Apple celebrates Chinese New Year with limited edition Year of the Ox AirPods Pro

Apple has launched the Year of the Ox limited edition AirPods Pro to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The limited edition AirPods Pro share the design and features with the regular model, but have an Ox-themed artwork on the charging case and the retail box. Apple AirPods Pro Year of the Ox Limited Edition The pricing of these limited edition AirPods Pro is also the same as the regular version - RMB1,999 ($310/€250) in China, HKD1,999 ($260/€210) in Hong Kong, SGD379 ($290/€235) in Singapore, TWD7,990 ($285/€230) in Taiwan, and RM1,099 ($275/€220) in Malaysia. The AirPods Pro...

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Donald Trump’s Twitter account has been suspended and faces permanent ban

Following the events that transpired at the United States Capitol in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, @TwitterSafety has announced that it is requiring that Donald Trump remove three Tweets that severely violated Twitter’s Civic integrity policy. As a result of the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, D.C., we have required the removal of three @realDonaldTrump Tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy. https://t.co/k6OkjNG3bM— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 7, 2021 Twitter has locked Trump’s...

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Samsung announces 2021 TV lineup with Neo QLED and microLED

Samsung today announced its 2021 lineup of televisions at the virtual CES 2021. These include models featuring Samsung's Neo QLED as well as micoLED. Samsung introduced what it calls Neo QLED to its flagship 8K (QN900A) and 4K (QN90A) models. Neo QLED is a combination of a new backlighting technology and new image processing. Neo QLED uses Mini LED backlighting technology, which comprises of much smaller individual LED elements behind the display that can focus light on a much smaller area. This allows for much smaller zones in a full array local dimming system and much more...

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App Store sees $1.8 billion in user spending during the Holiday period

Apple revealed its App Store saw a record-breaking $1.8 billion in user spending over the Holiday period with $514 million alone spent on January 1, 2021. The numbers include both apps and digital subscription services like Apple Music, News, Books, TV+ and the new Fitness+ app. App Store • Apple Arcade • Apple Books • Apple Podcasts The accompanying press release also detailed the adoption rates of Apple Pay which is present in over 90% of US stores, 85% in the UK and nearly 99% of retailers in Australia. Apple Books has over 90 million monthly active users (MAUs). Apple...

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US government bans eight Chinese apps, Alipay and WeChat Pay included

Unexpectedly, today President Trump signed an order banning eight Chinese apps in the US on the premise that they are a threat to national security and might capture sensitive information from the user's device. And that user could be a US federal employee too. The apps in question are Tencent QQ, CamScanner, SHAREit, VMate, Alipay, QQ Wallet, WeChat Pay and WPS Office. They will no longer be made available on the US Google Play store after 45 days. The US government fears that these companies have ties with the Chinese government and could be extracting sensitive data. Pretty much...

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A look at third-party cases for the Samsung Galaxy S21 series

Images of the official Samsung cases for the Galaxy S21 phones leaked a week ago. We even saw a case designed with the S Pen in mind. Now let’s have a look at what third-party case makers have in mind. Samsung Galaxy S21 cases Galaxy S21 Ultra cases MobileFun already lists a large number of cases. Above are a few colorful options for the Galaxy S21 and S21 Ultra. Wallet-style cases There are wallet-style cases too. The first one is made from genuine leather, the next one uses leatherette and there’s a silicone version. None of these...

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Dell unveil world's first 40" curved wide-screen 5K monitor, other UltraSharp monitors too

Besides new Latitude laptops Dell also unveiled several new monitors, including some designed for video conferencing one some for interactive presentations. Let’s start with the Dell UltraSharp 40 Curved WUHD Monitor (U4021QW), the world’s first 40” ultra wide curved monitor with 5K resolution (5,120 x 2,160 px), according to Dell. Its IPS panel boasts 100% sRGB and 98% DCI-P3 coverage and can render 1.07 billion colors. The port selection on the monitor is equally impressive. The Thunderbolt 3 offers transfer speeds up to 40 Gbps and can charge your Windows laptop or MacBook at up...

