News
Sony Xperia Ace is what the Xperia XZ4 Compact could have been
One of the true compact phones today
When Sony unveiled its 2019 line of Xperia smartphones, fans were waiting for a new Compact model. Unfortunately, Sony has left some of their loyal fans disappointed by skipping the expected Xperia XZ4 Compact. Fret not, it’s still happening but it only found its way to Japan’s NTT Docomo telecom.
Sony is still keeping its tradition of delivering truly pocketable phones with solid hardware. The new Xperia Ace for Japan is what could have been the XZ4 Compact for the global market.
The Xperia Ace has a 5-inch LCD with a Full HD+ resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio. It comes with familiar large Sony bezels that house stereo speakers and an 8-megapixel front camera. The phone would have been more compact if Sony cut the bezels, but the Japanese company really loves to keep them around.
The phone is running on a Snapdragon 630 chip (not exactly the most powerful) with 4GB of memory and 64GB of expandable storage.
At the back, there’s a single 12-megapixel shooter, LED flash, and a small area for tapping to use NFC. In true Sony fashion, the fingerprint sensor is embedded to the home button located on the phone’s right-hand side.
Since the phone is compact, it also has a small battery at just 2700mAh. The phone sports USB-C and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Of course, the sandwich glass phone is also dust and water resistant.
Again, the Xperia Ace is only available in Japan for now. Reservations are already accepted with official sales happening on June 1. The phone has three color options (black, white, and purple) and it’s priced at JPY 48,600 or roughly US$ 445.
SEE ALSO: Sony to cut down its smartphone division in half by next year
News
Xiaomi Redmi A3 Philippine pricing, availability
Budget smartphone with high refresh rate display
Xiaomi is bringing high refresh rate displays to its budget line with the announcement of the Redmi A3. The latest addition to the entry-level Redmi line boasts of an expansive 6.71-inch HD+ display with up to a 90Hz refresh rate.
The Redmi A3 is available in Midnight Black, Star Blue, and Forest Green. The smartphone is priced at PhP 3,399 (3GB+64GB) and PhP 3,999 (4GB+128GB) respectively for its two configurations.
Customers may preorder the phone until April 27 via Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok. General sale begins April 26th in all Xiaomi stores nationwide. Freebies are a Basic Piston Earphone for online purchases and a 3-month Viu Premium subscription for in-store purchases.
The Redmi A3’s immersive screen allows users to consume various content in high-definition with better smoothness, a boost for a phone of its price point. The screen has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection as well, and DC dimming to reduce blue light exposure.
The phone also sports a refined design that lets go of the iPhone-looking camera arrangement. Instead, the main camera is now in the middle as part of a watch face-looking setup similar to other Android phone offerings.
Speaking of, an 8MP main shooter highlights the back of the Redmi A3. In front is a 5MP front camera. The phone is powered by a MediaTek Helio G36 processor and runs on an Android 14-based OS. Furthermore, it has a 5,000mAh battery with 10W of USB-C charging.
Other handy Redmi A3 features for users to utilize include a 3.5mm jack, Face Unlock, and Fingerprint Unlock.
For the longest time, Google kept Pixel and Android behind two different teams. While the Pixel team dealt with devices made by and for the brand, the Android team ships a product meant for brands outside of the company’s purview. However, the days of separation are at an end. Google is officially merging its Pixel and Android teams together.
In a shocking announcement, the company has confirmed that the teams handling hardware and software will fall under a single team headed by Rick Osterloh. Prior to the merge, Osterloh was the senior vice president of devices and service, which was Google’s hardware branch. He will now oversee both hardware and software.
Because of the new leadership change, Hiroshi Lockheimer, former head of Android, will now move on to other projects within Alphabet. Of note, the change is not harsh for Lockheimer. He and Osterloh had been contemplating on the merge for a while.
Now, why the change? As is the case with everything today, it’s all because of AI. Speaking to The Verge, Osterloh explains that the merge will help with “full-stack innovation.” With how technology is these days, it’s now impossible to develop AI without having a close eye on hardware, such as in Google’s AI developments for the Pixel camera. Merging the teams will help streamline development, especially when hardware is involved.
Despite the change, outside brands, like Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, remains confident of Android’s capabilities outside of Google. Just expect more AI coming out in the near future.
Since the Pixel 6 series, Google continues to wow the market as one of the most unique camera designs available in the market today. This year, the brand’s Pixel 9 series might reinvent itself again with a slightly updated redesign.
Between the Pixel 6 and Pixel 8 series, Google introduced a wraparound camera island extending from the left edge to the right edge. While most smartphones today still use the traditional top-left island layout, Google’s lineup consistently grabs admiration from onlookers.
Now, according to an early leak (from Rozetked, via 9to5Google), Google might cut the camera island’s size before it reaches either side of the Pixel 9. The remaining chunk looks like a horizontal pill-shaped camera island right in the middle of the rear panel. It looks like a common camera island comically enlarged and turned on its side. Alternatively, it also looks like a webcam attached to a phone.
Based on the new leak, the new camera island will have three unknown lenses, the usual LED flash, and an unconfirmed sensor. Besides the different camera, the leak also confirms the usual tray of hardware on the side. There’s nothing too revolutionary.
As always, the Pixel 9 series is scheduled to come out in the fall of this year.
SEE ALSO: Pixel 9 series will reportedly come in four models
-
Features1 week ago
Fortify your home office or business setup with these devices
-
Events2 weeks ago
Stellar Blade: PlayStation taps cosplayers to play Eve for game’s launch
-
Gaming2 weeks ago
The Rogue Prince of Persia looks like an ultra-colorful roguelite
-
Accessories2 weeks ago
Logitech unveils G Pro X 60 gaming keyboard: Price, details
-
Gaming2 weeks ago
Star Wars Outlaws release date revealed
-
Reviews1 week ago
realme 12+ 5G review: One month later
-
Gaming2 weeks ago
Lenovo confirms development of a Legion Go 2
-
Deals2 weeks ago
TCL P635 TV: Big savings for TCL’s anniversary