Supply-chain report supports rumors of facial recognition camera in iPhone 8
A supply-chain report from Korea Economic Daily (via The Investor) supports rumors that the iPhone 8 will include a 3D camera module capable of facial recognition.
The report states that the modules will be made by LG Innotek, which makes the dual-camera module for the iPhone 7 Plus, with initial orders worth around 200B won ($177M) …
Samsung’s Tizen just overtook Android Wear’s market share, but Apple still dominates the market
Smartwatches are one of the most personal pieces of tech someone can use day-to-day. Not only does it come down to the style of the device, but also the look and feel of the operating system. For Apple users, the obvious choice is the Apple Watch, but other options are available as well. Today it has been revealed that Samsung’s smartwatch OS, Tizen, has surpassed Google’s Android Wear, but it still falls far behind Apple’s option.
Apple patent describes using iMessage to talk to Siri in noisy or silent environments
An Apple patent published today describes using iMessages instead of voice to interact with Siri in environments when speaking wouldn’t be practical.
This could span both ends of the spectrum, from very noisy environments like construction sites, where your voice cannot be heard, to very quiet ones like libraries, where you would disturb people by speaking. It would also be useful for people who don’t feel comfortable talking to their phone in public …
Comment: Could Apple’s Project Titan now be a ‘HomeKit for cars’ rather than an actual vehicle?
Apple’s interest in cars dates back to at least 2008, when Steve Jobs and ‘father of the iPod’ Tony Fadell discussed the idea. Project Titan appeared to be the company gearing up to finally create an Apple Car, but things seem to have changed since the first reports.
Apple has acknowledged it is exploring the area, but of course declined to say anything specific about its plans. Tim Cook joked about dodging the question back in the spring of 2015, hinted a year later that the company was at an early stage in its deliberations, stating that ‘it’s going to be Christmas Eve for a while.’
The company’s enthusiasm appeared to wane later in the year when it ramped down recruitment before reportedly halting development of a car altogether. But that doesn’t mean Apple has lost interest in cars, and there have been some pointers to the company approaching it from a different angle …
Russian blogger gets 3.5 years prison (suspended) for video of playing Pokémon Go in a church
A Russian blogger who posted a video of himself playing Pokémon Go in a church has been convicted of insulting religious believers and inciting hatred. Ruslan Sokolovsky was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison, but the judge suspended the sentence …
Full-featured version of The Sims coming to iOS and Android ‘soon’ [Video]
Fans of The Sims got a taste of the simulation on iPhone and iPad from The Sims Freeplay back in 2011, but the freemium app fell a long way short of the full desktop experience. EA is promising to correct that in The Sims Mobile.
The developer says that the new mobile app will support all the features of the original PC game from 17 years ago …
TSMC reportedly starts production of Apple A11 chip for iPhone 8 with 10nm process
According to a new report from Digitimes, TSMC has officially begun production of the Apple A11 SoC, set to feature in the iPhone 8 later this year. The foundry apparently wanted to begin mass production in April but faced issues with yields. TSMC will be the sole supplier of A11 chips for the upcoming iPhone refresh.
The A11 chip is also expected to be included in the iPhone 7s spec bump phones, which will seemingly use the same chassis design as the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, although this is not universally supported by the rumors.
Report: U.S. to expand carry-on laptop & tablet ban to include all flights from Europe
Back in March, the United States government enacted a new policy that prohibited tablets and laptops from being carried in cabin baggage on flights to the United States from eight countries. Now, it appears that the policy may be expanded to include all flights from Europe to the United States…
Hackintosh: AMD or Nvidia for Final Cut Pro X? [Video]
If you’re looking to build a Hackintosh that can serve as a competent Windows gaming rig on the side, then a build powered by an Nvidia GPU is a good choice. In our most recent Hackintosh build, we paired an Intel i7 6700k with Nvidia’s fastest gaming GPU, the 1080 Ti.
The results weren’t all that surprising. Performance was good in a macOS environment even when using Nvidia’s beta web drivers. Performance was a lot better, though, in a Windows environment, where Pascal GPUs can really thrive.
If you’re interested in building a Hackintosh solely for video editing, however, then an Nvidia-powered GPU option might not be the best choice. Sure, Nvidia GPUs with their CUDA cores are generally superior for editing in an Adobe workflow, but if you’re building a Hackintosh machine solely for video editing, chances are you’re interested in running Final Cut Pro X.
Uber now allows you to save custom locations other than home and work
Rolling out today, Uber is making it easier for you to remember destinations other than your home and work addresses with Saved Places. Whether you visit a particular friend or relative’s house, restaurant, or even a park fairly often, it can get annoying trying to remember the exact address when hailing an Uber. Now, these saved locations can be saved as a shortcut…