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Latest Lenovo flagship could be a precursor to next year’s Samsung Galaxy S8

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Lenovo today unveiled a new high-end phone under its Zuk sub-brand. Specifically, the Zuk Edge takes aim at the likes of the OnePlus 3T and the Xiaomi Mi Note 2, offering the best specs available while at the same time keeping the price under $400.

The Edge is already listed on the Lenovo Mobile online store, and has super-narrow bezels on the front, almost making for an all-screen device, with some 86 percent of the body showing the display. To put that into context, Xiaomi’s Mi Mix concept phone has a screen-to-body ratio of 91 percent.

[irp posts=”7394″ name=”Tango-enabled Lenovo Phab 2 Pro is finally available”]

Speaking of, the display is 5.5 inches across and tops out at 1080p; the cover glass tucks a fingerprint reader beneath it, something the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 may end up doing as well. The Edge, though, has a visible home button, whereas Samsung is heavily rumored to be dropping the button altogether. Lenovo claims the fingerprint hardware built into the screen is fast enough to unlock the phone in just 0.09 seconds.

The Zuk Edge has a crazy screen-to-body ratio

The new Zuk flagship will arrive with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box, with Lenovo’s own Android interface baked on top. It also includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor with up to 6GB of RAM and 64GB of non-expandable storage. The rear optics is of the 13-megapixel kind, while the front-facer packs an 8-megapixel sensor and an f/2.2 aperture lens. Keeping the lights on is a 3,100mAh battery that supports fast charging over a Type-C port.

Lenovo will begin selling the Zuk Edge in China from January 1. The phone with 4GB of RAM will retail for 2,299 yuan or $330, and the one with 6GB of RAM is priced a tad higher at around $360 in U.S. money. Another variant, this time banking on Korean actor Lee Min Ho’s star power, can be bought for the same price as the 6GB model. It comes with a special pair of wired earphones and a case.

Lenovo has released earlier Zuk phones in India and other markets in Europe, so it’s highly likely that the Edge will be officially available outside of China soon.

[irp posts=”7235″ name=”Mi Mix is Xiaomi’s ceramic concept of the future”]

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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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