It has announced that 230 new emojis will be making their way to platforms across the world during 2019. As well as additions including a waffle, a sloth, a Hindu temple and a yawning face, an array of new characters that represent disability and accessibility is on the way.

More inclusive emojis

Unicode explained that it had been working towards more inclusive representation in emojis over the last number of years. The body added skin-tone support in 2015 and increased representation of women the year after. The latest emoji update, the sixth major roll-out since 2014, includes people with various disabilities.

The idea was proposed last year by tech giant Apple, which said: “Adding emoji emblematic to users’ life experiences helps foster a diverse culture that is inclusive of disability.”

While the various platform owners are free to tweak the Unicode designs to fit their own brand identity, they must ensure that each character is recognisable across different platforms.

The latest update shows men and women using equipment such as hearing aids and motorised wheelchairs, as well as individual items such as prosthetic limbs and canes used by people with visual impairments.

Boosting representation for people with disabilities

Phil Talbot from the UK disability charity Scope said: “Social media is hugely influential and it’s great to see these new disability-inclusive emojis. Up to now, disability has been greatly underrepresented.”

Talbot added that there is still more to be done to better represent people with disabilities across all parts of traditional and social media.

As well as representation for people with disabilities, a new blood drop emoji is being introduced to symbolise menstruation. This follows a campaign by Plan International, with help from the UK National Health Service.

They wrote: “Not only would a blood drop emoji be relevant for hundreds of millions of women and people who menstruate all around the world, it would also show that periods aren’t taboo and they are something we should be able to talk about openly and honestly.”

Another new addition will allow users to depict people of different races and genders holding hands.

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Third-party routers have been around for years, but Google’s new device – simply called Google Wifi and now available in Ireland – aims to replicate the success it has had with Google Home.

The router works exactly like your old router across all Irish ISPs but adds some features, such as ensuring that all devices using the network are always connected to the strongest signal, without the need to reconnect.

Through a companion app, users can see which devices are connected and how much bandwidth they’re using, letting you prioritise devices within your network.

It also lets you limit Wi-Fi access to specified devices, such as those operated by your children, pausing signal to their phones or tablets during bedtime or dinnertime, for example.

The Google Wifi and companion app. Image: Google

Quite a mesh

The app will tell you what location in the house would be ideal for the best signal, although you would think that would limit it to where the coaxial cable is coming in.

But, similar to what the search giant did with the Google Home, the idea is that you would get the best service by buying a number of the devices to create a ‘mesh’, as it calls it.

This would rid many homes of the infamous Wi-Fi blackspots where no signal seems to be able to reach.

By connecting one to the main entry point, the other devices placed in other rooms are designed to pick up the signal and bring a steady service across the home.

Pricing for the device starts at €139 each, while a three-pack will set you back around €359, available from a number of major retail stores.

Google advises people that a single unit is good for homes of up to 900 sq ft, while the three-pack is for those with space up to 2,700 sq ft.

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While many brave people in the medical and service industries are facing the difficulties of Storm Emma, thousands of others are either working away from home or unable to get anything done at all.

Google solves your cabin fever

As if by magic, Google has come up with a nifty in-browser game just in the nick of time for those ensconced at home, plagued with cabin fever.

Chrome Music Lab has launched a fun music-creation tool called Song Maker, a sequencer that allows you to program loops for two different instruments and save and send the song to others.

Google has numerous Chrome Experiments on the go to show users just how much its browser can do, and this latest feature really is a fun way to spend your time on a stormy day. It’s less complex than something such as Apple’s GarageBand, making it more accessible for even the most tuneless among us.

How does Song Maker work?

A simplified synthesiser program, Google Song Maker is a grid of notes with two rows at the bottom for beats. Instruments range from synths to marimbas and strings, and you can even hook up a MIDI keyboard or microphone if you want to make things really interesting.

Song Maker encourages experimentation, but you are likely to come up with something that sounds good regardless of your ability as it will restrict what notes are available based on the scale chosen. The tempo can be adjusted as well as the octave range, loop length and beats per bar, among other features. 

While it is by no means the first in-browser beat-maker of its kind, the simplicity of Google Song Maker makes it a worthy ally in the fight against weather-related boredom.

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And Zyalin Group, parent company of safe internet player iKydz, typified their zeal with the release of its own-brand smartphone, manufactured in partnership with Chinese phone maker Transsion Holdings.

