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jeudi 27 août 2020

Where to buy the OnePlus Nord in Europe and India

The OnePlus Nord was announced last month with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G SoC, 90Hz display, and a quad rear camera setup at an exciting starting price of ₹24,999/€399. The phone has made its way into the hands of reviewers and users alike, and the general reception towards the device has been pretty positive. The phone makes for an attractive option in the mid-range, and if you’re looking at getting your hands on the OnePlus Nord, here are the places where you can buy the device.

OnePlus Nord Review: Great Performance at a Great Price
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Where to buy the OnePlus Nord in India

OnePlus Nord in Sandstone Nord Blue bumper case

The OnePlus Nord is already available for purchase in India. However, there is an exclusive India-only variant with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage that will go on sale in early September at a price of just ₹24,999 (~$335) for the Gray Onyx color variant. Until then, interested customers can pick up the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant for ₹27,999 (~$375), or the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage variant for ₹29,999 (~$402) in either Blue Marble or Gray Onyx colors. The phone tends to be in high demand, so if you do spot it out of stock or unavailable, try again in some time.

Online sales partners include Amazon.in and OnePlus.in. If you want to try your hand at an offline store, you can get the phone at OnePlus Experience Stores and Croma outlets near you.

Best Deals for the OnePlus Nord in India

The OnePlus Nord is a mid-range smartphone and a good deal and value-for-money itself, so there are only a few launch offers available. Interested buyers can expect the usual no-cost EMI options depending on the financing agency of choice. Further, you can get an instant discount of ₹2,000 when purchasing with select debit and credit cards — the offer existed on American Express cards at the time of launch, but this could change through the months. You also get benefits on Reliance Jio worth up to ₹6,000. And of course, there is the India-exclusive OnePlus Red Cable Club membership included, which lets you get an extended warranty, assured buyback rates, free OnePlus Cloud storage, and other third party benefits.

 Amazon India

Amazon India is the premier option to buy the OnePlus Nord in India. You get the standard 1 year warranty as well as a 7-day replacement guarantee.

    OnePlus Nord on Amazon India
    Amazon India is an official sales partner for the OnePlus Nord, assuring users with quick delivery, varied payment options including no-cost EMIs and the implied Amazon quality promise. You can also utilize your pre-existing Amazon credit towards the purchase of the phone.

OnePlus India

OnePlus India’s own website is also a decent option for officially purchasing the OnePlus Nord in India. You can also snag yourself some deals on other OnePlus accessories, such as a sweet 10% off on the Butterfingers Bundle (one case of choice between Nord Blue, Sandstone Black, or Clear cases; plus tempered glass screen protector), or a 25% off the first-generation OnePlus Bullets Wireless earphones.

    OnePlus Nord on OnePlus India
    You can also buy the OnePlus Nord officially from OnePlus India's official website. The website also has deals on other OnePlus accessories like wireless earphones and case and screen protector combos, so you can snag yourself a good combo at a great price.

Where to buy the OnePlus Nord in Europe

The OnePlus Nord is already available for purchase in parts of Europe and the UK. Pricing for the phone is as mentioned below:

  • Europe:
    • 8GB + 128GB: €399
    • 12GB + 256GB: €499
  • United Kingdom:
    • 8GB + 128GB: £379
    • 12GB + 256GB: £469

Europe and UK do not get the lower specced 6GB plus 64GB variant as that is exclusive to India. In Europe, you do get two years of warranty as opposed to the one year of warranty in India.

These are the countries where you can officially buy the OnePlus Nord:

Official Availability

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Netherlands
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Russia
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • United Kingdom

Best OnePlus Nord Dewals Unlocked in the Europe and UK

You can get the OnePlus Nord online in the Europe and UK through Amazon and the OnePlus official website. Offline retail sales channels include OnePlus Experience Stores, Three, John Lewis, and other locations that may vary across regions.

    OnePlus Nord on Amazon UK
    Amazon is an official sales partner for the OnePlus Nord, assuring users with quick delivery, varied payment options including no-cost EMIs and the implied Amazon quality promise. You can also utilize your pre-existing Amazon credit towards the purchase of the phone.
    OnePlus Nord on OnePlus.com
    You can also buy the OnePlus Nord officially from OnePlus's official website. The website also has deals on other OnePlus accessories like wireless earphones and case and screen protector combos, so you can snag yourself a good combo at a great price.

