In this paper, we explore the challenges of ensuring security and privacy for users from diverse demographic backgrounds. We propose a threat modeling approach to identify potential risks and countermeasures for product inclusion in security and privacy. We discuss various factors that can affect a user's ability to achieve a high level of security and privacy, including low-income demographics, poor connectivity, shared device usage, ML fairness, etc. We present results from a global security and privacy user experience survey and discuss the implications for product developers. Our work highlights the need for a more inclusive approach to security and privacy and provides a framework for researchers and practitioners to consider when designing products and services for a diverse range of users.

South Korean telco KT has launched a 5G standalone commercial service for smartphone users and businesses to foster new technologies for autonomous cars and smart factories. The company said the standalone (SA) service would serve as an opportunity for 5G to be applied to other industries and 5G smartphone users. "We have prepared a SA service to provide customers with 5G that can give them a new value," KT's network strategy department head Kim Young-in said in a statement. The SA uses batteries longer than NSA and can provide a faster response rate. By utilizing the characteristics of 5G base stations, which are densely built, KT said that the SA would provide more sophisticated disaster text services from the end of this year after consultation with related agencies and system development.

India is a melting pot of multiple cultures, religions, diaspora and languages. Although 22 languages are recognised officially, more than 100 languages and dialects are spoken across the country. In the past decade, India has witnessed stupendous growth digitally - in 2019, the number of smartphone users in rural areas surpassed that of urban India. There is a burgeoning market for digital products, going well beyond borders of urban pockets. However, less than 1% of content on the Internet is in English.

The extensive use of smartphones in our everyday lives has created new modes of appropriation and behavior in public spaces. Recognition of these are essential for urban design and planning practices which help us to improve the relationship between humans, technologies, and urban environment. This study aims to research smartphone users in public space by observing their altering visual attention and walking behavior, and, in this way, to reveal the emergent new figures. For this purpose, Korenmarkt square in Ghent, Belgium, was observed for seven days in 10-min time intervals. The gaze and walking behavior of smartphone users were encoded as geo-located and temporal data, analyzed and mapped using statistical and spatial analysis methods. Developing and implementing new methods for identifying the characteristics of smartphone users, this study resulted in a nuanced characterization of novel spatial appropriations. The findings led to a better understanding and knowledge of the different behavior patterns of emergent figures such as post-flaneurs and smartphone zombies while uncovering their altering visual interactions with and movements in the public space. The results evoked questions on how researchers and designers can make use of spatial analysis methods and rethink the public space of the future as a hybrid construct integrating the virtual and the physical.

This work investigates how context should be taken into account when performing continuous authentication of a smartphone user based on touchscreen and accelerometer readings extracted from swipe gestures. The study is conducted on the publicly available HMOG dataset consisting of 100 study subjects performing pre-defined reading and navigation tasks while sitting and walking. It is shown that context-specific models are needed for different smartphone usage and human activity scenarios to minimize authentication error. Also, the experimental results suggests that utilization of phone movement improves swipe gesture-based verification performance only when the user is moving.

How many times have you lost your competitive edge because your smartphone starts downloading large email files while you're playing an online game? Or perhaps those concert tickets you've been waiting months for, finally come online and your phone decides to offer you a new system upgrade? The consequences, while not life threatening, are definitely frustrating. These are some of the challenges and issues we are trying to solve at the University of Melbourne and our research suggests that Artificial Intelligence (AI) may be the key. Smartphones are actually not very smart when it comes to system updates and battery conservation.

Your smartphone knows your wedding anniversary is coming up, and you have a chat with it about how you might celebrate the event. Based on its deep understanding of you and your spouse, the device suggests a romantic weekend in Paris. It knows from your photos and calendar that you got engaged at a small bistro in the 9th arrondissement, and from your travel history it knows you favor a boutique hotel near Parc Monceau and your preferred airline is Air France. It creates an itinerary and presents it to you for your approval. After you've used your smartphone a few times to book trips, you trust the artificial intelligence (AI) that powers it so much that you authorize it to book everything -- and to negotiate on your behalf -- without even checking with you.

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Last week we launched our'Layered' report in partnership with Zappar - a groundbreaking study of the consumer, neurological and brand impact of augmented reality. For the first time ever, augmented reality has been put under the spotlight and dissected to gain valuable insights into AR's core benefits and use cases. In this post, I wanted to share some key findings and emerging trends - including AR's applications and impact from a marketing, brand and consumer perspective now, as well as its implications for the future. While both AR and VR can be considered part of the fourth wave of immersive computing (after The PC, Internet & Mobile waves), AR holds more sway right now because of its immediate impact on brands. Infrastructure development - the growth of a developer ecosystem that includes Apple's ARKit and Google's ARCore (and of course ZapWorks) will act as a catalyst for creators and innovators to unlock the accessibility and ease of use to create valuable AR experiences for the masses.

At last week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the focus was on the future. A big part of that future will be artificial intelligence and its seismic impact on smartphones. Combined with 5G, AI-enabled phones are soon going to make our current devices look downright "dumb" by comparison. AI, 5G and other emerging technologies will redefine what smart means when it comes to smartphones. We will see changes in how we interface with our phones.