In year 2016 it will be sold over 1.4 billion smart phones. Mobile is the new central ecosystem of tech. The smartphone is the single most important product, which will determine the development of the semiconductor market. Smart phone centre of innovation and investment in hardware, software and company creation. The smart phone market is huge. Today, there are well over 2bn smartphones in use, and there are between 3.5 and 4.5bn people with a mobile phone of some kind, out of only a little over 5bn adults on earth. With billions of people buying a device every two years, on average, the phone business dwarfs the PC business, which has an install base of 1.5-1.6bn devices replaced every 4-5 years
Smart phone market is no longer fast gowing market. Expect single-digit worldwide smartphone growth in 2016. According to a new forecast from the International Data Corporation (IDC ) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker , 2015 will be the first full year of single-digit worldwide smartphone growth. IDC predicts worldwide smartphone shipments will grow 9.8% in 2015 to a total of 1.43 billion units. The main driver has been and will continue to be the success of low-cost smartphones in emerging markets. China has been the focal point of the smartphone market – now China has largely become a replacement market and there is economic slowdown in China.
Apple & Google both won, but it’s complicated – both Apple and Google won, in different ways. Android won the handset market outside of Apple, but it’s not quite clear what that means. Microsoft missed the shift to the new platform so Windows Mobile is on life support.
We will continue to see a globalization of the mobile landscape in 2016, as new China brands shake up the smartphone markets with new designs and business models. Expect continuing growth from China brands like Xiaomi, Lenovo and Huawei. Huawei says it sent in 2015 to more than 100 million smartphones and its now firmly among the world’s three largest suppliers. Samsung is the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer, but it looks that it’s production volumes are shrinking because of cheaper Android phones coming from China.
Last year’s CES had a conspicuous lack of killer smartphones, and O’Donnell expects this year to be very challenging for handset vendors – Apple included. It is getting really hard to differentiate from a phone perspective. In the smartphone market changes happen slowly, and for the challengers it is difficult to penetrate the market.
Apple’s position in smart phones is not currently a threat really none. The volumes of the iPhone does not come close to the Android camp in the unit sales figures, but it is clearly not Apple’s target at all – it targets to high-end phones. Apple made record sales in 2015 holiday season, but it is possible that Apple is going to have a tough year in 2016. Some Wall Street analysts predict an end of iPhone sales growth, shrinking iPad sales, and a tough year ahead for Apple. The high cost and the markets getting full are met weigh the Apple iPhone phone sales.Wall Street expects iPhone sales for the fiscal year ending in September will barely budge — and might even decline — from last year. That would be the worst year for iPhone sales since the device was introduced in 2007. If realized, the forecast significantly affect Apple’s value. Despite recent reports of cuts by iPhone suppliers, Apple remains most profitable company in S&P 500. Fortunately for Apple, most of its smartphone competitors are struggling.
Microsoft got the third mobile ecosystem market position, but it’s market share is pretty low: Microsoft’s market share was only 1.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2015. It is very possible that Microsoft will cut Lumia production significantly in 2016. Microsoft’s long-rumored Surface Phone is coming in the second half of next year, reports Windows Central. Windows 10 phones are not dead yet even from other manufacturers as Acer, Alcatel OneTouch just made some new ones. The key feature in the Jade Primo is support for Microsoft’s Continuum feature, allowing you to use the phone like a PC when connected to a larger display – though limited to apps that run on the device’s ARM processor. The idea, claims Acer, is that you can leave your laptop at home, but what’s the demand for PC phones? It is hard to get winning much traction in a market dominated by Android.
Microsoft says the Windows 10 Mobile upgrade will begin early 2016 to select existing Windows 8 and 8.1 phones. Microsoft could not update the smart phones in 2015 despite the fact that the operating system had originally been set to launch alongside the desktop version of the software in July. Microsoft has had a longstanding “chicken and egg” problem: Too few people have Windows phones for developers to care about making apps for the platform, and customers don’t want to buy Windows phones because they don’t have enough apps. Microsoft tries to help his problem With Windows 10, apps that developers write for the PC will also work on Microsoft’s phones. It could have some positive effect, but is no silver bullet. Microsoft’s biggest problem: The 10 most-used apps of the year in the U.S. were all made by three companies — Facebook, Google, and Apple.
It’s only been 15 years since the first camera phone came out. Today smartphones are giving consumers enhanced photo and video capabilities with 8-16 megapixel class. Smartphone cameras are great, or at least close enough to great that you don’t notice the difference. We’ve reached the point where you’ve got to work pretty hard to find a phone with a mediocre camera. Compared to a DSLR, smart phone cameras are lousy because they use tiny sensors, but still the camera in your pocket is crazy good considering the limitations manufacturers work under. The vast majority of top-tier smartphones use Sony sensors for their main cameras. The molded plastic lens elements in many cameras have reached the point where they’re essentially perfect.
For new smart phone camera technologies you could see array of lenses to enable Lytro-like refocusing, create 3-D depth maps, and improve image quality in low light. Some manufacturers are also exploring new areas, such as 3D cameras, massive megapixels (80MB), cameras that can take 360 degree panoramic images and video and cameras that can shoot 1,000 frames a second. 4K Ultra HD for mobile is another move to watch in 2016 as it becomes more common feature. Smartphones have decimated the point-and-shoot camera segment.
Smart phones are increasingly used to shoot videos. Smart phones are already deployed in many newsrooms for mobile journalism video shooting as it is easier (and cheaper) to learn how to film and edit on your phone than it is to use a big camera.(check for example step-by-step guide to shooting iPhone video). Live streaming video from smart phone becomes mainstream. Periscope was one of the first apps to really make live streaming events simple and easy enough that people wanted to do it. Many other apps are following the trend. Facebook begins testing live video streaming for all users.
Smart phones have already replaced many separate technical gadgets already, and this trend will continue. Smartphone have increased screen sizes and have finally become mobile TVs: Smartphones have overtaken the tablets as the most popular mobile device for viewing videos. The most watched content were targeted at teenagers videos and animation series for children.
Mobile display will be more accurate than eye in 2016 in high-end smart phones. Few enjoys a 4K-quality image even in his living room, but by the end of 2016, the same accuracy can be your smartphone. ETSI is preparing for development at ETSI CCM working group (Compound Content Management). Scalable 4K signal requires a very high dynamics (HDR, high dynamic range), as well as the WCG wider color space (Coloc Wider gamut). Such HDR / WCG techniques has only slowly been add to TV broadcasting. One can of course ask whether UltraHD- or 4K image are planting a cell phone make any sense, but they are coming (Sharp already announced that it would launch 4K-level mobile phone).
So device manufacturers need to support user expectations for downloading larger files for apps, movies, photos, videos and other materials, more frequently and more quickly. Networking speed is an area where we will see companies start to push the envelope in 2016, such as new creative strategies for caching, spectrum hopping and managing the Internet of Things.
