Apple is working on a new battery tech to boost endurance and charging speed

Even though Apple normally signs external companies for manufacturing, it tries to do as much of the engineering and design in-house. And according to ETnews the company's latest research and development efforts are aimed toward the battery of the iPhone.

The report suggets Apple is experimenting with new materials for the cathodes - nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum. The new approach will also see the silicon content increase substantially. Silicon expands when it heats up during charging, but Apple has found a way to mitigate the issue.

The new cathode mix promises improved...


http://dlvr.it/SyVrgv

Honor confirms MagicOS 8 beta testing starts later this month

Honor launched its MagicOS 7 interface almost a year ago and now the maker is readying a successor with the upcoming MagicOS 8 release. A new post on the Honor community forum in China confirms that Honor will start closed beta testing MagicOS 8 for Magic5 series and Magic V2 owners. The interesting bit is that the beta will include support for Google Play services.

Honor MagicOS 8 closed beta recruitment post (machine translated from Chinese)

Owners of the Magic5 series and Magic V2 devices in China who would like to test out the MagicOS 8 closed beta can sign up from the...


http://dlvr.it/SyVr8R

Apple says there won't be a 27-inch iMac with Apple Silicon

Last week Apple unveiled the revamped 24-inch iMac with the M3 chip, and rumors have been swirling for a while about the company also releasing a 27-inch version with its latest silicon.

Today, however, the company decided to uncharacteristically issue a statement about a rumor, unfortunately denying it outright. According to Apple PR representative Starlayne Meza, there won't be a 27" iMac with an M-series chip, fullstop.

For those who think the 24" iMac's screen is too small, Apple recommends pairing a 27" Studio Display with a Mac Studio or Mac Mini, but of course that means you...


http://dlvr.it/SyVR3p

Samsung launches Toy Story cases for Galaxy Buds FE in Korea

The Galaxy Buds FE are Samsung’s most recently launched wireless earbuds and buyers in Korea can now pick up a limited-edition case inspired by Pixar’s Toy Story franchise. The Toy Story cases for the Galaxy Buds FE are available in two designs inspired by Lotso Bear and Hamm and are available in South Korea via local online marketplace G Market

Galaxy Buds FE Toy Story cases

The Lotso Bear case is priced at KRW 39,600 ($30) while the Hamm case is KRW 36,300 ($28). Buds FE and the new cases will cost a combined KRW 125,900 ($97) but there’s an early bird price until November 29...


http://dlvr.it/SyTKvv

Sony Xperia 1 V gets Android 14 with Video Creator, improved Bokeh mode

Sony just started seeding the Android 14 update to the Xperia 1 V. The firmware brings the improved Bokeh mode from the Xperia 5 V, as well as the new Video Creator app. Sony announced the Video Creator app as part of Android 14, though it did previously release it for Xperia 1 V users as a downloadable app.

The Bokeh mode is Sony's Portrait mode and was much more impressive on the Xperia 5 V so it's great news that Sony has brought it over to the 1 V.

The Video Creator app is a neat app that's also available on the Xperia 5 V - it lets you create videos automatically (music...


http://dlvr.it/SySdsS

The Huawei P70 will reportedly use an in-house image sensor for its cameras

With the introduction of the Mate 60 series Huawei resumed the manufacture of 5G-capable HiSilicon Kirin chipsets for use in its smartphones. Now it seems that the company plans to swap another chip with an in-house design, the image sensor.

Huawei has long been using Sony sensors in its phones, a peculiar design with two yellow sub-pixels instead of two greens. However, leakster Fixed Focus Digital reports that Sony and Huawei have not renewed their contract – and that Huawei doesn’t have any more Sony sensors in its inventory.

This fuels the speculation that the upcoming Huawei P70...


http://dlvr.it/SySCXM

Exclusive: This is the iQOO 12 design story

Less than 24 hours before the iQOO 12 launch in China, we’re bringing you a sneak peek at the design process that went into the upcoming flagship. Speed, functionality and elegance are the three cornerstones of the iQOO 12 design with each contour and detail on the phone being meticulously crafted to the company’s high standards.

The signature design detail on the iQOO 12 is its camera island inspired by ship portholes used on the hull of ships to let in light and air. It features eight subtle arcs and a 3D curved glass which undergoes a hot-bending process. The camera island is...


http://dlvr.it/SySBv1

vivo X100 Pro appears in more hands-on images and teaser video

The vivo X100 series is launching next week and we’ve already seen several specs and design teasers so far and vivo’s official Weibo page shared some more hands-on images of the X100 Pro alongside a teaser video.

vivo X100 Pro

The X100 Pro is shown in its blue and orange colors with the former featuring a frosted glass back with white elements inspired by star trails while the latter gets a textured vegan leather back.

