alao News in August: iPhone 14 battery drain – Spoofing fraud in Switzerland – dangerous germs in smartwatch bands
From now on you can read the most important tech, provider and device news here every month. These are the news items that kept the Swiss tech world busy in August.
iPhone 14 batteries fail unusually quickly
Since iOS 11.3, it has been possible to display the remaining capacity of the iPhone battery. As it turns out, the iPhone 14 Pro (Max) models released 11 months ago are affected more than average by battery wear. Many users report that the battery capacity has fallen well below 90 % in some cases. By comparison, this writer’s iPhone 12 Pro, which was purchased in January 2021, has a battery capacity of 89%.
Reading tip: Find out how to charge your smartphone properly here. And in this article we have compiled the most popular battery myths for you.
Spoofing: Number fraud with Swiss mobile numbers on the rise
In recent weeks, Sunrise customers have complained about increased spoofing, i.e. calls under a fake number. Whereas before it was mainly fake numbers, now even real numbers are being used, which makes the procedure much more difficult. According to Swiss IT Magazine, the problem only affects the Sunrise network; Swisscom and Salt do not seem to be registering an increased incidence of spoofing. With spoofing, criminals pretend to be police officers or companies and surprise the person they are calling with large sums of money or demand passwords.
Reading tip: You can find out what you can do against spoofing here.
Dangerous bacteria under smartwatch bands
When was the last time you cleaned your smartwatch? A group of US researchers examined the bands of 20 smartwatches for dangerous germs and found them in almost all straps (95%), with fabric, plastic and rubber straps being the most contaminated. Gold-plated and silver bands were not at all or hardly contaminated. Among the germs found were Staphylococcus spp (85 % of the bracelets examined), Pseudomonas spp (30 %) and intestinal bacteria such as Escherichia coli, better known as E. coli (60 %). Men have more bacteria under the band than women. It was also tested which remedies help. The most effective were the Lysol disinfectant spray and disinfectant wipes with 70 % alcohol (ethanol). You should disinfect and clean your smartwatch more often, especially if you exercise a lot or have a weakened immune system.
Huawei espionage affair also reaches Switzerland
The spying discussions about Huawei are not abating. In Denmark, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer and network supplier allegedly used informers to spy on the Danish telecoms group TDC. The group hoped this would help it win contracts for 5G expansion. Previously, Huawei offered the Danish government an anti-espionage agreement. The company is said not to have even shied away from bugs and drones.
The operation is also being viewed critically in Switzerland, as Huawei has a particularly strong presence here. SP National Councillor Jon Pult, president of the National Council’s telecommunications commission, told the Berner Zeitung that he had no knowledge of espionage against Swiss telephone providers, but that it would not surprise him either. “For this reason alone, I am against considering Huawei as a supplier of elements of our critical infrastructure,” Pult said. Swisscom chief Christoph Aeschlimann is not too concerned by a Huawei ban. So far, Swisscom only uses Huawei technology in its fibre-optic network.
Reading tip: More about 5G and Huawei here. And in this article you can find out whether 5G is dangerous.
TSMC builds chip factory in Germany
After Intel, the Taiwanese chip giant TSMC is now also building a factory Germany. While Intel is setting up near Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt, TSMC will build its factory near Dresden in Saxony. TSMC manufactures more than half of all microchips produced worldwide; for the most modern chips, the manufacturer even has a market share of more than 90 %. Germany is supporting the TSMC factory with the equivalent of 5 billion Swiss francs. A microchip cluster has existed near Dresden since the fall of the Wall.
Swisscom: Fibre-optic dispute with the Comco over?
Since 2020, Swisscom and the Competition Commission (ComCo) have been at loggerheads over the correct laying of fibre optic cables. Swisscom only wanted a supply line from the telephone exchange to the street duct. The Competition Commission, on the other hand, insisted that the cable be laid all the way to the household. This way, households do not have to share their line with neighbours, which in turn increases performance. However, this construction method increases construction costs. Swisscom failed with its objections all the way up to the Federal Court. In the future, Swisscom competitors will then be able to offer their own products and, for example, offer better products than Swisscom.
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