MediaTek Announces Flagship-Tier Dimensity 9000 Chipset For Mobile Devices

MediaTek is finally looking to close the gap with its rival Qualcomm, which have been dominating in the smartphone chipset market for quite some time now. Just recently unveiled is the company’s latest 5G SoC, the Dimensity 9000, that is specially designed to power flagship-tier Android mobile devices – something that the company has been sorely lacking for several years.

The MediaTek Dimensity 9000 also holds several other firsts to its name, including being the first chip to be built on TSMC’s 4nm process, alongside ARM’s new v9 architecture. The latter includes a single 3.05Ghz Cortex-X2, three 2.85GHz Cortex-A710 cores, four 1.8GHz Cortex-A510 efficiency cores, and a 10-core Mali-G710 GPU.

For AI processing, the chipset features the company’s latest fifth generation six-core APU, which is claimed to offer four times the performance and power efficiency compared to its predecessors. Also onboard is MediaTek’s new 18-bit Imagiq Gen 7, the world’s first ISP (image signalling processor) that can support image captures of up to 320MP and transferring data at 9 gigapixels per second. Video-wise, its encoder is capable of recording up to 8K resolution videos at 30fps, supports simultaneous 4K video recording on three different cameras, and features Super Night mode for low-light capture.

Connectivity-wise, the Dimensity 9000 offers an onboard 5G modem with 3GPP release 16 features, 3CC carrier aggregation (supporting up to 7Gbps downlink speeds), and MediaTek’s own PowerSave tech for improved battery life. Despite being based on the company’s first mmWave modem, the chipset only supports sub-6GHz 5G connectivity at this stage. It is also claimed to be the first to support Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E standard.

The company did not mention any upcoming smart devices which would be equipped with the  Dimensity 9000 SoC at this time. Nevertheless, it won’t be long until we see the announcements pop up from the usual industry players, especially with the new year closing in. It remains to be seen whether the new flagship MediaTek chip is on par or better in terms of performance when compared to its Snapdragon-branded rival.

Vimeo Now Supports Dolby Vision, But Only On Apple Devices

After adopting HDR10 in 2017, Vimeo has announced that the video-sharing platform now also supports Dolby Vision. There is a catch to this though: this feature is only available for Apple devices at the moment.

As you may know, not all Apple devices are able to support the proprietary HDR format. Among products that are compatible with the Dolby Vision includes iPhone 8 and newer, iPad Pro 2nd generation and above, certain Mac models, and the Apple TV 4K that is paired with a Dolby Vision-supported TV.

Works with both Safari web browser and Vimeo dedicated app, it will automatically detect and play videos in Dolby Vision on compatible devices. On another hand, incompatible products will receive the best visual format that matches them.

Within the Apple family, only iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max are able to capture Dolby Vision videos at the moment. Of course, one can also use Final Cut Pro to edit their HDR videos and then export them as Dolby Vision-compatible videos before uploading them to Vimeo.

For the full list of compatible devices as well as which ones can work with adapters and external monitors, you can check out Apple’s website.

Apple Addresses Critical Security Loopholes Across All Devices Via Latest Firmware Updates

Apple today has rolled out a series of firmware updates for all supported devices under its ecosystem. According to the respective support pages published on the company’s website, these contain security-based fixes for the CoreGraphics and WebKit vulnerabilities that potentially allows for a “zero-click” installation of malicious software onto affected Apple products.

Malware that exploits these vulnerabilities are capable of infecting a device without requiring the victim to do anything, hence the term “zero-click”. One such example of this is the Pegasus hacking platform, a spyware tool developed by an Israeli firm known as the NSO Group.

If both of these names sound familiar, this is because they have been associated with several attacks on platforms including Apple’s iMessage, as well as Facebook’s encryption-based private messaging service WhatsApp. The Pegasus tool is alleged to be capable of committing various privacy breaching acts such as compromising user data and passwords, as well as remote activation of a device’s onboard microphone or camera.

Security researchers at Citizen Lab reports that NSO may have likely been relying on the CoreGraphics loophole – an exploit also first discovered by the research group –  to gain access and install the Pegasus spyware onto a target’s device. Apple credited Citizen Lab for the crucial discovery in the patch notes that are included together with the series of recently released firmware updates.

