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AfterDawn: News

A new unpatchable iPhone jailbreak exploit found

Written by Matti Robinson @ 28 Sep 2019 1:26

A new unpatchable iPhone jailbreak exploit found A new exploit has been found on iPhones dating from 2017 with iPhone X and iPhone 8 all the way back to iPhone 4S from 2011.

The security hole is said to be unpatchable by the community. The exploit, aptly named checkm8 by the hacker axi0mX, could allow jailbreaking of hundreds of millions of iPhones consistently and without a possibility of a patch to close it.

Jailbreaking was a popular community effort to unlock the iPhones, especially in the early days of smartphones. Nowadays jailbreaking has become harder as Apple's continuous patches break the exploits.

This one is said to be unpatchable due to the fact that the affected part of the system is the boot ROM which means that it is a read-only memory and thus can't be patched with a simple software update.

Unfortunately for the jailbreak community the exploit does not cover the most recent phones, including last year's iPhone XS and this year's iPhone 11 models. However, this might make iPhone X and earlier iPhone models more attractive choice for users that appreciate homebrew and tinkering with their technology.

Finding the exploit is only the first step. Now the community has to figure out how to create a jailbreak to unlock each affected iPhone model. Even though this exploit could potentially allow a jailbreak, it is not necessarily possible.

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AfterDawn: News

WSJ: Apple TV+ exclusive movies aren't that exclusive

Written by Matti Robinson @ 28 Sep 2019 12:50

WSJ: Apple TV+ exclusive movies aren't that exclusive Apple first unveiled their streaming video platform early this years, and just a few weeks ago the company announced the pricing and availability alongside the introduction of new iPhones.

We even got to see the first trailer of an upcoming Apple exclusive show, See, but is there enough there to challenge the likes of Netflix, Amazon, and soon even Disney.

Well, so far the catalog of content for Apple TV+ hasn't been expanded too much, so the concern is certainly warranted. However, Apple has a different kind of strategy for the movies it produces.

According to sources close to the matter, Apple is going to first release the movies to theaters and only after a few weeks of screening would they come available on your Apple TV+ subscription, WSJ reports.

The information suggests that Apple is trying to elevate the brand, not so much raise money, and this requires theater screenings, which many of the influential and highly regarded creators and producers Apple wants to recruit want.

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AfterDawn: News

DoorDash security breach leaks information from 5 million users, merchants, Dashers

Written by Matti Robinson @ 27 Sep 2019 1:21

DoorDash security breach leaks information from 5 million users, merchants, Dashers The latest security breach is affecting iOS and Android app DoorDash users, a blog post by the company reveals. According to the post, nearly 5 million users or partners have been affected by the data leak.

DoorDash servers were attacked and the attackers managed to get ahold of personal information of around 4.9 million accounts. This includes both customers and merchants, as well as Dashers, the delivery personnel of the food delivery service.

The unauthorized access was recorded on May 4, 2019 and the company received the information earlier in September.

The customer infomation accessed includes names, email addresses, delivery addresses, order history, phone numbers and encypted passwords. According to the post, no full credit card information was stolen, although some last four digits might have been accessed.

Dashers had also their driver's license numbers accessed.

DoorDash said that it will contact all affected users directly, and let them know what information of theirs was accessed. They've suggested everyone change their passwords nonetheless. The company has put in efforts to ensure better security practices in the future.

Read the DoorDash blog post here.




AfterDawn: News

YouTube Music is now pre-installed on new Android devices

Written by Matti Robinson @ 27 Sep 2019 1:02

YouTube Music is now pre-installed on new Android devices Google has tried to capture the music market with different iterations of streaming services for quite a while without much success. Previously Google Play Music was their bid for music supremacy, now it's time to move toward YouTube Music.

This summer YouTube Music managed to pass 15 million subscribers. It's not nothing but it's a far cry compared to 60 million from Apple Music or well past 100 million paid subscribers from Spotify.

The search giant has decided now to promote YouTube Music more aggressively in replacing Google Play Music. The company has announced that YouTube Music will now be pre-installed to all new Android devices, be it equipped with Android 9 or Android 10.

This also means that if you prefer still using Google Play Music, although they are clearly trying to kill it, you will have to install it yourself.




