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Shutting down its semiconductor plant in Austin, Texas lost Samsung over 300 billion won (around $270 million), Yonhap News reports. Speaking during a conference call, a senior vice president at Samsung’s foundry business Han Seung-hoon said that the shutdown affected around 71,000 wafers, corresponding to “around 300 to 400 billion won in damage.” The statement coincided with Samsung’s latest earnings release, in which it reported strong sales of its smartphones and other consumer electronics.

The South Korean electronics giant was forced to shut down its Austin plant — which produces microprocessors like radio frequency integrated circuits and solid state drive controllers — back in February after a storm left some 200,000 Austin homes without power. The shutdown lasted a month in total, the longest Samsung has ever had to halt production at a factory. However, the company says that the plant was back up to 90 percent production at the end of March, and is now back up to normal levels.

Samsung’s own manufacturing issues have coincided with a global chip shortage that’s affected everything from graphics cards to cars and even toasters. Samsung says the supply issues have had knock-on effects on its business, contributing to a drop in sales for mobile displays in the first quarter. The company says it’s possible that supply issues will continue into the second half of the year (echoing similar predictions from TSMC and Intel), but that it’s “strengthening cooperation with the in-house foundry and expanding the use of outsourced foundries” to compensate.

Otherwise, Samsung thinks its business will benefit from economic recoveries and stimulus programs around the world. It expects strong demand for everything from servers, to storage, smartphones, and PCs in the second half of the year. However, it specifically says that demand for TVs could drop in the same period, as people start venturing outside.

Apple recently announced their new item tracker and Tile Competitor, AirTag, at the Spring Loaded Event last month on the 20th of April. Pre-Orders started on the 23rd of April, and Apple has started to deliver the trackers since the 30th of April.

Source: Apple

As Apple continues to deliver the AirTag to customers, people have been testing and reviewing them, most work flawlessly and have received good feedback, but in this case, Reddit user cyem doesn’t seem to have had the best experience. He had trouble connecting the AirTag to the device for a while, and after connecting, Precision Finding wasn’t working as expected either. After repeatedly tapping the name in the Precision Finding Menu* out of frustration, a hidden ‘developer menu’ popped up. He has shared multiple photos and a YouTube video of it in action.

Users on reddit and other social media websites have been trying to find what all of this does. Reddit user pmarksen says that ‘The bottom 4 sliders relate to the colour the screen turns when you are on-target. The top two sliders relate to camera blur, and brightness.’

Quinn from Snazzy Labs was also able to change the color of the precision finding menu to purple using this menu.

*Precision Finding is only available on iPhones with U1 Chips.

By iTech Everything

Last week the internet was going crazy by pgtalal’s viral Instagram Story that was crashing phones instantly. The story contains a massive sized countdown which was too hard for the phones to render out.

According to Mrwhosetheboss’ video the modern flagships with large amounts of ram like the S21 Ultra made it without crashing and some mid-range phones made it but with a struggle and smartphones like the iPhone 12 Pro Max with 6Gb of RAM will completely crash and restart.

About Talal

pgtalal is a 14 year old full stack developer with over 90k followers on Instagram. His intentions of creating such a Instagram Story was for fun, and he has gone ahead to claim that he would make more stories, but with much lighter consequences.

From new hardware, to redesigned operating systems, speculation and rumours are all over the place.

Source: Apple

As is Apple tradition, WWDC is held every year and Apple announces new software, like clockwork. But it’s the hardware that’s the wild card.

Releases expected this year:

– iOS 15

– macOS 12

– tvOS 15

– watchOS 8

Wild cards:

– 14 inch MacBook Pro

– 16 inch MacBook Pro

– 32 inch iMac “Pro”

Out of all the wild card releases, the 14 inch MacBook Pro seems to be the most probable, most likely coming with an upgraded M1X chip. This is followed by the 16 inch MacBook Pro, which is the next most probable. The iMac is the least likely of them all, and will probably be released some time late this year, at potentially a November event, which we will get into in a separate article.

The 14 inch MacBook Pro is rumoured to keep roughly the same size chassis, but redesigned with a more boxy look, doing away with the slight curve on the lid as well as the “hump” on the bottom and also shrink the bezels for a larger, 14 inch screen, up from 13 inches.

The 16 inch MacBook Pro is rumoured to get the same boxy treatment, bringing it in-line with Apple’s flat edge, boxy theme. However the bezels aren’t expected to get any smaller.

The 32 inch iMac looks like the most radical redesign of all, taking the display size up from 27 inches, introducing flat sides, doing away with the bezels and making the chassis thinner by a lot.

None of these rumours can be considered “confirmed” until Apple themselves releases these products.

