Google Hid a Mic in Nest Secure
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| Google Hid a Mic in Nest Secure | |
| Number | 756 |
| Broadcast Date | FEBRUARY 20, 2019 |
| Episode Length | 4:51 |
| Hosts | Tom Merritt |
Google forgot to tell you your security system has a microphone, Apple wants to make it so one app can be submitted to iOS and macOS, and Samsung, Xiaomi and Vivo all have new phones.
Headlines
- Samsung will release the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ phones with in-screen fingerprint sensors and the ability to wirelessly charge other devices off the phone's battery. Samsung will also release the Galaxy Fold, a device that can act as a tablet or fold into a phone form factor.
- Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports his sources say Apple's project Marzipan aims to let developers build an app once and run on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Starting later this year a new developers kit will let people port iPad apps to Mac. By 2020 iPhone will be added to the kit. By 2021 the kit can merge the three ports into one binary so they won't need to be submitted to each store separately. Apple will likely announce details at its developers conference which takes place June 3 through June 7.
- Xiaomi announced its flagship Mi 9 phone with minimal bezel and a small notch for the front facing camera and a triple-lens array on the rear. The rear camera includes a supermoon mode for night sky images and 960fps video capture and advanced motion tracking. The models are available for preorder in China. The Mi 9 will cost RMB 2999, or US$445 shipping February 26, and the Mi 9SE runs RMB 1999, or US$300 shipping March 1. A Transparent Edition, with boosted specs, will sell for RMB 3999, US$595.
- Google announced earlier in February that the Nest Guard, the hub of the Nest Secure system, would get an update adding support for Google Assistant. That was a surprise since the Nest Guard, which came out in September 2017, apparently came with a microphone built in that nobody knew about and was not listed by Google in the specs. Google says it was a mistake not to list it and the mic was never activated and users would have to turn it on themselves in settings. The mic was originally included in anticipation of future updates that would allow things like detecting the sound of broken glass.
- Vivo announced the V15 Pro, its second phone with a pop-up selfie camera, this time a 32-megapixel sensor. The rear camera has a 48-megapixel sensor. The V15 Pro also has a 6.4-inch OLED display, 3700mAh battery and in-screen fingerprint sensor. The V15 Pro will launch soon in India for Rs 28,990 or US$400.
- eMarketer projects digital ad spending will increase 19.1 percent this year to $129.3 billion. Traditional ad spending will fall 19 percent to $109.5 billion. If that projection holds, digital ad spending would make up 54.2 percent of the total, passing traditional advertising spending for the first time. Google's share of digital spending will decline from 38.2 percent last year to 37.2 percent while Facebook's is expected to rise from 21.8 percent last year to 22.1 percent. Amazon is expected to rise 50 percent to 8.8 percent of the total spend.
- The EU Council has agreed to the EU Copyright Directive which includes articles designed to make websites liable for uploads in certain instances, and limits what snippets websites may display from news organizations without seeking a license. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Poland were the only countries to object to the directive. The directive now goes to committee and then on to an EU parliament vote in March or early April.
- Garmin, makers of navigation devices and smart watches, reported a strong Q4 and forecast full-year revenue and profit above expectations. While car nav fell 28 percent, sales of marine navigation remained strong. And sales of Garmin's ADS-B based products for broadcasting a plane's position rose in advance of US regulations requiring the devices in planes by 2020. Garmin's sales of smartwatches to outdoor enthusiasts rose 25 percent.
- Ghostery published a study Friday showing theirs and other ad blocker extensions had sub-millisecond impact on Chrome network requests, disputing the need to change how ad blocking extensions work in Chrome. The Chrome team has modified its plan to require extensions to use DeclarativeNetRequest API instead of the older webRequest API. The blocklist limit will be raised and dynamic blocklists will be allowed.
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| Preceded by: "Coinbase Acquires Neutrino" |
Google Hid a Mic in Nest Secure |
Followed by: "HTC Announces Vive Focus Plus" |