Mobile Devices - Page 53

However, USB-C ports won't be seen on any iPhone models released later this year and will instead be coming in 2023 at the earliest.

The move is likely due at least in part to looming regulations by the European Union that would mandate tech companies like Apple to adopt USB-C as a standard charging port for portable electronics, benefiting consumers and the environment.

Apple's iPad and Macintosh devices have already switched from Apple's proprietary Lightning connector to USB-C but opted to retain the Lightning port on iPhones. Apple's wireless chargers for both iPhones and Apple Watches also use USB-C connectors for their power bricks.

The last time that I was reporting on Google's next-gen Android-powered slate: Pixel C, was all the way back in 2015. Well, Google isn't finished with the tablet market... and they're not afraid to show it.

Google has just given the world a sneak peek at their "upcoming Pixel tablet", which is a next-generation Android-based tablet "powered by Google Tensor" and "designed to complement your Pixel phone". Interesting. We should see Google unleash their second-generation Tensor chip inside of the upcoming Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro smartphones, and now the upcoming Google Pixel tablet.

It looks like Google will be using a single camera sensor on the back, and a selfie camera up front. There are no more details on the camera sensors, but we're also a year away from launch. I'm sure things are going to change radically between now and then, and Google won't want to show off too much.

Apple has taken to its Newsroom to announce that it will be discontinuing the device that sparked mainstream portable music listening - the iPod.

Original iPod, released October 23, 2001.

The first version of the iPod was released on October 23, 2001, which was only eight and a half months after iTunes was released. In the first fiscal year of the release of the first iPod, Apple sold 376,000 units, which was followed by a steady increase to 937,000 in 2003, then 4.4 million in 2004, and finally 22.4 million units in 2005. The progression of the iPod's unit sales represents the true impact the product had on the market and culture.

A 17-year-old's movements around Walt Disney World in Florida were tracked by an unknown Apple AirTag that caused panic for the family.

Madison Gaston and her mother, Jennifer Gaston, discovered the presence of the unwanted AirTag when Madison received a notification that informed her that she was being tracked on their way back to their car. The notification said that Maddison had been tracked over the course of four hours, 7.09pm to 11.33pm, and showcased all of the locations she went across the park.

Notably, AirTag's have a feature that is designed to stop "unwarranted tracking", and that feature is alerting a nearby iPhone that the AirTag is nearby/with them. Once Maddison and her mother arrived at their car, they looked for the AirTag on their person and inside the car. After failing to find the AirTag, the two locked their car doors and drove away. Maddison refreshed the tracking and saw that Apple's "helpful" tracking device remained in the parking lot where they were previously parked.

Samsung has just teased its new custom-themed Pokemon Edition of its foldable Galaxy Z Flip 3 smartphone, something that will sell out in a second to collectors across the world... gotta catch 'em all, right?

The new Pokemon Edition version of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 looks incredible, with the foldable smartphone looking like an actual Pokedex, but there's a plethora of Pokemon-themed accessories. You'll get a Pikachu picture case (which also includes a Pokemon Custom Pack), a Pikachu Clear Cover Set, a Pokemon Pouch with a lanyard strap, a Pikachu keychain, and a Poke Ball stand.

On the actual phone itself, you'll also get some Pokemon Edition ringtones, themes, and wallpapers. For the diehard Pokemon fans out there, this is going to be one of those collector's items that will make it hard to pass... especially because it's a foldable smartphone + Pokemon Edition. Samsung's new Galaxy Z Flip 3 Pokemon Edition launches on April 25, and will be available only in South Korea.

The new OnePlus Ace smartphone is going to have some seriously crazy-fast wired charging technology, with 150W fast wired charging.

The new OnePlus Ace series smartphone will be powered by the Dimensity 8100 SoC -- with a huge focus on super-fast charging and gaming -- which is where the 150W Super Flash Charging technology comes into play. OnePlus is also cramming in the Sony IMX766 camera sensor, while the back cover is "polished to a texture".

OnePlus is expected to outfit the OnePlus Ace with a 6.7-inch FHD+ display and punch-hole cutout for the selfie snapper, as well as a 4500mAh battery. There's not much to be impressed with here, but the crazy 150W charging is something I want to see -- and not see catch fire -- in the real-world. How long does that battery last?

After an iPhone was previously fitted with a USB-C port, it is the second Android and iPhone Frankenstein project.

Engineer Ken Pillonel undertook both that project and this latest project. Pillonel spoke with Engagdet to say that the project was technically challenging, as his goal was to enable data transfer through the Lightning port, not to have only power delivery for charging.

Another hurdle for the project is that Lightning cables sold by Apple check to ensure the device they're connected to is another Apple device before charging. Therefore, Pillonel had to make the cable register that it was connected to an Apple device instead of his Android phone.

