13 things you need to know in tech for Monday, Feb. 18
Here’s your daily tech digest, by way of the DGiT Daily newsletter, for Monday, Feb. 18, 2019.
Sign up right here to get the full email with much more into your inbox.
1.Ever wanted a foldable phone that’s also a smartwatch?
CNET has worked on a nice scoop, tracking patent image filings and renders for a new set of potential foldable devices from TCL, including a hybrid smartwatch and foldable phone that looks impressive:
TCL’s gadgets, if these five different renders are accurate, show a variety of potential foldable devices that might just be nice enough to consider owning. At IFA last year we saw Nubia show off a very early smartphone/watch called the Nubia Alpha (Android Authority). The Nuba Alpha wasn’t much more than a prototype, and not particularly attractive, but a sign of things to come. TCL makes a huge range of electronics, from TVs to appliances and smartphones, including the revived BlackBerry line and value-focused Alcatel line of smartphones, so it is fully capable of bringing out something good.What’s new?
Five different options show us what TCL and other smartphone manufacturers are toying with – from two different fold-out tablets to horizontal folding smartphones, to a foldable phone/watch hybrid, which is the most striking. That device is getting a few people excited around the gadget space: it may be a little more cumbersome than your standard smartwatch when folded, something like a bracelet or bangle. But if it’s a smartphone it’d offer cellular connectivity, higher-end performance and storage, and potentially better battery-life as well. CNET points out that a TCL executive told the publication just last month that the company will release its first foldable device in 2020. It’s been a while coming. Some folks highlighted the Nokia Morph (back in 2008) was a concept just like this (YouTube), while Lenovo had a similar concept in 2016 (YouTube). Will TCL’s concept actually emerge from beyond the leaks and rumors stage? Well, LG news suggests it’s not all roses. The South Korean giant appears to have put its foldable phone on hold, focusing on “optional” dual displays instead (AA). “Management didn’t see the market as becoming very favorable for an expensive, first-gen foldable smartphone,” an LG spokesperson said. Also: LG lost $700m in 2018 on its mobile division (AA), so being aggressive may not be part of its 2019 plans. More on foldables from MWC next week!2. Here’s our first look at the LG V50: 5G, triple camera, and a 4,000mAh battery (Android Authority).
3. These are the best Android phones for power users (AA). Until next week?
4. Here’s a fill in the blank smartphone quiz (AA). 7/10 for me, but that wasn’t easy and I did get lucky once or twice.
5. A 16- to 16.5-inch size MacBook Pro with all-new design expected in 2019, says reliable Apple source Ming-Chi Kuo (MacRumors). Plus a large 6K external monitor, and more.
6. A $10 accessory proves smartphones are too big (WSJ – paywall). Spoiler: It’s a PopSocket.
7. “Stop saying, ‘We take your privacy and security seriously’” (TechCrunch).
8. Collections of curated lists hosted on Github are becoming more popular. Here’s the ‘Awesome’ list (Github) (it’s more focused towards developers)
9. The tech whiz behind Vine and HQ Trivia made millions in his 20s. He was dead by 34 (WSJ – paywall). Superb long read told with compassion.
10. In 1973, a photo of a Swedish Playboy model named Lena was used to engineer the digital image format that would become the JPEG. Yet the now 67-year old model herself remained a mystery—until now (WIRED).
11. “I’ve used Dvorak for 10 years, and I’m here to tell you it’s not all that” (The Verge).
12. DJI makes drone safety improvements with new 3D geofence (BBC).
13. Watch a harpoon successfully spear a piece of space junk (MIT Technology Review).
DGiT Daily: Your Tech ResourceIn case you don’t know, the DGiT Daily delivers a daily email that keeps you ahead of the curve for all tech news, opinions, and links to what’s going down in the planet’s most important field. You get all the context and insight you need, and all with a touch of fun, and the daily fun element that you otherwise miss.
Sign up right here to get the full email with much more into your inbox
It looks like the Android Pie update may now be rolling out to the carrier-unlocked Samsung Galaxy S9 in the U.S. The update has been spotted on Reddit, at PhoneArena, and via a tip from one of our readers (we couldn’t verify the claim, but the evidence is mounting).
The update has been for the S9 standard as well as the Galaxy S9 Plus, with the latter update coming in at more than 1.7GB. It includes the January 2019 security patches and updates the OS to the latest version of Samsung’s Android skin, One UI. You can find out more about what exactly that offers in our hands-on coverage here.
Sometimes these updates roll out to a small set of users before a wider rollout begins a while later, so treat this with caution until we learn more. If it is the real deal, however, it would bring a close to the major U.S. Pie rollouts for these devices, with T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint having also deployed the update recently.
Have you received the update for your U.S. unlocked Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus? Let us know in the comments.
LG has paused its foldable phone plans after evaluating the current market viability of them, LG Electronics mobile and TV boss Brian Kwon has confirmed. Speaking at a Seoul press conference yesterday (via The Korea Times), Kwon said: “We have reviewed releasing the foldable smartphone when launching 5G smartphone but decided not to produce it.”
Last year, LG’s former mobile CEO Hwang Jeong-hwan confirmed LG was developing a folding smartphone, but acknowledged it wasn’t concerned with being first to market. LG’s Android rivals Samsung and Huawei are developing folding display devices that may be unveiled as early as this week.
In an email today, an LG spokesperson said: “Since Mr. Hwang (former MC President) made that statement in October, management didn’t see the market as becoming very favorable for an expensive, first-gen foldable smartphone. So we’ve decided to focus our efforts in other areas, such as optional dual displays.”
Earlier in January, rumors emerged suggesting an LG device with an optional display was headed to MWC 2019. The extra screen is tipped to be part of an additional phone case.
LG isn’t the only manufacturer wary of the folding phone market. Last month, Honor President George Zhao said folding phones were “too thick and heavy,” and questioned if consumers really needed them.
With all of that in mind, Kwon said LG was “fully ready” to respond to folding smartphone demand if it’s there. It seems like LG has the technology, but whether it will pursue it may depend on what everybody thinks of the Galaxy F.
Up next: Folding phones with flexible displays, the ones we know about so far
Comments
Post a Comment
NO abusive, pornographic and sexually explicit content. Spamming and advertising not allowed