It's almost time for the first Samsung Unpacked event of the year. We're almost guaranteed to get the first official details about the Galaxy S24 smartphones, which are almost certainly going to have on-device generative AI features. You'll be able to watch Samsung Unpacked at 1PM ET on January 17 on the company's website or YouTube channel.
What to expect at Samsung Unpacked
Samsung hasn't exactly been subtle about what's on deck for Unpacked. The company has been teasing something called Galaxy AI for mobile devices across several promo videos:
Yeah, it's pretty safe to say AI will be a focal point of the showcase. In November, Samsung revealed its Gauss generative AI models. These can handle tasks such as translation, coding assistance and turning text into images. The S24 lineup is also expected to run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, which can handle many generative AI requests on-device. As such, at least some GAI features won't need to go through the cloud, meaning that they should be processed more quickly.
As for the new smartphones, there likely won't be many changes on the hardware front beyond spec bumps. That said, the S24 Ultra is slated to have a fully flat display along with a titanium casing, according to a leaked spec sheet. Just in case there was any doubt about fresh Galaxy phones being in the offing, Samsung already has a pre-order page up for "the newest phone from Galaxy."
It's less certain whether we'll see any hardware other than smartphones at the event, though some rumors have indicated the presence of a Galaxy Fit 3 fitness tracker and/or Galaxy Book Pro laptops. This being Samsung, there's always at least a small chance of seeing new tablets, smartwatches and earbuds too.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-watch-the-new-galaxy-smartphones-get-revealed-at-samsung-unpacked-on-january-17-140011766.html?src=rss
You can one day use your tongue as a mouse for your laptop, tablet or phone, thanks to a new product that made its first public appearance at CES 2024 in Las Vegas. The MouthPad (an obvious spin on the word "mousepad") is what its makers call a tongue-operated touchpad that "sits at the roof of your mouth" and can be connected to your devices just like a standard Bluetooth mouse. I got to see the MouthPad here in Las Vegas, where it's making its first public appearance since its announcement last year, though, to be clear, I did not put it in my mouth to try out for myself. Instead, I watched as the company's co-founder Tomás Vega used the device to navigate an iPhone and open the camera as we took a selfie together.
The MouthPad is basically like a retainer with a touchpad, battery and Bluetooth radio built in. It's made of a resin that the company says is the same "dental-grade material that is commonly used in dental aligners, bite guards and other oral appliances." The device's battery was made by a company called Varta, which MouthPad's makers also said has "a long track record of producing safe, medical implant-grade batteries." All this is to say that while it can feel strange to put a battery-powered electrical device in your mouth, at least it might be reassuring to know that this uses technology that has existed in the oral health industry for a long time.
I watched Vega place the 7.5-gram mouthpiece right on his palette, where it sat surrounded by his upper teeth. He closed his mouth and the iPhone he held up showed a cursor moving around as he opened apps and menus. I asked him to open up the camera and he obliged, and we took a selfie. This was evidently not a pre-recorded demo paired with good acting.
Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget
Now, because I didn't try it myself, I can't tell you if it's comfortable or easy to use. But the specs sheet states that the MouthPad is about 0.7mm (0.027 inches) thick, apart from where there are capsules, while the touchpad itself on the roof of the mouth is 5mm (0.19 inches) thick. From what I saw, it didn't look much bulkier than my own retainers, and when Vegas smiled after putting the MouthPad on, I could only really see one small black piece on top of one of his teeth.
You'll have to take out the MouthPad when you're eating, but you can speak while it's in your mouth. You might have a slight lisp the way you would with regular retainers, but I could understand Vega perfectly. The company said that the device currently lasts about five hours on a charge, though the team is working on improving that to eight hours by March. Recharging the device takes about an hour and a half, though Vega and his team said that, of the 30ish people that currently have a MouthPad, most users tend to charge theirs when they're eating and rarely seem to run out of juice.
