Google Search May Go Back to China
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| Google Search May Go Back to China | |
| Number | 558 |
| Broadcast Date | AUGUST 1, 2018 |
| Episode Length | 4:38 |
| Hosts | Tom Merritt |
Facebook is adding a way to tell how much time you spend on the app, the smartphone market slows but not for Huawei, and Google may return to China.
Headlines
- Facebook launched digital wellbeing screen time management dashboards for Instagram and Facebook Wednesday in the US with plans to roll out worldwide in the coming weeks. The dashboard reports the amount of time spent in the apps each day as well as the average time. You can set a limit that will cause a reminder to pop up but will not disable the app. You can also mute notifications for up to 8 hours. The dashboards are accessible in settings.
- Apple sold 1% more iPhones than a year ago, not as many as analysts expected. However the average selling price of an iPhone rose to $724, up 20%. That contributed to Apples 6th straight quarter of accelerated revenue growth. Apple services like the App Store and Music grew 31% and other products which includes Watch and Air Pods grew 31%. iPad and Mac revenue declined. On its earnings call, Apple announced CVS pharmacies and 7-11 will support Apple Pay.
- IDC and Strategy Analytics both estimate the smartphone sales slowed worldwide last quarter and only Huawei bucked the trend moving up past Apple to become the number two smartphone shipper in the world while Samsung held on to number one despite a 10% decline. Apple grew its shipments but not enough to avoid falling into third. A bright spot for Samsung are Canalys estimates that Samsung regained the number one spot in India thanks to mid-range phones like the Galaxy J6. Samsung took 29% of the market, just enough to knock Xiaomi into 2nd with 28%.
- WhatsApp launched three new ways for customers to connect with businesses: a shortcut button, support for receiving info like boarding passes and real-time support. And parent company Facebook will now offer ads that can link directly to a business WhatsApp account where companies can respond free for 24 hours after which the company has to pay a fee.
- Microsoft has begin testing the Your Phone app which mirrors content from an Android phone to a PC. Your Phone needs to be installed on Windows 10 and an Android phone, with iOS support promised in the future. It lets users drag and drop photos from the phone into Office apps with plans to add text message sync and notification mirroring. Your Phone is part of the next Windows 10 update, codenamed Redstone 5. That Windows update is expected to ship in October but Your Phone may or may not be a part of it.
- The Intercept reports a source tells it Google has plans to bring its search engine back to China. Google shut down its search engine in China in 2010 over free speech concerns, but the source says Google is planning to comply with Chinese filtering rules. And Android app code named Dragonfly would blacklist sensitive queries and block websites. Google already offers apps like Files Go and Google Translate in China.
- The DEFCAD repository for 3D-printed firearm designs launched Friday under its agreement with the US State Department. However it was forced to go offline Tuesday after a federal judge in Seattle issued a restraining order as 8 states sued to stop the agreement. Washington, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and also the District of Columbia are part of the suit with 20 total states expressing support in a letter. The State Department filed a brief indicating its agreement with DEFCAD only applies to foreign distribution. The court case resumes in Seattle August 10.
- France voted to ban smartphones in schools as of the beginning of the academic year in September. Phone were already banned in classrooms but the ban now extends to all school grounds. Secondary schools can make exceptions for extracurricular activities and disabled students. Students will be required to leave phones at home are turn them off.
- Samsung announced the Galaxy Tab S4 with Android 8.1 Oreo, a 10.5-inch AMOLED display, the S Pen, and Iris and face scanning for authentication. It includes Samsung's DeX built-in which usually requires a dock. That means the tablet can act like a desktop PC with up to 20 windows open at once. It relies on Google Assistant, not Bixby for voice control at a distance. It's available at $650 for 64GB and $750 for 256 GB shipping August 10. Models with LTE are available from carriers at various prices.
Links
| Preceded by: "Uber Shuts Down Self-Driving Truck Unit" |
Google Search May Go Back to China |
Followed by: "Apple Cuts Off App Affiliate Program" |