Samsung US deals for Mother’s Day include free memory upgrades, Galaxy Buds and Watches

Samsung US deals for Mother’s Day include free memory upgrades, Galaxy Buds and Watches

Did you know that different parts of the world celebrate Mother’s Day on different dates? In some countries it is in March, others in October, but if you are in the US, this year Mother’s Day falls on May 8. Have you already picked a present? If not, Samsung US has some suggestions.

The Galaxy S22 series gets a free memory upgrade, i.e. the 256 GB model costs as much as the 128 GB one, the 512 GB one costs as much as the 256 GB one. That is effectively a $100 discount. This is not all.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra can be purchased with up to $1,000 of enhanced trade-in credit, so the 256 GB unit starts at just $200. Enhanced trade-in means that you can send in two devices (not just one) and that includes phones with a busted screen.

Samsung US deals for Mother's Day include free memory upgrades, Galaxy Buds and Watches

The Galaxy S22 and S22+ can be bought with up to $700 of enhanced trade-in credit, meaning they can start as low as $100 and $300, respectively (reminder: this is with 256 GB storage). Also, if you buy any S22 model, you can pick up a Galaxy Tab S8 slate with a 20% discount.

If your mom would prefer something fancy instead, the Galaxy Z Flip3 Bespoke Edition is available with $150 instant Samsung Credit, a free pair of Galaxy Buds Live and $50 of Google Play credit. The regular Z Flip3 versions get $100 of Samsung Credit. Either way, you can supplement the purchase with up to $305 of trade-in credit, which will drop the price to $595.

Samsung US deals for Mother's Day include free memory upgrades, Galaxy Buds and Watches

The larger Galaxy Z Fold3 is available with $300 of instant Samsung Credit and a free Galaxy Watch4, plus $100 in Google Play Store credit (which can be spent on anything in the store, be it apps, books or other). Since the Fold is pricier, you can apply up to $535 of trade-in credit, meaning that the base model starts at $965.

Samsung US deals for Mother's Day include free memory upgrades, Galaxy Buds and Watches

If those are outside of your budget, the Galaxy S21 FE is eligible for up to $550 of trade-in credit, meaning its price can be as low as $150. And it comes with $100 of instant Samsung Credit, which you can spend on accessories.

Samsung US deals for Mother's Day include free memory upgrades, Galaxy Buds and Watches

You can also consider grabbing a certified renewed Galaxy S21 model (starting at $275 with trade-in), which also allows you to pick up a Galaxy Watch4 starting at $50 (instead of $250, the exact price depends on the size).

PS. we have reviewed all of those phones (watches and buds too), so you can do some research before hitting the ‘buy’ button.

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Ubisoft sunsets online services for dozens of legacy games

Ubisoft sunsets online services for dozens of legacy games
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9to5Mac Daily: April 26, 2022 – Elon Musk buys Twitter, Apple fights to stop unionization

9to5Mac Daily: April 26, 2022 – Elon Musk buys Twitter, Apple fights to stop unionization

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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Stories discussed in this episode:

  • Elon Musk acquiring Twitter for $44 billion
  • Apple retail fight to organize kicks off as Atlanta workers becomes first to file for union vote
  • Kuo doubles down on ‘high-end’ iPhone 16 models with under-display Face ID
  • Apple taps anti-union legal team in tackling unionization fight

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This wireless charger concept keeps distracting notifications and people at bay

This wireless charger concept keeps distracting notifications and people at bay

People are returning to offices, or at least to some sort of hybrid work arrangements, but the global events of the past two years have made people more acutely aware of their well-being even when working at the office. It’s not just an issue for Work From Home workers. They have also been a regular occurrence even before the pandemic hit, and people, including managers, have been trying to fight those for years. With their constant notifications and tempting temptation to look at them occasionally to treat FOMO, smartphones have been both essential and harmful to the workplace. We can harness technology’s power to solve these problems and promote digital best practices at work.

