Health Legal Technology

We still have no idea whether or not Apple’s iPhone 12 release date will be delayed. If countries like the United States and China keep their shelter in place orders for a while longer, they should do a decent job of reducing the impact of the novel coronavirus’s inevitable second wave.

If the start reopening businesses too early like Trump wants and like some states already are, experts have warned that the second wave of COVID-19 infections could be as bad or even worse than the first one.

These are obviously huge issues for obvious reasons pertaining to health and safety, but they also impact product launches like Apple’s new iPhone 12 series. If a massive second wave of coronavirus infections sweeps certain regions, manufacturing could be delayed. On the other hand, if the economies in Apple’s biggest markets like the US remain closed for several more months, tens of millions of people will remain unemployed. Needless to say, buying a new iPhone will be the last thing on their minds and sales could take a huge hit as a result.

Regardless of when Apple’s new iPhone 12 models are released and how much supply Apple’s partners are able to manufacture in time for the launch, we already know plenty about the phones. Thanks to information from top Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with TF International Securities, we know Apple’s new iPhones will feature the first major hardware redesign in 3 years since the iPhone X was released.

The new iPhone 12 models will have flat metal edges like the iPhone 5 and multi-lens camera arrays around back. There will be two iPhone 12 models with dual-lens cameras as well as two iPhone 12 Pro models with triple-lens cameras that also have a fourth sensor, the LIDAR module from the new iPad Pro. All four new iPhones will have 5G, OLED screens, and slightly smaller notches at the top of the display. Here’s a look at what is believed to be Apple’s finalized iPhone 12 design.

That’s all well and good, and there’s no question that Apple fans will be pleased with the new design. That said, it doesn’t exactly sound like there will be any exciting innovations when it comes to hardware or design. That’s why we can’t stop staring at a new iPhone concept created recently by graphic designer Andrea Copellino — there are several exciting new features to be found but unlike most futuristic phone concepts, this design is well within the scope of reality.

Copellino shared the exciting new design on Behance as well as in the YouTube video embedded at the bottom of this post. The futuristic iPhone concept looks like Apple’s current iPhone lineup from the front, but it loses the notch at the top of the screen. The sides and the back are where all the action is though, and you can see the rear design below.

In addition to a multi-lens camera system and a flash, there is a secondary OLED display that shows notifications and other graphics. A screen like this could also theoretically eliminate the need for a front-facing camera since this smaller display could be used while capturing selfies with the rear cameras.

The video shows off a bunch of different use cases for the rear display, but there’s one more nifty new component of this futuristic iPhone design.

The volume rocker and mute toggle have been replaced by a small capacitive are that can be used to adjust the volume or mute the ringer. How cool is that?! You’ll see all that and more in the video embedded below, and don’t forget to also check out Copellino’s Behance page.

If you’re anything like most people I hear from, the answer’s probably something along the lines of: “Uh…whatever calendar app came on the phone when I got it?”

It’s a surprisingly common position, but guess what? On Android in particular, there’s a decent chance your phone’s default calendar app isn’t the best option. And it doesn’t take much work to give yourself an upgrade. In fact, you don’t have to look any further than this very page.

After much exploration and experimentation, I’ve identified the best Android calendar apps available for different styles of professional schedule management. Some are meant to act as replacements for the less-than-stellar services that come preinstalled on certain phones, while others are supplements that have the potential to add worthwhile functions into any Android calendar setup.

We’ll start with the simplest and work our way up to some increasingly advanced and feature-laden options.

The best all-around Android calendar app for most users

Google Calendar

If you don’t have any special needs or requirements — and especially if you’re already using Google Calendar on the desktop — Google’s own native Calendar application is a spectacular way to manage your agenda on Android.

And lest you think it’s too obvious to warrant inclusion in this list, remember: The Google Calendar app doesn’t actually come preinstalled on all Android devices, including the massive number of phones sold by Samsung. If you’re using a Galaxy phone in particular, switching to the Google Calendar app will represent a significant leap forward in both overall experience and protection of your data (ahem).

JR Raphael/IDG

The Calendar app is nicely designed and easy to use, with a clean and simple scrollable agenda view along with serviceable monthly, weekly, daily, and three-day viewing options. It closely matches the Calendar experience on the web and gives you thought-free syncing of your Google Calendar agenda. And it probably goes without saying, but the Google Calendar app is free for individuals and built into the enterprise-level G Suite package.

