Google Pixel 8a wallpapers are available months ahead of launch

andreasc
-
0
Google Pixel 8a wallpapers are available months ahead of launch
[ad_1]

The Google Pixel 8a is not expected to launch until mid-2024, and yet its wallpapers are already available. The Pixel 7a arrived back in May this year, so we’re presuming the Pixel 8a will launch around the same time.

The Pixel 8a wallpapers surface very early, the phone is not expected until mid-2024

The Pixel 8a design surfaced a while back, and its wallpapers are now following. These images have been shared by SmartPrix, in collaboration with Kamila Wojciechowska.

It seems like Google once again partnered up with Andrew Zuckerman for these wallpapers. These wallpapers belong to the ‘Minerals’ collection of wallpapers. You’ll be able to spot six wallpapers in the gallery below. The thing is, each of these wallpapers comes in both light and dark variants.

Do note that the wallpapers in the gallery have been compressed. In order to get them in their full resolution, you’ll need to refer to the source article. There are links to download each of the wallpapers in their original resolution.

Titanite, Barite, and Hematite wallpapers are included

The first two wallpapers you’ll see are the so-called ‘Titanite’ wallpapers. These are codenamed ‘emerald’, and they essentially show a green emerald stone. The third and fourth wallpapers in the gallery are ‘Barite’ wallpapers. They’re codenamed ‘sky’, and showcase a mineral in sky-blue color.

The last two wallpapers are called ‘Hematite’ and are codenamed ‘licorice’. These show off the mineral in a dark black hue.

It’s rather interesting that we’re getting to check out the Pixel 8a wallpapers so early in the game, but there you have it. You can easily download either of these wallpapers and use them on your device.

The Pixel 8a specs are still a mystery, though the phone’s design did surface, as I mentioned earlier. The phone will resemble the Pixel 8, it seems, though it could be a bit larger. We’ll get a flat display, with a hole punch, thin bezels, and a camera visor will be included on the back.

 

 


[ad_2]
Source link

Dbrand sued Casetify for stealing Teardown case designs

andreasc
-
0
Dbrand sued Casetify for stealing Teardown case designs
[ad_1]

Smartphone accessory maker Dbrand has sued fellow accessory maker Casetify for ripping off its Teardown case designs. Dbrand alleges—has provided evidence supporting the allegations—that Casetify stole its designs to create its “Inside Out” line of smartphone cases. The evidence provided by the company seemingly shows it is a blatant copy-and-paste job from Casetify.

Dbrand files lawsuit against Casetify for stealing Teardown designs

Dbrand launched its Teardown line of cases for smartphones in December 2019. It teamed up with popular YouTuber Zack Nelson of JerryRigEverything, who is known for tearing apart brand-new phones to reveal their internals. The Teardown cases mock a teardown, featuring a print of the phone’s internal structure. These cases show the inside of the device on the outside. They look pretty cool and unique.

Over the years, Dbrand and Zack have released Teardown cases for dozens of smartphones—Android and iPhones. Zack says he and the accessory maker “go to extreme lengths to ensure that every Teardown skin is an accurate representation of what’s actually on the inside” of the device. This involves removing the back panel to expose the internals, scanning the phone in 2400 DPI resolution, and lots of editing work.

According to Zack, each skin requires around ten hours of editing before producing prototypes, making adjustments, and getting the design ready for mass production. The images below show what a device’s internals look like in the initial scan and after Dbrand is done perfecting it. It’s a lot of work that Casetify decided to just skip, based on what’s shown here.

Dbrand’s skins have little easter eggs in them

But how did Dbrand or Zack find out that Casetify copied their work? After all, a phone’s internals would look the same even if did all the hard work by itself. Well, Dbrand and Zack make some creative adjustments to make the designs pop. If Casetify decided to be creative too, the designs shouldn’t match 100-percent. If not, then the designs should still look a little different.

