iPhone 7 Series Said to Feature 60FPS 4K Video Recording Capability

A Vietnamese technology website claims to have spent some time trying out a fully assembled and operational 4.7-inch iPhone 7, offering a few original tidbits amid a number of details that have already been rumored about Apple’s device, set to be unveiled tomorrow.

The tinhte.vn blog offers no photos to back up its claims about the upcoming iPhone 7, so the following should be taken with a liberal dose of salt, but the writer reckons the smaller handset will be capable of recording 4K video at a smoother 60 frames per second, in contrast to the 30fps 4K recording found on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus (60fps is limited to 1080p resolution video on both devices).

Given the significant additional storage that would be required for such a spec bump, speculation is inevitable that 60fps 4K video is one of the main reasons why Apple is expected to offer 128GB and 256GB capacity models, and would seem to tie in with the company’s recent introduction of a 2TB iCloud storage tier option.

According to the writer, the iPhone 7 also has a rubber sealed SIM tray which – along with the lack of headphone jack – improves the overall effectiveness of the device’s waterproofing.

Over the weekend, respected KGI securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also listed improved IPX7 water resistance as one of the upgrades to the upcoming iPhone. That would see the handset match the Apple Watch’s impressive level of waterproofing, something which the company has arguably underplayed.

Elsewhere, the writer suggests that speculation regarding a new black color option is on the mark, and will replace the Space Grey iPhone variant currently available. Also, the volume buttons apparently no longer sit inside a small recess, but are placed directly on the side of the device body.

Lastly, the writer claims that the new touch-sensitive home button utilizes haptic Force Touch feedback technology to mimic the sensation of a physical depress, and still requires the user to exert a decent amount of pressure on the button to activate it.

Of course, nothing can be confirmed until Apple’s big reveal, but with just a day to go before the company’s live streamed media event, the wait is almost over. MacRumors is providing live coverage of the event for those unable to watch, both on MacRumors.com and through our @MacRumorsLive account on Twitter.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Discuss this article in our forums

Samsung Calls Note 7 Recall Cost to Company ‘Heartbreaking’

The president of Samsung has confessed that recalling 2.5 million of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones will cost the company a “heartbreaking amount”.

According to Bloomberg, the comment came on Friday when the head of Samsung’s mobile business Koh Dong-Jin was asked by reporters about the financial impact of having to recall the phones, following the discovery of a defect in the batteries that caused some handsets to explode while charging.

Some analysts forecast that the scale of the recall will cost Samsung anything between $1 billion and $5 billion in revenue. Given that Samsung’s projected net income is $20.6 billion this year, the firm will undoubtedly absorb the loss. But Dong-Jin’s comment could just as easily refer to the cost to the company’s manufacturing reputation in its rush to beat Apple’s iPhone 7 to market.

In Samsung’s haste to beat Cupertino to launch, beginning last year the South Korean firm had brought forward the release of its Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series models by roughly a month. The move was initially deemed a success after it helped Samsung report on its best profit in more than two years, but the strains on its supply chain appear to have backfired disastrously.

“Samsung might have over-exerted itself trying to pre-empt Apple, since everybody knows the iPhones launch in September,” said Chang Sea-Jin, business professor at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and author of Sony vs. Samsung, a history of the electronics giants.

Speaking to Reuters, Sea-Jin called the recall “an unfortunate event; it feels like Samsung rushed a bit, and it’s possible that this led to suppliers also being hurried.”

Samsung said in a statement to Reuters that it conducts “extensive preparation” for its products and will release them to the market “only after proper completion of the development process”.

However, many view the recall as a gift for Apple, which is currently dealing with depressed phone sales and relatively lukewarm anticipation for this year’s devices as analysts speculate the company is holding back its most impressive upgrades for 2017.

Indeed, since news emerged of Samsung’s mass battery defect, Apple has alerted iPhone parts suppliers to increase production rates, suggesting the company is confident of a late surge in sales of its latest flagship smartphones.