The quality of LTE modem can make or break your smart phone product. Smartphones consist of two main components: Modems and application processors. Application processor performances of several smartphone brands are widely published, but LTE modem performance measures are much more difficult for the average purchaser to assess. Consumers have generally ignored the importance of connectivity in smartphone purchases, but device performance and positive user experiences are driven by best-in-class connectivity. There are 5 LTE smartphone modem chip makers currently shipping in mobile devices and besides U.S.-based Qualcomm, they include: HiSilicon (China), Intel (U.S.), Leadcore (China), MediaTek (Taiwan), Samsung (Korea), and Spreadtrum (China).
5G will be talked a lot enven though standardization is not ready yet. Just five years after the first 4G smartphone hit the market, the wireless industry is already preparing for 5G: cell phone carriers, smartphone chip makers and the major network equipment companies are working on developing 5G network technology for their customers.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that a smartphone is also a telephone. Nearly half of all phone users today employ their mobile phones as their primary voice connection (a number sure to grow). That the voice features in cell phones also advance. Very early on, the standard for human voice transmission was set as the “voice band” located between 300 Hz and 3.3 kHz (to put this in perspective, the natural frequency span of human voice during speech ranges from about 50 Hz to nearly 10 kHz). These standards were carried over for cellphone audio quality. Now that there are about about as many cellphone subscriptions as there are people on earth, one would think that there really shouldn’t be any more technological excuses for poor voice quality. New standards branded as HD Voice and VoLTE promise the eventual extension of voice transmission frequency range up to 7 kHz. There are also other major challenge preventing great sounding calls – especially noise challenges facing cellphone users. To get good sound quality we need to develop algorithms that isolate the person speaking from all other sources of noise.
Financial Services needs to get over its reluctance and go mobile in 2016, but it might not happen in large scale this year. Compliance concerns have long prevented financial services businesses from adopting mobile capabilities as quickly as other industries. Yvette Jackson of Thomson Reuters argues that technology advancements have made compliance worries of the past now obsolete.
Mobile payments are finally taking the momentum in North America, Japan and some European countries in 2016. Every second consumer is expected to smartphone or wearable device purchases to pay in few years. There are now types of mobile payment technologies in use. Some of them will turn to be interim techniques.
Despite many tools available mobile application development is still hard work in 2016. Mobile developer report shows growing back-end challenge: 33.9 per cent spent more than half their development effort on back-end integration. This effort includes creating and debugging APIs, finding documentation for existing APIs, and orchestrating data from multiple sources. iOS and Android dominate as target platforms. The disappointment for Microsoft is that all its hoopla about the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) does not seem to resonate here. What about making money? Only just over 60 per cent of those surveyed are primarily out to make money from apps themselves, with others aiming for goals such as customer loyalty and brand awareness. In-app purchases are the most effective method, followed by advertising and app purchase. Application landscape is changing: Single-function applications no longer meet the everyday life needs on mobile devices.
Web standards are becoming promising for mobile use but they are still far from making mobile apps obsolete in 2016. There’s a litany of problems with apps. There is the platform lock-in and the space the apps take up on the device. Updating apps is a pain that users often ignore, leaving broken or vulnerable versions in use long after they’ve been allegedly patched. Apps are also a lot of work for developers. Use the Web and the Web browser can sometimes help in solving some of those problems while creating other different set of problems. For example updates to HTML apps happen entirely on the server, so users get them immediately. Also HTML-based platform and a well-designed program that makes good use of CSS, one site could support phones, tablets, PCs, and just about anything else with one site. Currently HTML5 standards are advancing rapidly in the area of mobile Web applications. Web standards make mobile apps obsolete? I don’t think that it will happen immediately, even though many big tech companies are throwing weight behind a browser-based world (backed strongly by Google and Mozilla). So app or web question will still very relevant for mobile developer in 2016.
Google appears to be lining up OpenJDK – an open-source implementation of the Java platform – for future Android builds. Android runs apps written in Java on its Dalvik engine, and lately, its Android Runtime virtual machine. These apps require a Java class library, as well as various Android-specific bits and pieces, to work. Now it seems the next big releases of Android will use not the heavily customized Harmony-derived library but instead OpenJDK’s core libraries.
Android, which is controlled by Google, is one of Facebook’s biggest markets. Facebook has a contingency plan in case the company falls out with Google, according to The Information: a way to deliver app updates without going through the Google Play Store — currently the only way to update apps — and has a way of handling in-app payments. Amazon, which makes Android-based tablets, has a similar system: The app acts as a new store front from which other apps can be downloaded and updated, without Google Play.
There will be fascinating conversation in tech about smartphone apps and the web – what can each do, how discovery works, how they interplay, what Google plans with Chrome, whether the web will take over as the dominant form and so on. Ask the question: Do people want to put your icon on their home screen?
Mobile Internet continues to be important also in 2016. There is place for both Internet pages and apps. The internet makes it possible to get anything you’ve ever heard of but also makes it impossible to have heard of everything. We started with browsing, and that didn’t scale to the internet, and then we moved to search, but search can only give you what you already knew you wanted. In the past, print and retail showed us what there was but also gave us a filter – now both the filter and the demand generation are gone.
There is hunt for a new runtime, and a new discovery layer. Could it be messaging, Facobook or something else? Facebook and Google try to make mobile publishing platforms faster. Facebook has Instant Articles platform that aims to make articles loading fast on mobile devices. Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is Google’s plan to make pages appear super-fast for those using mobile devices. Fast-loading pages may also mean fast-loading ads, with advertising platform support for AMP that’s been announced. I expect that first those plaforms will make loading the articles faster than traditinal pages, but over years those systems, if they catch, will be bloated to be slow again.
Maybe in 2016 we should stop talking about ‘mobile’ internet and ‘desktop’ internet - it’s like talking about ‘colour’ TV, as opposed to black and white TV. We have a mental model, left over from feature phones, that ‘mobile’ means limited devices that are only used walking around. Get over it. For 15 years the internet was a monolith: web browser + mouse + keyboard. The smartphone broke that apart, but we haven’t settled on a new model. Mobile’ isn’t about the screen size or keyboard or location or use. Rather, the ecosystem of ARM, iOS and Android, that has bigger scale than ‘Wintel’.
Dick Tracy had it right. Wearable devices are becoming more of any every day item as they proliferate across markets. Wearable market is still immature and growing in 2016. While many new fitness bands, smartwatches, and other wearable devices have entered the market, most have under-whelmed prospects and users. It is quite clear the wearable industry is in its infancy and fraught with growing pains. You can expect the top five vendors will not only shift places, but come in and drop out on a quarterly basis. Wearables grew 197.6% in Q3 2015 when mobile companies shipped a total of 21.0 million wearables worldwide.
