👋 Good morning! One of the joys of tech conferences is going to and from events. At least 50% of messages exchanged by a team on the ground at any tech conference include: where are you all, is anyone home, does anyone have the keys, and, where can I get food? The great, unsolved problems ...except for maybe the keys, thanks to smart locks these days? Although that doesn’t always work out, as a few Tesla owners found out this week (Gizmodo).
Android 10 is out!
Android 10 has become an official release!
The announcement and devices:
- Google’s official blog post welcoming Android 10, noting the three major themes of the release: 1. Advanced machine-learning and support for new devices that fold or have 5G 2. Privacy and security with 50 features offering more control, and, 3. More digital wellbeing controls for a better balance.
- Plus dark mode, new emoji, gestures, and all kinds of interesting things that Joe Hindy has dug into in a great Android 10 video.
- Devices that got the update include the Google Pixel line and the Essential phone, while the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro, along with the Redmi K20 in India and China from Xiaomi, received open betas of the final version of Android as well.
The Android 10 journey:
- Android 10 marks a long road for Android. It's wrong to call it the tenth release of Android, but at least Google didn't call it Android X as they rebranded away from desserts.
- In any case, Android 10 now a mature OS and one where new features can feel small compared to the whopping changes in previous years - but that’s the same on the iOS front as well, with its own incremental changes that don't feel like huge steps anymore.
- (In both cases, one reason to rush to the new software is to get the new emoji to text to friends and family - this definitely matters on iOS, and gives people a reason to update beyond “boring” security fixes.)
The waiting game:
- The long-known problems of Android updates remains true: just a tiny percentage of Android phones in the wild get the latest and greatest operating system updates.
- The rest have to wait for an unknown length of time, with manufacturers regularly breaking promises about their updates.
- Which is a shame; Android 10 has useful features, but manufacturers do need to extensively test and configure the new update to ensure it works.
- But pressure on manufacturers to get their devices onto the latest software in weeks or months, and not years, has never been higher, thanks to the Pixel line primarily, along with news like this, and closer watching of update timeframes than ever.
- Here’s a guideline: When should you expect to receive the Android 10 update?
A final question: how much do you care about being on the latest and greatest update? Just hit reply and I'll gather up your thoughts.
Round Up:
🆕 Samsung launches the Exynos 980, with 5G support and mid-range aims (Android Authority).
💻 Razer Blade Stealth 13 update announced: The little laptop gets a big GPU boost (Android Authority).
🧲 The best mouse got an update: Logitech’s new MX Master 3 employs magnets for a better scroll (Engadget).
🚫 Firefox’s latest version blocks third-party trackers by default for everyone (The Verge). Praise Firefox for blocking cryptominers and cookies and not following Google-law.
😶 Facebook announced its facial recognition tech will no longer identify new users in their photos by default (The Verge). Opt-out at this link, if you haven’t already (Facebook).
🔐 A glut of iOS 0-days pushes their price below cost of those for Android. Buying an exploit for Android now costs $2.5m, cheaper than iOS, reportedly. (Ars Technica).
📞 Scammer successfully deepfaked CEO's voice to fool underling into transferring $243,000 (Gizmodo).
⏩ Good news: Speed-doubling USB4 is ready! Now we just have to wait for devices to support it (CNET).
✋ Amazon plans to let you pay in Whole Foods using scans of your hand (BoingBoing). As @elizabeth_joh said on Twitter: “Who knew convenience was the short road to dystopia.”
📺 Apple TV+ fun: “Apple reportedly scraps Richard Gere drama ‘Bastards’ for not focusing on friendship”, first show cut (Gizmodo).
🍎 Also, is a new Apple TV coming next week, with HDMI 2.1? (9to5Mac).
🚗 Lamborghini's first hybrid supercar is the 819HP Sián, and its most powerful ever (Engadget).
🔊 Is the high res, high price Tidal HiFi worth it? A review. (SoundGuys).
🕹 “What just doesn't make sense about the Harry Potter universe?” (r/askreddit).
Wednesday Weirdness
China's Lunar Rover Yutu-2 has found a 'gel-like' substance on the far side of the Moon, and it could be anything from melt glass caused by hot meteors, to something else completely.
(The above photo shows the rover tracking towards the crater with the odd material, via China Lunar Exploration Project)
From Space.com:
- “On July 28, the Chang'e-4 team was preparing to power Yutu-2 down for its usual midday 'nap' to protect the rover from high temperatures and radiation from the sun high in the sky. A team member checking images from the rover's main camera spotted a small crater that seemed to contain material with a color and luster unlike that of the surrounding lunar surface.’
- “So far, mission scientists haven't offered any indication as to the nature of the colored substance and have said only that it is "gel-like" and has an "unusual color."”
From a gel-like place,
Tristan Rayner, Senior Editor.