The best Android calendar app if you have a Microsoft account in the mix

Microsoft Outlook

If you lean on Microsoft for your agenda organization — or rely on a mix of Microsoft and Google, thanks to the presence of both personal and work accounts on your device — the most effective way to keep up with your calendar on Android is with Microsoft’s official Outlook app.

Once you sign into the app using your Microsoft account, you’ll see all of your Outlook-associated appointments right alongside events from Google Calendar — for any accounts you have connected to your phone. That effortless configuration is a sharp contrast to the numerous hoops you have to jump through to get Outlook events to show up within Google’s app.

JR Raphael/IDG

And cross-account compatibility aside, the calendar portion of Microsoft’s Android Outlook app is also just intuitively designed and pleasant to use. It’s a commendable tool for keeping track of appointments on the go, regardless of what account or series of accounts you’re using.

The best Android calendar app if you want extra features and customization

Business Calendar 2

For professional users seeking an Android calendar experience with some extra oomph, Business Calendar 2 represents a noteworthy upgrade over the status quo. The thoughtfully designed app offers all the basics you’d expect along with handy additional features, such as an always-present favorites bar that lets you easily hide or show different calendars with a single tap, a week slider to quickly zoom into any date range you need, and a custom template system for faster event creation.

JR Raphael/IDG

Business Calendar 2 automatically syncs with your phone’s system-level calendar, which means it’ll effectively sync with Google Calendar and thus work seamlessly with Calendar on the web. It’s free to use with an optional $7 Pro upgrade that removes ads and unlocks certain advanced features, including the aforementioned template system as well as forecast integration and a variety of customization options.

The best Android calendar app for interacting with your agenda on your home screen

Calendar Widget by Home Agenda

Most Android calendar apps come with widgets, but few are as exceptional and easy to use as the awkwardly named Calendar Widget by Home Agenda. Calendar Widget, as we’ll call it from here on out, does one thing only and does it well: It gives you an app-like interface for accessing and managing your agenda on your home screen.

Yup, that’s right: The entire app is just a widget, along with a configuration tool to make it work the way you want. So it’s less of a replacement for your standard Android calendar app and more of a supplement for whatever app you’re using.

JR Raphael/IDG

Calendar Widget is about as customizable as it gets. You can have its widget show as much or as little detail as you want — with a visual arrangement, font size, and color scheme that’s optimized for your reading style and general preferences.

The widget lets you specify which calendars and types of events it displays, too, and even lets you dictate the number of days it includes and the total number of events it displays at any given time — an almost shockingly sensible option that’s missing from most Android calendar widgets.

The app costs $2.

The best Android calendar app for having easy access to your agenda from anywhere

Calendar Notify

Widgets on the home screen are certainly handy, but maybe you reference your calendar often enough that you want to be able to get to it from anywhere on your device. Enter Calendar Notify, a clever Android calendar supplement that puts a persistent view of your agenda right into your phone’s standard notification panel.

That means no matter what else you’re doing, all you’ve gotta do is swipe down once from the top of your screen to get a quick glance at your upcoming events — without having to exit your current app or in any way switch processes.

JR Raphael/IDG

Calendar Notify is fully interactive, too, so you can tap any individual event within its notification to view more details about that appointment and even hop into another app to edit it, if the need ever arises.

Calendar Notify is free with an optional $3.50 upgrade for advanced features and customization options.

The best Android calendar app for managing meetings

Woven

This last Android calendar app isn’t technically an Android app — yet — but even in its current browser-based form, it’s so effective, helpful, and relevant to the busy business lifestyle that I thought it was worth including. It’s called Woven, and it’s one of those rare services that really, truly has the potential to change the way you work.

Woven is essentially an intelligent scheduling assistant: You connect the software to all of your relevant calendars — work, personal, family, whatever else you’ve got — and then you gain the ability to simplify your scheduling in three significant ways:

1. When someone asks you for a meeting — whether it’s a colleague, a client, or an old college pal — you can use Woven to create a one-time scheduling link that’ll show that person your available days and times, based either on what’s already in your various agendas or on a specific set of windows you specify. Your recipient will receive a link that shows all available suggestions and lets them select a time, without needing to sign in or download a thing. Once they make a selection, the event automatically gets added onto your calendar and an invite automatically gets sent to them.
2. When you’re trying to find a suitable time for a group of people to get together — for an in-person meeting or, more likely at this current moment, a video-based encounter — you can have Woven create a group poll that provides all the dates and times that work for you. Everyone involved will receive a link that prompts them to mark the options they can handle (again, without any sign-ins or downloads required). Then, once everyone’s responded, Woven sends you the best all-around option and lets you simultaneously add it onto your calendar and send invites to everyone else with a single tap.
3. If you offer open scheduling for anything from consultations to quick help sessions, you can use Woven to create a permanent, public scheduling link that lets anyone click in to see available times on your calendar and then easily select and secure an option that works for them.

