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OnePlus' recent launch of the OnePlus Watch 3 proved that it's definitely got what it takes to improve upon an already-impressive wearable, which itself was a huge upgrade over the company's initial smartwatch. Priced at £319 (although you can get it for lower with OnePlus' pre-order promos), the OnePlus Watch 3 packs some neat features that give it an edge over competing Wear OS devices like the Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch series. So what exactly does it come with? https://youtu.be/YVGdfdUahZA CHECK OUT: Meet the OnePlus Watch 2: Wearable Redemption? In terms of design, OnePlus has added some new visual elements while keeping things familiar. The OnePlus Watch 3 retains the same slightly off-centre look with the righthand side as well as the large display, although this time around OnePlus has added a more substantial bezel that surrounds the 1.5-inch LTPO touchscreen. It's not too raised however, unlike on the Samsung Galaxy Watch Classic series, but it's a nice addition that puts a bit of "ruggedness" with regards to looks. The Watch 3's chassis also combines integrated titanium for the bezel, in addition to stainless steel for the main body. It looks like OnePlus has also listened to users and has now added actual functionality for the rotating crown, which merely acted as a secondary action button on the OnePlus Watch 2. It's nice to be able to finally use the crown to scroll through menus and tweak the user interface, a staple feature on most other smartwatches these days, even on ones from Huawei, for example. This entire ensemble features 5ATM and IP68 water protection, keeping it safe from most situations with occasional water immersion and accidental splashes. CHECK OUT: Garmin’s new Tactix 8 is its Most Rugged Smartwatch Yet Inside, a major feature of the OnePlus Watch 3 is its dual-engine setup, which gives it an advantage over other smartwatches especially in terms of battery endurance. The device runs on Qualcomm's W5 chip alongside a secondary BES2800 MCU Efficiency chipset - this setup works by allowing the W5 to handle most of the main "smart" device functions needed by Wear OS, while the BES2800 takes on background tasks that don't require a lot of power, AKA the RTOS side of the watch. For those unfamiliar, RTOS stands for "real-time OS," a lightweight smartwatch platform found on most wearables that don't run on Wear OS. This allows the watch to last for up to five days on a single charge, longer than even the Apple Watch Ultra and Galaxy Watch Ultra. Speaking of the battery, there's a 631 mAh battery inside that can last for up to 16 days on low-power mode. Should you decide to always use the Watch 3's smart features, there's Wear OS 5 onboard in addition to OnePlus' own smart wearable functions which integrate Google apps like Gmail and Google Wallet. There's also the usual suite of fitness-tracking features such as body temperature monitoring, heart rate and SPO2 tracking, and over 100 sports modes with GPS tracking. Will you be getting the OnePlus Watch 3? Let us know in the comments below! Read the full article

Oppo's consistency in pumping out some of the best Android handsets outside of the US has been undoubtedly impressive, and the company recently announced global availability for the Oppo Find X8 Pro series, which will become available for several countries worldwide. One big highlight of the device is its chipset, which is something that Oppo has decided to handle a bit differently this year. OPPO Find X8 Pro Review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifkzjBfPZv0 CHECK OUT: Meet MediaTek’s Newest Flagship Smartphone Chip, the Dimensity 9400 You see, Oppo has decided to equip the Find X8 series with MediaTek's latest Dimensity 9400 this year. While most flagship Android phones tend to go with Qualcomm's annual chip refresh, it seems that Oppo sees great potential with the Dimensity 9400, which to its credit comes with some rather impressive benchmark numbers and performance, at least on paper. With that said though, let's take a look at what else the new Oppo Find flagships offer. In terms of design, the Oppo Find X8 and X8 Pro feature a look that's pretty much in line with most other Chinese flagship phones these days, with large displays and small bezels, as well as large circular camera bumps that almost take up half of the phones' rear panels. Nevertheless, they do look impressive, and there's no denying that they are indeed flagship devices. As for the display, the regular Find X8 comes with a 6.59-inch FHD+ OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, while its Pro sibling gets a larger 6.78-inch display with FHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. In addition to the Dimensity 9400 chipset, the phones come with a starting memory/storage configuration of 16GB RAM and 512GB of storage, which is pretty much the norm for most non-US smartphone models these days. They also pack fairly-sizeable batteries, with a 5,630 mAh unit inside the standard X8 (with support for 80W charging), and a larger 5,910 mAh capacity cell inside the X8 Pro, also with 80W charging speeds. For camera hardware, there are a lot of similarities between the two models, such as a triple-camera setup headed by a 50MP main sensor. There's also room for an additional telephoto and wide-angle lens, while the front of the phone comes with a 32MP selfie camera. As with past Oppo flagships, the company developed the Find X8 series' camera system in collaboration with Hasselblad, so users will get a wealth of different camera software features from both Oppo and the veteran camera brand. As for software, the phone comes with ColorOS 15, Oppo's own take on custom Android skins. Similar to other Android skins such as Samsung's One UI, Xiaomi's HyperOS and OnePlus' OxygenOS, ColorOS 15 comes with all the essential Android system features, albeit baked in with some exclusive Oppo apps and software features, in addition to AI functionality such as support for Google Gemini and Circle to Search. Regarding availability in the United Kingdom, it seems that Oppo only has the Find X8 Pro available on its UK store, at least for the time being. The phone starts at £1049, although there's an offer which takes off £200 on the price if you trade in your old smartphone. Read the full article