Best OnePlus Nord Carrier Deals in the Europe and UK

Carrier deals for the OnePlus Nord vary across regions. For instance, Three UK offers a plan with this phone, costing you just £29 upfront, £21 for the first six months, and £42 from the seventh month until the twenty-fourth month. You also get unlimited data, unlimited minutes, and unlimited texts alongside, so it might not be a bad deal after all. Other plans include a pay-as-you-go offering with a £379 upfront cost; as well as other contract options with varied data rates and a monthly fee ranging from £38 to £31 for two years.

    OnePlus Nord on Three UK
    You can also buy the OnePlus Nord officially from Three. You can choose a 24-month plan with unlimited data, texts and minutes, and pay £29 upfront, £21 for the first six months, and £42 for the next eighteen months.

The OnePlus Nord already has a few key milestones under its belt. It’s a certified YouTube Signature Device, and is also expected to be Android Enterprise Recommended soon. Kernel sources for the phone are already available, which in turn has helped with third-party development efforts such as TWRP, Pixel Experience, and LineageOS 17.1. Of course, you can also easily root the phone with Magisk, and if you do end up with a brick somehow, unbricking and fixing your phone is fairly easy with the MSMDownloadTool. If you don’t have the phone yet and just want to use the static and live wallpapers on your existing device, we got you covered there as well.

Sadly, it’s not available to buy in the USA, although it can be imported from sellers on Amazon and eBay. We don’t recommend buying from unofficial sources, but at least the option is there.

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mercredi 26 août 2020

A major Android Auto settings redesign is now rolling out

Android Auto is getting a new settings UI with the latest Google Play Services update. The updated UI was recently spotted by u/shmykelsa on Reddit, and it includes a few design changes and new UI elements that are expected to make it easier for users to connect their devices with their car. The new settings UI is rolling out with Android Auto version 5.5.602944 and Google Play Services version 20.30.19, and here are some of the noteworthy changes included in the UI refresh:

Android Auto Android Auto

As you can see in the screenshots attached above, the main Android Auto settings page now has a distinct ‘Connect a car’ button that’s expected to make it easier for users to connect their cars with their device with just a tap. The button replaces the ‘Connect car’ section from the older UI which blended with the rest of the settings page and the menu no longer has a ‘Connect with a USB cable’ option. Instead, tapping on the ‘Connect a car’ button opens up a new page that shows instructions for connecting your car to your device using a USB cable and an option to ‘Connect using wireless Android Auto’.

Android Auto

Tapping on the ‘Connect using wireless Android Auto’ button brings up a different connection page with instructions on how you can connect to your car using voice commands. The page also includes a ‘Connect using Bluetooth’ setting that opens a pop-up menu with a ‘Pair a car’ button. As mentioned earlier, the new Android Auto settings UI is rolling out with a Google Play Services update so it might not appear on your device even if you have the latest version of Android Auto installed. While I wasn’t able to access the new UI on my device, our Editor-in-Chief Mishaal Rahman has received it on his ASUS ZenFone 7 with Android Auto 5.5.602944 and Google Play Services 20.30.19.


Source: Reddit

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The Witcher: Monster Slayer will add the AR twist to the Witcher series on Android and iOS

The Witcher traces its origin to a Polish novel series but has grown into a franchise spanning multiple video games and even a Netflix series. The latest full video game in the Witcher franchise was The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that was released back in 2015 by CD Projekt Red, and crossed over 28 million units in sales. Now, CD Projekt Red is bringing over the Witcher franchise to Android and iOS with The Witcher: Monster Slayer, a game that infuses the Witcher IP into a Pokémon GO-style AR game.

The Witcher: Monster Slayer will purportedly let you slip into the shoes of Geralt of Rivia and slay the monsters hiding around them. Think of it like Witcher GO — a Pokémon GO-style geolocation-based Augmented Reality game, infused with the intellectual property of the Witcher franchise and gameplay adapted for this combination. We already have a precedent in the form of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite from Niantic themselves, so this new game does come with its own promise.

If previous AR games are any yardsticks, The Witcher: Monster Slayer will likely adopt a free-to-play model with microtransactions, allowing players to explore the real world to discover monsters and fight them. We can also expect location geography and prevailing weather conditions to alter some aspects of the gameplay. The gameplay demo trailer showcases the player walking around on a map with monsters popping up in the vicinity (where have we seen this before? Hmmm….), and then needing to use the sword and other Witcher combat tactics such as magical signs, oils and craft bombs to defeat them. Defeating them will you to collect their trophies, presumably giving you bonuses like they do in the Witcher main games. Quests are also visible in the map when you activate your Witcher Senses, adding an investigative angle to the game.

