Month: February 2019

Samsung announces four different phones to complete with Apple

CompuScoop Staff February 20, 2019 0

Samsung on Wednesday debuted four different tiers of the Galaxy S10, its latest flagship smartphone and main iPhone competitor, including one with 5G connectivity.

The Galaxy S10 range consists of the standard Galaxy S10 model, the larger Galaxy S10+, a new compact option called the Galaxy S10e, and a giant Galaxy S10 5G.

The standard S10 features a 6.1-inch Quad HD+ AMOLED display with an integrated fingerprint sensor. Its most attention-grabbing element though is a "punch hole" for the front-facing camera, allowing true edge-to-edge screen area without the notch found on devices like the iPhone XS.

On the back is a triple camera setup with dual optical image stabilization, consisting of a 12MP telephoto lens, 12MP wide-angle lens, and a 16-megapixel ultra-wide lens, while on the front is a single 10MP sensor piking through the screen.

The Galaxy S10+ sports a bigger 6.4-inch AMPLED screen that is the same resolution as the S10. Around the front, there's a dual camera setup using a 10MP selfie camera as well as an 8MP "RGB Depth" camera.

The Galaxy S10e opts for a smaller 5.8-inch Full HD AMOLED display, lower than the other models. As well as having the single 10MP selfie camera at the font, it also has a downsized dual camera with OIS setup, using the 12MP wide-angle and 16MP ultra-wide cameras.

The fourth device in the collection, the Galaxy S10 5G, boasts the largest AMOLED screen measuring 6.7 inches, while still having the same resolution as the S10 and S10+. Around the back the model goes one better again, adding a 3D depth mapping camera alongside the other three, while the front 10MP selfie camera is joined by a hQVGA-resolution 3D Depth camera.

As the name suggests, the Galaxy S10 5G is also the first flagship from the company to offer 5G connectivity. While the others are limited to LTE speeds, the S10 5G will be capable of a maximum 2Gbps download and 150Mbps upload rates on supported networks.

The phones sport a 7-nanometer or 8-nanometer 64-bit Octa-core processor with maximum clock speeds of 2.8GHz and 2.7GHz respectively, depending on the market and carrier. While the S10e will be offered with 6GB and 8GB memory options, all three of the others have 8 GB of memory, with an extra 12GB option for the Galaxy S10+. Capacity options range from 128GB to 1TB, with the maximum capacity only offered on the S10+, with microSD card expansion offered on all but the S10 5G.

Samsung will start to ship the Galaxy S10, S10+, and S10e from March 8 in select markets, starting from $899.99, $999.99, and $749.99 respectively, with preorders commencing on February 21.

Pricing and availability for the Galaxy S10 5G has yet to be determined.

Samsung launched the Galaxy S10 lineup alongside a number of other items at its Unpacked event, including its Galaxy Fold folding smartphone.

Via: AppleInsider.com

Report: Apple planning to combine MacOS and iOS apps into one by 2021

CompuScoop Staff February 20, 2019 0

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is planning on combining its MacOS an iOS apps into one platform by 2021. This could mean that what you currently have on your iOS device could also work on your Mac and visa-versa.

A new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggests that Apple is serious about combining apps across the iOS and macOS App Stores. The iPhone maker is reportedly planning on expanding Project Marzipan, a multistep initiative that will allow developers to create an app only once and have it work across iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices. Apple may reveal the first steps of this program as early as June 2019 at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference.

We first heard about Marzipan back in 2017, but this is the first hint of Apple's tentative schedule for its rollout and application. The company may debut an SDK later this year that will allow developers to port iPad apps to Mac computers. While they will still have to submit two separate apps to the iOS App Store and the Mac App Store, the SDK reportedly makes it so developers only have to write the underlying code once.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

An Apple Watch saves a 46-year-old man, told him he had an irregular heartbeat

Dan Uff February 19, 2019 0

(ABC News) - When Ed Dentel updated his Apple Watch on Thursday night, he didn't expect it to upend his weekend, much less change his life.

The 46-year-old communications consultant from Richmond, Virginia, does taekwondo with his family three times a week, bikes and skis frequently, and had no history of heart problems.

He said he'd installed the software update with the electrocardiogram app to play around with it.

"The application on the launch sounded off right away with atrial fibrillation -- not something I've ever heard of, but since I'm in pretty decent health and never had a problem before, I didn't give it much thought. I figured something was glitchy, so I set everything down turned in for the night," Dentel told ABC News.

On Friday morning, over breakfast with his 7-year old daughter, he put his watch back on.