The company explained that the MouthPad uses Apple's Assistive Touch feature to navigate iOS, but it can be recognized by other devices as a Bluetooth mouse. It's already on sale for those who sign up for early access, but general availability is coming later this year. Each MouthPad is individually 3D-printed, based on dental impressions sent in by customers as part of the ordering process. Early access users will also receive assistance from the company during setup and calibration, as well as throughout their use of the device.
Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget
Tongue-operated controllers are not new, but MouthPad is one of the more elegant and sophisticated options to date. It also works with a wide variety of devices and seems far enough along in the production process to be ready for sale. Whether the human tongue is a suitable organ for computer interactions, however, is something we can only determine after longterm use in the real world.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-mouthpad-turns-your-tongue-into-a-mouse-for-your-phone-184541021.html?src=rss
CES 2024 is in the books and that means the tech world can kick back and re— oh, wait, there's the small matter of a Samsung Unpacked on the horizon. Samsung is running its first event of the year a little earlier than usual. It will start on January 17 at 1PM ET. However, barring a major shock, Samsung will unveil its Galaxy S24 smartphones.
Samsung Galaxy S24 lineup
As is always the case, the rumor mill has been churning for weeks when it comes to Samsung’s Galaxy S24 smartphones. Thanks to leaker Evan Blass, who claimed to have obtained a spec sheet for all three of the devices, we have a decent idea of what Samsung has in store for the Galaxy S24, S24+ and S24 Ultra. As in years past, Samsung has a "reserve" page up now on its site as well for those who want to be first in line to buy the latest smartphones.
It’s likely to be another year of iterative changes on the hardware front. There will very likely be spec bumps to most of the components and the S24 devices will probably offer faster and more efficient performance than their predecessors. However, you shouldn't anticipate having a wildly different looking phone if you tend to upgrade to the latest handset every year or two... except in the case of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which is slated to have a flat display and a titanium frame.
The most important hardware upgrade is arguably in the engine room. Samsung is expected to employ the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. That’s significant given Qualcomm’s efforts to support on-device AI operations with its CPUs and Samsung’s recent work in the generative AI space.
To that end, the biggest change to the Galaxy lineup this year is likely to come in the form of AI features. Samsung recently unveiled its own generative AI models, which can handle tasks such as translations, summarizing documents, drafting emails, helping out with coding and, yes, whipping up images based on text prompts.
It's widely believed that Samsung's Gauss generative AI tech will make its public debut in the Galaxy S24 smartphones, and it's likely to be labeled as Galaxy AI. The company has been hinting at some of the AI updates, such as with this tease of a feature called Zoom with Galaxy AI.
Everything else: Generative AI, fitness trackers and laptops
The new smartphones will undoubtedly be the star of the show and Samsung will probably spend quite a bit of time going over the generative AI functions. That might not leave much bandwidth for other announcements. There is a chance that we might see the Galaxy Fit 3 fitness tracker, according to some rumormongers. The event may mark the release of One UI 6.1 for Galaxy devices too.
Beyond that, there have been suggestions that Samsung will show off several Galaxy Book Pro laptops, while there's also a possibility the company will unveil new tablets, smartwatches and earbuds. We'll find out soon enough just what the company has planned for its first mass market devices of 2024.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/what-to-expect-from-samsung-unpacked-2024-including-the-galaxy-s24-smartphone-launch-140010394.html?src=rss
SpaceX sent and received its first text messages sent via T-Mobile using its D2D (direct-to-device) Starlink satellites launched just over a week ago, the company announced. First revealed in August 2022, the project aims to provide satellite internet connectivity to regular cell phones so that T-Mobile customers can stay online even when they're in a terrestrial dead zone.
T-Mobile said that it aims to publicly launch text services with T-Mobile in 2024, with voice, data and IoT (internet of things) plans coming in 2025. Globally, SpaceX has partnered with Rogers in Canada, Australia's Optus, KDDI in Japan and others.
The scheme requires larger, special versions of the Starlink satellites with D2D capability. SpaceX launched the first six of those on January 2, completing early tests with no issues. "On Monday, January 8, less than 6 days after launch, we sent and received our first text messages to and from unmodified cell phones on the ground to our new satellites in space using TMobile network spectrum... [indicating that] the system works," SpaceX wrote in a blog post.
