keyword: iPhone

samsung-armor-frame-for-galaxy-z-fold-3-and-z-flip-3

Samsung Armor Frame for Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3

Samsung applies for trademark for ‘Armor Frame’. An extra strong and durable smartphone frame, probably for the upcoming foldable smartphone models.

In the summer of 2021, Samsung will introduce its new foldable smartphones. Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3 simultaneously. Much has been written recently about the possible improvements of these new models. One of Samsung’s focal points is and remains durability. Last year, Samsung started to use UTG (Ultra Thin Glass) to make the screen extra scratch-resistant.

It seems that this year Samsung wants to equip at least one of its folding models with an extra strong frame, which will be called “Armor Frame”. This is evident from a trademark that Samsung has applied for in Korea, Europe and the US.

Samsung Armor Frame for foldable smartphones

On Tuesday, April 13, 2021, Samsung Electronics applied for a trademark for the name “Armor Frame”. The trademark was first applied for in the home country of Korea, at the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). The same day the application was also filed with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and with the United States Patent and Trademark Organization (USPTO). The trademark is categorized as Class 9 with a short, but clear description: “smartphones; smartphone frames’.

Samsung Armor Frame trademark description: ‘smartphones; smartphone frames’.

The brief documentation shows that it is a new type of smartphone frame. The word “Armor” seems to indicate that it is an extra strong frame.

Samsung has used different types of smartphone frames over the years, from plastic to metal and aluminum. The latter is used for the top models within the Samsung Galaxy line-up, such as the Galaxy S21 series, but also the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and the Galaxy Z Flip.

The biggest disadvantage of an aluminum frame is that it becomes less rigid over time, causing it to lose its strength. This may have prompted Samsung to adapt and improve the frame of its new foldable smartphones. There have been rumors for some time that the bezels will be further reduced, meaning the frame and possibly also the hinge will have to be revised too.

It is still unknown from what material the “Armor Frame” is made. It may be an extra robust frame that meets the military MIL-STD-810G standard – making it more shock resistant. Another possibility is that Samsung opts for a kind of Carbon or Titanium, although this is more expensive than aluminum, it is also a lot lighter and thinner. At the same time, this could solve one of the main drawbacks of current foldable smartphones. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 in particular feels quite heavy in your hands over time. This problem can be remedied by applying a lighter and stronger frame.

Which Samsung smartphones get an Armor Frame?

Of course, the trademark does not state that Samsung wants to use the “Armor Frame” for its foldable models. Yet this seems the most likely. After all, the Galaxy S21 series has already been officially introduced and a new Galaxy Note device is not expected this year. All attention is now focused on the new foldable smartphone models from Samsung.

In August 2021, Samsung is expected to announce both the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3. It remains unknown whether Samsung will use the Armor Frame for both models. Logically, it will in any case be used for the larger and more expensive Galaxy Z Fold 3. However, it is certainly not excluded that Samsung also wants to provide its clamshell model with an Armor Frame, just as Samsung also equipped the Z Flip with Ultra Thin Glass. .

Also in terms of timeline, it is likely that this application is intended for the upcoming foldable models from Samsung. Usually the Korean manufacturer starts filling trademarks for important names / features a few months before the official introduction, which will then be used later in the marketing. This also happened, for example, with the application for UTG, which was also requested about three months before the Galaxy Unpacked launch event.

With an extra strong frame, Samsung can stay a step ahead of the competition. More and more foldable smartphone models are being announced, also by other brands. Recently, the Huawei Mate X2 and Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold were introduced for the Chinese market. Oppo and Vivo will also reportedly announce their first folding smartphone soon. Although Apple is also developing a foldable model, it is expected that the development of the iPhone Flip will take a little longer.

Take a look at the application for Samsung Armor Frame in the US and Europe.

Ilse is a Dutch journalist and joined LetsGoDigital more than 15 years ago. She is highly educated and speaks four languages. Ilse is a true tech-girl and loves to write about the future of consumer electronics. She has a special interest for smartphones, digital cameras, gaming and VR.

apple-iphone-13-in-product-red-appears-in-renders

Apple iPhone 13 in Product Red appears in renders

While we’re still a good 5-6 months away from Apple’s next iPhone reveal, rumors about the iPhone 13 have already begun circulating and now leakster David Kowalski (@xleaks7) has teamed up with Coverpigtou.it to share CAD-based renders of the Product Red iPhone 13.

