Samsung Galaxy XCover 6 Pro is on the way, could be a huge power upgrade
Samsung‘s Galaxy XCover phones are its most rugged options around, offering MIL-STD-810 designs and IP68 ratings for a more durable smartphone. Now, it looks like a new XCover device could indeed be on the way soon.
MySmartPrice spotted a Google Play Console listing for the so-called Samsung Galaxy XCover 6 Pro or Galaxy XCover Pro 2 earlier this week, complete with a render of the front of the phone. The image seems to match the renders leaked by Steve ‘OnLeaks’ Hemmerstoffer earlier this year (seen at the top of the page).
The Google Play Console listing also dishes out a few apparent specs. It looks like the upcoming phone will be equipped with a relatively powerful Snapdragon 778G processor, about 6GB of RAM, and an FHD+ display. The chipset in particular would be a major upgrade over both the Galaxy XCover 5’s efficient but weak Exynos 850 SoC and the XCover Pro’s Exynos 9611 processor.
Lending more credence to an imminent release is the phone’s listing on the Bluetooth SIG website (with the same SM-G736 model number seen in the Google filing). This latest listing doesn’t tell us much else about the phone save for the presence of a dual-SIM variant and the use of Qualcomm’s FastConnect 6700 connectivity suite, as seen on the Snapdragon 778G.
Hemmerstoffer’s previously leaked renders also show features like an extra hardware key at the top of the device, a 3.5mm port, and a durable design in general. There’s no word on a removable battery just yet, but our hopes are high given that previous XCover phones had this option.
From Android Authority
Honor 70 Pro listed on Geekbench with Dimensity 8000 and 12GB RAM
One of Honor’s upcoming 70 series phones just stopped by Geekbench fkexing MediaTek’s Dimesnity 8000 chipset and 12GB RAM. The listing has the phone with the Honor SDY-AN00 model number and reveals it managed 819 single-core points and a 3,303 multi-core score. We can also observe the device boots Android 12 which will likely be layered with Honor’s Magic UI 6.0 on top.
All Honor 70 models will use 54MP Sony IMX800 camera sensors (1/1.49” size, f/1.9 aperture) alongside two other sensors. All three phones will bring BOE OLED displays with high-frequency PWM dimming with the 70 Pro and 70 Pro+ getting LTPO dynamic refresh rate panels.
Honor 70 series will launch on May 30 in China. Honor 70 Pro and 70Pro+ are also confirmed to feature 100W fast charging.
From Gsmarena
Honor shares details about the Magic4 Pro R&D process
The Honor Magic4 Pro is finally available globally, and to mark the occasion the brand decided to reveal more about the process of how its latest flagship came to be. The company shared details about its new Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park, as well as the processes happening inside at the R&D department.
Honor revealed over 200 reliability tests are applied, including drop tests, button durability testing and extreme weather simulations.
The production line of the new plant is 75% automated to minimize the risk of human error. All systems are digitally controlled, and with 95% alert accuracy, it is easy to stop the processes if they manage to fail.
The company also talked about Honor Magic4 Pro’s dual sound-emitting unit, which helped it achieve great results in our audio tests. The device is built with piezoelectric ceramics which enable directional sound on display, as well as the typical earpiece on top.
The company also reminded about the implementation of “Fusional Computational Photography” – the Magic4 Pro uses multi-camera fusion across full focal range, which is also tested in length at Honor’s Park.
This pinnacle of Honor manufacturing and R&D costs £949 in the United Kingdom, and arrival at other markets should follow shortly.
From Gsmarena
Galaxy Z Fold 4 wider aspect ratio rumors strengthened by case photos
With the release of the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 4 later this year, Samsung may address one of the biggest issues enveloping its book-like foldable form factor since its conception a few years ago. Namely, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 could have a slightly wider aspect ratio to benefit usability for both the cover screen and the foldable display.
This alleged change to the Galaxy Z Fold 4 aspect ratio is reflected in a few photos that made it onto Twitter recently. The photos supposedly depict a (third-party?) clear case for the Galaxy Z Fold 4.
And indeed, the aspect ratio for the upcoming foldable phone model appears to be a bit wider next to the Galaxy Z Fold 3 — assuming this clear case is based on accurate measurements.
From Sammobile
Microsoft confirms its Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming device is still in development
Microsoft has confirmed that its Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming device, codenamed Keystone, is still in development.