Whereas the smartphone is the ultimate convergence product, we are learning that wearables are inherently divergent products. It seems that super-duper smartwatches loaded with full-blown phone/email/camera/voice assistant capabilities together with all other bells and whistles are not necessarily winning recipe like it was for smart phones. Many consumers want instead simplicity, ease of use, and instant actionable feedback. As an embedded developer of wearables, not only do you have the challenge of addressing battery life issues, but also architecting and developing a system that takes full advantage of the underlying hardware. Heartbeat monitoring has become the must-have feature for fitness trackers. China has quickly emerged as the fastest-growing wearables market, attracting companies eager to compete on price and feature sets.
The newest wearable technology, smart watvches and other smart devices corresponding to the voice commands and interpret the data we produce - it learns from its users, and generate as responses in real time appropriate, “micro-moments” tied to experience.
Links to some other mobile predictions articles worth to check out:
16 mobile theses by Benedict Evans
Mobile 2016 Predictions from EE Times
2015 Appcelerator / IDC Mobile Trends Report: Leaders, Laggards and the Data Problem
702 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jon Barlow / Pebble Developers:
Fitbit to keep Pebble software and services running through 2017, but smart features dependent on third-party services will be reevaluated — Greetings, Pebble Devs, from our new home at Fitbit! — After last week’s announcement and Dev Blog post, we wanted to share the latest …
First Steps Forward with Fitbit
https://developer.pebble.com/blog/2016/12/14/first-steps-forward-with-fitbit/
Tomi Engdahl says:
GNSS mobile apps: Data outputs and Galileo
https://www.gsa.europa.eu/newsroom/news/gnss-mobile-apps-data-outputs-and-galileo
With more signals and better accuracy, Galileo is an invaluable resource for mobile developers working on precise positioning applications. During the first Galileo Hackathon at the WhereCamp in Berlin, experts from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) shared how Galileo is boosting accuracy and making positioning applications more precise.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Gerrit De Vynck / Bloomberg:
BlackBerry gives China’s TCL exclusive rights to sell BlackBerry-branded phones in most countries
BlackBerry Gives China’s TCL Rights to Use Its Brand on Phones
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-15/blackberry-licenses-brand-to-chinese-phone-maker-tcl-corp
BlackBerry Ltd. agreed to give Chinese manufacturer TCL Corp. the right to use its brand on future phones and sell them around the world.
The deal, which was announced Thursday without terms, gives investors and fans of the ailing smartphone brand a clearer picture of the future of the device that helped usher in the mobile age. TCL has already built two phones for BlackBerry using off-the-shelf parts and blueprints: the touch screen, Android-equipped DTEK50 and DTEK60.
Chief Executive Officer John Chen has been weaning the company off phones since he took over the top job three years ago, replacing falling handset revenue with software acquisitions and saying in September he would outsource all device design, production and marketing.
This deal gives TCL exclusive rights to sell BlackBerrys everywhere except Indonesia, where BlackBerry has an existing licensing deal, and India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fitbit Won’t Kill Off Pebble Services At Least Until 2018
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/16/12/15/1929243/fitbit-wont-kill-off-pebble-services-at-least-until-2018
Earlier this week, Fitbit announced that it was buying up the assets of smartwatch maker Pebble, and a lot of questions still exist around exactly how Pebble’s existing products will work. Today a member of Pebble’s developer team attempted to address some of those questions.
Earlier this week, Fitbit announced that it was buying up the assets of smartwatch maker Pebble, and a lot of questions still exist around exactly how Pebble’s existing products will work. Today a member of Pebble’s developer team attempted to address some of those questions.
Fitbit won’t kill off Pebble services at least until 2018
http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2016/12/15/fitbit-wont-kill-off-pebble-services-at-least-until-2018/
Following the news from earlier this month that fitness wearable firm Fitbit had acquired Pebble, fans of the innovative smartwatch have been fretting about the fate of their beloved devices.
In addition, Fitbit will work to update Pebble’s mobile apps and reduce their dependence on scattered cloud services for things like authentication and analytics in the coming months. Following that update, Pebble Health will continue to work as normal, as it doesn’t rely on cloud services.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chinese company TCL buys global rights to BlackBerry phone brand
TCL already made BlackBerry’s last two handsets — the DTEK50 and DTEK60
http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/16/13979914/blackberry-global-branding-phone-rights-tcl
BlackBerry has signed over (mostly) global rights to use its branding on phones to Chinese manufacturer TCL. The news follows an announcement by the Canadian company in September that it would stop making its own phones and concentrate instead on services and software.
Under the terms of the agreement, TCL will “design, manufacture, sell, and provide customer support for BlackBerry-branded mobile devices,” while BlackBerry will chip in with the software and services.
This latest bit of news is really just the continuation of a familiar story for BlackBerry. In 2009, the company held 20 percent of the global smartphone market; that’s now shrunk to a barely perceptible 0.1 percent.
the brand still holds a certain appeal for some consumers (or name recognition at the very minimum)
Tomi Engdahl says:
Feature: 2016 in review
https://www.mobileworldlive.com/videos/feature-2016-in-review/?utm_campaign=MWL_YearInReview16&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elqTrackId=dee374db86c84f199a879fc6ecda5350&elq=0a8d36a844174b38aefc453e9f59b8d4&elqaid=17759&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=7486
2016 had mobile megadeals, intelligent machines, tech wars and network nightmares. In traditional fashion the Mobile World Live team is here to review the biggest stories of an action-packed 12 months.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Zack Whittaker / ZDNet:
BlackBerry posts $301M Q3 revenue, below expected $332M; declining smartphone unit made up 23% of company’s revenue as software and services made up 55% — Albeit a small profit, the stock jumped by more than 2 percent. — BlackBerry’s big bet on software and services is making progress — albeit slowly.
BlackBerry posts small profit as focus shifts to security software
BlackBerry’s big bet on software and services is making progress — albeit slowly.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/blackberry-posts-small-profit-as-focus-shifts-to-software-and-services/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
eMarketer cuts growth forecasts for US smartwatch market in 2016 from 60% to 25% YoY, citing lack of clear use case — Apple may still be claimingthat sales of its Apple Watch are “doing great,” but overall, the wearable device category is failing to grow at the rates forecasted earlier.
U.S. wearables market is doing much worse than expected
https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/21/u-s-wearable-market-is-doing-much-worse-than-expected/
Apple may still be claiming that sales of its Apple Watch are “doing great,” but overall, the wearable device category is failing to grow at the rates forecasted earlier. According to a new report from eMarketer, wearables like Apple Watch and Fitbit were expected to grow more than 60 percent year-over-year from 2015 to 2016. However, the firm is now cutting that estimate down to just 25 percent growth this year.
“Smartwatches in particular,” the report said, “have failed to impress customers.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google will launch two flagship smartwatches early next year
The watches will be the first with Android Wear 2.0
http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/22/14057656/google-smartwatch-android-wear-2-0-launch
Google will be launching two new flagship smartwatches in the first quarter of next year, according to Jeff Chang, product manager of Android Wear at Google. In an exclusive interview with The Verge, Chang said that the new watches will be the flagship Android Wear 2.0 devices and will be the first ones to launch with the new platform.