However, that isn’t the biggest goof-up Casetify made. Dbrand’s Teardown skins feature little easter eggs for fans to find. If you have watched a few JerryRigEverything teardown videos, you have probably noticed that Zack uses the phrase “glass is glass, and glass breaks” on almost every single one of them. This phrase is printed on a ribbon on Dbrand’s Teardown case for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Of course, the phrase doesn’t exist on the phone’s hardware. But Casetify is probably not aware, as the company seemingly didn’t look inside the Samsung flagship to create its Inside Out case for it. Yet its case has the same phrase printed at the same location. This basically shows that the company copied Dbrand’s design. That is just one example of an easter egg Dbrand’s skins have.

Casetify copied pretty much everything

Other non-existent (on phones) things that Dbrand included on its Teardown cases and Casetify copied on its Inside Out cases include Dbrand’s founding date (11/11/11, i.e. November 11th, 2011), R0807 (a reference to Dbrand’s robots), the “All-Seeing Eye” symbol that Dbrand uses on its products, and 11.11Wh battery rating on the Pixel 7 Pro. The Google phone has 19.25Wh of battery capacity but Dbrand printed 11.11Wh to refer to its founding date.

Like with the rest of the design, Casetify didn’t bother verifying it and simply printed what Drband’s case showed. Unsurprisingly, the accessory maker now has a “multi-million dollar” lawsuit against it. Filed in a Toronto court this week, Dbrand’s lawsuit accused the firm of infringing upon its copyrighted works with 45 Inside Out cases (via Engadget). Dbrand is asking for unspecified punitive and exemplary damages.

We will let you know when we have more information about this case. Meanwhile, you can watch the video below where Zack goes into detail about how Casetify stole his and Dbrand’s work.


[ad_2]
Source link

Behold! Galaxy S24 Ultra appears in real-life photos

andreasc
-
0
Behold! Galaxy S24 Ultra appears in real-life photos
[ad_1]

About two months ahead of its official launch, the final design of the Galaxy S24 Ultra may have been revealed. Not renders, but we have real-life photos of the upcoming Samsung flagship. Noted industry insider Ice Universe, who has a proven track record of Samsung leaks, says it is the “real” product, not a prototype or dummy unit.

Galaxy S24 Ultra shows up in real-life photos

X/Twitter user @DavidMa05368498 shared the photos allegedly showing the Galaxy S24 Ultra a few days back. Ice Universe recently chipped in saying that this is the final design of the phone. We have already seen renders of the device, so the design wasn’t a mystery. However, we now have confirmation that Samsung is moving on from a curved display. The new Ultra model sports a flat panel.

The leaked photos of the Galaxy S24 Ultra don’t show us a lit screen, so we are still waiting for confirmation about rumors that the phone has slimmer and symmetrical bezels. The rear camera layout and the right edge, where we have the power and volume buttons, are seen cleanly. The handset looks classy in a silver avatar, blending perfectly with the titanium frame. You can see the photos below.

Apart from the flat display, the new Ultra flagship from Samsung doesn’t bring other major design changes. The device is a little shorter and wider than the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Rumors say the Korean firm has redesigned the bottom speaker grille, replacing the tiny holes with a single coin slot-type strip. Unfortunately, the photos we have today don’t show the bottom edge.

Don’t fall for those concept images doing rounds on the internet

You may have recently come across some high-resolution concept images of the Galaxy S24 Ultra. At first look, the design shown in the images below doesn’t look too different from what we see in the real-life photos above. However, as pointed out by Ice Universe, the images show a partially flat frame, which is inaccurate. The new Samsung flagship’s frame is fully curved on the sides.

With the final design now revealed, we might soon come across more leaks about the phone. We already have an idea about its key specs, which you can find in our Galaxy S24 Ultra preview. The official launch is reportedly scheduled for January 17, though Samsung won’t confirm that anytime soon. The new Galaxy flagships, which also include the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+, will start reaching consumers at the end of January 2024.


[ad_2]
Source link

Bill Gates believes 3-day work weeks could be the future, thanks to AI

andreasc
-
0
Bill Gates believes 3-day work weeks could be the future, thanks to AI
[ad_1]

When prominent figures like Bill Gates speak their minds without hesitation, their words resonate with millions. In a recent “What Now?” podcast appearance, the Microsoft co-founder joined Trevor Noah. Although it was a wide-ranging conversation, it was Gates’ stance on the threat of artificial intelligence to jobs that took center stage. Gates has been consistently vocal about artificial intelligence, and in July, he penned a 3,000-word blog post outlining the potential risks of AI.

