Technology

iQOO, Vivo’s gaming-focused sub-brand, has announced its latest flagship phones for launch in India, the iQOO 9 and 9 Pro. Like previous iQOO devices, they don’t really look like conspicuously gamer-style phones but are focused on performance nonetheless. iQOO is pushing that in its marketing through a tie-in partnership with BMW M Motorsport and a white model with three rally stripes. The iQOO 9 Pro has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, up to 12GB of RAM, and a 4,700mAh battery. The screen is a 6.78-inch 1440p 120Hz OLED panel, while the camera system includes a 50-megapixel ultrawide, a 16-megapixel portrait camera, and a 50-megapixel main sensor that uses gimbal-style stabilization, like other Vivo flagships. It can be charged at 120W with a cable or, still unusually for a Vivo-adjacent p...

Italian heritage brand Sonus Faber has now unveiled the Omnia, its latest home speaker designed for vinyl enthusiasts. Created with pioneering tech from the company, the Omnia carries two new trademarked technologies from Sonus Faver: the SENSO interface and the CRESCENDO signal processing system. The former allows users to easily control the speaker through touch-sensitive panels, connecting the device to any digital or analog source, such as your TV, turntable, or mobile device through Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay 2, and Chromecast, while the latter provides deeper dimension and immersive experience by utilizing two full-range side speakers. Inside the impeccably designed shell, the Omnia ‘s 490W closed box system also carries seven key drivers, including two 0.75-inch silk dome tweeters wit...

Greenhouse gas emissions need to virtually disappear within the next few decades to avoid the worst effects of climate change, and the most difficult emissions to erase could come from industries like steel and cement set to play a big role in new, green infrastructure. Wind turbines, for example, are made mostly of steel — but, at least until now, it’s been almost unheard of to make that steel using renewable energy. That could start to change if a startup developing a “heat battery” can successfully move from the lab to the real world. It’s what Oakland, California-based Rondo Energy aims to do with $22 million in new funding from Bill Gates’ climate investment fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and utility-backed investment firm Energy Impact Partners. The heat battery is supposed to b...

Owners of various Asustor Network Attached Storage (NAS) device models took to Reddit and the company’s official forum today, alerting others of an active ransomware attack holding hostage their media libraries and other stored data (via Windows Central and Tom’s Hardware). At first, it was suspected that users using Asustor’s EZConnect configuration feature were vulnerable, but according to accounts from some affected Reddit users, they had the service turned off on their NAS. The r/asustor community is keeping track of the available information here, and after cross-referencing the services on affected devices, suspect Plex as one of the possible attack vectors. Asustor is actively investigating the ransomware attack, known as Deadbolt, and posted a blog on its site indicating that the m...

There has been a new mainline Call of Duty title every year since 2005, but that will apparently change next year. Activision Blizzard is delaying a Call of Duty title that had been scheduled to release in 2023, according to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier. Activision is pushing the game, which Schreier says is being developed by Call of Duty: Black Ops maker Treyarch, after last year’s annual release, Call of Duty: Vanguard, didn’t meet expectations. That led executives to “suspect that it had been cannibalized by the previous year’s game,” Schreier reports. A recent SEC filing said that Vanguard failed to meet Activision’s fourth-quarter projections. However, it seems that Activision will release other Call of Duty content. The 2022 title, which Activision has already announced will be a sequ...

Apple will no longer require customers to wear masks in a number of Apple stores across the US, including in Ohio, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, and other states that have recently dropped local mask mandates, according to a report by Bloomberg. Employees at Apple stores will still be required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status, however. Apple is also resuming in-store classes Bloomberg says Apple has since updated its website to indicate which stores require masks. When searching for a store using Apple’s retail store locator, the site will tell you if masks are “required,” “recommended,” or “optional” for vaccinated customers at specific locations. Masks are still required in states with more rigid guidelines, like Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. In some location...