The new smartwatches had been rumored before, but Google confirmed the upcoming launch today as part of a larger effort to convince consumers that wearables — smartwatches specifically — are still in demand.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Flurry Blog:
44% of global mobile device activations during week before Christmas were iOS, down 5% YoY; 21% were Samsung devices; Pixel, Pixel XL not among top sellers — By: Chris Klotzbach, Director at Flurry and Lali Kesiraju, Marketing and Analytics Manager at Flurry
From Apps to iPhones: Holiday Shoppers Invest in Apple
http://flurrymobile.tumblr.com/post/155022641240/from-apps-to-iphones-holiday-shoppers-invest-in
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bloomberg:
Canon Tokki has near monopoly on machines making OLED screens and a 2-year order backlog, raising questions over supply of OLED screens for future iPhones
Apple’s Search for Better iPhone Screens Leads to Japan’s Rice Fields
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-21/apple-s-search-for-better-iphone-screens-leads-to-japan-s-rice-fields
Apple Inc.’s quest to adopt advanced displays for its next-generation iPhone hinges on a single supplier in the Japanese countryside.
Canon Tokki Corp., surrounded by rice fields in the city of Mitsuke in Niigata prefecture, has a near monopoly on the machines capable of making screens with organic light-emitting diodes, which enable sharp, vibrant displays that use less energy. A unit of Canon Inc., the company of 343 employees has spent more than two decades perfecting the manufacturing equipment used by OLED screen makers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
David Barboza / New York Times:
How China built “iPhone City”, the world’s largest iPhone factory, in Zhengzhou by giving Foxconn billions in perks, tax breaks, and subsidies — A hidden bounty of benefits for Foxconn’s plant in Zhengzhou, the world’s biggest iPhone factory, is central to the production of Apple’s most profitable product.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/29/technology/apple-iphone-china-foxconn.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Nielsen’s 2016 top apps by monthly uniques: Facebook, up 14% YoY to 146M; Messenger, up 28% to 129M; and YouTube, up 20% to 113M; Amazon hits #10, up 43% to 65M
Facebook & Google dominate the list of 2016’s top apps
https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/28/facebook-google-dominate-the-list-of-2016s-top-apps/
Mobile applications from Facebook and Google dominated the new list of the year’s top apps released today by Nielsen. Not surprisingly, Facebook again grabbed the number one spot on the list, with more than 146 million average unique users per month, and 14 percent growth over last year.
Messenger came in second place this year, with over 129 million average unique monthly users, followed by YouTube with over 113 monthly uniques.
However, it was Google, not Facebook, that grabbed the most spots on the year-end chart.
According to Nielsen, Google’s apps YouTube (#3), Google Maps (#4), Google Search (#5), Google Play (#6) and Gmail (#7) were among those people used the most throughout the year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nielsen also took a brief glimpse into the state of smartphone penetration in the U.S., noting that 88 percent of mobile subscribers now use a smartphone, up from 86 percent at the beginning of the year.
Over half (53%) are on Android, with 45 percent on iOS, and just 2 percent on Windows Phone. Blackberry is somehow still on the charts with a 1 percent share.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/28/facebook-google-dominate-the-list-of-2016s-top-apps/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Agence France-Presse:
French law requiring companies to give workers a “right to disconnect” from work-related messages after work hours goes into effect on January 1 — From 1 January, workers have ‘right to disconnect’ as France seeks to establish agreements that afford work flexibility but avoid burnout
French workers win legal right to avoid checking work email out-of-hours
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/dec/31/french-workers-win-legal-right-to-avoid-checking-work-email-out-of-hours
From 1 January, workers have ‘right to disconnect’ as France seeks to establish agreements that afford work flexibility but avoid burnout
Tomi Engdahl says:
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Qualcomm inadvertently reveals ASUS ZenFone AR, Tango-enabled and Daydream-ready, and powered by Snapdragon 821
Qualcomm inadvertently reveals ASUS ZenFone AR, the second Tango-enabled consumer smartphone
https://9to5google.com/2017/01/02/qualcomm-asus-zenfone-ar-tango-daydream/
Qualcomm has inadvertently published a press release today about the yet-to-be-announced ASUS ZenFone AR. Billed as the world’s first device to be both Tango-enabled and Daydream-ready, it is powered by the Snapdragon 821.
This follows a leak yesterday that revealed the majority of specs and performance details for the forthcoming Snapdragon 835, and a tweet earlier today from ASUS suggesting that it will launch a phone with the new SoC…
https://www.qualcomm.com/news/snapdragon/2017/01/04/asus-zenfone-ar-worlds-first-snapdragon-821-powered-tango-enabled
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chuq Von Rospach:
Apple’s sloppiness became evident in 2016 with missed ship dates, lack of significant updates, and long delays on refreshes; company needs to realign in 2017 — This has been the winter of our discontent. 2016 was the year the tone changed. There’s always been a lot of criticism and griping …
https://chuqui.com/2017/01/apples-2016-in-review/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Austen Hufford / Wall Street Journal:
Apple missed internal revenue and profit goals in 2016, company’s SEC filing says, the first miss since Tim Cook became CEO — Executives miss out on part of cash incentives as annual sales, operating profit fall short of goals — Apple Inc. said Chief Executive Tim Cook …
Apple CEO Cook’s 2016 Pay Lower as Tech Giant Misses Targets
Executives miss out on part of cash incentives as annual sales, operating profit fall short of goals
http://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-cuts-ceo-tim-cooks-pay-after-missing-2016-targets-1483710023
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mike Butcher / TechCrunch:
Fitbit acquires European luxury smartwatch maker Vector for an undisclosed sum; no new products will be developed using the Vector name
Fitbit acquires the Vector smart watch startup, as the wearable giant continues its roll-up
https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/10/vector-smart-watch-startup-acquired-by-fitbit-as-wearable-giant-expands-its-team/
Well this is a relatively fast exit. In March last year a brand new smart watch brand appeared, hoping to offer something different. Combining the incredible engineering talent in Central Europe’s Romania, with the business smarts of London and former executives from Citizen watches, the Vector startup carved out a very credible slot in the ‘affordable luxury’ smart watch sector.
Only a year later, Vector has been acquired for an undisclosed price by global wearable giant Fitbit.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Andy Rubin Nears His Comeback, Complete With an ‘Essential’ Phone
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-13/andy-rubin-nears-his-comeback-complete-with-an-essential-phone
Android’s creator is building a high-end smartphone to be the centerpiece of a series of AI-infused consumer gadgets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Corbin Davenport / Android Police:
Weekly builds of CyanogenMod fork Lineage OS, supporting 80+ Android 6 and 7 devices, begin this weekend; Lineage OS to offer CyanogenMod data migration tools
Lineage OS official builds coming this weekend, data migration builds available for CM users
http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/01/20/lineage-os-official-builds-coming-weekend-data-migration-builds-available-cm-users/
CyanogenMod has long been the most popular custom ROM, covering a wide array of devices from numerous manufacturers. But after the breakup of Cyanogen Inc, and the subsequent end of the company’s support of CM, LineageOS was formed as a continuation of the project. Now LineageOS is preparing to offer official builds for over eighty devices.
