Technology

Last year’s Axon 20 5G from ZTE was the world’s first commercially-available phone to put a front-facing camera underneath its display. It was an impressive step forward for phone technology but there was one big problem: the camera sucked. It took lousy pictures and the module distorted the display in certain settings. Now, ZTE is trying again with the updated Axon 30, which seems to offer some improvements over its predecessor. First, a little spec dump. The Axon 30 has a 6.92-inch AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution, all powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 870 5G chipset. There’s a four-camera array on the rear of the device, with a 64-megapixel main, 8-megapixel 120-degree wide-angle, 5-megapixel macro lens, and an additional depth-of-field lens. The battery has a 42...

WhatsApp is developing a way for its users to transfer their chat histories from iOS to Android, according to reports from WABetaInfo and 9to5Google. The feature could fix one of the biggest annoyances with the Facebook-owned messaging service, which is that it’s not officially possible to transfer a backup of your messages between iPhone and Android, only between phones running the same operating system. Details of the in-development feature have been appearing in WhatsApp’s software since at least April. Screenshots shared by WABetaInfo show a new “Move chats to Android” option in WhatsApp’s iOS app. A second screenshot shows a screen prompting users to keep their iPhone unlocked with WhatsApp open while the transfer is taking place. So far, most of the evidence has pointed towards an iO...

WhatsApp is developing a way for its users to transfer their chat histories from iOS to Android, according to reports from WABetaInfo and 9to5Google. The feature could fix one of the biggest annoyances with the Facebook-owned messaging service, which is that it’s not officially possible to transfer a backup of your messages between iPhone and Android, only between phones running the same operating system. Details of the in-development feature have been appearing in WhatsApp’s software since at least April. Screenshots shared by WABetaInfo show a new “Move chats to Android” option in WhatsApp’s iOS app. A second screenshot shows a screen prompting users to keep their iPhone unlocked with WhatsApp open while the transfer is taking place. So far, most of the evidence has pointed towards an iO...

Xiaomi spin-off Poco has announced yet another X3 phone. The X3 GT follows the X3 Pro and the X3 NFC, this time focusing on performance with a fast 120Hz screen and a new MediaTek processor. It’s mostly a rebranded version of Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 10 Pro, which was released last month in China. MediaTek is often associated with lower-end devices, but its Dimensity processors for 2021 feature configurations of Arm cores that aren’t too far off what you’d find in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. The 6nm Dimensity 1100 in the Poco X3 GT has four A78 cores at 2.6GHz and four lower-power A55 cores at 2GHz — compare that to the Snapdragon 888’s single 2.84GHz X1, three 2.42GHz A78s, and four 1.8GHz A55s. We found the similar Dimensity 1200 to be a capable performer in our review of the new OnePlus Nord ...

Xiaomi spin-off Poco has announced yet another X3 phone. The X3 GT follows the X3 Pro and the X3 NFC, this time focusing on performance with a fast 120Hz screen and a new MediaTek processor. It’s mostly a rebranded version of Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 10 Pro, which was released last month in China. MediaTek is often associated with lower-end devices, but its Dimensity processors for 2021 feature configurations of Arm cores that aren’t too far off what you’d find in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. The 6nm Dimensity 1100 in the Poco X3 GT has four A78 cores at 2.6GHz and four lower-power A55 cores at 2GHz — compare that to the Snapdragon 888’s single 2.84GHz X1, three 2.42GHz A78s, and four 1.8GHz A55s. We found the similar Dimensity 1200 to be a capable performer in our review of the new OnePlus Nord ...

Researchers from Oregon State University have coaxed a bipedal robot off the couch to successfully complete the first ever robotic 5 kilometer outdoors run. The bot, Cassie, completed the route in 53 minutes, untethered and on a single battery charge. So next time you’re out for a jog, remember: that’s the time to beat if you want out-pace the killer robots. (For now.) Cassie is the creation of OSU spin-off Agility Robotics, which has been pushing the commercial case for bipedal robots for a while. Cassie itself was the company’s first product, manufactured between 2017 and 2019, and now embraced by research labs. Agility now makes an updated bipedal bot, Digit, which has arms to handle packages and has been used by Ford as part of a research project into autonomous delivery robots. Bipeda...

Researchers from Oregon State University have coaxed a bipedal robot off the couch to successfully complete the first ever robotic 5 kilometer outdoors run. The bot, Cassie, completed the route in 53 minutes, untethered and on a single battery charge. So next time you’re out for a jog, remember: that’s the time to beat if you want out-pace the killer robots. (For now.) Cassie is the creation of OSU spin-off Agility Robotics, which has been pushing the commercial case for bipedal robots for a while. Cassie itself was the company’s first product, manufactured between 2017 and 2019, and now embraced by research labs. Agility now makes an updated bipedal bot, Digit, which has arms to handle packages and has been used by Ford as part of a research project into autonomous delivery robots. Bipeda...

Continuing to expand on its monitor lineup with new innovations, Samsung has now unveiled the Odyssey Neo G9 Quantum Mini LED curved gaming monitor. Measuring a whopping 49 inches wide, the new screen retains the best attributes of the Odyssey G9 while enhancing it with a new Quantum Mini LED display. Its 1000R curvature fits seamlessly with your natural field of view for more comfortable and accurate gaming that’s complemented by the company’s Quantum Matrix Technology, offering greater lighting control with blacker blacks and a peak brightness of 2,000 nits. As you’d expect from a top-tier gaming monitor, the machine also supports Adaptive Sync, HDMI 2.1, NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. For those interested, Samsung’s Odyssey Neo G9 Mini LED gaming monitor will start taking p...

In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s tech journalist Mark Gurman noted that he believes that we could see Macs adopt Face ID in a “couple of years.” Going on to suggest that even the more affordable iPhone SE and non-Pro iPad models could also adopt the Face ID security feature. Gurman notes that the only reason why Apple hasn’t already rolled out Face ID for all of its products is a pricing issue and design limitations. But a “camera embedded in the screen would help differentiate Apple’s pricier devices by eliminating the notch at the top” could be how Apple pushes Face ID to all of its products. Catch an excerpt from Mark Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter below. I think implementing Face ID in all of its major devices is the company’s ultimate goal. If it were possible, Appl...

The app Citizen, which is used to alert users about emergencies unfolding in their area, has been recruiting people to livestream crime scenes in Los Angeles and New York. The program was first reported on by The Daily Dot in June, which noted a curious case of a Los Angeles man who was frequently interviewed for Citizen at crime scenes around the city. According to the report, Citizen confirmed that the man was part of an effort by the company to send out teams of people in major cities to record crime scenes for the app. This weekend, The New York Post reported that a similar program was being run in New York. A Citizen spokesperson directed The Post to a job listing for a “Freelance Field Reporter,” listed by a third party for an anonymous tech company that would pay applicants in ...