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AfterDawn: News

OnePlus 7T launched, here are the specs, pics, and more

Written by James Delahunty @ 26 Sep 2019 11:00

OnePlus 7T launched, here are the specs, pics, and more OnePlus has unveiled the latest series in its popular smartphone lineup with the OnePlus 7T.

Chinese smartphone firm OnePlus has refreshed its smartphone line up with launch of the OnePlus 7T in India today, an upgrade on the OnePlus 7 series unveiled back in May of this year. A more expensive OnePlus 7T Pro is likely to be unveiled in October.

Sporting a design very similar to the OnePlus 7 series (and 6), the specs were also mostly anticipated in previously reported leaks. OnePlus 7T features a 6.55-inch AMOLED display (2400x1080 at 20:9, 402ppi, 90Hz refresh rate) with an in-display fingerprint sensor. It is driven by a Qualcomm 855+ SoC (up to 2.96GHz) and Adreno 640 GPU. Under the hood is 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB internal storage (UFS 3.0 2-lane). For juice, it packs a 3800mAh non-removable battery supporting Warp Charge through its speedy 30T Fast Charging (5V/6A/30W) charger.

At the rear, OnePlus 7T features a Sony IMX586 48 megapixel main lens, complemented with an additional 12 megapixel telephoto lens and 16 megapixel ultra wide angle lens. The tri-lens system allows for optical zooming (2x), and can record video up to 4K resolution at 30/60fps. Super Slow Motion footage can be captured at 1080p (240fps) or 720p (480fps, 960fps).

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AfterDawn: News

Windows 10 surpasses 900 million devices

Written by James Delahunty @ 25 Sep 2019 6:06

Windows 10 surpasses 900 million devices Microsoft has revealed that its Windows 10 operating system is now on more than 900 million devices worldwide.

Redmond is closing in on its target of a billion devices running Windows 10 very quickly. The operating system launched for consumers in 2015 and has since been installed on more than 900 million PCs, Xbox One consoles, Surface devices, and Microsoft's HoloLens.

The new figure of 900 million devices is up from a milestone reached just six months ago of 800 million. Yusuf Mehdi, corporate VP of the Search and Devices Group at Microsoft, said that in the past twelves months they have added more Windows devices than ever before.

The momentum has a lot to do with the forthcoming end of support for Windows 7. The aging operating system is among Microsoft's most successful software products. Just like Windows XP before it - which was released in 2001 and came to the end of support five years ago - Microsoft is trying to lure users to the newer operating system with warnings delivered by Windows Update.

While many users will undoubtedly hold out for some time, the end of Windows 7 seems to be having an effect on the momentum of Windows 10 at the moment. At this rate, Windows 10 should reach a billion devices sometime in early 2020.

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AfterDawn: News

Google copies one of Spotify's most popular features to YouTube Music

Written by Matti Robinson @ 23 Sep 2019 8:32

Google copies one of Spotify's most popular features to YouTube Music Spotify has become truly a force to reckon with in the music industry. Even giants like Apple, who used to be the top dog when it comes to digital music, are struggling to keep up with Spotify.

Everyone is looking at Spotify and trying to learn from their successes. One of the ways Spotify has beat the competition is with automatically curated user specific playlists.

Perhaps the best example of this is Discover Weekly which offers weekly dozens of new songs for the user to listen, and all of them are picked, no matter how different they end up being, depending on what you've listened before.

This hugely popular feature has been noticed by the competition, and the newest example of this comes from Google.

In fact, Google has just decided that they can't really do it much better, and have just copied the feature.

According to a Reddit post, this new feature is called Discover Mix. It offers 49 new songs, automatically selected to fit user preferences, every week, Wednesday to be exact.

It seems that it has so far only rolled to a subsection of YouTube Music subscribers, but one could expect it to come available globally soon.

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AfterDawn: News

8K Ultra HD TVs have now official specs and a logo

Written by Matti Robinson @ 23 Sep 2019 8:02

8K Ultra HD TVs have now official specs and a logo One might think that their brand new 4K television is enough for the long haul, but eventually it's going to run out of steam and you'll get a new one.

Likely at that point you are looking at a new generation of TVs that have upped the ante at least in terms of resolution. 8K TVs are coming whether you feel like you need one or not.

