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Motorola announces Moto G6, G6 Play, and G6 Plus with 18:9 displays, Android Oreo
The latest midrange phones to beat

Meet the new Moto G6 family, Motorola’s latest trio of midrange smartphones. Each comes with its own strengths, but they have a number of similarities.
Each G6 phone has Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box with no skin on top, a display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, front LED flash, water-repellent coating, and fingerprint reader. They also share a common design that’s starting to get old since every Motorola phone has had the same shape.
Moto G6
The regular Moto G6 comes with a 5.7-inch Full HD+ display and Snapdragon 450 processor which easily puts it in the same league as lower-midrange phones. It’ll have up to 4GB of memory and 64GB of storage. There’s a microSD card slot just in case you need more space.
A dual rear setup is onboard with a 12- and 5-megapixel combo and bright f/1.8 lens. It records video up to 1080p at 60 frames per second. An 8-megapixel front camera takes care of selfie needs.
With a 3000mAh battery and 15W TurboCharger bundled in the box, you can quickly charge the phone and it’ll last (most likely) the whole day.
It uses Gorilla Glass 3 for both of its front and back with similar curves we first saw on the Moto X4. The same goes for the G6 Plus variant.
Pricing starts at EUR 250.
Moto G6 Plus
The Moto G6 Plus gets the best features in the series. It has the biggest display with a 5.9-inch IPS LCD sporting a Full HD+ resolution. It also has a more powerful Snapdragon 630 processor with up to 6GB of memory and up to 128GB of expandable storage.
Camera-wise, the G6 Plus features dual rear cameras as well — a 12- and 5-megapixel combo with a large 1.4µm pixel size and f/1.7 aperture. It has Dual Pixel autofocus for quick focus times and support for 4K video recording. As for selfies, there’s an 8-megapixel front camera complete with beauty mode and filters.
The Plus model has a slightly larger battery than the regular variant with its 3200mAh capacity. Fast charging is also a feature of the Plus using the included 15W TurboPower charger and USB-C cable.
Pricing starts at EUR 300.
Moto G6 Play
Lastly, we have the G6 Play — the G6 phone with the biggest battery at 4000mAh packed into a body sporting a 5.7-inch display. Motorola claims it can last up to 36 hours on a single charge which is pretty impressive. The large battery phone is also bundled with a 15W TurboPower charger just like its siblings.
The Play version is all about longetivity, so its specifications are not the best in class but still capable. It’s powered by a Snapdragon 430 processor with 3GB of memory and 32GB of expandable storage.
There are no dual cameras here but the single 13-megapixel rear shooter should be enough for quick snaps, while the 8-megapixel selfie camera is on par with the more expensive models.
Its price is only EUR 200.
All of the new Moto G6 phones are going to be available in markets where Motorola is present, except for the Moto G6 Plus which will skip North America.


Do you need an AI chatbot to hold a conversation? Instagram seems to think so. As the world rapidly experiments with developments in AI technology, the platform is reportedly working on a chatbot for its users.
According to Alessandro Paluzzi, a reverse engineer who usually digs up future plans for popular apps, Instagram is working on the AI chatbot feature for a future iteration of the app. Much like other chatbots out in the market today, Instagram’s unnamed bot will enable users to interact with it in casually flowing conversation.
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) June 5, 2023
The screenshots obtained by the engineer read that it “answers questions, gives advice.” Additionally, it helps users “find the best way to express [themselves] … [through] writing messages.” From a usability standpoint, the feature can help users craft replies to direct messages. They can also bring the bot into human-to-human conversations by mentioning the bot in the conversation.
To add to the quirkiness, Instagram will supposedly add 30 different personalities to the chatbot. Users can pick and choose which one they like the best. The sneak peek does not reveal any personalities included in the feature. (We’re hoping for a snarky one that judges and critiques posts.)
The feature has no timetable as to its release. However, since TikTok already released its own chatbot for testing, it should stand that Instagram’s feature will come out soon.

The ROG Ally has some hefty shoes to fill. Touting an impressive slate of specs, the upcoming handheld console is one of the first true competitors to the dominating Steam Deck. Unfortunately, early reviews revealed a flawed comparison against Valve’s juggernaut of a console. Now, days ahead of its official launch, ASUS is releasing new firmware which drastically improves the console’s performance.
Getting down to the nitty gritty of things, the ROG Ally, in its unpatched version, lacked performance in low-wattage scenarios. Early reviewers found that the console could not keep up with the Steam Deck under such circumstances.
A new update, which started rolling out to early units, started catching up. According to YouTuber Dave2D, the update easily improves the console by 15 to 20 percent better than its initial release. First of all, it brings the ROG Ally almost at par with the Steam Deck in low-wattage scenarios. While the results aren’t as good as the latter device yet, it’s a much better performer compared to the former on day one. ASUS acknowledges that Valve really did its homework in low-wattage scenarios.
More notably, the update dramatically boosts the ROG Ally’s performance in higher wattages. The console is now close behind the Ayaneo 2S, a beefier alternative to the Steam Deck. Before the update, the ROG Ally could barely touch the Steam Deck, let alone the Ayaneo 2S.
ASUS also notes that the update should include improvements for the battery life. The lackluster battery has been a point of contention among all early users.
The ROG Ally is officially launching on June 13 and will start at US$ 699.99.
SEE ALSO: How well do PlayStation games run on the ROG Ally?

In recent years, Motorola and Samsung have proved that the clamshell phone is more than just a resurrected fad. Both companies have developed solid lineups capable of becoming daily drivers. Now, others want to get into the market. Following the footsteps of its contemporaries, Xiaomi is reportedly developing a clamshell phone of its own.
Even before the unannounced clamshell phone, Xiaomi has some experience in the foldable market. The Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 was quite the impressive powerhouse when it launched last year. The foldable smartphone even bagged the title as the thinnest foldable at the time (before Huawei grabbed the title soon after).
Now, the Chinese company is seemingly tapping into the same lineup for a rumored clamshell phone. According to Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station, the brand is indeed looking at an extremely light version of the vertically folding form factor.
Unfortunately, not much else is known about the upcoming device yet. However, Xiaomi’s supposed entry into the market shouldn’t be a surprise. After all, the brand’s competitors — Huawei and vivo — are already deep inside the clamshell segment. The latter, for example, just released the vivo X Flip, its first device in the vertically folding market. Expect things to heat up in the Chinese foldable market soon.
SEE ALSO: The vivo X Flip is the company’s first vertical-folding smartphone
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