New leak says Huawei’s Kirin 9000s chips were actually made my TSMC

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New leak says Huawei’s Kirin 9000s chips were actually made my TSMC
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The launch of the 5G-enabled Kirin 9000s chips with the Huawei Mate 60 Pro has confused everyone, including the US government, considering SMIC was light years behind the competition. However, a recent report from Twitter leaker @RGcloudS suggests that SMIC might not have manufactured Huawei’s Kirin 9000s chips after all.

Why is the Kirin 9000s a big deal?

To put things into perspective, when the US government first banned Huawei from conducting business with American companies, it severely impacted the company’s smartphone business since it couldn’t procure chips from Samsung or TSMC. Although the US government did eventually allow Huawei to purchase chips from Qualcomm, particularly the non-5G Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, the company shifted its focus to collaborating with SMIC.

However, when the company launched the Kirin 9000s, it took the world by storm because it used the much newer 7nm node process and could also access 5G services in the country. However, if this were true, it implies that SMIC may have violated US sanctions, as the Dutch company ASML is the sole manufacturer of the EUV machines.

SMIC didn’t manufacture the Kirin 9000s?

According to @RGcloudS, the teardown images of the Huawei Mate 60 Pro reveal a date stamp indicating that the Kirin 9000s was manufactured in the 35th week of 2020 (August 24th-30th). This suggests that the Kirin 9000s is, in fact, a rebranded version of the 5nm Kirin 9000, originally produced by TSMC three years ago rather than by SMIC. Additionally, the leaker proposes that Huawei might have stockpiled a substantial 142 million units of Kirin 9000E and Kirin 9000 5G chipsets within a three-month timeframe.

“It doesn’t matter how talented you are. You can’t produce 7nm with a legacy 1980 DUV machine, multiple steps of stacking to create compared to EUV,” said RGcloudS.

If proven true, this speculation would challenge previous reports that suggested the Kirin 9000s chip was not a genuine 7nm chip but was using SMIC’s antiquated 14nm node process with performance enhancements. However, it is important to note that @RGcloudS has no proven track record of such leaks.


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Achieving More by Charging Slower!

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Achieving More by Charging Slower!
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The original Google Pixel Watch is apparently charging slower, following a recent firmware update. The Google Store page used to say that it was able to charge to 50% in 30 minutes. That’s what the new Pixel Watch 2 is able to charge at as well. But now, the original Pixel Watch can charge to 50% in 45 minutes. It’ll now take 75 minutes to get to 80% and 110 minutes to get to 100%. That’s an addition of 30 minutes for a full charge.

Google told 9to5Google that a “firmware update for Google Pixel Watches required us to review the charging times, the new times are what the average user will experience”. But Google did not specify why this update was necessary, nor when it rolled out.

Often time, we Android users make fun of Apple and its users for installing an update that slows their phone and their charging speeds. But here we have Google doing the same thing. Now this could be something as simple as the Pixel Watch was getting too hot, and Google wanted to manage thermals better so it reduced the charging speed. But we likely will never know.

Pixel Watch 2 charging times are unaffected

Perhaps the most important thing here is that the charging speeds on the Pixel Watch 2 have not changed. So you can still go from 0-50% in just 30 minutes. It’ll take 43 minutes to get to 80% and 75 minutes for a full 0-100% charge. Which is pretty decent for a smartwatch, to be quite honest.

You can purchase the Pixel Watch 2 now from Best Buy, it’ll cost you $349 for the WiFi and Bluetooth model. While the LTE model will cost you another $50. And if you’re on Google Fi, it might be worth it to go LTE, since it is included in the Unlimited Plus plan. Meaning you’d only be paying the $50 upfront for LTE.

Google Pixel Watch 2 – Best Buy


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Vivo executive arrested for money laundering in India

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Vivo executive arrested for money laundering in India
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India’s financial crime agency has arrested a senior Vivo executive and three other individuals in a money laundering case. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) took Guangwen Kuang, the head of administration at Vivo India, into custody earlier this week following a lengthy investigation. The company has denied the allegations and plans to exercise its legal options.

India arrests Vivo executive in a money laundering case

This case dates back to July 2022 when the ED raided 48 locations belonging to Vivo in India and seized ₹4.65 billion ($59 million) from its bank accounts. The agency found that the Chinese smartphone maker had illegally transferred ₹624.8 billion ($7.9 billion) to its parent organization BBK Electronics (which also owns Oppo, OnePlus, Realme, and iQOO) in China over five years. The amount is almost half of Vivo’s revenue total revenue during this period.

