Xiaomi's High-end $300 Phone
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| Xiaomi's High-end $300 Phone | |
| Number | 613 |
| Broadcast Date | AUGUST 22, 2018 |
| Episode Length | 5:04 |
| Hosts | Tom Merritt |
Xiaomi making money and lowering prices, Facebook and Twitter ban accounts they say originate in Iran and Russia, Verizon caught throttling fire department during California fires.
Headlines
- Xiaomi announced the Poco F1 phone running Android 8.1 Oreo with a Snapdragon 845 chip, 4,000mAh battery, Qualcomm Adreno 630 GPU, 6.18-inch 1080p display, fingerprint sensor and face unlock, 20-megapixel selfie cam and dual-rear cameras coming to India for $300. It also uses three-genration old Gorilla Glass 3, a plastic back, inexpensive speakers, and has no oleophobic coating. Xiaomi product manager Jai Mani told the Verge the company read Reddit forums and determined people wanted bigger batteries and decent processors.
- Xiaomi also reported revenue rose 68.3 percent in Q2 on strong smartphone sales combined with a rise in its connected devices section. Xiaomi reported net profit of 14.63 billion yuan compared to a net loss of 11.97 billion yuan a year ago. Revenue from outside China doubled year over year.
- Google Assistant now responds to the command "Tell me something good." Responses will include stories curated by the Solutions Journalism Network from a database of 4,000 stories focused on solutions to society's problems. Examples include reviving the honeybee population or preventing teen alcohol abuse.
- 22 US states have filed suit to reinstate its open internet guidelines, and an addendum to the suit details throttling of the Santa Clara County Fire Department's unlimited data account while fighting the Mendocino Complex Fire. Santa Clara County Fire Chief Anthony Bowden said Verizon slowed the unlimited account despite being informed it was impeding crisis-response and essential emergency services. Verizon required the department to switch to a more expensive plan before restoring normal service. Personnel used other agency's or personal connections until the billing department worked out the switch. Verizon told Ars Technica this was a customer support mistake and its policy is to lift throttling in emergency situations.
- Facebook's head of cybersecurity policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, posted that Facebook and Instagram have removed hundreds of accounts and pages for “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” thanks to help from security company FireEye. All the accounts were attempting to sway political opinion in the US, Syria and Ukraine. The accounts appeared to originate in Iran and Russia. Twitter also announced it had banned 284 accounts for “coordinated manipulation” originating in Iran.
- HTC announced its adapter to make the Vive VR headset wireless will be available for preorder Sept. 5 for $300, shipping Sept. 24. If you have a Vive Pro, you'll need a $60 compatibility pack as well, which includes a connection cable, foam padding and attachment device. A sensor plugs into your PC's PCI-e card slot which broadcasts to the adapter, which HTC says should get 2.5 hours on a charge. VR gamers looking to cut the cord with their PC will be able to preorder it from Sept. 5.
- Qualcomm has followed Huawei in announcing its next system on a chip will built on the 7 nm process node. Qualcomm says it can be paired with a Snapdragon X50 5G modem. Qualcomm says it is sampling the platform to multiple manufacturers with 5G mobile hotspots set to ship with it by the end of 2018 and in smartphones in the first half of 2019.
- Google is redesigning the Google Fit app for Android and the Fit section of the Wear OS app for iOS. Google says it used recommendations from the American Heart Association and the World Health Organization to create two new rings users will be encouraged to close. Move minutes tracks all kinds of movement beyond just steps and "heart points" tracks activities that raise the heart rate from brisk walking to gym workouts.
- Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Debby Wu have sources who say Apple will release a new low-cost laptop and a pro upgrade to the Mac mini later this year. The laptop would supposedly have a 13-inch retina display and be an entry-level option as well as an option for schools. The Mac Mini will supposedly have new storage and processor options at a higher price.
- The China Internet Network Information Center estimates 29.68 million came online in the country for the first time in the second half of 2018 so far bringing the total number of people in China with internet access to 802 million, 57.7 percent of the country.
- Wal-mart announced its ebook and audiobook service is live for Kobo ereaders and co-branded Kobo and Wal-mart apps for Android and iOS. There are 6 million titles in the library, 40 of which will also be sold in Wal-mart physical locations as cards. Wal-Mart's audiobook service costs $10 a month.
Links
| Preceded by: "Microsoft Gains Control of Russian-based Phishing Sites" |
Xiaomi's High-end $300 Phone |
Followed by: "iFixit Tears Down Magic Leap One Creator Edition" |