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Apple is moving to expand its personnel working on wearable computers and medical-sensor-laden devices by hiring more scientists and specialists in the medical sensor field. Apple began work in earnest on a watch-like device late last decade, and it has worked with increasing efficiency and more dedicated resources on the project over the past couple of years. Last year, we published an extensive profile that indicated Apple has hired several scientists, engineers, and managers in the field of biomedical technologies, glucose sensors, and general fitness devices…
Smartening the iWatch team
Over the past couple of months, Apple has been seeking even more engineering prowess to work on products with medical sensors. Earlier this year, two notable people from the medical sensor world joined Apple to work on the team behind the iWatch’s hardware vision. Apple has hired away Nancy Dougherty from startup Sano Intelligence and Ravi Narasimhan from general medical devices firm Vital Connect. In her former job, Dougherty was in charge of hardware development. Narasimhan was the Vice President of Research and Development at his previous employer.
Unobtrusive blood reading
Dougherty’s work at Sano Intelligence is incredibly interesting in light of Apple’s work on wearable devices, and it seems likely that she will bring this expertise from Sano over to Apple. While Sano Intelligence has yet to launch their product, it has been profiled by both The New York Times and Fast Company. The latter profile shares many details about the product: it is a small, painless patch that can work on the arm and uses needle-less technologies to read and analyze a user’s blood.
The needle-less, sensor-laden transdermal patch is painless (I handled a prototype, which felt like sandpaper on the skin) and will soon be able to monitor everything you might find on a basic metabolic panel–a blood panel that measures glucose levels, kidney function, and electrolyte balance. Already, Sano’s prototype can measure glucose and potassium levels. There are enough probes on the wireless, battery-powered chip to continuously test up to a hundred different samples, and 30% to 40% of today’s blood diagnostics are compatible with the device.
With the technology for reading blood able to be integrated into a small patch, it seems plausible that Apple is working to integrate such a technology into its so-called “iWatch.” For a diabetic or any other user wanting to monitor their blood, this type of innovation would likely be considered incredible. More so if it is integrated into a mass-produced product with the Apple brand. Just like Apple popularized music players and tablets, it could take medical sensor technology and health monitoring to mainstream levels.
Earlier this week, Google entered the picture of future medical devices by announcing its development of eye contact lenses that could analyze glucose levels via a person’s tears. This technology is seemingly far from store shelves as keeping the hardware in an eye likely poses several regulatory concerns. By putting similar technology on a wrist or an arm, perhaps Apple will be able to beat Google to market with this potentially life-changing medical technology.
While the aforementioned work by Dougherty occurred at Sano Intelligence, the fact that she “solely” developed this hardware means that her move to Apple is a remarkable poaching for the iPhone maker and a significant loss for a small, stealth startup. She notes her involvement at Sano on her LinkedIn profile (which also confirms her new job at Apple):
– Hardware Lead in a very early stage company designing a novel system to continuously monitor blood chemistry via microneedles in the interstitial fluid. Brought system from conception through development and board spins to a functioning wearable pilot device.
– Solely responsible for electrical design, testing, and bring-up as well as system integration; managing contractors for layout, assembly, and mechanical systems
– Building laboratory data collection systems and other required electrical and mechanical systems to support chemical development
Dougherty’s work at Sano Intelligence was not her first trip in the medical sensor development field. Before joining that company, she worked on “research and development for an FDA regulated Class I medical device; a Bluetooth-enabled electronic “Band-Aid” that monitors heart rate, respiration, motion, and temperature” for another digital health company, according to her publicly available resume.
Patent portfolio
At Vital Connect, Narasimhan was a research and development-focused vice president. As Vital Connect is a large company, it is unclear how responsible Narasimhan actually was for the hardware development, but it is clear that he has expertise in managing teams responsible for biosensors. Their sensor can be worn on the skin (usually around the chest area) and is able to monitor several different pieces of data. As can be seen in the description from Vital Connect (above), their technology can measure steps, skin temperature, respiratory rate, and can even detect falls. These data points would be significant compliments to a wearable computer that is already analyzing blood data.
