Xiaomi Takes on iPhone 7 Series With ‘Mi 5s’ and Dual-Lens ‘Mi 5s Plus’
Chinese mobile phone maker Xiaomi has responded to Apple’s iPhone 7 with the launch of a pair of new high-end smartphones.
The two handsets succeeding the company’s flagship Mi 5 phone are called the Mi 5s (5.15-inches) and the Mi 5s Plus (5.7-inches), the latter featuring dual cameras as per Apple’s own 5.5-inch Plus device. The 12-megapixel cameras come with an f/2.0 aperture, dual-tone LED flash, phase detection auto-focus, automatic HDR, and video recording of up to 4K resolution at 30fps.
Both phones have a 1080p display and a fingerprint scanner under the front glass, which Xiaomi says “recognizes a 3D map of each user’s fingerprint through ultrasonic waves”, so no physical button is needed. The use of ultrasonic is also said to tolerate dirty fingers better than the capacitive sensors found in Apple’s devices.
Both dual-SIM handsets are also powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, but the Pro is clocked higher and has 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, whereas the Mi 5s features 3GB RAM and 64GB storage as standard, with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage as optional add-ons. Similarly, a higher spec Mi 5s Pro is available with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.
#Mi5s new Xiaomi flagship: ultra-large camera sensor with 1.55um pixels, ultrasonic under-glass fingerprint sensor, 600-nit display, SD821 pic.twitter.com/BChcE3OGgP
— Hugo Barra (@hbarra) September 27, 2016
The phones will be available in China from September 29, with the Mi 5s priced from 1999 RMB ($299) and the larger Mi 5s Plus costing upwards of 2299 RMB ($345). There’s no word yet on when the phones will become available in other regions.
Tag: Xiaomi
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Snapchat Spectacles Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
What would it take to get you to wear something on your face?
Smartglasses — or any sort of aggressive head-wearable eye tech — is still the final frontier for tech. Google Glass died as an awkward joke. Most smartglasses look like the sort of oddball things a normal person wouldn’t wear for more than a few seconds.
Enter Spectacles. Can camera-glasses become a thing at last?
Spectacles will arrive this fall, a surprise announcement by Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel alongside the launch of Snap, Inc. Snapchat is a popular social media app, but Snap, Inc. is positioned as a “camera company,” and Spectacles are its first product. They’re priced affordably. They have a camera inside. They record video. They look pretty bizarre. Or maybe they look fun. What do you think?
Can they redefine the concept of smart glasses? Here’s what we know so far from limited information on Snap’s Spectacles page, and a feature published in The Wall Street Journal. (We don’t have a pair…yet.)
Going for big and bold.
Spectacles.com
They’re sunglasses with a connected camera inside. Spectacles can record 10-second video clips that upload to Snapchat via an iPhone or Android phone paired through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Place them in the included case to recharge, AirPods-style.
Wearable camera-glasses aren’t new, but Spectacles are aiming to be the best. Companies like Pivothead made them years ago. Google Glass did something slightly similar (it could record video clips and photos, among other things). So understand that having a camera on your face has been a thing for a couple of years now, at least. But Spectacles are trying to look fun, and like something you’re wearing in public on purpose.
They’re bright and weird-creepy versus stealthy-creepy. Spectacles seem to have bright, Elton John-esque designs, and there’s a very prominent circular ring of LEDs that light up when video is being shot. That’s a different approach than Pivothead, which made black sunglasses that looked nearly normal, hiding the camera in the bridge of the glasses.
They’re priced like a novelty. Evan Spiegel calls them a “toy,” and at $130 they’re in that spontaneous-purchase novelty zone where Amazon Echo and Fitbit lurk (and the more expensive Apple Watch most certainly does not). Many pairs of sunglasses already cost that much. Maybe you buy one for a weekend at Coachella or Burning Man. Maybe you just do it because you want to try something new.
They shoot circular video that can be viewed in landscape and portrait. The 115-degree wide-angle camera captures video in a circle…so, if you view this video in the Snapchat app, you can look at it in horizontally, or vertically…or, by continuing to spin your phone around in any orientation. The video seems to be reframed as needed, meaning you might want to keep repositioning your phone for certain videos.
They light up when recording, just so everyone else knows what you’re doing.
