TCL brings televisions with Android TV to the U.S. starting at $129

Android TV looks to be headed toward the spotlight once again. We recently obtained exclusive images of Google’s upcoming Android TV dongle, which would be the company’s first hardware for the platform in 6 years. In other Android TV-related news, TCL is finally bringing their televisions to the U.S. market.

TCL already sells smart Roku TVs in the U.S., but its Android TV offerings have only been available in other markets such as Europe. Now, the company is bringing a pair of televisions with Android TV built-in to the U.S. market. The TVs have identical designs and start at just $129.99.

Firs up is the low-end TCL 32-inch 3-Series. This TV has a 31.5-inch 720p LED display with direct backlight. It supports Dolby Digital Plus surround sound and has a speaker output of 10W. There are 2 HDMI ports (with HDMI ARC) and 1 USB 2.0 port. For connectivity, it supports single-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Ethernet.

The second model is the TCL 40-inch 3-Series. This TV has a slightly higher-end display that’s 39.5-inches, LED, and 1080p with direct backlight. It also supports Dolby Digital Plus surround sound and the speaker output is 16W. It has 2 HDMI ports (with HDMI ARC) and 1 USB 2.0 port. The TV also supports single-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Ethernet.

The remote that comes with both models includes a Google Assistant button, a keyboard button, and shortcuts to Netflix and YouTube. As mentioned, these are Android TV devices, so they include all the goodies associated with the platform. That means Google Assistant access, Chromecast functionality, and a plethora of streaming apps to choose from. The TCL 32-inch model costs $129.99, while the 40-inch model costs $199.99. Both are available right now from Best Buy.

TCL 32-inch 3-Series | TCL 40-inch 3-Series

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Source: TCL

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LG’s Dual Screen wireless technology revealed: It’s mmWave

LG’s recent flagship smartphones have included “Dual Screen” hardware modules as one of their headline features. In the past year, foldable phones have attracted a lot of interest thanks to the difference in experience from regular smartphones. But foldable phones are also very expensive and fragile, which brings us to LG’s alternative: it’s basically a second display that attaches to the phone. This secondary panel can be used for anything from multitasking to gaming and beyond. Now granted, this is not the same as actually having a foldable panel and it’s far from being a similar experience, but it’s an interesting alternative. These attachments connect wirelessly, but they don’t use Bluetooth, NFC, or any similar tech. Rather, they use proprietary tech based on mmWave.

LG V60 ThinQ with Dual Screen XDA Review – So Close to Greatness

And yes, this is the same frequency spectrum that you may remember from another trendy technology — 5G. This doesn’t mean that the phone and the Dual Display attachments communicate through one another via 5G, though: the term “mmWave” simply refers to radio frequencies between 30 and 300 GHz.

Now that we’ve addressed the elephant in the room, let’s talk about the tech itself: it’s made by a company called Keyssa and what makes their technology special is that it’s engineered for working just like a wired connection. And this is why they use mmWave frequencies: they allow for very high data transfer rates and very low latency. Keyssa’s chips are capable of transmitting up to 6 Gbits per second, making their tech ideal for LG’s use case. Keyssa’s tech operates in the 60GHz spectrum, and just like mmWave 5G, it has a line-of-sight limitation. In this use case, though, that’s not a problem as the communication is near-field and device-to-device, which also greatly cuts down power consumption.

This technology has a lot of potentials. Down the road, we could see a variant of this as an alternative for NFC connections, a solution for file transfers between devices, and much more. Right now, though, it’s what phones like the LG V50, V60, and the LG Velvet use for their respective Dual Screen attachments.

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Source: DisplayDaily
Via: Android Authority

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Brave Browser will no longer add affiliate links to some cryptocurrency trading sites

There is no dearth of browser choices for both smartphones and on desktop, and there are a bunch of good options that can suit a variety of needs. Brave Browser counts itself as one of these options, riding on its privacy-centric approach to web browsing. Brave Browser was launched as v1 in December 2019 as an open-source browser, offering features such as a free built-in ad blocker, HTTPS Everywhere, script blocking, third-party cookie blocking, blocking invasive third-party ads, trackers, and auto-play videos. Unfortunately, it appears that Brave Browser was auto-filling its referral onto URLs of cryptocurrency sites, which it now has promised to stop after public outrage.