This transfer allowed the company to report losses in India, effectively evading taxes. The ED said Vivo evaded taxes worth ₹22.1 billion ($280 million). An investigation followed, subsequently leading to the arrest of Kuang, who is a Chinese national. Kuang’s lawyer, Mudit Jain, confirmed the arrest to CNN and revealed that the ED has held the executive in a three-day custody.

The agency, which is responsible for probing money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws in India, wanted the Vivo official’s custody for ten days but the court only allowed three days, the publication reports citing a court document. The names of the other three arrested individuals aren’t known. One of them is reportedly a person who had helped Vivo set up its offices in India. The other two were accountants.

In an official statement following Kuang’s arrest, Vivo said that it’s cooperating with the authorities and also exploring its legal options. “The recent arrest deeply concerns us,” a company representative said. “Vivo firmly adheres to its ethical principles and remains dedicated to legal compliance.” The representative confirmed that the firm would “exercise all available legal options.”

India has also accused other Chinese smartphone companies of malpractice

Vivo isn’t the only Chinese smartphone company facing legal troubles in India. The country’s financial crime agency is also investigating Oppo and Xiaomi over similar allegations of money laundering. These three firms jointly capture about 45 percent of India’s overall smartphone market.

The investigations from the ED come amid rising tensions between the world’s two most populous countries. The tensions aren’t limited to trade and economy but have mostly risen from the decades-long border dispute along the Himalayas. Military troops from India and China often clash at the border, resulting in fatalities. India’s crackdown on Chinese smartphone makers could now make the matter worse. The country has previously banned more than 100 Chinese apps, including TikTok, citing a national security risk.


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Explained: Quishing

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Explained: Quishing
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We explain what quishing is and provide information about some current quishing campaigns.

Quishing is phishing using QR (Quick Response) codes. QR codes are basically two-dimensional barcodes that hold encoded data, and they can be used to work as a link. Point your phone’s camera at a QR code and it will ask you if you want to visit the link.

The use of QR codes in malicious campaigns is not new, and because they can provide contactless access to a product or service they grew in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In August, 2023 we wrote about an email campaign that used QR codes to phish for Microsoft credentials. The links in the QR codes redirected from legitimate domains associated with Bing, Salesforce, and Cloudflare to send the targets to phishing sites that were after Microsoft credentials. Since the subject of the emails were often fake Microsoft security notifications, the Bing URLs would not have looked out of place to any victims who gave them a cursory examination.

Lately, there has been an increase in quishing emails, which either send victims to malware-infested sites or ones looking for credentials. 

The usual methods are used to make the emails look convincing: The email will pretend to come from a bank or another organization you trust, or might look like internal mails from the organization you work for, perhaps pretending to come from HR or the IT department. The QR codes in these mails are either embedded or sent as an attachment.

Most of the email contains little to no text, which reduces the chances of the scammer making a mistake and gives spam filters less to read. The message is displayed in an image, which also helps the email get through spam filters.

Example

I personally received a quishing mail pretending to be from the KVK (the Dutch Chamber of Commerce), telling me I had to request a digital key within the next 3 days or my company would be registered as inactive.

phishing mail with a QR code

As you can see, a lot of the normal signs by which we can recognize a phishing mail are there:

  • Urgency
  • A link leading to a site to fill out personal information
  • Sloppy lay-out of the mail

I was also able to recognize it as false because the sender address didn’t belong to the organization it claimed to be from.

The QR code contained a link to the lihi1.com URL shortener which pointed me to a clone of the KVK site.

screenshot of the phishing site form

It asked for my name, birth date, address, mobile phone number, my KVK registration number and my bank account number. A succesfull phisher can probably sell that data for a few bucks on the dark web.

To stay safe from quishing, you can follow the same advice we provide for phishing, because that’s what it is. It’s just that the method to obfuscate the phishing site is a bit more sophisticated, which also makes the use of it more suspicious.

One extra measure you can take is to install a QR code scanner that doesn’t take you to the destination in the URL, but displays it for you, so you can decide whether you want to proceed.

Stay alert for hallmarks of phishing campaigns, such as a sense of urgency, appeals to your emotions. Be extremely wary if a QR code takes you to a site that asks for personal information, login credentials or payment.

