Weekly poll: how old is your phone?

Fairphone is promising 8 years (possibly up to 10) of support for its new Fairphone 5. Google brought Android longevity into the mainstream with the new Pixel 8 series, which will be supported for 7 years, this includes both software updates and availability for spare parts.

But this raises the question – is anyone actually using their phone for that long? While it’s tough to predict whether there will be any Pixel 8 users left in 2030, we can focus on the here and now. So let’s change the question to this – how old is your current phone?

We know that some of you have phones that you...


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Weekly poll results: the OnePlus Open is great, but buyers balk at the price

Economies of scale mean that once a product becomes popular, it costs less too. But that causes a Catch-22 – it’s difficult for an expensive product to become popular. Right now that is the problem facing foldables, especially the horizontal variety.

Last week’s poll shows that the OnePlus Open is a very promising phone. It might even be the best in class that the markets outside of China have seen. And yet... well, the pie chart speaks for itself, 40% of voters have interest in the Open, but find it too pricey.

To be fair, it costs less than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold5 (unless you get in...


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Oppo A79 goes official with Dimensity 6020 SoC and 50MP camera

The Oppo A79 that leaked a few days ago is now official. It's powered by the Dimensity 6020 SoC and runs Android 13-based ColorOS 13.1 out of the box. The smartphone has 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage onboard, with the option to expand the storage by up to 1TB via a microSD card.

The Oppo A79 is built around a 6.72" 90Hz FullHD+ LCD with Panda Glass protection. It has a pixel density of 391 ppi and 680 nits peak brightness. Oppo advertises the screen as a Sunlight Display because "you can see every detail, even in bright sunlight." The panel also has Widevine L1...


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Samsung Galaxy S24 series tipped to support Ultra HDR

Google introduced the Ultra HDR feature with Android 14, which allows users to capture and view HDR photos on their Android devices in HDR format instead of SDR. Some Chinese flagships already have a similar feature, but Samsung didn't implement it with One UI 6. However, rumor claims Samsung will implement an Ultra HDR-like feature on its smartphones next year.

Word comes from reliable tipster Ice Universe, who said the Galaxy S24 lineup, expected to arrive in January 2024, will support HDR picture viewing in photo albums. If true, that would be a nice way to utilize the rumored 2,500...


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Tata to become first Indian company to make iPhones with the $125 million Wistron deal

Apple's been assembling iPhones in India for over half a decade now, with the first "Made in India" iPhone being the iPhone SE produced by Foxconn in 2017. Apple has two more partners in India for making iPhones - Pegatron and Wistron. However, with Wistron set to exit the iPhone business in India, its 100% stake will be purchased by Tata Electronics Private Limited (TEPL), making it the first Indian company to produce iPhones.

TEPL, which is a part of the Tata Group known for selling everything from salt to software to cars, will purchase the indirect stake from Wistron InfoComm...


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Samsung teases Galaxy S24 Ultra camera with AI image stacking, improved 4K zoom

Samsung posted a video revealing new capabilities of the ISOCELL 200 MP sensor, powered by the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset by Qualcomm. There isn't a smartphone on the market with such hardware, so this is clearly a teaser for the upcoming Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Here's the 60-second video and keep reading for a breakdown of what's inside.

Zoom Anyplace automatically tracks subjects in a video but also keeps capturing full-frame zoomed-out footage of the entire scene. This means the sensor essentially allows capturing two 4K video streams - of the cropped area and one of the whole...


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Samsung exec confirms emergency satellite tech on the Galaxy S24 series

Samsung's President of System LSI Park Yong-in confirmed that Galaxy phones will support satellite services starting next year. It's a not-so-subtle hint about the Galaxy S24 series, expected in early 2024.

Speaking at the 2023 Semiconductor Expo (SEDEX), Park Yong-in added that technical preparations have already been made to enable communication using satellites. This could be a reference to the Exynos Modem 5300's support of 2-way communication over satellite.

However, this begs the question: if rumors of a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered Galaxy S24 Ultra and Exynos 2400-powered S24 and...


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Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro are here with HyperOS and revamped Leica cameras

As expected, today Xiaomi unveiled the 14 series featuring the just announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, revamped Leica-branded main cameras, a new design, and Xiaomi's new HyperOS.

