Remember that super expensive Hydrogen One phone that Red Studios was making? It's still in the works after all these months of rumors, and now it appears that we won't have to wait that much longer to see it in action.

Yesterday, Red CEO Jim Jannard said on the company's forums that the device is expected to ship sometime this summer, reports The Verge. That puts it in a June – September release window.

Jannard also provided a few more details, saying that Red has managed to get a few mobile carriers to support the phone after launch, although he didn't specifically identify them. 

Also, Jannard says that carrier support for the Red phone is as "good as it gets," but it's not clear if he's referring to wide carrier adoption or that a network with a wide range of strong coverage like Verizon will support it.

Spec check

Jannard offered up some details on the Hydrogen One's specs, which pretty much match up with what we've heard before. So, here's what we know. Again, the phone is staggeringly expensive, considering that it starts with a $1,195 (about £855, AU$1,495) price tag.

The price is likely meant to justify the camera technology, which is what Red is chiefly known for among filmmakers and other camera-oriented professions. At 5.7 inches, it's also kind of big, and it will come with a 2560 x 1440 holographic display that supposedly makes images look as though they're in 3D as you move the camera around.

You'll even reportedly be able to capture video in 3D, Red's own "4V" format made for the Hydrogen One, and good ol' 2D.

Beyond that, the new phone will also support modular attachments, such as a "cinema grade camera module" that captures RAW 2D footage in Red's R3D format. In time, Jannard says, we'll also see attachments for capturing both 3D and 4V footage.

Red on the horizon

This all sounds amazing for camera buffs, although it's important to keep in mind that very few people have handled the phone and reported their findings directly, which is a tad worrisome considering that Red is planning on releasing the device in only a few months. 

That said, Red has long been known for its superior camera technology, so whatever the company produces will likely be impressive on some level. Even way back in 2014, we were reporting that one of their pro video cameras was so good that you could save 19MP stills from the footage.

(Earlier this month, we tested the Red Scarlet-X video camera alongside an iPhone X and were surprised to find how well Apple's device fared in comparison, at least without editing tools.)

The Hydrogen One is still very much a niche device, though, even in this age of Instagram and Snapchat. It'll be interesting to see what the reception is like when it finally drops.

• What are the best smartphones of 2018 so far?

One of the niftiest small features that Google announced it was stuffing into Android 8.1 Oreo is the ability to see the speed of a public Wi-Fi signal before you join it. Today, after a bit of a delay, that feature finally started rolling out to users.

After updating, Android's Wi-Fi Assistant will tell you if a signal is Very Fast, Fast, OK or Slow the next time you try to join a public Wi-Fi channel.

With "Very Fast," you should be able to watch high-definition video from the likes of HBO Now and Netflix; and with "OK," you should be able to do relatively simple internet tasks along the line of checking Facebook and Twitter. With "Slow," you might be better off sticking with your cellular data plan.

Keep in mind that Wi-Fi Assistant only works for public, open Wi-Fi networks as Android needs to access the signal in order to check it out. If the network is password protected, there's a good chance you wouldn't have been able to use it anyway.

If you're a business owner who doesn't like random Android users seeing this kind of information, Google has fortunately given administrators a couple of ways to opt out. On the user end, you can also disable the feature in the Settings app under Network & Internet.

Staggered delivery

Of course, being able to enjoy this feature means you need to be able to use Android 8.1 in the first place. 

As we've seen, some Oreo-compatible phones such as the OnePlus 5T are resistant to Google's "Project Treble," which allows Android users to update their devices to the most current version of the popular operating system. 

Complications such as this should cease to be as much of an issue in the near future, though, as Google is requiring all phones that ship with Oreo to support Project Treble.

Roadblocks such as the one we see with the OnePlus 5T are among the clear drawbacks of a highly customizable operating system that's meant to run on all sorts of devices, but with features such as Project Treble, Google has fortunately been making great strides toward lessening the frustrations with the system.

