Author Archives: Ewdison Then

A lot of modern gaming PC hardware these days tends to focus on high-resolution, high-fidelity graphics. Whether it's 2K, 4K, or even 8K, PC makers, monitor manufacturers, and graphics silicon developers put almost all the emphasis on raw power or artificial intelligence to push millions of pixels around. AMD's newest GPU, in contrast, goes the opposite direction and aims to instead utilize its latest Radeon technologies to optimize gaming at 1080p resolutions.

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The idea of using the smartphone as a desktop PC with the right accessories isn't exactly new, but very few manufacturers have pushed through with that concept. Until recently, only Samsung and Huawei have actually invested resources in giving Android a desktop-like experience when connected to an external display or even a Windows computer. Earlier this year, Motorola introduced its own take on that concept with the oddly-named "Ready For" platform, and it is now taking that a step further with wireless connectivity and a new Ready For PC option.

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There has been a lot of griping about the quality and pace of OnePlus' recent software updates, especially when OxygenOS 11 brought about major UI changes and, with it, some nasty bugs. OnePlus 7 and 7T owners, however, seem to have had it worse and have experienced the worst that the release has to offer. After two months since the issue appeared, OnePlus is finally rolling out the fix to a bug that locked users into watching SD quality streaming videos, but many users still aren't satisfied with how the update is being handled.

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Amazon's Kindles have long been the device of choice by voracious readers, especially those that want to take their books with them anywhere. Of course, the books they hold inside don't come from thin air and have to be downloaded directly to the device or transferred from a computer. The former naturally requires an Internet connection, which almost all Kindles have. Unfortunately, some older models support don't support anything beyond 3G networks, and those will lose their ability to connect to the Internet by the end of the year.

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Qualcomm's branding for Snapdragon chips doesn't always make sense. The Snapdragon 810 was succeeded by the 820/821, but that was followed by the 835, in turn. After the Snapdragon 865, however, came the 888, with the 870 following not far behind. In that light, there's still some debate whether the next Qualcomm premium chip will be the Snapdragon 895 or 898, but regardless of its name, it will have one upgrade that could set the tone for next year's smartphones.

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It's no longer a secret that Samsung's next big event will shine the spotlight on its foldable phones, especially since it officially revealed the theme for Unpacked 2021 next month. There will be other products to be announced there as well, like Samsung's first Wear OS smartwatch, but the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 will undoubtedly take up the majority of the attention. One expected device, however, might not make it in time for the event, but those more interested in the Galaxy S21 FE might get their hopes up with this latest rumor.

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Although Android tablets still do exist, their numbers have dwindled considerably, especially those coming from notable manufacturers. Samsung remains the torchbearer for these slates, launching tablets across all tiers year after year. Next year won't be any different, and the rumors about the Galaxy Tab S8 trio sound pretty promising. Unfortunately, those also bring one disappointing rumor for those hoping that Samsung's next pro-level tablets will run on its best Exynos silicon yet.

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The choice of processors has always been one of the biggest criticisms of the smartwatch market, particularly with Android Wear, now Wear OS. Even today, most models run on very old silicon, even while a newer option has been available for almost a year now. Better late than never, as they say, and OPPO is finally catching up with the OPPO Watch 2, the third smartwatch to run on the latest Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform.

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Apple's mobile ecosystem has been marked by two main pillars in the past few years. While it has been singing praises about its work on protecting users' privacy, it has also been designing its iPhones and Apple Watches to record and store health-related data, from activity tracking to biometrics monitoring. Not all activities, however, can be tracked through phones and wearables, and Facebook is reportedly looking into syncing activity data from its Oculus headsets with Apple Health for a more holistic overview of a person's fitness goals and state.

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It's been a while since we've heard anything related to BlackBerry. After it stopped making its own smartphones, the company switched to licensing its brand to other smartphones makers like TCL. News on that front has died down as well, especially after TCL decided to end its line of BlackBerry-branded phones. Fans of the iconic brand might still be holding on to a little hope, especially now that another licensee has broken its silence to prove that a 5G-capable BlackBerry phone is still in the works, even if a launch date is still up in the air.

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Even haters probably won't deny that Apple comes up with technologies and features that would influence future technologies. The reversible Lightning connector undoubtedly inspired the equally reversible USB-C, and the new MagSafe could soon become a norm among smartphones. Of course, it often takes more time for others to catch up to Apple, but Realme may have gotten ahead of its rivals in having the first Android smartphone with a magnetic wireless charging system.

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LG may have exited the smartphone race, but it hasn't left the mobile world completely. It still designs a few accessories that you can use with smartphones, especially audio accessories. In fact, it is continuing to grow its TONE brand of earphones and earbuds to cater to the growing needs and sophistication of consumers. The latest pair to come out of that line are the TONE Free FP9 and the TONE Free FP8, both boasting some features you might not easily find in other truly wireless stereo earbuds.

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