Here is my collection of relevant trend for smart phones in 2018:
It seems that crazy growth times in smart phone markets are over at least for some time. The eight-year-long smartphone bubble in China has abruptly come to an end, in yet another warning sign that the global synchronized growth narrative is merely an illusion. China’s smartphone market suffered its first ever annual decline, with shipments down 4 percent from 2016 to 459 million phones in 2017. Canalys blames the weakness on a terrible y/y performance in the industry during the Q4 2017 period, with shipments crashing by over 14 percent to around 113 million phones. Anshul Gupta, a research director at Gartner, said in a statement that customers are choosing higher quality models and keeping them longer, lengthening the replacement cycle for smartphones. 1.9 billion mobile phones were sold in 2017.
Smartphone unit volumes are likely to return to low single-digit percentage growth in 2018 after unit sales declined in the fourth quarter for the first time ever, according to market research firm IDC. Gartner Says Worldwide Device Shipments Will Increase 2.1 Percent in 2018. Overall market is predicted to reach a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.8 percent over period from 2017 to 2022. Taiwan-based IC design houses expect orders from China’s smartphone industry to pick up in the second quarter of 2018, with customer orders likely to register double-digit sequential growth. The processor market is now growing thanks to cell phones – cellular processors account for 28 percent of all processor sales.
Apple is the biggest money maker. Apple took over half of all mobile phone revenue in the end of 2017. During October-December, Apple took over 51 percent of the total net sales of its mobile phone through its iPhone. During the quarter, Apple made more sales on its phones than all other manufacturers in total (total net sales of mobile phone manufacturers were $ 120.2 billion and Apple got$ 61.4 billion). Samsung sold for $ 18.9 billion. Huawei sold three million units for $ 8.4 billion. Apple took also the lead from Samsung in smartphone shipments volume: Apple iPhone volumes reached 77.3 million units compared with 74.1 million for Samsung during the last quarter of 2017, according to the Feb. 1 IDC report.
Wireless charging has finally hit the mainstream. At the moment Qi seems to be the winning technology as it is mostly widely adopted and even Apple selected to use it. According to IHS, in 2017 year, 500 million devices with wireless charging were sold (40 percent higher than in the previous year). Mobile phones were the largest single product group. Next year, a billion devices with wireless charging will be introduced, estimates IHS.
New camera features are coming. More lenses to smart phones are coming. A few phones now have four camera lenses, with two on the back and two on the front, but an upcoming Nokia handset could go one better with five. HMD Global isn’t the only company working on the photography-focused smartphone. The Chinese company Huawei is planning to launch its P-20 flagship phone, featuring five cameras in total. Samsung’s upcoming Exynos 7 processor model 9610 is capable of recording slow motion video at 480 frames per second.
Smartphone users seem to be spending less time but more money each time they visit a website. Each time Americans visit retail websites on their phones, they’re spending less time but more money. According to Adobe Analytics the time smartphone users spend on websites per visit has decreased by 10% since 2015 but the amount of money spent per visit has increased by 27%.
People have their phones with them all the time and watch their phones very often. According to Huawei’s Smartphone Relationships survey, 49 percent of respondents think they view their phone several times in one hour. More than half (58%) of the respondents carry the phone with them over 13 hours a day. Most phones are still used to send messages (86%), even though photography (85%) and social media usage (81%) attracted almost the same. 27% of respondents actively use the phone for 3-4 hours a day. 61 percent of users read emails or browse social media first when they are awakened in the morning.
Android and iOS have taken practically almost all of the smart phone OS market. Android 7 is the most common operating system version, as it spins 18.4 percent of all devices on the market. Android 6 is close to the same figures, accounting for 17.6 percent. Of all smartphones, 17.5 percent already run iOS 11. Windows Phone devices accounted for 0.87 percent and is decreasing, so Windows phone is dead. Microsoft has practically ended Windows Phone platform.
Android P brings new features like indoor positioning, privacy features, multi-camera support and easier to support the cutout in the display. Android P developer preview is now available for testing.
There is no more Android Wear. Android Wear has been rebranded as Wear OS to reflect the fact that it works with both Android and iOS smartphone.
Android Go is stripped down version of Android for low-end devices. Android Go phones, which are mostly low-end devices for ~$100 with 1GB RAM or less, were announced at MWC.
Security chip technologies designed for computers are pushing to smart phones. Purism is working on a Librem5 smartphone that can be run on virtually any Linux operating system and all data on the phone will be protected with a Trusted Platofrm Module (TPM).
AI is coming to smart phones with applications like taking decisions, recognizing text, speech and images, or translating foreign languages. Mobile AI Race Unfolds at MWC. The performance of smartphone application processors is constantly increasing, especially in image processing and artificial intelligence. While Apple and Samsung, both armed with home-grown apps processors, have a lock on the premium smartphone market, MediaTek, seeking to rebound in smartphones, is rolling out at the Mobile World Congress its Helio P60 chipset. Samsung develops its own neural network processor (invested last year in China’s DeePhi Technologies). Samsung has not told whether the new Exonys circuit is integrated with a separate neural network processor like Huawei’s Kirin or Apple processors. LG’s opening in AI is the V30S model that is based on the V30 platform. The device is part of LG’s new artificial intelligence ThinQ brand. Telecom operators are looking to artificial intelligence as a potential money-spinner to combat stagnating mobile service revenues. Tirias Research believes that by 2025, 95 percent of all new devices or platforms will leverage artificial intelligence in the cloud or with some form of native machine learning.
