EU will review Apple’s acquisition of music discovery app Shazam

We reported back in December that Apple was set to buy music discover app Shazam. The tech giant reportedly signed a US$400m acquisition deal with the London-based company. And now it seems the European Commission wants to investigate the deal following requests from seven countries that fear the agreement will “adversely affect competition.” The seven petitioners include Austria, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. When Apple made the announcement last year, it said the deal will be less than the “turnover threshold” for the European Commission. However, it’s above the merger notification threshold for Austria, which is leading the quorum of countries worried about the deal.

This investigation forces Apple to let the EU authorities know about the deal and have to wait for the investigation into the deal’s implications. The EC has up to 35 working days for the initial investigations and another 105 working days if there are serious concerns that need to be looked into. Apple will then have the opportunity for approval by answering and addressing the concerns.

Source: The Guardian

Instagram is trying out screenshot alerts for Stories

Instagram’s latest test might ruffle a few feathers. The social network is trying out a feature that will let your friend know that you took a screenshot of their story. But if you have this feature, you’ll also be able to see who has been taking screenshots of your Stories. You won’t be notified when someone takes a screenshot. Instead, there will be a camera shutter logo beside the user who took a screenshot of the photo in your list of story viewers.

When Instagram was asked about the test, the company said “we are always testing ways to improve the experience on Instagram and make it easier to share any moment with the people who matter to you.” As TechCrunch points out, Instagram might be trying to see if this would affect engagement when it comes to users watching Stories. Some might not use it as often if they knew their screenshots are being seen by the creator. Previously, notifications were only sent out when you took a screenshot of a private direct message.

Android Oreo update for Samsung Galaxy S8 comes to more markets

Review: Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

Following the release in Germany, three more countries are getting the Android Oreo update for the Galaxy S8 and S8+. These are France, India, and Poland. To know if you’re getting the update, the firmware version is G950/G955-FXXU1CRAP for the S8 and S8+, respectively. It’s being reported that only those who participated in the Oreo beta program in India and Poland are getting the update. No word yet from France but we expect this to be the same as well.

Source: GSMArena

Samsung Galaxy S9’s key specs get leaked by carrier

Samsung is set to unveil the Galaxy S9 at its own Unpacked event in Barcelona ahead of MWC 2018

There’s a bit of déjà vu happening here after one of the largest mobile carriers in the world accidentally leaked yet again the key specs of Samsung’s upcoming flagship, the Galaxy S9. Orange’s Romanian division, who also previously listed the Galaxy Note8 ahead of Samsung’s official launch, published the product page of the Galaxy S9. It was quickly pulled but the original details were still viewable thanks to web caching.

What was seen on the product page was Samsung sticking with the 5.8-inch Quad HD OLED "Infinity Display" seen on the Galaxy S8 and it still has the rear camera sporting an f/1.5 – f/2.4 aperture and OIS. There were also a couple of inaccuracies seen on the page. One is it lists the Galaxy S8’s chipset the Exynos 8895 and it supposedly has 3D Touch, which is an Apple brand name and is technology not expected to be seen on the Galaxy S9.

Source: Forbes