Samsung has officially validated its LPDDR5X memory for Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile Platforms, where the new high-performance, low-power memory will be used in mobile devices, automotive chips, data centers, and more.

The new Samsung LPDDR5X DRAM is prepped for super-high-res video (4K 120FPS, 8K 60FPS, and more) as well as AI features in next-gen devices around the corner. Samsung's new LPDDR5X memory is made on their in-house 14nm process node.

Samsung is clocking its new LPDDR5X at up to 7.5Gbps, which is a 20% bump over the LPDDR5 (non-X) which has up to 6.4Gbps of bandwidth. This additional 20% performance will allow new high-performance devices that are a decent leap in performance over the current flagship mobile devices.

And so the cyber pandemic continues, with Samsung now hacked by the same team that stole over 1TB of confidential data from NVIDIA.

Samsung has been hacked by Lapsus$ with over 190GB of confidential information -- including source code for Samsung's Trusted Applet for secure operations -- you know, hardware cryptography, and more. Not only that, but the hackers have reportedly gotten their hands-on "algorithms for all biometric unlock operations", the "bootloader source code for all recent Samsung devices", and even "confidential source from Qualcomm".

The hackers made the 190GB of downloaded information from Samsung's servers as a torrent, with the hacking group saying that it would deploy additional servers to get the download speed up higher.

Qualcomm has announced its new Snapdragon X70 5G modem, which is capable of a blistering 10Gbps downlink speed and 3.5Gbps uplink speed.

The company says that it's using AI technology to improve mmWave and sub-6GHz bands, with an AI-based channel-state feedback and optimization algorithm that boosts the average download/upload speed. It seems all those engineers at Qualcomm might be reconsidering their jobs, as AI is doing a better job than them it seems.

Inside, the Snapdragon X70 5G modem is the first to support all 5G bands ranging from 500MHz to 41GHz -- as well as support for global 5G multi-sim and Dual-SIM Dual Active -- all wrapped up with 60% more power efficiency, which Qualcomm says is thanks to its 5G PowerSave Gen 3 technology.

Apple will launch its new iPhone 14 family of smartphones in a few month's time, but the next-gen iPhone 15 family of handsets is now being teased -- without a foldable iPhone teased -- for 2023.

The new Apple iPhone 15 range of smartphones will have a dual hole punch design on the iPhone Pro models on "all 4 models in 2023" according to DSCC CEO Ross Young. Young added that he hopes "the holes will get smaller..." meaning the notch will disappear from the iPhone.

Apple will most likely unveil under-display FaceID technology with the iPhone 15, putting the camera behind the screen like some of its competitors -- Samsung for example, and their Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy S21/22 series smartphones -- and leaving the world of the notch + iPhone forever, hopefully.

Samsung is dominating the foldable smartphone market, but that doesn't mean Apple is sitting on its hands -- it may be busy building its game-changing AR headset -- but foldable iPhone, yeah... it's coming.

In a new concept by designer Antonia DeRosa, we get a glimpse of what Apple could surprise us with when the company reveals its foldable smartphone -- which DeRosa calls the iPhone Air -- sometime in 2023 and beyond.

Inside of the new concept iPhone Air, we'd find Apple's latest M1 processor and a design that mimics Samsung's current Galaxy Z Flip 3 foldable smartphone. The concept iPhone Air has a clamshell-style design, with chrome hinges and that typical Apple iFlair. There's a secondary display, just like Samsung's two current foldable phones, which would have notifications and other apps when the iPhone Air is unfolded.

Xiaomi has just unleashed its new Xiaomi 12 family of smartphones, packing Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Gen1, with 3 phones announced: Xiaomi 12, 12 Pro, and the knocked-down Xiaomi 12x smartphone.

The new flagship Xiaomi 12 Pro packs a larger 6.7-inch QHD display with a smooth 120Hz display, as well as Qualcomm's new flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. There's up to 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage included, with a larger 4600mAh battery -- the higher-end Xiaomi 12 Pro has 120W wired charging (yeah, that's fast) and 50W of wireless charging (which is also fast).

The normal Xiaomi 12 has a 6.28-inch FHD 120Hz display, with a peak brightness of 1100 nits and Gorilla Glass Victus that protects the phone from drops, scratches, and more. Inside, is a 4500mAh battery with 67W fast-charging over USB-C, and the same 50W wireless charging as the higher-end Xiaomi 12 Pro.

Samsung's new Galaxy S22 family of smartphones is just a few months away if you can believe it, with our friends at LetsGoDigital teasing some new renders of the flagship Galaxy S22 Ultra and Galaxy S22+ variants.

We now know that Samsung's new flagship for 2022 will be the Galaxy S22 Ultra, with other models mentioned being the Galaxy S22 Note or Galaxy S22 Note Ultra -- both reportedly gone, and so it becomes the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The new Galaxy S22 Ultra has been teased in a new Turkish Rose variant, but there will be black, white, red, and green versions available.

