OnePlus Nord 2T and Nord CE 2 Lite European pricing leaks
This Thursday OnePlus will launch three products for the global market: the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G, the OnePlus Nord Buds and the OnePlus Nord 2T. Only that last one hasn’t been unveiled yet as the CE 2 Lite and the Buds arrived in India a few weeks ago.
So far OnePlus has confirmed several details about the Nord 2T, including the Dimensity 1300 chipset and 80W fast charging. WinFuture has some unofficial details to fill in the blanks.
OnePlus Nord 2T (leaked images)
The 2T will have a 6. 43″ AMOLED panel with FHD+ resolution and 90Hz refresh rate and it will be covered with Gorilla Glass 5, according to rumors. We have already seen such a display on the Nord 2.
The main camera on the back will be based on the 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor (1/1. 56″, 1.0um), sitting behind an f/1. 8 aperture and an OIS-enabled lens. There will also be an 8MP ultra wide-angle camera (120deg) based on the IMX355 sensor, plus a 2MP depth sensor. On the front, a 16MP IMX615 (f/2.4). Selfie camera aside, this sounds a lot like the Nord 2.
The battery capacity will be 4,500mAh and the T-model is expected to have the upper hand in charge speeds with 80W SuperVOOC (up from 65W). Additional details include Wi-Fi 6 (ax), Bluetooth 5. 2 and NFC.
OnePlus Nord 2T (leaked images)
The OnePlus Nord 2T will reportedly cost EUR400, which was the launch price of the Nord 2 (it can be found for less now). The T-model comes with a new chipset, faster charging and a lower price.
The OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G should be familiar enough already. It has a 6. 59″ IPS LCD (120Hz), it is powered by a Snapdragon 695 chipset and a 5,000mAh battery (33W charging) and has a 64MP camera on the back.
OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G (leaked images)
According to the unofficial info, the Nord CE 2 Lite 5G will cost EUR300 in Europe. That matches the Nord CE 5G price, which may be a year older, but stacks up well against its younger sibling.
There’s no word on the pricing of the OnePlus Nord Buds yet.
Pixar’s Elemental characters remind fans of Fireboy and Watergirl
Pixar announced the title and release date of its next project, Elemental, on Monday. The film, which is due to be released in June 2023, depicts a world in which the classic elements of fire, water and land are the characters who live in that world. This film is a fitting fit for the studio which has made humanoid forms of emotions and souls. Fans were reminded of other favourite elemental duos from film and videogame history by the announcement and accompanying concept art.
If you think these characters look a little familiar, you might not be alone. Many fans are drawing attention to similarities between these characters and the Fireboy/Watergirl games (six in all) that Oslo Albet developed. The first of the cooperative puzzle platformers came out in 2009, and playing the classic Flash game (it’s playable on Coolmath Games) feels like traveling back in time. It’s also on Coolmath’s top ten games, at the time of writing.
Fireboy and Watergirl 1: Forest Temple has that early internet, Flash game sauce. Each level has a series of elemental puzzles that grow increasingly complex. Fireboy cannot activate or traverse red-colored items while Watergirl can. Add in levers, moving platforms, and a few other tricks, and the game grows increasingly challenging. (This is especially true if you, like me, can’t find a friend to play with and operate both the arrow keys and W.A.D. It’s like playing the piano with one hand. I digress.
Of course, the idea of elemental characters isn’t new. Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s characters bend the elements. But film and television history also includes characters that are literal representations of those elements — even if some of them have some other features. This is the Taylor Lautner film The Adventures of Sharkboy , which was released in theaters in 2005..
While Elmental makes us excited for the 2023 version, we also have a good excuse to reflect on some of these 2000 cultural masterpieces.
Eve Outdoor Cam brings HomeKit Secure Video to outdoor floodlights for the first time
Eve’s HomeKit products have been some of my favorites for many years. Between products like the Eve Water Guard and the popular Thread enabled Eve Energy, its commitment to HomeKit has made it a fan favorite for people building a smart home around HomeKit. Today, Eve brings the Eve Outdoor Cam to the market with the first-ever floodlight with HomeKit Secure Video support.
