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With the release of Apple’s AirTags, we’ve all seen just how powerful and useful the company’s Find My network can be to find misplaced items around our homes or lost items out in the world. Google apparently also took notice and appears to be cooking up its own version of the network for Android devices.
In recent days, XDA Developers did an APK teardown of the latest beta version of Google Play Services and noticed references to a possible Google “Find My Device” network. It’s not clear if that’s a possible name for the network, and was referred to as the “network title” in the code. XDA Developers also found a purported description of the Find My Device network.
“Allows your phone to help locate your and other people’s devices,” the description stated.
As pointed out by the outlet, Google is the only other company that could possibly build a device tracking network as large as Apple’s Find My network. Apple says that close 1 billion Apple devices are connected to Find My. In the case of AirTags, when one of those billion devices comes near an AirTag, Find My communicates the location to the owner of said AirTag in an anonymous and private way.
Now, if Google wants to build a similar network, XDA Developers points out that it can utilize the Google Play Services app, which is on nearly every Android device. Google Play Services is used to update Google apps and apps from the Google Play store. In addition, Google states the app provides services such as authentication, synchronized contacts, access to the latest user privacy settings, and higher quality, lower-powered location-based services.
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That’s not to say that Google doesn’t already offer users a way to find their lost devices. It has the Google Find My Device app in the Play Store, but this app can only find phones, tablets, or watches that are logged into your Google account. According to XDA Developers, if Google does indeed create its own Find My Device network, this will presumably give Android users the ability to help other users locate their devices, as Apple’s Find My network does now.
This concept was spotted in the latest beta of Google Play Services, so it’s not by any means a done deal. We’ll have to wait and see. Nonetheless, just the indication that Google is working on this is a good thing for those of us who lose devices. If the worst does happen, we’ll have more chances to find them.
Material You is not quite you just yet, but there’s much more of it in the second beta compared to the first. You won’t get the full array of customization that we’ve seen in renders, but you will get to see the color-stripping part populate across the interface.
To see the Material You theming in action, long-press on the Home screen and select Wallpaper & style. Then, choose a photo from your files or any of the stock options offered by Google. Once you select an image and whether you want it displayed across both the Home and Lock screens, Android will pick a color that matches the background.
The color-matching is very subtle in the current iteration, and it’s not entirely clear how the OS makes its choice. It’s also unclear whether you should choose your icon style and font type before choosing your wallpaper. But you can play around with it to get a glimpse of how Material You will extract color in the final build.
The new features range from updates to Google’s custom emoji system in Gboard to new personalization options in Android Auto and even the expansion of an emergency alert network. Let’s dive in.
For people trying to keep better tabs on their chats, Google is adding the ability to star individual messages in the Google Messages app. Once you star a message (which you can do by tapping and holding on a specific text), the message will show up in its own section (sorted by category) so you don’t need to scroll through long chat logs just to find a specific photo or an address you wanted to save.
It’s not a revolutionary change, but it should be a handy upgrade for heavy texters, with Google saying starred messages will begin rolling out “broadly over the coming weeks.”
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If you prefer to communicate with emoji rather than words, Google also has an update to the Emoji Kitchen in Gboard that will allow Gboard to serve up contextual emoji creations immediately after you’ve typed a new message. The idea is that by creating a new emoji combo based on your messages, you’ll have the right emoji for the situation at your fingertips, instead of always having to make them yourself. And when combined with a recent change that stores your most recently used stickers in their own section, you shouldn’t ever be at a loss for custom emoji.
The update to Emoji Kitchen is available today in the beta version of Gboard, and is scheduled to be added to the official public version of the app later this summer with support for messages in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
It wouldn’t be a meaningful Android feature drop without new Google Assistant tricks, and now the assistant supports additional phone controls. Along with being able to answer questions, the Google Assistant will also be able to do specific tasks in apps, like pay your credit card bill or see how many miles you’ve run this week.
While it’s currently unclear how many apps will support this kind of integration, in Google’s announcement post, the company specifically mentioned Capital One and Strava. And to find more interactions like this, Google says you can simply ask the Google Assistant for more info by saying, “Hey Google, shortcuts.”
As vaccinated folks get ready for summer travel, Google is also tweaking Android Auto with new customization options, including the ability to personalize your launcher screen, new tabs for media apps, and even a handy “back to the top” button.
On top of that, Google has also added the ability to use EV charging, parking, and navigation apps inside Android Auto, so you can more easily plan your trips without flipping back and forth between multiple apps. You’ll even be able to open messaging apps like WhatsApp or Google Messages from the launcher screen—just make sure you pull over first or let your co-pilot do it. (Don’t text while driving, folks!) The new features in Android Auto should be available now on phones running Android 6 and above when connected to a compatible car.
Finally, as a follow up to a new feature from last year, Google is expanding its Android Earthquake Alert System to a number of new countries, including Turkey, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
By leveraging the power of the internet, Google can turn Android phones into mini seismometers, so in the event of an earthquake, Google can send out alerts seconds before the earthquake reaches your area, potentially giving you an important early warning.
Google says it’s hoping to make its Earthquake Alert System available in most countries by the first half of 2022, starting with the countries with the highest earthquake risk before moving to those with more moderate concerns.
Google released the first Android 12 beta at Google I/O back in May, but that version didn’t have all the new updates and features that will be included in the final release later this year. Today Google is releasing the second version of the Android 12 beta, which adds a new Privacy Dashboard, updates to wifi controls, and more.
With privacy and security becoming a higher priority for Google, the company is planning a number of changes in that vein for Android 12, including the new Privacy Dashboard. The goal is to give people a better way of seeing what kind of data their apps are using. So not only will the dashboard show you every app that’s accessed your microphone, camera, or location info in the last 24 hours, people will even be able to request additional details about why a specific app may have tried to view sensitive info.
More privacy-related features include new indicators that will show up in the corner of your device’s display anytime an app is using your microphone or camera, similar to what Apple added in iOS 14. This is designed to make sure people know when an app may be recording the user or their surroundings in real-time, allowing people to change or revoke permissions for a specific app if needed.
And for those times when you want to be super sure your device isn’t recording anything, Google has also added microphone and camera toggles to Android 12’s Quick Settings menu, so you can completely disable either component with a single tap. If you’re worried about random apps potentially spying on stuff in your clipboard, the Android 12 beta also supports a new notification that will alert you anytime an app tries to read data from your clipboard—another privacy feature Apple added in iOS 14.
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Aside from a number of updated dev tools, the last notable new feature that’s been added to the Android 12 beta is a revamped UI for network connections. Going forward, the new Internet Panel will serve as a home to all the different ways you connect to the outside world, allowing you to quickly toggle mobile data on or off, select from available wifi networks, and even help troubleshoot issues in case your connection is acting a bit wonky.
As with the previous versions of the Android 12 beta, you can test it out yourself by downloading an over-the-air update across a range of eligible devices (see the full list of approved devices here) or install it manually if you are so inclined. Just maybe don’t install it on your primary phone or tablet, because even though Google’s public Android betas are typically relatively stable, you don’t want to risk something going awry on your main device.
When Stadia was first released, the best way to stream games from the cloud to your TV was to hook up a Chromecast Ultra, as Google had yet to add official support for Stadia to Android TV devices. (Technically, you could sideload the Stadia app on Android TV devices, but stability was often hit-or-miss). And even after Google released its own first-party streaming TV dongle in the Chromecast with Google TV last year, Google said built-in Stadia support wouldn’t arrive on Google TV until sometime in 2021.
But, in just a couple weeks, it seems Google is finally ready to make good on its promise by adding official support to the Chromecast with Google TV and other Android TV devices on June 23.
According to a new blog post, the list of Android TV devices getting full support Stadia are as follows:
The Chromecast with Google TV
Hisense® Android Smart TVs (U7G, U8G, U9G)
Nvidia® Shield TV
Nvidia® Shield TV Pro
Onn™ FHD Streaming Stick and UHD Streaming Device
Philips® 8215, 8505, and OLED 935/805 Series Android TVs
Xiaomi® MIBOX3 and MIBOX4
While this clearly isn’t every single Android TV box on the market, Google says that if the device you have isn’t listed above, you’ll still be able to stream games with Stadia by opting into an experimental support feature. Google also says that starting June 23, all you’ll need to do to get Stadia support is to download the Stadia app from the Google Play Store (and hit the “Continue” button to opt-in if needed).
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As usual, once you get the Stadia app installed, you’ll need to make sure you have a supported gamepad, which can either be an official Stadia controller or one of many compatible third-party Bluetooth controllers.
While it may have taken longer than expected, Google finally adding built-in support for Stadia to Google TV and Android TV devices is a big milestone for Google’s game streaming service as Stadia will soon be available to play on a lot more devices.
Oh, and as an extra bonus, today AT&T announced a new deal that gives both AT&T wireless and AT&T fiber internet customers a free six-month Stadia Pro subscription, with customers who redeem the offer also eligible to buy a discounted Stadia controller/Chromecast Ultra bundle for just $20 (which is down from its normal retail price of $100).
Apple today announced expanded support for digital car keys in iOS 15 during its WWDC keynote. Combined with Google’s recent Android announcements at its own developers conference, it’s clear that the big transition to digital car keys will begin in earnest later this fall.
While Apple first announced support for digital car keys last year, today the company expanded its efforts with new updates coming to Wallet in iOS 15 that will allow iPhones to connect to nearby cars via UWB. The addition of support for UWB mirrors a similar announcement Google made during Google I/O that regarding support for digital car keys via UWB or NFC depending on the specific model of car in Android 12.
Currently, NFC and UWB are slated to be the two main methods for implementing digital car keys, both of which have their pros and cons. NFC typically has a much shorter range than UWB, which means you often have to be right next to your vehicle or even tap your phone on a certain spot on your vehicle in order to unlock its door or start the car. However, because NFC is already built into all but the cheapest budget phones, it remains a relatively easy way to transition from traditional physical keys to newfangled digital car keys.
On the flip side, UWB boasts a potential range of more than 100 feet, which means users might be able to start their car or turn on the heat/AC remotely from inside their home, just so long as they have a relatively clear line of sight to the vehicle vehicle. The downside is that because UWB is still relatively new technology, it’s only available on a handful of devices right now, which means you might need to upgrade to a new phone to get support for UWB.
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Among Android phones, the two main devices that support UWB are the Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 Ultra, but not the standard S21—Samsung says support for UWB was not included to help keep its price down. And in the future, it seems like Google is poised to add UWB support to Pixel 6. Meanwhile for iPhones, Apple started adding support for UWB starting with the iPhone 11. Though Apple is currently ahead when it comes to UWB support, anyone still using an iPhone XS or older is sadly out of luck.
Aside from Tesla, the automaker currently leading the charge for digital car keys is BMW, who has already partnered with Apple, Google, and Samsung to support the initiative in select BMW models, though other manufacturers like Hyundai and more recently Ford have been working to support digital car keys as well.
The arrival of digital car keys has the potential to make life a lot easier. However, it also presents a couple problems, the most worrying being that simply losing your phone could turn into a real disaster. That’s because in addition to losing your primary method for calling or messaging people, the rise of digital car keys and smart locks means that if you don’t have access to your phone, you also might not have access to your home or vehicle, too, which could leave you truly stranded in an emergency.
For some, that possibility may be enough to make them think twice about digital car keys, and even though many manufacturers still provide a physical key or card key as a backup, it will be interesting to see how fast the public embraces digital car keys once they become more widely supported this fall.
But either way, between existing automakers like Tesla and wider support coming soon in iOS 15 and Android 12, it seems both the tech giants and car makers are finally ready to bring car keys into the 21st century.
Google’s Android Auto is more than six years old now, and it’s changed a fair bit in that time. The latest version is baked into Android, if you’re running Android 10 or later, but you can download the stand-alone app if you don’t already have it. More and more automobiles and car stereos now support Android Auto (as well as Apple CarPlay), so if you’re just getting started with the technology, here are some of the tips you need to know.
You can actually use Android Auto without connecting to a car dashboard at all—just launch the app on your phone and fix your phone to the dashboard or windscreen. The tips below apply to the wired version and to the wireless version of Android Auto that runs through your car’s actual hardware.
1. See Traffic While You Drive
You’ll most often use Google Maps in Android Auto in navigation mode when heading somewhere specific, in which case current traffic conditions show up automatically. However, it’s also useful to have Google Maps up when you know where you’re going or you’re just exploring. In this mode, tap the cog icon (lower left) and then turn the Traffic toggle switch on to make sure you can see any delays coming.
2. Customize the Home Screen
You don’t have to settle for Android Auto’s default dashboard look. From the main list of apps, tap Customize, and then switch to your phone. You can then decide which Android Auto-compatible apps show up on your car dashboard, and in which order. It’s a good idea to get rid of the apps you’ve never going to use in your car, as it means fewer icons to scroll through when you’re trying to find the shortcut you need.
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3. Set Up Shortcuts
Besides app shortcuts, you can also set up shortcuts to specific contacts and Google Assistant commands on the Android Auto dashboard. From the app drawer on the car display, tap Customize, then open your phone and choose Add a shortcut to the launcher. Just about any command that works with Google Assistant can be added, so you can do everything from open your garage to have your text messages read out loud to you.
