Not too long ago, we saw that Google was working on bringing 360-degree backgrounds to Meet. Back then, it was in testing for a select group of users. Now, however, the company has officially launched the feature.
You’ve been able to use a ton of different backgrounds and effects in Google Meet to add flair to your meetings. Sure, you can’t, realistically, have a meeting on a sunny beach, but it’s fun to pretend so.
Those backgrounds would remain static, but what if you want backgrounds that are a bit more immersive? Well, this is where these 360-degree backgrounds on Google Meet come in handy.
Google officially launches 360-degree backgrounds for Meet
So, this feature was in testing for a bit, but the company finally launched it to the public. If you’re using Google Meet on your phone, you’ll be able to use one of two 360-degree backgrounds. As you can imagine, the feature will use your phone’s gyroscope to rotate the backgrounds and make it seem like you’re actually in the locations.
At the moment, you only have the option of a beach and a temple. That might be a little disappointing, as the test videos showed someone using an oasis as a background. Maybe the company will add that one, and others, in future updates.
In other Google news: The Google Pixel Fold might be heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 4
In a couple of months, we’re expecting to finally see Google’s first foldable phone. It’s being called the Pixel Fold, but earlier rumors pointed to it being called the “Passport”. We got leaks for this device, and they showed a pretty nice-looking phone.
This phone is tipped to be a bit larger than the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and that phone is pretty big itself. That phone weighs 263g. So, The Pixel Fold is tipped to weigh even more than that. We’ll need to wait on more leaks to be sure of the weight.
As for the size, it’s expected to be about 140mm tall and 80mm wide when it’s open. So, this phone looks like it will be pretty hefty.
As the launch of the new Sonos Era 300 and 100 speakers approaches, their details have surfaced. These speakers will make their global debut in a few weeks and feature some improvements. Details on these coming speakers are already available, so prospective buyers will know what to expect.
The price along with the design and some specifications of these speakers have hit the internet. Both speakers will pack some software benefits for the Android and iOS communities. This will be followed by top-notch audio and connectivity features considering their price ranges.
Sonos Era 300 and 100 speakers, improving on performance and design
Marketing images of the coming Sonos Era 300 and 100 speakers have become available. The Era 100 speaker comes with a cylindrical design that is quite similar to the Sonos One speaker. It also comes with a volume slider located at the top of the speaker, along with other control buttons.
The Era 300 speaker, will come with a drum-style design that comes with more drivers than the Era 100 speaker. This speaker is larger than the Era 100 and delivers better audio thanks to its six drivers. With its audio system, the Sonos 300 provides Atmos surround sound for a more immersive experience.
For its controls, the Sonos 300 will come with a similar volume control slider and control buttons. The Sonos 100 will not offer surround sound technology but will offer great audio quality for its price. The two speakers will come with great connectivity features for Android and iOS devices.
According to the available reports, the Era 300 will come with support for spatial audio. But this will be limited to Amazon Music Unlimited, as Sonos is working on getting support for this feature from other streaming services. Possibly, spatial audio support for other streaming services will roll out months after the speakers launch.
These speakers will retail at $250 for the Era 100 and $450 for the Era 300, making them quite affordable. Reports have it that these speakers will launch in March and hit online retail stores after it becomes available. More details about these speakers will be made available after their launch event.
Someone properly brought a worthy competitor to Samsung’s foldables to the market. The company in question is OPPO, as it finally launched one of its foldable smartphones to global markets. The device in question is the OPPO Find N2 Flip, and we’re here to review it. This smartphone initially launched in China in December, while OPPO announced it globally earlier this month. This is the company’s very first foldable that is leaving OPPO’s homeland, and it’s a very fine first addition to the global foldable market.
The OPPO Find N2 Flip has a lot to offer, and in my opinion, brings far better hardware than the Galaxy Z Flip 4, its direct competitor. It has its advantages, and its disadvantages, all of which we’ll talk about below. Before we begin, let’s just say that the other OPPO foldable, the OPPO Find N2, won’t be coming to global markets. OPPO wanted to kick off its global foldables lineup with a clamshell foldable, but we may get a book-type foldable next year. In any case, let’s get started.