5G is coming faster than anyone expected. 5G phones are getting more and more popular in a couple of years. Market research company Gartner predicts that 5G networks will become more common in smart phones in the early 2020s. 5G is coming to newest phones with advanced chip technology. Qualcomm said it will continue to work with longtime foundry supplier Samsung Electronics on Snapdragon 5G chipsets using Samsung’s 7nm Low Power Plus (LPP) process technology with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. The X24 modem is the first volume-to-output circuit that is manufactured using a 7 nanometer process. Intel, TSMC and Globalfoundries are targeting EUV production sometime in 2019. Gartner says that by 2021, 9 Percent of Smartphones Sold Will Support 5G.
Cisco projects that by 2020, the average smartphone will generate 4.4GB of network traffic every month (up from less than 1GB per month in 2015). And by 2021, smartphone traffic will exceed PC traffic.
Wireless Technology is becoming The Existential Necessity of Life. Technologies like LTE, 5G, and Wi-Fi are continuing to improve. The wireless technologies we all use daily are cellular LTE and Wi-Fi. LTE is gradually morphing into 5G and Wi-Fi continues to get better. Long Term Evolution is our current 4G worldwide cellular standard. The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is still working on 5G, but concurrently companies are testing 5G New Radio (NR) equipment. Wi-Fi, LTE, and 5G all have one thing in common. Their increases in data rate and user capacity have come primarily from advanced antenna techniques.
Current and future smartphones that combine spectrum from several frequency bands can function without a typical antenna, thanks to a tiny “booster” device that can radiate RF signals from the smartphone itself. Microstrip patch antennas became well received in wireless communications systems due to their low cost of fabrication and effectiveness in those systems. A number of approaches have been developed to overcome the limits of traditional antenna designs.
Electromagnetic Radiation Is Decreasing in New Generations of Smartphones. While there’s no evidence that phone-produced RF radiation is carcinogenic, new phones are emitting less of it.
Traditional SIM will be replaced in the near future. It is expected that the traditional SIM card format becomes unnecessary, as in the coming years, all devices will be manufactured with eSIM capability. ESIM allows many things for both the consumer and the operator. For example the same subscriber contract, it is possible to tie up several devices. Also according to the operators, the current network roaming will disappear within the next 3-5 years.
NFC specifications are updates and usage is increasing. Apple’s iOS 11 announcement last spring opening the iPhone 7 and following models to use NFC technology beyond Apple Pay had significant impact across many markets. The 2017 Technical Specification Release from the NFC Forum is made up of 21 new or updated near field communication (NFC) technical specifications. The new specifications are a big step toward ensuring interoperability between NFC solutions in the market with various existing infrastructures, unifying new and existing specs to ensure interoperability and functionality across all solutions using NFC technology (ISO/IEC 14443 or ISO/IEC 18092 specifications).
Smart Glasses are still not ready to wear. Talks give skeptical takes on AR, 5G. Ans we have this this confusion of Smart Glasses vs. Augmented Reality Goggles vs. Virtual Reality Headsets.
Finger sensor integrated to display tries to push to market. Japan Display Inc. (JDI) unveiled a transparent glass-based capacitive fingerprint sensor. Although its TFT-based fingerprint sensors have certain advantages over silicon-based solutions, JDI might be arriving too late with too little. But it could be too little too late as manufacturers are eyeing to other solutions.
Now that Samsung’s Galaxy S9 is already on the market and Huawei’s P20 announcement is looming large, imaging experts have declared 3D sensing the new battleground for the mobile industry. It is left to be seen whether either Samsung or Huawei will be able to catch up with Apple’s iPhone X. The bar set by Apple’s TrueDepth camera is very high. According to Digitimes, the TrueDepth module module costs $ 30-50, which makes the component too expensive for a few hundred dollars in Chinese-speaking phones. TrueDepth-like solutions have very few component suppliers, so prices are not yet coming down. The TrueDepth module is based on five subsystems or modules: infrared camera, proximity sensor, infrared light, RGB camera and point the projector.
Large-scale use of biometric authentication is primarily tied to smartphones. The wide-range of sensors built into these handheld and ubiquitous devices make them an ideal tool for face and iris recognition (camera), voice (microphone), and touch (fingerprint). Banks are increasingly using voice and face recognition via smartphones for mobile banking purposes. Biometric authentication has several distinct advantages over passwords, including advantages and disadvantages that they are difficult to change. But Are Biometrics as a Form of Authentication Over-hyped and Unreliable? “Whether a particular biometric method is useful or not depends on the sensor quality and ease of duplicating a particular biometric,”
Smart phone display size seems to be growing. Now, it looks like the size of the iPhone screen will grow clearly this year. As manufacturers shrink bezels and the front-facing sensors leave a notch on your display, Android P will make it easier to support the cutout in the display.
