Tech News Today for January 23, 2017
Tech News for Monday January 23, 2017
Samsung held its long awaited Note 7 tell-all event last night and it confirms what the Wall Street Journal had reported last week: Two seperate battery faults led to a number of exploding Note 7 batteries that resulted in a recall of the smartphone: First, a design flaw that meant the battery components didn’t have the room to expand and contract inside the casing which would lead to a short-circuit. Second, the replacement battery from a seperate manufacturer saw a rapid increase in demand which resulted in a manufacturing defect that introduced protrusions in the batteries that also caused those batteries to explode. Samsung is implementing a number of improvements to its testing processes to avoid a similar occurance in the future. Read more at news.samsung.com.
Google took its sweet time but now after literally years of negligable attention, Google Voice is getting its biggest makeover to date. Not only does the experience get a top to bottom design makeover with heavy doses of Google’s brand of material design, including new support for photo MMS (yes it was that outdated), group text messaging, 3D Touch support for messages on the iPhone, direct reply from notifications in Android Nougat, and a rededication to keeping the app updated on a regular basis with new features on the horizon. Read more at theverge.com.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Securities and Exchange Commission is taking interest in whether Yahoo disclosed its cyberattack details swiftly enough to comply with civil securities laws. Still in early stages, the investigation seeks to determine whether investors should have been notified sooner about those intrusions and is noteworthy for being one of the first times the SEC has “brought a case against a company for failing to disclose a cyberbreach.” Yahoo says it is complying with officials in the investigation. Read more at venturebeat.com.
Tidal, the hi-fi music streaming service owned by Jay Z struck a deal to sell a $200 million stake in the company to Sprint. Few details were announced, but Sprint says it plans to offer “exclusive artist content” for its subscribers. Jay Z praised the deal in a press release, saying Sprint shares Tidal’s view in bringing artists closer to fans. Tidal will continue to operate as it has prior to the deal. Read more at newsroom.spring.com.
Xiaomi, the Chinese hardware manufacturer that many refer to as “the Apple of China”, is losing Hugo Barra, Xiaomi’s International Vice President of 3.5 years and former VP of Product Management for Google’s Android. Barra has been living in China, working to broaden Xiaomi’s reach beyond the country and into Western markets, but says the distance from his home in Silicon Valley has taken its toll on him. Barra says he is excited to “embark on a new adventure.” Read more at techcrunch.com.
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