Besides his management role at Vital Connect, Narasimhan comes to Apple with over “40 patents granted and over 15 pending,” according to his LinkedIn profile. Many of these patents are in the medical sensor realm, and this demonstrates how his expertise could assist Apple in its work on wearable devices. Narasimhan has patents for measuring the respiratory rate of a user, and, interestingly, the measurement of a person’s body in space to tell if they have fallen. The latter technology in a mass-produced device would likely improve the quality of life for the elderly or others prone to falling.
Of course, it is not certain that the work of either Narasimhan or Dougherty will directly appear in an Apple wearable computer or other device. What this information does indicate, however, is that Apple is growing its team of medical sensor specialists by hiring some of the world’s most forward-thinking experts in seamless mobile medical technologies.
Silicon Valley
Apple is not the only company boosting its resources for utilities that can measure blood. According to sources, other major Silicon Valley companies are racing Apple to hire the world’s top experts in blood monitoring through skin.
Other biometric technologies
In addition to focusing on sensors that could monitor a person’s activity, motion, and blood through the skin, sources say that Apple is actively working on other biometric technologies. As we reported in 2013, Apple is actively working on embedding fingerprint scanners into Multi-Touch screens. It seems plausible that in a few years down the roadmap, Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint scanners could be integrated into the iPhone or iPad screen, not into the Home button.
Perhaps more interesting, Apple is also actively investigating iris scanning technology, according to sources. This information comes as a Samsung executive confirmed that Samsung is developing iris scanning technologies for upcoming smartphones. It is currently unknown if iris scanning to unlock a phone will arrive with the Galaxy S5 this year.
Apple is also said to be studying new ways of applying sensors such as compasses and accelerometers to improve facial recognition. These technologies could be instrumental in improving security, photography, and other existing facets of Apple’s mobile devices. It does not immediately seem intuitive to have new facial and iris recognition technologies on wearable devices, so it is unlikely that those technologies will make the cut for the future “iWatch.”
Big plans
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Is Hiring Minors Worth It?
Did You Know?
The top reason Gen Z workers are unemployed is because they quit. This is often due to having unmet expectations such as higher pay, flexibility and benefits.
FYI
Offer your teenage employees a personalized career plan for their professional development. This will not only directly help each worker but also benefit the company’s performance and help you retain motivated employees.
Bottom Line
To grow a workforce that fosters a positive culture and strong performance, businesses should hire the candidates who are most qualified, within the confines of local, state and federal laws.
Legalities of hiring minorsDepending on the type of business you own, there are special legal considerations to be aware of when you’re deciding whether to hire minors.
Work permitsSeek the necessary documents that allow you to hire minors. These may include work permits, age certificates or both. To find out your state’s requirements, you can use the DOL’s table of employment and age certification chart. Be aware that once you receive your new employee’s work permit, it will typically expire within a year, so you will need to repeat the process when appropriate.
Minimum wageAccording to the FLSA, companies may be permitted to pay what’s called the “opportunity wage,” of $4.25 per working hour, to minors or anyone under 20 years old for their first 90 days of work. After that point, employers are required to pay the workers the state-set minimum wage or more. This depends on the state or locality employers and workers reside in, since some have regulations calling for a higher minimum wage for minors and others don’t allow payment lower than the state minimum wage at any time.
Age requirements for certain workThe FLSA doesn’t allow minors to work in any jobs that are considered hazardous. Workers under age 16, especially, are not authorized to work in any heavy-duty manufacturing jobs, mining, transportation, construction, machine operation or utility services to the public. This is a large part of the reason the aforementioned food safety sanitation provider was fined. Check your local and state laws for any other exceptions or constraints you’ll need to be mindful of.
How to determine if hiring minors is worth itThe best way to determine if hiring minors is worth it is to consider the specifics of your business, the goals you are trying to achieve, the role the minor would be filling, and whether you have the time and resources. Will you be able to strike a balance between providing a work experience that benefits both you and the minor, or will you merely be occupying their time and offering little reward?
Hiring minors might be worth it if …
You need assistance with tedious, non-revenue-generating tasks, like file organization.
Your business is targeted at Gen Z or Gen Alpha, giving you the opportunity to get insights from someone in a similar age group.
You want to mentor teens in your community.