4. Mute Specific Conversations
Having alerts pop up while you’re driving can be helpful if something really important comes up, but it can also be distracting if you’re constantly getting pings from all the group chats you’re in. To mute a conversation in any of the instant messaging apps that support Android Auto, tap a notification when it appears, then choose Mute conversation on the next screen. Messages will still be delivered, but the alerts won’t show up.
5. Use Your Voice
Voice control is of course the safest and easiest way of controlling Android Auto while you’re driving, and depending on your car you might just be able to say, “Hey Google” or press a button on the steering wheel to start talking. Tap Settings on your car dashboard, then Access on phone screen, and on your phone you should see a “Hey Google” detection toggle switch — make sure this is on if you want to use hands-free voice control.
6. Set Your Default Music Provider
If you want Google Assistant to launch some playlists for you, but are unsure how it will know which of your Android Auto-supporting music apps you want to use, follow these steps: From the Android Auto dashboard, pick Settings and Access on phone screen, then switch to your phone and tap Google Assistant and Music. This will affect the Google Assistant everywhere you use it, but you can also specify music services by name if you need to.
7. Get to Know Your Car
It’s worth going through the instruction manual that came with your car—or just running a search on the web—to see which Android Auto functions can be operated from your steering wheel. Functions like volume control, Google Assistant activation, and the ability to skip forward and backward through playlists can often be operated through physical buttons on your steering wheel, which is safer than tapping at the Android Auto display.
8. Find More Apps
If you’re wondering which apps are compatible with Android Auto—that is, which ones will appear on your car dash if they’re installed on your phone—then Google provides a full list to check out. You’ll see that messaging apps and audio apps dominate, because Android Auto hasn’t yet gotten to the level of a Tesla dashboard and can’t play video yet. Still, you should find plenty in the list to keep you entertained.
9. Don’t Pick Up Where You Left Off
By default, if Android Auto was playing podcasts, music or any other audio when you last disconnected your phone from the car stereo, it will resume from the same app the next time a connection is established so you can continue listening. If you’d prefer this didn’t happen, tap Settings then turn the Automatically resume media toggle switch off. You’ll then have to manually start up your audio again the next time you get in the car.
10. Block Out Distractions
For your safety and the safety of other drivers, it’s a good idea to enable Do Not Disturb on your phone while driving to avoid distractions, and Android Auto can do this automatically. From the app drawer on your car screen, choose Settings then Access on phone screen, then on your phone tap Car settings and Behavior. Your phone’s default Do Not Disturb configuration is applied, set through Sound and vibration on your phone’s Setting screen.
With Apple’s developer conference just around the corner, Google is reportedly planning to follow in its rivals footsteps by letting Android users opt out of being tracked by the apps they download from the Google Play store.
A Google support page detailing how users can opt out of third-party tracking has generated a bit of buzz. Originally surfaced by the Financial Times, Google will introduce a switch for users later this year that turns off sharing the Advertising ID, which is the device identifier that lets marketers see your activity from app to app. (It’s also one of the identifiers that manufacturers had access to during the covid-19 contact tracing privacy snafu.) Android users can already limit system-wide ad-tracking or manually reset their Advertising ID to help throw off being tracked, but this new setting will let users opt out of any alternative device identifiers that developers also use to track your activity across apps.
Google announced a Play Store policy change in an email to developers. Those who try to access advertising IDs from users who have opted out will only see a “string of zeros” rather than the explicit numerical identifier.
From the Google support page:
As part of Google Play services update in late 2021, the advertising ID will be removed when a user opts out of personalization using advertising ID in Android Settings. Any attempts to access the identifier will receive a string of zeros instead of the identifier. To help developers and ad/analytics service providers with compliance efforts and respect user choice, they will be able to receive notifications for opt-out preferences. Additionally, apps targeting Android 12 will need to declare a Google Play services normal permission in the manifest file.
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Unlike on iOS, it’s unclear if the tracking feature will be on by default or if Google will make this a known feature or something that’s buried deep in the settings panel. But we’ll likely have answers by the time Android 12 rolls out publicly. Google is phasing the rollout to apps running on Android 12 devices starting in late 2021, with expansion for more devices coming in early 2022.
Google has been working overtime to change the narrative on how it approaches privacy. The company has added a bunch of granular privacy controls over the years, dating back to permission-selection features introduced back in Android 6.0 Marshmallow, but with Apple using privacy as a key selling point for its devices, there’s a renewed push for Google to answer. The company recently announced a new safety section in the Google Play Store a few weeks back.
Privacy has clearly become a company-wide initiative, considering Google’s move to create a new tracking alternative—one that binds your activity directly to its servers.
And the more features that Google can push out to make its platforms and the services integrated into it seem safer, the more it maintains consumer trust to hold on to that top spot on the market share leaderboard.
Being an Android user has always been about choice. It’s nice that Google is adding an option to make Android users feel better about being on the platform after the security features Apple introduced to iOS. This is certainly the first feature I’m choosing to take advantage of once I update to Android 12.
It took four generations, but the Philips Hue app is finally a delight to use. In a significant update to its iOS and Android apps, which control its expansive lineup of smart lights and bulbs, Hue now has an overhauled interface and better automation engine, plus a few other subtle tweaks that make the entire experience more enjoyable overall.
I used the new Philips Hue app on a Pixel 5. From the first screen, the most notable change is the tinge on the interface. The buttons feature prominent shading to stand out as actionable against the relative flatness of the rest of the Android interface. Beyond that, the Hue home page remains unchanged in terms of content.
Tap on a room, and that’s when you’ll notice the real difference. The Hue app sports a new tile interface with quick access to pre-set scenes and the option to add on and customize your own. The Hue Scene gallery had existed before, but it was a bit of a mess. It looks better categorized in version four and a little less overwhelming to navigate.
Routines have also been revamped. They’re now called Automations. The Hue app will suggest a few to get you started, from setting the lights to sleep at night to having them gradually turn on before you come home. The feature uses geolocation, which you can set up through your device, though it will require configuring the Philips Hue hub for remote access. If you’re using an Android device, you’ll also have to enable the app to access location permissions and run in the background.
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The rest of the Automation setup process is more helpful than the previous iteration. If you’re setting up your lights to turn on as you arrive home, for instance, the app will ask whether you want to run the automation every time or just in the evenings. The options were there before, but this time the onboarding process walks you through your choices, rather than tapping around the app to figure out what’s possible. You can then choose which rooms and which lights are affected by the automation. The Hue app will consider if someone is home already, so it doesn’t double up on automations or, say, turn off the lights for everyone else.
Ronald Geerlings, the Hue app’s global product manager, said during a press event that the team had made more than 100 improvements: The interface and automation changes were the “big” changes, while the “small” features are more prevalent in the settings. For instance, you can now manage multiple Hue bridges. The Entertainment Area has also been updated so that it’s more accurate at configuring numerous lights. It’s a handy feature if you plan to use Hue lights to frame your TV viewing experience. The new app includes a 3D view, where you can freely move lights around the room and even select their height and whether they’re bumping up or shining against an object. The Hue app will take care of the rest, like the color of the lights and how they sync up with what you see on the big screen.
Smart home apps can sometimes feel like an afterthought. The app can enable all the necessities for controlling a gadget, but the interface can leave much to be desired, which is exactly what was happening with Hue. It’s why when you do a search for the app in either the iOS or Android app stores, a bevy of third-party apps appear alongside the official one. The Hue app was always capable of basics, like getting your smart lights online and changing the scene, but it lacked any visual interest. It also didn’t have the best reputation for smart home tinkerers who rely on routines and automated commands.
The new Philips Hue app is a significant improvement, and it’s a good indicator that the company is watching and learning what its users need to keep buying into its vast device ecosystem. The update is available for download now, and the app will also be updated later this summer with dynamic scenes, which will allow lights to cycle through different colors throughout the day.
There was a time not too long ago when it felt like a lot of Google’s devices lacked an identity. But since the release of the Pixel 3a, Google has really carved out a niche when it comes to making simple but still affordable gadgets that are big on value. Google is now applying this approach to wireless audio with the new Pixel Buds A-series, which distills the best elements of last year’s Pixel Buds into an even cheaper package that starts at just $99.
Just like its predecessor, the Pixel Buds A-series come with an included charging case that looks and feels like a futuristic space egg. There’s a hidden indicator light that lives in the middle of the case, and its matte finish is a joy to touch and makes you want to cradle it like an unborn chick even more. Around back, there’s a handy pairing button that sits flush with the case, so you don’t press it by accident. And while the Pixel Buds A-series do come in two color options (white and olive green), it’s hard to tell just by looking at the case unless you peep the thin band that runs around the bottom of the lid.
Average Battery Life, No Wireless Charging
The one main difference with the case is that instead of supporting both wired and wireless charging, the Pixel Buds A-series only feature wired charging over USB-C. Now I totally get that as part of the process of turning the Pixel Buds (which launched at $180) into something more affordable, difficult decisions had to be made, so I can’t blame Google for axing wireless charging in order to hit that $99 price tag.
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But even so, there’s a part of me that wishes Google had managed a way to include Qi wireless charging for convenience sake, because the ability to simply drop your earbuds on a charging pad and know they’ll be fully juiced up when you return is incredibly handy—even more so for earbuds than for phones or watches.
While the Pixel Buds A-series live up to Google’s stated claims of lasting around five hours on a single charge (plus three to four more full charges stashed in the case), I find myself wanting just a little bit more in this department too. It’s not bad enough to be a complete deal breaker, but these days, 5-hour battery life for wireless earbuds is pretty average.
To put the Pixel Buds A-series’ battery life into better perspective, five hours of juice is the same as last year’s Pixel Buds, the Galaxy Buds Pro with ANC on, and the standard Apple AirPods. However, other wireless earbuds all offer significantly longer runtimes: the Galaxy Buds+ lasts 11 hours per charge; the Galaxy Buds Live last 6-7 hours; and Sony’s likely soon to be replacedWF-1000XM3 around six hours. They’re all more expensive than the Pixel Buds A-series, so the the A’s battery life, while not great, isn’t terrible for a pair of $99 earbuds.
Simple Setup, Comfortable Fit
Aside from just OK battery life, everything else about the Pixel Bids is simple, straightforward, and easy to use. If you’re using a Pixel phone or pre-install the Pixel Buds app, pairing the Pixel Buds A-series with your device is as simple as opening the case and tapping a couple virtual buttons on your phone. And if you don’t, the buds will either prompt you to download the app and guide you through setup, or you can simply hold the pairing button in back until the indicator lights starts flashing if you want to do things manually (which you’ll have to do if you’re using an Apple or Windows device).
Google also included built-in touch controls so you can play/pause with a single tap on the buds themselves, tap twice to skip a track, or triple tap to go back. And like with pretty much everything Google makes nowadays, you can summon the Google Assistant with your voice, or tap and hold if you prefer a slightly more discreet wake method. As a small bonus, along with things like reading out your notifications or helping you translate foreign languages, you can even ask the Google Assistant to increase or lower the volume.
Critically, Google didn’t mess with the Pixel Buds’ design, with the Pixel Buds retaining the same ear tips and built-in wings that help the buds stay secure even during exercise, while still being overall some of the most comfortable earbuds I’ve ever worn. Google provides a choice of three silicone ear tips in the box (small, medium, and large), and while fit is always subjective, right out of the box, the pre-installed medium ear tips fit me perfectly. And between the Pixel Buds’ low-profile design and comfortable fit, I sometimes even found myself falling asleep with them on. (I know that’s not a good habit, but hey, I usually watch a video or two at night to help wind down.)
Solid Audio but No ANC
Google even managed to make the Pixel Buds A-series sound the same as their more expensive predecessor, too, which delivered crisp, clear sound similar to Google’s line of smart speakers. When I listened to Pnau’s “Go Bang,” the buds were more than capable of recreating Kira Devine’s shimmery vocals while keeping highs and mids relatively tight and distortion free. And even though the Pixel Buds don’t have a customizable EQ or even other EQ presets, there is a Bass Boost setting that delivers some extra thump.
Now at this point it shouldn’t be a big surprise to learn that the $99 Pixel Buds A-series don’t have any kind of active noise cancellation. However, the nice fit provided by the buds’ ear tips and wings do a good job of passively blocking out sound, with tiny internal vents ensuring that air pressure doesn’t build up uncomfortably, while also letting in just enough ambient noise so you’re still aware of your surroundings. For city-dwellers like me that have to walk everywhere, that’s a big plus when commuting, with Google also providing a handy Adaptive Sound setting that automatically adjusts the volume to suit your environment. And finally, thanks to two built-in beamforming mics, using the buds for calls or video chats result in good voice quality, too.
Are Pixel Buds A-series Worth Buying?
Look, the Pixel Buds A-series aren’t a universe denting product—they’re not going to metaphorically snap their fingers and instantly make people forget about half of all the other wireless earbuds on the market. But for just $99, they don’t have to.
For me, they’re way more comfortable (and cheaper) than Apple’s standard AirPods with their stiff, hard-tipped design, and I think they sound better than AirPods, too. I would even say the Pixel Buds A-series are more pleasing to wear and use than the original Galaxy Buds, though the 11 hours of battery life you get with the Galaxy Buds+ is tempting, especially for anyone whose biggest priority is battery life.
But if all you really want are good, simple wireless earbuds, the Pixel Buds A-series have you covered. And for anyone who already owns an Android phone, the Pixel Buds A-series make a great default choice when it comes to wireless audio. So even though they’re not flashy or sexy, the Google’s newest earbuds are another example of how the company is getting pretty good at making great, simple, affordable tech.


