News

Vivo V9 officially arrives with FullView display and dual cameras

A step in the right direction for Vivo?

Published

March 22, 2018

Marvin Velasco

After a few leaks and lots of rumors, the Vivo V9 is finally official, bringing in its own take on today’s most popular smartphone design trend.

It comes just six months after its predecessor, the V7+, was launched. And while the V9 carries over the edge-to-edge design up front, there’s now a distinguishable cutout at the top of the 6.3-inch 1080p 19:9 display. This notch holds the proximity sensor, earpiece, and impressive 24-megapixel front-facing camera with an AI (artificial intelligence) beauty mode for more refined selfies.

Yes, this is a large phone with big numbers, making us wonder if there’ll be a “Plus” or “Lite” variant down the line. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; let’s see what’s inside.

Powering the midrange smartphone is a Snapdragon 626 processor, which is often found in handsets around this price range. Attached within the chipset is 4GB of memory and 64GB of storage. If that isn’t enough, you can expand the storage with a microSD card. The V9 has a triple-card slot, so you can have that and two SIM cards at the same time.

The V9’s back has another notable addition to Vivo’s V series: a dual-camera setup consisting of a 16-megapixel sensor and another 5-megapixel shooter. This combination enables greater detail and creamier background blur on your photos, plus it’s capable of 4K resolution video recording.

To make sure the phone can last a whole day, Vivo equipped it with a 3260mAh battery. Together with Funtouch OS 4.0 (which is based on Android 8.1 Oreo), the V9 should be smart when it comes to energy efficiency. The only drawback is the use of micro-USB as its charging port instead of the newer USB-C.

Despite the large size, the V9 is quite light at only 150g. That’s mainly because Vivo opted for a plastic body which comes in either pearl black or gold.

The V9 will retail for PhP 17,990 in the Philippines and INR 22,990 in India.

News

Apple reportedly gives up on the Vision Pro

But Apple will continue to sell the current model.

Published

April 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

When they unveiled the Vision Pro in 2023, Apple touted the wearable as the next big thing after the iPhone. Now, almost three years removed from the launch, the Vision Pro hasn’t really taken over the coveted spot occupied by the iPhone. Apple, according to a report, is allegedly canning the short-lived wearable.

According to MacRumors, Apple has reportedly given up on making the Vision Pro a thing. The team handling the wearable has supposedly been subsumed by other teams within Apple.

If true, the wearable’s end is unfortunate but not surprising. Despite being out for years, the Vision Pro has sold only a little more than half a million units with numerous returns from customers. Most recently, Apple updated the wearable with the M5 chip, but the move hasn’t revitalized the device’s status in Apple’s lineup.

Most of the complaints about the device stem from its exorbitant price or its cumbersome battery pack. Besides costing a whopping US$ 3,499, the Vision Pro is also difficult to move around with, especially because of its total weight and a battery pack that can get in the way.

To be clear, Apple has not officially discontinued the Vision Pro yet. The company continues to sell the version with the M5 chip. Apple can also restart development in the future.

However, the meantime retirement on future development does coincide with the recent restructuring inside the company. Tim Cook recently decided to step down as CEO with John Ternus as his replacement. Canning the Vision Pro might be Ternus’ first step in redefining Apple according to his plans.

Apps

YouTube makes picture-in-picture mode free for everyone globally

The update is rolling out globally now.

Published

April 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Picture-in-picture (or PiP) mode is a godsend for multitaskers. The feature lets users watch videos in a tiny floating window while doing other tasks. However, the feature isn’t readily available for all users. Or wasn’t, at least. YouTube is now rolling out PiP mode for free globally.

Previously, PiP mode was exclusive to YouTube users who pay for Premium or Premium Lite. It was also exclusive to the United States.

Now, YouTube is making the feature completely free for users all over the globe. It will be available for both iOS and Android versions of the app.

There’s still a catch, though. The free version is available only for “longform, non-music content.” The same goes for Premium Lite subscribers. Music is still an exclusive feature for those who pay for the regular version of Premium. Basically, there is no change for paying users or users in the United States.

Using PiP mode is simple. All you need to do is load up a video you want to watch in the background. Then, just exit the YouTube app and go about your other tasks. The video will be inside a floating, resizable window while you look at other things.

There’s no timeline on when the update will reach your device. However, YouTube has promised that it will roll out globally within the coming months.

Enterprise

OnePlus has reportedly merged with realme

Both brands were previously rumored for restructuring early this year.

Published

April 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

OnePlus has a problem. For a while now, rumors have swirled about the company’s dissolution. For their part, the company has continued to deny the reports, citing business as usual. Likely to their dismay, the reports just keep coming. Today, sources have hinted that OnePlus has merged with realme.

Back in January, it was rumored that OnePlus would be closing up shop this year. Since the company very quickly denied the rumors, the report hardly made waves. However, a suspected merger with realme is more difficult to debunk.

For one, realme is itself in a very interesting position. Also back in January, realme was reportedly moving back into being a sub-brand of OPPO. Coupled together with the OnePlus debacle, all this internal restructuring seems par for the course.

According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, OnePlus and realme have already concluded the merger. The two brands have reportedly united their Chinese and international operations under one roof. Likewise, their marketing will be the same. Pete Lau will still be the main head for this new division.

As with anything of this nature, take this with a grain of salt. OPPO, OnePlus, and realme have not issued any official statements concerning a merger or a shutdown for any brand.