Tech Industry

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• TSMC

Apple again said to be going back to Samsung for A9 chip in future iOS devices

Jordan Kahn Feb 4 2015 - 12:10 pm PT

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After moving to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to produce chips for its latest mobile devices and reduce reliance on competitor Samsung, Recode reports that Apple is tapping Samsung for its next-gen A9 chips.

While Apple had hoped to rely more heavily on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to fabricate the Ax family of processors used in its iOS devices, the company has turned to Samsung for its next-generation A9 chip, according to people with knowledge of the situation…. Though Samsung refuses to identify chip customers, sources say the company is working to ensure an adequate supply of application processors for the next-generation iPhone.

The report mirrors much of what we’ve already heard in recent reports from others adding that “Samsung holds a technological edge over TSMC when it comes to the latest manufacturing process.”

More specifically, Recode cites the fact that “Samsung has managed to shrink the size of the transistors on its chips to 14 nanometers — effectively packing more processing power into a smaller space and consuming less power. TSMC is still at 20 nanometers.” The upper hand with Samsung’s tech was also noted as a reason behind Apple’s decision in earlier reports.

Samsung was said to be handling around 30% of Apple’s latest A8 chips in current gen iOS devices with TSMC producing the majority. Prior to the current-gen A8 chip, Samsung was previously producing the majority of Apple’s mobile chips alongside many other components for Apple products.

• iOS Devices
• Apple News
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• Tech Industry
• processor

Apple chip partner ARM debuts 16nm Cortex-A72 with better speed, power consumption

Jeremy Horwitz Feb 3 2015 - 1:13 pm PT

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ARM, the British processor designer responsible for the core chip technology found inside many of Apple’s past iOS devices, today announced the Cortex-A72 — its latest mobile CPU design, designed to run at up to 2.5GHz and improve the processing power of next-generation smartphones. Combined with an enhanced graphics chip such as ARM’s Mali-T880, the new CPU promises to enable upcoming phones to offer “console-class gaming performance,” up to 120fps 4K video capture, and natural language user interfaces.
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• AAPL Company
• Tech Industry
• AOL
• TUAW
• RIP

Report: AOL’s TUAW closing Feb. 2

Seth Weintraub Jan 30 2015 - 6:28 am PT

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The long-rumored news comes from The Verge: TUAW.com is closing as of Feb 2. I didn’t like all of what they did there, but there was a solid group of writers and people that I will miss reading.

AOL is shutting down The Unofficial Apple Weblog, better known as TUAW, sources familiar with the situation tell The Verge. The company — which is also shutting down its gaming site Joystiq — is in the midst of a major reorganization, and is cutting back on media properties it deems as underperforming.TUAW’s run comes to an end on February 2nd.

TechCrunch, which originally reported the news of AOL’s restructuring, noted that tech and lifestyle sites would most likely be affected by the changes. AOL decided against selling TUAW, leaving open the possibility it could resurrect the site in the future. But for now, a team of writers and editors are out of jobs.

Aol’s TechCrunch puts a different spin on it saying that it will be folded into Engadget – which might mean current content gets redirected.

While Verge earlier today reported that both tech were being closed, this is not quite accurate: Joystiq will stay on as a separate channel at Engadget, while TUAW content will be folded into the bigger site, we understand. It’s still being decided whether the two brand names will remain.

I’ve heard separately that pageviews were in a slow downward spiral over the past few years and the site became too small to justify being a separate unit against slowing ad revenue for AOL.  In any case, it is always sad to see some good Apple writers out of a gig.

• Tech Industry
• Jawbone
• Automatic
• up
• Nest Learning Thermostat

Jawbone introduces marketplace for partner apps and hardware

Mike Beasley Jan 28 2015 - 4:38 pm PT

1 Comment

Fitness gadget maker Jawbone announced today that it has launched a new “partner marketplace” for third-party apps and hardware that work together in an attempt to embrace the “Internet of Things.”

The new store features “smart home” products like the Nest Learning Thermostat and other automation tools, such as Automatic’s driving assistant. Software, like the Sleepio app, are also available.

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• iPhone
• iPhone 6
• Tech Industry
• china
• Apple Inc

Apple supplier Foxconn to cut workforce despite likely record iPhone sales [Update: Foxconn denies]

Ben Lovejoy Jan 27 2015 - 4:42 am PT

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Update: Foxconn has denied the Reuters report, stating that the claim is “completely inaccurate and totally without foundation.” The company told us that increased automation will result in reduced recruitment, but that there are no plans to reduce its workforce “now or anytime in the future.”