text: WILTON — The Wilton Kiwanis Club has extended the ordering deadline for its annual citrus sale. Orders may now be placed through Thursday, Feb. 27. Orders may be placed with a Kiwanis member or online at wiltonkiwanis.org. Pick-up will start on Friday, Feb. 28, from noon to 5; Saturday, Feb. 29, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, March 1, from noon to 5. Citrus may be picked up at 388 Danbury Road, behind the NAPA outlet.

domain: news


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It may be the epitome of a first world problem, but there’s little that causes more consternation than an app that just won’t load, or one that shuts down as soon as it opens. And if you’re finding yourself spending more time than usual trying to get your apps to work properly, it may be time to download yet another app. But this one promises to improve app performance and decrease load times by up to 10 times for iPhone users, regardless of who your carrier may be. Meet Neumob, which features app acceleration for a mobile-first world.
Related: There’s an iPhone for everyone, find your match today
The free app, which comes on the heels of Neumob’s Android app release back in 2015, promises to do away with the pesky problem of slow-loading iOS applications. Neumob’s iOS app is designed to grant users instant access the “world’s fastest mobile Internet and app accelerator.” All you have to do to stymie your app frustration is launch Neumob on your phone, whereupon you’ll be routing all traffic through the app’s global network, which specializes in mobile app acceleration. This, the company promises, will take care of all performance issues, so you no longer have to wait and your apps no longer have to crash.
“Apps are the center of the mobile experience, but far too often, app performance fails,” said Neumob CEO, Jeff Kim. “Our mission is to provide people with the fastest and best performing apps, regardless of device, network or where they are in the world. We’re excited to offer consumers the opportunity to make their mobile app experiences enjoyable again, while simultaneously strengthening our enterprise solution.”
The iOS app supplements Neumob’s flagship product, the Neumob Accelerator, which helps app developers and owners improve their products’ performances simply by installing two lines of code. This grants them instantaneous access to Neumob’s six continent-strong network, boasting over 60 points of presence in cities around the globe. The Neumob app, the company says, will “further strengthen Neumob’s network by increasing the breadth and depth of data to measure and detect wireless health worldwide.”
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During today’s Q3 earnings call for the Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger announced that a new price bundle would be available for the Disney+ service upon its launch on November 12, 2019.
As was announced during the initial release for Disney+, for month-to-month subscriptions, the cost (for just Disney+) will be $6.99 a month.
For subscribers who opt for the annual price, it will be $69.99, or just $5.83 a month.
Today’s announcement revealed that a new bundle would allow subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu (with limited ads) for just $12.99 a month.
For even more details on Disney+, including pricing, its launch date, the contents of its entire library, and its connections to existing Hulu services, click here.