Originally announced back in January, Eve Outdoor Cam is designed with your privacy in mind. The device is built entirely from scratch so that only HomeKit authorized users have remote access to it via a Home Hub (iPad or HomePod). Video recordings stored in iCloud are fully encrypted and securely protected using Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video technology.
Video taken on private property should not be stored in the cloud or exposed to company databases,” Jerome Gackel CEO of Eve Systems. “Thanks to HomeKit Secure Video, Eve Outdoor Cam relies on your Home Hub’s on-device intelligence to deliver state-of-the-art security with maximum privacy – while bringing a stunning, all-in-one design.
The Motion Light in Eve Outdoor Cam is based on autonomous automations running on device, so it works independently of HomeKit or a Wi-Fi or internet connection. Even if HomeKit Secure Video notification or recordings have been disabled, the Motion Light can respond to all movements. With a built-in ambient light sensor, Eve Outdoor Cam can be set to illuminate the field of view only when it’s dark.
Eve Cam Technical Specs:
Apple HomeKit Secure Video with 1080p/24fps H.264 Video and 157deg field of view
Infrared night vision
Infrared motion detection: 100deg, up to 9 m/30 ft. at 2. 5 m/8. 2 ft. mounting height
Two-way communication with built-in microphone and speaker
Eve Outdoor Cam includes a 1080p/24fps H.264 camera with infrared night vision and a huge 157deg field of view in a discreet enclosure.
The outdoor Eve Cam includes a sleek body that’s protected by a matte black metal frame with rounded edges. Wall mount includes a sturdy, 3-axis hinge and a compact socket. It’s available from the Eve Online Store and Amazon, and will be coming to the Apple Store soon.
Free Xbox Game Pass games May 2022: Jurassic World Evolution 2, Skate
Twelve more games will be added to the Xbox Game Pass subscription service for the back half of May, Microsoft announced Tuesday on the Xbox Wire, Five of those games are available starting Tuesday: Sam Barlow’s Her Story, Frontier’s Jurassic World Evolution 2, EA’s Skate, Origame Digital’s Umurangi Generation, and a game preview of Sunny Side Up’s Little Witch in the Woods.
Her Story, the full-motion video mystery game, is available on Windows PC, while dinosaur management in Jurassic World Evolution 2 and standout indie photography game Umurangi Generation are available on console, cloud, and Windows PC. The special edition of Umurangi Generation originally launched in June 2021 on Nintendo Switch, and its official Xbox release day is Tuesday.
Little Witch in the Woods is coming to console and Windows PC, while Skate will be available to play via cloud gaming.
The rest of May’s lineup, which includes reverse-bullet hell chaos in Vampire Survivors, will roll out throughout the rest of the month.
Here’s the full list:
Her Story (PC) — May 17
Jurassic World Evolution 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC) — May 17
Little Witch in the Woods (Console and PC) — May 17
Skate (Cloud) — May 17
Umurangi Generation Special Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC) — May 17
Farming Simulator 22 (Cloud, Console, and PC) — May 19
Vampire Survivors (PC) — May 19
Floppy Knights (Cloud, Console, PC) — May 24
Hardspace: Shipbreaker (PC) — May 24
Sniper Elite 5 (Console and PC) — May 26
Cricket 22 (PC) — May 27
Pac-Man Museum+ (Cloud, Console, PC) — May 27
These 12 games are in addition to the ones announced in early May: Citizen Sleeper, Loot River, and others.
Seven will be leaving the subscription service when these new additions turn in. EA Sports NHL 20, Farming Simulator 19, Knockout City, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Spellforce 3: Soul Harvest, Superhot Mind Control Delete, and Yes Your Grace are leaving the Xbox Game Pass library on May 31.
e-Ink iPhone display could combine Apple quality with near-zero impact on battery life
According to a report, we might see an eInk iPhone screen in the near future. It will be used as a secondary display on a folded iPhone.
