Android Central

jeudi 2 janvier 2020

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite gets shown off in hands-on images

The phone should be here very soon.

What you need to know

Hands-on images of the new Note 10 Lite have leaked out.
It confirms what we had seen in the leaked renders, that the front will look similar to the previous Note 10 models and the back will feature a square camera bump.
Samsung is expected to unveil the Note 10 Lite at CES 2020 next week.

Samsung's Note lineup of phones is arguably the best when it comes to offering a phone with stylus capabilities. Over the years, Samsung has upgraded the included S Pen with more and more features. We've seen a slew of software improvements and Samsung has even added Bluetooth connectivity to make the S Pen even more functional.

Unfortunately, this experience doesn't come cheap. As the Note has matured over the years, we've seen the price steadily increase as well. The starting price of the Note 10 is nearly $1000, and that's a lot to ask for a phone no matter how great it is.

However, there is some good news for those of you looking for an affordable stylus equipped phone, because Samsung is set to debut the Note 10 Lite at CES 2020. We've already seen the renders leak out previously, and thanks to a tweet from SamMobile, we're now getting our first look at live images of the new device.

The front of the new mid-range phone looks very familiar, sporting the slim bezels and hole punch display of its more expensive Note 10 counterpart. One big difference is that the Note 10 Lite will use a flat display, which should please many users who have been clamoring for a Samsung phone without the curved screen.

The settings screen confirms the Note 10 Lite name, along with the model number SM-N770F, which had already been revealed in previous leaks. Unfortunately, there is no screenshot to confirm the specs, but rumors do suggest that the Note 10 Lite will feature a 4,500mAh battery. That would give the mid-range phone the largest battery of all the Note 10 models.

Along with getting a look at the front, we also got a chance to see the back of the Note 10 Lite. There isn't anything too surprising here, as it looks identical to the leaked renders. However, it does confirm the new square camera bump and show off the S Pen.

With CES 2020 just around the corner, it should only be a matter of days before we get an even better look of the device along with the pertinent specs and the price.

Get More Galaxy Note 10

Samsung Galaxy Note 10/10+

Galaxy Note 10 ($950 at Amazon) Galaxy Note 10+ ($1100 at Amazon)

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The LG CordZero ThinQ Robot Mop will scrub your floors for you

A new kind of clean from the LG appliance team.

What you need to know

LG's new robot mop features dual-spinning brushes for a super-scrubbing good clean.
Dual Eye camera system maps your home and enables per-room and zone cleaning.
Pairs with the CordZero R9 Robot Vacuum.

LG is hoping your New Year's resolution includes cleaner floors throughout your home, as it's launching a brand new robot mop that's designed to get the job done better than any robot mop currently on the market. While most robot mops just feature a wet pad and some added pressure while wet-sweeping the floor, the LG CordZero ThinQ Robot Mop features dual-spin brushes underneath its sleek robot chassis. These brushes are designed to buff the stubborn stains and grime off the hard floors in your home, giving it a significant edge over other robot mops on the market.

LG is sticking with its tried-and-true Dual Eye camera system, which is situated at an upward angle on the front of the robot mop and is used to identify the mop's surroundings for mapping and collision avoidance. Because of the way the camera system works, LG says it can help avoid pets and people more accurately than other types of navigation. LG has also upgraded the navigation from some previous robot vacuum models and can provide per-room cleaning and zone cleaning through its ThinQ app.

The LG CordZero ThinQ Robot Mop is designed to work best when paired with the CordZero ThinQ R9 Robot Vacuum, which can vacuum your home and then inform the CordZero mop which areas of the home need to be mopped after vacuuming is done. One of LG's most unique features lies in what's called HomeGuard, which turns your robot into a guard dog of sorts. When you leave your home, set the robot to guard mode and it'll head to a predetermined spot (that you specify) and will watch doors and windows for intruders, alerting them and you of an unwanted presence if someone were to be detected in the home while you're away.

LG's robots all have its self-proclaimed "AI" built in that can speak commands and understand when spoken to. This helps give clear instructions as to what the vacuum is doing, as well as providing an easy way to control the vacuum or mop by just using your voice. That camera on the front can also be viewed through the LG ThinQ app, which puts it in a class all its own when compared to other security cameras that sit stationary somewhere in or out of your home.

LG will have the CordZero ThinQ Robot Mop on display at CES 2020 in Las Vegas, with a price and release date to be determined.

