Sony is reportedly working on a phone with retractable rolling display

Foldable phones are yet to become the promising evolution they were meant to be, but that isn’t stopping tech giants from embracing the technology. Just a day before its official availability, Samsung postponed the launch of the Galaxy Fold citing issues in its design. Huawei too will be releasing the foldable Mate X later this year. Now, a tweet by tipster Max J., spotted by MSPoweruser claims Sony is working on a foldable device.

The tweet claims Sony is prototyping the design with a foldable display supplied by LG Display, a camera with 10X zoom and a 3220mAh battery. The battery might seem a little less for a foldable device but considering Sony is still at the prototying stage, that might change later. Presently, the device is running a Snapdragon 7-series SoC by the codename SD7250, although it is expected that the final version will house the Snapdragon 855 flagship SoC coupled with the Snapdragon X50 5G modem. Clearly, this will be Sony’s foray into 5G devices.

There’s also another key difference. While Samsung and Huawei’s foldable devices are actually foldable, Sony could be working on a rollable design. Based on a patent illustration Sony received, the design could be in a retractable roll-out form factor. Sony might implement the use of rails to help expand the display on both sides of the devices, turning the smartphone into a tablet.

If there are no setbacks in the production, we might see Sony’s futuristic foldable device in the market by December 2019 or early next year. However, there’s little chance of the phone ever launching in India. Sony’s mobile division has officially shut shop and exited from the Indian market. But this could be a good way to make a comeback.

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Huaweis Hongmeng OS to seamlessly power IoT devices as well as smartphones, claims to be faster than Android

The ban on US companies that restricted trade with Huawei is now partially lifted. Google too has resumed relations with the company and so did most other US companies, but Huawei will now be wary of such threats from the west. While the ban was enforced, news broke that Huawei is working on an Android-alternative called Hongmeng OS. Now, Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei told a Chinese publication that the operating system will be more than just an Android replacement. It’s made to interconnect all devices.

The 75-year old executive said the OS works on just about everything including network switches, data centers, routers as well as smartphones. By the sound of it, Hongmeng OS holds good potential for being the OS of choice for IoT devices like smart homes, autonomous vehicles and the likes.

Ren also said the OS has a processing latency of less than 5 milliseconds and admitted that it could possibly be faster than both Android and macOS. However, Ren was apprehensive of the ecosystem Huawei is trying to build around the OS.

Hongmeng OS is facing an uphill battle right now to nurture a robust ecosystem. Apple and Google’s success in the software space can be attributed to the support from their ecosystem, which Huawei lacks presently. But then Ren assured saying the company is also working on making its own app store to get more developers.

As for the ban, not everything is a go for Huawei. During the G20 meet in Japan, US president Donald Trump announced that Huawei is now permitted to resume business with US companies and can purchase components made in US. However, Huawei is still on the blacklist despite the decision and it’s also not clear whether the company will be allowed to operate in the United States. That doesn’t seem to be bothering Huawei much. The company recently bagged its 50th contract in setting up 5G infrastructure at MWC 2019 Shanghai.

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Huami Amazfit Bip Lite smartwatch launched in India at Rs 3,999

The Huami Amazfit Bip Lite is now available in India. The smart watch is priced Rs 3,999 and comes with a 45-day battery life on a single charge. The watch looks a lot like the Apple Watch and rocks an optical PPG heart rate sensor designed particularly to track activities like running and cycling. Like the previous Amazfit Bip, the watch is compatible with both Android and iOS devices and offers real-time notifications.

The optical PPG sensor on the Amazfit Bip Lite is combined with a three-axis acclerometer, barometer and a compass for activity tracking. There’s a 1.28-inch always-on display and can automatically detect the activity you are doing. It also has multi-sport tracking that tracks four cardio activities including running and cycling.

The smartwatch is also water resistant up to 30 meters and can be used while swimming. It’s also quite lightweight at 32 grams and comes with a curved corner design.

Huami will sell the Amazfit Bip lite via Amazon from July 15. This is the third smart watch from the Xiaomi-backed company to launch in India. The previous Amazfit Bip launched at Rs 5,499 and there is another smartband called Amazfit Stratos.

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Apple could be working on a foldable iPad: Report

This isn’t the first time that we are seeing rumours about a foldable iPad, but new information circulating the internet suggests that we could see the device as soon as next year. According to analysts with inside information, the foldable iPad could be between 11 and 15-inches in size and is also speculated to support 5G. The device is also speculated to support 5G. Apple is yet to launch its first commercial 5G phone. There is no information on a specific launch date.