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Two big companies are setting fistfuls of money aside to buy up their own stock. Microsoft has announced a $40 billion buyback program, while also jacking up its dividend. Target plans a $5 billion buyback. Those are on top of existing multi-billion dollar share buybacks already happening at both companies.
When public companies have lots of money lying around, they can invest it to help the company grow. Or they use it to make shareholders happy, either in the form of stock buybacks, or paying juicier dividends. Investors prize dividends right now, with bonds not paying what they once did. Buybacks attempt to raise the stock’s price by buying up a lot of shares. They can also be a way to make earnings reports look better.
Wall Street tends to like buybacks, but the tactic has critics. They say the economy fares better when corporate profits are spent investing for growth, rather than buying back stocks.
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A report from the fairly reliable Japanese publication Macotakara, which touts connections in the Asia supply chain, says there's a high probability the tech giant will introduce a red version of the iPhone in 2017.
It's still unknown whether Apple will stick to its iterative naming convention or break form for the tenth anniversary iPhone (our money is on the latter), but no matter what Apple dubs its forthcoming devices, a red hue would cut a striking profile.
Apple currently offers the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in jet black, black, silver, gold and rose gold, with space grey newly retired.
Red would certainly spice up the next iPhone release - possibly putting the color in high demand - though that's not the only change we're hearing about.
While Macotakara says the iPhone 7S and 7S Plus will primarily focus on upgraded internals and skip upgrades like wireless charging and an all-glass body, others point to the new iPhone featuring a curved glass front and back along with wire-free charging and no home button.
One possibility for the vermilion variant is that Apple reserves it for just one model of the 2017 iPhone. Reports suggest the firm will launch a 4.7-, 5- and 5.5-inch iPhone next year, so perhaps one size will serve as trendsetter before red seeps into the rest of the line.
- Via 9to5Mac
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Michelle was previously a news editor at TechRadar, leading consumer tech news and reviews. Michelle is now a Content Strategist at Facebook. A versatile, highly effective content writer and skilled editor with a keen eye for detail, Michelle is a collaborative problem solver and covered everything from smartwatches and microprocessors to VR and self-driving cars.


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Samsung, one of the leading smartphone manufacturers, is gearing up to revolutionize the mobile experience with its upcoming smartphones. In a recent blog post, the company announced its focus on AI technology, introducing a new feature called “AI Live Translate Call.”
This groundbreaking feature will utilize artificial intelligence to provide real-time translations during phone calls. Users will be able to see and hear the translations happening instantly on their devices. This development marks a significant advancement in language communication and global connectivity.
The AI translations will be made possible through Samsung’s Galaxy AI, a comprehensive mobile AI experience powered by on-device AI and cloud-based AI. The company aims to prioritize security and privacy, ensuring that users feel safe while enjoying the benefits of AI technology.
According to rumors, the AI Live Translate Call feature is expected to be included in Samsung’s highly anticipated Galaxy S24 lineup of smartphones, which are rumored to hit the market in 2024. This suggests that Samsung is dedicated to staying ahead of the competition by offering innovative and cutting-edge features to its users.
In addition to the AI Live Translate Call, Samsung also showcased its generative AI model called Gauss at an event. This model is expected to play a significant role in the Galaxy S24 lineup, further enhancing the AI capabilities of Samsung smartphones.
Competition in the smartphone industry is fierce, with Google and Apple also investing heavily in AI technology for their devices. The constant desire to improve user experiences has prompted these companies to prioritize AI-powered features. With Samsung’s commitment to AI technology, it’s clear that they are ready to challenge their competitors and provide their customers with state-of-the-art smartphones.
As technology continues to advance, it is exciting to see how AI will shape the future of smartphones. Samsung’s dedication to AI technology promises a mobile experience that is both seamless and transformative.
“Zombie enthusiast. Subtly charming travel practitioner. Webaholic. Internet expert.”


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Bing’s social sidebar is probably the single best feature that distinguishes it from Google. That is important because of Google’s seemingly impenetrable hold on search engine market share. Bing is now testing a revamped social sidebar.
One of the main differences is cosmetic. The gray background is now white. The header now reads “social results” and the “post” button keeps the same Facebook terminology people are used to. This change is good because it makes the sidebar seem integrated into the search results. The previous version was easy to dismiss and not look at because it looked more like a large display ad. It is possible that several users did not look into the box to see what was happening for this reason. The new integration highlights that it is indeed a search result.
There is also a behind the scenes update to the sidebar. The search is now more discriminating in what is returned. Often the social results would return if just a word was shared with the search query. Now, however, Bing is doing more to measure the relevance of what is offered up from social networks. This will help make Bing better at pointing users to experts. It might be enough of a boost to help Bing make up some ground on Google in total marketshare. It will also help the Michigan marketing firm that works on making its clients thought leaders in an industry. That expertise will help put brands onto more search results.


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Disney Plus has arrived in Canada, becoming the newest player in the growing menu of TV options, but some users say they’ve encountered technical problems trying to access the streaming platform.
A number of Canadians took to social media on Tuesday complaining they were unable to sign up for the service, which debuted a few hours earlier. Some posted screenshots of error messages that included characters from Disney’s animated movies “Wreck-It Ralph” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet.”
Other users in several regions of Canada say they received error messages which blocked them from the service, telling them they lived outside the countries where Disney Plus was available. A representative for Disney provided a written statement, but did not address the specific technical problem.
“The consumer demand for Disney Plus has exceeded our high expectations,” wrote spokesman Peter Pitino.
“We are pleased by this incredible response and are working to quickly resolve the current user issue. We appreciate your patience.”
Disney’s streaming service comes stacked with an extensive library of Disney titles, which range from animated classics “The Lion King” to Disney TV movies from decades past. There’s also a number of selections from the 20th Century Fox film library the company acquired earlier this year, including “Never Been Kissed,” “The Sound of Music” and “Home Alone.”
The new Star Wars spinoff TV series “The Mandalorian” is among the most anticipated titles on Disney Plus, and it too encountered hiccups on its debut.
Some viewers say they were initially unable to play the episode when they pulled it up, while others could hear the audio from the show, but the image was pixelated.
In Canada, Disney Plus costs $8.99 per month, or $89.99 per year, for a vast selection of offerings from Disney’s many brands, which include Pixar, Marvel and National Geographic.
There’s also an array of original TV series and films, including an episodic update to “High School Musical,” and a live-action remake of “Lady and the Tramp.”
However, not all Disney titles available stateside can be watched in Canada. Among the titles missing from the collection in Canada is “High School Musical 2,” and TV series “X-Men: Evolution” and Marvel series “Runaways.”
Viewers can sample the service with a free seven-day trial.
Disney is banking on its appeal out of the gate, with Disney Plus launching in North America across nearly all major mobile and connected TV devices. That’ll give viewers an opportunity to sign up whether they use Apple, Google, Microsoft, Roku or Sony products.
David Friend, The Canadian Press


