There has been some news out of Apple lately about how they are going to be launching a series of instructional courses at their retail store locations called “Today at Apple.” These sessions cover a wide variety of topics, including using software products associated with Macs, iPads, and iPhones, as well as a basic intros on how to take better pictures with your iPhone. These workshops are going to be leveraged going forward as a key piece of Apple’s retail strategy, but here’s the funny part: these classes already exist. And I went to one this week. Here’s how it went. Spoiler – if you read the title, you’ll already know a bit about how I felt when I left.
Month: April 2017
Google’s VP in charge of the Pixel phones leaves…after just 6 months
David Foster was the Vice President of Hardware Product Development for Google, and oversaw the Google Home and Pixel devices, even though he came on board after the Pixel (phones by Google) were already well into their development. Apparently it wasn’t the gig he was hoping for, because he has left Google and is moving on to whatever else is next.
He came to Google from Amazon, where he was working with the group that developed the hardware for the Kindle and Echo speakers. He has also previously held hardware positions at both Microsoft and Apple. We wish him good luck in his future endeavors – David Foster, as a Google fanboy, I can say “we hardly knew you.”
Source: Android Authority
New podcast uploading – AR, VR, & the future of our reality
We have talked before about whether or not virtual reality is more than just a fad, but in this episode of the Silicon Theory podcast, I dive a little deeper into what each of these platforms is, what might they look like, and raise the question of what our future looks like if everyone had access to the sum total of human knowledge instantly.
Check out the podcast in your favorite platform at one of the below links. Thanks for listening!
Silicon Theory podcast – iTunes, Google Play Music, SoundCloud
Google confirms 2 and 3 year software support timeline for their Pixel phones
Google has recently updated their “end of life” page, which details how long owners of the specific Google branded or made devices can expect software support. This is useful for both buyers and current owners, as it gives a good idea of when you might want to consider investing in a new phone if software support and security patches are things that matter to you.
Monday morning briefing
Here are some of the things that were interesting to me from over the weekend (or very early this morning) – this will be in the spirit of the the Silicon Theories features, where we highlight a few things and then explore them in depth at a later time. Please enjoy!
- The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus just came out…and we’re already talking about the next ones: rumors are starting to surface about the Galaxy S9 and its supposed inclusion of the newest Snapdragon processor (labeled the S845 for now) and while interesting, some of this is just plain bad news. We’ve talked about how we feel about the Qualcomm/Samsung partnership putting other OEMs in a bad way on the podcast, and I think this could set a very bad precedent. If other OEMs have to either 1) wait for the latest and greatest chips for their phones until AFTER Samsung gets them or 2) released with last year’s silicon, it puts most at a competitive disadvantage. See: LG and HTCs phones from this year. Good for business – maybe? Good for the consumer – probably not.
OEM Stock Watch 2017 – part 1
As the year is reaching its midway point, we wanted to take a look at how we felt the major mobile device manufacturers were doing, and we thought it would be appropriate to treat them like we would any other big company…by rating their “stock” (according to both Sean P. and myself) We’ll give our thoughts on everyone from Apple to ZTE, and loads more in between. Because the list is so big, we will do it in two parts, with part 1 today and part 2 coming next week. So without further ado, let’s give you a look into the crystal ball of these two day traders!
This is the Galaxy S8
It’s time! The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus devices that were pre-ordered have been shipped, and we are in the process of getting all of the Galaxy goodness brought to you soon. We will be testing both sizes of the Galaxy devices, and will have reviews and more info coming at you shortly. In the meantime, please enjoy a quick recap of the specs of the devices and the picture gallery below.
I love tech: Tapet
I’m the kind of guy who has to have a new home screen wallpaper every day. With the QHD display of my Pixel XL serving as a terrific backdrop for just about any kind of wallpaper you might choose, I chose to look for something simple, minimalistic, and would match my oh-so-important color palette. I think it was Sean P. who actually introduced me to Tapet, and boy am I glad he did. This is I love tech: Tapet!
Coming Soon…
There’s a lot of things going on in the next few weeks for the tech world at large, but more importantly for us at Silicon Theory. We’re looking forward to bringing new content all the time, but this week in particular. Here’s a brief look at a few of the things on tap…
Silicon Theories – April Edition
It’s April, which means its time for another edition of the Silicon Theories for this month. This go around, we take a look at whether AI assistants can actually be helpful in our lives, whether or not electric cars are here to stay, and wonder what HTC is up to with their latest phone, the U Ultra. Ready? Let’s dive in!
*Don’t have time to read? Check out the audio version of the April Edition of Silicon Theories on iTunes, Google Play Music, SoundCloud
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