Hiring minors might not be worth it if …
You don’t have the time to supervise them as necessary.
Most roles deal with sensitive, confidential information or dangerous conditions.
You don’t have the HR staff or resources to keep up with legal regulations.
Apple Announces Plans For A New Campus As It Pledges $350B To Us Economy
Update: Trump has called Apple’s announcements today a “huge win for American workers and the USA.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2023
Apple today has announced a new commitment to contribute $350 billion to the US economy over the next five years. The news also includes the company’s expectations to create thousands of new jobs and how its US operations will grow with a new campus.
Apple announced the news in a press release today titled, Apple accelerates US investment and job creation. Included are plans on ‘Growing Apple’s US Operations’, ‘Investing in Apple’s Domestic Suppliers and Manufacturing Partners’, and ‘Preparing Students for the App Economy’.
The headline news is that Apple will invest $350B in the US economy over the next five years, and is on track to spend $55B with domestic suppliers and manufacturers in 2023 alone.
The company expects to create 20,000 more jobs “at Apple” by 2023. Apple already has over 84,000 employees in the US. It is also allocating $5B (up from $1B) to the Advanced Manufacturing fund, and says that is currently does business with 9,000 American suppliers across all 50 states.
The announcement also makes mention that the company plans to repatriate roughly $245B of its overseas cash resulting in a reduced $38B tax bill (based on the one-time 15.5% rate).
Apple, already the largest US taxpayer, anticipates repatriation tax payments of approximately $38 billion as required by recent changes to the tax law. A payment of that size would likely be the largest of its kind ever made.
Notably, even though Apple Park is still nearing completion, the company has plans for another new US based campus.
The company plans to establish an Apple campus in a new location, which will initially house technical support for customers. The location of this new facility will be announced later in the year.
The press release also makes mention that all of Apple’s US offices, stores, and facilities run on 100% renewable energy.
CEO Tim Cook shared strong and positive sentiment on the US investments.
“Apple is a success story that could only have happened in America, and we are proud to build on our long history of support for the US economy,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We believe deeply in the power of American ingenuity, and we are focusing our investments in areas where we can have a direct impact on job creation and job preparedness. We have a deep sense of responsibility to give back to our country and the people who help make our success possible.”
As for ‘Preparing Students for the App Economy’ the company touts its Swift Playgrounds app and Swift language as “powerful yet easy to learn,” and notes that over 100,000 students and teachers have experienced a coding class at an Apple Store.
Apple also has plans to bring more educational opportunities to teachers and students through its ConnectED program, thought the press release doesn’t provide specifics.
Read the full press release below or at Apple’s Newsroom:
Combining new investments and Apple’s current pace of spending with domestic suppliers and manufacturers — an estimated $55 billion for 2023 — Apple’s direct contribution to the US economy will be more than $350 billion over the next five years, not including Apple’s ongoing tax payments, the tax revenues generated from employees’ wages and the sale of Apple products. “Apple is a success story that could only have happened in America, and we are proud to build on our long history of support for the US economy,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We believe deeply in the power of American ingenuity, and we are focusing our investments in areas where we can have a direct impact on job creation and job preparedness. We have a deep sense of responsibility to give back to our country and the people who help make our success possible.”
Apple, already the largest US taxpayer, anticipates repatriation tax payments of approximately $38 billion as required by recent changes to the tax law. A payment of that size would likely be the largest of its kind ever made.
Investing in Apple’s Domestic Suppliers and Manufacturing Partners
Preparing Students for the App Economy
Apple will expand these initiatives and add new programs to support teachers and teacher training. The company is also increasing funding for its ConnectED program, so students in historically underserved communities have a chance to learn app coding skills and enjoy other benefits of technology in the classroom.
Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:
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U.s. Continues To Shed Tech Jobs
While there are signs of an improving economy, including better profits margins for technology companies, the job trend in the technology sector remains grim.
Nearly 750,000, close to 13 percent of all high-tech jobs in the United States have been lost over the past two years, according to data today released by the American Electronics Association (AEA).
While the losses are slowing, the statistics tell another story. The U.S. high-tech sector lost close to 540,000 jobs in 2002, and another 234,000 jobs in 2003. In 2001, there were 6.5 million high-tech jobs in the United States. By the end of 2003 that number is expected to be close to 5.76 million.