Now it just needs phone companies to play along.

• Seeking to boost your own Wi-Fi signal? Check out this year's best routers!

Fittingly enough, support for Amazon's Alexa voice assistant is finally coming to the Alexa app for Android phones, although it's currently a bit of a gimmick.

Rather than being able to talk to Alexa at any time much as you would through Google Assistant, Alexa only works on Android devices if you have the Alexa app open, as Android Police reports. But hey, small steps, right?

It's not the first time that Alexa has been available on a smartphone, but in the past it only appeared on devices like the Huawei Mate 9 or Motorola Moto X4 as a result of special partnership deals.

The new update, though, which is expected to roll out over the course of the next few days on both the Google Play store and Amazon's own app store, essentially brings Amazon's increasingly beloved voice assistant to almost any phone.

Support for iOS is also expected to come soon, although no specific timeline was given.

Many voices, many choices

Amazon's Alexa is clearly a hit, as seen in the way that the Alexa app topped the iOS App Store's free charts for many hours after Christmas morning. Understandably, though, Amazon has had a rougher time bringing Alexa to smartphones owing to the dominance of Apple's Siri and Google Assistant.

The upcoming update improves that situation somewhat, as in the past the Alexa app was mainly just a hub for interacting with the settings of various Amazon Echo devices.  

Now, though, you'll be able to control some aspects of your phone through Alexa, such as music volume controls and text message opposition (so long as you keep the app open). 

Even if Alexa were more "free" through the app, it'd still lack the deep smartphone hardware integration enjoyed by Siri and Google Assistant.

Maybe Amazon is hoping that everyone is thinking it's just so cool that they'll beg for iPhones and Samsung Galaxy devices to support Alexa in addition to the usual suspects. Stranger things have happened.

• Find the best Amazon Echo device for you with our handy guide!

Fittingly enough, support for Amazon's Alexa voice assistant is finally coming to the Alexa app for Android phones, although it's currently a bit of a gimmick.

Rather than being able to talk to Alexa at any time much as you would through Google Assistant, Alexa only works on Android devices if you have the Alexa app open, as Android Police reports. But hey, small steps, right?

It's not the first time that Alexa has been available on a smartphone, but in the past it only appeared on devices like the Huawei Mate 9 or Motorola Moto X4 as a result of special partnership deals.

The new update, though, which is expected to roll out over the course of the next few days on both the Google Play store and Amazon's own app store, essentially brings Amazon's increasingly beloved voice assistant to almost any phone.

Support for iOS is also expected to come soon, although no specific timeline was given.

Many voices, many choices

Amazon's Alexa is clearly a hit, as seen in the way that the Alexa app topped the iOS App Store's free charts for many hours after Christmas morning. Understandably, though, Amazon has had a rougher time bringing Alexa to smartphones owing to the dominance of Apple's Siri and Google Assistant.

The upcoming update improves that situation somewhat, as in the past the Alexa app was mainly just a hub for interacting with the settings of various Amazon Echo devices.  

Now, though, you'll be able to control some aspects of your phone through Alexa, such as music volume controls and text message opposition (so long as you keep the app open). 

Even if Alexa were more "free" through the app, it'd still lack the deep smartphone hardware integration enjoyed by Siri and Google Assistant.

Maybe Amazon is hoping that everyone is thinking it's just so cool that they'll beg for iPhones and Samsung Galaxy devices to support Alexa in addition to the usual suspects. Stranger things have happened.

• Find the best Amazon Echo device for you with our handy guide!

The first smartphone with an in-display fingerprint sensor is kinda sorta here, and it's probably not from whom you'd expect.

It's not an iPhone, it's not a Samsung Galaxy device: instead, it's a Vivo. (In fact, rumors had already predicted that this would be the case last month.)

The China-based company's device works through a "Clear ID" optical sensor from Synaptics that's hidden below the phone's OLED display. Scanning between the OLED display's pixels, it effectively does the same job as the old direct-contact fingerprint displays (if a tad more slowly).

