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Windows Phone is dead, but Microsoft tried to make it better

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A moment of silence. Joe Belfiore, who used to head the mobile division of Microsoft, took to Twitter for his announcement about the death of Windows Phone or Windows 10 Mobile as it’s called now.

If you own a Windows 10 Mobile device, this is hard to accept. While there’s still no official announcement directly from Microsoft, Belfiore’s tweets confirmed that they’re no longer pushing forward.

It started when a user asked if it’s time to leave the Windows Phone platform, and Belfiore subtle answered that it depends on who and what purpose it serves. The enterprise sector is still a big market for Windows Phone, so it’s not one hundred percent over, yet.

He did specify, though, that new features and hardware are not the focus of their team. No worries! Minor updates for bug fixes and security patches are still part of their gameplan. He also admitted that the low (or “too low”) volume of users is a reason for Microsoft to shut down the platform.

While we do have our own share of disappointment about the slow progress of Windows phones, Microsoft did plan to release a borderless device running Windows Phone 8.1 back in 2014. As reported by Windows Central, the Microsoft Lumia 435 could have been a game-changer. It was planned to be the first-ever borderless Windows smartphone and cost under US$ 200. It was canceled later that year.

There were prototypes and Windows Central was able to get a hold of one.Take a look:

Image from Windows Central

We’re not sure if stores are still selling Windows Phone or Windows 10 Mobile devices, but we strongly suggest not to buy any model now, unless you want to keep a piece of Microsoft’s last efforts to save its mobile platform.

SEE ALSO: Microsoft Surface Pro isn’t just an incremental update

[irp posts=”14466″ name=”Microsoft Surface Pro isn’t just an incremental update”]

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Honor 50 series launches with a radical design, Google apps support

The brand is back with a bang

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June 18, 2021

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Honor was once part of the Huawei group but is now an independent brand. After more than a year of struggling with alternatives like AppGallery, the Chinese phone maker has finally launched the Honor 50 series with full Google apps support. It includes the Honor 50 Pro, Honor 50, and Honor 50 SE.

The Pro vs non-Pro option share the same processor and rear camera setup. But the Honor 50 Pro has a 6.7-inch OLED display with Full HD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and DCI-P3 wide color gamut.

On the other hand, the Honor 50 gets a slightly smaller 6.5-inch OLED screen. Powering the two phones is a Snapdragon 778G processor with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB internal storage.

The rear sports a 108-megapixel primary sensor, an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens, a 2-megapixel macro sensor, and a 2-megapixel depth-of-field camera. The Pro has a dual-front camera that consists of a 32-megapixel primary sensor and a 12-megapixel wide-angle lens. The non-Pro gets a single 32-megapixel shooter.

The Honor 50 Pro is backed by a 4000mAh battery with 100W SuperCharge fast charging support. The non-Pro has a slightly larger battery at 4300mAh but supports 65W fast charging. The two phones feature an in-display fingerprint scanner for authentication and run on Android 11-based Magic UI 4.2.

Lastly, the Honor 50 SE houses a 6.78-inch LCD screen with Full HD+ and a 120Hz screen refresh rate. It’s powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC paired with up to 12GB RAM and up to 256GB storage. The phone has a triple rear camera setup with the same sensors as the other two phones excluding the depth sensor. Honor 50 SE has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, a single 16-megapixel selfie camera, and a 4,000mAh battery with 66W fast charging support.

Honor 50 Pro:

8GB+256GB: CNY 3,699 (US$ 573)

12GB+256GB: CNY 3,999 (US$ 620)

Honor 50:

8GB+128GB: CNY 2,699 (US$ 420)

8GB+256GB: CNY 2,999 (US$ 465)

12GB+256GB: CNY 3,399 (US$ 530)

Honor 50 SE:

8GB+128GB: CNY 2,399 (US$ 372)

8GB+256GB: CNY 2,699 (US$ 420)

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Computers

Early build of next-gen Windows leaked to the public

Might end up as Windows 11

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June 18, 2021

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next-gen Windows

It seems like that the next generation of Windows can’t come soon enough. Just recently, an early build of the OS leaked to the public, containing many UI and under-the-hood changes that have been speculated for months.

A lot of publications covering this next-gen Windows have already published their hands-on with the leaked build. The most apparent changes to the next-gen Windows are the ones people will see every day. The taskbar, for a start, is now centered by default, although it can be set to align left in the settings. It also includes new icons for the Start button, search button, and Task View.

The Start menu is radically different too, and it is the same one found on the cancelled Windows 10X. There’s a new button that sits on the taskbar by the way. This toggles the widget panel which is also new for the next-gen Windows. Meanwhile, the Task View gets a revamp. Along with this revamp comes a new window snapping experience — users can now snap according to different configurations.

Overall, the leaked build feature a lot of rounded corners. Microsoft is really gunning for a modern look with their next-gen Windows. Also, gone are the days of straight corners in context menus and buttons. It is worth noting that since this is an early build, some UI elements are still inconsistent with the overall design refresh. The bundled apps, for example, seem to be unchanged though the File Explorer has newer file icons.

There’s a lot more changes coming to the next-gen Windows, though. The out-of-the-box setup experience, for example, is new. And apparently, there’s a new start-up sound to boot too.

Windows 11 is here

One of the biggest things to come out of the build, however, is a direct confirmation that the next-gen Windows will simply be called Windows 11. The teasers for the next-gen Windows posted by Microsoft first hinted about this. Now, the builds directly confirm that indeed, Windows 11 is that next-gen Windows.

To make matters more interesting, Microsoft seemed to acknowledge the leaked build, teasing that there’s more to come:

There’s definitely more to come with the next-gen Windows, and it is definitely interesting what it will look like when Microsoft announces it on June 24. That said, ordinary users shouldn’t wait too long to see the evolution of the beloved OS that has been around for more than a decade.

Source: The Verge, Windows Central

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News

OnePlus officially announces a merger with OPPO

It took them 5+ years to admit that…

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June 17, 2021

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OnePlus has finally made its merger with OPPO public a long time after closely working with the Chinese company. However, Pete Lau, CEO, claims that the brand will continue to operate independently.

For the unaware, OnePlus is an OPPO subsidiary, but the two smartphone manufacturers work independently. In the future, despite the “integration” between the two brands, OnePlus and OPPO will continue to operate separately. The news doesn’t come as a massive shock given that Lau took on a role with OPPO last year in overseeing strategy for both brands.

Last year, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau took up the Senior Vice President position at OPLUS, which wholly owns OPPO and has a majority stake in OnePlus. The company also has a small stake in realme, which targets the affordable segment.

All these brands are part of Guangdong-based conglomerate BBK Electronics, which also owns vivo and iQoo. Lau indicated the move would allow them to deliver faster and more stable software updates to users, something that has certainly been one of the criticisms of OnePlus in recent years.

In the official blogpost, Lau mentioned that the company had seen a positive impact by integrating the two companies’ teams. The company has confirmed to MySmartPrice that smartphones from the brand will continue to run OxygenOS custom user interface based on Android. The shared resources and talent will not only help OnePlus to scale its business but will also help in cutting down costs due to scaling.

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