Up until now, the iKydz platform existed in the form of wireless modems or devices that could be attached to modems. Now it offers full-spec smartphones that are similar to the latest devices from top-tier phone makers.

iKydz has created a machine that cannot be tampered with

The new smartphones have iKydz technology baked into the firmware that can prevent children from removing restrictions.

The phones are designed to keep children safe from accessing inappropriate material and being contacted by online predators, while also giving parents the peace of mind of knowing where their children are.

The phones can restrict a child’s time online, block unsuitable content, manage social media apps, block usage during specific times and enable geofencing.

CEO of iKydz, John Molloy, told Siliconrepublic.com at MWC that the phones will initially be promoted in the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

“We are ambitious for this, and our overall ambition is that other phone makers will embed the technology – which is native to Android – into their devices.”

The phones will be priced between $70 and $220, and can be used on any network and customised to specific operator needs.

The new smartphone follows on the heels of the company’s router product, iKydz Home, and the iKydz Pro.

Currently, iKydz technology is being rolled out in six national schools in West Cork.

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On the face of it, smartphones appear to still be the sexiest things at MWC. However, under the hood, the trends of 5G and edge computing in particular are where the smart money really are.

But you can’t touch radio waves and so, smartphones will for now remain our portals into the world of tomorrow.

This morning (26 February), about 100,000 people entered the halls at the Gran Fira in Barcelona to talk about the latest trends and technologies.

Mobile manufacturers such as Samsung and Nokia had already raced to be out of the traps while Sony took the wraps off its latest wonder machines this morning.

So, what’s special about the latest crop of smartphones?

Sony Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact

Sony Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact. Image: John Kennedy

It is hard to distinguish one smartphone from another these days, as most of them are usually slabs of glass around 6in in size. That means smartphone makers are digging deep to be different.

Sony has thrown a challenge by embracing its core areas of strength: sound and vision.

The new XZ2 (5.7in screen) and XZ2 Compact (5in screen) come in a light aluminium unibody with a nice array of metallic colours.

They are attractive to look at and hold but the real differences are under the hood.

HDR playback in 4K is the core differential here and the devices come with full HD-plus 18:9 display. Users can record movies in 4K HDR and not only that, but the phone will convert content up to near-HDR.

But the thing that won me over about the new Xperia XZ2 and its compact sister was audio.

The devices come with high-res audio, which again upscales audio to perfection using DSEE HX technology.

Another neat feature is the new Dynamic Vibration System, which analyses audio and lets you feel it in your hands. I expected to find this annoying but instead found it to be quite emotionally engaging, reminding me of that feeling at gigs when the vibrations almost rattle your ribcage.

Another cool feature is the ability to take photos in 3D, which can then be 3D printed.

Sony has dug deep and presented the gold.

Samsung S9 and S9 Plus

Samsung S9 Plus. Image: John Kennedy

Every year, Samsung puts on the glitz and goes large on its new devices. While the Samsung S9 generation is certainly a head-turner, featuring a beautiful sleek and shiny metallic unibody in compelling, stunning colours, this should go down in smartphone history as Samsung’s most social phone yet.

The camera is the big deal here, with some great editing capabilities such as blur removal. You get the sense that it really wants to take Apple head-on in terms of the editing capabilities you can find on the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X.

I was particularly struck by the slow-mo feature at up to nine frames per second at 720p resolution. It has some nifty little features such as the ability to add music and make your little vignette more dramatic and cinematic.

Samsung S9 Plus. Image: John Kennedy

The prevailing trend amongst the high-end smartphone vendors is the addition of more intelligence and power into the camera sensors – in Samsung’s case, a brighter aperture on its 12MP camera that lets in 28pc more light and, at the same time, reduces noise 30pc.

The screen is quite stunning, with super AMOLED panels on both the 5.8in S9 and the 6.2in S9 Plus.

Samsung S9 Plus avatar generator. Image: John Kennedy

As well as the slow-mo feature, another nod to Apple is the addition of what Samsung calls AR Emoji, which lets you capture an image of your face and create a custom 3D character of yourself, which you can then use in messages and to shoot little movies.

The author as an avatar on the Samsung S9. Image: John Kennedy

Huawei Mate 10

Huawei Mate 10. Image: John Kennedy

While Huawei didn’t officially launch a smartphone at MWC this year – preferring instead to announce a new notebook called the MateBook X Pro as well as two tablets – its main phone is its latest flagship Mate 10, which it launched before Christmas.

