Smartphones last longer but not forever. After two years of decline, the global market will grow strongly again in 2024, mainly thanks to Android. However, this might not last. Once users have stocked up, market researchers expect significantly lower growth rates in the coming years.
Meanwhile, streaming pirates have earned over 250 million euros monthly through illegal streams from Sky, Netflix, and other channels. However, after two years of investigations, the European piracy ring has now been dismantled. Servers and financial resources were confiscated, and several people arrested.
In the USA, the FTC reminds providers of connected devices that they must state how long they will provide software updates. Compliance is poor. Nearly 89 percent of devices lack the relevant information. Manufacturers could be violating US consumer protection law.
Market researchers from IDC estimate that 1.24 billion new smartphones will be delivered worldwide in 2024, an increase of 6.2 percent. In the previous two years, the global market shrank. Demand for new devices has accumulated, allowing the market to grow this year, according to IDC.
The growth this year is almost exclusively due to Android smartphones, with 7.6 percent more being shipped. This growth is particularly strong in regions outside Europe, Japan, and North America. For iPhones, market researchers see only 0.4 percent more devices sold than in 2023.
European police authorities have uncovered an international gang of streaming pirates whose IPTV platforms were visited by more than 22 million users. The illegally copied video streams from well-known TV channels and major streaming services generated over 250 million euros per month, according to police.
A number of websites and servers were confiscated, and some suspects were arrested in Croatia. Besides IT equipment, cryptocurrencies worth over 1.65 million euros and 40,000 euros in cash were seized.
For 89 percent of connected devices, manufacturers do not state on product pages how long they will provide software updates. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found this in a sample of 184 different connected devices, from surveillance cameras to door locks and washing machines to hearing aids. For 163 devices (88.6 percent), information about the duration of support from market launch or an expiration date was missing. This likely violates US consumer protection law if the devices no longer function as advertised due to missing updates.
Another legal success for the music industry in the dispute over the website youtube-dl.org and the program library Youtube-DL for MP3 downloads: The Hanseatic Higher Regional Court has rejected the appeal of the responsible host provider Uberspace, confirming the contested judgment of the Hamburg Regional Court. This court decided in 2023 that the Mainz company may no longer host youtube-dl.org because the linked software allows stream-ripping services to illegally download music from licensed platforms like YouTube by bypassing technical protection measures.
In today’s edition of the #heiseshow, topics include a planned law in Australia that allows social media only from the age of 16, requiring platforms to verify age. Could this model be interesting for other countries? Here, Wero aims to compete with PayPal as a new European payment service. Supported by European banks and payment service providers, can Wero become a real alternative to PayPal?
Also discussed is Anthropics’ new protocol for connecting AI chatbots. What advantages does this open standard bring? These are the topics today at 5 p.m. live in the #heiseshow: Social media only from 16, Wero as a PayPal replacement, AI interface.
Microsoft has closed security leaks in several products. Some updates need to be installed: Microsoft patches some critical vulnerabilities out of schedule.
Centralized social networks are often criticized for users not having control over their accounts. In court, X from Elon Musk confirmed that the accounts belong to X: “The Onion” should not receive accounts from Alex Jones.
An extensive comparison of satellites of large galaxies has shown that our home galaxy is not as ordinary as always thought. Its development is unusual: The Milky Way is an “outlier” among similar galaxies.
The video AI Sora from OpenAI can only be used by select individuals. Some have changed this in protest and made the tool available. OpenAI promptly responded to the criticism: Artists open access to video AI Sora for everyone.
Three men died after following a Google Maps route over a broken bridge. Now a Google employee is being investigated after the fatal navigation disaster in India: Google Maps directs car onto defective bridge.
A couple wanted to remarry in Germany after their marriage via video conference was not recognized. However, the registry office raised doubts: Video conference marriage in Germany declared invalid by the Federal Court of Justice.
Windows 11 will also enjoy restart-free updates. Microsoft is starting a trial operation for managed Windows 11 24H2 Enterprise: Hotpatching is also coming to Microsoft Windows 11.
The technology of the Raspberry Pi 5 now also comes as a plug-in module Compute Module 5, bringing some features like more RAM with error protection: Raspberry Pi Module CM5 with up to 16 GB RAM and ECC error protection.
In mid-November, a data breach at brillen.de became known. The investigation of the incident provides initial details on the causes: Background on the data breach at brillen.de.
2024 is quickly coming to an end. But Apple still has some innovations planned for December. An overview of December at Apple: Without hardware, but with a lot of software?
SpaceX and T-Mobile US are allowed to begin connecting smartphones in dead zones directly via Starlink. Additionally, the satellites are allowed to fly lower for Starlink connectivity for smartphones: FCC grants SpaceX and T-Mobile approval.