SpaceX
When the plan was announced, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said the technology is like putting a cellular tower in the sky. He added that it could one day eliminate dead zones, allowing people to easily get in touch with loved ones even if they're in the middle of the ocean.
SpaceX said that the system, which uses LTE/4G (not 5G protocols) is a bit more complicated than cell towers in the sky, though. Since the satellites move at tens of thousands of miles per hour relative to the Earth, data must be handed off seamlessly between them. Doppler shift, timing delays and the relatively low transmission power of smartphones must also be accounted for.
The two companies aren't the first to test such a system. Working with communications specialist AST SpaceMobile, AT&T successfully conducted the first two-way satellite audio call on its network in April, calling a number in Japan with a stock Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone. AT&T also complained to the FCC that SpaceX and T-Mobile's plan was "woefully insufficient" regarding the risk of harmful interference to ground-based networks.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spacex-and-t-mobile-send-the-first-text-messages-from-orbiting-starlink-satellites-103526219.html?src=rss
The original iPhone convinced me (and many others) that typing on touchscreens was the future. So the last thing I expected to test out during CES 2024 here in Las Vegas was a mobile accessory that’s trying to bring back the physical keyboard. And, while I wanted to dismiss Clicks as a thing for people who can’t let go of yesteryear, what I found was a gadget that’s solving some modern problems by taking cues from the past.
Clicks’ design couldn’t be simpler. It’s a silicone case (Clicks’ website actually says it’s Liquid Silicon, but I think that’s a typo) with a physical keyboard bolted on the bottom. There’s a small vegan leather accent on the back, little bumps to accommodate buttons and switches, and a passthrough connector at the bottom (either Lightning or USB-C depending on your device). At launch, Clicks will be available for three devices starting at $139: the iPhone 14 Pro, the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
The first problem that Clicks tries to address is giving you back your screen space, because when you don’t need to display a virtual keyboard at the bottom all the time, suddenly things feel a lot roomier. And Clicks accomplishes this with flying colors. But personally, with the increasing size of phones (especially new-fangled foldables), this has never really been an issue for me. But that doesn’t mean this isn't a problem for others so it’s nice to see Clicks providing people with alternatives to typing on glass.
Another big goal for Clicks is optimizing your device by providing tons of shortcuts, which to me is much more appealing. It almost gives your phone the type of speed and productivity you enjoy on a laptop. You can press CMD+H to go home, tap the Spacebar to scroll in Safari, hit CMD+Space to open up Spotlight search and so much more. Some commands even work in third-party apps like Instagram, which is just really handy. And after seeing Apple add a single Action key on the iPhone 15 Pro, my head is already swimming with the possibilities of having 30+ customizable shortcuts.
Finally, there’s the simple joy of having physical keys to wail away on. While you don’t get mechanical switches like on a desktop keyboard (Clicks features rubber domes), the tiny nickel-plated keycaps feel solid and offer a nice tactile bump with each press. You also get some handy backlighting so you don’t have to suffer in dark rooms. The one issue is that after years of typing on screens, I’m not entirely sure I want to go back. And that probably goes double for anyone who prefers swipe-based entry methods.
After years of typing on glass, just banging out a short text using Clicks felt lethargic. And even with their circular design which leaves ample space in between the keys, I found myself fumbling. But then old habits started coming back and I can easily see how those yearning for their old Blackberrys, Sidekicks, or Motorola Envys might be enchanted.
Now that I’ve used it, I can’t deny that there’s something endearing about Clicks. But when it comes to getting more use out of a device, I lean more towards foldable phones or simply bigger screens. Plus, there are a few other minor issues, like iPhones not being able to handle charging and data over USB-C at the same time, which could be an issue for anyone who relies on wired CarPlay while using Clicks. Also by tacking a keyboard onto the bottom of an iPhone, which already have extra long 19.5:9 aspect ratios, you may feel like you’re lugging around a stack of rulers. And if you have an Android handset, you’re just plain out of luck (at least for now). But there’s no doubt that Clicks is a charming device, especially those flashy yellow and blue/pink models.
