Samsung is investigating new form factors to boost the AI capabilities of its mobile devices. The company has adopted an AI-focused approach on its Galaxy phones with the help of Google. Now, it seems that Samsung considers that phones with different designs will help make better use of AI features.
Future Samsung Galaxy phones will combine AI and new form factors
TM Roh, President of Samsung Mobile, spoke about the company’s plans for future products. Samsung wants to combine new form factors with the power of AI to enable new possibilities. Roh said: “When you think about ordinary users of traditional smartphones, our current hardware can satisfy those scenarios quite sufficiently. So maybe hardware performance and hardware features have peaked.”
So, the company believes that current smartphone designs have reached their limits. There is not much more that can be done to offer new experiences that excite the public. For example, changes as radical as phones with physical keyboards to a fully touch format. Also the reduction of bezels to move to a real full-screen experience. This would be solved with new form factors, and Samsung is working on it.
However, Samsung does not want to limit itself to simply offering new designs. The format of future Galaxy phones will seek to enable new AI-powered usage possibilities. That is, to offer features that are only possible by combining both AI and new form factors. In this regard, Roh also said: “But at the same time, this new era of mobile AI calls for new hardware requirements, new performance, new form factors, opening up for new possibilities, so that mobile AI can be better leveraged with new requirements in hardware.”
Modern display technologies would enable the new form factors
Probably, Galaxy phones with new form factors will be part of the Galaxy Z lineup. After all, traditional phones have very little room for improvement beyond making them thinner, reducing bezels, or miniaturizing components. However, folding screen-based devices are another story, as they allow formats such as tri-fold phones. There are also expandable screens, and even rollable ones. Overall, there are many possibilities to explore in the segment.
Samsung is one of the companies that has been investigating tri-fold phones. The company has some device concepts with this design format. A tri-fold phone allows you to offer even larger screens than current foldable phones, but in a device that you can still carry in your pocket while folded. Products like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 offer a “mini tablet” experience when unfolded. However, a tri-fold device enables even larger screens, closer to a modern tablet.
Huawei would launch the first commercial tri-fold phone
Huawei is said to be the first manufacturer to launch a tri-fold phone later this year. It is possible that we will see a response from Samsung (and other manufacturers) as early as 2025. However, there is nothing official about this yet.
Recently, some third-party stores associated with T-Mobile, such as Arch Telecom, were accused of applying shady sales strategies. For example, some could be repackaging returned phones to sell them as new. There were also accusations of a toxic work environment and humiliating treatment of employees. Now, Arch Telecom has responded to the situation through an email addressed to its employees.
The Mobile Report got a copy of the email sent to Arch Telecom employees. The communication includes some points with which employees do not agree. For instance, the company cites satisfactory sales performance as proof that it is on the right path. This contradicts several reports on Reddit about employees being forced to use shady sales practices.
T-Mobile partner company sends email to employees about shady sales claims
That said, the email admits that Arch Telecom management has observed “instances where receipts and/or accounts do not match customers’ transactional experiences and expectations delivered in-store.” So, they recommend some ethical practices to apply with clients. For example, breaking down all charges transparently when purchasing devices or signing up for plans. Also clearly present features to the customer during upgrades to avoid unexpected charges, in addition to not requiring the customer to add “BTS” products when a promo does not specify it.
The email invites employees to “recommit” to the proper technical sales.” This is kind of contradictory to the initial claims of sales being done in the correct way. Anyway, the company says that employees can report to HR when they receive instructions for implementing practical shady sales.
GroupMe logs with alleged humiliation of employees reportedly deleted
Reports from T-Mobile’s partner company employees mention some shady sales practices demanded by the management, such as adding fees for unrequired services to every quote. Regarding the toxic work environment, there are reports of employees being shamed on GroupMe for poor performance. GroupMe is a group messaging service from Microsoft. Arch Telecom management would be exposing employees who do not meet their expectations.
