Technology News - The OnePlus 3 is dead, long live the OnePlus 3T

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.

“Anti-smartphone” Light Phone runs into delays

For people who feel that we are a little bit too connected these days, Kickstarter project Light Phone was promising a respite. It was scheduled to ship in May this year, but has seen a number of setbacks. This week, the company issued a statement. It says that while it missed its goal, it hopes to start shipping late this month.

Light Phone’s goal was to be the opposite of a smartphone. Including a 2G SIM card and the ability to take and make calls only, the phone aimed to have three weeks worth of battery life on a single charge.

Tiny, pretty, and with a three-week battery life. What’s not to love?

The company suggests “A few limitations in our initial user experience goals due to some iOS restrictions” is the reason the device is shipping late, but the company has received some criticism for how it has handled its Kickstarter campaign, too. It hasn’t posted any public updates since August last year, instead opting to post updates exclusively to its campaign backers. Not a big problem for backers, of course, but a bit iffy to those of us who were following the company’s progress from the sidelines.

The company came under fire for only offering a dated cell technology for the telephony side of the phone, suggesting that relying on 2G may have been a poor solution. In some countries, the 2G network is scheduled to be switched off soon. “Australian 2G is being switched off on 1st December 2016,” one backer writes, referring to the first round of switch-flicking during a 9-month shutdown process of 2G networks down under. The Light Phone company, in turn, offered to refund backers in countries where the phones would no longer be usable.

When the Light Phone was first announced about 18 months ago, it seemed like a novel and interesting idea. At $100 per device, it’s undoubtedly cool, but the device is also entering a spectacularly competitive space. You can pick up a no-name quad-band phone for a seventh of the price, and most carriers will let you turn off SMS functionality altogether, if you feel passionate about only receiving phone calls. That raises the question; who is the Light Phone actually for?

I look forward to trying the Light Phone out and learning what it feels like to live a life without fending off the barrage of social media notifications. Realistically, however, if this was a problem someone was passionate about solving, they’d have found a way of turning off the notifications or get a no-features burner phone already.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the design and the general concept, but it can’t be denied that creating a phone is a complicated process. On top of that, the types of radios used in mobile phones is heavily regulated throughout the world. The icing on the “hmm, is this gonna work” cookie: in telecoms R&D and manufacturing, a $400k budget (the amount the company raised from Kickstarter) to bring a product to market is an incredibly daunting prospect.

Either way, Light Phone is an incredibly inspiring company; it takes some serious focus and dedication to bring a complex product in this space from cocktail napkin to brick-and-mortar shops. The company is bringing a fresh pair of eyes to the humble mobile phone, and I’ll be cheering them on from the sidelines.

Now Charge without Current! - Window Socket Solar Charger

Yanko Design, Kyuho Song & Boa Oh designed a portable socket and the users can use it intuitively without special training. It sticks to a window after that a suction plate that encircles the solar panel, and a basic outlet feeds the converted solar accomplishment to a deviceand thats pretty much it. As the designers reduction out, this is a charger/converter that can be used anywhere theres day, particularly where there is restricted use of electricity, such as outdoors or on the subject of the subject of a jet.

At realization, the Window Socket is yet a concept, but in the oppressive difficult the designers aspiration to accrual its efficiency, dynamism storage and battle time. The battery re the Window Socket is totally small; at 1000mAh the stored perform might be approximately sufficient to offensive a mobile phoneparticularly if it were a USB outlet rather than a adequate one, but it wont be satisfactory to facility household appliances. And though it can manage to pay for 10 continuous hours of facility not far and wide and wide off from a full dogfight, it presently takes approximately 5-8 hours to adequately dogfight. But even that cant enormously believe a mannerism from its awesome, easy design.

Boom!!! Samsung to Note 7 owners: Here's an extra $100 for your phone

Samsung really, really wants you to turn in your Galaxy Note 7.

The Korean electronics titan said it will give $100 in credit at "carrier or retail outlets" to customers who turn in their Note 7 for another Samsung phone, starting Thursday afternoon

The offer comes after Samsung and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission once again issued a recall for the Galaxy Note 7 -- including for replacement units. Two days earlier, Samsung confirmed that it had killed off the Note 7 and warned consumers to power down and turn in their phones.

"The Galaxy Note 7 recall has proven to be a real challenge for Samsung. I am very concerned that consumers who exchanged their phones for replacement Galaxy Note 7s are now at risk again," CPSC Chairman Elliot Kaye said in a statement.

The extra financial incentive serves three purposes: It's a token gesture meant to soften the blow of the second recall for its most loyal customers. It's an incentive to convince stubborn superfans who have opted to take the risk and keep them. It's also a way to keep people using a Samsung device.

The second recall marks the latest chapter in the nightmare saga that is the exploding Galaxy Note 7. Samsung moved quickly to recall the first batch of Note 7 phones, only to encounter incidents in which the supposedly safer replacement phones began to catch fire as well. The company has already warned that the debacle will cost $2.3 billion in lost operating profits, but the bigger damage will be to its brand and credibility.

To date, according to the CPSC, Samsung has received 96 reports of Galaxy Note 7 phones overheating in the US -- 23 more than it had since the original recall on September 15 -- including 13 reports of burns and 47 reports of property damage.

"We appreciate the patience of our consumers, carrier and retail partners for carrying the burden during these challenging times," said Tim Baxter, chief operating officer of Samsung Electronics America. "We are committed to doing everything we can to make this right."

Some carriers have already given out a $25 bill credit for switching out their phone for another Samsung device, and customers who took advantage of that offer can get another $75. Customers who opt for a full refund will get $25. Likewise, customers who switch to another brand will only get $25. All of the US carriers are offering customers the choice to swap out the device for an entirely different phone.

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note 7 at a splashy event in early August in New York, and the critically lauded handset was set to challenge the iPhone for phone supremacy this holiday-shopping season. Some consumers, however, found that their phones would overheat and even catch fire. The device was banned on planes and trains.

This second recall follows the CPSC's official recall last month, which is said to have involved 1 million of the 2.5 million phones that were manufactured.

Samsung to hobble Galaxy Note 7 charging in US with software

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. 

Apple’s iPhone 7 Down in China!

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

Apple iPhone 8 - Wireless Charging

Imagine this, except with next year's iPhone. The "iPhone 8" could have wireless charging. While it has been previously reported that Apple will introduce wireless charging into its phones, Foxconn Technology Group, one of Apple's main manufacturing partners, is making wireless charging modules for the 2017 iPhone, Nikkei Asian Review reports.

Wireless charging has been around for a few years, and manufacturers such as Samsung have been quick to incorporate this technology into their phones. While only the Apple Watch uses it so far, previous reports indicate that Apple has been acquiring engineers from wireless charging companies and cite 2017 as the year we will see this technology.

2017 will be the 10th anniversary of the iPhone's release, and it seems like a good bet that Apple has big plans, possibly including wireless charging.

The Nikkei report also speculates that the iPhone 8 will come with a curved OLED display. While this has not been confirmed by Apple, Sharp President Tai Jeng-wu mentioned that the next iPhone would have an OLED screen during a speech last week.

While the Nikkei report states that Foxconn is already producing the wireless charging module for the next iPhone, this does not necessarily mean it will make it into the version of the phone that's released to the public. Nikkei's source states that the release of the technology will "depend on whether Foxconn can boost the yield rate to a satisfactory level later on." Put simply, the factory has to get better at making the units before they have a shot at making it into the final product.

Apple did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment.