Today Samsung released their next major update for the Galaxy phone ecosystem. This update is a public beta, which means it's good enough for testing by those that opt-in, but not quite perfected for the entire live line of devices. Today you'll find the Samsung One UI 3.0 Android 11 beta available for download so long as you're a part of the One UI public beta program.
NASA regularly publishes some of the best examples of its photography capabilities in a series it calls 'Image of the Day.' The latest installment in this series is a satellite image of the western United States, showing the vast amounts of smoke produced by its wildfires as they burn. The photo provides a stunning look at the natural disaster, one that would be impossible without modern technologies.
It just launched new products and services today but next week might have a different atmosphere over at Google HQ. Although it has long been accused of anti-competitive practices in many countries around the world, Google has yet to face a formal lawsuit that could truly shake and shape its search and advertising business for the future. That lawsuit might finally come next if the US Department of Justice pushes through with its alleged schedule. The bigger question, however, is whether state attorneys general will be onboard with it.
The first of several US presidential debates will be held today an aired on all major TV networks and streaming services. That includes the likes of YouTube, C-Span, CBS, ABC, CNN, and NBC. This debate will begin at approximately 9PM ET (that's 21:00 Eastern Time), 8PM Central Time, 7PM Mountain Time, 6PM Pacific.
Local and international media have been focused on covering the US government's moves against popular social media TikTok but what's happening outside of the spotlight could have even bigger economic repercussions globally. Although not exactly the blacklisting that was earlier feared, the US Commerce Department has just placed restrictions on the export of American products to SMIC, China's largest semiconductor company, which affects not only the already embattled Huawei but potentially even US companies like Qualcomm as well.
A video was leaked this week featuring BT and EE CEO Marc Allera and Apple's own Eddy Cue. Per the video, "we are just days away from Apple's next major launch, a 5G iPhone, which will be a huge boost for 5G." This is the sort of video that'd be shared among carrier officials and affiliates, not meant for public consumption. In other words, there's little reason to believe we're more than a month away from a "launch" of the first 5G iPhone.
There might be a small reprieve for embattled Chinese social media companies that would have been removed from the US market this month. Although there's still some confusion over the exact fate that awaits TikTok and its deal with Oracle and Walmart, there is less ambiguity with what will happen with WeChat. A US judge ruled that the US Commerce Department cannot order Google or Apple to remove the instant messaging app from their app stores but this victory for owner Tencent is by no means final.
Apple's AirPods design has become so iconic that it was only inevitable that many TWS earbuds would start sporting the same basic look. It was also inevitable that there would be countless knockoffs trying to rip consumers off that aren't able to tell the difference. It seems that even authorities may have been confused as the US Customs and Border Protection office proudly announced they seized 2,000 counterfeit Apple AirPods that were clearly marked as OnePlus Buds.
It might have been too easy to belittle the US ban on supplying Huawei with semiconductors but the full brunt of that rule is now coming to light in full. While the primary and immediate casualties are, of course, the mobile processors that will power Huawei's chips, the rule's chilling effects actually covers anything and everything that is powered or controlled by a chip, including the screens that Samsung and LG will no longer supply Huawei exactly for that reason.
The 2020 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally that took place in South Dakota last month has been linked to more than a quarter-million new COVID-19 cases and more than $12 billion in public health care costs, according to a new study. The event lasted 10 days and attracted nearly half a million people over that duration, many of whom chose not to wear masks or engage in social distancing practices.
The US government has hundreds of companies on its so-called Entity List and a good number of them come from China. One of the highest-profile names on that list in recent years has been, of course, Huawei. But if you thought the US was done with China's biggest phone and network manufacturer, it seems to be moving to squeeze out any remaining life from Huawei. Its rumored next move, however, could provoke China to finally retaliate and throw the global economy further into chaos.
It seems to be open season on tech companies in the US, big or small, and it's no surprise that the biggest ones are in the government's crosshair. While Facebook's election scandal hasn't exactly been closed fully, the US has launched several actions to ban several Chinese companies and start new investigations into the app store business. Google has almost been always involved in these, one way or another, but it might soon be the sole focus of the US Department of Justice's next lawsuit this September.