New display technologies are pushing to replace LCD. The AMOLED display is rapidly expanding on smartphones and in particular a flexible version. Last year, flexible displays in the AMOLED market grew to nearly 55 per cent. The X-model is Apple’s first AMOLED display phone. Samsung, LG Display, BOE and Kunshan Optoelectronics began supplying their own flexible screens for smartphones. In near future is it not just LCD and OLED. Sources detail Apple’s initiative to develop tech to mass-produce MicroLED displays, an OLED successor, still at least two years from shipping in its devices.
Nokia brand has returned to smart phone market. Nokia CEO Suri was surprised at Nokia’s return to success: “I would not have thought it a year ago”. HMD has sold last year 70 million phones. Nokia’s basic phone deliveries last year had some 60 million and around 10 million smartphones. Nokia is now receiving money from HMD Global’s Nokia phone sales in royalties.
Smart phone sensors are used more and more for medical diagnostics applications. Most smartphones include an accelerometer and many other sensors. As almost all of us have a smartphone almost all the time, it gives many opportunities for health monitoring. For example a novel method allows screening of stroke-causing cardiac atrial fibrillation using a standard smartphone was developed by the University of Turku.
Smart phones contains a lot of information that is protected in many ways. Authorities want to take a look at this data sometimes. Getting the data from protected phones has became a business of it’s own. Israeli Cellebrite sells the service to get data from secured smartphone for $ 5,000. GrayShift is selling for $15,000 a device that opens all iPhones.
Traditional 3.5 mm audio jack seems to be disappearing from smart phones. Overwhelming impression from CES 2018 was that headphone companies have, without exception, bid a silent goodbye to the 3.5mm audio plug. Many manufacturers are leaving 3.5 mm audio jacks out of their high end phones while mainly offering wireless audio and USB-C and Lightning as the alternatives. The ACI headphone jack plugged into a traditional 3,5 mm audio connector with data features challenges USB-C. The Austrian ams company has now developed a new interface standard for 3.5 mm audio socket, offering full compatibility backwards to the current 3.5-mm sockets. The new Accessory Communication Interface (ACI) uses the microphone MIC signal line to provide additional features and turn it into a bidirectional digital connection. Sony’s working hard on promoting a new 4.4mm Pentaconn connector as the next wired standard for dedicated audio lovers. But maybe the battle with 3.5 mm audio jack is already lost to USB-C? Let’s see. The future of headphones seems to be messy. Buying headphones in 2018 is going to be a fragmented mess.
Mobile Malware Attacks Surged in 2017. Machine learning is used to fight against harmful Android Apps. According to Google’s Android Security 2017 Year in Review report 60.3 percent of Potentially Harmful Apps (PHAs) were detected via machine learning. The detection is done by a service called Google Play Protect, which is enabled on over 2 billion devices (running Android 4.3 and up) to constantly scan Android apps for malicious activity. Play Protect reviews 50B+ apps every day.
We will start experiencing the fundamental flaw of too many listening devices. A “first world problem,” at least for the moment is that all kinds of devices capable of acting as a voice-powered digital assistant expands, and as they’re sold over an expanding footprint of the overall international market, it’ll increasingly become an “all-world problem.” For example when you say “Ok Google,” all several widgets can wake up and respond to what you say next.
Sources:
https://www.androidcentral.com/android-p
https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/18/16903516/headphones-wireless-analog-jack-future-ces-2018
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7477&via=n&datum=2018-01-30_15:32:36
https://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3849063
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7544-huawei-puhelintaa-katsotaan-useita-kertoja-tunnissa
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7568&via=n&datum=2018-02-15_15:01:17
https://www.is.fi/digitoday/mobiili/art-2000005600539.html?ref=rss
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7560&via=n&datum=2018-02-14_15:22:43
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1332970
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7509-prosessorimarkkina-kasvaa-nyt-kannykoiden-ansiosta
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332930
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7544&via=n&datum=2018-02-12_14:23:45
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20180222PD208.html
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7570&via=n&datum=2018-02-16_15:00:38
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7616-lg-hyppasi-tekoalyjunaan
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7618-rajeev-suri-5g-tulee-nopeammin-kuin-kukaan-odotti
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333009
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7752&via=n&datum=2018-03-23_14:10:57
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333002
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7579&via=n&datum=2018-02-19_14:48:02
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333021
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/02/new-android-go-phones-show-how-much-you-can-get-for-100/
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332996
https://www.recode.net/2018/2/28/17058560/smartphone-users-spending-money-website-visits-adobe
http://www.securityweek.com/can-biometrics-solve-authentication-problem
https://www.is.fi/digitoday/mobiili/art-2000005535369.html
http://www.techradar.com/news/next-nokia-flagship-could-have-five-camera-lenses
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7429&via=n&datum=2018-01-19_15:53:09
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7449&via=n&datum=2018-01-24_15:29:17
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1332898
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332890
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7653&via=n&datum=2018-03-05_15:39:52
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7683&via=n&datum=2018-03-09_14:55:36
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332879
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-01-28/did-smartphone-bubble-china-just-pop
http://investmentwatchblog.com/did-the-chinese-smartphone-bubble-just-pop/
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7467-iphonen-naytto-kasvaa
https://www.securityweek.com/mobile-malware-attacks-surged-2017-kaspersky
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7686-taman-takia-iphonen-face-id-ei-tule-androidiin
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7714-vanha-audioplugi-haastaa-usb-c-n-digitalisoituna
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7752&via=n&datum=2018-03-23_14:10:57
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333098
531 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung may have already figured out a way to eliminate smartphone notches
https://nordic.businessinsider.com/samsung-galaxy-s10-could-include-no-notch-smartphone-tech-2018-10?r=US&IR=T
Samsung may have developed technology that would allow for a smartphone’s front-facing sensors to be hidden underneath the display.