From a certain point of view, Apple's recent launch of the 2024 Mac Mini seemed like somewhat of a challenge to rival manufacturers, which almost seems to say "this is how you do compact premium computing hardware." Of course Apple isn't the first company to do compact computing hardware (and it certainly won't be the last), but as far as the product segment goes there's not a lot of products from the usual mainstream brands. CHECK OUT: Apple Drops the 2024 Mac Mini: New Look, New Chip, and More! What is it Exactly? With that in mind, Microsoft's new "Windows 365 Link" (that's quite a name) brings to mind all the hallmark traits of a compact computer, such as a rather portable design, all the essential ports and connectivity options, and of course support for a variety of hardware peripherals. Unlike the Mac Mini however, Microsoft says that the 365 Link is more of a cloud-based computing solution for business and enterprise users. As per its name, the 365 Link is designed to connect to Windows 365 online, allowing businesses to setup "hot desks" for employees to log in with their details, from anywhere at anytime. It's a cloud-based approach, as we mentioned earlier. As such, it's not exactly something you'd get for more "mainstream" use such as gaming and content creation, for example. There is a bit of computing power, although it's mostly used for video decoding and encoding for video calls. Hardware and Software The 365 Link can support up to two 4K monitors (with HDMI and DisplayPort connections), and users can go online via the built-in gigabit Ethernet port, or wirelessly with Wi-Fi 6E. For external hardware and peripherals, Microsoft has included four USB ports consisting of three USB-A 3.2 and a single USB-C 3.2 port. For audio, there are options for wired audio with a 3.5mm headphone jack, as well as Bluetooth 5.3. As for its design, the 365 Link relies on passive cooling, so there are no fans inside; the chassis is made from a combination of recycled aluminium, Being that this is a device that's meant for business and enterprise solutions, the 365 Link's operating system is mostly locked down - this means that there are no locally-installed apps or user accounts, no locally-stored data and files, leaving everything to the cloud. Microsoft wasn't kidding when it said that this was an online-only device, and it's explicitly designed the 365 Link to work exactly as such. This now brings us to security - the computer comes with support for user authentication with Microsoft Entra ID, the Microsoft Authenticator app, QR code-based passkeys and even FIDO USB security keys. There's no need for passwords, which reduces the likelihood of the device being compromised. Pricing and Availability The Windows 365 Link will be available via preview by December 15th, 2024, with wider availability planned for the first half of 2025. It will initially launch in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan in April 2025. Priced at $350, the Windows 365 Link will require a Windows 365 Enterprise, Frontline, or Business subscription. Read the full article

