The Week of March 9th was an eventful one with two big launches, two court cases and multiple events getting cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. OPPO announced the official availability of the Find X2 series in Malaysia with prices starting at MYR3,999. Xiaomi announces the new Redmi Note 9 Pro Series. Apple seems to have cancelled the new iPhone SE 2 amidst the COVID-19 situation while other companies start working from home.
We had Adam Lobo (@adamlobotv) on our podcast last week! Do head to the link to give a listen. We are also excited to have Jason Goh of SmashPop (@Smashpop) over in our podcast in the coming week. Check out their YouTube link!
Our #podcast will be on every Monday and we are on all your favourite podcast channels! We are on Breaker, Anchor, Spotify, Google Podcast, and Apple Podcast as Tech & Tonic! Do check it out!Remember to give us a thumbs up for this video! We have plenty more videos like this on our channel so do subscribe!
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In this week’s Tech & Tonic Podcast, we have Adam Lobo of Adam Lobo TV! Adam Lobo is the lead vocalist in the rap metal band Dragon Red. Adam Lobo’s gift does not just stop at his voice though. He makes great looking contents on his YouTube channel too when he is not jamming out with the band. His love and passion in tech led him to create his own YouTube channel where he reviews the latest gadgets you can buy in the Malaysian market. If you want to see devices in 4K detail, you should definitely check out his channel.
Last week we saw big events in the tech industry being cancelled. We say that they are being cancelled, most of them have moved things online (as in livestreaming) instead. Microsoft’s MVP conference, Facebook F8 Summit, Adobe Summit, Google Cloud Next, Google I/O 2020 are just the few events that has been cancelled due to COVID-19 (there is a new official name now) concerns. How is this going to affect the tech landscape? What about other industries?
We also saw the most valuable brand in the world getting into some trouble with the law. Apple has been caught up in their #BatteryGate court battle for a while now and the court has decided that Apple should be fined and pay out almost half a billlion U.S. Dollars in compensation to the victims of their deliberate software throttling. As far as we know, this only applies to the U.S. market. There is more to this though.
Facebook has internally started this thing they call Project
LightSpeed. It is exactly what it sounds like. Its aim is to simply make everything
move faster. Faster for the users that is. Then again, the world today revolves
plenty on user experience.
While the world in 2019 and 2020 has been putting plenty of emphasis on user security and privacy (Facebook just had a Data Privacy brief with us two weeks ago), it does not mean that user experience in terms of the User Interface (UI) design, speed, and intuitiveness can be ignored. They are supposed to be developed hand-in-hand; they are supposed to move forward together.
Source: Facebook
Facebook understands that completely, and that is why they
are introducing a new faster, lighter Facebook Messenger specifically for iOS.
Before we go on, we did ask on the reason for the exclusivity. If you go on Google’s
Play Store on your Android smartphone now and search for Facebook Messenger,
you will notice two types of Facebook Messenger apps on the device. One of them
is the normal blue pop-up coloured Facebook Messenger, and the other one is a white-faced
pop-up called Facebook Messenger Lite. We can explain the differences in that
further in the future (comment if you want that!). For now though, that also
means that Android users get to choose between using the full beans and might
of the regular Facebook Messenger app or choose to keep their devices running
nice and quick with Facebook Messenger Lite app.
Let us get back to Facebook Messenger app for iOS. It will
be available as an app update in the App Store, so if you already have the Facebook
Messenger app there is no reason you need to download another one. It should be
an update anyway, who are we kidding.
In layman terms, Facebook says that the new Messenger is
supposed to load up or start up faster. While you may not notice too big of a
difference at first, Facebook says that the benefit is plenty more visible over
time. Thanks to simplified mechanics of the app, it is also a smaller app than before.
That also means it consumes less storage space in your smartphone, which also
means you get to take more photos. It is not just simplified mechanics though. Apparently,
the engineers in Facebook has also simplified the experience within the app to not
only ensure a lighter load on the device, but for its users too.
