Thursday, February 1, 2018

Nest Hello doorbell now shows a March shipping time frame

You can still get a free Google Home Mini if you preorder by Feb. 20.

Nest Hello — the Alphabet-owned answer to the Ring Video doorbell (among other competitors) — is now slated to ship sometime in March.

The fine print on the Nest Hello preorder site was recently (and quietly, because on the internet no one can hear you scream) was changed to reflect the new shipping schedule. While a firm date has never been given, it previously said to expect it in February.

A slippage of a date that was never publicly nailed down in the first place? Maybe. But more likely is that Nest is just getting its ducks in a row. And it makes sense, as Nest also is offering a free Google Home Mini if you preorder by Feb. 20. That basically would have left a week beyond that for the connected doorbell to ship. And, so, the fine print has changed. (You might still see display advertising with the February time frame. Ducks are hard to wrangle sometimes.)

In any event, you can still preorder the Nest Hello for $229. As for when in March it'll ship? Stay tuned.

See at Nest

More: How Nest Hello can out-doorbell Ring



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Samsung plays down slow iPhone X sales impact on its revenues

  • A Samsung executive has said the company display business won't be significantly affected by slow iPhone sales.
  • As one of Apple's biggest suppliers, Samsung was previously speculated to have as much as $14.3 billion to gain from iPhone X sales.
  • Apple has reportedly halved its iPhone X production aims in light of less-than-expected sales.

Samsung is reportedly unfazed by sluggish iPhone X sales, despite that it stood to make big bucks from unit shipments. The South Korean manufacturer is a key parts supplier for the iPhone X—responsible for producing its curved displays, among other components—but speculation that the phone hasn't been selling well could cost Samsung dearly.

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Move over, Intel: Samsung is now the world's largest chipmaker

Intel might have dominated the chipset market for a quarter of a century, but Samsung has officially taken over the top spot for the first time in company history, reports TechCrunch. According to the South Korean outfit, …

Samsung was rumored to have as much as $14.3 billion to gain from iPhone X sales if it hit it shipment expectations, earning its components division more per unit than it would from its own Galaxy S8. However, the company has played down the overall impact of the latest Apple device. Speaking to The Investor, a Samsung executive said: "The company's (display) business will not be affected much by a certain customer." While not mentioning Apple by name, it seems clear that this is the company being referred to.

Apple is believed to have halved its production target for the iPhone X to 20 million units—despite that it was the biggest selling smartphone of Q4 2017.

The Samsung executive also said that the company had been "trying to diversify [its] clients and reduce reliance on a certain customer to build a healthy portfolio." If Samsung has been overly-reliant on Apple's business in the past, it may not be for much longer.



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Nintendo confirms that Mario Kart is coming to mobile!

  • Nintendo announces mobile version of Mario Kart called Mario Kart Tour.
  • The game will be released at some point in the next financial year.
  • No other game details have yet been released.

Nintendo has announced that it's definitely going to be releasing a version of Mario Kart for mobile devices. The game will be titled Mario Kart Tour and is set to be released at some point in the next financial year. This gives Nintendo plenty of time to get things right as the next financial year will run until March 2019.

While there are no other details about the game (the announcement was limited to a tweet from the official Nintendo account), Nintendo's previous mobile releases could give us some clues.

Nintendo first stepped into the smartphone games arena in 2016 with the release of Miitomo. The first Mario-based game was Super Mario Run which came later in the year. Rather than simply porting an existing Mario game, this was a version of Super Mario that was uniquely mobile.

In terms of pricing, while Nintendo charged $9.99 for Super Mario Run (with a free-to-play demo), later releases by the company have used a free-to-play with add-ons model. It is impossible at this stage to know what pricing structure Nintendo will go for with Mario Kart Tour, although by all accounts, the company didn't hit its sales targets with Super Mario Run.

When it is released, Mario Kart Tour won't be the only recent version of Mario Kart. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was released on its incredibly popular Switch console last year to almost universally positive reviews.