Spotify's continued evolution as one of the leading music streaming platforms over the years has remained nothing short of impressive, and the platform announced some incoming changes during its recent Now Playing event held in Los Angeles. A good chunk of the event revolved around the platform's efforts towards the continued expansion of podcast content, which has grown considerably over the years. CHECK OUT: Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 Earbuds: Worth the Asking Price? Spotify also highlighted changes that are aimed at helping creators grow their audience, as well as better monetizing their video podcasts. Speaking of which, Spotify says that audiences are watching more and more video podcasts on Spotify, with more than 250 million users having streamed a video podcast on the app. More creators are also publishing monthly content on Spotify, as the platform continues to expand its content offerings beyond music and audio streaming. Starting in January, Spotify Premium subscribers in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada will be able to tune into their favourite podcasts without dynamic ads getting in the way. Likewise in January, Spotify's new Partner Program will give eligible creators access to an improved monetization system, which comes with two key components in the form of "Premium Video Revenue" and Ads. With Premium Video Revenue, creators in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia can earn revenue based on video consumption from Spotify Premium subscribers (also starting in January). For ads, creators enrolled under the program will be able to earn a share of revenue via monetized dynamic ads that play on their episodes. © Leon Bennett/Getty Images for Spotify For "Spotify for Podcasters", Spotify says that it's making some updates to improve creators with a more "expansive and streamlined platform" - this includes a new mobile app experience, improved analytics, customization tools for shows, turnkey audio and video distribution, and new features for better interactivity between creators and fans. Eligible creators will also be able to post short-form, vertical Podcast clips to promote their episodes, with support for custom thumbnails as well. Spotify adds that it's making it easier for fans to stream their shows in the background for an uninterrupted experience, and this will be available for both premium and free Spotify listeners. Users will also be able to conveniently switch between video and audio when listening to their video podcasts. Spotify's podcast offerings have rapidly evolving over the years, with over 170 million users now consuming podcasts on the platform. The platform now hosts over 300,000 video podcast shows, and user preference for video podcasts has increased significantly, from 43% in 2021 to over 64% in 2024. Interestingly, Premium subscribers listen more than twice as much as ad-supported users, and overall listening time has increased from 30 hours per month in 2020 to around 40 hours per month today, with younger subscribers spending even more time on the platform. Read the full article

So ends another week - while we haven't seen some major hardware launches these past few days, that doesn't mean that there's zero tech news. There's a wealth of tech headlines out there, and we've collected some of the must-know updates for tech fans far and wide. So for those of you that somehow missed out on the action this week, here's a rundown of what you should know! Honor’s New Midrange Smartphone Combines Looks and Durability Honor recently announced the launch of the Honor X9c, which combines an attractive design with some much-needed durability which isn’t usually found in a lot of smartphones these days. Honor says that it's built with IP65M dust and water resistance, with the “M” designating 360-degree protection against jets of water. It’s also apparently drop-resistant, and Honor claims that it’s been tested to withstand drops on concrete from up to two metres in height, or around 6.6 feet. The X9c is also designed to withstand extreme temperatures from -30C up to 55C, which is pretty impressive. Android 15 Begins Rolling out for the OnePlus 12 If you own a OnePlus 12, then you're in luck - OnePlus recently announced that it's started sending out the Android 15 update via OxygenOS 15, which will be available for users worldwide. OnePlus has added some much-needed improvements and tweaks to the user interface, gesture navigation, multi-screen usage, as well as updates for safety and privacy. Garmin Wants to Keep you Company on your Next Adventure Garmin recently announced the Tread 2, a rugged navigator designed for off-road excursions. The Garmin Tread 2 comes with a 6-inch high-resolution display with relatively high brightness levels, making it easy to view under direct sunlight. There’s also touch compatibility for easy usage, and it packs a lot more hardware inside – this includes an altimeter, barometer, compass and pitch/roll gauges. It’s built to clip onto handle bars on bikes, motorcycles and ATVs, although there’s also an option to mount it onto a roll tube. This is all integrated into a design which features IP67 dust and water resistance, keeping it safe from the elements. Meet Nikon’s Newest Mirrorless Camera, the Z50 II If you’re in the market for a new mirrorless camera for content creation or just casual photography, then you might want to check out what Nikon is offering with its new Z50 II. The camera is compatible with several NIKKOR lenses including the Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR and Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 VR. Nikon also says that the camera also comes with a number of updates over its predecessor, including the latest generation Nikon Expeed 7 processor, and an upgraded auto-focus system with flagship-model modes and features. Lufthansa and Sennheiser Team Up Sennheiser recently announced that it's teamed up with Lufthansa to bring the MOMENTUM 4 Wireless headphones for the airlines' Allegris First Class suites. This means that passengers on select Lufthansa Allegris First Class planes flying from Munich to Bangalore and Mumbai and back will be able to use a Lufthansa-branded edition of the MOMENTUM 4 headphones for in-flight entertainment. Passengers will be able to use the headphones via a Bluetooth connection that directly taps into Lufthansa's inflight connection system. Read the full article

