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Showing posts from January, 2019

Nintendo Switch 2 might actually be a smaller, cheaper, stripped-down console

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The next  Nintendo Switch  console may not be the new and improved version that many are clamoring for, but rather a shrinking or condensing of the current platform. That’s the latest from Japanese news outlet  Nikkei , translated via  Nintendo Everything . The outlet reports, citing sources both from hardware partners and game developers, that the console will be both ‘miniaturized’ to emphasize ‘portability’ and will “cut features” to become more affordable.  It’s unknown specifically which features Nintendo plans to cut from this version of the Switch console, but there’s incentive for the company to make such a move. While just about everything is on the up for Nintendo financially, it's technically well short of its original goal of 20 million consoles sold in the fiscal year 2018 with a recent recasting down to 17 million. A more financially approachable console would certainly help drive more sales given the console’s popularity may be at od...

iPhone 11 may get a triple-lens camera, but not iPhone 12's laser 3D snappers

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Apple's  iPhone 11  may have a triple-lens rear camera, but it's the iPhone 12 that will include space-sensing laser-powered 3D snappers, according to a new report today. A scoop by  Bloomberg  focuses on the rear cameras for the 2019 iPhones, which we're calling the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Max today. The triple-lens camera is said to add the ability to take wide-angle photos and videos, something that the  Huawei Mate 20 Pro  and  LG V40  can do, but not an iPhone. The iPhone 11 Max seems destined to get the triple-lens rear camera first, while the standard iPhone and  iPhone XR  may get the three-camera hardware "eventually." Other iPhone 11 upgrades planned Live Photos, first introduced with the  iPhone 6S  in 2015, could get its first upgrade in four years. Instead of capturing motion three seconds before and after a photo is taken, Apple's plans are said to be double this, bumping it up to six seconds....

[Update: Sprint too] Verizon's Galaxy S9 and S9+ get the Android 9 Pie update

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UPDATE  1 : 2019/01/30 10:54AM PST The big phone, too UPDATE  2 : 2019/01/30 11:52AM PST Official details UPDATE  3 : 2019/01/31 6:32AM PST Sprint models also getting Pie update Samsung started rolling Android 9 Pie out to some variants of the Galaxy S9 across the globe this month, but scant few phones in the US have the update. That changes today with the Verizon variant, which is getting a taste of Pie as we speak. Samsung usually keeps a phone's UI consistent from one update to the next so as not to confuse people. The Pie update is different—it brings the new One UI to the Galaxy S9. This interface has rounded corners, bottom tab bars, a system-wide night mode, and buttons positioned for one-handed use. The update includes January security patches and has build number PPR1.180610.001.G960USQU3CSAB. It's also v1.0 of Samsung One UI. Samsung isn't the first to roll out Pie in the US. That honor goes to  Xfinity , which is a Verizon MVNO...

Press renders of the Galaxy S10 and S10+ reveal Samsung is already trying to hide the hole-punch camera

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Previous leaks of the Galaxy S10 and S10+ have been somewhat underwhelming. While the S9 and S9+ have minimal bezels and a full 18:9 display, Samsung's upcoming flagships will still have roughly the same size bezels... but with a camera hole at the top right of the screen. WinFuture and 91mobiles have published press images of both phones, and it looks like Samsung is already trying to hide the camera hole.   The new renders match all previous leaks — the camera is at the top-right of the screen, there are three cameras on the back, and the fingerprint sensor is now under the screen. The casing is mostly glass, just like the S9, and the Bixby button is still present. There's still a headphone jack at the bottom, so Samsung wins some brownie points from me. As with most press images for phones with notches/hole-punch cameras, Samsung appears to be obscuring its poor design decisions with a wallpaper that fades to black at the top. The S10 has a single front camera, whil...

[Update: Reinstated] Apple kills Google's internal iOS apps for violating developer policies

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PDATE: 2019/01/31 8:24PM PST Both Facebook and Google can resume using their internal apps on iOS, according to The Verge and Buzzfeed. The existing certificates have been reinstated. Both Facebook and Google Yesterday Apple pulled Facebook's ability to distribute internal apps for employees on iOS in the wake of an investigation performed by  TechCrunch , which alleged that Facebook was not only paying teenagers to use an app to record their activity, but that the app was also abusing Apple's Enterprise Developer Program to be distributed in the first place. In follow-up coverage, it was noted that Google was also using the same method to distribute a consumer-facing app called "Screenwise Meter," which Google  subsequently pulled . Regardless,  The Verge  is reporting that Apple has pulled Google's certificate, just as it did Facebook's. This change won't result in the generic Google Maps or YouTube apps being kicked from the App Store, but...

How to send files, links, and text from your phone to your desktop

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Since the dawn of the internet, we’ve been sending stuff to ourselves. It might be a link to an article or a note to buy vegetables while returning home. Traditionally, people have used emails a lot for this task  – and some of them still do. But now we have apps and we’ll show you a couple of quick ways to do it. Use WhatsApp Well, the Facebook-owned chat app has more than 1.5 billion users, so it’s quite possible that you’re one of them. You can’t send photos, links, or notes to yourself directly. But WhatsApp‘s group feature and a friend (whom you don’t like much) can help. Make a group with your friend. Kick him/her out of the group. Now you have a group with just you in it. So you can use it to store links, notes, send files (100MB max), and even treat it as your diary. This trick is great if you use just one phone and one computer. But if you have multiple devices, I’ll present my next trick out of the hat. Pushbullet I’ve used Pushbullet for at least five y...