Twitter user @cryptonator1337 found that Brave Browser kept inserting a referral code to the end of the web address of Binance, a cryptocurrency trading website.

pic.twitter.com/GT9NFnE4uf

— Cryptonator1337 (@cryptonator1337) June 6, 2020

As David Gerard reports, this referral code could allow Brave Software to earn up to 20% from trading fees for every account created through the unique link. Further, the functionality of auto-filling a referral code appears to have been added on March 25, and the feature went on to include sites like Binance, Coinbase, Ledger, and Trezor. To further complicate the issue, some of these websites allow the referrer to view some amount of data about the customers who do sign up with the code.

Understandably, there was outrage on this move, and Brave Software’s CEO and co-founder Mr. Brendan Eich has responded by mentioning that there exists a setting to disable the autocomplete defaults that add the affiliate codes, and this setting is present at brave://settings.

FWIW there’s a setting to disable the autocomplete defaults that add affiliate codes, in brave://settings first page. Current plan is to flip default to off as shown here. You can disable ahead of our release schedule if you want to. Good to hear from supporters who’ll enable it. pic.twitter.com/ZgOpSsOLnX

— BrendanEich (@BrendanEich) June 6, 2020

Further, Brave Browser’s stable release will be updated to default to disabling the affiliate autocomplete.

Opinions on affiliate revenue can be divisive, as many construe them as a viable secondary source of income for creators. Nonetheless, an announcement was certainly warranted when undertaking such a change. Hopefully, the team at Brave Browser can keep this in mind.

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Source: David Gerard

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Xiaomi Mi Band 5 official teaser shows off design, band colors, period tracking function, and more

The Mi Band 5 is the next generation product in Xiaomi’s highly successful fitness tracker lineup. In the past, each generation upgrade brought along some good updates that made it a decent upgrade even for existing users, especially at the signature Xiaomi-value price tag. But this year, the upgrade is expected to be more of the incremental type instead of a drastic product overhaul — after all, there was very little that really needed improvements on the Mi Band 4.

Xiaomi Mi Band 4 XDA Review: Fitness tracking done right and done cheap, again

Previous reports on the Mi Band 5 showed off graphic assets found within the Mi Wear APK, and these suggested that there is unlikely to be much deviation from the previous Mi Band design. But still, these did not completely rule out the possibility of the renders being mere placeholders. Now, Xiaomi has officially revealed the Mi Band 4 design on Weibo, and it does indeed look pretty much the same as the Mi Band 4.

At first glance, the Mi Band 5 might appear to have a different band design from the Mi Band 4, with the straps attaching with the main body in a different fashion, as seen on the orange and yellow color variants. But the olive green color variant follows the band color all around the tracker body, so it looks like the orange as well as the yellow color bands will simply sport a black color alongside the holder perimeter.

In terms of new functionality, the official poster shows off period tracking functionality, which would be new for the Mi Band 5, at launch. We also spot wallet functionality, but that is likely to stay limited to China only. Features previously spotted include SpO2 tracking, PAI, meditation guidance, and integration of Amazon Alexa digital assistant.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 5 is launching in China on June 11. The device will very likely make its way to other markets as well, even though the lower cost Redmi Band has not been released outside China.

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Source: Weibo

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Here’s what’s new in OPPO’s ColorOS 7.2 based on Android 10

Chinese smartphone maker OPPO launched the Reno4 and the Reno4 Pro in China last week – just three months after the Reno3 series. The OPPO Reno4 series comes with a refreshed design, slight improvements in the internal hardware, and loads of new features in terms of the software. The Reno4 and the Reno4 Pro are the first two smartphones from the company that get ColorOS 7.2 – the latest version of OPPO’s custom Android software – based on Android 10.

