Mobile Devices - Page 62

Apple's new iPad Pro 2020 could feature a big improvement that would better align the new tablet against Samsung's Galaxy Note 10 range of smartphones -- as well as the recently-teased Galaxy Note 20 range of smartphones.

The big upgrade would come from the new Apple Pencil stylus for the new iPad Pro, where according to a patent discovered by AppleInsider, would pack haptic feedback, as well as the ability to detect how hard you're gripping the Pencil.

Not only that, but the upgraded Apple Pencil with its gripping detection would also usher in a new notification mode, where it would 'press' against your finger to 'poke' you. This is a cool touch, something I can definitely see being useful -- but seriously, how many people would need to have their Pencil 'poking' them to receive a notification. Weird flex Apple, but OK.

So, last night I'm chilling out watching the third season of The Handmaid's Tale (which is really great, I suggest you check it out) when my Samsung Galaxy Fold received a new notification to its Find My Mobile service. I crapped my pants quickly, as it simply said '1' but I ignored it.

But then I checked my Galaxy Note 10+ smartphone and it too said '1' and the same notification had popped up, so the poop in my pants got heavier. I waited 30-40 minutes and checked Twitter to discover that plenty of other people received the same notification, and then Samsung addressed it.

Samsung said that the notifications popped up on Galaxy smartphone users handsets after an internal test that went haywire, with the company taking to its official UK support account on Twitter to say the mistake "sent unintentionally during an internal test". Oops.

Samsung just finished launching its new Galaxy S20 range of smartphones, and while we've already been teased with the Galaxy Note 20 -- and again with a Galaxy Note 20 patent and its waterfall display teased, now we have some delicious new renders to share.

But now we have some renders of not just Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Note 20 -- but rather, the Galaxy Note 20, the Galaxy Note 20+, and the flagship Galaxy Note 20 Ultra smartphones. Considering that Samsung bakes in a gigantic 6.9-inch 120Hz display on the Galaxy S20 Ultra, I don't know how things could get any bigger at this point -- but that's what makes the Note series of phones awesome: gigantic displays.

WindowsUnited worked with YouTuber 'WazarKhanHD' on some gorgeous new concept renders, on how they think Samsung will design the new Galaxy Note 20 family of smartphones. At surface level, the new Galaxy Note 20 looks identical to the current Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ but when you turn it to the back you'll see they've used the rectangular-shaped camera array that Samsung baked into the Galaxy S20 family of smartphones.

Samsung just finished launching its new Galaxy S20 family of smartphones as well as the new foldable Galaxy Z Flip, but work is already under way on the new Galaxy Note 20 smartphone.

According to a new patent that Samsung was recently granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office, the new Galaxy Note 20 will rock what should be a truly gorgeous ultra-curved waterfall display.

Samsung's current flagship smartphones feature buttons that come through the metal side edge -- whereas the Galaxy Note 20 here in these patents would see the physical buttons coming out of the side glass edge. Nifty. We should expect to see more and more on the Galaxy Note 20 as the months pass, but this is an exciting tease.

Google released the first Developer Preview for Android 11 earlier than usual, but with that earlier release it means the company has additional time for tweaks inside of Android 11 before its big release in Q3 2020.

According to Google, we'll have a new pre-release version of Android 11 each and every month between now, and July. The initial preview release will be followed up by another couple of Developer Previews before the Beta releases in May and June, heading into the Final release in July -- but before that, Android 11 will be teased with the Pixel 5 smartphones at Google I/O 2020 in May.

The Developer Previews of Android 11 are not meant for regular phone users or even enthusiasts, and more so for developers so they can get their apps ready for Android 11 before it releases. Regular users will be able to use the Beta releases on their Pixel smartphones (except for the first-gen Pixel) when it drops in May 2020.

We've now hearing more and more about Google's new Pixel 5 smartphones, and thanks to the first Android 11 Developer Preview for Pixel devices, we might see the new Pixel 5 handsets featuring reverse wireless charging functionality.

