Author Archives: JC Torres

Although the official invite has yet to go out, it might be less than a month now before Samsung's big Unpacked event. Based on a recent leak, it has quite a lot to reveal in August, including three smartphones, two smartwatches, and a pair of TWS earbuds. The center of attraction will be the foldable phones, of course, with their upgraded specs and reportedly more accessible price tags. The latter has been leaked anew to strengthen the hope of potential buyers.

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Although OnePlus' flagship killers always impressed the market with their relatively more accessible price tags, it's safe to say that there are some corners that have been cut along the way. Until recently, for example, many OnePlus phones didn't reach the QHD resolutions of their peers at that time. There was also a time when OnePlus didn't even use glass on the back of its phones even while its rivals did. One of the biggest missing bullet points for years has been IP rating, and while OnePlus did finally concede that, it is now practically downplaying its significance.

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The past year and a half have seen many in-person events canceled, postponed, or moved online. Some organizations have even found themselves expanding to new venues and media. TED, famed for its inspiring and mind-opening talks, has long provided videos of those conferences across the world. Earlier this year, it embarked on a new audio-only format and is now partnering with the hottest audio-only social network to bring TED to Clubhouse chats.

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One of Samsung's more interesting flagship phones could turn out to be a disappointment instead for some. Bearing key features of the Galaxy S21 series in a more affordable package, the Galaxy S21 FE "Fan Edition" could offer more budget-conscious consumers a better alternative this year. Delays and component supply shortages, however, threaten to ruin an otherwise good plan, and, now, the Galaxy S21 FE might not even be available anywhere except for two major markets only.

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Changing the Windows Start Menu has always proven to be a controversial move, and no version has ever been universally accepted by users. From Windows XP dual-pane layout to Windows 8's tablet-like Start Screen to Windows 10's amalgamation of designs, users have always been split on whether the new Start Menu is better or worse than before. It seems that Windows 11 won't be different, and, unfortunately, Microsoft has apparently removed the workaround that brings back the old Windows 10 style Start Menu for those who dislike the newest style.

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It's not uncommon for software to have some bugs, even ones that go undiscovered for years. There are bugs, however, that are so severe that developers and companies scramble to plug up holes as fast as they can. That is the nightmare situation that Microsoft and Windows users have suddenly found themselves living with this aptly named PrintNightmare bug. Microsoft quickly pushed out a patch to address the issue, but the nightmare doesn't seem to be over just yet.

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Although it isn't exactly its first wearable, the OnePlus Watch is the company's first dip into the smartwatch pool. Not all first tries come out perfectly, however, and the OnePlus Watch seems to have disappointed many reviewers. Fortunately, most of those criticisms can be addressed with software updates, but some found the hardware to also be mediocre or common. iFixit takes the OnePlus Watch through its usual teardown process, and, fortunately, it was uneventful in a good way.

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If the original Doom is often used as a litmus test for computing devices, both seriously and jokingly, Crysis is sometimes used to test the graphics capabilities of a computer or GPU. There might be other more graphics-intensive games these days, but the tradition has remained the same throughout the years. Now Crysis is again being used for something almost so unlikely you wouldn't expect it to work, yet some did just make Crysis run on a OnePlus 6T running Windows 11.

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The OnePlus 9 is getting some unwanted attention over a performance throttling scandal, but it isn't the only OnePlus phone in the market this year. In fact, there might be even more OnePlus Nord phones available today, with the OnePlus Nord CE 5G and OnePlus Nord N200 5G debuting last month. There is one more coming, as OnePlus teased earlier this week, and now the company is putting a more exact date for the launch of the OnePlus Nord 2 5G.

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OnePlus has made big promises when it comes to Android and security updates, and while not perfect, it does manage to keep its word. It doesn't always come quickly, however, especially for older models that require more testing when running newer and more resource-demanding software. Such is the case of the OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T, launched back in 2018. The company is proudly announcing the availability of the first beta version of OxygenOS 11 with Android 11, suggesting that the stable release is still months away.

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OnePlus seems to have an obsession with battery life and power efficiency. For the longest time, it held off implementing a rather common Always-on Display feature for those reasons and only moved the needle forward when its community voted for it. Even so, OnePlus has always cautioned users about the consequences of such features and gave them the freedom to do what they want at their own expense. With the latest drama surrounding the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro, however, the company is making the exact same arguments, but this time isn't giving users the option to opt out of its throttling mechanism.

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A lot has already been leaked about the Galaxy Z Fold 3, but there are still one or two pieces that remain uncertain. One of those, the Unpacked 2021 date, may have been finally settled by the alleged remarks of a Samsung executive. The other big mystery is the form that the front-facing camera will take, which may be a typical punch-hole camera or Samsung's first under-display camera or UDC. A new leak seems to lean more towards the latter, and many are not amused.

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