By Apple Tomorrow

Source: @apple_lab

Overview

The AirPods 3 are set to launch this year as Apple’s newest pair of wireless earbuds. Although it hasn’t been announced yet, the AirPods 3 is one of the most-leaked pairs of headphones ever, so we already have a good idea of what to expect.

Unlike the premium AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, the AirPods 3 are likely to take a more stripped back approach.

Release Date

Early whispers suggested the AirPods 3 would release in 2020, though it’s safe to say the COVID-19 pandemic complicated matters.

Right now, the most likely AirPods 3 release date is sometime in 2021. One recent report detailed how Apple is scaling back production on the current gen AirPods and how the company is hopeful that the “new AirPods” will be available sometime in 2021 or 2022.

Apple is reportedly Cutting down the production of the AirPods by 30%. There are 2 main reasons for that :

1. Apple

Yup, You saw that right, The first reason is Apple Themselves.

Apple is making products with a next-level experience in terms of Software and the Ecosystem.

AirPods or any Apple product for that matter works seamlessly with other Apple products. Unless any Physical damage, it won’t cause you a problem and this is one of the reasons people are not buying the new AirPods. They are Satisfied with their existing Airpods. The average consumer won’t buy a new one just for some extra features.

They would either wait for a substantial upgrade or they would probably just stick to their current product until it fails to work.

2. Competitors

There are a lot of Companies making TWS and for a lesser price too. For Example, the Realme Buds Air Pro is around $68.24 whereas the Airpods 2nd Generation is around $199.00.

It’s not just about the less price, but also, the value they provide in that price. There are a lot of companies fighting to get at the top of the TWS market and provide great value for their price and it’s working. People are more attracted to other products than AirPods and that is reducing their sales.

Introduction

The last of the original MacBook series, 2017, has had a lot of bumps as a product, with a dull port situation and a wacky keyboard. In popular opinion, this isn’t a good product at all, but there are definitely some positive remains that could make it worthwhile for many people regardless of it’s other cons.

Design

On first impressions, the MacBook looks pretty clean design-wise. It’s got a simple finish which I admire from Apple. And also very thin, making it easy to just slide down into your bag, and go around with. This feels very sturdy, which honestly is something you’d care a lot for when buying an expensive Apple product. No single speaker point is left behind in the wrong pattern, and the hinges are very strong.

When holding it, the Mac feels very compact and comfortable, making the mobility very stable. The trackpad and keyboard also are put in the perfect position and aren’t situated too big or small. There isn’t the best of webcams, but honestly, why use laptop cams in the first place.

The only other 2 caveats I have with the build and design, is that opening it can sometimes be a bit uncomfortable, as you have to be really soft and delicate since the opening hatch is very thin. And even though the Mac weighs only 2 pounds, it somehow feels like it weighs 4 pounds. Which still isn’t bad. Its full aluminium build makes it superior to its competition. Honestly, the design and build here is at Apple’s usual Premium standard and still doesn’t disappoint these days.

Screen

The screen here is what I’d say, one general word, adequate. The MacBook comes with a 12 inch 2304 x 1440 pixel IPS Retina display. Editing photos on this is great, as the screen shows most of the colour range and everything pops out well. It’s also fairly bright, at 353 nits. The one wacky thing is that the screen aspect ratio is 16:10, even though most screens are 16 9, which means when playing normal videos the image and media will be a bit widely portrayed. Overall it’s not the most special with an extremely high refresh rate. But I can’t complain too much about the Mac’s Screen either as it doesn’t do me any bad, and I think the average person, would probably enjoy it as well.

Battery Life & Charging

Battery Life here also fits in pretty well considering the small size. On many tests taken. The MacBook usually lasts for around 8 hours. Which can last around a whole workday without being charged at all. Over time of course this will slightly diminish, and after 4 years of my relative using this, it lasts around 5-6 hours. So I usually can start off at 100% at day, and charge it at night normally. Still isn’t bad, and is around average from what I’ve seen.

Charging though is a completely DIFFERENT CASE, I don’t know if my relative got a defective model or something, but from the last year or so you literally have to force the charger in and hope it charges properly. And it doesn’t even work when the laptop is turned on, it charges only when I put it on sleep mode or shut it down. And even then, after sleeping the charger doesn’t even get much energy. It takes around 2-3 whole hours to charge, even slower than me after a PE session. This probably won’t be the worst of issues. But it’s like a really annoying fly that always has to buzz around.

Software

On the other hand, the software is tremendous on this laptop. Like with any other mac, you’re getting 7 free years of software updates. This is incredible, most laptop just gets 2 to 3 years of updates. Then you probably have to pay for windows. And not even with apple’s phones do you get 7 years of updates! This means that you’ll have constant and up-to-date software until 2024! It’s just crazy! Plus MacOS is very clean and you get many default apple apps that are phenomenal!

