January 2023 – scrollingindia.com

MacBook Pro 16-inch (2023) in use in a studio

Tech News

New MacBook Pro 14-inch SSD is slower than the 2021 MacBook Pro and that’s good

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The new MacBook Pro 14-inch is already one of the hotter items of 2023 thanks to the new Apple M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, but if new reports are to believed, that fancy new silicon might come with a rather annoying trade-off: a slower SSD.

UK-based technology channel Zone of Tech broke the news about a significantly slower SSD in the new MacBook Pro 14-inch than was integrated into the previous 2021 MacBook Pro 14-inch.

BREAKING: We’ve just discovered that the base 14” M2 Pro MacBook Pro (512GB) is considerably slower than the previous 14” M1 Pro model. Apple is likely using single SSD modules again (like the base 256GB M2 Air and M2 MacBook Pro). More testing to come. pic.twitter.com/3kMiHVDxaFJanuary 24, 2023

After Zone of Tech posted the news on Twitter (opens in new tab), 9to5Mac confirmed (opens in new tab) that it was seeing the same thing in its MacBook Pro and posted photos of the SSD inside the MacBook itself, which appeared to reveal a single NAND SSD chip, rather than the two NAND chips in the M1 MacBook Air and M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro models.

While the capacity of the single SSD and dual-chip SSD are the same — 256GB — splitting the SSD up into two discrete chips allows you to more efficiently read and write to any given space on the SSD.

According to their 9to5Mac’s test using Blackmagic Disk Speet Test — which we have not independently verified — the new Apple M2 with M2 Pro and 512GB SSD scored 3,154.4 MB/s written and 2,973.4 MB/s read, which puts it way behind the 2021 MacBook Pro, which scored a 3,950.8 MB/s written and 4900.3 MB/s read in the same test.

This prompted 9to5Mac to open up the MacBook Pro to dig into its guts to find the culprit, whereupon it did indeed find a new, less efficient SSD configuration using two 256GB SSD NAND chips running in concert rather than the four 128GB chips used in the 2021 MacBook Pro 14-inch.

As Tom’s Hardware notes, this alone is enough to slow down the disk access speeds that would be reflected in the new reports, and it also says that the 256GB configurations of the new M2 Mac mini also suffers from this same degradation in SSD performance.

But will anyone really notice — or care?

We haven’t verified the SSD “degradation” ourselves, but it would make sense. Apple caught a lot of flak for raising the price of the MacBook Air back in 2022, so there was bound to be pressure to keep prices in line with the previous models. In fact, I applaud that, considering how price inflation everywhere has put real strain on people’s finances this past year.

If Apple had to go from four SSD NAND chips to two in order to save that extra bit of money, honestly, it’s worth the tradeoff — yes, even for a high-end MacBook Pro device. The read/write speeds on the new MacBook Pro 14-inch according to these reports is still very fast, fast enough that no one noticed that there was any kind of slow down, even.

It’s only when you put the latest MacBook Pro against its predecessor that you’d even be able to see the difference, and even then you’d need to use a disk speed utility that fewer than 5% of users probably even knows exists. And unless you’re upgrading to the new MacBook Pro 2023 from the MacBook Pro 2021 (which we do not recommend), you’d never even know there was a problem.

It’s also worth pointing out that the SSDs in MacBooks aren’t even the best SSD available. In my Samsung 990 Pro review, which isn’t available for a MacBook of any kind, I was getting sequential read speeds of 7,465.49 MB/s and sequential write speeds of 6,887.68 MB/s, while the random read/write speeds were 5,467.60 MB/s and 4104.87 MB/s, respectively.

This is way ahead of what the 2021 MacBook Pro was capable of at its very best, and the 990 Pro is a PCIe 4.0 SSD. Once PCIe 5.0 SSDs start becoming mainstream, even the best MacBook Pro won’t be able to keep up with these SSD speeds. And it won’t matter, because in the end, raw performance isn’t really why people go out and buy MacBook Pro devices. They buy them for ease of use, compatibility, and style (which is arguable, but I digress).