ColorOS 7.1 Review: OPPO’s latest Android OS is its best yet

While ColorOS 7.1 was launched only with the OPPO Reno3 in March this year, version 7.2 adds new features, especially for the camera. Here are all the new features that OPPO has added to ColorOS 7.2:

Super Night Video Mode

A screenshot of video recorded on OPPO Reno4’s Super Night Video mode

With the OPPO Reno4, ColorOS also gets a new night mode for videos just like the company’s Nightscape mode for images. The company claims that the “Super Night Vide Mode” feature will enhance the exposure in videos taken at night or under extremely low light conditions by up to 74%. In addition, the feature will also improve the clarity in night videos by up to 33%.

Movie Mode

The OPPO Reno4 series comes pre-loaded with the Soloop app that allows users to edit videos on their phones for a variety of video-sharing platforms. The phone also gets a Movie Mode exclusively with a 21:9 aspect ratio, 10 color filters, several preset templates, along with the options to adjust the exposure or the shutter speed of the raw footage to give it a movie-like appearance.

Intelligent Battery Saver

The Intelligent Battery Saver in ColorOS 7.2 will learn users’ habits and automatically put certain apps to sleep when they’re unlikely to be used. By doing so, the battery on the smartphone can be conserved and the night time drain can be avoided, improving night-time battery consumption by up to 10%.

Super Power Saver

For scenarios when the battery of the phone is really low, users can activate the Super Power Saver mode to stops everything except for the most important features like calling or messaging. OPPO claims that 1.5 hours of messaging on WeChat will only utilize 5% battery when the phone is in Super Power Saving mode.

AI Fix for images

ColorOS has a new feature that will help preserve the digital copies of old or blurred pictures. The feature will automatically repair the pictures by removing haze, noise or graininess, or blur in the older images.

Application pre-launch

ColorOS will now be able to pre-launch applications in the background even before you tap on the app icon by learning your usage habits. As expected, this feature reduces the app startup time, offering a faster experience.

OPPO Labs

OPPO Labs, similar to Realme Lab, will be added to ColorOS 7.2 so that users can experience upcoming and experimental features while they’re being tested.

Camera SDK

OPPO has released a Camera SDK which will allow third-party app developers to use capabilities of all the cameras on the Reno4 as well as all the features natively supported in the stock Camera app. For instance, the SDK will allow apps like Instagram to extend support for OPPO’s beauty or HDR mode, or use any camera other than the primary one for taking pictures directly from within Instagram.

Using the ultra-wide-angle camera on a third-party app

This is possible through Google’s CameraX Jetpack support library that lets developers take full advantage of pre-loaded camera features including ones from the Google Camera app. Likewise, the SDK will also allow developers to utilize in-build hardware features like OIS on non-stock Camera apps, opening a wide range of camera functionality on OPPO smartphones.

 

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Alleged survey may have just leaked the OnePlus Z specs and pricing

It’s been a while since OnePlus made an affordable phone. The OnePlus One, OnePlus 2, and the OnePlus X were perhaps the only devices in the product lineup that could inarguably be called affordable. All the flagships since then have introduced a price creep, some greater than others. Today, the current generation cheapest device from the company is at a healthy ₹41,999 in India, and $699/€699 internationally. The flagship products may still be considered worth their price, but they are certainly priced above what a lot of users would be comfortable paying for a smartphone. OnePlus was looking to remedy that with the OnePlus Z this year (leaked earlier as the OnePlus 8 Lite). Now, a new leak sheds light on the possible specifications as well as the possible pricing of the OnePlus Z.

According to a thread on an online forum called DesiDime, some PayBack users recently received a survey that asked whether they would be willing to purchase a smartphone from OnePlus with certain specifications and at a certain price.

PayBack is a customer rewards program in India that essentially lets users of credit cards and debit cards accumulate reward points on their card-based purchases, and it is known to run product and marketing surveys occasionally. This particular survey is talking about an unreleased OnePlus smartphone, and it lists out certain specifications that align with what is expected out of the OnePlus Z.