“The time advantage that [Samsung] had on the iPhone, that’s evaporated now,” said Bryan Ma, an analyst at IDC in Singapore. “It’ll hit them this quarter obviously, but if it’s something they immediately address and immediately turn around, then there won’t be a long-term impact.”

With Apple said to be overhauling its mobile design for a tenth anniversary “iPhone 8”, and Samsung clearly keen to bounce back and impress after its latest troubles, everything points to 2017 being potentially one of the most ultra-competitive years the smartphone industry has ever seen.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8 (2017)
Discuss this article in our forums

HP Envy x360 review: The big-scale convertible

Convertible laptops are multiplying. It’s like they’ve grown reproductive organs and formed their own tribe. But that means there’s something to suit every scale, level of productivity and price point.

The HP Envy x360 isn’t a brand new model. HP been making oversize convertibles under this name since 2014. But for 2016 the x360 is back to assert itself as the pack leader of 15-inch hybrids.

It’ll cost you at least £779, though. The version we’re reviewing here is £949. It’s not exactly cheap, then, but it’s nowhere near the slightly terrifying £1,299 HP Spectre 13 (a laptop that, admittedly, is a lot better looking).

HP Envy x360 review (2016): Design

Most of you will know the drill by now. Convertible laptops like this have screen hinges that don’t just stop dead at 135-degrees like most laptops. They carry on until the back of the screen meets the keyboard’s keys, and can sit at angle. It’s the laptop equivalent of one of those infuriatingly fit and flexible people who can do the splits while standing up.

Pocket-lint

Flexi-hinges like this are more common nowadays, but we tend to see them in smaller laptops than the HP Envy x360. A bit of touchscreen-based tablet flavour makes sense in 11-inch and 13-inch laptops, but do you really want it in a 15.6-inch one like this?

The first issue is that the HP Envy x360 isn’t strictly portable. It’s slim and light for a 15.6-inch laptop – at 2.17kg and 18mm thick – but if you want something to take around with you every day, this isn’t what we’d recommend. A 12-inch or 13.3-inch laptop would offer a better compromise between comfort and size/weight.

Given we wouldn’t use one of these on the road, we have to think of some at-home uses for the flexi-hinge. Fair enough, there are a few. You might want to play Delia Smith 2.0 with the laptop propped-up in the kitchen, displaying a recipe. Or hitch the laptop up next to you in bed, working your way, episode-by-episode, into a Netflix-induced insomnia. They’re all believable, but make sure you actually want to use some of those situations, or you might was well buy the cheap non-convertible HP Envy 15.

Pocket-lint

This Envy family is where you’ll find HP’s laptops that are neither ultra-cheap nor super-expensive. If you want those, look as the Spectre and Pavilion series. Envy is a comfy middle ground where a lot of self-respecting laptop buyers live.

The HP Envy 360 has an all-aluminium shell, which feels great and looks like an HP take on a 15-inch MacBook Pro, AKA the forgotten big brother of the MacBook family. Where Apple hasn’t really updated the design of its 15-inch MacBook Pro or Air lines in an age, the HP Envy 360 feels modern.

HP Envy x360 (2016) review: Connectivity

It’s light-ish, slim-ish and doesn’t have an optical drive. But who needs one of those?

It also has a USB-C port, which most laptop-makers now bung into their mid-range laptops as a nod to the future order. Full-size USB ports are going to slowly become relics of the past. It’ll take a good long while, though.

Pocket-lint

Other than that you get two normal USB 3.0 ports, a full-size HDMI and a full-size SD card slot. This is a pretty minimal complement for a 15-inch laptop, but the Envy x360 is ready to be plugged into a monitor, or paired with a keyboard and mouse if you like. Of course, with a 15.6-inch screen of its own maybe you won’t need to. 

HP Envy x360 review (2016): Screen

The Envy x360 has a classic modern mid-range laptop screen: a glossy, glass-topped touch display with an LCD IPS panel. It looks the part and has the viewing angles any self-respecting convertible needs.

Look closer and you can see a few little niggles, though. The HP Envy 360’s display colours aren’t the most potent. It’s just unable to display the deepest red and blues, and screen pixellation is pretty clear.