It does require that you put your finger in an exact spot in order to work, but fortunately a fingerprint image pops up on the spot when needed so you're not fumbling blindly across the display.

Only the beginning

Up until now, discussion of Synaptics' in-display sensor has mainly revolved around Samsung as it's widely believed that the still-unannounced Samsung Galaxy S9 will have Synaptics' sensor inside it as well.

And technically, it's possible that Samsung will still beat Vivo to the punch, as Vivo didn't actually reveal what smartphone would first include the technology.  There was a display unit on hand at CES 2018 for visitors wanting to try it out for themselves, but it's not clear if this was the actual phone that will ship with the technology.

In a statement, the company said we'll see it sometime in the first half of this year, which may give Samsung plenty of time to get its own device out. On the other hand, China's CNMO site claims we may see it announced as early as tomorrow.

Synaptics claimed last month that it will have around 70 million of its in-display sensors ready to go this year, so it's possible that Vivo and (possibly) Samsung mark only the first steps in a much wider adoption rate.

• New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2018 straight from Las Vegas, the greatest gadget show on Earth!  

Image credit: Powermat

Apple was more than a little late to the wireless charging party, but that doesn't mean you should disregard its massive influence.

Today Powermat, which is the only true rival to the prevailing Qi wireless charging format, conceded that Qi had essentially won the war thanks to Apple's adoption of the format for the iPhone X, the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus. 

Powermat also officially joined the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), which is the group that's primarily responsible for promoting Qi.

"Qi has become the dominant wireless charging standard on the market and the recently launched Apple iPhone lineup is evidence of this success," Powermat CEO Elad Dubzinski said in a prepared statement. "Powermat will share technology innovation to further unlock wireless charging potential, and will expedite the growth of the wireless charging infrastructure."

That's good news for customers, as it means there will now be far less of a chance that your devices won't be compatible with a certain wireless charging pad. Frankly, it's already been this way for a while, and Apple's adoption of Qi was just the final blow.

Easy charging

Powermat's decision also simplifies matters for manufacturers. Prior to Apple's entry into the market, smartphone makers had largely tried to cover all their bases by supporting both Powermat and Qi standards. 

Apple, however, chose only to work with Qi. As a result, smartphone makers such as Samsung will only have to worry about one wireless charging format going forward (or at least until new technology rolls out).

Powermat may not have achieved the victory it wished for, but thanks to some smart planning, it's still up and running. 

Unlike that of Qi, Powermat's system relied on a public network of around 12,000 chargers in the US and Europe, and it simply updated all of them to support Qi when Apple's latest iPhones came out. 

It may be bruised, but it's not truly beaten.

• New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2018 straight from Las Vegas, the greatest gadget show on Earth!

Wireless charging is slowly but surely becoming the norm for smartphones, which means it’s a great time to be a company that’s focused on producing reputable wireless chargers. In other words, it’s a great time to be Belkin.

A few days ahead of CES 2018, the charging device company has unveiled its full line for 2018. There are a couple of wall-chargers and a trusty new power bank, but Belkin’s lineup makes no secret of the fact that the company's chief goal is to gain a bigger foothold in the wireless charging market than it already commands.

As usual, there’s little need to worry about compatibility with wireless charging from Belkin, as the company affirms that the whole line is compatible with devices like the iPhone X, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and virtually all other devices that are compatible with the Qi wireless charging standard.

For starters, there’s the new Belkin Boost Up Bold Wireless Charging Pad, which comes in a “variety” of colors for device matching and delivers a 10-watt charge. It’ll hit stands sometime in spring or summer.

If you’re not that much of a pad person, you might prefer the Belkin Boost Up Wireless Charging Stand, which supports both landscape and portrait charging modes and also delivers a 10W charge. It's basically the same concept as the pad, but the stand allows you to let the phone serve as a display for an alarm clock or viewing screen while charging without laying flat. It, too, will be out in spring or summer.

