All hopes of Apple’s AirPower charging mat are lost, yet again

If you haven’t heard of the AirPower charging mat, it was a product that Apple announced in 2017 along with the drastically redesigned iPhone X which would let you wirelessly charge AirPods, an Apple Watch, and the iPhone, wherever you placed them on the mat. Apple eventually announced it was abandoning the project, reportedly due to complications with overlapping charger coils overheating. Apple shows off the AirPower charger during its September 2017 keynote Some time passed after the initial cancellation and new reports from reliable Apple leaker @JonProsser claimed that the...

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Forget about the Nord, grab a OnePlus 7T for $399 instead

The original OnePlus Nord was the company's return to the mid-range, but that phone hasn't been and won't be sold in the US. The just unveiled Nord N10 will take its place in North America, but it's still unclear when and for what price. So, if you want a OnePlus phone that's cheaper than the 8T and 8 Pro, and you don't care about 5G, here's something for you. B&H is currently holding a very limited time sale on the OnePlus 7T from last year, bringing its price down to just $399. That's probably what the Nord would've been sold for had it been launched in the US. The OnePlus 7T has...

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Doogee S96 Pro rugged smartphone launches with infrared night vision

Rugged phone specialist Doogee has launched its latest device today, the S96 Pro. This pairs an incredibly rugged-looking construction with a 20 MP night vision camera, sitting alongside the 48 MP f/1.8 main camera sensor on the back. The Doogee S96 Pro comes with the MediaTek Helio G90 chipset, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of expandable storage (with a triple slot that can house two SIM cards and a microSD at the same time). It has a 6.22" 720x1520 LCD touchscreen with a waterdrop notch that houses a 16 MP selfie camera. On the back there's a quad shooter setup, the standout of the bunch...

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Apple AirPods and Pro successors coming in 2021, over-ear AirPods Studio delayed again

Some interesting details about the upcoming AirPods and AirPods Pro successors emerged giving us a good idea of how the development is going and what they will look like. There's also a bit of bad news about the over-ear AirPods Studio headphones, which are being delayed due to some design issues. Let's start with the vanilla AirPods. According to Bloomberg, Apple is going with a more AirPods Pro-like look for the standard AirPods next year with changeable tips. However noise-cancellation won't be tricking down with the upgrade instead bringing, a considerable improvement in battery...

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vivo to replace Funtouch OS with Origin OS

Late last year vivo announced Funtouch OS 10, which launched with the X30 phone, but the pandemic delayed plans to update older phones. Originally, the company was planning a switch to Jovi OS before abandoning the project. Well, now vivo has a new in-house software project and it’s called Origin OS. Apparently, that stands for “original OS” and leakster Digital Chat Station claims that it will be a major improvement over the current Funtouch. It sounds like it will be a near complete re-write too. According to DCS, Origin OS will become one of the best Android UI customizations out...

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Facebook unveils game streaming service focused on free-to-play mobile games only

Facebook is launching its own cloud gaming service, but it’s not going to compete with the Nvidia, Microsoft and Google services. The social network is focusing on mobile games exclusively while the others are for PC games. This new service offers instantly-playable games, just pick a game and tap on it – currently available titles can be found at fb.gg/play. No installation is needed and no controllers either (since mobile games are designed to be played on a touchscreen). Another major difference is that Facebook’s cloud gaming service is launching with free-to-play games....

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Apple iPhone 12 in for review

A new iPhone must be viewed through the lens of your current handset – how you see the iPhone 12 is quite different if you’re holding, say, an 11 Pro compared to how you see it compared to something like the XR or even older. And if you have an Android, Apple’s phones may be a preview of what’s to come in 2021. The new vanilla model represents a fairly major upgrade over its predecessors, the iPhone 11 and XR. The first thing you’ll see is the OLED display – it’s the same size (6.1”), but is sharper, supports HDR10 and has that excellent contrast native to OLED panels. There’s also...

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With the Nord N100 OnePlus broke its promise of high refresh rate screens

About a year ago OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei made a promise – going forward, all OnePlus phones will come with high refresh rate screens or “Fluid Display technology” as the company calls it. By the way, “Fluid Display ≠ 90 Hz”, to qualify as “Fluid” a display must also have fast response times and must be coupled with software optimizations for a smooth experience. Here Pei is making that promise on video (this was part of the OnePlus 7T announcement). But if you’ve had a peek at the two new Nord phones, you’ll have noticed that only one of them is equipped with a 90Hz display. The...