Following public reports, anonymous Arch Telecom employees stated that the company is deleting all GroupMe logs. This particular issue wasn’t addressed in the email. The employees also suggest that there is much more behind that has not been told, like potential burning of receipts. If the situation continues to escalate, reports with more details will likely emerge soon. T-Mobile does not need more public damage to its image, especially after the user backlash of recent months for increasing prices on old plans.
Google has been actively experimenting with YouTube Music lately. More recently, the music streaming platform introduced new features like “Mark as Played” and “Sound Search.” But, earlier this month there were a few reports that hinted towards artist’s page redesign on YouTube Music. Now, it looks like the redesigned artist page on YouTube Music is now rolling out on Android and iOS.
YouTube Music is now rolling out a redesigned artist page on Android and iOS
The news comes via 9to5Google which spotted the redesigned layout of the artist page on YouTube Music. Talking of changes, the latest redesign adds the artist’s name on the left side along with the subscriber count. Additionally, you’ll see a pill-shaped subscribe button so that you never miss any new music from your favorite artist. The previously enlarged-pill-shaped radio and shuffle button are now circular and leverage small touch targets.
Talking of the button placements, the circular radio and shuffle button accompany on the same line the new subscribe button but are placed on the extreme right. Since the “Latest Release” card is something that generally grabs listeners’ attention, it is visible above the “Top Songs” section and the rest of the artist page feed.
Image credit: 9to5Google
Overall, the new look of the artist page serves a modernized look and feel. This also allows users to notice every bit of detail at a glance. Worth noting that the latest redesign of the artist page on YouTube Music offers a similar vibe to the redesigned album and playlist pages that saw a few changes in 2022. Android and iOS users can see the artist page redesign on YouTube Music via server-side updates which are rolling out gradually.
YouTube Music is also getting a “Badges” feature, but it could be exclusive to premium users
Let’s not forget that YouTube Music is also getting a new feature called “Badges.” You can find the new section between “Your Recap” and “Paid memberships.” As 9to5Google notes, every YouTube Music user is currently seeing the “You don’t have any badges yet” message as seen in the image below. It appears that the feature could be exclusive to YouTube Premium users. Whenever it is available, “Badges” will be available on the profile page of YouTube Music alongside your other listening stats.
Threat actors often attack cloud services for several illicit purposes. Google Cloud is targeted due to its extensive and powerful resources, which could be abused for a multitude of malicious activities.
The vast amounts of data and computing power that Google Cloud services provide often lure threat actors. Due to the complexity of cloud environments, this can also enable them to go undetected.
The Google Cloud Threat Horizons recently unveiled that hackers have been actively abusing the Google Cloud for phishing.
Google Cloud For Phishing
The Google Cloud Threat Horizons Report, drawn from various Google teams, such as TAG and Mandiant, discloses strategic intelligence concerning cloud security threats across providers.
It points out serverless computing as a transformative concept that could be fragile.
Three key areas of focus for cloud security professionals need to be considered when developing strategies to address emerging serverless cloud threats. These include mitigating risks deriving from customer misconfigurations while taking advantage of expandability and reduced operational overheads.
Here below, we have mentioned the considerations that need to be prioritized:-
Compromised credentials
Exploited misconfiguration
Distribution of malware
In H1 2024, Google Cloud Office of the Cloud CISO conducted a deep investigation into cloud security incidents based on data from a Google Security Operations Center.
The research showed that weak or no password remained the first major path to illicit entry, while misconfigurations hit over 30% of cases and mostly involved free service account keys.
Initial Access Vectors of Concern (H1 2024) (Source – Google Threat Horizon)
Cryptomining continued to be the principal motive for intrusions at 59%, slightly down from 65% in H2 2023.
Observed Impact of Intrusion (H1 2024) (Source – Google Threat Horizon)
These discoveries are significant as they show how serverless computing can help with some configuration-related vulnerabilities and why it is important in a comprehensive defense-in-depth strategy.
In this respect, the analysis highlights how organizations should prioritize credential management over other issues, observe strict configurations, and adopt serverless architectures to improve their cloud security maturity models against emerging threats.
Serverless computing, though it offers many benefits, requires a security-first approach from its beginning.
This analysis by Mandiant over two years has indicated crucial risks that serverless architecture faces across cloud providers.
