Monday, October 16, 2017

This is probably Razer’s first Android phone

Razer a few days ago started teasing a product announcement for November 1st, and it quickly became clear the gaming company actually build its own Android smartphone. That's hardly surprising considering that Razer acquired Nextbit, a smartphone startup that released a great Android phone a few years ago.

Then, a benchmark listing revealed the Razer phone will be even more powerful than this year's best Android handsets, sporting 8GB of RAM alongside regular 2017 high-end components. The leak also told us the phone won't have a full-screen design like the iPhone X or Galaxy S8. And now we have the first leaked picture of the handset.

Obtained by Slovakian tech site TechByte, the following image shows the back side of the Razer phone — at least it has the right logo in it.

We're looking at a Nextbit Robin-like design, although the device also has a dual lens camera on the back. The phone will come in black rather than the wild colors of the Robin (see top image). A couple of buttons can be easily spotted on the right side, and that's pretty much what this leak offers us.

Image Source: TechByte

The front side of the handset is still a secret, but we still have two weeks to go until Razer's November 1st announcement. Things do not stay secret for too long in the Android universe, and all new devices are leaked well ahead of their official launch.


But what's really interesting to find out is why is Razer making a phone. The leaked specs list tells the story of a regular 2017 Android flagship, albeit it has more RAM. What's its secret sauce? What is Razer doing with it that no other handset maker has thought of? Leaks will probably not explain any of that.


Source: This is probably Razer's first Android phone

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Huawei's budget smartphone now has a tall display and narrow bezels

Huawei announced its next-generation budget phone today: the Honor 7X. The biggest change over last year's device, the Honor 6X, has a new aspect ratio and screen dimensions. This is the company's first device with an 18:9 display. You'll notice it still has bezels, although they're minimized, and the screen size is slightly longer, at 5.93 inches. The 6X had a 5.5-inch screen.

Here are the rest of the specs:

  • Kirin 659 chipset
  • 4GB of RAM
  • Up to 128GB of expandable storage
  • 3340mAh battery
  • Android Nougat with a custom skin
  • Micro USB
  • Dual 16-megapixel and 2-megapixel rear-facing camera system for taking portraits; 8-megapixel front-facing camera
  • It'll go on sale in China on October 17th for between 1,300 yuan, or $200, and 2,000 yuan, or $300. It comes in three colors: blue, gold, and black. The 6X debuted in China first, too, so I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually brought the device to the US.


    Source: Huawei's budget smartphone now has a tall display and narrow bezels

    Friday, October 13, 2017

    Oculus Announces Oculus Go Standalone VR Headset That Does Not Require PC Or Smartphone To Work

    By Oliver Haslam | October 12th, 2017

    Oculus has announced a whole new virtual reality headset that will plant itself between the mobile Gear VR and high-end Oculus Rift, called Oculus Go and importantly, it will ship as a standalone device.

    Shipping next year, the Oculus Go will cost $199 which is a little more than the Gear VR's $129 asking price and a fair chunk of change less than the Rift's $499 price tag.

    The aim of the Oculus Go is to enable users to enjoy the world of virtual reality without the hassle of plugging in a smartphone or a powerful computer. Importantly, that $199 price point also ensures it is not out of reach for a sizeable portion of the market.

    While the Go was rumored ahead of the Oculus Connect event during which it was announced, this is not a full retail version of the Santa Cruz prototype that was shown off last year. Importantly, the Go does not include inside-out tracking or fully tracked motion controllers which goes a long way to keeping the selling price as low as possible. For those wondering about that Santa Cruz prototype, you'll be pleased to know that it, and the additional features the Go is lacking, is still in the works and is expected to be made available to developers some time next year.

    Oculus Go

    Oculus' Hugo Barra says that this is the easiest way to get into virtual reality, with its a 2560×1440 screen and spatial audio built into the headset. That means that the Oculus Go can be used without headphones, another barrier to entry that can sometimes put people off virtual reality implementations.

    Santa Cruz prototype update

    The controller that the Go uses is similar to the remote that ships with the Gear VR, too, which should mean that developers will have a relatively easy time porting things over and those developers will get their kits, allowing them to get started on creating software, next month.

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    Source: Oculus Announces Oculus Go Standalone VR Headset That Does Not Require PC Or Smartphone To Work

    Thursday, October 12, 2017

    Apple iPhone X price, features, specs and release date: iPhone X will hide notifications from everyone but you

    Apple's 10th anniversary iPhone, the iPhone X, was announced on 12 September at the Steve Jobs Theatre at Apple Park, the tech giant's new San Francisco headquarters. 

    It brings a whole range of new features to Apple's flagship device a decade after Jobs launched the original, multi-touch iPhone.

    iPhone X latest news

    13/10/2017: iPhone X will hide notifications from everyone but you

    The iPhone X's Face ID feature will do more than just unlock your phone -- it will also hide notifications from unfamiliar faces.

