Month: October 2018

Italian watchdog says the updates “significantly reduced” performance of the users phones.
Apple and Samsung were fined on Wednesday for software updates that Italy’s antitrust watchdog says slowed down users phones.
The Italian Competition Authority, or AGCM, fined Apple and Samsung 5 million euros (about $5.6 million) each for releasing software updates that “significantly reduced” the performance of phones, the authority said in a release. This pushed consumers to buy new devices, according to AGCM. Apple was fined an additional 5 million euros for failing to provide adequate information on how to maintain and replace phone batteries.
Last December, Apple admitted that it slows down older iPhones to offset battery problems. The company has denied this is done in order to get customers to buy new models.
Both smartphone makers were also ordered to publish a declaration on the Italian page of their websites informing consumers about AGCM’s decision.
“We are disappointed with the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) decision,” said Samsung in an email statement. “Samsung did not issue any software update that reduced the Galaxy Note 4’s performance. In contrast, Samsung has always released software updates enabling our customers to have the best experience possible. We will take necessary legal actions to appeal the ICA’s decision.”
Apple didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Microsoft stopped offering Windows 10’s October 2018 Update on October 6, as it was deleting some people’s files. Now, another ugly data loss bug has reared its head, and it won’t be fixed until November.
M. Hamer, a Microsoft forum agent and moderator, explained this issue on October 23:

There is a known issue in the Windows 10 October Update where the consent prompt “Do you want to replace these files” is missing when copying contents from a .ZIP file.
With the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, if you copy or move files from a .ZIP file (without first “extracting” the contents) in to a new destination folder that contains duplicate filenames or is write-protected, you don’t get a“Do you want to replace these files” prompt. It will appear that the files were overwritten, when in fact the copy action for those files is not executed and files have not been overwritten.

That all sounds a little dry and boring, but it’s serious: You could lose data when working with zip files! In fact, he goes on to warn more about this more explicitly:

Important: Do not attempt to Cut and Paste items from a compressed (.zip) folder. This may result in unintentionally deleting items that may not be recoverable.
Microsoft is working on a resolution and estimates a solution will be available in early November for this issue.

After all the bad press, we can’t imagine Microsoft will want to re-release the October 2018 Update with another bug that can potentially lead to data loss. This one doesn’t seem quite as bad as automatically deleting entire folders during the upgrade process, but it’s still not great. And, if Microsoft starts rolling out the update with this bug, it’s sure to bite some people. That means Microsoft has to wait until November.
Please, if you work at Microsoft and you’re reading this: Don’t do it. Wait until November. Fix the data loss bugs first.
Of course, there’s no official confirmation that Microsoft will delay the update. We recommend you avoid clicking “Check for Updates” any time soon.
In the meantime, if you’ve already upgraded to the October 2018 Update, be careful when working with Zip files in Windows. We recommend using a third-party file extraction program, like 7-Zip.

It’s official: Apple’s second fall 2018 event has been confirmed for October 30 in Brooklyn, New York. Rumor suggest that Apple is going to talk about a new iPad Pro and MacBook, but there’s another device that could also get some attention: The Mac mini.
If you’re a little surprised at that, there’s good reason. It’s been several years since the Mac mini got an update, and Apple has rarely brought up the little desktop computer square, although Tim Cook did say a year ago that, “Our customers have found so many creative and interesting uses for Mac mini. While it is not time to share any details, we do plan for Mac mini to be an important part of our product line going forward.”
Reports now indicate that it’s finally time for an upgrade. Here’s what we know and suspect about a potential Mac mini reveal at the end of October.

A NEW PROCESSOR

Some kind of processor upgrade is an obvious choice for the now outdated Mac mini, and rumors back in July indicated that the mini could receive a power boost this year.
But what new processors are we talking about? Well, four generations of Intel Core processors have come and gone since the Mac mini was updated last. The current model runs on dual-core Core i5 or Core i7 processors, so we’d expect Apple to update to something like the 8th-gen Core i5-8400 and Core i7-8700 processors — both of which are six-core CPUs. 9th-gen desktop chips have only begun to roll out from Intel, but the powerful K-series processors are out of the question.
In the realm of pure speculation, one other possibility could be the Core i5-8305G and Core i7-8809G. These are the Intel/AMD hybrid units that include AMD Radeon RX Vega graphics onboard a quad-core, Intel processor. It’s an expensive chip made for miniaturized PCs like the Intel NUC. It would re-frame the Mac mini as a more capable gaming and content creation tool, which brings us to our next point.

SWITCHING TO A PRO MODEL

Rumors and leaks have discussed the possibility that Apple will revamp the mini into a mini Pro model that is aimed primarily at professionals who want to keep their display and accessories but switch out for a higher-power model.
In this case, Apple would update not only the processor but also expand the storage options. A Mac mini Pro would also need to add more business-friendly features to the unit, which would presumably sell it at a higher price than the current $500 Mac mini. This theoretical mini Pro would fit in well with Apple’s other October focus, the iPad Pro, as two professional bookends for the event.
Since the mini has found a home in network setups and business data storage, it would make sense for many of these new features to focus on server and network management, allowing the mini to slot into many different data setups across a number of businesses.