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Report: the two iPhone 13 Pro models will use 120 Hz LTPO OLED displays from Samsung

Samsung will be the exclusive supplier of LTPO OLED displays for the upcoming iPhone 13 generation, reports The Elec. Those panels will be used on the two Pro models and will run at 120 Hz. LTPO panels are more power efficient than their LTPS counterparts. A key advantage is that they can have an adaptive refresh rate without additional hardware. The vanilla iPhone 13 duo will continue using the older LTPS panels, which probably means they’ll stick to 60Hz for another year. That will change in 2022, as Apple is reportedly planning on using only LTPO OLEDs for all four iPhone 14 models....

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Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite stars in major leak - Snapdragon 732G SoC to run the show

Xiaomi announced the vanilla Mi 11 just last week and we expect a Pro version to follow sometime in February. But what about the Lite model? Well, thanks to a huge leak we now that's on the way too and we even got the majority of its specs. The scoop comes from an unusual source - a Vietnamese YouTuber. According to him, the handset will run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 732G. The chipset will be paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage while the display will be a flat IPS LCD of FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. An off-centered punch-hole design is also at hand with a...

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Early Samsung Galaxy S21 reservations in Thailand offering the flagship for under $1

Samsung Thailand tipped off early reservations for the Galaxy S21 series and there’s a neat way to secure one of the upcoming S-series flagships. The first 100 entrants can legally purchase an S21 for just THB 21 ($0.70) so long as they register for a limited time raffle on Samsung Thailand’s website and trade in an old digital camera. Once registered, the first 100 entrants will receive a special code that can be used at the checkout to secure the upcoming Samsung flagship. The raffle is open until 6 PM on January 14. In addition, the first 1,000 registered entrants are eligible for a...

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Belgian carrier accidentally reveals the Galaxy S21 family's pricing

The Belgian carrier Voo has accidentally revealed the European pricing of the Galaxy S21 trio. A tipster was able to snap some screenshots before the pages were taken down. Off-contract, the vanilla Galaxy S21 will sell for €849, the S21+ will ask €1,049 and the Ultra will sell for €1,399. All are the base 128GB storage variants. This is mostly in line with the previous pricing report except for the Ultra, which is €100. The good news is that according to this leak, the other two models are still cheaper than their predecessors. The Galaxy S21 trio's pricing And before we...

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Android 11 and One UI 3.0 update is now live for Galaxy S10 series

Following last week’s One UI 3.0 update for the Galaxy Note10 series, Samsung is now seeding the stable Android 11 based firmware to the Exynos-powered Galaxy S10e and S10 5G units in Switzerland. It’s only a matter of time before the update expands to the Galaxy S10 and S10+ in more regions. Software info screen post update The new Android 11 firmware bears the G97xFXXU9ETLJ build number and also brings the January security patch. Naturally, you can expect to find all the One UI 3 tweaks and additions which you can check out in more detail at our recently published One UI 3.0...

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Redmi Note 10 Pro appears in FCC listing

Back in November, we saw a TENAA listing for what is widely believed to be the Redmi Note 10 and now the Pro variant has surfaced in an FCC document. Redmi Note 10 Pro FCC listing The device bears the M2101K6G model number and the listing details confirm this will be a 4G device supporting GSM, LTE and WCDMA networks. We also learn the phone will feature dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth BR/EDR and LE connectivity as well as NFC and FM receivers. In addition, it will boot MIUI 12. More FCC listing details A separate leak from XiaomiUI Telegram group reveals the device...

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Watch Samsung's The First Look live stream for the latest in TV tech

Samsung is kicking off 2021 with The First Look – the event will be the beginning of a “new vision for screens”. In other words, this will be about TVs and will serve as a preview of what’s to come at CES next week. This event will likely feature microLED TVs. Last month ETNews reported that Samsung is preparing a large investment in facilities to mass produce microLED panels. At last year’s First Look Samsung unveiled a lineup of microLED, QLED 8K and Lifestyle TVs ahead of their detailed presentation at CES. Displays aside, the company will also “introduce its latest creations,...

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Oppo details the AI Highlight Video system that powers Reno5 Pro 5G's camera

Oppo has been advancing mobile cameras for years now, delivering memorable phones like the Oppo Find 7 and more recent examples like the Reno 10x zoom and Find X2 Pro. Now the company is preparing to launch the Oppo Reno5 Pro 5G in India on January 18. But first the company wanted to talk about the secret sauce behind the phone’s camera. The camera is backed by the Full Dimension Fusion Portrait Video system, part of which is the AI Highlight Video. It uses AI to examine the lighting conditions of the scene and apply the appropriate algorithm – Ultra Night Video or Live HDR. ...