We don’t just report on threats—we remove them

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your devices by downloading Malwarebytes today.


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There won’t be a OneDrive photo storage limit after all

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There won’t be a OneDrive photo storage limit after all
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There are several cloud storage options out there, and Microsoft OneDrive is one of them. Just like all cloud storage options, it has its storage limits, and the company announced a photo storage limit a few months ago. However, according to Gizmondo, Microsoft walked back the photo storage limit on OneDrive.

If you’re interested in getting Microsoft OneDrive, there are several payment tiers that you can check out. When you sign up for OneDrive, you get 5GB of storage for free. For additional storage, you can pay $1.99/month ($19.99/year) for 100GB of storage.

Going up the ladder, 1TB of storage costs $6.99/month ($69.99/year). At the top of the list, the 6TB storage plan costs $9.99/month ($99.99/year). Each payment tier comes with certain additional perks like access to different Microsoft Office software and more. Be sure to check it out if you’re looking for additional cloud storage options.

There won’t be a OneDrive photo storage limit after all

Back in August, Microsoft announced that it was going to impose a storage limit for photos. If the change went through, any photo that users uploaded would count towards the 5GB limit. So, if you maxed out your 5G of storage, then you won’t be able to upload any additional pictures. That upset users, as they would be cut off from uploading pictures.

Microsoft, during the announcement, stated that it would give users a free year of additional storage to help them transition. However, that didn’t do much to make the users feel better. As you can imagine, those users made their complaints known, and the company has walked back the change.

This might have been part of a larger plan by the company, as back in February, Microsoft announced that email attachments in Outlook would count toward their 5GB limit. Because of this, users found that they couldn’t receive emails because they maxed out their storage. That led to a ton of users being extremely upset with the company, as it forced them into a subscription service.


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Self-healing smartphone displays could hit the market by 2028

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Self-healing smartphone displays could hit the market by 2028
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Smartphone displays capable of healing scratches or cracks have long been a staple of science fiction stories. However, a recent report from analyst firm CCS Insight suggests that this concept might soon become a reality, with smartphones featuring self-healing displays possibly hitting the market as early as 2028.

How would such a display work?

As per the report, a self-healing display would utilize a “nano-coating” on the surface of phone displays. And when scratched, this coating would react with air, creating a new material that effectively fills in the imperfection.

“This is not in the realm of science fiction. It can be done. There are some new technologies that people are working on right now that look as though this could become something that people have another go with. We’re not talking about smashed screens miraculously coming back. This is all just little cosmetic scratches,” said Chief Analyst Ben Wood in an interview with CNBC.

However, for those wondering if they have seen such a technology, the concept of self-repairing smartphone displays is not entirely new. This is because LG introduced self-healing technology with the LG G Flex in 2013, featuring a curved screen and a mysterious “self-healing” coating on the back cover. Although LG never released specific details about the technology, the phone reportedly included a coating of hydrogen atoms that rearranged themselves at equal distances when scratched.

Furthermore, other companies like Motorola have filed patents for similar technologies, including a screen made from a “shape memory polymer” that could repair itself when exposed to heat. Moreover, Apple has also filed patents for a flexible display capable of automatically healing itself from damage.

Still no self-healing smartphone already?

Despite these innovations and patents, a commercially viable self-healing display has yet to hit the market. This is due to the significant barriers surrounding the technology, such as significant investments in research and development, effective marketing, and consumer education.


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One UI 6.0 beta open for Galaxy Z Fold 4, Flip 4 & more devices

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One UI 6.0 beta open for Galaxy Z Fold 4, Flip 4 & more devices
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Samsung is giving more people a chance to try out its Android 14-based One UI 6.0 update early. The company has just opened the beta program for the Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Flip 4, and Galaxy F23. If you’re using these phones in a supported country, you can register through the Samsung Members app and make a jump to Android 14 ahead of others. There are new beta updates for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy S21 as well.

Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Flip 4 get One UI 6.0 beta

The One UI 6.0 beta for the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 is currently open in South Korea. The Galaxy F23 is getting the update in the country. Well, the F-series phone is exclusively available in India, but the two foldables were sold globally. Samsung may expand the beta program for them to other regions in the coming days. The company is currently running beta programs in six other countries — China, Germany, India, Poland, the UK, and the US.

