Author: seo

In less than six months, Apple will announce the upcoming Apple Watch Series 8. Rumors so far are a bit sparse, but there are some features very likely to be available with this new generation of smartwatches. Read on as we round up four of them that we expect to see on the Apple Watch Series 8.

Same screen sizes as the previous models

Apple has been pretty consistent in changing the screen size of the Apple Watch. The original Apple Watch until Series 3 had 38mm and 42mm options, Series 4 to Series 6, 40mm and 44mm, and starting now with Series 7, 41mm and 45mm.

For the Apple Watch Series 8, we expect Apple to maintain the same screen sizes as the Apple Watch Series 7. After analysts and leakers wrongly predicted the new design of Series 7, I don’t think anyone would say Apple will radically change how the upcoming Apple Watch Series 8 will look like.

At least a new sensor is coming to the Apple Watch Series 8

As of now, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted Apple Watch Series 8 will finally bring a new sensor. Both publications and the analyst say a body temperature sensor is in the works.

WSJ: “A planned use for the sensor in 2022 would be for fertility planning, the people said, giving women clues about where they are in their ovulation cycle.”

By the beginning of 2022, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman said “body temperature was on this year’s roadmap, but chatter about it has slowed down recently.” While it doesn’t mean that Apple scrapped its plans to bring this new sensor, we still have to wait for new reports to make sure this feature will actually be released.

Better processor

After not updating the processor for Series 7, it seems like Apple is readying a new S8 SoC for the Apple Watch Series 8 bringing “major updates to activity tracking” with “faster chips across the board,” according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.

I think this year will be the biggest in the history of the Apple Watch since the original model. I’m looking for three new models this fall: an Apple Watch Series 8, an Apple Watch SE and an Apple Watch geared toward extreme sports. I wouldn’t expect any major new health sensors this year, besides the possible inclusion of the oft-discussed body temperature feature. Keep an eye out for significant updates in activity tracking and faster chips all around. Also, the Apple Watch Series 3 may finally be retired.

Better sleep-tracking tech

After years of waiting, Apple finally brought a built-in solution for those who like to track their sleep. The stock app doesn’t have the same quality as other options.

With that in mind, the Wall Street Journal says the Apple Watch Series 8 could have new sleep tracking features, including the ability to detect advanced sleep patterns and sleep apnea. According to the publication, Apple’s biggest challenge in expanding its sleep tracking capabilities is battery life.

Wrap-up

So far, these are some of the features users can really look forward to in the new Apple Watch Series 8. Of course, we’ll have a better look at upcoming functions with the preview of watchOS 9 in June, during WWDC 2022.

Are you happy about the new Apple Watch

Are you excited about the new Apple Watch?

Related:

• watchOS 9: Here’s what we know so far about new features, supported devices, and more
• Kuo: Apple Watch Series 3 could finally be discontinued this year

The 3D platformer Sephonie is something special. Created by two developers under the studio name Analgesic Productions, the game follows a team of three scientists who find themselves marooned on a deserted island with a vast underground cave system. At first glance, the game appears to have a lot in common with other 3D platformers: Much of it entails running around and exploring the island in order to collect research on the various animal species that inhabit it. The game is very different once you get it in your hand. It feels more like a great skateboarding game than a platformer.

Much of Sephonie takes place in the subterranean labyrinth, which is covered in flora and fauna reminiscent of those found in coral reefs. As one of the scientists, you can run from place to place to explore the landmarks and find species that you can “connect” with by playing a Tetris-like minigame. Scientists are cool, despite their exceptional intellect. The scientists can run horizontally, jump vertically, and dash along walls.

Image: Analgesic Productions

Despite the fact that the scientists perform all these acrobatics on foot, the game does feel like a skateboarding game. When you hold the run button, the character just starts moving. In Sephonie, it’s more about guiding your character as they propel forward rather than directing every step. Running alongside walls is a great way to explore and combine them with other points for a better landing. You can also use special walls like those covered in squishy brain Coral to refresh your speed and allow for wall jumping chains. As in skateboarding games, there’s a certain kind of patience required to get a feel for the controls, and a similar satisfaction once you do. In Sephonie, movement feels less like a means to an end and more like a creative way to express yourself through fluid movement.

Marina Kittaka from Analgesic told Polygon that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Spyro the Dragon helped inspire Sephonie; both games have wall rides, grinds, and glides. “These are the types of moves that can drastically change how you see a given space, as you grow to understand them,” Kittaka said in an email.

Not only is this movement system compelling in its own right — it also aligns with Sephonie‘s very premise. The entire point of the game is to collect research and better understand the natural environment of Sephonie island. As you progress through the cave system, each area poses new formations that require you to rethink the platforming mechanics. This allows you to get to know more about the island’s geological structure. You “connect” with flora and fauna through the puzzle gameplay embedded inside the game, yes — but I also found myself connecting with the island by cruising along the curves of its cave walls. In the end, the landscape isn’t so much a challenge to be conquered as it is a vehicle to enjoy every moment of movement.

