ASUS’ Zenfone 9 gets a bigger camera in a palm-friendly body
With the launch of its latest smartphone today, ASUS finally bids farewell to its quirky “Flip Camera” feature, but it still believes that there’s a market for compact flagships. The new Zenfone 9 only comes in one size, which has kept the same 5.9-inch screen and 169-gram weight as its predecessor, but packing a bigger processor, main camera, battery and thermal material.
The biggest upgrades are, as you’d expect, the processor and camera. Much like its very recent ROG Phone 6 series, the Zenfone 9 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which is a notable jump from the Zenfone 8’s Snapdragon 888. As for the camera, this time ASUS opted for a much larger 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 sensor, which offers a pixel size of 1um instead of just 0.8um on the older IMX686.
From Engadget
The PS5 feature we’ve been waiting on since launch is finally here
Sony is finally adding 1440p support on PS5. But you’ll only be able to try it out if you’re signed up for the PS5 beta program.
Many PS5 owners have been eagerly awaiting 1440p support since the console’s launch. And while it’s currently only available as part of the PS5 beta program, Sony has confirmed it intends to roll out the feature globally “later this year.”
Other new features added to the beta include player-created gamelists and a menu to compare stereo and 3D audio. A variety of new social features have been added, too. These include screen share requests and notifications for games you can join. All in all, it’s a pretty substantial PS5 beta update.
From Techradar
Tecno Spark 9T debuts in India with a different design and specs
Tecno today introduced the Spark 9T in India, but it’s different from the one launched last month in Nigeria – both in terms of design and specs. For starters, the original Tecno Spark 9T is powered by the Helio G37 SoC, whereas the Indian model has the Helio G35 chip at the helm.
From Gsmarena
OnePlus 10T will have more RAM than the OnePlus 10 Pro
The OnePlus 10T is set to be revealed next week during an event in New York on August 3, but we’re continuing to learn more about the handset ahead of the big launch. As ever with OnePlus phones, the brand is teasing out a variety of new features, and the latest is the confirmation that the 10T will feature the most RAM ever on a OnePlus phone.
A new tweet from the brand’s India account has confirmed the company will offer a variant with 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM onboard. This has previously been rumored, but it’s the first time we’ve seen the brand confirm this spec. According to the tweet, it’ll also be paired with 256GB of UFS3.1 storage.
From Android Police
From chip to battery: Motorola confirms several Razr 2022 specs
The Motorola Razr was the first clamshell foldable phone to be revealed back in 2019, but Samsung stole a march on the brand thanks to its more polished Galaxy Z Flip series. Motorola is looking to step its game up with the Razr 2022 though, and it’s now shed light on some specs ahead of the upcoming launch.
Starting with the chipset, the Chinese brand revealed on Weibo that the new foldable will pack a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor. This is a welcome change from earlier rumors pointing to the vanilla Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. The Plus processor packs a little more grunt while also touting major efficiency gains, so we should see better endurance with the same battery capacity compared to using the vanilla chipset.
Thankfully, we do get a battery capacity upgrade here. A Motorola executive confirmed on Weibo that the Razr 2022 will arrive with a 3,500mAh battery. That’s 200mAh bigger than the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and 700mAh bigger than the Razr 5G. It’s still very small for a conventional smartphone, but this size is expected for a clamshell foldable. The executive insisted that we’ll still see “excellent” battery life though. I guess we’ll just have to wait for a review unit to put this claim to the test.
From Android Central
Samsung details big plans ahead of Galaxy Unpacked in August
Samsung is pulling out all of the stops with the promotion of its Galaxy Unpacked event that will take place on August 10. The company started small with a cryptic message, then began with little tidbits, before launching its official event trailer. While generally, this wouldn’t be too exciting, the video not only gave us a glimpse of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 but also of the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Along with the new trailer, the company has outlined special events that will take place leading up to the main event, some even taking place in the real world.
During its initial announcement, Samsung stated that its Galaxy Unpacked event would take place virtually. While this is mostly true, the firm is going to have physical spaces where people will get to physically experience the phones. The events will take place in London’s Piccadilly Circus and New York’s Meatpacking District. The event will not only be for journalists, but it will also be for fans and partners.
Samsung is once again partnering with BTS to promote its handsets. The group will release a special music video for its song “Yet to Come” which will be broadcast to iconic video screens across the world like the ones found in New York’s Times Square. Of course, this isn’t everything that’s coming down the pipeline, but just a small sample. Like any Galaxy handset release, Samsung is making sure to take the world by storm.
