TikTok is entering the messaging services space with a new group chat feature that supports up to 32 participants, conversing and sharing content. TikTok users have taken to sharing the platform’s short-form videos on third-party apps such as Meta’s WhatsApp and Apple’s Messages, and this move aims to keep them doing so in-app, where people can also now view and comment together. The result takes TikTok into the realm of connecting with friends and community-building, as opposed to just passively viewing content. The group chats are only available for those over 15 years of age, as is the policy with DMs. Continue reading TikTok Introduces Group Messaging to Share Content In-App

New iPad Pros with OLED displays and the thinnest design ever, powered by Apple’s new M4 chip topped the news out of Cupertino’s “Let Loose” launch event, where redesigned iPad Airs were unveiled in 11‑inch and 13‑inch M2 configurations. The switch to OLED is a major change for Apple, which used mini-LED on the most recent models. And it’s not just garden variety OLED, but tandem OLED, combining two OLED displays for very high contrast with deep blacks and 1,600 nit peak brightness. The Ultra Retina XDR visuals are enabled by the M4 and its new display engine. Continue reading Apple Brings Tandem OLEDs to New M4-Powered iPad Pros

CES 2024 attracted more than 135,000 attendees to Las Vegas where 4,300 companies filled 2.5 million square feet of exhibit space. Technology that empowers creators, a new generation of displays, and the promise and peril of artificial intelligence dominated the show. After several years of incremental advances, market development built on maturing technology, and over-hyped trends, this year felt different with an energy that suggests the beginning of a new era. Among the major themes were embedded AI, vehicle tech, digital health, screens and XR, and numerous policy and regulation topics. ETC@USC attended the conference for live reporting on products and services. Our post-show report features extensive coverage and perspectives related to key creative, business, and technology areas. Continue reading ETC’s CES 2024 Report: Creators, Displays, and AI Innovation

Samsung Electronics kicked off CES 2024 with a bang, premiering a transparent MicroLED display at its First Look curtain raiser that created a great deal of buzz in Las Vegas. Transparent screen technology is poised to extend virtual experiences into the world’s living rooms, and Samsung says that its MicroLED tech — the result of six years of R&D — is better than competing OLED and LED options, claiming the clear, glass-like display offers superior brightness and clarity to competing options. To illustrate its claim, Samsung’s demo lets visitors compare its transparent MicroLED display next to transparent OLED and LCD screens. Continue reading CES: Samsung Demonstrates Transparent MicroLED Display

A new AI-first form factor could be coming to market as the result of a partnership between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, former Apple design guru Jony Ive and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Altman and Ive are said to be developing — and SoftBank potentially funding — an AI device to succeed the smartphone. Since co-founding OpenAI in 2015, Altman has been vocal about the need for a new type of device, purpose-built to leverage the capabilities of artificial intelligence. Ive, meanwhile, has been looking for a second act since exiting Apple after leading design on the iPhone, iPod and MacBook Air. Continue reading Purpose-Built AI Device May Be Coming from Ive and Altman

LG is bringing to market a line of LED screens designed for small movie theaters, the LG Miraclass line. The four initial models range in size from 16- to 46-feet wide, offering 24-bit color and resolution from 2K to 4K. The screens are comprised of smaller panels featuring self-emissive LED pixels that run edge-to-edge (eliminating visible seams). Brightness adjusts across five stages — from 48 to 300 nits  — making the displays suitable for a range of use-cases, from the brightness required for 2D/3D movies to less light-intensive corporate presentations. Continue reading New LG Miraclass LEDs Offer Cinemas Projection Alternative

Samsung Display has debuted a concept mobile device that both folds and slides, the Flex Hybrid. The company’s “smart mobile device” prototype unfolds to reveal a display on the left side, with the right side sliding outward to expand screen real estate. The Flex Hybrid’s OLED screen expands from a 10.5-inch 4:3 configuration to a 12.4-inch 16:10 display. Samsung Display also previewed two larger displays at CES 2023, the Flex Slidable Solo, which expands in a single direction, and the Flex Slidable Duet, which grows on both sides, from 13 or 14 inches of screen space to 17.3 inches. Continue reading CES: Samsung Flex Hybrid Mobile Device Can Fold and Slide