Would you rather spend hundreds more on a new MacBook Pro for a speedier SSD?

Now, some will argue that if you’re spending this much money, you shouldn’t have any performance degradation, but after all the supply chain issues that have driven up the price of consumer goods the world over, there is simply no way would could have gotten the same thing you’d gotten last time at the same price.

If you wanted peak performance across the board, you would now have to pay extra for that privilege. I don’t like it, you don’t like it, but we both know that this is very much the case after the past few years, and had Apple decided not to make the change to the SSD and just decided to jack up the price of the MacBook Pro 14-inch by $400 across the board, that would have been the thing everyone would rightly have complained about.

Meanwhile, Apple has essentially managed to produce a laptop that is otherwise 20% to 30% faster in all the workloads that MacBook Pro users need it for, so MacBook Pro shoppers shouldn’t feel like this is the thing that they are getting cheated on. There are plenty of things about Apple’s recent launch that are legitimately unacceptable (like offering a pittance for a trade-in on a 2021 MacBook Pro), but this really isn’t it.

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Jan, Tue, 2023

An AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX on a table against a white backdrop

Tech News

AMD RDNA 3 appears primed for 3D V-cache integration

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With the announcement of AMD Ryzen 7000X3D-series chips at CES 2023, a lot of attention has been paid to what the new stackable cache technology can bring to Zen 4 processors. According to a new teardown of the Radeon RX 7900 XT, there is reason to hope that this same technology will be making its way to a graphics card near you.

What else can you see? A linear array of “spots” that look remarkably like the keep out zones on X3D, and that are on the same 17-18 um pitch. Could they be considering stacked MCD functionality (or maybe they’re something else)?January 27, 2023

Tom Wassick, a self-described “semiconductor packaging engineering professional”, tore down the new Radeon RX 7900 XT (opens in new tab) to do a deep dive into its guts using infrared imaging. He says the same kind of 3D V-cache connections used for the AMD Ryzen 5800X3D exist on the Radeon RX 7900 XT’s MCD die, though there is a blank piece of silicon where a compute-capable die could go.

It isn’t clear that this type of connection is meant specifically for 3D V-cache, as Tom’s Hardware (opens in new tab) points out, but that’s the only thing so far that AMD has announced for its chiplet stacking technology.

It has long been rumored that AMD would be bringing 3D V-cache to its GPUs after successfully implementing it in its Ryzen 5800X3D processor, as well as its forthcoming Ryzen 9 7950X3D, Ryzen 9 7900X3D, and Ryzen 7 7800X3D due out in February.

What would 3D V-cache even do for a GPU?

The idea behind V-cache is to use a hybrid bonding technique to put a slab of cache memory on top of the compute cores of a processor. This can greatly expand the amount of cache available, which saves the processor critical clock cycles since it doesn’t have to go further out to regular memory to fetch data or instructions.

In terms of a computer’s CPU, this produces a huge increase in gaming performance, but it’s not clear that such a performance gain would be achieved with GPU cache, though it’s likely to see some improvement.

Another problem though would be thermal performance, an especially important consideration for a graphics card. With 3D V-cache, the additional slab of cache on top of the compute cores of the processor complicates cooling. AMD might have to reduce clock speeds to compensate, which could negate any of the gain that additional cache could provide.

We aren’t likely to see these developments on mainstream Radeon cards this year, but we should expect them to drop during midcycle refreshes in cards like the RX 7950 XT or the RX 7650 XT, probably sometime in late 2023 or early 2024.

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Jan, Tue, 2023

A leaked render of the Galaxy S23 and S23 Ultra in green on a blue background

Tech News

New Galaxy S23 leak gives us one last glimpse before Galaxy Unpacked

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On the eve of Samsung’s Unpacked 2023 event, multiple leaked images of the upcoming Galaxy S23, S23 Plus, and S23 Ultra smartphones have surfaced on the internet. We’re covering all of the Galaxy S23 news as it breaks on our Samsung Galaxy S23 event live blog (opens in new tab).