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Whether popping plastic packing material is your idea of a good time, or nailing your adversaries with a foam projectile is more your speed, both modes of entertainment have a chance at being inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame this year. [More]
When I was but a young Consumerist, the only way to get your hands on an American Girl doll — once parents had been successfully harangued into purchasing the pricey toy — was by mail order. Since then, Pleasant Company, now a subsidiary of Mattel, has 20 stores around the country dedicated to selling the dolls as well as a website. Times are changing yet again: starting next month, the dolls will also be available at Toys ‘R’ Us stores. [More]
A doll creator who’s already going to court with Hasbro for allegedly stealing her designs for new versions of My Little Pony and other toys filed an additional lawsuit this week.
No cultural phenomenon would be a complete success without its own line of merchandise attached to it, and it makes sense: fans of popular TV shows, comic books, and movies will often seek out products that tie-in with those franchises, providing a great way for a lot of people to make a bunch of money. But when it comes to some infamous product tie-ins, we’ve got to wonder if it all that effort was worth it. [More]
While some toy companies are giving up on long-held preconceptions about gender-specific products, LEGO has gone the other way. Shedding its gender-neutral past, the company now makes toys specifically targeted at either girls or boys. These products have no shortage of critics, but LEGO says it has good reasons for the separate product lines. [More]
Long gone are the days of parents tussling it out in toy store aisles over Cabbage Patch Dolls, those squish-faced darlings of the early ’80s, but there are still people willing to duke it out in the name of the doll. This time, they’re toy companies, and they’re fighting each other in court. [More]
Nearly four years after federal regulators dealt a swift blow to the makers of super-powerful desktop magnetic toys Buckyballs, filing a lawsuit against the company and persuading retailers to stop selling the dangerous toys, a Colorado-based company has been ordered to recall similarly powerful magnets that can cause fatal injuries when swallowed. [More]
There are a few reasons why parents might choose not to buy their kids a go-kart, thus dashing the child’s dreams of roaming the neighborhood at high speed, unfettered by the wishes of pesky adults: it’s a pricey toy, and parents don’t necessarily want to give their kids something they could potentially drive into traffic or somewhere else unsafe. A few things have changed since I last wished for my own set of wheels, as I saw at the North American International Toy Fair in New York City this week, while others have remained pretty much the same. [More]
The company behind the toy that has been teaching children about the impermanence of the human condition for more than 50 years has decided to shake things up and sell the rights to make Etch A Sketch to a Canadian toymaker. [More]
Once upon a time, teddy bears were simple, cute, cuddly friends for youngsters. Today, the seemingly benign toys can talk, hold a conversation, and give away your personal information. Or at least that’s what security experts are saying about the Smart Toy stuffed bear from Fisher Price.
For decades, Mattel’s famous line of Barbie dolls has been heavily criticized for perpetuating an unrealistic and unobtainable image of the female figure. And for some reason, the dolls’ feet were perma-slanted so that Barbie had to wear heels all the time. But today Mattel has announced that Barbie will come in a variety of sizes and skin tones. [More]
Each year manufacturers and federal safety regulators initiate safety recalls for a number of baby- and child-focused products. One major retailer wants to ensure you’ve rid your home of these potentially dangerous items by offering discounts if you trade in the goods for new ones. [More]
If you’ve got a plan to build a life-sized statue of Aaron Rodgers or Jeff Goldblum in your backyard, you’ll no longer have to explain to LEGO why you’re buying so many bricks. The company says it’s reversing its policy on bulk purchases, and won’t ask customers what their intentions are when they buy a bunch of LEGO pieces at once. [More]
Playing with LEGO when I was a kid was great, because my friends and I could build the houses — nay! castles! — of our dreams and fill them with all the things kids want in a dream home (huge pool, ice cream parlor, cat ranch, etc.). There was only one problem: none of the little barrel-headed figurines I had to act out those childhood fantasies looked remotely like me. That is no longer an obstacle to fun times. [More]
30 Online Retailers Agree To Stop Selling Toy Guns That Look Like The Real Thing To New York Residents
After an investigation by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a long list of online retailers that sold authentic-looking toy guns through Amazon.com have now agreed to stop peddling the toys to state residents.


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Vesti FM: Stealing from Russia is pleasant, of course
8:45, — Economics
A recipe of perfect economy from Lukashenka.
Observer Maksim Kononenko comments on the latest initiatives of the Belarusian dictator on air of Vesti FM:
Aliaksandr Lukashenka is known as a thrifty manager. For example, he recently registered OAO Belarusian Potash Company that will trade in the same market where ZAO Belarusian Potash Company, with chair of its Supervisory Board Baumgertner is being held in custody now, had worked before.
Lukashenka's decree reads: “Setting up OAO BPC will allow Belarus to keep the well-recognised international brand, to save time and resources for setting up its own trading company and to use all achievements of ZAO Belarusian Potash Company, in particular, contacts with customers.” It's honest. He doesn't lie. This is expropriation.
However, it seems to be not enough for Mr Lukashenka. Stealing from Russia is of course pleasant – it is such a large country. But games with Uralkali can have a sad end!
If Russia closes its border, stops buying and selling, what will he do? He has 9.5 million of Belarusian citizens for such cases. The Belarusian ruler invents an excellent tool to refill the declining funds – collect $100 from Belarusians who cross the border. “It will look like that: we provide services on the border for you, you pay 100 dollars each and go abroad,” Aliaksandr Lukashenka said. “In this case he will come to our shop and buy our fridge instead of bringing rubbish of unknown origin from the European Union.”
The Belarusian ruler expects the step to save 3 billion dollars that Belarusians spend annually in the EU plus $100 a person for crossing the border – it's almost a billion! Enough to cover the budget deficit.
I wouldn't stop here. I would oblige Belarusians to buy only Belarusian goods. Own refrigerators, own haul trucks and, of course, own potash fertilisers at the price set by the newly created OAO Belarusian Potash Company. That will be a really perfect economy.
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When Uber drivers don't own cars: Developing world tests 'sharing economy'
The be-your-own-boss appeal of gig-economy jobs like Uber is especially strong in countries with low formal employment – and often high inequality. But in places where car ownership itself is a significant hurdle, middlemen become key.
| Johannesburg, South Africa, and Mexico City
Marvin used to have a job. A real job. The kind that came with health insurance and paid days off and lunch breaks. He earned about $250 a week – a small fortune in South Africa, where more than 50 percent of the population lives on less than $80 per person per month and two-thirds of young people are unemployed.
But when his contract with a Johannesburg logistics company ended last year, he couldn’t find anything to replace it – until a friend told him about the ride-sharing app Uber.
“It seemed like the easiest thing for me. You don’t need a degree, you don’t need a CV, you just sign up and go,” he says.
Stop there, and Marvin is practically the application’s poster-child, creating a job for himself in an economy that seemed determined to lock him out.
But there is a crucial difference between Marvin and most Uber drivers in the West.
He doesn’t own a car, or have any means to buy one.
Instead, like many of the app’s drivers across the developing world, he pays to drive someone else’s – and occasionally ends the week owing the car’s owner money. (Marvin asked that his full name not be used, because the car’s owner didn’t authorize him to speak.) In a month, he says, he usually clears about $300. “With Uber, I live hand-to-mouth.”
It’s far from the be-your-own-boss image extolled by fans of the so-called sharing economy (or the related “gig economy”), in which anything from rides across town to handyman chores can be arranged peer-to-peer via big-data apps: cutting out middlemen, expenses, and much of a “traditional” job.
Critics have voiced doubts about the benefits of such an “Uberized” world from the beginning. But the company’s rapid rise in parts of Africa, Latin America, and Asia has given rise to particularly urgent questions about whether the phenomenon can flourish in highly unequal societies with low formal employment – and who it actually serves there.
“Uber has made this ‘empowerment, freedom, and flexible hours’ narrative a key part of its appeal,” says Juvaria Jafri, a doctoral researcher at City University of London who has studied the rise of these taxi-like “Uber businesses” in Pakistan. “But the whole narrative of uplifting and empowering gets very dented when you look at the vulnerability of some of the people it’s actually looking to empower and uplift.”
Marvin’s set-up looks, in many ways, very similar to the cab companies of old – with drivers forking over a cut of their earnings to a wealthier middleman – exactly what Uber has always said it is not. (“Uber is not a taxi nor is it a taxi or transportation company. We are not Uber Cab or Uber Taxi,” wrote Uber South Africa in an email to the Monitor.)
That arrangement might not be appealing to many drivers in the United States or Europe, but in countries where formal employment levels are low, it has particularly strong “better-than-nothing” appeal. (In South Africa, for instance, formal unemployment hovers above 25 percent.)
“This isn’t a career, but it’s a way to make money to live,” says Ignacio, a Mexican Uber driver who says that at his age – 61 – it would be nearly impossible to find a formal job.
The quiet creep of professional middlemen into the sharing economy is nothing new. Accommodation website Airbnb, for instance, has been widely criticized for becoming in many parts of the world little more than a professional apartment-renting service.
“In reality, this isn’t the sharing economy anymore,” says Carlos, a Mexican transport economist and owner of three Uber cars, which he hires out to drivers in Mexico City. (He asked that his real name not be used because he occasionally writes about Uber.) “I’m not sharing my good with someone else when I’m not using it. I’m participating in a taxi service associated with an app. That’s it.”
Middlemen and women allow Uber drivers across the developing world to bypass their single biggest hurdle to driving for the company – getting a car. In the US, more than 90 percent of American households own a car, according to census data, and many of them would like to turn a bit of profit from that investment. But in countries like Mexico, most people simply don’t have the necessary income or access to credit for car ownership. Nearly 60 percent of Mexican adults, for instance, don’t even have a bank account, according to a 2016 report.
In some countries, including South Africa, Uber has set up special arrangements with banks to help drivers buy a car. But many complain the terms of the loans are extortionate, while many others say they still aren’t eligible.
“Often I wish my guys could own their own cars – for their sake,” says Mike Dirkett, who owns and rents 18 Ubers in South Africa. “But to get that finance you need to show history of a proper job and consistent pay slips, and most of them just don’t have that, so we work together.” In his case, he charges his drivers about $230 per week. Anything over that is theirs to keep, and he estimates that most of his drivers make between $100 and $200 a week. Meanwhile, “I’m making money in my sleep,” he says.
That doesn’t just happen behind Uber’s back. Indeed, in many countries – including South Africa and Mexico – the company’s app even includes a feature connecting would-be drivers to owners looking to rent out their vehicles.
But it also means profit margins can be excessively slim for drivers, who often earn only a fraction of each ride. And Uber rides cost much less outside of the US and Europe, further driving down earnings. In Boston, for instance, a 2.5 mile Uber ride would cost about $10. In Johannesburg, a trip of the same distance would be around $4, and in Mexico City $2.50.
“Prices are designed to encourage more riders on the road, to help increase trips for drivers, but equally, you want to make sure the basic economics of drivers are sustainable,” Uber South Africa wrote in a statement. “We’re committed to making Uber the most affordable option to move around and our experience shows us we can make that happen while making Uber the best possible platform for driver-partners to earn a living.”
(Uber Mexico did not respond to multiple interview requests for this story, made in person, via email, and on Twitter).
But many Uber drivers in both Africa and Latin America have taken issue with Uber’s low prices in the region. In Nigeria, for instance, drivers deserted the app en masse for an Estonian competitor, Taxify, after Uber slashed prices 40 percent last May. And last year a group of South African Uber drivers took their case to a labor tribunal – arguing that they should be considered Uber’s employees, and thus be entitled to workers’ legal protections. (They won the initial case, but this week the decision was overturned.)
Indeed, no drivers interviewed for this story wanted to give their full name out of concern for their job security. Hector, a Mexico City Uber driver in an electric-green hatch-back, says he feels like the owner of the car he drives is taking advantage of him. He has to pay a set amount of about $130 to the owner once a week, which sometimes means driving 12-hour-or-more shifts each day in order to have any income left over for himself.
“The car is his, but sometimes I feel like he thinks that I belong to him, too,” he says.
Uber itself also seems to question whether its rapid global expansion is really working. Last week, after the Japanese tech company SoftBank announced that it had become the company’s largest shareholder, its board director Rajeev Misra told the Financial Times he hoped the company would double-down on its core markets in the US, Europe, Latin America, and Australia. (Mr. Misra is expected to join Uber’s board).
“The idea of Uber initially was that you drive your own car. I have the sense that the model just doesn’t work if you try to bring in third parties,” says Austine Gasnier, who used to hire a driver in Mexico City to operate her second car as an Uber when it wasn’t being used by her family. But after a few months, a robbery, and many headaches with the process, she dropped out.
“We realized that it wasn’t profitable for him [the driver] or for us. Only Uber won.”


