Technology - Google News

Apple reportedly to adopt mini LED backlighting - Digitimes
How to Beta Test Microsoft’s New Chromium-Based Edge Browser - Lifehacker
HTC has discontinued 9 of its own Android apps in the last 3 months - Notebookcheck.net

Apple reportedly to adopt mini LED backlighting - Digitimes

Posted: 09 Apr 2019 12:01 AM PDT

Apple reportedly to adopt mini LED backlighting

Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES

Tuesday 9 April 2019

Apple will adopt mini LED backlighting for a 31.6-inch iMac to be launched in the second or third quarter of 2019, a 10- to 12-inch iPad to be unveiled in fourth-quarter 2020 or first-quarter 2021, and a 15- to 17-inch MacBook to be introduced in first-half 2021, according to a analyst Kuo Ming-chi at TF International Securities.

Apple is motivated by mini LED backlighting's support for wide color gamut, high contrast ratio, high dynamic range and local dimming for product differentiation, Kuo was widely cited by the local press as disclosing.

The backlight unit (BLU) to be used in the 31.6-inch iMac will be made of about 500 LED chips of 600 microns in size, with Japan-based Nichia to supply the LED chips, Kuo said.

Strictly speaking, this is a quasi-mini LED BLU because the chip size is much larger than those of standard mini LEDs, according to industry sources. However, the use of such a BLU will give opportunities for the supply chain makers to improve mini LED production in cost and yield rate, the sources noted.

But more than 10,000 mini LED chips will be needed for the iPad BLU, with the mini LED chips to be produced by Epistar, the LCD panels by LG Display and BLUs by Radiant Opto-Electronics, the sources said, adding the three companies will also be in the supply chain for the mini LED-backlit MacBook.

Epistar has broken into the Apple supply chain through TE Opto, a joint venture it established with Japan-based Toyoda Gosei, to obtain licensed use of Toyoda's patents concerning mini LED technology, the sources indicated.

Epistar decline to comment on the report.

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How to Beta Test Microsoft’s New Chromium-Based Edge Browser - Lifehacker

Posted: 09 Apr 2019 06:00 AM PDT

Microsoft has launched public testing for the newest version of its Edge web browser, which it built on top of Google's "Chromium" open-source framework. Not only does this mean that Edge should (supposedly) work better with sites designed to modern web standards, but it also means that you'll be able to run Chrome extensions in Edge—making the browser much more bearable than previous incarnations.

According to Microsoft, the new Edge will look pretty similar for existing users, though there are a few fun additions (support for synchronizing data across Edge instances, as well as the aforementioned extensions). Also, expect to encounter some bugs and other technical issues, as the new iteration of Edge is only available through two of Microsoft's three beta build branches: "Dev," which receives weekly updates, and "Canary," which receives daily updates.

If you're willing to ride the beta wave and give the new versions of Edge a try, you can download them through the Microsoft Edge Insider site. Click the button next to your desired build and download it. At the moment, the Chromium-Edge beta is only available on Windows 10 for now, though versions for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 are "coming soon," as is a version for macOS. You can sign up at Microsoft Edge Insider to get a reminder when your preferred version of the beta goes live.

If either build sounds too glitchy for your tastes, Microsoft says that more stable branches—including a "beta" version that receives updates every six weeks and an even less temperamental "Stable" branch—will be coming soon.

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HTC has discontinued 9 of its own Android apps in the last 3 months - Notebookcheck.net

Posted: 08 Apr 2019 12:39 PM PDT

HTC Sense Home Launcher is no more. (Source: YouTube)

HTC is widely regarded as a smartphone OEM on the ropes. Now, AppBrain's data on the company has shown that it has taken 9 of its apps, including its in-house Sense launcher, off Google's Play Store between February and April 2019. This could be a bad sign, but may also mean that the company is simply re-designing or re-assigning them.

by Deirdre O Donnell, 2019/04/08

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It could be said that HTC has been struggling as a mobile device manufacturer for a while. It appears that its next upcoming flagship is not much more than a refresh of its predecessor. The Taiwanese OEM has also taken measures such as releasing a 'blockchain phone' in order to crack a potential new audience.

Now, there is more evidence that HTC's woes continue unabated. AppBrain, a site that follows the app publication behavior of many individual studios and businesses, has observed that the company has withdrawn a number of its apps from the Google Play Store.

Users of HTC phones may recognize them as apps that come pre-installed on their devices. They include HTC People, HTC Service—Video Player, HTC Calendar, HTC Mail, HTC Speak, HTC Car and HTC Ice View. HTC Dot View, an app that controls the OEM's custom-made flip-cases of the same name, is also on this list. Most strikingly, HTC Sense Home, the company's proprietary Android launcher, is the latest of these now-inactive app.

Most of these apps were discontinued in February 2019, although the rest - Sense Home included - gained an 'unpublished' status on April 3, 2019. This may be a worrying indictment of HTC's future as a once-great name in mobile devices. On the other hand, other examples of its apps, including HTC File Manager, HTC Gallery and HTC Sense Input are still going strong.

In addition, these AppBrain reports may be explained by a decision to replace the apps in question with Google's own-brand, default counterparts that do most of the same things. This could lead to a cleaner, more 'pure Android' UI on HTC phones in the future - which, at this stage, could not hurt anything.

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