Offering access to Xbox Game Pass via Xbox Cloud Gaming, Microsoft also revealed it has a dedicated Xbox Streaming stick in the works last June. Codenamed ‘Keystone,’ a new Windows Central(opens in new tab) report confirms that the device provides a “modernized HDMI streaming device,” similar to Chromecast and Google Stadia. However, Microsoft announced this particular iteration won’t be publicly released.
In a statement to Windows Central, Microsoft says: “Our vision for Xbox Cloud Gaming is unwavering, our goal is to enable people to play the games they want, on the devices they want, anywhere they want. As announced last year, we’ve been working on a game-streaming device, codename Keystone, that could be connected to any TV or monitor without the need for a console.”
From Techradar
Google reportedly working on built-in snore and cough detection for Android
Last year, Google rolled out a new update to the Google Fit app that turned the Pixel phones into the mobile heart and respiratory monitors. The features take advantage of your phone’s cameras, microphone, and accelerometer to measure your heart and respiratory rate. Now Google is reportedly working on two new features for Android phones to provide more insight into your sleep quality.
Folks over at 9to5Google have uncovered a string of code within the Google Health Studies app that reveals Google is testing snore and cough detection features for Android. These features are part of the Google Health Sensing team’s ongoing Sleep Audio Collection study.
From XDA
Google Drive now lets you Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V to speed you up
Google Drive has become a powerful tool in our daily lives. Whether you have the standard 15GB of storage or you’re paying for a Google One subscription, you probably keep at least some files around on the platform. And if you’re using it from a computer, managing your files will get much more convenient. Now, you’ll be able to finally use keyboard shortcuts to move files around in Google Drive. Announced in the official Google Workspace blog, the ability to use keyboard shortcuts in Google Drive is starting to roll out to users.
The shortcuts themselves are identical to those you usually use on your PC or Mac. This means that you can use Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, and Ctrl+V to copy, cut, and paste files respectively. You can copy and paste files between folders inside your Google Drive. Copying a file also captures its URL and its title, so if you want to paste it into a Google Docs document, or even an email, you can do so too.
From Android Police
Larger-than-30TB hard drives are coming much sooner than expected
Inside of hard disk drives are platters which hold all your data; these are all manufactured by one company in Japan called Showa Denko which has announced it expects to “realize near-line HDD having storage capacity of more than 30TB” by the end of 2023.
Deciphering that statement, we’d assume it will provide platters with a storage capacity of more than 3TB, sometime in 2023, to partners such as Toshiba, Seagate and Western Digital, who will then produce the hard disk drives, targeting hyperscalers and data centers operators.
We’d expect some of them to end up in NAS and 3.5-inch external hard drives, but that won’t be the main target markets, as performance is likely to be optimized for nearline usage.
From Techradar
Play Store app listings start showing a new ‘Compatibility for your active devices’ section
Google is reportedly rolling out a new ‘Compatibility for your active devices’ section on app listings on the Play Store, which highlights whether an app is compatible with your active devices or not. This new section is currently available for a handful of users running version 30.6.16-21 of the Play Store app.
According to 9to5Google, the new ‘Compatible for your active devices’ section appears within the ‘About this app’ section on app listings. As shown in the attached screenshots, it can be found right at the bottom of the app info section. A description for the section states that it “shows you whether this app works on your devices. You’ll only see devices that are linked to your Google Account and that have been active in the last 30 days.”
From XDA
UAE Official Says Murder Should Be Illegal in the Metaverse
During a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates’ minister of state for artificial intelligence Omar Sultan Al Olama warned that committing serious crimes including “murder” should be made illegal in the metaverse.
“If I send you a text on WhatsApp, it’s text right?” Al Olama said, as quoted by CNBC. “It might terrorize you but to a certain degree it will not create the memories that you will have PTSD from it.”
“But if I come into the metaverse and it’s a realistic world that we’re talking about in the future and I actually murder you, and you see it,” he added. “It actually takes you to a certain extreme where you need to enforce aggressively across the world because everyone agrees that certain things are unacceptable.”
While it arguably makes sense to outlaw particularly heinous content, such as child sexual abuse imagery, in the virtual world things become a little more hazy when it comes to virtual “murder,” an argument that certainly stretches the definition of the word.
From Futurism