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Sony has shown an early PlayStation 5 tech demo at an investor conference, captured for posterity by Wall Street Journal Tokyo journalist Takashi Mochizuki and embedded further on down this page. The demo – or a variant of it – was previously shown to Wired magazine, highlighting the enormous streaming and loading time advantages offered by the proprietary SSD technology that finds its way into Sony’s next generation PlayStation.
The presentation is based on Marvel’s Spider-Man, developed by Insomniac Games. It starts off by showing a series of ‘fast travel’ warps around the game’s New York map, with the PS4 Pro taking 8.1 seconds to complete a single jump. By contrast, the next generation hardware completes the same process in just 0.83 seconds. Roughly speaking, loading times are improved by an order of magnitude.
The second element of the demo focuses on streaming open world data. In the original Wired piece, PlayStation system architect Mark Cerny explained that the speed of traversal in Spider-Man is limited by the constraints of the PS4 Pro hardware. The video shows this in action: as speed is increased, the PS4 Pro grinds to a halt as it streams in new information, with buildings popping in before the sequence starts up again. The same sequence on the new hardware shows traversal at jet fighter speeds, with no hitching or stuttering whatsoever.
It’s interesting to see the demos described in the Wired article actually running, though I suspect we are seeing a slightly different presentation. Spider-Man loading times for PS4 Pro in the Wired piece was described as 15 seconds with interstitial screens, and Spider-Man himself present on-screen. The demo here has no screens and no Spider-Man, but completes in just eight seconds. However, the next-gen score of 0.8 seconds is consistent.
Beyond that, no further details on the next generation project were revealed. However, a slide from the firm’s presentation reiterates the key points made in the Wired article: an all-new CPU/GPU, solid-state storage, 3D audio, back-compat, disc support, 8K compatibility and – yes – ray tracing.
Those hoping that Sony would talk more about its cloud business partnership with Microsoft likely left the presentation disappointed. The firm has acknowledged that streaming is going to become very important, settling in alongside disc and digital downloads. However, the medium term goal appears to be doubling down on PlayStation Now, with a view to increasing the current 700,000 subscribers to an impressive 5m using current capacity investments. It’s beyond that where the collaboration with Microsoft kicks in ‘to achieve growth and scale faster than ever before’.
In the meantime, Sony is looking to PlayStation 4 to deliver financial success for the next three years, pointing to its range of unreleased first-party tentpole titles in maintaining momentum. The firm is also looking to leverage PS4 to deliver the early adopters essential in making the next-gen machine a hit – perhaps demonstrating just how crucial backwards compatibility is to the PS5’s fortunes. But just how Sony aims to integrate next-gen games with Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure remains unknown – for now.
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Digital TV News: Harrie Tholen
NexGuard forensic watermarking integrated with Amazon Cloudfront CDN
Nov 19, 2018 – NAGRA's NexGuard watermarking has been integrated with Amazon's Cloudfront CDN. The combination has been deployed by a major Hollywood studio, enabling the content owner to securely stream its video content to viewers across the world.
News categories: NAGRA, Amazon, Harrie Tholen, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Streaming, Watermarking, Worldwide
NAGRA NexGuard watermarking integrated with Inside Secure downloadable security
Sep 11, 2018 – NAGRA (SIX:KUD.S) has announced that its NexGuard QuickMark watermarking solution for open devices has been integrated with Inside Secure’s Content Protection Client, allowing live TV streaming services to benefit from enhanced content protection in a secure and robust implementation.
News categories: NAGRA, Inside Secure, Harrie Tholen, Simon Wilson Blake, Content Protection, Digital TV, IBC2022, Watermarking, Worldwide
NAGRA launches NexGuard QuickMark watermarking to combat piracy of live sports
Sep 10, 2018 – NAGRA (SIX:KUD.S) has announced the launch of NexGuard QuickMark, a subscriber-level watermarking solution to fight piracy of premium live sports on open devices. NexGuard QuickMark complements the existing NexGuard watermarking solution for set-top-boxes.
News categories: NAGRA, Harrie Tholen, Content Protection, Digital TV, IBC2022, Mobile, Streaming, Worldwide
NexGuard watermarking integrated in Kaleidescape movie players
Jan 3, 2018 – NexGuard has announced that its watermarking solution has been integrated in Kaleidescape’s movie players to protect the highest-value content, including early release and 4K movies.
News categories: NexGuard, Kaleidescape, Harrie Tholen, Cheena Srinivasan, Digital TV, Set Top Box, Streaming, USA, Watermarking
Erstream integrates NexGuard watermarking
Mar 7, 2016 – Erstream has announced the integration of NexGuard forensic watermarking into its online video delivery platform. Erstream offers an OTT video delivery solution for live and On Demand and is one of the major players in the MENA region.
News categories: NexGuard, Erstream, Harrie Tholen, Ugur Kalaba, CABSAT, Content Protection, Middle-East, Streaming, Watermarking
AMC Networks secures content with NexGuard watermarking
Feb 23, 2016 – NexGuard has announced that AMC Networks is deploying the NexGuard forensic watermarking system at its New York facilities. AMC Networks owns and operates several of the most popular and award-winning brands in cable television, including AMC, WE tv, BBC AMERICA, SundanceTV and IFC.
News categories: NexGuard, AMC Networks, Harrie Tholen, Steve Pontillo, Cable TV, Content Protection, USA, Watermarking, Worldwide
Intertrust adds NexGuard watermarking to ExpressPlay DRM
Feb 17, 2016 – Intertrust has announced that it has added session-based video watermarking capabilities from Civolution’s NexGuard to its ExpressPlay Digital Rights Management (DRM) service.
News categories: Civolution, Intertrust, 20th Century Fox, Harrie Tholen, Talal G. Shamoon, Hanno Basse, China, Content Protection, Digital TV, DRM, Media Player, Watermarking, Worldwide
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- Red Bee, Nowtilus and Equativ launch FAST channels on LG Smart TVs with High View
- Pixalate releases H1 2022 CTV ad supply chain trends report
- Amazon upgrades Fire TV Cube and Alexa Voice Remote
- Metaverse device installed base to reach 100 million in 2024
- Smart speaker shipments exceeded 33 million in 2Q 2022
- iWedia to deliver Live TV app for Google TV and Android TV devices
- 35 million US internet households interested in cloud gaming subscription
- Japan SVOD revenue to grow at 10.1% CAGR during 2022-2027
- DAZN acquires Eleven Sports and Team Whistle
- Cignal TV enhances Cignal Play app with Quickplay
- UK entertainment and media companies hold their nerve despite economic headwinds
- TV5MONDE adds TV5MONDE Pacifique HD to its bouquet on AsiaSat 5
- NEXTGEN TV begins broadcasting in Roanoke-Lynchburg
- TripleLift and Zype to bring in-show programmatic ads to CTV
- OpenAP announces interoperability with FreeWheel, Magnite and Xandr
- Sky Stream IP-only STB to launch in the UK on October 18th
- MultiChoice launches DStv Streama STB in South Africa
- Skytel expands video services in Mongolia with Mirada
- Report from the CTA explores gaming's post-pandemic popularity