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Poco discounts four smartphones in India

Poco has announced on its Twitter that the quartet of its phones available in India will now sell at a lower price. The Poco M2, Poco M2 Pro, Poco X3, and Poco C3 received various price cuts from INR1,500 to INR4,000, depending on the model and the storage options. Phone Memory Old price New price Poco C3 4/64 GB INR 10,999 / $150 INR 8,499 / $115 Poco M2 6/64 GB INR 12,999 / $175 INR 9,999 / $135 6/128 GB INR 14,999 / $205 INR 10,999 / $150 Poco M2 Pro 4/64 GB INR 16,999 / $230 ...

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Six vivo iQOO phones start receiving Origin OS beta, iQOO 7 to have Monster Beat speakers

vivo has launched its new Android-based interface under the name OriginOS, and it is already available in beta mode for some phones. Today, its iQOO range is also starting its journey to the new UI - six phones can already sign up for the beta. Meanwhile the Dongguan-based company confirmed the upcoming vivo iQOO 7 will have stereo speakers, developed by the Monster - the company that brought Beats by Dre to life. The new smartphone will come with a dedicated Hi-Fi chip to bring the dynamic range over 120 dB and lower distortion below 0.0003%. There’ll also be support for Hi-Res...

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Report: iPhone 12 lineup selling better than 11 series in the US

Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) released on Monday its latest iPhone 12 series sales report. The data shows the four new models combined for 76% of all US iPhone sales in the October-November period. Last year’s iPhone 11 series accounted for 69% of all iPhone sales for the same period. The survey was based on 243 US Apple customers who purchased an iPhone right after the launch of the 12 series. US iPhone sales (source: CIRP) As expected the iPhone 12 was the best seller out of the bunch, commanding 27% of all iPhone sales for the period. This is still notably behind...

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Cheaper AirPods Max with plastic build in the works

Just before 2020's end, Apple released its long-anticipated AirPods Max premium headphones with a staggering price tag of $549. But according to a renown Apple tipster, the company will try to deliver the same sound quality to a wider audience with a cheaper AirPods Max version of lesser build quality. Reportedly, the upcoming pair will cost $349 but will compromise mostly with its materials. Instead of employing aluminum and stainless steel, the more affordable headset will be made of plastic. As a side effect the new version might also be lighter as the AirPods Max are among the...

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HTC phone with unusual design leaks, likely the Desire 21 Pro 5G

HTC only released two phones last year, but the first one of 2021 might come shortly suggesting a bigger turnout this year. The Desire 21 Pro 5G midranger is the alleged name of the phone that stars in today's leak. The original source of the leaked images has been removed but they remain on SlashLeaks. The model number of the device is 2AQAG100 and it runs Android 10 out of the box. The frontal design isn't something out of the ordinary - rather thick side bezels and chin with a centered cutout for the front-facing camera. Judging by the glows around the edges of the display, it's easy to...

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Honor is working on 5G phones powered by Qualcomm chipsets

Huawei sold its Honor brand in an attempt to save the subsidiary’s business and employees. The now-independent company is not hindered by the US sanctions anymore, meaning it could get back on track in launching smartphones with US technologies in them. According to insiders from China, this is exactly what is happening right now - Honor is working with Qualcomm to develop a 5G smartphone. While we don’t have information on what phone it is or what chipset will be used in the device, we are pretty sure it is not the Honor V40 series - the upcoming phones should go official in two...

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Samsung Galaxy A52 5G bags 3C certification with 15W charging

The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G we've been hearing about since November has been certified by China's 3C, taking it a step closer to the launch. The A52 5G listed has model designation SM-A5260 and supports 15W charging, but the listing on the Chinese regulator's website doesn't reveal any other specs. However, the Galaxy A52 5G spotted on Geekbench with model code SM-A526B revealed the smartphone will run Android 11 and have Snapdragon 750G SoC and 6GB RAM onboard. The 4G variant (SM-A525F), on the other hand, had appeared on the benchmark database with Snapdragon 720G and 8GB RAM. We...

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