Now for the technical bits. It is actually simpler than you think, not as scary or overly complex. The headline figures are 1.7 million to 360,000. That is the amount of codes that were in the previous iteration of the Facebook Messenger for iOS app, and the amount that it is reduced to with the current iteration. That also means that they managed to shrink the amount of codes contained within the app by 84%. Less codes means less processing needed, and so you get faster load times. It also means reduced complexities and less maintenance needed from Facebook’s side.
Source: Facebook
What happened to the other codes that was not used in the current
iteration? Cloud happened. To be specific, SQLite happened. What they did with
SQLite, like plenty of modern mobile apps is to simplify processes and start putting
plenty of the database on SQL’s database instead of storing every command on
the device. That also means that instead of loading everything on your
smartphone, whatever interaction you have with the app is happening on SQLite
instantly. That also means that everything on the database is stored and worked
on in a server farm somewhere. Again, less load on the device.
You are not losing the experience of a feature packed app
like the Messenger with the new update though. In fact, you might be getting
more. With the changes, you are not completely using a completely redesigned UI.
It is just a small improved UI with better response time. The key here is to
not make any major UI changes to the new Messenger build. Instead, Facebook
still wanted that familiarity with their users. Like previously mentioned though,
instead of storing each interaction as a unique interaction within the device,
they moved that to a server with SQLite.
There is more to that though. Instead of storing or
processing each interaction as unique interactions, they group them together,
combine them and make them mere reactions from the database instead of completely
recoating the app whenever something changes. That also means that instead of
storing multiple different screens as unique screens, you are now only getting elements
of screens popping up as you go along your Facebook Messenger app. Yes, you never
noticed the transition. But imagine having to keep loading new screens whenever
you scroll through the app and layering them over the previous screen.
The new Facebook Messenger app for iOS with LightSpeed is available
for free on Apple’s ever-growing Apple App Store platform. For existing Facebook
Messenger app for iOS users, the fourth major iteration is available to users
as a simple app update via the Apple App Store as well. LightSpeed is also
coming to Android’s Facebook apps in time. For more information on Facebook
Messenger’s update and Project LightSpeed, you can visit Facebook’s news
release and their engineering
blog.
The development on the Novel Coronavirus of 2019, now more commonly known as COVID-19, is on every headline for the past month or so. If you have not heard, the Mobile World Congress 2020 (MWC2020) that is supposed to open its doors soon was shut down due to the large health concerns. They are not alone though. The F1 GP to be held in China in about two months time has been cancelled via the request of the local organisers. If you missed our news, Acer’s Predator League 2020 set to happen at the end of this month is also cancelled due to health concerns.
All these are quite expected, to be fair. What is even worse is that plenty of factories in China had to close down or stop operating for the time being thanks to the vicious spread of the virus. One of those affected manufacturing plants are Apple’s contractor, Foxconn. That also means there is currently a global shortage of Apple iPhones. Of course, that is going to hit the market and Apple’s earnings a little bit.
For good measure, for their investors anyway, Apple just predicted that their Q2 revenue will be lower than the expected US$ 63 to 67 billion. If you are thinking that it cannot be that much lower for Apple to make an announcement like this, it looks quite bad from Apple’s side. Their prediction also says that they will not even make the lowest mark of the revenue estimates for Q2 of 2020.
At this time Apple is predicting up to a 36% difference between the expected shipment for Q2 2020 and the actual shipment number. Optimistically they are expecting a 29% difference. Still, that big of a difference in shipments is going to be quite a big hit to their revenue numbers.
Apple did not mention how big of an impact the plunge in shipment will make though. At this time we cannot comment too much into their reduced shipments or even predict how much they will lose in revenue for Q2 2020. To be fair, even our attention is mostly fixed on the development on COVID-19.
Belkin has become a well-known brand when it comes to accessories and peripherals for any device. The company has released some of the most well designed accessories for iPhones, Android devices and laptops. Recently, the company merged with Foxconn to form the Connected Devices division under a new entity called Foxconn Interconnect Technology.