Spectacles.com
It only records 10 seconds of video at a time. Like quick-snaps for video, and much like what Snapchat already does. This isn’t a record-your-kid’s-whole-birthday-party set of camera glasses, unless you keep snapping 10 seconds at a time. To snap, you tap (the frames).
These won’t make everyone look like hamburger-cat-people (maybe). Snapchat’s insane set of filters that map onto photos or videos with uncanny precision are amazing…but these Spectacle glasses don’t do anything like augmented reality. They don’t have video displays. These are just camera glasses. However, there’s a possibility that videos recorded via Spectacles could have filters applied afterward in the Snapchat app. No details have emerged regarding this.
It looks like they’re designed to sync into one app: Snapchat. Welcome to the world of connected wearable app-cessories. Spectacles look like a one-purpose type of gadget that syncs into one app (as far as we currently know). But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Snap nailed a great app first (Snapchat) and then is releasing a product second. And anyway, most great connected products tend to work this way.
They’re selfie-challenged. These are outward-facing camera-glasses, not inward. They’re glasses for snapping others, and capturing action shots. In a selfie world, maybe that seems weird. But when it comes to mounted action cameras like GoPro, it’s pretty standard.
They seem to be going after GoPro more than augmented-reality smartglasses. Again, they’re glasses with an embedded camera, not any sort of deeper set of “smartglasses.” And that’s probably a great idea, because they’re going to be a lot less complicated. And now that everything in the world is being instantaneously livestreamed, Spectacles could be a simple type of hands-free way of snapping stuff on the go. Or, yes, while doing crazy things.
They’re either a dumb promotional stunt, a bold stab at the future of cameras, or both. And we may or may not be in the world where wearing video-capturing glasses is finally acceptable. But we are definitely in a place where everyone already shares everything from their phones. I still think Spectacles seem more like party favors than permanent lifestyle decisions, but if people end up wearing them and not being mocked, Snap might have a victory for wearable face-tech.
Lenovo lays off hundreds of Motorola employees
Over 95% of Motorola’s workforce has departed the company in the last four years.
Lenovo has announced a new round of layoffs. Globally, the layoffs impact “less than 2 percent of its 55,000 employees,” with a majority of the job cuts targeted at Motorola employees in the U.S. According to Droid-Life, over 50% of Motorola’s workforce in the U.S. is being let go, affecting over 700 jobs out of the remaining 1,200. That’s a reduction of over 95% from the 20,000 employees Motorola had when Google acquired the company in 2011.
This isn’t the first re-organization conducted by Lenovo this year. Back in March, the Chinese company announced that it would split the mobile phone division across two business groups. That transition led to Rick Osterloh leaving the company and heading back to Google. In June, Motorola’s lead designer Jim Wicks departed after 15 years with the company.
Lenovo has confirmed that it will continue to operate Motorola out of its Chicago headquarters. The Chinese vendor has had difficulties integrating Motorola’s products in its portfolio. This year’s Moto G4 is racking up decent sales figures, but it doesn’t stand out as much as its predecessors. As for the Moto Z and Moto Z Force, they’re yet to make their global debut, four months after the official unveil.
Here’s Lenovo’s statement in its entirety:
Lenovo today announced a resource action impacting less than two percent of its approximately 55,000 employees globally. The majority of the positions being eliminated are part of the ongoing strategic integration between Lenovo and its Motorola smartphone business as the company further aligns its organization and streamlines its product portfolio to best compete in the global smartphone market.
The company is also making adjustments in other areas of the business as part of a continued effort to manage costs, drive efficiency and support ongoing improvement in overall financial performance. While these actions are never easy, they are a necessary part of our continued efforts to ensure long-term, profitable growth across all of our businesses.
Lenovo is absolutely committed to Chicago and we plan to maintain our Motorola Mobility headquarters there. Chicago has a well-deserved reputation for technical excellence and as the hub of our global R&D for our smartphone business we expect to take advantage of local talent to continue developing Moto products there.
Google’s vision for India: Fast Wi-Fi for everyone, 2G-ready Play Store, and YouTube Go
Here’s how Google is connecting the next billion users.