It could lead to a smartphone design that doesn’t need a notch.
It’s not clear if the Galaxy S10 will include Samsung’s technology, but Samsung’s own head of mobile DJ Koh did say to expect “very significant” design changes for the Galaxy S10.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google mandates two years of security updates for popular phones in new Android contract
https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/24/18019356/android-security-update-mandate-google-contract
Every month, a security team at Google releases a new set of patches for Android — and every month, carriers and manufacturers struggle to get them installed on actual phones. It’s a complex, long-standing problem, but confidential contracts obtained by The Verge show many manufacturers now have explicit obligations about keeping their phones updated written into their contract with Google.
Phones can’t go more than 90 days out of date on security
Fragmentation has always been a problem — especially when it comes to security
Tomi Engdahl says:
Marketers develop a new sneaky tracking technique
https://www.pandasecurity.com/mediacenter/technology/new-sneaky-tracking-technique/
Personal data has become one of the most valuable commodities in the digital age, and marketers will do almost anything to get hold of it. By tracking what you do online, where you go and anything else they can discover, it is possible to build an accurate profile of you as a person. That profile can then be used to advertise goods and services that marketers think will interest you.
Smartphone manufacturers like Google and Apple have begun to tighten up privacy, forcing apps to ask permission before gaining access to your GPS location, or your camera for instance. This has made it much harder for marketers to collect quite as much personal data.
But marketers are fighting back – and they’ve developed a new workaround to beat your phone’s security settings.
Tomi Engdahl says:
China’s OnePlus, Backed by Qualcomm and T-Mobile, Launches OnePlus 6T Smartphone in US
https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/18/10/29/104210/chinas-oneplus-backed-by-qualcomm-and-t-mobile-launches-oneplus-6t-smartphone-in-us?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
OnePlus, a five-year old Chinese smartphone company whose high-end products are little known outside a tech-savvy niche is entering the U.S. market on Monday with the backing of two key local allies: chipmaking giant Qualcomm and mobile operator T-Mobile.
China’s OnePlus, backed by Qualcomm and T-Mobile, launches smartphone in U.S.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oneplus-strategy/chinas-oneplus-backed-by-qualcomm-and-t-mobile-launches-smartphone-in-u-s-idUSKCN1N3125
The foray by Shenzhen-based OnePlus comes after U.S. mobile carriers AT&T and Verizon this year backed away from plans to work with China’s Huawei on high-end phones in face of pressure from the U.S. government, which considers Huawei a security risk.
Tomi Engdahl says:
I can’t believe it – OnePlus 6T Hands On
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spEMaOUbo1E
https://www.oneplus.com/fi
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/nordean-asiakkaat-saavat-google-payn-kayttoonsa-6746967
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/tallainen-on-uunituore-oneplus-6t-katso-faktat-ja-kuvat-6746943
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8637-oneplus-menestyy-koska-keskittyy-detaljeihin
Tomi Engdahl says:
Red Hydrogen One: The internet reacts to the 3D-enabled phone
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46021901
When Red revealed plans to produce a “holographic” smartphone 15 months ago it caught the industry by surprise.
So many wondered whether handsets might prove to be the third sector he would disrupt.
On the basis of the first reviews of the Red Hydrogen One, that seems doubtful.
The embargo on write-ups lifted earlier this Monday ahead of the $1,300 (£1,000) aluminium version going on sale in November.
A $1,600 titanium edition is promised to follow.
Testers seemed intrigued – if not overly impressed – by the 3D screen, which simulates a sense of depth rather than produces pop-out images.
But frustratingly it’s impossible to capture the effect on a normal camera – meaning neither the reviews nor Red’s own ads could show photos or videos of what it looks like.
RED Hydrogen One Review: Unique, but almost no one should buy it
https://9to5google.com/2018/10/29/red-hydrogen-one-review/
The RED Hydrogen One was first announced back in mid-2017. Over a year later and after a handful of delays, it has finally arrived. The device has always been aimed at a niche market, but after using it for a couple of days, I struggle to say it even appeals to them. Let’s take a closer look.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qualcomm Says Apple Is $7 Billion Behind In Royalty Payments
https://apple.slashdot.org/story/18/10/30/0214227/qualcomm-says-apple-is-7-billion-behind-in-royalty-payments?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
Last Friday in federal court, Qualcomm lawyer Evan Chesler said Apple is $7 billion dollars behind in royalties. “They’re trying to destroy our business,” he said. “The house is on fire and there is $7 billion of property damage right now.
