A new acronym has invaded our social networks: “IoT” for “Internet of Things” (Internet of Things) and all its variations (“Connected objects,” “Quantified self,” “Internet of Everything,” “Cloud of Things,” “Industrial IoT“…).

When we talk about the Internet of Things, the examples that immediately come to the general public’s mind are usually refrigerators, televisions, or connected street furniture. The reality is more comprehensive. Today there are a host of more or more minor exotic applications: tires, shoes, skis, tennis rackets, scales, light bulbs, WCs, toothbrushes, showerheads, thermostats, wine cellars, cat litter …

On the business side, the objects in question essentially impact their equipment (energy meters, internet boxes, waste containers, rail infrastructure, advertising panels, etc.) and sometimes on employees and customers themselves via the sensors they embed or host.
Even though the Internet of Things may be seen as just a fad at first glance, it would be a mistake to reduce it to that. It is more like an unavoidable phenomenon for two reasons:

1- The Race To Get to Know Business Customers and The Rise of New Practices Among Specific Individuals

Companies have embarked on a vast process of acquainting their customers with the – a priori virtue – to offer them more suitable offers and products. This customer knowledge certainly requires better use of the available tools (contractual and commercial data, customer journey on the web and social networks, cookies, etc.). Still, it can also be developed thanks to the data generated by connected objects: these are Google’s approaches with the takeover of Nest (manufacturer of connected thermostats) or Axa with its connected bracelets offered to 1,000 policyholders. Individuals are not left out. They increasingly appreciate measuring their parameters (health, water consumption in the shower, number of tooth brushings, etc.) to compare themselves, to improve,

These two trends make the meeting between supply and demand more than probable, with a new logic: “Company exchanges playful and desirable object against valuable data.”

2- The Opportunity For Companies To Better Control Their Costs

Beyond this customer knowledge, companies face another challenge: better control of their resources and expenses thanks to connected objects. This is particularly the case in energy, where the generalization of Smart Meters indeed allows the energy ecosystem to imagine and offer new services and for distributors to better understand their networks in real-time and better plan investments, maintenance, and interventions. This is becoming the main lever for the digital transformation of companies because there are very significant sources of gains there.

Don’t Underestimate The Inherent Threats.

While the Internet of Things represents a significant opportunity, we should not lose sight of the fact that it also includes risks, which must be anticipated.

Threat 1: The Security of Goods and People

Having a real-time view of the activity of the inhabitants of a dwelling… It is the dream of every burglar. Penetrating the piloting bodies of thousands of connected devices is becoming a new El Dorado for hackers. Today, the corresponding object is perceived as a gadget by its holder but as a source of information for a malicious organization: it is therefore naturally through these objects that the next significant cyber-attacks will come.

Threat 2: Increasing Complexity, a Source of Industrial Risks

While the technologies seem sufficiently robust to consider industrial deployments, their complexity, mainly linked to the interoperability of different protocols (Bluetooth, low wifi energy, CPL, 4G, etc.), remains a hard point. Standardization initiatives are in their infancy, and it isn’t easy to know which technology to invest in. 

This complexity creates a real divide for individuals, of course, but even more so for companies that already today have great difficulty in controlling all of their equipment and their interdependence. The IoT will generate a higher degree of complexity (thousands of sensors/actuators speaking different languages, risk breakdowns compared to sound old mechanical systems, etc.). Talented resources in Industrial IoT will quickly be insufficient, which is already seen in major Smart Meters deployment projects from digitogy

Greater Porosity Between Products and Services

In the future, service providers (insurers, energy distributors, etc.) will have to extend their business model to upstream equipment. Conversely, hardware manufacturers will have to raise their services thanks to the data they can benefit from. Business value chains will therefore be profoundly modified. However, it is rare for prominent industrialists to have prepared for this revolution. The winners will be those who have anticipated and put in place – in time – new modes of development in digital codes (partnerships, test & learn, open innovation, etc.) and who will have been able to develop their skills in the technical and underlying security.