Xiaomi 14 Pro

The Xiaomi 14 Pro moves away from the curved edges of its predecessor and instead brings a flat metal side. The frame has a glossy, mirrored finish. The phone has a symmetrical design and the two glass panels taper slightly at the very edge. The camera island sits on a metal bezel finished with a Parisian hobnail texture.

The Xiaomi 14 Pro is the bigger phone, bringing a 6.73-inch 1440x3200 px...


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PC manufacturers rush to adopt the new Snapdragon X Elite chip, here's the list

The ARMs race has begun! With Apple's third-generation ARM-based Apple M3 silicon just around the corner, Qualcomm announced its competing solution, Snapdragon X Elite for Windows laptops. The SoC promises excellent performance, extreme efficiency and will arrive in the PC market by mid-2024.

A number of the largest Windows PC manufacturers have now been confirmed to develop devices with the new chip. The list includes HP, Lenovo, Asus, Dell and Acer. Honor, Microsoft, Samsung and Xiaomi are also going to deliver Snapdragon X Elite-powered laptops to announce next year.

Software...


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Google Photos can now make AI-generated highlight videos for you

Google Photos has learned a neat little trick to better serve its users on Android and iOS. It will use AI to create a highlight video of anything you'd like, with background music in tow.

The feature is rolling out to Android and iOS users right now though it may take a few days to reach your phone.

When it does, you'll have a new "+" icon at the top of your timeline, from there choose Highlight Video. You then use the search within Photos to find what places, people, or topics you want and fire away. AI will do the rest - choose the right clips, a background tune and sync it all...


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The vivo Y100 5G will have a 5,000 mAh battery, 7.49 mm profile, 6.78" screen

vivo will announce the Y100 5G in China on October 27 and it's a different device than the Y100 that premiered in India.

Now, thanks to an official teaser on vivo's Weibo account, the distinction becomes a bit clearer. The Y100 5G will be 7.49 mm thin and carry a 5,000 mAh battery. There's also Schott screen protection. Upfront, the Y100 5G will have vivo's signature-size 6.78-inch OLED display.

vivo's promo materials for the Y100 5G

The vivo Y100 5G will have a glass with a textured finish, inspired by oriental aesthetics. The green and blue models will have a different...


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vivo Y200 announced with SD 4 Gen 1 and 44W charging

As expected, the vivo Y200 is now official in India as a direct successor to the vivo Y100 which launched back in February. Y200 brings a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. There’s a punch-hole cutout for the 16MP front-facing camera and an in-display fingerprint scanner.

vivo Y200 key specs

The back houses a 64MP main cam with OIS and a 2MP depth sensor. You’ll also notice the LED flash next to the camera modules as well as the signature Smart Aura Light which features 38-level color temperature adjustment based on your ambient...


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Weekly poll: the OnePlus Open is here, who is buying one?

Foldables may be picking up speed, but it’s the flip variety that is the most common. Horizontal foldables, meanwhile, are either quite common or there’s just one or two, depending on where you are in the world.

OnePlus Open (Voyager Black)

OnePlus is a global brand, which makes the launch of its first foldable a big deal for fans of the form factor. Let’s have a quick overview of the OnePlus Open and the potential competition it faces.

The phone has a 7.82” main display, an LTPO 3.0 AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate. It boasts 2,440 x 2,268px resolution and 10-bit colors,...


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YouTube Music is now officially supported on Apple HomePod

Before you head on to the comment section to inform us that playing music from YouTube Music on Apple HomePod has already been possible for a while now – we know. That is kind of the case since the ability to cast audio from the app to a HomePod device is indeed already a thing you can do.

The YouTube Music product team recently announced deeper integration with HomePod and its voice commands in particular. Now Premium and Music Premium subscribers can just integrate YouTube Music as a playback service inside HomePod. This enables voice commands such as "Hey Siri, play music on...


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Here's the Oukitel OT5 with 12" 2K display and 11,000 mAh battery

Last week, we shared images and specs of the Oukitel WP30 Pro rugged smartphone that will be announced in the first half of November 2023. But that's not the only product Oukitel will introduce next month since the brand will also unveil a new tablet, dubbed Oukitel OT5.

The Oukitel OT5 will have the Helio G99 SoC at the helm with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage onboard. The tablet will run Android 13 out of the box, but it's unclear how many OS version upgrades and software updates it will receive.

The Oukitel OT5 will feature a 12" 2K LCD and pack an 11,000 mAh battery with 18W...


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