Nothing Phone (1) to come with transparent design as rumored launch date and pricing leak
In typical Carl Pei fashion, details on the Nothing Phone (1) have slowly been drip-fed over the past few months to help build hype. The latest such snippets on the Nothing Phone (1) include the potential launch date, pricing, and confirmation that the phone will come with a transparent design.
The CEO gave an interview alongside Nothing’s head of design to Wallpaper magazine in which he detailed some of the upcoming design elements of the firm’s first smartphone. Pei said that the Nothing Phone (1) will feature a transparent backplate design, which is in keeping with the ear (1) earbuds released last year. Pei also confirmed that the device will utilize recycled aluminum for the frame, and the wireless charging coil at the rear will act as a focal point for the design.
A separate leak from AllroundPC claims that the Nothing Phone (1) will launch in July, which matches the previously teased summer launch from Pei himself during the Nothing: The Truth keynote. The German publication obtained this new information from a European retailer suggesting a launch period for the Nothing Phone (1), as it claims that the device will officially go on sale from July 21.
From 9to5Google
AMD Zen 4 flagship CPU looks a major threat to Intel with 5.5GHz boost out of the box
AMD’s Zen 4 flagship CPU, the 16-core model that’ll likely turn out to be the Ryzen 9 7950X, will be capable of hitting 5.5GHz boost speeds by default, with no overclocking needed.
This revelation was made courtesy of a PC World livestream(opens in new tab) with AMD’s Director of Technical Marketing Robert Hallock, who clarified some details about the processor powering the gaming PC which ran the Ghostwire Tokyo demo at AMD’s Computex 2022 keynote.
While we already knew that the 16-core CPU reached 5.5GHz in the demo, the really interesting bit is the info that it did this running at default settings – in other words, that’s the boost clock you can expect from the processor out of the box, with no tweaking whatsoever, and no super-fancy cooling solution.
Hallock further observed that the test PC platform used a reference AMD AM5 motherboard with a consumer-level AIO liquid cooler. Interestingly, as Ian Cutress points out on Twitter, the Zen 4 chip is a prototype model (from April), and most threads were running at around 5.5GHz, depending on the exact scene being rendered (and the game played).
Furthermore, 5.2GHz to 5.5GHz was ‘common’ across all threads for Ghostwire Tokyo, going by what Hallock told Cutress.
From Techradar
Motorola’s Galaxy Z Flip 4 rival leaks early, flaunts new design and camera
Motorola is working on a newer version of its iconic RAZR smartphone, and it will be launched later this year to compete with the Galaxy Z Flip 4. Going by a new leak, the company seems to have taken some inspiration from Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip lineup while adding its own flavor.
Legendary leakster Evan Blass (@evleaks) has published a short hands-on video of the Motorola RAZR 2022. The video shows the phone’s design and some features. The foldable phone has an Infinity-O foldable OLED display, a side-mounted fingerprint reader, and a dual-camera setup.
Earlier RAZR phones have relied on a rear-mounted fingerprint reader, a single camera, and their selfie cameras were embedded in the top bezel rather than the display. So, the Lenovo-owned firm has clearly taken inspiration from the Galaxy Z Flip lineup. The smartphone is rumored to feature the same Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor that the Galaxy Z Flip 4 uses.
The upcoming RAZR phone also seems to have a much bigger cover display, allowing users to interact with notifications, reply to them, check time and weather, and even use apps on the squarish display. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 reportedly has a tiny, rectangular cover display that can only be used to check notifications and use widgets.
From Sammobile
Samsung Galaxy M13 official images confirm design
Samsung’s Galaxy M13 is the subject of the latest Evan Blass leak which gives us a detailed look at the phone’s design. The official-looking images show a waterdrop notch cutout on the display and a triple camera setup on the back. The device profile closely resembles the Galaxy M23 that launched back in March. The silver and coral colors of the M13 bring textured backs.
The official support page for the M13 went live just last week and the device previously passed through a Bluetoth SIG listing. Not much is known in terms of specs at the moment so we’ll have to wait for more leaks to fill us in.
From Gsmarena
Does the Xiaomi Mi Band 7 have NFC?
Xiaomi continues to impress, packing big specs into a comfortably small device (with a small price tag). But does the Mi Band 7 have all the features users expect from their fitness tracker? The new device offers a larger screen, a fresh UI, and plenty of new features, but what about NFC? Read on to find out.
To start, let’s nail down what NFC is exactly and why you might want it. Many popular wearables (as well as smartphones, tablets, and more) offer Near Field Communication technology, better known as NFC. This wireless communication is limited to extremely short distances. Most commonly, individuals rely on NFC to facilitate contactless payments through apps like Google Pay or Apple Pay.
The last generation, Mi Band 6, launched in China with two available models. The NFC version allows for contactless payments, while the standard model — which is, unfortunately, the version that’s sold globally — misses out.
