Global Tech - Afrikan Heroes

Apple’s iPhone’s FineWoven Fabric Has Become Major Headache

October 4, 2023

The fabric used on iPhone 15 cases, called FineWoven, has been panned for being prone to scratches and stains. When Apple introduced a new material for phone cases and watchbands earlier this month, the company heralded it as a groundbreaking alternative to leather with “subtle lustre and a soft, suede-like feel”.

Consumers and reviewers haven’t seen it that way. The fabric, which Apple calls FineWoven, has been panned for being prone to scratches and stains — with an almost-slippery feel that’s off-putting to some. What began as a high-minded effort to make Apple’s products carbon neutral is now threatening to be one of the company’s biggest misfires of 2023.

Apple describes FineWoven as an all-new textile that’s made from 68% post-consumer recycled material. It’s part of a push to phase out leather throughout its product line, including iPhone cases and Apple Watch bands, in a step towards being carbon neutral across the company’s entire global operations.

FineWoven has yet to clear its first hurdle: winning over the Apple fanatics and early adopters

But FineWoven has yet to clear its first hurdle: winning over the Apple fanatics and early adopters that snapped up the product before anyone else. Federico Viticci, a blogger and podcaster who runs the MacStories site, is one such user. He posted on Mastodon that he saw a stain on his FineWoven case after going out for dinner.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Paratus Says it Will Offer SpaceX’s Starlink in Africa

Another major distributor for SpaceX Starlink in Africa as Paratus Group has become a Starlink distributor, though it won’t be able to sell the product in South Africa just yet. The pan-African telecommunications specialist Paratus Group has become a distributor of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service in Africa, though it won’t be able to sell the product in South Africa just yet.

“This agreement will allow Paratus to provide Starlink to its customers across Africa, as operating licences are awarded to Starlink in those countries. Initially, and with immediate effect, Starlink will be available from Paratus in Mozambique, Kenya, Rwanda and Nigeria before being rolled out to more countries,” the company said.

Media reports said on Thursday that Zimbabwe is moving quickly to approve Starlink services, and that South Africa’s northern neighbour is poised to get access before South Africa, where an apparent standoff over licence conditions is holding things up. This map shows where in the world Starlink is available.

“Paratus will be able to provide its customers with both fixed mobility and maritime services with immediate effect. It will be able to provide its customers 24/7/365 enterprise support,” the company said.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Report Says Cell C Yet to Pay its Spectrum Auction Bill

October 2, 2023

Cell C has reportedly failed to cough up the R288-million it owes Icasa for its participation in 2022’s spectrum auction. The Sunday Times is reporting (paywall) that Cell C has failed to cough up the R288-million it owes communications regulator Icasa for its successful participation in last year’s spectrum auction.

During the auction, held last March, Cell C successfully bid R288-million – the second least of all the operators participating – for a 10MHz sliver of spectrum in the 3.5GHz band.

The Sunday Times, quoting “several sources” it doesn’t name, said it wasn’t able to solicit comment from either Cell C or Icasa over the alleged non-payment..

It is not clear whether the company is using the 10MHz of spectrum allocated to it in last year’s auction.

MTN and Vodacom were the big spenders in that auction, coughing up R5.2-billion and R5.4-billion, respectively, for frequencies in the 700MHz, 800MHz, 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz bands. Telkom spent R2.2-billion; Rain R1.4-billion; and Liquid Intelligent Technologies R111-million.

Cell C, which last year underwent a further recapitalisation of its balance sheet led by largest shareholder Blue Label Telecoms, no longer operates its own radio access network – the expensive part of a telecoms network that connects end users – having outsourced this function to Vodacom and MTN.

This is by design, as it minimises Cell C’s capital expenditure requirements – as the industry’s fourth largest GSM operator, it couldn’t afford to keep up with capex investments made by its bigger rivals.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

iPhone 15 Pro Hit by Overheating Complaints

September 29, 2023

Some of the first owners of Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are complaining that the new devices get too hot during use or while charging, a potential setback for the company’s flagship product.

The gripes have spread across Apple online forums and social media networks, including Reddit and X. Customers say that the back or side of the phone becomes hot to the touch while gaming or when conducting a phone call or FaceTime video chat. For some users, the issue is more prominent while the device is plugged in to charge.

Apple technical support staffers have been fielding calls about the issue as well. They’ve referred customers to an old support article on how to handle an iPhone that feels too hot or cold. The notice says overheating could occur when using intensive apps, charging or setting up a new device for the first time.

The iPhone accounts for about half of Apple’s revenue, and new models are closely scrutinized.

A representative for Cupertino, California-based Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The iPhone accounts for about half of Apple’s revenue, and new models are closely scrutinised for any potential flaws. Sometimes problems crop up that have to be addressed by Apple — with software updates or other fixes — but often the concerns fade on their own.