Hardware (Speakers, Keyboard, and Trackpad)

This is where things start to get a bit mixed and complex, hardware is what I’d say is… peculiar! Let’s start off with the speakers, for a tiny device the speaker’s performance is big. You can easily fill a whole room when this is put on max volume. They have a few short rows on the front, which honestly, performs alternatively to how it looks. The bass here is strong, but a bit muddy compared to the mids and treble. I’d say a good genre to listen to this is pop and high electronic. With the treble’s high clarity, listening to podcasts is a pleasant experience. Overall even though the speakers sometimes get a bit low, it does a great job!

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The trackpad and keyboard are a part of that complex chain in hardware. To be unique, let’s start with the negatives, in my opinion, the keyboard is mixed up completely. First off, the butterfly design is kind of uncomfortable, I feel like I have to put more energy sometimes and that it’s so thin that I have to actually press it harder than usual to know that I typed something.

It’s not easy to press, but I haven’t seen a decrease in my typing speed when using this keyboard, so in productivity terms, it’s not bad. But I’d definitely prefer it if Apple just ditched butterfly keyboards as the regular ones for the pros as it is a much smoother design. Part of my small hate for the keyboard may because I’m usually typing with my Thinkpad, which keys are really thick, so the thin ones of the MacBook may have felt off to me. I believe this as I realized the more I typed with the laptop, the more humbly I’ve felt about the keyboard. Not the worst of things, but for anyone who’s a Windows user, I’d highly suggest if buying this laptop prepare for the “finger” curve when using this keyboard. The trackpad like other macs is great. It doesn’t have that cheap “plastic” touch. And is very easy to use and drag around. I believe it’s aluminum that surrounds it making the trackpad a good surcharge to the Laptop.

Speed & Processing

Moving on to another complex matter, the processor and speed. This MacBook uses a 1.3 GHz dual-core Intel Core I5, which although isn’t as great as the apple made M1, still can easily do the job. With the average 8 Gigs of Ram, you can’t do some heavy gaming, but the laptop can handle many programs at a time well. Usually, my relative uses PowerPoint, outlook, and safari at the same time and the mac handles it with not much lag or heat. And I sometimes edit some relatives’ videos and it also does pretty well. It’s light editing, but with a 2017 mac, I can’t really complain. One thing that is slightly concerning is that the mac has no fans at all due to its razer thinness. This means that the CPU just runs off with no cooling. This could be a bit of a risky move cause if the CPU heats up too much, there can sometimes be some throttling. I do believe that we will soon not need to use coolers due to Processor’s being very efficient in handling heat. But I don’t think the time’s come yet, and I would’ve much preferred if Apple used a fan.

Ports

The port situation is also something I slightly dislike, ok, not slightly, HEAVILY DISLIKE, Macs aren’t known to have many ports, but usually they have at least more than one. Here, NOPE, all you get is the charging port, so you can’t do anything other than charge without a “dongle”. And Macs are already very expensive, I don’t want to pay for even more adapters and dongles just to have basic connections. In my opinion, this is seriously a MESS. The only thing I appreciate is that, unlike iPhones, there’s still a headphone jack on the mac, which I must say I use a lot of the time.

Conclusion

To conclude my thoughts, I’ve noticed a pattern with each part of the MacBook, the screen isn’t the best, but can do the job, the specs aren’t the best, but usually do the job, the hardware isn’t the best, but can do the job. So the MacBook 2017, isn’t the best but can do the job. Is it worth it though? Although it started at 1.2k dollars, which I’d say is completely overpriced, You can now find the MacBook for around 750 to 900 Bucks. Which don’t get me wrong, is still expensive, but as an Apple Product, you could definitely say that price has been spared. Although it seems that you’re paying for all the mediocre hardware, but you’re also paying for the ecosystem, for the special features like airdrop and simple pairing with apple products, and the 7 WHOLE years of updates. I’d this is perfect for anyone who’s like a business geek, they won’t need to do some heavy editing or gaming, and can easily work with the specs. As mentioned before, it’s also very slim and easy to carry around. So anyone who does a lot of traveling will enjoy this too. Although there’s been a lot of hate on this laptop, most people use their laptops for consuming media, completing work, and sometimes entertainment, and dare I say it does this well. Overall the MacBook 2017 will give you an ideal experience, just like subscribing to the KineTech site!

“Epic vs Apple” has been in the tech news limelight for quite a while now, with everything reaching a fever pitch now that the trial has begun.

Over the past 2 days, as the trial has raged on, with lawyers from both sides battling to gain some ground, some very interesting details have come to light. Some might have been known for quite a while, but were swept under the rug. Others are shocking (sometimes not) revelations to all of us.

Today, in this post, I want to focus on two of these.