For some devices, beta updates are only available in a few countries, though. If you’re interested in joining the beta program, open the Samsung Members app and look for a banner about One UI 6.0. If you find one, click on it and proceed to register. The beta update will roll out to your phone like a regular software update over the air (OTA) a few hours after registration. Note that beta updates may be unstable and buggy.

Galaxy S21 and Fold 5 are getting new beta updates

There’s good news for Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy S21 users too. The new foldable is getting its second One UI 6.0 beta update with the build number ZWJ4. It brings a host of bug fixes and stability improvements. For the Galaxy S21 series, the beta update has now reached the US. It’s rolling out with the build number ZWJ2 and has an OTA size of 2.3GB (via).

Along with the aforementioned models, Samsung’s One UI 6.0 beta program is also open for several other devices. The Galaxy S23, Galaxy S22, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy A54, Galaxy A53, and Galaxy A34 are in this group. The company regularly pushes new beta builds to all of these devices. If you have enrolled in the program, don’t forget to check for updates in the Settings app. Those looking to participate can use the Samsung Members app to check if the One UI 6.0 beta is available in their country. The stable rollout may begin later this month.


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Here’s proof that the Galaxy S24 Ultra will use Snapdragon globally

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Here’s proof that the Galaxy S24 Ultra will use Snapdragon globally
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The return of Exynos chips to Samsung flagships is now certain, as the company has already announced the Exynos 2400. We also recently saw the global version of the Galaxy S24+ in a benchmark listing with the new Samsung processor. However, rumors are that the Galaxy S24 Ultra will not use this chip. The Korean firm plans to ship it with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 globally. We may now have proof that it’s happening.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra’s global version has appeared with the Snapdragon chip

Shortly after the US version (SM-S928U), the global version of the Galaxy S24 Ultra (SM-S928B) popped up on the popular benchmarking platform Geekbench. The listings show that the phone uses the same Snapdragon processor in both regions. It’s an overclocked version of Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Since we have already spotted the Plus model’s global version with the Exynos 2400, this confirms the Ultra’s Snapdragon exclusivity.

This isn’t the only takeaway from this benchmark entry, though. The scores achieved by the two models of the Galaxy S24 Ultra warrant a discussion too. The US version scored 2,234 in single-core tests and 6,807 in multi-core tests on Geekbench v6. The global version, on the other hand, only achieved scores of 2,059 and 4,056, respectively. These scores are lower than those achieved by the Exynos 2400-powered Galaxy S24+ (2,067 and 6,520).

If anything, this tells us that early benchmark scores aren’t an accurate measure of a phone’s performance. We are talking about pre-release models or prototypes here, probably running unoptimized software. The US version of the Galaxy S24 Ultra was listed with just 8GB of RAM, which isn’t expected on the retail unit. Things could change drastically when the same benchmark tests are run on the retail units of the Galaxy S24 trio.

This also means that it would be too early to write the Exynos 2400 off. We saw it performing worse than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in a few CPU and GPU benchmark tests. However, in the latest Geekbench run, the new Snapdragon chip scored less than the Exynos. We will have to wait until close to the official launch of the Galaxy S24 series for a clearer picture, perhaps until after the launch. The phones are expected to break cover in January.

The Samsung-exclusive Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has a faster CPU

These benchmark runs may not give us an accurate measure of the new flagship chips’ CPU performance, but we have confirmation about their clock speeds. Like last year, Samsung is using an exclusive version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with its ARM Cortex-X4 prime CPU core clocked at 3.30GHz. The chip also features three Cortex-A720 cores clocked at 3.15GHz, two more Cortex-A720 cores at 2.96GHz, and two Cortex-A520 cores at 2.27GHz.

The Exynos 2400, on the other hand, is a deca-core chipset (ten CPU cores) with featuring the same ARM CPUs. It has one prime core operating at 3.21GHz, two mid cores clocked at 2.90GHz and three at 2.59GHz, and four efficiency cores at 1.96GHz. As you can see, the Snapdragon chip has a faster CPU, while the Exynos has two additional efficiency cores. It will be interesting to see who wins this chip battle. Samsung would be hoping it’s a tie or a close battle so it doesn’t have to face criticism for shipping Galaxy S24 phones with dissimilar processors.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Geekbench global version Snapdragon


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Enter to Win a Google Pixel 7a with Android Headlines

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Enter to Win a Google Pixel 7a with Android Headlines
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Welcome to our giveaway of the Google Pixel 7a. Sure the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are now official, but how about a free phone that’s the Google Pixel 7a? It’s still a free phone – we’re also giving away a Pixel 8.

