Good morning! Finally, at 11am today (ET) we’ll get Microsoft unloading on what Windows 11 will be, and what it all means: new Windows UI, new store, and more!
Foldables revealed
Alright, the next-gen foldables from Samsung are starting to really emerge now.
FCC certification:
It looks like both devices passed through FCC certification sometime late yesterday.
- There’s a nice bit of work from my colleagues here in digging through it all to find the juicy bits, but also to verify what we see: The Galaxy Z Fold 3 lines up with leaks around model number SMF926U, plus “the filing explicitly notes ‘folder closed’ and ‘folder open’ orientations as well as ‘screen open’ and ‘screen closed’ orientations,” plus diagrams illustrating the design.”
- Then on the Flip 3, with model number SM-F711U again lining up, there are also diagrams and references to “screen open” and “screen closed” states.
What we know:
- Sifting through these dry certification filings takes a bunch of time, but the details are there.
- Z Fold 3: Qualcomm powered, with Magnetic Stripe Technology (MST) returning, wireless charging and reverse charging, UWB support, NFC, sub-6GHz and mmWave capabilities, along with S Pen support.
- Z Flip 3: On the flip side, we also see confirmation of Qualcomm power and MST, along with NFC, wireless charging with reverse charging, but no S Pen support.
- So, still plenty of unknowns here, including if we’ll see rumored elements like under-display selfie camera being mentioned, along with the size of the new devices, new hinges, new display tech, protective glass, pricing, availability… but confirmation is confirmation, so these hard facts are pretty juicy.
While we’re here: A patent suggests Samsung is forging ahead with rollable phone plans (Android Authority).
Roundup
The Sideload Wars: Apple yesterday released a 16 page white paper where it says the ability to sideload apps (or, alternative app stores) would cause erosion of trust within its ecosystem (Apple). Here are opinions: “I think it’s good, fair, and cogent,” (Daring Fireball) “Apple is more interested in protecting its fiefdom than it is in iPhone security” (Android Authority), and from the Coalition for App Fairness: “In Apple’s war on developers, users are the biggest losers” (Wired). A point I want to make is mentioned in these pieces but I’ll make it here as well: Apple’s MacOS gives you the freedom to load any old software. Somehow, that’s ok, but it’s not on iOS. The overwhelming reason is money, even if the smaller security issues mentioned do resonate — until you consider Android, where sideloading is possible, yet most people stick only with Play Store apps, and people survive. In any case, it looks like legislation will tackle this issue, so it’s how well both sides play the PR/lobbying game from here. Apple’s not exactly waiting to see what might happen, either.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4: Everything we know so far, including new leaked renders (Android Authority).
Amazon Fire HD 10 Plus review: This is a really good guide to if you should get one or not, with great insights (Android Authority).
Samsung’s AMD-boosted processor might not be limited to Galaxy phones (Android Authority).
This is nuts: Amazon accused of destroying scores of perfectly good, brand new laptops, TVs, phones, and more: “An ex-Amazon employee told ITV News that the center’s target was to destroy an astonishing 130,000 items each week!” (Android Authority).
The chip shortage will likely get worse before it gets better (also, may get better if we’re not destroying perfectly good things?) (The Verge).
Wow: 75-year-old John McAfee found dead in Spanish prison after extradition order (Wired).
Here’s a great niche: Warhammer+ is already the best streaming service, because none of the others come with a free orc (Gizmodo).
Supreme Court says a school can’t punish a cheerleader for swearing on Snapchat (The Verge).
China’s moon plans: Five missions, first crewed mission to Mars in 2033, with talk of building a base there, too (CNBC).
Physicists show that flying beer coasters will flip 0.45 seconds into flight. And the model can be used to “predict the flight trajectories of other kinds of flying discs,” hooray! (Ars Technica).
“If Nikola Tesla was on the path of making electricity be conducted through air, like Wi-Fi, how come we can’t do it now since technology advanced so much?” (r/askscience).
Throwback Thursday
Today, back in 1982, British Airways Flight 9 flew into a cloud of volcanic ash off Indonesia, a remarkable event known as the “Jakarta Incident,” but thankfully without loss of life (Wikipedia).
- A dry ash cloud, not picked up by weather radar looking for evidence of water, sandblasted a Boeing 747-200.
- The dry dust was electrified with static electricity, producing strange effects like St. Elmo’s fire. More startlingly: “Passengers who had a view of the aircraft’s engines through the window noted that they were unusually bright blue, with light shining forward through the fan blades and producing a stroboscopic effect.”
- All four engines stopped, with volcanic ash melting inside the turbines, leading to the pilot making what’s been called a “masterpiece” of understatement: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress.”
- Incredibly, the plane’s engines did fire again, and the plane landed despite the issues.
Amazing story: all of what happened was unknown in aviation at that point.
(Ps. The above image and ash cloud is Mount Etna, Italy.)
Cheers,
Tristan Rayner, Senior Editor.