Clicks will be available starting on February 1 for the iPhone 14 Pro with the other models following sometime later this spring.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/clicks-hands-on-a-charming-keyboard-for-2024-thats-relying-on-more-than-just-nostalgia-131537619.html?src=rss
In the last few years, Google has used CES to show off new ways for Android, Chrome and all manner of non-Apple products to play nice with each other. At CES 2024 in Las Vegas, the company is also bringing updates to Chromecast, Fast Pair and Nearby Share, alongside some new features for cars. If you've always wanted to cast TikTok to your TV, because you're one of the handful of people from the TV generation that uses the app, you can now do that on Chromecast-enabled screens. Soon, though Google doesn't specify when, you'll also be able to cast livestreams from TikTok.
In line with the theme of greater inter-device performance, this year Google is rolling out the ability to move what's playing on Spotify and YouTube Music from compatible Pixel phones to docked Pixel Tablets when within range. That's reminiscent of an Apple feature between Homepods and iPhones.
More devices with Chromecast built-in will also be launching this year, including the 2024 LG TV series. Later this year, LG Hospitality and Healthcare will also be getting Chromecast support so you can cast to TVs in, say, your hotel room without having to log into your own Google accounts. The company is also expanding Fast Pair support to Chromecasts with Google TV, which will make it easier to connect headphones to TV dongles. Google added that Fast Pair is coming to more Google TV devices later this year.
One of the best features on Apple devices is AirDrop, which allows different iPhones to easily transfer photos, files and contact information in person. Google's (attempt at an) answer to that since 2020 has been Nearby Share, though proximity-based versions of a file sharing tool on Android have existed for much longer. Samsung also introduced its Quick Share system in 2020, offering a very similar experience to Google's.
In a move that should make things less confusing and more unified on the Android ecosystem, Google announced it's "collaborating with Samsung" to bring "the best of our sharing solutions together into a singular cross-Android solution under the Quick Share name." In a press release, Google said it's "integrated the experiences and created the best default, built-in option for peer-to-peer content sharing across all types of devices in the Android and Chromebook ecosystems."
Google also said it's working with LG and other "leading PC manufacturers" to make Quick Share a pre-installed app on most Windows PCs. When Quick Share rolls out to current Nearby Share-enabled devices next month, you should see a new icon. Tapping it will show a list of devices available around you, and allow you to select who to send your media to. Like you can with Apple devices, you can go into your Android's settings to choose if you can be seen by everyone, contacts only or just your own devices.
It's worth noting that with last year's release of iOS 17, Apple upgraded AirDrop to make it possible to share files simply by putting the heads of two phones together.
In addition to everything covered in this post, Google is also updating Android Auto and making more devices act as hubs for the Matter smart home standard to enable better uptake and integration. We have separate articles on each of those topics, so check them out for all the finer details.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/you-can-now-chromecast-tiktok-videos-to-your-tv-180006853.html?src=rss
For years, ROG Phone users had to put up with average camera quality for the sake of mobile gaming experience, and ASUS blamed it on cost reasons. To put it bluntly, it was either ROG Phone for gaming, or Zenfone for photography. Now that we've entered 2024, the Taiwanese tech giant finally has a change of heart. Announced at CES 2024, the ROG Phone 8 and 8 Pro essentially blend together the best of both worlds, featuring the usual trove of gaming aids in — at last — a brand new design, along with a set of significant camera upgrades derived from the Zenfone line.
Specifically, the new 50-megapixel f/1.9 main camera is powered by a more efficient Sony IMX890 sensor (featured on the OnePlus 11's main camera, as well as the 3x periscope camera on Oppo's Find X6 Pro and Realme's GT5 Pro). More importantly, ASUS also brought over the Zenfone line's 6-axis hybrid gimbal stabilizer, which further improves low-light shooting and offers a "Super HyperSteady" video mode.