AfterDawn: News

Tesla releases largest software update ever, here's what's new in v10.0

Written by Matti Robinson @ 27 Sep 2019 11:53

Tesla releases largest software update ever, here's what's new in v10.0 Tesla has yesterday announced the largest software update to its vehicles in some time. In fact, the version 10.0 update is the largest ever, and introduces new features to the Tesla displays and more.

One of the more anticipated features not linked necessarily to the displays is Smart Summon. The software update brings autonomous parking lot driving to all Teslas that have Full Self-Driving Capability or Enhanced Autopilot.

New additions in the smart displays on the other hand include car Karaoke feature Caraoke, addition of Spotify Premium, I'm Feeling Lucky and I'm Feeling Hungry nagivation/adventure features, Cuphead action game in Tesla Arcade, and Tesla Theater with Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu support.

Furthermore Tesla improved the Dashcam and Sentry Mode USB support and brought browser support to Model 3.

The company said that Tesla owners worldwide would start now waking up to the new update, so while the update has rolled out it might take a few days for you to get it, perhaps depending on the market.

Read more about the update here.

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AfterDawn: News

OnePlus 7 vs OnePlus 7T, what's new in latest upgrade?

Written by James Delahunty @ 26 Sep 2019 11:00

OnePlus 7 vs OnePlus 7T, what's new in latest upgrade? Is it worth ditching your OnePlus 7 or OnePlus 7 Pro for a new OnePlus 7T, unveiled today? Let's take a quick peak at the notable differences.

OnePlus unveiled the OnePlus 7T in India today, an upgrade over the OnePlus 7 released in May. A more powerful OnePlus 7T Pro is very likely to be unveiled on October 10 in an event in London, which would be an update to the OnePlus 7 Pro. While details on pricing are still unavailable, we can still look at the key differences over the previously released handsets.

A quick glimpse tells you that some of the changes in the OnePlus 7T are more like the OnePlus 7 Pro, so in essence we expect it is an upgrade that makes it more approximate to the previous Pro model, but with a price closer to the previous basic model. It is ever so slightly heavier, coming in at 190g compared to 182g for its predecessor. The design is pretty much the same as the OnePlus 7 and the 6 and 6T before it, so there isn't much to be said there. OnePlus 7T also comes with an Oxygen OS based on Android 10, but the OnePlus 7 can update to the newer OS.

Under the hood, it trades in the Snapdragon 855 for an 855+ SoC. Unlike before, there is no 6GB of RAM option, the OnePlus 7T comes with 8GB RAM, no more no less. For the display, OnePlus 7T is slightly larger than the OnePlus 7 display at 6.55-inch, compared to 6.41-inch. Size isn't everything though and unlike the OnePlus 7, the 7T screen supports a 90Hz refresh rate and HDR10+. This was also the case with the OnePlus 7 Pro, though the higher resolution of the Pro and curved screen are not present in the 7T.

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AfterDawn: News

OnePlus 7T launched, here are the specs, pics, and more

Written by James Delahunty @ 26 Sep 2019 11:00

OnePlus 7T launched, here are the specs, pics, and more OnePlus has unveiled the latest series in its popular smartphone lineup with the OnePlus 7T.

Chinese smartphone firm OnePlus has refreshed its smartphone line up with launch of the OnePlus 7T in India today, an upgrade on the OnePlus 7 series unveiled back in May of this year. A more expensive OnePlus 7T Pro is likely to be unveiled in October.

Sporting a design very similar to the OnePlus 7 series (and 6), the specs were also mostly anticipated in previously reported leaks. OnePlus 7T features a 6.55-inch AMOLED display (2400x1080 at 20:9, 402ppi, 90Hz refresh rate) with an in-display fingerprint sensor. It is driven by a Qualcomm 855+ SoC (up to 2.96GHz) and Adreno 640 GPU. Under the hood is 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB internal storage (UFS 3.0 2-lane). For juice, it packs a 3800mAh non-removable battery supporting Warp Charge through its speedy 30T Fast Charging (5V/6A/30W) charger.

At the rear, OnePlus 7T features a Sony IMX586 48 megapixel main lens, complemented with an additional 12 megapixel telephoto lens and 16 megapixel ultra wide angle lens. The tri-lens system allows for optical zooming (2x), and can record video up to 4K resolution at 30/60fps. Super Slow Motion footage can be captured at 1080p (240fps) or 720p (480fps, 960fps).