A new blog post on the LineageOS site has announced that builds for “Marshmallow and Nougat capable devices” (likely meaning devices that received official CM13 and CM14.1 builds) will start this weekend. LineageOS release candidates will be released every week by default, and are signed with a private key for authentication and signature control.
[Updated] Steve Kondik blames Kirt McMaster for Cyanogen Inc’s failure, CyanogenMod to reorganize and regroup
http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/12/01/steve-kondik-blames-kirt-mcmaster-for-cyanogen-incs-failure-cyanogenmod-to-reorganize-and-regroup/
Kondik also essentially confirms what many had thought for years: the Inc. was badly mismanaged, the executive leadership frequently disagreed, and Kirt McMaster’s moronic comments about putting bullets through heads were an unending source of headaches and embarrassment for all.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Microsoft reports Surface revenue down 2% YoY to $1.32B as Azure revenue increased 93% and Phone revenue declined 81%
Microsoft reports $26.1 billion in Q2 2017 revenue: Azure up 93%, but Phone down 81% and Surface down 2%
http://venturebeat.com/2017/01/26/microsoft-reports-26-1-billion-in-q2-2017-revenue-azure-up-93-but-phone-down-81-and-surface-down-2/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Evan Blass / VentureBeat:
Leaked image shows Samsung Galaxy S8 with rear-facing fingerprint reader, no home button; source says S8 will be unveiled March 29 in 5.8″, 6.2″ configurations — EXCLUSIVE: — Samsung is preparing to unveil a pair of Galaxy S8 smartphones significantly different from past models …
This is the Samsung Galaxy S8, launching March 29
http://venturebeat.com/2017/01/26/this-is-the-samsung-galaxy-s8-launching-march-29/
Samsung is preparing to unveil a pair of Galaxy S8 smartphones significantly different from past models, according to someone familiar with the company’s plans. Because they lack the traditional navigation buttons found on handsets in this line’s first seven years, they will both feature displays even larger than Samsung’s traditionally oversized second-half flagship, the Galaxy Note.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Most do not pay for smart phone applications
Gartner research shows that most users do not spend money buying applications.
Downloading paid apps last year increased by only four per cent. More than half of smartphone owners do not buy paid applications. within the payment applications increased by 26 per cent instead.
Most applications use the money from the parent group millenniaalien ie 25-34 years. On average, they bought the applications of $ 13.40 during the quarter and the applications include payments came to an average of $ 19.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5738-useimmat-eivaet-maksa-aelypuhelinsovelluksista
Tomi Engdahl says:
Biometric identification quickly became more expensive and keskihintaistenkin smart phones with the basic characteristic. Describes the development of the very development of the fingerprint sensor market. In 2013 sensors sold 23 million copies, the last year 689 million.
In 2013, the fingerprint sensor average price was five dollars.
Last year brought the smartphone sensor component costs only three dollars.
Yole predicts that in 2022 fingerprint sensors sold 3.4 billion dollars.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5728-689-miljoonaa-sormenjaelkianturia
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qt expanded to wearables
Finnish embedded applications development platform Qt has been updated to version 5.8.
An important part of the Qt Qt is a plug-Lite, which allows the user interface and its components in the implementation of clearly more in less space.
Qt 5.8 also utilizes Wayland protocol, which allows the embedded UI project is to enable divided into different parts. Different teams can thus work on different applications, thus speeding up the development. Designers can of course also use C ++, if you so desire.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/5729-qt-laajensi-puettaviin
Tomi Engdahl says:
IDC: Smartphone shipments up 6.9% in Q4 2016, Apple overtakes Samsung for first place
http://venturebeat.com/2017/02/01/idc-smartphone-shipments-up-6-9-in-q4-2016-apple-overtakes-samsung-for-first-place/
Tomi Engdahl says:
MIT built a wearable app to detect emotion in conversation
Are you saying what you mean, or just saying it mean?
http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/1/14476372/mit-research-wearable-app-detect-emotion-speech
How a person tells a story could be interpreted in a multitude of ways — telling your friend about your awesome new car can come across as excitement or a brag, depending on the listener. To help detect the sentiment behind speech, a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology built a wearable app that can parse conversation to identify the emotion behind each part of the story.
The app, built into a fitness tracker for this research, collects physical and speech data to analyze the overall tone of the story in real time.
In the research, participants were asked to wear a Samsung Simband with the app installed and tell a story. The band also monitored the participants’ physical changes, such as increased skin temperature, heart rate, or movements such as waving their arms around or fidgeting. Overall, the neural networks were able to determine tone with 83 percent accuracy — though it is unclear whether the research has been peer-reviewed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
With Chrome 57, Progressive Web Apps will appear in Android’s app drawer, settings, more
https://9to5google.com/2017/02/02/chrome-57-progressive-web-apps-features/
The ambitious goal behind Progressive Web Apps is to allow websites to have the same capabilities and features as a native app, but without the initial download. Google has been a heavy backer of this model and will soon grant PWAs more system-wide access and integration in Android.
When adding Progressive Web Apps to the homescreen, they will now appear in the app drawer — addressing a long shared developer request which will reduce user confusion about why apps are seemingly inconsistent.
Other features include the ability to appear in Android settings and likely have an App info screen, as well as the capability to receive incoming intents to open up specific links. Lastly, notifications will no longer appear and be branded by Chrome, but rather originate from the native Android notification management controls.
Specifically, media notifications can include title, artist, album name, and artwork, as well as actions like seeking and skipping.
On other platforms, CSS Grid Layout support gives developers more granular control over how elements grow and shrink to fit the current screen size
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Samsung Galaxy S8 to be unveiled late next month in New York, with a curved-screen, an AI assistant called Bixby, and in two sizes — The South Korean tech company is hoping that a streamlined design and a new virtual assistant for its next flagship smartphone will help consumers forget last year’s massive recall
https://www.wsj.com/articles/with-galaxy-s8-smartphone-samsung-looks-to-hang-up-on-note-7-recall-1486703107
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:
WSJ: Xiaomi is working on its own smartphone processor, aims to release it within a month — The Wall Street Journal claims Xiaomi is getting into the chip design business. — According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi is looking to join the ranks of Apple …
Xiaomi reportedly wants to build its own SoCs, break free from Qualcomm
The Wall Street Journal claims Xiaomi is getting into the chip design business.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/02/report-xiaomi-to-launch-pinecone-smartphone-soc-within-a-month/
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi is looking to join the ranks of Apple, Samsung, and Huawei by developing its own smartphone chips. The report says the move is part of “aspirations to join the top tier” of smartphone manufacturers and an attempt to stand out from the slew of other OEMs.
