OnePlus hasn’t done a great job keeping a lid on the 3T. For the past week or so, both it and Qualcomm have been seeding social media with glimpses of the upcoming smartphone, finally taking the official wraps off the device today, a mere five months after launching its latest flagship, the OnePlus 3.
Those worried about the company cannibalizing its still fresh handset rest assured – the OnePlus 3T won’t be eating into the 3’s sales because it will be killing the device entirely. As the new handset is unleashed on the world, the hardware startup will be end-of-lifing its predecessor.
And it’s not hard to see why. For starters, there’s the fact that the new phone is, at its name implies, an upgrade to the existing line, bringing an even more impressive set of specs to the already well-received phone. And then there’s the fact that it’s hard to imagine the company’s dropping the 3’s $399 MSRP any lower to make room for the 3T’s $439 asking price.
The short lead time will sure irk those who rushed out to pick up the three, but for hold outs, there are some really solid hardware upgrades on board, starting with the already announced bump from Snapdragon 820 to 821 (at 2.35GHz), bringing it up to speed with the Google Pixel. That increased processing power is coupled with a more than generous 6GB of RAM.
The battery has been bumped up as well, now at 3400mAh, a 13-percent increases over the 3, coupled with the company’s proprietary Dash quick charging technology, which promises a day’s worth of power with a 30 minute charge – same as with the last one.
The 3T will be available with either 64 or 128GB of storage (on the gunmetal version) when it launches November 22 here in the States. It will be launching on the 28 in Europe with a gold colored version arriving soon. While the OnePlus 3 is going away, those who purchased one will still be getting the promised Nougat update according to schedule, along with all future updates, which will happen at the same time for both handsets.
Most Galaxy Note 7 users in the US have returned their
devices. For those who haven't, Samsung will soon start limiting the
device's charging capabilities.
Samsung on Friday said 85 percent of all recalled Note 7 phones in the US have been replaced
through its refund and exchange program, "with the majority of the
participants opting to receive another Samsung smartphone." The company
didn't immediately provide information about how many phones had been
returned around the world.
For
the remaining holdouts in the US, Samsung said it will release a
software update in the coming days to limit the phone's ability to
charge beyond 60 percent. It also will issue a reminder pop-up
notification every time a consumer charges, reboots or turns on the
screen of their Note 7 device.
"We remain focused on
collecting the outstanding Galaxy Note 7 phones in the market," the
company said in a statement on its website.
Even though people have been warned to stop using their phones, some super fans have continued to hold on to their Note 7 devices.
Along with issuing the charging limitation software in other markets,
Samsung has taken more drastic measures to get people to turn in their
devices. Earlier Friday, the company said it had teamed up with carriers
in New Zealand to cut off access to wireless networks for customers still using their Note 7 devices.
Samsung aims to entice Note 7 owners, and iPhone 7 Plus gets an upgrade
Samsung hasn't yet gone that far in the US or other major markets.
The
Note 7, which hit the market in mid-August, was expected to solidify
Samsung's lead in the mobile market after a strong showing with its
Galaxy S7. The company had just begun to regain its swagger after
stumbling the previous year with lackluster products.
Then came the battery problems, which caused some units to overheat and catch fire. Samsung issued a global recall
of the popular device in September. But then some replacement units
started having the same problem. That caused Samsung to issue a second recall in mid-October and permanently stop production of the device. It's offering Note 7 owners $100 to exchange the device for another Samsung phone.
Samsung has said the Note 7 recall will cost it more than $5 billion over the next few quarters. The company on Friday also issued a recall for 2.8 million washing machines
due to injury risk. The two fiascos have raised questions about
Samsung's quality and assurance testing and have dealt a blow to its
reputation.
Xiaomi
is not only about high specifications yet affordable smartphones, more
importantly is the MIUI system that comes together with the phones. Up
to date, MIUI has been developed until MIUI 7 and yet, improvements are
being introduced weekly with the China Dev ROM. The simple and yet
functional MIUI system has attracted lots of users to try out Xiaomi
smartphones.As a loyal MIUIers,I would like to share a few simple tricks
in MIUI that MIUIers can’t missed. Let’s learn together the awesomeness
of MIUI.
1. How to turn on the “developer options” in MIUI
You
can turn on the developer options through Settings>About
phone>tap 3-6 times on the MIUI version tab. Tada…You have turned on
the developer options for MIUI.
