Your weekly look at the world of smartphones and mobile technology, this is the Phone Buzz on Friday 19th March 2021.

This Week’s Top Story

• As we wait for next week’s OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro launch, the Shenzhen-based company has done another of it’s ’before launch’ posts to talk about its new wearable, the OnePlus Watch. More details will follow, but one key feature has been announced – it’s going to be based on RTOS rather than WearOS (OnePlus Forum).

Apple Headlines

• As Apple continues to release beta versions of iOS 14.5, the released code can be examined for new features that can be ’turned on’ in the future. One such feature looks to be the ability to delivery security updates outside of an iOS update. That’s going to make it easier to patch any problems, and follows the lead of Google, who added a similar feature in Android (XDA Developers).
• Late last month details on the AirPods 3 came out, but those expecting an update in the near future are going to be disappointed. Noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo writes that production is expected to start in Q3; potentially in time for the iPhone 13 launch, but certainly geared towards the festivity’s holidays than a summer break (9to5Mac).
• More work on bringing TouchID under the iPhone screen on show this week, as a new patent for fintergroint sensing technology shows up with Apple’s name on it (Patently Apple).
• It’s been long-rumoured, but production on the mini-LED equipped iPad Pro is expected to start in early Q2 this year. Apple has traditionally held a late-March launch event for the second-tier products such as the iPad range or the iPhone SE. Let’s see what happens as March comes to a close (MacRumors).
• Apple has published some numbers on how the App Store supports the UK economy. It notes a ten percent increase in jobs taking it to over 330,000 employees; and  £3.6 billion generated by UK developers, a 22 percent year-on-year growth (Apple Newsroom).
• Following the passage of a new law designed to offer consumers a choice of apps and services in Russia, Apple will now pre-install the required apps in the iPhones that go on sale in the territory. This is one of the first times that I can remember where Apple has been forced to change its universal load-out of apps. Now that precedent has been set, competition authorities in other countries will be taking note (9to5 Mac).
• 2020 saw the volumes of macOS malware increase, according to Atlas VPN’s own investigations. It found “674,273 new malware samples” last year, compared to 56,556 in 2019. To put that in context, Windows malware samples in 2020 numbered over 91 million (Atlas VPN Blog).
• French competition authorities has been looking at Apple’s moves in iOS 14.5 to have users opt in to any tracking by third-party apps and will not be taking any immediate action over it, but it is continuing to listen to companies from other companies around the move (Cnet).
• Apple has discontinued the HomePod lifestyle speaker. While the HomePod Mini remains, its smaller size means suggests a move away from audio fidelity and towards the smaller smart speaker format (9to5Mac).
• SellCell’s latest brand loyalty survey has a 1.9 percent rise in ‘yes I’d buy another phone from this company for Apple, taking it to 91.9 percent compared to last year. Samsung’s score has dropped from 85.7 percent to 74 percent in the same period. These results come from 2000 Apple owners and 2000 Samsung owners in the US, suggesting a margin of error around two percent (via 9to5Mac).

Android Headlines

• This week’s ‘Galaxy Unpacked’ event saw Samsung launch two new Galaxy A devices, namely the A52, the A52 5G, and the A72. The A series devices site nicely below the S series smartphones, and offers broadly the same core features at a more affordable price (Samsung Newsroom).
• Looking at the other end of Samsung’s portfolio, and the company has warned that the supply issues in the global semiconductor market will mean 2021’s Galaxy Note (the second flagship of the year) many not be released (Bloomberg).
• If you’ve been waiting to find out what’s inside Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra, then the team at iFixit have answered your wish with another one of their strip downs on the handset. The hardware feels more like a ‘check raise’ to keep the specs current, rather than pushing any boundaries (iFixit).
• Samsung’s foldable devices – much like those from other manufacturers – are more open to damage than the regular slab phones. So it’s great to read that Samsung is working on adding splash proofing to the Z Fold 3, due for later release this year (SamMobile).
• One thing that OnePlus isn’t talking about this week is the potential for HydrogenOS (the Chinese variant of OxygenOS) to be dropped and a switch made to Oppo’s ColorOS. Oppo and OnePlus of course share teh same parent company in BBK Electronics (XDA Developers).
• The second developer preview of Android 12 has been released, showcasing more features in the operating system’s annual update. These include a faster search widget for your home screen, a ‘conversations’ widget, and improved tools for better gaming performance (XDA Developers).
• RealMe will be launching its titular RealMe 8 Pro next week. Ahead of the launch there’s lots of chatter around the specs of the device, including the screen size, camera tech, and processor (Gizmochina).
• Following Apple’s lead from last year, Google has announced that the commission charged to developers will drop to 15 percent for the first one million dollars per year earned through in-app purchases or app sales (CNBC).

Mobile Tech Headlines

• Huawei is looking to collect ‘a “reasonable” fee’ on its 5G patents. Given the ubiquity of 5G in modern mobile hardware, this could be a lucrative avenue for Huawei to explore while it remains hamstrung by its inclusion on the US Entities list. Qualcomm is known to charge Apple $7.50 per iPhone sold for access to its patents. It’s also likely to lead to some action in Courtrooms around the world over the next few years (Bloomberg).
• Following a preview at CES 2021, Intel has full revealed its 11th Generation Intel Core chips for desktop machines (The Verge).
• That’s not the only curious move Intel has made; this week saw its new ‘Get Real, Go PC’ campaign has debuted with Justin Long in the PC advocacy role, some nineteen years after playing ‘Mac’ in Apple’s Mac vs PC adverts. Presumably Mitchell and Webb are waiting for the call from the UK team (Engadget).

And Finally…

• Android has been around for a long time, and it has changed over the years. JR Rapael takes a visual wander down memory lane to remember the updates that time has forgotten (ComputerWorld).

Ewan Spence

Ewan is the editor at Phone Buzz News. For over 30 years he has been covering the worlds of media and technology, from the early days of the first smartphone through to their essential role in today's society.