The Xiaomi 12 Lite shows off its design in newly leaked live images
The Xiaomi 12 series made its debut late last year as a family of three smartphones. Of these, the Xiaomi 12X (above) acted as an affordable entry point to the Xiaomi flagship experience, priced notably lower than its siblings despite not making too many sacrifices — the design’s the same and the internal silicon’s only been toned down just a little. Xiaomi’s not done with the series yet, with an even more affordable option on the way, and today, we’re checking out the very first photos of the phone in the flesh.
We’re looking at a series of images that first surfaced on Weibo before being spread across Twitter. Xiaomi’s been developing these Lite editions of its flagships for several generations now, and although the 12 Lite may share its name with those pricier options, the hardware here differs in just about every important area, as a previous leak had revealed. The overall design is mostly the same, at least, with a familiar-looking camera module in the top-right corner adorning the otherwise plain rear.
From Android Police
Apple is now assembling the iPhone 13 in Brazil, but not the iPhone 13 mini
Although the vast majority of Apple products are assembled in China, Apple also uses some of Foxconn’s facilities in countries like Brazil and India to assemble iPhones. Now the company has started assembling the iPhone 13 in Brazil, but there’s a catch – it seems that the iPhone 13 mini will not have a local production.
9to5Mac reader João Menicucci recently bought an iPhone 13 in Brazil. To his surprise, the box indicates that the product was “Assembled in Brazil.” The model number, MLPF3BR/A, confirms that the device was indeed assembled in the country, as the units sold in Brazil that are imported from China have the identifier “BZ/A” instead.
However, for some unknown reason, it seems that only the 6.1-inch iPhone 13 is being assembled at Foxconn Brazil, located in Jundiai, São Paulo.
MacMagazine has found out that Apple updated the iPhone 13 documentation at ANATEL (the Brazilian telecom regulator) on January 24, 2022 to include Foxconn Brazil as a manufacturing facility for the product. The documents also confirm that neither the iPhone 13 mini nor the 13 Pro models will be assembled in Brazil.
From 9to5Mac
Samsung reports steep rise in profit for the first quarter of 2022
Samsung has reported a massive rise in operating profit for the first three months of 2022, thanks in part to the robust demand for its memory chips and the strong sales of its new Galaxy flagship devices. The Korean tech giant has posted an operating profit of KRW 14.12 trillion ($11.12 billion), which is 51 percent higher than the same period last year, and a record consolidated revenue of KRW 77.78 trillion ($61.2 billion).
From Engadget
Three Google Pixel Watch models receive Bluetooth certification
The Google Pixel Watch has made headlines as someone got their hands on a unit that went missing at a Chicago bar earlier this month (not an original scenario in the tech world). We got to see some live images of the unreleased smartwatch prototype with its round display with rounded edges.
Three new models GWT9R, GBZ4S, and GQF4C have been certified for Google LLC by the Bluetooth SIG labeled as a “BT Wearable Design-Controller Subsystem”. It is believed that this certification is for the three variants of the upcoming Google Pixel Watch.
While it is possible that these models represent different variants of the same device, it isn’t not clear whether the differences pertain to size, regional availability, or connectivity features like support for cellular data.
It’s anticipated that the FCC certification should be imminent, and that one may offer new information about the Pixel Watch. Google I/O will begin in a couple of weeks where we may hear something about Google’s new smartwatch, even if it is a teaser signaling a launch later in the year.
From Gsmarena
Samsung confirms new foldable smartphones are coming
Samsung announced its Q1 2022 earnings today which were quite impressive, to say the least. The company hit record revenue and profit of $61.19 billion and $11.10 billion respectively. It has also highlighted how it intends to sustain this performance going forward.
It goes without saying that Samsung’s existing foldable smartphones will get successors later this year. An important Samsung executive has also confirmed today that the company is busy with the development of its next foldable phones.
From Sammobile
Someone may have found Xiaomi’s next foldable phone hidden in MIUI code
Xiaomi announced its first foldable phone in March last year, and since then, rumors have been flying around about a successor. However, today, we have gotten our first glimpse at what the Chinese phone maker has in store.
XDA member Kacper Skrzypek has spotted images of Xiaomi’s next foldable within the latest MIUI China builds. We don’t see much except for the outline of the phone and an animation of how it opens and closes. However, we get a sense of the overall design and camera placement.
The phone seems to have a square camera bump at the back, unlike the rectangular one on the Mi Mix Fold. There’s also a center-placed punch hole camera on the external display of the device. The new Xiaomi foldable once again features a Galaxy Fold-style form factor with an in-folding display.
From Android Authority
Garmin’s new watch is built for the sea, but landlubbers should take a look too
Garmin has unveiled a new smartwatch specifically designed for life at sea – though it also has a lot to offer if you don’t happen to own a boat. The Garmin Quatix 7 (a successor to 2020’s Quatix 6) is packed with tools to make your life easier on the water, including a new alert if your boat’s anchor is dragging, and integrated tide data.