At its Google for India event, the search giant talked about connecting the next billion users. Google is looking to India as a key market for growth, and as such the company is debuting a host of new features that will be exclusive to Indian users initially. Google kicked things off by talking about the incredible growth in the country, stating that every single second, three Indians are making their way online for the first time.
Caesar Sengupta, Google’s VP for Next Billion Users, outlined the company’s vision:
Our goal has not just been to help more Indians get online — but also to help Indians create the online experience they want; one that serves their needs and enables them to have an impact on the entire world. So we have been thinking about how to build products and services for this wave of new users — products that work for any level of connectivity, in local Indian languages, and across the devices that are most frequently used in India.
The company’s free Wi-Fi initiative got off to a great start, and Google is now expanding the platform. With average broadband speeds hovering around the 3Mbps figure, Google is optimizing its services to work better on 2G connections. Here’s what’s in store for Indian customers.
Play Store gets optimized for 2G
We’re starting to see 4G networks take off in India, but the reality is that a majority of customers still rely on 2G connectivity. To provide a better experience to these users, Google is kicking off a version of the Play Store that is optimized to work on 2G connections. Users in the country will be able to schedule app downloads, and Google is also offering a “Wait for Wi-Fi” option that defers app downloads to save on cellular costs.
Schedule your downloads on Google Play to when you have Wi-Fi#GoogleForIndia pic.twitter.com/KA0RQwyk8n
— Google India (@GoogleIndia) September 27, 2016
YouTube Go
YouTube Go is designed for offline usage. Building on the Smart Offline feature that debuted earlier this year, YouTube Go lets users easily download videos. The app shows how large a particular file is before the download commences, and users have the ability to choose 720p and Full HD content for offline viewing as well. The app also shows previews of videos, giving users more options when it comes to managing their data bandwidth.
In a statement, YouTube product management VP Johanna Wright said:
YouTube Go is a brand new app to help the next generation of users share and enjoy videos. YouTube Go was designed and built from the ground up with insights from India, in order to bring the power of video to mobile users in a way that is more conscious of their data and connectivity, while still being locally relevant and social.
If you’re interested, you can now sign up for YouTube Go.
Save entire pages and videos with Chrome
Chrome has a built-in Data Saver mode that compresses data, and starting today, the feature works with MP4 videos as well. All downloaded content is accessible from a new Downloads tab, and Google is claiming that the feature will see bandwidth savings of up to 67%.
Localized Allo and Duo
Google’s smart AI utility — Google Assistant — made its debut with Allo. The Assistant currently has limited support for Hindi, but Google has announced that native Hindi support will be added before the end of the year. Hindi is the fourth most-spoken language in the world, and by allowing conversations with the Google Assistant in Hindi, Google has the potential to attract a large customer base for Allo.
Google also talked about its video messaging app Duo, stating that after the U.S., India is the second-largest market for the app. Give how well Duo works on poorly-optimized connections, I’m not surprised.
Knock knock! Most Duo users are from India and the US.Also, coming soon: The Google Assistant in Hindi. #GoogleForIndia pic.twitter.com/jXejchZmmb
— Google India (@GoogleIndia) September 27, 2016
Free Wi-Fi for everyone
Since making its debut last year, Google’s public Wi-Fi initiative has amassed 3.2 million active users, with 15,000 joining every day. 52 railway stations across the country now offer free Wi-Fi, and the service is set to go online at over 100 stations by the end of the year.
Google is now expanding on its earlier missive with Google Station, an initiative that sees the company partnering with “large venues and organizations, network operators, fiber providers, system integrators and infrastructure companies” to make fast, reliable Wi-Fi accessible. Partners signing up also have the ability to monetize Google Station hotspots by rolling out access fees or ads.
300 million users have made their way online in India, and that number is set to double over the next four years. Google hasn’t fared particularly well when it comes to making accessible devices with the Android One program, but its latest initiatives should find more success. Most companies don’t offer enough in the way of localization for Indian users, but by adding native Hindi support in Google Assistant and allowing users to converse in their local languages, Google is on the right path.
OnePlus 3 ‘exclusively’ coming to O2 in the UK
OnePlus’s first UK carrier partnership kicks off sales from September 29.
OnePlus is best known for direct-to-consumer sales at low prices, but in the past year it’s started teaming up with select carriers, like Finland’s Elisa, with strong sales resulting. And now the company has partnered with O2 in the UK to get its latest handset, the OnePlus 3, onto store shelves. Sales kick off from September 29, with prices starting at £28 per month on O2 Refresh.
