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TikTok-owner Bytedance reveals its first smartphone
The rumored smartphone by TikTok's owner ByteDance is now available. The Nut Jianguo Pro 3 is ByteDance's first smartphone. It's a continuation of work by the Chinese phone maker Smartisan (which partially explains the name), and it's being released under the Smartisan brand.
TCL’s tri-fold prototype phone folds in thirds like an accordion
Now that we have phones that fold in half, companies are starting to imagine phones that fold in thirds. In January, Xiaomi teased a concept phone that folds on both sides. This week, CNET got its hands on another concept by TCL. This one starts as a ten-inch tablet and has dual hinges that fold in opposite directions like an accordion.
Supreme’s burner phone is a hypebeast’s dream
Here's a few things to know about trying to score Supreme products during its weekly drop: I had to wait in line for about two hours, on a cold and windy day in NYC, just to get inside the brand's Brooklyn store. But to even make it that far, you have to first try and register online to get an invite to the shop in the first place. Typically, Supreme releases happen on Thursdays and store registration on Tuesdays, though they close out in minutes. I've gone through all of this many times before, but today I was there to pick up the "Supreme Blu Burner Phone," a low-end device that's made for hypebeasts.
Apple’s new iPhones can better manage your battery as it ages
In 2017, iPhone users discovered a software-based power throttling feature that was meant to prevent random shutdowns as the phone's battery aged. Apple's lack of clarity around the program turned what was meant to be a helpful failsafe into a debacle. As 9to5Mac has discovered, the company is now putting details about their new, always-on power optimization system for the iPhone 11 series out in the open.
Watch ASUS' IFA 2019 event in under 10 minutes
ASUS hosted its IFA 2019 press event at 7AM ET this morning. We don't blame you if you were still sleeping, or on your way to work, and missed it. Lucky for you we were on the ground in Berlin and we've condensed the whole thing down to just under 10 minutes so you can catch up quickly. The company announced a new smart watch, expanded availability for its high-end ROG Phone II gaming phone, powerful new laptops for creative pros (including the first to harness NVIDIA's Quadro RTX 6000 graphics), displays and a whole lot more. Now it's time to get caught up while your boss is out for coffee.
Microsoft's 'Your Phone' screen mirroring app is down
Microsoft's Your Phone feature has been down for most of the day. When it's working, the new app lets users mirror their Android device's screen on a Windows 10 PC. But the app has been struggling to connect since early this morning. "We've identified a potential issue within infrastructure responsible for processing service traffic," Microsoft's service outage page says. "We're taking corrective action and we'll closely monitor the service to ensure recovery."
ASUS' camera-flipping ZenFone 6 goes on sale in the US
ASUS' ZenFone 6 is now available in the US, a few months after the phone went on sale in Europe. The device starts at a fairly competitive $499.99 and you can pick it up from the ASUS Store, Amazon, B&H and Mobile Advance.
Oppo eliminates side bezels with its 'waterfall screen'
It's only been a year since Vivo and Oppo kicked off the all-screen, notch-less smartphone race, and now, the latter is literally pushing the boundaries with a new type of curved display. Earlier today, Oppo showed off a prototype device packing a "waterfall screen," which features an aggressive 88-degree fold on both the left and right sides. When viewed directly from the front, the bezels are practically invisible, which gives the device an even more premium look than today's curved-screen phones -- namely Oppo's very own Find X.
ASUS' ROG Phone II combines high-spec power with accessory spectacle (updated)
Gaming phones are a rare breed, and the nascent category has already proved to be too much of a challenge for Razer. Some companies still see it as an opportunity to tap into the ever-growing esports market, however. Devices land with gimmicks like detachable controllers on Xiaomi's Black Shark 2, or a built-in cooling fan on the Nubia Red Magic 3. Neither could top last year's ASUS ROG Phone though when it comes to accessories: It offered a clip-on fan, a WiGig screen-casting dock, a clamp-on controller pad, a mobile desktop dock and a bizarre dual-screen dock. ASUS never shared sales figures for the ROG Phone, but it must have done well enough to warrant a sequel packed with many upgrades. The ROG Phone II is the world's first smartphone with a 120Hz AMOLED display, and it's also the first to feature the more powerful Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset. Another first here is the integration of two vibration motors, just, it hopes. to make gaming a tad more immersive.
Google's CallJoy is an AI phone operator for small businesses
Around a year ago, Google unveiled Duplex, an AI-powered feature that can call businesses and book appointments for you. Ahead of this year's I/O, Google revealed the other half of the equation, a virtual customer service agent that can automatically handle inbound calls for small businesses.
OnePlus 7 series event set for May 14th
OnePlus has confirmed when it will showcase the OnePlus 7 lineup for the first time. On May 14th at 11 AM Eastern Time, the company will unveil its latest handsets at simultaneous events in four cities: New York, London, Beijing and Bangalore.