The overall design remains similar to the iPhone 12 series with flat sides, and a notch though the cutout is visible smaller this time around. The dimensions are listed as 146.64×71.5×7.56mm is close if not quite identical to last year’s iPhone 12.

The big change comes around the back where the two cameras now sit diagonally from each other. The same camera design was seen in yesterday’s iPhone 13 mini CAD leak though we sadly don’t get info on the actual sensors.

As for specs, the new leak suggests LTPO displays for all iPhone 13 series devices. Display sizes are expected to remain unchanged meaning a 6.1-inch screen for the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro, 5.4-inches for the mini and 6.7-inches for the Pro Max. Apple is expected to bring its new iPhones in October with the range starting at the $700 mark.

Source (in Italian)

peak-design’s-new-magnet-powered-phone-case-system-delayed-until-august

Peak Design’s new magnet-powered phone case system delayed until August

Peak Design has announced it is delaying shipment of products in its Kickstarter campaign for Mobile, a broad range of phone accessories designed to make it easy to mount your phone on everything from a motorcycle handlebar to a simple dock on your desk. It is meant to be compatible with iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones. Originally targeted for May, the company now expects to be able to begin shipping in August, though some products will also come later. To make up for it, Peak is offering either full refunds for cancellations or discounts on other Peak Design products.

Peak Design has used Kickstarter to launch everything from camera-focused backpacks to tripods and its original product, an innovative camera mounting clip. But this new project is on a different scale of ambition: it’s multiple products designed to work together in an interlocking system of mounts, wireless chargers, mini tripods, wallets, and cases. Key to the entire system is a combination of magnets and physical locking mechanisms which can differ from product to product.

The project apparently started about two years ago, which means that just before the company was running to launch in October of 2020 Apple announced the iPhone 12 — complete with the MagSafe system of cases, chargers, and wallets that connect with magnets.

Some prototypes in Peak Design’s mobile system

Apple’s MagSafe system and Peak Design’s magnet system are different, but the company made the call to try to make its system interoperable in some ways with MagSafe. That has meant testing its products across all the different variables it could think of, mixing and matching Peak Design’s big portfolio of products with Apple’s new system.

That complexity is one of the reasons for the delay, the first in Peak Design’s long history marketing products on Kickstarter. The second is the obvious one: delays introduced from COVID-19. The designers have been unable to travel to the factory to test their designs or go into their local workshop to suss out problems directly.

The company expects its first wave to include the most basic products in its lineup, cases and some “core mounts/accessories,” with a second wave coming “later.”

Peak Design will email Kickstarter backers discount codes for its products (20 percent off anything plus 50 percent off a future purchase in the Mobile product line). It also says people who wish to cancel their pledge can email info@peakdesign.com.

you-ever-think-about-how-asus-put-out-like-40-models-of-a-laptop-called-the-“eee-pc”

You ever think about how Asus put out like 40 models of a laptop called the “Eee PC”

There’s an Apple event next week, and it’s looking fairly likely that we’ll see updated models of the iPad Pro and perhaps the iPad Mini.

Which is great, because it made me think about the Eee PC, which was either one of the greatest short-lived success stories in tech history or a collective delusion shared by a handful of late 2000s tech bloggers that never actually happened.

The Eee PC 701SDX. It had an SD card slot, and an X.

There were two products that arrived in 2007 that fundamentally changed computing: one, of course, was the iPhone. The second, obviously more important product was the $399 Eee PC 701. It originally ran a custom Linux operating system that reviewers loved (Laptop Mag’s Mark Spoonauer said it was “ten times simpler to use than any Windows notebook”) and was generally heralded as a new kind of computer with tremendous mass appeal. Spoonauer: “Pound for pound, the best value-priced notebook on the planet.”

Again, this was a weirdo little two-pound plastic laptop that ran a custom Linux distro that was basically a front for various websites. (We hadn’t invented the phrase “cloud services” yet.)

Windows getting shown up by Linux was not allowed, so Microsoft did some Microsoft maneuvering, and by January 2008 the Eee PC was running Windows XP instead. It was also part of a larger category called “netbooks,” and we were all made to know what netbooks were.

This Eee PC ran a “Pine Trail” processor so Joanna photographed it with pine branches. This was state-of-the-art tech blogging in 2009.