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World stocks edged higher and the dollar crept up from eight-month lows on Friday in advance of monetary policy decisions next week by major central banks including the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.
The Irish index of shares closed marginally higher on Friday, gaining just under 0.4 per cent to end the week at 7,984.
Banking shares held on to marginal gains, with Bank of Ireland up 0.2 per cent at €9.82, and AIB adding 0.46 per cent, ending the session at €3.90.
Shares in construction company CRH were up 0.6 per cent to €42.36, while Kingspan added more than 4 per cent to finish the day at €61.38. Food group Glanbia was marginally higher at €11.20. Shares in Ryanair rose 2.5 per cent to €15.52.
Banking shares showed muted gains, with AIB and Bank of Ireland up 0.46 per cent and 0.22 per cent respectively. Permanent TSB added 2.4 per cent over the session to end at €2.10.
Gains were offset by a decline in Flutter shares of 1.86 per cent, falling to €142.40, while Kerry Group was off just over half a per cent, closing at €85.30.
Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat on Friday with investors cautious ahead of next week’s major central bank decisions. The index closed the day at 7,765.15.
Aerospace company Rolls-Royce dropped 2.9 per cent after its new CEO Tufan Erginbilgic told staff at the main British site in Derby that the company’s performance was “unsustainable” and it faced a “last chance” to change.
Weakness in the materials sector as well as consumer staples firms such as Diageo capped gains on the FTSE 100 index.
Among company news, Sainsbury’s rose almost 5.5 per cent after Bestway amassed a 3.45 per cent stake in Britain’s second-largest supermarket group but said it is not considering a takeover offer.
Superdry tumbled 17.7 per cent after the fashion retailer profit forecast for the year and its forecast to broadly break-even as its wholesale segment underperformed.
The pan-European STOXX 600 climbed for the second straight day, adding 0.2 per cent.
Fashion retailer H & fell 4 per cent as it reported a much larger-than-expected drop in operating profit for the September-to-November period.
Rémy Cointreau slipped 3.7 per cent after the French spirits maker posted lower third-quarter sales.
On a brighter note, shares of luxury firms such as Compagnie Financière Richemont and Moncler rose between 1 per cent and 2.4 per cent after LVMH posted forecast-beating quarterly sales on strong US and European demand.
Banks rose 0.6 per cent with Europe’s top lenders such as Italy’s UniCredit to report results in the coming days. Italy’s banking-heavy stock index rose 0.8 per cent to hit a near one-year high.
Among other stocks, SSAB gained 10 per cent as the Swedish steelmaker announced higher dividend and proposed stock buyback.
Signify advanced 5.6 per cent after the world’s largest lighting maker gave a more upbeat forecast for operating profitability for 2023.
Wall Street pared some of its initial gains on Friday, trading near break even.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.14 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 0.18 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.51 per cent.
American Express jumped 9.8 per cent on raising its earnings forecast for 2023 above Wall Street expectations, while credit card rival Visa added 3.4 per cent on upbeat quarterly results.
Both companies were among the biggest boosts to the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Capping gains, Intel tumbled almost 8 per cent after the company reported its worst revenue slump in at least two decades and warned of additional losses amid weak demand for personal computers.
Chevron, the second largest US oil producer, fell 2.5 per cent as quarterly earnings missed analysts’ estimates due to asset writedowns and a retreat in oil and gas prices. – Additional reporting: Reuters
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023


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Vietnam is making efforts to crack down on copyrights infringements, but such piracy still persists.
Samsung and Coca-Cola recently cancelled their advertising contracts with Zing.vn, the online news, entertainment and social network of company VNG. Both Samsung and Coca-Cola cited concerns about Zing’s use of musical works without permission.
“Corporate users of illegal software can face criminal charges and severe legal penalties. In addition, copyright owners have the rights to use different measures to protect their interests, such as filing a lawsuit” – Vu Manh Chu, director of the Copyright Office
Zing.vn made no comment on the incident. A few days later, it signed an agreement with Universal Music Group on music copyrights. Under the deal, VNG will provide users in Vietnam with Universal Music records in the form of streaming and download with fees, as from November 1, 2012, from the whole system of Zing. Zing and 17 other websites started to charge VND1,000 (US5 cents) on a song downloaded.
According to the Recording Industry Association of Vietnam (RIAV), Vietnam has about 150 websites that allow online music downloads. But only 18 of these websites charging fees, so copyright infringement remains common.
Similarly, computer software piracy is still popular in the country though Vietnamese laws provide strict regulations against the violations, such as fines and lawsuits against the infringements. There are cases in which users of pirated software have ignored the implementation of decisions by government inspectors.
During a raid this September at Taiwanese-invested company Princemate Vietnam, the joint inspection team from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Public Security found unlicenced computer software programmes used at the company.
Inspectors wrote that within five inspection days, the company had to contact software owners to buy legal software programmes for its business. The company was required to show the purchase contracts, receipts and relevant documents to the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Company representatives agreed to follow inspectors’ requirements, but have not taken such actions in the weeks that followed.
Vu Manh Chu, director of the Copyright Office of Vietnam under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said: “Corporate users of illegal software can face criminal charges and severe legal penalties. In addition, copyright owners have the rights to use different measures to protect their interests, such as filing a lawsuit.”
VietNamNet Bridge – The fulfillment of the commitments regarding the intellectual property (IP) protection is believed to install a firm technical barrier to Vietnamese, which is believed to change the whole business environment in Vietnam.
The stronger reactions by international institutions regarding the intellectual property (IP) problems show the hard pressure Vietnam is under in implementing IP rights.
Just several days after Coca-Cola and Samsung released the decision to remove all their ad pieces from the website, Zing immediately had to make public the copyright agreement with Universal Music, affirming that it would sign similar contracts with other international music firms as well.
Prior to that, the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) said it once gave a warning to Zing about the copyright, and that the late response of Zing could be a lesson for other businesses.
Zing is not alone. In recent months, the number of businesses inspected on the accusation of software piracy has been increasing rapidly. Hi-tech product distributors and some computer shops, including the well-known ones, have become the “aiming points” of inspectors. Taiwanese, South Korean and the US businesses operating in Vietnam have also been examined.
The pirated software products reportedly are made by both Vietnamese and foreign suppliers, including Adobe, Autodesk, Corel, Lac Viet, Symantec, or Tekla.
The noteworthy thing is that not only foreign groups, but domestic companies have also voiced their strong protest against the piracy. MISA software firm has recently asked the police to investigate the cases relating to the sale of counterfeit software or unlocked software products.
A software product provided by MISA at 10 million dong is now can be bought at just 500,000-2 million dong on the black market.
An executive of BKAV, a well known network security solution provider, also complained that it takes the firm at least two or three years to develop a product, but the product could be stolen just some days after it launches into the market.
“The problems in IP protection enforcement have led to the fact that businesses are not protected, and they do not have income resources for re-investment,” he said.
The Business Software Alliance BSA believes that pirate computer software accounted for 81 percent in 2011 with the value of 395 million dollars. Meanwhile, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) reported at least 80 percent of Vietnamese websites violate the IP laws. It also said that the enforcement of the IP laws remains not tight enough.
IP right enforcement would mean more barriers to businesses
Vu Ba Phu, Deputy Director of the Competition Administration Department, an arm of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that more and more effective instruments have been applied by developed economies with an aim to create new technical barriers against imports. Therefore, Vietnamese businesses have to pay higher attention to the IP protection, or they would become the defendants in the lawsuits to be raised by the rivals
“Vietnamese businesses have no other choice than getting adapted to a national economy, where IP rights are strictly respected,” he said.
Phu went on to say that Vietnam has to strengthen the enforcement of IP laws once it has committed to integrate more deeply into the world’s economy. The government of Vietnam has also has to create a fair playing field for all investors in Vietnam.
Pham Chi Lan, a well-known economist, said that when negotiating for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, the IP protection, the commitment on technology renovation, environment protection and the strict regulations on product origins all have been put on the table by the foreign partners.
Compiled by C. V
Category : Overview
The feverish demand for iPhone 5 in Vietnam will not affect sales of other smartphone brands, trading companies said.
Customers inspect cell phones whose sales have yet to be affected by iPhone 5 in Vietnam.


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Travelers can now book inaugural season itineraries aboard Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ newest ship, launching in February 2020. The first voyage beginning on February 7th, 2020 will take guests on an unforgettable 14-night transatlantic journey from Barcelona to Miami.
"For Seven Seas Splendor’s inaugural season, we included voyages to destinations that are as extraordinary as the ship herself,” said Jason Montague, president and chief executive officer of Regent Seven Seas Cruises. “Based on guest response to our current itineraries through the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and North America, we anticipate these new offerings will be popular among both new and repeat guests wanting the exclusive opportunity to be one of the first to sail on the newest luxury ship in our fleet.”
The inaugural season reveals a lineup featuring a variety of destination-rich itineraries calling on iconic locations throughout the Caribbean, North America and the Mediterranean. Through free unlimited shore excursions, guests will have opportunities to explore renowned museums and famous landmarks on every voyage. The ship will visit highly sought-after ports of call such as San Juan, Barcelona, Cabo San Lucas, New York, Saint-Tropez, Portofino, Los Angeles, Dubrovnik, Amalfi/Positano, Corfu and Cartagena.
After her first transatlantic voyage on February 7, Seven Seas Splendor crosses through the Panama Canal on her way from Miami to Los Angeles on February 25, 2020, and calls on storied places like Cartagena and anchors along the stunning coastline of Cabo San Lucas. Then, she offers guests the opportunity to traverse the mighty canal west to east, as she sails from Los Angeles to Miami on March 14, 2020. Guests will call on romantic Catalina Island, Acapulco and Puntarenas, among the 8 ports on this 16-night itinerary.
Back on the Atlantic coast, she embarks on a spring sojourn between Miami and New York on April 1, 2020. Highlights of this voyage include an overnight call on Oranjestad, Aruba and Charleston, South Carolina, before arriving in the midst of the cosmopolitan bustle of the Big Apple. Then, from New York, she sets her course toward Barcelona, departing April 16, 2020 for 14 nights.
Beginning April 30, Seven Seas Splendor begins her inaugural Mediterranean season from Palamos to Toulon to Kotor.