For now, Xiaomi’s processor is apparently called “Pinecone,” and it will be released “within a month” according to the report. This might be talking about the processor of the Xiaomi Mi 6, which, if Xiaomi keeps to the usual yearly release cycle, should be out sometime in March. Xiaomi’s chip design division isn’t coming from nowhere—using a shell company called “Beijing Pinecone Electronics,” Xiaomi paid $15 million to acquire mobile processor technology from Datang subsidiary Leadcore Technology Ltd.
Today, every Android OEM that isn’t Samsung or Huawei relies on Qualcomm for high-end phone processors.
Samsung has its in-house Exynos SoC division, but most years it still ships Qualcomm devices to the US market.
Other times, a reliance on Qualcomm makes tackling new markets difficult. The recent LG and Google smartwatch, the LG Watch Sport, has poor performance and battery life, most likely due to the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 SoC.
Samsung feels differently, and it used its own SoC line to ship a modern 16nm Exynos chip in the Gear S3 smartwatch. Apple invested in smartwatch chips, too, and the company uses a 16nm chip in the Apple Watch Series 2. Both of these devices are faster, smaller, and have better battery life than the LG Watch Sport, but because Google and LG have no chip-design teams, they have no choice but to use Qualcomm.
Supply is also apparently becoming an issue for Qualcomm SoCs.
Xiaomi has struggled to launch a smartphone in the West. It keeps making moves toward doing so, like opening a US-based store
Bloomberg:
Xiaomi, the pioneer of online flash sales in China, plans to roll out a chain of 1K retail stores in China over the next three years under the Mi Home banner
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-10/xiaomi-goes-all-in-on-retail-to-revive-china-smartphone-sales
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mission Possible: Self-Destructing Phones Are Now a Reality
https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/17/02/11/2151231/mission-possible-self-destructing-phones-are-now-a-reality
Self-destructing gadgets favored by the likes of James Bond and Mission: Impossible’s Ethan Hunt have taken one step closer to reality. Researchers in Saudi Arabia have developed a mechanism that, when triggered, can destroy a smartphone or other electronic device in as little as 10 seconds.
Mission possible: Self-destructing phones are now a reality
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/mission-possible-self-destructing-phones-134642092.html
The self-destruct mechanism has been created by electrical engineers at the King Abdulla University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and consists of a polymer layer that rapidly expands when subjected to temperatures above 80 degrees Celsius, effectively bursting the phone open from the inside. The mechanism can be adapted to be triggered in various ways, including remotely through a smartphone app or when it’s subjected to pressure.
Once triggered, power from the device’s battery is directed to electrodes that rapidly heat, causing the polymer layer to expand to around seven times its original size within 10-15 seconds. This crushes the vital components inside the device, destroying any information stored on board.
The invention could provide a cost-effective fail-safe in situations when devices containing sensitive information are compromised.
KAUST said its invention can be retro-fitted to current electronic devices for as little as $15 (£12, €14) and, if necessary, configured so that some components remain intact when triggered.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kris Carlon / Android Authority:
The Information: Huawei shipped 139M smartphones in 2016, up almost 30% YoY; consumer division revenues grew 42% to $26B as profits declined ~10% to $2B
Huawei reportedly made less profit last year despite selling 30% more phones
http://www.androidauthority.com/huawei-sold-more-phones-made-less-profit-749148/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Julie Bort / Business Insider:
Sources: enterprise AR company Daqri, which has raised $132M, is laying off about 25% of its nearly 400-person workforce
A virtual reality company that raised $132 million is laying off staff worldwide
http://nordic.businessinsider.com/vr-company-daqri-is-laying-off-staff-worldwide-2017-2?op=1&r=US&IR=T
Virtual reality helmet maker Daqri is cutting about 25% of its nearly 400-person-strong workforce worldwide, multiple people have told Business Insider.
The workforce at its headquarters in Los Angeles and its Sunnyvale, California, offices were told of layoffs on Thursday and experienced the brunt of the layoffs, about 60 people, we understand. Other offices in the UK expect to hear about job cuts on Monday.
A virtual reality company that raised $132 million is laying off staff worldwide
Julie Bort 11 Feb 2017 3:01 AM 305
Biz Carson/Business Insider
Virtual reality helmet maker Daqri is cutting about 25% of its nearly 400-person-strong workforce worldwide, multiple people have told Business Insider.
The workforce at its headquarters in Los Angeles and its Sunnyvale, California, offices were told of layoffs on Thursday and experienced the brunt of the layoffs, about 60 people, we understand. Other offices in the UK expect to hear about job cuts on Monday.
Advertisement:
The company confirmed a reorganization to us, saying that only a “small fraction” of employees were involved and saying that it’s also still hiring, looking for dozens people.
Daqri remains committed to bringing AR Everywhere. Given the rapid changes in our industry, that mission sometimes requires a reallocation of resources to support technological advancements in areas with high potential for growth. Our organizational changes this week, affecting a small fraction of the company, allow a strengthened focus on high-growth segments. In fact we are actively recruiting for more than two dozen positions. Daqri remains committed to our people, our mission of ‘redefining what is humanly possible,’ and making a lasting difference through our groundbreaking technology and products.
The company makes a helmet and VR glasses geared toward enterprises, so a sort of a direct competitor to Microsoft HoloLens. The product has been particularly buzzy in the LA startup scene.
Daqri is not as high-profile as its would-be competitor Magic Leap, the super secretive VR company that’s raised nearly $1.4 billion in investment, is valued at $4.5 billion and is still working on its prototypes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Elyse Betters / Pocket-lint:
Jaguar and Shell unveil in-car payments app in select cars for Shell gas stations in UK, with support for Apple Pay and PayPal
Jaguar drivers in UK can now pay for Shell gas without leaving their car
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/140257-jaguar-drivers-in-uk-can-now-pay-for-shell-gas-without-leaving-their-car
Jaguar has introduced a new app integration that allows some drivers to use their car’s touchscreen to pay for fuel.
The Shell app, described as a new cashless payment app, will work with several Jaguar Land Rover models. With it installed, you can drive up to any pump at a Shell service station in the UK, and instead of using a card at the pump, you’d use the vehicle’s touchscreen to select how much fuel you require and then pay via PayPal or Apple Pay.
Android Pay will be added in 2017. Also, Jaguar said its cars will eventually work with the Shell app at Shell stations around the globe.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Source: Huawei has 100+ engineers developing a smartphone digital assistant for its Chinese users, aimed at competing with Siri
Huawei Is Developing Its Own Voice Assistant for Smartphones
One of China’s largest smartphone makers wants to take on Siri.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-15/huawei-said-to-plan-its-own-voice-assistant-for-smartphones
Huawei Technologies Co., the third-largest smartphone maker, is preparing to enter the competitive world of digital assistants with its own voice-powered service, people familiar with the matter said.
A team of more than a hundred engineers is in the early stages of developing the technology at its Shenzhen, China offices, one of the people said. The efforts are extensive and are aimed at Apple Inc.’s Siri, Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa, and Alphabet Inc.’s Google Assistant, not smaller players, the person said.