A little later, Microsoft created something called Windows 7 Starter, which was a hilarious cut-down version of Windows just for netbooks — you weren’t even allowed to change the desktop background! — and the netbook explosion was unstoppable. My friend (and Verge co-founder) Joanna Stern built the early part of her career obsessively covering netbooks, first at Laptop Mag, then Gizmodo, and then with me at Engadget.

And there was a lot to cover: at one point Joanna noted that Asus had put out at least 20 different models of Eee PC in 2008 alone. And that was just Asus! Dell, HP, Lenovo and others all chased after the netbook idea furiously. Do you remember when the Nokia Booklet 3G was going to reinvent Nokia? You do not, because it didn’t. It was very pretty, though. I asked Joanna about this moment in time, and this is what she sent me:

“I was basically Bono in this ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ video. Eee PC after Eee PC. MSI Wind after MSI Wind. Toshiba whatever it was called after Toshiba whatever it was called. I was constantly looking for a netbook that had a keyboard that didn’t require doll hands, a trackpad that didn’t leave a blister on my thumb, a hard drive that didn’t take three days to open Microsoft Word. It was a constant search for the perfect blend of price, portability and power.”

Joanna then demanded I embed the actual YouTube video of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” which is exactly the sort of “wow that was really important once” energy this blog post needed.

The netbook explosion was all the more odd because every netbook had the same basic specs, as Microsoft charged more for a standard non-Starter Windows license if a computer had anything more than a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive. So it was all colors and screen sizes, really. All to run a deeply-annoying version of Windows, on a computer that no one was even remotely claiming could replace a primary PC. By the end of it all, as the chips inevitably got more powerful, enough laptop vendors were telling Joanna that their new netbook-like computers weren’t netbooks that she started calling them “notbooks.”

And then the iPad came out in 2010, and netbooks were inexplicably such a part of the computing vocabulary that Steve Jobs introduced the iPad by explicitly saying that netbooks were bad. “The problem is netbooks aren’t better at anything,” is a real thing Steve Jobs said on stage, in order to clearly distinguish the then-new iPad from netbooks. It was important to him!

Steve Jobs looking forlorn about netbooks while announcing the iPad in 2010

Did any of this even happen? Is this real? I remember it all, but I can’t tell if it meant anything, or if we all just believed Microsoft and Intel were so mysteriously powerful that we had to live in their product frameworks and 160GB of maximum hard drive space. Did anyone actually buy a netbook? The only people I ever met who had netbooks were other tech writers; at one memorable trade show my colleague Adi Robertson showed up with both a gigantic gaming laptop and a tiny netbook, two laptops both perfectly ill-suited for the tasks at hand.

I asked Joanna, who is now a senior personal technology columnist at the WSJ, about all this, who replied: “Let’s be clear here. Apple’s coming event this week is actually about netbooks. The iPad Pro is an outgrowth of the netbook movement a decade ago.” Was she joking? I don’t know, and she wouldn’t tell me.

Now, of course, there aren’t any netbooks, but everything is a netbook. The iPad is the iPad, with multiple models at various sizes and price points, and a furious ongoing debate about whether it can replace a laptop. (See? It’s a netbook.) We are surrounded by appliance-like cheap computers that run goofy custom interfaces to cloud services on top of open-source operating systems — that’s an Echo Show, or a Google Chromecast, or even an Oculus Quest 2. Netbooks. Intel is badly in need of a reinvention and Windows itself is diminished; Microsoft would happily call its operating system “Azure Edge” if anyone would go along for that kind of ride.

Did netbooks ever happen? Did netbooks… win?

Eee, PC. Eee.

six-months-later,-there-still-isn’t-a-magsafe-car-charger

Six months later, there still isn’t a MagSafe car charger

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As Vergecast listeners know, I am a sucker for car phone mounts and chargers. They are a perfect gadget for the modern age — a design problem with no perfect solution, price points that usually land at the higher end of the impulse-buy zone, and completely well-suited for targeted Instagram ads. “People who have bought a Qi-based car mount in the last year,” the marketing director of a tiny accessory company sternly instructs the Facebook ad-targeting system. “Find them and relentlessly pressure them into buying our product which is at best marginally better than the one they have.”

Reader, it works.

