China

The Web has become a bigger place and, at the same time, has also become more dangerous. Seeing that most users are unlikely to change bad habits, browser makers are taking up the cause to implement secure and private features that are eventually enabled by default. One such feature is called Safe Browsing and has become enabled by default in iOS 13 with every little warning beforehand. Now it turns out that this feature is sending some information, particularly IP addresses to Google and to Chinese Internet giant Tencent.

Continue Reading

Blizzard is one of several companies to fall into the trap that is state-run media in the nation of China in the year 2019. Blizzard hosts gaming tournaments in China - it's big business, and has the potential for big growth. China and Hong Kong are in the midst of political upheaval via a protest in Hong Kong that's been in play since June of 2019. Because China wants to stop the protest, they're pressuring all media (including Blizzard) to do away with any form of public protest on their network, lest they remove said media from China altogether.

Continue Reading

This week Samsung Electronics Co Ltd announced that they'd ended mobile telephone manufacturing in the nation of China. Cited as reasons for this move were rising labor costs and an "economic slowdown" of sorts. This marks the first time in many years that no Samsung phone factory exists inside China.

Continue Reading

The US government's blacklists and tariffs were meant to send a strong statement to China and pressure the latter in its ongoing trade and political spat. Unfortunately, it won't just be the Chinese economy that will get affected as even the US tech market will soon feel the aftermath. The Mac Pros, already one of the more expensive computers in the market, might become even pricier now that Apple will have to pay 25% more for certain parts coming from China.

Continue Reading

There's a Xiaomi-made smartphone out there in the world called Mi Mix Alpha, and it's got a wrap-around display. This device's introduction to the world included the word "concept" more than once, but it'll apparently be produced for consumer sale nonetheless. The Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha has a screen-to-body ratio of 180.6 percent - which is, of course, completely bonkers.

Continue Reading

Apple may be the pride of America, but there’s no avoiding the ironic fact that a “Assembled in China” stamp sits at the bottom of most Apple products. As much as the Trump Administration would like to eject American corporations from manufacturing in China, U.S. companies have their knees deep in Chinese partnerships. The iPhone has many parts sourced from China. Its screen, processor, glass and cameras all have sources in China.

Continue Reading

Huawei's Honor brand posted a strange subtweet this week just after Apple's iPhone 11 Pro event. In this social media post on Twitter, Honor India (@HiHonorIndia) suggested that "Pro photography shouldn't cost an [arm] and a [leg]. Or a kidney." As you'll see in the image below, they used emoji imagery to illustrate their point.

Continue Reading

The smartphone you see before you represents everything good about reading tech news today. It's very easy to get wrapped up in believing the best phones only come from the most visible brands - Samsung, Apple, etcetera - but that's not always true. Imagine there's a phone that's just as good as far more expensive devices but isn't made by a brand you recognize - could such a device exist?

Continue Reading

The RedmiBook Pro 14 looks a whole lot like a lot of notebooks that've been released in the past few years - but most notably one model in particular. RedmiBook Pro 14 comes in three colors - silver, dark grey, and pink, and comes with a black-bezeled display above a black keyboard in a tray-like depression in the metal just above a centered touchpad the same color as the metal. This device does not run Apple's MacOS software, but DOES run Microsoft's Windows 10 and Office Home.

Continue Reading

The first Redmi-brand TV was revealed today by Xiaomi, and it's a doozy. The Redmi TV 70" is a 4K TV with a starting price of RMB 3799. Converted directly to USD, that's around $530 - for a 70-inch 4K television. Unfortunate for us here in the USA, this television was made for release only on Mainland China. That does not mean Xiaomi won't EVER release a similar product in the USA - we will see soon enough!

Continue Reading

This morning the folks at Xiaomi revealed several new Redmi devices, including the impressive Redmi Note 8 Pro. The Redmi Note 8 Pro rolls with a 6.5-inch FHD+ display with 91.4-percent screen-to-body ratio. This device will be released with four cameras at its back: 64MP primary, 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth sensor. If this is all sounding a bit familiar to you - no surprise there!

Continue Reading

The Huawei Mate 30 will be revealed on September 18 in Munich, with or without a Google-licensed version of Android onboard. Comments from anonymously-sourced officials from Huawei and Google suggest the next major smartphone from Huawei may be a landmark release. Sources familiar with the matter suggest that the event will go on as scheduled, but did not specify when the phone would go on sale.

Continue Reading