JR Raphael/IDG

To use Woven from your phone, for now, you’ll first need to create an account on the company’s desktop website. Then, you can simply open Woven.app from your phone’s browser for future sign-ins (and if you want to create an app-like shortcut to that site on your home screen, just open the site in Chrome, tap the three-dot menu icon in the browser’s upper-right corner, and select “Add to Home Screen” from the menu that appears).

Woven expects to have an Android app available somewhere toward the middle of this year. For now, the service is free, though its creators say that’s likely to change once the current beta period ends at some point in the future.

Until then — and maybe even after, depending on what sort of pricing model is unveiled — Woven is a tool well worth embracing and one that’ll add a hefty dollop of power into your Android calendar arsenal.

Microsoft’s late release of Windows 10 2004, now slated for the last week of May, almost certainly means that the fall upgrade will be like 2019’s – a minor update sporting few new features and little new functionality.

According to a Microsoft schedule found on the company’s hardware ecosystem website, the feature upgrade known both as Windows 10 May 2020 Update and Windows 10 2004 will be released May 26, 27 or 28.

Others, including ZDNet and BleepingComputer, had reported earlier that Microsoft would probably ship Windows 10 2004 during that three-day stretch.

After giving enterprises 30 months, Microsoft moved to major-minor

A May 26-28 launch of Windows 10 2004 would put the feature upgrade on a timetable almost identical to last year’s Windows 10 1903, which debuted May 21, 2019, and will be supported until Dec. 8.

With its late-May launch, Windows 10 2004’s 18 months of support will end Dec. 14, 2021.

All editions of Windows 10, from Home to Enterprise, receive just 18 months of support for the spring upgrades that are usually tagged as yy03 by Microsoft. The fall updates, normally marked yy09, split support: Windows 10 Home and Pro get the stock 18 months, but Windows 10 Enterprise and Education receive a more generous 30 months.

Until Microsoft extended support for Windows 10 Enterprise and Education to 30 months – a move made in September 2018 – the company had used its twice-annual upgrade cadence to deliver two more-or-less-equally-robust refreshes containing numerous new features and significant enhancements or additions in capability.

But in 2019, after the 30-month support lifespan of Enterprise and Education had been put in place, Microsoft altered its approach. The spring upgrade, 1903, was a feature-and-functionality refresh. But the fall’s 1909 was little more than a rerun of its predecessor, albeit with a very small number of additional minor features. (It was so like the long-unused “service pack” concept, which Microsoft had relied on through Windows 7, that older customers immediately labeled it as such.) By October, the two, 1903 and 1909, shared the same code, allowing Microsoft to deliver the latter as a standard monthly update, which users who migrated from spring to fall could install much faster than a typical feature upgrade.

The major-minor cadence of 1903 and 1909 was a hit. Those customers who continued to install a new version of Windows 10 every six months applauded the much faster upgrade of 1909. Enterprises were generally upbeat, too. Even though few organizations moved from 1903 to 1909 – and were able to take advantage of the near-identical nature of the two – they appreciated the new concept because it limited notable changes to just one set a year.

Why Microsoft will do minor again this year

If Microsoft releases Windows 10 2004 during the last full week of the month, the upgrade will be the latest-ever spring refresh. But it’s not just the closeness of Windows 10 2004’s release date with 1903’s on the May calendar that makes for a probable major-minor tempo during 2020.

Top-most on the rationale list has to be the coronavirus pandemic’s disruption of business, business processes and business workplaces. Although Microsoft has apparently decided to go ahead with Windows 10 2004 on time, more or less, and rejected calls by some customers as well as Computerworld, to dramatically delay the upgrade, the reasonings for such speculation remain intact: Dealing with a second feature-rich upgrade would needlessly complicate re-opening business and offices, or if a follow-up wave of infections occurs, managing continued remote operations.