AAPL earnings for Q2 2022 (calendar Q1) will be announced by the company later today, and analysts are expecting the news to be good.

While professional analysts are more cautious than independent ones, all expect significant year-on-year growth almost across the board …

PED30 has collated a spreadsheet showing the consensus expectations of analysts for total revenue, as well as the anticipated breakdown by product category.

The bottom line is that analysts expect Apple to report total revenue of $95. 51B, against $89. 58B for the same quarter last year. That would represent growth of a little under 7%.

Analysts anticipate revenue growth for iPhone, Mac, and wearables (Apple Watch and AirPods). iPad is the only place they anticipate revenue falling year-on-year.

Services are forecast to be the biggest growth area, revenue expected to climb from $16. 9B in fiscal Q2 2021 to $20. 03B the same quarter this year.

Interestingly, noted Apple bulls Katy Huberty and Daniel Ives are not at the top end of this year’s forecasts – the latter actually being the most pessimistic at $90. 87B total revenue. The most optimistic of the institutions is JP Morgan, at $96.43B.

Apple itself once more refrained from offering any guidance for the quarter, again citing concerns over supply-side disruptions. The iPhone maker has warned that component shortages will yet again constrain product supply, but the company’s chief financial officer did suggest we should still be optimistic.

Apple CFO Luca Maestri said in January that the “very strong customer response to our recent launch of new products and services drove double-digit growth in revenue and earnings.”

As always, you’ll be able to tune into the earnings call live on Apple’s investor site, and we’ll of course be bringing you all the news as it happens.

Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks will hold their annual gaming showcase, which is typically aligned with E3 in June, on Sunday, June 12, at 10 a.m. PDT/1 p.m. EDT, Microsoft announced Thursday. In a statement, Microsoft stated that the livestreamed event will feature “amazing titles from Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda as well as our partners throughout the globe.”

The Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase covers games for Xbox and PC, as well as Game Pass releases. The show will be streamed on Xbox’s YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok channels.

Viewers should expect at least two Bethesda games to show up during that event: Bethesda Game Studios’ Starfield and Arkane Studios’ Redfall, both of which are slated for release in 2022. On the Xbox Game Studios side, there are many announced, but still undated games that could appear, including Obsidian Entertainment’s Avowed, Rare’s Everwild, Avalanche Studios’ Contraband, Playground Games’ Fable, The Initiative’s Perfect Dark, Ninja Theory’s Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, Undead Labs’ State of Decay 3, and Obsidian Entertainment’s The Outer Worlds 2.

The Financial Times is reporting that Apple is set to come under fire on fresh anticompetitive charges from the European Union, which will likely be formally announced next week.

Apple will face the complaint that it unfairly monopolises the mobile payments system on the iPhone, by promoting Apple Pay and restricting other services from having the same access to the iPhone’s NFC hardware.

News of a forthcoming complaint surrounding access to NFC hardware in the iPhone, as it pertains to mobile payments systems, surfaced back in October.

As it stands today, only Apple Pay is able to utilise the NFC chip for seamless contactless payments at retail stores, where users are able to simply hold their iPhone close to a payment terminal to begin a contactless transaction.

NFC access to third-party apps is heavily restricted, with essential NFC modes for mobile payments off-limits to app developers and other NFC operations often requiring the app to be foregrounded in order to work at all. (Some background NFC features are available to third-party apps since iOS 12, but the capabilities are not sufficient to support an Apple Pay like experience.

Apple has previously said that full access to the NFC chip is limited to protect customers from abuse, or invasions of privacy.

The EU commission previously opened formal charges against the App Store as it pertains to streaming music services, indicating Apple unfairly favored Apple Music over Spotify and other rivals. In addition to the NFC investigation, a similar exploration of Apple’s behavior in the mobile games is also underway.

The EU crackdown comes as Apple faces increasing pressure from legislation like the Digital Markets Act, which may force Apple to open up its platforms more than ever before, including allowing app sideloading.

Copy Research also shared its global market estimates, with Mac shipment the most prominent, but Counterpoint Research also provided its predictions for the year ahead.

It shows that we can expect a significant improvement in the course of 2022, but shortages will remain in four component categories …

Background

A combination of factors caused the global shortage in chip supply. These include increased demand for technology during the pandemic, COVID-related production disruption, and a growing demand for chips by car-makers; as cars rely on increasing numbers of microprocessor units.

The biggest problem isn’t with GPUs or CPUs but more common chips such as power management and display drivers. These relatively low-tech chips are used in a huge number of devices, including Apple ones.

Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that supply constraints cost Apple $6B in each of the last two quarters, and we should get a further update at the company’s earnings call later today.

