MacRumors

Samsung's new Galaxy S10+, announced on February 20, is set to ship next week with all of the latest technologies Samsung has developed over the course of the last year.

We were able to get our hands on an S10+ early, and we thought we'd take a look to see how it measures up to the iPhone XS Max.

Samsung's Galaxy S10+ uses the design that we've come to expect from modern smartphones, with an edge-to-edge display and slim bezels designed to maximize available screen size. The Galaxy S10+ uses a 6.4-inch 3040 x 1440 OLED display and rather than a notch, there's a hole punch-style cutout that Samsung calls the Infinity-O display.

On the S10, it's a single little circle, but on the S10+, which has a dual-lens front-facing camera, the cutout, located at the right side of the display, is a bit wider. It's an odd location, but like the notch, it kind of blends in and you forget it's there with regular use. The OLED display looks amazing with bright, vibrant colors, as does the ‌iPhone‌ XS Max display, but the display of the S10+ curves down towards the edges.

At 6.4 inches and with these curved sides, the S10+ is not a one-handed device, but then neither is the ‌iPhone‌ XS Max. Rather than using facial recognition like Apple, which Android device manufacturers have yet to master, Samsung implemented an under-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. It's neat and works well enough, but it's not as fast or as accurate as Face ID.

Apple's ‌iPhone‌ XS Max has a dual-camera setup, while the Galaxy S10+ is equipped with three cameras: a telephoto, a wide-angle lens, and an ultra wide-angle lens. This is the same general setup that we're expecting in the 2019 successor to the ‌iPhone‌ XS Max, but for now, Samsung has the edge here. We're going to be doing a deeper dive into the S10+ camera, so stay tuned to MacRumors for that.

Samsung implemented a unique "Wireless PowerShare" feature that lets the Galaxy S10+ charge other Qi-based devices like the Galaxy Watch, the Galaxy Buds, and even the ‌iPhone‌. It's quite a neat feature and one that Apple is also rumored to be implementing in the 2019 ‌iPhone‌ lineup. 2019 iPhones should be able to charge the rumored AirPods with wireless charging case that are in the works and other Qi-based devices.

The Galaxy S10+ brings an updated One UI Android skin, which is similar to the stock Android installation on Google Pixel devices. It's quick, fast, and has a system-wide dark mode, which is something that's also rumored to be coming to iPhones in 2019 with iOS 13.

As for internals, the Galaxy S10+ is using either a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip (in the U.S. and China) or its own Exynos processor. Benchmarks have already suggested that the Galaxy S10+ is slower than the iPhone XS Max, but in practice both smartphones are so fast that there's not going to be much of a noticeable difference in performance between the two.

Samsung's Galaxy S10 and S10+ are certainly some of the best Android devices available right now with innovative features and top of the line specs that aren't included in current iPhones. We'll need to wait for September to see what Apple has in store for its own 2019 device lineup, but rumors so far are promising.

Are you impressed with the Galaxy S10 and S10+? Are there features you hope will come to Apple devices? Let us know in the comments.

Apple held its annual investor's meeting at its Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, this morning, where Apple CEO Tim Cook shared some details on Apple's future product plans.

As outlined by Bloomberg, Cook said that Apple is "rolling the dice" on some future products that will "blow you away."

Cook went on to say that Apple's eventual goal is to be able reduce the price of the 2018 Retina MacBook Air, which currently starts at $1,200. In reference to the Apple Watch and the AirPods, Cook said there's a "long, great roadmap" of "fantastic" products on the horizon.

While Cook did not go into more detail, rumors have suggested that AirPods coming in the near future will be available in new colors (black) and will have new functionality including "Hey Siri" support and the ability to be wirelessly charged.

More ambitious products are also rumored to be in the works, including a pair of augmented reality smart glasses and perhaps even a full self-driving vehicle.

On the topic of services, Cook said Apple is well on its way towards meeting the goal it set in 2016, which was to double its $25 billion revenue by 2020. Later this month, Apple is expected to unveil two new products in the services category, including a new streaming TV service outfitted with original television shows and a new Apple News service with access to subscription news sites and magazines for a monthly fee.

Cook touched on other topics at the meeting as well, including Apple's political ideology. Shareholders soundly rejected a proposal that had suggested the ideology of board nominees should be disclosed in an effort to diversity the political opinions of Apple's board.

Cook also said that Apple is pushing for regulation against tech companies like Facebook and Google that build data profiles of their users. Cook first called for new U.S. privacy laws to protect citizens from data collection in October, but Apple has long been an advocate for customer privacy.