Huawei’s assistant would communicate in Chinese languages and target domestic users while the company will continue to work with Google and Amazon’s Alexa service outside China, a one of the other people said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple struggles to make big M&A deals due to risk aversion, inexperience closing and integrating deals, a reluctance to work with external advisers — IPhone maker mostly buys small startups for new tech, talent — CEO hints at larger transactions as analysts seek new growth
Apple Struggles to Make Big Deals, Hampering Strategy Shifts
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-15/apple-struggles-to-make-big-deals-hampering-strategy-shifts
“We are always looking at acquisitions,” Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook told analysts last month. “There’s not a size that we would not do.”
It’s a message he’s increasingly stressed over the past year as investors question how the world’s most valuable technology company plans to use its $246 billion cash pile to meet ambitious sales targets and expand into new markets, such as transportation.
But Apple has struggled for years to pull off bigger deals because of a series of quirks: an aversion to risk, reluctance to work with external advisers like investment banks and inexperience in closing and integrating large takeovers, said people who have worked on acquisitions with the company.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Brad Sams / Thurrott.com:
Sources: Microsoft shuffles HoloLens’ roadmap, cancelling the planned second version of the device to focus on more ambitious hardware slated to launch in 2019
Microsoft Accelerates HoloLens V3 Development, Sidesteps V2
Posted on February 19, 2017 by Brad Sams in Hardware
http://www.thurrott.com/hardware/90780/microsoft-accelerates-hololens-v3-development-sidesteps-v2
It was a little over two years ago that Microsoft first showed the world HoloLens and the company immediately grabbed headlines around the globe about their new vision for the future of computing. Since that announcement, Microsoft has moved the prototype device into production and it can be purchased today, although it is expensive.
Last week, I started receiving tips from several sources that said Microsoft was shuffling its roadmap for Hololens which resulted in the second iteration of the device being canceled. Considering how much Microsoft has championed the device and many believe that this is the future of computing, this didn’t sound quite right.
Back when the first version of Hololens came out, Microsoft created a roadmap that highlighted several release points for the product. This isn’t unusual, you start with the first device, second generation devices are typically smaller and more affordable and then with version three you introduce new technology that upgrades the experience; this is a standard process path in the technology sector. Microsoft, based on my sources, is sidelining what was going to be version two of HoloLens and is going straight to version three.
Why are they doing this? In the two years since the device was first announced, companies like Magic Leap have made big promises about their technology and how it will transform the world. Today, you cannot buy a device made by Magic Leap nor have we even seen a retail device from any other company in this space. In short, Microsoft has a large lead in the AR space and isn’t feeling pressure to release a product that is only an incremental update.
By skipping what was version two on their roadmap, the company can accelerate version three
Yes, 2019 is a considerable amount of time away but for Microsoft,
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
ZTE shuts down its Hawkeye phone Kickstarter campaign after reaching only $36K of its $500K goal — After a month and a half of letting its Hawkeye phone flounder on Kickstarter, ZTE is finally ending the campaign. It received $36,245 out of its $500,000 funding goal.
ZTE is shutting down its failed Hawkeye phone Kickstarter campaign
http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/2/17/14647990/zte-hawkeye-phone-kickstarter-campaign-end
Tomi Engdahl says:
Stephen Hall / 9to5Google:
Hands-on pics and specs of LG G6 leak: always-on display, Snapdragon 821, 4GB of RAM, base 32GB of expandable storage, and a 3,200 mAh battery
Here’s another hands-on look at the LG G6, this time showing its always-on display
https://9to5google.com/2017/02/17/exclusive-hands-on-lg-g6-always-on-display/
The LG G6 is far from being a secret at this point, with LG itself going as far as to confirm its ‘FullVision’ 18:9 5.7-inch display, offer a peek at the new LG UX 6.0 software, and send out a few teasers to various media outlets suggesting that it will feature ‘resistance’ and ‘reliability’. LG has also itself confirmed that the phone will have a 32-bit Quad-DAC like the LG V20.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Snap starts selling Spectacles online in the US for $130 at Spectacles.com
Snap starts selling Spectacles online in the US for $130
https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/20/buy-spectacles-online/
Snap wants to prove to investors in its upcoming IPO that Spectacles can earn money for its business, not just be a brand stunt. So today, Snap begins selling its video-recording sunglasses Spectacles openly online for $129.99 in the U.S. at Spectacles.com. Previously it only dispensed them from Snapbot vending machines in surprise locations and its NYC pop-up store for the last three months.
Snap has now closed that pop-up, and tells me “Snapbots will continue to land in surprising locations around the U.S. following a brief “nap”
“. Buyers should expect to wait two to four weeks for their Spectacles to ship, and households are limited to 6 pairs.
Despite that positive response, Snap admitted in its IPO filing that “The launch of Spectacles . . . has not generated significant revenue for us,” and notes “We expect to experience production and operating costs related to Spectacles that will exceed the related revenue in the near future.”
There was that one charging case that melted… but in general, users have been quite pleased with the glasses that can record 10 to 30-seconds of video at a time. The circular, view-with-your-phone-in-any-orientation video format Snap pioneered also gives its Snapchat app something that its popular clone Instagram Stories can’t copy.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amar Toor / The Verge:
Harris Poll: Samsung’s reputation drops to #49 among US consumers, from #3 in 2016, following Note7 fiasco, as Amazon tops list for second consecutive year — Korean smartphone maker ranks 49th in annual reputation ratings, after coming in third in 2016 — Samsung’s reputation among US …
Samsung’s reputation nosedives in the US after Galaxy Note 7 snafu
Korean smartphone maker ranks 49th in annual reputation ratings, after coming in 7th in 2016
http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/20/14667182/samsung-corporate-reputation-ranking-apple-google-harris-polls
Samsung’s reputation among US consumers took a major hit last year, an annual survey has found, as the Korean manufacturer struggled with the fallout over its Galaxy Note 7 recall. As The Korea Herald reports, Samsung came in 49th in this year’s Reputation Quotient Ratings from Harris Poll, which ranks the 100 most visible companies in the US according to public reputation. In last year’s ratings, Samsung ranked seventh, and it ranked third in 2015, ahead of Apple and Google.
Tomi Engdahl says:
David Pierce / Wired:
Google announces more carrier support for its implementation of RCS, rebrands Messenger to Android Messages, makes app default on phones from LG, ZTE, others — When text messaging was simple, SMS worked beautifully. You could send 160 characters to anyone with a cellphone, and they’d receive it the same way they would a phone call.
Android Can’t Compete With iMessage. Google Is Changing That
https://www.wired.com/2017/02/google-support-for-rcs/
When text messaging was simple, SMS worked beautifully. You could send 160 characters to anyone with a cellphone, and they’d receive it the same way they would a phone call. In the age of flip phones and nine-key texting, that was all anyone needed. But when texting gave way to group messaging, video calls, and (Sent with Fireworks), the SMS standard just couldn’t keep up anymore.