Tomi Engdahl says:
EMMC Data Recovery From A Bricked Phone
https://hackaday.com/2018/10/26/emmc-data-recovery-from-a-bricked-phone/
eMMC data recovery from damaged smartphone
https://dangerouspayload.com/2018/10/24/emmc-data-recovery-from-damaged-smartphone/
Tomi Engdahl says:
iPhones are Allergic to Helium
written by Kyle Wiens
https://ifixit.org/blog/11986/iphones-are-allergic-to-helium/
“I discovered that the helium leakage occurred while the new magnet was being ramped [down to cool it]. Approximately 120 liters of liquid [helium] were vented over the course of 5 hours. There was a vent in place that was functioning, but there must have been a leak. The MRI room is not on an isolated HVAC loop, so it shares air with most or all of the facility. We do not know how much of the 120 liters ended up going outdoors and how much ended up inside. Helium expands about 750 times when it expands from a liquid to a gas, so that’s a lot of helium (90,000 m3 of gaseous He).” I bet the nurse’s voices were higher pitched that day!
The devices started to slowly recover after the initial incident, but not completely. “We did have a few abnormal devices. One iPhone had severe service issues after the incident, and some of the [Apple Watches] remained on, but the touch screens weren’t working (even after several days.)”
He performed some triage, categorizing devices by type. “Models of iPhones and Apple Watches afflicted were iPhone 6 and higher, and Apple Watch Series 0 and higher. There was only one iPhone 5 in the building that we know of and it was not impacted in any way. The question at the time was: What occurred that would only cause Apple devices to stop working?”
This piqued my interest, and I reached out to some friends that make ‘MEMS’ silicon.
My initial theory, shared by some on Reddit, was that the helium molecules were small enough to get inside these chips and interfere with the mechanical workings.
But there are two problems with this idea: One, Apple isn’t alone in using MEMS gyroscopes—every phone has them. Why weren’t the Android phones affected?
So what else could it be? Well, at the heart of every electronic device is a clock.
In their quest for smaller and smaller hardware, Apple has recently started using MEMS timing oscillators from a specialized company called SiTime to replace quartz components.
Specifically, they’re using the SiT512, ‘the world’s smallest, lowest power 32 kHz oscillator.’ And if the MEMS device was susceptible to helium intrusion, that could be our culprit!
Hydrogen and helium are notoriously hard to contain because their molecules are so small. It sounds like this is a problem that SiTime has been working to solve for a while. I found this on their FAQ, “How effective is the hermetic seal of MEMS oscillators?”
“Previous generations of EpiSeal resonators may have been impacted by large concentrations of small-molecule gas. Newer EpiSeal resonators are impervious to all small-molecule gases. Please contact SiTime in case you are planning to use a SiTime device in large concentrations of small-molecule gas, so that we can recommend an appropriate, immune part.” (Emphasis added again.)
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why a Helium Leak Disabled Every iPhone in a Medical Facility
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/gye4aw/why-a-helium-leak-disabled-every-iphone-in-a-medical-facility
The bizarre incident happened during the installation of an MRI machine and was a surprise to everyone except Apple.
Tomi Engdahl says:
EU Android latest: Critics diss Google’s money-spinning ‘cure’
You shouldn’t profit from punishment
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/10/30/eu_android_latest_critics_diss_googles_moneyspinning_cure/
The lawyer leading the complaints against Alphabet in the EU Android case doesn’t sound impressed by giant ad-slinger’s proposed remedy. Not one bit.
While appealing the verdict, Google has also proposed separating its Android bundle into two parts, charging for the part that includes the Play app store.
And this is the bit that vexes Thomas Vinje, the Clifford Chance lawyer and the legal counsel and spokesperson for FairSearch, a group representing Google’s critics.
Since access to a broad range of apps is vital to making a competitive phone – see the fate of Windows Phone and BB10 – and no other App Store has Google’s depth, phone-makers view involvement with the Google Play Store as mandatory
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8645-applen-strategia-nostetaan-kaiken-hintaa
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8642-oneplus-haluaa-myyda-suomessa-neljannesmiljoona-puhelinta
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jättikenno tarkistaa kännykän näytön yhdellä kuvalla
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8641-jattikenno-tarkistaa-kannykan-nayton-yhdella-kuvalla
KAI-50140-kenno on resoluutioltaan suurin ITCCD-kenno (Interline Transfer CCD). IT-CCD on useiden megapikselien tarkkuuteen skaalautuva elektroninen globaali suljintekniikka – eli kennon pikselit valottuvat kerralla – joka ei tuota kuvaan liikkeestä aiheutuvia vääristymiä.
50 megapikselin resoluutiolla ja 2,18:1-kuvasuhteella kennolla voidaan ottaa kerralla kuva nykyisistä älypuhelinnäytöistä. Näyttöjen lisäksi kenno sopii piirikorttien konenäkötarkistukseen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5 mobile phone battery breakthroughs to watch
https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2018/10/5-mobile-phone-battery-breakthroughs-watch?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY
Who doesn’t want mobile phone batteries that last longer? These five developments hold promise for personal productivity and enterprise mobile strategy
1. Silicon anode batteries
graphite has a limited capacity for absorbing lithium; current Li-ion batteries have a maximum energy density of around 600 watts per liter. By comparison, lithium metal alone had twice that.
2. Solid-state Li-ion batteries
“Solid-state batteries offer both improved safety and energy density.”
3. Energy-harvesting nanogenerators
Mobile phone users may themselves become a power source for their devices.
4. Durable nanowire batteries
Most batteries last for 500 to 700 recharges – and then it’s time to either replace the battery or upgrade to a new device.
