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Nokia 8 leak reveals true Nokia flagship

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Nothing’s official yet, but this is the new Nokia 8 smartphone, the one true flagship of HMD Global.

These leaked images acquired by Venture Beat reveal the new Nokia smartphone in all its glory. While the phone looks eerily like its little brother the Nokia 5, its most interesting addition is the Zeiss branding on its back camera.

Nokia 8

Nokia 8 Leak from Venture Beat

Just last week Nokia announced a partnership with Zeiss, hinting that we’d see the technology in upcoming phones. When we asked whether we’d see the technology in new phones soon, HMD CMO Pekka Rantala refused to divulge details but hinted to GadgetMatch, “There are still numbers before 3 and after 6.”

With a rumored July 31 launch date, the Nokia 8 is most likely going to be that phone, debuting with technology co-engineered with Zeiss which will be a combination of display, lens, software and services.

So how does the Nokia 8 compare with the rest of the Nokia lineup?

According to another report by German tech site WinFuture, while smaller versus the current Nokia 6, the 5.3-inch Nokia 8 will undoubtedly be HMD’s flagship, featuring a higher-resolution display, a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 835 processor, and two 13-megapixel main cameras.

The phone will initially launch with a 4GB memory / 64GB storage configuration, but may later come with a 6GB / 64GB model. The leaked image reveals a blue phone, but expect it to come in silver and gold models as well.

Since the re-launch of the Nokia brand under HMD Global, fans have been looking forward to a phone that can compete with the likes of the iPhone 7 or the Galaxy S8, but HMD has been laser focused about targeting the more price-conscious midrange segment.

In Barcelona earlier this year James Rutherfoord, Vice President Asia Pacific for HMD, told GadgetMatch his company’s thrust was to stay true to attributes of the Nokia brand, “simplicity, durability, and battery life… and build on that.”

Following the relative success of Nokia’s re-introduction into the tech world we’re pretty excited about their take on a flagship. While the Nokia 8 doesn’t look that different from its midrange sibling, we’re hoping its Zeiss partnership could fuel its competitive push into higher segments.

The Nokia 8 is rumored to debut cheaper than the Galaxy S8, at EUR 589 (approx. US$ 680).

[irp posts=”16040″ name=”This is what using a Nokia 3310 in 2017 is like”]

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UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony hits Makati in October

Determination arrives in October.

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For so small of a game, UNDERTALE quickly made it into the gaming world’s hall of fame. Despite being only a decade old, the small title has had a major influence for modern-day gamers because of its unique gameplay, its lo-fi art, and, of course, its catchy soundtrack. If you’re a fan of UNDERTALE’s soundtrack, a unique concert experience is headed your way.

On October 17, Film Concerts PH, in partnership with SOHO Live, is hosting UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony at the Proscenium Theater in Rockwell, Makati.

The concert will be performed by the Filharmonika Orchestra and conducted by Thanapol Setabrahmana. Personally curated by creator Toby Fox and developed by Lambert Jackson with Materia Music, the concert experience showcases the game’s most recognizable tunes laid over gameplay footage playing simultaneously. Plus, for the world tour, the experience will have expanded scoring.

In the game, you play as a small child stuck in the mysterious Underground filled with interesting characters and monsters. Unlike traditional RPGs, UNDERTALE asks players to choose between building relationships and chasing after wins. It’s a unique experience that’s defined by whether you chose to make friends or fought your way to the top. It teaches players to value different ways to solve problems, all while showering them with its one-of-a-kind humor.

Pre-sales for the concert, exclusively for members of the Film Concerts PH community, start on August 4. Public sales, however, will start on August 11 via Ticketmelon.

SEE ALSO: The hunt begins: The Witcher in Concert hits Manila with surprises in tow

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Qualcomm is raising its prices this year

Will the price of smartphones follow suit?

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The price of technology isn’t fun these days. Because of the ongoing RAM shortage wrought by AI, companies across the industry are raising the prices of their products. Some, however, are still willing to shoulder the burden for their customers. Unfortunately, Qualcomm is soon leaving that list.

As reported by Bloomberg, Qualcomm will raise the prices of its products starting in September. Though the exact figure is unknown, the company did confirm that it’s in the double digits, percentage-wise. According to them, they can no longer shoulder the costs for its customers.

If you’re just a regular user, Qualcomm’s prices might not mean much for you. After all, the chipmaker doesn’t make phones of its own.

That said, Qualcomm is still one of the biggest suppliers for smartphone chipsets, including those that Samsung uses. Pushing the burden from chipsets to phone manufacturers reduces one more buffer against costs being ultimately pushed to consumers.

All things considered, Samsung managed to keep its prices hikes relatively low with the latest batch of foldables. However, with chips getting more price increases, it’s still within the realm of possibility that Samsung will also increase the price of its smartphones. The same can be said for any Qualcomm-powered smartphone available today.

SEE ALSO: Hands-on: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8, Flip8, Ultra

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Apple is reportedly delaying its smart glasses due to privacy concerns

The brand wants to squash malicious recording.

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Smart glasses are in a weird place right now. While early adopters are celebrating the ability to record everything, a growing group of critics are decrying the loss of privacy. Formerly at full throttle, Apple, in response to these controversies, will reportedly delay its version of smart glasses to next year.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is heading back to the drawing board to further emphasize the unreleased wearable’s privacy protections, which includes “hardware and software-related privacy features not available on current products.” The report, however, doesn’t enumerate what these features are.

If anything, these features will likely prevent malicious recording. Most smart glasses today have a light that tells passersby that the device is actively recording video. However, users have discovered ways to tamper and disable this light, so their devices can start recording without alerting others. Apple will likely introduce better measure to prevent such tampering.

Additionally, it’s also possible that Apple introduces a version of the smart glasses without a camera attached.

Because of these new initiatives, the brand will delay the launch of the wearable to sometime next year. Previously, there was heavy speculation that the smart glasses will launch later this year.

On the bright side, there’s still substantial reason to believe that Apple is launching its first ever foldable device later this year.

SEE ALSO: New York becomes first state to ban smart glasses

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