News

You should replace your Samsung Galaxy Note 7 before it’s too late

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As you might have heard, Samsung’s best phone ever is literally exploding around the world. The chances of you owning an unsafe unit are slim – Samsung claims only one in every 42,000 units are affected – but the inconvenience of replacing your Galaxy Note 7 or asking for a refund shouldn’t hold you back. Take the latest incidents as examples.

samsung-galaxy-note-7-garage-explosion

In what seems to be the most damaging instance yet, a man’s garage in Horry County, South Carolina caught fire while charging his Galaxy Note 7 two days ago. The scare happened as Wesley Hartzog came back to his home after leaving his Samsung phone charging in the room. The source of damage was found to be near the electric socket used to charge the handset, leading to the speculation. No one was injured, but Hartzog and his family are now forced to live in hotels while repairs are made.

Another similarly scary case also happened two days ago in St. Petersburg, Florida, where another man lost his Jeep Grand Cherokee to a fire. The cause is centered around the Galaxy Note 7 Nathan Dornacher left charging inside the vehicle, as he and his wife were unloading a desk they bought from a yard sale. While you shouldn’t leave a phone charging in a car under the scorching sun, a handset shouldn’t explode strong enough to destroy a large SUV either. Again, luckily, no was harmed.

samsung-galaxy-note-7-car-explosion

The situation has become so bad that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sent out a statement advising Galaxy Note 7 users against charging or even turning on their phones while in flight. Despite there being only 35 reported incidents as of September 1 (doesn’t include the two reported here), the FAA is taking no risks, and considers the Samsung phone a possible explosive. To make matters worse, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urges consumers who own a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to “power them down and stop charging or using the device.” Samsung is agreeing with the CPSC, and is asking users to exchange their phones right away.

So, what exactly is causing the explosions? Samsung UK explained that it’s an issue with the battery cell, wherein overheating occurs when the anode-to-cathode comes into contact, which is a “very rare manufacturing error.”

We recently explained how to tell if your Galaxy Note 7 is safe or a possible hazard, and we also covered the replacement process for customers in the Philippines. Our advice is to choose the latter option before any more unnecessary accidents arise.

[irp posts=”9766″ name=”Everything you need to know about the Note 7 investigation”]

Sources: WMBF News, Fox 13

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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News

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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