The Consumer Technology Association has now officially revealed their definitions for what constitutes a 8K Ultra HD television. According to their specifications, such a TV should first and foremost be capable of displaying at least 33 million pixels, 7680 horizontally and 4320 vertically.

Furthermore, the TV needs to support scaling to 8K, at least one HDMI input capable of 7680 x 4320 resolution, 10-bit color depth, selection of frame rates (24, 30, 60 fps), ITU-R BT.2100 specced HDR transfer and colorimetry, and HDCP v2.2 or equivalent content protection.

If all this is handled by the TV, it will be able to use the new logo. A modification of the 4K Ultra HD logo has now been made for the new 8K Ultra HD TVs.

New logo will be available for manufacturers to use in their marketing January 1st, 2020 onward.




AfterDawn: News

Fixed Galaxy Fold is still the most fragile phone

Written by Matti Robinson @ 22 Sep 2019 10:59

Fixed Galaxy Fold is still the most fragile phone Galaxy Fold is now out for sale officially. The folding phone was intended for release months ago when it started breaking apart in reviewers hands.

Since then Samsung has recalled all devices, postponed the launch, and tried to fix the most glaring issues of the phone and especially its display. Now that you can finally purchase the $1980 marvel, you might want to know how to make sure you don't break it.

The fact is that Galaxy Fold is still a tremendously fragile device due to its folding mechanism and plastic covered screen. Samsung obviously knows this, and is suggesting people only use a light touch when operating the phone.

Light touch is mentioned in the phone packaging but the company has also released an advert explaning the features and how to take care of the device.

This "Caring for your Galaxy Fold" video is available on YouTube (and below). In addition to suggesting light touches, as even your fingernails could damage the screen over time, Samsung notes that dust and water should be kept away.

This is due to the fact that there is no official IP rating for the phone, and the delicate folding mechanism might break from dust and sand.

Furthermore Samsung also notes that there are magnets on the phone to keep it closed that you should be mindful about.

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AfterDawn: News

The new iPhone 11 doesn't slow down because of an old battery

Written by Matti Robinson @ 21 Sep 2019 1:47

The new iPhone 11 doesn't slow down because of an old battery Apple's batterygate in late 2017 and early last year revealed the that Cupertino company had been throttling the performance of people's iPhones due to them getting older.

This meant that when your battery started deteriorating the iPhone would slow down to preserve better battery life. It was a conscious choice by Apple to make older iPhones slow down so they wouldn't seem to have as bad of a battery – and according to them they didn't try to just make you buy a new faster phone.

A lot of people were mad about this, especially since it wasn't documented officially and much less openly told about to the public.

Apple made their changes, and they even announced a battery change program in addition to allowing the user to prioritize performance over battery from the settings.

Now with the new iPhone 11 series, Apple has gone a little further to right some wrongs. According to a support document found by 9to5Mac new iPhone 11 has a dynamically monitored solution to battery and power management.

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AfterDawn: News

Amazon invests in 100,000 electric delivery vehicles

Written by Matti Robinson @ 21 Sep 2019 12:29

Amazon invests in 100,000 electric delivery vehicles Amazon has announced that it is buying a fleet of electric delivery vehicles from a Michigan EV start up. According to CEO Jeff Bezos, the company has placed an order of 100,000 electric vans from Rivian.

Bezos revealed the purchase order at an event in Washington, DC, where the CEO spoke about how to curb climate change.

The first of the new vehicles are expected to arrive in 2021, and all the 100,000 Rivian EVs should roam the streets by 2024.

Amazon's operations exec Dave Clark tweeted the rendered picture of the vehicle that is going to deliver your Prime packages in couple years.

Rivian was founded ten years ago and is developing sustainable transportation. The company has built two EV vehicles, a truck and an SUV, which were shown in late 2018 in LA Auto Show.

The company is riding a high after major investments this year. Amazon was part of Rivian's funding round in February which raised $700 million. In April, Ford announced a $500 million investment in Rivian.




AfterDawn: News

Facebook released $149 Portal TV and $129 Portal Mini

Written by Matti Robinson @ 21 Sep 2019 10:52

Facebook released $149 Portal TV and $129 Portal Mini Facebook has been trying to find its way to video calls for quite a bit now. Most of you, probably all to be honest, have seen ads for the Portal webcam. Now it has couple sigblings: Portal Mini and Portal TV.