And so users ran to solutions like WhatsApp, which grew huge audiences on the back of one simple idea: it’s like texting, only better and free. Apple built a huge devoted fanbase for iMessage by adding features right on top of texting.
SMS squandered its tremendous inherent advantage—it’s built into your phone, so everyone has it
Over the last couple of years, Google has been working with hundreds of carriers and manufacturers around the world to bring the text message into the 21st century. Using a standard called Rich Communications Services, the group plans to make a texting app that comes with your phone and is every bit as powerful as those dedicated messaging apps. This would make all the best features available to everyone with an Android phone.
Oh, and the plan’s working. New carriers have been slowly announcing RCS support over the last few months.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ryan Smith / AnandTech:
Samsung announces Exynos 9 8895, a 10nm octa-core SoC with dual-camera system support; integrated Samsung LTE modem supports 1 Gbps downloads, 150 Mbps uploads — Even though Mobile World Congress doesn’t kick off for another few days, Samsung isn’t wasting any time in getting started.
Samsung Announces Exynos 8895 SoC: 10nm, Mali G71MP20, & LPDDR4x
by Ryan Smith on February 23, 2017 1:45 PM EST
http://www.anandtech.com/show/11149/samsung-announces-exynos-8895-soc-10nm
Even though Mobile World Congress doesn’t kick off for another few days, Samsung isn’t wasting any time in getting started. This morning the company is announcing their latest generation high-end ARM SoC, the Exynos 8895. Their first in-house 10nm SoC
it’s a safe bet we’re looking at the SoC for at least some SKUs of the next Galaxy S phone.
While Samsung has been in the SoC game with the Exynos series for a number of years now, it’s been in the last few years that they’ve really cemented their positon as a market leader at the high-end. Thanks in part to the company’s 14nm process, the Exynos 7420 proved to be a very capable and powerful SoC from the company. Last year Samsung followed that up with the Exynos 8890, which among other firsts marked Samsung’s entry into designing their own CPU cores with the M1.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lauren Goode / The Verge:
LG Watch Sport review: great fitness features, workout apps run directly on the smartwatch with Android Wear 2.0, but it is huge and extremely ill-fitting
The LG Watch Sport is too big for its own fitness-tracking good
A good fitness tracker — if you can stand to wear it
http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/23/14701338/google-lg-watch-sport-health-and-fitness-tracker-review
This new smartwatch, made by Google and LG, seems like it would be the platonic form of a fitness-focused smartwatch. It has an always-on display. It has GPS. It has LTE. It has built-in heart rate sensors. It has a barometer. It’s waterproof (sort of). And it runs on brand-new Android Wear software. Most other smartwatches lack something, whether it’s GPS, LTE, or all of the above. Not the $349 LG Watch Sport.
There are actually a lot of good things to say about the smartwatch’s fitness features, which makes it even more of a shame that it feels like a handcuff.
The biggest brag this watch has is that it recognizes (some) of your weight-lifting exercises
This watch is too damn big for its own good
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chris Welch / The Verge:
What to expect at MWC 2017: unveil of LG G6, Huawei flagship P10 phone and new watch, Blackberry “Mercury” made by TCL, new Nokia phones, Samsung Tab S3, more
MWC 2017: what to expect from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona
So many new phones
http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/24/14724382/mwc-2017-barcelona-dates-preview-samsung-sony-htc-nokia-lg
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mozilla acquires Pocket to gain a foothold on mobile devices
From browser extension to acquisition
http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/27/14752590/mozilla-acquires-pocket-read-it-later
Mozilla has acquired Pocket, a kind of DVR for the internet, for an undisclosed sum. The nine-year-old company, which makes tools for saving articles and videos to view them later, is Mozilla’s first acquisition. It represents a homecoming of sorts for Pocket, which began life as a Firefox extension before eventually expanding its team and building a suite of apps for every major platform. Pocket has been Firefox’s default read-it-later service since 2015.
Mozilla said Pocket, which it will operate as an independent subsidiary, would help bring the company to mobile devices, where it has historically struggled to attract users. Best known for its Firefox web browser, Mozilla has faltered in the mobile era, spending years on its failed Firefox phone project and waiting until 2016 to release Firefox on iOS globally. Meanwhile, the slow decline of the desktop web has made Mozilla’s broader future uncertain.
But while Pocket was a great app, it was not yet clear that it could be a great business. At 10 million monthly users, the app is small by the standards of the mobile era, particularly for a company building an advertising-supported business. Its chief rival, Instapaper, sold to Pinterest last year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Nokia 3310 stole Samsung’s show at MWC 2017
Fanboys need something to drool over.
https://www.engadget.com/2017/02/28/the-nokia-3310-stole-samsungs-show-at-mwc-2017/
In MWCs past, the event’s news has typically been dominated by Samsung showing off its latest Galaxy flagship smartphone for the year. But the company’s delayed announcement this time around meant that the scores of tech aficionados at the show needed something else to get hyped about. Surprisingly, it wasn’t LG, or HTC, or even Samsung’s own newly unveiled tablets that stepped up to fill the void. The phone that has got everyone most excited here is the new Nokia 3310.
Nokia — via current brand owners HMD — delighted folks by unveiling the revived 3310.
Whether it’s nostalgia, curiosity, or simply the need to find something cool to post to Instagram, something is driving people to the Nokia 3310. And since the phone will cost just €49 when it arrives in the second quarter of the year, it’s extremely possible, given the hype here at the show, that the handsets will sell out the day they’re available.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
IDC: global wearable shipments reached 33.9M in Q4 2016, up 16.9% YoY, as Fitbit sales declined 22.7% YoY to 6.5M
IDC: Wearables grew 16.9% in Q4 2016, Fitbit still first but Xiaomi is gaining
http://venturebeat.com/2017/03/02/idc-wearables-grew-16-9-in-q4-2016-fitbit-still-first-but-xiaomi-is-gaining/
Despite a tough few quarters last year, including market share losses throughout, Fitbit is still the king of wearables. Big tech companies were expected to dominate just as they have with smartphones and tablets, but the little guy continues to hold on. In Q4 2016, Fitbit took first place again, Xiaomi held onto second, and Apple came in third.
Mobile companies shipped a total of 33.9 million wearables worldwide last quarter. That figure is up 16.9 percent from the 29.0 million units shipped in Q4 2015.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jolla Sailfish Will Build A Google-Free Mobile OS For China
https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/17/03/04/0428253/jolla-sailfish-will-build-a-google-free-mobile-os-for-china?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
Jolla released their Android-free mobile Linux OS (Sailfish) on their own smartphones, “but has always intended to offer it to other manufacturers,” according to Silicon. The next Sailfish smartphone was the Inex Aqua Fish, and people with Sony Xperia phones can now also run Sailfish through the Sony Open Devices Program.
The Sailfish China Consortium has gained the exclusive rights and license to develop a Chinese operating system based on Sailfish. Russia is also using Sailfish to build a national mobile OS in a bid to reduce its reliance on Western technology and reduce the risk of foreign surveillance.