Motorola is now the third biggest smartphone brand in the US
The US smartphone market isn’t quite like what we see in other regions around the world. While Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Realme thrive in Europe and Asia, they don’t really have a presence in the States. Deep American pockets are also crazy for iPhones, and everyone else (led by Samsung) often looks like they’re just scrambling to play catch-up. While those two top spots seem as solid as ever, Motorola has made a big breakthrough, managing to climb to spot number #3 in the US last year.
According to research firm Counterpoint, Motorola has climbed through the ranks to become the third best-selling smartphone company in the United States, and has remained in that spot for a full year. Granted, Moto found quite a bit of success during its golden days in the 2000s, but this is the first time we’re seeing it begin to return to that stature in the modern smartphone age (and under Lenovo’s ownership). Furthermore, the company has also become the second best-selling entity in the budget segment ($400 and below), giving us a hint as to just where this renewed success is coming from.
From Android Police
Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro 2 renders leak, reveal headphone jack
Modern-day smartphones, although made up of high-grade materials, can’t withstand the wear and tear a specialized rugged phone could.
If you are a niche customer and want a smartphone that can easily stay alive without breaking in half, then you are probably familiar with the Samsung Galaxy XCover lineup.
Samsung’s XCover brand is known for manufacturing some of the best-rugged smartphones. It’s been around for a decade now, but couldn’t achieve the success as the Galaxy S or A-series, since it targets a very specialized audience.
The last Galaxy XCover phone, the Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro, was launched more than two years ago. Now, it is finally time for the company to update the lineup with a sequel. The upcoming Galaxy XCover Pro 2 is expected to keep up with the modern trend of featuring 5G connectivity.
From Sammobile
Oppo F21 Pro series is coming on April 12
Oppo launched the F19 lineup last March, and the company will follow it up with the F21 Pro series next month – on April 12.
This announcement comes from Oppo’s Indian branch, which said that the F21 Pro series will be introduced in India on April 12 at 5PM local time. The lineup includes the F21 Pro 4G and F21 Pro 5G, but it’s unclear if these will be joined by a Pro+ model since there’s no mention of it yet.
From Techradar
OnePlus 10R renders leak, and it looks pretty familiar
OnePlus launched the OnePlus 9R last year, coming as an upper mid-range companion to the flagship OnePlus phone. We’ve seen spec leaks regarding a OnePlus 10R for a few months now, but we’ve finally got a look at apparent renders too.
91mobiles and frequent leaker Yogesh Brar posted renders that purportedly show the OnePlus 10R. The images show a phone that looks similar to the previously announced Realme GT Neo 3 by OnePlus’ stablemate.
That means you’ve got a center-mounted punch-hole cutout on the front and a distinctive rear camera housing. The rear cameras are arranged in a triangle of sorts, with a large camera (presumably the main shooter) at the top and two auxiliary cameras at the bottom — much like Realme’s phone. In saying so, the flash is in a different position on the OnePlus handset.
It’s also interesting to note that the OnePlus 10R renders don’t show an alert slider here, lining up with a previous Pricebaba claim. It wouldn’t be the first time we see a OnePlus phone missing this long-time feature, but it’s clear that the brand is losing elements that made it unique in the first place.
From Android Authority
Apple will no longer repair iPhones reported as lost or stolen
Apple has always had policies to not provide repair services for lost or stolen devices, but only if they had the Find My feature enabled. Now the company will also deny iPhone repairs if the device is reported as lost or stolen in the GSMA Device Registry.
According to an internal memo sent to Apple Store employees and Apple Authorized Service Providers (via MacRumors), the company will now use the GSMA Device Registry database to check if a device is registered as lost before providing any repairs. If the company’s internal systems indicate that the device has been “reported as missing,” the technicians must reject the repair.
For those unfamiliar, the GSMA Device Registry is a global database that allows smartphone owners to register events such as loss, theft, fraud or to indicate that the device is subject to a payment plan. With the phone’s IMEI, companies with access to this platform can easily check if a device has been assigned to any of these categories.
The new policy aims to prevent stolen iPhones from being replaced with new ones if they have never had Find My enabled before. Of course, for those devices with Find My enabled, nothing changes – the company already denies repair services for locked devices.
From 9to5Mac
Google Chrome 100 update arrives with a new icon
Google Chrome has been updated to version 100, bringing with it bug fixes, the removal of lite mode, and most of all, a new icon.
In the 14 years since the web browser was released, Chrome has become an app that many use for anything else other than browsing the web. Partly thanks to the Chrome Web Store, you can play games, complete your school report and watch Moon Knight all without checking a web page.
Google has made a fun look back on 100 web moments since 2008’s arrival of Chrome, but while this is a fun read, the more pressing matter is the new icon that version 100 brings.
It made me want to look back on another logo change from Instagram, and how its change in 2013 was so major.
From Techradar
Samsung’s OLED panels for laptops receive Eye Care, Flicker Free certifications
Samsung Display had released new OLED panels for laptops last year. Several laptop makers, including ASUS, Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung Electronics, used those OLED panels in their laptops. Now, the company has announced that its laptop OLED panels have received certifications that prove that its displays are relatively safer for human eyes.
The company says that naked eyes can’t notice screen flickering, but it can result in headaches, red eyes, and negatively impact the overall vision. According to Samsung, its OLED panels for laptops have low blue light levels and are flicker-free, leading to less stress on the eyes. The displays have received global ‘Flicker Free’ certification from TUV for 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz modes.
From Sammobile
Electric Rolls-Royce Spectre Finishes Winter Testing in Sweden
So far the upcoming Rolls-Royce Spectre has undergone 25% of its 2.5-million-kilometer testing regimen after completing winter testing in Arjeplog, Sweden, outside the Arctic Circle, and Rolls-Royce took the opportunity to share more photos and details of its first electric production car. The brand is describing it as an Electric Super Coupe that’s a true successor to the massive Phantom Coupe, and not the smaller Wraith that just ended production last year.
From Cnet
FedEx’s newest cargo plane is an autonomous drone
FedEx is trying out a new delivery tool.
Starting next year, the delivery company is testing out an autonomous cargo drone from Bay Area aircraft startup Elroy Air. The hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing plane (that means it doesn’t need a runaway and is more like a helicopter) will take packages between FedEx Express sorting facilities.
For now, the autonomous drone will stick with middle-mile logistics between FedEx buildings instead of dropping packages off at people’s doors or picking up from merchants. Elroy was originally focused on autonomous air taxis for passengers but now is dedicated to autonomous cargo delivery.
The test flights are expected to start mid-2023 on Elroy Air’s Chaparral autonomous aircraft, which can handle up to 500 pounds of cargo and deliver it up to 300 miles away. It’ll fly at lower elevations and only have packages onboard, no people.
From Mashable
Record-breaking NASA astronaut makes it safely back to Earth
Mark Vande Hei, who broke the record for the longest single spaceflight by an American astronaut, has safely made it back to Earth. Vande Hei made his way to the International Space Station on April 9th last year and spent 355 days in orbit, eclipsing Scott Kelly’s record of 340 continuous days spent outside our planet’s atmosphere. This concludes Vande Hei’s second spaceflight, bringing his total number of days spent in space to 523.
The American astronaut made the journey back to Earth with Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov aboard the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft. There were fears that Roscosmos would leave Vande Hei stranded in space after the US imposed sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. NASA would’ve had to rely on private companies, such as SpaceX, to transport him back. Russian space agency Roscosmos issued a statement assuring everyone that it will ferry Vande Hei back home, though, proclaiming that the agency “has never given reason to doubt its reliability as a partner.”
From Engadget
