5G smartphones won't be in short supply at Mobile World Congress 2019 next week, but Qualcomm is already announcing its second-generation 5G modem, the Snapdragon X55. Successor to the Snapdragon X50 that, along with the Snapdragon 855 chipset, is expected to be at the heart of the first round of 5G Android devices, the new modem is arguably even more important.
A new even earlier timing for updating Google apps became apparent this week as Google aims for better security and an overall more consistent mobile experience. Developers received messages notifying them of the testing of this new feature and that it'll be rolling out to users across the planet in the near future. This service will be opt-out, if for whatever reason a user would want to choose to keep their older versions of apps at sign-in.
This Friday the folks behind ARCore reminded developers that Android is a virtual playground of augmented reality tricks and tools. Evan Hardesty Parker, Software Engineer at Google working with ARCore, revealed a bit about the latest update to ARCore this afternoon. In version 1.7 of ARCore, Hardesty suggests that they are "focused on creative elements like AR selfies and animation" and are aiming to assist developers in improving the "core user experience" in their AR apps.
Technologist Mahmooda Sultana created the design for a nanomaterial-based detector platform. Because of her work, combined with a next-gen 3D printing program, a new generation in computing may be about to emerge. It all centers on the 2-inch by 3-inch device able to detect minute concentrations of gases, vapor, atmospheric pressure, and temperature.
Today we've looked at a couple of studies on tech product sales, and there's some good news for mobile users. The good news is for people that already own smartphones: these products last a long time, provided they're taken care of properly. The bad news is for manufacturers: they've got to change something in their methods if they want to continue to increase sales in smartphones.
The Android version of the game Stardew Valley is finally almost, nearly, so very close to release - and is on Google Play now. This works as a sort of pre-registration deal and includes the final mobile price: approximately $8, the same as it is on iOS. This game is the full version of Stardew Valley as it exists elsewhere, up to version 1.3. That's everything up to but not including multiplayer functionality.
There's a Nintendo Switch emulator in testing for Android right this minute, and it goes by the name MonoNX. This might be a surprise to some Nintendo Switch users, the lot of which already own the system and can't likely imagine wanting to use an Android device to play the games they've already got on their Switch. But for the Android emulator-loving universe, the question was never IF there'd be a Nintendo Switch emulator, but WHEN it'd be made a reality.
Energizer seems to have gone smartphone-crazy. The famed battery maker will be showing off no less than 26 phones at MWC 2019 in less than two weeks. Two of those, as reported, will have the pop-up camera feature that the Vivo NEX S tried to popularize. That, however, isn't all that Energizer has in store. It has just formally announced the existence of the Max P18K Pop and the dual pop-up cameras are the least insane thing about it.
Just when you thought Sony was done with the letters, along comes a new leak that says otherwise. Of course, the Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus might just be its new mid-range line and that doesn't mean the company has abandoned those who can't afford even that. It is still keeping its Xperia L series alive and it will be revealing a certain Xperia L3 at MWC later this month for those who need or have less. Or for those who don't want their phones to be insanely long.
There are patents that we wish were made real and there are some patents we wish would never see the light of day. Samsung's newly-granted patent might fall somewhere in between. For better or worse, it might also be the foldable phone that Samsung will actually show off at its Unpacked event next week. Taking a page from ZTE's Axon M book, the patent shows a phone with two screens instead of one. The difference is that it can actually fold both ways.
Today Google's revealed a Google Play code that'll give users a whole dollar on the app and software store. The Google Play app store also has music and movies and magazines and such, but it would appear that this code only works with apps, and only for apps - not in-app purchases. It would appear that Google's Valentines Day code only works inside the United States right this minute.
The near future is a race to the first real-deal functional and worthwhile foldable display smartphone, and iQOO seems to be right up front of the pack. We don't yet have evidence of a final, real smartphone just yet - but the renders look top-notch. If what we're seeing here translates into a real product in the near future, big-name brands bringing foldable devices to the market better watch their back - this might be a real contender.