Tech talks #6 Pablo Escobar, Apple foldable phone, Dyson headphones, Sony 4K TV ,Samsung Galaxy Buds plus

               Published on 5/ Feb/2020
 1.
                   

Pablo Escobar’s Brother Is Selling a $399 Samsung Galaxy Fold Clone, But Should You Really Buy It?

Escobar Fold 2 is touted to be the answer to Samsung Galaxy Fold

Eager to own a Samsung Galaxy Fold but don't have that much money, Escobar Inc -- the tech company owned by Pablo Escobar's brother Roberto De Jesus Escobar Gaviria -- might have something for you. It is called the Escobar Fold 2, touted as the “Real Samsung Killer Phone”, and appears to have a Galaxy Fold-like design. Some of the key specifications of the faux foldable phone have also been provided that are in line with what we saw on the Galaxy Fold. We can't trust the seller, though. Can we?

The design featured on the marketing renders of the Escobar Fold 2 seems to be the imitation of the Samsung Galaxy Fold. It appears to have the same two-fold design as well as a total of five cameras that we saw on the Samsung phone last year. To give some distinction (and maybe to showcase some luxury), the mimic comes with a gold vinyl skin with a Escobar Inc's branding.

In a press statement, Gaviria specified his goal with the new move and highlighted that “some parts” of the Escobar Fold 2 had been sourced from China.

My goal is to become the overstock kingpin of electronical [sic] devices this year,” said Gavaria, Pablo Escobar's brother and founder of Escobar Inc. “All these factories simply have too much technology laying around, nobody is buying anything in China from secondary factories. We cut the prices and give clients direct discounts under the Escobar brand umbrella.”

The Escobar Inc empire wants to take a dig at Samsung by creating a promotional video for YouTube titled “Rest in peace Samsung”. The voiceover in the hazy video says, “Samsung will not survive… Pablo is still upset.”

Further, a special domain -- ripsamsung.com -- has been created that redirects to the pre-order page of the Fold 2 phone. The phone is up for pre-orders at a price tag of $399 (roughly Rs. 28,400). This is significantly lower than the Samsung Galaxy Fold price that is set at $1,980 in the US (or Rs. 1,64,999 in India).

More than the design, it is the pricing that brings the scepticism about the genuineness of the Escobar Fold 2. As Android Police  speculates, it could just be a Chinese clone of the Galaxy Fold that is up for sale at $435.85 (roughly Rs. 31,000) through some e-commerce stores in China.

This is notably not the first time when Escobar Inc has brought a mimic of a popular phone. Last year, the company brought the Fold 1 as its first foldable smartphone that was found to be none other than the rebranded version of the Royole Flexpai that was launched in 2018.

More than the design, it is the pricing that brings the scepticism about the genuineness of the Escobar Fold 2. As Android Police speculates, it could just be a Chinese clone of the Galaxy Fold that is up for sale at $435.85 (roughly Rs. 31,000) through some e-commerce stores in China.

This is notably not the first time when Escobar Inc has brought a mimic of a popular phone. Last year, the company brought the Fold 1 as its first foldable smartphone that was found to be none other than the rebranded version of the Royole Flexpai that was launched in 2018.

It is quite likely that the imitations designed by Escobar won't offer similar to the original models. Also, it is unclear whether the phones would include the specifications that have been mentioned officially.

2.

Apple Foldable Phone Hinge Patent Spotted on USPTO Trademark Site

Apple has patented a new hinge design for foldable devices

Apple has patented a new hinge design for a foldable device, hinting that it may be working on a foldable phone of its own. Samsung was the first to unveil a commercial foldable phone last year, the Galaxy Fold, which then saw several hiccups and delayed launches. With Samsung's design, there was a visible crease in the middle, something that was noticed on the Huawei Mate X as well. Apple, in its latest patent, seems to have found a solution to the crease problem, and the unique hinge design keeps the display in a curved state even when folded to prevent any crease. The Motorola Razr (2019) also employs a hinge mechanism, but the overall design is quite different from what Apple has patented.

