Pocketnow Daily: NEW MacBook Pro: Apple Experiments With Materials? (video)

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Galaxy S21 combos, Smart TVs, Chromebooks and more are also on sale

Sony headphones, Amazon’s Fire TV Stick and more are on sale today

Come on, say it with me, the official news today begin with deals. Yes, the Galaxy S21, S21+, the Ultra and every product we got at Unpacked is still available for pre-orders with huge savings but, you only have 2 days left to pre-order it. So, if you get the Galaxy S21, it is available for just $99 and the S21+ for $299, if you have an eligible device for trade-in and you also get $100 or $150 respectively in instant credit for accessories and 6 months of Spotify Premium. When it comes to the S21 Ultra, that one is available for just $499, with up to $200 in instant credit, a smart tag, and 4 months of YouTube Premium. Also, don’t forget that we have a 15% discount on the Award Winning UB from SUPCASE. Use promo code POCKETNOW15 on SUPCASE.com or promo code 10POCKETNOW on Amazon to get 10% off. Now for the old faithfulls that are still awesome deals, the Galaxy Z Flip is available for just $299, while the Z Fold 2 is still available for $1000 if you have an eligible device for trade-in. If you’re looking for some headphones, Sony’s WH-1000 XM4’s are currently $72 off, leaving them at $280. The AirPods Pro are also $49 off, leaving them at $200. Finally, if you want a Fire TV Stick Lite, it’s currently $8 off leaving it at just $22. We have more deals on other headphones, earbuds and more in the links below, and don’t forget we’ve partnered with SUPCASE to give away a Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Ultra, so follow the first link in the description and enter promo code POCKETNOWGALAXY to enhance your chances to win.


 

Sony Xperia Pro finally comes to the US market with an eye-watering $2,500 price tag

Let’s stick to some official but crazy news, you’ll see why, like how much are you willing to spend on a smartphone? See, we know that a lot of you guys are fans of Sony phones as, they pack some pretty neat but pretty niche features. Well, the Sony Xperia Pro which was announced nearly a year ago is finally making its way to the US in all of the mainstream retailers, but sadly not for the mainstream audience. This is sort of a higher end variant of the Xperia 1 II, which brings a 6.5in 4K HDR OLED Display, in Sony’s typical 21:9 aspect ratio. For those of you who don’t know, what makes this phone so special is that it brings a dedicated HDMI port at the bottom, next to the USB C charging port. The reason that HDMI port is there is for you to plug in the phone to your camera and use it as a View Finder, in addition to take advantage of 5G to “allow you to livestream the footage being captured to platforms like YouTube and Twitch.” The reason why I say it’s crazy, well it packs the Snapdragon 865, 12GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage but it costs $2500. So yeah, $2500 for a “camera companion” that’s also your phone, for that price, a newer flagship and a dedicated monitor sounds like kind of a better deal. I highly recommend you watch Michael Fisher’s review which just went live for more of an idea of what you’re really buying into.

Samsung Galaxy S21 shipments may not be as great as its predecessors

Last year was a rocky year for everybody but, Samsung had a rough patch at the beginning of the year with the S20 Series where the pricing, the pandemic and a lot of factors contributed to that. This year, the company is being extremely aggressive with those pre-order deals, and a better price tag for much better phones but, it looks like they don’t want to get their hopes up too high. According to a new report, Samsung is estimating a total of 26M Galaxy S21 flagships sold by the end of 2021 which is on par with what the Galaxy S20 Series sold last year. For context, Sammy was originally expecting 35M units shipped last year but 26M is as far as they got. Now, apparently the main driver this year will be the regular Galaxy S21 with 10M units, and both the S21+ and S21 Ultra are expected to sell 8M units each. And of course, sales and shipped units are two different things but they are interconnected so even if the shipments are lower that doesn’t mean that they expect to sell less. We’ll see what ends up happening as Samsung’s new price tags and pre-order perks are kind of irresistible.

OnePlus camera could get Moon mode, Focus Peaking, Tilt-Shift and more features

OnePlus 9 series won’t feature a periscope camera

Moving on to OnePlus, we’re getting closer to the OnePlus 9 Series which is reportedly coming out sometime in late March. So far, we’re expecting 3 different phones, the 9, 9 Pro and the 9 Lite. For the 9 we’re expecting a 6.55in display with a flat design and 120Hz refresh rate, it’ll be powered by the Snapdragon 888 5G, running Android 11 out of the box. When it comes to the cameras, a new tweet from Max Jambor claims that the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro will not bring a periscope lens like the one we get on phones like the S21 Ultra or P40 Pro. We also have some new screenshots of the Android 11 Open OS beta for the OnePlus 7T which shows several new camera features which could be coming with the 9 Series. First we got Tilt-Shift mode which allows you to make scenes appear much smaller than they actually are. Next up we have Stardust which let’s you point the camera at a bright source of light, like the sun and it let’s you see an actual star-shape and not just a dot. Finally, you also get Moon Mode, to capture night shots with the OnePlus 9 Series. Apparently other features that might make the cut include Hyperlapse and Focus Peaking. We’ll see how rumors evolve, like if we’ll be getting these on all 3 phones and other things so let’s see.

