News
Star Wars phones are coming to Japan

Ah, Japan. Land of super-adorable stuff, wondrously weird styles, humanoid robots, micro homes, and, most recently, Star Wars-themed smartphones that will make even the most basic fan giddy.
Built by Sharp, this pair of Star Wars mobile phones owes its existence to SoftBank, one of Japan’s leading carriers, and the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which is hitting movie theaters soon. And in true Star Wars tradition, they come in Dark and Light side versions. The former has a black front with red accents and back finish, whereas the latter swaps the Sith colorway for the white and blue of the good guys.
[irp posts=”568″ name=”Star Wars: Force Awakens BB-8 Droid by Sphero Hands-On”]
Both phones use a heavily customized Android Marshmallow interface, and include live wallpapers inspired by the cockpits of the X-Wing and TIE fighter ships; a Star Wars video player app that lets you watch The Force Awakens until 2020 (just in case you haven’t watched it); a special alarm clock app; and Star Wars emoji and ringtones. SoftBank is also throwing in five exclusive metal figurines from Rogue One.
Choose between Dark and Light side (of the phones)
As for the handsets themselves, they share the same high-end innards: Snapdragon 820 under the hood, alongside 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The battery is rated at 3,000mAh, which isn’t bad for a couple of 7.6-inch-thick devices. There’s a 22-megapixel camera around the back for shooting people’s reactions when they see the Star Wars ware you’re rocking.
Pre-orders start today, and the handsets officially go on sale on December 2nd. But will we see them outside of Japan? We doubt it. A shame, really, because these are the droids we’ve been looking for.
[irp posts=”7899″ name=”Our sweetest Black Friday gadget finds”]


If you’re shopping for a foldable phone in the future, you can cross one device off your list — when considering only specs, at least. OnePlus has confirmed that its upcoming foldable smartphone is the exact same device as OPPO’s upcoming foldable.
In an announcement emailed today, OnePlus co-founder Pete Lau stated that OnePlus and OPPO have co-developed a foldable device in tandem. Despite being only one device, it will be released as two smartphones, released under both OnePlus’s and OPPO’s banner. To differentiate between the two brands, each device will cater to two different markets.
Lau has not confirmed what these smartphones are. However, given the teases we’ve received from both brands so far, it’s fair to assume what they are. OnePlus, for example, teased a OnePlus Open back in July. OPPO, on the other hand, is set to launch the OPPO Find N3 soon. There is also no confirmation as to which markets will receive the phones. If anything, the Find N3 will likely be a China exclusive when it launches.
In previous rumors from months ago, the foldable device will likely carry a 7.82-inch screen. The secondary screen might extend to 6.31 inches. Inside, it will reportedly have a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, complemented by 16GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. It might also have a triple rear camera combination comprised of a 48-megapixel main shooter, a 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 64-megapixel telephoto lens.
SEE ALSO: OnePlus teases a more waterproof screen than the iPhone 14

If you couldn’t wait for Christmas and got yourself a new iPhone 15 already, you might have noticed a flaw with your new phone. While using it in certain ways, the smartphone reportedly heats up to uncomfortable levels. Apple has now confirmed that the problem is real. The company is now working on a solution for the issue.
Since the iPhone 15 series launched late last month, several users have reported that the devices in the series can get uncomfortably hot in certain situations. At the time, Apple didn’t know what was causing the issue.
Over the weekend, Apple figured it out. According to Forbes, the company has linked the heating issue with three things: increased background activity, an iOS 17 bug, and some third-party apps.
The first cause is not an issue. During device set-up, the smartphone usually loads up a lot of background processes at once. Naturally, it goes on overdrive, causing the increased temperature.
On the other hand, the next two reasons are noted issues. “We have also found a bug in iOS 17 that is impacting some users and will be addressed in a software update. Another issue involves some recent updates to third-party apps that are causing them to overload the system. We’re working with these app developers on fixes that are in the process of rolling out,” Apple said.
The iOS 17 update should be coming soon. However, the third-party fixes will be dependent on the developer. Asphalt 9, Instagram, and Uber are already confirmed for the flaw, but only Instagram has received a fix so far.
At the very least, Apple confirms that it’s not a hardware issue. If you’re worried about the potential for hardware failure, you can rest assured that it’s just a software issue.
SEE ALSO: Apple iPhone 15 Pro + 15 Pro Max Review: Huge Leap Forward

Want to keep up with the UAAP Season 86 games? You can do so with the Smart LiveStream App.
Much like what SMART did with FIBA World Cup 2023, the telecommunication company is giving its subscribers free access to watch UAAP Season 86 games through the Smart LiveStream App. The games are available both live and on-demand.
Smart subscribers can stream all the UAAP Season 86 games on the Smart LiveStream App using their smartphones or tablets while connected to Smart mobile Internet or their PLDT Home WiFi. Smart subscribers are able to stream for free — no subscription needed.
The app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Stream on TV?
Yes, you can do so. The Smart LiveStream TV App is available on Google-certified Android TV Android 8.0 version. It’s downloadable from the Android TV Google Play Store and linking their Android TV to the app. To do this, subscribers simply need to open the Smart LiveStream Mobile App, go to Menu, click Link Device, and enable the camera to scan the QR code displayed on the Android TV.
Alternatively, Android TV users may go to www.smart.com.ph/livestream to sign into their account, then go to Menu, click Device Management to add their Android TV by entering the code displayed on the TV and activate their Smart LiveStream TV App.
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