Qualcomm's New Auto Chips Pack a Lot of Features for Advanced Automotive Experiences

Following the launch of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, Qualcomm unveiled two new smart platforms in the form of the Snapdragon Cockpit Elite and Snapdragon Ride Elite, both of which are designed for automotive systems. Qualcomm is no stranger to automotive technology though, having developed earlier software and hardware solutions for electric vehicles like its Snapdragon Digital Chassis portfolio, for example. CHECK OUT: Qualcomm Promises Big Upgrades with its New Flagship Snapdragon Chip One standout feature of the Snapdragon Cockpit Elite and Ride Elite is that they're both powered by Qualcomm's own Oryon CPU, a variant of which is also present within the Snapdragon 8 Elite. It's a custom CPU designed by Qualcomm which packs significant upgrades for overall computing performance. The new chips also allow for a flexible architecture that lets manufacturers integrate digital and automated driving functions on a single SoC. The new platforms feature a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which Qualcomm says is designed for multimodal AI and is capable of up to 12x performance boost over previous cockpit platforms. This essentially means that vehicles get access to features such as real-time external environment and cabin data processing for more personalized driving experiences. The setup also allows for centralized processing and multi-OS support, with reduced slowdowns during multitasking. This makes the Cockpit Elite and Ride Elite ideal for vehicles with multiple cameras, sensors, and advanced features including AI-powered voice control. Qualcomm also promises minimal energy consumption with the new chips, which feature intelligent power management hardware alongside software that keeps an eye on power consumption. There's also an added emphasis on safety, and the new platforms are designed to comply with automotive safety standards for ASIL-D systems, with a safety island controller as well as hardware design that ensures interference-free usage for a reliable user experience when needed. Hands-free driving is something that Qualcomm has also worked on with the new chips. They're designed to work with context-aware applications as well as real-time driver monitoring and enhanced object detection. There's a newer Qualcomm Adreno GPU onboard that can deliver up to thrice the performance (versus older models) with advanced graphical rendering for multimedia and visual UI elements while on the go. Qualcomm adds that the elite-tier platforms are designed to help manufacturers accelerate feature development via a cloud-based approach for streamlined software development. Qualcomm's new automotive platforms also support comprehensive vehicular camera systems, and include an advanced Image Signal Processor (ISP) for clear visuals even in less-than-ideal driving conditions. This also includes support for 40 multimodal sensors, up to 20 high-resolution cameras for 360-degree external coverage and in-cabin monitoring. AI-enhanced imaging tools are also present for better image quality. Qualcomm states that the Snapdragon Cockpit Elite and Snapdragon Ride Elite will be available for sampling in 2025. The company is also working with several auto manufacturers including Li Auto and Mercedes-Benz AG, both of which will feature the Snapdragon Elite tier automotive platforms in upcoming commercial models. Read the full article