Bill Gates believes a 3-day work week could be the future

Trevor Noah starts the podcast by saying, “So we’re talking to Bill Gates today. I should say Happy Bill Gates Day, everybody.” Later, the chapter begins after some chit-chat takes a halt, “Let’s talk about AI. Let’s talk about the future of computers and technology.” Bill Gates, in response, envisions a future where technological advancements, like AI, could one day lead to a society where humans work less and enjoy more leisure time.

Moreover, he believes that there will be a future where people would work less— as opposed to five-day-plus work weeks and still earn a living. “Machines can make all the food and the stuff,” he noted. It’d bring the work weeks to merely 3-day work weeks. Bill Gates recalls that at once he viewed sleep as a symbol of laziness. But his thoughts have changed over time, and now he believes that there’s more to life than jobs.

Microsoft’s former boss isn’t the only one who thinks so

Most importantly, Bill Gates isn’t the only one who believes that way. His belief aligns with JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon’s. Dimon had also previously predicted that there could likely be a 3.5-day workweek in the future, due to AI. He told Bloomberg (via Business Insider) that the next generation of children could live up to 100 and “not have cancer because of technology.”


[ad_2]
Source link

OnePlus 12 color options confirmed, three versions are coming

andreasc
-
0
OnePlus 12 color options confirmed, three versions are coming
[ad_1]

OnePlus has confirmed color options for its upcoming flagship, the OnePlus 12. Before we get down to it, do note that the OnePlus 12 will become official on December 4 in the company’s homeland. The global launch will follow in January. In fact, we may get more than one OnePlus 12 device, based on a tip from a well-known tipster.

The OnePlus 12 is coming in three different color options

In any case, OnePlus confirmed, via Weibo, that three color variants are coming. The OnePlus 12 will launch in White, Green, and Black colors. You can check out the image below to see them.

The White color represents blank space, the green a pale rock among thousands of rivers and mountains, while the black one represents ten years of hard work. That last color is an homage to OnePlus itself, as it’ll be the company’s 10th anniversary on December 4.

A wood texture backplate or case is also coming

Do note that these color options are coming to China, we’re not sure what will happen with the global model. A tipster said that a wood texture will be a part of the package, though he was possibly referring to the case that OnePlus will sell. We’ll see.

We’ve been hearing about a single OnePlus 12 model thus far, but Max Jambor said that more than one will launch, at least globally. It remains to be seen, but all the info we have thus far concerns a single model.

The OnePlus 12 will resemble its predecessor quite a bit design-wise. The phone will feature a curved display with a display camera hole. A pronounced camera island will be included on the back, in the top-left corner.

50W wireless charging is making a comeback

50W wireless charging will make a comeback on the OnePlus 12, and the same goes for proper IP68 certification, at least based on rumors. A new camera setup will be in use, as the phone will utilize the Sony LYT-808 main camera sensor.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will fuel the device, while you can expect top-of-the-line RAM and storage to be used here. A compelling BOE X1 display will be used with immensely high brightness and a 120Hz refresh rate.

The phone will also offer a large battery with immensely fast charging, and much more. We’ll get more information on December 4.


[ad_2]
Source link

X will bring back headlines to posts after a short hiatus

andreasc
-
0
X will bring back headlines to posts after a short hiatus
[ad_1]

Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter / X has been through several changes, some more popular than others. One of the most controversial changes was the removal of headlines from posts, which made links less visible on the platform. However, they are coming back. Android users were lucky here, as this move only affected iOS and web users.

Musk has announced that Twitter / X will soon display headlines again on URL cards. Interestingly, 9to5Google points out, that Musk’s announcement came just hours after he shared an article from Reuters without a headline preview, making it difficult for others to understand the context of the link. This suggests that Musk’s own experience with the lack of headlines may have influenced his decision to bring them back.