Similarly, the Xiaomi Mi Band 7 launched in two versions, a standard model priced at 249 Chinese yuan (~$37), and an NFC version priced at 299 yuan (~$44). As usual, it will likely be a few weeks before we see the device roll out globally. It is not yet clear which model will be available to countries outside of China.
From Android Authority
Xiaomi 12S with Leica branding leaks
Xiaomi and Leica are officially joining hands in a new partnership and the first jointly developed phone is launching in July. Before the big announcement comes through, we have a new leaked image that depicts the alleged Xiaomi 12S bearing the iconic Leica branding on its camera housing.
Xiaomi is expected to bring its 12S and 12S Pro phones soon as both devices already passed through the IMEI database last month.
Based on speculation, Xiaomi 12S (2206123SC) will debut with the latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and while the rear camera setup looks identical to the Xiaomi 12 we can certainly expect some new additions spanning from the Leica partnership. It remains to be seen what other improvements come from the Xiaomi 12S series.
From Gsmarena
Windows 11 is adding support for Android apps and the Amazon Appstore in five new countries
Since the beginning of 2022, more Android apps have come to Windows 11 via the Amazon Appstore preview. This app marketplace allows Windows 11 users to experience Android apps right from their PC. Now, that functionality of Windows 11 is expanding to five new countries.
While we’re all familiar with the Google Play Store, you might be less familiar with the marketplace on Windows 11 that houses Android apps. That marketplace is the Amazon Appstore, and it holds well over 1,000 Android apps available to play and use on Windows 11 machines. Downloading Android apps on Windows computers is surprisingly pretty straightforward and easy to do, which makes it a cool new function of Microsoft’s latest OS.
One major drawback to this service was availability. Since the Amazon Appstore was a newcomer to Windows, when it launched in a limited capacity, it was only available to those in the United States. That looks to be changing now with Microsoft expanding support for the Amazon Appstore to several new regions. In a blog post, the company detailed that the preview of the Amazon Appstore would be expanding to five new countries in particular:
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Japan
- United Kingdom
From 9to5Google
Microsoft patent imagines a seemingly perfect foldable phone
Microsoft has filed an interesting patent application that details a very promising handheld foldable device. Instead of the rotating two-screen design of the Surface Duo and its successor, the device sketched in the patent application has a single foldable panel that can go from zero to 360 degrees.
In doing so, essentially, it goes from a seamless tablet to a one-handed smartphone mode. The idea is rather radical and hasn’t been attempted by a smartphone manufacturer so far. What is remarkable here is that the foldable screen bends both inwards as well as outwards. A bi-directionally folding screen not only eliminates the need for a secondary display to be used in one-handed mode but also reduces the stress on the battery for powering a cover display.
The likes of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Oppo Find N have adopted the inward folding design with a secondary cover display on top, while Huawei has experimented with the outward folding design on phones such as the Mate Xs. But in each implementation, the foldable panel only allows 180 degrees of movement, and that too, in a single direction.
Microsoft’s Surface Duo actually went full 360-degree mode, but it adopted a two-screen design attached to a hinge. Despite the flexibility, the gap was an eyesore and didn’t offer the same seamless experience as a single foldable panel. But it looks like the company wants to carry over the 360-degree folding DNA and blend it with a foldable screen. At least, in the imaginative world of patents.
From Digital Trends
AirPods Pro 2 to launch in late 2022 without USB-C charging
Apple is widely expected to announce the next-gen AirPods Pro model in the second half of the year. A recent report offered a tentative launch date for the AirPods Pro 2, indicating that Apple might unveil the new wireless earphones at the same time as the iPhone 14 this September. The same report said that Apple tested AirPods Pro 2 models with USB-C connectivity instead of Lightning. But an insider now says that Apple will stick with Lightning for the new AirPods Pro model.
From BGR
Graphyne Finally Created
Before you jump down to the comments to chastise us for misspelling graphene, note that graphyne is similar to graphene but not the same. Like graphene, it is a two-dimensional structure of carbon. Unlike graphene, it contains double and triple bonds and does not always form hexagons. Scientists have postulated its existence for decades, but researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have finally managed to pull it off. You can also download the paper if you want to wade through the details.
Carbon forms like fullerene and graphene are well-known and have many novel uses. Other allotropes of carbon include graphite and diamonds — certainly two things with wildly varying properties. Graphyne has conductivity similar to graphene but may also have other benefits.
The process is called alkyne metathesis, a fancy name for an organic reaction that reforms alkyne bonds. The process does require kinetic and thermodynamic control, including performing the reaction under argon. The entire produced is outlined in the paper under “Methods.” While it takes a little more than a test tube and a bunsen burner, it doesn’t sound like it takes anything too exotic — some chemicals, a Schlenk flask, liquid nitrogen, and a hot oil bath. This is something a well-stocked home lab might be able to pull off.
We still don’t know what to do with the graphene we make, but it isn’t that hard to make it. There are several different methods. Maybe we’ll see DIY graphyne soon.
From Hackaday