Beyond that, Belkin offers a range of devices that cater to almost every circumstance, whether it’s the Boost Up Car Mount for wireless charging, which offers 10W charging power and can be mounted on a dashboard or windows; or the Boost Up Dual Wireless Charging Pad, which can charge up to two devices at once. Both will be available sometime next summer.

And if you’re a business owner who wants to allow customers to charge their devices at various spots? You’ll be interested in the new Boost Up Wireless Charging System, which offers a connected system of charging pads that can be used in conference rooms, restaurants and similar locations. It, too, will be available next summer.

Wired but not tired

Aside from wireless chargers, Belkin is also offering the Pocket Power USB-C 10K as its sole new power bank. It’s a handy little device that can fit in your pocket and charge 3.0-enabled devices up to 80% within 35 minutes. It’ll be available sometime in spring.

For those who prefer the speeds of a wall charger (or use devices like the Google Pixel 2, which doesn't support wireless charging), Belkin is offering a new 27W Home Charger that offers the best charging speeds available. 

If you want to charge two devices at once with a wall charger, though, then you'll want to pick up the Dual Port Home Charger 27W. The only catch is that the device’s USB-C port charges at 27W while the USB-A port only charges at 12W. It’ll be available sometime in summer.

Belkin didn't reveal any of the prices for the devices, but it's likely that we'll learn the cost of these chargers during CES next week.

• Want even more wireless chargers? Check out our guide!

Following the fallout over Apple's admission that it slowed down iPhone CPUs for most of 2017 as a means of making older phones work for longer, Apple said it would allow customers to buy replacement batteries for $29/£25 as opposed to the usual $79/£79.

The catch, though, is that your phone had to pass a diagnostic test at an Apple Store. If your phone's battery was still at 80% capacity or above, then, sorry, no battery replacement for you!

But in its efforts to get back into customers’ good graces, Apple has apparently done away even with that requirement.

As of now, anyone with an iPhone 6 or newer device should be able to merely ask for a battery replacement and receive one for $29/£25, according to an internal memo that was obtained by iGeneration (and confirmed as authentic by MacRumors).  

Anecdotal evidence also suggests that you may be able to get a refund for the difference if you happened to pay for a battery replacement at the original full price of $79/£79 before the new policy went into effect, but this is likely on a case-by-base basis. We've contacted Apple for an official confirmation.

New tools

As part of its reconciliation efforts, Apple also said that it would introduce new tools for iOS in 2018 that would help you keep better track of your iPhone’s battery life. 

Some of that functionality is apparently already active in the system, as Apple can remotely check your battery’s capacity if you don’t want to take the time to run to an Apple Store to check.

To take advantage of the remote test, just contact Apple Support. 

• Samsung Galaxy S9 appears in full in new renders

Following Apple’s admission that it deliberately slowed down older phones to allow the battery to continue to power the processor, the list of rival smartphone manufacturers announcing they don’t follow the same practice continues to grow.

Yesterday we saw statements from both Moto and HTC affirming that they don’t throttle their smartphones, and today Samsung and LG Electronics have both chimed in to report that they don’t either, reports PhoneArena.

LG kept it brief, saying, “Never have, never will! We care what our customers think.”

Samsung was more chatty, saying, “Product quality has been and will always be Samsung Mobile's top priority. We ensure extended battery life of Samsung mobile devices through multi-layer safety measures, which include software algorithms that govern the battery charging current and charging duration. We do not reduce CPU performance through software updates over the lifecycles of the phone.”

Revenge of the quick fix

Good to know, but these statements probably shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering that Apple’s practice grew out of a very specific response to the iPhone 6 last January after customers noticed that their devices were shutting down without warning. 

With iOS Patch 10.2.1, Apple announced that it had “improved” the issue, but wasn’t upfront about the nature of that improvement, leading to the current backlash. It was a “quick fix” that unfortunately apparently became standard practice.

