News
Philippines to become one of first to roll out 5G in 2019
Along with Japan and Australia
The race to 5G connectivity is officially on, and to the joy of a striving nation, the Philippines is leading the pack.
News just broke during Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2018 that the Philippines will be among the first to roll out its 5G networks in 2019, along with Japan and Australia.
This marks a major milestone for the archipelago, which has been known for having less-than-stellar 4G results in recent tests. Breaking into 5G territory will give the Philippines a leg up with the next-generation technology.
“Next year, Australia, Japan, and the Philippines are going to be the first to launch 5G networks,” said Jan Stryjak, Lead Analyst at GSMA Intelligence, during a presentation at MWC Shanghai 2018.
What can we expect out of this level of wireless tech? Beyond the obvious speed boost, 5G is expected to have better security and connection reliability compared to older standards.
Globe Telecom already announced earlier in June that they’ll have 5G commercially available for homes by the second quarter of 2019 with the help of Huawei.
“We can bring internet to more homes by deploying 5G compared to a typical fiber optic rollout,” said Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO, when talking about 5G’s advantages over wired fiber connections.
Smart Communications, on the other hand, have already begun testing 5G speeds in the country. Their latest results have shown speeds of up to a jaw-dropping 14.97Gbps on their 5G network. That’s nearly 2GB of data downloaded every second!
Smart plans to have its 5G network ready by 2020, but news of Globe accelerating its rollout could push this rival to speed up the process, as well.
This desire from both telcos to make 5G happen as soon as possible for the Philippines is music to consumers’ ears. Not only will this save the country from its dreadful internet woes, but it’ll also enable more homes to enter the Internet of Things sooner than expected.
Apps
Canva teams up with SB19 to turn A’TIN’s passion into creativity
Campaign lets fans access assets, editable templates, more
Canva Philippines has joined forces with SB19 and Sony Music Entertainment to launch the “Kaya sa Canva” campaign.
This first-of-its-kind initiative is aimed at transforming the popular Filipino boy band’s fanbase into creators by giving them access to official design assets, exclusive templates, and powerful creative tools.
That’s of course as fans have a way of creating artwork, banners, and more outputs to honor their idols.
As such, the partnership enables the A’TIN (SB19’s fanbase) to access the Canva-exclusive SB19’s Creative Hub.
This dedicated space lets fans access assets, including SB19-inspired sticker packs, custom typography, and editable templates inspired by the group.
Fans around the world will initially have access to templates for photo-booth strips, wallpapers, posters, and videos.
The campaign will then expand with Canva-exclusive assets celebrating the group’s New Era, as well as their latest single, “Lawless”.
Meanwhile, the original song “KAYA” is accompanied with an upbeat music video, doubling as a love letter to A’TIN and a masterclass in Canva’s tools.
Every visual and animation is fan-inspired, a celebration of the creativity, passion, and dedication that’s defined in the community from day one.
News
The iPhone 18 might sell out for an unexpected reason
The ongoing shortage might play a part in the phone selling out earlier than expected.
An iPhone selling out is not news. Because of how popular the phones are, it’s within the realm of probability that Apple runs out of stock at some point. According to a new report, this year won’t be any different… but it’s for an entirely different reason.
First reported by analyst Tim Culpan, Apple is reportedly struggling to meet its demand for semiconductors for the iPhone 18 and the foldable iPhone. The ongoing memory shortage is cutting off Apple’s ability to deliver the required supply of smartphones in a timely fashion. The report even claims that TSMC, which helps produce the iPhone, is sitting on a shipment of processors, worth US$ 1 billion, that don’t have memory chips.
Now, Apple is still confident that it can weather the launch. However, if the shortage persists, the iPhone 18 generation will likely sell out much more quickly than expected.
It’s an interesting time for Apple to experience such a shortage. It’s been heavily rumored that the company will launch its very first foldable phone next month, creating a new market for the brand. Apple definitely wants this attempt to succeed after the tepid response to its last new product, the Vision Pro.
SEE ALSO: Did Tim Cook just confirm that iPhone prices are going up?
News
These “smart” glasses just sold out in under a week
DuckDuckGo touts that these glasses have zero AI, zero cameras, and an infinite battery life.
Smart glasses are in a weird place right now. While a chunk of the population views them as cool and innovative, another significant chunk sees them as a privacy nightmare. If you’re in the latter group but want to see what life is like on the former, DuckDuckGo has a new product: a pair of anti-surveillance glasses with no camera or AI, otherwise known as just normal sunglasses.
If it’s not obvious, yes, it’s a troll product. DuckDuckGo is a search engine famously known for pushing privacy as a priority, opposing Google’s penchant for advertising and AI. Now, the search engine is taking on the smart glasses market.
Partnering with Knockaround, DuckDuckGo released the Paso Robles, a pair of sunglasses touted as having zero cameras, an always-offline mode, and a battery life of infinity.
It’s a statement piece. The rims have a logo mark, similar to the Meta’s glasses. The packaging also states that the glasses are “designed to block the sun, not send data to the cloud.”
Now, if you want a pair, they cost only US$ 35, as opposed to Meta’s US$ 299 price tag, but they are already sold out.
Which says quite a bit about today’s sentiment against AI and for privacy. Of course, to be fair, DuckDuckGo’s supply is certainly less than Meta’s stock for their smart glasses. It does, however, prove that the sentiment is there.
As of now, the world is slowly realizing that unimpeded smart glasses aren’t such a good idea, leading to people concerned about their privacy. In fact, some states have already started banning the technology in certain public spaces.
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