The photographs come from Twitter user Dylan Xitton (opens in new tab) who discovered the devices in a Chilean electronics store. It looks like certain retailers are showing off the phones a day ahead of the official reveal on February 1.

Of course, I have an extra bunch of photos here, the chilean mobile provider (Wom) said that the phone would be released in chile 1 month ongoing, I was surprised seeing on the shelf lmao pic.twitter.com/07ga0Ob9OPJanuary 31, 2023

Reportedly, the user posted a video of himself handling the S23 Ultra model, but it has since been taken down by Twitter after Samsung issued a copyright claim on the footage. So all we’re left with are images of the line from different angles.

Galaxy S23 Ultra

These images give us a sneak peek at some of the S23 Ultra’s hardware. The marketing table reveals the phone will come with a 6.8-inch qHD resolution (2560×1440 pixels) screen and at least four cameras. We can spy packaging for at least two of the rumored colors: Phantom Black and Botanic Green.

On the surface, the phone looks very similar to the Galaxy S22 Ultra, but according to Dylan Xitton (opens in new tab), there is a slight difference. He claims the screen on the S23 Ultra isn’t as curved compared to the S22 Ultra with the new device having more pronounced edges. The user goes on to say writing notes feels more comfortable on the S23 Ultra

Adding veracity

We know so much about the Galaxy S23’s hardware but very little about the software

For the other two models, there is no new information to be had. Much of what Dylan Xitton showed in his pictures was nothing new as a recent leaked specs sheet of the Galaxy S23 line already revealed the information it contained. If anything, the Twitter thread basically corroborates specs sheet.

What is a little disappointing is we didn’t get a peak at any of the new features Samsung is putting into the Galaxy S23 line. The company did recently tease improved night photography on S23 Ultra and a new Pro mode for selfies. Nothing on any new gaming features or some special collaboration with Google. We know so much about the Galaxy S23’s hardware but very little about the software.

All will be revealed soon. If you’re curious to know what Samsung’s new flagship phone is bringing at launch, be sure to check out TechRadar’s coverage for the Galaxy S23.

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Jan, Tue, 2023

Tech News

1Password is bringing some major updates to its password manager

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Popular password manager 1Password has announced (opens in new tab) big changes coming to its recently upgraded iteration.

Based on feedback from social media, user forums and app store reviews, 1Password has revamped its software, making it easier for first time users and promising particular improvements for iPhone app users.

There is no specific date for when the entirety of the updates will arrive in 1Password 8, but the company says it will be in the near future, with some features, already live on certain platforms.

New features

One new feature soon to come will be the ability to rearrange the fields pertaining to a stored credential, simply by dragging and dropping them.

1Password concedes that this is limited at the moment, but says that it wanted to get this much requested feature out as soon as possible, and that further improvements will be made to it due course to allow for greater customization going forward.

Another feature is one that is coming back, and that is being able to search for your passwords within any list of items, on both iOS and Android platforms.

Also, as requested by users, you will be able to use your device’s PIN code to unlock you password vault, in addition to using your biometric credentials if you have these set up on your device.

And on the subject of biometrics, 1Password is promising to improve the use of Apple’s Face ID facial recognition feature with the manager on iOS and the Safari browser extension, with the aim of making it more consistent.

Sticking with Apple, the VoiceOver feature on the tech firm’s devices will integrate better with 1Password too, preventing it from getting stuck in certain text fields as sometimes occurs.

1Password adds that “the screen reader will also read out all characters as you go past them – even if you start editing the associated text.”

“If you’re typing in a text field and make a mistake, you can go back and find the right spot using the arrow keys. All the text will be selected and read out, however you can also choose a specific part by holding shift and an arrow key.”

The Emergency Kit feature, which is useful for those who are using 1Password as a business password manager, can now be turned off. This is a document accessible by all team members so they can view their own account information and password, but 1Password says not every business will want it on, explaining that it can “[reduce] the friction for new team members who are getting started with 1Password” when turned off.

Another option you can now disable should you wish is file storage. This is specifically for 1Password Business users, to prevent employees from storing unwanted files on the system.

