Best Buy sells third-gen Chromecast and there are downsides on all sides

The actual hardware has been revealed to feature a few changes and a couple of similarities to previous Chromecasts that aren't at all impressive.

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iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max reportedly hit with a charging bug

The brand new iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max handsets have only been in customers' hands for a week, but already a problem has emerged – namely that some models don't start charging when plugged into the mains if the screen is off when they're connected.

At the moment the issue is only anecdotal, but based on forum posts and YouTube videos it seems to be genuine, even if the scale of the problem isn't clear yet. We've tested charging behavior on our own iPhone XS in the TechRadar office and it works fine, so this isn't something that's affecting every handset out there.

Some users report it's phone inactivity that causes the charging cable not to be recognized, rather than the screen being off. In just about every case we've seen, charging carries on normally as soon as the phone gets unlocked or is interacted with.

It's a bug's life

Considering charging is only disabled under certain conditions, it seems that this is likely to be a software issue that Apple could fix with a quick iOS update, rather than having to recall millions of iPhones only days after the first batch got sent out. As yet Apple hasn't commented on the issue, but we'll post its response here if one arrives.

One possibility is that the bug is related to the restrictions Apple has placed around USB access to the iPhone with iOS 12. They're designed to make it more difficult to extract data from the device when the screen is locked, but it might have interfered with charging too.

For now though that's just speculation – we'll have to wait and see what the Apple engineers say when they've taken a look at the issue. Considering iOS 11 had its fair share of bugs, including autocorrect problems and unresponsive screens, Apple will want to get this one fixed as quickly as it can.

Via MacRumors

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Things we are excited to see in Mate 20 launch in October

Apple released the iPhone XS last weekend with a price tag that can run as high as AED 6,000 (US$ 1,600) and as good of a phone as it is, you might want to wait some time before committing that much money. There are tons of new Android phones being announced in October from the likes of LG, Samsung, HMD and Huawei. And based on recent leaks, the Huawei Mate 20 is shaping up to be the phone to beat this year.

Where the iPhone XS and the Galaxy Note 9 were minor upgrades from last years models with not much in terms of innovation, the Huawei Mate 20 is looking to be brand new handsets with technologies that will power the next generation of smartphones.

Let’s take a look at some of the features that are expected on the Mate 20 series based on the recent leaks leading up to the launch in mid-October.

Design

According to a leak on Weibo, the Huawei Mate 20 series might feature a smooth and symmetrical body This source also suggests that the Huawei Mate 20 series features the world’s first design where the speaker and microphone are integrated into the USB Type-C port.

Other than that, some "official marketing pictures" have been picked up by WinFuture and show three color options, with black and blue finishes showing up alongside Huawei's stylish Twilight, two-tone finish.


There is a feature which is noticeably absent - a fingerprint scanner. This could indicate that the Huawei Mate 20 Pro could come with face recognition technology as its main biometric function, but according to the same source it will also feature an in-display fingerprint scanner.

Chipset

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro will pack the new Kirin 980 chipset which was the world’s first officially announced 7nm silicon and boast an octa-core setup. We’ve covered this new chipset from Huawei claims is 75% faster than its previous generation as far as the CPU is concerned and 46% faster when it comes to the GPU. 

Besides being very speedy, power efficiency is supposedly 57% better on the processor and an extremely impressive 178% better on the the GPU. These advancements should make the Kirin 980 faster and a lot more efficient.


Camera

Huawei has continuously pushed the boundaries with camera technology on their smartphones. The Hauwei Mate 20 series is expected to continue with the three camera setup found on the Huawei P20 Pro released earlier this year. There are bound to be improvements which are most likely be on the software and AI side.


The latest leak suggests that the Mate 20 Pro could have the best camera on a smartphone with the highest DXO Mark score of 116. That's a full seven points higher than the previous top score of 109, achieved by the Huawei P20 Pro, but since the Mate 20 Pro is likely to have an upgraded version of that phone’s camera it’s believable.


Wireless Supercharging

One feature that has been lacking on Huawei phones is wireless charging and looks like Huawei is set to make a grand entry with that. An image posted on Weibo shows Huawei's wireless charger LZ80 with a 20W output.

To put things in perspective, Samsung's latest wireless charger has an output of 9W.  Whilst Qi wireless charging standard only supports up to 15W, it is believed there will be some kind of custom chipset in Huawei devices that would allow it to take advantage of the charger’s full power. This could be built into the Kirin 980, meaning the Mate 20 will be able to use the full 20W, while other Qi compatible devices will only have access to 15W.

