Author: Anna Galvez

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Crypto News

Bitmain Might Be Losing Its Dominance In The Crypto Mining Market, According To A New Report

The bad news keeps coming for Bitmain, one of the largest companies in the crypto mining universe. After a couple of weeks of questioning about the transparency of its operations, a report has now been published that the Bitcoin (BTC) mining giant may be losing its technological edge to its competitors.

The report, released this week, on Wednesday, informs about an investigation conducted by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. The study, led by Mark Li, notes that “Bitmain cash flow appears to be questionable, and the company may be gradually losing the technological advantage.”

Analysts pointed out that the company’s revenue in 2017 was below the firm’s estimates, which was because part of the production was kept in Bitmain inventories, instead of being sold to customers. However, they acknowledge that, despite the losses, the Asian company’s profits remain “remarkably high.”

The report also questions the future competitiveness of Bitmain chips, as it “failed on a 10nm chip and possibly on other projects.” That means that its competitors could now reach the current technological level of Bitmain, according to the report.

Additionally, the study pointed out that the startup’s significant stake in Bitcoin Cash (BCH) faces a depreciation risk because “BHC is illiquid and has depreciated by almost 20%” since Q1 2018.

Bitmain might lose its dominance in crypto mining

Through the report, analysts recommended Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which produces chips designed by Bitmain, the leading Bitcoin (BTC) mining equipment manufacturer, “to require the company to make full prepayments and to refrain from adding capacity only for the demand related to cryptos.”

In the light of these shortcomings, some observers wonder whether the recent substantial investments made by Bitmain to diversify it would be a sign of weakness rather than strength.

It is possible that the acquisition of a stake in the Opera browser and the investments in Block.one’s EOSIO protocol, as well as the blockchain Lambda storage programme, are the result of the decline of its core business, crypto mining.

There has been much talk recently that Bitmain, the company founded by Jihan Wu, is raising funds for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. However, some of the reports on large companies, which have allegedly participated in previous rounds of funding, have been denied by the firms involved.

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Tech

Oppo R17 Pro Would Come Out In Mid-October With A Fantastic Triple Camera System

After weeks of rumors, we already know all the features of the Oppo R17 Pro, the new flagship smartphone of the Chinese company Oppo that comes with a curious mix of high-end and mid-range features and a reasonably attractive price. Its most attractive function, however, would be the triple camera system on the back.

Oppo is a unique company, and it forms a very interesting Chinese trident together with Vivo and OnePlus.

Oppo and Vivo are essentially the same, but they dedicate their products to separate segments. While Oppo is a little more open, with mobiles from all ranges, although the mid- and low-range smartphones prevail, Vivo is looking for excellence, as we have seen with their Apex handset. OnePlus, on the other hand, develops high-end smartphones.

The Oppo R17 Pro is a smartphone with a high-end design thanks to a 6.4-inch screen that occupies 91.5% of the front side, but which presents a tiny notch. Besides its high-end features, including a triple camera system and 8 GB RAM, Oppo R17 Pro packs a Snapdragon 710, Qualcomm’s SoC for the premium mid-range smartphones.

The triple camera system on Oppo R17 Pro are its main high-end feature

Since Huawei launched its P20 Pro, with exceptional camera performance, there’s an increased interest from the manufacturers to implement triple camera systems in their smartphones. The Oppo R17 Pro is one of those phones and boasts three cameras on the back configuration that would look like in the pic below.

The primary camera of the system is a 12-megapixel sensor with f/1.5-f/2.4 aperture and optical stabilizer, similar to what we have on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. The support camera would boast 20 MP, while the third sensor would the so-called depth sensor.

With this camera, the background blurring would be improved.

We already know that three cameras and a whole bunch of megapixels do not guarantee excellence, but on paper, the cameras of the Oppo R17 Pro sounds a great feature on the upcoming smartphone.

The Oppo R17 Pro smartphone will roll out in mid-October in China, while the release date in the Western markets is yet to be known.

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Tech

Bixby Button on Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Can’t Be Disabled Anymore As In The Previous Models

Along with the new Samsung Galaxy Note 9 launch, there came the revamped version of Bixby, the Samsung’s assistant. As usual, the wizard has its own button on the phone, a switch that many users usually opt to deactivate. However, the new Bixby button can’t be disabled.

