The economics of marketers supposedly listening in on private conversations via users' smart devices and then targeting those individuals with ads don't hold up, cybersecurity services firm Kapersky blogged Tuesday. Clients would have to spend too much annually on individual users, it said. In addition, it said constantly analyzing audio streams from millions of users would need massive computing power "and be financial folly." But the economic case might be different for devices that already listen to voice commands, such as smart speakers or smartphones with voice assistants permanently on, it said.

The average U.S. internet household has 17 connected devices, Parks Associates said Thursday, noting smartphone ownership has surpassed TV ownership. Nearly all (90%) households surveyed own a smartphone, with 88% owing a TV. It said among average U.S. internet households, 66% have a smart TV and 89% have a streaming video service. It said the data comes from a survey of 8,000 households.

Expect to see a proliferation of stand-alone 5G core networks, AI chipsets increasingly embedded in personal computers, and cellular standards becoming more regional than global owing to geopolitical rifts between the West and China, ABI Research said Tuesday in a series of tech predictions. Cellular infrastructure vendors are likely facing lean times, as 5G-Advanced isn't likely to create big revenue opportunities and some operators indicate they won't be able to afford a complete hardware refresh for 6G, ABI said. On the upside, it said the COVID-19 slump in wearable technology demand should finally lift this year. But don't count on big enterprise interest in private 5G networks, or for foldable devices to go mainstream, ABI said. It said buy-in for 5G NR-Light is slower than expected, with such consumer products likely showing up more in 2025. It said smart glasses becoming mainstream remains elusive.

This week at CES imaging company Spectricity is presenting color-matching technology that integrates a multispectral camera in a smartphone “enabling ‘true colors’ on smartphone photos,” it said Monday. The technology will let buyers make accurate assessments of the color of online purchases and enable true skin tone, Spectricity said: “The camera can assess colors more accurately than the naked eye, giving a true color representation of everything from paint to skin tone. This spectral camera ends all guesswork: colors on smartphone photos will now be true to reality.”

Sixty-six percent of U.S. internet households own a smart TV, with Samsung's Tizen operating system commanding 35% of the smart TV marketplace, Parks Associates said Monday. It said LG's Web OS, Vizio's SmartCast and the Roku TV OS combined account for the same share as Samsung but are likely to be more competitive in coming years, as are other operating systems, it said.

Comments are due Feb. 2 on a petition asking the FTC to protect consumers’ right to repair products, the agency announced Wednesday. U.S. Public Interest Research Group and iFixit filed a petition for rulemaking in November asking the agency to implement rules making independent repair “easier” and “more widely available.” In addition, they asked the FTC to require makers of parts that routinely wear out ensure there are replacements readily available during a product’s lifespan. An example is batteries. Moreover, consumers should be able to choose repair providers or fix a product themselves, the petition said. Components from “identical devices should be interchangeable without needing manufacturer intervention,” and independent repair shops shouldn’t be forced to share a customer’s personal information with the original manufacturer, they said.

Pointing to malware problems in some Chinese-made Android TV set-top boxes and mobile devices, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is urging the FTC to sanction resellers such as Amazon and AliExpress. In a letter Tuesday to the commission, EFF said the AllWinner and RockChip electronics when online automatically connect "to a vast click-fraud network" without users' knowledge. It said that despite months of media reports about their malware issues, the devices are still widely available via resellers. Those resellers "bear some responsibility for the broad scope of this attack and for failing to create a reliable pathway for researchers to notify them of these issues," EFF said. It said that beyond reseller sanctions, the FTC should make it easier for customers to report compromised devices to vendors or to the commission itself, which can then ensure the vendor takes action. EFF said it also submitted the letter to Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly.

Qualcomm Technologies said Monday it renewed an agreement with Apple to supply Snapdragon 5G chipsets for smartphone launches in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Apple is slated to unveil its latest iPhone Tuesday. Other details weren’t released. “This agreement reinforces Qualcomm’s track record of sustained leadership across 5G technologies and products,” Qualcomm said.

Worldwide smartphone shipments declined 7.8% year over year to 265.3 million units in Q2, IDC reported Thursday. “While this marks the eighth consecutive quarter of contraction as the market struggles with soft demand, inflation, macroeconomic uncertainties, and excess inventory, the rate of decline is slowing compared to previous quarters,” IDC said. Samsung led the market with 53.5 million units shipped, followed by Apple (42.5 million) and Xiaomi (33.2 million).

Apple announced Tuesday release of a new yellow iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. The company said other colors are coming in the spring.