Samsung will be equipping its new flagship Galaxy S22 Ultra with its S-Pen stylus support, but we knew that as the current Galaxy S21 Ultra supports the S-Pen. It looks like there's some slight design changes between the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy S22 Ultra -- but expect more under-the-hood changes. There's a nice little touch on the end of the S-Pen that matches the color of the Galaxy S22 Ultra you have.

Samsung's new flagship Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra tablet is beginning to look like a beast, with new reports suggesting the new slate will rock a huge 14.6-inch WQXGA+ display which will run at up to 120Hz.

Inside, we should see Samsung using Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Gen1 SoC with options of 8GB, 12GB, and 16GB of RAM that will come with 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage. The huge battery would be a drain on any other tablet, but Samsung seems to be taking care of that with a huge 11,200mAh battery and super-fast 45W rapid charging technology.

We should see it quite thin, with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra coming in at just 5.5mm thick while the new slate will reportedly feature 4 cameras: 2 on the front, 2 on the rear. On the back, we have a 13-megapixel primary sensor and 6-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, while on the front we have a notch that includes a 12-megapixel primary sensor, and 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor.

Samsung has pushed out its big new update to its two flagship foldable smartphones in the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3, with a new One UI 4 with Android 12 on its way to the two foldable.

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 in SM-F711N and SM-F711B variants are receiving their first stable build of One UI 4 in firmware version F711NKSU2BUKM and F711BXXU2BUKM, respectively. Samsung's SM-F926N version of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 has also got the new One UI 4 update based on Android 12 under firmware version F926NTBU1BUKO.

The OTA (over-the-air) updates to Samsung's foldable Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 smartphones seems to be for the Korean market only at the moment, here in Australia I personally own both of those foldables and have been itching for the upgrade and it's still not available. We should expect the global rollout of One UI 4 with Android 12 over the next week or so.

Apple is expected to launch a totally new product range in 2022 with an exciting new AR headset on the way, with some new rumors from industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a new note to investors, Kuo says that the chip powering Apple's new AR headset will be "significantly higher" than the iPhone. Apple uses its in-house A-series chips in its iPhones, while the higher-end iPad Pro and new MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops use the higher-end M1-series chips, with the new M1X SoC in fisticuffs with Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 console.

Kuo explained: "[The] computing power of the sensor is significantly higher than that of the iPhone. [The main processor will have] the same level of computing power as Macs. The power management unit (PMU) design of the high-end processor is similar to that of M1 because it has the same level of computing power".

In the market for a wicked new RGB cooler for your iPhone? Razer has your back... well, the back of your smartphone at least, with its new "Razer Phone Cooler Chroma" for $60.

The new Razer Phone Cooler Chroma costs $60 for both of Apple's iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 smartphones, with a MagSafe version of the cooler, and another model called the "RGB Cooling Fan". Razer's new RGB Cooling Fan can be used on both the iPhone and Android (sans the MagSafe side of things).

Inside, Razer notes that its Phone Cooler Chroma for the iPhone packs 7 blades that run at up to 6400RPM, all inside of a 30dB noise profile so that you won't have something on the back of your phone that sounds like a rocket is taking off. There's a Bluetooth connection in the Phone Cooler Chroma so that you can tweak the fan to your personal needs, and plugs into a USB-C cable... so you will really want that performance on your phone (and to keep it cool enough to justify the bulk + $60 cost).

Xiaomi has teased that its next-gen flagship Xiaomi 12 smartphone will be "available soon" with Qualcomm's very latest Snapdragon 8 Gen1 chipset.

In a video appearance during Qualcomm's Snapdragon Tech Summit 2021, Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun, confirmed that the new Snapdragon 8 Gen1 SoC would be powering the flagship Xiaomi 12 smartphone. Normally the company announces new smartphones for China first and then they eventually make their way to other markets.

Normally this would be the Xiaomi Mi 12 smartphone, but the Chinese giant is removing the "Mi" branding from the name -- similar to how Qualcomm just removed "Qualcomm" from its new Snapdragon 8 Gen1 chipset naming scheme.

OnePlus is expected to unveil a new flagship smartphone in the OnePlus 10 Pro, with some new leaked specifications to get excited over.

The new OnePlus 10 Pro smartphone will rock Qualcomm's newly-named-and-still-not-yet-announced Snapdragon 8 Gen1 SoC, along with 12GB of RAM and a 6.7-inch QHD+ display with a slick 120Hz refresh rate. Not only that, but we'll have a large 5000mAh battery and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

We should see a 48-megapixel main sensor, 50-megapixel ultrawide sensor, and 8-megapixel 3.3x telephoto sensor on the back for cameras on the OnePlus 10 Pro smartphone. For selfies, OnePlus is reportedly deploying a high-end 32-megapixel sensor for those super-sharp selfies.