The most likely interpretation of a follow-up tweet is that Apple is testing a type of color e-ink display that offers crisper text, brighter displays, and richer colors than conventional technology …
Background
eInk, also known as ePaper displays, is best-known for its use in Amazon Kindles and other ebook readers. These displays combine the advantages of paper appearance and low power consumption.
The first generations of e-ink displays were mono – black on white, or vice-versa – but color is now supported.
The main problem with e-Ink is the slow refresh. This is acceptable for ebook usage, when you’re only going to be “turning the page” every 30 seconds or so, but not suitable for the type of dynamic usage needed for things like the primary displays of smartphones or laptops (even if one company disagrees). However, they can be suitable for secondary displays, with less dynamic content.
How might an e-Ink iPhone display be used?
Ming-Chi Kuo, an Apple analyst said that Apple is interested in folding devices. The company is expected to launch a folding iPhone at some point, which typically calls for a secondary display visible while the device is folded. Typical uses for this are to display the time, and notifications.
Existing folding smartphones use OLED for their external displays, but it would make a lot of sense to use an e-Ink one. The type of content displayed on a secondary display doesn’t change often, making the refresh rate unimportant. Typically, a user will only look at the display to quickly check the time, or to view a notification after an alert.
The big advantage of this is that the secondary display would use only a trickle of battery power, compared to even the type of low-refresh rate OLED used for the always-on feature of recent and current Apple Watches.
What e-Ink tech might Apple use?
While e-Ink and ePaper are used as generic terms for this type of display, Kuo said in a follow-up tweet that he was referring to a specific company.
— Guo Ming Qi (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) May 17, 2022
The company offers a display module branded Kaleido, and it’s likely that Apple is testing the Plus variant.
Kaleido displays offer 16 levels of grayscale and are capable of displaying 4096 colors, enable ultra low power and high mobility devices with a paper-like experience, ideal for image-rich information applications such as charts, graphs, maps, photos, comics and advertising. Kaleido displays, which are similar to E Ink’s monochrome ePaper product, can be seen in direct sunlight and display crisp text as well as detailed color graphics.
The new printing process eliminates the requirement for a CFA glass-based. This makes the displays lighter and more compact than before, but also gives them a higher optical quality […]
In [the Plus], we have made some adjustments to the printed CFA [Color Filter Array], in order to improve color balance and texture. We also brought the CFA closer the ink to decrease light scattering. The new image rendering algorithms enable crisper text. In addition, we have made adjustments to the light guides, allowing for better optimization of the LED color spectrum to minimize color blending.
It would seem that this could offer the display quality we’d expect from an Apple device, coupled to a power draw so negligible that there would be no practical impact on battery life.
This assumes that an iPhone folding is launched at some point, which isn’t a certainty.
What are your thoughts? Please let us know in the comments.
Hands-on: Ecobee unveils Smart Thermostat lineup with air quality monitoring, premium design, more
Popular smart home accessory manufacturer Ecobee today announced two new smart thermostats to its line-up. The new Smart Thermostat Premium and Smart Thermostat Enhanced offer larger 4-inch displays, a completely redesigned interface, HomeKit integration, and more.
Head below for the full details on Ecobee’s new smart thermostat lineup, with some hands-on experience and notes as well..
Smart thermostat Premium
The Smart Thermostat premium is Ecobee’s latest high-end smart thermostat. The Smart Thermostat Premium features an all-new design with a 4-inch display and a design that’s made out more premium materials. The 4-inch display features a resolution of 540 x 540, and one of the biggest changes is that the new design helps the display blend in bezels so there is less of a gap between the display and the edges of the thermostat.
While previous Ecobee thermostats were primarily made of plastic, the Smart Thermostat Premium is made out of Zinc. This gives it a more luxurious look, especially from the sides. There’s also what Ecobee describes as a “glass face and smooth waterfall edges that create a timeless look and feel.”
In terms of functionality, the new Smart Thermostat Premium sets itself apart with the integration of a built-in air quality monitor for the first time. This air quality monitor displays information about your indoor air quality, including relative humidity, estimated volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and estimated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. The Smart Thermostat Premium can display the air quality information and the Ecobee app for iOS allows you to view it.