The Google Pixel 7a was announced by Google back at I/O in May. And we reviewed it back then and found that it was the best sub-$500 Android smartphone that you can buy. So it’s not too shabby of a phone. Your going to get our gently used review unit from the AH editors, we promise we won’t autograph the screen!

Pixel 7a All Large

About the Google Pixel 7a

The Google Pixel 7a is a pretty impressive smartphone here. It sports a 6.1-inch FHD+ display that is a 90Hz refresh rate as well. It’s powered by the Tensor G2 processor, that’s the same processor in the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. It also includes 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, that is also powered by a 4385mAh capacity battery that should keep it running all day and then some.

The Pixel 7a launched with Android 13, but it does have an update waiting for Android 14. So that means you’re getting the latest and greatest Android experience here on the Pixel 7a. Google says that the Pixel 7a will get updates until May 2026, and security updates until May 2028. So there’s still plenty of life left here.

Now this is a lightly used Google Pixel 7a. It is our review unit that we used to review the device back in May. So this particular one is the “Snow” color. It does also come a with a few Spigen cases and the official Google case, so you’ll be nicely covered if you do win the Google Pixel 7a. It is unlocked and will work on all three US carriers, as well.

How To enter

To be entered for a chance to win the Google Pixel 7a, all you need to do is take part in the giveaway widget below. To get started, simply enter the contest with your email address.

Once you have entered, you’ll have the opportunity to gain additional entries by completing various actions, including visiting Android Headlines social media channels.

You are entitled to complete as many actions as you like, each action offers a unique number of entries and each entry has the potential to be the winning one.

This Pixel 7a giveaway is a USA-ONLY contest and will close promptly at 2:59 pm PST on Friday, November 10, 2023.

Enter now for a chance to win a Google Pixel 7a, courtesy of Android Headlines.

  • This is a USA-only Giveaway.
  • Entrants need to be of a suitable age to enter.
  • Shipping issues are not controlled by Android Headlines or our partners. You should be aware that things can go wrong. Android Headlines or our partners are not responsible for items lost in transit.
  • It only takes one email entry to win, so only enter using one email address. Entering with more than one email will not improve your chances of winning and may result in disqualification. Email addresses are checked and confirmed.
  • Winner(s) will be emailed and if no response is given within 48 hours, another entrant(s) will be selected.
  • Anyone deemed to be ‘spamming’ the contest will be disqualified.
  • Android Headlines reserves the right to make changes to this contest/giveaway.

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NFL Sunday Ticket isn’t doing so hot since switching to YouTube TV

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NFL Sunday Ticket isn’t doing so hot since switching to YouTube TV
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Last year, rights to NFL Sunday Ticket were up for grabs. DIRECTV, who had the service since it launched in the ’90s, wasn’t interested in keeping it, so that led to a bidding war. Which Google won. Putting NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime channels, starting this NFL season.

Now that the NFL Sunday Ticket has been available on YouTube and YouTube TV for about a quarter of the season, we’re starting to hear some numbers about subscribers, and it’s not looking good. According to Antenna, NFL Sunday Ticket has only drawn in about 1.3 million customers this season. Estimates indicate that Google would need to get about 4.5 million customers to make the deal for NFL Sunday Ticket profitable.

What’s even more interesting is that, this is only a 100,000 increase over what DIRECTV had in its final season of NFL Sunday Ticket. So making the package easier to access, hasn’t resulted in a lot more people signing up for it, apparently.

But it’s not all bad news for YouTube TV, as about 41% of those that signed up for NFL Sunday Ticket are new to YouTube TV. Meaning that YouTube TV as a whole is growing because of NFL Sunday Ticket. Which is the real reason for Google wanting it.

NFL Sunday Ticket is expensive, and doesn’t include local games

The number of subscribers that NFL Sunday Ticket has should not be a surprise. After all, NFL Sunday Ticket does not include local games, nor primetime games. But every other game on Sunday. Which means it’s really only for those die-hard NFL fans that want to watch every single game. And not just watch highlights on YouTube after the fact.

Of course, the price has something to do with it too. NFL Sunday Ticket is not cheap, starting at $349 for the season on YouTube TV. A big reason for that is the deals that NFL has with CBS and FOX for showing local games. It has to cost more, hence the much higher price here. That works out to about $112.25 per month for four months – which YouTube does let you pay for it in monthly payments.


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