Table of contents
OPPO Find N2 Flip Review: Hardware / Design
In the intro, I mentioned that I prefer the OPPO Find N2 Flip hardware over what the Galaxy Z Flip 4 has to offer. There are actually several reasons for that. It’s not that the Galaxy Z Flip 4 doesn’t feel good, but the OPPO Find N2 Flip simply does things better. I have to get that out of the way first, as it’s what makes this phone stand out. When folded, the OPPO Find N2 Flip offers a gapless design, unlike its competitor. On top of that, thanks to OPPO’s hinge, the crease is barely noticeable, and you can barely feel it on the display. For me, personally, that made a huge difference, as it did on the OPPO Find N2. Furthermore, that cover display is the largest on any clamshell foldable (and it’s vertical), and it has huge potential. More on that later.
It has major hardware advantages over the Galaxy Z Flip 4
Those are the three main reasons I prefer this design. The OPPO Find N2 Flip also feels very premium in the hand. It is made out of metal and glass, and has flat sides. When it’s unfolded, it’s very thin, and it feels even thinner in the hand. The phone’s main display has thin bezels, and a centered display camera hole. Folding and unfolding the device feels like a treat, as the phone snaps into place with ease. And yes, you can fold it halfway, to use it as a stand for group photos, or something like that. The hinge feels sturdy, which is great. The downside is that the phone doesn’t always stay comfortably folded at an angle. It opened all the way for me while it was sitting open at an angle, which is not ideal, needless to say. The good news is, this won’t happen if you fold it halfway, only if you try a different angle.
The side-facing fingerprint scanner works really well
This handset also has a side-facing fingerprint scanner which worked really well for us. It’s not the fastest capacitive fingerprint scanner I’ve used, but it’s close to it. It did miss my fingerprint here and there at first, but then I redid my fingerprint, and it worked great after that. All the physical buttons are located on the right-hand side, and the power/lock button doubles as a fingerprint scanner. The phone has two cameras on the back, which you can use for selfies, thanks to that cover display.
It even has IPX4 rating, which is better than nothing
The overall feeling of the OPPO Find N2 Flip hardware is… well, excellent. I really only have one complaint, the lack of better resistance. This phone does come with an IPX4 rating, compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 4’s IPX8 rating. Other than that, I do believe that the company nailed it on the hardware side of things, and that goes for both its latest Find N2 series foldables.
A plastic case is included in the retail box
The OPPO Find N2 Flip retail box does include a case. Truth be said, this is your regular, plastic hard shell case. It doesn’t really feel premium at all, but it’ll do the job until you get something better. Luckily, OPPO does offer nicer cases for the device, but there are already plenty of third-party ones you can offer. I’ve included three images in the gallery below. The first image shows you the case included in the retail box, while the other two include ones that OPPO sent us to check out, but are not included along with the phone.
Other official cases are available to purchase separately
Those two cases are the ‘Portable PU Case’, and the company’s wallet case for the device. The Portable PU Case is made out of silicone, and it feels like you’d expect. It does offer really good protection, and is a really interesting fashion choice with a loop attached to it. You can easily use your finger in collaboration with this loop to grip the phone while you’re holding it, or attach it to something. It can certainly be used as a lanyard.
The wallet case feels nice. It has space for the device on the inside, and also your cards, or some cash perhaps. It can be a one case solution for all that, that’s for sure. When you do stick everything inside, though, it does end up being a bit bulkier than I’d like. I do feel like OPPO should have released a really nice leather case for the device, that would certainly scream “premium”. It seems like OPPO is aiming at younger users with this phone, though, so this makes sense.
OPPO Find N2 Flip Review: Display
The OPPO Find N2 Flip has a main 6.8-inch fullHD+ foldable display. That is a 120Hz panel, which can reach up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness under certain conditions. It has a 21:9 aspect ratio, so it’s quite tall and narrow. The cover panel measures 3.26 inches, and it’s also an AMOLED panel. That display is protected by the Gorilla Glass 5, and it has a resolution of 720 x 382. That cover display is the largest we’ve seen in a clamshell smartphone to date.