Huawei is expected to reveal the Mate 20 series on October 16th in London. TechRadar will be there to cover the event and report about any of the above and all other exciting announcements from the launch.

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Voice unlock and more advanced tech tipped for the Huawei Mate 20 Pro

As the official October 16 launch date of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro approaches, we're hearing more and more about what to expect from Huawei's latest premium handset. The latest leaks suggest the phone will come packed with some cutting-edge mobile tech.

According to internal presentation slides obtained by Israeli tech site Girafa, we're going to see something called Bone Voice ID, which will use bundled earphones and bone conduction technology to verify users based on their voice. There will also be an in-display fingerprint scanner on the front of the phone, which we've heard about before.

The slides also show off the Nano SD memory card format that Huawei supposedly has in the works – the primary difference between this proprietary tech and standard memory cards seems to be a smaller size, but we'll no doubt hear more on October 16.

Specs appeal

There's also mention of the smartphone specs we've seen mooted before: a huge 6.9-inch screen, the Kirin 980 chipset, 6GB of RAM and a 4,200mAh battery. It looks like Huawei is going to pack everything it's got into the Pro version of the Mate 20.

We've also got confirmation of the specs of the standard Huawei Mate 20 – a 6.53-inch screen, 4GB of RAM and a 4,000mAh battery. This smartphone looks set to arrive without the in-display fingerprint scanner, just a standard one around the back, but both phones will have Voice ID as well as an advanced face unlock mechanism.

Finally, it looks like both the Mate 20 and the Mate 20 Pro will have a 24-megapixel, triple-lens camera pixel camera around the back. Of course the Huawei Mate 20 Lite has already been unveiled, the lower-end of the three handsets.

Via Phandroid

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Google Pixel 3 XL Hands-On Video, New Galaxy Note 9 Colors | Pocketnow Daily

Also on our show, a much-awaited leak of the rear of the Razer Phone 2. The iPhone XR gets its marks from the FCC. And Spotify cracks down on families.

The post Google Pixel 3 XL Hands-On Video, New Galaxy Note 9 Colors | Pocketnow Daily appeared first on Pocketnow.

iPhone XS drop test: see the Apple’s ‘most durable glass ever’ fall from two stories

Apple boldly claims that its iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are outfitted with the 'most durable glass ever on a smartphone,' and we're seeing that put to the test today.

While results may vary, the iPhone XS was able to survive an 11-foot drop in a daring test by Tom's Guide. There'a drop test video proving it landed safely despite falling face-first onto concrete.

The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max also survived three-foot, four-foot, and five-foot drops, landing in various ways: on the bottom edge, face-down, and the back of the phone. These are the normal heights from which clumsy people (not you or me, of course) accidentally drop phones all of the time.

It took a 20-foot plunge to smash the iPhone XS Max glass in the drop test finale. The two-story drop rendered the smartphone inoperable. It seemed to have more cracks than pixels – and went from Super Retina to super ruined.

The case for iPhone XS cases

Today's drop test tells us two things: first, the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are probably using Corning's new Gorilla Glass 6 (Apple never says for sure), which is supposedly two times stronger than Gorilla Glass 5. The Samsung Galaxy S10 may get the same extra-strong protection.

Second, even with the extra protection, you're probably going to want to invest in an iPhone XS case if you're buying a iPhone that starts at $999 / £999 / AU$1,629. You also may want to invest in AppleCare+, too.

Apple's claim that it uses the 'most durable glass ever on a smartphone' does check out, at least for this particular test. Tom's Guide wisely mentions "your own mileage may vary." We've often found that to be true in our own personal iPhone drop tests that are also totally-on-purpose (but not really).

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LG Watch W7 is long-rumored Watch Timepiece that will debut with V40

The watch has been in the rumor mill for most of the year and could actually become part of the payload come October 3 with the launch of the V40.

The post LG Watch W7 is long-rumored Watch Timepiece that will debut with V40 appeared first on Pocketnow.

Getting less from the iPhone XS? | #PNWeekly 325

Also on our show, Qualcomm is batting up at Apple while hoping to get back together with it and the executive crises at Facebook.

The post Getting less from the iPhone XS? | #PNWeekly 325 appeared first on Pocketnow.