These comprise hard-coded and clear-text secrets that can result in unauthorized access, threat actors taking advantage of serverless infrastructure to carry out malicious activities, which could use its scalability against it to launch attacks, unsafe design and development practices introducing vulnerabilities as well as misconfigured back-end services exposing sensitive data or functionalities.
Organizations must take robust security measures to tackle these specific threats and properly handle serverless technology.
During the years 2023-2024, two threat actors “PINEAPPLE” and “FLUXROOT” used Google Cloud services to deliver malware that was aimed mainly at people living in Latin America.
The Google teams reacted by setting up detection capabilities, obstructing the malicious URLs, and suspending associated projects, which dramatically shortened the campaign’s efficacy.
Mitigations
Here below, we have mentioned all the mitigations:-
Manage high-privilege accounts strictly.
Apply least privilege principles.
Implement malware detection controls.
Collaborate with CISA for malware analysis.
Monitor for leaked credentials.
Develop credential reset playbooks.
Use Container Threat Detection.
Avoid untrusted containers.
Configure Cloud Functions network settings.
Control network ingress and egress for Cloud Run.
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For more than a year, Google has said it would phase out the third-party tracking cookies that power much of its advertising business online, proposing new ideas that would allegedly preserve user privacy while still providing businesses with steady revenue streams.
This week, Google tossed much of that work aside.
In an update about Google’s Privacy Sandbox, the tech giant said that due to feedback from authorities and other stakeholders in advertising, it is looking at a new path forward in finding the balance between privacy and an ad-supported internet.
The underlying grounds for the difficulty in finding the balance are not hard to understand. The effectiveness of advertising is determined by whether you’re able to reach your target audience, but the processes involved in determining whether a website visitor belongs to your target audience or not often means that the website publisher gathers information about said visitor, which can quickly become a privacy issue.
The common method to track a visitor’s online behavior was and still involves third-party cookies. You can look at them as small files that your browser drags along the internet while sites record your interests and online behavior in them. They are the reason why you suddenly see advertisements for an article you have looked at in an online store.
When the advertising industry collectively decided they needed something better than cookies, Google introduced the Privacy Sandbox as a “secure environment for personalization that also protects user privacy.” The idea was to get rid of third-party cookies altogether.
Later, Google started experimenting with FLoC, or “Federated Learning of Cohorts.” FLoC aimed to become a privacy-focused solution intent on delivering relevant ads by clustering large groups of people with similar interests. This way, user behavior would be processed as anonymized accounts, grouped by interests. Most importantly, user information would processed on-device rather than broadcast across the web.
The idea was to get rid of third-party cookies by 2022, but the implementation of FLoC caused so much push-back from privacy experts that Google abandoned the idea.
Then Google came up with Topics, an idea based on Privacy Sandbox where the user does not get tracked based on the sites they visit, but where each site displays contextual advertising, which means the ads match with the content on the page. But Google had to ask websites not to abuse the topics API and other browser developers showed no interest in adopting the API.
Despite Google Chrome’s browser market share (>60%), it does not have the influence needed to persuade its competitors. And the pressure is on, since other browsers like Safari and Firefox went ahead and already started blocking third-party cookies. Ironic, because the push to eliminate third-party cookies was set in motion by Google and now it’s lagging behind.
So, Google is back with a new path for the Privacy Sandbox. It proposes:
“An updated approach that elevates user choice. Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing, and they’d be able to adjust that choice at any time.”
Strengthened with a new feature called IP Protection in Chrome’s Incognito Mode, this should protect the user from being identified by third parties as a potential target IP address for web-wide cross-site tracking.
Does that mean there will be yet another prompt asking the user what they want? It looks like it. But first, Google intends to put out its feelers to find out what regulators and the advertising industry have to say about this new approach.
We have a feeling that this will not be the end of this saga, and we will keep our readers informed about new developments.
Ever since Unpacked, I’ve been using the Galaxy Z Fold 6 as my daily driver. It’s a great foldable, with some really meaningful changes this year. But it’s still not enough to take me away from the OnePlus Open.
