Galaxy S8 rumored to feature optical fingerprint recognition

By now you will have heard the rumor that the Galaxy S8 will finally do away with the physical home button. While the obvious question has been "what will happen to the fingerprint scanner?", a possible answer has just cropped up via Weibo: optical fingerprint recognition. While that may sound good, I wouldn't get your hopes up.

See also: Sorry, the Samsung Galaxy S8 will not be launching early24

Sam Mobile reports that the Samsung Galaxy S8 will feature an optical fingerprint scanner housed under the seamless glass of its front display. The site claims that optical recognition is both faster and more accurate than the kind of ultrasonic fingerprint scanning made possible by Qualcomm's Sense ID.

But our own rundown on the different types of fingerprint scanners available explains why optical fingerprint scanners are not so secure (even if they are faster). This is because they rely on a glorified camera that only captures a 2D image. As you likely remember, older fingerprint scanners were notoriously easy to fool – these were optical scanners.

Optical scanners are notoriously easy to fool.

Considering the Galaxy S8 will feature chipsets manufactured by Qualcomm as well as Samsung, we think Sense ID ultrasonic scanning sounds much more likely.

While Samsung may be working on an advanced optical scanner, it would need to be a significant advancement over even the advanced kind of electro-optical scanner that can distinguish between a live finger and an image of a finger. But why Samsung would want to update an old scanning technology rather than adopt a new one is beyond me.

While it would be wise to take any rumor originating from Weibo with a grain of salt, the source of this rumor claims that Samsung is currently experiencing lower than expected yields for the optical scanning components required for the S8. Only time will tell if this rumor pans out to be true, but we'll be keeping a close on eye on it.

Would you prefer optical fingerprint scanning over an iris scanner?

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Xiaomi: It doesn’t make sense to launch the Mi MIX in other markets

Don't shoot the messenger but it looks even less likely that the Xiaomi Mi MIX will be available outside of China. Replying to comments on Reddit, the product manager for MIUI India Jai Mani indicated that a launch in other markets would be problematic.

"It's still a concept so I don't think it really makes sense to launch it in other markets. Also we're still a really small team in India," said Mani, adding, "We have to consider each product very, very carefully given our limited resources."

See also: Xiaomi Mi Note 2's curved screen and great specs will help you forget about the Note 7126

Though Mani was responding to a question regarding availability in India, his concerns with the production could be applied to any market. In a follow-up comment, Mani outlined issues with marketing, sales, certification and "manual and labelling," stating that some countries have pretty specific requirements about the latter.

Though Mani's words aren't exactly a hard confirmation that a wider Mi Mix release won't happen, given the product's 'concept' moniker, and it's existence as a relatively risky Xiaomi release, it would be surprising if it did.

Are you disappointed by Xiaomi's lack of presence in the West? Let us know in the comments.

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How much does the Google Pixel cost to make?

The new Google Pixel and Pixel XL certainly don't come cheap, easily costing as much as Apple's iPhone 7 and Samsung's Galaxy S7, and it seems that there's plenty of profit to be made with these high end phones. The production cost of a 32GB Pixel XL is just $285.75, including $7.75 in basic manufacturing costs, according to IHS Markit.

Given that the 32GB Pixel XL is priced at $769, that's a $483.25 net income for Google. Of course, this is not including research and development costs, distribution, or the company's biggest advertising budget to date (you may have seen one of the billboards), so actual profit from the handset will be a bit lower.

"Total BOM costs for the Google Pixel XL are, not surprisingly, in line with those of other competitors, because the supply base and specs are very similar from phone to phone—whether it's an iPhone, a Galaxy-series phone or the Google Pixel XL" –  Andrew Rassweiler, senior director of cost benchmarking services for IHS Markit

When it comes to individual component costs, it's the Samsung-built 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display that costs the most at $58 a pop. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor is the next most expensive component costing $50, followed by $26.50 spent on the RAM and NAND memory package.

Surprisingly, Google's best in class camera package isn't one of the more expensive items. The combined cost of the 8 megapixel front camera and 12 megapixel rear camera is estimated to be around $17.50. This would have cost notable more if the camera included optical image stabilization technology. The company spent more on Gorilla Glass 4 protection and the die-cast aluminum enclosure at a cost of $35, so the new design seems to have been higher up Google's priorities list.

Google has certainly gone after the very high-end market with its new Pixel range, but the Nexus line-up was never a slouch in the hardware department either. Do you think that the new design justifies the higher price tag? Also, if you're interested in the full bill of materials for a modern smartphone, be sure to check out the source link below.

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AT&T is (allegedly) making millions of dollars selling your data to cops

Documents obtained by The Daily Beast suggest that AT&T is making millions of dollars selling user data to law enforcers. In a report published on October 25, The Daily Beast alleges that AT&T created a program for the purpose of marketing and distributing user data on the promise that use of its program wouldn't be disclosed, should an investigation go public.

Project Hemisphere is the name given to AT&T's initiative which, according to The Daily Beast, analyzes "trillions of call records" to determine "where a target is located, with whom [he or she] speaks, and potentially why."

The New York Times claimed that the same project was used in a drugs case in an article from 2013. The Daily Beast says that the documents it recently obtained show Hemispheres uses stretch beyond the war-on-drugs and encompass everything from "investigations of homicide to Medicaid fraud."