1Password Business will also let administrators make two-factor authentication (2FA) via physical security keys mandatory for all those who wish to log into it, increasing its protection.

Amongst the other updates coming to 1Password 8 include an indicator to let others know when you are offline, the as well as auto-filling search queries, as well as showing recently searched-for terms for those using the mobile app.

More adjustable options include never autofilling certain credentials on certain websites, opening saved addresses in your map app of choice, specifying the exact domains for autofilling – so that similar domains aren’t mistakenly autofilled – and being able to edit and even delete vaults on iOS and Android devices.

1Password Business users will also get a public preview of Unlock with Okta (opens in new tab) in mid-February, allowing for Single-Sign On (SSO) access to 1Password in a way that requires the use of trusted devices, rather than sharing an encryption key that can jeopardize your entire company should just one of your employees become compromised.

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Jan, Tue, 2023

Someone using a laptop for SEO analysis.

Tech News

Yandex caught scraping Google SEO code

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As TechRadar Pro reported earlier in January 2023, a former Yandex employee with a “political” motive has allegedly leaked a wide-ranging repository of source code for many of the web portal’s products, potentially shedding light on the dark art of search engine optimization.

BleepingComputer (opens in new tab) reports the employee leaked git sources totalling 44.7GB of files, containing “all of” Yandex’s source code except for its anti-spam rules, that were obtained in July 2022.

The raw source code won’t be of interest to everyone, Search Engine Land (opens in new tab)‘s report that 17,854 search ranking factors have been uncovered as part of the leak should be of interest to any person, business or publication looking to see their pages ranked highly in search engines.

Yandex leak SEO insights

A partial list of factors ranked by the Yandex search engine from one file in the codebase, shared by CEO of SEO consultancy MOG Media Martin MacDonald, does shed some light on the aspects of copy that Yandex applies weight to.

Per Russian Search News (opens in new tab), these include PageRank and several aspects of links such as age and relevancy, the perceived relevance of copy, host-reilability, and innate preferences towards specific sites with perceived authority, such as Wikipedia.

A deeper, longer, more technical dive by Search Engine Land (opens in new tab) also shows that this priority also includes a “NEWS_AGENCY_RATING”, allowing Yandex’ search engine to show preference to certain news organizations.

Others include the number of unique visitors, percentages of organic traffic, and average domain rankings across queries.

However, it’s perhaps melodramatic, or a little desolate, for MacDonald to describe it as “the most interesting thing to have happened in SEO in years.”

While the leaked codebase certainly offers a raft of insights, it’s worth noting that many websites will be looking to rank well on Google over Yandex, purely because the former is far better known.

Both companies have shared web engineers over the years, Yandex does use many of Google’s open source technologies, such as TensorFlow and BERT, and references to Google data appear in the leaked codebase.

However, Search Engine Land’s deep dive argues that the Yandex leak can give general insight into the anatomy of a modern search engine, but, per Russian Search News, many of the Yandex’ leaked ranking search factors go unused, or are officially considered depreciated.

Even the technical deep dive admits many of Google (the search engine’s) known aspects, such as its crawler and index systems, differ from Yandex’.

All of this, combined with the age of the leaked codebase, makes it unclear as to how assumptions over how Yandex and Google may both rank pages will fare.

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Jan, Tue, 2023

Tech News

Top password manager denies its entire database can be stolen

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Open-source password manager KeePass has refuted claims that it has a major security flaw allowing for undue access to user password vaults.

KeePass is designed primarily for individual use, rather than being a business password manager. It differs from many popular password managers in that it doesn’t store its database in cloud servers; instead, it stores them locally on the user’s device.

The newly discovered vulnerability, known as CVE-2023-24055 (opens in new tab), allows hackers who have already gained access to a user’s system to export their entire vault in plain text by altering an XML configuration file, completely exposing all their usernames and passwords.

Not our problem

When the victim opens KeePass and enters their master password to access their vault, this will trigger the export of the database to a file that the hackers can steal. The process quietly goes about its business in the background, without notifying KeePass or your operating system, so there is no verification or authentication required, leaving the victim non the wiser.