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AfterDawn: News

Windows 10 surpasses 900 million devices

Written by James Delahunty @ 25 Sep 2019 6:06

Windows 10 surpasses 900 million devices Microsoft has revealed that its Windows 10 operating system is now on more than 900 million devices worldwide.

Redmond is closing in on its target of a billion devices running Windows 10 very quickly. The operating system launched for consumers in 2015 and has since been installed on more than 900 million PCs, Xbox One consoles, Surface devices, and Microsoft's HoloLens.

The new figure of 900 million devices is up from a milestone reached just six months ago of 800 million. Yusuf Mehdi, corporate VP of the Search and Devices Group at Microsoft, said that in the past twelves months they have added more Windows devices than ever before.

The momentum has a lot to do with the forthcoming end of support for Windows 7. The aging operating system is among Microsoft's most successful software products. Just like Windows XP before it - which was released in 2001 and came to the end of support five years ago - Microsoft is trying to lure users to the newer operating system with warnings delivered by Windows Update.

While many users will undoubtedly hold out for some time, the end of Windows 7 seems to be having an effect on the momentum of Windows 10 at the moment. At this rate, Windows 10 should reach a billion devices sometime in early 2020.

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AfterDawn: News

Google copies one of Spotify's most popular features to YouTube Music

Written by Matti Robinson @ 23 Sep 2019 8:32

Google copies one of Spotify's most popular features to YouTube Music Spotify has become truly a force to reckon with in the music industry. Even giants like Apple, who used to be the top dog when it comes to digital music, are struggling to keep up with Spotify.

Everyone is looking at Spotify and trying to learn from their successes. One of the ways Spotify has beat the competition is with automatically curated user specific playlists.

Perhaps the best example of this is Discover Weekly which offers weekly dozens of new songs for the user to listen, and all of them are picked, no matter how different they end up being, depending on what you've listened before.

This hugely popular feature has been noticed by the competition, and the newest example of this comes from Google.

In fact, Google has just decided that they can't really do it much better, and have just copied the feature.

According to a Reddit post, this new feature is called Discover Mix. It offers 49 new songs, automatically selected to fit user preferences, every week, Wednesday to be exact.

It seems that it has so far only rolled to a subsection of YouTube Music subscribers, but one could expect it to come available globally soon.

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AfterDawn: News

8K Ultra HD TVs have now official specs and a logo

Written by Matti Robinson @ 23 Sep 2019 8:02

8K Ultra HD TVs have now official specs and a logo One might think that their brand new 4K television is enough for the long haul, but eventually it's going to run out of steam and you'll get a new one.

Likely at that point you are looking at a new generation of TVs that have upped the ante at least in terms of resolution. 8K TVs are coming whether you feel like you need one or not.

The Consumer Technology Association has now officially revealed their definitions for what constitutes a 8K Ultra HD television. According to their specifications, such a TV should first and foremost be capable of displaying at least 33 million pixels, 7680 horizontally and 4320 vertically.

Furthermore, the TV needs to support scaling to 8K, at least one HDMI input capable of 7680 x 4320 resolution, 10-bit color depth, selection of frame rates (24, 30, 60 fps), ITU-R BT.2100 specced HDR transfer and colorimetry, and HDCP v2.2 or equivalent content protection.

If all this is handled by the TV, it will be able to use the new logo. A modification of the 4K Ultra HD logo has now been made for the new 8K Ultra HD TVs.

New logo will be available for manufacturers to use in their marketing January 1st, 2020 onward.




AfterDawn: News

Fixed Galaxy Fold is still the most fragile phone

Written by Matti Robinson @ 22 Sep 2019 10:59

Fixed Galaxy Fold is still the most fragile phone Galaxy Fold is now out for sale officially. The folding phone was intended for release months ago when it started breaking apart in reviewers hands.

Since then Samsung has recalled all devices, postponed the launch, and tried to fix the most glaring issues of the phone and especially its display. Now that you can finally purchase the $1980 marvel, you might want to know how to make sure you don't break it.

The fact is that Galaxy Fold is still a tremendously fragile device due to its folding mechanism and plastic covered screen. Samsung obviously knows this, and is suggesting people only use a light touch when operating the phone.

Light touch is mentioned in the phone packaging but the company has also released an advert explaning the features and how to take care of the device.

This "Caring for your Galaxy Fold" video is available on YouTube (and below). In addition to suggesting light touches, as even your fingernails could damage the screen over time, Samsung notes that dust and water should be kept away.