    The lock screen on Apple's next flagship smartphone will only show the content of notifications if Face ID recognises the face as the owner of the phone, according to Phone Arena. If someone else picks up the phone, the lock screen will not display the actual content of the notification, just the notification's source. It's a handy feature that could prove incredibly useful for maintaining a user's security and privacy.

    This feature will also be available on iOS 11 although it will work a bit differently since earlier iPhones lack the hardware to power Face ID. Those running Apple's latest OS on earlier iPhone models will be able to go into settings and enable notifications with content only when the device is unlocked, much like the setting Android devices have used for a while now.

    As reported by Mac Rumors, the technology used for Face ID is already being shipped to Apple, suggesting that this feature will be ready for the IPhone X when its released in early November.

    29/09/2017: How will iPhone X's Face ID work?

    Apple has released a video explaining how its FaceID identification platform will work, revealing it uses neural networks to resist spoofing attempts. However, it would seem even Apple can't explain exactly how the technology works, according to the BBC.

    Because it's been designed to prevent people that are not the owner from breaking into the phone, its behaviour "can be observed but the underlying process remains opaque," the BBC explained.

    Although it will be able to tell the difference between its rightful owner trying to unlock the device and someone wearing a mask that closely resembles them, it will never be able to reveal how it came to the conclusion the disguised individual wasn't the person who set up Face ID.

    "The developers of these kinds of systems have some level of insight into what is happening but can't really create a narrative answer for why, in a specific case, a specific action is selected," Rob Wortham, an artificial intelligence researcher at the University of Bath told the broadcaster.

    "With neural networks there's nothing in there to hang on to - even if you can inspect what's going on inside the black box, you are none the wiser after doing so. There's no machinery to enable you to trace what decisions led to the outputs."

    However, Apple does explain very roughly how it identifies the facial features of the face trying to unlock the device, shining 30,000 invisible infrared dots on it in a randomised way (which will vary from device to device). The information is then turned into an encrypted mathematical formulation and then compared to the data gleaned from the owner's face, which is stored in a secure compartment of the iPhone.

    It's this final part that uses Apple-developed neural networks that cannot be hacked or changed, or in fact, explained by Apple.

    Facial recognition has come under quite a lot of scrutiny in the past, with people claiming it's not as secure as fingerprint recognition, for example. However, Apple launching the video so far ahead of the iPhone X's launch date will hopefully go some way to allay those worries.

    UK release date

    The iPhone 10 comes out on 3 November. There were plenty of rumours of supply chain delays in the months preceding the device's unveiling, and it looks like they were true. While the iPhone 8 comes out on 22 September, roughly the usual time an iPhone comes out, the iPhone 10 won't follow for another six weeks. However, it is available for pre-order on 27 October.

    Price

    Even for Apple the iPhone X costs a pretty penny. At £999 for the 64GB model, the iPhone X is the most expensive smartphone Apple - or probably most major smartphone vendors - has ever produced.

    Specs and hardware

    A new six-core A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture (up from last year's four-core A10) powers most of the iPhone X's capabilities. It has 30% faster graphics than the A10, and runs 70% faster, according to Apple.

    When it comes to storage, the iPhone X comes in only two sizes - 64GB and 256GB.

    Display

    The iPhone 10's 5.8in screen is Apple's first to cover the entire front of the phone, which has a glass front OLED multi-touch display on the front, and a glass back as well - pretty sleek, but also pretty breakable, though it is toughened glass.

    Its Super Retina HD display helps the Face ID feature (more on which below), while it boasts a 2436x1125-pixel resolution at 458 ppi. The screen includes 3D Touch, which allows you to execute different commands by pressing the screen with varying degrees of pressure.

    Crucially, this edge-toedge display leaves no room for the home button, meaning Touch ID is no more.

    Battery

    Apple reckons the iPhone X lasts up to two hours longer than the iPhone 7, which itself lasted an impressive 13 hours in our review.

    Camera

    The iPhone X's 12MP camera is the same - on the surface - as the iPhone 7's, but boasts a lot more in terms of its software capabilities. Both larger and faster, this camera can measure depth with the TrueDepth sensor - key to the X's Face ID feature. There's also two of them, one front-facing and one rear-facing, both of course using optical image stabilisation.

    Digital zoom on the lenses offers 10x zoom on photos and 6x for videos. The front-facing camera also offers a Portait Lighting feature using the 3D TrueDepth sensor. 

    It's faster than ever before, too, recording 4K video at 60fps and slo-mo videos in 1080p at 240fps.

    Features

    Face ID

    The A11 chip's integrated neural engine powers the iPhone X's Face ID feature, which replaces Apple's Touch ID fingerprint sensor of yore.