The Galaxy Note 9 is Samsung’s brand-new high-end smartphone, officially launched a couple of weeks ago. That is a phone with which the Korean brand hopes to improve sales of its high-end terminals this year. Sales of the Samsung Galaxy S9 have fallen below the company’s expectations. The pressure on this model is therefore high.

But with this new model, things are different, since in the new Galaxy Note 9 it is not possible to deactivate the Bixby button. Bad news for users who were planning to do that.

Bixby button on Samsung Galaxy Note 9 can’t be disabled as in the previous models

In this way, high-end users are forced to use this button. Perhaps the arrival of the new version of Bixby was decisive for this decision of the company. Although we can imagine that some users are not entirely happy, as it is a decision that limits the customization options the users have.

While on other Samsung models you could stop using the button or try to find another use for it, with the newly launched Galaxy Note 9, there is no other possible option to deactivate the switch or link it to another function.

Bixby’s here to stay, and you can access it with that button.

The company itself has not made any statement on the matter so far, but with so many adverse reactions already appearing on the Internet, Samsung should come out and give some explanation for the decision to not allow the Bixby button on Galaxy Note 9 to be disabled.

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Tech

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Launched Today In 56 Countries

The South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics launched today its new Samsung Galaxy Note 9 phone in 56 countries, including the United States, China, and Europe, a figure that will expand to 130 in the coming months, the company said in a statement.

New Samsung flagship smartphone is expected to be better received than the Galaxy S9

The latest model in the Note family, featuring a digital pencil and large screen (this time a 6.4-inch), is now on the market with anticipated local sales 30 to 50 percent higher than the Galaxy S9, launched in March, according to The Korea Herald.

The Galaxy S9 has received a weaker response from the market due to the lack of innovative features compared to its predecessor, while the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 changes are considered more noticeable.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 boasts a powerful battery and up to 8 GB RAM

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 launched today in 56 countries, including South Korea, United States, China, and Europe, and it comes out with a more powerful battery, one of 4,000 mAh, and an improved storage memory of either 128 GB or 512 GB, the latter being also expandable to 1 TB via MicroSD card.

The Galaxy Note 9 comes out seven years after the first of its kind, and also includes a dual camera system on its back, curved edges, eight-core processor and up to 8GB of RAM.

The newly launched Note 9 comes out with DeX mode

The new terminal supports DeX mode, which allows the phone to be used as a desktop computer by adapting the operating system to a Windows interface and connecting it to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse without the need for a dock.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9, which is available in blue, black and lavender, has a starting price of 1.094 million won (approximately $999.99) for the 128 GB variant, and 1.353 million won (roughly $1,249.99) for its 512 GB version.

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Tech

Netflix Blocked New Accounts Registration Through The iOS App

Netflix blocked new accounts registration through the iOS app. Apple devices’ users who want to create a new Netflix account would be redirecting to the mobile website to make payments, rather than completing the process via the iOS application. This way, the renowned video streaming platform will no longer use iTunes as an intermediary to evade Apple’s App Store fees.

TechCrunch reported that some Apple devices’ users complained that the registration page to create a new account directly from the iOS application is missing.

Currently, Netflix pays 30% in App Store fees for single user subscription and 15% for renewals. That is a test that is being applied in ten countries, started on June 30th, and is expected to be extended to 33 by the end of September.

The portal explained that countries such as Canada, Australia, Mexico, and Japan are already experiencing the change.

Netflix blocked new accounts registration via its iOS app

“We are constantly innovating and testing new subscription approaches on different platforms to understand better what our members like. Based on what we learn, we work to improve the Netflix experience for members around the world,” Netflix said for The Verge in a statement.

Switching billing to a direct format means Netflix avoids paying fees to Google and Apple for new subscriptions and renewals.

Other platforms, such as Spotify, have also blocked users from using iTunes to pay for subscriptions. It’s remarkable that both Spotify and Netflix have something else in common, namely, Apple has made significant moves to invade their space, so it makes sense for both companies to take Apple out of their direct relationships with customers. The same could be said of Google and its Play Store.

If the billing test grows or becomes permanent, like on Google, it looks like Apple may need to update its developer subscription pages soon, as TechCrunch said.

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