Designer: Pranjal Uday


There are many elements in an office environment that can cause a dip in our well-being, but smartphones are often at the root of many of those. In addition to the distractions they push in our way, they also tempt most of us to swipe our break time away on social media or even just idle browsing. We could just leave our phones in a drawer or on our desks when we walk away to take a break, but some fear they’d miss truly important work calls because of that.


Other people in the office offer both distraction and comfort, depending on when they actually try to connect with you. We are so addicted to our smartphones that we spend a lot of our breaks on them. This makes it difficult for us to make meaningful connections with others in the office. In order to hit two birds with one stone, a wireless charging dock concept tries to give you more time away from your phone by making you worry less about it.

There are plenty of wireless charging docks in the market today, and while they all perform as advertised, they don’t offer more. These docks could be multifunctional in an office setting. For example, Less can charge your phone while you’re away and also keep it from getting too hot. It has flashing lights and vibrating alarms that remind you when your phone is out of the dock. You can stop the timer by putting the phone back in the dock.

There’s also a “Brick” accessory that you can pull out of the dock and take with you when you walk away from your desk. Although it appears to be a remote control for your computer, this is actually a WiFi phone. It can receive notifications and calls even when you aren’t there. Of course, it’s up to you to decide which calls and notifications to let through in order to filter only the most important people.

Last but not least, Less has a projector that shines a light informing people around you that you’re free for a “social break.” Alternatively, the projector could also be used to signal that you shouldn’t be disturbed, effectively keeping people away from you unless absolutely necessary. While primarily designed for an office scenario, it’s not hard to imagine how this kind of phone dock can also be useful at home, especially for WFH setups that are exposed for everyone at home to see.

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Starfield’s music will be your companion in Bethesda’s new space RPG

Starfield’s music will be your companion in Bethesda’s new space RPG

Bethesda Softworks’ newest look at its space-exploration role-playing game Starfield is primarily for your ears, but a new discussion between composer Inon Zur and audio director Mark Lampert also has some treats for the eye, in the form of enticing concept art of alien worlds and vast, unexplored space.

In a new episode released Tuesday from Bethesda’s Into the Starfield series — previous episodes have highlighted the game’s visual design and its companions and conversations — Zur and Lampert wax on “the emotional dimension of Starfield.” That’s music, of course, and the latest look at/listen to Starfield offers plenty of it. Zur discusses the challenges of creating the signature and themes, and breaks down how elements of the orchestra represent everything from the particles of space to the journey to and return from the far reaches of space.

Starfield will have its share of interactive and hopefully memorable companions as players embark on their adventure, but Lampert hopes that the game’s music and sound design will serve as a different sort of ever-present companion.

“We don’t have control over how the player chooses to experience the game,” Lampert said. The music is able to play the correct chord change at just the right moment, but a lot of it happens randomly. The right time to look out over the valley is when the one chord change occurs. There are moments like those that seem scripted, but they don’t. And I like that each player has that experience for themselves, personally.”

Starfield will be released Nov. 11 on Windows PC and Xbox Series X, and will be playable at launch through Xbox Game Pass.

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Jamf unveils its next round of features for managing and securing Apple devices

Jamf unveils its next round of features for managing and securing Apple devices

Today Jamf will unveil a number of new features that aim to simplify the life of Apple IT managers, who not only manage Apple devices for business but also education. At its special spring event, Jamf unveiled updates to Jamf Protect, a new Jamf Trust end-user app, and Jamf Safe Internet. Read on to learn more about the new features as well as release timing.

“Organizations should not have to choose between comprehensive security and exceptional usability in today’s work anywhere environments. Jamf’s VP Portfolio Strategy Michael Covington stated that Jamf is excited about expanding the security capabilities in their enterprise-secure platform. “At Jamf, we are rethinking endpoint security to meet the needs of the modern enterprise. We want organizations to confidently send devices into the world that have good baseline configurations that can detect and stop malware compromise, and that are equipped with preventative measures to block inbound attacks like phishing from impacting worker productivity.”

