Important announcements
Apple confirmed that iPhones with older batteries will have slower performance
Apple said they are not slowing down older iPhones just to urge people to upgrade to newer devices. Rather, the company has said it’s addressing an issue with devices containing older lithium-ion batteries that results in unexpected shutdowns. Because those older batteries are incapable of handling peak current draws with the same effectiveness of iPhones with newer batteries and more efficient processors, they run the risk of the device powering down to prevent damage to its internal components.
You can read more here.
Google Chrome’s ad blocker will be launched on February 15th
Chrome’s ad-blocker will help filter out advertisements that don’t meet new standards that have been created by the Coalition for Better Ads. The Coalition for Better Ads has a list of rules and guidelines that include no pop-ups, ads that take over your entire screen, automatically playing videos, etc. After the launch of the ad-blocker on February 15, any advertisements that have a status of “failing” in the Coalition’s Ad Experience Report for more than 30 days will be blocked from Chrome.
More info are available here.
WhatsApp was given a one-month ultimatum to stop sharing user data with Facebook
The Chair of the National Data Protection Commission (CNIL) in France has issued a formal notice to WhatsApp, asking the messaging app to stop sharing user data with the Facebook within a month. The decision comes a year after European Union privacy authorities said they had “serious concerns” about the sharing of WhatsApp user data for purposes that weren’t included in the terms of service and privacy policy when people signed up to the service.
You can read more here.
Top new products
Sony Xperia XZ2
Sony Xperia XZ2 will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 5.5-inch 4K display. It will come with 64 GB of internal storage and a dual main camera.
More info here.
Huawei Enjoy 7S
Huawei Enjoy 7S has a 5.65-inch display, Kirin 659 processor and a 3000 mAh battery. It will be available in 3GB and 4GB RAM variants with 32GB and 64GB of internal storage.
More info here.
Nokia 9
The phone will have 5.5-inch display, 128GB of storage and a 3,250mAh battery. It will come with Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and a dual camera on the back with 12MP and 13MP sensors.
More info here.
Top interesting info
US declares North Korea as the source of WannaCry ransomware
The US has declared North Korea the perpetrator of the widespread and financially devastating WannaCry ransomware cyberattack that rapidly spread across the globe in May, hitting hospitals, companies, and other critical institutions in countries around the world.
You can read more here.
Google AI can rate photos based on aesthetic appeal
Goole is working on a Neural Image Assessment (NIMA) system that uses a deep convolutional neural network to rate photos based on what it believes users would like, both technically and aesthetically. The approach can use reference photos if they’re available, but it can turn to statistical models if there’s no ideal target photo.
More info can be found here.
Facebook will eliminate Disputed Flags on fake news and display links to trustworthy articles instead
Facebook Inc. said it will stop showing “disputed” flags on news that third-party fact checkers mark as false. The company will instead show related articles to try to give more context around the potentially false story.
You can read more here.
