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Vivo brings in high-end Xplay 6, midrange X9 and X9 Plus

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Vivo Xplay 6

Vivo has really stepped up its game this week. After releasing the V5 in India a couple of days ago, the Chinese manufacturer went back to its home country to launch its new flagship Xplay 6, along with two additions to the X series.

This has to be the company’s answer to pressure forged by rivals Xiaomi and Huawei after they came out with some of the most impressive hardware we’ve seen this year. Vivo can rest easy with its second-place ranking in China, but there’s no telling when the tides could shift to another brand’s favor — just ask former top-ranker Xiaomi.

[irp posts=”7758″ name=”Vivo V5 with 20MP front camera launched in India”]

The Xplay 6, in particular, is no joke. Although it imitates a lot of the established ideas from fellow Chinese flagships, the price competes with Google’s Pixel phones at a bewildering CNY 4,498; that’s $655, seriously!

What makes this smartphone so special? Looking down the feature list, there’s nothing out of this world if you’re updated on the latest mobile tech.

Vivo Xplay 6 rose gold

Vivo Xplay 6 in rose gold

Standing out the most is the curved 5.46-inch Quad HD AMOLED display, which is something you’d find on the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. But the Xplay 6’s advantage over its Korean counterpart is the use of 6GB of memory and a larger 4080mAh battery with built-in fast charging.

There’s also the inclusion of smartphone technology’s latest trending feature: a dual-camera setup. With a pair of 12- and 5-megapixel rear cameras, the former does the photo taking with the help of optical image stabilization, while the latter provides depth information to produce sharper subjects with blurred-out backgrounds.

Curiously, Vivo decided to go with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor instead of the newer 821. Reminds us of what HTC had done earlier with the Bolt. The Android version is also stuck at 6.0 Marshmallow, and not the much maturer 7.0 Nougat.

Vivo Xplay 6 gold

Vivo Xplay 6 in gold

Even if you consider the full-metal body, fingerprint scanner in front, and super-cool rose gold color, the Xplay 6 is a tough sell. You can purchase it beginning December 12, if you really must.

And then we have the X9 and X9 Plus, which fit between the lower-end V5 and premium Xplay 6. The 5.5-inch X9 retails at CNY 2,798 ($407) for the 64GB storage variant, and the 128GB storage option goes for CNY 2,998 ($436); both are already available for pre-order. No details have been revealed for the 5.88-inch X9 Plus.

The X9 and X9 Plus have one thing in common, and that’s the dual-front-facing cameras. One is 20 megapixels in resolution, and the other has an 8-megapixel image sensor for depth info, just like the rear camera setup of the Xplay 6. Both have a plain 16-megapixel shooter at the back.

Vivo X9 rose gold

Vivo X9 in rose gold

Other than that, you can already spell out what else they offer. The smaller X9 has a midrange Snapdragon 625 processor, 4GB of memory, and 3050mAh battery. As for the larger X9 Plus, it has a faster Snapdragon 653 chipset, 6GB of memory, and 4000mAh capacity for its battery.

If all these sound too expensive for you, you can always look down the pricing ladder towards the Vivo Y55. It got our thumbs up in both its full review and our best budget phones list, plus it costs only $165.

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Sources: Fone Arena, (2)

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X’s AI accused Klay Thompson of vandalizing houses with bricks

AI thought joke posts were real

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April 18, 2024

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Image source: Keith Allison, Wikimedia

Despite the ease that the technology promises, artificial intelligence still isn’t the most reliable thing you can depend on. Today’s models can still flub answers. Now, the pitfalls of AI are abundantly clear with a few mishaps on X. Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson was just “accused” of a vandalism spree involving bricks.

Late Tuesday night, X presented an AI-generated news snippet. The article, posted soon after the Warriors’ play-in loss to the Sacramento Kings, reads: “Klay Thompson Accused in Bizarre Brick-Vandalism Spree.”

The snippet hilariously described an incident where Thompson supposedly vandalized houses in Sacramento with bricks. Thankfully, according to the snippet, no one was hurt. It even had a few sources for its claims below the news summary.

The sources, however, are just joke posts stemming from the recently concluded game. In that do-or-die game, Thompson put up a staggering 0 points on ten shot attempts, the most misses without a make by a Warrior since the ’68 season. Naturally, everyone joked that the Warriors guard just threw bricks all over Sacramento.

Now, X is currently experimenting with a new AI feature called Grok. The model collates trending topics and creates snippets of what’s happening for X users. However, it’s not exactly the smartest in determining real news from satiric ones. The feature notes as much, carrying a fine-print caveat warning users to “verify its outputs” because it’s an early feature and can make mistakes.

SEE ALSO: New X users must pay a dollar per year to post and reply

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New X users must pay a dollar per year to post and reply

Rolling out globally now

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April 16, 2024

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New users on X might soon face a tough time on the platform. The social media website will likely start charging new accounts a small fee for the right to post on the platform.

Now, the fee isn’t a new one. Almost six months ago, the company tested the paid system in New Zealand and the Philippines. New users in those countries had to pay a dollar per year for the ability to post and reply to content.

As spotted by X Daily News on the same platform, the company might be ready to take the experiment to a larger market. New text strings have shown that the policy is rolling out worldwide.

The policy is designed to combat a wave of bots appearing on the platform. By preventing new accounts from creating posts, X hopes to stave off the standard behavior of bots these days. You might have noticed them as OnlyFans creators in unrelated posts, peddling NSFW content on their bio.

Though the global rollout was only just spotted, owner Elon Musk has seemingly confirmed the change. Replying to X Daily News, Musk says that it is “the only way to curb the relentless onslaught of bots.” He says that the current breed of bots can easily bypass simple checks these days.

SEE ALSO: X will no longer let you hide your blue checkmark

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Pixel 9 series will reportedly come in four models

A newcomer and a familiar face

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April 16, 2024

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Since its big reinvention, the Google Pixel flagship series subsisted on two main entries: a regular model and a Pro. Last year added a Pixel Fold to the list but kept it away from the main line, launching in May instead. Now, there’s a possibility that the Pixel family, starting with the Pixel 9 series, is growing both in number and closer to each other.

According to Android Authority, Google might launch four different models of the Pixel 9 series later this year. Besides the two traditional entries to the family, there will be two new ones coming this year.

The first new model you might see is the Pixel 9 Pro XL (what a mouthful). Despite the name, the model itself isn’t exactly new. The model is reportedly a successor to the Pixel 8 Pro but with a different name.

Which means that the new model is actually the Pixel 9 Pro. Yes, it’s confusing, but let’s break it down. Similar to Apple, Google might separate its lineup into a regular duo and a premium duo. That said, the Pixel 9 Pro will offer only a bite-sized upgrade to the regular Pixel 9. It’ll be the same size, too.

Since the Pixel 9 Pro XL will be the start of the Pro lineup, what model will it pair with? Well, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, of course. The Pixel Fold is apparently dead in name. Google might repackage the foldable as an official part of the Pixel 9 series and will launch alongside the main lineup later this fall.

SEE ALSO: Google Pixel 8 Pro Review: Making Magic

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