The OnePlus 3 is available on a range of O2 Refresh tariffs, offering from 500MB to 20GB data. Tariffs include £28 per month for 500 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of data, and £35.50 per month for unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 3GB data. Both tariffs come with no upfront payment.
In today’s press release, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei talked up O2’s history of focusing on premium handsets and tech-savvy consumers:”We chose O2 as our exclusive partner in this important market because they have a history of focusing on the most premium smartphones for the most savvy users, which aligns very well with our products and users.”
It’s possible Pei was referring to O2’s history with Apple: O2 was the first UK operator to partner with Apple to launch the original iPhone in the UK back in 2007, and exclusively carried that phone for more than two years.
The OnePlus deal isn’t of the same scale as that, of course, but there’s no denying the OnePlus 3 has made a splash since its debut earlier this summer. In our review, Andrew Martonik said, “OnePlus is finally ready to join the big leagues with the OnePlus 3. Gone are the days of justifying missing features with a cheap price, and no longer can we give it a pass for its upstart-style of operation. The OnePlus 3 is the real deal, ready to be compared and evaluated as the flagship phone that it is.”
To celebrate the launch, there’ll also be a OnePlus pop-up event on launch day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at O2’s Westfield White City store in London. A full list of price plans will go up on O2’s site from September 29.
OnePlus 3
- OnePlus 3 review: Finally, all grown up
- OnePlus 3 specs
- OnePlus 3 vs. the flagship competition
- Latest OnePlus 3 news
- Discuss OnePlus 3 in the forums
OnePlus
OnePlus 3 will be sold by O2 from 29 September
In a surprise announcement, O2 has confirmed that it will be selling the OnePlus 3, making it the first UK network to offer OnePlus devices directly.
OnePlus has been shaking up the smartphone world, offering quality devices with flagship specs and design, but at prices that make mainstream manufacturers wince. The OnePlus 3 is one of the most exciting devices of 2016, but up till now, you’ve had to buy it SIM free direct from OnePlus.
O2’s offering changes that, bringing a phone with a wide cult following on monthly tariffs. You’ll be able to bag a OnePlus 3 from £28 a month on the O2 Refresh plans.
“We chose O2 as our exclusive partner in this important market because they have a history of focusing on the most premium smartphones for the most savvy users, which aligns very well with our products and users,” said Carl Pei, co-founder of OnePlus.
Those with a longer memory might remember that O2 had the exclusive on the Apple iPhone in 2007 and 2008, which is probably what Pei is referring to.
- OnePlus 3 review: The flagship killer we’ve been waiting for
- OnePlus 3 tips and tricks: Master your 2016 flagship killer
- Best smartphones 2016: The best phones available to buy today
The OnePlus 3 comes with a premium metal body, a 5.5-inch AMOLED display that, although Full HD rather than Quad HD, is bright and vibrant. The handset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset with 6GB of RAM; there’s a 3000mAh battery that will see you through the day and some really fast charging on offer too.
The OnePlus software sits on top of Android. It calls itself Oxygen OS and it’s a highly customisable skin that will let you do all sorts of fancy things to your phone, importantly it doesn’t get in the way or slow things down. There’s a 16-megapixel camera on the back.
You’ll be able to get the OnePlus 3 from O2 on a range of tariffs, for example for £35.50 a month you’ll get unlimited texts, unlimited calls and 3GB of data. And, needless to add, one of the hottest handsets of 2016.
The OnePlus 3 will be available from O2 from 29 September.
Indie game darling ‘Firewatch’ is heading to movie theaters
Physical photographs aren’t the only way Firewatch will invade the real world. Developer Campo Santo recently revealed a partnership with production house Good Universe (Neighbors and Last Vegas) to make a movie based on the indie game about a fire lookout in a Wyoming forest, according to The Hollywood Reporter. No other details are available at the time, but fingers crossed that some enterprising Ford dealership doesn’t repurpose the movie’s eventual trailer for a summer sales event.
Miss the game when it came out earlier this year on PlayStation 4 and PC? If the reason was because you only have an Xbox One, well, now you can fix that as the game graced Microsoft’s console last week — replete with a temporarily exclusive free-roam mode.