Pocket-lint

This is an issue with 15.6-inch laptops as a whole, not just the Envy x360. While laptop-makers have loads of affordable, high-res 11-inch and 13-inch screen panels to choose from, 15.6-inch ones just don’t seem to come in the same array of resolutions. It’ll be a while before we see a 4K-screen laptop at this sort of price.

The screen also doesn’t quite go bright enough to work outdoors on a sunny day, but you’d look a bit silly out in the park with a 15.6-inch laptop anyway.

HP Envy x360 (2016) review: Keyboard and trackpad

The HP Envy x360 feels more like the kind of laptop you’d plonk on a table and do a bit of work with. It has the right kind of full-size keyboard for the job, and even packs in a NUM pad thanks to the extra space the large screen affords. There’s a keyboard backlight too.

It’s a decent keyboard, although not really any deeper than that of a smaller, thinner laptop.

The HP Envy 360 also has a massive trackpad. HP has a thing for really wide pads. A bit of a strange kink, perhaps, but it does give your fingers loads of room to play with. Its button placement is much more intuitive than your average large laptop, keeping the right button to just the bottom-right corner so you don’t end up accidentally clicking it all the time.

Pocket-lint

The one niggle with the trackpad is that its surface doesn’t feel entirely smooth as you move your finger back and forth across it. This is because it’s plastic. The fanciest laptops use frosted glass. Annoyingly, the cheaper Envy 15’s pad feels better.

HP has tried to make this pad look like a glass one, but get your fingers involved and you can tell it’s not one.

HP Envy x360 review (2016): Specs and performance

HP sent us the very top-end version of the HP Envy 360. It costs £949 and has an Intel Core i7-6550U with 8GB RAM. Not only is this a high-end processor among dual-core Intel chipsets, it also has Iris graphics rather than the standard, slower Intel HD 520 chipset.

This doesn’t turn the HP Envy x360 into an amazing gaming machine, but does mean you have a much better chance of making some games playable if you fiddle around with the graphics settings a bit. Still: don’t buy this if you’re after a true gaming machine.

Pocket-lint

The HP Envy x360 is versatile performance-wise, but it actually uses the same family of CPU you might find in a super-skinny 11-inch or 13-inch laptop. HP only makes this model with dual-core processors, and if you’re after a workstation-style machine, you’ll want one with a quad-core i7.

We’re not saying that the Envy 360 can’t do certain things, though. It’s powerful enough to use Photoshop, to edit video, all of that jazz. Dual-core laptops like this just aren’t quite on-par with a desktop PC though.

Day-to-day performance is, though. The single spec benefit of the Envy x360’s larger footprint is that it can fit in both an SSD and a hard drive. This is the best solution for people who don’t have thousands of pounds to spend on a laptop.

You put Windows OS and any performance critical apps onto the 128GB SSD, then dump all your music and video on the much slower 1TB hard drive. Compared with what you get in a MacBook, the HP’s SSD is actually quite slow, but it’s fast enough to give Windows 10 the SSD zip we’re after.

HP Envy x360 (2016) review: Battery life and speakers

If you’re not bothered about a slim and attractive frame, for this price you can get a much more powerful laptop. But in return, you get much better battery life. A super-powered quad-core laptop will generally last around four to four and a half hours between charges, but HP says the Envy 360 lasts for up to 10 hours.

Pocket-lint

That’s a bit of an ambitious claim. In our experience it’ll last for about seven hours of light use before you have to find a plug socket. That’s not world-beating, but certainly a lot longer than your average 15.6-inch laptop.

The HP Envy 15 is a strange mix of old and new laptop DNA. And most of it makes sense. One very welcome nu-school tweak is that this laptop has really pretty beefy-sounding, loud speakers. They don’t bloom out of the sides of the laptop like the best laptop and tablets speakers do, but they are punchy.

Verdict

Who needs a 15.6-inch convertible laptop? Not everyone, but there must be a good few potential buyers given this isn’t HP’s first go at the design.