    This facial recognition capability has been trained on one billion photos (and on rubber masks to distinguish between real and fake faces) to be able to recognise a user quickly and easily. Apple claims this means Face ID is so secure the chances of it being fooled are one in one million, compared to Touch ID's one in 50,000.

    Animoji/AR

    In a lighthearted move, Apple has made use of the camera's augmented reality technology to map your facial movements to various animals emoji, 

    The iPhone X will also support 'animoji' - animated emojis that uses AR technology to map your face and transpose your movements to certain Emoji, creating stickers and animated voice messages Naturally, the company has also partnered with Snapchat to optimise masks and filters for the iPhone X's new AR capabilities.

    Wireless charging

    This feature isn't exclusive to the iPhone X, but Apple's AirPower pad allows you to charge your iPhone 8, X or Apple Watch 3 without the tangly mess of attaching a cable. 

    Colours

    The iPhone X is available in Silver and Space Gray on launch.


    Source: Apple iPhone X price, features, specs and release date: iPhone X will hide notifications from everyone but you

    Wednesday, October 11, 2017

    Razer will unveil its new smartphone for gamers on Nov 1

    Razer has been rumored to release its own smartphone for so long now, it almost doesn't feel real... but it is, and it's coming soon. Razer is teasing an event for November 1, with someone holding a phone-sized device.

     

     

    Razer hasn't provided any details on the event, other than saying it's "biggest unveiling" will take place on November 1, and the hype being one of the largest gaming peripheral companies in the world releasing a gaming-oriented smartphone would be absolutely huge. We have no idea what to expect from a Razer smartphone, but I'd expect a slick as hell smartphone with a black and green look, and I'm sure some RGB LEDs of some sort.


    Source: Razer will unveil its new smartphone for gamers on Nov 1

    Tuesday, October 10, 2017

    iPhone 8 splitting fault hanging over Apple ahead of iPhone X release

    WITH the much anticipated release of the iPhone X just weeks away, Apple has yet to publicly diagnose an issue with its iPhone 8, with some users reporting the device is splitting open when charging.

    Late last month an iPhone 8 Plus owner in Taiwan said her phone broke open while charging after buying it just five days earlier.

    A second report of an iPhone 8 busting open came from Japan, with the customer claiming the device was already broken when it arrived in the box.

    In the past week, Canadian man Anthony Wu also reported his battery swelling after being put on charge, causing his iPhone to split open along the edges of the device.

    Meanwhile The Guardian has reported the same problem effecting a user in Greece and there has also been a report of the "splitting" defect to come out of Hong Kong.

    The iPhone 8 was released on September 22 and is the first iPhone to have wireless charging technology but the issue only appears to occur when the phone is being charged with the regular lightning cord.

    Although it's still early days, the problem seems to be very rare.

    Apple has not said much about the apparent defect but a spokesperson said the company was aware of the reported incidences, and was looking into them.

    It's not the first time the consumer tech giant has had issues with one of its new handset models. When the iPhone 6 was released in 2014 there were multiple reports of the phone being susceptible to bending, leading to the hashtag #bendgate trending on social media.

    The splitting issue pales in comparison to the battery-related issue faced by Apple's main rival Samsung last year which was forced to recall the global stock of its Galaxy Note 7, costing the company about $6.5 billion.

    Both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus also had reports of exploding batteries but they were very isolated incidents which didn't prompt any recall.

    The Next Web has previously shared unconfirmed reports that the battery used in the new iPhone 8 was built by the same manufacturer, Amperex Technology Limited, that made the battery for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

    Apple's new premium model smartphone, The iPhone X, is due to be released on November 3.


    Source: iPhone 8 splitting fault hanging over Apple ahead of iPhone X release

    Monday, October 9, 2017

    ZTE Axon M foldable smartphone spotted on FCC’s website

    We've been hearing about dual screen smartphones for a while now, but it's looking like ZTE will be the first to release something for 2017. At the beginning of September, we first heard the rumblings that the device would be available on AT&T and would be dubbed the Axon Multy. Later on in the month, we got our first peek at the rumored device, which we learned will be called the Axon M.

    Now, today's FCC filings seem to indicate that we'll be seeing the device pretty soon. The phone appears to be running Android 7.1 Nougat and the FCC documents label it as a "multi-mode digital mobile phone." Rumors suggest the device features two 1920 x 1080 displays that are capable of functioning as a single 6.8-inch display when they've been unfolded.

    ZTE has a press conference scheduled for October 17th in Brooklyn, so it's likely the Chinese company will finally take the wraps off the Axon M then.

    What do you think of this concept? Would you be willing to get a foldable smartphone that can turn into a tablet?

    Auto-load comments: Off On


    Source: ZTE Axon M foldable smartphone spotted on FCC's website