While many companies have cut positions, either to improve profitability or because of consolidation, there are concerns that many U.S. tech jobs are disappearing permanently. Many U.S. companies are signing IT outsourcing contracts in India, China, Russia and in other countries where there is skilled, inexpensive labor.
Several U.S. states reliant on technology jobs have been particularly hard hit. California lost 123,000 tech jobs in 2002, an 11 percent slip in the total number of tech employees in the state. Texas also lost about the same percentage in 2002 to job cuts, followed by New York, Florida and Massachusetts.
The District of Columbia, Wyoming and Montana were the only three states to add tech jobs between 2001 and 2002, while Colorado led the nation in concentration of high-tech workers in 2002, with 98 high tech jobs per 1,000 private sector jobs, followed by Massachusetts, Virginia, New Mexico and Maryland.
The AEA’s “Cyberstates 2003” reports defines tech jobs as those in the electronics manufacturing, communications services, software and engineering/tech services.
The report goes on to say that high-tech manufacturing employment fell 13 percent, losing 233,000 jobs between 2001 and 2002. Manufacturing job losses between 2001 and 2002 were highest in the electronics components sector with 76,000 lost. Communications equipment lost 47,000 jobs and semiconductor companies shed 41,000 manufacturing jobs. The communications services and software sectors lost 146,000 jobs each, while 15,000 engineering and tech services were shed. On the other side, in 2002, 7,000 research and development and testing labs jobs were added.
On the heels of the AEA report, the Information Technology Association of America, issued a statement aimed at allaying concerns that U.S. tech jobs are increasingly migrating overseas. ITAA said not more than 7 percent to 9 percent of all IT jobs will move out of the United States over the next 10 to 15 years.
While IT spending has risen, it’s not clear when that investment will translate into jobs. The U.S. Department of Commerce said IT spending in September rose 15.4 percent over August, after months of flat spending.
The AEA’s report also detailed U.S. technology exports and venture capital investments, both of which slid in 2002. U.S. high-tech exports dropped 12 percent to $166 billion in 2002 from $188 billion in 2001. High-tech exports constituted 24 percent of all U.S. exports in 2002.
The report added that U.S. high-tech venture capital investments amounted to $13 billion in 2002, a 52 percent drop from the $27 billion invested in 2001.
Microsoft Office Mobile Review: Is It As Good As The Desktop Version?
Previously, the mobile suite of Microsoft Office was exclusively available for Windows Phone only. Since Windows Phone is not the leading mobile OS, and it is quite unlikely that it will overtake iOS and Android and become the king of mobile, the only way for Microsoft to expand its reach is to port its Microsoft Office mobile suite to iOS and Android. This resulted in the Microsoft Office Mobile app for Android and iOS.
When it comes to document editing, there are already several players in the mobile market. Google Drive (Words and Sheets), Quick Office, Kingsoft Office, Documents to go, etc. Can Microsoft Office for Android break into the market like it is on the desktop? Let’s check it out.
Note: This Microsoft Office Mobile review is done on an Android phone, though reference to iOS (and App Store) will be provided too.
Installation and SetupHead over to Google Play (or App Store) and install Microsoft Office Mobile. The app is free to download and use, though you will need a OneDrive account. For Android phone, it only supports Android 4.0 and above.
Open up the app, and you will notice the big MS Office splash screen. If you have used Windows 8 or Windows Phone, you will find the familiar Metro-style interface in the app.
Once you get past the introduction screen, it will require you to sign in to your OneDrive account before you can use the app.
The sign-in process requires Internet connection, which means you won’t be able to use the app offline (unless you have signed in previously).
UsageOnce you are logged in, you will see three tabs in the main screen: Recent, Folder and Add New.
The Folder tab allows you to view your OneDrive folder and open documents from it. As can be seen, it doesn’t allow you to choose files from your local storage or SD card. I believe this is purposely designed so that more users will sign up for OneDrive even though it reduced the functionality of the app greatly.
Viewing and Editing DocumentsViewing Words, Excel and Powerpoint documents with the app is great. The viewing is optimized for mobile screen and most, if not all, of the formats are preserved. Editing them is another story.