Apple also has a rigorous testing process in place that’s meant to catch any pitfalls before the iPhone goes into mass production.

Having devices get warm is not an unusual phenomenon, especially given the supercharged processors that power modern gadgets. The question this time is whether the heat problem persists and goes beyond what consumers think is acceptable.

The issue could be caused or compounded by the iPhone setup process. When users get a new phone, re-downloading all of their apps, data and photos from iCloud can be a long and processor-intensive procedure. Some users say they believe the issue could also be triggered by certain apps running in the background, such as Instagram or Uber.

‘Burning up’

Several people have posted videos of them checking the phone’s temperature with a thermometer. “iPhone 15 Pro Max gets really hot easily,” according to one post. “I’m just browsing social media, and it’s burning up.” Another said that the device got hot enough to be felt through a carrying case.

But it’s not a universal issue. Other iPhone 15 Pro owners have said they aren’t experiencing the problem or that the heat is in line with prior models. For some customers, putting the iPhone in a case at least stopped the device from feeling hot to the touch.

One user complained that the iPhone 15 Pro Max got hot enough to switch off during a call and then took a few minutes to come back on. Apple’s devices do occasionally shut themselves off when they overheat or are exposed to the sun for too long.

The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max include a new A17 chip with a more powerful graphics engine. That component, which is meant to help improve gaming performance, could be a contributing factor. The latest iPhone models also have a titanium frame, a switch from the stainless steel design used since 2017.

The issue comes on the heels of customers complaining about the FineWoven material used in the latest iPhone 15 cases. That fabric, which replaces leather as part of Apple’s environment push, is prone to scratches and gets dirty more easily, some customers have said.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

UK Asks Meta Not to Expand Use of End-to-End Encryption

September 24, 2023

Britain has urged Meta Platforms not to roll out end-to-end encryption on Instagram and Facebook Messenger without safety measures to protect children from sexual abuse after the Online Safety Bill was passed by parliament.

Meta, which already encrypts messages on WhatsApp, plans to implement end-to-end encryption across Messenger and Instagram direct messages, saying the technology re-enforced safety and security. Britain’s home secretary, Suella Braverman, said she supported strong encryption for online users but it could not come at the expense of children’s safety.

Meta has failed to provide assurances that they will keep their platforms safe from sickening abusers

“Meta has failed to provide assurances that they will keep their platforms safe from sickening abusers,” she said. “They must develop appropriate safeguards to sit alongside their plans for end-to-end encryption.”

A Meta spokesman said: “The overwhelming majority of Brits already rely on apps that use encryption to keep them safe from hackers, fraudsters and criminals. We don’t think people want us reading their private messages so have spent the last five years developing robust safety measures to prevent, detect and combat abuse while maintaining online security.”

It said it would update on Wednesday on the measures it was taking, such as restricting people over 19 from messaging teens who do not follow them and using technology to identify and take action against malicious behaviour.

End-to-end encryption

“As we roll out end-to-end encryption, we expect to continue providing more reports to law enforcement than our peers due to our industry-leading work on keeping people safe,” the spokesman said.

Social media platforms will face tougher requirements to protect children from accessing harmful content when the Online Safety Bill passed by parliament on Tuesday becomes law.

End-to-end encryption is a bone of contention between companies and the government in the new law. Messaging platforms led by WhatsApp oppose a provision that they say could force them to break end-to-end encryption. The government, however, has said the bill does not ban the technology, but instead it requires companies to take action to stop child abuse and as a last resort develop technology to scan encrypted messages. Tech companies have said scanning messages and end-to-end encryption are fundamentally incompatible.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Zimbabwe Will Get Starlink Before South Africa

September 22, 2023

There are indications that Zimbabwe will get the Starlink internet system ahead of South Africa due to an apparent standoff over licensing rules in South Africa. This is because Zimbabwe’s Postal & Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, also known as Potraz, is likely to approve an application by SpaceX to launch Starlink services in the Southern African country.

If so, Zimbabwe will join a growing number of African countries that have approved Starlink for use in their territories. Those countries include Mauritius, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Mozambique.

Icasa has previously said it is not at fault for the delays in licensing Starlink in South Africa. Various local press reports have said Potraz is likely to approve the SpaceX application.

South Africa’s communications regulator, Icasa, has previously said it is not at fault for the delays in licensing Starlink in South Africa.

In April, Icasa told TechCentral that it had met twice with SpaceX officials over the possible launch of the satellite internet service locally. It said, however, that it had not received a formal licence application from the company. A spokeswoman for the regulator said on Thursday that this “status quo remains”.