Why did Elon Musk remove the headlines in the first place?

Elon Musk had removed headlines and subheads from the shared URLs on the platform because he wanted to improve the “esthetics”. However, this move affected those who relied on Twitter / X for news because the move made it difficult for users. Because an image is not enough to catch the attention of readers. It requires a header, at least. It’s like presenting a dish without any description. Just a plate with something on it. Without knowing what it is, you might be hesitant to try it. Notably, Twitter remains a vital platform for news and information among U.S. adults.

However, the new headline previews will be slightly different than the past, as Musk notes that the “title” will be in the “upper po[r]tion (sic)”. Previously, the headlines were overlaid at the bottom. He confirmed the change in another post. Nonetheless, he hasn’t moved even an inch from his previous stance. He still hates the previous URL cards. He wrote, “I hate those giant, ugly URL cards.”

While Musk’s tenure at Twitter / X has introduced controversial changes like Twitter Blue (now X Premium), the decision to bring back headlines is generally well-received. However, some users took the opportunity to mock Musk for reinstating a feature he initially chose to remove.


[ad_2]
Source link

Scammers Exploit Crypto Hype with Fake Token Factory, Stealing Millions

andreasc
-
0
Scammers Exploit Crypto Hype with Fake Token Factory, Stealing Millions
[ad_1]

The scam involves creating fake tokens, adding money to the liquidity pool to create a sense of legitimacy about these tokens, and arranging fake trades to make it appear as if genuine buying and selling were occurring.

Check Point Research team has discovered a new type of scamming operation leveraging a fake token factory to steal millions of dollars from innocent users. Check Point’s Threat Intel blockchain system identified a malicious wallet address that has been involved in “blacklisted activities.”

Researchers then started monitoring the activities linked with the wallet address and found that this address operated forty (40) different rug pulls, and so far, the scammers have stolen 1 million USD.

The scam involves creating fake tokens, adding money to the liquidity pool to create a sense of legitimacy about these tokens, and arranging fake trades to make it appear as if genuine buying and selling were occurring.

Then, the scammers pump up the token’s volume to create an allusion that it is in high demand. This is done to attract buyers. Then, they take the money from the liquidity pool once the token has lured sufficient investors. Researchers explained the scam with an example in their technical blog published on 21 November 2023.

“For example, the token name GROK 2.0, possibly derived from a well-known AI system (X GROK), is intended to attract buyers.”

Scammers Exploit Crypto Hype with Fake Token Factory, Stealing Millions

The scammer used two smart contracts to trade and pump up the token volume. It is worth noting that the function (0x521da65d) is used for selling/buying tokens for the first smart contract. It has been executed 226 times for just this token.

For the second smart contract, the scammers used another address (0x4b2a0290e41623fbfeb5f6a0ea52dc261b65e29b) and executed the function (0xf029e7cf) to boost the token’s volume artificially. From their liquidity pool, the scammer has removed funds 81 times.

For your information, Rug Pull scams are like exit scams, where developers make fraudulent promises and exit right after stealing investors’ funds.

This Rug Pull incident highlights the importance of staying vigilant and informed in the ever-evolving crypto landscape. Investors should be aware of the tactics employed by scammers and conduct thorough due diligence before making any investments.

Check Point is committed to safeguarding the crypto community and actively monitoring domains associated with the identified scammer’s wallet address. Hackread.com will update readers when the company discloses more details on this scam.


[ad_2]
Source link

Redmi K70 Pro design gets confirmed ahead of launch

andreasc
-
0
Redmi K70 Pro design gets confirmed ahead of launch
[ad_1]

Xiaomi is set to launch the Redmi K70 series on November 29, as confirmed recently. The Redmi K70E design already surfaced, and the company just confirmed the Redmi K70 Pro design. Do note that this will be the most powerful smartphone in the series.

The Redmi K70 Pro design & colors get confirmed by the company

The Redmi K70 Pro will resemble its sibling quite a bit, actually. It will be made out of metal and glass, and have flat sides all around. Its back side will be slightly curved for comfort, while a flat display will be used. We’ll get a single hole punch, just like on the Redmi K70E.