5. Organic “flash” batteries
“flash” battery and charger technology can get a mobile phone – or an electric vehicle – to 100 percent – in five minutes or less.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nearly three-quarters of employees are forced to install work software on their personal devices
http://www.itpro.co.uk/mobile/32241/nearly-three-quarters-of-employees-are-forced-to-install-work-software
The majority of those using their personal mobiles for work object to their employer’s demands
Almost three-quarters of employees are being forced to install work-based applications onto their personal mobile phones so they can carry out their jobs, a report by CCS Insight has revealed.
Although 74% of employees admit they resent the idea of using work applications on their personal devices due to fears their employers can track them, two-thirds said they do trust their employers with their privacy.
Other concerns expressed by employees in the survey included a fear that artificial intelligence will result in job losses over time.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/11/01/apple-uutuudet-suosiossa-esim-kayttoon/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Helium can Stop Your iPhone — Maybe Other MEMS, Too
https://hackaday.com/2018/10/31/helium-can-stop-your-iphone-maybe-other-mems-too/
The best theory — and it seems plausible to us — is that Apple stopped using quartz crystals for the phone’s internal clocks. Instead, they are using MEMS oscillators from a company called SiTime. Supposedly the MEMS oscillators are smaller and work better at temperature extremes. If the mechanical clock element got gummed up with helium, that would explain all the observed evidence.
[Erik Wooldrige] reading about the issue on Reddit, did an experiment where he subjected an iPhone to helium in a plastic bag.
It turns out if you read the iPhone user’s guide it reportedly says:
“Exposing iPhone to environments having high concentrations of industrial chemicals, including near evaporating liquified gasses such as helium, may damage or impair iPhone functionality. … If your device has been affected and shows signs of not powering on, the device can typically be recovered. Leave the unit unconnected from a charging cable and let it air out for approximately one week. The helium must fully dissipate from the device, and the device battery should fully discharge in the process. After a week, plug your device directly into a power adapter and let it charge for up to one hour. Then the device can be turned on again.”
Apparently, SiTime also is aware of this problem and says its newer devices are “impervious to all small-molecule gasses.” But they admit older parts were not immune.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/maksatko-kannykalla-vai-sormuksella-maksutapoja-tulee-lisaa-ja-kilpailu-kiihtyy-6747325
Tomi Engdahl says:
Learn to Optimize Code in Assembly… for Android
https://hackaday.com/2018/10/30/learn-to-optimize-code-in-assembly-for-android/
When programming a microcontroller, there are some physical limitations that you’ll come across much earlier than programming a modern computer, whether that’s program size or even processor speed. To make the most use of a small chip, we can easily dig into the assembly language to optimize our code. On the other hand, modern processors in everyday computers and smartphones are so fast and have so much memory compared to microcontrollers that this is rarely necessary, but on the off-chance that you really want to dig into the assembly language for ARM, [Uri Shaked] has a tutorial to get you started.
Writing Your First Android App, in Assembly
Have You Ever Stopped to Wonder How The Internals of Your Phone Work?
https://medium.com/@urish/writing-your-first-android-app-in-assembly-30e8e0f8c3fe
In this post I am going to share with you a different perspective about getting started with writing code for Android. The standard approach is installing Android Studio and building a simple “Hello World” app in Java or Kotlin. But it can also be done differently, as you will shortly see. But first, a little background story —
Tomi Engdahl says:
Folding screens are here, and they look crappy
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/01/folding-screens-are-here-and-they-look-crappy/?sr_share=facebook&utm_source=tcfbpage
The Royole Corporation (what they call the Quarter Pounder Corporation in France) looks like a strong contender to be the first to market with a foldable display phone. And if these demos are to be believed, it’s not pretty. As ever, the gulf between official render (above) and real-world execution (below) is pretty large.
The FlexPai is expected to ship in December for a starting price of ¥8,999 (which puts it around $1,300). That’s notably right around the same price as the similarly gimmicky/futuristic Red Hydrogen One, which, well, wasn’t great.
It’s a bummer, but, then, life is a pain. And like the FlexPai itself, everything breaks down if you fold it enough.
And, of course, Samsung is expected to at last reveal its implementation for a folding phone in the next couple of weeks.
Royole Introduces ‘FlexPai’, the World’s First Commercial Foldable Smartphone With a Fully Flexible Display, A Combination of Mobile Phone and Tablet
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/royole-introduces-flexpai-the-worlds-first-commercial-foldable-smartphone-with-a-fully-flexible-display-a-combination-of-mobile-phone-and-tablet-300741383.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Brian Wheeler / BBC:
UK government to launch an Android app to let EU citizens apply to remain in UK after Brexit; the app doesn’t work on iOS because it can’t access the NFC chip — The UK government is preparing to launch a smartphone app to make it as easy as possible for EU citizens to apply to remain …
Brexit: UK government’s battle with Apple over EU citizens app
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-46043668
The UK government is preparing to launch a smartphone app to make it as easy as possible for EU citizens to apply to remain in the UK after Brexit – the only problem is it doesn’t fully work on Apple devices.
And hopes that the problem would have been fixed by now have just been dashed.
The app is a key part of the government’s drive to get the estimated 3.5 million EU citizens in the UK to apply for “settled status”.