Samsung has slowly made the cover display wider and wider on the Galaxy Z Fold series. However, it is still fairly narrow. That is not the reason why I’m switching back, however. There are two main reasons: battery life and the cameras. With OnePlus’ first foldable, they really hit a home run. Now yes, it’s technically not their first foldable, as this is basically the OPPO Find N3 with a different name and logo, which is OPPO’s third-generation of foldables. And they’ve learned a lot. The Find N2 looked much different than the Find N3, actually. However, Samsung hasn’t really made any drastic changes to the Fold since the Fold 2, when they made the cover display full-screen.
There’s no denying that Samsung has some of the best foldable software out there. Pop-up and multi-window, just to name a few, are great features to have on a foldable like the Galaxy Z Fold 6, not to mention the S Pen support. Though, as someone who has never really used the S Pen, that’s not really a selling point for me.
OnePlus single-handily one-upped Samsung with its foldable software last year with a new feature called Open Canvas. And it’s a feature that I really wish OnePlus would put on its phones, too. The best way to describe it is that you are getting more screen real estate than you actually have as you’re able to push apps off screen, and switch back to them with ease. You can even have a Tweetdeck-like layout but for apps, with three of them side-by-side-by-side. It’s my favorite software feature on any phone these days. Honestly, I can’t wait to see what OnePlus/OPPO will do next.
Samsung’s battery life has become stagnant
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has the same size battery as the Galaxy Z Fold 3 (which is actually smaller than the Fold 2). That’s pretty unacceptable when the Fold doesn’t really have that large of a battery anyways. It’s a 4,400mAh capacity battery. The OnePlus Open has a 4,805mAh capacity battery, Pixel Fold is 4,821mAh, and you really don’t want us to compare to some of the Chinese competition. Companies like HONOR are starting to use new battery tech, called Silicon Carbon which allows for a much more dense battery in the same space. So the new Magic V3 that was announced in China this month (global launch at IFA) has a 5,150mAh capacity battery. There are also rumors of the next OnePlus Open having a whopping 6,000mAh capacity battery inside. Yet Samsung is sticking to 4,400mAh.
One the one hand, I can kind of understand why Samsung is sticking to this same battery size. The debacle with the Galaxy Note 7 a few years ago has really scarred them over the years, and it’s why I think Samsung hasn’t really upped its charging speeds – still stuck at 25W. However, Samsung used to push the boundaries. They used to be a leader in innovation. Now they are just stagnating, and actually losing their foldable market lead, with newcomers launching foldables, even in the US, like Google and OnePlus, or Motorola on the flip phone side.
I’m not one to say that a company needs to do a complete redesign of its phone every year. That’s dumb and a waste of money. But we do need to see more iteration than we have been, especially in the battery department. Yes, the processor is getting better optimized and more energy efficient over the years, but battery life is largely the same on the Fold 6 as it was on the Fold 3. That’s unacceptable.
Especially when you compare it to the OnePlus Open, which has a larger battery and quite a bit better battery life. Before I get into screen-on-time numbers, it’s important to remember that I don’t use my phone the same way every day. Some days I might spend a lot of time on Twitter, others it might be TikTok or Reddit. But on average, I get about 6 hours of screen-on time with the Galaxy Z Fold 6. That sounds pretty respectable, right? Until you see the OnePlus Open. At 6 hours of screen-on time, it generally still has about 30-40% left, while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is begging you to turn on battery-saver mode.
Obviously, these numbers are even more variable with foldables since you have two screens, and the larger internal display uses a lot more battery than the outer display. But the bottom line here is that the nearly year-old OnePlus Open is still far better than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 in terms of battery life.
At least the cameras aren’t as old as the battery capacity, right?
Well, they aren’t. But that’s not necessarily a good thing. Samsung upgraded the Fold’s cameras with the Galaxy Z Fold 4 in 2022, and is using those same cameras on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 in 2024. These cameras are somewhat respectable, but when you’re paying $1,899 for a phone, they should be much better.
