作者彙整: Philip Berne

Nobody makes a tool to hack the phones nobody cares about.

What you need to know

A government report details its capabilities in breaking phone encryption and acquiring data.
All iOS devices are effectively crackable.
Popular Android devices can be cracked but only select models.

While the FBI wages a court battle against phone manufacturers, our friends at Vice have found an interesting report from the Science and Technology branch of the Department of Homeland Security that shows the government is already quite capable of cracking your phone’s security. The most recent round of testing involved tools from security company Cellebrite, and many other companies offer cracking tools with similar records for success.

The good news is that the diversity of Android devices may be a saving grace in keeping the phone secure. While the government reports that nearly all iPhone models since the iPhone 4S can be broken into, the list of possible Android targets is a bit more hodge podge… 閱讀全文 →

I’ll finish watching if I can ever stop crying.

What you need to know

Google is previewing a Super Bowl ad on YouTube.
The ad shows photos of an older couple as a man asks Google to remember things about his wife.
The Mayo Clinic suggests using photos and mementos as cues to help Alzheimer’s patients.

If you’re like me and living with older parents who are dealing with memory issues and other signs of aging, grab a box of tissues and get your therapist on speed dial before you start watching Google’s new Super Bowl advertisement. The ad startts with a simple text box search for “how to not forget,” then an older male voice asks Google to “Show me photos of me and Loretta.” What follows is a montage of an older couple in love while a man’s voice speaks about Loretta in the past tense.

Google opens the ad by pointing to articles from WikiHow and Bustle about using details to help with memory loss, and the Mayo Clinic agrees. On its page for using mementos as memory cues, the Mayo… 閱讀全文 →

Even global spying allegations can’t stop the onslaught of 5G.

What you need to know

Reuters sources say British officials have proposed resuming purchases of Huawei equipment.
Huawei would have a limited role in the build out of the nation’s 5G networks.
The move would likely anger U.S. officials but may be necessary for a timely network rollout.

Huawei may catch a break in the United Kingdom as officials are considering allowing the purchase of network equipment from the Chinese tech giant that has fallen out of U.S. favor. While the U.S. maintains that Huawei networks pose a potential spying risk, UK intelligence officials say they have no supporting evidence of the spying claim, and they believe the risk is manageable. Reuters reports that British officials may consider granting Huawei a limted role in the UK’s 5G plans.

The proposal would keep Huawei equipment out of the “core” part of the network and restricted government systems, which Reuters says is similar to the way … 閱讀全文 →

Mine is pronounced Berne like burn not Berne like Bernie.

What you need to know

Google may soon add a feature that lets you speak a name pronunciation to teach it.
Currently you can spell a name phonetically to force a better pronunciation.
The new feature appears in source code but has not yet made it to beta.

Intrepid sleuths at XDA-Developers have uncovered code in the latest Google App, buld 10.93, that may be part of a new feature to improve the apps pronunciation abilties when it comes to proper names. Right now if your name is hard for Google to pronounce (I often hear “bur-NAY” instead of “BURN”), your best option is to find the Nickname settings and enter a more transliteral spelling that forces Google to say it the way you prefer. Quite inelegent.

The new feature gives you the option to “record your own” pronunciation. It is unclear what happens then, once Google has a recording. At best there will be some sort of AI methodology to analyze the way you pronounce the … 閱讀全文 →

One step back and 108 million steps forward.

What you need to know

The Galaxy S20 will drop the dual-aperture feature from its camera, according to Twitter leaks.
Dual-aperture helps with low-light photography and creating bokeh effects.
Another leaker claims the Galaxy S20 Ultra will lose phase-detect autofocus, a DSLR-level focus technique.

Dueling leakers on Twitter are claiming the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S20 camera will see some apparent downgrades, though we’d bet Samsung has some tricks up its sleeve to make up the difference. First, XDA’s Max Winebach, whose recent leaks suggest he has traveled to the future and knows exactly what Samsung will launch next month, simply drops the hint that the Galaxy S20 will not use dual-aperture mode on its camera.

S20 kills dual aperture.— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) January 19, 2020

Dual-aperture is a neat hardware technique Samsung has been using since the Galaxy S9, and on all flagship phones since then. The camera can open or… 閱讀全文 →

But patience you must have since they’re not out yet.

