The Galaxy S20 series is on the horizon, and today the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) made a pretty big announcement regarding the phones. The USB-IF has confirmed that Galaxy S20 series phones have gained Certified USB Faster Charger status. That means these phones will support Programmable Power Supply, which is a feature baked into the USB Power Delivery 3.0 spec.
Today the folks at Satechi revealed and released their latest USB-C hub, a device with seven individual ports for connectivity expansion. In the mix are 2x USB-A 3.0 Ports, one USB-C PD (charging), and a full-sized 4K HDMI port. The ethernet port on this hub is capable of delivering gigabit-level internet, and the hub includes both microSD and full-sized SD card readers.
The Google Pixel 4 doesn't include a pair of earbuds in its box, no headphone jack, and no 3.5mm headphone adapter for USB-C. My first reaction as a tech news reporter and reviewer of products is to cry foul! We've come to expect that we'll get certain things when we buy a smartphone, and those expectations are being changed for us, right before our eyes! But there's a bright side to some of this.
Earlier this year, the USB Promoter Group announced that the new USB4 specification would be published in the near future. That time has arrived, with the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) announcing the USB4 spec on Tuesday, September 3. This is the latest major update to the USB specification, building upon the previous USB 3.2 and USB 2.0 architectures. USB4 is, among other things, backward compatible with USB 3.2, 2.0, and Thunderbolt 3.
Apple has officially unveiled iPadOS, a change to the iOS experience for the iPad. The system features a redesigned home screen alongside improved multi-tasking capabilities and new support that greatly improves the device's usefulness for professionals. There's a lot of be excited about, particularly the newly announced support for USB thumb drives, SD cards, and importing directly into Lightroom.
The USB Implementers Forum has had a busy week. At the tail end of February, it seemed to go to great lengths to make USB 3.2 as confusing as humanly possible, and today, it announced the upcoming release of the USB4 specification. At the moment, we've only got a draft specification for USB4, with the final spec to be delivered in the middle of 2019.
If you've tried to plug your phone into your laptop over the past couple of years, or to charge your tablet with your phone's charger, you'll probably have run into USB confusion. Now, things are set to get even stranger, with the USB-IF announcing the USB 3.2 specification and a shake-up in consumer branding.
There's a new phone from Meizu which has no ports, no buttons, no slots. This is the Meizu Zero, a smartphone that takes minimalism to a new level. Unlike the rest of the smartphone industry (with a few notable exceptions) this smartphone does not hesitate to remove all unnecessary bits and pieces from the smartphone experience. But has it gone too far?
Today some images of the Vivo Apex 2019 were leaked - or revealed on purpose - before the official launch of the Vivo Apex 2019. These images showed the device to look, at first, like a smartphone without a frontside camera and with a near-full-coverage front display. The back was silver, with two camera lenses and an LED flash - also, no buttons appeared on the sides, the top, or the bottom.
Joining its newly launched laptops are a series of new accessories from Lenovo, including a pair of speakers and a new USB-C hub. The latter of the three, the powered USB-C Travel Hub, will be available starting this month, though the speaker models won't be launching until later this spring. Each model offers features targeting professionals, including portability and support for Lenovo's PCs.
This week the folks at the USB-IF (USB Implementers Forum) announced the launch of their own USB Type-C Authentication Program. With this program, manufacturers may implement and be certified for the USB Type-C Authentication specification. For the end user - you - that means you'll soon be able to know immediately if a new USB-C cord is able to cryptographically authenticate - that is, give a secret handshake to your phone or PC before it's able to supply power or transfer data.
The Satechi "Aluminum Type-C Mobile Pro Hub Adapter" is the company's newest release, aimed directly at iPad Pro. This USB-C hub works with a wide variety of devices, and can extend the abilities of devices other than the iPad Pro. But the intent, here, today, is to make the iPad Pro connect to all the different devices which have thus far been allowed to work with iOS by Apple.