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TECNO gets even more inclusive with #ToneProud campaign

All thanks to TECNO’s Universal Tone technology and a vast database of 268 skin tone patches

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Almost a year after the Future Lens 2023 Event in Shanghai, China I attended last December 2023, TECNO proudly presents their #ToneProud campaign which aims to combat skin tone bias as well as being inclusive all throughout.

Inclusivity and Diversity

Despite being headquartered in China where whitewashing is quite rampant, TECNO has dared to fight back by making skin tone diversity a crucial part of their imaging algorithm. That’s also because TECNO values its target market very well. A reason why they are currently the number one smartphone brand in Africa.

With TECNO’s self-developed Universal Tone (UT) technology, it shows the true beauty of an individual regardless of what skin tone color s/he has. And with the emergence of AI (Artificial Intelligence), there’s some skin-type bias going behind — which came from a 2018 study by MIT and Stanford University.

And with last year’s introduction of UT technology, TECNO is proudly launching their #ToneProud campaign this 2024.

268 Skin Tone Patches

Through the #ToneProud campaign, TECNO is highlighting its Universal Tone technology’s 268 skin tone patches to showcase human skin tone diversity. TECNO also has the industry’s largest and most accurate skin tone database — which is also continuously expanding.

This huge number of skin tone patches is a result of years worth of global research. These also serve as a vital foundation of an all-inclusive smartphone imaging algorithm that sets a new standard for multi-skin tone imaging.

Jack Guo, the General Manager of TECNO said that they understood what skin tone misrepresentation and underrepresentation meant for a lot of consumers. And with this campaign, TECNO is also heavily investing their imaging R&D to innovate technologies that will solve the problem with faking skin tone.

By totally eliminating skin tone bias and promoting inclusive and authentic skin tone representation, TECNO enables users to capture every shade of humanity and properly represent everyone in one frame.

To mark the launch of this campaign, TECNO is encouraging consumers worldwide to celebrate skin tone diversity and show that they are proud of their own skin tones. Users across the globe are invited to discover their own skin tone code at www.268toneproud.com and share their photo on Instagram using the hashtags #ToneProud, #UniversalTone, and #TECNO.

Being proud of one’s tone

This campaign aims to raise awareness about skin tone diversity. At the same time, TECNO wanted to showcase their very-own 268 skin tone database to consumers.

With these specific color codes assigned to different skin tones with scientific classification, TECNO not only combats skin tone bias, they also restore color and display accuracy for the fairest representation.

TECNO’s awareness campaign is supported and joined by global celebrities of color such as Indonesian-born singer-songwriter Anggun, Saudi Arabian filmmaker and actress Fatima Al-Banawi, Nigerian singer-songwriter Johnny Drille, and Polish actress Ewa Kępys.

These celebrities have together shared their experiences of being misrepresented for their corresponding skin tones.

Laptops

Apple raises the prices of iPad and MacBook lineups

Price hikes start at $100.

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Hey, remember when Apple launched the MacBook Neo, and it had the most attractive price for an Apple-branded laptop? Those were good times. Unfortunately, it was too good to be true. Responding to the ongoing RAM crisis, Apple has now increased the prices of its hardware, starting with the MacBook and the iPad lineups (via Reuters).

The “highlight” here is the price of the MacBook Neo. To be fair, the affordable MacBook is still the cheapest one of the lot, but that’s not saying much. From a starting price of US$ 599, the Neo now costs US$ 699.

Now, we’d love to say that a US$ 100 price hike is the most you can expect across the board. But that’s not true at all. Most will bring up the price by a few hundreds and up to a whopping US$ 1,300. Here’s a list of devices you’re going to see changes for:

Model Original price New price
MacBook Neo $599 $699
MacBook Air (13-inch) $1,099 $1,299
MacBook Air (15-inch) $1,299 $1,499
MacBook Pro (M5) $1,699 $1,999
MacBook Pro (M5 Pro) $2,199 $2,499
MacBook Pro (M5 Max) $3,599 $4,099
iMac $1,299 $1,499
Mac Studio (M4 Max) $1,999 $2,499
Mac Studio (M3 Ultra) $3,999 $5,299
iPad $349 $449
iPad mini $499 $599
iPad Air (11-inch) $599 $749
iPad Air (13-inch) $749 $949
iPad Pro (11-inch) $999 $1,199
iPad Pro (13-inch) $1,299 $1,499
Vision Pro $3,499 $3,699

 

The current price hikes do not include the iPhone lineup. It might only be a matter of time, though. Recently, Tim Cook confirmed that Apple can no longer shoulder the expenses of the RAM crisis by themselves, essentially signaling a huge wave of price hikes. The brand will likely continue the increases heading into the iPhone launches in September.

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Honor is reportedly working on a 14000mAh battery

How much is too much?

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Nothing goes together more than a Chinese smartphone brand and the relentless pursuit for a bigger battery. For years, Chinese brands have engaged in a war for this particular component. Now, the latest salvo has been fired. Honor is reportedly working on a phone with a gigantic 14000mAh battery.

Today, the biggest battery capacity you can find on an Honor phone is 11000mAh. The Honor X80 Pro Max already offers a battery that can last you more than a single day. At this point, it’s certainly more than enough for our daily needs.

According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, a smartphone brand is currently working on a 14000mAh battery. Though the leak does not explicitly pinpoint Honor, the emoji used (a wolf) is historically used to imply the Chinese brand in Weibo parlance.

A 14000mAh is just absurdly huge. With a battery larger than some powerbanks, battery anxiety becomes moot. It’s bordering on “can we bring this on a plane” territory.

As with all rumored features, the next question is when this battery will arrive on a consumer-ready device. Given how serious the battery wars are for the Chinese market, it’s only a matter of time.

SEE ALSO: HONOR continues APAC expansion, to launch 600 series in Taiwan

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Nothing Phone (4b) shows up online, spoils some specs

It’s a step below the Phone (4a) series.

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Yesterday, Nothing officially teased the Phone (4b), an all-new line positioned below the Phone (4a) series. At the time, the teaser revealed nothing but the design of the upcoming phone. However, ahead of its July 7 launch, the Phone (4b) suddenly appeared on Geekbench, spoiling a few of its mysterious specs.

According to the listing, the Phone (4b) will run the SM6650, more popularly known as the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4. It’s a modestly powered processor built for the budget to midrange segments of the performance spectrum. Having this processor does confirm that the phone belongs to the step below the Phone (4a), bringing affordability to a name other than CMF.

Besides the processor, the new phone will come with an Adreno 810 GPU and 8GB of RAM. Inside, it will ship with Android 16 out of the box, but this will likely be upgradeable to Android 17 later this year.

It’s already confirmed that the Phone (4b) will be quite the looker. The phone will slightly depart from the design philosophy of the Phone (4a) series. Though it will still have a sizable rear island, the camera setup will just be a small vertical strip on the top-left corner. Additionally, the lighting element typical of all Nothing phones will be a small horizontal strip on the bottom-right corner.

Thankfully, the wait for more specs won’t be long. Nothing has confirmed that the phone’s launch is set for July 7.

SEE ALSO: Nothing will launch the Phone (4b) next month

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