The first finding, proves something about the nature of Epic’s lawsuit, that almost voids it. It is the hypocrisy on Epic’s part. In today’s testimony, Epic admitted that they charge a 40% cut from any developers that put their games on the Epic Games Store. This is funny, and hypocritical, since Epic’s lawyers has tried to make the point in court, that Apple’s 30% cut is “too much”. Also, Epic has agreed to the fact that the 30% cut is an industry standard, as the Google Play Store, Play Station, Xbox, all charge the same. On top of that, Apple cut their fee from 30% all the way down to 15% for all all developers earning less than 1 Million USD on the App Store yearly, which is the majority of developers. So, Apple is charging less than industry standard. Yet Epic has chosen to file a lawsuit against Apple and not Google Play Store for example.

The second finding is arguably a bit more interesting. Epic’s CEO, Tim Sweeney has admitted in court that Epic would’ve accepted a “special deal” with Apple, and not have filed the lawsuit. This essentially proves that Epic’s case is motivated not by their love for smaller developers, rather a personal grudge of sorts with Apple, who chose not to give them special treatment and applied fairness to developers.

Now, there are many who want Epic to win. That is because the end goal of Epic winning will benefit some developers. But, Epic is not fighting for that. Epic is fighting because of their personal issue with Apple. The benefit to developers will come only as a side effect of Epic winning. Thus, as I said in the title, Epic is fighting, but for all the wrong reasons.

By Apple Tomorrow

Introduction

Launched in 2020, the Nokia 5.3 seems to be a mid-ranger that has a complete feature list. But a year has passed, so is it really worth spending 13k INR?

Build And Design

Similar to most budget smartphones, the Nokia 5.3 is a phone built almost exclusively with Plastic. Though it feels cheap, I really love the gradient pattern on the back. The phone comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 which might prevent from getting scratches.

The phone is a fingerprint magnet, but on the charcoal black colour variant it’s not that visible. The phone weighs 180 grams which is perfectly average(you will hear this later). It feels compact in hand.

Nokia 5.3 comes with a 6.55- inch LCD HD+ resolution which isn’t the best panel at this price range. The panel isn’t crisp enough for consuming media. It is perfectly average. So overall, while the phone is built well, the display is a big disappointment!

Performance

The phone is powered by Snapdragon 665 processor which isn’t the best SoC for this price point. For average consumers like me, it does it’s job well. When heavier workloads are considered, I’ve noticed a lot of frame drops and stutters and after playing for almost a hour, the phone heats up significantly.

The fingerprint sensor and the Face unlock are again, a big failure. They don’t work at all! It takes years to unlock the phone with fingerprint and the Face unlock is just indescribable. If you’re someone who multitasks often, this phone is not for you, as it heats up considerably when you try to run multiple apps at once.

Cameras

The Nokia 5.3 comes with a Quad Camera setup consisting of,

• 13 MP Primary Camera
• 5 MP Ultra-Wide Angle Camera
• 2 MP Macro Camera
• 2 MP Depth Camera

If the specifications seem impressive, you’d be fooled into thinking this is a good camera phone. The phone actually captures pretty average photos. The daylight pictures taken from primary sensor are good and detailed. The quality does suffer while using the ultra-wide-angle sensor. But the images are much better when clicked in the bokeh mode and even in close-up shots. The shots taken during nights are way too noisy. The phone houses an 8MP front camera. The selfie shots are decent, although in the selfie portrait mode the edge detection is not the most accurate. The phone also lets you record 4k videos at 30fps!

Software

When it comes to software, I’m completely happy. The phone comes with stock Android 10, which in my opinion is clean. There is no bloatware or any ads. The UI is neat. Nokia has claimed that the phone will get regular security updates for up to three years, which is another plus for the handset.

Battery

Nokia 5.3 is paired with 4000 Mah battery which is absolutely fine for this price range. The phone ships with a 10W charger, which is way too slow. This means the phone takes hours to charge and due to this, the phone heats up a lot while charging. However, as of what I’ve tested, the phone can last up to 22 hours if you don’t push it.

Conclusion

For 13,000 INR, this phone is completely not worth it. This phone misses out on a lot of basic features and is simply not good enough to compete in that very competitive price range. It does have a good Software and Build, but the low resolution display and slow charging speeds are a huge disappointment.

According to Apple leaker Jon Prosser, Apple’s upcoming release of the MacBook Air will feature various colors, similar to the colors in the newly released 24-inch iMac revealed on April 20, 2021.

In his latest video, Prosser stated that the source that told him about the new colours of the iMac has again revealed to him about the MacBook Air. He also assumes that the new MacBook Air will feature the M2 chip (Second generation of Apple’s ARM Processors.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has said that Apple is working on a thinner and much lighter MacBook Air that could launch in the second half of 2021, however, Bloomberg has not reported that the new models will come in different colours.