The new device is essentially a TV dongle, like Chromecast or even Apple TV, that just focuses on its on-board camera. You plug the camera stand to an HDMI input of your TV and you are ready to go.

Its meant to allow easy video calling from the big screen, but also features AR gaming and content co-watching. The last mentioned feature is reserved for two Portal devices working together. You can watch videos with your loved ones while sharing the moment over a video call.

Another newcomer is Portal Mini. The $129 Portal Mini has a smaller 8-inch HD screen and looks like a picture frame at that size and with the new design.

There's also a renewed Portal that has the same new minimalist design and retains the 10 inch screen. Facebook has also dropped the price to $179 from $199.




AfterDawn: News

Amazon launches Music HD for audiophiles

Written by Matti Robinson @ 17 Sep 2019 9:55

Amazon launches Music HD for audiophiles Amazon has just released a new music service for the most demanding music consumers out there. It's called Music HD and it expands upon their Amazon Music streaming service with new higher fidelity options.

Essentially Amazon Music HD is the better equipped version of Amazon Music Unlimited. Instead of listening to songs in average 320 kbit stream, you'll get to enjoy HD audio with up to 850 kbit/s and 16-bit/44.1 kHz quality.

If you insist on listening only to the best of quality, you can even choose song available in what the company calls Ultra HD. This maxes out at 3730 kilobits per second at 24-bit/192 kHz.

While most of the songs, over 50 million, on Amazon Music are available in HD audio, "only" some millions are found in the most premium UHD.

Amazon Music HD uses the same Amazon Music app as its cheaper sibling, and costs $14.99 a month (or $12.99 for Prime subscribers) or $19.99 for Family subscriptions. If you are unsure if it's worth the money, you are fortunately offered a generous 90-day free trial.

At launch Amazon Music HD is available in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan.




AfterDawn: News

Tinder creating a TV series

Written by Matti Robinson @ 17 Sep 2019 8:21

Tinder creating a TV series Dating service Tinder has become hugely popular over the few years that it has existed. The app has grown into a community which has been expanded by the company's recent endeavours.

Last year Tinder Inc. launched their new editorial lifestyle website called Swipe Life, which focuses on dating and culture. Now the company is working on a TV show, Reuters reports.

According to the report, Tinder's show was already filmed in Mexico City and the post-production is under way. Tinder told Reuters that the TV series is built to support their new marketing strategy.

While you'd be expecting to watch Tinder matching in real-time, it's not going to be directly connected to the app. Instead it is a what the source calls "apocalyptic storyline" with "a relationship sub plot."

There's no word on when the show might be coming or when the new video platform for this show would launch.




AfterDawn: News

OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro release date confirmed - here are the rumored specs

Written by Petteri Pyyny @ 16 Sep 2019 11:24

OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro release date confirmed - here are the rumored specs OnePlus has confirmed that it will launch its new phone line on 10th of October, 2019 in London, United Kingdom.

As the "T" model is typically a relatively minor update to the previous model, we can expect to see everything to get little bit better, faster and bigger. As with OnePlus 7, the upcoming OnePlus 7T will also have its more expensive version with OnePlus 7T Pro. And if the old tradition continues, bit later, a "McLaren" special edition will be launched that will push everything a bit further that is packed with Pro model.

Generally reliable leaker, OnLeaks, has published the rumored specs already.

The anticipated specs for OnePlus 7T:

  • Display: 6.55" 2400x1080, 90Hz, HDR10+, in-display fingerprint sensor
  • CPU: Snapdragon 855+
  • GPU: Adreno 640
  • RAM: 8GB
  • Storage: 128GB / 256GB
  • Battery: 3800mAh

And the specs for OnePlus 7T Pro:
  • Display: 6.65" 3100x1440, 90Hz, HDR10+, in-display fingerprint sensor
  • CPU: Snapdragon 855+
  • GPU: Adreno 640
  • RAM: 8GB
  • Storage: 256GB
  • Battery: 4085mAh

To push the boundaries of its famed Warp charging, the new Warp Charge 30T should be 20 percent faster than the one found with OnePlus 7 Pro.

