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Google plans Apple-like crackdown for in-app purchases, enforcing rules it previously ignored
Big developers were able to get away with it for a while, but not anymore
Google is reportedly gearing up for a crackdown on in-app purchases for apps distributed via the Play Store. Google has long required that developers give the company a cut of in-app purchases, but it hasn't strictly enforced that rule for big names like Amazon, Netflix, and Spotify, who all allow for billing and purchases in their apps separately from Google's required system. According to Bloomberg, the day of reckoning is coming, and Google will reportedly update its guidelines as soon as next week to further clarify the billing requirement ahead of more aggressive enforcement.
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Last week it came to light that SoftBank may be trying to sell chipset design firm ARM, and according to a new report from Bloomberg, Nvidia could be interested. Citing the usual "people with knowledge," Nvidia has apparently approached ARM to court a deal with the Cambridge company.
According to a report published yesterday by Bloomberg, Samsung's redesign of the Galaxy Fold has been completed. This follows a recent interview with Samsung CEO DJ Koh, in which he asked for "a bit more time." No release date is set, but according to Bloomberg, it may arrive by the upcoming holiday season.
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- Mishaal Rahman, one of our buds over at XDA Developers, tracked down the specs for the tablet:
Bloomberg is reporting that Walmart is "moving into iPad territory," in its plans to make a children's tablet. This clearly low-end device from a retailer known for its cheapness somehow constitutes — and I feel the need to quote Bloomberg again here — an "iPad rival."
Yesterday, Bloomberg Businessweek published a piece about a recent FBI investigation against Huawei for potentially attempting to steal trade secrets from an American company, this time with a serious twist: The tech that may have been stolen doesn't just apply to phones, it could also be used in weapons. The complicated story weaves its way from San Diego to Chicago and Las Vegas, recounting Akhan Semiconductor's attempts to license to Huawei its new Miraj Diamond Glass — a layered material alleged to be 6 times stronger and 10 times more scratch resistant than your current phone's Gorilla Glass, but with potential applications in powerful military lasers.
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- While T-Mobile is still clearly gung-ho about getting into the TV game, a year-end blog entry confirms that plans for the service's deployment will have to wait until 2019. Honestly, that seemed like an inevitability by this point, but at least now we have it straight from Legere's mouth.
It has been slightly more than a year since T-Mobile CEO John Legere announced the company was working on its own TV service, and he promised something "disruptive." Since then, some of the carrier's plans have taken shape with the acquisition of Layer3 and a set top box that stopped by the FCC. However, Bloomberg reports that Tmo has delayed launching the service this year. It turns out streaming TV is pretty hard to get right.
According to a report yesterday by Bloomberg, some Android apps may be using silent push notifications to track if and when you uninstall them, which is alleged to be a violation of both Apple and Google's policies. Ostensibly this is being done to target such users with advertisements designed to win the back, although the tracking providers claim this functionality is designed to gauge response to app updates and changes.
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Take this with the proverbial grain of salt, but Bloomberg has published a detailed investigative report today alleging that a list of U.S. Companies, including Amazon and Apple, suffered a security intrusion via hardware infiltration. This isn't a hack in the software sense, it's a result of literal physical modification to server motherboards at the time of manufacturing by subcontractors in China, allegedly coerced by operatives working for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army — making this a potentially state-backed attack.
When Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says something's going to happen in the world of tech, his word is very nearly a guarantee. So when a Gurman-authored article talking about upcoming iPhones sneaks in a one-line reference to Google having an October 9th Pixel event in New York City, we start freeing up our calendars.
The US government has been growing increasingly critical (perhaps even paranoid) when it comes to the operation of Chinese companies in the US. Between the on-again-off-again ZTE snafu and Huawei's allegedly government-influenced issues with its US carrier deals, Chinese tech companies are running into progressively more problems doing business in the United States. This is just the start, though, as according to a recent report by Bloomberg, the FCC is set to deny China Mobile's application to provide telecommunications services in the US.
Early this morning Bloomberg broke the news that the South Korean copyright suit brought against the Fortnite creator Epic Games by PUBG Corp. has been dropped. Apparently PUBG Corp. sent a letter of withdrawal to Epic Games Inc.’s attorneys on Monday, and as a result, the case has been closed.
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According to Bloomberg, Essential, an up-and-coming phone manufacturer, is reportedly calling it quits, canceling its second phone and putting out a "For Sale" sign. The company, founded by Android's creator Andy Rubin, has supposedly hired an outside firm to advise it on a potential sale, with one suitor allegedly showing interest.
Xiaomi is probably recognizable among our readers for its phones, and maybe even for its earbud headphones. But I doubt many of us think of cameras when we think of the 5th largest smartphone manufacturer. That said, someday we might. According to Bloomberg, Xiaomi is considering making an offer on GoPro.
A big chunk of the 3.5GHz spectrum in the US—called Citizens Broadband Radio Service, or CBRS for short—is being opened up for use later this year. Originally used by the US military, the FCC decided in 2015 that the frequencies could be put to better, shared use without obstructing its current applications like Navy radar. And, according to Bloomberg, Google's building the systems that will allow for seamless use of these new frequencies.
[Update: Qualcomm has received Broadcom's offer] Report: Broadcom may be looking to acquire Qualcomm
Qualcomm's been in the news quite a lot this year, for a lot of different reasons. Now, according to Bloomberg, it might be making headlines again soon. Broadcom Ltd. may be submitting an offer to Qualcomm to purchase the company in what would be the single largest takeover of a chipmaker ever. It's early, though, and no offer has yet been submitted to Qualcomm.
If you've had your eye on a Nest thermostat, but couldn't pull the trigger because of the price, then this Bloomberg report might be of interest to you. Supposedly, a cheaper, sub-$200 thermostat is in the works and it could launch next year. Bloomberg's source also indicates some other new products, like a home alarm system, a digital doorbell, and an update to the Nest Cam, are in development, too.
We're starting to hear a few Galaxy S8 rumors well ahead of the usual Mobile World Congress-ish reveal for Samsung's flagship series (usually around late February or March). That may or may not have something to do with the phenomenal failure of the Galaxy Note 7, after which Samsung must be scrambling to shift potential customers' attention elsewhere. So we're treated with two somewhat credible pieces of Galaxy S8 info in a single week: one that Samsung will drop the headphone jack, and another that the company will finally release its deathgrip on physical home buttons.
Amazon first introduced its Alexa voice assistant alongside the Echo speaker around two years ago. Though the Echo line of products has proved to be exceedingly popular, the audio that even the flagship model produces still leaves something to be desired. If you like the idea of Alexa but have been holding off on buying an Echo because of the lackluster sound quality, Amazon has something in the works that may appeal to you - a touchscreen-equipped Alexa device with premium sound.
In the beginning, there was Android. Android was an open-source, largely hardware-agnostic operating system designed to work on a variety of devices and form-factors, and then Google bought the company that made it (also called Android, founded by Andy Rubin). Then, there was Google's Android. Google's Android was still open source, but now it came with stuff you'd actually want to use. Like an app store. And Google Maps. And Gmail. And Google Search. And did I mention Android itself was and is still open source? Because it was and is, and will continue to be likely for many, many, many years into the future.
OnePlus fans have been waiting for the smartphone maker to announce a follow-up to its sole device. In a report this week, Bloomberg briefly mentioned that Carl Pei's company intends to release a successor in the third quarter of this year. But that phone won't be alone. OnePlus plans to launch a cheaper alternative as well.