Having said that, the main display does have a crease on it, but thanks to OPPO’s hinge, it’s barely noticeable. That goes for both the visual aspect, and the tactile aspect, you can barely feel it under your fingers. That’s a sharp contrast to what you’re getting on the Galaxy Z Flip 4, for example. If you’re annoyed by that crease on the Galaxy Z Flip 4, this may be the phone for you. It’s still there, but it’s much less noticeable.
The main display offers vivid colors, and hides the crease really well
The main display on its own is really good. It is vivid, has good viewing angles, and it’s plenty sharp. On top of that, the blacks are quite deep. It’s a really, really good fullHD+ panel, even the touch response is really good, and the display doesn’t seem plasticky to the touch, which can be the case with some foldables.
The cover display, on the other hand, is also really good. The colors are vivid, and it’s quite spacious for a cover display, as mentioned earlier. The touch response is really good too, and you’re getting pre-installed protection on it, though it’s not really all that necessary, as the Gorilla Glass 5 protects this panel. From the functionality perspective, it’s a different story entirely, however. OPPO did promise to keep updating the functionality of this cover display, but it’s kind of a missed opportunity.
The cover display is quite spacious, but underutilized
How’s that? Well, this cover display, from the functionality standpoint, is closer to something you get on a smartwatch. You do not have full use of your phone via that panel, as you get on Motorola’s foldables, for example. You do get access to your notifications, but even that is limited. On top of that, you can reply via predetermined replies, but not actually type on it. You can also see only the last message in a conversation, which is a problem, needless to say, and it limits the functionality of this display. Another example of its limitation is the fact you can’t really read emails on it. You can see the subject of an email on Gmail, but not the actual email.
The number of widgets is also limited at the moment. It does most of the same things as the Galaxy Z Flip 4, despite the fact it’s considerably larger, and vertical. Motorola’s foldables offer way more functionality. Those limitations are a problem, and they kind of make this display, well… I wouldn’t say useless, but way less useful than it should be. OPPO should allow it to do way more, and we do hope the company will, but it’ll take time.
Taking selfies on this phone is an excellent experience
Don’t get me wrong, it has its uses, of course. It’s great for taking selfies, and shooting videos, for example. You can use the phone’s main camera setup to do all that, and have a nicely sized viewfinder. It’s also great to control your music player without opening the phone, and running a stopwatch or something like that. As I said, though, this cover display should be able to do way, way more than that. Let’s hope OPPO will realize that following the initial batch of reviews, and do its best to remove the chains that hold it back.
OPPO Find N2 Flip Review: Performance
The MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ SoC fuels this handset. OPPO opted to go with MediaTek instead of Qualcomm, and it’s possible this move was made so that the phone reaches a certain price tag. The good news is, this is not a bad thing per se. I didn’t really notice any problems with this processor during my usage. Using something like the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 would possibly offer a bit more in terms of battery life, but the Dimensity 9000+ did great overall.
The phone was immensely smooth during my usage, no doubt about that. It ran through anything I threw at it, and that goes for gaming as well. Even Genshin Impact ran nicely on this phone, along with several other games I’ve tried out. The same can be said for simpler tasks as well. Multitasking works great, apps open really fast, and multimedia consumption is not a problem either. The camera launches fast, and reliably, and so on. I really don’t have any complaints about the performance of the OPPO Find N2 Flip.
OPPO Find N2 Flip Review: Battery
The OPPO Find N2 Flip is equipped with a 4,300mAh battery. That is actually a really nicely-sized battery pack for this phone. The Galaxy Z Flip 4, for comparison’s sake, includes a 3,700mAh battery. Now, you probably wonder what that means for the battery life. Well, it’s good, but it’s not great. If you’re a heavy user, you may need to top-up this phone before the end of the day.
The battery life is good, but not great
If you’re wondering what that means in terms of screen-on-time. Well, that variable will differ from one user to the next, but for me, that meant that I can get around 6.5-7 hours of screen-on-time, usually. Do note that I play games only for testing purposes, it’s not something I do in my usual day-to-day usage. I do use my phone for everything else, though. That includes streaming music and podcasts, taking plenty of pictures, browsing, messaging, answering emails, image editing, and more.