Users on a Sourceforge forum (opens in new tab) have asked KeePass to implement the requirement of their master password to be inputted before the export is allowed to happen, or to disable the export feature by default and requiring the master password to reenable it.

A workable exploit of this vulnerability has already been shared online, so it is only a matter time before it is developed further by malware developers and made widespread.

While not denying the existence of the CVE-2023-24055 vulnerability, KeePass’s argument is that it cannot protect against threat actors who already have control of your system. They said that threat actors with write access to a user’s system could steal their password vault via all sorts of means which it could not prevent.

It was described as a ‘write access to the configuration file’ issue back in April 2019, with KeePass claiming that it is not a vulnerability pertaining to the password manager itself.

The developers said that “Having write access to the KeePass configuration file typically implies that an attacker can actually perform much more powerful attacks than modifying the configuration file (and these attacks in the end can also affect KeePass, independent of a configuration file protection)”.

“These attacks can only be prevented by keeping the environment secure (by using an anti-virus software, a firewall, not opening unknown e-mail attachments, etc.). KeePass cannot magically run securely in an insecure environment”, they added.

While KeePass are not willing to add any additional protections to prevent unauthorized export of the XML file, there is a workaround users can try. If they login as a user administrator instead, then they can create an enforced configuration file, which prevents the triggering of the export. They first have to make sure that no one else has write access to KeePass files and directories before they activate the admin account.

However, even this is not foolproof, since attackers could run an copy of the KeePass executable in another directory separate to where the enforced config file is stored, which means that, according to KeePass, “this copy does not know the enforced configuration file that is stored elsewhere, [therefore] no settings are enforced.”

Want to lock down your system tight? Then you should consider using the best security keys

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Jan, Tue, 2023

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked invitation showing three lit circles on a dark background

Tech News

Samsung Galaxy S23 live blog: last-minute news and rumors ahead of Unpacked 2023

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We’re fast approaching Samsung’s first Galaxy Unpacked Event of 2023 – and that means we’re mere hours away from the probable unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S23 series.

Yes, after months of rumors and speculation, we’ll finally be getting eyes on the company’s trio of new flagship phones, alongside a bevvy of new laptops (if the leaks hold true).

The Samsung Unpacked event starts at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm GMT tomorrow (February 1), and we’ll be with you every step of the way. Samsung will be streaming the whole thing online, and we’ve embedded the placeholder for that below. We also have a guide explaining How to watch the Samsung Galaxy S23 launch online live.

But you don’t even need to do that, because we’ll be at the event ourselves and will be reporting back as Samsung lifts the lid on its latest flagships. So scroll down for more details about what to expect, then keep this page bookmarked for all the last-minute rumors before the event, then all the news once it starts.

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023 – what to expect

Samsung Galaxy S23: The S23 looks like a relatively minor upgrade on the Samsung Galaxy S22, with the same 6.1-inch FHD+ screen, the same 120Hz refresh rate, and the same rear camera setup. But a new chipset – most likely the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 – looks a cert, and the design should be brought more in line with the S23 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus: As with the S23, the Galaxy S23 Plus is likely to be an evolution rather than revolution. Expect a bigger 6.6-inch FHD+ screen and a larger battery than on the vanilla model, but not many other differences.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: The standout reveal at Galaxy Unpacked should be the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. As well as getting a powerful new chipset it’s tipped to get a whopping 200MP sensor on the rear camera. Elsewhere, a 6.8-inch QHD+ screen, up to 12GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, and a 5,000mAh battery should give it the specs to compete with the best phones.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 family: Rumors suggest that there will be several Galaxy Book 3 models debuting at Unpacked, including the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro, the Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360, and the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra.

One UI 5.1: The only software reveal at the event is likely to be the latest version of Samsung’s One UI. This is unlikely to be a huge release, with bigger changes likely held back for the arrival of Android 14 later this year.