If interested in either of the handsets that will be announced, be sure to put in your reservation prior to the start of the event to get special bonus incentives. You can be eligible for up to $200 in credits.
From XDA
AMD manages to leak its own Ryzen 7000 CPUs, spoiling the Zen 4 surprise
Boy, the CPU industry is certainly looking leakier than the Titanic right now. Ahead of an official reveal scheduled for August 5, a new leak has seemingly confirmed the existence of four new processors from AMD, which will be part of the upcoming Ryzen 7000 series of CPUs. The kicker? This leak hasn’t come from some secretive Twitter account, but from AMD itself.
As reported by Wccftech, four new products were added to AMD’s own resource library: the Ryzen 9 7950X and 7900X, Ryzen 7 7700X, and Ryzen 5 7600X. Although we don’t have official specs for these chips from AMD, previously leaked benchmarks for unnamed Zen 4 CPUs give us a rough idea of what we’re looking at here.
The Ryzen 9 7950X is the top-end enthusiast processor, and is believed to be the 32-thread powerhouse CPU leaked through benchmark results, while the midrange 7600X is expected to run on 12 threads at around 5.2GHz. Power requirements for these chips may go as high as 170W, signaling a shift towards higher TDPs for both CPUs and GPUs.
Perhaps the most interesting inclusion is the 7700X, an unexpected appearance; previous speculation had the 7800X as the first Ryzen 7 chip to launch, but it looks like AMD might be releasing a lower-powered (and presumably more affordable) Ryzen 7 CPU first. All four of these processors will require AMD’s new AM5 socket, found on X670 and B560 motherboards.
From Techradar
Spurred by growing subscriber numbers, Spotify has its sights set on audiobooks
Spotify is the single biggest audio platform out there, and it has long expanded beyond music. Love it or hate it, the company’s push into podcasts was and is financially viable, even if it means that your favorite podcasts are locked to Spotify and no longer available on your favorite podcast player. As part of its Q2 2022 earning call, it becomes clear that Spotify is still looking to grow further, and its push into audiobook content is taking shape.
Despite global economic downturn and many companies now looking to save money rather than grow at any cost, Spotify still has its sight set on gaining more subscribers. That’s reflected by the impressive growth of its monthly active users (19% more than last year’s Q2) at the expense of profit. It lost roughly $197 million this quarter. However, this is still better than what it predicted, and an upward trend towards profitability at that.
From Android Police
Samsung patents new energy-efficient display refresh rate technology
Samsung is developing a new display refresh rate technology for mobile devices. A new patent application by Samsung describes a display technology that can apply different refresh rates simultaneously across multiple screen areas.
This could be the next evolutionary step in Samsung’s refresh rate technology for mobile displays. The Galaxy S20 was the first to adopt a fixed 120Hz refresh rate. The Galaxy S21 Ultra and later the Galaxy S22 featured upgraded AMOLED displays with a variable refresh rate, meaning that the AMOLED panels can adapt the refresh rate according to the on-screen content to save battery life.
Samsung is now seemingly working on the next evolutionary step beyond its variable refresh rate technology. The recent patent describes “A method of driving display with multiple refresh rates” and an “electronic device that drives a plurality of display areas of a display with different driving frequencies.” (via GalaxyClub)
From Sammobile
Apple Once Again Delays First Apple Store in India Until Next Year
Apple has once again delayed the opening of its first physical retail store in India, The Economic Times reports.
The store was originally planned to open in 2021, but the global health crisis and economic uncertainty forced Apple to delay the opening. Now, Apple has decided to delay the launch until early 2023, with today’s report saying the company is aiming for a launch between the January and March timeframe. The store in Mumbai is set to be 22,000 square feet and will be a “landmark” store known for its iconic design.
Apple is also planning a second, smaller store in New Delhi that will measure 10,000-12,000 square feet. Beyond those two stores, Apple is also looking at other possible locations in malls and high-end shopping districts across India with the intent of making retail a large part of its presence in the country.
In 2020 Apple opened its online store in India, offering Indian customers a direct way to purchase products directly from Apple without having to go through an authorized premium reseller. Apple executives have repeatedly stressed the importance of the Indian market. Most notably, Apple began production of the iPhone 13 in the country earlier this year.
From Macrumors