You know the saying, “new year, new me”? Well, Belkin is taking that to heart by not only announcing its new identity but also by introducing a slew of accessories for Apple users. The new devices are a continuation of the partnership between Apple and Belkin which started since the early 2000s.
In a nutshell, Belkin is kicking off the year with a slew of products to make sure that Apple users are charged up. To kick things off, the company is introducing a wireless charging dock which is made for both the iPhone and the Apple Watch. Of course, since the dock charges wirelessly, it works with the iPhone X, Xs and the new iPhone 11. The dock also allows you to take advantage of the Nightstand mode in the Apple Watch so you’ll be able to use the alarm clock feature too. If you need an extra charger, the dock has a 5-watt USB A port which you can charge an extra device or powerbank through. The BOOST↑UP™ Wireless Charging Dock for iPhone and Apple Watch is available now for MYR799.
If that’s a little too pricey, the BOOST↑UP™ Wireless Charging Pad & Stand 10W will only set you back MYR339. The wireless charger doesn’t support the Apple Watch; but it does deliver 10W fast wireless charging. It’s engineered to work with cases up to 3mm thick. If you want your phone to be upright while using the wireless charger, there is a stand to allow you to prop it up. The standing pad retails for MYR389.
Looking to charge your iPhone and listen to tunes at the same time? Don’t have a set of AirPods? No 3.5mm port? Belkin’s ROCKSTAR Lightning Headphones & Audio Charge dock is here to meet your needs. The dock extends the USB connectivity of the iPhone to enable dual USB-C-Lightning plugin. The dock extends the lightning port of the iPhone to allow users to plug their Lightning connector earphones while charging through USB-C. The dock is able to convey audio at 48KHz at 24-bit quality while supporting 12W charging. The dock will cost MYR225. If you’re looking for earphones, Belkin has Lightning connector earphones from MYR199.
If you’re constantly on the go, you’ll need to be able to charge your devices without hassle. Belkin has a charger which you can carry anywhere. The BOOST↑CHARGE™ 27W USB-C™+12W USB-A Home Charger will only set you back MYR259 but it will allow you to charge your devices via USB-C. This also means that you’ll be able to charge your MacBook (probably slower than its original charger which is 30W). That said, it will also be able to fast charge your iPhone and AirPods. It is able to charge via a 12W USB-A port as well. If you need something similar for your car, the Belkin BOOST↑CHARGE™ USB-C + USB-A Car Charger 30W will only set you back MYR139.
Being on the go also means that you’ll need a way to charge your devices if they run out when you are out and about. Belkin’s BOOST↑CHARGE™ Power Bank 2K for Apple Watch will ensure that your smartwatch stays powered. The powerbank provides an additional 63 hours of battery life. For your iPhone, you can get the BOOST↑CHARGE™ Power Bank 10K with Lightning Connector. The MYR339 powerbank allows you to charge your phone through a lightning cable in addition to 2 USB A cables.
Which of these are you more likely to buy? Let us know in the comments below!
When you own a device from the fruity manufacturers from Cupertino, you do not get the privilege of transferring files between devices other than using AirDrop. Technically, AirDrop is a combination of using Bluetooth and WiFi Direct to drag and drop files between Apple devices. While Android devices can plainly use Bluetooth to share files, WiFi Direct between devices have been a little finicky from one Android device to another. So we are stuck to using slow Bluetooth file transfers if you use an Android device from Xiaomi and I am using one from Samsung.
Of course WiFi Direct is an option, but only if you use certain smartphones that are from the same manufacturer. This may no longer be the case though. Fast file transfers between Android devices could be made possible with the “Peer-to-Peer Transmission Alliance”. The Alliance is made to allow high-speed file transfer and sharing between devices. In that case, you get AirDrop like performance from Android devices; 20MB/S over-the-air file transfer speeds.
The only issue is that the Alliance currently consists of three manufacturers. The three manufacturers are OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi. Not even HUAWEI is part of that alliance, which also means that you only get fast file transfers between these three manufacturers until anyone else joins the Alliance. Still, nothing wrong with being hopeful.
