Ever wondered what Alexander The Great’s face looked like while he was plotting his next military conquest? Or Albert Einstien casually smiling in a eureka moment after cracking the mass-energy conversion code? Or your grandfather rocking his cowboy hat and a badass handlebar? If yes, then MyHeritage’s mind-bending AI project will do just that and fulfill your wish.
Aptly named Deep Nostalgia, this AI needs just a picture of someone’s face to create a short clip of around 15 seconds with eerily accurate facial movements and an overall smooth flow. And yes, the results are impressive and creepy to equal measure. Don’t believe me? Just visit this page, upload a picture of your great-grandma, and see her come to life in a short clip in just about 10-15 seconds.
The AI is groundbreaking, and it actually sounds appealing on paper, especially when it comes to having an opportunity of imagining your deceased relatives and ancestors appear lively. But history buffs, including me, are having a gala time with it right now, experimenting it even on mummies and statues of historical figures ranging from Plato to Alexander the Great. Have a look at some of the results:
1. The best recreation of Deep Nostalgia I’ve seen so far on the internet
4. The great Napoleon (with a not so great jawline), and a long dead, random Swiss chap with the jawline of Greek Gods
Adelasius Ebalchus lived in northern Switzerland 1,300 years ago. He was in his late teens or early twenties when he died. Sculpture by Oscar Nilsson. pic.twitter.com/s73zJk4eFH
11. Just a couple of ancient portraits smiling, thanks AI!
Another mummy portrait. I'd guess not surprising these look so realistic, after all they are some of the more realistic portrayals of humans from the ancient Mediterranean pic.twitter.com/VmRIRvlczc
MyHeritage says it has licensed a photo animating technology from D-ID that relies on machine learning for facial re-enactment. “The Deep Nostalgia feature uses several drivers prepared by MyHeritage. Each driver is a video consisting of a fixed sequence of movements and gestures. Deep Nostalgia can very accurately apply the drivers to a face in your still photo, creating a short video that you can share with your friends and family. The driver guides the movements in the animation so you can see your ancestors smile, blink, and turn their heads,” says the company in the FAQ section.
And in case you’re wondering, yes, it can animate all the faces in a yellowing family portrait. However, you have to click on each face to individually see the animated clip. Right now, you have to sign up in order to animate a photo, and depending on the complexity, it may take anywhere between 10-20 seconds to bring a picture to life. And yes, it works for both color and monotone pictures. Your turn next, Google!
OnePlus is rumored to launch its next wave of flagship killer phones – the OnePlus 9, 9 Pro, and 9E (aka 9 Lite) later this month. Multiple leaks that have emerged so far have given us an idea about what to expect from the most powerful member of the aforementioned trio – the OnePlus 9 Pro – both in terms of design and internal hardware. Now, a fresh leak claims to show an impressive camera capability upgrade for the device, alongside a few other specifications.
Alleged screenshots of the camera app’s UI on OnePlus 9 Pro, courtesy of Techmaniacs, shows the option to capture 4K videos at 120 FPS frame rate. Now, this is a big boost compared to its predecessor, which locked 4K video capture at up to 60 FPS. The new camera trick will also give the OnePlus 9 Pro an edge over rival camera-centric phones such as the iPhone 12 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, both of which can record 4K videos at a peak frame rate of 60 FPS only.
The leak also suggests that the next OnePlus offering will also be able to shoot 8K videos, but this will almost certainly be capped at 30 FPS. The other screenshot, which purportedly shows the ‘About Phone’ page of the OnePlus 9 Pro, reveals the presence of four rear cameras – 48MP + 50MP + 8MP + 2MP. We’ve also heard rumors of a 4,500mAh battery on the device that will offer support for an impressive 45W wireless charging, while wired charging capability will also not-too-shabby at 65W.
As per previous leaks, OnePlus 9 Pro’s Hasselblad-branded camera setup will include the new 50MP Sony sensor, accompanied by a 48MP wide-angle camera. The display will measure 6.7-inches diagonally and will reportedly employ an LTPO panel to offer a 120Hz Adaptive Refresh rate experience. Additionally, the leaked screenshot also mentions 8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage, likely ticking alongside the Snapdragon 888 processor. but more powerful memory configurations might be in the pipeline as well.
Microsoft is currently at work trying to bring its xCloud game streaming service to more platforms, with a web-based solution currently being in the test phase for its arrival on PC and iOS. But if you’ve been playing games over the cloud on your Android phone or tablet, you must be aware of the 720p resolution limit, which is honestly quite disappointing. However, Microsoft is looking to bump the cloud game streaming resolution to 1080p, and the tests are already underway.