What you need to know

Build-A-Bear will offer a stuffed version of The Child ( also known as Baby Yoda) from The Mandalorian.
The new plush will be available in a few months.
No official plush Baby Yoda merchandise is available yet.

Build-A-Bear will be among the earliest flock of Baby Yoda plush options when everyone’s favorite new Ewok replacement finally hits store shelves. Business Insider quotes Build-A-Bear CEO Sharon Price John who said, “we will be one of the first companies to provide the digital and internet phenomenon who is trending higher than all the presidential candidates combined.” John provided no further availability except to say the new plush would be available in the next few months.

Though The Mandalorian revealed the character who would become known as Baby Yoda back in November, to keep the reveal a secret Disney decided to hold off on churning merchandise through the retail chain, so no offciial toy… 閱讀全文 →

Also maybe don’t use text messages to verify your identity.

What you need to know

Princeton researchers wanted to know if 2FA is secure using SMS as a factor.
Researchers called carriers trying to transfer (steal) accounts to new SIM cards.
Major carriers made it easy to steal prepaid accounts, confirming that SMS is not a secure 2FA method.

Researchers at Princeton University were questioning whether SMS text messaging is a secure authentication method to use as one factor in a two-factor authentication (2FA) setup. The answer turned out to be a resounding no, especially as the team started to attack prepaid plans on the largest mobile carriers.

If an attacker can gain control of a phone number by switching a victim’s account to the attacker’s SIM card, the attacker can then hijack the verification process that uses SMS by receiving the authenticating text messages instead of the victim. In ten out of ten attempts to steal numbers from prepaid customers on AT&T, Verizon, a… 閱讀全文 →

No word on what happens to the 8 Pro flavor.

What you need to know

OnePlus 8 will come to Verizon in the U.S., according to Android Police.
It will be a Verizon 5G phone, likely with mmWave technology.
No word on pricing and timing, nor the availability of the high-end Pro model.

OnePlus phones have been sold unlocked in the U.S. for some time, with support for all of the major networks. The next OnePlus phone, the OnePlus 8, may come directly to Verizon showrooms, a coup for the upstart brand that once sold its devices through a lottery. According to a scoop from Android Police, the OnePlus 8 will be a Verizon phone for the 5G network, presumably the mmWave 5G that Verizon has been unleashing across the country for the past year.

OnePlus generally delivers high-end hardware at a mid-range price, so it is exciting to see the company at the forefront of the U.S. 5G push. Still, 5G networks are very new and incomplete, and it is unclear if phones released today will meet all of t… 閱讀全文 →

A fan favorite wearable brand sticks itself in your ears, and we’re interested.

What you need to know

Huami Amazfit PowerBuds are true wireless headphones with up to eight hours of playback.
Amazfit ZenBuds help you find peace and quiet, and maybe even go to sleep.
Both earbuds include heart rate monitors and activity tracking, for awake and asleep activity.

Amazfit has been impressing us with its wrist-bound wearables, so we’re excited to see the company venture into headphones, albeit the most crowded new segment of the headphone market. Amazfit PowerBuds are a set of true wireless earbuds. They use Bluetooth 5 and are rated an impress IP55, which means they can tolerate water spray. That’s sometimes a more difficult rating to achieve than simple submersion, so the PowerBuds should be able to handle whatever weather your head can handle. The earbuds give you a long eight hours of playback, and the wireless charging case offers another 16 hours of battery life.

If you’re loo… 閱讀全文 →

Get ready for phones (and everything else) with no buttons at all

What you need to know

New ultrasound sensors from Ultrasense are tiny, self-contained switches that work anywhere.
Ultrasound switches could replace buttons, allowing for simpler, seamless design.
Ultrasense says that the requirements of 5G antennas are better managed with ultrasound buttons.

Tiny new ultrasound switches may soon come to … well, everything if a report from our friends over at Android Authority comes to fruition. Gary Sims of “Gary Explains” fame spotted developments at Ultrasense that could improve phone design and finally move to the seamless future that we all love and dread.

Recently, ultrasonic technology has had a mixed record in the phone world, acting as the underlying tech for in-display fingerprint readers that have disappointed many. Ultrasense presents a simple switch that can be situated under metal, wood, glass, leather, and plenty of surfaces that would not work with other touch t… 閱讀全文 →