The bezels will be quite thin, while all of the phone’s physical buttons will sit on the right-hand side. You can clearly see its camera island in these images. A large camera island will be placed at the top of the phone’s backplate, and three cameras will sit on the inside, along with an LED flash.

The phone will be available in Black and White colors, both of which are shown in the gallery provided below the article. The Redmi K70 Pro will be 74.9mm wide, while an IR blaster will also be a part of the package.

The phone will include a 120Hz OLED display, 24GB of RAM & Snapdragon 8 Gen 3

A 6.67-inch OLED display will be in use, and it will offer a 2K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. A 50-megapixel main camera will also be in use, along with OIS support. A telephoto unit on the back will support 2x optical zoom.

We already know that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC will fuel this phone, so Qualcomm’s best chip thus far. The top-end variant will offer 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM in China, along with 1TB of UFS 4.0 flash storage.

A 5,120mAh battery is also expected, and the same goes for 120W wired charging. Android 14 will come pre-installed on the phone, most likely, along with Xiaoim’s HyperOS skin.

It remains to be seen if this handset will make it to global markets. It could stay limited to the Chinese market. The Redmi K70 and K70E, on the other hand, will likely hit global markets as ‘POCO’ devices.

 

 


[ad_2]
Source link

Google reveals measures against fake Maps reviews

andreasc
-
0
Google reveals measures against fake Maps reviews
[ad_1]

Google Maps is a powerful tool for discovering and exploring places. It covers a vast number of locations worldwide and provides detailed information about places, complete with user reviews and ratings. The company has a robust policy in place to ensure that these reviews are genuine and helpful to others. It recently detailed three ways it stops policy-violating content or fake reviews from surfacing on Maps.

Google details its measures to prevent fake reviews on Maps

According to Google, over 300 million people share their experiences about more than 250 million places around the world on Google Maps each year. The platform adds over 20 million reviews, photos, business hour updates, and other contributions from its users every day. The company relies on automated technologies and human experts to catch fake reviews before they are seen by others. This keeps the content authentic and reliable.

However, the work doesn’t end there. Google says it actively monitors user contributions on Maps to look for unusual patterns, which can be a sign of abuse. If its systems detect suspicious activity, the company acts quickly to prevent further abuse. The protective measures it uses may include taking down policy-violating content and temporarily disabling new contributions.

For example, earlier this year, Google noticed that a local bar in Missouri received an unusually high number of 1-star reviews. A sudden spike in poor ratings suggested abuse. To prevent further damage, the company temporarily disabled the rating function for the place. It also removed reviews that violated the Maps policies and investigated the accounts that left the ratings.

While Google’s real-time abuse detection works for all places, it has a special policy for some places around sensitive events such as elections. The company says places like polling stations tend to receive off-topic and unhelpful contributions that don’t reflect the actual experience of the location. To help avoid the spread of misinformation, it limits suggestions to edit phone numbers, addresses, and other factual information for voting sites around elections.

Police stations and prisons have special policies too

Police stations and prisons are places where people go without choice. Google noticed that user contributions for these types of places are “consistently unhelpful, harmful, or off-topic.” It protects such places with long-term measures, which include limiting contributions or blocking contributions altogether. Users are notified when they can’t post a review.

“If someone is looking to write a review for a prison on Google Maps, they may find a notification banner that says this functionality is turned off with a link to learn more about our policies,” Google explained. While user contributions may be limited, Maps still offers other helpful and factual information about these places, including addresses, websites, and phone numbers. Google will continue to invest in proactive ways to keep user reviews and ratings on Maps helpful and reliable.


[ad_2]
Source link

HONOR 100 series is official with 120Hz displays, 100W charging & more

andreasc
-
0
HONOR 100 series is official with 120Hz displays, 100W charging & more
[ad_1]

HONOR has announced two new smartphones in its homeland, the HONOR 100 and HONOR 100 Pro. These two phones leaked several times in the last couple of weeks, and they’re finally here.