App users answer three “simple” questions, take a “selfie” to be checked against Home Office records and then – if they have an Android phone – scan the chip on their passport to verify their identity. The Home Office says a decision will be made on whether they can stay in the UK within two weeks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Uuden iPadin prosessori on tähän asti tehokkain mobiilisuoritin
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8656-uuden-ipadin-prosessori-on-tahan-asti-tehokkain-mobiilisuoritin
uusitun A12X-mobiiliprosessorin uusien iPad Pro -mallien sisuksissa. Kyse on 10 miljardin transistorin jättipiiristä, joka näyttää olevan historian tehokkain mobiiliprosessori.
A12X Bionic -piiri on kasvanut melkoisesti edeltäjästään eli A1w-prosessorista. Transistoreja on tullut 45 prosenttia enemmän. 7 nanometrin prosessissa valmistettu piiri on noin 120 neliömillin kokoinen fyysisiltä mitoiltaan.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/11/01/huaweille-tulossa-idt-testikeskus-tukholmaan/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The best antivirus software for Android
https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/mobile-devices/
During September 2018 we evaluated 20 mobile security products for Android using their default settings.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Never accept an MDM policy on your personal phone
https://blog.cdemi.io/never-accept-an-mdm-policy-on-your-personal-phone/
In this new age of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), employees can bring personally owned devices (laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc…) to their workplace, and to use those devices to access privileged company information and applications. The intent of MDM is to optimize the functionality and security of these devices while minimizing cost and downtime.
There are various MDM solutions available, but the most common ones right now are:
Google Apps Mobile Managment
VMware AirWatch
IBM MaaS360
Microsoft Intune
In essence, there is nothing wrong with MDM. In fact, I would say, it is a vital part of the infrastructure to keep an organization’s data secure. However, this comes at a cost: it invades your personal privacy.
Tomi Engdahl says:
FlexPai is the world’s first foldable phone, first with Snapdragon 8150 too
https://m.gsmarena.com/flexpai_is_the_worlds_first_foldable_phone_first_with_snapdragon_8150_chipset-news-33998.php
The first foldable phone is a reality – the FlexPai. Well, it’s actually a tablet as unfolded it boasts a 7.8” screen (4:3 aspect ratio). Folded, that drops to a more manageable 4”. And get this, this device is the first to use the 7nm Snapdragon 8150!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Do all new iPhones suffer from a hardware design flaw? It sure seems like it
https://www.zdnet.com/article/do-all-new-iphones-suffer-from-a-hardware-design-flaw-it-sure-seems-like-it/
Has Apple’s endless pursuit of iPhones that are increasingly thinner and lighter led the company to create products that have design flaws that limit longevity? It sure seems like it.
The latest iOS 12.1 release extends battery throttling to the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and even the iPhone X, after only telling US senators back in February that this would likely be unnecessary.
This raises an important question – why do devices that were only released last year need added performance management to prevent crashes and unexpected shutdowns?
With a low battery state of charge, a higher chemical age, or colder temperatures, users are more likely to experience unexpected shutdowns.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The iPhone is reportedly getting 5G in 2020
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/03/the-iphone-is-reportedly-getting-5g-in-2020/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
The first 5G phones are set to start arriving next year. Motorola plans to bring next-gen connectivity via a Mod for the Z3, and companies like LG and OnePlus have promised to deliver the tech baked into handsets at some point in 2019. iPhone users, on the other hand, may have to wait a bit longer.
The technology is, of course, an inevitability for Apple (along with everyone else, really), so it’s just a question of when.
The “source with knowledge of Apple’s plans” put the 5G iPhone’s arrival at some point in 2020, with Intel supplying the tech this time out. Apparently Apple and Intel are going through a bit of a rough patch of late, courtesy of heat/battery issues with the 8060 5G modem. Of course, things aren’t rough enough for the company to hit up Qualcomm again.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Andrei Frumusanu / AnandTech:
Pixel 3 review: fastest Android device with impressive computational photography features, but the phone’s build quality and gaming performance lag competition
https://www.anandtech.com/show/13474/the-google-pixel-3-review
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Sensor Tower: ByteDance’s short video app TikTok’s monthly US App Store installs in October were higher than those of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube
TikTok surpassed Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat & YouTube in downloads last month
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/02/tiktok-surpassed-facebook-instagram-snapchat-youtube-in-downloads-last-month/
Beijing-based ByteDance’s 2017 acquisition of tween and teen-focused social app Musical.ly is paying off. The company this year merged Musical.ly with its own short video app TikTok as a means of entering the U.S. market. Today, the result of that merger is sitting at the top of the U.S. App Store, ahead of Facebook. More importantly, it recently surpassed Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat in monthly installs for the first time in September.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Android news and kids apps contain the most third-party trackers
https://www.zdnet.com/article/android-news-and-kids-apps-contain-the-most-third-party-trackers/
Over 20 child advocacy groups have sent a letter to the FTC regarding advertising in kids apps.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung’s social logo teases a folding phone ahead of announcement
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/05/samsungs-social-logo-teases-a-folding-phone-ahead-of-announcement/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
The company likely won’t be first to market with the screen-folding tech. That honor will likely go to the Royole Corporation’s FlexPai handset
Tomi Engdahl says:
China’s obsession with short videos has its internet giants worried
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/06/chinas-obsession-with-short-videos-has-its-internet-giants-worried/?sr_share=facebook&utm_source=tcfbpage
Take a subway ride in China and expect to see a lot of commuters’ eyes glued to TikTok videos on their phones.
