Today’s topics include a stronger frame for the latest iPhone models, a new holding company for Google, a Windows 10 release for Internet of things devices and the end of subscriber contracts at Verizon.
Apple’s upcoming iPhone 6S isn’t yet here, but already speculation is swirling that the company has modified the back plate of the next iPhone models to avoid the bending problems that some owners reported when they carried their phones in their pockets.
Unbox Therapy’s Lewis Hilsenteger, who creates video reviews and reports about a wide range of consumer products including smartphones, revealed what he said is the latest and improved back plate made for Apple’s next iPhone in an Aug. 10 video he posted on YouTube.
Google on Aug. 10 created a holding company, Alphabet, so it can reorganize its 40,000 employees and separate its core businesses from its venture and innovation side.
Google becomes a separate subsidiary that controls the search and advertising businesses, Android mobile operating system development, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Ads and the Google Play sales franchise.
Alphabet will encompass next-generation businesses and ventures such as Nest, Google Capital, Calico, the Google X Works and Google Fiber, the latter of which would like to wire the entire United States if given a chance.
Microsoft has a new Windows 10 release for Internet of things devices, specifically the Raspberry Pi 2 and the MinnowBoard Max maker boards.
“GPIO performance on the Raspberry Pi 2 has improved by 8X to 10X,” said Steve Teixeira, director of program management for the Internet of Things group at Microsoft. GPIO, short for general-purpose input/output, is the connector that acts as the physical interface between the Raspberry Pi board and the outside world.
Starting Aug. 13, Verizon Wireless will offer no-contract cellular data and phone packages to new and existing customers.
Firm in its belief for years that contracts are king, the company pushed back against rivals like T-Mobile that were tearing up customer contracts and letting their customers choose their service plans and their carrier relationships without limitations.
But in a brief announcement on Aug. 10, the company said that it will stop requiring subscriber contracts and allow users to choose from a variety services that it says will more closely match their customers’ needs and lifestyles.