Google released the very first Android 11 Developer Preview for Pixel devices, something that doesn't work on the original first-gen Pixel smartphones, where XDA Developers noticed in the Android 11 system dump for the Pixel 4 that Google talks about a new "Battery Share" feature.

This suggests Google is cooking up a new Battery Share function directly into Android 11, and thus for the next-gen Pixel 5 and Pixel 5 XL smartphones. Google's Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 4, and Pixel 4 XL all support Qi wireless charging -- but none of them support reverse charging at all.

Oppo was meant to unveil its new Find X2 smartphone during MWC 2020, but when the conference was canceled -- those plans changed, too.

But now, a bunch of leaks have teased the internal specifications of the Oppo Find X2 leading into today where a Vietnamese e-commerce website has "accidentally" leaked the entire specifications sheet for the smartphone. We now have some 'confirmed' specs to share and they are not too shabby at all.

First off, Oppo will be using Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 865 processor in its new Find X2, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Oppo will be offering up a higher-end model of the Find X2 with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, while we'll have a 48-megapixel rear-facing camera backed up by a 13-megapixel and 8-megapixel sensors.

Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon X60 modem today, with Samsung winning the contract to manufacture the new X60 modem on its 5nm node.

Samsung will make the new Snapdragon X60 modem on its 5nm node according to Reuters, after early reports suggested that TSMC would handle the entire load for Qualcomm. Reuters reports that Samsung will fabricate "at least some of Qualcomm's X60 modem chips".

Samsung has quickly become the world's second-biggest chip manufacturing business in the world, making chips for companies like NVIDIA and IBM -- as well as itself, obviously. Samsung manufacturing Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X60 is an important step for the South Korean giant, especially in the tech-fueled race towards 5G dominance going forward.

So, Google has just kinda spoiled its Pixel 5 unveiling party -- by confirming it in public, kinda. Google's next-gen Pixel 5 smartphone has appeared on the Android Open Source Project, or AOSP.

9to5Google reports that there's "potential confirmation from AOSP code comments that Google's next mainline Pixel phone will, unsurprisingly, bear the name "Pixel 5." The confirmation comes from a new code change for Android's Linux kernel, which the AOSP developer explains has only been tested on the Pixel 4 and not the Pixel 5".

Since the story went live, theree has been some sneaky last-minute code changes which has replaced "on a Pixel 5 with 4.19" with "on an arm64 device with 4.19". Too late though, Google... too late. We should expect Google to unveil its next-gen Pixel 5 and Pixel 5 XL smartphones at its annual Google I/O developer conference in June, just after Computex 2020.

Qualcomm has just unveiled its new Snapdragon X60 modem, built on the new and super small 5nm node, the new 5G modem won't make it into smartphones until sometime in 2021.

The new Qualcomm Snapdragon X60 5G modem-RF System sees customers like Apple for example, buying its X60 modem alongside the separate RF antenna in a single package. Qualcomm is offering its mmWave Module separate to the Sub-6GHz, with both of them finding a new home inside of the Qualcomm SDX60 chip.

Qualcomm is offering up in the realms of up to 7.5Gbps download speeds, while upload speeds tap out at 3Gbps -- this is no better than the current Snapdragon X55 modem. Where the new Snapdragon X60 steps up to the plate is that it is built on the smaller, more efficient 5nm node -- hinting that its next-gen SoC will be built on the 5nm node -- something that should be unveiled at its annual Snapdragon Tech Summit in December 2020.

Samsung has the most upgrades inside of a Galaxy series yet with its new Galaxy S20 family of smartphones, but Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo isn't happy enough with that -- saying that he expects Samsung to sell around 32 million units in 2020.

Kuo adds that there's "a lack of significant innovation in user experience" for Samsung's new Galaxy S20 family of smartphones, which really knocked me off my feet to read. I feel like there is more innovation in this one series jump from the Galaxy S10 to the Galaxy S20 than many generations of iPhones.

The sales estimates of 32 million units is lower than the 36-38 million units that Samsung sold with the Galaxy S10 models, with Kuo underlining the "lack of significant innovation" for that. Another dent in the Galaxy S20 sales is reportedly going to come from the price cuts in Samsung's current-gen Galaxy S10 family of smartphones, which is still very competitive.