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023 – livestream

Currently running this live blog is:

Philip Berne

Phil Berne is a preeminent voice in consumer electronics reviews, having reviewed his first device (the Sony D-EJ01 Discman) more than 20 years ago for eTown.com. He has been writing about phones and mobile technology, since before the iPhone, for a variety of sites including PCMag, infoSync, PhoneScoop, and Slashgear.

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Jan, Tue, 2023

Security alert showing on a computer monitor

Tech News

NordVPN reveals the most dangerous sites for users’ privacy and security

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Browsing the web can be a quite dangerous affair when doing your everyday browsing, but even more so when you access certain types of sites.

It should be no surprise that porn, streaming and video hosting websites have been found to top the list of the services posing the most risks to users’ privacy and security.

Such threats spanned from malware attacks to invasive ads and heavy web tracking.

That’s the exclusive data gathered by one of the best VPN services around, NordVPN. Thanks to its Threat Protection tool, the VPN provider managed to block over 344 million web trackers, 341 million intrusive ads, and 506,000 malware infections in December 2022 alone.

Table showing NordVPN Threat Protection data of blocked domains — (Image credit: NordVPN)

(opens in new tab)

Malware, intrusive ads and web trackers: today’s biggest cyber threats

“The online world is challenging people in every single move they make,” said NordVPN cybersecurity advisor Adrianus Warmenhoven.

“Want to read an article? Dozens of ads and pop-ups are ready to immediately cover your screen. Another privacy threat – malware – is lurking for you on websites and in files you are about to download. Websites you browse are also full of third-party trackers that analyze your browsing history to find out what you do online. It depends on you to stop it.”

Researchers at NordVPN wanted to understand how these cyber threats are actually reaching users. For this, they analyzed aggregated data collected via their Threat Protection system. And, while this didn’t include any identifiable information about users, it helped them to depict the scenario that everyone faces online on a day-to-day basis.

Among all these threats, malware is perhaps the most worrying. That’s because such malicious software can easily infiltrate a device to damage and/or compromise tons of users’ sensitive data.

Adult content sites are the ones containing the most significant amount of malware – like viruses, ransomware, spyware and more. Over 60,000 domains were blocked during the coverage period. Cloud storage and entertainment platforms follow suit, with roughly 70,000 infected platforms found between the two categories.

Intrusive ads describe all the pop-ups and other ads pages that open up without being requested. These aren’t just annoying people’s online experience, but they are also great at collecting information about users without their consent.

As expected, those most engaged in such a practice are free streaming platforms with more than 55 minion the domains affected. Adult content and online shopping sites appear to be right behind.

These results show how important it is turning on a reliable ad-blocker every time you browse the web, especially when you access certain types of sites.

“Ad blockers are essential for both security – because they block ads that can infect people’s devices – and privacy because annoying ads rely on collecting data from web activity and violating people’s privacy,” explains Warmenhoven. “Also, if a website is loading slower than usual, you can blame intrusive ads. Free apps filled with unwanted ads could also drain your device’s battery faster.”

Web trackers are another huge cyber threat, as they are responsible for undermining users’ anonymity online. For more details on what they are and how to protect for them, head to our dedicated explainer.

Video hosting services resulted to be the sites most packed with web trackers. Over two billion were the domains blocked by NordVPN Threat protection tool. Cloud storage, web email and information technology sites were also high in tracking.

According to Nord, Hong Kong and Singapore are the world countries with the most web trackers, counting an average of 45 and 33 trackers per website respectively. Other nations high in tracking include the US, Australia, the UK, Spain and France.

For more insights, check NordVPN’s full report here (opens in new tab).

How NordVPN Threat Protection can help

NordVPN Threat Protection is a system aiming to shield users from the aforementioned online dangers. It does so by scanning all the files you’re downloading, while blocking all the sites containing malware and dangerous ads before you can open them.

Threat Protection comes as a feature on all the NordVPN apps. This means that no additional fee is required to enjoy a safer online experience. All you need to do is simply following these steps:

Open the latest version of the NordVPN app on your chosen device
Click the shield icon you find at the left of your screen
Turn on the Threat Protection toggle

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Jan, Tue, 2023

Tech News

Nothing Phone (2) to launch in 2023 with much-needed software upgrades

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Following the launch of last year’s Nothing Phone (1) in the UK, it appears that the brand has plans to launch a follow-up in 2023 based on comments from CEO and co-founder Carl Pei.