Video clips like TikTok’s are now consuming nearly nine percent of Chinese people’s time online, a 5.2 percent jump from 2017
easily add beautifying filters and music to spice up their work
It also helps that smartphone data became cheaper and internet penetration kept growing in recent years — China now has 800 million smartphone users
Initially geared towards Chinese youth, short-video apps have increased in popularity across all age groups – including the elderly. Over a third of the country’s 1.4 billion people are active on these apps every month. People above the age of 50 now spend as much as 50 minutes on them every day
Tomi Engdahl says:
A cellphone taped to someone’s wrist:’ Woman looking at Apple Watch found guilty of distracted driving
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/a-cellphone-taped-to-someones-wrist-woman-looking-at-apple-iwatch-found-guilty-of-distracted-driving
A judge rejected Victoria Ambrose’s testimony that, despite the multi-function of the electronic device that straps to the wrist, she was only checking the time
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8680-qualcommin-on-pakko-lisensoida-mobiilitekniikkaa-kilpailijoille
Tomi Engdahl says:
Here’s what Samsung’s wacky folding phone looks like in action
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/07/samsung-folding-phone/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
As rumored, Samsung showed off a prototype of a folding display today. Folded, it’s a smartphone. Unfolded, it’s a tablet. Neat!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google officially adding support for folding displays into Android as of this morning
Google is adding Android support for foldable screens
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/07/google-is-adding-android-support-for-foldable-screens/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why Doesn’t Intel Make Smartphone CPUs?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDVRKMn5pKc
Intel has long been the dominant player in CPU manufacturing for desktop PCs – but why won’t you find Intel processors in modern smartphones?
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/uusi-nokia-mainos-kerasi-32-miljoonaa-katsojaa-youtubessa-6748298
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/11/07/samsung-esitteli-taitettavan-kannykkanayton/
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8684-tylsa-samsung-ottaa-nyt-isoja-riskeja
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung foldable phone Infinity Flex
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFF2caQVr8I
Samsung debuted the Infinity Flex display for foldable smartphones today onstage at the Samsung Developer Conference. The phone will allow users to run multiple apps at once on a 7-inch smartphone that fits in your pocket. Production begins in 2019.
Comment:
2 years from now, apple will claim they invented the foldable phone. Oh wait, they already did.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartphones Are Killing The Planet Faster Than Anyone Expected
https://www.fastcompany.com/90165365/smartphones-are-wrecking-the-planet-faster-than-anyone-expected?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com
Researchers are sounding the alarm after an analysis showed that buying a new smartphone consumes as much energy as using an existing phone for an entire decade.
Even as the world shifts away from giant tower PCs toward tiny, energy-sipping phones, the overall environmental impact of technology is only getting worse. Whereas ICT represented 1% of the carbon footprint in 2007, it’s already about tripled, and is on its way to exceed 14% by 2040. That’s half as large as the carbon impact of the entire transportation industry.
Smartphones are particularly insidious for a few reasons. With a two-year average life cycle, they’re more or less disposable. The problem is that building a new smartphone–and specifically, mining the rare materials inside them–represents 85% to 95% of the device’s total CO2 emissions for two years.
Yet even as people are now buying phones less often, consumer electronics companies are attempting to make up for lost profits by selling bigger, fancier phones.
In any case, keeping a smartphone for even three years instead of two can make a considerable impact to your own carbon footprint
Tomi Engdahl says:
Motorola lays off up to half of Chicago engineering team, says Moto Z line will ‘continue’
https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/03/09/motorola-lays-off-half-chicago-engineering-team-says-moto-z-line-will-continue/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Here’s what Samsung’s wacky folding phone looks like in action
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/07/samsung-folding-phone/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
As rumored, Samsung showed off a prototype of a folding display today. Folded, it’s a smartphone. Unfolded, it’s a tablet. Neat!
Less neat: The company sort of went out of its way to not really show very much. A prototype was onstage for about 45 seconds, and it was deliberately backlit to be intensely silhouetted.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung gives first glimpse of foldable phone
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-phones/samsung-gives-first-glimpse-of-foldable-phone-idUSKCN1NC2LO
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) unveiled its much-anticipated foldable phone in San Francisco on Wednesday, urging Android developers to start writing apps for it.
Foldable phones promise the screen of a small tablet in a pocket-sized device.
Justin Denison, a senior vice president of mobile product marketing, showed a prototype with a screen he said measured 7.3 inches (18.5 cm) diagonally.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Yonhap News Agency:
Sources: Samsung to launch the flagship Galaxy S10 in February, Galaxy S10 with 5G support and its foldable phone called Galaxy F in March
Samsung Electronics to release first foldable smartphone in March: sources
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2018/11/12/0504000000AEN20181112003100320.html
SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) — Samsung Electronics Co. plans to launch its first foldable smartphone in March, along with a fifth-generation (5G) network-powered Galaxy S10, industry sources said Monday.
According to the sources, the South Korean tech giant plans to unveil the flagship Galaxy S10 smartphone in February, followed by the presumed foldable Galaxy F and another edition of the Galaxy S10 that runs on the 5G network in March.