News

OPPO reveals upcoming R15 and its notch

It’s notch season

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It’s official: The notch trend is in full swing.

Since the iPhone X launched, multiple brands — including those at Mobile World Congress earlier this week — have been taking inspiration from its cutout at the top of the screen. While Apple has practical reasons for this, other manufacturers simply seem to be taking advantage of the now-iconic design.

We’ve covered several of these phones already, but the influx of notch-wearing handsets isn’t stopping anytime soon.

Let’s add OPPO to that list with this teaser of their upcoming flagship R15 smartphone:

Posted by OPPO’s official account on Chinese website Weibo, the selfie-centric smartphone maker announced that they’ll have two 2018 flagships that’ll sport the black gap: The R15 and R15 Plus.

While there’s no launch date yet or even info on what to expect, OPPO’s next phones will likely position themselves in the midrange category and launch between May and June, like last year’s R11. It’s was also only four months ago when the updated R11s became available.

If history repeats itself, we’ll be seeing lots of leaks and rumors for this pair of handsets in the coming weeks. Sister company OnePlus also had its next major release exposed early — and it comes with a similar notch.

Automotive

VinFast extends free unlimited charging in 3 markets amid rising fuel prices

Customers in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines to enjoy 3 years of free unlimited charging

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VinFast has announced the extension of its free unlimited charging program in three key Asian markets: India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Customers purchasing electric vehicles (EVs) in these countries (or currently own a VinFast EV) can enjoy the zero-fuel-cost advantage for three years, or until March 31, 2029.

This is amid the rising fuel costs in these countries, primarily due to the U.S./Israel-Iran war. Under the new policy, customers can charge for free at authorized V-Green charging stations.

By removing one of the largest operating costs of driving, VinFast aims to help motorists experience the economic advantages of electric vehicles (EVs) while supporting the countries’ transitions toward more sustainable mobility.

The program will be extended broadly to all customers, including both existing owners and future buyers. It will cover both private customers as well as those using their vehicles for transportation services, like the Green GSM EV taxi service network.

Alongside the free charging policy, the charging network developed and operated by V-Green is continuously expanding across the markets where VinFast operates.

This expansion helps create favorable conditions for consumers to confidently transition to greener and more sustainable transportation.

In addition to the free charging incentive, VinFast is already implementing multiple policies to promote the green transition in key Asian markets.

These include a battery subscription program that lowers upfront investment cost, a resale value guarantee policy, flexible payment options, and market-leading warranty coverage.

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Entertainment

NCAA March Madness to stream on Disney+

Disney+ expands sports offerings anew

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Disney+ has significantly expanded its sports offerings on the streaming platform with the addition of the 2026 March Madness.

Both the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments — one of the most anticipated events in American collegiate sports — will be streamed live on Disney+. This marks the expansion of ESPN’s global NCAA rights agreement onto the platform.

Both tournaments feature high-stakes, single-elimination formats with 68 squads each, building suspense from the opening rounds to the iconic Final Four.

Entering the 2026 tournament, the University of Florida Gators and University of Connecticut Huskies return as defending men’s and women’s champions, respectively.

The March Madness integration leverages ESPN’s long-standing NCAA rights portfolio, which includes more than 40 championship events.

ESPN has been the exclusive broadcaster for Women’s March Madness for over three decades now, and the development marks a strategic shift to bring live collegiate sports to Disney+ audiences across several regions.

The development also comes after the recent global rebranding of Star to Hulu, as well as the integration of live NBA games.

With a unified interface, there’s even more sports content for subscribers to browse, ranging from live broadcasts to acclaimed sports documentaries.

There’s the 30 for 30 series, Bad Boys, D. Wade: Life Unexpected, Dream On, and even The Last Dance featuring Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ 1997-98 run.

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Laptops

Alienware celebrates 30th anniversary with new Area-51 laptops

The series features Alienware 30, an all-new design language.

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Despite the rise of more gaming brands, Alienware is still one of the most recognizable names for gamers who want dedicated hardware. This year, the brand is celebrating its 30th anniversary. To commemorate the milestone, Alienware has launched the new Area-51 and Aurora notebooks.

Alienware Area-51

Alienware’s Area-51 lineup is the brand’s flagship line of notebooks, packing in the best of the best from the industry. This time is no different.

First of all, the new series will rock Alienware 30, a new design philosophy made especially for the 30th anniversary. On the outside, the laptops have fluid contours, emphasizing curves opposed to the industry’s more angular contemporaries. It also has a Zero Hinge, which hides the laptop’s hinge from view. Finally, it has pillowed palm rests to make usage easy for long gaming sessions.

The 16-inch model can rock up to a WQXGA Anti-Glare OLED screen, featuring 240Hz refresh rate and 620 peak HDR nits. It will also have an LCD option. Alternatively, the 18-inch model has a WQXGA screen, featuring 300Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of brightness.

Inside, the Alienware Area-51 boasts up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX processor and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 24GB GPU. For memory, gamers can enjoy up to 64GB Dual-Channel DDR5. Finally, for storage, the series can rock up to 2TB SSD natively but can support up to 3 slots, allowing for up to 12TB of internal storage.

The series will have a sizable 96Whr battery. This is complemented by a 280W adapter and the brand’s largest fans by volume to keep things cool.

Alienware 16X Aurora

For those who portability over raw power, the new Alienware 16X Aurora fits inside any day-to-day kit. For example, it ditches the thermal shelf typical of most gaming notebooks today to increase portability. It has rounded edges to make it easier to grasp and to create a slightly pillowed palm rest, similar to its flagship counterpart.

The 16-inch WQXGA OLED panel touts 240Hz refresh rate, 0.2ms response time, and 620 nits HDR peak brightness.

Inside, the notebook has up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU. These specs are paired with up to 64GB Dual-Channel DDR5 memory and up to 2TB SSD.

Finally, the Alienware 16X Aurora will have a 90Whr battery. This is supported by up to a 280W charger (for the RTX 5070 variant).

Price, availability

Both series are available starting today, March 17.

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