Apple has since penned a letter of apology, and also announced that it will start offering battery replacements for the iPhone 6 and above throughout all of 2018 for just $29/£25. That’s a significant drop down from the usual price of $79/£79.

The tech giant has also stated that an iPhone’s batteries drain significantly after 500 charge cycles, and that it plans to introduce more tools to better keep track of your iPhone’s battery life in iOS in 2018.

• Which phones have the best battery performance? Check out our guide!

Image credit: Qualcomm

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor is one of the most highly anticipated bits of tech for next year, and it’s possible that a leak from the Chinese social media site Weibo has just given us a peek at which 2018 flagship smartphones will support it.

Before jumping in, keep in mind that there’s no evidence that the list is real, and even if it is, it’s always possible some hardware changes will be made before the phones make it to shelves. Delays could also happen, throwing off the planned release dates listed. But with that in mind, let’s take a look. 

The list is notable for including both the names of the phones the processor will likely be in as well as their dates of release. First on the list are the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus, which are expected to debut in February, followed by the LG G7 and G7 Plus.

March is quiet, but April could see a Snapdragon 845 in the Xiaomi Mi7. May will seemingly bring the HTC U12, and June will see the OnePlus 6, the ZTE Nubia Z18, and the Sony Xperia XZ Pro all drop at once.

The list gets a little dubious in August, as it claims the Nokia 10 will launch even though we’re still dealing with rumors about the Nokia 9.

In September, we’ll possibly see the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 and the LG V40. October will apparently bring the Google Pixel 3 and the Pixel 3 XL, the ZTE Nubia Z18S, the Sony Xperia XZ2 and the HTC U12 Plus.

After the busy early autumn, the launches appear to slow down, with only a new Moto Z launching in November and the OnePlus 6T and a Samsung-made “W2019” dropping at some point in December.

Snap to it

All in all, it looks about what you’d expect to see from a list of flagship smartphones for next year, although it comes with a couple of mystery choices such as the Nokia 10 and the relatively unknown HTC U12 and LG V40.

In fact, as we reported yesterday, HTC may be largely getting out of the flagship smartphone business next year, even though the HTC U12 is supposedly still a thing. With those kinds of circumstances on the table, it’ll be interesting to see how accurate this list turns out to be in the months to come.

Via Gizchina

• Why is the Snapdragon 845 such a big deal? Check out our rundown!

Apple today released a letter explaining that it’s very, very sorry for that whole bit about forcing older iPhones to slow down in order to preserve their batteries.

As a way of attempting to make up for what it calls the “misunderstanding,” the company is now letting anyone who has an iPhone 6 or later iPhone to come in and replace their batteries for just $29, which represents an impressive discount over the $80 Apple usually charges.

The company also states that the batteries are “consumable components,” and that wording will likely lead to renewed criticisms that Apple should allow us to replace our batteries ourselves.

Unfortunately, the offer is only in place through from January through December of 2018, but Apple also claims that it will also introduce new elements to a future iOS 11 update that give a little more information about your battery’s health. As part of that effort, Apple also introduced a lengthy new support document covering “iPhone Battery and Performance.”

Power failure

Many iPhone owners have believed that Apple has been intentionally slowing down their devices or years, usually with the assumption that Apple was trying to get people to keep buying newer phones than the ones they had.

The truth, according to Apple's letter, is that it’s a little more complex than that. As the newer iPhones since the iPhone 6 age, their batteries don’t remain strong enough to properly power the processor, and so Apple slows them down a bit so as to keep the processors functional.

As we mentioned in our previous coverage, Apple already essentially announced that it was doing this with the release of iOS 10.2.1, which was meant to stop some iPhone 6 units from unexpectedly shutting down. 

All that the patch notes said at the time, though, was that 10.2.1 "improves power management during peak workloads to avoid unexpected shutdowns on iPhone." And that improvement worked, and it worked quickly.