The new 13-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide camera benefits from a free-form lens for reduced distortion. As for the third camera, the old 5-megapixel macro camera is now replaced by a more practical 32-megapixel 3x telephoto shooter, which comes with optical image stabilization and pixel-binning process (8-megapixel output) for boosted sensitivity. On the other side of the phone, the 32-megapixel selfie camera — now a punch hole on the screen — has gained a wider field of view, jumping from 73 degrees to 90.
ASUS
Another significant change on the ROG Phone here is the appearance. In what ASUS calls the "Gen#3" design, the ROG Phone 8 has opted for compactness by way of reduced bezels (especially top and bottom), body thickness (from 10.49mm to just 8.9mm) and weight (from 239g to 225g). Thanks to this re-engineering, the company was also able to implement IP68 dust and water resistance here — apparently a first for gaming phones, thus making it even more suitable for daily use.
The ROG Phone 8 line comes in two looks. The regular model features a redesigned Aura RGB logo on the back, and comes in either "Rebel Grey" or "Phantom Black." The more premium Pro flavor only comes in "Phantom Black," with the main difference being its "AniMe Vision" powered by 341 white mini LEDs. This dot matrix display supports over 20 preloaded animations that respond to the likes of X Mode, incoming calls, powering on and more. You can also create your own custom animations, and should you come across a fellow ROG Phone 8 Pro user, tapping both phones together will unlock new secret animations. (In case you're wondering, ASUS has confirmed that there will be no "Ultimate" edition this time.)
It should come as no surprise that the ROG Phone 8 series packs the top options available in terms of processor, thermal design and display. You get Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip paired with a "GameCool 8" advanced thermal system, which features a tiny rapid-cooling conductor to apparently boost thermal efficiency by up to 20 percent. (You can go even further by utilizing the new AeroActive Cooler X attachment, which is designed with a larger cooling chip at the sacrifice of two physical buttons.) Both are tucked underneath a Samsung E6 flexible AMOLED panel — it's the same 2,448 x 1,080 resolution, 165Hz refresh rate and 720Hz touch-sampling rate as before, but now with a whopping 2,500-nit peak brightness (from 1,500 nits).
ASUS
There are some small trade-offs, though. For one, the battery size has been reduced from 6,000mAh to 5,500mAh, but it still supports 65W HyperCharge which takes just 39 minutes. ASUS's justification is the improved efficiency of the new processor as well as display, and that it saw the weight of the earlier ROG Phones being a major pain point. It also needed to squeeze out more space for the better (read: larger) camera modules. That said, this phone still somehow manages to add wireless charging support, which follows the Qi 1.3 standard.
Another slight downgrade lies within the audio department. What used to be two loud front-facing speakers are now one front-facing speaker and one downward-facing speaker, due to the reduction in the top and bottom bezels. Still, ASUS thinks Dirac's tuning is able to compensate for this change. Speaking of, you also get Dirac Virtuo spatial audio for all headphones, be it wired (3.5mm or USB-C) or wireless (Bluetooth). As for phone calls, the ROG Phone 8 offers computational noise-cancelling for voice input across various scenarios — be it in-game communications, IM calls or regular phone calls.
ASUS' signature AirTrigger pressure-sensitive buttons are here to stay, for obvious reasons. There's also X Sense 2.0, an AI pattern recognition system for automatically detecting key events on screen, in order to provide timely prompts for the right moments. For instance, in Genshin Impact, this function will know when to trigger tools like auto pick up, fast forward, running lock and auto press-to-escape. Another AI feature — though not necessarily related to gaming — will be wallpaper generation, due to arrive in a future firmware update. This will leverage fast stable diffusion for creating images offline.