Here, we’re looking at a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 12-megapixel ultrawide and a 10-megapixel telephoto sensors. They put out okay pictures, but again, for the price, we need better than just “okay.” And honestly, if it weren’t for the OnePlus Open, I’d probably be okay with these cameras. Most foldables do have older camera setups, partly due to space and partly to try and keep costs down. But OnePlus put perhaps the best camera setup (at the time) of any phone and put it into a foldable, which makes it hard to (ironically) settle for the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s cameras.
You see, the Pixel Fold launched with relatively similar cameras to the Pixel 7a, which was kind of crazy, considering the price difference. HONOR’s Magic V2 had pretty sub-par cameras, especially when compared to the Magic 6 Pro. Then came OnePlus and OPPO with the Open/Find N3 with an incredible camera setup (that also made its way to the OnePlus 12 earlier this year). This includes a 48-megapixel primary camera, a 48-megapixel ultrawide, and a 64-megapixel telephoto sensor. These have provided some truly incredible photos and video on this phone over the past 9-10 months that I’ve had it. And it’s hard to give that up for the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Additionally, OnePlus (like the iPhone) lets you shoot at 35mm, which is a really great focal length providing incredible bokeh effects, naturally without using AI.
In fact, the OnePlus Open handled all of the hands-on pictures and videos I shot ahead of Unpacked earlier this month. And I had no complaints, other than how hot the phone got. Keep in mind, it was nearly 100 degrees in New York City that day, plus using the camera for about an hour or so. Which really takes its toll on the thermals.
Nearly a year later, and the OnePlus Open is still the king of foldables
Now, before you start saying I’m a fanboy or whatever, I haven’t really been a big OnePlus user for the past few years. I’ve actually been using an iPhone as my daily driver, and using a Pixel as my secondary phone (unless I was in the middle of reviewing something). The OnePlus Open is the first OnePlus phone I’ve used well beyond the review period, since the OnePlus One. It’s just that good. And it’s hard to go back to a phone without a folding screen, once you’ve used one for a long period of time.
So far, no other company has been able to touch the OnePlus Open in terms of battery life, camera quality, and the build. But we do have some new contenders. The aforementioned HONOR Magic V3 is one of them. The HONOR Magic V3 has a larger display, and battery, while being even thinner at just 9.3mm folded or 4.4mm unfolded and weighing just 226 grams. That’s less than the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Its cameras are also set to be some of the best on a foldable, which we’ll find out more in a month or so when we get our review unit.
Then there’s the Xiaomi Mix Fold 4, which also has a larger display and is also thinner and lighter than the OnePlus Open. Weighing in at 226 grams, and measuring 9.5mm when folded, or 4.6mm unfolded. So there’s competition on the horizon, but we’ll see if it can dethrone the OnePlus Open soon.
ClickBalance ERP provider’s cloud database exposed 769 million records, including API keys and email addresses. Learn how this cloud security incident can impact businesses and consumers, and what steps to take to protect yourself.
Cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler discovered a cloud database containing 769 million records belonging to ClickBalance, a software provider offering cloud-based business services. The database was left exposed without any password or security authentication, making accessing data to malicious threat actors a piece of cake.
ClickBalance is one of Mexico’s largest Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) technology providers, offering ERP tools accessible from any device. ERP tools manage and automate business processes across various departments like finance, human resources, supply chain, manufacturing, and sales.
According to Fowler’s report for Websiteplatnet shared with Hackread.com ahead of publishing on Monday, The database contained potentially sensitive information such as access tokens, API keys, secret keys, bank account numbers, tax identification numbers, and 381,224 email addresses.
Screenshot from the leaked records (Credit: Jeremiah Fowler)
Screenshot from the leaked records (Credit: Jeremiah Fowler)
Screenshot from the leaked records (Credit: Jeremiah Fowler)
For your information, exposing API and secret keys is highly concerning as cybercriminals could exploit the data to gain unauthorized access to critical systems and sensitive data, leading to data theft, account takeovers, unauthorized transactions, and service disruptions.
The exposure of email addresses also poses potential risks beyond spam, as 91% of cyberattacks begin with phishing emails. Criminals can create deceptive emails to steal personal information, financial data, and login credentials. Cybercriminals are already aware of business-related email addresses and could launch targeted phishing attacks.
