We're back to Cake! Android 11 is internally named "Red Velvet Cake"

 

Android 11 is now Red Velvet Cake! (Image Source: xda-developers.com)

Remember when Android used to name their Android versions after confectionery products? Last year, Google has decided to end their naming schemes after desserts. However, because Android 11 is internally named "Red Velvet Cake" this is simply not the case.

Sameer Samat, Vice President of Google's Android Product Management, has confirmed that the company is still using sweet confectionery products to name their Android versions internally. Android Q (or Android 10) is internally named "Quince Tart" and would have been likely known to the public as "Android 10 Queen Cake". This was later dropped.

For now, internal engineers are gonna be using the 'red velvet cake' internal name. As the world craves for it, who knows? Cake is simply just too sweet to just let go, especially with all the surreal cake memes going around lately.

Red Velvet Cake is sweet, but do you think it's a good name for Android 11? Let us know in the comments section below!

Sources: theverge.com, xda-developers.com

Ever heard of Lit Mobile?

You may or may have not seen the ads. More likely you have seen it, cause it is everywhere on YouTube. Essentially, the ad looks like a tech reviewer unboxing the Lit Mobile battery pack.

The battery pack has some interesting specs: 20k mAh capacity, Solar charging, rugged build and, according to the ad, shockproof and water resistant. They say it also charges your phone up to 8 times. The battery pack charges in 60 minutes and can charge phones wirelessly

These sound too good to be true, but everything that sounds to be too good to be true, it probably because it does.

The ad is a con operation, meant to take your money without ever delivering your product. Also, the ad has multiple red flags for anyone to take it seriously.

First off, their YouTube Channel released multiple ads and all of them are vague and/or lacks continuity.

There are two ads with two "different" "reviewers". They essentially say the same thing: 20k mAh capacity, solid build, shock proof, water resistant as well as solar power to charge the battery pack and wireless charging features. Plus, they never show their faces in the videos

Another version of the Lit Mobile battery pack ad, with the same script as the first

One thing to note is that the phones they used are the same, a red iPhone. Both videos' comments and ratings are turned off. Hmmm sounds fishy...

If one goes to search in google for "Lit Mobile" the first result they will get is the question "Is Lit Mobile legit?" as well as two links to the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Both links of the BBB have multiple complaints from customers saying they did not get the product, or they did get their product but was defective. It currently garners an F rating in the BBB website.

Another red flag is the "Spring Sale" in their website, where you can get the powerbank for 60% off its original price (the powerbank sells for $99.99). The banner may not change and may stay that way.

Upon checking the website, there's a small section for reviews, which are nearly all 5 stars. The reviews are obviously fake, and some of them were stolen from other content creators, as well as pictures that don't relate to the product at all

Obviously fake reviews from their website

The last biggest red flag is that the product the company is trying to advertise can be bought off Alibaba. In Alibaba's website, there is a listing for a solar charger that looks eerily familiar with Lit mobile's solar charger. The price there is pretty low as well, at only $11-17 (Php 550-850) and would probably do the same thing Lit Mobile's powerbank does.

This listing on Alibaba looks awfully familiar to what Lit Mobile is selling

Remember the Drone X Pro ad? The same situation is happening here with Lit Mobile. With vague descriptions and no particular person was involved in both of their ads. Niether of their ads name the person who made the products, in case of Lit Mobile, the "reviewers" in question aren't named, nor are their faces shown.

Don't buy the Lit Mobile powerbank, it is a scam as confirmed by the reviews on BBB's website. The powerbank is more of a con operation so that you would lose your money. There are similar powerbanks out there with similar price tags. For now, the ads have stopped appearing in users' feed. Similar ads may appear in the future, but for as long as the descriptions are vague and no one is credited in their ads, or the features are "too good for the price", then it probably is.

 

Sources: ComputerClan, Better Business Bureau, Litmobile.us, Alibaba Listing

LOOTERS BEWARE: Your iPhones are being tracked

With the riots going on with the death of George Floyd, looters are for sure to take advantage of ruined businesses and take whatever valuable is available. Apple Inc has also become a victim from the rioters.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, has sent messages to his employees as the protests continued saying that "there is a pain etched in the soul of our nation and in the hearts of millions. To stand together, we must stand up for one another, and recognize the fear, hurt and outrage rightly provoked by the senseless killing of George Floyd and a much longer history of racism"

"At Apple, our mission has always will be to create technology that empowers people to change the world for the better. We've always been drawn strength from our diversity, welcomed people from every walk of life to our stores and around the world, and strived to build and Apple that is inclusive to everyone" he added.

