John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to talk about the perception that iPhone X sales are tanking, plus they explain Siri’s hierarchy in deciding when it should respond from your iPhone, iPad, or HomePod.
Samsung
Samsung Still Plans to Copy Animoji for its Galaxy S9 Smartphone
We noted in January that Samsung is planning on introducing its own version of Animoji, and now there’s another report out saying the same.
OLED Burn Test Pits iPhone X Against Samsung Phones
The results show that Apple’s work to decrease OLED burn have paid off.
Samsung Ready to Invent Face ID, Animoji for Galaxy S9
Samsung just announced a new chip dubbed Exynos 9 Series 9810 for its upcoming smartphone models that sports what the company is calling “realistic face-tracking filters as well as stronger security when unlocking a device with one’s face.”
FCC Kills Net Neutrality, Samsung's HomePod Competitor - TMO Daily Observations 2017-12-15
Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to discuss the FCC vote to end Net Neutrality, plus Samsung’s HomePod competitor.
Samsung Ready to Jump into the Smart Speaker Market with HomePod Competitor
Samsung is all about innovation, so the company is hard a work on its own HomePod-like smart speaker. The electronics maker expects to release its product some time in the first half of 2018.
Wearable Market Breakdown, Harry Potter AR, iPhone X Camera - ACM 437
Bryan and Jeff argue that the wearables market is breaking down into three competitors, Apple, Xiaomi, and Fitbit. All others are lolwannabes. They also think Harry Potter Wizards Unite will be way bigger than Pokémon Go, and talk about just how good the camera is on iPhone X.
Apple Is Looking Into Reports of Swollen Batteries in iPhone 8
It’s not clear that this is a wide-spread issue, but Apple said, “We are aware and looking into it.”
Samsung's Most Valuable Smartphone will be Apple's iPhone X
Samsung should consider sending Apple a fruit basket because the iPhone X is set to earn the company substantially more in revenue than its own Galaxy S8 flagship smartphone.
You Can Thank Samsung for the iPhone 8's High Price Tag
Apple’s iPhone 8 could cost upwards of $1,000 and that’s thanks in part to the heft price Samsung is charging for its OLED screen.
iPhone 8's Price, The SciFi World of Twistron - TMO Daily Observations 2017-08-25
Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join guest-host Dave Hamilton to dig into whether the rumored price of Apple’s not-yet-announced iPhone 8 is too expensive. They also talk about the science fiction promise of a new material called Twistron. It’s super cool.
Apple's Titan Car Struggle, iPhone 8 vs. Samsung Galaxy 8 - TMO Daily Observations 2017-08-24
John Martellaro and Jeff Butts join guest-host Bryan Chaffin to talk about Apple’s perils an lessons in trying to make a car. They also discuss the perennial topic of whether this is the year when—finally—Apple can’t compete with whatever Samsung announced earlier in the year. (Spoiler: no, it’s not.)
Canadian Regulators Put an End to Locked Cellphones
The regulations, “will erase millions in annual revenue for carriers” because locking phones is a completely arbitrary practice designed to lock consumes to a carrier.
Samsung's Iris Scanning Joke, Crappy Business is Not OK, and PC Design - ACM 412
Unsurprisingly, Samsung’s crappy iris scanner on the Galaxy S8 has been defeated. Worse, defeating it is easy. Bryan and Jeff think it’s a joke and another example of Samsung’s delusions of relevance. They also discuss Bryan’s theory that PC makers can’t compete with Apple’s MacBook with me-too design, and say that surveillance capitalists being honest about spying on your doesn’t make their spying OK.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Iris Scanner Already Hacked
Samsung’s Galaxy S8 smartphone iris recognition biometric security feature is surprisingly easy to hack.
Samsung Lands 2 Year Deal for Curved OLED iPhone Displays
Smartphone makers planning on using OLED screens are about to be in a bind because Apple just signed a two year contract with Samsung for the panels. Samsung will reportedly supply Apple with at least 70 million bendable OLED panels this year, and Samsung will take up the rest for itself.
The ISP Coup, an Apple VPN, and Samsung's Bixby Gambit - ACM 404
ISPs performed a coup against consumers, and they did so in collusion with one of America’s major political parties. Bryan and Jeff are two tense geeks about it. Their solution would be for Apple to launch a VPN integrated into Apple’s products. And then there’s Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and that company’s delusions of software relevance. Oh, and Bixby, which could eventually succeed in making Samsung relevant.
Samsung Plans to Refurbish and Sell the Recalled Note 7
Now that Samsung has collected all those Note 7 explode-a-phones, what to do with them? How about put them back out on the market as refurbished. That’s exactly what Samsung is doing thanks to pressure in part from the environmental activist group Greenpeace.
Apple Rumors and Manufacturing, Tim Cook's Pipeline, and $AAPL - ACM 400
In this 400th episode of Apple Context Machine, John Kheit joins Bryan Chaffin to discuss rumors of iPhone 8 and Samsung Galaxy S8, Apple manufacturing, Tim Cook’s claim that Apple cares about pro users and creative pros in particular, the company’s supposed pipeline, and $AAPL’s record high valuation. Oh…and Nickleback.
Tip: Stop Surveillance By Smart TVs from Vizio, Samsung, and LG
In light of the recent case against Vizio, an article by Consumer Reports gives details on how to stop your smart TV from spying on you with automatic content recognition. This works with television models from Vizio, Samsung and LG. Here’s how to stop the surveillance and protect your privacy.
Apple Doesn't Love iBooks and Samsung Schadenfreude - ACM 397
Evidence suggests Apple stopped loving iBooks. Bryan and Jeff go over that evidence and discuss why Apple should rekindle that love and make iBooks great again. They also take a few minutes to experience some schadenfreude over Samsung’s battery factory fire, and argue that a loss of market share demonstrates Samsung’s lack of software relevance.
Hello, Irony: Samsung Note 7 Battery Factory Catches on Fire
It’s the kind of irony that takes serious script work to bring together in a TV show, but for Samsung it’s real life: The factory that makes the faulty batteries that led to the exploding Galaxy Note 7 caught on fire. Luckily no one was hurt, so it’s totally OK for us to poke fun at Samsung’s latest misfortune.
Samsung Delaying Galaxy S8 Launch Following Note 7 Fire Investigation
Word leaked last week that Samsung’s official Galaxy Note 7 fire investigation would point to the device’s battery as the cause of the problem, and that’s exactly what the company said on Monday. Samsung also it’s delaying the launch of the Galaxy S8 smartphone as a result of its Note 7 investigation.
Samsung's Note 7 Fire Report: Surprise, It's the Batteries
Samsung will officially announce the results of its investigation into the Galaxy Note 7 fires next week, and there won’t be any big surprises because they’re pointing the finger that the smartphone’s battery. The company is also going to say there were manufacturing issues, although it’s not clear yet what those were.