Jamf Protect updates

Regarding Jamf Protect updates, Jamf announced a new set of endpoint protection features for macOS, with the goal of providing all of the tools an organization needs to secure its Macs. Jamf Protect upgrades include :

  • Network threat prevention: Jamf announced that it is extending its macOS endpoint protection feature set to now include threat prevention capabilities that add network-based indicators of compromise into the solution.
  • Analytics: Jamf’s endpoint protection provides comprehensive logging for both endpoint and network security events. Security teams who are looking for ways to probe security incidents will benefit from this logging.
  • Removable storage: Jamf Protect will ensure sensitive business data is only written to encrypted USB drives, which protects against physical loss and unauthorized data access.

Jamf Trust

At its spring event, Jamf also announced the launch of Jamf Trust, a new app for end-users that powers workflows related to Jamf’s infosec products, including Jamf Threat Defense, Jamf Safe Internet, Jamf Data Policy, and Jamf Private Access. Jamf Trust launches on iOS, Android OS, macOS and Windows in May.

Jamf Safe Internet

The final announcement of the day was a new internet filtering tool aimed at education. Jamf Safe Internet is a combination of content filtering and network threats prevention that blocks unsafe content and malicious attack so students can safely learn at home and in class. Jamf Safe Internet uses a large content-filtering library to filter results and protect student privacy. Jamf Safe Internet for macOS or iOS will become available later in the summer.

9to5Mac’s Take

Especially for the new features that schools will find beneficial, a spring announcement with a summer release will allow it to be used in the 2022-2023 school year. JNUC is held in the fall, so anything related to education wouldn’t be useful in the existing school year. Jamf Protect continues to be a popular endpoint security tool, and it’s great to see Jamf continue to provide IT with the tools they need to secure their fleet while preserving the Apple experiences.

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Micromax IN 2c announced with Unisoc T610 chipset and 5,000 mAh battery

Micromax IN 2c announced with Unisoc T610 chipset and 5,000 mAh battery

Micromax unveiled its latest entry in the budget-oriented IN series with the IN 2C. The phone is a direct successor to last year’s Micromax IN 2b and carries a familiar look and specs alongside an INR 7,499 ($98) starting price.


Micromax IN 2c key specs

Micromax IN 2c key specs

Micromax IN 2c packs a 6. 52-inch LCD with HD+ resolution and a waterdrop notch up top for its 5MP selfie cam just like its predecessor. The back features an 8MP main cam which is joined by a depth helper. Unisoc’s T610 chipset sits at the helm aided by 3GB RAM and 32GB storage which is expandable via the microSD slot. The phone runs a near-stock version of Android 11 and boasts a 5,000 mAh battery with 10W charging speeds over USB-C.


Micromax IN 2c in Brown and Silver
Micromax IN 2c in Brown and Silver
Micromax IN 2c in Brown and Silver

Micromax IN 2c in Brown and Silver

Micromax IN 2c comes in Brown and Silver colors with a suggested retail price of INR 8,499 ($110) which is slashed to INR 7,499 ($98) a special introductory offer. Open sales in India start on May 1.

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Japanese antitrust report calls for multiple app stores and more; Apple protests

Japanese antitrust report calls for multiple app stores and more; Apple protests

A new Japanese antitrust investigation into the smartphone market suggests the possibility for new legislation to lower the dominant position of Apple and Google. It calls for multiple app stores for each platform.

Additionally, it suggests that the preinstallation of Apple and Google’s own web browsers on smartphones means that competitor apps are disadvantaged …

Kyodo News reports.

In the interim report following discussion about digital market rivalry, the government considers preinstalling of Google and Apple internet browsing apps in smartphones a problem.

