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Qualcomm announces three chips for midrange and affordable markets

Coming to phones later this year

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For smartphone pundits, a processor presents the most accurate way to determine a phone’s power on paper. As such, shoppers are always on the hunt for the highest specs they can find.

Pushing the boundaries even further, Qualcomm has launched three new chipsets for its midrange and entry-level series.

For the midrange market, the Snapdragon 600 series is getting the new Snapdragon 632. Meanwhile, the affordable Snapdragon 400 series will get both the Snapdragon 439 and 429.

With the new additions, Qualcomm is infusing high-end capabilities into the affordability markets. More specifically, the company touts increased performance, battery life, and AI capabilities with the new chips.

Positioned towards the midrange market, the Snapdragon 632 boosts processing speeds and graphics performance by up to 40 percent. The included Kyro 250 CPU and Adreno 506 GPU increase their phones’ affinity for mainstream gaming.

Additionally, phones infused with the Snapdragon 632 can now support cameras with up to 24 megapixels. Finally, the chipset supports faster connectivity with a new X9 LTE modem.

Meanwhile, the new Snapdragon 439 and 429 inject AI capabilities into the affordable market. The new feature touts improvements for a phone’s cameras, security, and accessibility. For performance, the new chipsets promise an increase of up to 25 percent.

On the graphics side, the Snapdragon 439’s Adreno 505 boasts up to a 20 percent increase in graphics rendering. On the other hand, the Snapdragon 429’s Adreno 504 increases graphics performance by up to 50 percent.

With the new chips, the affordable market can now support cameras with up to 21 megapixels.

Following the announcements, Qualcomm expects the first devices with the new chips by the end of the year.

SEE ALSO: The new Snapdragon 710 promises flagship specs for midrange phones

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Honor is reportedly working on a 14000mAh battery

How much is too much?

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Nothing goes together more than a Chinese smartphone brand and the relentless pursuit for a bigger battery. For years, Chinese brands have engaged in a war for this particular component. Now, the latest salvo has been fired. Honor is reportedly working on a phone with a gigantic 14000mAh battery.

Today, the biggest battery capacity you can find on an Honor phone is 11000mAh. The Honor X80 Pro Max already offers a battery that can last you more than a single day. At this point, it’s certainly more than enough for our daily needs.

According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, a smartphone brand is currently working on a 14000mAh battery. Though the leak does not explicitly pinpoint Honor, the emoji used (a wolf) is historically used to imply the Chinese brand in Weibo parlance.

A 14000mAh is just absurdly huge. With a battery larger than some powerbanks, battery anxiety becomes moot. It’s bordering on “can we bring this on a plane” territory.

As with all rumored features, the next question is when this battery will arrive on a consumer-ready device. Given how serious the battery wars are for the Chinese market, it’s only a matter of time.

SEE ALSO: HONOR continues APAC expansion, to launch 600 series in Taiwan

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Nothing Phone (4b) shows up online, spoils some specs

It’s a step below the Phone (4a) series.

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Yesterday, Nothing officially teased the Phone (4b), an all-new line positioned below the Phone (4a) series. At the time, the teaser revealed nothing but the design of the upcoming phone. However, ahead of its July 7 launch, the Phone (4b) suddenly appeared on Geekbench, spoiling a few of its mysterious specs.

According to the listing, the Phone (4b) will run the SM6650, more popularly known as the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4. It’s a modestly powered processor built for the budget to midrange segments of the performance spectrum. Having this processor does confirm that the phone belongs to the step below the Phone (4a), bringing affordability to a name other than CMF.

Besides the processor, the new phone will come with an Adreno 810 GPU and 8GB of RAM. Inside, it will ship with Android 16 out of the box, but this will likely be upgradeable to Android 17 later this year.

It’s already confirmed that the Phone (4b) will be quite the looker. The phone will slightly depart from the design philosophy of the Phone (4a) series. Though it will still have a sizable rear island, the camera setup will just be a small vertical strip on the top-left corner. Additionally, the lighting element typical of all Nothing phones will be a small horizontal strip on the bottom-right corner.

Thankfully, the wait for more specs won’t be long. Nothing has confirmed that the phone’s launch is set for July 7.

SEE ALSO: Nothing will launch the Phone (4b) next month

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Polaroid says, enjoy the beach before AI ruins it

“We know what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it.”

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Tongue-in-cheek marketing is a soothing balm for a world where false promises are more often advertised. But, what happens when those tongue-in-cheek jokes strike a nerve and make you think, “maybe this isn’t a joke anymore”? Polaroid, a huge proponent of analog technology, has put up such a billboard to enjoy the beach “before the data centers drink it all up.”

Right in front of Coney Island (and right in time for summer), Polaroid has a simple message: “Go jump in the water before the data centers drink it all up.”

Though funny by itself, the message plays on an ongoing fear that today’s data centers, built for AI, have such a high water requirement that each query takes up gallons every time. This is, of course, slightly hyperbolic, but data centers are indeed exerting a lot of pressure on their area’s resources. They take a lot of water for cooling and electricity to keep open.

In a statement, Polaroid says that they’re not anti-digital. Rather, “we know we have to live alongside it, but we’re deeply pro-human and know what humanity gives us. And we know what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it. That’s a fight worth fighting,” says Polaroid’s creative director Patricia Varella, via LBB.

Now, this isn’t a completely altruistic ad. It’s still advertising the new Go Generation 3. Still, if you’re looking for a product to go alongside today’s shifting sentiments against AI, a Polaroid might be it.

SEE ALSO: The Loop PH rebrands as lifestyle-tech destination

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