So it turns out the fingerprint sensor on the Samsung Galaxy S10 can be circumvented by a $3.47 screen protector. The BBC had that report, but it was John Gruber’s commentary I thought was spot on:
When the iPhone 5S debuted with Touch ID, we were inundated with news stories about “easy” ways to spoof it that were, in fact, not easy at all. Now we learn that Samsung’s flagship phone’s fingerprint sensor can in fact be spoofed trivially — and… crickets.
In a word, yup.
iPhone users had significantly more brand loyalty than Android customers, with over 90 percent planning to stick with an Apple smartphone.
Apple has posted plenty of “Shot on iPhone”: videos, but four new ASMR videos mark the first time where the content is more about the experience than it is about the device that made it. Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest-host Charlotte Henry to discuss it. They also talk about Samsun’s lame decision to pull an old ad from its YouTube channel that mocked an Apple move that Samsung is following today. So lame. They also look at Apple’s gargantuan effort to buy $24 billion of its own stock in just the June quarter.
The Verge writes:
… today’s just-announced Samsung Galaxy Note 10 doesn’t include the 3.5mm socket, even though it’s the phone that would have been most likely to keep it around….
Now, like some of its competitors, Samsung just has to pretend it never made fun of Apple for doing the same damn thing. Because even if you try to delete these videos, Samsung, the internet has a long memory.
The excuses explanations Samsung makes are hilarious.
Apple is reportedly in talks with suppliers about using OLED 120Hz ProMotion displays in the iPhone and mciroLEDs in the Apple Watch.
According to a report, Apple has been sending executives to meet with Samsung to discuss possible iPhone chip shortages.
This morning Samsung took to Twitter to warn of smart TV malware, and remaining customers to regularly do a virus scan.
Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest cohost Kelly Guimont to discuss App Camp for Girls, women in tech in both the past and present, and more. They also look at Samsung’s folding problems, and what it means to be writing about Apple today.
Samsung has delayed two media events for its Galaxy Fold scheduled for this week after reviewers reported problems with the smartphone.
This episode is all about robots! Apple robots, military robots, delivery repots, preacher robots, manufacturing robots, and self driving car robots! Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest host John Martellaro to deep into what’s happening with robots today and what they expect for robots in the future. Put your SciFi futurist cap on for this one. They also talk about foldable phones, or as they like to think of it, the netbook of 2019.
In the process of writing about Samsung’s 2019 TVs, sizes and prices, CNET’s David Katzmaier also explains the difference between Samsung’s QLED TVs and the OLED technology from other makers. It’s an important distinction. The key is the ever so geeky Quantum Dots. (Image credit: Samsung.)
On Friday, VentureBeat’s famed phone-leaker Evan Blass tweeted a picture of the new Samsung Galaxy S10 range. It featured the Galaxy S10E, Galaxy S10, and Galaxy S10+. The Verge reported on the leaks, saying that the Galaxy S10E is likely to be the cheaper model in the range. It has just 2 cameras at the back, while both the other two models three. The report also noted that Samsung and Verizon are thought to have held discussions about bringing 5G to the U.S.
Blass points out that this image features the Galaxy S10 lineup in clear cases, with the S10E on the left, the S10 in the middle, and the S10+ on the right. The S10E features two cameras on the back, while the other two have three. The S10+ also appears to have a pair of front-facing cameras with a larger hole-punch.
It is unacceptable that users can’t delete Facebook and Instagram from their Samsung Galaxy S8, says Charlotte Henry.
Apple reportedly plans to launch three new iPhone models in fall 2019 one of which could have a device with a triple-rear-camera system.
Apple shared a full list of the number of AirPlay 2 TVs so far in the market. They include LG, Samsung, Sony, and Vizio TVs.
LG OLED (2019); LG NanoCell SM9X series (2019); LG NanoCell SM8X series (2019); LG UHD UM7X series (2019); Samsung QLED Series (2019 and 2018); Samsung 8 Series (2019 and 2018); Samsung 7 Series (2019 and 2018); Samsung 6 Series (2019 and 2018); Samsung 5 Series (2019 and 2018); Samsung 4 Series (2019 and 2018); Sony Z9G Series (2019); Sony A9G Series (2019); Sony X950G Series (2019); Sony X850G Series (2019 85″, 75″, 65″ and 55″ models); Vizio P-Series Quantum (2019 and 2018); Vizio P-Series (2019, 2018 and 2017); Vizio M-Series (2019, 2018 and 2017); Vizio E-Series (2019, 2018 and 2017); Vizio D-series (2019, 2018 and 2017).
VIZIO, Sony, and LG joined Samsung in announcing that they will integrate AirPlay 2 into their televisions at CES 2019.
Samsung announced AirPlay 2 coming to TVs, and there’s a Project Erasmus update. Kelly Guimont hosts Charlotte Henry and Andrew Orr.
Sprint announced plans to launch a 5G connected smartphone with Samsung in Summer 2019 – the 3rd 5G device it has announced.
Samsung Smart TVs will support AirPlay 2, and be the first devices with a new iTunes Movies and TV Shows app, from this spring.
The first images of the Galaxy S10 have appeared online, just under two months before Samsung’s likely announcement of the phone. The images were posted by known gadget leaker and VentureBeat reporter Evan Blass on Twitter, and reported on The Verge. The Galaxy S10 looks to have thin bezels around all the edges, a camera cutout on the top right-hand corner, and a hint of chin towards the bottom.
The photo shows a phone with a nearly full-screen design that’s disrupted only by a camera cutout in the top-right corner and thin bezels around each edge. There’s just the slightest additional thickness for a chin on the bottom. Blass indicates that this will be the standard version of the Galaxy S10. A cheaper model is also expected along with a larger Plus model and a 5G model. Samsung typically announces its Galaxy S phones at the end of February.
John has had some very interesting and inspiring guests on his Background Mode podcast recently. Here are a few in case you missed them.
Shara Tibken is a senior reporter/journalist for CNET News, focused on Samsung and Apple. She previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal.
She grew up on a farm in Iowa, where her mother was a teacher, and Shara became an avid book reader. That led to a desire to be a writer, meet people and learn new things. We chatted about her progression from Simpson College to interning for a small newspaper in North Dakota to landing a job with Dow Jones Newswires/WSJ and finally CNET in 2012. We talked about her recent investigation of rural broadband issues in Iowa, which is terrific, as well as future 5G smartphones, Samsung’s development of foldable smartphones, Samsung mimicking Apple and more. Shara gets into interesting technical detail on all these topics.
There was a disruptive event this week in the Apple community that made screaming teenage girls at a concert look calm and sensible by comparison.
Apple’s iPhone 8 was the top selling smartphone in May 2018, according to Counterpoint Research. Samsung’s Galaxy S9 Plus came in second, followed by iPhone X.
