Tag: delay

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Launch of smart home standard Matter delayed until fall 2022

The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) has delayed the upcoming Matter smart home standard once again.

Matter, formerly Project Connected Home over IP (CHIP) was expected to launch this summer. However, the CSA confirmed to The Verge that it’s pushing back the launch to fall.

The delay will give the CSA time to finalize the software development kit (SDK) that manufacturers can use to incorporate products into the Matter ecosystem. Matter, for those who haven’t followed the project, is meant to help unite the various smart home devices and ecosystems so that everything works together.

It’s worth noting this isn’t the first delay for Matter. Back when it was called CHIP, the platform was intended to launch in 2021. Following the rebrand, Matter got pushed back to mid-2022.

The CSA says that it will have the SDK completed in Q2 and will make a version of the specification available to members in June. With the new timeline, we could see Matter-certified products this year, but likely not as many as originally planned.

Moreover, the CSA attributed the delay to a larger-than-expected number of platforms adopting Matter. Specifically, the alliance told The Verge it had expected four or five platforms, but the number has swelled to more than 16. With more platforms, the CSA needs to do more to make sure the code supports everything as well as give more time for companies to test products.

While certainly a bummer, hopefully, the delay will help ensure a smooth launch for Matter when it finally arrives in the fall.

Header image credit: CSA

Source: CSA Via: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Appeals court grants Apple a stay on implementing changes from Epic ruling

The U.S. Court of Appeals placed a stay a prior ruling that Apple would need to allow developers to include links to alternative payment methods outside of Apple’s in-app payment system.

An injunction issued Wednesday afternoon doesn’t reverse the earlier ruling but does put the enforcement on hold until the appeals court can fully hear the case. That process will likely take months.

“Apple has demonstrated, at minimum, that its appeal raises serious questions on the merits of the district court’s determination. Therefore, we grant Apple’s motion to stay part (i) of paragraph (1) of the permanent injunction. The stay will remain in effect until the mandate issues in this appeal,” reads the injunction.

The stay comes after Apple sought to delay the December 9th deadline to implement those changes on the App Store. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied Apple’s delay request in November, accusing the company of attempting to extend the deadline by years.

It’s worth noting, however, that the stay only applies to the alternate payments portion of Rogers’ ruling, and not to the second part about user communications, which required Apple to allow developers to communicate with customers through points of contact obtained voluntarily from customers from within apps.

Moreover, The Verge points out that Apple will still be bound by its agreement with the Japan Fair Steering Commission, which will see the company let ‘reader’ apps (Netflix, Spotify, Amazon’s Kindle app, etc.) directly link their customers to their own sign-up sites.

Source: The Verge, 9to5Mac

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Mobile Syrup

Samsung bumps One UI 4.0 update to December 6 for Canadians

If you’ve been patiently waiting for Samsung’s One UI 4.0 update to roll out to your Samsung phone, looks like you’ll need to wait longer.

With the November 23rd release date come and gone now, Samsung Canada’s blog post points to December 6th, 2021 as the new release date for One UI 4.0 The update will start rolling out to Canadian Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+ and S21 Ultra devices on that day (assuming there are no more delays).

“We are committed to giving everyone access to the best mobile experiences possible, as soon as possible,” said Janghyun Yoon, executive vice president and head of the software platform team at Samsung’s mobile communications business. However, the company didn’t give a reason for the delayed One UI 4.0 launch in Canada.

The One UI 4.0 update will bring new theming options, a refreshed keyboard, new privacy settings, new emoji, GIFs, stickers and more. Plus, there will be new home screen icons, menus, buttons and backgrounds. Moreover, One UI 4.0 runs on top of Android 12.

Previously, Samsung released One UI 4.0 on November 15th, but update schedules published by Telus and Rogers indicated the update wouldn’t arrive until November 23rd in Canada.

Source: Samsung

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Mobile Syrup

Judge denies Apple’s request to delay deadline to add alternate payment options

Apple’s request to scrap a December 9th deadline to change its App Store policies was denied.

