Apple A-series and M1 chipmaker TSMC is planning to carry out what is known as risk production of 3nm chips later this year. A 3nm process will be used for future iPhones, although likely not until 2023.
Risk production is the stage at which a foundry has carried out purely internal testing, and believes that it is now ready to try the process on customer designs to see whether those can be…
One of the biggest perks of early Google Pixel smartphones, outside of the camera itself, was the ability to back up every photo and video from the phone to Google Photos in original quality completely for free. Now, though, Pixel 2 owners are losing their unlimited Google…
As RCS takes over the default messaging service on Android, Google Messages is leading the charge. Yesterday, Samsung and Google announced that Google Messages would be “native” to the Galaxy S21 but without going into detail on what that meant. Now, we’ve got a bit…
US adds Xiaomi to list of alleged Chinese military companies
January 15, 2021
The Trump administration has added Xiaomi to the US military list under the National Defense Authorization Act of 1999. That means the US has designated the third-largest smartphone maker in the world — according to IDC, Counterpoint Research and Gartner — as a company owned by the Chinese military. As a result, American investors can’t buy Xiaomi shares or related securities anymore. Also…
iOS 14.4 will alert users about non-genuine cameras on iPhone
January 15, 2021
Starting with iPhone 11, Apple has added an alert in iOS that tells the user when the device has a non-genuine display — which was later expanded to third-party internal batteries as well. And now iOS 14.4 will alert users when it identifies non-genuine cameras on the…
Google Fi delays classic Hangouts shutdown, gives subscribers more time to switch to Messages
January 15, 2021
Google told Fi subscribers last year that classic Hangouts would no longer support texting or calling in January. A week before the deadline, Google has pushed back that deadline for MVNO subscribers to March.
Fi members have long been able to use classic Hangouts to send…
Google Doodle honors Dr. James Naismith, inventor of basketball
January 15, 2021
Today’s Google Doodle is a cute animation celebrating Dr. James Naismith and his invention of basketball in 1891.
In 1891, during his tenure as a physical education teacher at the YMCA college in Springfield, Massachusetts, James Naismith — who was not yet a doctor — was called upon to craft a game for his class to play indoors during the bitter cold winter. With less than two weeks to…
Last year, the Google app on Android ditched Chrome Custom Tabs when opening Discover articles and Search results. Google has now redesigned the custom in-app browser with a bottom bar to make it easier to navigate.
While the old design placed controls in the top-right of…
Samsung debuted its newest flagship smartphones and more today at its Unpacked 2021 event. The major launches include three new iPhone 12 competitors with the Galaxy S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra as well as AirPods Pro and AirTags competitors.
Samsung launched its new flagship…
A new video published by the YouTube channel Apple Demo this week offers a really interesting look at a prototype version of the iPhone 4S. The video shows the iPhone 4S during the design validation testing phase of its development, with an interesting tie to Steve Jobs’ tenure at Apple.
For background, Apple’s hardware development typically moves through stages including EVT (engineering…