The interface for the Smart Thermostat Premium was also redesigned in order to take full advantage of the bigger display and incorporate new data from our air quality monitor.
A more responsive display is 50% larger than previous models and boasts more colorful and vibrant resolution, while the refreshed user interface embraces ecobee’s signature squircle shape and improves ease of navigation. Larger temperature sliders make changing the temperature a breeze, and an easy-to-find menu helps users discover and engage with new features.
Finally, the Smart Thermostat Premium is fully integrated with the Apple ecosystem. HomeKit and “Hey Siri” support are available (as long as the HomePod or mini is connected to the same network), along with AirPlay support. There’s also built-in Bluetooth connectivity, Alexa support, and smoke alarm monitoring as well.
SmartThermostat Enhanced
A more affordable alternative to the Smart Thermostat Premium is Ecobee’s new Smart Thermostat Enhanced (Enhanced is < Premium, apparently).The Smart Thermostat Enhanced packs many of the same upgrades as the Smart Thermostat Premium, including the larger 4-inch display, redesigned interface, and even the built-in air quality monitor.
The Smart Thermostat enhanced’s body is constructed from white plastic, which is the same material used in previous Ecobee models. This means you miss out on the sleek new zinc finish offered by the Smart Thermostat Premium.
The Smart Thermostat has HomeKit integration but does not include a speaker or microphone to support Siri, AirPlay Spotify or Bluetooth. You also miss smoke alarm detection capabilities. These features are only available on the Smart Thermostat Premium. It has the hardware necessary to run them.
Other than these limitations, there is one difference between Ecobee’s new thermostats. The Smart Thermostat Premium comes with a separate Ecobee Smart Sensor, while the Smart Thermostat Premium requires you to purchase one to use in conjunction.
9to5Mac’s Take
I’ve been testing the new Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium for the past several weeks, and it’s a really, really nice upgrade compared to the Smart Thermostat with Voice Control that I reviewed back in 2019. I think the most notable change is the larger and more luxurious display. The Smart Thermostat Premium Premium is instantly noticeable when you open the box.
If you read my review of the Smart Thermostat with Voice Control from 2019, one of my biggest (and one of my only) complaints was the plastic, white design. These concerns were addressed by the Smart Thermostat Premium’s new zinc design and larger display.
The built-in monitor for air quality is also a great addition. Although other companies provide standalone solutions for smart air quality monitoring, the thermostat has this functionality. Although I wish the Air Quality Data could be accessed via HomeKit (which it is), the Ecobee app as well as the thermostat are the best places to see the data.
As far as installation goes, Ecobee’s guided process is as good as it’s ever been. I had no issues swapping out my Smart Thermostat with Voice Control and replacing it with the new Smart Thermostat Premium, although you do have to make sure to use the updated mounting bracket included with new model.
As always, scheduling and automation are the real power of ecobee smart thermostats like these. With cross platform support for HomeKit, Alexa, the Ecobee app, and Google Assistant, Ecobee’s smart thermostats give you a number of different options in this area.
I’ll have more details in a full review soon, but the new Smart Thermostat Premium is a continuation of Ecobee’s excellent HomeKit-compatible smart thermostat lineup. With wide support for HomeKit, AirPlay, and more, both the Smart Thermostat Premium and Smart Thermostat Enhanced are perfect additions to the Apple ecosystem.
The Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium is available to purchase starting today for $249. 99, while the Smart Thermostat Enhanced is available for $189.99.
Kuo: Apple testing E Ink cover display for foldables
Noted Apple analyst MingChi Kuo says Cupertino has begun testing an E Ink covering display for the foldable device. The new report comes following last week’s rumor of Apple testing folding panels for its future iPhone and iPad which are expected to arrive around 2025.
E Ink’s Advanced Color ePaper display
Taiwan’s E Ink Corporation is one of the biggest electronic ink display makers and is the key supplier for Amazon’s Kindle range. The company also makes color e-ink panels which are the type Apple is allegedly interested in. The big advantage of e-ink panels over traditional OLED and LCD ones is their low power consumption while the main drawback is the slow refresh rate as we recently examined first-hand in our Huawei MatePad Paper review.