What you need to bear in mind, though, is that aside from a bonus HDD, this is a blown-up take on the more common smaller hybrids. It doesn’t have desktop-grade power and, while the screen quality is decent, colour isn’t as punchy as the kind of 13-inch laptop you might buy at the price.

And that’s the rub of it, really: we think the 13-inch Spectre x360, which out in 2015, is the more logical buy in this category.

We’re glad HP is making this sort of laptop, even though it won’t suit all. What the Envy x360 excels at is something quite simple: being a home-based laptop that looks nice and isn’t super-heavy. 

Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones expected to launch running Android 7.1 Nougat update

When Google releases its next pure Android phones, they’ll launch running Android 7.1 according to the latest leak. The news comes from @LlabTooFeR, a leaker known for revealing nuggets of HTC-centric information before it’s confirmed. 

Perhaps notably, the tweet refers to the next phones as the Pixel and Pixel XL, rather than any form of Nexus, corroborating rumours that Google is shifting its hardware strategy this year.

• Next Nexus (2016): Release date, rumours and everything you need to know about Marlin and Sailfish
• Nexus Marlin vs Nexus Sailfish: What’s the rumoured difference?
• New Google Pixel phones, Daydream VR, and more expected 4 October

As for Android 7.1, that’s yet to be released by Google and is likely to be the major Android Nougat update that initially includes software elements and features exclusive to the two new phones. Most notably, Daydream VR. 

Daydream is almost certainly going to launch first on the two new Pixel phones, setting them apart from any devices currently running Android 7.0 Nougat, or any device that’s being updated between now and when the Pixels are announced. 

Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL to be released with Android 7.1 (NMR1).

— LlabTooFeR (@LlabTooFeR) September 5, 2016

There have been rumours for months claiming that Google was turning to HTC to build its next stock Android phones this year. Likewise, speculation and inside information seemed to suggest that HTC wouldn’t be a Nexus partner manufacturer, but used more as a contractor to build Google’s hardware designs.

That’s significant, because it means we’re unlikely to see HTC’s branding on the devices, and we won’t see the familiar Nexus moniker stamped anywhere either.

The Pixel branding has so far been used for Chromebooks and a tablet of Google’s design. Launching a Pixel-monikered phone would certainly help tie all of the search giant’s hardware together. It is worth noting that Chromebook Pixel and Pixel C haven’t exactly sold like hot cakes, so it’ll be interesting to see if the more in-house effort on the phone has a negative or positive impact. 

Huawei-made Google tablet with 7-inch display slated to debut later this year

Google is reportedly set to unveil its 2016 phones on October 4, and it now looks like the company has plans to launch a tablet as well. According to the reliable Evan Blass, Google’s tablet will feature a 7-inch display along with 4GB of RAM.

Google’s Huawei-built 7-inch tablet, with 4GB RAM, on track for release before the end of the year.

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) September 5, 2016

The Android tablet segment hasn’t fielded great products of late, with the exception being Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S series. The South Korean vendor was able to differentiate its products by offering the ability to run multiple apps simultaneously through Multi Window on TouchWiz. The feature is now baked into Nougat, and should make devices like the Pixel C — which was let down by software — much more usable.

As to what we can expect from the 7-inch tablet, it is likely Huawei will stick to what it knows best: great industrial design with excellent build quality. If the 8.4-inch MediaPad M3 is any indication, the upcoming Google tablet will be a looker.

Rumors of a Google tablet have been making the rounds for some time now, and with the search giant also set to launch two own-branded smartwatches later this year, we’re in store for a lot of exciting products. October 4 event is slated to bring new phones, a 4K Chromecast, and Google Home, and we may also see the 7-inch tablet make its debut.

What would you like to see from Google’s 7-inch tablet?

New Huawei-made Nexus 7 should hit before end of 2016

After a few years off, it seems that Google has plans to bring back the Nexus 7 tablet. A Huawei-made 7-inch device is reportedly set for release before the end of 2016.

The original Nexus 7 really shook up the tablet market on its release in 2012, while its 2013 follow-up was one of the best devices around at the time. However, stores were soon flooded with 7-inchers of varying qualities and the sector became over saturated.