Having carried the Mate 10 for the last few months, I think it can ably hold its own against the new Samsung S9 series, Apple’s iPhone X and Sony’s new Xperia XZ2 series.

This is down to the device’s neural processor, which enables AI-powered real-time scene and object recognition. It also has an AI-accelerated translator, co-developed with Microsoft, which can enable real-time conversation across more than 50 languages.

Huawei Mate 10. Image: John Kennedy

When it comes to camera sensors, the real battle is between the Huawei Mate 10 and Samsung S9. The Mate 10 boasts a 12MP and 20MP dual sensor array, which it developed in partnership with Leica.

Where the Huawei Mate 10 leads the field – as far as I can tell – is its 4000 mAh high-density battery that can go for days. It is a beast. And, not only is it formidable in terms of endurance, it charges pretty rapidly, going from 1pc to 20pc in just 10 minutes, and up to 58pc in 30 minutes.

Also, if you plug the phone into a TV screen, you can convert it into your own personal computer.

Nokia 8 Sirocco

Nokia 8 Sirocco. Image: John Kennedy

Nokia didn’t just launch one new flagship phone, it launched five new devices. These include the flagship Nokia 7 Plus, the Nokia 8 Sirocco, a new and improved Nokia 6, an accessible Nokia 1 with a version of Android Oreo for devices with 1GB of RAM or less, and a reimagined Nokia 8110 with 4G data capabilities.

I decided to focus on the new Nokia 8 Sirocco. In style terms, it holds its own with the new flagship Samsung S9 and Sony XZ2 series.

It’s a while since a Nokia felt good in my hand, but the Sirocco, with its 5.5in display, is very comfortable.

Nokia 8 Sirocco. Image: John Kennedy

Appearance-wise, it has a stainless steel unibody and looks very high-end, especially thanks to its almost invisible bezel, just 2mm thin at the edge.

Its camera is powered by Zeiss optics, consisting of a 12MP camera with wide-angle capabilities and a secondary 13MP sensor.

Judging by the crowds swarming Nokia’s stand, the company is definitely back in the phone business.

HTC U11

The squeezable HTC 11. Image: John Kennedy

HTC once dominated MWC with its clever take on Android, and the Taiwanese manufacturer has not quite left the smartphone field, despite its penchant for VR.

The U11 that I saw at this year’s event is novel in that you can easily take photos by just squeezing the device – yes, squeezing it.

The HTC U11. Image: John Kennedy

This is made possible by a new technology called Edge Sense, which can be optimised to do different things as well as take photos.

You simply squeeze the lower half of the phone to take your shots, possibly an indication of where phones might be going next in terms of interactive potential.

Ikimobile Bless 8

The Ikimobile Bless 8. Image: John Kennedy

A feisty new smartphone player to watch isn’t actually Asian or Nordic, it’s a start-up phone manufacturer from Portugal called Ikimobile.

The Bless 8 is the flagship device of Ikimoibile and it is 65pc manufactured in Portgual, with the battery and chips coming from China.

Co-founder Pedro Alves Vilela explained that the idea is to mix nature with technology and, true enough, the device is made from materials mostly comprising the Portuguese national tree, cork oak.

The result is a device that feels extremely light in your hand. Not only that but, because of the natural materials, it shields 50pc of the radiation from the battery.

The Ikimobile Bless with cork material backing. Image: John Kennedy

But seriously, a smartphone maker from Europe? Again? “Why not,” Vilela shrugged. “We are already distributing in Europe, Israel and Africa. In 2013, we had the idea to produce phones made from natural materials. And it works.”

The Bless 8 comes with a 13MP camera front and back, and features a vibrant 5.9in screen.

The founders’ ambition and novel use of natural materials is a welcome change in a world where too many phones just look the same. Bravo.

The post Hands-on with the top smartphones of Mobile World Congress 2018 appeared first on Silicon Republic.

So, what are some of the key highlights of the new jewel in Samsung’s crown?

Edge-to-edge display still reigns supreme

The slick ‘infinity display’ introduced with the S8 is still present with the S9 and S9 Plus, with minimal design changes to an already winning formula. Screen margins are just a touch slimmer at the bottom and top of the phone, and the biggest alteration is the physical opening and closing of the camera aperture.

