Apple patents acoustic fingerprint imaging for full-screen Touch ID

Smartphone industry is actively experimenting with the bio-metric security and is now offering in-display fingerprint sensor. Many smartphone manufacturers are now offering sixth-generation technology which provider wider fingerprint recognition area.

If you are among those who wishes for the whole smartphone display to act as a fingerprint sensor, then we have some good news. It seems that Apple is working on acoustic fingerprint imaging technology that can offer full-screen Touch ID.

This will enable the company to offer Touch ID on iPhone without the need to embeds the sensor in the home button, and the company the continue offering clean full-screen design for the front panel.

With iPhone X, Apple replaced Touch ID with Face ID which uses TrueDepth camera array. This enabled the US-based company to have edge-to-edge display. However, Face ID still has some flaws that Touch ID continues to be better at, such as unlocking the iPhone without looking at it.

In a patent granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office, the company describes an acoustic imaging system for a surface. It is using a combination of acoustic transducers to vibrate a surface in a specific way, which can effectively turn the entire display into a fingerprint reader.

Another patent named “Acoustic imaging system for spatial demodulation of acoustic waves,” covers the same subject area with a relatively similar technique, except that it goes into greater detail relating to transducer placement.

In the second patent, the company explicitly suggests that the object being detected “is a finger,” while the user input surface could be formed from “glass, sapphire, or metal,” with the obvious application being a touch-enabled display.

Google Chrome for Android gets Dark Mode: Here’s how to enable the feature

Google Chrome for Android is getting a dark mode, thanks to the latest update 74.0.3729.112. However, there is no straight method to enable dark mode on Chrome 74 for Android. In order to enable dark mode, users will have to enable it through Chrome flags.

*Cut and paste “chrome://flags/#enable-android-night-mode” in the address bar in Chrome Browser.

*Now search for “Android Chrome UI Dark Mode”.

*Select Enabled.

Relaunch Chrome and go to Settings>Dark Mode to enable/disable.

 

WhatsApp testing new feature to block chat screenshots when authentication is enabled

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a feature that will allow users to block chat screenshots when fingerprint authentication on Android phones is enabled. WhatsApp is said to be testing authentication using the fingerprint sensor on Android phones for some time now, though the feature is yet to be available as a stable update.

According to a report by WABetainfo, the WhatsApp is now planning to add a function to the feature, which will block users from taking screenshots in the chats if authentication is enabled.

Under the new feature, if the user chooses to enable the fingerprint authentication feature, WhatsApp will restrict them from taking screenshots of their chats. Meanwhile, users who do not enable authentication will be able to take the screenshots on the app.

Skype now allows sharing your Android smartphone’s screen on video call

Microsoft says that the feature will help users collaborate on PowerPoint presentations with colleagues, use the wise counsel of a good friend before swiping left or right on Tinder, or just go shopping online with friends. The screenshots shared by Microsoft note that everything being displayed on your screen, including existing and newly incoming notifications, will be shared with others while using the screen sharing feature.

The feature will be available on the consumer as well as the business versions of Skype. With this addition, Skype not only outpaces competitors in the consumer space – such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram etc., but also catches up with business-grade solutions like Slack (paid versions) or Zoom.

Right now, the feature is limited to the members of the Skype Insider (beta tester) Program and to join the test ring, you can download the latest Insider version of Skype via this link. The feature is definitely promising and very useful so we can expect it to see it on the stable version soon.

Meanwhile, another feature that was recently upgraded from Skype Preview to the stable version allows up to 50 people participating in a video call at once. This was earlier limited to 25 users per call. Considering that this feature moved from beta to the stable build in just a month, we can hope screen-sharing goes live in a similar duration as well.

Apple MacPhone

Years before the iPhone, Steve Jobs had a plan to revolutionalize the landline phones. His idea was to build a MacPhone, which was a stylus-operated tablet fused with a landline. Since Steve wasn’t good at drawing, he asked John Scully to come up with an initial outline. And the responsibility of turning this idea into reality was given to the German-American industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger. Having worked on Sony’s smash hit Trinitron and WEGA TVs, Hartmut was one of the most influential designers in the 80s. In the time when fax machines were just getting popular, the MacPhone was ahead of its time. Using its on-screen keyboard, you could compose and send an email right from the MacPhone. There wasn’t any official statement from Apple for cancelling this project, but as per speculations it was a result of Steve Jobs being ousted in 1985.