The fact that Super Mario Run was so popular, not to mention Nintendo's success over the years in the handheld game market, means that expectations for Mario Kart Tour are sure to be sky-high.



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OnePlus 5 update tracker: OxygenOS 5.0.2 now rolling out

Update (02/01): OnePlus has released the OxygenOS 5.0.2 OTA for the OnePlus 5. The update was announced in the OnePlus forums yesterday, and though it's relatively light on features, it includes one anticipated addition: Face Unlock.

This feature arrived in the beta channel at the end of December and it uses 100 points of identification to allow you to unlock your device without typing a code or scanning a finger.

The Launcher, Gallery, File Manager and Weather apps have also been updated to their latest versions, while OnePlus has improved the electronic image stabilization for video recording too. General bug fixes and the latest CPU security patch round off the changelog; look out for the update hitting your device in the coming days.

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Previous coverage: Welcome to the OnePlus 5 Android update tracker page. This page covers all major software news for the OnePlus 5 will be updated regularly with new information.

Unlike our other Android update tracker pages, this article doesn't contain specific carrier details because the OnePlus 5 is sold in the US unlocked. It also won't include general security patches.

We recommend you bookmark this page so you can stay up to date with the very latest updates.

OnePlus 5 Android Oreo update

The OnePlus 5 arrived on June 27, 2017, running Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box. This is the latest version of Nougat, so any updates coming before Android 8.0 Oreo are likely to be relatively small.

The OnePlus 5 received its first update just ahead of its online availability on June 26 to OxygenOS version 4.5.2. This delivered various stability optimizations and bug fixes before its official release. Later, some key members of the OnePlus team took part in a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" thread where they confirmed that the OnePlus 3 and 3T would get Android Oreo before the end of the year. This news also indicates that the OnePlus 5 — OnePlus' latest flagship — will receive Android 8.0 before the end of 2017.

OnePlus 5 update US

OnePlus 5 updates US Android 7.1.1 Nougat Android 8.0
OnePlus 5 Yes TBA

Previous OnePlus 5 updates:

  • January 31, 2018, Face Unlock lands on the OnePlus 5.
  • January 11, 2018, OnePluls rolls out stable Android Oreo update to the OnePlus 5.
  • December 12, 2017, OnePlus has rolled out OxygenOS 4.5.15 with GPS improvements, emoji and alarm bug fixes, and the October security patch.
  • October 4, 2017, OnePlus pushed OyxgenOS 4.5.1.1 to improve app launching speeds, optimize adaptive brightness, and give more options for custom ringtones. It also fixed YouTube's video getting out of sync with its audio, some UI elements, and 4G+ network reception issues.
  • August 29, 2017, Oneplus rolls out OxygenOS 4.5.10 with a number of camera improvements including photo noise reduction, improved stability, as well as 60 fps video noise and texture improvements.
  • August 1, 2017, OnePlus released the OxygenOS 4.5.7 update that introduced a brand new font called OnePlus Slate, which offers an aesthetic change for owners of the flagship device. The update also comes with a useful functional upgrade: Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) can now be used during 4K video recording. Additionally, OnePlus improved Wi-Fi connectivity and standby battery performance and took care of a few bugs.
  • July 6, 2017, OnePlus has reduced the amount of battery consumed when recording videos, provided clearer voice calling, and enhanced the Wi-Fi connectivity in OxygenOS 4.5.5.
  • June 16, 2017, OnePlus rolls out the OxygenOS 4.5.2 update. The 36 MB OTA update fixes various bugs including an app installation issue and a problem with system updates. It also delivers Camera, Bluetooth, network and system optimizations.
  • June 28, 2017, OnePlus delivers the OxygenOS 4.5.4 update to address an issue with 4G connectivity in the Netherlands.

If you've received an update we've missed, hit the comments below or Tip us!



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UFS 3.0 spec promises faster performance and lower power consumption

Universal Flash Storage (UFS), the storage specification employed in smartphones, tablets, Chromebooks and more, is about to get even better. The JEDEC Solid State Technology Association has released the specification for UFS 3.0 (via AnandTech), delivering several key upgrades upon the UFS 2.1 spec delivered in 2016.