The Witcher: Monster Slayer - Map The Witcher: Monster Slayer - Troll The Witcher: Monster Slayer - Gryffin The Witcher: Monster Slayer - Trophies The Witcher: Monster Slayer - Witcher Senses

While not explicitly confirmed by CD Projekt Red or Spokko, we suspect that The Witcher: Monster Slayer could be making use of the Niantic Real World Platform AR engine, which could allow the game to feature mechanics like depth detection and real-time object detection for rendering the monsters in the AR space. Considering the fact that Pokémon GO generated $8.9 million in a single day thanks to its annual Go Fest event in July 2020, there’s certainly a lot of incentive for everyone to be trying their hands at mixing successful franchises with AR.

The Witcher: Monster Slayer will be coming to both, Android and iOS. No ETA has been provided by the game publishers.

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Surface Duo Unboxing – Hands-on with Microsoft’s Dual Screen Android Device

Two weeks ago, Microsoft unveiled its first-ever Android device, the Surface Duo. It’s a radical evolution of the dual screen design we’ve seen in the past from the likes of ZTE, LG, and others. Unlike those other dual screen mobile devices, Microsoft is pouring a ton of resources into making sure the software experience holds up, even going as far as optimizing Android itself around the dual screen experience. We’ve got our hands on the device, but while we can’t show off the software just yet, we can give an overview of the fantastic hardware that Microsoft has included in the Surface Duo.

The first thing you’ll notice about the Microsoft Surface Duo is its size. It’s about the size of a small notebook while folded and around the size of an iPad Mini while unfolded. But what’s truly remarkable about it is how thin it is. It’s really thin while unfolded, measuring in at just 4.8mm in thickness! The Surface Duo is probably the thinnest Android device I’ve ever used. It’s only slightly thicker overall than the USB-C port on the device. Even while folded, it doesn’t feel bulky at all, despite the fact that it’s a bit thicker than most phones at 9.9mm.

The build material is glass on the front and back. The only outer parts that aren’t made of glass are the sides and the hinge. Because of concerns over durability—especially with such a thin device, Microsoft included a bumper in the box which attaches to the Surface Duo with adhesive. This is a similar setup to the Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Z Flip cases. The bumper in the box comes in white, but Microsoft will sell different colored bumpers to match the other Microsoft Signature Surface Type Covers.

Microsoft Surface Duo with bumper Microsoft Surface Duo with bumper

As for my first impressions of actually holding and/or opening/closing the Microsoft Surface Duo, I have to say that it provides the best feeling out of any foldable device I’ve used so far. Folding it feels nothing like the Galaxy Fold, Galaxy Z Flip, or even LG Velvet with its Dual Screen attachment; I consider it to be in a class of its own. The hinge feels incredible to move—near flawless, in fact. It requires the right amount of force to move but doesn’t feel hard to move at all. It folds a full 360°, or you can just fold it to any position and it stays. The great hinge combined with the super thin and lightweight build really makes the Surface Duo a fantastic-feeling dual screen mobile device.

Microsoft Surface Duo Forums

Just like with every other mobile device we’ve reviewed, the hardware doesn’t tell the whole story. As I mentioned before, I’m not able to talk about the software experience, the performance, the battery life, or other aspects of the phone quite yet. For those details, you will have to wait for my full review in the coming weeks. Because of this delay, I recommend either waiting until our full review is published or walking into a Best Buy or AT&T store later this week to try it out in person before you make a pre-order decision.