Apple asked U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to allow the company to implement the new app store requirements at its own pace. As a refresher, Gonzalez Rogers previously ruled that Apple would need to allow direct communications between users and app makers. Additionally, the company would need to allow app makers to include links to the web to complete transactions, giving developers and customers alternate methods of paying for content.

At the time, the judge gave Apple 90 days to change the rules, but the iPhone-maker argued that wasn’t enough time. Instead, the company wants the deadline removed so it won’t have to rush the adjustment. Apple’s lawyer argued that the company can’t make policy changes at a global level quickly. The lawyer claimed it would take months to figure out the engineering, economic, business and other issues.

However, according to Bloomberg, Gonzalez Rogers responded: “The problem is that you haven’t asked for additional time.” Instead, she said Apple is seeking her blessing to take years to make the change she ordered.

Epic Games’ lawyers also weighed in, arguing that “Apple does nothing unless it is forced to do it” and suggesting that the company can’t be trusted to sort out the policy changes on its own.

Gonzalez Rogers wrote in her decision that Apple wanted “an open-ended stay with no requirement that it make an effort to comply.” Further, she wrote that there were “multiple avenues” Apple could take to comply that wouldn’t harm users, despite what the company argued.

“The Court is not convinced, but nor is it here to micromanage. Consumers are quite used to linking from an app to a web browser. Other than, perhaps, needing time to establish Guidelines, Apple has provided no credible reason for the Court to believe that the injunction would cause the professed devastation.”

Apple confirmed to The Verge that it plans to appeal to the Ninth Circuit for a stay.

Source: MacRumors, Bloomberg, The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

CRTC considering request to delay Rogers-Shaw hearing

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is considering postponing the upcoming hearing about the Rogers-Shaw merger.

The news comes after Rogers responded to calls to delay the hearing from Bell, Telus and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the National Pensioners Federation (NPF). In short, the telecom companies and advocacy groups requested that the CRTC postpone the Rogers-Shaw hearing slated for November 22nd because of the ongoing issues with Rogers’ executives as Rogers family members vie for control of the company.

According to a tweet from the National Post’s parliamentary reporter Anja Karadeglija, the CRTC responded to Rogers’ to give the company until Monday, November 8th at 1pm to provide supplemental information. You can read the CRTC response sent to Rogers’ senior vice president Ted Woodhead shared by Karadeglija below:

“The Commission is in receipt of a letter containing a procedural request from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and the National Pensioners Federation (PIAC-NPF) dated 1 November 2021. In that letter, PIAC-NPF requests that the Commission adjourn the public hearing initiated by Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2021-281, scheduled to begin on 22 November 2021.

“Commission staff acknowledges that Rogers has already replied to PIAC-NPF’s procedural request, but will provide the opportunity for Rogers to submit any supplemental information it wishes before the panel renders a decision on the PIAC-NPF request. Rogers will have until Monday, 8 November 2021 at 1 p.m. EST to provide the supplemental information. A copy of this letter and all related correspondence will be added to the public record of the proceeding.”

In other words, the CRTC is considering the delay but we likely won’t hear a final decision until after the November 8th deadline.

Rogers says the family is “aligned” on the Shaw deal

Proponents for the delay argue that it’s not clear which of the two boards currently has authority for the company’s affairs. There are also concerns that changes to company leadership caused by the family feud may impact whether Rogers will hold to assurances it made in the Shaw acquisition.

Rogers previously countered those arguments in a filing, noting that the Rogers family is “aligned” on the Shaw deal and pledging to honour any commitments “regardless of any changes” to leadership.

Meanwhile, Edward Rogers (son of the late company founder, Ted Rogers) had lawyers in a Vancouver court this week arguing that B.C. law allows him to change the board in the way he did. Company lawyers, however, say that those kinds of changes necessitate a shareholder meeting.

You can read a full timeline of the Rogers family drama here.