Meanwhile, Apple notes that this particular WebKit vulnerability addressed in the new update was discovered by an anonymous researcher. Prior to the fix, the exploit is reported to have affected devices under the company’s iOS and macOS Big Sur platforms. For the uninitiated, WebKit is the web browser engine used by various Apple first party applications such as Safari, Mail, and App Store. This isn’t the first time a vulnerability was discovered in the engine, as the company has addressed three other similar issues back in March, May and July of this year.

Apple users are highly advised to update their devices with today’s newly released firmware upgrades. These latest versions include iOS 14.8 for the 7th gen iPod touch and iPhone models from 6s onwards; iPadOS 14.8 for all iPad Pro models, iPad Air 2 onwards, iPad 5th gen onwards, and iPad mini 4 onwards; macOS Big Sur 11.6 for all supported Mac devices; and finally, watchOS 7.6.2 for Apple Watch Series 3 onwards.

Google Now Limiting Apps’ Ability To See Other Installed Apps On Android Devices

Google recently made some changes to its Developer Program Policy, in regards to the way installed apps are able to detect each other. From now on, certain apps may not be able to determine what other apps have been installed on an Android device.

According to XDA, Google made this change, with the search engine stating that the full list of installed apps on a user’s device is considered to be entirely personal and may contain sensitive information. As such, the search engine will be restricting the number of apps that can request the “QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES” permission in Android devices running Android 11 or later.

Specifically, the “QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES” permission will only be permitted when the app developer can “sufficiently justify” why it needs to determine the number of installed apps on the phone through said process, instead of using a less intrusive method to determine app visibility.

If a developer fails to meet the new criteria, they must then remove the permission from the app’s manifest, in order to comply with Google’s Play policy. Even if the app does meet the necessary requirements, developers will now be made to sign a declaration form in the Play console or be forcibly removed from the Play store.

Microsoft Mesh Enables For Mixed Reality Collaborations Across Multiple Devices

Microsoft Mesh is a new mixed reality collaborative platform that was introduced during the company‘s recently held Ignite keynote. Unlike typical video conferencing or Virtual Reality (VR) approaches, the platform aims to allow multiple individuals on different devices to discuss and also interact with virtual or hologram objects together in a shared mixed reality space – be it for conferencing, exhibitions, teaching and so on. 

In this space, which combines both virtual and augmented reality instances, users are able to participate through Microsoft’s own HoloLens 2 headset, VR gear, computers and even mobile devices. Mesh is powered by the company’s renown Azure cloud computing platform in order to ensure a swift and seamless experience, especially for generating multiple and varying 3D resources as well as user avatars during a session in real-time.

Speaking of avatars, Mesh enables users to be represented by customisable 3D characters created from Microsoft’s AltSpaceVR social network, at least for now. It will eventually support “holoportation” avatars for Hololens 2 users, which allows them to appear as themselves during a session. Microsoft did not explain how this particular approach is achieved at this time. But judging by Hololens and Kinect lead developer Alex Kipman’s appearance during the Ignite keynote, it may involve a multi-camera setup and a green screen backdrop.

In terms of visual prowess, there’s not much to write home about for Microsoft Mesh’s current incarnation – as its capabilities are still limited to what is achievable through existing technologies. That being said, the platform still stands out in terms of remote interactivity between multiple users and its accessibility for different devices, especially if you do not own a Hololens 2 or a VR headset.

Microsoft is clearly aiming to evolve the platform further, as seen in the promotional video of Mesh – showcasing various proof-of-concept elements such as more lifelike “holoportation” avatars and integration with certain medical devices. Hopefully in due time, our future collaborative sessions will be on par with the Iron Man and Star Wars-like holograms and experience that is visualised in the video.

A preview version of Microsoft Mesh is now available through the company’s web store for those who wish to try out the platform for themselves. The same build of the platform has also been integrated in its AltSpaceVR social network for those using devices other than the Hololens 2. Microsoft added that Teams, Dynamics 365 and its other products will eventually include support for Mesh in the near future.