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Huawei loses yet another US retailer in Best Buy

It’s not looking good for the Chinese brand

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Huawei is experiencing one more blow as it tries to expand its reaches into the US smartphone market. In the latest unfortunate event, reports say that Best Buy will no longer sell the Chinese company’s phones.

CNET‘s sources claim that the halting of sales will transpire in the “next few weeks” and that it was Best Buy itself that made the decision. The reasons for this are still unknown, but Huawei had no choice but to comply with the drastic move.

Being blocked from selling through US-based network carriers last month was already viewed as a turning point in Huawei’s expansion efforts; not seeing them in Best Buy’s own physical stores will create an even bigger dent. How these two incidents connect is another mystery that’s currently left unsolved.

It’s a shame really. Huawei has consistently owned a large piece of the worldwide smartphone market share, placing them in the top three with Samsung and Apple for a while now, and that’s without much traction in the US — imagine how much bigger the Chinese company could be with an additional market as large as that.

That’s probably what the US government fears: that Huawei will invade North American soil and create either political or commercial disruption, something US officials have already warned their own citizens about. They went as far as telling consumers to boycott Huawei products altogether.

On the bright side, US customers craving for Huawei products can still buy them through Amazon and Newegg’s online shops.

Whether or not there’s a looming threat from China-based products, it’s an undeniable fact that Huawei makes fantastic smartphones. We’ve given all their recent flagship smartphones — specifically the Mate 10 Pro, Mate 10, and P10 series — glowing reviews. Having such a formidable force keeps the likes of Samsung and Apple on their toes.

In the meantime, Huawei is not being fazed by the distraction and will continue with the company’s flagship launch in Paris, France next week. There we’ll see the premium P20 series, a few days after witnessing the silent launch of the midrange P20 Lite (or Nova 3E if you live in China).

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UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony hits Makati in October

Determination arrives in October.

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For so small of a game, UNDERTALE quickly made it into the gaming world’s hall of fame. Despite being only a decade old, the small title has had a major influence for modern-day gamers because of its unique gameplay, its lo-fi art, and, of course, its catchy soundtrack. If you’re a fan of UNDERTALE’s soundtrack, a unique concert experience is headed your way.

On October 17, Film Concerts PH, in partnership with SOHO Live, is hosting UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony at the Proscenium Theater in Rockwell, Makati.

The concert will be performed by the Filharmonika Orchestra and conducted by Thanapol Setabrahmana. Personally curated by creator Toby Fox and developed by Lambert Jackson with Materia Music, the concert experience showcases the game’s most recognizable tunes laid over gameplay footage playing simultaneously. Plus, for the world tour, the experience will have expanded scoring.

In the game, you play as a small child stuck in the mysterious Underground filled with interesting characters and monsters. Unlike traditional RPGs, UNDERTALE asks players to choose between building relationships and chasing after wins. It’s a unique experience that’s defined by whether you chose to make friends or fought your way to the top. It teaches players to value different ways to solve problems, all while showering them with its one-of-a-kind humor.

Pre-sales for the concert, exclusively for members of the Film Concerts PH community, start on August 4. Public sales, however, will start on August 11 via Ticketmelon.

SEE ALSO: The hunt begins: The Witcher in Concert hits Manila with surprises in tow

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Qualcomm is raising its prices this year

Will the price of smartphones follow suit?

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The price of technology isn’t fun these days. Because of the ongoing RAM shortage wrought by AI, companies across the industry are raising the prices of their products. Some, however, are still willing to shoulder the burden for their customers. Unfortunately, Qualcomm is soon leaving that list.

As reported by Bloomberg, Qualcomm will raise the prices of its products starting in September. Though the exact figure is unknown, the company did confirm that it’s in the double digits, percentage-wise. According to them, they can no longer shoulder the costs for its customers.

If you’re just a regular user, Qualcomm’s prices might not mean much for you. After all, the chipmaker doesn’t make phones of its own.

That said, Qualcomm is still one of the biggest suppliers for smartphone chipsets, including those that Samsung uses. Pushing the burden from chipsets to phone manufacturers reduces one more buffer against costs being ultimately pushed to consumers.

All things considered, Samsung managed to keep its prices hikes relatively low with the latest batch of foldables. However, with chips getting more price increases, it’s still within the realm of possibility that Samsung will also increase the price of its smartphones. The same can be said for any Qualcomm-powered smartphone available today.

SEE ALSO: Hands-on: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8, Flip8, Ultra

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Apple is reportedly delaying its smart glasses due to privacy concerns

The brand wants to squash malicious recording.

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Smart glasses are in a weird place right now. While early adopters are celebrating the ability to record everything, a growing group of critics are decrying the loss of privacy. Formerly at full throttle, Apple, in response to these controversies, will reportedly delay its version of smart glasses to next year.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is heading back to the drawing board to further emphasize the unreleased wearable’s privacy protections, which includes “hardware and software-related privacy features not available on current products.” The report, however, doesn’t enumerate what these features are.

If anything, these features will likely prevent malicious recording. Most smart glasses today have a light that tells passersby that the device is actively recording video. However, users have discovered ways to tamper and disable this light, so their devices can start recording without alerting others. Apple will likely introduce better measure to prevent such tampering.

Additionally, it’s also possible that Apple introduces a version of the smart glasses without a camera attached.

Because of these new initiatives, the brand will delay the launch of the wearable to sometime next year. Previously, there was heavy speculation that the smart glasses will launch later this year.

On the bright side, there’s still substantial reason to believe that Apple is launching its first ever foldable device later this year.

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

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