Author Archives: Ewdison Then

Apple has already launched its 2019 lineup of iPhones and, like any other iPhone in history, has seemingly split the mobile world again. Either the iPhone 11, in all three incarnations, is Apple's greatest or a sign of its declining legacy. But for all the attention it's getting, there is still one iPhone that has so far been absent for almost three years now. That's the iPhone SE's successor, the iPhone SE 2. But while it may share the name, analyst Ming-chi Kuo might have some bad news for the fans of that form factor.

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Passwords are the bane of security and having weak ones is almost as bad as having none. It could be even worse since it gives the semblance of security when, in fact, there isn't any at all. That's why the tech industry has been looking for alternatives, like two-factor authentication. US carriers, however, are taking it one step further and wants to completely replace passwords with your smartphone and, of course, your carrier.

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It's almost hard to believe that it has been half a decade since the very first benchmark cheating scandal erupted in the mobile market. That has caused no small amount of drama and for benchmark suites to defend their territory, make changes, and blacklist certain phones. Unknown or forgotten to many, one such result of that media circus was a lawsuit against Samsung revolving around the 2013 Galaxy S4. That case has now been settled but it is one case where "better late than never" doesn't really apply.

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Android Auto is arguably one of Android's oddest official incarnations, almost like a stepchild that exists only to have a Google version of Apple CarPlay. Development of new features haven't exactly been fast-paced nor exhilarating and, worse, the rollout of features have been even slower. Take for example the wireless connection that would make Android Auto even safer to interact with. Now more than a year after it launched, the feature is finally rolling out to some phones other than the Google Pixel.

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Facial recognition is becoming more and more common these days but it is also one of the more controversial forms of biometrics because of its privacy implications. There is, however, one other problem with face ID that rarely pops up in reports: racial bias. Some users of face recognition technologies report that these systems seem to be designed to work better on people with fairer complexions. Given its prominence, Google is working to ensure it won't be accused of racial bias. Reports claim, however, that it is doing rather questionable methods, including profiling, to accomplish that.

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While camera makers have more or less embraced digital, some still try to appeal to nostalgia with printouts. Smartphone photo printers are all the fad with the younger crowd and Fujifilm's INSTAX is one of the brands that got there first. It hasn't stopped churning such portable printers almost ad nauseam but, admittedly, the newest INSTAX Mini Link does have a few tricks up its sleeves that make it more interesting, even if not that compelling.

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It may have "Maker" in its name but Super Mario Maker can still be a competitive game. Or a cooperative one, if that's your preference. The Nintendo Switch exclusive sequel has brought a new element to the title's original gameplay, thanks to the networking capabilities of the device. Now Nintendo is bringing one more kind of multiplayer gameplay to Super Mario Maker 2, this time between friends you have on your Nintendo Switch list.

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Smartwatches are a dime a dozen these days, including those not even running on Wear OS by Google, many of them sporting nearly identical hardware and features. Standing out from the crowd, therefore, all boils down to how you market those features and when it comes to presentation, Garmin's new MARQ Commander might take the cake. Save for one or two features, the smartwatch almost sounds like any other but the way Garmin talks about this "tactical timepiece" makes it sound like you're reading about 007's latest toy.

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Samsung seems to be on a trajectory that will see its iconic rotating bezel disappear from its smartwatches. For the second time in a row, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 sported no such control, replacing it with thin, classy-looking borders instead. Samsung did make one compromise and made those bezels touch-sensitive. Strangely, it shipped the smartwatches with that feature disabled out of the box and it is now pushing out an update that flips the switch for everyone.

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It was once the butt of jokes but Apple has rebuilt its Maps app and service to mean serious business. In addition to offering a more integrated experience for its iOS and macOS users, Apple Maps bills itself as a more privacy-respecting service compared to Google Maps and Google-owned Waze. That, however, only makes sense if Apple Maps is able to offer nearly all the same features as the others. While it may still have a long way to go, this latest update takes it a few steps closer to that goal, at least for those in the US.

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Cloud file storage is often presented as a collaborative tool but it can also be used for keeping personal backups of files you want to access any time, anywhere, and on any device. Sometimes, however, those files may require the utmost secrecy and security, perhaps far more than the usual security measures these cloud services implement. That's where Microsoft's OneDrive Personal Vault comes in, which was launched in June with limited scope. Now the company is making it available for all though you might have to take note of some limitations before investing in it.

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Duplex is one of Google's most interesting, and sometimes most worrying, products to be revealed in recent years. It combines a few key Google technologies, including Google Assistant, Search and Knowledge Graph, language processing, and, of course, machine learning. When it first came out, it was at the service of those trying to book restaurants or even services. Now Duplex is preparing to help smartphone users book movie tickets but, this time, without even saying a word.

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