Component shortage outlook for 2022

The report shows the component shortage levels for both the first and second half of the last year and includes a map of its predictions of the future.

The company has broken down the report into four areas :

• Display (display driver chips, for example)
• Memory
• Processors
• Other circuit boards (wi-fi chips, for example)

Then subdivides those into more specific component categories, painting broad brush-strokes of the shortage levels for each.

Display driver chips were in particularly short supply last year. Counterpoint estimates that demand exceeded supply by 20-30% in the first half of the year, and by 10-20% in the second half. However, it believes that supply will catch up with demand in the course of this year.

The market intelligence company believes that the shortages of seven components last year have been completely eliminated by the year’s end, and four additional components will still be in danger :

• LCM – PMIC (display chips)
• Discrete GPUs (which shouldn’t impact Apple)
• Power management chip
• Wi-fi chips

Photo: Adi Goldstein/Unsplash

At a time when laptop flexibility and performance are more important than ever, Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Book2 Pro series redefines the standards for next-level lightweight computing, offering consumers a versatile laptop that is both powerfully fast and powerfully secure. In this first installment of a three-part ‘How To’ series behind the Galaxy Book2 Pro series, Samsung Newsroom will discuss the benefits of the laptop’s safe and easy file sharing features, fit for every lifestyle.

Quick Share and Private Share for the New Galaxy Book2 Pro Series Provide Easier, Safer Ways To Share Photos, Videos and Files

Fast, Easy Sharing

Many people rely on computers to save their most treasured memories. With the Galaxy Book2 Pro series, sharing those memories is easier and faster than ever. Using Quick Share, Galaxy Devices users can wirelessly send photos, videos, documents and more without limitations on the size or number of files.

Before you get started, make sure you have the latest Quick Share app¹ installed on your Galaxy device. Once installed, open the app on the Galaxy Book2 Pro series and drag and drop the files you want to share. Quick Share automatically converts non-supported files to a format that your friends can view. This eliminates the risk of files opening unexpectedly. Once you are ready to share, look through the list of nearby people. Once you’ve selected your recipients, hit send. Quick Share will alert the recipient that you shared the files and let them download the files with just a tap.

Want files to be shared with non-Galaxy users? Quick Share can also generate a QR code with a link² where even non-Galaxy users can access your shared files.

Share With Peace of Mind at Work and School

For times when you need to share sensitive files³ like work reports or school assignments, Private Share on the Galaxy Book2 Pro series provides advanced security based on blockchain technology.

Your data belongs to you, and Private Share helps keep it that way by encrypting your files and setting strict permissions on who can view or re-share them. Private Share lets you share 20 files, totaling 100MB, with five people at a time. Send text files, photos, videos and even PDFs all with peace of mind.

To get started, you will need to open the Private Share app. Before sharing files, make sure that all permissions are checked. After you have selected the files you will be able to decide who has access and what your files can do. You can also control how long they are allowed access. You can even revoke access to the files after you’ve shared them if you change your mind or decide the person no longer needs access. Private Share will encrypt the files you share before they are sent, eliminating any possibility of third-party access. Advanced security measures in Private Share also protect your files from being saved, screen captured or re-shared by the recipient.

As the sender, you can keep track of when your files were opened, how many days are left for access, and their expiration date.

File sharing is an essential part of modern communication. As sharing becomes more important to our work and our personal lives, we need tools that help make it easier to share while protecting our files and our privacy. Quick Share and Private Share are the preferred sharing tools from the latest Samsung Galaxy smartphones. By introducing these popular features to the Galaxy Book2 Pro series, Samsung Electronics is offering a safer and faster way to share your photos and files, giving you full control over your content and better peace of mind.

¹ Quick Share is available on Galaxy Smartphones, Galaxy Tabs, and Galaxy Books, on Android 10 and One UI2. 1 and above. The features and devices available may change. To enable QuickShare, you will need a BLE (Bluetooth low Energy) or Wi-Fi Direct connection.

² Available on devices with One UI 2. 1 or above, with Android Q OS version or higher installed. Bluetooth Low Energy and Wi-Fi connection are both required for Quick Share. Supported on Galaxy Books released from May 2021 onwards with Windows 10 version 20H2 or higher. Number of devices Quick Share can share to at the same time may vary depending on the Wi-Fi chip hardware of the sharing device. Actual speeds may differ depending on network conditions and the user environment.

³ The transferrable type, number, capacity, and expiry date of files as well as the number of simultaneous file shares in Private Share may be limited. Only Galaxy smartphones with Android P OS and higher can support Private Share. Private Share is only supported between Galaxy mobile devices such as phone, tablet and PC. Shareable types of files: Image (.jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .bmp, .webp), Video (.webm, .mp4, . 3gp, .mkv), Audio (.mp3, .wav, .ogg, .m4a), Text (.txt).