This is due to the fact that there is no official IP rating for the phone, and the delicate folding mechanism might break from dust and sand.

Furthermore Samsung also notes that there are magnets on the phone to keep it closed that you should be mindful about.

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AfterDawn: News

The new iPhone 11 doesn't slow down because of an old battery

Written by Matti Robinson @ 21 Sep 2019 1:47

The new iPhone 11 doesn't slow down because of an old battery Apple's batterygate in late 2017 and early last year revealed the that Cupertino company had been throttling the performance of people's iPhones due to them getting older.

This meant that when your battery started deteriorating the iPhone would slow down to preserve better battery life. It was a conscious choice by Apple to make older iPhones slow down so they wouldn't seem to have as bad of a battery – and according to them they didn't try to just make you buy a new faster phone.

A lot of people were mad about this, especially since it wasn't documented officially and much less openly told about to the public.

Apple made their changes, and they even announced a battery change program in addition to allowing the user to prioritize performance over battery from the settings.

Now with the new iPhone 11 series, Apple has gone a little further to right some wrongs. According to a support document found by 9to5Mac new iPhone 11 has a dynamically monitored solution to battery and power management.

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AfterDawn: News

Amazon invests in 100,000 electric delivery vehicles

Written by Matti Robinson @ 21 Sep 2019 12:29

Amazon invests in 100,000 electric delivery vehicles Amazon has announced that it is buying a fleet of electric delivery vehicles from a Michigan EV start up. According to CEO Jeff Bezos, the company has placed an order of 100,000 electric vans from Rivian.

Bezos revealed the purchase order at an event in Washington, DC, where the CEO spoke about how to curb climate change.

The first of the new vehicles are expected to arrive in 2021, and all the 100,000 Rivian EVs should roam the streets by 2024.

Amazon's operations exec Dave Clark tweeted the rendered picture of the vehicle that is going to deliver your Prime packages in couple years.

Rivian was founded ten years ago and is developing sustainable transportation. The company has built two EV vehicles, a truck and an SUV, which were shown in late 2018 in LA Auto Show.

The company is riding a high after major investments this year. Amazon was part of Rivian's funding round in February which raised $700 million. In April, Ford announced a $500 million investment in Rivian.




AfterDawn: News

Facebook released $149 Portal TV and $129 Portal Mini

Written by Matti Robinson @ 21 Sep 2019 10:52

Facebook released $149 Portal TV and $129 Portal Mini Facebook has been trying to find its way to video calls for quite a bit now. Most of you, probably all to be honest, have seen ads for the Portal webcam. Now it has couple sigblings: Portal Mini and Portal TV.

The new device is essentially a TV dongle, like Chromecast or even Apple TV, that just focuses on its on-board camera. You plug the camera stand to an HDMI input of your TV and you are ready to go.

Its meant to allow easy video calling from the big screen, but also features AR gaming and content co-watching. The last mentioned feature is reserved for two Portal devices working together. You can watch videos with your loved ones while sharing the moment over a video call.

Another newcomer is Portal Mini. The $129 Portal Mini has a smaller 8-inch HD screen and looks like a picture frame at that size and with the new design.

There's also a renewed Portal that has the same new minimalist design and retains the 10 inch screen. Facebook has also dropped the price to $179 from $199.




AfterDawn: News

Amazon launches Music HD for audiophiles

Written by Matti Robinson @ 17 Sep 2019 9:55

Amazon launches Music HD for audiophiles Amazon has just released a new music service for the most demanding music consumers out there. It's called Music HD and it expands upon their Amazon Music streaming service with new higher fidelity options.

Essentially Amazon Music HD is the better equipped version of Amazon Music Unlimited. Instead of listening to songs in average 320 kbit stream, you'll get to enjoy HD audio with up to 850 kbit/s and 16-bit/44.1 kHz quality.

If you insist on listening only to the best of quality, you can even choose song available in what the company calls Ultra HD. This maxes out at 3730 kilobits per second at 24-bit/192 kHz.

While most of the songs, over 50 million, on Amazon Music are available in HD audio, "only" some millions are found in the most premium UHD.

Amazon Music HD uses the same Amazon Music app as its cheaper sibling, and costs $14.99 a month (or $12.99 for Prime subscribers) or $19.99 for Family subscriptions. If you are unsure if it's worth the money, you are fortunately offered a generous 90-day free trial.

At launch Amazon Music HD is available in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan.





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