44W charging is plenty fast
If you do run out of juice ahead of time, do note that you have 44W charging at your disposal here. This charging can get you to 50% in 23 minutes, and charge up the phone fully in an hour. The charger is also included in the box, so you don’t have to worry about that either. The phone does not support wireless charging, though, so keep that in mind.
OPPO Find N2 Flip Review: Camera
Let’s talk about those cameras. The OPPO Find N2 Flip has a 50-megapixel main camera with multi-directional PDAF, but no OIS. It also includes an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera with a 112-degree FoV, on the back. On the front, it uses a 32-megapixel wide-angle camera. Those cameras performed well, and for the vast majority of users, they’ll do the job brilliantly. My job is to nitpick, though, and give you a better idea as to what to expect here.
Hasselblad’s color tuning is noticeable
So, first and foremost, the Find N2 Flip cameras love to emphasize colors. I’m not talking about oversaturating photos, not at all, but they tend to nicely show off colors, they end up looking rich and vivid. That is a nice look, especially in low light. This probably has something to do with Hasselblad’s color tuning, and we’re glad it’s here. Overall, the main camera does a really good job in basically all lighting conditions, and it even keeps street light reflections at bay most of the time.
The images end up looking quite good, in most scenarios
The images do end up looking rather detailed, and well-balanced. Even in high dynamic range situations, it doesn’t fall apart, though it doesn’t do as good of a job as a number of other higher-end phones we’ve tested. The ultrawide camera does fall apart in low light, though. The images do end up looking soft, and quite muddy, while the street lights get overblown easily.
Needless to say, selfies do look excellent, as you’ll be using the phone’s main cameras to take them, most of the time, at least. The subject separation is also quite good. This is one of the best phones for taking selfies at the moment, actually. The video quality is good, despite the lack of OIS, as long as you keep the ‘AI’ mode turned on, and let OPPO’s custom NPU do its thing.
OPPO Find N2 Flip Review: Software
The OPPO Find N2 Flip ships with Android 13 out of the box. On top of Google’s OS, you’ll find OPPO’s ColorOS 13 skin. That is basically what you’re getting on the OnePlus 11, but it’s called OxygenOS there. The two implementations are very similar. The software on its own is very good, but it’s different from stock Android. There are some differences that may annoy you, but we didn’t really stumble upon really weird bugs or anything of the sort. ColorOS ran smoothly during our usage, very smoothly, actually.
OPPO’s ColorOS brings plenty of features to the table
There are your usual added features here, such as added gestures for launching actions. Smart Sidebar, Flexible windows, and so on. There’s also a high level of customizability available here, which includes not only the home screen, but also the status bar, and more. We’ve already talked about the cover display in the display section, but OPPO needs to improve its offering in that regard. ColorOS needs to offer more functionality for the cover display, especially this one, as it’s quite spacious for a cover display (on a clamshell foldable). If you’d like to know more about that, check out the display section.
ColorOS shouldn’t really be a reason you stay away from this phone, as it really did work great. It works great for years now, on OPPO devices, and the company really did polish it out. As long as you’re not expecting a stock offering, you’ll probably enjoy it.
OPPO Find N2 Flip Review: Should you buy it?
So, should you buy the OPPO Find N2 Flip? Well, it all depends on what you’re looking for in a smartphone. If you’re even considering this phone, you’re probably interested in clamshell foldable phones. There are not many such phones available out there, and this is one of the best ones. If you’re not a fan of the Galaxy Z Flip 4, this could be an ideal alternative for you. Not only does it fold flat, without gaps, but it also has a much less noticeable crease on the display. It also has a much larger cover display, which is vertical, and faster charging too. The OPPO Find N2 Flip does feel like a really premium product, and one you should consider if you’re in the market for a clamshell foldable.
You should buy the OPPO Find N2 Flip if:
You want a gapless design when the device is folded
You hate the crease on the Galaxy Z Flip 4
You want a larger cover display than other clamshell foldable offer
You like cameras that provide contrasty images with rich colors
You prefer ColorOS to One UI
You don’t care about wireless charging
You want a charger included in the box
You shouldn’t buy the OPPO Find N2 Flip if:
You want the most cohesive software experience for foldables
You really need proper water resistance
You don’t want to use a phone without wireless charging
Apple has rolled out an update for its Apple Store app on iOS and iPadOS. The new update brings improved sharing features as well as better discoverability.
