The February security update for Android starts rolling out to the Essential Phone

Essential has had their fair share of issues since the company was launched last year. But we have to give credit where credit is due, they’re one of the companies that have kept up with the security updates almost instantaneously. Just a day after AOSP posted the February 2018 Android Security Bulletin, Essential rolled out a software update for the Essential Phone with the security patch included. So if you have an Essential Phone, you can expect to see this update head your way pretty soon.

Source: Android Authority

Netflix reportedly paid over US$50 million for ‘Cloverfield Paradox’

As we get more details about Cloverfield Paradox’s debut on Netflix, we realize how smart a move it was for the studio to partner with the streaming service. The film has forgone a theatrical release and instead debuted on Netflix right after the Super Bowl on February 4. The move was supposedly a “rescue plan” by the film’s producer J.J. Abrams, Paramount chairman-CEO Jim Gianopulos, Netflix chief Ted Sarandos, and head of original films Scott Stuber, among others. They worried the film would “perish” at the box office so instead of letting it languish there when it was set to hit theaters on April 20, they went for this approach. Sources claim Netflix paid over US$50 million for the film. But Paramount retains rights for China and home entertainment.

This move made it profitable for the studio as well as avoiding a perceived misfire and costly marketing campaign for the film. And Netflix, who doesn’t seem to care if reviews or ratings are good, got what they wanted: buzz. “It gets them attention and captures some viewing right off the bat,” says eMarketer’s Paul Verna. They might not get the viewership they hope for the film but as Verna says, “they still got a brand jolt.”

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

‘Game of Thrones’ creators will develop new ‘Star Wars’ films

So, the new Solo: A Star Wars Story isn’t the only big news we’re getting from the galaxy far, far away this week. It’s just been announced that the creators of HBO’s Game of Thrones, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, will be coming on board to create a new series of movies for the franchise. These movies “will be separate from both the episodic Skywalker saga and the recently-announced trilogy being developed by Rian Johnson, writer-director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” So, yup, there is a whole lot of Star Wars in our futures, ladies and gents. No word yet on the timeline of these films but we’ll definitely hear more when the time comes.

Apple says iOS 11.3 Beta to introduce adoptive performance management on iPhone batteries

Apple has made iOS 11.3 Beta available for developers. This update can help solve or at least alleviate the current battery throttling issue that lowers performance on older iPhones to avoid the sudden shutdown issue that users have experienced. Apple is currently offering discounted battery replacement for affected iPhones and this iOS 11.3 system update, which will be made available to all users in the spring, should help.

Apple says iOS 11.3 improves this performance management feature by periodically assessing the level of performance management necessary to avoid unexpected shutdowns. If the battery health is able to support the observed peak power requirements, the amount of performance management will be lowered. If an unexpected shutdown occurs again, then performance management will increase. This assessment is ongoing, allowing more adaptive performance management.

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