RED finally ships the $1,600 titanium Hydrogen One
At long last, RED is shipping the titanium version of its Hydrogen One phone. It promised the variant when it announced the handset in 2017, and took pre-orders for that version at the full $1,595 cost. When RED delayed the titanium model last September, it sent those who pre-ordered it the aluminum version, and now those folks are receiving a titanium handset as well at no extra cost.
Avis makes it easier to find a parking spot for your car rental
Driving in an unfamiliar city can be stressful, and finding parking is even worse. Eventually, we'll have autonomous vehicles to deal with that for us, but until then, companies are looking at ways to ease the strain. That's why car rental brand Avis has partnered with mobility solutions company Arrive to add a space-finding feature to its app. The Avis app already lets drivers rent a car on the go, and includes a bunch of other helpful features such as remote car locking -- with Arrive integration customers in the US can now instantly find, book and pre-pay for parking. Arrive is already used in some 230 cities around Canada and the US, predominantly by third-party and business customers. Encouraging consumer use makes sense, especially as many city-dwellers don't drive a car on a daily basis -- knowing parking is already taken car of is just one less thing to worry about when you're behind the wheel.
Samsung imagines full-screen phone with a camera hidden under the display
Samsung is working on a "perfect full-screen" phone that will be 100 percent display, with no notches, bezels or cut-outs. According to Yang Byung-duk, the company's display R&D vice president, "Technology can move to the point where the camera hole will be invisible, while not affecting the camera's function in any way."
Meizu says its port-free Zero phone was a failed marketing stunt
You may recall that a little over a month ago, Meizu launched a crowdfunding campaign for its futuristic "Zero" port-free smartphone, but at $1,299 a piece (plus that single $2,999 "Exclusive Pioneering Unit"), it comes as no surprise that the overly-ambitious Indiegogo project failed with just 29 backers. Despite the existence of working units, there's no word on the Zero's future at this moment, but in response to a related thread on Meizu's official forum, founder and CEO Jack Wong gave a surprisingly upfront -- if not a little disheartening -- one-liner. "This crowdfunding project was just the marketing team messing about," Wong said, "the holeless phone is just a development project from the R&D department, we never intended to mass-produce this project."
Comparing the Galaxy S10, Nokia 9 and LG G8: Cameras galore
So we're more than neck deep into Mobile World Congress, and our hands-ons have been coming pretty fast and furious. Though you'll have to wait a bit to see our full reviews of the latest flagships from companies like Samsung and LG, we can always take a peek at the specs to see how they stack up against each other. Here we're looking at some of the smaller flagships — though when you're pushing six inches and up, small is relative. Check out the table to see all the key specs of the Galaxy S10, the Nokia 9 and the LG G8 — for starters, between three phones we've got 11 rear shooters alone!
Vivo's all-glass phone has no ports and a full-screen fingerprint reader
2019 may be the year of flexible mobile devices, but judging by a couple of announcements from China this week, it appears that we may also be expecting the disappearance of holes and ports on smartphones. Following yesterday's Meizu Zero, today Vivo has announced its latest concept 5G device, the APEX 2019, which is yet another smartphone with almost no holes. I say "almost" because there's still a tiny microphone slit below the screen, but other than that, you won't find any USB port, speaker grill or SIM tray around this shiny slab of glass.
Samsung may unveil its foldable phone and Galaxy S10 on February 20th (update)
Samsung has traditionally launched its new Galaxy S phones at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress. This year, though, it appears it's breaking with tradition. Wall Street Journal reports that the company will be showing off its 10th anniversary flagship phone line up and its much-anticipated foldable phone at events in San Francisco and London on February 20th. Initial reports suggested we'd have to wait until March to see the foldable, rumored to be called the "Galaxy F".
Honor's 'hole-punch' View 20 will get a Moschino edition
Honor's recent teaser event gave away pretty much all the secrets of its new View 20 smartphone: It has a 25-megapixel punch-hole front camera, a 48-megapixel rear camera plus "Link Turbo" function for automatically switching between WiFi and LTE -- or using both, even -- for optimal connectivity. Still, there was no word on the device's other features, appearance nor price; Honor clearly just wanted to announce its "hole screen" technology before Samsung and Huawei. Now that the competition have done their part, Honor has finally done a full unveiling of its View 20 in China earlier today, and it actually looks rather sharp.
California considers a texting tax
Cell phone owners in California could soon pay extra for the privilege of sending text messages, thanks to landline-era legislation and changing usage patterns. According to recent public law filings, the state's Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is considering a plan that would bill users a monthly fee for any text message services they use, and phone service carriers aren't happy about it.