Best Robot vacuums in 2019

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Samsung's incubator will hatch a robot and other oddities at CES

Robots and windows and group chats, oh my!

What you need to know

Samsung C-Labs Inside grows employee ideas, like an AR keyboard or a scanning highlighter pen.
C-Labs Outside is a startup incubator for Korean technology and IT companies.
The C-Labs booth will show off concept ideas from both Inside and Outside.

Samsung incubator group C-Lab will showcase product concepts from its fledglings startups at CES, including a home robot companion and an artificial sunlight lamp shaped like a window. C-Lab Inside is the company's internal employee incubator, and the company claims 40 startups have been formed with help from the program. C-Lab Outside is an incubator serving Korean startups. These won't be Samsung-branded products on display, just ideas from the incubator groups.

Among the more interesting C-Lab Inside projects, SelfieType will show an augmented reality keyboard that uses your selfie camera to create a virtual QWERTY on a surface in front of you. Hyler is a highlighter pen that highlights text on paper and scans the text digitally. Becon is a scalp-analysis tool, a piece of hardware you apparently hold to your head to get hair care recommendations. Samsung is not claiming it has found the cure for hair loss.

C-Lab Outside company Circulus will show off a companion robot, "piBo." The company says piBo will be able to interpret facial expressions to read user emotions, and it will offer the weather and news. More in keeping with Samsung's product line, there will also be an ultraviolet sensor to tell users when they have been outside too much. This is a feature that cropped up in Samsung devices occasionally in the past but was not well-publicized. Another startup will show off a group video chat that lets you use Samsung AR Emoji, and brags that it will start in a more discreet silent mode. If you're at CES, you can find C-Labs at the Sands Expo. You can see the full list of products on display on Samsung's site.

Philip Berne worked from 2011 to 2017 as part of Samsung's Public Relations team and maintains no business or financial relationships with Samsung nor is he currently bound by non-disclosure agreement.

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Google Duo now lets you react to video messages with emoji

There are eight different emoji to choose from.

What you need to know

Duo will now let you react to video messages with emoji.
There are only eight emoji to choose from at this time, with the last one changing depending on which holiday is near.
You can only send one reaction and choosing another one will replace your original selection.

Back on New Year's Eve, our very own Harish wrote an article titled "Google Duo is the best video calling service you're not using", sharing why you should be using the messenger for all of your video and audio calls. One of the most obvious reasons is the fantastic audio and video quality, even on slower connections. However, another would be how Google continues to add features and improve the service over time.

In the past year, we've seen the messaging app pick up several new features, with some being quality of life improvements, such as an impressive low-light mode to brighten calls in dark environments. Other features have been less impressive but still enhanced the experience, such as sending emoji or fun face filters. One of the most recent is a promo for the upcoming Scooby-doo movie.

Now, Duo is picking up another new feature with the ability to react to video messages with emoji. At this time, the list of emoji is rather short, giving you only eight to choose from in total. The first seven appear to be a fixed selection, while there have been varying reports of the eighth emoji being either a Christmas tree or fireworks to celebrate New Year's Day. It's likely we could see this last emoji change dynamically in the future depending on which holiday is near.

The reaction emoji appear in the bottom right corner of the app when viewing a video message. Choosing one will send it to all users that are part of the video conversation, and you are limited to one reaction. Attempting to send a second emoji will just replace your original selection.

The feature appears to have already rolled out to users, but if you're not seeing it yet, make sure you have the latest version of Duo installed. While this may not be the feature that gets you to switch to Duo, the app only continues to improve and get better with time. Hopefully, we see the rumored portrait mode rollout for it soon which will blur your background while making video calls.

Google Duo: What is it and how does it work?

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Nokia 9.2 with Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC tipped to arrive in late 2020

The phone could go on sale globally sometime in the fourth quarter of the year.

What you need to know

A new rumor claims the Nokia 9 PureView successor will arrive in autumn this year.
The smartphone will apparently be powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 865 mobile processor.
Even though the phone's tech specs remain a mystery currently, we expect it to be a massive upgrade over the Nokia 9 PureView.

According to a Nokia Anew, a Twitter account that has a decent track record when it comes to Nokia-related leaks, HMD Global has delayed the launch of the Nokia 9 PureView until Autumn this year. The delay has been attributed to "replacement" of the phone's processor. While it was previously rumored that the phone will have a Snapdragon 855 processor, Nokia Anew now claims it will be powered by the newer and more powerful Snapdragon 865.