For his role in the 2014 iCloud hacks that saw many celebrity photos illicitly shared on the internet, former high school teacher Christopher Brannan has been sentenced to 34 months in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia (via AppleInsider).

Brannan was charged with unauthorized access to a protected computer and aggravated identity theft. Court documents say that he accessed the ‌iCloud‌, Yahoo, Facebook, and email accounts of more than 200 victims, both celebrities and non-celebrities.

He was able to obtain full ‌iCloud‌ backups, photographs, and other information using phishing email accounts that were designed to look like legitimate emails from Apple. He also hacked email accounts by answering security questions using data found on victims' Facebook accounts.

After obtaining Apple account information, Brannan would search for "sensitive and private photographs and videos, including nude photographs."

Brannan is one of multiple people who were found accessing and distributing celebrity photos in the 2014 attack. Ryan Collins, Edward Majerczyk, and Emilio Herrera, and George Garafano have previously been sentenced to prison terms ranging from eight months to 18 months.

When hundreds of nude celebrity photos began leaking on the internet in 2014 as part of what's now known as the "Celebgate" attack, there was initial speculation that ‌iCloud‌ had been hacked.

Following an investigation, however, Apple found that the accounts in question were compromised by weak passwords and skilled phishing attempts.

Apple has since implemented multiple changes to ‌iCloud‌ security, adding two-factor authentication to iCloud.com, introducing email alerts when an ‌iCloud‌ account is accessed either on the web or on another device, and requiring app-specific passwords for third-party apps that access ‌iCloud‌.

Unfortunately, the kind of phishing emails that led to the 2014 celebrity leak are still widely used today, and phishing scammers have only gotten better at what they do.

To thwart phishing attempts, Apple maintains a support page with information on how to avoid fake support calls, phishing emails, and other scam techniques that malicious individuals employ to extract information from Apple users.

Those concerned about being the victim of a phishing attack should take measures to stay safe, including using two-factor authentication, getting a password manager like 1Password and using a unique password for each and every site, and avoiding suspicious phone calls and emails, even if they look like they come from Apple.

Software engineering positions have outnumbered hardware engineering positions in Apple job listings for the first time since at least the first quarter of 2016, according to data-driven website Thinknum.

The website claims Apple's "software and services" job listings have topped its hardware engineering listings since the third quarter of 2018.

Thinknum's Joshua Fruhlinger told us that the data is sourced exclusively from Apple's jobs portal and does not include listings on third-party websites. His website began tracking the listings in the first quarter of 2016, so it's unclear if software job listings have ever topped hardware ones before.

Whether accurate or not, the data is meaningful, as Apple has been focusing on growing and expanding its portfolio of services such as the App Store and Apple Music in recent years. Apple is also expected to introduce subscription-based news and video services at an event on March 25 at Steve Jobs Theater.

Apple has also been increasing its emphasis on machine learning and Siri under new AI chief John Giannandrea, with those areas falling under the software engineering category as well.

There are now over 1.4 billion active Apple devices around the world. That saturation coupled with rising prices has led to lower demand for some products. Last quarter, for example, Apple issued its first revenue warning in 16 years due to "fewer iPhone upgrades" than it anticipated.

With hundreds of millions of iPhones now sold, Apple is focused on building out its ecosystem of services and software features surrounding the device, and it obviously needs plenty of software engineers to accomplish that goal.

Apple today expanded its "There's More to iPhone" marketing campaign to France and the United Kingdom after launching it in Germany late last year.

A new "Why iPhone" page on Apple's website in each country highlights reasons why an ‌iPhone‌ is "more than the device in your hand," ranging from Apple's environmental responsibility to iOS 12 performance improvements to the privacy of features such as Face ID, Apple Maps, and, yes, FaceTime.

Each reason in the list can be expanded to view additional information. Here's what Apple says about protecting user data for example:

At Apple, we believe that data privacy is a fundamental human right. Your personal data belongs to you and no one else.

And while some companies sell your data, we don't. We'll tell you if we collect your data and let you know how it's used. For instance, we may utilize that data to make iPhone more user friendly. And you can always change your settings to limit the amount of information that can be accessed.

Apple today also shared three new "There's More to ‌iPhone‌" videos on its YouTube channel in the United Kingdom:

The marketing campaign is prominently featured on the ‌iPhone‌ page of Apple's website in France, the United Kingdom, and Germany. It has yet to launch in the United States or any other countries we checked.