2. Why there is a bit yellowish tint on my Xiaomi smartphone display?
To
reduce the yellowish tint on the display, please go to
Settings>Display>Colors & saturation>Choose Standard/cool.
This should reduce the yellowness of the display.But if the screen is
still yellow tinted after changing the settings, then this might be due
to production failure. Please do not hesitate to contact the Xiaomi
customer service in your country or take the phone to the nearest
service center to solve the problem.
3. Why sometimes during phone calls there is echo?
This can be solved by: Settings>Sounds>Suppress noise during calls> Single-mic noise suppression.
4. Xiaomi phones could not sent or deliver MMS
This
can be solved by logging into the Mi account. Settings>Mi
Account>Mi cloud. Some of the users who changed the password in PC
are required to delete the account and re-login again.
5. There are some noise on my Mi phone screen.
Dial
*#*#6484#*#* (Which is also the T9 input for MIUI, isn’t this
convenience), choose tab number 11 Touch sensor>Recalibrate the touch
screen
6. How to solve the black screen during phone calls?
Dial
*#*#6484#*#*, number 8 Proximity sensor>recalibrate the sensor. If
it is still the same, the tempered glass might have blocked the sensor
and thus failed. Change another tempered glass/screen protector that do
not block the proximity sensor. If problem still persisted, please visit
the nearest Xiaomi service center for a full checkup.
7. Why when there are calls coming in, the ringtone will only ring after 1-2 second?
When
there is a stranger phone calls come in, the phone will determine
whether this is a harassment phone calls, the system will take about 1
second to decide, that’s why phone will only ring after 1-3 seconds
(this is predetermined by the developers). If the phone calls are from
the number inside contact list, the phone will ring immediately.
8. The sound quality of Mi phone it not that great.
Try
to turn on the Settings>Sound & Vibration>Audio
settings>Mi sound Enhancer. Try to match the earphones that you are
using currently with the available choices in the list.
9. Why my mi phone ringtone is not loud?
Setting>Sound
& vibration>Volumes>Ringtone and notification (Set it to the
loudest). Or you can try plug in earphones, setting>Sound and
vibration>Switch on. With this option on, although there is no
earphones if the phone rings, the speaker volume will be louder 20% as
compared to this function turned off. The last option is there are some
phones the speaker is located beneath the phone, try to turn the speaker
on the upper side.
10. Why I always feel my phone is lagging?
This
is because the animation for the phone is turned on. If you don’t like
the animation, can go to Settings>Additional settings>Developer
options>Window animation scale>Animation off. If you still feel
there are some lags, can try to reflash the phone.
11. How to turn off the in-game vibration?
Settings>Sounds
and vibration>Vibrate on touch>off. Normally, the vibration
during gaming can be turn off in the game menu setting.
12. How to change ringtone easily?
You
can place your ringtone (.mp3) in the File Explorer>Internal
Storage>MIUI>Ringtone. Or, Settings>Sound and vibration>Call
ringtone and vibrate: here, you can choose to have long or short
ringtone for the choices available. The last resort is:
Contacts>Default ringtone>Select the tone you like.
13. When I am playing games, I always accidentally touch the bottom three buttons.
Pull
down the navigation bar>Turn on “Buttons” option. To turn on the 3
buttons function, simply touch home button and power button
simultaneously.
14. Can I switch off the notification for Mi App Store (China ROM)?
No. But you can try to root your phone and uninstall the default MI app store.
15. How to enable the camera in MIUI to detect the gender and age?
Camera>Swipe
to right>At the bottom, setting>turn on the Face detection, then
in the Age and gender, turn on show age and gender when beautify is on.
Then go back to camera, choose selfie mode, at the bottom, the star
icon, choose to turn on the beautify mode (low, mid or high). Then you
can see the age and gender in the selfie cam.
16. Can Xiaomi phone scan and detect barcode and QR code?
Yes. Camera>Setting>switch on the scan QR codes mode. The other place where you can scan QR code is Tools>Scanner.
17. How to easily transfer files between phones and PC?
First,
make sure your phone and PC is connected to the same WiFi. Then,
Explorer>at the bottom screen, FTP>Start server>There will be a
link on the screen, started with ftp://xx.x.x.x:xxxx.
Go to your pc>My Computer>Paste the ftp link in the Computer
address bar. Now, you can easily transfer files between PC and Mi phones
without cables.