All of this means I was very excited when Apple added MagSafe charging to the new iPhone 12 line. A series of magnets aligns a wireless charger to the back of the phone, and has enough attachment strength to — yes — hold the phone on a car mount. A dream: you get in the car, seamlessly dink! your phone onto the mount, and drive away, laughing at the suckers fumbling with their cradles and motorized friction arms and other unwieldy ideas. Magnets, baby. How do they work.

The MagSafe attachment plate can pivot independently from the mount
Nilay Patel

Note the lack of a USB cable plugged in here, because there isn’t a charger in there.
Nilay Patel

Unfortunately it has been six months since the iPhone 12 was announced, and there is a pitiful shortage of MagSafe car chargers. In fact, there are no officially-sanctioned MagSafe car chargers. Instead, there is this Belkin Car Vent Mount PRO with MagSafe, which, as the name suggests, allows you to mount a phone to your vents with MagSafe, in, um, a professional way. However, it does not charge your phone.

I have been using a review unit of the Belkin Car Vent Mount PRO with MagSafe, or BCVMPwM, for a couple months now. It is at once supremely satisfying — dink! — and also tremendously frustrating. Like all vent mounts, the weight of the phone is enough to pull the vent louvers down over time, especially if you have a large phone like my iPhone 12 Pro Max. The magnets are indeed strong enough to hold even that phone in place, but if you go over any particularly huge bumps, something will fall down — the phone off the mount, or the mount off the vent.

“Dammit, BCVMPwM,” you will yell, using the full name of this $40 promise to yourself. “Why aren’t you everything I hoped and dreamed of when I looked at the marketing photos on social media?” Then you will put everything back into place at the next stop light, sheepishly glance at your partner, and slowly realize they have completely stopped paying attention to these sorts of antics anymore. You need new antics. You need to add Linux to your smart home.

It’s a clean look, but note that this phone is not charging. Because it’s not a charger.
Nilay Patel

Stop it. Have I mentioned that the BCVMPwM does not have C? No, this is not a charger. For that, you still have to plug in a Lightning cable, which sort-of-maybe makes sense if your car does not have wireless CarPlay and you need to plug it in anyway — but there you are, plugging a cable into your phone, which is the complete opposite of the dink! Magnet Experience. Your old car mount, with the horrible friction arms, had a built-in Qi charger. There are hacky wireless CarPlay adapters! People say they are kinda slow and have audio latency issues, but c’mon — a single dink! to mount your phone, charge it, and instantly connect to CarPlay? Now that’s the good shit.

Why isn’t there an approved MagSafe car mount with built-in wireless charging after six months? Why do Apple accessory ecosystems always seem so petrified, in every sense of the word? This is the easiest win of all time, but instead, there is the BCVMPwM. It offers you a glimpse of a dream. Then it falls down. There are better unlicensed ones that might burn your car to the ground that you can buy on Amazon. It is the paradigmatic Apple accessory.

what-to-expect-from-apple’s-‘spring-loaded’-event

What to expect from Apple’s ‘Spring Loaded’ event

Apple has officially announced its “Spring Loaded” event for April 20th, its first major product announcement of 2021.

Unlike a lot of Apple’s events, its spring events tend to be a bit more scattershot: one year might see high-end iPads, another a more education-focused event, or a launch of a comprehensive service strategy. This year, rumors are pointing to a refreshed iPad Pro lineup, potentially with Apple’s first Mini LED panels — which would bring a big jump forward for the company’s tablet displays. But we could also see new AirPods, the company’s long-rumored AirTag trackers, a new iPad Mini, and more.

The proceeding should kick off at 1PM ET on Tuesday, but if you’re looking for an early preview, here’s what you can probably expect to show up.

iPad Pro

It’s been over a year since Apple’s last refresh of the iPad Pro, and the 2020 model — a fairly iterative update to the 2019 version — is starting to get a little long in the tooth, especially compared to the beefed-up specs on Apple’s latest iPhones and M1 Macs.

Like last year, Apple is expected to launch both 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models; but the larger iPad Pro is expected to make a big switch in screen technology to debut Apple’s first Mini LED display. Additional rumors indicate that supply of the Mini LED panels might be hard to come by, that stock of the larger model may be limited at launch, or that Apple might delay the release of the 12.9-inch version until availability is better.