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Users of the workforce from Coley Residence pose for a picture at the company’s new facility in Claremont, N.C.
CHARLOTTE — Direct-to-customer company Coley Household has acquired its own production facility in Claremont, N.C.
“We’ve created a robust and immensely talented staff and we have currently started output,” claimed Coley Hull, founder of Coley House. “We are psyched to announce Trent Wright, a nearby production professional in the Catawba, N.C., location, has joined our staff as head of production. His experience and decades of experience will enable us to carry on delivering the optimum good quality home furnishings.”
The new 60,000-square-foot production plant was previously owned by Hickory Springs. Hull reported the prospect to obtain the plant arrived up about two months in the past so it is been a fast turnaround. A single of the company‘s ambitions has been to retain all manufacturing within North Carolina, according to Hull.
“We treasure the area artisans that we function with to handcraft our products and solutions,” she added. “This transfer will let us to produce new items a lot quicker and far more successfully, offering tailor made orders a lot quicker than at any time right before. “
Due to the fact it manufactures in the U.S., Coley House has been in a position to ship new items inside 10 small business times through the pandemic.
The firm introduced in 2019 with a handful of workforce associates, and it now has far more than 40 employees on team. Over the past 3 several years, the firm has introduced a few new collections and expanded from beds these types of as the Crown Mattress to modest household furniture such as the Nash Swivel glider, the Teeny swivel and the Lil ottoman. The company’s latest assortment is scheduled to debut in January 2022.
“We’ve experienced so several requests for sofas, chairs, gliders and daybeds even,” claimed Hull. “So we will be introducing those people parts early upcoming calendar year. The new parts will be obtainable in 50 unique fabrics.”
Hull said they did have some concerns for the duration of the foam shortage before this 12 months, but the company’s partners arrived via for them and aided them to carry on to supply in 10 days.
“With the explosion in e-commerce in the course of the pandemic, demand has really greater for us,” she explained. “We really encourage prospects to order totally free swatches of material ahead of they obtain to make guaranteed the coloration and experience are what they want, and most folks take gain of that give.”
In the up coming 6 or 7 months, the business hopes to open up its first showroom in the business of its Claremont, N.C., facility. Finally Hull stated it wishes to supply pop-up outlets in diverse cities and potentially even a keep in Charlotte.


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It really is currently the seasons’s fastest-growing software. CEO Sean Rad discloses his grand propose to change the ways someone fulfill.
At 27 yrs old, Sean Rad has already been a fruitful business owner once. In ’09, the guy scored his first success as he launched ad.ly, which helps brands land celeb endorsements on social media marketing. Read more


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Tim Cook lashed out at shortsighted, bottom line-driven investors during Friday’s annual shareholders meeting — telling them to “get out of [Apple] stock.”
The exchange concerned the conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research, which was pushing Apple to disclose the cost of its sustainability programs, and the impact this had on the company’s earning power.
Cook was asked about Apple’s plans to have 100 percent of its power come from green sources — and whether this was the case only because of government subsidies on green energy.
Asked to commit point-blank to only pursuing moves immediately profitable to Apple, Cook responded with anger — noting that Apple does many things because they are right and just, and not simply about making a return on investment (ROI).
“When we work on making our devices accessible by the blind, I don’t consider the bloody ROI,” he said.
The same, Cook noted, applied to other areas in which Apple is blazing a trail — such as environmental issues, and worker safety.
Cook then advized the NCPPR representative that, “If you want me to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock.”
Unlike Steve Jobs, Cook is known for being calm and even-tempered. His response to this line of questioning — which included the word “bloody” and a notable change in body language — is one of the few times he has been reported as visibly angered.
During his tenure at Apple, Cook has been a driving force in making Apple’s image as a social and environmental “force for good” match the sterling reputation of its products. Having previously been labeled the “least green” tech company by Greenpeace due to its reliance on coal at data centers, Apple has made the conscious decision for its $5.5 billion Apple 2 “spaceship” headquarters to have 70% of its power provided on-site by photovoltaics and fuel cells, with the remaining power covered by sustainable “green sources” in California. The company has additionally teamed up with Nevada’s largest power utility company to build a solar farm, while its data center in Maiden, North Carolina is now powered by 100% renewable sources.
When it comes to worker rights, Cook has also been keen to improve Apple’s image — focusing on avoiding illegal overtime and the employment of underage workers in its overseas factories.
The NCPRR has posted its own account of the Tim Cook exchange under the headline: Tim Cook to Apple investors: Drop Dead. It includes remarks from general counsel Justin Danhof, who was the man who confronted Cook.
“Although the National Center’s proposal did not receive the required votes to pass, millions of Apple shareholders now know that the company is involved with organizations that don’t appear to have the best interest of Apple’s investors in mind,” said Danhof. “Too often investors look at short-term returns and are unaware of corporate policy decisions that may affect long-term financial prospects. After today’s meeting, investors can be certain that Apple is wasting untold amounts of shareholder money to combat so-called climate change. The only remaining question is: how much?”
Danhof is director of the NCPPR’s Free Enterprise Project, which describes its mission as “expos[ing] efforts by left-wing interest groups to divert businesses away from best practices and into left-wing advocacy.”


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A white police officer demanded that a Black business owner, Yema Khalif, prove that he owned his business in Tiburon, California:
This street closes at 9 o’clock at night and there’s never anybody in here. This isn’t regular business hours, there’s no customers in there. Is it your store that’s all we want to know? I want to know what you’re doing in the store at 1 o’clock in the morning…
Then show me that it’s your store… You should be grateful that we’re being as diligent as we are to look out for the street, that’s all we do.
The officer even demanded Khalif put his key in the door to prove he owned the store when a neighbor shouted at police identifying him.
Khalif was lawfully working inside his store with two other Black people, one of whom filmed the incident.
Khalif told KGO-TV how they were working late when the evening when he was questioned by the cop:
He demands to know what we are doing at the store at 1 o’clock in the morning and he wants me to prove who I am. This particular day we had just received a huge inventory and we just wanted to come out and put the inventory out before Saturday morning.
A Tiburon police spokesperson emailed a statement to KGO-TV:
The Town is engaging the services of an outside, independent attorney to conduct an investigation of the incident involving a local business owner and Tiburon Police Officers on August 21 at 10 Main Street. At the conclusion of the investigation the report will be provided to the Town Manager for review and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings of the investigator.
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As you may have heard, Vivo is once again partnering with FIFA, they’re sponsoring the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Just announced last month, the partnership continued this year with the new Vivo X Fold+ launch.
As the official smartphone sponsor of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, vivo will connect international football fans through its industry-leading smartphone technology.
Win with #vivogiveitashot
To continue the FIFA World Cup partnership celebration, vivo has launched the #vivogiveitashot campaign, which will continue during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ which starts in November. Through this campaign, vivo hopes to recreate those beautiful and impressive moments and show the courage of people who tackle challenges head-on. vivo hopes football fans will show their love for football and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.
There will be chances to win prizes from vivo using the hashtag #vivogiveitashot
- Take “shots” of unforgettable moments during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and save the beautiful images with vivo’s leading photography capabilities.
- Join the online and offline football challenges and try to make the “shots” wherever fans are in the world to enjoy the passion of the global tournament.
The first wave of events just started on October 10 and goes through November 16, 2022.
Fans can post their creative photos or videos with both vivo and football elements on their Instagram account. There is no limit on the number of photos or videos.
The second wave starts mid-November and ends on December 31, 2022.
Fans can join vivo on TikTok during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and use a special vivo filter. Fans can perform and share special moments worth celebrating.
vivo believes that the development of sports and technology shares a similar philosophy – empowering people to live a better life through continuous breakthroughs and innovations. Through its sponsorship, vivo will play an integral role in helping FIFA host an open and inclusive event for people around the world. As the only Official Sponsor of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM in the smartphone industry, vivo would like to invite global users and football fans to record wonderful moments to spread happiness among family and friends.


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The sharing economy was on fire in June
While May was marked by Uber’s (UBER) flop IPO, June saw three sharing economy IPOs do great on their debuts, meaning windfall gains for early investors.
Fiverr (FVRR), the marketplace for freelancers and the people looking to hire them, went public on June 13. Slack (WORK), the team collaboration tool, went public on June 20. And RealReal (REAL), the second-hand luxury retailer, went public just last Friday, on June 28.
Fiverr (FVRR) lost steam after a hot IPO
On June 13, Fiverr (FVRR) went public with an astonishing first day. While Fiverr set its IPO price at $21, the stock opened at $26.24 on its debut and ended 90% higher than its IPO price at $39.84. T
oday at 12:50 AM ET, the stock was down 8.16% to $27.27—closer to its first-day opening price. While the stock is still well beyond its IPO price of $21, it’s been on a losing streak since June 24. FVRR lost 25.56% in June after its sizzling IPO.
Slack held its ground
Slack (WORK) was the most notable public debut in June. The company didn’t actually have an IPO since it chose the direct listing route. But even without the help of investment bankers, the stock had a great first day.
Slack opened at $38.5 on June 20, 47% higher than the reference price of $26 set by the NYSE. The stock climbed up to $42 on its first day before closing at $38.6. Slack lost 3.9% in June against its opening price.
WORK was trading at $37.1 today at 1:02 PM ET, giving it a market capitalization of $18.7 billion. The company’s market cap is at almost 90x its 2018 revenues of $207 million.
Is RealReal real?
While RealReal (REAL) isn’t exactly a sharing economy company, it comes close. The company sells second-hand luxury products online as well as offline.
On the last working day of June, RealReal stock opened at $28, 40% above its IPO pricing of $20. It went on to close the day at $28.9. At 1:11 AM ET today, the stock was down 10% at $26.