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OPPO F9 goes official with a new notch design and VOOC quick charging tech

OPPO focuses on making beautiful-looking phones

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There’s a new borderless phone in town! OPPO has just announced the F9 which succeeds the OPPO F7 after five months. The introduction of the new F-series phone came in quick compared to the usual annual smartphone release of other manufacturers. So, what’s new about the F9? There’s quite a lot.

First, the F9 has a new notch design. Unlike the Find X, the F9 still carries a cutout to house its selfie camera. Instead of a wide space though, the F9 sports a waterdrop-like notch that is significantly smaller, increasing the screen-to-body ratio to 90.8 percent. The display now also measures 6.3 inches with a taller 19.5:9 aspect ratio, but still with a Full HD+ resolution.

OPPO F9 in Starry Purple (left), Twilight Blue (center), and Sunrise Red (right)

The other obvious difference of the F9 is its back. Following in the footsteps of Huawei, OPPO gave the F9 new gradient colors, namely Sunrise Red, Twilight Blue, and Starry Purple. In addition to the new hues, the rear of the F9 has petal-shaped patterns that reflect light effectively, giving the phone a multi-color effect. The fingerprint reader is also located at the back of the phone, making it easy to reach by either index finger.

OPPO F9 with VOOC Flash Charge

Perhaps the main feature of the F9 is the 3500mAh battery with VOOC Flash Charge technology — a first for their midrange lineup. According to the company, the F9 can deliver two hours of talk time after a quick five-minute charge. Despite having VOOC, the F9 still has a micro-USB port.

Lastly, there are now two rear cameras on the F9. The AI-enhanced 16-megapixel main shooter is accompanied by a secondary 2-megapixel depth sensor to take portrait photos. The front camera is still an AI-powered 25-megapixel sensor which is more than enough to take the best-possible selfies.

Inside the F9 is a MediaTek Helio P60 processor, same as the F7’s, but it’s now paired with up to 6GB of memory and 64GB of internal storage. If that’s not enough, you can always put in a microSD card to have additional space for your photos, files, and apps.

The OPPO F9 is first available in Southeast Asia. The 6GB variant goes for PhP 17,990 in the Philippines and THB 10,990 in Thailand. Vietnam gets the 4GB variant for VND 7,690,000.

Update (08/16/2018): Updated with memory variants and their respective prices.

SEE ALSO: OPPO R17 unveiled with tiny notch and under-display fingerprint reader

Accessories

Logitech introduces a dedicated shortcut for ChatGPT

Compatible with most keyboards and mice

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Artificial intelligence is already meant to simplify a workflow. However, despite the ease, there are still a few ways to optimize the process. Today, Logitech has launched a new shortcut to launch ChatGPT straight from your mouse or keyboard.

Minus programmable hotkeys or buttons, there are hardly any built-in way to easily access an AI model. For a typical workflow, it still consists of manually opening the model on a separate window and keeping it within cursor’s reach throughout the day.

Logitech is simplifying the process by adding a dedicated shortcut for its devices. With a Logitech keyboard or mouse supported by the Logi Options+ app, users can program a keyboard or mouse button for the new Logi AI Prompt Builder.

Once activated, the AI Prompt Builder automatically accesses easy options for highlighted text. For example, users can easily rephrase or summarize the text. Likewise, they can input their own custom queries. By eliminating a few clicks and some typing throughout the day, the new tool hopes to save you time.

While most Logitech keyboards and mice are compatible with the new tool, it is also more easily accessible with the new Logitech Signature AI Edition Mouse. The new mouse has a dedicated button just for AI prompts. If you’re an AI power user, this one is perfect for you.

SEE ALSO: Logitech unveils G Pro X 60 gaming keyboard: Price, details

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X’s AI accused Klay Thompson of vandalizing houses with bricks

AI thought joke posts were real

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Image source: Keith Allison, Wikimedia

Despite the ease that the technology promises, artificial intelligence still isn’t the most reliable thing you can depend on. Today’s models can still flub answers. Now, the pitfalls of AI are abundantly clear with a few mishaps on X. Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson was just “accused” of a vandalism spree involving bricks.

Late Tuesday night, X presented an AI-generated news snippet. The article, posted soon after the Warriors’ play-in loss to the Sacramento Kings, reads: “Klay Thompson Accused in Bizarre Brick-Vandalism Spree.”

The snippet hilariously described an incident where Thompson supposedly vandalized houses in Sacramento with bricks. Thankfully, according to the snippet, no one was hurt. It even had a few sources for its claims below the news summary.

The sources, however, are just joke posts stemming from the recently concluded game. In that do-or-die game, Thompson put up a staggering 0 points on ten shot attempts, the most misses without a make by a Warrior since the ’68 season. Naturally, everyone joked that the Warriors guard just threw bricks all over Sacramento.

Now, X is currently experimenting with a new AI feature called Grok. The model collates trending topics and creates snippets of what’s happening for X users. However, it’s not exactly the smartest in determining real news from satiric ones. The feature notes as much, carrying a fine-print caveat warning users to “verify its outputs” because it’s an early feature and can make mistakes.

SEE ALSO: New X users must pay a dollar per year to post and reply

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New X users must pay a dollar per year to post and reply

Rolling out globally now

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New users on X might soon face a tough time on the platform. The social media website will likely start charging new accounts a small fee for the right to post on the platform.

Now, the fee isn’t a new one. Almost six months ago, the company tested the paid system in New Zealand and the Philippines. New users in those countries had to pay a dollar per year for the ability to post and reply to content.

As spotted by X Daily News on the same platform, the company might be ready to take the experiment to a larger market. New text strings have shown that the policy is rolling out worldwide.

The policy is designed to combat a wave of bots appearing on the platform. By preventing new accounts from creating posts, X hopes to stave off the standard behavior of bots these days. You might have noticed them as OnlyFans creators in unrelated posts, peddling NSFW content on their bio.

Though the global rollout was only just spotted, owner Elon Musk has seemingly confirmed the change. Replying to X Daily News, Musk says that it is “the only way to curb the relentless onslaught of bots.” He says that the current breed of bots can easily bypass simple checks these days.

SEE ALSO: X will no longer let you hide your blue checkmark

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