The HONOR 100 series has landed with rather compelling specs & price

The HONOR 100 and HONOR 100 Pro are part of a rather popular lineup from the company. The company’s HONOR 50, HONOR 70, and HONOR 90 series phones were quite popular, both in China, and outside of HONOR’s home turf.

The HONOR 100 series does look quite compelling on paper too. Both of these phones look nice, and yet different. They also have rather powerful specs, but are not the bleeding edge of tech, HONOR is saving that spot for the HONOR Magic6 series.

They are similar in terms of design, and yet different at the same time

Both of these phones are made out of metal and glass, and they’re also similar in size. There are two major differences between them, design-wise. They have different camera islands on the back, and different display cutouts.

The HONOR 100 has a rectangular camera island, inside of which you’ll notice a half circle, with two cameras on the inside. It also has a single hole in the display. The HONOR 100 Pro, on the other hand, has an egg-shaped camera island with three cameras, and a pill-shaped camera cutout, albeit a lot smaller than Apple’s.

Both devices also come in different color variants with interesting patterns on the back. Half of the HONOR 100 Pro variants also have a two-tone finish, as you can see in the gallery below the article. More on that later.

The HONOR 100 specifications

Let’s jump over to the specs. We’ll talk about the HONOR 100 first. The phone features a 6.7-inch fullHD+ OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. That display is curved, goes up to 2,600 nist brightness at its peak, and has a 3,840Hz PWM dimming.

The phone is fueled by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, and offers 12GB or 16GB of RAM. Those two variants offer 256GB and 512GB of storage, respectively. There are also two SIM card slots inside the phone, two nano SIM card slots. The same goes for an in-display fingerprint scanner, and Android 13. MagicOS 7.2 comes pre-installed too.

A 5,000mAh battery sits inside the phone, and supports 100W wired charging. The phone also includes an RF C1 enhancement chip, and GPU Turbo X for gaming. Stereo speakers are also included, as is Bluetooth 5.2.

A 50-megapixel main camera (Sony’s IMX906 sensor, OIS, f/1.95 aperture) is backed by a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera (f/2.2 aperture, macro). A 50-megapixel selfie camera is also included.

The phone measures 161.9 x 74.1 x 7.8mm, while it weighs 183 grams.

The HONOR 100 Pro specifications

The HONOR 100 Pro includes a 6.78-inch fullHD+ OLED display. This is a quad-curved display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It has the same peak brightness and PWM dimming as the HONOR 100.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 fuels the HONOR 100 Pro, while the phone comes in 12GB and 16GB RAM variants. It is on offer in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage flavors. It has two SIM card slots, Android 13, and HONOR’s MagicOS 7.2 pre-installed on top of Android. An in-display fingerprint scanner is included here too, as is Bluetooth 5.2.

This handset includes a 5,000mAh battery too, with 100W wired charging, and 50W wireless charging. HONOR’s C1 RF enhancement chip is here too, and so are stereo speaker. This phone also has the GPU Turbo X for gaming.

The phone includes a 50-megapixel main camera (Sony’s IMX906 sensor, f/1.95 aperture, OIS), a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera (f/2.2 aperture), and a 32-megapixel telephoto camera (f/2.4 aperture, OIS, 2.5x optical zoom, 50x hybrid zoom). A 50-megapixel selfie camera (Sony’s IMX816 sensor) is also included, along with a 2-megapixel depth sensor.

The HONOR 100 Pro measures 163.7 x 74.7 x 8.2mm, while it weighs 195 grams.

Color options & pricing

The HONOR 100 series comes in Moon Shadow White, Bright Black, Monet Purple, and Butterfly Blue. The last two color variants combine glass and vegan leather on the ‘Pro’ model, as you can see below.

The HONOR 100 pricing starts at CNY2,499 ($352) in China, while the HONOR 100 Pro pricing kicks off at CNY3,699 ($521) in HONOR’s homeland. Both devices are already available to pre-order. The HONOR 100 series is coming to global markets too. We’re not sure if both models will be launched, or only one, though.

HONOR 100:

HONOR 100 Pro:


[ad_2]
Source link
1...672673674...1,480Page 673 of 1,480