Apple has been heavily promoting ‌iPhone‌ XR and ‌iPhone‌ XS trade-ins with a prominent banner on the homepage of its website, store signage, App Store editorials, emails to older ‌iPhone‌ users, and more. Apple provided its first revenue warning in 16 years last quarter due to "fewer ‌iPhone‌ upgrades" than it anticipated.

Rumors of a spring launch for Apple's next-generation AirPods have been coming in over recent weeks, and today a report is claiming we can expect an AirPods 2 announcement as soon as this month, although at this point we're treating the source with a fair amount of skepticism.

The rumor comes from Spanish blog Applesfera, which suggests Apple plans to replace its current generation AirPods with new models on March 29. The blog cites a source said to be familiar with Apple's plans, and backs up the claim with reference to a screenshot supposedly taken from Apple's stock management software that shows the original AirPods reaching their "end of life cycle" on March 28.

It's unclear if this interpretation of the screenshot is correct, however, as it appears to be listing AirPods as currently out of stock with an estimated replenishment date of March 28, rather than claiming they will be going out of stock on that date.

Earlier this month, another unsubstantiated rumor claimed Apple plans to hold a product event in the second half of March where it will announce second-generation AirPods, the AirPower wireless charging pad, a new affordable iPad and an iPad mini 5.

It would be remiss not to mention the other rumor that appeared the same day. Noted leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer (@OnLeaks) received separate info, also from an unverified source, suggesting Apple will launch a wireless AirPods Charging Case in the near future, but AirPods 2 won't launch until the fall.

It's not clear which (if any) of these rumors hold weight, but some do fall into the launch timeframe suggested by earlier rumors. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in October that a new version of the AirPods would launch late in the fourth quarter of 2018 or early in the first quarter of 2019, and he later clarified that he expects new wireless AirPods in the first half of 2019.

Listings for New AirPods were also added to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group's regulatory database in November, suggesting a refreshed version of the accessory could be coming soon.

Apple is planning to hold a services-focused event on March 25, making it sound likely that an AirPods announcement won't feature, however Apple could choose instead to announce an update via a press release.

The new AirPods are expected to include wireless charging support and upgraded Bluetooth connectivity, while other unsubstantiated rumors claim the new earbuds could have "health monitoring" features and a special matte coating to enhance grip.

One report has suggested the second-generation AirPods might be more expensive, costing around $200, up from $159. That said, other reports claim the price will remain at $159, so little is verified at this point.

Looking further ahead, Apple is also said to be working on third-generation AirPods that will be released in 2020 with a new design. These third-generation AirPods are rumored to include noise cancellation features and increase the distance that AirPods can be listened to away from an iPhone or ‌iPad‌.

Apple discontinued the iPhone SE in September when iPhone XS and XR models were released, but in January, Apple started selling off its remaining stock via its clearance site for $249.

Every time Apple restocks the clearance site, available ‌iPhone SE‌ models go quick, suggesting there's still quite a lot of interest in the 4-inch device. We recently picked up an ‌iPhone SE‌ to see just what it's like using one in 2019.

The ‌iPhone SE‌ was Apple's last 4-inch ‌iPhone‌, and compared to a 5.8-inch ‌iPhone‌ X, a 6.1-inch ‌iPhone‌ XR, or a 6.5-inch ‌iPhone‌ XS Max, it's tiny. Coming from one of these phones to the ‌iPhone SE‌ almost makes the ‌iPhone SE‌ feel like a toy.

On the plus side, it's so small and light that it's easy to use one handed, something you can't necessarily do with Apple's biggest iPhones. With its aluminum backing, the ‌iPhone SE‌ is more durable than Apple's new all-glass smartphones.

The ‌iPhone SE‌ pre-dates Face ID, of course, so it's using a Touch ID Home button, which is great for those who continue to prefer fingerprint sensors to facial recognition.

There's also a headphone jack, which has been eliminated from all current iPhones (and the most recent iPad Pro models), and it has separate volume up and down buttons along with a power button at the top of the device instead of a side button.

Apple released the ‌iPhone SE‌ in 2016, so it's using three-year-old hardware. It has an A9 processor, which was also used in the ‌iPhone‌ 6s and 6s Plus back in 2015, along with 2GB RAM (vs. 3 in the XR and 4 in the XS).

You might think it'd be noticeably slower than newer iPhones, but, surprisingly, for built-in apps it's speedy. When using Mail, Messages, Calendar, FaceTime, and other similar built-in apps, the ‌iPhone SE‌ is as speedy as 2018 iPhones.