Because of the on-going protests, majority of Apple Stores in the US have closed temporarily, for the safety of customers, employees and everyone else. Stores that have been recently reopened due to COVID-19 were also forced to close. 

Because of the luxury value Apple holds, it is of no surprise that it became a favored target by looters. Stores in Portland, Washington and San Francisco have been looted of their goods. To Apple's response, they decided to remove the stocks they have left from those stores.

What looters do not know is that their phones are controlled by Apple and can be shutdown by them as well. Apple holds every iPhones' IMEI number and when a stolen phone is reported, phones can be shutoff so that it will become a brick of its former self.

This has proven to be true, as a tweet last Sunday, May 31, pictured an iPhone prompt saying to return it from the store where it was looted.

Apple looters, your phones will be unusable; but for those who have legitimate problems, Apple provides useful information on how to track it down.

Sources:fool.com, forbes.com, New York Post

Escobar Inc sues Apple for $2.6 billion

The Escobar Gold 11 Pro is basically a refurbished iPhone 11 Pro with an affordable price tag of $500

Pablo Escobar's brother sued Apple Inc after alleging that his FaceTime was hacked.

Roberto Escobar is the brother of the now-deceased narcotics kingpin, Pablo Escobar, and he runs the company "Escobar Inc." The company made headlines into the tech world after announcing two foldable phones: The Escobar Fold and Fold 2, which are essentially just Royole FlexPai and a Samsung Galaxy Fold wrapped in Gold Stickers and sold for a much cheaper price.

According to the lawsuit, Roberto Escobar visited an Apple Store in Medellin, Colombia in 2018, after a sales agent assured him that the iPhone X is the most secured phone one could ever buy.

However, less than a year after he bought the iPhone X, he allegedly received a threatening letter. He became concern for his family's safety.

He claimed to have done some "research: and discovered that FaceTime had a vulnerability, thus he had to "spend a substantial amount of money and time" to relocate his family and avoid attempts at "threatening his life"

He sued Apple Inc. for $2.6 billion, saying that they "failed to provide a phone free of exploits and security vulnerabilities"

However, in late May 2020, he is known to sell a refurbished iPhone 11 Pro through the company's website, Escobar Inc. which he claims is the true "Apple Killer" and through marketing and lewd campaigns, gain word from popular tech reviewers like Marques Brownlee.

The phone and the previous attempts to sell the Fold 2, has been accused to be a scam and nothing more than a money laundering scheme. Users who ordered the Fold 2 never got their phone, and instead received a book that contains information about Pablo Escobar.

Sources: The Independent, Escobar Inc. (note: do not buy the phone at all costs if you don't want to lose your $500, the link is for reference purposes only)

MIUI 12 is now official

MIUI 12 has been finally announced. According to Xiaomi, they believe that the new UI is on par with Apple's iOS with minimalistic design and animations to a simplistic look that is easy on the eyes.

22 models are under beta testing and the stable version will be released this June.

Refer to the dropdown list to see if your phone is compatible to be updated to MIUI 12:

• Redmi K30
• Redmi K20
• Xiaomi CC9 Pro
• Redmi Note 7 Pro
• Mi 9 SE
• CC9
• Redmi Note 8 Pro
• Redmi Note 7
• Mi 8
• Mi Mix 3
• Mi Mix 2s
• Mi Note 3
• Mi Max 3
• Mi 8 Youth Edition
• Mi Mix 2
• Redmi Note 5
• Mi 6x
• Mi 8 SE
• Mi 6

Not on the list? Wait until Xiaomi announces that your phone is eligible for updates, but rest assured, most phones produced last year and from 2017 may get the update.

For this version of MIUI, Xiaomi has had a heavy focus on reducing animation and improving security and privacy such as that the new UI can record application behaviours and report apps that act maliciously to the user. Any new permissions request will cause a prompt to appear. Accepting the prompt lets the app use the information the user has permitted.

