News

Meizu’s new M3 Max has 6-inch screen and huge battery

Published

September 6, 2016

Marvin Velasco

It seems like “Max” is the trending tech word these days. With so many phones pushing massive screen sizes and jam-packed features, we’re bound to see more products exaggerate what it means to be a pocket handset. Meizu is continuing the supersized push with the multimedia-loving M3 Max.

Being very similar in proportion to the midrange smartphones we covered recently, the M3 Max has a physique that would have made bigger headlines had it come out sooner than the competition. But don’t get us wrong; a 6-inch display with a Full HD 1080p resolution and healthy 4,100mAh battery is nothing to scoff at. Factor in the affordable RMB 1,699 price tag in China, which works out to a little over $254, and you have a new choice in the crowded affordable midranger market.

Despite the relatively low retail price, the M3 Max doesn’t sacrifice too much in terms of specs. It’s outfitted with a decent MediaTek Helio P10 chipset and 3GB of RAM, providing you with enough power to run through the newest 3D games while keeping other apps active in the background. There’s a 13-megapixel main camera and 5-megapixel selfie shooter, and you don’t have to worry about running out of storage, as the handset comes with 64GB of space that can be expanded using any microSD card you have on hand.

Like a lot of Chinese manufacturers, Meizu opts to cover its Android phones with a heavy skin that redecorates the entire interface. In this case, the M3 Max has Flyme OS 5.2 on top of the usual Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The cool thing is that there’s also a fingerprint scanner on the home button to make unlocking the device much quicker.

The M3 Max is available in rose gold (not really surprising anymore), champagne gold, silver, or gray. It’ll be released in China first on September 15, while the rest of the world will have to wait for further launch announcements.

[irp posts=”9988″ name=”Rumor: Meizu Pro 7 will pack 4K display, 8GB RAM”]

Source: GSMArena

Gaming

Grand Theft Auto VI gets its first-ever trailer

Coming in 2025

Published

December 5, 2023

Luigi Leonardo

Sometimes, Christmas comes early. Despite scheduling its release for December 5, Rockstar Games has uploaded the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI more than 12 hours earlier than expected.

Available now through its official platforms, the first trailer reveals our first official look at the next major entry in the legendary Grand Theft Auto franchise. As expected, the sixth title will be set in the sunny shores of Vice City, a locale that hasn’t seen a revival in major platforms yet. Whereas the fifth game’s setting was a version of California, Vice City will take on modern-day Florida and all its various hijinks.

As was spoiled through major leaks in the past, Grand Theft Auto VI will feature two main protagonists, Lucia (the franchise’s first female lead) and Jason. The trailer focuses mostly on Lucia who ends up in prison at the start of the trailer. Based on the depictions in the trailer, the game will focus on the duo’s chase for the better life (through illegal ways, of course) in Vice City.

Besides the duo, Vice City will have sunny beaches, swamps, bike gang, mud clubs, hot cars, and crazy animals. It’s a departure from the Miami-Vice-like depiction in the original Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Instead, it will represent the city in a more contemporary fashion. Social media seems to be a prime focus, too; various fictional video platforms are in the spotlight in the trailer.

And now for the meaty part. The trailer ends with a release window (finally): 2025. Grand Theft Auto VI will arrive, at least, on the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X|S. A PC version is still unconfirmed, but it’s likely arriving on the platform, too.

Apps

Facebook, Instagram will lose cross-platform messaging this month

For an unknown reason

Published

December 5, 2023

Luigi Leonardo

Over the past few years, Meta started integrating its various platforms into one ecosystem. Right now, Facebook and Instagram users can chat with each other on their respective apps. Unfortunately for fans of the cross-communication between the two platforms, Meta is taking the feature away this month.

Through a new support page, Instagram has announced that chatting between the two platforms will no longer be available starting in mid-December. The exact date of the removal is currently unknown, though.

When the undisclosed date arrives, Instagram users cannot start new conversations with Facebook users anymore. Additionally, all existing chats between the two platforms will become read-only, meaning users can’t add new messages to the conversation anymore.

On the flipside, Facebook users will stop seeing the Activity Status of Instagram users from their platform. Cross-platform conversations will not appear on Messenger, either.

Though the support page is conclusive against the feature, Meta has not explicitly explained why Meta changed its current cross-platform plans. It’s still possible that the company will implement a better solution in the future. As it stands, the European Union’s GDPR regulations require large companies to main interoperability between different platforms. Meta is an undeniable example of such a large company.

Apps

Strava is getting a much-requested chatting feature

Individual and group chats

Published

December 5, 2023

Luigi Leonardo

What is your fitness app of choice? Though there are a lot of options available now for enthusiasts, it’s undeniable that Strava is making one hell of an impact lately. If you’re a fan of the social fitness app, you’re getting a new feature to boost the social part of Strava.

Today, Strava is getting a substantial messaging feature for users. In the new update, users can start chats with other users in single or group conversations.

It’s a comprehensive feature, too. Chats will include likes and GIF reactions. Additionally, users can configure their options to accept messages only from mutuals or only after they messaged the other person first. Additionally, group chat creators can manage the participants included in the chat.

When compared to other fitness apps today, Strava is arguably leaning more towards the social aspect of the experience. The app allows users to run and hike together as a community. Now, despite how social the core of the app is, it never really allowed users to communicate directly with one another. Users had to rely on external messaging apps just to coordinate with one another.

As of late, Strava continues to pile on more features and integrations with other apps. Earlier this year, the app started allowing users to integrate with Spotify.