Tech Load

  The Google Pixel 4 series has been plagued with many problems, but it looks like researchers have found at least one use case for its Face Unlock system. A team from the University of California, San Diego (UC SD) is using the infrared sensor, arguably one of the smartphone's best features, to detect signs of Alzheimer's disease. This sensor, coupled with a dot projector, enabled the face to unlock. The same sensor is now used to record a person's pupillary response to specific tasks, allowing researchers to identify cognitive impairments. The Verge spoke to one of the team's researchers and he explained how it all works. The team identified human eyes, specifically the pupil (black dot in the center of the eye), as a measure of detecting Alzheimer's disease - a disease in which brain cells die, causing memory loss in the patient. Researchers recorded students' responses to specific tasks that allowed them to identify cognitive impairments via an app. These im

  Apple will need to replace the connector on iPhones it sells in Europe by 2024, as EU legislators and countries on Tuesday reached an agreement to create a single mobile charging port that can charge mobile phones, tablets, and cameras. This agreement is a first in the world and was reached after companies had failed to reach a consensus on a solution. More than a decade ago, the European Commission had advocated for one mobile charging port. Both Android and iPhone users have complained for years about the need to use different chargers. Apple's Lightning cable charges the device, while Android-based devices use USB Type-C connectors. According to a 2019 Commission study, half of the mobile phone chargers sold in 2018 had a USB micro B connector. 29% had a USB Type C connector and 21% had a Lightning connector. "The deal we reached this morning will bring about EUR 250 million (roughly Rs. 2,075 crores of savings for consumers," EU industry chief Thierry Brotteon state