Beyond eSIM: How iSIM could turn phones into the ultimate Internet ID

Most modern smartphones still support the classic SIM card (well, the nano variant at least), but a gradually growing number of phones and other consumer gadgets are starting to support eSIM. We might not be too far away from yet another change in SIM tech, as devices could soon start using iSIM.

eSIM vs iSIM

eSIM and iSIM are rather similar in a number of respects. Both replace the transferable nano SIM cards with a hardware chip that’s permanently fixed inside a user’s phone, tablet, or other gadget. When you consider that nano SIM cards are around 12.3 x 8.8 mm in size, as well as the hardware necessary to house them, these ideas save on a lot of space.

eSIM and iSIM are still configurable, allowing customers to select carriers, data plans, and to change their numbers at will.

These two SIM technologies can be reprogrammed as needed to change carriers and modify restrictions or permissions on your tariff. This also required the development of standards for remote provisioning. Here, SIM information is updated over the cellular network rather than by physically changing a card.

eSIM and iSIM can be used to register a single device on multiple operators, simplifying international roaming. Transfering between carriers won’t require you to replace your SIM, and in the future, it should be possible to manage credentials and access multiple devices using eSIM or iSIM using just a single tariff. This applies to both the business and consumer worlds

Amazon plans to launch satellites to offer broadband internet

Amazon.com Inc plans to build a network of over 3,000 satellites through a new initiative “Project Kuiper”, an attempt by the e-commerce giant to provide internet access, according to multiple filings made with the International Telecommunication Union last month.

The long-term project will cater to people globally who lack basic access to broadband internet, Amazon said in a statement on Thursday.

Project Kuiper will launch a constellation of low earth orbit satellites that will provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity, the company added.

Verizon launches the Palm Phone for $199

The initial Palm Phone rebirth that was announced last year was an interesting concept ruined by one big issue – it had to be paired with another Android or iOS phone to work. Well, Verizon listened, so the new Palm Phone is a standalone device that can be used on its own

 

Still, if pairing is your thing, the new Palm offers this option as well. And based on further consumer feedback, this year’s Palm Phone delivers improved camera experience across the board with some HDR, color balance and low-light photography tweaks. Battery life should be longer as well.

You can choose not to be added to WhatsApp group

You can now choose not to be added to a WhatsApp group.  launched a new feature which allows users to choose the grous they want to be part of by customising their privacy settings. India has daily 200 million whatsapp users

The new feature enables a user to decide who can add them to a group by choosing one of three options available in his/her account’s privacy settings — “nobody”, “my contacts” or “everyone”.

Earlier, WhatsApp allowed users to be added to groups without their consent and the only way to stop being a part of the said group was to “exit” it. If users choose “nobody” in the privacy setting option, anyone inviting them to a group will have to send them an invitation link through private chat asking for their approval.

The link will expire in 72 hours, and a fresh approval request can be made after that. “As people turn to groups for important conversations, users have asked for more control over their experience,” the Facebook-owned company said. A WhatsApp spokesperson TOI that the initiative is meant to ensure that the app remains a private messaging platform which is used by people who know each other instead of being a mass broadcast platform.

World’s First 5G Phone Released In South Korea

Samsung Electronics on Friday released the Galaxy S10 5G, the world’s first available smartphone with built-in fifth-generation communications technology, as South Korea seeks to build a lead in the transformative system.

South Korea is the first country to commercially launch nationwide 5G services, with three superfast networks going live offering data speeds that allow users to download entire movies in less than a second.

With 5G, said researcher Lee Sang-yoon, VR content “can be enjoyed in real time with no delay… I’ll be able to enjoy it in better resolution and speed”.

Rival manufacturer LG is due to launch its V50 ThinQ, another 5G phone, in the South later this month, while in the US, Verizon’s network works with Lenovo’s Moto Z3 smartphone fitted with a special accessory.

Commercialising 5G gives South Korea the chance to build around the technology, which is crucial for the future development of devices such as autonomous vehicles and the Internet of Things.

It is expected to bring about $565 billion in global economic benefits by 2034, according to the London-based Global System for Mobile Communications, an industry alliance.