18. My PC can’t recognize when I plug in my phone through USB connection
If
the data cable and USB port is working well, then
Settings>Additional settings>Developer options>switch on the
USB debugging.IF your pc still can’t detect your phone then uninstall
all phone drivers such as samsung,motorola,htc,micromax etc., and then
plugin your USB cable.It should work fine!
19. My Mi phone is drop dead, can’t start up with any button pressed
Long
press the power button at least 10 seconds, this will turn on the
phone. If the phone is lag in a screen, this will help to restart the
phone. Currently, Xiaomi flagship phones do not support removable
battery anymore, thus remove battery and restart is not possible. But,
you still can remove battery in selected Redmi series.
The
other way is press the volume up button and power button
simultaneously, your will be directed to Mi logo and recovery page,
choose you language of choice and choose to Reboot.
If
the phone is in off mode, they to press the volume down and power
button simultaneously, to enter the Fastboot mode (Mi bunny fixing
Android robot pic), then try to long press (really really long) the
power button.
If all the method above proven to be failed, it is the time you pay a visit to the nearest service center
20. The screen is dark, but bottom 3 navigation button lights are turned on.
Long press the power button (at least 10 seconds) and try to reboot the phone.
My
friend faced this problem before, is scarce, because he turns off the
auto-brightness and set the phone brightness to the lowest. This can be
solved by blind testing. Unlock the phone, pull down the navigation bar
and try to manually adjust the brightness.
21. The screen turned off during gaming and the phone can’t be turned on
Sometimes,
when you’re enjoying the game with your phone so much, you forgot about
the phone battery where you played until it is out of juice! Try to
charge the phone and power on, if the phone can be on, then today is
your lucky day. If can’t on, charge it for minimum 30 mins, then turn it
on. IF after 30 mins of charging still can’t turn on, please visit the
nearest customer service, if the phone is still under warranty, you can
actually change the motherboard for free..Yay!!
22. If my Mi phone is spoiled, under what circumstances I can repair it for free?
If
the phone is not spoiled due to fall down (the physical condition of
the phone is bad) or drop into water, you can repair it for free in
1-year period from the date of purchasing.
23. The phone has not been use for quite sometimes, how to adjust the time and date back to current accuracy?
Normally,
the time and date is automatically updated when the phone is connected
to the internet. There is no need of manual adjust them. But, make sure
you choose the correct time zone for your phone.
My colleague Vanessa Hand Orellana and I spent hours chasing pigeons, children, dogs and sunsets to put the two cameras to the test. The Pixel XL had its moments, but on the whole, we agreed the iPhone 7 Plus captured better video.
Its biggest advantages were color, image stabilization, sharpness, contrast, low-light shooting and zoom, unsurprisingly given its second camera.
The Pixel XL, which offers the identical cameras and image processing as the Pixel, did lead the iPhone 7 Plus in some areas, though. Its autofocus was faster, and it sometimes kept a nice exposure when the iPhone went overboard with brightness. Google's phone handily beat the iPhone 7 Plus when it came to slow-motion video with sharper imagery, too.
When Apple debuted the first iPhone in 2007, it couldn't shoot video at all. That's unthinkable today even for a low-end phone. Good mobile video is crucial in the era of YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat. Even if you're not into sharing, video is key to chronicling our lives. So it behooves you to pay attention to video quality.
Don't consider this a final judgment. Much of Google's approach to photography and videography involves extensive image processing, including its excellent HDR+ technology used for photos. There's no HDR+ for video, but Google still could offer camera app software updates to address some Pixel shortcomings.
Here's a look at some of the details of our tests.
Image stabilization
The two phones take a very different approach to image stabilization, a critical aspect of video quality. The iPhone 7 Plus uses an optical approach that physically moves lens elements to counteract the camera motion caused by shaky hands or movement when you're walking. The Pixel XL uses digital stabilization, which uses motion sensors and image data to try to mathematically compensate for camera movement.
Each has its advantages when it comes to camera size, component costs and other factors, but we found the iPhone's approach generally resulted in a smoother, more human feel. The Pixel XL would try hard to stabilize a shot, but when it figured out you really had pointed the camera in a new direction, there would be an abrupt stop-and-start shift to the new perspective. This made video jerky. The iPhone wasn't as good at compensating for the bobbing perspective you'll often see in videos shot while walking, but it still looked more natural.