See also: Motorola cannot commit to monthly security updates, calls them 'difficult'100

Telecommunication companies are legally obligated to hand over records for police matters when requested. However, it's alleged that AT&T is going to greater lengths to provide support in these matters in the aid of financial gain. "Sheriff and police departments pay from $100,000 to upward of $1 million a year or more for Hemisphere access," wrote The Daily Beast.

AT&T's records are also said to be particularly easy to access, requiring only an "administrative subpoena" rather than a warrant from a judge.

See also: Nest's first outdoor security camera is weatherproof and can see in the dark8

The New York Times says that the "scale and longevity" of AT&T's data trove appears to be "unmatched by other government programs, including the N.S.A.'s gathering of phone call logs under the Patriot Act." Reportedly, AT&T retains cell tower data from as far back as 2008, while competing carriers Verizon and Sprint both retain data for no more than 18 months.

Meanwhile, AT&T recently announced its $85.4 billion acquisition of media giant Time Warner. Both major party presidential campaigns are reported to be concerned about the move.

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Google working on update to minimize halo effect in the Pixel camera

Google is trying to develop algorithms that could mathematically identify the arc-shaped flare that appears in some Pixel-captured photos and then remove it from images.

See also: Google Pixel XL initial review: first 48 hours169

The Google Pixel camera is arguably one of the best mobile shooters in the market, but a halo-like ring cropping up under certain conditions is beginning to raise some eyebrows. Some early users of the Google Pixel phones have noticed a halo effect or lens flare when a light source points toward the Pixel camera.

One Google Pixel user took to Reddit to share photos exhibiting the halo flare recreated using a flashlight as the light source. The light must bounce off the camera at a certain angle to elicit the halo effect. Initial theories claim that the issue at hand is not faulty hardware but an oversight in how the camera and the 2.5D glass panel are positioned relative to each other.

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Lens flares happen occasionally in all types of cameras under direct sunlight or against other light sources. The flare exhibited by the Google Pixel phones, however, doesn't creep into the photos taken using other handsets under similar conditions.

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A Google employee confirmed the issue on the Pixel User Community forum and offered assurance that a fix is coming. The fix will be rolled out over the next few weeks in the form of a software update. However, users will need to use the HDR+ feature to enable the solution.

Whether Google's knack for smart software can solve the issue, it remains to be seen.

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Samsung Pay is expanding to three more countries and getting more features

I absolutely love Samsung Pay – I have my credit card stored there and use it not only here in the US but also when I travel. No need to carry around my wallet. No need to worry about losing my card. It's simple, ubiquitous, and just wonderful. Well, according to Samsung, not only is Samsung Pay expanding to three more countries by the end of this year, but the app is getting even more features next month.

Samsung has announced that by the end of 2016, Malaysia, Russia, and Thailand would also be getting support for Samsung Pay. The mobile payment service is already available in a handful of countries including the US, South Korea, China, Spain, Australia, Singapore, and Brazil. Though there are other mobile payment platforms, the key differentiating factor is that Samsung Pay uses both NFC and MST, meaning anywhere that accepts a regular debit/credit card, Samsung Pay will probably work as well.

Samsung Pay uses both NFC and MST, meaning anywhere that accepts a regular debit/credit card, Samsung Pay will probably work as well.

See also: Android Pay vs Apple Pay vs Samsung Pay Overview79

On top of that, Samsung will be partnering with Mastercard to offer "a simplified online payment and express checkout solution through its digital payment service Masterpass," and this will come in early 2017. According to the South Korean conglomerate, there are already hundreds of thousands of merchants that accept Masterpass for online payments.

The app will also get some new features starting next month: existing users will be happy to learn that from November, the app will let you locate nearby discounts and coupons. Samsung is hoping that customers will be able to find and redeem instant savings easily and quickly. The app will also be available to use within certain merchant apps starting November. These include apps like Velocity, Raise, Fancy, Hello Vino, and Wish, with more to come in the future.

Samsung's mobile payment platform launched in its home turf last year and since then has proven itself to be quite popular. With Samsung continuing to add more banks and countries, it'd be interesting to see how Samsung's mobile payment shapes up in the coming years.

Are you a fan of Samsung Pay? Why or why not? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

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Skype update brings improvements to calls and voicemail

A new set of updates will start rolling out to the mobile version of Skype over the next several weeks, aiming to improve the way users make video and VoIP calls using Microsoft's popular messaging and video app.

See also: 10 best video calling apps for Android12

For starters, Skype users on mobile platforms will soon be able to continue chatting and carry on with their discussion even if the person who initiated the call left the conversation for some reason. This update is especially helpful during group calls, as it means that if the one who set up the conversation must tend to an urgent matter the call can still continue on without this person.

Microsoft is also streamlining all types of calls made via the Skype mobile app by changing the "Call phones" tab into "Calls" in Android devices and later in iOS too. This means you will be able to get a single-tap access to free Skype-to-Skype audio or video calls and calls to mobile or landline numbers. While calling landline or mobile phones will continue to cost, purchasing Skype credit has been made much easier in this latest update.

As traditional voicemail is taking a nosedive, Skype developers have added some nifty enhancements to the mobile app to let users leave a video message instead, or even the option to leave a chat message if that's more your pace. Of course traditional voicemail remains an option as well but support for custom voicemail greetings, email notifications and SMS transcription will no longer be available in the latest Skype version.

See also: A beginner's guide to video chat10

Does any of these updates seem appealing to you? Let us know in the comments!

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