Bytes: What’s new in tech

Scratch-proof iPhones

We may soon see an end to the scratches and scuff marks that mar our phone screens, said Jay Yarow in BusinessInsider.com. Apple has reportedly purchased equipment to make up to 200 million iPhone screens out of sapphire glass. The screens are to be developed in Arizona by Apple partner GT Advanced. Screens made of synthetic sapphire crystal, generally produced from aluminum oxide powder under high heat and pressure, will allow Apple to add its Touch ID fingerprint recognition technology to the surface of the entire screen, instead of only under the home button. And because of sapphire’s hardness, the new screens will be practically scratch-proof.

Searching for better selfies

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The world needs more selfie-friendly smartphones, said Molly Wood in The New York Times. For whatever reason, smartphone-makers haven’t “gotten the memo and made great forward-facing cameras.” Selfies remain “unfocused, pixelated, dark, blown-out, backlit, grainy, and worst of all, distorted.” Part of the problem is that better cameras demand “bigger sensors and bigger optics, and that leads to thicker phones.” Slender devices still dominate the market, “but bigger phones are becoming the rage.” In the meantime, customers looking to take better self-portraits should consider models with more megapixels, such as the HTC One or Nokia Lumia 1020. These cameras can’t take “good” photos, but they’re better than the Samsung Galaxy and iPhone, which both present would-be selfie-snappers with chronic focus and lighting issues.

Will Sony ditch TVs?

Sony is done with the PC business, said Marcus Wohlsen in Wired.com. It’s no surprise “that the Japanese electronics giant would finally pull the plug on its VAIO PCs,” which have been “a fading brand in a fading market” for some time. But more importantly, its TVs are probably next. The way people watch television these days “has changed profoundly.” Many now watch through streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, or YouTube on new devices—including their laptops, tablets, and smartphones. These days, “we have more than enough screens for everyone to watch exactly what they want—at any time.” Mark my words: “The high-end TV business is already starting to sound like a niche, not a mass market.”