One of the notable changes is that the new Apple Store app brings is changes to the saved lists. While users have always been able to save products that they want to purchase in a list, you can now share those lists with other people as well. Apple has also added new ways to explore and manage the lists from various sections within the app.
The app also provides information about physical stores, including store opening hours, available shopping methods. With the new update, the information shown on the store pages has been further improved, providing users with additional information about the store itself and its surroundings.
Here are the full release notes for the newly updated Apple Store app for iPhone and iPad:
Easily share lists of saved items with your friends and family.
Access and continue shopping your saved items in more places throughout the app.
View more details about our Apple Store locations and their surroundings.
You can download the Apple Store app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad.
Apple has just unveiled the first half of the schedule for this year’s ‘Friday Night Baseball’. These games will be included for free with your Apple TV+ subscription, which is $6.99 per month.
There are some powerhouse matchups in the first half of the season that Apple TV+ will get exclusivity for. That includes the Houston Astros heading to Truist Park to take on the Atlanta Braves on April 21. As well as the San Diego Padres heading to the Bronx to take on the New York Yankees on May 26.
Here’s the full schedule from April through June. The second half of the season will likely be announced in a few months.
April 7: Rangers at Cubs; Padres at Braves
April 14: Giants at Tigers; Angels at Red Sox
April 21: Blue Jays at Yankees; Astros at Braves
April 28: Phillies at Astros; Cardinals at Dodgers
May 5: White Sox at Reds; Twins at Guardians
May 12: Royals at Brewers; Cubs at Twins
May 19: Orioles at Blue Jays; Mariners at Braves
May 26: Padres at Yankees; White Sox at Tigers
June 2: Brewers at Reds; Guardians at Twins
June 9: Royals at Orioles; Mariners at Angels
June 16: Pirates at Brewers; White Sox at Mariners
June 23: Pirates at Marlines; Mets at Phillies
June 30: Brewers at Pirates; Diamondbacks at Angels
The majority of these games are going to be airing simultaneously, though some will be double-headers.
These games will only be on Apple TV+
As mentioned, these games are going to be exclusive to Apple TV+. Meaning that you won’t be able to watch these on your local RSN. These are going to be national games, on Apple TV+. If you haven’t signed up for AppleTV+ yet, you can do so here. And also find out more about Apple TV+ here.
Apple TV+ is a pretty good streaming service. Apple is focusing on quality TV shows and movies, versus the quantity that Netflix has been doing. So the library isn’t quite as large as Netflix, or even close, but almost every title it has, has been a hit.
It’s no secret that Google pays Apple approximately $15 billion each year to be the default search engine on Apple devices, a relationship that authorities have criticized for some time. However, a new report from The Register has shed light on a previously unknown financial arrangement between the two companies. The report claims that on top of the $15 billion that Google pays, Apple also receives a percentage of Google Chrome search revenue on iOS in return for Google staying the default search engine.
While the exact nature of the benefits is still unknown, this report has raised eyebrows among regulators and sparked a lawsuit against the two tech giants. The suit, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Oakland Division, claims that Apple and Google violated sections 1 and 2 of the U.S. Sherman Antitrust Act by agreeing not to compete in the search business, thus eliminating the possibility of Apple being a competitor to Google.
Moreover, the suit questions Apple’s agreement to include Google Chrome as the initial search engine on all Apple devices as it gave “Google a substantial and unfair anti-competitive advantage over other search providers, actual and potential, including Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo, Bing, and others.”
Financial agreements between top executives
The lawsuit also alleges that Steve Jobs, then-CEO of Apple, and Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, had financial agreements to suppress and eliminate potential search providers that Google did not favor and that both companies negotiated these agreements regularly. The filing states that this agreement “substantially, adversely, and anti-competitively affected” the prices, production, innovation, and quality of the search business.
