News
Vivo X20 Plus UD with under-display fingerprint reader is now official
Kickstarting a new trend for 2018
We first saw Vivo’s phone with an under-display fingerprint reader a couple of weeks ago at CES 2018 as a demo phone. It didn’t take too long for the Chinese company to officially announce the device, and it’s now known as the X20 Plus UD.
The Vivo X20 Plus UD is the world’s first smartphone to ship with a fingerprint scanner built under its display. The handset’s physical design and specifications are identical to the commercially available Vivo X20 Plus in China, albeit with a under-display reader — hence the “UD” moniker.

It’s got a 6.43-inch near-borderless display which has a Full HD+ resolution (2160 x 1080 pixels). The Clear ID 9500 fingerprint sensor from Synaptics is neatly tucked near the bottom edge where phones usually had their fingerprint readers. It has an AMOLED panel as a requirement for the sensor to work.
As for the rest of the specifications, we have a Snapdragon 660 processor onboard with 4GB of memory and a whopping 128GB of internal storage. If that ain’t enough, a hybrid microSD card slot is always ready for action.
Keeping in with the trend, the X20 Plus UD also has two rear cameras — the main one having а 12-megapixel sensor and a f/1.8 lens, while the secondary has 5 megapixels. It comes with a 12-megapixel front camera for taking selfies.
The battery capacity of the phone is pretty hefty at 3905mAh which is more than enough to power it through the whole day and charges through USB-C. And since it’s from Vivo, the phone has a built-in ES9318 DAC for Hi-Fi audio — something the company is known for ever since.
Vivo pointed out that screen protectors will not get in the way of the under-display reader as long as they don’t exceed a certain thickness; otherwise, they would affect the reflection of light from the OLED panel and confuse the sensor. The phone will come with a layer of film that works out of the box to save buyers the time of finding a compatible one.
The phone will officially be available starting February 1 with a price tag of CNY 3,598 (US$ 565) in China. There are no available color options aside from black with golden rims around the display and cameras on the back.
News
More iPhone switchers this year than Android switchers, report says
Only the Google Pixel might be exempt from a global Android dip.
With the prices of chips skyrocketing this year, the commonly held rule of thumb is to hold on to your devices for as long as possible. Of course, the dip in demand will also translate to a dip in supply. According to new reports, users this year might favor switching to an iPhone over an Android phone.
As early as late last year, smartphone makers have already warned consumers that the prices of new devices might go up to anticipate the rising prices of RAM. For now, the prices are still manageable, but forecasts don’t look too kindly on the future.
According to a Morgan Stanley report via Investing.com, the shipments of Android phones might drop by as much as 15 percent this year, compared to the last. This encompasses all brands using the platform.
However, there is one notable holdout: the Google Pixel. According to the same report, the lineup will still enjoy some modicum of growth heading into their release schedule this year.
More notably, though, Apple might be the biggest winner this year. Though iPhone shipments might still drop by 2 percent, it’s nothing compared to the former’s 15 percent drop. When comparing the two, that should translate to a growth in Apple’s share of the pie this year. In other words, more people might switch to Apple, compared to people switching to any phone running on Android.
Now, to be fair, these are all just predictions. Anything can still happen, but it looks like Apple might be heading to a stellar performance later this year.
SEE ALSO: Hands-on: NEW iPhone 17e, iPad Air, MacBooks, Studio Displays
Entertainment
Marvel’s Wonder Man greenlit for a rare second season
The first season holds a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Is the Marvel Cinematic Universe back? After years of floundering through Phases Four and Five, Marvel Studios is poised to get its mojo back from a flurry of much-awaited Phase Six projects this year, including the second season of Daredevil: Born Again, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and Avengers: Doomsday. And it all started this year with the critically acclaimed Wonder Man. Now, after the success of that series, a second season is officially in the works.
When its first trailer came out, Wonder Man did not look like anything that Marvel Studios has worked on before. For one, it was incredibly grounded, perhaps overshadowed only by Daredevil: Born Again. Second, it was about the reboot of a fictional superhero movie, itself called Wonder Man.
Actor Simon Williams (played by Yahya Abdul Mateen II) wants to energize his career by performing in the upcoming Wonder Man revival from acclaimed director Von Kovak (Zlatko Burić). Helping the former is the returning Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), who you might remember as the fake Mandarin from Iron Man 3.
Despite how different it looks compared to previous Marvel Studios projects, the series is one of the most acclaimed, currently holding a 91 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Because of this, Wonder Man has received the green light for a second season, via Variety.
A second season is relatively rare for Marvel Studios with its history of one-and-done series. There are some exceptions, though. Loki, for example, ended its run with a second season. Daredevil: Born Again will air its second season very soon (with a third one potentially in the works already).
SEE ALSO: Marvel’s Wolverine gets a release date
Apple changed the script by launching the iPhone 17e earlier this month. Now, after leaving history for a bit, the company is ready to go back to its originally scheduled programming. WWDC 2026 is now officially confirmed from June 8 through 12.
The Worldwide Developers Conference is an annual event to give the stage to Apple’s software developments. If you’re more familiar with Google’s scheduling, this is the equivalent of the annual Google I/O.
Today, Apple announced that the annual WWDC 2026 will take place from June 8 to 12. As always, it’s expected that Apple’s upcoming slate of major software updates will debut at the event. This includes iOS 27, macOS 27, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27.
However, besides the expected platforms, Apple has also confirmed that the event will present the company’s latest in “AI advancements”.
For Apple fans, those announcement should come with some excitement. Compared to its competitors, the company has notoriously been left trailing in the AI department. Upgrades to Apple Intelligence and a Siri revamp has been in the pipeline for quite a while now.
If you’re interested in the new developments, WWDC 2026 will, like every year, broadcast its major keynote presentation and a plethora of other showcases for free on Apple’s website and on YouTube.
SEE ALSO: Apple unveils the iPhone 17e
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