn: News

Apple initiates a bounty program for bug hunters

Written by Matti Robinson @ 08 Aug 2016 1:05

Apple initiates a bounty program for bug hunters Apple has removed the encryption of the core components of its mobile operating system in the last iteration. This means that security researchers and other bug hunting specialists are now able to find problems within iOS 10 easier. Apple is now ready to recruit help outside the company to further iOS' security.

This approach has been further elevated by the fact that Apple is now offering fairly large bounties for people and companies that find bugs in their system, TechCrunch reports. The researchers have not only tools and means but now also a get rewarded with money for their efforts.

Many of the top tech companies have already offered bounty programs for some time. However, Apple will do this a little differently. Their bug bounty program is invite-only so you have to be invited to get rewarded by the plentiful bounties.

Apple's approach is a little bit different though. Unlike a lot of companies, Apple doesn't accept any and every bug report for the bounty program. They work with companies that have previously reported bugs to the company.

Bounties can be worth up to 200 000 dollars and in case the security researchers agree to donate the money to charity, Apple will double the amount. The bounty program will launch in September.




AfterDawn: News

Tesla confirms Semi and minibus for next year

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 Aug 2016 9:37

Tesla confirms Semi and minibus for next year Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the car company will unveil an electric semi truck and minibus next year, part of his ambitious "master plan part 2."

"We expect to unveil those for the middle of next year, maybe the next six to nine months type of thing. And then [we'd] have a better, more fleshed-out plan for when those would enter production," Musk said.

As with most things Tesla does, the timing seems aggressive especially given the fact that there was no acknowledgment of the electric trucks even existing until last week.

Both models "would enter production within low-single digit years," added Musk, although we hope that is closer to 1 then, say, 5.

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AfterDawn: News

Designers back Apple in long-standing fight against Samsung

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 Aug 2016 8:16

Designers back Apple in long-standing fight against Samsung Over 100 designers have signed a court brief on behalf of Apple, taking sides in a patent battle that has hundreds of millions of dollars in damages waiting.

A few of the big names include Calvin Klein, Paul Smith and Alexander Wang, who claim Samsung should pay damages for infringing on Apple's design patents and that by stealing the designs, Samsung made more sales due to their appeal.

In 2012, a jury awarded Apple $548 million for copying "the designs of the iPhone's rounded-corner front face, bezels and grid of icons." Samsung is fighting $399 million of the damages, claiming the infringing designs were a minimal part of a much more complex phone and that the Supreme Court should look into whether one patent infringement should lead to them paying for all missed profits by Apple.

The designers, for their part, say the "look of the product comes to represent the underlying features, functions, and total user experience," and that stealing the design certainly leads to lost sales for Apple. On the other side, Samsung has some tech giants including Facebook and Google who claim that such a decision against Samsung "could lead to diminished innovation, pave the way for design troll patent litigation and negatively impact the economy and consumers."

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AfterDawn: News

Report: Nintendo NX to launch with Zelda, Mario and Pokemon titles

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 Aug 2016 7:32

Report: Nintendo NX to launch with Zelda, Mario and Pokemon titles In a move that will certainly delight fans, it is being reported that Nintendo will launch their upcoming NX console next year with Zelda, Mario and Pokemon titles.

The console is set for release in March 2017, and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has already been announced. The reports claim that the unnamed Mario and Pokemon titles will launch within 6 months of the console's launch, within the "launch window" that can often make or break a system.

In addition, Nintendo will be getting some help from some old friends that left the Wii U for dead, as the reports claim Sega, Activision, Warner Bros, Ubisoft and Square Enix have all promised titles and appear to be all-in.

Furthermore, the sources claim the console will be less powerful than the PS4 and that the rumored detachable handheld controllers are indeed part of the console.

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