Pre-order the Surface Duo from Microsoft

Specifications Microsoft Surface Duo
Dimensions & Weight
  • Open: 145.2mm (H) x 186.9mm (W) x 4.8mm (T)
  • Closed: 145.2mm (H) x 93.3mm (W) x 9.9mm (T at hinge)
  • Weight: 250g
Display
  • Dual PixelSense Fusion Displays
  • Opened: 8.1” AMOLED, 2700×1800 (3:2), 401 ppi
  • Single PixelSense Displays: 5.6” AMOLED, 1800×1350 (4:3), 401 ppi
  • Wide color gamut: 100% SRGB and 100% DCI-P3
  • Display Material: Corning Gorilla Glass
SoC
  • Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855 Mobile Platform optimized for dual-screen experience
RAM & Storage
  • 128GB/256GB UFS 3.0
  • 6GB RAM
Battery & Charging
  • 3577mAh (typical) dual battery
  • Fast Charging using 18W charger in-box
Camera
  • Adaptive camera: 11MP, f/2.0, 1.0 μm, PDAF, 84.0° diagonal FoV, optimized with AI for front and rear
  • Multi-frame HDR, dynamic range scene detection, portrait mode with adjustable depth
  • Up to 4K 60fps with EIS
Connectivity
  • WiFi: WiFi-5 802.11ac (2.4/5GHz)
  • Bluetooth: Bluetooth® 5.0
  • LTE: 4×4 MIMO, Cat.18 DL / Cat 5 UL, 5CA, LAA Up to 1.2Gbps Download / Up to 150Mbps Upload
  • Bands Supported:
    • FDD-LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 66
    • TD-LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41, 46
    • WCDMA: 1, 2, 5, 8
    • GSM/GPRS: GSM-850, E-GSM-900, DCS-1800, PCS-1900
  • Location: GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou, QZSS
Security & Authentication
  • Biometric lock type: Fingerprint reader
  • Security applications pre-loaded on device: Microsoft Authenticator
Pen & Inking Supports all in-market generations of Surface Slim Pen, Surface Pen and Surface Hub 2 Pen
Audio
  • Mono speaker, Dual mic with noise suppression and echo cancellation optimized for productive use in all postures.
  • Audio formats supported: 3GP, MP3, MP4, MKV, WAV, OGG, M4A, AAC, TS, AMR, FLAC, MID, MIDI, RTTL, RTX, OTA, IMY
  • Qualcomm aptX Adaptive
Exterior
  • Exterior Material: Corning Gorilla Glass
  • Color: Glacier
Android Verison Android 10 with Microsoft Surface Duo UI
Price $1,399

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This is Xiaomi’s upcoming Mi 10T Pro flagship smartphone

Xiaomi’s Mi 10 series is the company’s current flagship lineup, and it consists of the Mi 10, the Mi 10 Pro, the Mi 10 Lite, the Mi 10 Lite Zoom, and the Mi 10 Ultra. Xiaomi isn’t quite done expanding its Mi 10 series, though. Recent rumors point to the company launching a new “Mi 10T” series, and we now have what we think are the first live images of the highest-end model in this new series: the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro.

Over on OfferUp, an online mobile marketplace, we spotted a listing (h/t @Tech_Savvy) for a “brand new phone” from Xiaomi with the code-name “apollo” and model name M2007J3SG. We cross-referenced the two IMEIs shown in the About Phone screen with an IMEI database to confirm that the device’s model name is indeed M2007J3SG. Furthermore, XDA Member (and frequent Xiaomi tipster) kacskrz uncovered code within Xiaomi’s latest Android 11-based MIUI 12 beta that ties the model names M2007J3SC, M2007J3SI, M2007J3SP, M2007J3SG, and M2007J3SY to the marketing names of Xiaomi Mi 10T and Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro. We also found references to the “apollo” code-name in Xiaomi’s camera app, revealing that the standard model has a 64MP triple camera setup while the “apollo pro” model has a 108MP triple camera setup. That same code suggests there will be global and Indian versions of “apollo” and “apollo pro,” so we can expect the Mi 10T and Mi 10T Pro to launch globally.

The OfferUp listing has 8 photos, 5 of which show the rear and 3 of which show the front of the Mi 10T Pro. The color of the back cover looks wildly different in each photo because of the different lighting, though it’s likely that the color seen in the image on the far right in the gallery below most closely represents the actual color. We think that’s the case because it matches the color shown in a leaked render published by Twitter user Abhishek Yadav.

Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro

Possible live images of the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro

Alleged press render of the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro. Credits: @yabhishekhd

The 3 photos showing the front of the Mi 10T Pro confirm that the device has thin bezels and a single hole-punch cutout on the left. These images are clearly of a pre-production unit since the software shown is stock Android 10 rather than MIUI 12.

Some of the specs of the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro may include a 5,000mAh battery, a 144Hz display, and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, according to @yabhishekhd. We can’t corroborate the battery capacity or fingerprint scanner placement, but kernel source code analysis does corroborate 144Hz refresh rate support. We also learned from kernel sources that the device will likely be powered by either the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 or the Snapdragon 865 Plus. We don’t have information about the other specifications of the device, the pricing, or the launch date, but we’ll likely learn more about the Mi 10T Pro soon given that press renders and live images have already started to leak.

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Samsung is shipping two different cooling systems in the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, but there’s no reason to worry

When reviews of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 20 Ultra hit the web earlier this month, some outlets reported that the device ran a little hot when performing certain intensive tasks. Multiple teardowns of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra then revealed that Samsung was shipping two different cooling systems: One consisting of a copper vapor chamber and another consisting of graphite thermal pads. Some users were understandably concerned about whether or not they were getting the short end of the stick; after all, you shouldn’t have to worry about ending up on the losing side of a hardware lottery when you’re spending $1,300 on a phone. There’s no reason to worry right now, though, because there’s no evidence yet that one cooling system is better than the other.