And likely because the Pixel XL relies on its processor for stabilization, it struggled when shooting video at 60 frames per second -- double the rate of ordinary 1080p video and thus double the number of pixels to process -- or when shooting higher-resolution 4K video at 30 frames per second.
iPhone 7 Plus videos at times were overexposed, a problem I've found in iPhone photos, too, where foreheads and cheeks in the sun are glaring white, orange or yellow. In dim conditions, details in shadowy areas often disappeared into the murk. The Pixel XL handled exposure better overall, though I preferred the iPhone 7 Plus with sunrises and sunsets that are a challenge for any camera today.
The Pixel XL gets a big demerit in one area of exposure, though. When I shot while walking, sometimes the exposure would pulse darker with each footfall. This happened in several videos.
Color
The iPhone generally selected more pleasing, warm tones. In good lighting conditions both cameras were reasonable, but I found the iPhone 7 Plus colors to be vibrant while still natural -- perhaps a result of the wider P3 color gamut it uses compared to the Pixel XL's more limited sRGB range of colors.
Sometimes skin tones with the Pixel XL video had a yellowish cast. I think of this as the "putty effect." Under warm-hued indoor light, the Pixel XL showed people as too orange. It could switch color settings rapidly, too, in one case switching back and forth distractingly between an orange and blue tint.
Sharpness
Here the iPhone won, perhaps a result of its six-element lens design or better image processing technology that creates the video from the raw image-sensor data. The Pixel XL was usually adequate, but with videos of subjects like city skylines and nature landscapes, the edges on the iPhone were crisp without appearing over sharpened.
The Pixel XL was sharper taking slow-motion video, though. We shot at 240 frames per second, a speedup factor of 8 compared to regular video. Both the Pixel XL and iPhone 7 Plus can only shoot at 720p resolution, which is fine but not as sharp as full high-definition video at 1080p.
Of course, if you want to zoom, the iPhone 7 Plus has dual cameras -- 28mm and 56mm equivalent focal lengths -- and the 2X setup is much better for portraits, kids who aren't in front of you, concerts and many other situations with distant subjects. But there's a big caveat: there's no optical image stabilization for the 56mm camera. Because of that, and a lens that doesn't let in as much light, the iPhone 7 Plus uses the wider-angle camera in dim conditions, making it just like a plain old single-camera iPhone 7.
Lens flare
Both cameras suffered from lens flare, the streaked and washed-out areas that result from shooting toward the sun or other bright light sources. The Pixel XL sometimes would produce a ring around the sun even when the sun was outside the frame -- the Pixel XL "halo effect" that Google hopes to easewith better processing at least in photos. The iPhone 7 Plus would wash out details nearer the sun and add a green ghost image of the sun diametrically across the frame from the sun. I was disappointed in both cameras, frankly, but the edge goes to the Pixel XL for better contrast and less haze when shooting directly toward the sun.
Autofocus
I enjoyed the Pixel XL's snappy autofocus, especially its ability to lock in more quickly on close-up subjects. It also did better locking focus during slo-mo shooting, where you're more likely to notice a longer wait.
Low-light conditions
I had high hopes for the Pixel XL, whose pixels are 60 percent larger than the iPhone 7 Plus' and therefore in principle are better able to shoot in dim conditions where photons are scarce. Instead, the iPhone gave the Pixel XL a drubbing. iPhone video suffered from the transient jittering of noise speckles, but the edges were sharp, and the noise was far less distracting than the Pixel's crude, smeary noise reduction. Both cameras struggled at times to catch focus, a common affliction in the dark. When shooting indoors, the iPhone again showed superior performance, though in smaller rooms, the Pixel XL's wider-angle field of view is a big advantage.
Front camera
The Pixel XL did a nice job exposing faces and keeping focus, but it sometimes struggled with backlit faces, choosing to silhouette me. Sometimes it underexposed even without silhouettes. I liked its sharpness better, but overall the iPhone did a better job with skin tones and showed a more lifelike degree of contrast.
4K video
For this higher-resolution format, the Pixel XL was nicely exposed, but the iPhone 7 Plus outdid it when it comes to sharpness. And why bother shooting 4K video if you're not paying attention to sharpness? Again, the iPhone's optical image stabilization was more natural. On the Pixel XL, I spotted some compression artifacts in even-toned areas, a blue sky and a red ceiling.
Overall, it's an iPhone victory for video. Perhaps we'll see a software update from Google that will help it catch up.
