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Samsung's 108-megapixel mobile sensor closes in on mirrorless cameras
With the smartphone megapixel camera wars raging on, Samsung has fired a significant shot. It unveiled a 108-megapixel smartphone camera sensor that's likely to appear in an incoming Xiaomi Redmi smartphone. The 1/1.33-inch ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor, developed by Samsung in collaboration with Xiaomi, is one of the largest smartphone sensors ever, about three quarter the size of the 1-inch sensor on Sony's RX100 VII. That's just a touch smaller than the sensor Nokia used on its legendary Pureview 808 phone.
Samsung's Galaxy Note 10 event by the numbers
Samsung took to the stage on Wednesday to show off the latest advances in its Galaxy Note 10 line, including new iterations of the Note 10 and 10+, a slick game streaming feature, and a surprisingly long-lived laptop dubbed the Galaxy Book S. Here are five highlights from the event.
Nintendo may have many, many more Switch consoles planned
Nintendo is definitely releasing the $200 Switch Lite handheld console on September 20th, and may release a higher-end console soon too, if rumors are to be believed. Its plans might even go beyond all that, however. The company is reportedly working on further updates beyond those models "to make the platform's lifecycle long," according to WSJ sources inside the company.
LG's next dual-screen phone may gain a small outer display (updated)
While Samsung and Huawei refine their foldable devices, LG has introduced expanding hardware with its V50 ThinQ (shown above) that uses a case to add a second screen. The company's invite to its unveiling event on September 6th at IFA 2019 in Germany suggests it will continue to develop that strategy, with a video done up in 8-bit style that expands from one narrow screen across a second one. What's new, though, is a small screen on the outer side for showing the time and date.
Fossil's latest stylish smartwatches can last for days
Fossil's smartwatches are competent, but they don't really stand out among other Wear OS watches beyond their looks. You might have a more substantial reason from now on, though. The company's new Gen 5 Fossil Touchscreen Smartwatch has a few more distinctive features that could make them easier to recommend over the competition, particularly their longevity. A new Extended Battery Mode helps the watches last for "multiple days" on a charge while receiving notifications and tracking your heart rate. You can also go for a Time-Only Mode when you just want the most basic feature, a Daily Mode with "most" options enabled and a custom option to specify the exact level of power savings you want.
Burger King takes the Impossible Whopper nationwide August 8th
Burger King announced today that it is adding the Impossible Whopper -- the chain's famous Whopper burger made with a plant-based patty from Impossible Foods -- to its menu nationwide. Starting on August 8th, you'll be able to go to any Burger King location in the United States and get your hands on the alternative meat burger.
Facebook might bring major streaming services to its Portal for TVs
Last year, reports emerged Facebook was working on a video chat camera you'd plug into your TV. It sounds a bit like its Portal smart display, albeit without the need for a dedicated screen. One reported aspect of the device is that it'd offer video streaming, including Facebook Watch. It seems Facebook has been trying to strike deals with other major streaming services too.
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.
Sony is crowdfunding a wearable 'air conditioner' (updated)
Are you struggling to cope with the heat outdoors? Sony might have a solution, if not as soon as you might like. The company's First Flight program is crowdfunding a wearable 'air conditioner,' the Reon Pocket, that slips into a pouch in a special t-shirt. The stealthy device doesn't condition the air as such. Rather, it sits at the base of your neck and uses the Peltier effect (where heat is absorbed or emitted when you pass an electrical current across a junction) to either lower your temperature by 23F or raise it by 14F, all without bulk or noise. You could wear a stuffy business outfit on a hot day and avoid looking like you've just stepped out of a sauna.
Samsung will release the Galaxy Fold in September
Three months. That's how long it has been since Samsung announced it would delay the Galaxy Fold due to issues that arose after reviewers got their hands on its nearly $2,000 device. People pointed out a hinge that could let debris fall inside and its screen protector as problem areas, and Huawei similarly delayed its folding Mate X. We've had speculation about how the company could fix it, rumors that a redesign is complete and hints that updates are incoming, but very few official statements until now. Samsung has revealed the next step for the Fold, which is to release the device in September in "select markets." The company listed several changes in its press release, and they're in line with the earlier rumors. Along with the press release, Samsung also released a gallery of photos of the device, and it looks to our eye pretty much like the Fold already did.
DOJ could approve T-Mobile and Sprint merger tomorrow
T-Mobile and Sprint are still grappling with state lawsuits attempting to block their merger, but they can at least take some consolation from the federal government. CNBC sources claim that the Department of Justice is expected to approve the merger on July 25th (that's tomorrow, if you're reading in time). The union is contingent on T-Mobile selling assets to Dish, though. Reportedly, Dish will buy T-Mobile's prepaid phone business for $1.4 billion, and spend another to snap up $3.6 billion in wireless spectrum. You can likely say goodbye to a T-Mobile-owned Metro, then.