SSD HARD DRIVE

This one is practically a shoe-in.
The current Mac mini shows its age with options for an HDD, SSD, or fusion drive combination. That was a more common offering a few years ago, but now the market has shifted more fully toward SSD options. We expect a new mini would launch with SSD-only storage, probably offered up to 2TB or more. It’s a simple, sensible move that many other Mac devices, including the iMac Pro and Mac Pro.

UPDATED PORTS

Let’s assume that Apple recognizes the mini’s new role in the office and is focusing more on Pro users. This makes it much more likely that the new model will come with additional ports, especially USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 and additional Ethernet ports. This would make it more useful for data management in business situations — and more versatile overall.
But is the mini still an entertainment device? Ultimately, what Apple decides will probably determine whether or not the HDMI port will stay. Entertainment has changed a lot in just the past four or five years, which leaves Apple in a bit of a tricky situation as to how to position the Mac mini.
If Apple decides that the mini is more at home with tasks in the workplace, it may remove the HDMI in favor of other “Pro” connections. But if the mini still has a future as an entertainment device — perhaps like a versatile cousin to Apple TV — then no doubt HDMI will stay. If this is the case, then Apple definitely needs to upgrade video support to 4K as well.
It’s also possible that Apple could cut back ports to only USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 to follow suit with its MacBook Pros.

REFRESHED DESIGN

While we’ve heard a few rumblings about what a new Mac mini could be like, but very little involving its actual physical appearance. The Mac mini is known for being small, though the definition of small has changed rather quickly over the past few years. Compact PCs that can attach to the back of monitors or fit on your keychain are everywhere you look, and a new Mac mini would have to address the changing context with its size and design.
In terms of materials, that’s also up in the air. Interestingly, Apple has still been making new Mac minis, but only as limited releases. The company has been used purely recycled aluminum from iPhone cases to create Mac minis just for use inside Apple facilities. This doesn’t say much about what Apple may release in October, except that recycled materials could be a part of the plan, but it is an example of how Apple still uses the mini even in its own data architecture.

Samsung held a launch event in China today focused on its Galaxy A9s and A6s, during which the company teased an entirely new handset model with a design that forgoes a notch and will apparently join the Galaxy S10 next year in sporting an all-screen display.
That phone is the A8s, part of Samsung’s midrange A series which will reportedly be the handset maker’s first notch-free phone that sports an edge-to-edge display. Sort of. We add that as a kind of caveat, because according to Samsung leaker extraordinaire Ice Universe, there will still be a hole drilled into the display to allow for a front-facing camera.
The folks over at SamMobile point out there are still a ton of questions about the device and its display, such as whether the camera will be positioned under the device or if that part of the display will just turn off when you’re watching something like a YouTube video. Regardless, the site notes, Samsung’s official teaser of the phone today didn’t seem to show any kind of obstruction on the display. Pretty interesting, and one reason some of the commentary around the phone today is regarding it as a stepping stone to the coming Galaxy S10’s notch-free display.
The latter, reminds Digital Trends in a piece today, could likewise feature an edge-to-edge display that hides cameras, fingerprint sensors and more all under the display. It’s not yet clear, though, if Samsung will bring some or all of those technologies to the S10 or wait for a later model. Some could even materialize in the A8s. Along these lines, the site also notes, Samsung is trying to incorporate a front-facing speaker that works by vibrating the display.
One thing is definitely clear — Samsung is working hard to bring a truly all-screen phone to fruition that avoids the ugly notch entirely. Samsung Display is plugging away at that design challenge, which, once it’s successful, would also allow other companies to pursue the same vision, since companies it supplies include none other than, of course, Apple.

The phone’s fast, 10 watt charging only works with a Made for Google-certified charger, like the Pixel Stand.
Your brand-new Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL offers wireless 10w fast charging, but only with Google’s own Pixel Stand or with upcoming Made for Google-certified models thanks to a proprietary protocol. Qi-standard chargers, even if they support 10w, are limited to 5w for Google’s devices.
The fast-charging incompatibility was pointed out to Android Police by a reader, and the site also says that the phone reports fast charging with third-party devices even though they’re only operating at 5w.
Google confirmed to us,

We don’t limit third-party devices, in fact, we’re working with our partners in the Made for Google program to get fast 10W chargers certified for use with Pixel 3 (Belkin announced its 10W Pixel 3 charger already which will launch in the coming weeks). Pixel Stand and Pixel 3 work together through the protocol we’ve developed for fast charging. Everything else charges at the industry standard Qi 5W.

Google hasn’t indicated why it took this approach, but it’s possible it’s linked to the extra features that are activated when you pop the Pixel 3 on a Pixel Stand.