A lot of companies have been rumoured to work on a foldable device including Microsoft with the foldable surface device. However, only a few companies like Samsung, Huawei and LG have shown off their take on foldable devices. Samsung has quite a shaky launch with the display fault on their foldable device, and it looks like others want to ensure their devices are fault-free when they launch. 

Apple has a history of revolutionizing consumer tech. From the first PC to the iPod, the iPhone and even the iPad, all these products have been industry-defining products. It is yet to be seen how the Cupertino giant changes the way we look at foldable devices.

Source/Via

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Xiaomi launches Redmi 7A, WhatsApp outage, Vivo Z1 Pro launch and more top tech news of the week

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A list of Amazon's known businesses, subsidiaries, and brands, including some that have been discontinued or absorbed into other services (Leticia Miranda/BuzzFeed News)

Leticia Miranda / BuzzFeed News:
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7-Eleven shut down its 7Pay service two days after launch after hackers exploited the app's password reset function for ~900 accounts and made ~$500K in charges (Catalin Cimpanu/ZDNet)

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
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Redmi Note 7 Pro, Redmi K20 Series, PUBG Lite, More Tech News This Week

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Source: CFIUS has cleared SoftBank's $2.25B investment in GM's Cruise after fresh assurances that Cruise's technology would be completely off limits to SoftBank (Reuters)

Reuters:
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Nintendo is keeping an eye on Cloud gaming, but isnt jumping on the bandwagon anytime soon

Cloud gaming isn’t a new concept but has garnered a lot of attention lately. This is the granddaddy of the internet - Google tossed its hat in the gaming ring with their cloud gaming service Stadia and Microsoft has announced its cloud gaming initiative - Project xCloud. Both services will see some form of release in 2019 and 2020. Sony is the only player with an existing cloud gaming service, PlayStation Now, but the service isn't available everywhere. Nintendo, on the other hand, has stayed mum about its take on cloud gaming. 

However, when asked about cloud gaming, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said, “While we don’t expect all games to become cloud games any time soon, the technologies are definitely advancing. We see a future where cloud and streaming technologies will develop more and more as a means of delivering games to consumers. We must keep up with such changes in the environment. That being said, if these changes increase the worldwide gaming population, that will just give us more opportunities with our integrated hardware and software development approach to reach people worldwide with the unique entertainment that Nintendo can provide.”

Nintendo is one of the most innovative companies when it comes to gaming. The Nintendo Wii is one of the most successful consoles causing Sony and Microsoft to toss their respective hats in the motion gaming ring. Nintendo is also the only company that has a console that is portable as well as works with your TV - the Nintendo Switch. The unique proposition of the Switch, which lets you dock it and use it with your TV at home and take it out when you need to play on the go makes it the ideal choice for gamers on the go. The console also has a large library of games including exclusives like Mario and Zelda and AAA heavyweights like Doom and Wolfenstein with the Witcher 3 making its debut on the console later this year. 

Whether Nintendo joins the cloud gaming bandwagon is yet to be seen. However, looking at Nintendo's innovative past, we think the company will add its own unique spin to the tech. If only the gaming company had an official presence in India.

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Nokia 61 receives a price cut in India, now starts at Rs 6,999

The Nokia 6.1 which launched back in 2018 has seen a price drop. The smartphone is available in two variants - 3GB RAM + 32GB  storage and 4GB RAM + 64GB storage. As of writing this story, the new price is yet to reflect on e-commerce websites like Flipkart and Amazon. The new price of the smartphone is Rs 6,999 for the 3+32GB variant and Rs 9,999 for the 4+64GB variant. Even though the smartphone launched at a much higher price point, it was available on e-commerce websites for Rs 8,999 and Rs 9,999 for the 32 and 64GB variants respectively. 

Speaking of the specifications of the smartphone, the Nokia 6.1 runs Android Pie. It sports a 5.5-inch full-HD IPS display with a 16:9 aspect ratio. Under the hood, the device has the Snapdragon 630 SoC. On the camera front, the smartphone has a single 16MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture. The camera is accompanied by an LED flash. The front has an 8MP sensor for selfies. AS mentioned above, the smartphone is available in two storage and RAM options and the storage is expandable via a microSD card. For security, the phone sports a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. A 3000mAh battery powers the entire package. 

Those interested in purchasing the device can check out our review of the smartphone here. 

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