To recap, iFixit confirmed the presence of a multi-layered graphite thermal pad during their teardown of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, as opposed to the copper vapor chamber cooling system that Samsung has typically used (and marketed) in its older devices. As iFixit pointed out, some Galaxy Note 20 Ultra models still do feature a copper vapor chamber system, and there’s no indication that the different cooling systems are tied to the region in which the device is sold. For example, Zack from JerryRigEverything had an international (Exynos) unit with a graphite thermal pad, much like iFixit’s U.S. (Snapdragon) unit.

Copper vapor chamber cooling (left) versus graphene cooling pads (right). Credits: iFixit

iFixit argues that you shouldn’t worry about whether or not your Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has a copper vapor chamber or graphene cooling pads, though. For starters, just because your phone feels hot doesn’t mean it’s actually overheating. If your phone feels warm, then that means heat is being effectively dissipated from the CPU and GPU. The cooling system is meant to protect the internal components from heating to dangerous levels, which in turn means the components will last longer and also be able to maintain peak performance for longer.

It should be noted that right now, none of the complaints about the phone overheating have been followed up by a teardown to confirm which cooling system is in use. There’s no other known way to confirm which cooling system is used; the information is not displayed on packaging, on the outside of the phone, in the software, etc. Thus, you can’t attribute any perceived overheating problems to either the copper vapor chamber or graphene cooling pad systems.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Forums ||| Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Forums

iFixit concludes that Samsung trusts both cooling systems enough to use them interchangeably. The vapor cooling system was something that Samsung touted heavily a few years ago, but perhaps Samsung saw that graphene cooling pads are just as effective at dissipating heat, so they’re comfortable using both systems. While Samsung hasn’t offered its own statement yet, iFixit’s Greg Kramer, a thermal systems engineer, states that “there is little difference in performance between [vapor chambers] and the graphite. As long as you take the gap tolerances into consideration, it can be simple enough to swap them out for each other.”

Dual sourcing is actually common practice in the industry, especially when dealing with large volumes of products. Companies need to make sure that they have a secure supply of components to meet the demand for their devices, so they sometimes source components from multiple vendors to meet volume. This is usually not a problem because companies want to make sure that both components offer the same performance. If you think about it, there’s no reason for a company to want to intentionally screw over a portion of their buyers—a substantial gap in performance would trigger outrage when discovered by consumers, as we’ve already seen from users reacting to Samsung’s shipping its (arguably inferior) Exynos chipsets in certain regions.

Even though Samsung’s marketing of the Galaxy S10+’s vapor chamber cooling proved effective, iFixit notes that the solution has some drawbacks, such as being delicate during installation and being vulnerable to swelling if it’s heated up slightly past its limit. Notably, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra isn’t even the first Samsung phone to feature the alternative graphite-based cooling system as iFixit notes that the system can actually be found in the first-gen Galaxy Z Flip. So if you’re worried about what cooling system will end up on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra that Samsung ships to you, then don’t be. If evidence emerges that one solution is in fact superior to the other, we’ll of course update this article with that information.

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Google Maps’ revamped Saved tab helps you find and remember important places

Earlier this year, Google rolled out a big redesign to its Google Maps app in celebration of the service’s 15th birthday. The update featured a new navigation bar, tweaked icon design, improved transit features, and Live View. Building upon that major redesign, Google is now revamping the Saved tab. The new UI changes are all about making it easier to remember saved places.

In fact, one of the UI tweaks moves your recently saved places at the top, so you can easily navigate to that new food spot your friend recommended. Along with that, Google Maps will make it easier to find places nearby that you’ve recently saved. With the location permission granted, Maps can show all your nearby saved places in a carousel that’s easy to navigate. Places will also be sorted by distance, so you’ll always know what’s close by. The third change has to do with tracking the places you’ve been. With Location History turned on, you can see where you’ve visited on your Timeline. This feature will really come in handy when you visit a city you haven’t been to in a while because you’ll be able to see exactly where you went.

Google Maps Recently Saved Google Maps Nearby Saved Google Maps Visited

The changes to the Saved tab should be available on Android beginning today. We’ve already spotted the new UI changes in version 10.48.2 of the Google Maps app on two separate devices, but as always, Google is staggering the rollout across devices and regions.

Maps - Navigate & Explore (Free, Google Play) →

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