Tech News Roundup for June 30, 2021
The Canada Day long weekend is here. But first, a few of the tech stories I’ve found interesting over the last couple days.
Canadian Government Announces Rules for Next Spectrum Auction
The next round of wireless spectrum auctions for 5G networks in Canada is set. Taking place in 2023, the larger carriers of Telus, Bell, and Rogers will be limited in the amount of spectrum they can bid on, while smaller carriers will be allowed to bid on higher amounts of spectrum. The spectrum in question is in the 3800 MHz band, making it ideal for what is called mid-band 5G, which will be the spectrum that offers the best balance of extremely fast speeds while also offering acceptable range. This will compliment the 3500 MHz spectrum that was auctioned in 2021 and has begun rolling out this year.
https://mobilesyrup.com/2022/06/30/government-releases-rules-for-the-3800mhz-spectrum-auction/
Apple Begins Allowing 3rd Party Payment Providers in South Korea
Apple has begun complying with a new South Korean Law that requires the company to accept third party payment providers in the Apple App Store. In true Apple fashion, it is restricting how this works. 3rd party payment provers are limited to those approved by Apple, and Apple still takes a cut on every transaction, albeit “only” 26% instead of 20%.
Apple is following the letter of the law, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that the lawmakers in South Korea will not be happy.
EcoFlow Power Kit Brings High Capacity Off Grid Power
Part of moving to renewable and sustainable energy sources includes solutions to what happens when the sun goes down, or the wind isn’t blowing. Increasingly, the solution to that is batteries with enough capacity to run homes off the grid.
EcoFlow’s newest product in this space is the Power Kit, which is markted as a turnkey solution for anything from an RV to a cabin to a home in the city. The uniqueness is the modularity and flexibility of the solution. The system runs off of a box the company calls the Power Hub, which includes all of the components needed operate the system. This includes DC-DC and AC-DC inverters, and connections for solar panels. This is combined with batteries of various configurations. There are 2kW and 5kW batteries available, and up to 3 batteries can run in the system. Want to run an RV for a weekend? A single 2kW battery system might be enough. Want to power a house during a blackout, get a full 15kW system.
Pricing does not come cheap, with the cheapest 2kW system at $3800 USD. The full 15kW kit comes in at $15,000 USD. But for the market this aims to serve, the prices are competitive.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/27/23184578/vanlife-all-in-one-solar-power-battery-price-specs
Snap Inc Launches Snapchat Plus Subscription Service
Because everything needs to be a subscription service, Snap has launched Snapchat Plus, a $4/month subscription service in Snapchat. Snapchat Plus offers a few additional features over the base Snapchat service. I’m not a snapchat user so I’m not sure how valuable these new features are, but the general consensus, seems to be “not very” It is interesting to see different companies try different subscription models, and how some seem to offer relatively compelling products, and some… do not.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/snapchat-launches-paid-version-with-extra-features/
Pokemon Go Developer Niantic Cancels Projects, Lays Off Staff
Niantic, the company best known for developing Pokemon Go, is undergoing some challenging times. The company is laying off about 90 employees, and is cancelling 4 unreleased products to return focus back to Pokemon Go and an upcoming game being produced in collaboration with the NBA.
Pokemon Go’s, and Niantic’s success has been up and down in the last 2 years as the pandemic changed behaviours almost monthly. The craze of location based games likely has a ceiling, and Niantic looks ot have found it.
https://www.engadget.com/niantic-layoffs-games-canceled-pokemon-go-185005794.html?src=rss
Samsung Launches Game Hub On Smart TV’s
Samsung is the first company to launch a “Game Hub” on its smart TV platform. The Game Hub includes apps for game streaming services like Google Stadia and Xbox Cloud Gaming, as well as video streaming like Twitch. With the apps being built into the TV platform, all users need is a controller to stream games.
https://www.engadget.com/twitch-amazon-luna-samsung-smart-tv-2022-gaming-hub-app-150034012.html