News

Foldable smartphones will dominate next year

Three more brands will launch their own next year

Published

November 1, 2018

Luigi Leonardo

With two months left in 2018, next year’s smartphones are already gearing up for their respective launches. With a multitude of options, no one knows what tomorrow’s smartphones will look like. From truly bezel-less phones to fully integrated screens, the possibilities are endless. However, a new report is tipping the odds towards one specific form factor — the foldable phone.

For one, Samsung has already committed considerable assets towards its own take on the unique design. The South Korean company has leaked patents and software corresponding to the upcoming smartphone. Even now, the phone is rumored to debut next month. Afterwards, it will launch next year.

Besides Samsung, other companies are also preparing their own foldable phones. According to trusted leaker Ice Universe, at least three more brands will launch foldable models between CES and MWC in 2019.

Unfortunately, the leaker refuses to name which brands are involved in foldable screen development. Right now, it’s anyone’s guess.

However, Evan Blass, another renowned leaker, has confirmed LG’s plans to launch a foldable phone at CES next year. Given Blass’ reputation, this report is as good as gold.

Also, of note, a smaller Chinese company, Rouyu Technology, has unveiled the world’s first foldable smartphone. The 7.8-inch phone touts a Snapdragon 855, up to 8GB of RAM, and up to 512GB of internal storage. Further, the phone will feature a 20-megapixel plus 16-megapixel rear camera combination. Launched in its home turf, the Rouyu FlexiPai will retail for CNY 8,999.

However, Ice Universe asserts that the earlier releases “are not necessarily the best.” Of course, the leaker has notoriously focused on Samsung’s leaks more than any other brand’s reports. Take the account’s assertions of quality with a grain of salt.

At most, Ice Universe’s report offers a preview of the smartphone industry’s looks next year. However, the form factor’s performance is still up in the air. At the very least, we only have a little more than two months to wait.

Finance

HONOR, Fidesmo partner for contactless payments across Europe, Middle East

Enabling contactless payments on the HONOR Watch 6

Published

September 16, 2026

GadgetMatch

HONOR and Fidesmo have partnered to launch contactless payments across Europe and the Middle East on the HONOR Watch 6.

Powered by Fidesmo Pay, the integration enables users to connect an existing Mastercard or Visa card to their watch and complete contactless transactions directly from the wearable device.

This brings Fidesmo’s network of over 900 banks and financial institutions to HONOR’s customers. Users can connect an existing card to the HONOR Watch 6 instantly through the HONOR Health App, which installs a unique token directly onto the watch.

Acting as a secure reference to the payment method, this token allows customers to pay without storing their actual payment details on the device. Once installed, users can tap the watch at any
contactless terminal to pay, just as they would with a card or phone.

HONOR joins a group of device partners that already includes Swatch, Polar, and Mondaine as Fidesmo continues to build momentum across categories.

Entertainment

Max vs 100 will feature Max Verstappen race against 100 go-karters

The live event will stream at midnight on September 17.

Published

September 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

As a child, one of my favorite thought experiments is to imagine who would win in a fight between my favorite characters at the time and a number of other random beings. For example, will Superman prevail against 100 Magnetos? Those are the ways I kept my young mind occupied. Now, as a former child, I still do the same thing but with more realistic people, like imagining if Steph Curry can win against 100 high schoolers. This week, ESPN and Disney+ are making one of those imaginary fights real: Formula 1 legend Max Verstappen versus 100 go-karters.

In an upcoming live event streaming exclusively on Disney+, Max vs 100 will pit the four-time world champion against 100 go-karters from everywhere in pop culture. This gaggle of 100 will include popular content creators such as Twitch streamer ExtraEmily, car photographer Larry Chen, and NBA shooting coach Chris Matthews.

All 101 drivers will race around one of the most iconic tracks in Formula 1 history, Silverstone in England. The track will be reconfigured to match the special race.

Of course, this is more than just a parade of go-karts. Max Verstappen will start at the back of the grid, meaning he has to overtake all 100 racers to win. Now, the Dutch driver is no stranger to winning from the back. In 2024, he won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix despite starting from P17 (out of 20 racers). Max vs 100, though familiar for the driver, presents a different challenge. Can he overtake 100 times to win the race?

Max vs 100 will stream live through Disney+ on September 17, 12:00am PHT.

Apps

Apple’s best feature to cure motion sickness is finally on Android

Google copies a good page from Apple’s playbook.

Published

September 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

As an Android user, I’ve been jealous of iPhone users for a while now, but it’s not for the reason you might think. See, I’m ridiculously prone to motion sickness when I’m not driving. So, when I discovered that Apple has a software-based cure called Vehicle Motion Cues, I wanted it immediately. Now, Android does have third-party apps that do the same thing, but they’re not as good as a fully native version. Well, those dark, nauseating days are about to come to an end. Android 17 is finally getting a similar tool called Motion assist.

Before that, let’s rewind for a bit. What do these features do? How can they cure motion sickness?

Whenever you open Vehicle Motion Cues or Motion assist, the interface spawns a series of dots on the screen. These dots respond to movement. For example, if the vehicle turns to the left, the dots also go to the left, mimicking the movement. Without cues like this, the stationary nature of the screen clashes with our brain’s perception of movement. The disparity creates that feeling of nausea. Basically, our eyes are desperately trying to focus on the static screen, but our brains are telling us that we should be seeing motion. Having moving dots reorients our brain and places the phone inside our perception of movement.

Now, you can enable the same feature on your Android 17 device through Settings > All services > Motion assist under Personal & device safety. You can also set it so that the feature turns on automatically when the phone detects that you’re in a moving vehicle. Finally, you can also tweak the shape, color, and opacity of these dots.

Android 17’s Motion assist is rolling out now to compatible devices.