Last year we told you about VideowindoW, a high resolution clear-glass display that transforms windows, including the entire glass curtain of a skyscraper, into a black and white video screen. This year at CES, Superimaging Display showcased a proof-of-concept demo of a simpler approach to transparent window displays. The company has developed a thin film embedded with nanophosphors that display visible RGB images when excited by ultraviolet light from a DLP projector. The thin film can be attached to any glass surface, and the image is visible but translucent in daylight. Continue reading CES: Superimaging Creates New Clear Window Display Tech

Apple will debut three new iPhones: the first, the largest the company has ever released, has gotten the most buzz because of its phablet form factor, which offers multitasking. The second is an upgraded phone the same size as the iPhone X, and the third is a less expensive model of the iPhone X. The latter appears to be a response to the fact that the iPhone X hasn’t sold as well as the company anticipated. Apple is expected to announce the new smartphone line-up this fall. However, sources say that, “plans could still change.” Continue reading Apple Plans Fall Release of Biggest Ever iPhone, X Upgrade

In the carefully watched design patent battle between Apple and Samsung, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled yesterday that Samsung may not be liable for its entire $399 million in profits after copying the iPhone’s distinctive look, including its rectangular front face, rounded corners and grid of icons. In 2012, a jury decided that Samsung had infringed on Apple’s patents. “Design patents, which address what products look like, are far less common than utility patents, which cover how products work,” explains The New York Times. “The Supreme Court’s opinion, while not decisively resolving the case, found that liability in design patent cases is not necessarily an all-or-nothing proposition.” The two companies will return to court to determine an appropriate amount for damages. Continue reading Supreme Court Rules in Apple-Samsung Design Patent Case

Samsung is considering the 2017 launch of two new smartphones with bendable screens, giving the company a leg up on competitors such as Apple, say people familiar with the plans. One phone would reportedly fold in half similar to a cosmetic compact, while the other would feature a 5-inch screen with the ability to unfurl into an 8-inch display. “Codenamed ‘Project Valley,’ Samsung could unveil one or both of the devices as soon as February, when Mobile World Congress takes place in Barcelona,” reports Bloomberg. “That timing would give Samsung a head-start on Apple’s iPhone using OLED screens that may be released later in 2017.” Continue reading Samsung May Intro New Phones with Bendable OLED Screens

Royole is demonstrating a new foldable headset at CES in las Vegas this week that is designed to make movie-watching and gaming an immersive experience. The AMOLED display in the visor is only .01mm thick, so it is flexible enough to make this headset less clunky. The $699 Royole-X headset does not feature a field of view as wide as most VR headsets, but the 3,300 PPI display reportedly makes the image crisp enough to feel like a movie theater. It also comes with noise-canceling headphones. Continue reading Royole-X Personal Theater Headset Touts Superthin Display

Sweden-based Neonode recently unveiled AirBar, a $49 laptop accessory that attaches its magnetic sensor bar to a Chromebook or Windows laptop PC and connects via an available USB port. It then beams a light over the display to create a sort of touchscreen. AirBar’s use of light rather than a traditional, physical touchscreen allows users to interact with their displays in a variety of new ways, such as while wearing gloves or using small objects like a stylus or even chopsticks. Neonode is expected to debut its new accessory at CES in Las Vegas this week. Continue reading PC Accessory Turns Your Laptop into a Touchscreen Device

Apple’s new iPad Pro is the company’s biggest, priciest tablet and the first aimed squarely at enterprise users. The company says it’s pitting the iPad Pro against laptops, not other tablets, but it almost immediately draws comparisons with Microsoft’s Surface, that company’s business-focused tablet. Apple has not typically targeted the enterprise market, but this new focus is driven by the need to bolster revenues in light of declining iPhone revenues. Sales of the iPad have also declined since the 2013 peak of 71 million units. Continue reading Apple Goes After Enterprise With High-End, Pricier iPad Pro

Yahoo plans to live-stream Sunday’s game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills. The matchup, being played at London’s Wembley Stadium and produced by CBS, will be streamed globally for free via Yahoo’s platforms including Screen and Tumblr. Streaming the game could be a possible first step for Yahoo and the NFL in developing online offerings alongside broadcast and cable TV deals. The NFL has been pushing for new revenue opportunities and has considered partnerships with Silicon Valley in the past. Continue reading Live-Streaming NFL Game Could Be Big First Step for Yahoo