The 'Electronic Devices With Flexible Displays and Hinges' patent was spotted on the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and the sketches show that Apple is indeed considering a foldable device design. The patent shows that Apple looks to build a unique hinge design that enables sufficient space between the two displays for the flexible screen to retract into, when folded. This space created in between the hinge, allows the display to stay in a curved state prevent any crease or tension. The hinge uses movable flaps to achieve this, something that can be easily understood in the GIF shared below.

Aplpe's latest patent for a new hinge design

All in all, the design is similar to the Galaxy Fold that folded out to offer more screen real estate. The design is not like the Motorola Razor 2019 that has a clamshell-like foldable design. Of course, this patent doesn't necessarily mean that Apple will bring a foldable phone in the near future. The tech giant is known to let others test the waters with new technology, and then fine tune it if there is a mass appeal. It could look to do the same with foldable phones, and while the initial work may have begun, a launch may still be far away. The patent may just be a result of an idea that Apple may have liked on the drawing board.

Apple is currently reported to be working on a low-cost iPhone, allegedly the iPhone SE2, for launch in March this year. Some report even suggest that this phone may be called the iPhone 9, and trial productions may have already begun.

Dyson patents a 

3.

Sony reveals pricing details for X800H and X950H 4K TVs

Like a number of other companies, Sony revealed its 2020 TV lineup at CES last month. Today, Sony revealed pricing for some of those TVs, specifically those in X800H series and the X950H series. These TVs are all 4K HDR sets, complete with support for Android TV.

They’ll also be available in a number of different screen sizes. Strangely, while Sony revealed pricing for all of the TVs in the X800H series today, it only revealed pricing for some of the X950H sets. We’re not sure what the hold up is, but Sony says that the remaining X950H prices will be announced at a later date.

Regardless of the hang ups with the X950H TVs, we received pricing for all of the TVs in the X800H series today. These LED TVs are build around Sony’s X1 4K HDR processor and use the company’s Triluminos display, and since they support Android TV out of the box, that means they’ll also be able to tap into Google Assistant. Check out the prices for each TV in the line below:

• 85” Class (84.6” diagonal): $2,699.99 MSRP
• 75” Class (74.5” diagonal): $1,799.99 MSRP
• 65” Class (64.5” diagonal): $1,199.99 MSRP
• 55” Class (54.6” diagonal): $999.99 MSRP
• 49” Class (48.5” diagonal): $749.99 MSRP
• 43” Class (42.5” diagonal): $699.99 MSRP

On the other hand, the X950H TVs use Sony’s Picture Processor X1 Ultimate, but the same Triluminos display as the TVs in the X800H series. It seems that the two series share a lot of specifications, with the main differentiator being the processor. Check out the pricing Sony has revealed thus far for the X950H series below:

• 85” Class (84.6” diagonal): $4,999.99 MSRP
• 49” Class (48.5” diagonal): $1,199.99 MSRP

Sony is opening up pre-orders on these TVs at Amazon and authorized retailers around the US today, but taking a look at Amazon, there’s only a couple different classes of each series available. Looking at the X800H listing, we see that only the 43-inch and 49-inch sets are up for pre-order with a release date of February 10th. When it comes to the X950H, only the 49-inch TV is available to pre-order with a release date of February 17th. We’ll see if Sony announces pricing and pre-order details for the rest of the TVs in both of these lines, so stay tuned.

4.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus leak compares it to original Galaxy Buds

We’ve seen plenty of Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus leaks in recent months, ranging from the design to the price and more. Now, prominent tipster Evan Blass has published a comprehensive rundown of the earbuds.

Blass posted an apparently leaked sheet on Twitter (private account), detailing the differences between the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus and the previous-generation Galaxy Buds. Check out the sheet below.

One of the more prominent tidbits here is that the Galaxy Buds Plus will deliver 60 minutes of play-time after just three minutes of charging. This compares favorably to the original’s 100 minute play-time after 15 minutes of charging. Staying with battery details, we also see almost double the playtime, with the new earbuds and case lasting for 11 hours and 22 hours respectively (compared to the original’s six and 13 hours).

Other noteworthy Galaxy Buds Plus details gleaned from the spec sheet include the ability to activate Spotify via the touchpad, an extra outer microphone, iOS support, two-way dynamic audio, and multi-device Bluetooth connections.

Blass also lists the price as $149, which is roughly in line with previous leaks. Either way, expect to pay a $20 premium over the current Galaxy Buds.

