Month: March 2022

Today’s a good day for owners of Google’s latest smartwatches. The company has finally started the rollout of the latest update to the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Two weeks ago was the announcement of March’s feature drop for Pixels that are still supported. Since then, updates to other Pixels have been rolling out all the time.

Now, the latest and greatest will be available to everyone. The release will hopefully address a Wi-Fi reception problem that was discovered two months ago, as well as other issues. This is thus a pretty big update for the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro and if you have either phone it’s probably best not to postpone its download and installation once you receive the notification that it’s available for your device.

This being Google though, that notification may take (many) days, or even weeks to arrive on all handsets. Once you do get the new build, if you’re in the US you’ll be excited to know that both new Pixels now get access to Verizon’s 5G C-Band network, thus having “access to the full power of 5G Ultra Wideband”. As such these Pixels are the first non-Apple, non-Samsung devices to support that band.

If you are able to handle a manual installation, OTA ZIPs , and factory have been uploaded to Google. However, if you’re not sure what that means, you should wait for the rollout over-the air.

Via

Looks like OnePlus is getting ready to be Oppo by another name, massively expanding its product portfolio this year following the successful merger with its sister company. We should not be surprised if there are more smartwatches this year.

According to a new rumor, OnePlus will unveil six new products before the end September according to a reliable source. That’s a lot more than ever before. Let’s get started.

Okay, so the first one coming isn’t technically a new handset, it’s the OnePlus 10 Pro finally getting its international launch, and that should apparently happen before the end of this month.

Then, in April, the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite will become official following many weeks of leaks, rumors, and speculation. At the end of April, or in early May, the OnePlus Nord 2T will make its appearance, while in May the OnePlus 10R will be announced too.

In July the OnePlus Nord 3 is set to become official, and this one may also be called Nord Pro – either everywhere or just in some markets. Finally for this leaked roadmap, we have the OnePlus 10 Ultra (alternative name: OnePlus 10 Pro Plus), which should be unveiled in September.

All of this will require a lot more work to keep software current and free from bugs. Let’s all hope that OnePlus can do it better than in the past.

Source

OnePlus is rumored to expand its Nord series into the wearables realm with a pair of Nord-branded wireless earbuds and we now get our first bit of info of a possible Nord smartwatch also in the works too. According to a new report, a OnePlus Nord smartwatch will launch in India in the coming months with a sub INR 10,000 ($130) price tag.

The Nord-branded smartwatch is expected to offer most of the key specs found on the OnePlus Watch including a color touchscreen, heart rate and blood oxygen sensors as well as activity and sleep tracking. The report also suggests the usual set of Bluetooth features including push notifications and media controls via a paired smartphone.

OnePlus Watch

There’s still no info on how the Nord watch will look but we’ll be on the lookout for more info and will make sure to update you accordingly.

Source

Samsung is distributing its One UI 4 software based on Android 12 to two of its tablets – the Galaxy Tab S6 and the Tab S6 Lite. The former is getting the update in Germany first while the latter is being updated in France. The Galaxy A52 5G is also receiving an OTA update containing One UI 4.1.

Interestingly, the vanilla Tab S6 comes with February 2022 security patch and a firmware number T865XXU5DVC3 while the Lite version is getting the latest March 2022 security patch with the P615XXU4EVC5 firmware.

The Galaxy A52 5G, on the other hand, was bumped up to One UI 4 based on Android 12 back in January and about two months later, the device is getting the 4.1 version of the skin. The update is available in Europe only for now.

In a typical Samsung fashion, the update is being rolled out gradually to select markets so it won’t take long before it arrives to your device. Once updated, you will be greeted with brand new UI and a couple of cool new features.

Via 1 • Via 2

Hot on the heels of last week’s Redmi 10 launch comes a new version dubbed Redmi 10C which was announced in Malaysia. The phone bears plenty of resemblance to its vanilla counterpart but packs a larger screen and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 instead of the MediaTek Helio G88 chipset.

Redmi 10C packs a 6. 7-inch IPS LCD with HD+ resolution and a waterdrop notch for its 5MP selfie cam. The back comes with the same 50MP main cam and 2MP depth helper as the Redmi 10. You still get a 5,000 mAh battery with 18W charging support and MIUI 13 based on Android 11 covering the software side. Redmi 10C comes with 4GB RAM as standard and 64 or 128GB of internal storage. You also get an SD card slot as well as a headphone jack.

Redmi 10C key specs

Redmi 10C will be available in Graphite Gray, Mint Green and Ocean Blue colors. Details about pricing and availability are still not known.

Google seeded the Android 13 developer preview 2 last week and we now see the new features of the beta being unearthed one by one.

Starting with the newly designed media controls. Their widgets are now larger than before, and they’re still in the same place as quick settings or notifications. The track’s title and description can fit inside.

The media output picker has been redesigned as well, in keeping with Android 13’s design language. There’s also the option to pair a new device right from this menu.

New playback controls and output picker

Android 13 will give users new wallpaper effects. Called Cinematic Wallpaper in the developer preview, it will allow users to apply effects to their wallpaper. It is now clear what effects there will be, but the images below show you’ll be able to dim your wallpaper. Some variants of Android already allow this, like Samsung’s OneUI and Xiaomi’s MIUI.

Wallpaper dimming

Finally, the Foreground Services task manager will sit at the bottom of the quick settings and notification panel and display currently-running apps in the foreground. This will allow you to see which apps are running at the moment and also stop them.

FGS will notify you if an app has been running for more than 20 hours.

Closing an app through the FGS task manager will be more like force closing it, instead of just swiping it away from the recent apps menu. Here’s a detailed comparison of which action does what.

Source 1 | 2 | Via

Apple’s new Studio Display is more than it appears – it has an Apple A13 chipset (iPhone 11), 64 GB of storage and runs the latest iOS 15.4. Apparently, only 2 GB of the internal storage are currently in use, so there is plenty of room for new features.

Storage details for the Apple Studio Display, courtesy of Khaos Tian

What is it that the Studio Display does that needs a fairly powerful smartphone chipset? It currently implements Center Stage to the integrated webcam. The original launch of this feature was on the iPad. This feature tracks one or more individuals and ensures they remain in the center of the frame when video calls are being made. It can even detect if someone moves around.

The camera is reportedly suffering from some teething issues, but those may be fixed in software – the Apple A13 has a capable ISP after all. That camera has an ultra wide lens (122deg) and a 12 MP sensor, by the way, so it’s already much better than a typical laptop webcam.

Interestingly, the second generation Apple TV 4K is powered by an Apple A12 chipset, so the Studio Display is actually more powerful than it. Apple could theoretically make the display work with an Apple TV, however, it is not clear if Apple would like to. The limiting factor may be that it is not known what type of connectivity the display has.

Source | Via

The Apple iPhone SE (2022) got an average 5.5 our of 10 repairability score from PBKreviews in their disassembly video.

It’s a pretty standard affair of prying open a modern smartphone – heating up the frame so that the screen adhesive loosens, prying out the screen, and then removing screws and connectors. But if you thought the latest SE can get some of its parts from the identical-looking iPhone SE from 2020, you’d be mistaken.

The display, which is the same in both size, resolution, and connectors, turns on but doesn’t operate normally – touch input is non-functioning. The battery from the old phone would fit, but the connector is wrong.

Here’s the video.