Quick Shots-106

Realme GT 2 Pro live images show under-display selfie camera

According to a leaked live image of the Realme GT 2 Pro, the phone is going to have its selfie camera under the display. Oppo has been perfecting the technology for a couple of years now and it looks like Realme will be the first one to reap the benefits of the R&D.

It’s hard to tell from just one photo and without seeing it in person, but it’s impossible to spot the selfie camera. It’s quite inconspicuous.

Notably, the source of the leak says that the handset will come in two variants and only one of them will offer the UPC but both will be equipped with the same QHD+, 120Hz panel.

The company is making an announcement concerning the GT 2 Pro tomorrow so maybe we’ll hear more about that then.

From Gsmarena

HUAWEI Watch D Expected to Launch on December 23

The only details that are known about this new watch so far are reports that it will feature a precise blood pressure monitor. This will be similar to the one available in the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, which was the first to introduce this type of monitor. From what we know about HUAWEI Watches in the past, we can expect Watch D to be more affordable in price, than the Galaxy Watch 4.

HUAWEI Watches work best with the HUAWEI Health app. When paired with this app, you’ll be able to keep a detailed history of your blood pressure results and monitor for improvements.

Other than the new blood pressure monitor, we don’t know any of the specs from this watch. Make sure you watch the launch event on December 23rd where you’ll be able to see all of the details on this new watch, as well as other new products from HUAWEI.

From XDA

Nokia Suzume with Exynos 7884B, Android 12 spotted at Geekbench

The Nokia “Suzume” is equipped with an Exynos 7884B. This is a 14 nm chip with relatively old hardware – two Cortex-A73 cores and six A53 cores, plus a Mali-G71 MP2 and an LTE modem. According to Geekbench, the A73 cluster was clocked at 2.1 GHz, while the A53 cluster ran at 1.7 GHz.

The phone doesn’t have much RAM, 3 GB by the looks of it, but it did run full Android 12. Unfortunately, this is all the info we can gather from Geekbench.

From Gsmarena

Samsung’s Galaxy S21 FE could be supported longer than the S21 and S21 Ultra

Samsung is thought to be preparing the launch of the Galaxy S21 Fan Edition (FE) in a matter of weeks. Now, a new report from enthusiast site SamMobile says the phone will run Android 12 and One UI 4 out of the box, making it the first new Samsung device to come with the new OS, potentially beating out other members of the S21 series in terms of software support.

While what software version a phone launches with is ordinarily trivial, a few things make this release noteworthy. The S21 FE was first supposed to launch in 2021 with One UI 3 and Android 11 on board, and Samsung offered to deliver three software updates and four years of security updates to the device. Initially, because of the delayed release, Samsung would only have had to update the S21 FE to Android 12, Android 13, and Android 14.

From Digital Trends

Tecno announces affordable Pova Neo with big battery and screen

The Pova Neo is built around a 6.8” LCD with HD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It has a waterdrop notch on the top for an 8MP selfie camera, while on the back are 13MP main and 2MP portrait cameras. There is also a quad-LED flash, all of them in the same color.

The phone is powered by Helio P22, and Tecno coupled it with 4GB RAM. There’s 64GB storage, but there is a microSD slot for easy expansion. The big battery can be charged through the USB-C port with the 18W adapter that comes in the retail box.

From Gsmarena

Oppo’s Find N is the company’s first foldable flagship phone

Oppo has teased its first foldable smartphone nearly three years after it unveiled a prototype device. The Find N looks like a device along the lines of Samsung’s Galaxy Fold lineup, created after “four years of intense R&D and six generations of prototypes,” Oppo said in a press release. The launch is set to take place at Oppo Inno Day on December 15th. 

Oppo didn’t reveal any processor, display or other specs of the Find N, other than showing an image and video. It did promise a “beautiful” device that feels good in the hand, and will be simple to use in both the open and closed positions. It also said that it has solved any screen creasing and durability issues inherent in folding smartphones. 

From Engadget

iPhone 14 Pro to feature major redesign with hole-punch display

Korean site The Elec is the latest to report that Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro phones will feature a hole-punch display design. The report says the 6.06-inch iPhone 14 Pro and 6.7-inch iPhone Pro Max will both have hole-punch selfie cameras, according to sources.

The regular iPhone 14 models will also come in 6.06-inch and 6.7-inch sizes. Other reports also offered the same claims. The larger model will replace the iPhone mini and will sell as the iPhone 14 Max. The cheaper iPhone 14 handsets will get notch designs like the iPhone 13 models.

The report says that the iPhone 14 Pro models will have LTPO TFT OLED panels similar to those used in the iPhone 13 Pro versions. These displays support the dynamic 120Hz screen refresh rates that Apple just introduced with this year’s Pro models.

From BGR

WhatsApp Launches Instant Cryptocurrency Payments in the US

WhatsApp has launched a cryptocurrency payment feature for a small number of users in the United States, thanks to Novi integration, a digital wallet owned by Facebook (now Meta).
The pilot program lets users of the encrypted messaging app send and receive money “instantly, securely, and with no fees” using the Paxos Dollar (USPD) stablecoin, whose value is linked to the US dollar.

The way the payments work in WhatsApp is similar to sending regular attachments in a conversation. Users tap the plus (+) icon and then select Payment from the menu that appears. Users who are paid this way receive USDP, which can be withdrawn to a bank account in its equivalent value in US dollars.

There’s no cap on the number of times the Novi system can be used to send and receive money through WhatsApp. Regardless of frequency of use, there are no fees associated with keeping a balance in a Novi account or withdrawing it to a bank account. In addition, the inclusion of Novi in the chat platform has no effect on the end-to-end encryption of personal messages.

From Macrumors

Instagram says it’s working a new chronological feed option, could launch in early 2022

Instagram might soon launch a feature that many users have been calling for it to add (back) for years. According to Adam Mosseri, who serves as the head of Instagram, the company is actively exploring adding a chronological feed option to the app.

As we reported would happen last week, Mosseri testified before Congress today, focused on how Instagram affects kids. One of the topics that repeatedly came up during the testimony is how Instagram might be addictive for users. One obvious aspect of this is Instagram’s algorithm that ranks the feed.

Mosseri testified today that Instagram has been working on adding a chronological option to the Instagram app “for months” and that it hopes to launch it sometime “in the first quarter of next year.”

From 9to5Mac

Instagram head tells Congress other apps are bad for kids, too

The head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, told Congress on Wednesday that the devastating effect his app has had on young people should really be blamed on the entire industry. “But, mom, we were all doing it!”

Mosseri faced questions before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security about Instagram’s effect on young people’s mental health. His overwhelming response was that Congress overstated the damage Instagram has on young people and, in the end, the blame should fall on the entire industry, not just Instagram. 

“The reality is that keeping young people safe online is not just about one company,” Mosseri said on Wednesday. He said that child safety was an “industry-wide issue.”

He said Instagram, and companies like it, “should have to adhere to these standards” to earn protections under Section 230, which protects tech companies from being legally liable for what users post on their platforms. He also said more teens are now using TikTok and YouTube than they are Instagram, anyway.

“We’ve been calling for regulation for nearly three years now, and from where I sit, there’s no area more important than youth safety,” he said.

From Mashable