Qualcomm Promises Big Upgrades with its New Flagship Snapdragon Chip

A new year, a new Snapdragon chip - actually, Qualcomm makes a good amount of different chipsets for different applications and devices throughout the entire year, although there's a different level of excitement and anticipation when it comes to its flagship-grade SoCs. As such, the company finally unveiled its latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chip during the Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, promising a lot of new enhancements for upcoming Android devices. You've probably noticed that it's not referred to as the "8 Gen 4" as a lot of early reports did. With the Snapdragon 8 Elite Qualcomm is also revamping its naming scheme, most probably to establish a more uniform approach with the rest of its products (such as the Snapdragon X Elite chips). With all that said, let's take a look at what it packs inside. Main Highlights Let's take a look at what Qualcomm is promising with the new chip - the Snapdragon 8 Elite is the first mobile chip from the company that comes with Qualcomm's Oryon CPU (moving away from its old Kryo hardware), and it's designed with on-device genAI software in mind, as the industry moves even faster towards an AI-based approach to mobile computing. Speaking of the Oryon CPU in particular, Qualcomm has designed its with prime cores running at 4.32Ghz, which work alongside a number of performance cores which are clocked at 3.53Ghz. Qualcomm's boasting a pretty significant performance leap with the 8 Elite, with as much as 45% improvement for single-core performance, at least when compared to the 8 Gen 3 from last year. Another improvement is with regards to power management, with up to 45% better efficiency this time around. CHECK OUT: Meet MediaTek’s Newest Flagship Smartphone Chip, the Dimensity 9400 Gaming and Performance Of course at this point in time we're still waiting to see how phones running on the Snapdragon 8 Elite will perform in real-world usage, but Qualcomm's early benchmarks at least give us an idea of what to expect with the new SoC. The company says that (based on Geekbench testing), the Snapdragon 8 Elite managed a score of 3,221 for single-core performance and 10,426 for multi-core testing, both of which out-perform the 8 Gen 3's 2,193 and 7,304 scores respectively. There's little doubt that the 8 Elite's performance upgrades will also appeal to users looking for a capable chip for their gaming needs. Overall performance upgrades amount to a 40% increase this time around, and the chip does come with Qualcomm's usual array of gaming features such as ray tracing capabilities, and supports game engines such as Unreal Engine Nanite, and the Unreal Engine Chaos Physics Engine. AI Smarts and Photography The Snapdragon 8 Elite likewise comes with Qualcomm's AI Engine which features multimodal Gen AI which works by understanding voice, text, images, and even visual input from a user's device components such as the camera. Qualcomm's new Hexagon NPU also packs up to 45% faster performance for AI tasks, and the chip's AI capabilities let it work with Qualcomm's Sensing Hub - this is a means for the hardware to understand personal context, allowing the multimodal generative AI assistant within to offer tailored suggestions and decisions, for example. The chip's AI capabilities extends to camera performance. In addition to existing optimizations for camera hardware, the 8 Elite's NPU will be able to work with raw sensor data in photos, in addition to other AI-based video and photo features such as video relighting, an object eraser tool for videos, all without needing to save files to the cloud. We can expect to see the Snapdragon 8 Elite arrive in phones from several manufacturers including ASUS, Honor, iQOO, OnePlus, OPPO, RealMe, Samsung, Vivo, Xiaomi, and more within the coming weeks and months. Read the full article

Android 15 is Here: New Pixel Features that You Should Know!

Android 15's arrival has no doubt shined the spotlight once again on Google's Pixel devices, and the Mountain View company has brought over some nice little upgrades for several Pixel models, as far back as the Pixel 6 series. With that in mind, you might own a Pixel yourself and are curious as to what's new this time around - let's take a look! CHECK OUT: Google Pixel 9a: Rumour Roundup! New Features for Data Protection Say you're walking down a busy street while on your phone, and someone suddenly takes it from you - this is a scenario that Google hopes to mitigate with the new Theft Detection Lock, one of the biggest features on Android 15. It works by using AI-based software detection as well as your phone's sensors, and ideally will be able to tell when the device is forcibly removed from a user's hand. This then triggers a system that locks down the phone, preventing criminals from accessing user data, resetting the device or even interacting with the Pixel's screen. "Private space" is now available as well, thanks to the Android 15 update. It's a new feature that essentially gives Pixel users a separate space to shield their sensitive apps from prying eyes, and remains known only to them. Users can choose to hide Private Space from view, and the feature will require extra authentication to make sure that unwanted users don't get access to it. Improved Camera Features Android 15 also brings updates to select Pixel models in terms of camera performance. For flagship Pixel phones including the Pixel 6 to Pixel 9 series, users on Instagram will now be able to directly access Night Sight features when taking low-light photos via the Instagram app. Speaking of low-light photography, Astrophotography can now be manually enabled using the new toggle when accessing Night Sight on the Pixel camera app. Aside from Night Sight photos, Google says that it's made some enhancements to the camera for underwater shoots, so photos and videos shot while submerged will look better. Furthermore, videos can now be edited with Audio Magic Eraser for the Pixel 9 and Pixel 8 phones, which allows users to pick specific sounds from a video and edit them out. Gemini and More For AI, Google adds that Gemini Live with audio is now accessible on older Pixel devices, beginning with the Pixel 6 series, and will roll out in several countries including France, Germany, Brazil, India, Spain, and Latin America. Additionally, users can also use Gemini to conveniently locate their Pixel Screenshots, which is able to recognize voice prompts to initiate a search. The temperature sensor on the 8 and 9 Pro models has received updates, enabling the camera to be used as a viewfinder and allowing measurements to be saved to recent results. Pollen data is now available for users in France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Other features include the introduction of the new weather app to older Pixel devices, a Next Gen Call Screen for users in the UK and Japan, a Widget Discovery feature and new adaptive vibration, which utilizes your Pixel's sensors and microphones to automatically adjust vibration levels based on your location. Make sure to update your Pixel device now! Read the full article