Licensing of Starlink in South Africa has become a political football, too. Earlier this year, Democratic Alliance MP Dianne Kohler Barnard lambasted the ANC government for allegedly blocking the satellite service in South Africa, a charge communications minister Mondli Gungubele vehemently denied.

Starlink and equity rules

“It is therefore not true that the government is blocking the operation of Starlink in South Africa. Any interested party wishing to apply for a licence, including Starlink, may through appropriate channels, approach the authority with its application and comply with the prevailing legislation in the country,” Gungubele said.

The “prevailing legislation” referred to is the Electronic Communication Act, which requires licensees to have a minimum 30% equity ownership held by persons from historically disadvantaged groups, which include black people, women, youth and people with disabilities.

Kohler Barnard blamed the ANC’s rigid stance on black economic empowerment – and specifically Icasa’s rules – for effectively blocking SpaceX from launching Starlink here.

“It is simply laughable that an international, multibillion-dollar company must hand over at least 30% of its equity to the ANC government to operate within South Africa,” she said, implying incorrectly that the shares must be sold to the government.

This may be the requirement that SpaceX – and Musk – baulked at, though the company hasn’t formally said anything about its plans in South Africa.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

TikTok Slapped With R7-Billion EU Fine

September 18, 2023

TikTok has been fined €345-million euros for breaching privacy laws regarding the processing of children’s personal data in the EU, its lead regulator in the bloc said on Friday.

The Chinese-owned short-video platform, which has grown rapidly among teenagers around the world in recent years, breached a number of EU privacy laws between 31 July and 31 December 2020, Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) said in a statement.

It is the first time the ByteDance-owned app has been reprimanded by the DPC, the lead regulator in the EU for many of the world’s top tech firms due to the location of their regional headquarters in Ireland. A spokesman for TikTok said it disagreed with the decision, particularly the size of the fine

A spokesman for ByteDance said it disagreed with the decision, particularly the size of the fine, and that most of the criticisms are no longer relevant as a result of measures introduced before the DPC’s probe began in September 2021.

The DPC said TikTok’s breaches included how in 2020 accounts for users under the age of 16 were set to “public” by default and that TikTok did not verify whether a user was actually a child user’s parent or guardian when linked through the “family pairing” feature.

TikTok added tougher parental controls to family pairing in November 2020 and changed the default setting for all registered users under the age of 16 to “private” in January 2021.

TikTok said on Friday it plans to further update its privacy materials to make the differences between public and private accounts clearer and that a private account will be pre-selected for new 16-17-year-old users when they register for the app from later this month.

Second TikTok probe

The DPC gave TikTok three months to bring all its processing into compliance where infringements were found.

It has a second probe open into the transferring by TikTok of personal data to China and whether it complies with EU data law when moving personal data to countries outside the bloc. In March, the DPC said it was preparing a preliminary draft decision into that investigation.

Under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, introduced in 2018, the lead regulator for any given company can impose fines of up to 4% of the company’s global revenue.

The DPC has hit other tech giants with big fines, including a combined €2.5-billion levied on Meta. It had 22 inquiries open into multinationals based in Ireland at the end of 2022.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

MTN SuperFlex: DIY Mobile Plans Launched in Market Shake-Up

September 15, 2023

Ralph Mupita, the MTN Group President and Chief Executive

Africa’s leading telecoms conglomerate, MTN has launched a new package through its subsidiary in South Africa known as SuperFlex, a new mobile tariff plan that allows customers to choose how much data they want, coupled with unlimited minutes and SMS and a six-month subscription to the mobile version of Disney+. The new plans start at R299 for 10GB of anytime data, plus those unlimited calls and texts. The plans on offer, all providing unlimited phone calls and SMSes, are:

10GB: R299

15GB: R399

20GB: R479

MTN described MTN SuperFlex as a “mobile plan that offers customers simplicity, customisation and flexibility” without paperwork, contact lock-in or credit checks.

It is a Sim-only offering, though customers can add a handset during checkout at an additional cost.

“MTN SuperFlex gives customers the flexibility to build and adjust their plans according to their changing needs. One of the key benefits of this plan is simplicity – meaning that there are no complex, time-based, location-based data bundles or network-specific call benefits – just the freedom for customers to use their data where and when they want, and to connect with unlimited minutes and SMS,” the company said in a statement on Friday.

The ordering process

MTN SuperFlex

“MTN SuperFlex enables customers to pay monthly using their debit or credit card, and an ability to unsubscribe from MTN SuperFlex at any time by simply selecting an option on the MTN app.”

The unlimited calls apply to any local network, as do the unlimited SMSes. MTN said there is no usage threshold on the unlimited voice and SMS.

However, an acceptable use policy applies, with the plans intended for “consumer use only”. Customer usage “will be monitored, and you will be notified if abuse is detected”. If that happens, MTN “has the right to suspend your SuperFlex service”.