It’s been an extremely busy year for Garmin, with the launches of the Venu 2 Plus, Fenix 7, Epix (Gen 2), Instinct 2, Vivosmart 5, and several niche luxury watches as well.
The Quatix 7 fits into the latter camp, with an array of specialized tools and features for boating. For example, it’s compatible with Garmin’s autopilot systems, allowing you to see info including water depth, engine RPM, and wind on your wrist, and can be connected to Fusion Entertainment systems so you have complete remote control over your audio setup.
When you’re on dry land, there are 30 sports tracking modes to monitor your workouts, plus sleep tracking, and Garmin’s Body Battery score to help monitor your energy level and plan your day accordingly.
On-board GPS tracks your route and pace during outdoor activities and Garmin Pay allows you to make contactless purchases, but it’s worth noting the that Quatix 7 lacks the built-in microphone of the Garmin Venu 2 Plus, so you won’t be able to take and receive calls from your wrist, or use the watch to access your phone’s voice assistant.
From Techradar
AMD’s next-gen GPUs may deliver 130% performance jump
Moore’s Law Is Dead’s latest video examines the latest leaks for both Navi 31 and Navi 32 GPUs, with the former said to be powering AMD’s future flagship boards.
For reference, Navi is the main GPU die that AMD graphics cards are based on. Navi 31 (the most powerful high-end GPUs), Navi 32 (midrange), and Navi 33 (entry-level and midrange) silicon will be the backbone of the RDNA 3 architecture, the follow up to the current-gen RDNA 2.
Moore’s Law Is Dead (MLID), who is well-connected within the hardware space, starts off his presentation by highlighting that AMD is indeed developing Radeon RX 7000 boards with a multi-chip module (MCM). Within AMD, the company refers to 6nm dies as MCD (Memory Complex Dies), while the 5nm dies are known as GCD (Graphics Complex Dies), according to ‘very high confidence’ sources.
To this end, Navi 31 GPUs will reportedly come with 5nm Compute dies, as well as 6nm I/O and Infinity Cache dies.
As explained by NotebookCheck, this means AMD is taking a 3D stacked approach, reminiscent of the recently released Ryzen 7 5800X3D. This particular aspect of a multiple die design has been spotted before, and with MLID stressing that he can “100% confirm 3D stacking from all sources,” it seems AMD is certainly going all out when it comes to its next-gen GPUs.
Ryzen processors disrupted the CPU market with a range of efficient chips thanks to its MCM design — a state of affairs that AMD is evidently looking to replicate in terms of the GPU industry, which Nvidia has been dominating for years. Moore’s Law Is Dead touches on this scenario by saying multiple dies is a “major advantage over Ada Lovelace.”
Moving on, Navi 31 cards (NotebookCheck points out that the flagship Radeon RX 7900XT is probably being discussed) will apparently sport 512MB of infinity cache, joined by up to 32GB of VRAM via a 256-bit bus. A total of three variants from this specific configuration are seemingly in the works.
As for the performance, Moore’s Law Is Dead has heard that Navi 31 will provide a 90% to 130% jump over what the Radeon RX 6900XT offers in rasterization.
From Digital Trends
WhatsApp follows Google in giving cash-back rewards to win payments users in India
WhatsApp, the most popular smartphone app in India, is employing one of the most popular strategies that has proven to drive users in the world’s second largest market to a service: cash-back. The Meta-owned instant messaging service is running a campaign as part of which it is giving away about 11 Indian rupees, or 14 cents, up to three times to users if they send money to three different people on the app, according to users and an official company support page.
The reward comes at a time when WhatsApp is attempting to expand the reach of its mobile payments service in India. Even as WhatsApp began exploring mobile payments in India as early as 2017, regulatory pushback has prevented the popular app from aggressively expanding its payments service.
From Techcrunch
Mark Zuckerberg wants to spend big on the metaverse, but investors are skeptical
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Mark Zuckerberg told the world last October that he was all in on the metaverse, and that the endeavor that would only get more expensive over time. Now that his company’s stock price has been hammered in recent months, he is dialing back that rhetoric.
Meta will “slow the pace of some of our investments” due to “our current business growth levels,” Zuckerberg said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call Wednesday. Meta’s profits for the first quarter were $7.5 billion, down 21 percent from the year-ago period. Revenue rose 7 percent to $27.9 billion, the slowest growth rate since the company went public a decade ago. Its target expense range for 2022 was lowered by $3 billion.
Make no mistake: Zuckerberg is still spending billions a year on building devices and software for the metaverse, a concept he thinks will eventually be as big as the mobile internet. The Reality Labs division of Meta, which makes the Quest VR headset and future AR glasses, has about 17,000 employees and lost almost $3 billion last quarter alone. The problem is that Meta’s investors are uncomfortable right now with that level of spending, especially when the payoff is years away.
From The Verge