Microsoft Office Mobile app only works with the newer Office Open XML format (namely docx, xlsx, pptx). While you can still view documents with the legacy format (doc, xls, ppt), you won’t be able to edit them.
While editing a Word document, there are not much formatting choices for you. You won’t be able to change fonts, heading, alignment, etc. All you can edit is basic stuff like Bold, strikethrough, increase/decrease font size, italic, underline, and change font color and background. Even then, you can only pick from three colors: Red, Yellow and Green. You can’t choose the color you want. Forget about inserting images into your document too.
When saving the document, you can only save to your OneDrive account. If you are not connected to the Internet, it will be cached locally, but you won’t be able to access it using your file manager yet.
As for Excel documents, the formatting options are pretty limited too.
ConclusionMicrosoft Office Mobile is really great for viewing documents on the go as most of the formats, animation, images, charts are preserved. However, when it comes to editing, it is really not up to par to the rest. Unless you need to regularly view heavily formatted documents on your phone and have all your documents in your OneDrive account, there is little reason for you to switch from your current mobile office suite.
Have you tried Microsoft Office Mobile? Let us know what you think about the app.
Damien
Damien Oh started writing tech articles since 2007 and has over 10 years of experience in the tech industry. He is proficient in Windows, Linux, Mac, Android and iOS, and worked as a part time WordPress Developer. He is currently the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Make Tech Easier.
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This Week In Apple: Iphone 12 Launch Rumors As Well As Pricing Leaks
The top Apple news stories of the past week:
iPhone 12 series still on track, but just might be hard to get: According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Apple’s planned launch of the iPhone 12 series is still expected to happen at the usual time (likely September). However, there might be production delays for the new smartphones, which means they could either land in retail stores later than usual or launch at the usual time — but just be very hard to get.
iPhone 12 series pricing leaked: Speaking of the iPhone 12 series, we have our first pricing leak related to the new phones. According to Front Page Tech (via MacRumors), the lowest-priced iPhone in the new series will start at $649 — that’s $50 less than the lowest-tier iPhone 11. This is notable because we are fairly certain the $649 iPhone will have an OLED panel, which would make it the cheapest OLED iPhone ever.
Apple announces quarterly earnings, services big winner: Apple’s earnings report for the previous quarter showed that its bet on services such as Apple TV Plus is paying off. However, YoY the company didn’t do much better than 2023, which is unusual for the brand. One can only imagine what Apple’s next quarter will look like, but the company isn’t issuing an updated investor guidance — yet.
In-display fingerprint rumor pops up again: The old rumor of Apple possibly bringing an in-display fingerprint sensor to a high-end iPhone popped up again through Chinese news site Economic Daily News. While it does seem likely that Apple will eventually bring the tech to an iPhone, it doesn’t seem likely that it will be this year, despite the claims of this report. Instead, we expect to see it in 2023. Nothing’s set in stone, though.
The iPhone SE really is just a rebranded iPhone 8: Venerable teardown site iFixit tore apart the iPhone SE and found that certain major components of the budget smartphone are actually completely compatible with iPhone 8 parts. That means you could buy an iPhone 8 for cheap and use some of its parts in your new iPhone SE, should that be necessary.
iPhone 11 sales strong in India: Despite Apple’s historic habit of brushing off emerging markets, it looks like the iPhone 11 is making some headway in India. According to Counterpoint Research, Apple was the third-fastest growing brand in India’s smartphone market in the first quarter of this year.
Exposure notification now in an iOS beta: Apple and Google are teaming together to offer developers easy API access to smartphone data to help with the creation of exposure notification apps for the COVID-19 pandemic. That API is now starting to trickle out in a beta form.
How to switch from iPhone to Android: Sync your contacts, photos, and more!
Guides
The best place to start would be our guide on how to switch from iPhone to Android, which goes over all the basics. We also have more specific guides, such as how to transfer your calendar from iPhone to Android. We also have app guides that will give you the best alternatives to iOS staples, such as our list of best alternatives to FaceTime on Android.
If you’re looking for a great Android device to replace your iPhone, consult our list of the best Android smartphones available now.
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