Now that Samsung's new Galaxy S20 family of smartphones have been revealed, the folks at DisplayMate have got their grubby mits on it for some display testing. Their findings? The flagship Galaxy S20 Ultra has the best smartphone display ever made.

Samsung gets massive praise for the OLED display stealing the show on the flagship Galaxy S20 Ultra, with the 6.9-inch OLED display and its native 3200 x 1440 resolution panel rocking 510 PPI and a gloriously smooth 120Hz refresh rate. DisplayMate said the Galaxy S20 Ultra broke 12 test records, smashing highest peak brightness, highest contrast ratio, and lowest screen reflectance.

DisplayMate saw throughout its testing of the Galaxy S20 Ultra setting a new record for Very High Absolute Color Accuracy, Very High Contrast Accuracy and Intensity Scale Accuracy, Peak Luminance that is Independent of the on-screen Image Content, Color Accuracy and Intensity Scales that are Independent of the Image Content, Natural DCI-P3 Screen Mode, Natural sRGB Screen Mode, and High Brightness Mode.

TCL is working on an exciting new smartphone that would be very different to Samsung's two foldable phones in the just-released Galaxy Z Flip and their first foldable in the Galaxy Fold as well as Motorola's new Razr -- a new smartphone with an extendable display.

CNET has the scoop that the new concept smartphone in its non-extended form looks like an ordinary smartphone, but then the display can be pulled out and it is more the size of a tablet. CNET's "trusted source" says that "this expandable phone is a device journalists would have seen at Mobile World Congress this month", which was canceled over coronavirus fears.

How would the TCL concept smartphone 'extend' exactly is not detailed here in the photos, but the slide-out display could bend or wrap around the back of the phone, making it thicker than a normal smartphone. But doesn't that just make it a foldable display rather than an 'extendable' display? Where does the extended screen find a home when it's not extended? Questions that need answers, people.

Samsung has only launched its new Galaxy S20 family of smartphones as well as its second foldable smartphone in the new Galaxy Z Flip, but the South Korean giant is hard at work on a successor to the Galaxy Fold -- codenamed Champ.

XDA Developers' Max Weinbach is back again with some leaks on the new Galaxy Fold 2 (which I'm presuming he accidentally referred to it as the Galaxy Z Fold 2 here). He tweeted that Samsung would use an under-display camera on the Galaxy Fold 2, which would also rock an enormous 7.7-inch Infinity Flex Display compared to the original Galaxy Fold and its 7.3-inch display.

In another tweet, Weinbach teases that the Galaxy Fold 2 would have a front cover 'Infinity V' display, with a surprise mention of a 'new form' of S-Pen, with the Galaxy S20+ camera setup, ceramic and stainless steel options as well as color options in Blue, Silver, Gold, Pink, and Black.

Qualcomm unveiled its Snapdragon 855 processor in late 2018, refreshing it in mid-2019 with the Snapdragon 855+ processor and then the company unveiled its new flagship Snapdragon 865 in December 2019 and now rumors of the suped-up Snapdragon 865+ are already surfacing.

ASUS was one of the first to use the faster Snapdragon 855+ processor in its ROG Phone II smartphone, which was an overclocked Snapdragon 855 with 15% more performance from its Adreno 640 GPU that helped drive up to 90FPS on the ASUS ROG Phone II gaming smartphone.

What should we expect from Qualcomm's upgraded Snapdragon 865+ processor should be very similar -- even more performance from an already kick ass processor. We've already seen 120Hz capable smartphones revealed, with a recent boost in 120Hz capable phones in Samsung's new Galaxy S20 range of handsets -- but I'm sure we'll see ASUS reveal its ROG Phone III and Razer with its gaming-focused Phone III later this year both rocking the Snapdragon 865+ processor that is tailor made for high refresh rate gaming smartphones.