It's not, however, able to hold up when using apps built for newer iPhones with more modern processors, nor does it have the same augmented reality capabilities. The camera is fine and is the same camera in the ‌iPhone‌ 6s, but it's lacking the improvements made over the last three years.

If you don't care about camera quality, prefer a smaller screen, and don't need to use processor-intensive apps and games, the ‌iPhone SE‌ is a compact, easy-to-hold smartphone that still holds up even in 2019.

Apple's clearance site continues to have ‌iPhone SE‌ models in stock that are unlocked, but ship with Verizon and T-Mobile SIMs. The ‌iPhone SE‌ with 32GB of storage is priced at $249, while the ‌iPhone SE‌ with 128GB of storage is available for $299.

Ahead of when the ‌iPhone‌ XS, XS Max, and XR were released, there were some rumors suggesting Apple was working on a second-generation version of the ‌iPhone SE‌ 2.

Some of that information was conflated with ‌iPhone‌ XR rumors, though, and since the 2018 devices launched, we've heard no more about another 4-inch ‌iPhone‌ except for some chatter suggesting Apple has nixed all plans for a new ‌iPhone SE‌.

At this point in time, it looks like the ‌iPhone SE‌ will continue to be the last 4-inch device available from Apple.

Comcast's Xfinity Mobile service used "0000" as a default PIN for all of its mobile customers, which left them vulnerable to hacking attempts, identity theft, and more.

Comcast's decision to use simple default PINs for all of its customers came to light in a "Help Desk" article from The Washington Post included one Comcast customer's tech horror story.

Larry Whitted, an Xfinity Customer in California, had someone hijack his phone number, port it to a new account on another network, and steal his identity to commit fraud.

The thief put Samsung Pay on a new phone with Whitted's phone number and credit card then bought himself a computer at the Apple Store.

This was possible because Comcast does not ask its customers to create a PIN to secure their accounts to prevent them from being transferred to another carrier. Instead, Comcast uses the default 0000 code. From Comcast's support document:

We don't require you to create an account PIN, so you don't need to provide that information to your new carrier.

Taking control of a person's telephone number is a popular way to obtain logins for email, social media accounts, bank accounts, and more. Any site that uses a phone number as a way of authenticating data can be accessed when someone has your phone number.

Charismatic hackers who use social engineering techniques can often get access to phone numbers from customer service representatives who don't know any better, but many carriers have implemented PIN codes to make it more difficult. Not Comcast.

This has led to other Xfinity Mobile customers having their phone numbers hijacked as well, and with phone numbers used for so much, hackers can access a lot of a person's data.

Comcast says that it has since implemented new measures to make it harder to steal phone numbers and that it is "working aggressively" to create a PIN-based solution, something that common sense dictates should have been available from the time the service launched.

Comcast says that a "very small number" of its customers have been impacted by this issue, and rightly admits that having even "one customer impacted" is "one too many." Comcast claims that customers who were affected perhaps used passwords leaked in other data breaches

The foldable smartphone era is in full swing with the recent introductions of the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X, and while it remains unclear if Apple will follow suit, the company has at least explored ideas related to foldable smartphones in patent applications over the past few years.

In a patent application published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today, titled "Electronic Devices With Flexible Displays," Apple explains that foldable smartphone displays could be prone to damage when bent in cold temperatures, and describes various heating methods to mitigate the issue.

For example, Apple says the portion of the display that bends could be heated by lighting up the pixels in that area of the screen. Alternatively, a "heating element or other heating structure" could be used, although Apple wasn't specific.

The patent application, highlighted by AppleInsider, notes that the foldable smartphone could have a magnetic latching mechanism that would prevent the device from being folded or unfolded in very cold temperatures to avoid damage to the display. This would be in environments "significantly below room temperature."

Apple files numerous patent applications every week, of course, and many of the inventions do not see the light of day. Patents are also very detailed, encompassing many possible ideas, even ones that Apple might not have any plans to advance. So, the exact implementation if any remains to be seen.

While unique, early foldable smartphones from Samsung and Huawei are far from perfect, with bulky designs and expensive price tags. Apple is unlikely to release a foldable iPhone unless it can meet the company's strict quality standards.

Last year, Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan predicted that Apple is working on a foldable iPhone for release in 2020, while an earlier Korean report said Apple was developing a foldable iPhone alongside LG. However, it's still not entirely clear if Apple will ever proceed with those plans.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), perhaps the most well-known digital rights non-profit, today launched a new "Fix It Already" campaign with the aim of getting technology companies to implement new privacy features in areas where privacy is lacking.