The new UI also has interceptors which prevent apps from running in the background. MIUI 12 is also the first UI that passed TUV Rheinland's "Android System Enhanced Privacy Protection Test" or (ASEPPT) that ensures that user data is fully secured.

Source: Gizchina.com

OnePlus joins Xiaomi's P2P File Transfer Alliance

The P2P File Transfer Alliance is a joint-venture between Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo to develop a much more convenient and easier way to share files peer-to-peer via bluetooth or Wi-Fi (similar to SHAREit by Lenovo and Xiaomi's Shareme). The Allaince is mainly a response to Apple's AirDrop to Chinese users. The protocol was first announced in August 2019 in China.

Recently, Oppo, Blackshark, Realme, OnePlus and Meizu joined the P2P File Transfer Alliance as mentioned in their Weibo accounts.

The file transfer system would transfer files at an average 20mb per second and unlike other file-sharing apps that use Wi-Fi, this one does not interrupt your Wi-Fi connectivity, making it able for you to transfer files wirelessly as well as use your device at the same time.

Source: Gadgets360

Apple and Google are working to build a COVID-19 Tracker

Not everyday we see rival companies working hand-in-hand, but due to this pandemic, two of the biggest rivals, Google and Apple set aside their differences and are jointly making a COVID-19 Tracker.

Both companies will release APIs (Application Programming Interface) in May that is able to work with both Android and iOS. They say that the app both companies are building is to build a secure form of contact tracing. 

According to Apple, privacy, transparency and consent are the utmost importance and are working well with stakeholders to make the app possible and that they are publishing their reports/work for others to analyze

Across the world, multiple companies and health officials are working together to defeat COVID-19, and end the pandemic for the world's benefit. The tracker that is jointly made by Google and Apple can help track the spread of the virus by telling users if they, the users, suspect someone who is infected and has contact with them, or if they are sick themselves. 

Contact Tracing is a vital step in preventing the virus to spread any worse. One example of successful contact tracing is in South Korea, where they prevented the virus from spreading outside their own borders.

The tracker will rely on Bluetooth services which is normally used for short-distance communication between devices. When one is tested positive for the virus, they can tell this on the app, and then people near that person in the previous 14 days will be alerted. However, fear not, as your own information remains private.

Apple and Google will notify you when the app is available, where it can be downloaded into Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store respectively.

Sources: Apple.com, TechnologyReview.com

China aligned itself to Huawei, says they are against US' latest rules

Pictured: Huawei NetEngine 8000 source: CNBC.com

China has answered against the latest sanctions by the US to Huawei, said that they will do whatever they can to preserve Chinese interests and rights.

Huawei could lose a million users as they enter the second year of blacklisting, as the loss of Google's license has had a huge impact on sales outside of China.

The current administration in the US has blocked Huawei from supplying chip supplies to other telecoms companies, which resulted in fears of Chinese retaliation and preventing shares to Huawei from chipmakers. The block would take effect on 22nd May, Friday and would have a 120-day grace period.

The Chinese government has responded by blocking US companies on an "unreliable entity list", according to Chinese state-run newspaper Global Times.

The companies affected include Apple Inc, Cisco Systems Inc and Qualcomm Inc. Many more US companies may get affected in the future.

Source: Forbes.com , CNBC.com

Foxconn hits low this Q1, due to Coronavirus Outbreak

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, essential goods are increasing in demand while non-essential goods, such as smartphones, continue to decline to demand. 

Foxconn, the largest electronics contract manufacturer, sees a declining net profit from January until March as it declined to T$2.1 billion, a 90% decrease in contrast to the previous year, and is currently the lowest since the Q2000, which it reported an estimate of T$8.88 billion.

However, despite the losses, the company is hopeful as its factories have been reopened in China and it predicts that their net profits will stabilize by Q2. 

Foxconn chairman Liu Young-way said that its enterprising and computing division will see an expected revenue growth of 10% yearly and more than 15% in the current quarter. 

Its consumer electronics division, which comprises mostly of smartphones, however, will continue to see a yearly decline of 15% in sales as the COVID-19 pandemic decreases the demand for smartphones and electronics

Sources from: Reuters.com, GSMArena.com

Foxconn factory in China