Story of the day:

Apple is experimenting with Titanium for making MacBooks and iPads

And finally, for the hottest news today, let’s move on to Macs as, well we’re expecting some major redesigns and upgrades to most of Cupertino’s line up, but now things seem to evolve even further. Focusing on the new MacBook Pros, Apple just filed a new patent titled “Titanium Parts having a blasted Surface Texture”. This patent explains that the anodized aluminum used in the current MacBooks and iPads is not as hard or durable as titanium, and well, science agrees. The problem with titanium is that it’s difficult to “etch”, so it is often described as aesthetically unattractive. If you remember, back in 2001, the PowerBook G4 which preceded the MacBook Pro actually had a titanium variant. Now, this patent provides a different solution by outlining a blasting, etching and chemical process to give a titanium enclosure a more attractive appearance. Apple is describing the surface as including “peaks separated by valleys” but don’t worry, the rest of the process will allow it to retain a high-gloss surface finish. Now, we know Titanium has made a comeback with Apple, as the Apple Watch Edition has a Titanium casing option. However, this new process could allow for titanium cases for other Apple Watches, iPads and even the iPhone. Last month Apple was granted another patent for a Matte Black MacBook Pro and, it looks like they are finding other ways to get rid of the anodized aluminum and make Macs more durable. Sadly, there are no rumors for this to come to the Macs we’re expecting this year but, we hope it eventually comes out.

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Sony Xperia Pro finally comes to the US market with an eye-watering $2,500 price tag

Almost a year after its official debut, the Xperia Pro has finally made it to the US shores. And for all its professional appeal and features, you’ll have to pay a bomb – $2,499.99. Sony says that the phone will be available to buy starting today from a handful of authorized dealers across the country. And in case you were wondering, it comes in a single black trim. 

Inside, the Xperia Pro is virtually identical to the Xperia 1 II flagship that was launched last year. You get a 6.5-inch 4K (3840×1644 pixels) HDR OLED display with a tall 21: 9 aspect ratio. The phone itself can be used as a high-resolution viewfinder by connecting the phone with a high-end camera via the HDMI port. Yes, the Xperia Pro has an HDMI port at the bottom, sitting alongside the USB Type-C port for charging and file transfer.

And since the Sony offering also supports 5G in the US, the Xperia Pro will also allow you to livestream the footage being captured with the connected camera directly to platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. While mmWave 5G is fast enough for the aforesaid task, Sony has equipped the phone with a 360-degree antenna for better network reception, while the material used in the chassis allows radio waves to pass through more easily. 

As for the rest of the Xperia Pro’s internal specifications, you get the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC under the hood, paired with 12 gigs of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. Plus, the onboard storage can be expanded via a microSD card up to 1TB. A 4,000mAh battery provides the juice.

Sony’s offering packs three 12MP cameras at the back (wide + ultrawide + telephoto), and you get support for features such as cinematic 24FPS video capture at 4K resolution. For selfies and video calls, the phone comes equipped with an 8MP snapper. Plus, the Sony Xperia Pro also offers an IP68-certified build. 

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Almost a year after its launch, Sony Xperia Pro 5G might finally come to the US market

So, Sony launched the sleek Xperia 1 II flagship all the way back in February and it hit the US soil rather late in June. But if you remember, Sony also launched another flagship alongside the Xperia 1 II called the Xperia Pro 5G that offered mmWave 5G support and had some extra camera-centric chops. Well, it appears that the Xperia Pro 5G is finally ready to hit the US shores soon, but ten months too late following its launch.

It will most likely cost over $1000

Now, we don’t know a date as to when the Xperia Pro 5G will go on pre-order or starts shipping. B&H has currently listed the status as “Coming Soon”, and is asking users to sign up to get notified when it eventually goes on sale or the pre-orders go live for customers in the US. So yeah, your guess is as good as ours in this case. Now, there is no information about how much it will burn from your wallet, but it will most likely cost north of $1,000 if the Xperia 1 II’s asking price is any indication.

Talking about the device itself, the Xperia Pro 5G comes equipped with a 6.5-inch 4K (3840×1644 pixels) HDR OLED display with a tall 21: 9 aspect ratio. The IP68-rated device is powered by the Snapdragon 865 SoC ticking alongside 12GB of RAM and 512 gigs of onboard storage that can further be expanded using a microSD card of up to 1TB capacity. A 4,000mAh battery with support for fast charging keeps the lights on.

READ MORE: Sony Xperia 5 II is a compact powerhouse with a 120Hz OLED display and serious camera chops
Image: Sony

In the imaging department, you get a trio of 12MP sensors (wide + ultra-wide + telephoto) cameras at the back that offer up to 3x optical zoom output and can shoot cinematic 24 FPS (25/30/60 FPS options also available) videos at 4K resolution. An 8MP camera on the front handles selfies and video calls.

What separates the Xperia Pro 5G from the Xperia 1 II is its 360-degree 5G antenna system that is more efficient at picking up mmWave 5G signals. Notably, the Sony offering has an HDMI port at the bottom and can be connected to a professional camera to serve as a hi-res 4K monitor. When used as a monitor, the device offers controls such as brightness, pinch to zoom, and grid lines.

Also, when it is connected to a camera, the device can also be used to directly stream videos over a 5G network. Sony says that the wired connection between the phone and a professional camera also makes the process of file transfer much faster.

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