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AfterDawn: News

YouTube's TV portal shutting down

Written by Matti Robinson @ 15 Sep 2019 10:56

YouTube's TV portal shutting down YouTube has become immensely popular in the past few years. It might not be the TV killer everyone thought of, that's probably Netflix, Disney, and others, but it has stolen much of the time spent in entertainment from traditional tubes.

One of the ways to watch YouTube is the web interface designed specifically for TVs. The interface, called Leanback, is meant for big screens connected to PCs. For some reason or another, YouTube is not removing this feature.

YouTube has not given a specific reason for the removal of the interface, but like Android Police thinks it might be due to some manufacturers bypassing YouTube apps and instead using the web interface. Seems like a strong measure to right that wrong, though.

Another reason would be that no one is actually using Leanback as most people who watch YouTube have a smart TV or a smart device with a YouTube app connected to a TV.




AfterDawn: News

Apple releasing iOS next week, iPadOS last day of the month

Written by Matti Robinson @ 13 Sep 2019 2:14

Apple releasing iOS next week, iPadOS last day of the month Apple's new iPhones will be available in stores next Friday, but if you have a qualifying iPhone you can get the new and improved iOS 13 even faster.

It was revealed that Apple would be releasing the updated version of their mobile operating system to the public on September 19, the same day it will launch the new game subscription service Apple Arcade.

This is day earlier than you'd get your hands on a new iPhone 11 or the new flagship iPhone 11 Pro (or 11 Pro Max).

Unlike with previous iterations of the OS, this year you won't get an update for your iPad at the same time. This is due to the fact that Apple recently separated the operating system for their tablets from iOS. The iPadOS will update September 30th.

If you are wondering whether you have a new enough iPhone to get the update, you'll be probably happy to hear that support include every iPhone after iPhone 6S, including iPhone SE. Support is extended to 7th gen iPod Touch too.

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AfterDawn: News

Apple's new $329 iPad available on September 30th

Written by Matti Robinson @ 13 Sep 2019 1:18

Apple's new $329 iPad available on September 30th Apple's iPhone event on Tuesday was mostly consumed by the new iPhone models, name cheaper iPhone 11 and the new flasghip iPhone 11 Pro (and 11 Pro Max).

Even the new services got plenty of limelight, but there were other product releases too. One of them was the all-new seventh generation iPad.

I say all new, but in fact the iPad unveiled this week included some fairly dated hardware. While Apple calls it the first seventh generation iPad, it has a system-on-chip from 2016.

The new iPad comes requipped with a A10 Fusion chip, which means that it has the same processors as a iPhone 7. Not that A10 is a lousy chip, and you probably don't need anything better for your daily browsing and Instagramming &ndahs; or whatever the kids do these days.

Also, fortunately the slightly obsolete equipment means that you won't have to break into your nephew's piggy bank to afford it. A $329 starting price tag seems like a good deal for an iPad.

It comes with a new, larger 10.2 inch Retina display, and supports first-generation Apple Pencil as well as the full-sized Smart Keyboard. The charging port is still the Lightning type, though.

It will be available on September 30th in Silver, Space Gray, and Gold. Prices start at $329 for the WiFi model and $459 for the WiFi+Cellular model. You can choose between 32GB and 128GB storage options.




AfterDawn: News

Pandora Desktop app comes to Windows

Written by James Delahunty @ 13 Sep 2019 11:50

Pandora Desktop app comes to Windows Pandora has brought its Dekstop app to Windows systems, following its release earlier this year for Macs.

Whether the tier you are using is Free, Pandora Plus or Pandora Premium, you can download the Pandora desktop app for Windows from the Microsoft Store starting from today. Previously, you have to use a web browser to access the service on Windows so this will be an improvement for many.

Using the Pandora Desktop App has many benefits over the browser:

  • Keyboard controls that let you play, pause, replay, skip, shuffle, or thumb up/down songs right from your computer keyboard.
  • On-screen song notifications that graphically display the artists, albums, and song titles for the music that's currently playing.
  • App-based controls for our new Pandora Modes feature, which lets you customize the music you hear on your Pandora stations using selectable "modes" including Crowd Faves, Deep Cuts, Newly Released, Artist Only, and more.

You can download the new Pandora Desktop App for Windows 10 from the Microsoft Store.





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