Find out the week’s top mobile stories from around the world.
This week.. Apple’s new iPhones shift smartphone camera battleground to AI, AT&T, Qualcomm back US privacy law update, wearable shipments surge in Q2 driven by mobile payments and much more.
Apple’s new iPhones shift smartphone camera battleground to AI
Reuters
When Apple Inc (AAPL.O) introduced its triple-camera iPhone this week, marketing chief Phil Schiller waxed on about the device’s ability to create the perfect photograph by weaving it together with eight separate exposures captured before the main shot, a feat of “computational photography mad science.”
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AT&T, Qualcomm back US privacy law update
Mobile World Live
The heads of AT&T, Amazon, Qualcomm, Comcast and Motorola joined calls for US politicians to deliver new nationwide privacy laws, replacing a current patchwork of state legislation.
They joined a total of 51 CEOs which signed a letter urging political action, in which executives argued consumers cannot be expected to understand the intricacies of state-level privacy regulations. They noted a user may be subject to several regional laws, based on where they live and the location of businesses providing “resources or services”.
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China’s Privacy Challenges with AI and Mobile Apps
CPO Magazine
China’s rapidly growing tech economy is now facing some serious questions about the trade-offs involved in the widespread adoption of emerging technologies such as AI. In fact, China’s Ministry of Science and Technology is now leading the debate over the relative benefits and drawbacks of artificial intelligence, with at least some recognition that certain AI applications – such as facial recognition technology – might have some very negative implications for personal privacy.
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Wearable shipments surge in Q2 driven by health, mobile payments
Mobile Payments Today
Shipments of wristworn wearables, including smartwatches, basic watches and wristbands, rose 29% from a year ago to 32 million shipments in the second quarter, driven largely by health as well as mobile payment use, according to International Data Corp.
IDC reported the top five companies in the sector, Xiaomi, Apple, Huawei, Fitbit and Samsung, captured about 66% of the market collectively, an increase of 12% from a year ago.
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Major South Korean Mobile Carrier Launches Blockchain Project
Coin Telegraph
On Sept. 11, Union Mobile announced that ELYNET aims to use blockchain technology to make telecommunications more efficient for those users who rely on a single carrier for telecom service.
ELYNET will purportedly allow users to use data communication services without roaming fees and contracts. Union Mobile’s CEO Seyong Ro explained that the platform will launch with an accompanying token, stating:
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IoT security: Now dark web hackers are targeting internet-connected gas pumps
ZD Net
Cyber criminals are increasingly turning their attention to hacking Internet of Things devices as connected products proliferate – and there’s one smart device in particular that is catching hackers’ attention.
While routers remain the top target for IoT-based cyberattacks, there’s a lot of discussion in underground forums about compromising internet-connected gas pumps.
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Huawei chief offers to share 5G know-how for a fee
BBC
Huawei’s chief executive has proposed selling its current 5G know-how to a Western firm as a way to address security concerns voiced by the US and others about its business.
Ren Zhengfei said the buyer would be free to “change the software code”.
That would allow any flaws or supposed backdoors to be addressed without Huawei’s involvement.
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Apple’s iPhone 11 doesn’t have 5G because 5G isn’t ready for the iPhone
The Verge
As expected, Apple’s 2019 iPhone lineup does not include 5G technology, leaving the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 without the next-generation leap in mobile data speeds we’ve seen on recent smartphones from Samsung, LG, and OnePlus.
But Apple is wise in waiting another year before building 5G into the iPhone, and it’s got nothing to do with safety. 5G networks still feel like they’re very much in a preliminary stage, and only now are carriers starting to build any real momentum by bringing 5G to more cities across the US. But there are other obstacles and snags that led to Apple holding off another year — hopefully just one more — before integrating 5G into the iPhone.
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Digital Banking, With Millennial, Mobile – And Governmental – Tailwinds
Pymnts
Kill the check. Shutter the branch. Make that leather wallet a mobile one, wielded on smartphones.
The push toward digital banking seems an inexorable one, with the technology and demographics acting as tailwinds, and where governments have increasingly gotten into the act of promoting digital banks (the pure-play kind) and making forays into bits and bytes, where once paper and face-to-face transactions reigned.
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PC-to-mobile game streaming arrives on the Galaxy Note 10
Engadget
Samsung’s PlayGalaxy PC-to-mobile game streaming app is ready to roll, provided you have the right hardware. The tech giant has released PlayGalaxy Link in the US and South Korea for Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ owners who want to play computer-quality games on their handsets. You’ll need a reasonably brawny PC with a Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, reasonably fast dedicated graphics (either a GTX 1060 or Radeon RX 550) and a gigabit router connection. If everything aligns, you can play most any game on your PC, though you may need to add it to the selection first.