The Apple Watch does a lot of things, but it didn't have a camera. Now it does, thanks to a new band. Are you ready to start taking wrist-snaps?
Glide, makers of a video chat app for iPhone, just launched CMRA, a new Apple Watch band that has dual cameras built in. Much like Samsung's long-departed Gear watches with cameras onboard, the CMRA will let you take photos and even videos on the fly. The band has an 8MP outer camera and a 2MP selfie cam, along with 8GB of in-band storage for photos and video clips.
CMRA band in all its colors (the sides get thick).
Glide
The band also has its own shutter button for photos.
CMRA promises real-time video chat via the Apple Watch Glide app, plus instant on-watch sharing of photos and videos to Twitter, Facebook, Facebook Live and YouTube. The band syncs content to the iPhone when the Apple Watch is paired.
The CMRA band comes in four colors, and has a rubberized design that looks like a thicker version of Apple's elastomer sport band. It doesn't ship until spring 2017, but the early-order price is $149 instead of $249 later on. The band also comes with a charging dock but you'll need to supply your own Apple Watch charge cable.
I haven't tried one out yet, but it certainly sounds promising. CMRA requires WatchOS 3 and iOS 10 to work.
Apple can’t seem to keep the Chinese market hooked on its products.
The tech giant’s overall retention rates fell to 75% in September compared to 82% during the same period a year earlier, according to a semi-annual survey from UBS. After polling some 6,500 consumers across five countries, UBS found that demand for the iPhone 7 was much lower in China than in the U.S.: Smartphone users who were “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to buy the iPhone 7 fell to 43% from 54% for the 6s and 64% for the 6.
That’s largely because Apple aapl has lost a significant chunk of users in China to domestic brands like Xiaomi and Huawei. As Apple demand wanes, Chinese competitors are stepping up to offer better products, according to the Wall Street Journal.
While UBS projects the company will have a “soft” fiscal year in China in 2017, the firm believes Apple’s brand “remains strong.” As a result, UBS kept a “buy” rating on the company’s stock, predicting iPhone unit growth of 6% in fiscal year 2017 and 16% in fiscal year 2018.
Shares of Apple traded down 2% Tuesday, before remaining largely flat in after hours.
UBS’ survey results come on the heels of Apple’s disappointing fiscal fourth quarter in late October. The tech giant reported its third consecutive quarter of flagging iPhone sales, with revenue down 9% to $46.85 billion. Shares of Apple have fallen 6% since earnings were announced
SPUD is a huge, foldable portable display for your smartphone or a second screen for your laptop.
Smartphones are always going to be the best compromise between displaying content on the largest screen possible while still sliding effortlessly into your pocket. That could certainly change once we perfect roll-up displays or mobile projection, but until then we're limited by screen size or clever ideas that pop up on Kickstarter.
The latest of those ideas is the Spontaneous Pop-up Display (SPUD), which takes your smartphone and converts it into a 24-inch display without sacrificing portability.
A portable 24-inch display may sound like a contradiction, and it would be if it weren't for the fact SPUD collapses down to the size of a paperback book when not in use. Think of it like an umbrella. To use it simply open it up, connect your phone at the rear, and enjoy 24-inch high-definition visuals. It won't crack as it's made of a flexible polymer, and if it gets dirty you can simply wash it.
The 16:9 screen offers a resolution of 1,280 by 720 (720p) using rear projection, and while best suited for use with a phone, there's nothing to stop you from plugging in a tablet or even a laptop via HDMI or wireless so it can act as a second display. Inside there's a battery offering between 3-6 hours of power depending on how high you set the brightness, but you can also plug it into a power outlet.
When expanded, SPUD is reminiscent of old CRT monitors with a footprint of 21 by 11 by 14 inches, but folded away it only measures 5.64 by 2.17 by 7.52 inches and weighs just under 2 pounds. Where it does fall down is on price. The Kickstarter Super Early Bird price of $349 has already gone, and the $379 Early Bird price is disappearing fast. So you'll likely end up paying $399 for a SPUD.
As with all Kickstarter projects, you're taking a risk by backing such a project even if this one has reached its funding goal already. Nobody knows what the quality will be like or how durable it will be with repeated use. If you're desperate for a large portable display you can throw in your bag, it may be worth putting down $400. For everyone else, there are a number of smaller USB-powered displays out there for under $200.