Photo by Brennan King / The Verge

A report from Bloomberg sheds more light on what to expect, too: while the overall design of the two tablets is expected to stay largely the same as last year’s model, Apple is expected to swap out the A12Z chip for a newer processor that’s said to be on par with its more recent M1 chipset. The new iPads are also said to upgrade to a Thunderbolt port (with faster data speeds and a wider peripheral selection than the standard USB-C port) and feature upgraded cameras.

Apple could also potentially have a new Apple Pencil accessory in the works to go with the new iPad Pros. Images of a new, glossy version of the stylus have been circulating on Twitter, and the “spring forward” teaser could imply that Apple might offer a spring-loaded tip, similar to what Wacom offers on its pens.

AirTags

Image by Guilherme Rambo / 9to5Mac

One of Apple’s worst-kept secrets in years, Apple’s Tile-like AirTags have been rumored to make an appearance at nearly every Apple event and announcement since early 2019. Said to be small, circular tags with Bluetooth and ultra-wideband radio chips, AirTags would rely on Apple’s existing Find My app and network of iPhones, iPads, and Macs to allow users to track and find missing objects (similar to how users can currently track lost phones).

AirTags would also potentially work with recent iPhone models’ U1 chip to allow for AR-based ultra-wideband tracking in local areas — something that Samsung has recently also began to offer with its Galaxy SmartTag Plus.

There have been references to AirTags (or Apple Tags) in iOS code leaks, endless rumors, and even in an official support video that explicitly revealed the “AirTags” name as part of its offline finding feature last year. The only thing left is for Apple to officially announce them.

iPad Mini

Also long overdue for an update is Apple’s oft-neglected iPad Mini, which was last refreshed over two years ago in March 2019. (Given that that update came after a four-year drought for the iPad Mini, a refresh this year would actually be beating par.) The current model features the exact outdated design that Apple’s been using for nearly a decade, with an older A12 processor to boot, so there’s plenty of room for Apple to improve things, too.

Adding fuel to the fire is that both Bloomberg and noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo have pointed at a larger iPad Mini (potentially with an 8.5-inch display, which could come from eliminating some of the chunky 2012-era bezels) for 2021.

AirPods 3

A third-generation version of Apple’s AirPods has been rumored for months, set to feature shorter stems and replaceable ear tips, similar to the current AirPods Pro design. The updated AirPods are also said to feature better battery life than their predecessors. Apple has also been rumored to be working on a refreshed AirPods Pro design that would eliminate the earbud stem entirely, but as Bloomberg’s report notes, that redesign is further out — so they’re unlikely to make an appearance here.

Apple TV

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

The Apple TV 4K sits at a strange place in Apple’s lineup. Released in 2017, it’s one of the oldest Apple products still being sold. At $180, its price has since been lapped by Roku, Amazon, and Google, all of which offer comparable 4K streaming boxes at a fraction of the price.

Apple is rumored to be working on a refreshed model for 2021, which would add a faster processor and a new remote to replace the infamous Siri Remote. Support for HDMI 2.1 and 120Hz refresh rates could also be in the cards. But more than new features, the Apple TV 4K is in dire need of a price cut — something that Apple is historically more reticent to provide.

iOS 14.5

Given the pace of both developer and public betas, it’s all but certain that Apple will officially release iOS 14.5 either at or immediately following the event (especially if it has new iPad hardware). The new software promises to add the ability to more easily unlock an iPhone while wearing a mask through an Apple Watch, new emoji, and Apple’s highly debated App Tracking Transparency feature that has drawn particular ire from Facebook.

MacBooks and iMacs and Mac Pros (oh my!)

After the shockingly great debut of Apple’s first wave of Apple Silicon-powered computers last fall with the M1 MacBook Air, Pro, and Mac Mini, all eyes are on Apple’s next steps in its ARM transition. The company is rumored to be working on plenty of new Macs as it looks to achieve its ambitious goal of switching fully from Intel’s chips within two years. That includes more powerful MacBook Pros that would ditch the Touch Bar, bring back MagSafe and additional ports, and feature an improved M-series chip. A new iMac and a smaller Mac Pro (also featuring M-series chips) are said to be in the works as well.

With WWDC around the corner, though, it’s likely that we won’t hear more about new Mac hardware until then, especially if Apple is planning on debuting more developer and professional-friendly Apple Silicon-powered laptops and desktops.