The offer is available online only.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Apple Sticks With Physical Sims

One of the surprising features of the new Apple Iphone 15 is the presence of a physical sims slot. This development is against the backdrop of the ditching of the physical Sim slot in the iPhone 14 for the US market.

However, the iPhone 15 models, announced this week, that are sold outside the US will continue to have a physical Sim tray in addition to supporting eSims.

Apple’s decision to remove the physical Sim trays from US versions of the iPhone 14 was viewed as the first step in phasing out physical sim cards for good.

Although all new iPhone 15 models have USB-C ports, the pricier Pro and Pro Max models support modern USB 3

It’s not clear why Apple hasn’t moved more aggressively to replace physical Sims with eSims in markets outside the US, or when it might ditch the tray.

Meanwhile, another long-awaited addition to the iPhone – a USB-C port – is now reality, with Apple finally ditching its proprietary Lightning connector after the EU forced the company into adopting the USB-C standard (Apple claims it was going to make the shift anyway).

Although all new iPhone 15 models have USB-C ports, the pricier Pro and Pro Max models support more modern USB 3 technology, while the base and Plus models have the older (23 years old, to be exact) USB 2, which limits data transfer rates to just 480Mbit/s. In contrast, the USB 3 port in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max allows for a data transfer rate of 10Gbit/s.

This significant difference may only matter to a small portion of users who regularly need to transfer large files between devices. But being limited to USB 2 speeds on the iPhone 15 base model, which starts at US$800 is likely to raise eyebrows.

All iPhone 15s come with a type-C to type-C cable in the box (there’s no wall charger). Just like its predecessor, charging may be limited to just 20W – though this won’t be known until the first reviews are in.

What is likely, though, is that the iPhone 15 USB-C charging ports will exhibit behaviour similar to the USB-C ports in iPads and MacBooks. These devices charge at the same rate, even with non-standard cables, provided the cables meet the devices’ power requirements.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

United States Says China’s iPhone Ban is Retaliation

September 14, 2023

The United States says that the recent ban on iPhone use by the Chinese government might be retaliation. To this end, the White House, weighing in for the first time on concerns about a Chinese backlash against Apple, said it is monitoring reports of a growing government ban of iPhones and believes the move is a reprisal against the US.

“It seems to be a piece of the kind of aggressive and inappropriate retaliation to US companies that we’ve seen from the PRC in the past,” said John Kirby, the council’s spokesman, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

Bloomberg News reported this month that China plans to expand a ban on the use of iPhones to a plethora of state-backed companies and agencies, a sign of growing challenges for Apple in the country. Several Chinese agencies have begun instructing staff not to bring their iPhones to work.

China has not issued laws and regulations to ban the purchase of Apple or foreign brands’ phones. But the situation grew more muddled Wednesday, when Beijing pushed back on reports about iPhone restrictions while also raising concerns about security problems with the device.

“China has not issued laws and regulations to ban the purchase of Apple or foreign brands’ phones,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday. It marked the government’s first comments on the issue but didn’t seem to refer directly to workplace bans of the device.

Mao also said that the government attaches “great importance” to security and that all companies operating in China need to abide by its laws and regulations. “We noticed that there have been many media reports about security incidents concerning Apple phones,” she said.

The remarks left US investors unsure about Apple’s status in China — which is both the company’s production base and its biggest international market — just as a new iPhone is launching. The shares slipped as much as 1.3% in New York on Wednesday before recovering some of the losses.

The China-Apple tensions are part of a broader standoff between the world’s two largest economies. The US has limited exports of advanced chip-making equipment to China, citing fears that such technology will help equip the Asian nation’s military. China has imposed its own restrictions on exports and limited US chipmaker Micron Technology’s ability to sell products.

Mao’s comments about security incidents were slightly different in the official English translation of the news briefing. That translation, delivered simultaneously onsite by the ministry, omitted the reference to media “reports”. Foreign affairs ministry briefings are typically rigorously controlled and spokespeople’s responses are usually scripted ahead of time with consistent translations.

The Chinese press conference came just hours after Apple unveiled the latest model of its marquee device, the iPhone 15. The company introduced four new models, keeping pace with the past few generations: the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. Pre-orders of the device begin on Friday.

Apple also has faced a number of security issues in recent months. An iPhone belonging to a staffer at a Washington-based civil society organisation was hacked remotely with spyware created by Israel’s NSO group. Apple confirmed the attack and issued a patch last week to address the issue.

Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, accused an unidentified US intelligence agency in June of hacking several thousand iPhones. The attacks were linked to Sim cards registered with Russia-based diplomats, including some from China, it said.

Apple didn’t comment at the time on whether any Russian phones were breached, but a spokesman said the company didn’t help any government in the alleged attack, as the FSB implied.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry