iQOO Z6 5G launched in India with SD 695 and 5,000 mAh battery
As expected, iQOO Z6 5G was launched in India earlier today. The device brings a 6.58-inch FHD+ LCD with a 120Hz refresh rate and the Snapdragon
695 chipset.
The iQOO Z6 is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery with 18W charging. There’s a 50MP main camera around the back alongside 2MP modules for macro shots and depth data. The phone runs Android 12 with Funtouch OS 12 on top. The phone boasts a five-layer liquid cooling system helping keep thermals in check as well as a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and a bottom-mounted headphone jack.
iQOO Z6 comes in Chromatic Blue and Dynamo Black colors and goes on open sale from March 22. The baseline 4GB RAM and 128GB storage model will sell for INR 15,499 ($203). You can also scoop up a 6/128GB trim for INR 16,999 ($223) and an 8/128GB model for INR 17,999 ($235). HDFC Bank card owners get a special launch offer discount of INR 2,000 across all trims.
In addition to the brand-new iQOO Z6 5G, the brand announced a pair of wireless earphones dubbed iQOO Wireless Sport Neckband. These will retail for INR 1,799 ($24).
From Gsmarena
Redmi K50 series to bring 512GB storage, OIS for the 108MP camera
The Redmi K50 series is arriving tomorrow, and the Xiaomi brand revealed more spicy details about what to expect at the launch. The phones will arrive in three colors and bring new features to the Redmi flagships, including OIS on the main camera and a 512GB storage option.
The brand also revealed the colors of the Redmi K50 phones – they will be sold in Black, White, and Green. The Black one will have a fancy shiny design under lighting, which will add some flashiness to the plain black handset.
From Gsmarena
Samsung set to go bullish on the Galaxy Z Flip 4
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3 represented a pivotal shift for foldable phones, making them more mainstream and practical. The Galaxy Z Flip 3, in particular, was quite intriguing thanks to its relatively lower price tag compared to the more expensive Fold 3. And it looks like Samsung has even loftier goals for the next model in its clamshell lineup.
According to Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) CEO Ross Young, Samsung Display is expected to start shipping display panels for the Galaxy Z Flip 4 as soon as April. The timeframe is the same as the last year as Samsung had begun shipping out panels for the Galaxy Z Flip 3 in April as well. But Young notes that the order is expected to be much larger for the Galaxy Z Flip 4 at about 8.7 million panels. For reference, panel shipments for the Z Flip 3 were around 5.1 million.
From XDA
The Xiaomi 12 trio receives perfect A+ marks from DisplayMate
DisplayMate has published its findings from testing the Xiaomi 12 series displays and all three phones got an A+ mark. The 12 and 12 Pro set or matched 15 display records, 7 of which were rated “visually indistinguishable from perfect”. The 12X is one record short of matching it pricier siblings.
Each phone showed strengths in different areas. The Xiaomi 12 Pro is the only one of the trio to feature a higher resolution 1,440 x 3,200 px display, giving it an edge in sharpness. It also proved the brightest, hitting 980 nits at 100% APL (average picture level, i.e. how much of the screen is showing white) and 1,541 nits at low APL.
From Gsmarena
First Alleged CAD Renders of iPhone 14 Pro Show Pill-Shaped and Circular Cutouts Replacing Notch
India-based tech blog 91Mobiles posted a series of renders on Wednesday that it claims are based on leaked factory CAD images of Apple’s upcoming iPhone 14 Pro.
Apple is widely expected to remove the notch on the Pro models in the iPhone 14 series, and the images offer an idea of how Apple’s flagship device will look with hole-punch and pill-shaped cutouts near the top of the display.
Converging rumors and leaks have indicated that in the absence of a notch, a hole will be used for the Face ID dot projector, while the pill-shaped cutout will supposedly house the front camera and Face ID infrared camera. The CAD images show that the speaker grille will remain embedded in the top bezel.
From Macrumors
Microsoft’s first AI-powered smart camera launches for the Surface Hub 2
Microsoft is launching its first AI-powered camera for the Surface Hub 2. Businesses that have bought fully into Microsoft’s future-of-work vision with the Surface Hub will now be able to upgrade its camera capabilities. The new Surface Hub 2 Smart Camera supports automatic reframing, a wide field of view, and image correction features that will all improve meetings.
“Surface Hub 2 Smart Camera reframes, adjusts lighting, and enables incredibly wide angles of view, all without any warping, distortions, or depth-of-field issues that might otherwise limit what is visible,” explains Steven Bathiche, corporate vice president of Windows and devices at Microsoft. “The team put tremendous work into tuning the experience to capture and frame what is occurring in the room while being smooth and natural for remote viewers or participants.”
From The Verge
Universal Control is finally here, making iPads and Macs even more useful
Back at WWDC 2021, when Apple first unveiled macOS 12 Monterey, it showed off a feature that lets you use your Mac and iPad seamlessly. The feature, called Universal Control, was delayed until 2022. But now you can finally download it.
As a part of the recently-released macOS 12.3, Universal Control is now enabled. It’s a beta version of the software but is fully functional. In essence, this feature lets you use your iPad with your Mac, seamlessly letting you use your mouse and keyboard on the tablet. It will also allow you to wirelessly transfer files between the two devices, saving both time and space.
Users have technically been able to use the software since macOS 12.3 was in beta back in January 2022. But now that it’s part of the public release of the operating system, you don’t have to risk data loss just to use the cool feature.
We haven’t had a chance to use the feature as it exists for public users quite yet, so we’re not sure how it performs (we were impressed with its Beta operation). But, given that Apple rarely releases new features that aren’t thoroughly tested, it’s likely that it will easily work. Even so, you should exercise some caution. The feature is still in its beta phase, even if it’s part of the public release of macOS 12.3 – so you should be prepared to deal with some bugs here and there.
We’re not sure when Apple will release Universal Control in a non-beta capacity, but given that anyone can use it anyways – does it really matter?
You can update your Mac by clicking the Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen and selecting “About This Mac…”. From there, just click the “Software Update…” button and follow the prompts to download and install the new update. One piece of advice though: be sure to back up your Mac first.
From Techradar
LG Velvet is now receiving Android 12 update
Back in April last year, LG officially announced its retreat from the smartphone business, followed by halting manufacturing activities at the end of May. It’s definitely been a while since then, but apparently some of LG’s mobile division software engineers were kept on the job, and what they’ve been working on has been released today.
We’re talking about the update to Android 12 for the LG Velvet. Seriously. This is now out in the company’s home market of Korea, and despite the vague forum post announcing this, the market makes us assume we’re talking about the Velvet 5G here, not the 4G model.
From Gsmarena
Google unveils ‘Immersive Stream for Games,’ its service that lets companies use Stadia’s tech
At its Google for Games Developer Summit, Google today unveiled Stadia’s B2B offering called “Immersive Stream for Games.” The offering, which was created in partnership with Google Cloud, will allow companies to take advantage of Stadia’s underlying platform technology and deliver games directly to players. With this offering, Google is branching out by opening up Stadia’s streaming technology for other companies to license.
Google says the service will allow companies to run game trials, offer subscription bundles or entire storefronts. Google began working with AT&T last year to pilot the new offering. AT&T used the service to power its offering of Batman: Arkham Knight to thousands of its users for free. The company will be using Immersive Stream for Games to power another game coming soon to its customers, which will be playable on the web and on mobile. Google plans to scale Immersive Stream for Games more this year.
“The Google for Games Developer Summit is designed to support studios of every size, with tools and innovations from teams across Google,” said Dov Zimring, Stadia’s head of product, in an emailed statement to TechCrunch. “The core features we’re talking about today are benefitting both the development journey and player experience for Immersive Stream for Games customers, including Stadia. In partnership with Google Cloud, we’re working to build out the underlying cloud gaming technology that powers both Stadia and our customers’ offerings via Immersive Stream for Games. A rising tide for cloud gaming lifts Immersive Stream for Games as well as Stadia, and we’re excited for what’s to come in 2022 and beyond.”
Google’s official unveiling of the offering follows a report from February that indicated that the company was deprioritizing Stadia and focusing on striking deals with companies through a B2B cloud gaming service. Today’s announcement finally gives this project a name.
From Techcrunch
Samsung CEO issues formal apology to users over GOS scandal
Samsung VC and CEO Jong-Hee Han issued an official apology to Samsung users over the GOS app throttling fiasco during the company’s annual shareholders meeting. The chief executive admitted Samsung did not appreciate customer concerns and said Samsung will “listen to customers more closely to prevent such an issue from happening again”.
From Gsmarena