Although Google is seeking to dismiss the case, the report has piqued the interest of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which was already investigating the financial relationship between the two companies. It remains unclear how this case will unfold, but it is apparent that the financial arrangement between Google and Apple has raised concerns among regulators and could have significant implications for the search market and the tech industry as a whole, potentially leading to significant changes.
Car makers Hyundai and Kia have rolled out an emergency update for multiple car models, addressing an actively exploited vulnerability. The vulnerability has been under attack for a few months, triggering a rise in car theft incidents. Therefore, users must update their car firmware immediately to avoid any mishaps.
Hyundai, Kia Rolled Out An Emergency Patch
According to a recent press release, the automakers Hyundai and Kia have released an emergency patch for a serious vulnerability under attack. Exploiting the flaw allows attackers to steal target vehicles using a USB cord.
The attack involves using a USB cord to hot wire older car models (2010-2021) that use mechanical keys. After its discovery, the unidentified discoverers quickly transformed it into a viral craze. Eventually, this car hacking trick emerged as a TikTok challenge in 2022, resulting in a surge in car thefts.
According to the reports, most thieves included youngsters, who took only a few seconds to steal a vulnerable car.
While the matter remained unaddressed for several months, the makers of the vulnerable car models, Hyundai and Kia, have now released a patch.
According to a press release from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), United States Department of Transportation, both automakers will provide the anti-theft software to car owners free of cost. Moreover, Hyundai will also provide relevant stickers indicating the cars’ equipment with anti-theft protection to fend off thieves.
In a separate press release, Hyundai shared the list of vulnerable car models, including over 4 million vehicles. From these, the software update will first roll out for the over 1 million vehicles belonging to the following models in February 2023.
2017-2020 Elantra
2015-2019 Sonata
2020-2021 Venue
Whereas the following models will receive the updates by June 2023.
2018-2022 Accent
2011-2016 Elantra
2021-2022 Elantra
2018-2020 Elantra GT
2011-2014 Genesis Coupe
2018-2022 Kona
2020-2021 Palisade
2013-2018 Santa Fe Sport
2013-2022 Santa Fe
2019 Santa Fe XL
2011-2014 Sonata
2011-2022 Tucson
2012-2017, 2019-2021 Veloster
While NHTSA has confirmed updates from KIA as well, the carmaker hasn’t made an official announcement yet.
Samsung has responded to reports that the Galaxy S23 Ultra has a screen defect. The company has rubbished the claims saying that what people are calling a manufacturing defect is a protection layer on the display. The phone is perfectly fine. There’s no reason for buyers to worry.
Samsung launched the Galaxy S23 series on February 1 and immediately started taking pre-orders for the devices. The new Galaxy flagships started reaching their first customers last week amid positive word of mouth from reviewers.
But some early buyers of the Galaxy S23 Ultra noticed some sort of bubble or deformity on the screen. The deformity appeared either on the bottom left or right corner of the display and can be seen under direct light. For some, it was present on both sides.
Soon, online platforms like Reddit, Twitter, and Samsung’s own community forums were full of complaints from Galaxy S23 Ultra users. Many said they returned the phone and asked for a replacement unit. Some people noticed that every unit in their nearby retail stores had the same display “defect”.
The situation became very alarming for prospective Galaxy S23 Ultra buyers. After all, we were talking about an ultra-expensive Samsung smartphone costing $1,200 and more.
This turns out to be a false alarm, according to the company. The Galaxy S23 Ultra has no screen defect, Samsung confirmed. Responding to a user complaint on Twitter, the company said that the phone has “several laminated layers of window glass” on top of the display. These layers are pressed firmly to ensure waterproofing and dust proofing.
This pressing process may sometimes make the laminated layer appear “squashed” under direct light. But there’s nothing to be worried about. “This is not a product defect. Everything is fine with your phone,” Samsung’s customer service said.
This screen “defect” is not new to the Galaxy S23 Ultra
It may have become more apparent this time around, but these “deformities” are not new to Samsung phones. The Galaxy S22 series had similar bubbles or lines on the display last year. Earlier Galaxy flagships likely had those too.
The Korean firm has a dedicated support document explaining the issue. The document, which was published last year, says that the lines may appear due to the refraction of light.