It is unknown how long the database was exposed or if anyone else gained access. Fowler, however, notes that technology companies managing vast amounts of data, including customers, employees, and end users, face significant data protection challenges. ERP, CRM, and CDM systems are designed to track and manage this data, but a data breach can expose sensitive information, posing long-term operational and strategic risks.
The good news is that Fowler sent a responsible disclosure notice and public access was restricted within hours. Nevertheless, to protect against these risks, organizations should change their passwords and enable two-factor authentication (2FA).
It’s also important to be cautious of unsolicited emails and suspicious information requests. Protecting keys, tokens, and other administrative credentials with access controls and secure storage practices is also crucial.
Samsung‘s Android 15-based One UI 7.0 update for Galaxy devices may not face any delay. At least not the beta program, if a new rumor is accurate. In fact, beta testing might start a few weeks earlier than the One UI 6.0 beta last year. There is no word yet on the stable release.
Samsung might start One UI 7.0 beta testing at the end of July
Android 15 should be official with the launch of Google’s Pixel 9 series on August 13. Samsung and other brands will push the big update to their devices after that. However, they can already run beta programs to test the new features and add-ons from their side. Some companies have launched limited beta testing of the new Android version, and Samsung might join the party soon.
According to reliable X tipster Ice Universe, the One UI 7.0 beta “will start from the end of July or early August.” That’s if there aren’t any “accidents” or unforeseen last-minute delays. It appears Samsung is almost ready to roll out beta updates. Interestingly, the same source previously said the big update would be delayed. The Korean firm might have sped up development recently.
If the tipster is accurate, the One UI 7.0 beta will arrive a week or two earlier than last year. Samsung started One UI 6.0 beta for the Galaxy S23 series in the second week of August. This year, the Galaxy S24 series should get the big new update first, followed by other models. It remains to be seen if the company will expand beta programs to more regions. Historically, it has limited the test runs to China, Germany, India, Poland, South Korea, the UK, and the US.
Samsung lets users in eligible countries register their devices for beta testing via the Samsung Members app. So, keep an eye on the latest announcements there. If the beta program is available in your region, you should see a banner with more details on the registration process. The company also shares its roadmaps for major updates on the app, letting users know when their devices will receive the stable update. Stay tuned for more information.
The update may bring new AI features and a UI revamp
Samsung is expected to make major changes to the One UI design language this year. Leaks have hinted at redesigned app icons and system menus. One UI 7.0 should also bring a host of new AI features, building on One UI 6.1 and One UI 6.1.1. AI features will be limited to flagship devices, including tablets and foldables. We expect the Korean firm to begin stable One UI 7.0 rollout at the end of October if not earlier.
Nubia has launched two new flagship Android smartphones, the Nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version and the Nubia Z60S Pro. The phones come with AI features, including advanced AI imaging technologies. The ZTE subsidiary has opened pre-orders for the phones, with general sales beginning on August 12.
Nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version official with overclocked chip and AI features
The Nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version is an upgraded version of the Z60 Ultra launched in December last year. The device got its name from its processor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Version. This special edition Qualcomm chipset has a faster CPU and GPU. Its Cortex-X4 prime CPU core is clocked at 3.4GHz against the standard version’s 3.3GHz. The Adreno 750 GPU operates at a boosted frequency of 1GHz.
According to Nubia, the new phone’s dedicated AI engine delivers a total computing power of up to 73 TOPS (Tera Operations per Second). It can run large language models with up to 10 billion parameters on the device, ensuring superfast on-device AI performance. The device’s 6,000mAh battery and AI ‘Zero’ power consumption 2.0 technology ensure long battery life even when you push it to its limits.
Apart from a faster CPU, a faster GPU, and advanced AI capabilities, the Nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version seemingly packs the same set of specs as the standard Z60 Ultra. You get a 6.8-inch AMOLED display with an under-display selfie camera and an optical under-display fingerprint scanner. The phone boasts an IP68 certification for solid protection against dust and water and features a Custom Sliding Shortcut design.