The announcement of Nokia 9.2 is likely to be delayed until the autumn due to the replacement of the processor on the Snapdragon 865.#Nokia9 #NokiaMobile #HMD #Nokia2020 pic.twitter.com/DbAFdMFi6v
— Nokia anew (@nokia_anew) December 30, 2019

If the information is accurate, Nokia's next flagship phone will not be powered by a generation old processor. The Nokia 9 PureView was launched at MWC 2019 with the outdated Snapdragon 845 processor running under its hood.

Even though the Nokia 9 PureView was the first phone to have a penta-lens camera setup on the back, the phone was among the most underwhelming flagships released in 2019. Its successor will probably a more impressive device overall, although almost nothing is known about the phone's hardware currently. While it was previously rumored to debut as the Nokia 9.1 PureView, the latest rumor suggests it will be called the Nokia 9.2 instead.

Nokia 9 PureView

$604 at Amazon $542 at Walmart

Like most smartphones bearing the Nokia name, Nokia 9 PureView has a gorgeous design and impressive build quality. It also has a unique 5 camera array and a 5.99-inch pOLED panel with HDR10 support.

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What do you think about the Galaxy S11 being called the S20?

Let's have a chat with the AC forums.

It's officially 2020, which means we're another step closer to Samsung unveiling its first big flagship of the year. This upcoming phone will be the successor to last year's Galaxy S10, and for a while now, we've been referring to it as the Galaxy S11.

However, a new rumor is suggesting that the S11 will actually be branded and marketed as the "Galaxy S20."

Taking a look through the AC forums, a lot of our members have some thoughts about this.

dendron01

12-30-2019 09:43 PM

“

I don't care what they call it but its looking better by the day. Just a few more months...
Reply

Adam Frix

12-31-2019 12:59 AM

“

don't care. It will be remembered as...a bad phone. Snapdragon 865 with forced discrete 5G modem? Every such phone will be remembered as "yeah, let's forget that ever existed". And, it will also be remembered as "the year we went too far" with regard to size. "But we were forced to--the 5G chip and bigger battery made us." It doesn't help that midrange phones are really very good now. ...
Reply

fuzzylumpkin

12-31-2019 06:04 AM

“

It's stupid and pointless and it'll probably be confusing to consumers, but it's ultimately inconsequential to me. It's more concerning that they might get rid of the "e" variant. 2020 may be another year where there isn't a phone I consider to be worth buying.
Reply

1raygin

12-31-2019 03:07 PM

“

The name won't bother me either way. I have an S10+ so I probably won't get it anyway unless there is a great trade in offer. My upgrade schedule is usually about every other year.
Reply

What say you? What do you think about the Galaxy S11 being called the S20?

Join the conversation in the forums!

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A bizarre Pixel Launcher bug is causing app icons to randomly disappear

The January security update will probably include a fix for the minor bug.

What you need to know

An unusual bug with the December security update for Pixel phones is causing app icons to disappear randomly from the homescreen.
While the app icons disappear randomly, the app name still remains visible.
Even though the issue doesn't appear to be widespread, a fix is expected to be included in the upcoming January security update.

Google rolled out its first Pixel "feature drop" last month, along with the December security patch. Unfortunately, the update also included a minor bug with the Pixel Launcher app, causing apps icons to disappear from the homescreen randomly. The bug appears to have affected some Pixel 2, Pixel 3a, as well as Pixel 4 series phones.

As reported by 9to5Google, the bug with the Pixel Launcher is making app icons randomly become invisible on Pixel phones. After the app icon disappears, users can only see the name of the app on the homescreen. Once users tap on the blank space, however, the app icon gets loaded again and the app is launched as usual. As per a few users on Reddit, the bug can also make folders disappear sometimes.

Even though the issue does not affect all Pixel devices with the December security update, it is possible that Google has a fix ready and will include it in the upcoming January security update that is going to begin rolling out next week. While it remains to be seen if the January security update for the Pixel 4 series will be delayed just like last month, Google has confirmed that a cumulative January and December security update for the Pixel 3 and 3 XL units stuck on November security patch will be rolled out "in the coming days."

Get More Pixel 4

Google Pixel 4 & 4 XL

Pixel 4 From $799 at Amazon Pixel 4 XL From $899 at Amazon

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