Google has decided to suspend its license to Android operating system to Huawei. Trump administration's action has started to impact Chinese smartphone makers Huawei already. Google has decided to stop licensing its Android OS to Chinese Telecommunication Company, in order to comply with U.S trade blacklist rules. The company however can continue to use open-source version of Android but won't be able to get the security and OS updates, along with usage restrictions on Google's apps like Gmail, Play store etc.

The move will have significant effect on millions of Huawei users and the company's global ambitions. Android operating system powers more than 80% of the world's smartphones. Huawei said they will continue to support existing customers. But if this problem isn't solved, the device will not have access to new version of Android OS called Q. "The revocation of its Android license will mean that it won't be able to provide core Google services to its smartphones," Richardson said.

"The current devices will continue to support Google services and Google updates," Francisco Jeronimo, associate vice president for European devices at IDC, told CNBC by telephone. "I think it's more of a long-term impact than very short term." In China, the story is a different. Consumers there have a limited version of the OS which doesn't come with the pre-installed Google's app like Gmail etc. For Chinese consumers, the impact is almost NILL. Many people suggest that U.S and China will reach a trade deal, and Google will resume its licensing to Huawei. In that case, things will come back to normal. However, if it is a long-term impact, the sales of Huawei will drop as well as its resale value. There won't be any consumers outside the Chinese if this situation continues.

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Back in 2014, Apple won their lawsuit against Samsung when the California federal court held the Korean electronics giant guilty of copyright infringement on Apple's patents. The court had ordered Samsung to pay a whopping $119.6 million to Apple as compensation. Primarily, Apple had filed for copyright infringement on three patents; quick links, auto-correct and slide-to-unlock. While they did win the patent wars back in 2014, it seems like the tables are turning now.

The appeals court not only has rejected the federal court's verdict, but has also decided that Apple themselves have infringed on one of Samsung's patents! After going through all the information and the entirety of the case, the new verdict is that the technology used by Samsung in their smartphones for the recognition of phone numbers and other such data and turning them into interactive links is actually different from the technology used in quick link. The two other claims of copyright infringement against Samsung were considered to be downright invalid by the court and thus discarded.

Samsung commented on this matter through a spokesperson who considered the verdict to be "a win for consumer choice." Apple on the other hand, had nothing to say on the matter so far. On a side note, Apple is now trying to convince the US Supreme Court to stop Samsung from appealing against a different case which had earlier ended up in Samsung's agreement of paying $548 million in damages.

 

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The controversy regarding the 3.5mm jack is not going to go away anytime soon and while a lot of companies have decided to let it go, Samsung is not one of those manufacturers fortunately. Staying true to their promise about keeping hold of the good old 3.5mm headphone jack, the Galaxy S10 is going to have one as well. Although a prototype had earlier shown up that showed the S10 not having one, multiple casemakers have now confirmed beyond doubt that the upcoming S10 smartphones will indeed sport a headphone jack. This is good news really because if you think about it, it would practically make no sense to exclude it from any phone. In case you are not in agreement with that point of view, then let us refute two of the most popular arguments against the headphone jack.

A Headphone Jack Doesn't Allow for a Bigger Battery - Most smartphones with the biggest batteries available in the market today come equipped with a headphone jack, thus negating that argument. In fact, even the Note 9 sports a 4,000mAh battery, in addition to sporting the headphone jack proudly.

The 3.5mm Jack is Obsolete - A technology can only be considered obsolete when something better is able to replace it completely. An example of that would be how Android replaced Symbian because it was better in every way. Removing the headphone jack on the other hand, poses a number of problems and they can be summed up as follows.

·        There aren't enough good quality USB Type-C headphones out there at the moment

·        People have high-quality wired headphones at home that would lose compatibility with their smartphones if the jack was removed

·        Wired sound is more reliable and better in quality

·        Wired headsets do not require charging

·        You can't use USB Type-C headphones while the device is connected to a PC or being charged

If you need more convincing, then you are probably too biased to realize the truth and in that case, feel free to buy an iPhone!

Saikat Kar

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