Companies like E Ink are working to develop new types and sizes of e-ink displays, including rollable and foldable panels. We will be seeing some exciting developments. This technology will hopefully be widely adopted by smartphones manufacturers soon.
Apple unveils new accessibility features coming this year: Door Detection, Live Captions, Apple Watch Mirroring, more
In honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Apple is previewing a number of new accessibility features coming to iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac later this year. These new features, according to Apple, will allow users with disabilities “navigate and connect” in a more accessible way.
Door Detection
The new feature called Door Detection can be used to help you locate a door when you arrive at a new location. Door Detection allows users to determine how close they are to a particular door, and can also describe the attributes of that door such as whether it is open or closed. The feature will inform users if the door is locked.
Door detection can read symbols and signs around doors, including room numbers or “presence” of an accessible entry symbol. Door Detection works by using a combination LiDAR and your iPhone’s or iPad’s camera as well as machine learning.
Apple Watch Mirroring and Quick Actions
Apple Watch users have announced the new Mirroring feature for their Apple Watch. This feature is designed to make Apple Watch more accessible for those with motor and physical disabilities.
Apple explains that Apple Watch Mirroring allows users to control Apple Watch using iPhone’s assistive features like Voice Control and Switch Control, and use inputs including voice commands, sound actions, head tracking, or external Made for iPhone switches as alternatives to tapping the Apple Watch display.
Apple Watch Mirroring combines hardware and software capabilities including AirPlay “advances,” which allow users to access features such as Blood Oxygen and Heart Rate from their Apple Watch.
Quick Actions is another new feature coming to Apple Watch:
With new Quick Actions on Apple Watch, a double-pinch gesture can answer or end a phone call, dismiss a notification, take a photo, play or pause media in the Now Playing app, and start, pause, or resume a workout. The new technology in AssistiveTouch, Apple Watch’s innovative tech that allows users with upper body differences to use gestures such as a pinch and a clench to control Apple Watch without touching the screen, is now available.
Live Captions
For the Deaf and hard of hearing community, Apple has announced Live Captions for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. These feature works by captioning audio content in real-time, including FaceTime calls, any other social media or video app, streaming media content, or even “having a conversation with someone next to them.”
Apple says:
Live Captions in FaceTime attribute auto-transcribed dialogue to call participants, so group video calls become even more convenient for users with hearing disabilities. For calls made on Mac using Live Captions, the user can type in a reply and have it read aloud to other participants. Because Live Captions are created on the device, users’ information is kept private and secured.
More
Another new accessibility feature announced today by Apple is
VoiceOver, Apple’s industry-leading screen reader for blind and low vision users, is adding support for more than 20 additional locales and languages, including Bengali, Bulgarian, Catalan, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
With Buddy Controller, users can ask a care provider or friend to help them play a game; Buddy Controller combines any two game controllers into one, so multiple controllers can drive the input for a single player.
With Siri Pause Time, users with speech disabilities can adjust how long Siri waits before responding to a request.
Voice Control Spelling Mode gives users the option to dictate custom spellings using letter-by-letter input. 5
Sound Recognition can be customized to recognize sounds that are specific to a person’s environment, like their home’s unique alarm, doorbell, or appliances.
The Apple Books app will offer new themes, and introduce customization options such as bolding text and adjusting line, character, and word spacing for an even more accessible reading experience.
These features are coming in software updates later this year, Apple says. You can learn more in the company’s full press release.
The Huawei P50 Pro can gain 5G connectivity via a special case with an eSIM
International politics have cut Huawei off from suppliers of 5G tech, which has forced the company to release its flagships as 4G-only devices. A workaround has been discovered – a case with a built-in 5G modem can add next-gen connectivity to the phones. Of course, the case is not made by Huawei itself, it is manufactured by Soyealink.
Right now only the Huawei P50 Pro is supported. However, if this solution proves popular enough, the company will likely create cases for other Huawei phones. The case will be available soon at a price of CNY 800 ($120/€115/₹9,200).