Sticking with 2019’s major-minor concept would minimize the impact of 2020’s second upgrade (2009?), since it would, like 1909, be nothing more than 2004 plus a couple of new features and so install quickly. Theoretically, it should contain few if any problems, seeing as how the core would consist of code tested since February 2019, code that had largely been real-world tested since May 2020.

The only way Microsoft could simplify its servicing practice even more would be to drop the fall upgrade completely.

That won’t be necessary, as Microsoft will appear prescient simply by staying with 2019’s tempo. Expect the company to make that argument – the chaos of COVID-19 called for a major upgrade-minor update rhythm – even if Microsoft itself prefers that, even if important commercial customers lobbied for that before the pandemic hit U.S. shores.

Also to its advantage – and credit – Microsoft’s turn to major-minor last year let it run Windows 10 2004 through nearly 15 months of testing. (Windows Insider testers of 20H1, Redmond-code for 2020’s first-half upgrade and what would become 2004, got their first bits on Feb. 14, 2019, and received the most recent on April 30.)

If Microsoft goes major-minor again, the code that will become 21H1 and then later Windows 10 2103 – next year’s major — could boast an even longer testing regimen. The first post-2004 release to Windows Insider was on Dec. 16, 2019, two months earlier than 2004’s.

Microsoft has refused to dub the currently-tested successor to 2004 as either this fall’s 2009 or next spring’s 2103. Instead, when it issued the first code last December, Microsoft said it would sever links between features and specific releases so that it can deliver the former “when they are ready.” One result: Microsoft did not have to identify the version these new features would end up in and thus disclose when the next feature-enhanced upgrade would appear.

That gives Microsoft great flexibility in choosing where features fall in a year with multiple feature upgrades. If there is but one feature upgrade – the other a minor “service pack” – then the practice becomes more of an exercise in extended testing, as in 2019. Ultimately, it allows Microsoft to dodge the what’s-the-cadence question for months, probably until sometime this summer – say, July like last year, when it tells customers what the fall update will be.

So, Computerworld‘s bet that the fall update will be just that – not a full-featured feature upgrade – could easily be quashed as Microsoft bobs and weaves, waits and ponders how the pandemic is or isn’t unfolding, before making a decision.

The iPhone revolutionized the smartphone business 13 years ago and forced everyone to quickly adapt to a new way of making smartphones. Google was the fastest, killing its BlackBerry-like Android OS project and retooling the mobile operating system to work on touchscreen devices.

Since then, we’ve witnessed an incredible number of breakthrough innovations in the mobile landscape, with iPhone and Android making every other platform obsolete. Inevitably, Android makers and Google copied Apple, and Apple appropriated features from Android for iOS. Fans of either side would tell you the OS they’re loyal to is the best, and that the iPhone or Android hardware they’re using is superior to the competition. The truth is somewhere in the middle. But, ultimately, the relentless competition between these two sides is what drives innovation, and consumers win in the end.

Not all features are easy to migrate between platforms, though. Take Apple’s iMessage, a must-have instant messaging app that has no true rival on Android. And it’s not just software. Android has a feature that I’ve envied for years: Fast charging technology that eclipses the iPhone’s 18W wired charging speeds, as it can go all the way up to 120W. But a new revelation has made me reconsider that stance.

Several smartphone makers are already toying with wired-charging speeds that can get close to 100W and even surpass it. Lenovo is the latest addition to the limited number of Android device makers exploring such charging rates. But Android phones that can charge at 65W already exist. They’re made by Oppo, and the technology is called SuperVOOC, a marketing term that you might already be familiar with.

Oppo is part of the same conglomerate as OnePlus, and the latter is rumored to bring the same charging speeds to future smartphones. The newest handsets support fast charging as well, but speeds go up to 30W for wired and wireless charging, as opposed to the lightning-fast speeds we’ll see in the coming years.

Responding to a tweet detailing the rumor that OnePlus phones could support 65W charging, AnandTech’s Andrei F. revealed that fast charging is bad for the overall battery life of the device. The revelation isn’t really a surprise, but it’s something I hadn’t stopped to consider before. Fast charging puts a strain on the health of the battery and could prove to be problematic in the future.

