Category: Tech

LG is killing its phone business after years of mediocrity

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After years of failing to make money on smartphones—and, in recent months, failing to attract a buyer—LG is shutting down its entire phone business . LG says that the decision will help it focus on growth areas such as electric vehicle components, smart homes, robotics, and 6G (ugh). The company expects to fully wind down the business by July 31, though it will continue to support current phones for an unspecified period of time. While the news seems shocking given LG’s reputation as a major electronics brand, it’s a fitting end for a company that never seemed to figure out what people want in a smartphone. LG’s mobile business hasn’t turned a profit since the first quarter of 2017 , and in recent years its phones have suffered from a series of failed experiments, technical snafus, bad branding, and weak software support. As an example, just consider the fate of LG’s flagship G-Series smartphone line. Reviews for these phones were often polite and respectable , but it was never clear why you should buy one over Samsung’s Galaxy S or Note handsets, let alone Apple’s iPhones. LG seemed to especially struggle on the camera front—perhaps the most important part of any high-end phone—with AI gimmicks that failed to cover up middling fundamentals. ( The Verge ‘s Cameron Faulkner, on the clumsily named LG G8 ThinQ , noted that the camera is “slow to capture, which leads to lots of blurry photos” and “has a hard time getting skin tones right.”) The last time LG released a new G-Series phone was in early 2019. After the company announced that it would no longer release new phones on a regular schedule , it seemed to abandon the line entirely in favor of stranger ideas with even clunkier branding. The LG V60 ThinQ 5G hinged on an optional dual screen accessory for attention, but again failed to distinguish itself on camera quality or design. ( Android Authority’s Eric Zeman : “Pictures I took with the LG V60 look fine, but not exceptional.”) A more recent foray into dual-screen phones with the rotating LG Wing also fell flat . Along the way, LG also had trouble with the basics. Several LG phones from 2015 and 2016 suffered from bootloop issues , in which the phones failed to boot due to faulty connections between components. And as tech journalist JR Raphael points out , the company developed a dismal record for keeping its Android phones up to date. All of this adds up to a company that couldn’t find its way in smartphones. Its high-end phones just weren’t good enough to take on the likes of Samsung and Apple, and it’s been under siege on the low end from device makers like TCL and OnePlus . That’s not to say LG’s decision to shut down its smartphone business isn’t a loss for tech enthusiasts Read More …

Inside BritBox’s strategy to hold the streaming British TV crown

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You love British TV—even if you don’t know it. For decades, British programming has enjoyed massive success in the United States, with breakout hits such as Downton Abbey , Sherlock , Doctor Who , The IT Crowd , and more. Even indirectly, British shows have influenced culture stateside. There are the oft-cited adaptations such as The Office , Veep , Shameless , Whose Line Is It Anyway? , and Skins , where both versions usually coexist in their fandoms. But then there some shows so rooted in Americana, it’s easy to forget they too were based on or inspired by British shows: All in the Family ( Till Death Us Do Part ), Sanford and Son ( Steptoe and Son ), Three’s Company ( Man About the House ), and Cheers ( Fawlty Towers ). Whether it’s the shows themselves or just the format and plot, British programming has a hold on American audiences—and niche streamer BritBox has been capitalizing on that. As a joint venture between the BBC and ITV, BritBox launched in the United States in 2017 as the premier destination for British programming. Many speculated whether two TV titans from across the pond could collectively rival the likes of Netflix stateside—but that was never the intent with BritBox. Instead, BritBox was contending with other Anglophilic players such as Walter Presents and Acorn TV (a service owned by AMC Networks, which also has a minority stake in BritBox), both of which were already established with U.S. audiences. Even within that specific category, BritBox is a standout, with more than 1.7 million subscribers. At the core of BritBox’s success has been super serving an overlooked demographic of women 45 and older who, by BritBox’s measure, are heavily invested in mysteries and crime stories. “There’re a lot of [streaming services] out there who are trying to be all things to all people. That is not who we are,” says Emily Powers, EVP and head of BritBox North America. “We are very much trying to meet an unfulfilled demand for certain types of content to a certain demographic, and that’s been the key to our success.” Although there is a pernicious bit of conventional wisdom that the streaming giants will overwhelm more tailored offerings, there are many niche players owning their communities in a way that an everything-to-everyone service never will. The Criterion Channel caters to cinephiles; Mubi , even more so with a heavier focus on curation. kweliTV focuses on Black content. Read More …

6 Netflix tricks to supercharge your streaming

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Up until this point, you’ve probably found that Netflix works just fine without too much tinkering. However, there are a few things you can do—none of which requires much time at all—to make Netflix a little less clunky and a little more fun. Here are [some quick tricks for your next Netflix fix. No Netflix? No problem. Get hooked for free Not sure if you’re ready to commit to a full-blown Netflix subscription? Read More …

The simple reason tech CEOs have so much power

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Coinbase’s plan to go public in April highlights a troubling trend among tech companies: Its founding team will maintain voting control, making it mostly immune to the wishes of outside investors. The best-known U.S. cryptocurrency exchange is doing this by creating two classes of shares . One class will be available to the public. The other is reserved for the founders, insiders and early investors, and will wield 20 times the voting power of regular shares. That will ensure that after all is said and done, the insiders will control 53.5% of the votes . Coinbase will join dozens of other publicly traded tech companies —many with household names such as Google, Facebook, Doordash, Airbnb, and Slack—that have issued two types of shares in an effort to retain control for founders and insiders. The reason this is becoming increasingly popular has a lot to do with Ayn Rand , one of Silicon Valley’s favorite authors , and the “myth of the founder” her writings have helped inspire Read More …

The Air Force is using this mental health service to help with stress

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The pandemic has been stressful for everyone, and that includes members of the military. In the past two years, suicide rates among active military service members have gone up 15%. The military has long offered resilience training and access to therapy, but in 2020, the Air Force decided to take a different course of action. It began offering an innovative mental health platform called NeuroFlow to make care more accessible and to track how members were doing, so it could intervene if it seemed someone was a risk to themselves. “It is known throughout the mental health community that the Department of Defense is experiencing a spike in suicides at an alarming rate,” says Durel Williams, a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Mobility Command, where he’s responsible for 2,800 security forces members. Of those, 600 have signed up for NeuroFlow, which tracks fitness, sleep, well-being, loneliness, depression, alcohol use, and anxiety. It also offers tools for emotional regulation, like guided meditation, journaling, and video and written resources. All of this data becomes part of a user’s electronic health record. Artificial intelligence will then alert clinical staff about people who seem at risk. So far, 12 people have been flagged as at-risk, and in one instance a person was stopped from harming themselves. [Photo: courtesy of NeuroFlow] Military members can sign up for the app anonymously. Their data is also shared only with healthcare providers, not management. If they are flagged for any reason, a care coordinator gives them a call to check in on them and see if they need more help. Before this pilot with NeuroFlow, the military offered mental health care through traditional talk therapy and resilience training. Williams has been working as a resiliency trainer for the last 10 years, giving people tools to help them rebound from a difficult situation. However, accessing care is complicated. In order to see a therapist, service members are removed from duty, which is extremely stigmatizing. However, Williams says, it is a necessary step. “Their duty is to secure and protect, and they are on an arming roster where every day they’re expected to be able to pick up their weapon and go to work. Read More …