Samsung detailed and released its new Galaxy Z Flip smartphone during its recent Unpacked 2020 event, where it also unveiled its family of Galaxy S20 smartphones which will drop on March 6. Read more on Samsung's new Galaxy S20 smartphones here. As for the Galaxy Z Flip... JerryRigEverything does what he does best -- tears it apart.

In the video above, he performs an awesome but cringe-infused durability test of the Galaxy Z Flip with a concentration on Samsung's touted 'Ultra Thin Glass'. JerryRigEverything discovers that it isn't in fact glass, and seems like a layer of plastic as it even takes scratches on with his fingernails -- and that's not a good sign for an expensive foldable smartphone.

JerryRigEverything takes fire to it, razors, and dirt -- where it is actually pretty damn durable. As for the foldable screen, he notes during the video that the screen is "in no way scratch resistant whatsoever". If you've watched any of his videos before, you'll cringe as much as I did where I squinted my eyes in pain watching a brand new Galaxy Z Flip being torture tested. But man, do I love his videos.

If there's something we all need in our crazy mobile-obsessed lives, it's super-fast and super-gigantic powerbanks. Well, now we have the interesting new Flash: the world's most powerful 150W USB-C powerbank.

The new Flash powerbank is a total beast of a powerbank with 20,000 mAh of new graphene-based batteries with a single USB-C Power Delivery 3.0 port that is backed up by 2 x USB-A ports that can charge other devices, on top of it doubling as a wireless charging pad. It is the most powerful USB-C 100W Power Delivery 3.0 charger in a single battery pack, with Flash saying the competition "struggles to even reach 60W".

There's also an 18W USB-A Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 port, as well as a specially designed USB-A port that is compatible with Huawei, OPPO, OnePlus and Vivo's proprietary fast-charging technology. The battery pack can also keep your wireless charging devices happy with 10W wireless charging and it supports 2.5W Apple Watch charging, too. It truly is a powerhouse powerbank, with everything you need to charge every device you can buy.

We can expect OnePlus to launch its 2020 flagship smartphone this year, with the new OnePlus 8 teased in a new Geekbench listing packing Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 865 processor.

OnePlus 8 finds itself in the Geekbench listing with just 8GB of RAM which is strange in a now 8/12/16GB of RAM smartphone world with Samsung's just-announced Galaxy S20 range of smartphones. However, the new OnePlus 8 smartphone did pack Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 865 processor which packs 5G connectivity and industry-leading performance.

We could see a few different models with the model we're seeing on Geekbench 'IN2023' with 8GB of RAM, while a higher-end OnePlus 8 like a T or Pro model, could pack 12-16GB of RAM. We should see whether this happens in the coming months as OnePlus unleashes their new 2020 smarpthones.

Now that Samsung's new Galaxy S20 family of smartphones is here, we're finding out what you do, and do not get in the box with your shiny new flagship smartphone.

Samsung will NOT be including the super-fast 45W charger in the box for its flagship Galaxy S20 Ultra smartphones -- something that one would think would be included in the box. Instead, you'll get the slightly slower 25W fast charger in the box with the 45W charger being an optional accessory that, yep -- you guessed it, you'll have to pay for.

This is no different to Samsung's other flagship Galaxy Note 10+ that supports 45W charging, but includes the 25W charger in the box and sees the 45W charger as another optional accessory. But after spending $1400 on a new Galaxy S20 Ultra, you'd hope that Samsung would be nice enough to give you all of the bells and whistles... I guess not.

Samsung ships each one of its new Galaxy S20 smartphones with a gloriously smooth 120Hz display, with the new Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra packing Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O displays.

But one thing Samsung wasn't too clear on was the native resolutions of the displays, and what you'll get out of the box. Out of the box Samsung is configuring the Galaxy S20 family of smartphones with its native 3200 x 1440 resolution -- but at 60Hz. If you want that slick 120Hz goodness you'll need to drop down to 2400 x 1080.

Not only that, but Samsung has bumped up the touch response on the Galaxy S20/S20+/S20 Ultra to a much higher 240Hz. This means you'll feel the phone feeling faster, as well as it being at a much faster 120Hz refresh rate.