Panasonic Refreshes the LUMIX S5D

If you're a fan of Panasonic's LUMIX S5D, then you might be thrilled to hear that the company has recently announced a newer, refreshed model of the S5D. The newer model comes with some new tricks up its sleeve, and features a newer hybrid full-frame mirrorless design, which according to Panasonic makes it a versatile camera for both stills and video. Set to launch this month, what exactly can you expect with the LUMIX S5D? Let's take a look. Support for DJI LiDAR The new model is based on the design of the LUMIX S5D, and supports DJI LiDAR AF which allows for precise autofocus without the need for internal focusing motors. When paired with the DJI LiDAR Range Finder Module and DJI RS 3 Pro Gimbal, the camera receives distance measurement data via USB and adjusts focus accordingly, removing the need for lens calibration. Other details include a 24.2-megapixel 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor that boasts wide dynamic range and high sensitivity performance, and a maximum ISO 51200 with Dual Native ISO technology. Video and Photo For video, the LUMIX S5D supports shooting configurations including 4K 60p/50p 4:2:0 10-bit and 4K 30p/25p 4:2:2 10-bit internal recording (up to 30 minutes), as well as 4K 60p/50p 4:2:2 10-bit HDMI output and unlimited 4K 30p/25p 4:2:0 8-bit internal recording. There's also a wide range of filming features which include Vector Scope Display, Master Pedestal Adjustment, and SS/Gain Operation for better control over exposure and colour. As for still photography, Panasonic claims that the new S5D is versatile in different situations, even in low-light scenarios. As mentioned earlier, it does pack Dual Native ISO capabilities which allow for reduced noise and better dynamic range for better control in more challenging lighting conditions. There's also 5-axis stabilization onboard, so users can expect sharper-looking photo and video quality, even with telephoto lenses or low light shooting sessions. Pricing and Other Details In addition to its imaging capabilities, the LUMIX S5D also packs a number of other features - this includes a magnesium alloy full die-cast body which is splash and dust-resistant, a large LVF (Live View Finder), a high-precision, high-speed OLED display with a 2,360K-dot high resolution, a 3.0-inch free-angle LCD with support for touch controls, a double SD Memory Card slot with support for both UHS-I and UHS-II (Video Class 90), as well as a built-in battery. Panasonic also announced the LUMIX S 18-40mm, which it claims is the world’s smallest and lightest zoom lens, at just around 155g/0.34lb. It's a compact addition to the LUMIX S Series full frame lens line up, and comes with focal lengths from an ultra-wide angle of 18mm to a standard 40mm. There's also focus breathing suppression onboard for a more stabilized filming experience, a feature found on other recent LUMIX lenses. As for price and availability, S5D will be available from the end of October for £1,399 for the kit which includes the LUMIX S Series 18-40mm F4.5-6.3 lens, and at £1,799 for a bundle which includes the 20-200mm F4-7.1 lens. Read the full article

HMD's New Modular Smartphone Finally Becomes Available

If you've been keeping an eye on tech, then you're probably aware that HMD (previously known as HMD Global) has re-adjusted its brand and smartphone business strategy to slowly move away from the legacy Nokia brand. For those not in the know, HMD entered into a deal with Nokia many years ago that would let the former license Nokia-branded Android phones, although with the deal now coming to an end, HMD has wasted no time in trying to establish its own name in the industry. CHECK OUT: Lumia Reinvented? The HMD Skyline is Now Official In fact, HMD launched its Pulse-series smartphones a while back, which consists of three models without the Nokia branding on them. This was followed by the Nokia Skyline, which ironically enough lacks the Nokia logo despite looking like a Lumia device. That aside though, HMD's push to stand out in the market has led to a new entry in its lineup in the form of the HMD Fusion, which incorporates a modular design. The phone is also now available for purchase for buyers in Europe and in the United Kingdom, starting at a rather wallet-friendly price of £229. This modular hardware setup allows users to clip on different accessories onto the phone, which consists of gear from both HMD and other third-party brands. Dubbed "Fusion Outfits," these accessories consist of everything from interchangeable cases and back covers, which come with different features such as magnetic wireless charging, rugged cases, and more. There's even an option for a controller setup for gaming. It's worth noting that the concept of modular smartphones isn't anything new - companies like Motorola and LG have previously tried this (albeit with middling success), and there was even the ill-fated Project Ara smartphone which has all but disappeared from public memory. More recently though, newcomers like Nothing's CMF sub-brand have revisited modular smartphone design with the CMF Phone 1, which likewise integrates a modular hardware setup. CHECK OUT: Nothing’s CMF Brand Launches its First-ever Phone In terms of specs, the HMD Fusion comes with a list of specs that's commonly found on a lot of budget smartphones - powered by a Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 chip, the phone also comes with a 6.56-inch IPS display, which also features a 90Hz refresh rate and HD+ resolution. There's also a 5,000 mAh battery with 33W wired charging; as for imaging, there's a 108MP main camera on the rear panel, while a 50MP front camera handles selfies and video calls. In terms of design it forgoes the Lumia-centric aesthetic of the HMD Skyline, instead opting for a more "standard" design, save for the rear panel which doesn't hide its modular origins. With all that being said, folks interested in getting the HMD Fusion can now order the phone via the company's official website and via participating retailers. Read the full article