The Nothing Phone (1) isn’t the best phone on the market right now, but its bold aesthetics and budget-friendly price – with a performance that’s definitely value for money – have made it a pretty popular handset in the regions where it’s available. So it’s no surprise that the brand would want to launch a follow-up.

In an interview with Inverse, Nothing CEO Carl Pei admitted that his company has big plans for its next “more premium” smartphone: the Phone (2). While Pei is reportedly hesitant to give too many details away he did reveal the two key areas that Nothings want to focus on with its next smartphone.

The first is software. We don't know exactly what form the upgrades will take, but we hope the user interface will see some refinements. In our review, we found the Android-based Nothing OS to be clean, but it’s not the most stable build of Android out there and it lacks user-friendly features like one-handed mode.

Another big difference is that the Phone (2) is designed with a US audience in mind. The Nothing phone (1) originally snubbed the US at launch and has only recently arrived there via an odd beta program. It appears that this program is being used to help Nothing work out what US consumers want from a smartphone, but also to work with carriers to determine the certifications and features its devices need in order to function properly on US networks.

That said we don’t expect everything will be different from the Phone (1). It seems likely that the Phone (2) will continue to use the original’s iconic Glyph interface, and offering a competitive price that offers users solid value for money is very probable too. Though to know exactly how much the Phone (2) costs, and the specs it packs, we’ll likely have to wait for a proper announcement later in the year.

Until then we’ll have to make do with a few other tech reveals, including the announcements made at Samsung Unpacked 2023 on February 1 (that’s tomorrow at the time of writing). It seems very likely that Unpacked 2023 will be the launch event for the Samsung Galaxy S23 smartphone (and its upgraded Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra models). If you want to check out the announcements for yourself, then follow our guide on how to watch the Samsung Galaxy S23 launch event to see our coverage of all the devices announced.

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Jan, Tue, 2023

Data streaming to a frame, with NFT in the middle

Tech News

Porsche NFTs aren’t in production anymore, so don’t mint one

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Car manufacturer Porsche has ceased minting a line of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), digital art with an assigned “owner” in its metadata after just two days following a lack of interest and backlash from crypto enthusiasts, but threat actors are picking up the slack.

Reports from BleepingComputer (opens in new tab) claim there were delays in the issuing of the initial NFTs on January 23, which included a replica of the Porsche 911 priced at 0.911 Etherium (ETH). At the time of writing, this is around $1,500.

The delay made “the community” angry enough, but it also allowed for a secondhand market to emerge on NFT marketplace OpenSea, where the NFTs were devalued immediately, upsetting anyone still, for some reason, seeing NFTs as stable and worthwhile investments.

Scammers flock to an NFT fad

While any kind of community project might have noble intentions, it was, in Porsche’s case, its commitment to this feedback loop that has now created additional problems for the company’s NFT project, and no doubt the Porsche brand overall.

With scarcity of the NFTs rising after the mint’s discontinuation, Porsche itself has warned (opens in new tab) of fraudulent phishing sites, claiming to offer the NFT collection, being shared via direct messages on Twitter.

At its worst, BleepingComputer found a (as of January 30, now defunct) Twitter account with over 11,000 followers impersonating Porsche and recreating its website as part of a phishing campaign.

The real site states that the mint is closed and refers users to OpenSea. However, the fake one allowed users to link their cryptocurrency wallets, upon which the site would try to embezzle their funds.

Users can rest easy knowing that one phishing site has stopped functioning, but more are likely to spring up in their wake, and it’s unknown as to when the controversy will die down

As a result, given that the official word from Porsche is that it doesn’t have any further NFT mints in the pipeline, enthusiasts are advised to stay well away from uncorroborated claims regarding Porsche’s Web3 activity

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Jan, Tue, 2023

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