Source: Anja Karadeglija (Twitter)

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Rogers argues against calls to delay CRTC hearing about Shaw acquisition

Rogers Communications wants an upcoming regulatory hearing about its proposed acquisition of Shaw to move forward as planned despite the ongoing dispute between Rogers family members over control of the company.

As reported by The Globe and Mail, Rogers (the company) submitted a regulatory filing to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) Tuesday. The filing argued against calls to delay the November 22nd hearing from advocacy groups and rival telecom companies.

The Globe reports that two advocacy groups and BCE filed delay requests on Monday, while Telus followed suit on Tuesday — all sought to delay the regulatory hearing until the uncertainty around who controlled Rogers Communications was resolved.

As a quick refresher, Edward Rogers — son of the late Ted Rogers, who founded the company — is locked in a dispute with his mother Loretta Rogers and sisters Martha Rogers and Melinda Rogers-Hixon over the company’s board. Edward had attempted to oust CEO Joe Natale and replace him with former chief financial officer Tony Staffieri. However, after a butt-dial allegedly revealed the scheme to Natale, Edward was voted out as the board chair.

While no longer chairperson, Edward was still on the board as a director and promptly announced plans to remove several members (including the new chair) from the board and replace them, which effectively brings us up to date with the Rogers family now feuding in a Vancouver courtroom over whether Edward legally can replace the board. A decision is expected from the judge on Friday.

Those interested can read a complete timeline here.

Rogers argues that the family is “aligned” on the importance of the Shaw deal

With all that chaos going on, it’s no surprise that some have questioned whether to move forward with a hearing about an acquisition valued at $26 billion. Arguments for the delay include that it’s unclear which of the two boards currently has the authority to oversee the company’s affairs. Another argument is that the outcome could lead to changes in the Rogers executive team and it’s unclear if new executives would respect assurances in the proposed Shaw deal made by the old team.

Rogers countered those arguments in its filing, saying that it and Shaw’s “commitment to this transaction has never wavered.” Additionally, Rogers said any commitments made by the company will be honoured “regardless of any changes to the directors and officers that may occur in the future.”

It’s worth noting, however, that the Rogers company is embroiled in a lawsuit with Quebecor’s Vidéotron over an alleged breach of the companies’ shared network agreement. Vidéotron claimed in the lawsuit that a new chief technology officer (CTO) who disliked the agreement joined Rogers in 2018 and exacerbated issues.

Rogers Communications also argued in its CRTC filing that delaying the hearing would lead to delays in the CRTC’s review of the deal and create more “uncertainty in the marketplace.”

“The Rogers family and Rogers are aligned on the importance of this transaction. They fully support the application that Rogers has filed with the commission. They have stated this publicly multiple times,” Rogers said in the filing.

A spokesperson for the CRTC told The Globe that it was reviewing the requests for a delay.

Source: The Globe and Mail

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Mobile Syrup

Musk delays Tesla Full Self-Driving beta release over ‘last minute concerns’

Earlier this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta would release to about 1,000 people. Musk has now backtracked, citing “last minute concerns about this build.”

Instead of releasing on Friday as expected, Musk tweeted Saturday morning that the FSD beta would roll out “likely on Sunday or Monday” instead.

Tesla’s FSD software was set to roll out to roughly 1,000 people who met the company’s safety requirements. The company determines drivers’ ‘safety score’ via data collected by sensors built into Tesla vehicles. Initially, the FSD beta would roll out to those with a perfect safety score (100 points out of 100 total), followed by a gradual rollout to those with scores of 99/100 and below.

Tesla launched the safety score system alongside the ability for vehicle owners to request FSD beta access. The idea appears to be that safe drivers — as determined by Tesla — will be able to better handle testing FSD, which requires driver supervision.

It’s worth noting that FSD does not make Tesla vehicles fully autonomous. Musk previously said that the feature-complete version will “likely” be able to drive someone from their home to work without intervention, and will still require supervision.

Musk did not elaborate on what the “concerns” were with the FSD beta build that delayed the rollout. Ultimately, I’m not surprised to see a delay.

Source: Elon Musk (Twitter) Via: The Verge