Bytes: What’s new in tech
India could make 1 in 4 iPhones
Apple and its key suppliers “aim to build more than 50 million iPhones in India annually within the next two to three years,” said Rajesh Roy and Yang Jie in The Wall Street Journal. That would ease the dependence on China that has long plagued Apple and its biggest manufacturing partner, Foxconn, and would make India responsible for a quarter of global iPhone production. Like other Western companies, Apple has started diversifying its supply chain across different parts of South and Southeast Asia. Trade tensions are only one factor. “Hourly wages are now significantly lower in India than in China,” although rickety infrastructure, higher transportation costs, and strong labor unions “make doing business there harder.”
App alerts are the latest surveillance tool
The federal government demanded data from Apple and Google about the push notifications that “buzz users’ phones or tablets with updates on new messages or alerts,” said Drew Harwell in The Washington Post. The demand, which was used to gather data about Jan. 6 Capitol rioters but not disclosed until now, represents a new strategy in government data collection. Push notifications produce a bit of data, known as a token, that links a device to accounts at the companies sending the alerts. “The tokens could reveal details about who a person is communicating with, what times they talk, and even the text of any message displayed in the notification.” Sen. Ron Wyden (D.-Ore.) criticized the Justice Department in a letter last week, saying that his office had received word that foreign governments have made similar requests, marking an expansion of official surveillance efforts.
Want to go big? Get a projector
If you want the optimal in-home viewing experience for today’s 4K Ultra HD entertainment, use a projector, said Al Griffin in Tech Radar. It sounds ridiculous, but “a 65-inch screen is actually on the small side for viewing 4K video.” To get the true cinematic experience, a 100-inch screen is “the minimum entry point.” I switched recently from a 65-inch TV to the BenQ V5000i projector and “it was like I’d arrived home safe after a long trip.” The 100-inch screen “had an appealing crispness and rich color.” While the brightness and contrast weren’t as good, “the expanded field of view was more engaging.” The larger picture also revealed details in movies and shows that I’d been missing on the “small” screen.