A man who unknowingly sold his Bored Ape NFT for 0.01 ETH (about $26 USD) is suing OpenSea, claiming that the platform was aware of a bug that allowed hackers to buy NFTs at a fraction of the market price, Decrypt reported. Timothy McKimmy filed the complaint in a Texas court, alleging that he is the owner of Bored Ape #3475 and that the NFT was never listed for sale. Rather, McKimmy claims that the NFT was “stolen” and then resold by the hacker for 99 ETH ($250,000 USD). The Bored Ape is from a set of 10,000 NFTs. McKimmy claims that in terms of rarity, his NFT is in the top 14th percentile, according to Decrypt. He is suing for “the return of the Bored Ape [..] and/or damages over $1 million.” He also accuses OpenSea of being aware of the bug, yet refusing to shut down trading. “Instead ...

Photos and videos of Amazon’s home robot Astro in the real world have begun to emerge as early adopters of the invite-only smart home gadget start to play around with their new bot. Surprisingly, despite the device starting to ship last November, only a couple of videos have emerged so far. Bob Rekieta uploaded this video of his Astro trundling off after being commanded to go to the den with a beer onboard (presumably that someone put there, as this thing does not have hands). Astro brings Celeste a beer.Screenshot from YouTube video by Bob Rekieta Then Astro is told to “find Celeste,” and the robot tilts its screen disarmingly while looking around with its circular “eyes.” It executes the command, finding the beer-seeking resident of the home and displaying “Hi Celeste” on its screen as i...

Daft Punk may have announced their split exactly one year ago today, but the famous electronic music duo made a surprise reappearance on the internet Tuesday and, as of this writing, are streaming footage from a 1997 concert on Twitch. (Warning: the footage features flashing lights.) If you want to watch the show, which features the duo before they wore their iconic metal helmets, you should tune in right now because the concert will only air once, Pitchfork reports. (It’s unclear if it will be available on-demand later.) The stream features footage from a concert Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, the two people behind Daft Punk, played at a Los Angeles nightclub near the release of the band’s debut Homework album, according to Pitchfork. Daft Punk also announced a vinyl re...

Frontier Communications is rolling out 2-gig speeds across its existing fiber-optic network, which currently spans six states, including Texas, Florida, California, Indiana, West Virginia, and Connecticut (via Light Reading). The plan comes with symmetrical 2-gig downloads and uploads for $149.99 / month, along with the free installation of a Wi-Fi 6E-compatible router and extender. The first 1,000 who sign up get a free Amazon Fire TV Frontier is offering a free 43-inch Amazon Fire TV and Logitech webcam for the first 1,000 customers who sign up — but it’s not clear if you’ll be getting the Omni or 4-Series Fire TV, and it’s just as vague about the Logitech webcam. The company is holding a promotion for its $79.99 / month single gig fiber plan as well, in the form of a $200 Visa Reward Ca...

Users are beginning to see Google’s new pitch-black dark mode, 9to5Google reported. The previous dark mode was a gray that was soothing on the eyes, but Google switched to a true black (#000000) that should really pop on OLED and AMOLED displays. Google announced the wider availability of dark mode earlier this month, but thus far, the release has been slow. Few people seem to have it, and 9to5Google reports that some users have received the new theme only to lose it. Google said it was testing a new dark mode in February of last year, and later announced that the new dark theme was available on desktop and mobile in a tweet earlier this month. The new theme came up on my laptop this morning, but it is still dark gray on my Google app and Google Search in Safari on my iPhone. The contrast ...

Audi of America and Verizon are teaming up to add 5G connectivity to the automaker’s lineup by 2024, the companies announced. The improved connectivity will mean better software performance, enhanced navigation, and faster music and video streaming capabilities. It’s the latest deal to bring faster network speeds to new model vehicles with more advanced software needs than analog cars of the past. It also comes as car companies explore new technologies, such as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, that could enhance safety and drive quality in the future. Audi and Verizon say the plan is to bring 5G Ultra Wideband technology to the automaker’s vehicle lineup, starting with model year 2024. The improved connectivity will pave the way for new features, such as “augmented mobile service...