Unfortunately, the true nature of that fix wasn’t revealed by Apple itself; instead, it came from independent researchers such as Geekbench's John Poole who showed how Apple was significantly throttling the iPhone 6 and other phones, leading to accusations of betrayal of trust, lawsuits, and general anger.

Hopefully cheaper battery replacements turn out to be a big step in restoring that trust, but considering that there was already a cynical belief that Apple was mishandling its customers in place, the aftershocks might be felt for a while yet.

• Check out our list of the year's best power banks

Image credit: Energous

Wireless charging is a cool bit of technology as it is, but for the first time, the US Federal Communications Commission has just certified a "power-at-a-distance" charger that makes the current technology look as old-fashioned as sticking in a cord looks now.

The device is called the WattUp Mid Field transmitter, and Energous, the startup responsible for making it, claims it lets you charge multiple devices at once from a distance of around three feet. 

The intended device needs a special internal or external receiver for the WattUp transmitter to work, but apparently the receiver is small enough to fit into most phones, and it reportedly also works with waterproof devices. 

Unfortunately, a distance of three feet probably means the phone still needs to sit in a fixed spot, so you shouldn't get the impression that you can charge your phone in your pocket while strolling around the office. 

Even so, Energous' official announcement gives the example of "charging a fitness band even while wearing it," which appears to mean it may work if the transmitter is beaming the waves at you while you're on the treadmill.

Energous has also developed a version of the charger that works from 15 feet away, but for now only the three-foot version has been approved by the FCC. The company posted a video of the 15-foot transmission back in 2014 , which likely still gives a decent idea of how the FCC-certified version works. 

As that video and more recent videos show, the WattUp even has the power to let you prioritize specific devices with the WattUp. Notably, that feature isn't mentioned in the latest announcement.

Riding the airwaves

Current wireless charging technology relies on inductive charging coils that require the smartphone or other device to physically touch the charger, but the WattUp works by converting electricity into radio frequencies that are then beamed at the device. This means it works regardless of whether the device is physically touching the transmitter or if it's sitting a few feet away.

As a bonus, the WattUp transmitter can work with any device – think Wi-Fi – which means you won't have to worry about your Samsung phone being compatible with a transmitter that's hypothetically made by Apple. (This is especially remarkable as Energous was once rumored to be partnering with Apple for wireless charging, but that no longer seems to be the case.) 

Earlier this year we also heard about another form of "at-a-distance" wireless charging technology from a startup called Pi, but (as of yet) it hasn't been approved by the FCC. It's not really the same type of technology as the WattUp transmitter, though, as Pi's system still relies on a resonant induction.

Unfortunately, we can currently only take Engerous' word for how well the WattUp works, but the company will be showing off the technology at CES 2018 next month in Las Vegas. It'll be a technology to watch, as FCC certification means we may now see it in devices sooner than later.

Google announced today that it's intending to get rid of all apps that aren't built with a 64-bit framework in the future, although it's fortunately giving developers and users alike until August of 2019 to switch over. After that, though, 32-bit apps are going the way of the dinosaurs.

The move is meant to prepare for a future version of Android that will only support 64-bit apps, and Google is billing it as an improvement for the platform's security performance as a whole. 

"For apps that use native libraries, 64-bit code typically offers significantly better performance, with additional registers and new instructions," the announcement post says.

In fact, it's likely that many cross-platform developers are already prepared for the shift, as Apple already ended support for 32-bit apps in iOS 11 back in September.

One step ahead

The post, which is aimed at Android developers, also details new API level requirements. Under the new rules, developers will have to start specifically designing for Android Oreo's interface beginning in August of 2018, even if the app doesn't actually require Oreo.  Each time a new version of Android comes out, Google will update this requirement for the next year with a new version to target.

In addition, Google announced that it's introducing security metadata that can prove if a particular app was authentically downloaded through the Google Play store, which should help reduce malware downloads.

The hope seems to be that the changes will result in a more stable and uniform Google Play store experience, much as you get with Apple's comparatively (until now) stricter App Store. 