The ROG Phone 8 series will be available for pre-order in the very near future, with the base model (16GB RAM and 256GB storage) asking for $1,000 (actual retail price will cost an extra $100), followed by the $1,200 ROG Phone 8 Pro (16GB RAM with 512GB storage), and a more premium $1,500 ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition (24GB RAM with 1TB storage, plus an AeroActive Cooler X which normally costs $100). All models will come with at least two major OS updates (from Android 14), along with four years of security updates.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-new-rog-phone-8-from-asus-finally-puts-a-good-camera-in-a-gaming-phone-002618805.html?src=rss
Typically a 2-in-1 is something that can transform into multiple modes (e.g., a notebook that converts to tablet or vice versa). But with the ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 hybrid, Lenovo smashed two gadgets together to create one of the funkiest and most interesting laptops we've seen here at CES 2024 in Las Vegas.
At first glance, the ThinkBook Plus looks like an ordinary clamshell. However, if you pull up on the display, it lifts right off and becomes a 14-inch tablet while the bottom contains everything needed to power a traditional Windows PC (well, aside from a screen). From there, you can use the tablet as a standalone Android device, a wireless monitor for the laptop base, or a Wacom-like inking display via Lenovo’s Freestyle app. Meanwhile, you can use ThinkBook’s deck as a mini desktop just by plugging in an external screen.
The number of situations that might require having two separate devices running different OSes might be somewhat rare. However, this level of flexibility is rather unique. For example, if you’re browsing the web on the couch, you could just grab the tablet section and leave the bulky laptop chassis behind. Or you could give the tablet to a child while you work on the laptop. (Just be mindful of their total screen time, OK?) And to make sharing files across both devices as easy as possible, there’s a hybrid folder on both devices that syncs wirelessly. Just drag and drop and voila.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
On top of that, the specs for both devices are pretty solid. The laptop is the beefier of the two packing an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, up to 32GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, Wi-Fi 6e and sizable 75Whr battery. The tablet on the other hand consists of a 14-inch 2.8K OLED screen with stylus input, Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, 12GB of RAM and a 38Whr battery. It also houses two rear cameras (13MP + 5MP) and a full HD IR selfie cam that the laptop can also use when the two are attached.
The somewhat surprising thing is that, for a pre-production device, everything functioned pretty smoothly. When I yanked off the display, the tablet instantly booted into Android. And when I placed it back on the laptop, it only took a second or two for the Windows desktop to reappear. The only software issue I ran into was when trying to use the tablet as a sketching aid. But that was more of a problem with the insane wireless congestion that you always battle during CES.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
There were only two minor flaws that I noticed. The first is that, aside from a 3.5mm audio jack, there are only two USB-C ports. But since both are Thunderbolt 4, at least you’ll be getting excellent data speeds. The other is that the ThinkBook Plus’ keyboard is on the shallow side, so if you prefer a notebook with longer key travel, this might not be for you.
However, the ThinkBook Plus’ biggest hurdle may be its price. Because, starting at $1,999, Lenovo is charging a bit of a premium for the convenience of having two devices in one. That’s because unless you’re dead set on having a 14-inch tablet, it’s pretty easy to pick up a smaller Android slate plus a well-equipped ultraportable for way under $2,000.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
But if this sort of frakengadget strikes your fancy, keep an eye out for it when it goes on sale sometime in Q2 2024.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-lenovo-thinkbook-plus-gen-5-is-the-funkiest-gadget-mashup-at-ces-2024-230059087.html?src=rss
Mophie’s Juice Pack, once practically synonymous with smartphone battery cases, is making a comeback at CES 2024. With Apple having discontinued its MagSafe Battery Pack as part of its purge of Lightning accessories, the Zagg-owned Mophie has seized the moment to reintroduce the Juice Pack for the first time in five years. The new version of the battery case is designed for the iPhone 15 series (with the notable exception of the 15 Plus).
The battery capacity in the new Juice Pack varies depending on which iPhone model you have. The iPhone 15 version has a 2,400mAh battery, the iPhone 15 Pro model moves to 2,600mAh and the iPhone 15 Pro Max variant is 2,800mAh. The case supports passthrough charging and will prioritize the iPhone when both need power.