Via: Polygon
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
OnePlus 3 gets its first UK carrier partnership in O2
Over the past few years, OnePlus has made a name for itself by releasing powerful flagship smartphones at lower-than-expected prices. The unlocked model lets people buy their devices outright, enabling them to get a better deal on a SIM-only contract. But as the company has moved away from its invite system and faced up to the battle of fulfilling every order as soon as possible, it’s also begun to expand into retail. Today, OnePlus has announced its first ever partnership with a UK mobile operator. O2 is the company in question and will begin selling the OnePlus 3 from September 29th from £28 per month.
The OnePlus 3 is being sold with a range of O2 Refresh plans, starting with 500 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB for £28 or £35.50 a month for unlimited minutes and texts with 3GB data. You’ll pay more than the £329 unlocked price but there’s no upfront cost for the tariffs and with O2’s Refresh plan, you can upgrade the device early if you pay off the remaining value of your phone.
“We chose O2 as our exclusive partner in this important market because they have a history of focusing on the most premium smartphones for the most savvy users, which aligns very well with our products and users,” says OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei. “We look forward to sending ripples through the market together with O2.” The full range of tariffs will be available from September 29th and can be found here.
BBC iPlayer will require an account from ‘early 2017’
Starting “early” next year, Brits will need a BBC account in order to access iPlayer. The broadcaster says the move is designed to make its services more “tailored” and “personalised,” presumably through better curation and recommendations. The BBC already offers an account system, called BBC iD, which comes with a few different benefits such as “favourites” in iPlayer, cross-device pause and resume, and the personalised BBC+ app. A “new sign-in system,” said to be more robust and secure, will be launching later this week ahead of the new, mandatory requirement in 2017.
As BBC News reports, the new sign-in system will require users to enter a postcode. The BBC says it won’t be used to enforce the licence fee, however it’s hard not to see the move as a preparatory measure. Even with the “iPlayer loophole” closed, it’s still possible for licence fee avoiders to watch the service by marking the “I have a TV licence” checkbox. A compulsory sign-in process could change that, however — the BBC could, in theory, check each postcode to see if a TV licence is active at their current address.
Helen Boaden, the BBC’s Director of Radio, said:
“Some of you might be thinking that this is driven by the changes to the so-called ‘iPlayer loophole’ which means you now need a TV licence to download or watch BBC programmes on demand on iPlayer. It’s not – it’s about giving you a better BBC. As we said earlier this month, we’ll carry on using our existing enforcement processes and techniques which we believe to be adequate and appropriate. In fact, early TV Licensing data shows that – as we expected – significant numbers of new people have bought a licence since the new rules came into force.”
However, she added: “We will keep our processes under review to make sure they are effective. The Government has asked us to review whether a verification system for accessing Player will be required in the future.” Indeed, such a request is outlined in the new BBC Charter, which comes into effect next year. A decision on the matter won’t be made for some time — the BBC has until 2020 to report its findings — but clearly, it doesn’t hurt the organisation to lay some of the groundwork now, just in case.
Source: BBC, BBC News
Google’s Pixel smartphone surfaces in leaked render, shows off new navigation buttons
Leaked render of the Pixel shows off new software tweaks.
We’re one week away from the launch of the Pixel and Pixel XL. The handsets have leaked in live photos last week, and this time around we’re being treated to an alleged press render of the Pixel. The leak comes from Evan Blass, and showcases the new home screen with the Pixel Launcher, circular icons, and redesigned navigation buttons. The phones will be built by HTC, but Google’s branding is set to take center stage.
The leaks suggest we’ll see a 5-inch Pixel, and a 5.5-inch Pixel XL. Both phones are expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 821 SoC, offering 4GB of RAM, 12MP camera, 8MP front shooter, and storage variants of 32GB and 128GB. The 5-inch Pixel will allegedly offer a Full HD display, with the larger Pixel XL sporting a QHD panel.
On the software front, we’ll likely see the phones debut with the first maintenance release of Nougat. It also looks like the Pixels will be targeted at the high-end segment, with the base-model Pixel rumored to debut at $649.
We’ll know more on October 4. What do you guys think of the phone based on the render?
AIVAnet 