The new guidelines are part of a larger push toward greater standardization of the Android experience, such as how Google now requires all new phones that ship with Android Oreo to support Project Treble, Android's new auto-update feature.

• Google Pixel 2 review: meet Google's flagship smartphone

As far-fetched as it may seem, scientists have been toying around with the idea of self-repairing smartphone screens for a few years now, but only a few devices, such as the curved LG G Flex 2, have taken these substances seriously. 

Now, though, scientists from the University of Tokyo have published a fascinating study in Science describing a new polymer for self-repairing smartphone screens. 

This one looks more promising than some of the previous efforts. Should you drop it and crack it, the polymer needs no interaction other than pressure from your fingers to clear up the cracks. Take that, $249 screen repairs.

It's called " polyether-thioureas ," which admittedly doesn't roll off the tongue as well as, say, Gorilla Glass. Many other types of "self-healing" glass require some kind of heat, but this new polymer can be repaired at room temperature just by pressing down on it with your hand. 

As with many of the best discoveries, the polymer was discovered by accident, The Guardian reports. University of Tokyo graduate student Yu Yanagisawa was planning on making the substance into a glue, but discovered the polymer's strange qualities after noticing the edges would bond again after being cut. Even better (for our purposes), the sheets would regain their original strength within a couple of hours. 

Yanagisawa sees such materials as essential for reducing the waste associated with traditional smartphone repairs.

“I hope the repairable glass becomes a new environment-friendly material that avoids the need to be thrown away if broken," he said.

Power trip

The big question is whether this new material can conduct electricity, which is important in an age when many smartphones have electrodes underneath the screen that help track your touch interactions. This lack of conduction was why the "self-healing" materials on the LG G Flex 2 were only used for the case rather than the screen.

The discovery comes a little over half a year after researchers at the University of California, Riverside discovered another, similar polymer that could be stretched to 50 times its original size and could stitch itself back together within a day.

In a statement to Business Insider at the time, project lead Chao Wang expressed high hopes for the material, predicting that it would appear in phones by 2020.

"Within three years, more self-healing products will go to market and change our everyday life, " he said. "It will make our cellphones achieve much better performance than what they can achieve right now."

• The 2020 Olympic medals will be made using old smartphones

You may have thought that physical smartphone keyboards were dead aside from BlackBerry's dogged releases like the KeyOne, but an upcoming Nokia device might also be bucking the touchscreen trend, at least according to a source who spoke with Nokia Power User.

The rumors follow the recent US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval of a new phone called the "TA-1047." Details are scant, but the documentation refers to a smallish phone that's only 133 mm x 68 mm (5.23 x 2.67 inches), and, well, that's about the only information we know. 

When the news dropped, most speculation assumed it'd be another Android-powered phone with thinner bezels in line with the usual trends.

But according to "an educated guess by a well-known source that has been behind many Nokia leaks," the phone may actually end up being a device with a 3.3-inch, 480 x 480 resolution screen and (shocker) a physical QWERTY keyboard. 

The source also claims the TA-1047 will possibly be powered by a weak Qualcomm 205 processor and host a operating system known as "Kai OS".

Kai could be a highly customized version of Android or a redesign of the Series 30+ OS seen in the Nokia 3310, but the documentation provides no clue. We've heard about the Firefox OS-based "Kai OS" in news about the JioPhone, but it's not clear if "well-known source" is referring to the same thing.

A lack of tact

A new (and likely inexpensive) smartphone with a tactile keyboard sounds interesting, but there's a chance many of us will never see it anyway. 

Even though the product was cleared by the FCC, GizChina spotted a passage in the cover letter to the FCC that explicitly states the device will not be available in the US market.

Again, this is all speculation, and from a nebulous source at that. But if the TA-1047 does turn out to have a tactile keyboard, it proves that someone other than BlackBerry is willing to carry the torch for whatever reason. Whether it's worth it remains to be seen.

Via Digital Trends

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