What's so special about 3.0? Firstly, it will double the bandwidth from the previous version allowing for two lanes at 11.6 Gbps transfer speeds for peak speeds of up to 23.2 Gbps. Further, it adds a 2.5V VCC power supply mode enabling lower power consumption for the latest NAND technologies (while UFS 2.1 works at between 2.7V and 3.6V).

What this means for smartphone owners is that devices with storage that meets the new spec should perform faster and use less power than those using UFS 2.1 (or something prior). When we'll start seeing these devices arrive, however, we don't know: many of 2018 SoC's are already in development, so we could be waiting a while.



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The Oppo A71 (2018) uses AI to bring out the most beautiful you

One year between smartphones is very normal. Even six months is something we have seen before, but four months? That is how long Oppo took to announce the A71 (2018), the successor to last September's A71.

The A71 (2018) is physically similar to its predecessor. This means we have the same 5.2-inch display with 720p resolution, main 13 MP camera, front 5 MP shooter, 3,000 mAh battery, and 16 GB of expandable storage. Even the dimensions and weight are the same for both devices.

The differences start with the A71 (2018)'s Snapdragon 450 chipset, which replaces MediaTek's MT6750 chipset found in the previous A71. Oppo says the change to Qualcomm's processor sees up to a 12.5 percent increase in application start-up time.

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OPPO launches A83 in India with artificial intelligence technology for selfies

OPPO has unveiled its latest entry-level camera phone in India, the A83. The OPPO A83 comes with an 8 MP front camera and a 13 MP rear camera, and uses A.I. Beauty Recognition Technology that employs …

The company also said the swap should lead to smoother navigation of its ColorOS 3.2 software skin. This is a slight upgrade from the original A71's ColorOS 3.1, though both versions are still based on Android 7.1 Nougat.

ColorOS 3.2's main attraction is Oppo's "AI Beauty Recognition Technology," which is "based on a global image database that serves as an experienced photographer, who knows your beauty and will offer the most suitable beautify effect for you."

Available in a pinkish-gold and black, the Oppo A71 (2018) is available in Pakistan for 19,899 Pakistani Rupees (~$179). The phone is expected to eventually launch in India, though that has not yet been confirmed.



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Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Motorola’s newest Style Shell Moto Mods are made out of Gorilla Glass 5

Motorola

I am a fan of Motorola's Moto Mod ecosystem, but even I feel a bit trepidatious about the Lenovo subsidiary's latest Style Shell Moto Mods.

That is because they are made out of Gorilla Glass 5, which Motorola says makes the new Style Shells "damage resistant." No matter what Motorola says, they are still made of glass, so they are still susceptible to cracks when dropped.

Even so, I cannot deny how great they look. Motorola cooked up five new designs, and all of them look great. I would not hesitate to rock any of them on my Moto Z2 Force, but others might and will say different.

Then again, the switch to glass makes these new Style Shells almost twice as heavy as regular Style Shells. At $30 each, they are also more expensive than their wooden and nylon counterparts.

At the end of the day, the new Style Shells are why I enjoy the Moto Mod ecosystem. As cool as it is to slap a printer, projector, or 360-degree camera to the back of your Moto Z, it is also nice to have simpler options available.

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Motorola in 2018: Bring on the wow factor

From the high-end, modular Z2 models to the more affordable Moto C devices, Lenovo-owned Motorola had a busy 2017. Its strategy resembled the machine gun approach on which Samsung relied for a long time. According …

Things can get expensive very fast with the ecosystem, which is a valid complaint. However, if you are someone who likes to keep things simple, these new Style Shells seem like they are worth your time.

As previously mentioned, you have five new designs to pick from: Retro Stripe, Overlapping Triangles, Graphic Flowers, Expressive Curves, and Colored Leaves. You can pick any of them up at the link below.

Get the new Style Shell Moto Mods


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