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ROG Phone 3, Lenovo Legion first to carry Snapdragon 865 Plus

Qualcomm’s new flagship chip is focused on ‘Elite Gaming’

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Qualcomm’s newest flagship System on a Chip (SoC) is heavily focused on 5G and providing a faster gaming experience. That’s why it comes as no surprise that the first two devices that will carry the chip are the upcoming ASUS ROG Phone 3 and the much-rumored Lenovo Legion mobile gaming device.

Snapdragon 865 Plus

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC brought 5G connectivity to the top smartphones for the first half of 2020. Qualcomm is taking it a step further with the Snapdragon 865 Plus by adding what they call the Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gaming experience.

The new chip is promising to deliver “desktop-quality gaming with first-to-mobile features like updateable GPU drivers and desktop forward rendering, and ultra-smooth 5G gameplay.”

In numbers, the chip will deliver 144 FPS along with true 10-bit HDR for that added cinematic detail when you play. Other enhancements include the following:

  • Kryo 585 CPU Prime core clock speed at up to 3.1 GHz (10% increase)
  • Adreno 650 GPU offers 10% faster graphics rendering
  • FastConnect 6900 compatibility — boasting staggering Wi-Fi speeds for
    up to 3.6 Gbps – the fastest of any mobile Wi-Fi offering in the industry — delivering performance fit for premium devices and experiences

The Snapdragon 865 Plus will also offer improvements in AI engines for camera performance and audio.

ROG Phone 3

Expected to be announced in late July is the ASUS ROG Phone 3. While the rest of the specs and features have yet to be confirmed, having the Snapdragon 865 Plus at the heart of the device is a reassurance of what is another over-the-top mobile gaming experience.

“Full specifications for the ROG Phone 3 will be announced in the coming weeks, but the addition of the Snapdragon 865 Plus ensures that the overall performance will take yet another leap forward.” said Bryan Chang, general manager of smartphone business unit for ASUS.

Lenovo Legion mobile gaming

We’ve had several rumors and tiny details here and there, but this is the absolute confirmation that Lenovo Legion — the company’s gaming sub-brand — is coming up with a mobile gaming device.

“Three years after the launch of the Lenovo Legion PC portfolio, we’re bringing our beloved gaming sub-brand’s core values of speed and powerful performance to 5G mobile gaming — where Lenovo Legion will be amongst the first to offer the new Snapdragon 865 Plus in our expanding family of gaming devices this year,” said Jerry Tsao, vice president of Lenovo’s Mobile Gaming Group Emerging Markets.

“Lenovo has a long history of co-engineering amazing consumer experiences with Qualcomm Technologies and we can’t wait to share more soon,” he added.

Tsao was coy about sharing more details. He didn’t even confirm if it’s indeed a gaming smartphone or not. While that may be the assumption, we’re very much open to surprises.

Commercial devices based on Snapdragon 865 Plus are expected to be announced in the third quarter of 2020.

 

Apps

Canva teams up with SB19 to turn A’TIN’s passion into creativity

Campaign lets fans access assets, editable templates, more

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Canva Philippines has joined forces with SB19 and Sony Music Entertainment to launch the “Kaya sa Canva” campaign.

This first-of-its-kind initiative is aimed at transforming the popular Filipino boy band’s fanbase into creators by giving them access to official design assets, exclusive templates, and powerful creative tools.

That’s of course as fans have a way of creating artwork, banners, and more outputs to honor their idols.

As such, the partnership enables the A’TIN (SB19’s fanbase) to access the Canva-exclusive SB19’s Creative Hub.

This dedicated space lets fans access assets, including SB19-inspired sticker packs, custom typography, and editable templates inspired by the group.

Fans around the world will initially have access to templates for photo-booth strips, wallpapers, posters, and videos.

The campaign will then expand with Canva-exclusive assets celebrating the group’s New Era, as well as their latest single, “Lawless”.

Meanwhile, the original song “KAYA” is accompanied with an upbeat music video, doubling as a love letter to A’TIN and a masterclass in Canva’s tools.

Every visual and animation is fan-inspired, a celebration of the creativity, passion, and dedication that’s defined in the community from day one.

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The iPhone 18 might sell out for an unexpected reason

The ongoing shortage might play a part in the phone selling out earlier than expected.

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An iPhone selling out is not news. Because of how popular the phones are, it’s within the realm of probability that Apple runs out of stock at some point. According to a new report, this year won’t be any different… but it’s for an entirely different reason.

First reported by analyst Tim Culpan, Apple is reportedly struggling to meet its demand for semiconductors for the iPhone 18 and the foldable iPhone. The ongoing memory shortage is cutting off Apple’s ability to deliver the required supply of smartphones in a timely fashion. The report even claims that TSMC, which helps produce the iPhone, is sitting on a shipment of processors, worth US$ 1 billion, that don’t have memory chips.

Now, Apple is still confident that it can weather the launch. However, if the shortage persists, the iPhone 18 generation will likely sell out much more quickly than expected.

It’s an interesting time for Apple to experience such a shortage. It’s been heavily rumored that the company will launch its very first foldable phone next month, creating a new market for the brand. Apple definitely wants this attempt to succeed after the tepid response to its last new product, the Vision Pro.

SEE ALSO: Did Tim Cook just confirm that iPhone prices are going up?

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These “smart” glasses just sold out in under a week

DuckDuckGo touts that these glasses have zero AI, zero cameras, and an infinite battery life.

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Smart glasses are in a weird place right now. While a chunk of the population views them as cool and innovative, another significant chunk sees them as a privacy nightmare. If you’re in the latter group but want to see what life is like on the former, DuckDuckGo has a new product: a pair of anti-surveillance glasses with no camera or AI, otherwise known as just normal sunglasses.

If it’s not obvious, yes, it’s a troll product. DuckDuckGo is a search engine famously known for pushing privacy as a priority, opposing Google’s penchant for advertising and AI. Now, the search engine is taking on the smart glasses market.

Partnering with Knockaround, DuckDuckGo released the Paso Robles, a pair of sunglasses touted as having zero cameras, an always-offline mode, and a battery life of infinity.

It’s a statement piece. The rims have a logo mark, similar to the Meta’s glasses. The packaging also states that the glasses are “designed to block the sun, not send data to the cloud.”

Now, if you want a pair, they cost only US$ 35, as opposed to Meta’s US$ 299 price tag, but they are already sold out.

Which says quite a bit about today’s sentiment against AI and for privacy. Of course, to be fair, DuckDuckGo’s supply is certainly less than Meta’s stock for their smart glasses. It does, however, prove that the sentiment is there.

As of now, the world is slowly realizing that unimpeded smart glasses aren’t such a good idea, leading to people concerned about their privacy. In fact, some states have already started banning the technology in certain public spaces.

SEE ALSO: New York becomes first state to ban smart glasses

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