Google moved onto other screen sizes, with the HTC-made Nexus 9 being the most recently available, and it was thought that the age of the 7-inch tablet had passed.

According to @evleaks though, the Nexus 7 is to return.

Google’s Huawei-built 7-inch tablet, with 4GB RAM, on track for release before the end of the year.

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) September 5, 2016

We know little about it at present, with the serial leakster only posting its existence and that it will have 4GB of RAM, but his Twitter posting does correlate with one former rumour. Huawei filed a trademark for the name “Huawei 7P” in spring leading a few to suggest a new Nexus tablet could be on its way, or even a massive phone.

Thankfully, now it looks like it’ll be a Nexus 7P tablet rather than a stupidly large mobile handset. Let the floodgates open for the inevitable flood of leaked pictures and specs.

EE starts Cat 9 rollout, achieves 360Mbps download speeds on an HTC 10

EE has announced its intention to roll out network compatibility for Cat 9 devices to cities in the UK this year, with the first venue to get the service being the EE-sponsored Wembley Stadium in London.

The company has promised that central London, and sites in Birmingham and Manchester will get the superfast connectivity for supported handsets before 2016 draws to a close.

Cat 9 handsets, such as the Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 edge and Galaxy Note 7 (when it finally arrives), are capable of download speeds of up to 450Mbps.

EE has tested its new service in the real world with a HTC 10 and claims to have achieved 360Mbps. That’s considerably faster than any home broadband service is currently capable of.

Cat 9 phones will work on other networks, but they require much more bandwidth than many services are capable of.

BT-owned EE will offer 55MHz of bandwidth in supported areas, available across its 2600MHz and 1800MHz spectrum. Its 4G+ service already uses two blocks of spectrum to achieve high speeds in 150 towns and cities across the UK, the further roll out will add a third block for Cat 9 handsets to utilise.

EE is also continuing its roll out of 4G services to remote areas in the UK. It now covers more than two thirds of the country’s landmass and will cover 95 per cent of the country by 2020.

Intel buys Movidius to build the future of computer vision

Intel is making it extra-clear that computer vision hardware will play a big role in its beyond-the-PC strategy. The computing behemoth has just acquired Movidius, a specialist in AI and computer vision processors. The Intel team isn’t shy about its goals. It sees Movidius as a way to get high-speed, low-power chips that can power RealSense cameras in devices that need to see and understand the world around them. Movidius has already provided the brains behind gadgets like drones and thermal cameras, many of which are a logical fit for Intel’s depth-sensing tech — and its deals with Google and Lenovo give nothing to sneeze at, either.

This isn’t Intel’s first AI-related buyout. However, it shows that Intel is increasingly determined to find new avenues to explore now that it can’t count on large jumps in processor performance to maintain the bottom line. An acquisition like this could make it the go-to source for chips in fields that are still growing quickly, such as robotics and smart homes.

Source: Intel, Movidius

You can now own this old robot that helped NASA test space suits

Believe it or not, NASA used to utilize a decidedly creepy robot to test space suits meant for real-life astronauts.

Now it can be yours if you so desire, as it’s currently up for sale as part of RR Auctions’ Remarkable Rarities Auction. The Power-Driven Articulated Dummy was designed specifically for NASA by the IIT Research Institute between 1963 and 1965 for the express purpose of testing space suits.

Given the many hazards that utilizing a robot could avoid, NASA went with this robot to measure things like how much pressure was being applied by their space suits, what kind of internal pressure was being kept stable, and various other pieces of data integral to keeping astronauts safe in space.

The robot could be adjusted between 5’5″ and 6’2″ to represent the typical American male, with nylon tubes acting as its circulatory system with oil flowing through it. There were only two of the robots ever made, and the aforementioned circulatory system kept leaking while hydraulic pressure was applied. One robot is housed permanently at the Smithsonian, but the other, slightly damaged one could go for over $80,000 to the right bidder during the upcoming auction.

If you’re interested in dropping the cash on the robot, online bidding begins on September 15th and the live auction is happening on September 26th.

Via: CNET