5.

Huawei P40 Pro Live Photo Leak Tips Dual selfie Cameras

Huawei P40 Pro is tipped to sport a quad rear camera setup

Another live photo of the Huawei P40 Pro has surfaced online, showing off design details. The phone is seen to sport a pill-shaped cutout on the top of the screen that houses two selfie cameras. The waterfall display with the prominent curved edges on the sides is visible clearly in this live photo, and the phone is also seen to sport very slim bezels on the top and bottom portions of the display. The selfie camera cutout is positioned in the upper left corner of the display.

The live photo of the Huawei P40 Pro is courtesy Chinese tipster Technology Yu, and he shared it online via Weibo. Unfortunately, the photo only shows the front portion of the display, and the phone is seen to be turned on with the Settings page showing up on the screen. Judging by the hand that is holding the phone, it seems to be quite large for one-handed use. Apart from this, the Huawei P40 Pro is seen to sport dual selfie cameras, something that has reported been earlier as well. The curved edges on the sides are quite prominent, and there's little to no bezel on the top forehead or the bottom chin of the display. 

Past leaks suggest that the Huawei P40 Pro Past may sport a rectangular-shaped quad camera setup at the back with 10x optical zoom capabilities. The phone is reported to offer a 52-megapixel custom-made Sony image sensor with a 1/1.33-inch size, and be equipped with a unique Quad Quad Bayer technology to help shoot photos and videos in very dark conditions. The phone is reported to feature a 6.5-inch or 6.7-inch display, and should be powered by the latest HiSilicon Kirin flagship processor.

6.

Red Magic 5G to Feature 80W Charging With Air Cooling Tech

Smartphone manufacturer Nubia is working on the Red Magic 5G and a few details about the smartphone are being teased out ahead of the official launch. The new smartphone is confirmed to come with a 144Hz display refresh rate which is higher than the 120Hz display panels currently available in the market. The Red Magic 5G is also said to support 80W fast-charging which is unseen in the smartphone industry at the moment, it also sports dual-mode 5G. A new teaser also hints that this smartphone will come with an “air-cooled fast charging solution”

The Nubia Red Magic 5G features were revealed by none other than brand president Ni Fei. He took to Weibo to mention that the company's 5G ready gaming smartphone will sport “super fast charging and large capacity batteries”. He further explained that fast charging a smartphone causes the device temperature to rise rapidly which causes battery protection and temperature rise monitoring mechanisms to kick in an reduce the charging current. In order to tackle this problem, he mentions that the Nubia research and development team has come up with a unique built-in fan to create an “air-cooled fast charging solution”

Ni Fei further explains that the fan will be used to cool the battery down while charging it rapidly. Another teaser from Ni Fei himself reveals that the phone could have up to 16GB LPDDR5 RAM. In addition to the fast charging details and the “air-cooled fast charging solution” Ni Fei also shared a camera sample from the smartphone which shows very good details. Rumours point out that the primary sensor on the Red Magic 5G is the 64-megapixel Sony IMX686 sensor. The Red Magic 5G is said to have two more sensors but its details are unknown at the moment.

7.

wearable air purifier that doubles as headphones

The germ-killing headphones could be more effective than a mask.

If you use public transportation, you know just how gross the air can be. Commuters are constantly coughing and sneezing, which releases thousands of germs into the air. Taking a flight can be even worse, thanks to the recycled air. And that's not to mention pollution-filled cities like Wuhan in China, or even Los Angeles. Wearing a face mask can help prevent you from breathing in those germs and pollutants, but they're not very effective, and they're not exactly socially acceptable. Air purifiers that hang around your neck are subtler, but they're even less beneficial. Dyson's patent for a new type of purifier describes a product that merges an air purification system with a set of headphones for an effective but somewhat subtle solution to staying healthy in germ- or pollution-filled settings.