Mophie’s iPhone 15 and 15 Pro cases have identical external dimensions (despite the phones’ measurements being different) at 161 x 75 x 17.54mm (6.3 x 3 x 0.7 inch). Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 Pro Max version measures 174 x 81.1 x 17.12 mm (6.85 x 3.2 x 0.67 inch). The case is made from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and has slightly raised corners to help with drop protection.
The Mophie Juice Pack for iPhone 15 series costs $100. The battery case will be available for pre-order in late February from Mophie’s website.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mophie-resurrects-the-juice-pack-for-the-iphone-15-series-220713020.html?src=rss
TCL is going for different with its new pro tablet, revealed at CES 2024. There aren’t that many premium tablets beyond the annual updates from Apple and Samsung, and TCL plans to make its new 14- and 10-inch slates stand out with their display tech, featuring its next-gen NXTPAPER 3.0. It's aimed at striking a middle-ground between e-readers and tablets. It’s not about them being sharper or faster, but gentler on our very human eyes.
The TCL NXTPAPER 14 Pro’s display features heavily focus on eye comfort, with a new VersaView interface that can switch between a black-and-white reader mode and the standard tablet views. The 14-inch 2.8K display (2,880 x 1,800) features the company’s new NXTPAPER 3.0, aimed at better reflecting, literally, how the human eye reads natural paper, but on a digital display. NXTPAPER is TCL’s display tech that tries to offer a tablet experience with a paper-like reading surface. We’ve written about earlier iterations found in devices like the NXTPAPER 11 tablet and even some of its recent budget smartphones.
The company says its next family of phones – no fewer than seven, including the TCL 50 XL NTXPAPER 5G and 50 XE NTXPAPER 5G – will also feature NXTPAPER 3.0 technology. The NXTPAPER 14 Pro is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 8020 chip, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which is fine if unremarkable. It’s truly all about the screen.
Photo by Mat Smith/Engadget
TCL says its NXTPAPER series continues to filter out up to 61 percent of blue light to ease the effects on users’ eyes. Version 3.0 is brighter, hitting 700 nits on the 14-inch matte display. A new Circularly Polarized Light (CPL) screen should also light up text more naturally, while being easier to read in sunlight. TCL claims this creates a reading experience closer to reading books in natural light. There’s also DC dimming, which should also lower flickering effects experienced on some lower-refresh rate screens. In tablet mode, the NXTPAPER 14 Pro can reach up to 120Hz refresh rates, and the new CPL tech also means it maintains legibility even if you’re wearing polarizing lenses.
Meanwhile, the Tab 10 NXTPAPER 5G packs some of the same display technology (NXTPAPER 3.0) but on a 10.4-inch, 2K (2,560 x 1,440) screen. And no dedicated viewing mode button. It does, however, feature 5G support.
To really make sure you get it, TCL also created an Eye Health Assistant to nag remind you to reduce screen brightness or perhaps not stare at your new tablet at midnight. The NXTPAPER 14 Pro also has a dedicated physical button for switching between three different viewing modes. The tablet’s VersaView UI means users can switch between a standard tablet mode and NXTPAPER mode.
Photo by Mat Smith/Engadget
The latter is an e-ink style (but not e-ink!) monochrome mode, which rarely features on devices headed to the US. However, this isn’t just the tablet processing the Android interface into grayscale. The interface includes stripped-down icons, like line drawings, that can still be differentiated from each other and a lot more blank space and white backdrops for reading ease. It feels like a concentration mode, which I appreciated. You’ve probably heard of the ‘hack’ of turning your smartphone system into black-and-white to make everything less compelling. This simplifies everything 2even more aggressively while ensuring that some content, like video, can still be played in full color. Swiping around the tablet, or using TCL’s stylus on the screen in both modes was fluid, and refresh rates seem much improved from the earliest NXTPAPER hardware
There are no prices for either of TCL’s new tablets yet, but the company has confirmed that the NXTPAPER 14 Pro will be coming to the US in early 2024. In the meantime, these are our reigning picks for the best tablets you can currently buy.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tcls-nxtpaper-14-pro-is-somewhere-between-a-tablet-and-a-giant-e-reader-190047895.html?src=rss