Foxconn, the lead assembler for iPhones, is planning to cut its workforce despite widespread expectations that Apple will today announce record sales of its smartphones, reports Reuters. It’s likely that the proposed reduction in staffing relates to Foxconn’s work for other manufacturers, who account for around 60% of the company’s revenues. Also, Apple sells a lot more stuff during the run up to the holidays so seasonal workers might be let go after demand is met.

Special assistant to the chairman and group spokesman Louis Woo did not specify a timeframe or target for the reduction, but noted that labor costs had more than doubled since 2010 […]

“We’ve basically stabilized (our workforce) in the last three years,” Woo said. When asked if the company plans to reduce overall headcount, he responded “yes”.

Foxconn experienced double-digit revenue growth from 2003 to 2012, but has seen that growth slip in the past couple of months as the PC market contracts and smartphone growth rates slow. The company has been trying to work its way up the Apple food-chain from assembly and low-cost components into more expensive parts like displays.

• iPhone
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T-Mobile’s new ‘SCORE!’ program gives you smartphone discounts & perks for $5/month

Stephen Hall Jan 26 2015 - 7:00 am PT

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T-Mobile is seemingly continuing with its “Un-carrier” parade, as the company just announced a new program called “SCORE!” that lets customers add $5 per month to their bill to get some steep discounts on smartphone upgrades. Essentially, enrolling in this program lets you subsidize one of your own future smartphone purchases, but it looks like T-Mobile is going to try to make the investment worth your time.

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• Mac
• Siri
• Windows 10
• Tech Industry
• Microsoft

Microsoft will give away Windows 10 … just like OS X

Zac Hall Jan 21 2015 - 9:55 am PT

56 Comments

Image via Brad Sams

Microsoft announced today at its Windows 10 briefing that it will make the next major version of its operating system free for consumers. Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for for the first year for Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 users. Users who upgrade will continue to have access to the latest versions for free when using the same device. For comparison, Apple has offered updates to each of its software updates, including major operating system versions, for free since 2013 with the release of OS X 10.9 Mavericks for the Mac.
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• T-Mobile
• Tech Industry
• Sprint
• CEO
• uncarrier

T-Mobile USA CEO responds to ‘unsustainable’ claim in typical Uncarrier fashion

Jordan Kahn Jan 20 2015 - 8:32 am PT

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What does T-Mobile US CEO John Legere have to say about comments from parent company Deutsche Telekom this week calling his “Uncarrier” approach unsustainable?

“Its total bullshit,” according to a brief response from Legere referring to comments made by Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Höttges in an interview earlier this week.

According to Re/code, Höttges “admitted that T-Mobile’s current approach is not sustainable” during the interview: “The question is always the economics in the long term … and earning appropriate money,” Hoettges said. “You have to earn your money back at one point in time.”

Höttges also noted that he was “intrigued by the idea of having a combination with Sprint and being the ‘super-maverick’ in the market,” referring to T-Mobile’s plans for a merger with the company that fell through last year.

On sustainability, Höttges claimed T-Mobile’s aggressive discounts and Uncarrier approach would not work long-term as the company invests approximately $4-$5 billion each year to keep up with the other carriers.

Despite disagreements on sustainability, Höttges did briefly attempt to praise Legere’s work during the interview: “His management style will never be adaptable to Germany,”Hoettges said, although he added that Legere’s competitive nature and desire to win are very much in line with the company’s culture. “I like people being disruptive… I like people who are brave. He is very much fitting to our DNA, how we want to be, even if he is very American in his approach.”

• Tech Industry
• Security
• Password
• passwords
• Password manager

Here are the worst passwords of 2014 (and ‘password’ still isn’t the worst)

Ben Lovejoy Jan 20 2015 - 5:24 am PT

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SplashData, the company behind corporate password manager SplashID, has just compiled the latest top-25 ‘most hacked passwords’ rankings. As last year, the most-hacked password is 123456, with ‘password’ only managing second place.

But perhaps naive Internet users have been paying attention. It seems some of those using 123456 have come up with a cunning plan to defeat the hackers: dropping the final digit. 12345 has raced 17 places up the charts into third place. Old favorite ‘letmein’ has climbed one place to #13.

New additions this year include baseball, football, batman and access (cunning). You can see the full top-25 below. If you’re not already using a password manager to enable strong, unique passwords for each website, check-out our how-to guide.

1. 123456
2. password
3. 12345
4. 12345678
5. qwerty
6. 123456789
7. 1234
8. baseball
9. dragon
10. football
11. 1234567
12. monkey
13. letmein
14. abc123
15. 111111
16. mustang
17. access
18. shadow
19. master
20. michael
21. superman
22. 696969
23. 123123
24. batman
25. trustno1