Samsung teases foldable phone; could feature 7.29-inch main display and 4.28-inch secondary display

There have been rumors about a foldable smartphone from Samsung, while some point at MWC launch, while some say, the company will showcase it before the year-end. However, the company is said to have confirmed the display specifications of the foldable smartphone and decided to mount the panel on the outside.  When folded, it functions as a 4-inch smartphone, and when opened it is a foldable tablet that acts as a 7-inch tablet. According to earlier reports, Samsung confirmed to install two organic light emitting diode (OLED) panels in its foldable smartphone. The main display is 7.29 inches and the secondary display is 4.58 inches. The panel size will be 7.3 inches and 4.6 inches. This means that the smartphone can be used either as a tablet or smartphone, in-line with earlier reports. Samsung Display will start mass production of parts in November. Initial volume is not as large as 100,000 units a month. It is expected to be between 500,000 and 1 million units per year. Since it is the first form factor to be tried, the company intends to observe the market reach and the selling. When mounted, consumers can perform basic smartphone functions such as phone and message transmission. However, this has an advantage, the thickness goes up ...

Barnes & Noble releases new NOOK 10.1 reading tablet

Barnes & Noble has announced a new NOOK tablet, the NOOK 10.1 it acts as a 2 in 1 tablet capabilities for browsing, taking pictures, or sending emails. It features a front and rear camera, headphone jack, Bluetooth capability, and pogo pins to easily connect to a NOOK keyboard or a NOOK charging dock. It packs 32GB storage that is expandable up to 256GB and comes with an updated user experience on the NOOK 10.1, with a custom home screen with easy access to your current reads and recent purchases, and an improved NOOK Bookstore and Library. Plus. It sports a 10.1-inch (1920 x 1200 Pixels Resolution) IPS display that is optimized for reading and comes with Google PlayStore. The company claims that it can offer up to 8.5 hours of reading watching videos and web browsing. Connectivity features include  Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) dual-band. It features 2MP dual and front cameras. The NOOK 10.1 will be available for a special price of $119.99 (Rs. 8,760 approx.) starting from November 22nd to December 26th. Barnes & Noble is offering a cookbook bundle promotion starting from November 22nd to December 31st. Customers can also purchase the NOOK 10.1 with a charging dock for $159.99, and receive $50 worth of Good Housekeeping eCookbooks. Bill Wood, Chief ...

Samsung Galaxy S10 powered by Exynos 9820 said to feature first 7nm EUV dual-core NPU chip to improve camera performance

Samsung Galaxy S10 said to use company's self-developed world's first 7nm EUV dual-core NPU chip on Exynos 9820. One of the features of the AI chip is to enhance the camera. This resembles a human brain as it is a mobile processor with core optimized for artificial intelligence operations such as image processing, image recognition, and speech recognition. The company will release the flagship in the first half of 2019 and the application processor has dedicated artificial intelligence cores. Samsung manufactures APs with a 7nm EUV process that has recently been completed. It is called an exposure (photo) process in which a specific light source is shot on a wafer to engrave a semiconductor circuit. So far, argon fluoride (ArF) has been used for exposure. EUV is newly designed and has a wavelength length of only 1/14 that of ArF. It is suitable for more detailed semiconductor circuit pattern implementation and can reduce the complex multi-patterning process to realize high-performance semiconductor and improve productivity. Samsung Electronics uses EUV to create an artificial intelligence AP to enter the Galaxy S10. A high-ranking official in the industry said: "The Galaxy S10 AP has two artificial intelligence cores. There will be a significant performance improvement over previous 7 nanosecond EUV production with artificial intelligence." Samsung ...

Google Pixel 3 memory management issue said to kill background apps [Update: Fix to roll out soon]

Update: Google has confirmed it will roll out an update to fix Pixel 3's memory management issues as well as a bug with the Pixel Stand that broke ambient display notifications. It just said it will be available in the coming weeks without giving any time frame. Earlier: Google Pixel series and bugs seem like a never-ending story as the recent batch of Pixel 3 and 3 XL phones which are making their way into customer's hands are reporting of software related issues. It is being reported that Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, thanks to 4GB of RAM, could be having memory management issue. Reports state that taking a photo is apparently enough to kill the music player if it's playing music in the background. Tests suggest that the phone couldn't handle more than 3-4 apps as they are forced out of memory. The reports started flowing even before the phone hit the markets. Android Police's Artem who was testing the Pixel 3 XL and found that merely cycling between Chrome, Google+, and Twitter was enough to force Chrome out of memory on the Pixel 3 XL, requiring that the app is reloaded the next time it is opened. It is clear the reason ...

Asus Zenfone 6 prototype with off-center waterdrop notch surfaces in live images, video

Asus has moved past Zenfone 5 and is seriously working on completely overhauling the successor; the Zenfone 6. After the Zenfone 6 prototypes that surfaced a few days ago, now we get to see the flagship in live images. The variant we are getting to see is one among the various version that Asus will introduce at the MWC 2019.  Do note that the device is still an advanced state of prototype and might not correspond to a final version. Before going into full production, every smartphone passes a phase in which several prototypes are made virtually by hand and not by the assembly line. Going by the images, the phone comes with an almost edge-to-edge design with slim bezels and a narrow chin at the bottom. https://youtu.be/B-Huk-TN56Q One thing that stands out is the side-positioned notch unlike the regular or teardrop notch. Since there are no details regarding the phone, it isn't clear if this is a mid-range variant or flagship. It has dual-rear cameras, what appears to be a fingerprint sensor beneath the camera module, however, the design of the sensor is unusual, which makes us believe that the company might go with an in-display sensor like the rest. Either way, with the ...