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Samsung creates a 10,000 PPI OLED panel

Engineers from Standford and Samsung have been working on a very intriguing project for some time now and they say they are ready to show it to the world. It's the highest pixel density display in the world boasting 10,000 PPI. The tech is based on ultra-thin solar panels effectively coming up with a brand new architecture for OLED displays. In theory, it could be used for TVs, smartphone displays and VR headsets, but it's going to be particularly useful for the latter as it will eliminate the so-called screen door effect. This effect can be seen in almost every VR headset currently...

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LG Tone Free with ANC announced

Back in June, LG announced its Tone Free TWS earbuds which featured a self-cleaning charging case with UV light. Now we get a similar looking pair bearing the HBS-FN7 model number which come with the same neat case and active noise cancellation. The new model has three microphones on each earbud for monitoring and toning out sounds. They are developed alongside Meridian Audio and come with an in-ear canal design. Pairing is done over Bluetooth 5.1 and the earphones support the SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs. The UVnano case emits UV light onto the silicone tip and inner mesh. LG...

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The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro ace the drop test, but the back glass is vulnerable

With the iPhone 12 series Apple introduced Ceramic Shield, a new type of screen glass which “provides the biggest jump in durability ever on iPhone”. The company specifically advertises a 4x increase in drop resistance, so naturally, someone put those claims to the test. The videos below show an iPhone 12 and an iPhone 12 Pro. Note that the Shield only protects the front, the type of glass used on the back is unknown, but it’s definitely less strong. Also, the Pro models have stainless steel frames while the two vanilla phones use aluminum. And you’ll see that the two materials are...

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OnePlus Nord N10 5G and N100 unveiled: mid-rangers with LCDs and Snapdragon chipsets

OnePlus broke out of its “flagship only” mold with the release of the Nord, now the company is ready to dip even further into the mid-range and even graze the upper end of the entry-level market. In other words, Nord is now a series of phones. OnePlus Nord N10 5G The OnePlus N10 5G sticks close to the original formula with a mid-range Snapdragon, 90Hz display and a 64MP main camera. The N10 is aiming at a lower price bracket, though, so affordability considerations led to some changes. The new model has a 6.49” display with 1080p+ resolution. There is one major change from the...

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Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra to keep 108MP main and 40MP selfie cameras, claims leaker

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra will not be a huge departure from the current model, based on info from leakers. And if you’re thinking that it’s too early for leaks, Samsung is reportedly pulling the S21 launch forward to January. The new Ultra will have a slightly smaller screen, down a tenth of an inch to 6.8”, and this will be the only curved panels – the S21 and S21+ will have flat displays. Also, the refresh rate may get a small bump to 144Hz (though that is not certain yet). The Galaxy S21 Ultra will use a 108MP main camera on the rear and a 40MP selfie camera. The resolutions are...

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Honor Halloween sale sees laptops, smartwatches discounted

Halloween is slowly creeping up and Honor is starting yet another sales campaign across Europe. There’s deals on Honor laptops and smartwatches as well as plenty of smart accessories through coupons. The new promos are valid in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain until October 31. Kicking off the sales campaign are the MagicBook 14 and MagicBook 15 laptops both outfitted with AMD Ryzen 5 4500U chips, 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD storage. The 14-inch model goes for £599.9 in the UK and €649.9 in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. You’ll have to apply the available coupon at...

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LG Q52 is official with a Helio P35 chipset and $290 price tag

LG Q52 leaked last week in multiple hands-on photos and today its official debut comes. It is a midranger with a Helio P35 chipset for the Korean market that has four cameras and two LED flashes on the back and a basic LCD panel with HD+ resolution on the front. The LG Q52 is better known outside South Korea as LG K52 - they are effectively the same phone with the same specs sheet from top to bottom. The company coupled the Mediatek chip with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, and there is a microSD slot for more internal memory, if needed. The camera setup on the back has 48MP main and ...

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Huawei nova 8 SE specs leak, reveal 66W fast charging

Huawei’s latest nova series phone was the nova 7 SE 5G Youth (yes, that’s the real full name) with a Mediatek chipset and now the company is preparing a successor. Logically called Huawei nova 8 SE, it will come in two variants and will have slight improvements with the battery technology and the screen. Huawei nova 7 SE 5G Youth is already getting a successor A well-trusted Chinese leakster revealed the nova 8 SE will have a 6.53” OLED screen with Full HD+ resolution. It will support 66W fast charging that was introduced earlier this month with the Huawei Mate 40 Pro...

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