Dyson's portable air purifier features two speakers assemblies -- both have a filter, an impeller that creates airflow and a motor that drives the impeller. The clean air travels down a nozzle and to a front strip. This strip has an outlet that releases air toward your nose and mouth.
With a 12,000 RPM impeller and a motor on each side of your head, it seems likely that these units will feature active noise cancelling (ANC). Whether or not the noise of the motor and impeller will be a distraction to nearby commuters and coworkers isn't clear. Those same elements of the product bring up the question of battery life -- the headset probably won't last nearly as long as standard wireless headphones. When it comes to the looks of the wearable air purifier, the front strip that directs air toward your nose and mouth may turn out to be more of an unwanted attention-getter than a standard antiviral mask.
This is just a patent, so a commercially available product isn't guaranteed. However, Dyson has been working on a wearable air purifier for over a year, so it seems like this could end up becoming a reality. Furthermore, it does indicate the need for wearable air purification. This may not be something you'd wear every day, but on flights or in polluted areas, it could help avoid illness or damage to the lungs -- and it could be something that flies off the shelf during media-hyped events like the current coronavirus outbreak.

8.

Redmi Teases Launch of New Product in India, May Be Power Bank or Bluetooth Speaker

Redmi’s new video teaser shows glimpses of a mystery product

Xiaomi's India chief Manu Kumar Jain has released another teaser for its upcoming Redmi device launch in India, and this time the video teaser suggests that it may not be a phone. The teaser gives us glimpses of the device, leaving us more confused than before, and the caption suggests more power and a ‘suave design'. All of this leads us to speculate that Xiaomi could be launching a new power bank under the Redmi series in India. It could also be teasing a completely new product category like a Bluetooth speaker, or may even the RedmiBook, which has been reported to launch in India this year.

Jain's latest tweet brings a new teaser for an upcoming Redmi device launch in India. The teaser's caption suggests that the product will be ‘smooth, suave, powerful', and he shared a tagline ‘power has a new look'. The video attached to the tweet shows glimpses of the device, and by whatever little is seen, it doesn't seem like the company is teasing the launch of an upcoming phone. Glimpses of the device suggest that it may be a power bank or a Bluetooth speaker, a first to launch under the Redmi India branding if true.

The company has launched a few power banks and even bluetooth speaker under the Redmi branding in China, and we could expect Xiaomi to make one of these available in India. Alternatively, the company could have manufactured a completely new product line for the Indian audience, as it has been known to do so in the past.

Recent reports also suggest that Xiaomi is gearing up to launch the RedmiBook series in India. The RedmiBook trademark was spotted in India recently hinting at Xiaomi's entry into the laptop market. It could be possible that Jain is teasing the arrival of the RedmiBook series in India, but of course this is pure speculation from our end. Let us know what you think that could launch in the Redmi series next, in the comments below!

8.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Leaked Live Image Gives Closer Look at Quad Rear Camera Module

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra will reportedly pack a 120Hz curved display

Samsung Galaxy S20 series is probably one of the worst kept secrets in the smartphone industry right now, but the leaks simply refuse to stop. After appearing in renders and 3D models, an alleged live image of the Galaxy S20 Ultra has now surfaced online. The leaked photo claims to give us our first clear look at the Galaxy S20 Ultra's camera module, especially the lens arrangement, and a closer look at the periscope lens. The fresh leak also corroborates an exciting rumour – support for 100x zoom.

The alleged Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra leaked image comes courtesyof the r/Samsung subreddit, and it looks identical to the recently leaks render. The leaked image shows the dual-tone colour scheme on the camera module, with a glossy black finish on the upper region and a greyish colour tone on the lower section. The LED flash and a trio of camera lenses are arranged in a squarish geometry, while the periscope module with a rectangular lens is placed separately at the bottom. The rear panel appears to have a glossy finish with curved edges and appears to have an iridescent effect that becomes obvious when light falls on it at certain angles, somewhat like the Galaxy S and Note series phones.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is tipped to pack a 6.9-inch WQHD+ (1440 x 3200 pixels) Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O Display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The upcoming Samsung flagship will reportedly pack a 108-megapixel main camera that employs a custom in-house ISOCELL sensor. It will be accompanied by a 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle snapper and a 48-megapixel telephoto lens with 10x optical zoom support and 100x digital zoom support. Selfies will be handled by a whopping 40-megapixel camera with 4K 60fps video capture support.

• KEY SPECS
• NEWS

Display6.90-inch

Front Camera40-megapixel

Rear Camera108-megapixel + 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel

Storage128GB

Battery Capacity5000mAh

OSAndroid 10

Resolution1440x3200 pixels