Smartphones are useful tools, but they can also be addictive as people may start checking the phone each time they receive a notification, visit their Facebook page to check how many likes they got, or just want to check their emails a bit too frequently. Google has been working on addressing the issue with the Digital Wellbeing app launched as part of Android 9 aims to help you take some time away from your phone. The company has now launched a new Digital Wellbeing experiment with Google Envelope. Those are actual paper envelopes housing your phone in order to convert it either in a phone that can only make or receive phone calls, or camera with only the ability to take photos or shot videos. There’s also an accompanying app that will detect the taps on the button. You’ll need to start the app first, then slide your phone into […]
Qualcomm Introduces Snapdragon 720G, 662, and 460 4G Mobile SoCs with NavIC GNSS
While 5G is ramping up, 4G LTE handsets will still be dominant in terms of market demand for a few more years. So Qualcomm has unveiled three new mobile SoC for mid-range smartphones with Snapdragon 720G, Snapdragon 622, and Snapdragon 460 that also happen to be one of the first processors to support Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC). Snapdragon 460 Key features: CPU – 8x Kryo 240 cores up to 2.3GHz GPU – Adreno 610 GPU DSP – Hexagon 683 with vector extensions, hardware-accelerated TensorFlow Lite ISP – Spectra 340 ISP supporting 25MP camera, or dual 16MP camera Connectivity Cellular – Snapdragon X11 LTE modem WiFi 6 ready Bluetooth 5.1 with advanced audio via the Qualcomm FastConnect 6100 platform GNSS – Dual-Frequency (L1 and L5) GNSS for GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, NavIC Quick Charge 3.0 – 0 to 50% in 20 minutes Process – 11nm Snapdragon 460 is an update […]
MediaTek Helio G70 & Helio G70T Processors Targets Mainstream Gaming Smartphones
Announced last summer, MediaTek Helio G90 & Helio G90T processors are specifically designed for gaming on smartphones and ideals for titles such as Fornite, PUBG, or KOG. Both are higher processors with Arm Cortex-A76/A55 cores coupled with an Arm Mali-G76 3EEMC4, but MediaTek has now announced two more cost-effective processors with Helio G70 & Helio G70T SoCs aimed at mid-range/mainstream gaming smartphones. MediaTek Helio G70 specifications: Processor – 2x Arm Cortex-A75 @ 2GHz, 6x Arm Cortex-A55 @ 1.7GHz with “large L3 cache” GPU – Arm Mali-G52 2EEMC2 up to 820MHz Memory – Up to 8GB LPDDR4x @ 1800MHz Storage – eMMC 5.1 flash Display – Up to 2520 x 1080 resolution Video Decode – H.264, H.265 / HEVC, VP-9 up to 2K @ 30 fps, 1080p @ 60 fps Encode – H.264, H.265 / HEVC up to 2K @ 30 fps, 1080p @ 60 fps Camera ISP support 16MP+16MP, or […]
Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon 865, 765, and 765G 5G Mobile Platforms
Qualcomm Snapdragon Tech Summit 2019 is taking place in Maui, Hawaii, US on December 3-5, and the company announced three 5G mobile platforms at the event: Snapdragon 865 with Qualcomm Kryo 585 CPU, Adreno 650 GPU, and external Snapdragon X55 5G modem up to 7.5 Gbps download Snapdragon 765 with Qualcomm Kryo 475 CPU, Adreno 620 GPU, and external Snapdragon X52 5G modem up to 3.75 Gbps download Snapdragon 765G where G stands for Gaming and the SoC comes with a speed-binned Qualcomm Kryo 475 CPU, while the Qualcomm Adreno 620 GPU provides 10% faster graphics rendering compared to the standard Snapdragon 765. Snapdragon 865 5G Mobile Platform SM8250 specifications provided by Qualcomm: CPU – Octa-core Kryo 585 up to 2.84 GHz GPU – Adreno 650 GPU with support for Vulkan 1.1 API, OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenGL 2.0 FP, 10-bit HDR gaming, hardware-accelerated H.265, and VP9 decoder DSP – Hexagon […]
Imagination Unveils IMG A-Series GPU Designed For Everything from IoT to Mobile and Server