5G case for the Huawei P50 Pro (made by Soyealink)
How does this work? The case has an eSIM to go with the 5G modem (sub-6GHz, NSA+SA) and a basic dual-core 1.35GHz CPU to run things. However, everything (including the eSIM setup) is controlled from the phone. There is even a signal strength indicator that appears on the status bar, so it all feels like it’s the phone itself that is connected to 5G seamlessly.
The case measures around 3.2mm thick and weighs 52g. The exterior is made out of polyurethane with a leather-like texture. Right now there is only one color, a light gray.
The case communicates with (and is powered by) the phone over USB. The case’s own USB-C port can be used for charging – including SuperCharge support – and data transfer (USB 2.0 speeds).
You can have a closer look at the 5G case at the official Soyealink site. It’s not clear if this will be available abroad, even though the Huawei P50 Pro is available in Europe.
Your online behavior and location are shared with advertisers 747 times a day – report
Ad tech companies share your online behavior and location with advertisers an average of 747 times a day in the US, and 376 times a day in Europe, according to a report by a civil liberties group. It describes the practice as the biggest privacy breach in the world.
The report says Google is the biggest offender, using a process called real-time bidding (RTB) to let advertisers target internet users by browsing behavior and locations …
TechCrunch cites a report compiled by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL).
Google and other key players in the high velocity, surveillance-based ad auction system are processing and passing people’s data billions of times per day.
“RTB is the biggest data breach ever recorded,” argues the ICCL. “It tracks and shares what people view online and their real-world location 294 billion times in the U.S. and 197 billion times in Europe every day.”
What is real-time bidding?
When you see an ad on a website, that ad may have been automatically booked just milliseconds before you see it.
The way this works is supposed to be innocuous. Let’s say you visit a website about things to see in Boston, and Google has the contract to sell ad space on that site. The fact that you visited the site means Google knows you’re interested in visiting Boston. Your IP address can also be used to determine your general location. So Google’s automated ad-selling software can announce, “We have 100,000 people from the West Coast of the US who are interested in visiting Boston – how much will you pay to display an ad to them?”
Advertisers interested in this audience will already have entered details into Google’s ad-sales system, stating the amount they are willing to pay for ads to various target groups. Google finds the company with the highest stated amount and then displays their ad.
What’s the privacy problem?
Although advertisers don’t know your identity, ad tech companies can gather information from your browser that reveal much more than your location and the specific website you are visiting.
As the Financial Times reported back in 2019, privacy regulators have expressed concerns that cookies are used to collect data on a whole range of websites visited by people, and that this can be used to create a detailed profile – which may be illegal in some countries.
To gather more data, companies often send browser data to third parties for data enrichment, to be able to build a profile of a person’s potential value to advertisers […]
“The scale of the creation and sharing of personal data profiles in [real-time bidding] appears disproportionate, intrusive and unfair, particularly when in many cases data subjects are unaware that this processing is taking place,” the report said.
Specifically, the report found that companies were illegally collecting and bartering in special category data, which requires the explicit consent of the data subject. This could include a person’s race, sexuality, health status or political opinions.
Although the data is not tied to a specific identity – that is, nobody involved knows your name – it can be tied to a profile representing an individual.
Who shares details of your online behavior and location?
The ICCL says that Google makes the greatest use of RTB, and Microsoft is another large player. The organization wasn’t able to measure RTB usage by Facebook and Amazon.
The report’s figures are likely a conservative estimate of the full extent of RTB since the ICCL includes the caveat that: “[T]he figures presented for RTB broadcasts as a low estimate. The industry figures on which we rely do not include Facebook or Amazon RTB broadcasts.”
Per the report, Google, the biggest player in the RTB system, allows 4,698 companies to receive RTB data about people in the U.S., while Microsoft — which ramped up its involvement in RTB in December last year when it bought adtech firm Xandr from AT&T — says it may send data to 1,647 companies.
If you want to see the breakdowns by US state, and European country, you can do so in the report.