News
POCO X3 Pro launches with Snapdragon 860, quad camera setup
Redefining the midrange segment?
Alongside the POCO F3, POCO also launched the POCO X3 Pro today at its international event. The F-series is focused on performance and acts as an affordable flagship. On the other hand, the X-series is a balanced offering that’s ultra-light on the pocket.
The POCO X3 Pro has inherited a distinctive squircle camera setup that’ll instantly remind you of the POCO X3. But this one looks far more sophisticated and due to five lens and flash cavities. The rear has a huge POCO logo meant to stand out, just like realme’s branding.
On the front is a 6.7-inch LCD with Full HD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, Gorilla Glass 6 protection, and HDR 10. It’s available in Phantom Black, Frost Blue, and Metal Bronze color options.
Under the hood is a Snapdragon 860 processor with Adreno 640 GPU, up to 8GB DDR4 RAM, and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. It’s also backed by POCO’s LiquidCool Technology 1.0 Plus that claims to offer consistently high-performance for an extended period of time.
The back has a quad-camera setup consisting of a 48-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens, a 2-megapixel macro sensor, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. On the front is a 20-megapixel camera for selfies.
The POCO X3 Pro is a midrange offering, and it skips 5G connectivity in favor of dual 4G standby. While many may find this shortcoming, the phone is also designed for markets like India, where there is no commercial 5G connectivity, and the pricing war is cut-throat.
Powering it is a 5160mAh battery with 33W fast charging, and the charging brick is included with the phone. Thankfully, POCO has retained the 3.5mm headphone jack, and it runs on MIUI 12 out-of-the-box.
Pricing and Availability
Philippines
- 6GB+128GB — PhP 12,990
- 8GB+256GB — PhP 15,990
It’ll be available exclusively via Shopee, and if purchased on March 24, a flat discount of PhP 2,000 will be applicable as an early bird discount.
Global
- 6GB+128GB — EUR 249 (early bird price EUR 199)
- 8GB+256GB — EUR 299 (early bird price EUR 249)
Availability starts on March 24, 2021.
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.
News
Apple is reportedly delaying its smart glasses due to privacy concerns
The brand wants to squash malicious recording.
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.
Gaming
God of War Laufey finally confirms its highly anticipated launch date
Set your calendars next year.
It’s about time we get excited for God of War Laufey. The upcoming entry into the acclaimed franchise takes off on a tangent as it follows Faye, Kratos’s late wife, as she traverses an afterlife filled with similarly deceased gods. It’s a different perspective but with still the same action we’ve come to expect from the series. Now, we know when to expect it: February 16.
In the ongoing Norse saga, Faye’s death is everything. Her passing pushes Kratos and Atreus towards a path that eventually led to Ragnarok. In Laufey, a deceased Faye wakes up in Everywhen, an afterlife where gods from different mythologies converge. She then discovers that the carefully laid plans she made to help her husband and her son are unravelling, so she has to find a way to save the living world from past the veil.
Laufey will still have the iconic battles that the God of War series is known for. However, because Faye is nimbler than the burly Kratos, fighting is more fast-paced with a mix of grounded and air-based fighting. All in all, there’s a lot to be excited about for Laufey, despite its different take on the series.
Over the weekend, during San Diego Comic Con, PlayStation confirmed when the title is launching. Thankfully, it’s not a long wait. God of War Laufey is launching for the PlayStation 5 on February 16 next year.
Additionally, Santa Monica Studio has also confirmed that Kratos will lead another entry after Laufey.
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