Apple AirPods 2 with ‘Hey Siri’ integration listed on Bluetooth regulator database

While it is rumored that Apple would introduce the new AirPods with Siri integration at the October 30th event, but surprisingly didn't mention any detail. Now, new AirPods listings were added to the Bluetooth regulatory database on November 1, 2018, suggesting a refreshed version of the accessory could be coming in the near future.  The AirPods have model numbers; A2031 and A2032, which seems to correspond to a left AirPod and a right AirPod, both of which have completed the Bluetooth Qualification Process. The hardware listing for the Apple's hardware is listed as REV1.1, compared to the REV1.0 hardware listing of the original AirPods. Going by the rumors, the company is working on second-generation AirPods with an improved wireless chip, hands-free Hey-Siri. However,  Apple's Charging Case for the AirPods is not listed in the Bluetooth database, so it is not known if an updated version accompanies the revised version of the AirPods. If Apple indeed launches the new AirPods with a charging case that supports wireless charging, we can also hope for updated AirPods sometime in the future. Currently, there's no time frame for the upgraded AirPods launch, however, the first AirPods were added to the database on November 20, 2016, ahead of a December 13, 2016 launch date. If Apple follows the ...

November 2018 Android security now available for Pixel, Nexus devices and Essential Phone

Google has started rolling out new over-the-air (OTA) update for Pixel devices and also posted factory images as part of monthly Android Security release. The update for this month includes November security updates. Apart from Google, Essential also rolled out the November security patch update.  The update on the Essential phone also brings support for 'Essential Audio Adapter HD.' The update are already rolling out OTA. Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL (PQ1A.181105.017.A1) Pixel C (OPM8.181105.002) Nexus 5X / 6P (OPM7.181105.004) Check out the complete set of issues that are fixed in the latest update in the Android Security Bulletin here and download full factory images or OTA images for these Pixel and Nexus devices from the Google Developers website, if you don’t have the over-the-air (OTA) update yet.

Apple WatchOS 5.1.1 with group FaceTime, 70 new emojis and more released

Following the reports of Watch Series 4 getting bricked, Apple halted the WatchOS 5.1 update which was rolled out on October 31st. However, the company has now resumed the update with a fix that caused the Watch Series 4 non-functional.  Not all users who downloaded the original WatchOS 5.1 update were impacted by the bug, but for those who did, the company is sending out replacement units when contacted. Do note, that the new WatchOS 5.1.1 update does not fix the bug as they are to be repaired by Apple. The WatchOS 5.1 introduced several new features including support for Group FaceTime in an audio-only capacity, allowing Apple Watch owners to join in on group calls, and it introduced support for more than 70 new emoji characters like face with hearts, red hair, gray hair, curly hair, superheroes, kangaroo, peacock, parrot, lobster, cupcake, mango, and more. The update also included a new full-screen "Color" watch face option for the Apple WatchSeries 4 models. The company has also improved Fall detection; a Watch-series 4 exclusive feature, bug relating to walkie-talkie which prevented it from working were addressed, and an issue that could cause some Activity awards not to show up properly. Source

Google Chrome 71 to block websites with abusive ads

Google with Chrome 71 is fighting ads. It will block every ad on a site persistently shows them. These type of ads includes automatically redirecting you, or attempt to steal personal information. This comes as an addition to the previous Chrome 68 version where Google prevent sites from opening new tabs or windows. Chrome 71 is scheduled for release in December, and Google is giving sites a 30 day grace period to remove spammy ads after an abusive experience is reported. Failure to remove the abusive ads will cause Chrome to block every ad on the site. It also gives users the option to turn off this filtering. Site owners can use the Abusive Experiences Report in their Google Search Console to see if their site contains any of these abusive experiences that need to be corrected or removed. Regardless of how these new changes come, site owners have no choice but to remove the ads that are abusive considering how much power Google has over the internet. Source

Apple has canceled production of iPhone XR owing to poor reception: Report

Apple, owing to the disappointing demand for the new iPhone XR, said to have halted the production of the smartphone. The company has informed its top smartphone assemblers Foxconn and Pegatron to halt plans for additional production lines. Foxconn initially started off with nearly 60 assembly lines for the iPhone XR, but it recently came down to around 45 production lines and now Apple informed that it does not need to manufacture that many by now," according to sources. This means Foxconn would produce around 100,000 fewer units daily to reflect the new demand outlook. This is down 20% to 25% from the original optimistic outlook. Taiwanese manufacturer Pegatron has also suspended production plans awaiting further instructions from Apple. The company also had asked smaller iPhone assembler Wistron to stand by for rush orders. Surprisingly, the company instead is requesting more of the older iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus models, which are 20% cheaper than XR's $749 price tag.  "Suppliers of iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are getting a combined order of around 5 million more units," sources said. Apple previously planned 20 million units for the older iPhone models this quarter but raised the figure to 25 million units. Foxconn is the main supplier for ...