It’s all about the camera

The new camera will take up to 12 shots at once and combine them into a single 12MP image, reducing pixelated noise in some shots. Super-slow motion is also a fresh feature, going as low as 960 frames per second, and a new mode will see recording begin when movement is detected.

The S9 camera can switch between two apertures, with the option for 28pc more light availability in dark conditions and less for glaringly bright days. The camera also employs some AI technology in the form of Bixby Vision, an intelligent camera feature that can translate currency and foreign languages in real time, among other nifty features.

Samsung Galaxy S9. Image: Samsung

AR emoji

The new AR emoji feature can analyse a 2D image of a user and create a 3D facial model, imitating their own unique facial expressions for a tailored experience. This is rather similar to the Animoji feature rolled out by Apple for the premium iPhone X.

Impressive sound and memory

The S9 boasts Dolby Atmos surround sound and AKG-tuned stereo speakers. The device can also expand up to 400GB with the addition of a Micro SD card.

Get connected

Smart-home fans will be happy as the S9 is the first Samsung phone to support its new SmartThings app, so managing your connected devices from the handset will be an option.

Your choice of authentication

The new phone offers three forms of biometric authentication: iris, fingerprint and facial recognition. A new Dedicated Fingerprint option will allow users to use a different fingerprint to access secure folders rather than the one used to unlock the phone.

When is it out?

In Ireland, the phones will be on sale from 16 March with pre-orders open since 25 February. Those who get their orders in before 7 March will get their hands on the S9 by 9 March. Local pricing has not been announced at the time of writing.

Will it sell?

With the smartphone market currently at saturation point, many people are holding on to their smartphones for longer rather than upgrading every year. The technology powering smartphones has plateaued of late, but snap-happy users may be tempted by the exciting new photography options.

Samsung building. Image: JPStock/Shutterstock

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Under the Appsperiments umbrella, the company has launched three apps, which are fully functional in their own right but are based on new technology that Google will continue to build out over time.

Three new Google Appsperiments

The first app is called Storyboard, available only on Android so far. Here, a user shoots a video on their phone and loads it into the app. The Storyboard app then automatically selects the most visually interesting frames, lays them out and applies one of six different visual styles. In a nutshell, the app can create fun comic strips of your mobile videos and, according to Google, there are approximately 1.6trn different possibilities.

Selfissimo is an iOS and Android offering, which is basically an automated selfie photographer that takes a black-and-white image each time you pose. You tap the screen to start the photoshoot and are encouraged to pose, with the app snapping a picture every time you stop moving. After the photo session, you can review the contact sheet and save either single photographs or the entire photoshoot.

The third in this suite is an app called Scrubbies, which lets you manipulate the speed and direction of video playback to create video loops that highlight actions and facial expressions, and replay particular moments. You shoot a video in the Scrubbies app and then ‘remix it’ by scratching it like a DJ.

The Appsperiments were inspired by the success of Google’s existing Motion Stills app, which creates cinemagraphs and time lapses using experimental stabilisation and rendering technologies.

A multitude of technologies at work

The new apps rely on a vast swathe of technologies, such as object recognition, person segmentation, stylisation algorithms, and efficient image encoding and decoding technologies.

Google explained that it wanted to give people a look at what their smartphone camera could be capable of: “Each of the world’s approximately 2bn smartphone owners is carrying a camera capable of capturing photos and video of a tonal richness and quality unimaginable even five years ago. Until recently, those cameras behaved mostly as optical sensors, capturing light and operating on the resulting image’s pixels.

“The next generation of cameras, however, will have the capability to blend hardware and computer vision algorithms that operate as well on an image’s semantic content, enabling radically new, creative mobile photo and video applications.”

The apps can be downloaded on Google Play or the App Store, depending on your phone’s capabilities.

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To try and combat this, safety and product teams at Facebook worked together with parenting organisations and experts to create Messenger Kids.

Messenger Kids, which previews in the US today (4 December), is a standalone app that exists on kids’ devices but can be remotely monitored by a parent’s Facebook account.

Not the same as a Facebook account

Facebook said it has dealt with a lot of concerns and queries from parents about what platforms are appropriate for children to use, and it has tried to address these with the new app.

Messenger Kids accounts are not the same as regular Facebook accounts, and do not turn into regular accounts once the child turns 13.