Something surprising

Of course, with Apple, you never quite know what to expect — which means that there’s always room for a surprise announcement or two at the Spring Loaded event that not even we saw coming. Could Apple tease its long-rumored VR headset? A refreshed iPhone SE? A first look at the Apple Car? Whatever happens, stay tuned to The Verge for all the details.

why-does-amazon-hate-its-most-enthusiastic-smart-home-fans? 

Why does Amazon hate its most enthusiastic smart home fans? 

Blink’s cheap wireless cameras have seen better days.
Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

Blink, the Kickstarter success bought by Amazon in 2017, has long been synonymous with inexpensive battery-powered home video cameras that don’t require a monthly contract for cloud recordings. Open-source projects like Homebridge, Home Assistant, and HOOBS have made the cameras even more extensible by allowing Blink’s temperature and motion sensors to work with smart home platforms like HomeKit and act as triggers for various automations. This combination of price and functionality led many smart home enthusiasts to buy Blink cameras in bulk for whole-home monitoring, especially those who don’t want to be beholden to a corporate overlord (and its requisite subscription fees). But instead of embracing its most passionate fans, Amazon has turned against them, threatening to terminate Blink accounts while challenging the very concept of ownership.

To set the stage, I recently set up a Raspberry Pi running Homebridge with the goal of creating a single iPhone dashboard to tie my smart home together. I started automating my home about 12 years ago, long before you could buy into complete ecosystems from Amazon, Google, and Apple. Now it’s a devil’s brew of Z-Wave and Zigbee devices, some controllable with Siri, some with Alexa, and a few with Google Assistant. It’s held together with a smattering of IFTTT recipes and four disparate hubs from Ikea, Aqara, Philips Hue, and Vera. It works, kind of, but requires several different apps, many interfaces, and lots of patience, especially from my family.

Homebridge turns this Blink XT outdoor camera into a temperature and motion trigger for other automations in Apple’s Home app.

Over most of a weekend, I was able to configure Homebridge to link every one of my 50+ smart devices to HomeKit and each other in the Apple Home app. This allowed me to create rules that were previously impossible, like using the Blink XT camera’s motion sensor in my garden to trigger a Z-Wave siren and Hue lightbulbs at night. Nerdvana unlocked!

My sense of delight and intense pride lasted exactly one week before my Blink cameras suddenly went dead. The reason was delivered in an email from Amazon the next morning:

“My name is Tori and I am with the Blink team. While doing a routine server audit, your account was flagged and subsequently disabled due to unsupported scripts or apps running on your system. The only automation that is permitted for use with the Blink system is through Alexa and/or IFTTT. Please disable these scripts or apps and reach back out to me so that I can re-enable your account.”

After a brief WTF exchange whereby I explained that Alexa and / or IFTTT are wholly inferior to the capabilities of Homebridge, Tori helpfully directed me to the exact paragraph of the Blink Terms of Service that I had violated. Terms which, admittedly, I was now reading for the first time (emphasis mine):

“We may terminate the Agreement or restrict, suspend, or terminate your use of Blink Services at our discretion without notice at any time, including if we determine that your use violates the Agreement, is improper, substantially exceeds or differs from normal use by other users, or otherwise involves fraud or misuse of Blink Services or harms our interests or those of another user of Blink Services. If your use of Blink Services is restricted, suspended, or terminated, you may be unable to access your video clips and you will not receive any refund or any other compensation. In case of termination, Blink may immediately revoke your access to Blink Services without refund.”

It turns out that Amazon’s crackdown on Blink automators has been a known issue in the community for at least a year. My question is: why does Amazon bother?

My Homebridge integration may well be in violation of Blink’s terms and conditions, even if the terms seem unduly restrictive. But why is Amazon, owner of those massive AWS server farms that earned nearly $50 billion in 2020, resorting to such draconian measures in response to my meager deployment of five Blink cameras? I could see a crackdown on large-scale corporate installations hammering away at the Blink API, but why me and other small-time enthusiasts?

According to Colin Bendell, developer of the Blink camera plugin for Homebridge, there are at most 4,000 homes using open-source plugins like his. “Even if we round up to 10,000 users, I think this is probably small potatoes for Amazon,” says Bendell, who should know. Not only did he reverse engineer the Blink app to mimic its behavior, but the O’Reilly author and self-proclaimed IoT hobbyist is also the director of performance engineering at Shopify.