Imagination Technologies has just launched IMG A-Series GPU which they claim is “The GPU of Everything” and “The fastest GPU IP ever”. IMG A-Series can be customized and scaled for various applications & markets from automotive, AIoT, set-top box, mobile, and server. Compared to the company’s earlier PowerVR 9Series GPU, IMG A-Series GPU delivers 2.5 times more performance, eight times faster AI processor, and 60% less power while running complex content with the same process node, area, and under similar conditions. IMG A-Series GPU supports the latest API standards including OpenGL ES, Vulkan, OpenCL, and Imagination provides a Unified AI API for use in combination with PowerVR neural network accelerators. It also offers 5x performance density compared to the best current shipping PowerVR devices and supports PVRIC4 lossless or virtually-lossless compression guaranteeing a 50% bandwidth and footprint reduction. The new GPU also leverages HyperLane Technology with up to eight individual, […]
MediaTek Dimensity 1000 Arm Cortex-A77/A55 SoC Targets Premium Phones with 5G, WiFI 6
Arm unveiled Arm Cortex-A77 core and Mali-G77 GPU last May with a 20% boost in performance compared to Cortex-A76 with about the same efficiency. A few days later, MediaTek announced its plans to launch a 5G SoC with Arm Cortex-A77 and Mali-G77 without many details. nor a name for it. But we’ve now got more news and a name! MediaTek Dimensity 1000 is an octa-core processor with four Cortex-A77 cores, four Cortex-A55 cores, a Mali-G77 MC9 GPU, MediaTek’s APU 3.0 with 4.5 TOPS performance, and a 5G multi-mode modem. MediaTek Dimensity 1000 specifications: Processor 4x Arm Cortex-A77 @ 2.6GHz 4x Arm Cortex-A55 @ 2.0GHz DynamIQ heterogeneous multi-processing technology GPU – 9-core Arm Mali-G77 MC9 AI Coprocessor – APU 3.0 hexa-core AI accelerator with 2x big cores, 3x small cores, and 1x tiny core delivering up to 4.5 TOPS. Fully compliant with Android Neural Networks API (Android NNAPI) Memory I/F – […]
PinePhone “BraveHeart” Limited Edition Linux Smartphone is Now Available for $150
Pinephone is a Linux smartphone powered by an Allwinner A64 processor, and running one of the various Linux mobile distributions such as PostmarketOS or Ubuntu Touch among others. Last time we wrote about Pinephone mass-production schedule, the phone was expected to start shipping in October, and there has been a slight delay, but the good news is that Pinephone “BraveHeart” Limited Edition is now up for sale for $149.99. Note this batch is for enthusiasts as the phone may have some defects, and comes without operating system with the users having to flash it themselves. Pinephone specifications: SoC – Allwinner A64 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.2 GHz with Arm Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3 SDRAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, MicroSD Card (SDHC/SDXC) up to 2TB Display – 5.95″ IPS capacitive touchscreen with 1440×720 resolution Audio – Mono loudspeaker, 3.5mm stereo audio jack with mic support […]
Linux Capable Smarphones Database Launched with over 200 Models
Recently there have been companies working on smartphones that ship with Linux with Purism Librem 5 and Pine64 PinePhone being the most popular. But it has been possible to install Linux on various other (Android) phones thanks to projects like PostMarketOS or UBports’ Ubuntu Touch. But to make it easier to find out whether your phone is supported, the guy(s) at Tuxphones have created a database of phones that can run Linux. There are currently over 200 devices listed. The database is not updated manually, and scripts are used to scrape websites and wikis of open source projects such as PostMarketOS, UBports, Asteroid OS, or Maemo Leste. Some Linux operating systems such as Tizen or Sailfish OS are not included because they are not fully open-source nor independent. The use of scripts means the database does not only contain phones, but all some SBC’s, smartwatches, and TV boxes. If you […]