Astronomers believe the young Milky Way once swallowed a dwarf galaxy
Astronomers believe they've mapped an important sequence of events that shaped our galaxy 10 billion years ago. In a paper published in Nature Astronomy today, researchers from the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) share their findings that a dwarf galaxy, Gaia-Enceladus, once collided and merged with the early Milky Way. Their discovery offers a new understanding of how the Milky Way formed.
Huawei allegedly developed a spy-friendly phone network for North Korea
If Huawei was hoping to mend its reputation in the wake of the de facto US ban, it's about to be disappointed. The Washington Post and 38 North have published joint reports indicating that Huawei helped build Koryolink, North Korea's highly restrictive cellphone network that went live in 2008. According to documents, Huawei partnered with China's state-owned Panda International Information Technology on projects in North Korea for at least eight years, with cooperation starting when then-dictator Kim Jong Il visited Huawei's headquarters in 2006. Huawei provided elements like cellular infrastructure, network management and encryption, while Panda provided software and transported Huawei gear.
Samsung launches high-capacity smartphone RAM built for 5G and AI
It has only been a few months since Samsung unveiled the highest-capacity smartphone DRAM yet -- a 12GB LPDDR4X package for premium devices -- but it's already following that up with a faster model of the same size. The Korean tech giant has started mass producing what it says is the industry's first 12Gb LPDDR5 for phones, and it'll also start the mass production of 12GB LPDDR5 packages later this month. Samsung introduced its LPDDR5 chip technology last year in hopes of providing 5G phones with a fast, energy-efficient RAM that can power machine learning and AI applications.
Nintendo quietly upgrades the Switch with up to 9 hours of battery life
The murmurs of an upgraded Switch were true -- although you might want to put hopes for a Switch Pro on ice, at least for now. Nintendo has quietly unveiled a new revision of the standard Switch with dramatically improved battery life. Instead of the original's 2.5 to 6.5 hours, the new model manages a much healthier 4.5 to 9 hours. That's about 5.5 hours of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild versus the earlier three hours, Nintendo estimated. You shouldn't have problems playing through a cross-country flight.
Tesla workers say they used electrical tape in Model 3 production
Tesla may have broken its own records, manufacturing 72,531 Model 3 sedans in the three months that ended June 30th. But employees say in the push to ramp up Model 3 production, they were forced to cut corners and work in difficult, unsafe conditions. A handful of employees who work in Tesla's open-air GA4 production tent told CNBC that they used electrical tape to quickly repair cracks on plastic brackets and housings and worked through extreme heat, cold and wild-fire smoke.
Intel's ultra-efficient AI chips can power prosthetics and self-driving cars
Even though the whole 5G smartphone thing didn't work out, Intel is still working on hard on its Loihi "neuromorphic" deep-learning chips, modeled after the human brain. Now, it has unveiled a new system, code-named Pohoiki Beach, made up of 64 Loihi chips and 8 million so-called neurons. It's capable of crunching AI algorithms up to 1,000 faster and 10,000 times more efficiently than regular CPUs for use with autonomous driving, electronic robot skin, prosthetic limbs and more.
Galaxy Note 10 image leaks spoil Samsung's party
So much for Samsung maintaining even the slightest bit of secrecy around the Galaxy Note 10 ahead of its August 7th debut. Both Ishan Agarwal (via MySmartPrice) and WinFuture have obtained what look to be official press images for the regular Note 10 and its larger Note+ counterpart (shown above). As you might have suspected, the two phones appear to push the Galaxy S10's nearly-all-screen concept even further. The more rectangular design has virtually no bezel, and the only interruption is a hole-punch camera located at the top center of the display.
Nintendo's Switch Lite is a $200 handheld-only console
The rumors were true: Nintendo was working on a new kind of Switch, and here it is. The Switch Lite is a slightly different console, designed for handheld play, and will arrive September 20th priced at $200. When it does land, it'll come in three different color choices. No more neon red, you'll be able to pick from yellow, gray and turquoise options. But that substantial price cut comes with some spec differences.
Apple killed the 12-inch MacBook
Quietly lost amidst some upgrades to the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro is a notable absence from Apple's online store: the 12-inch MacBook has been discontinued. The laptop was first introduced in 2015 and ushered in a new era of MacBook design for Apple -- it was the first to use USB-C, the first with the controversial and problematic butterfly keyboard, and the first Mac laptop without a glowing Apple logo in years. Apple has confirmed to Engadget that the 12-inch MacBook is no more.