Would you Pay More than £1,000 for Wireless Headphones?

We live in a day and age where wireless audio products have mostly improved compared to their predecessors, and while there's still an ongoing debate regarding wired versus wireless audio, it's probably safe to say that a good pair of headphones will get you great-sounding audio for the most part, especially from popular brands such as Sony and Apple, for example. Of course there's more to the industry aside from the “usual” names in tech - take for example Bang & Olufsen, which recently announced the debut of its latest pair of premium wireless headphones, the Beoplay H100. The H100 integrates a ton of modern wireless audio features, in addition to a premium price tag, even more expensive than Apple's already-pricey AirPods Max, for example. Let's start with some of the hardware features on the H100. The H100s come packed with a pair of 40mm drivers, and they also come with a rather capable battery onboard - on average, the headphones can last for up to 34 hours with active noise cancelling (ANC) enabled, which is pretty impressive and should be able to last you several commutes and even a trans-atlantic flight. The headphones can also last for up to 90 days on standby mode. Of course individual usage patterns will come into play here, so your mileage may vary. The H100 headphones also come with a nice lineup of audio features. In addition to ANC, there's also support for hi-res audio, Dolby Atmos and even head tracking for spatial audio playback. Interestingly, Bang & Olufsen has also equipped the headphones with its “EarSense” technology - this allows the H100 to automatically adjust its sound profile based on how it fits on a user's ears, a handy feature especially since no headphones are usually a “one size fits all” affair. There are also 10 built-in microphones inside, which handle ANC duties as well as noise management during phone calls. With all that said, let's move on to what else makes the Beoplay H100 super expensive - the company actually refers to the headphones as its most “advanced” and “luxurious” model so far, and it looks like they're not kidding. In addition to the hardware and audio features mentioned earlier, the headphones likewise come with premium materials, which includes a glass panel on the sides of the headphones (and also allows for touch controls), an aluminium headband wrapped by knitted fabric, and lambskin leather for the ear cups, which is something you don't see everyday with your average pair of wireless headphones. So how much is the Beoplay H100? If you ever decide to pick up a pair, the headphones will cost you £1299, and no that's not a typo. For context, this is more than twice the price of Apple's AirPods Max headphones, which are priced at £499. It's also the same price as most foldable smartphones on the market these days, or a souped-up laptop for that matter. They're undoubtedly expensive, but in addition to the premium design and build you also get a versatile set of features. On the other hand, you can still get great-sounding audio from headphones which cost considerably less, such as entries from Bose or Sony for example. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! Read the full article

