News

HTC Bolt is all-metal, water-resistant, and outdated

Published

November 11, 2016

Marvin Velasco

HTC is slowly crawling out of its hole. After posting a significant revenue jump thanks to the positive reception to the HTC-manufactured Google Pixel phones, the Taiwanese company now partnered with US network carrier Sprint to launch the Android Nougat-powered Bolt.

There are some interesting points when reading through the Bolt’s feature sheet, but what stands out is the 3×20 carrier aggregation under Sprint’s LTE network using the built-in Snapdragon X10 modem. If this sounds foreign to you, just know that it delivers faster 4G mobile data speeds. We have an animated explainer expounding on the topic.

[irp posts=”2500″ name=”LTE-A Explained”]

Going back to the phone, its other claim to fame is being the first all-metal HTC phone to have water resistance, with an IP57 certification. This is a feature missing on the Pixel, so we wonder why HTC didn’t implement it on Google’s phones.

But as dandy as that is, the Bolt employs only 3GB of memory and a year-old Snapdragon 810 processor for some reason. It’s the same chipset known for overheating to the point of shutting handsets down. Although updated units resolved the issue somewhat, the chip still can’t hold a candle to this year’s Snapdragon 821, or even the 820.

And even though the Bolt isn’t exactly razor-thin, there’s no 3.5mm jack to speak of — instead relying on the USB Type-C port for audio. Fortunately, the package includes compatible USB headphones that can handle high-resolution music.

The HTC Bolt in gunmental

Everything else is less newsworthy. The display is of the 5.5-inch Quad HD LCD kind; there’s a fast fingerprint scanner below it; a 16-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization heads the rear, while an 8-megapixel selfie cam is on the front; and we have a slot for microSD cards on top of the 32GB of internal storage, plus Quick Charge 2.0 to power up the 3200mAh battery.

Overall, with the exception of the water resistance and advanced LTE capabilities, the HTC Bolt sits below this year’s flagship, the HTC 10. And as mentioned earlier, only Sprint customers in the US can get their hands on it officially.

Its value rests at $600, and there are installment plans amounting to $25 a month for two years. You may choose between gunmetal and silver if you choose to commit to a plan.

[irp posts=”4666″ name=”HTC Desire 10 Pro, Desire 10 Lifestyle announced: style over substance”]
Source: Sprint, via The Verge

Enterprise

TikTok finally gets a buyer in the United States

The deal targets a closing date in late January.

Published

December 19, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

The year started with a ban. A day before Donald Trump started his second term, TikTok went dark, in anticipation of an impending ban. The platform quickly went back online, leading to an ultimatum that saw TikTok hunt for an American buyer to full stave off a definitive ban in the United States. Now, as the year ends, a buyer is finally here.

Via CNBC, TikTok has reportedly inked a deal to finalize a deal in the United States, as stated in an internal memo from CEO Shou Zi Chew. The memo, which was sent just this week, details a plan that will see the deal close by January 26, 2026.

Fifty percent of TikTok’s newly restructured U.S. arm will be held by a collection of American investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX. Meanwhile, already existing investors of TikTok will hold 30.1 percent. Finally, ByteDance will retain 19.9 percent.

Additionally, TikTok’s algorithm in the United States will be retrained with American data. The American arm will also handle the country’s “data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance.” Oracle will be the “trusted security partner” in charge of making sure the company keeps within regulations in the country.

With a deal pushing through, the long-running TikTok saga in the United States might finally come to a close.

Gaming

Silksong is getting its first major expansion next year

The expansion is called Sea of Sorrow.

Published

December 16, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

I still can’t believe that Hollow Knight: Silksong came out this year. After years of just waiting for the mythical title, it’s surreal to have it in my library. Now, barely waiting to catch their breath, Team Cherry is already working hard towards the next content drop, starting with Silksong DLC.

Just like the original Hollow Knight, Silksong is getting free DLCs to expand its story. The upcoming Sea of Sorrow DLC will be the game’s “first big expansion.”

The expansion’s trailer barely shows anything about the new content, besides vague allusions to what’s coming. At the very least, Team Cherry has confirmed, both via the announcement and the accompanying poster, that Sea of Sorrow will be nautical-themed.

It will feature new locations, new tools, and new enemies. By itself, Silksong is already a huge game. Adding more content then is a massive undertaking. Plus, Team Cherry says that this is just the first expansion, hinting at more coming in the future.

Sea of Sorrow will launch in 2026.

Besides the new expansion, the studio is also working on a Nintendo Switch 2 update for the original Hollow Knight. It will add higher framerates, resolutions, and more graphical effects. PC players will also get some upgrades to support larger screens.

The Switch 2 update, which will be free for those who already own the original game, will also launch next year.

Entertainment

Supergirl gets its first teaser trailer

Milly Alcock stars as the titular character.

Published

December 12, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

Before the new year starts, it’s already fair to assume that Supergirl might be one of the most anticipated movies of 2026. Premiering a year after the globally successful Superman, Supergirl will see the adventures of Clark Kent’s superpowered cousin, Kara Zor-El. Now, the next film in the sage finally has a teaser trailer.

As James Gunn mentioned previously, Supergirl will be based on Tom King’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Off traveling to other planets to party, Kara finds herself thrust back into the role of being a hero after a young girl named Ruthye Mary Knoll asks her for help.

Though the teaser trailer is mostly a montage of scenes, we already know what we can expect. According to Gunn, Supergirl will be tonally different from Superman, and we see this in the trailer.

However, we can still see influences from Gunn including the usage of “Call Me” by Blondie for the trailer. Also, the film’s space scenes look like they can fit right in with Guardians of the Galaxy.

Still, that’s what we have, and we’re excited. Supergirl will premiere on June 26, 2026.

The film will be directed by Craig Gillespie (Cruella). Milly Alcock plays the titular character. Meanwhile, she will star alongside Eve Ridley as Ruthye Mary Knoll.