According to the survey, the OnePlus Z will come with a 6.55″ Super AMOLED display with a 90Hz screen refresh rate and an in-display fingerprint scanner. It will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 SoC with 5G support, along with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The phone will apparently have a 4300 mAh battery and 30W fast charging support, which we guess can be through Warp Charging. On the camera end, the survey puts forth a 64MP + 16MP + 2MP triple camera setup, and we presume that the 16MP camera is likely an ultra-wide-angle camera and the 2MP camera is either a depth sensor or a macro shooter. There is also a 16MP camera on the front within the hole punch on the display.

Interestingly, according to the survey, the OnePlus Z is said to be priced at ₹24,990, which is approximately $330 according to current exchange rates. Keep in mind that OnePlus tends to have lower pricing in India as it takes advantage of the local assembly incentives from the government, so the pricing internationally could likely be higher. OnePlus did confirm an announcement for July 2nd for the new OnePlus TVs for the Indian market, and this might just be the perfect opportunity to launch the new smartphone as well.

All of the pricing and specs presume that the survey is correct and is an accurate representation of the OnePlus Z. PayBack does have a reputation, but we could not independently verify if such a survey was indeed sent out. Nonetheless, we are excited to see how this turns out because that price certainly has us intrigued.

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Source: DesiDime.com

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Samsung is launching the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite with One UI 2.0 and S Pen support in India for ₹27,999 (~$370)

Despite constantly declining tablets sales worldwide, Samsung is among the manufacturers still making tablets. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S6 can easily be titled the most powerful Android tablet so far – although it could be superseded by the Galaxy Tab S7 soon. But unlike Apple, which is the only brand still appealing its buyers to replace their computers with a tablet i.e. the iPad – even more strongly than before, Samsung has been producing tablets across a range of price segments. The company announced a mid-range tablet – the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite – back in April this year for the global markets including the U.S. for $350. And now, the Tab S6 Lite is making its way to India for a starting price of ₹27,999 (~$370).

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite uses Samsung’s Exynos 9611 mid-range chipset, a 10nm SoC which has been used on many other Samsung devices including the Galaxy A50s, Galaxy A51, Galaxy M30s, Galaxy M31, and the Galaxy M21. The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, which can be expanded up to 1TB using a microSD card.

Designed for entertainment, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite comes with a 10.4″ WUXGA+ TFT LCD display and dual AKG-tuned speakers with Dolby Audio. To make sure that there’s no stoppage to the entertainment, the tablet gets a 7,040mAh battery. It also supports Samsung’s S Pen which is included within the box. You can also buy a carrying case but that’ll have to be bought separately.

On the software front, the tablet runs on One UI 2.0 based on Android 10.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite Specifications

Specification	Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
Dimensions and Weight	244.5 x 154.3 x 7.0 mm 467g
Display	10.4″ TFT LCD 2000 x 1200
SoC	Exynos 9611 4 x ARM Cortex-A73 @ 2.31GHz 4 x ARM Cortex-A53 @ 1.74GHz Mali G72 GPU
RAM and Storage	4GB + 64GB Expandable up to 1TB via dedicated microSD card slot
Battery	7040mAh
Ports	USB Type-C 3.5mm audio jack
Rear Camera	8MP with auto-focus
Front Camera	5MP with fixed focus
Android Version	One UI 2.0 based on Android 10

Price & Availability

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite will be available in India via Amazon starting June 17th.

The prices for the different variants are as follows:

• 4GB + 64GB (LTE): ₹31,999 (~$425)
• 4GB + 64GB (Wi-Fi only): ₹27,999 (~$370)

You can pre-book the tablet starting 2 PM today i.e. June 8th and avail special offers on the Galaxy Buds+ or the book cover. Along with pre-ordering the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, you can get the Galaxy Buds+ for ₹2,999 (instead of the original price of ₹11,990) and the book cover for ₹2,500 (instead of ₹4,999).

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