News

Huawei loses yet another US retailer in Best Buy

It’s not looking good for the Chinese brand

Published

March 22, 2018

Marvin Velasco

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).

News

Honor is reportedly working on a 14000mAh battery

How much is too much?

Published

June 25, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

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.

News

Nothing Phone (4b) shows up online, spoils some specs

It’s a step below the Phone (4a) series.

Published

June 25, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

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.

News

Polaroid says, enjoy the beach before AI ruins it

“We know what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it.”

Published

June 25, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Tongue-in-cheek marketing is a soothing balm for a world where false promises are more often advertised. But, what happens when those tongue-in-cheek jokes strike a nerve and make you think, “maybe this isn’t a joke anymore”? Polaroid, a huge proponent of analog technology, has put up such a billboard to enjoy the beach “before the data centers drink it all up.”

Right in front of Coney Island (and right in time for summer), Polaroid has a simple message: “Go jump in the water before the data centers drink it all up.”

Though funny by itself, the message plays on an ongoing fear that today’s data centers, built for AI, have such a high water requirement that each query takes up gallons every time. This is, of course, slightly hyperbolic, but data centers are indeed exerting a lot of pressure on their area’s resources. They take a lot of water for cooling and electricity to keep open.

In a statement, Polaroid says that they’re not anti-digital. Rather, “we know we have to live alongside it, but we’re deeply pro-human and know what humanity gives us. And we know what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it. That’s a fight worth fighting,” says Polaroid’s creative director Patricia Varella, via LBB.

Now, this isn’t a completely altruistic ad. It’s still advertising the new Go Generation 3. Still, if you’re looking for a product to go alongside today’s shifting sentiments against AI, a Polaroid might be it.