More importantly, they don’t affect the functionality of the phone or the display. If you notice anything as such on your brand-new Galaxy S23 Ultra, you can simply ignore it and keep using the device.
If you shine a strong light on the display, some parts may appear to be squashed/pressed, this happens because of the pressing process for waterproofing and dustproofing. This is not a product defect. Everything is fine with your phone. ^DT 2/2
Someone actually paid $63,356 for a factory-sealed, first-gen iPhone at an auction. The iPhone was originally announced in 2007, and this one hasn’t even been unpacked yet. Well, someone was willing to pay really well for it.
Someone actually paid $63,356 for an original, factory-sealed iPhone
This is an 8GB Apple iPhone which cost $599 back when it launched in June of 2007. The auction, during which it was sold, started on February 2 with a starting bid of $2,500. It broke the $60,000 mark over the weekend, however, when it also ended (February 19).
There were actually 27 bids in between the starting bid, and the final one. The final price of $63,356 basically means that the phone sold for over 100 times more than what it originally cost back in 2007.
This smartphone was owned by Karen Green, who got it as a gift from friends over 15 years ago. She never opened it, as she was a Verizon customer, and the device only worked on AT&T’s network.
The phone was appraised with an estimated value of $5,000 back in 2019
She basically put it on a shelf, and never really got around to unboxing it, or selling it. Back in 2019, the device was appraised with an estimated value of $5,000. She finally decided to put it up for auction this month.
As you can see, she earned quite a bit of cash as a result. She probably never thought that such a high price will be reached. Karen Green already has a plan on what to do with the money too. She plans to open up a business, it seems.
It’s not exactly a secret that iPhones do keep their value over the years, so you can imagine what happens with factory-sealed ones, especially such a gem as the original one. Collectors are willing to pay crazy amounts to get ahold of such items, and this is a prime example.
The second Patch Tuesday update bundle from Microsoft for February 2023 arrived with major vulnerability fixes. Specifically, it addressed 75 different security vulnerabilities, including three zero-day flaws. Users must rush to update their systems to avoid any malicious exploitation.
Microsoft February Patch Tuesday Updates Released
Zero-Day Flaws Fixed
The February Patch Tuesday from Microsoft addresses three zero-day vulnerabilities affecting different products. While all the vulnerabilities received important severity status, the active exploitation of the flaws makes them serious. Notably, all three vulnerabilities escaped any public disclosure, which suggests that the flaws directly caught the attention of criminal hackers.
Specifically, these vulnerabilities include,
CVE-2023-21823 (CVSS 7.8): a privilege escalation vulnerability in the Windows Graphics Component could allow an attacker to gain SYSTEM privileges
CVE-2023-21715 (CVSS 7.3): a security feature bypass flaw in Microsoft Office could let an authenticated attacker target a system by tricking the victim into opening a maliciously crafted file.
CVE-2023-23376 (CVSS 7.8): a privilege escalation in Windows Common Log File System Driver could allow SYSTEM privileges to an adversary.
Other Significant Bug Fixes
Alongside the three zero-day flaws, Microsoft has also fixed numerous other vulnerabilities across different products.
Specifically, these include nine critical-severity vulnerabilities in .NET and Visual Studio, Microsoft Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol (PEAP), Microsoft SQL ODBC Driver, Microsoft Word, and Visual Studio Code. Exploiting all these vulnerabilities could lead to remote code execution attacks. Thankfully, none of these flaws went under attack or caught attention before receiving the relevant patches.
Besides, the update bundle addresses 63 important severity vulnerabilities affecting Microsoft Defender, Azure DevOps Server, Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SharePoint Server, Microsoft PostScript Printer Driver, Microsoft SQL Server, Power BI Report Server, Visual Studio, Windows Graphics Component, Windows Internet Storage Name Service (iSNS) Server, Windows MSHTML Platform, Windows Installer, and other components.
Exploiting these vulnerabilities could result in varying impacts, from remote code execution to privilege escalation, denial of service, and information disclosure.
While the February Patch Tuesday is huge, with 75 bug fixes, it did not include any patches for low-severity flaws. Given the severity of the issues, Microsoft users must update their respective systems with the latest software updates to receive all patches.