Blink could easily look the other way for small home deployments like mine without waving its rights. It says so right in the T&Cs it sent me:

“Blink’s failure to insist upon or enforce your strict compliance with this Agreement will not constitute a waiver of any of its rights.”

But that’d be a cop out. Really, Amazon should be embracing Blink hobbyists. Homebridge is, after all, a project that extends Apple HomeKit to work with a wide variety of uncertified devices including cameras and doorbells from Amazon-owned Ring. And study after study have concluded that Apple device owners love to spend money. Surely this is a community Amazon should encourage, not vilify.

At the risk of saying too much (please don’t shut me down, Amazon!), why is it that my two Ring cameras aren’t raising any red flags during “server audits”? I certainly check them more frequently as one is my doorbell. Perhaps it’s because I already pay a monthly subscription to Amazon for Ring and pay nothing to Blink. (Although sadly, even that early benefit has come to an end. As of March 18th, Amazon requires owners of newer Blink cameras to pay a subscription fee to unlock every feature.)

When I reached out to Amazon with the questions I raise above, and asked if enthusiast initiatives like Homebridge would be officially (or unofficially, wink) supported, I was given this boilerplate response:

“Blink customers can control their cameras through the Blink Home Monitor app, and customize their experience using the If This Then That (IFTTT) service. We are always looking for ways to improve the customer experience, including supporting select third-party integrations for our devices.”

Gee, thanks.

One of Blink’s biggest advantages has come to an end.
Image: Blink

We kid ourselves about ownership all the time. I say I own my house, but, in fact, the bank owns more of it than I do. I listen to my music on Spotify, but those Premium playlists I’ve so carefully curated for years will be plucked from my phone just as soon as payments lapse. But somehow, Blink cameras were supposed to be different. They were for people drawn to Blink on the strength of that “no monthly contract” pitch. These were devices you were supposed to own without limitations or tithes.

How things have changed.

In 2017, Blink stood alone in the field; today there’s Wyze, Eufy, TP-Link / Kasa, Imou, and Ezviz to name just a few of the companies making inexpensive wired and wireless cameras for every smart home ecosystem, including Amazon’s, often with better features and value.

I’ve been a smart home evangelist for more than a decade, doling out advice to friends, often solicited, often not. Blink used to be an easy pitch: cheap and dead simple to install for normies, and highly extensible if you’re willing to put in the effort. But Amazon’s heavy-handed enforcement of T&Cs alongside the introduction of subscription fees have negated any advantage Blink once held over its camera competitors. While Blink sales will undoubtedly benefit from Amazon’s promotion machine, longtime Blink enthusiasts like myself will be taking their allegiances elsewhere.

iphone-13-leaks-reveal-“strange”-camera-arrangement

iPhone 13 leaks reveal “strange” camera arrangement

(Image credit: MySmartPrice)

iPhone 13 leaks aren’t unusual, but the latest disclosure is more intriguing than normal. A new 3D render (above) suggests Apple could be making some “strange” design changes, claims 9to5Mac.

The renders originate from MySmartPrice, which tips the iPhone 13 for an iPhone 12-like design and a smaller notch. The same publication also claims the iPhone 13 could boast two front cameras, though we’d take that with a generous pinch of salt.

The biggest surprise, however, is the new camera bump: it seems to sport a pretty radical ‘diagonal arrangement’. The cameras are stacked vertically on the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12, but on the iPhone 13 the rear lenses are depicted top-left and bottom right of the camera module. Cue much head-scratching. 

We’re expecting very few technical upgrades to the iPhone 13 cameras, so it seems curious (or unlikely) that Apple would rejig the position of the lenses. Could it be an aesthetic choice? And will the design of the triangular camera on the iPhone 13 Pro models also be changing?

One theory is that the reshuffle could free up space for a LIDAR sensor, but that would more than likely be reserved for the more expensive Pro models. Others have questioned the authenticity of the leak. As 9to5Mac says, MySmartPrice has a good track record when it comes to iPhone renders but past material has typically surfaced with the approval of respected leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer (aka @OnLeaks). We shall see.

In the market for a new smartphone? The iPhone 13 is tipped for an 120Hz OLED display that uses variable refresh rate technology to prolong the battery life. It’s not due to drop until September but in the meantime, Cupertino is expected to unveil a new iPad Pro at its Spring Loaded event on 20th April.

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