The report proposed the introduction of rules to prohibit acts that prevent users making decisions and choices, as such practice could eliminate the room for competition.

The government expressed concerns about application developers having to pay a large fee to Apple because they cannot distribute their products outside of the company’s stores. It called for OS providers to be able to let users choose the store that suits them best.

Apple objected, but Google said it was studying the report.

Apple Inc. filed a protest on Tuesday after the Japanese government released a report suggesting that regulations could be introduced to allow fair competition in the market for smartphone operating systems. This market has long been controlled by two large U.S. tech companies.

The U.S. technology giant said in a statement, “We respectfully disagree with a number of conclusions” in the government report released the same day that expressed concern over the strong influence of Apple and Google in the OS market.

Apple stated that there is “intense competition” within each segment in which they operate, and that it would continue to engage constructively with Japan .”

Meanwhile, Google said in a separate statement that it has been actively cooperating with the government, highlighting how much it has contributed to the industry, and added it will further examine the contents of the report.

Apple is facing a huge range of antitrust investigations and lawsuits around the world, and there is bilateral support for legislation in the US, which might also force Apple to open the iPhone to third-party app stores. The company has been spending record sums on lobbying against these proposals.

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Apple’s MetLife Building renovation plans approved, ahead of $1B campus in North Carolina

Apple’s MetLife Building renovation plans approved, ahead of $1B campus in North Carolina

Apple’s MetLife Building renovation plans have been approved, ahead of a new billion-dollar campus at the Research Triangle Park in Cary, North Carolina.

The main campus, some 10 miles down the road, is expected to cost around $1B, while the renovation to the nearby MetLife Building 3 has a more modest budget of around $19.3M …

Background

It was back in 2018 when Apple first announced plans for an additional major campus devoted to technical support functions.

The company plans to establish an Apple campus in a new location, which will initially house technical support for customers. The location of this new facility will be announced later in the year.

North Carolina emerged as one of the potential locations, and quickly became the top bet. Research Triangle Park then emerged as heading the shortlist, though it took some time before Apple confirmed the location.

Research Triangle Park, or RTP, is so-called because it is close to three major research universities: Duke University, NC State University and the University of North Carolina.

Apple’s MetLife Building renovation plans approved

WRAL TechWire reports.

Apple is planning to spend about $19.3 million on renovating the seven-floor MetLife Building 3 at 301 MetLife Way in Cary. Interior renovation permits have been approved for floors 2-6, which will cost about $6,826,000.

“They’re in the process of recruiting all types of technical staff and engineers, software, really all positions they’re hiring for,” said Cary Chamber of Commerce President Mark Lawson.

For floor one and floor seven, the construction costs are listed at $12.48 million. However, the renovation permits are still under review for floors one and seven.

Apple hasn’t yet provided any timings on the main campus at the Triangle, but it’s expected to create thousands of jobs over the next few years.

Additionally, NC State University’s Dr. Mike Walden says that the development will attract other companies to the Triangle.

“It’s taken the Triangle just a further step upward in terms of being a magnet for people to move here, especially well-trained people, college-trained people,” Walden said.

Lawson said he believes Apple’s presence has prompted “like-minded businesses” to consider the Triangle.

“It’s certainly drawn some of their vendors and suppliers to want to relocate in our market,” Lawson said.

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vivo X80 series launches globally on May 8

vivo X80 series launches globally on May 8

Yesterday we saw the unveiling of the vivo X80 and vivo X80 Pro in China, and it appears our prayers for a quick global launch were answered. vivo Malaysia confirmed the date for the X80 series local announcement – it will be May 8, at 3 PM local time.

vivo X80 series launches globally on May 8

The promo poster says “X-tion with Speed”, the wordplay with the word action used by the company to emphasize on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset of the X80 Pro and the Dimensity 9000 SoC powering the vanilla X80.

The event is going to be livestreamed online for everyone interested to follow.

vivo X80 series launches globally on May 8

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