Also Read: Strategies For The Adoption Of IIoT In Industries

The post Internet of Things [IoT] – Simple Gadget or The Start of a Revolution? appeared first on TechReviewsCorner.

Android 11 with native screen recorder

For the first time, a screen recorder is natively integrated into the Android operating system. This function is already available in some customized Android interfaces from manufacturers such as Samsung, Xiaomi, HUAWEI, and Co. When recording, you can also record your microphone sound and visualize touch inputs.

Everything about notifications in the new Android 11

Speaking of recordings: Google allows you to mute incoming notifications when filming with the Android device’s mobile phone camera. As a result, there are no more annoying notification tones or shake caused by the vibration in the picture when recording a video.

Notifications are even more focused on Android 11 compared to Android 10. Have you ever accidentally wiped away a notification? The new Android version introduces a notification history. In addition, there will be a separate area in the notification bar for messages from messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Co.

In general, there is a new division for notifications and more options for action without having to switch to the corresponding app. You will also find a revised media playback menu in the status bar when music is playing.

Also new are the so-called chat bubbles, i.e. chat bubbles that are always displayed in a user-defined area of ​​the screen above other apps. You may already know this from the Facebook Messenger app. In addition, Google is outsourcing essential patches to the Play Store, so that important updates can be distributed faster and without detours via the smartphone manufacturers – with the exception of Apple, all well-known cell phone manufacturers rely on the Android operating system.

Also Read: Android To iOS: This Is How You Transfer Your Data

Easier smart home control with Android 11

If you press the power button on Android 11, you can no longer just shut down or restart your mobile phone in the following menu, you can also control smart home devices such as televisions, lamps, and Bluetooth speakers. There you will also find quick access to cards or means of payment stored with Google Pay, which you can use for practical mobile payments.

Better data protection thanks to extended authorization options

Google is also expanding permission options. If an app has not been used for several months, the authorizations are automatically withdrawn with Android 11. If an app asks for permissions the first time it is started, users can now select the option “only allow this time”. If an authorization request is denied twice, the operating system then blocks further requests from the app. In addition, every app that wants to query the location in the background on Android 11 must receive authorization from the user. 

These smartphones get the new Android 11

Android 11 was launched on September 11, 2020. Little by little, cell phones are being equipped with the new operating system. According to the schedule, the updates will be completed by June 2021 at the latest, with the update for most smartphones being available by early 2021. The following devices receive the new R update:

• Google Pixel: Google Pixel 2 and above
• Samsung: Galaxy S10 series, Galaxy Note10 series, Galaxy S20 series, Galaxy Note20 series, Galaxy Z Flip (4G and 5G), Galaxy Fold, Galaxy Z Fold2, Galaxy A11, Galaxy A21, Galaxy A31
• Xiaomi: Redmi 7 and higher, Redmi Note 7, Redmi Note 8T and Note 8 Pro, Mi Note 10 and Note 10 Lite, Poco F2 Pro, Mi 10T, 10T Pro, and 10T-Lite, Mi 9, Mi 9T and Mi 9T Pro, Redmi Note 9 Pro, Mi 10, Mi 10 Pro and Mi 10 Lite 5G
• Sony: Xperia 1, Xperia 5, Xperia 10 II, Xperia 1 II, Xperia 5 II
• OPPO: A91, Reno2, Reno2 Z, Reno4, Reno4 Pro, Reno4 Lite, Find X2 Neo, Find X2 Lite, Find X2, Find X2 Pro

Conclusion: The new Android OS is in competition with iOS 14

Google’s new operating system offers exciting features in terms of smart home control, notification management, and screen recorders. The optimizations for better data protection are also impressive. Android 11 is in direct competition with the current iOS 14 – Apple’s operating system.

Also Read: How To Protect Our Privacy With Android

The post ANDROID 11 – THE NEW FEATURES AT A GLANCE appeared first on TechReviewsCorner.