Samsung wants to Challenge Big Players with its New Projectors

Projectors are an interesting consumer electronics product - once reserved for board room meetings and showing summer holiday slides back in the olden days, the industry has transformed them into more capable home entertainment setups with support for smart features. That's why we've been seeing more established brands add them to their lineup, with entries from the likes of LG, Epson, and Philips to name a few. It just so happens that Samsung is one of these brands as well. The company is quite adept at home entertainment systems with countless TVs, speakers and monitors under its portfolio, and it's also launched a fair share of smart projection systems in recent years as well. With that said, the company's latest Premiere-series projectors are equipped with pretty great features - available in two models dubbed the Premiere 9 and Premiere 7, the duo were unveiled during IFA 2024 along with a number of other Samsung products. Samsung is leaning towards a premium hardware approach with both models, with a hefty price tag to match as well. CHECK OUT: Samsung’s 15-inch Galaxy Book4 Edge Makes its Debut Samsung has fitted both projectors with a lot of modern staples - for one, the Premiere 9 comes with triple laser technology for colour accuracy and brightness, and both models offer ultra-short throw capabilities with support for 4K resolution on screens up to 130 inches. Both models also come with a colour gamut coverage of 154% and 100% of the DCI-P3 standard respectively, in addition to HDR10+ support, and a maximum brightness of 3,450 ISO lumens for The Premiere 9 and 2,500 ISO lumens for The Premiere 7. Both projectors are also equipped with AI Upscaling and Vision Booster - AI upscaling allows content to be displayed in 4K resolution, regardless of the original resolution. Meanwhile, Vision Booster can automatically adjust brightness and contrast depending on the current ambient lighting situations. Also present are built-in speakers with Dolby Atmos technology, which reduces the need to hook up the projector to an additional speaker system. The Premiere 9 features 40W 2.2.2 channel up-firing speakers, while The Premiere 7 includes 30W 2.2ch speakers. Smart features are likewise present on the Premiere 9 and 7 via Samsung's Tizen OS. This means users can access a wide array of streaming services, including Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and Samsung TV Plus. Similar to Samsung's Smart TVs and monitors, there's also Gaming Hub onboard which supports cloud-based games directly from the projector. Other features include a Custom Ambient Mode that allows the projector to display users' photos, videos and widgets via the SmartThings app on their mobile phones. Samsung has designed the Premiere models with a minimalist aesthetic, and they even feature a fabric finish allowing them to blend into the rest of your indoor setup. They can also function as a smart speaker when not in used for movies and shows, making them pretty versatile overall. In terms of availability, the Premiere 9 is available for £5,999, while the Premiere 7 won't arrive until next month. Read the full article

Should you Upgrade to the iPhone 16?

So you just saw Apple's new launch event for its iPhone 16 models, and then proceeded to stare down at your old iPhone, wondering if you should upgrade. Well, Apple does a good job of making its latest phones look like the ultimate hardware upgrade. In the case of vanilla iPhone 16, there are some certain considerations to take into account, although it's also a good example of why "not everything that glitters is gold." Read on to find out why. CHECK OUT: Here’s Every New Product that Apple Announced Today Same Old Screen There are certainly some upgrades with the iPhone 16, but let's talk about what stays the same - for one, the display on the 16 comes with pretty much the same hardware as on the iPhone 15, save for the inclusion of a newer Ceramic Shield version this time around. You still get a 6.1-inch OLED display (the smaller 16 Pro meanwhile gets a bump to 6.3 inches) with the same peak brightness of 2,000 nits, and the same old 60Hz refresh rate, which depending on how you view the feature, might be a divisive issue for some users. Kinda New Cameras Apple's marketing strategy for the iPhone 16 came out in full force - this year, the company is boasting its "fusion camera" setup on the iPhone 16. Physically, the phone comes with two main camera lenses consisting of a 48MP main camera, and a 12MP ultrawide camera. However, Apple claims that this is actually several cameras in one, as it comes with telephoto capabilities as well, in addition to new software features such as real-time photographic styles and a dedicated camera button, which lets users tweak their shot simply using touch feedback in addition to a planned two-stage shutter function. The cameras also come with a vertical layout to support spatial content. It should be noted though that this is the same resolution cameras as on the iPhone 15. Apple Intelligence The role of generative AI on smartphones has been a subject of contention among various smartphone users, but it's clear that hardware manufacturers like Apple believe that this is the next big leap in portable computing hardware. While it won't be available on the iPhone 16 once it arrives in stores, Apple's still-to-come AI features will at least be supported by all iPhone 16 models, as they do come with A18 chip, and A18 Pro for the Pro model handsets. So features like Siri and Chat GPT integration, those new image generation tricks and smarter notification management will be available on this year's base model iPhone. A New Chip Inside Speaking of the A18, Apple claims that the newer chipset outperforms the A16 Bionic when it comes to both raw performance and other tasks, so much so that the company outright skipped an "A17" model, instead moving onto its A18 series silicone. It is undoubtedly impressive, as shown by that lineup of AAA console titles that Apple teased on the App Store. The company adds that it is more power efficient compared to previous models, though of course this is still yet to be known at the time being. The iPhone 16 starts at £799, and arrives in stores on September 20. Read the full article

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