All contacts on Messenger Kids are pre-approved by parents or guardians, and the home screen can show the user who is online at a glance. Parents have full control of the contact list, and kids cannot talk to users who have not been given the go-ahead by a trusted adult.

Kids can video chat and send photos, videos and text messages to approved adults, who will receive them on their regular Messenger app.

Messenger Kids is also ad-free, and there are no in-app purchases.

It is currently only available on iOS in the US, but will be rolled out to Google Play Store and Amazon App Store in the next few months.

Dealing with tech-savvy kids

Global head of safety at Facebook, Antigone Davis, discussed the difficulties of raising children in a digital world: “My daughter and online technologies have grown up together. She’s always been more adept than I am at moving around in her digital universe, and I’ve often found myself anxiously trying to keep up.

“I know I’m not alone in the questions I’ve asked, the mistakes I’ve made and the worries I’ve had as a parent when it comes to kids and technology. As a mom and a former teacher and policy adviser for a state attorney general, I have heard many people voice these concerns.”

She said research showed that about 93pc of kids aged between six and 12 in the US regularly access smartphones and tablets, and three out of every five parents surveyed said their children under 13 use messaging apps, social media or both.

Davis added: “We know that when building for kids, we have to get it right, and we’re taking that responsibility seriously.

“Simply complying with the law is not enough. We want to create technologies that benefit, rather than harm or are merely neutral on, the lives of children. We’re proceeding carefully and will share what we learn along the way.”

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A popular Twitter user request

Twitter’s vice-president of product, Keith Coleman, confirmed in October that the company is finally going to allow users to bookmark tweets to read later, something he said was a popular request from users.

??Fresh out of HackWeek and coming soon — a new way to save tweets to read later. Been a top request (??!) The team would love your feedback as they dial in the design! #SaveForLater ? https://t.co/6oo2lhqFbW

— Keith Coleman ??? (@kcoleman) October 10, 2017

According to Shah, many of the requests for a ‘save for later’ feature came from Japanese users.

Up until this point, users would have to like a tweet or DM it to themselves to ensure they had it saved in some shape or form, but many people wanted an option to save a tweet without having the implied public endorsement of ‘liking’ it.

It could also come in handy for things like saving tweets with links to articles or videos a user wants to read, meaning it may become something of a rival to apps such as Pocket, which allow you to save articles to read at a time that suits you.

Twitter app on iPhone. Image: Worawee Meepian/Shutterstock

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That’s the warning from Electrical Safety First and intellectual property body FACT, which examined the electrical safety of a number of these devices.

The Intellectual Property Office estimates that more than 1m of these illegal devices have been sold in the UK alone in the last two years, representing a major fire hazard.

None of the illicit streaming devices that were tested had been supplied, designed or manufactured in accordance with the principal elements of the safety objectives outlined in Schedule 1 of the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994.

A very dangerous Christmas present?

A number of sellers of these boxes have recently been sentenced and, in April, the European Court of Justice ruled that using one of these devices to watch or stream copyrighted content is breaking the law.

“This year, consumers thinking about buying an illegal streaming device for Christmas need to know that by plugging them into their TV, they could be potentially be putting themselves, their home and their family at risk,” warned Steve Curtler, product safety manager at Electrical Safety First.

“We urge anyone with one of these devices to unplug it and stop using it immediately. Not only are these devices breaking the law, but they could be putting your loved ones at risk.”

In June, the EU issued a recall notice for the OTT TV Box 4K, a Chinese-made ‘Kodi box’, due to a serious risk of electric shock, calling for owners of the box to stop using it immediately.

The devices in question had faulty power supply units, which didn’t comply with Europe’s Low Voltage Directive, meaning users were at risk from touching live components.

Consumers have been warned to be on the lookout for these streaming devices and to make sure there is a CE mark and that the output voltage and current markings match.

They must also ensure that the pin plugs plug in easily to the socket and that there is at least 9.5mm between the edge of the pins and the edge of the charger.

“The fact that so many illegal streaming devices have all failed to meet UK safety standards is shocking,” warned Kieron Sharp, director general of FACT.

“Alongside the risks of exposing your home network to damaging malware and your children to inappropriate content, it should now be clear that the dangers these illegal devices pose far outweigh any benefit of buying them. We believe hundreds of thousands of illicit streaming devices were sold between Black Friday and Christmas last year. This year, if you want to safely and reliably enjoy premium sports, TV or films, go directly to the official provider.”

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