Technology - Google News

[Update: Buttons aren't dead] The Galaxy Note 10 won't have a headphone jack or physical volume and power keys (rumor) - Android Police
Adobe Lightroom returns to the Mac App Store - The Verge
EA Vice President of Legal Adroitly Renames Lootboxes as 'Surprise Mechanics' - MMORPG.com

[Update: Buttons aren't dead] The Galaxy Note 10 won't have a headphone jack or physical volume and power keys (rumor) - Android Police

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 07:17 AM PDT

Speaking to a source familiar with the company's plans, Android Police has learned that Samsung will likely begin its wind-down of the headphone jack - and even physical keys for functions like volume and power - with the Galaxy Note 10. The Note 10 will have no 3.5mm connector, and exterior buttons (power, volume, Bixby) will be replaced by capacitive or pressure-sensitive areas, likely highlighted by some kind of raised 'bump' and/or texture along the edge (i.e., a faux button). We don't know if it's Samsung's intent to carry over both of these changes to the Galaxy S11 in 2020.

Both changes had been previously rumored, but we can now provide stronger confirmation.

The Note line has always been fertile ground for Samsung's more forward-looking changes to its smartphones' industrial design and general philosophy, as it's a phone that's long been adored by some of Samsung's most ardent fans - the sort of people who tend to be early adopters of new technology.

Removing the headphone jack would almost certainly result in excoriation from some of those fans, who have long held that Samsung's steadfast adherence to the 3.5mm jack is one of their big reasons for sticking with the brand. But in 2019, Samsung virtually stands alone in the high-end phone space in this regard. Google, OnePlus, Huawei, and Apple have all abandoned the headphone jack on their premium devices. Even many budget phonemakers have started to purge it: Xiaomi's Mi 9, Honor's 20 Pro, and Oppo's Reno all lack the familiar connector. It really does appear to be fully on the way out, and I imagine it's just a matter of time before this trickles down even to budget phones.

Samsung is likely to argue that removing the jack creates precious volume for more battery capacity, though there are also benefits in terms of reducing design complexity and increasing ingress resistance from dust and liquids (Samsung's latest offering, the Galaxy S10, still gets an IP68 rating even with a headphone jack). The same argument likely applies to the buttons, which are another potential failure point that could theoretically be eliminated. One of the lesser-known upsides to removing those keys is removing their cutouts, which tend to be the weakest points in the unibody aluminum frames most premium phones are constructed from. This could possibly allow Samsung to create a thinner, lighter phone design without compromising on structural rigidity.

Our source confirms existing rumors about multiple models of the phone, with two sizes anticipated to be available - one larger, one smaller (though "small" is only by Note standards).

If history is any indicator, we can expect Samsung to announce this phone mid-summer, likely in August.

We've received new information from a reliable source indicating Samsung has, in fact, halted plans to debut pressure-sensitive "faux" buttons on the Galaxy Note10. The phone will have traditional physical power and volume keys (but no Bixby key). While we're not sure why the company changed course—and we can confirm that was the case, Samsung did seriously plan to get rid of them—it seems for whatever reason that Samsung decided the world wasn't ready for its take on HTC's phony buttons.

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Adobe Lightroom returns to the Mac App Store - The Verge

Posted: 20 Jun 2019 06:00 AM PDT

Adobe has made Lightroom, its pro photo editing and management tool, available on the Mac App Store. It's the first pro Adobe app to make it to the App Store since Apple redesigned it with Mojave, last year's version of macOS.

The Mac App Store version of Lightroom is the "new" Lightroom formerly known as Lightroom CC, which syncs with complementary mobile and tablet apps and has a different UI to what is now called Lightroom Classic. It's free to download and use for a week, then it'll require a $9.99 monthly subscription through Apple's in-app purchasing system, which includes 1TB of cloud storage.

This isn't the first time that you've been able to get Lightroom in the Mac App Store. Back in 2012, when Adobe sold its apps as standalone purchases before starting to push Creative Cloud subscriptions, Lightroom 4 was available for $149.99. Lightroom 5 never came to Apple's store, however, and even Adobe itself doesn't sell standalone versions of Lightroom today.

The news won't mean much for existing Lightroom users, but it is a sign that Adobe sees a potential market for pro app subscriptions through the Mac App Store and wants to take it more seriously. It's also possible that the redesigned store's promotional features, including editorial content such as tips and how-to articles, could introduce new customers to Adobe's software.

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EA Vice President of Legal Adroitly Renames Lootboxes as 'Surprise Mechanics' - MMORPG.com

Posted: 19 Jun 2019 12:09 PM PDT

EA's Vice President of Legal Kerry Hopkins has been testifying in front of the United Kingdom's Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Committee on the issue of microtransactions. When asked about "lootboxes", Hopkins came up with a new and quite novel name for them: "Surprise mechanics." "Well, first, we don't call them lootboxes. We look at them as surprise mechanics...this is something people enjoy. They enjoy surprises."

EA's VP of legal and government affairs refuses to use the term 'lootboxes' in favor of 'surprise mechanics', compares them to Kinder Eggs, says they are not gambling and 'quite ethical'https://t.co/IbRqMwvJea pic.twitter.com/bJ8t3Fkib6
— Nibel (@Nibellion) June 19, 2019

Hopkins continued to compare lootboxes to "surprise mechanics" that have, according to him, been around "for years, whether it's Kinder Eggs, or Hatchanimals, or LOL Surprise." He further defended the "surprise mechanics" in FIFA as being "quite ethical and quite fun, quite enjoyable to people".

On further questioning, Hopkins stated that EA disagrees "that there's evidence that shows it [lootboxes] leads to gambling. Instead, we think it's like many other products that people enjoy in a healthy way, and like the element of surprise."

You can listen to the full testimony starting at the 15:45 point in the Parliament proceedings replay.

Via PCGamesN & GameInformer

Suzie Ford / Suzie is the Associate Editor and News Manager at MMORPG.com. Follow her on Twitter @MMORPGMom

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