According to the EFF, the issues that it is demanding a fix for are "well-known privacy and security issues" that have "attainable fixes." From Apple, the EFF wants the company to implement user-encrypted iCloud backups that are inaccessible to the company and thus to law enforcement.

iCloud content uploaded to Apple is encrypted at the location of the server and, with the proper legal requests, Apple can provide ‌iCloud‌ information that includes name, address, email, mail logs with date/time stamps, photos, Safari browsing history, iMessages, and more, with full details outlined by Apple on its privacy site. [PDF]

The EFF says that Apple should "let users protect themselves" and elect for "truly encrypted ‌iCloud‌ backups."

Apple has not encrypted ‌iCloud‌ backups because doing so would prevent Apple from being able to restore ‌iCloud‌ backups for users who have forgotten their passwords. As the EFF points out, though, Apple CEO Tim Cook has said in the past that Apple may move towards encrypted ‌iCloud‌ backups in the future. From an interview Cook did with German site Der Spiegel:

There our users have a key and we have one. We do this because some users lose or forget their key and then expect help from us to get their data back. It is difficult to estimate when we will change this practice. But I think that will be regulated in the future as with the devices. So we will not have a key for it in the future.

The EFF has demands for other technology companies in addition to Apple. Android, it says, should let users deny and revoke apps' internet permissions, while Twitter should end-to-end encrypt direct messages and Facebook should stop using phone numbers provided for account creation for targeted advertising.

WhatsApp should obtain user consent before adding users to groups, Slack should give free workspace administrators control over data retention, and Verizon should stop pre-installing spyware on some smartphones.

Apple-owned Beats by Dre has partnered with Japanese luxury fashion brand Sacai to produce a new collection of BeatsX headphones. These models come with beaded cables that can be removed and customized to reflect unique patterns (via WatchGeneration).

Beats won't be selling these headphones to the masses, however, and is currently planning to launch them at an exclusive pop-up shop in Paris on March 4. It's unclear if the company has any plans to roll out the BeatsX + Sacai collection to Apple retail locations or online.

From Beats by Dr. Dre and sacai comes a collaboration that celebrates unique style and individuality. Sacai – an innovative label recognized for mixing high concept designs with functional utility – helps us find a balance between technology and fashion. Reimagined to let listeners incorporate their own creativity and identity, these BeatsX earphones prove that the best accessory to premium sound is personal expression.

There are three colors in the collection: Silver Red, Absolute White, and Intense Black. Each BeatsX + Sacai model comes with a carrying pouch that has a Sacai logo, and they're priced at a premium of around $200, over $100 more than the price of normal BeatsX headphones, which can be purchased for around $80-$90 on sale.

In a promo video shared on the Beats by Dre YouTube channel, Beats president Luke Wood said that the company was looking for a new partner who could reimagine its products with a different design and color. This led to Sacai's idea to incorporate beads onto BeatsX, creating a more fashion-first aesthetic for the in-ear headphones.

Beats is known for collaborating with a number of interesting and surprising brands, in the past including French luxury fashion house Balmain, designer Alexander Wang, and even Hello Kitty. Apple acquired Beats Electronics in 2014 for $3 billion, using the company's streaming service as a basis for what would become Apple Music in 2015.

Update: The beaded BeatsX headphones Apple created in partnership with Japanese fashion brand Sacai can be purchased from the Apple online store.

Qualcomm may be running out of time if it wants to supply Apple with 5G modems for its 2020 iPhones as some rumors suggest.

In a research note today, analysts at investment bank Barclays said that while they originally thought Qualcomm had an opportunity to supply the 5G modems to Apple, they now believe that time "seems to be running out" unless the two companies can settle their bitter legal battle in the next few weeks.

Back in November, it was reported that Apple will tap Intel as its 5G modem supplier instead, but Barclays analysts believe that the modem design for 2020 iPhones "needs to be set now," and that the expected late 2019 availability of Intel's first consumer 5G modem "does not work with Apple's timeline."

Apple recently testified that it held conversations with Samsung and MediaTek as potential alternative suppliers, but it's unclear if those companies would be able to meet Apple's production, performance, and cost demands.

Apple is also reportedly working on its own cellular modems, but research and development appears to be in the early stages.

Last week, Intel confirmed that it expects the first consumer products embedded with its 5G chips to be released in 2020, the same year Apple is rumored to release its first 5G-enabled iPhone, enabling faster data speeds.