The new teaser video goes over the X100 Pro’s key specs which include a 1-inch type main sensor working in tandem with vivo’s self-developed...


http://dlvr.it/SyRnVT

XREAL Air 2 review

Introduction

If you've been following the AR space, you've probably come across the Nreal brand. The company has been one of the most successful in actually commercializing AR glasses, reaching 100,000 sales in 2022. The company's Air glasses are thus a rather popular product in the growing space.

Following a trademark dispute with Epic Games, Nreal rebranded to XREAL and has since been expanding its portfolio, putting out the Beam accessory that extends the functionality of the Air glasses and now a new pair of Air models - Air 2 and Air 2 Pro. The two models are actually nearly...


http://dlvr.it/SyQn9J

Week 42 in review: Apple's M3 chip is here, Galaxy S23 gets Android 14

Samsung's announcement of the Galaxy Z Flip5 Reto - an ode to the Samsung E700 from 2003 - was the most popular story of this week. Flip5 Retro features the same iconic indigo blue and silver colors as the E700 and comes with some nostalgic pixel graphics UI tweaks and cityscape animation on its Flex Window cover screen. The phone is available in limited quantities in South Korea from November 1 as well as in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Australia from November 2.

Samsung started rolling the One UI 6 update to select Galaxy S23 series along with Android 14. There's a new design with...


http://dlvr.it/SyQJqK

Weekly poll: can Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro's powerful chipset and cameras tempt you into buying one?

Just a couple of days after Qualcomm lifted the veil off the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Xiaomi announced the Xiaomi 14-series – the first phones to use the new flagship chipset. They will launch with HyperOS, the company’s next-generation software that will replace MIUI going forward. That means several major “firsts” happened on Wednesday this week when the two phones launched in the Chinese market (the first flash sale sold out pretty quickly).

They will go global too, of course, though it will be a couple of months until then. For now, we will have to work with the pricing for China – the...


http://dlvr.it/SyQ2qq

Flashback: the Nokia N86 8MP was the last of the great Symbian sliders

The Nokia N95 was a high point for Symbian, but as we noted in our previous Flashback article, its success was never replicated. It was also the end for this form factor – the Swiss army knife slider phone.

The original N95 came in early 2007, followed a few months later by the much-improved N95 8GB. Our destination for today’s story is the N86 8MP, but we have to take a twisty path to get there.

2007 also brought the more affordable Nokia N81. It launched in two versions – one with basically no built-in storage but with an included 2GB microSD card and one with 8GB of built-in storage...


http://dlvr.it/SyPZct

vivo X100 shows up in a live photo

The vivo X100 series is about to debut later this month and numerous leaks of the design showed us what to expect at launch day, but we've never seen a vivo X100 out in the wild until now. Well, a Weibo user shared a live image of what appears to be an X100 from the back.

The device shows up in a light blue color, which we've already seen in leaked renders, but the sparkly, concentric pattern isn't as obvious as the renders would make you believe. The wavy forms of the back glass seem in line with the renders, though.

vivo X100

The camera island is as expected, except for the...


http://dlvr.it/SyPZJJ

OnePlus 12 shows up on 3C certification with 100W charging

According to previous rumors, the OnePlus 12 is just around the corner as the company is gearing up to launch the handset earlier than expected. In fact, we could see the handset appear by the end of this month in China and the latest 3C certification can attest to that.

The handset popped up on the Chinese 3C website with a 100W-capable wired charger, confirming the initial rumors that there won't be any change in the charging speed. The listing shows a charging brick with 11V/9.1A, which is exactly the same as the OnePlus 11.

However, the renowned tipster DIgital Chat Station on...


http://dlvr.it/SyNqdc

Samsung announces the 50MP ISOCELL GNK sensor with improved dynamic range and video capabilities

Samsung announced its new 50MP ISOCELL GNK sensor boasting improved video recording capabilities and wider dynamic range for stills. The sensor is a direct successor to the 50MP ISOCELL GN1 that other OEMs and Samsung itself widely use.

Spec-wise, the GNK is identical to the GN1. The 50MP imager is 1/1.3" in size and offers 1.2µm pixels. But to improve the sensor's performance, the company used other smarts. For instance, the Dual Pixel Pro autofocus ensures sharp photos of moving objects as the focus time is greatly improved.

Additionally, the sensor can capture images with a...


http://dlvr.it/SyNW5W