"Right away: AFib. So I shut everything down and turned it back on and tried it again. Same result, same result, same result," he said. He asked his wife to try. Hers came back normal. Twice. "I put it on my left wrist, on top, AFib. I put it on my left wrist, on the bottom, AFib. I switch to my right wrist. Same thing. So, starting to get a little bit alarmed here."

Atrial fibrillation, commonly called AFib or AF, is a specific kind of irregular heart rhythm. If left untreated, it can weaken heart muscles and increase the risk of stroke.

Dentel drove to a nearby urgent care center. The parking lot was full, the waiting room was crowded, so he almost left, he said.

"I thought, 'This is silly. I've got meetings, I've got stuff to do. I don't have time to sit here and wait,'" he recalled. "But I looked down and checked the watch one more time, and it says 'AFib.'"

Checking in, Dentel said he felt like a hypochondriac explaining that his watch told him something was wrong. But he was quickly given an EKG by a technician, who called for a doctor, who said, "Yup, you're in AFib. This thing may have just saved your life."

"That's when I started learning about what AFib is and what its impact can be and how important it is to get notice of it really early in your life," Dentel told ABC News. "I talked to the doctor a little bit, and he was trying to decide whether it made sense to do an immediate transfer to a hospital."

Because of his relatively young age and good health, the doctor referred him to a cardiologist for an outpatient visit. After an exam, a review of the EKG and an ultrasound, his diagnosis was confirmed.

"I was dealing with a case of atrial fibrillation that I never knew I had and probably wouldn't have known anytime soon," Dentel said. In fact, earlier this year, he'd had chest pain and was diagnosed with heartburn after an EKG produced normal results. "So just as recently as late spring or early summer, everything was ideal and perfect. Sometime after that ... it kicked off."

The Patient First urgent care facility did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News. Dentel's cardiologist, Dr. Samuel S. Wu, was not immediately available for comment. Apple declined to comment on this story.

What is atrial fibrillation (AFib)?

AFib is the most common kind of irregular heartbeat, according to the American Heart Association's website, which defines it as "the abnormal firing of electrical impulses causes the atria (the top chambers in the heart) to quiver (or fibrillate)."

The most common symptom is a fluttering heartbeat, while others include an abnormally fast heartbeat, fatigue, dizziness or chest pain.

AFib can result in heart palpitations, complications, weakened heart muscle, and an increased risk of stroke, said Michael N. Cho, a cardiologist at Crystal Run Healthcare in Middletown, New York.

In Dentel's case, he had a rapid and irregular heartbeat, even though he appeared asymptomatic.

"It looks like my heart's a jazz drummer," he said, describing his EKG results. "I can be sitting there, and my heart rate will go from 70 to 90 to 110 and back to 60. When I look at my wife's readout on the watch, it's very nice and even and consistent."

Last week, Dentel's pulse, usually under 70, was 100 to 120, alarming doctors, who considered hospitalizing him. His blood pressure jumped to about 160 over 110.

AFib can be linked to smoking, alcohol abuse, high blood, obesity, which don't apply to Dentel, he said. He started medication on Friday and has follow-up appointments this week.

The Apple Watch Series 4 is the latest version of the company's smart watch. With this latest software update, all hardware versions can monitor heartbeats, but the user has to download the software and turn it on in the device's settings. Only the Series 4 can produce the EKGs. None of the devices can tell you if you are having a heart attack. AFib is a precursor to potential blood clots, stroke and heart attack.

Doctors said they're taking a wait-and-see approach with the new Watch.

"It is potentially helpful in these small instances," said Cho, who did not treat Dentel. "The incidence is higher as you get older -- if you had Apple Watches on 80-year-olds, you'd have a high incidence of AFib. If you have mostly 20-, 30- or 40-year-olds, you're not going to see that much."

Cho said he has not spent enough time or reviewed enough data to draw a conclusion about the Apple Watch, but said the fitness trackers do not always have the most reliable information.

"I have patients come in and tell me, 'My heart rate's 100,'" Cho said. "But when you put a more accurate monitor on them, you don't necessarily see the same data. With the Apple watch, we'll see."

Apple files patent for flexible iPhone

CompuScoop Staff February 19, 2019 0

(WTNH) - Apple is apparently taking steps toward a foldable iPhone.

The company just filed a patent update for a flexible display.

Apple is likely to introduce its next generation of phones in September, but experts don't think the tech giant will roll out folding phones that quickly.

Samsung is expected to create something similar for its Galaxy phones.