Nubia has equipped the device with three cameras on the back, all with OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) and NeoVision AI Photography System 2.0. There’s a 50MP main shooter, a 64P zoom camera (3.3x optical zoom), and a 50MP ultrawide lens. The Nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version can record 8K videos and offers a wide range of AI features for enhanced camera output, including AI Flash Capture and AI Telephoto.
Nubia Z60S Pro makes AI imaging more affordable
The Nubia Z60S Pro is a more affordable Android flagship (see prices below) with powerful AI imaging capabilities. It offers more or less the same camera experience as the Z60 Ultra. Its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor may not be able to handle AI features as efficiently as the Gen 3, though. Nubia has paired the chipset with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage, the same as the Z60 Ultra. The phone has a 5,100mAh battery and boasts the same power technology.
Nubia has equipped the Z60S Pro with a 1.5K super retina-grade resolution AMOLED display that can show the true colors of the images you capture with its amazing cameras. The handset features new Longxi Durable Glass on the front. The firm says it offers enhanced screen durability thanks to its robust resistance to drops and scratches. Both new Nubia phones run Android 14 out of the box. The Z60 Ultra comes in Black and Silver colors and the Z60S Pro in Black, Aqua, and White colors.
Price and availability
The Nubia Z60 Ultra Leading Version and Nubia Z60S Pro are available for pre-order globally starting today, July 23. Prices of the Z60 Pro start at $649/£649/€729 for the 8GB+256GB variant. Its top-tier model (16GB+1TB) costs $879/£929/€979. The Z60S Pro costs $569/£569/€669 for the 12GB+256GB variant (no 8GB variant) and goes up to $769/£769/€869 for the 16GB+1TB model. General sales begin globally on August 12. Nubia has region-specific early bird offers for pre-orders.
Threat actors often attack dating apps to steal personal data, including sensitive data and location details, which can be used in identity theft, blackmailing people, or other malicious activities.
Since these applications are a goldmine of personal experiences and chats, hackers consider them as lucrative options for their malicious activities.
Cybersecurity researchers at DistriNet Research Unit recently analyzed the usability of establishing accounts, data transfer methods, and confidentiality clauses in 15 popular dating applications.
In their analysis, they identified that location-based dating apps expose users to privacy risks by sharing personal and sensitive information with potential matches.
Location-based dating (LBD) apps are mobile applications that use proximity and user preferences to suggest potential partners for romantic or social purposes.
This assessment studied the data collection techniques and privacy controls used by 15 renowned LBD apps and their susceptibility to location inference attacks.
Here below, we have mentioned the 15 apps that are analyzed:-
Tinder
Badoo
POF
MeetMe
Tagged
Grindr
Tantan
Jaumo
LOVOO
happn
Bumble
Hinge
Hily
OkCupid
Meetic
A large number of applications collect personal and sensitive information about users, such as demographic characteristics, sexual orientation, and health records.
As others require some fields to be filled before they create profiles.
A few applications had weak points, like trilateration, that made it easy to locate individuals using them and helped reveal their exact positions. Also, some apps had API vulnerabilities, which disclosed hidden data.
This highlights how unsafe LBD can be and also showcases the need for enhanced protection for personal data, more user openness, and better security policies within this fast-growing segment of online dating services.
While most LBD app privacy policies do matter, the level of their detail and transparency varies significantly.
Although many policies admit processing sensitive data and location information, they often fail to provide any specific privacy controls or potential risks.
Besides this, notable differences exist between stated policies and actual app behaviors, particularly regarding location permissions, profile visibility options, and data-sharing practices.
For example, only 3 out of 15 apps claim that they need geolocation permission to run on a device, contrary to their policies.
Furthermore, only two apps state exactly which user data is visible to others.
The research shows that some applications leak data through API vulnerabilities, which counter their privacy guarantees.
These results emphasize how far apart privacy policy declarations can be from the actual handling of personal information in LBD apps.
This indicates an urgent need for greater transparency, better user management tools, and greater openness between policy statements and real-life protection arrangements.
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