Battery health should be a critical detail to anyone planning to buy a new flagship and hold on to it for a number of years. My 18-month-old iPhone X’s battery is at 86% health, and it’s behaving better than expected. I figure it has plenty of time left until it will require a replacement battery. I’ve mostly used a 12W power adapter with it, although the iPhone X can support 18W charging, just like the newer models.

If you plan on upgrading your Android phone frequently, then you shouldn’t worry about battery health in the first place. Fast charging can definitely come in handy. But if you’re not interested in yearly upgrades, then you might consider a more conservative power adapter for your device, and only use fast charging speeds when absolutely necessary. The other alternative is having the battery replaced once it degrades, but that means having access to an authorized repair center that will be able to guarantee the water-resistance of your phone after the battery is serviced. Because, yes, most flagships come with water and dust resistance ratings that are good until you crack the screen or someone opens the device for repairs without knowing what they’re doing.

Upgrading the iPhone every year doesn’t make sense for most people. Every new iPhone generation is guaranteed to last several years without significant performance issues. Unlike Android, all new iPhones will receive years of iOS updates. You’d be lucky to get even three years of Android updates on an Android flagship. That, by the way, is one good reason to upgrade Android phones more often than you would an iPhone.

With all of that in mind, I’m happy to wait for new fast charging technology to emerge that doesn’t hurt the health of the battery, even if that means having to envy those incredible fast charging speeds Android devices are getting. As for the iPhone 12 series, it’s unclear what sort of charging speeds they’ll support, but the 12 Pros will surely get bigger battery packs, because they’ll both be bigger than their predecessors.

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, Apple a few weeks ago posted surprisingly strong earnings for the March quarter.

When the dust settled, Apple posted $58.3 billion in revenue and earnings of $2.55 per share. Investors were encouraged by the results and shares of Apple have been rising steadily ever since.

Looking ahead, Apple’s financial future in the near-term remains a bit uncertain. This was underscored by Apple’s reluctance to provide investors with guidance for the current June quarter. To be fair, Apple’s decision makes sense as there are simply too many unknown variables for the company to account for. For instance, there’s no telling if a new wave of coronavirus cases will sweep the country, prompting Apple to keep its stores closed for even longer. And even if all of Apple’s retail stores open up sooner rather than later, the economic impact of the coronavirus may see a huge drop-off in demand for Apple products.

Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives, however, believes that the forthcoming iPhone 12 release will provide Apple with a much-needed boost and that the “eye of the storm is in the rear view mirror for Apple from both a demand and supply chain perspective.”

To the latter point, Apple during its recent earnings conference call said that its supply chain is essentially operating at full capacity.

“On the supply side,” Apple CEO Tim Cook explained, “we suffered from some temporary supply shortages during February, but we’ve been extremely pleased with the resilience and adaptability of our global supply chain, as well as its ability to get people back to work safely when circumstances allow.

“Our operations team and manufacturing partners put forth an extraordinary effort to restore production quickly,” Cook added, “and we exited the quarter in a good supply position for most of our product lines.”

That said, the demand side of the equation remains up in the air. Apple’s iPhone 12 lineup looks compelling and the inclusion of 5G support will undoubtedly attract buyers. Still, it remains to be seen the extent to which the downtrodden economy impacts iPhone sales come October and November.

Ives, though, is optimistic that Apple is already on the road to a strong recovery:

iPhone 12 should start the road to recovery for Cupertino. We conservatively assume only the installed base consumers currently in the window of an upgrade opportunity that have not upgraded their iPhones in more than 42 months purchase a new phone over the next 18 to 24 months. Currently we estimate that ~350 million of Apple’s 925 million iPhones worldwide are in this upgrade window, as we model going forward in a more draconian scenario that minimal new smartphone activity takes place in the coming quarters.

Incidentally, Ives anticipates that shares of Apple — which are currently trading in the $318 range — may reach as high as $350 in the coming months.

As for the iPhone 12 itself, the device looks to be the most compelling new iPhone we’ve seen in quite some time. Aside from improved camera performance and a 120Hz ProMotion Display, Apple’s iPhone 12 lineup will include a smaller notch, improved Face ID performance, faster internals, and last but not least, support for 5G. There are also rumors that the pricing for the iPhone 12 will be slightly cheaper than it was for the iPhone 11. If this turns out to be the case, the iPhone 12 will offer users more bang for the buck than any other iPhone we’ve seen since carriers starting eliminating subsidies.