As per separate reports from The Verge and Windows Central, Microsoft has started testing 1080p streaming for the xCloud service. However, it is unclear when the resolution boost will go live widely for all users. The improvement in visual quality likely comes as part of an infrastructure upgrade that involves replacing the older Xbox One S server blades with more powerful Xbox Series X boards.
The next-gen processor inside the Xbox Series X is way more powerful compared to the server blades based on the existing Xbox One S boards, and is said to come with a built-in video encoder that is reportedly 6x faster. Additionally, the faster SSDs inside Microsoft’s latest console might also reduce the game loading times on the xCloud service. As for the resolution bump, games will no longer look like a blurry mess at 720p resolution, especially on tablets.
In comparison, the free tier of rival game streaming service from Google – Stadia – already offers 1080p resolution, and goes all the way up to 4K. As for xCloud, you currently need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription that costs $14.99 per month. For that price, you get perks such as cloud game streaming, access to over 100 games (on mobile, PC as well as consoles), exclusive discounts, EA Play subscription as well as Xbox Live Gold benefits.
Microsoft is currently at work trying to bring its xCloud game streaming service to more platforms, with a web-based solution currently being in the test phase for its arrival on PC and iOS. But if you’ve been playing games over the cloud on your Android phone or tablet, you must be aware of the 720p resolution limit, which is honestly quite disappointing. However, Microsoft is looking to bump the cloud game streaming resolution to 1080p, and the tests are already underway.
As per separate reports from The Verge and Windows Central, Microsoft has started testing 1080p streaming for the xCloud service. However, it is unclear when the resolution boost will go live widely for all users. The improvement in visual quality likely comes as part of an infrastructure upgrade that involves replacing the older Xbox One S server blades with more powerful Xbox Series X boards.
The next-gen processor inside the Xbox Series X is way more powerful compared to the server blades based on the existing Xbox One S boards, and is said to come with a built-in video encoder that is reportedly 6x faster. Additionally, the faster SSDs inside Microsoft’s latest console might also reduce the game loading times on the xCloud service. As for the resolution bump, games will no longer look like a blurry mess at 720p resolution, especially on tablets.
In comparison, the free tier of rival game streaming service from Google – Stadia – already offers 1080p resolution, and goes all the way up to 4K. As for xCloud, you currently need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription that costs $14.99 per month. For that price, you get perks such as cloud game streaming, access to over 100 games (on mobile, PC as well as consoles), exclusive discounts, EA Play subscription as well as Xbox Live Gold benefits.
If you’ve been following HUAWEI and its development over the past quinquennial, you know very well that the two flagships, the spring P-series, and the autumn Mate-series are two different animals.
The P40 – which earned our Road Warrior award for the Pro version, and the Best Camera of 2020 for the Pro+ variant – is aimed towards the creative, focusing on multimedia and photography. The Mate-series is the one pushing the limits of performance. It is also the device that usually introduces the latest iteration of the Kirin chipset, and other advancements.
That has certainly been the case with the Mate 40 Pro, bringing even more power to the palm of your hands. Three months after starting using it, this is our HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro review, long-term.
Design
HUAWEI decided to spruce up the color palette of the Mate 40 Pro, offering it in White, Black, Olive Green, Sunflower Yellow, and the very interesting, chameleonic, Mystic Silver we have over here.
This color option shifts shades from dull silver all the way to red, through orange, yellow, green, and starting from blue. It’s got most of the colors in the spectrum if the proper light hits it at the right angle. The matte finish of the glass also helps keep fingerprints to a decent amount.
The display is curved towards the edges, and so are all the extremities of the back panel. This makes the phone incredibly easy to grab, and ergonomic. The buttons are easily reachable with the power button on the lower side being painted in vibrant red. The volume rockers are placed towards the top, but you also have the option to control output via the virtual buttons on the left side of the display.
At first, I didn’t know what to think about the round, Oreo-like camera arrangement on the back, with the Leica branding in its middle, painted with the same color-shifting shade as the rest of the phone’s backside. I guess this makes it a circle, rather than a disc or an Oreo. You catch my drift. HUAWEI calls it “the Space Ring”.
Overall, we think HUAWEI nailed it with the design, materials, and overall finish of the Mate 40 Pro. That is why Pocketnow decided to honor the HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro with its Editor’s Choice Award for design.
Specs
The Mate 40 Pro, as the case with any Mate model before it, is a beast. It is powered by the 5nm octa-core last-gen Kirin 9000 processor, which contains a 24-core Mali G78 GPU, three NPUs, as well as modems capable of operating on most 5G networks and frequencies.
Couple that with 8GB of RAM and future-proofing just got an entirely new meaning. It also features 256GB of storage, and a 4,400mAh battery capable of 66W wired, and 50W fast wireless charging.
The display is a gorgeous 6.76-inch OLED panel with an FHD+ resolution of 2772 x 1344 pixels and a max refresh rate of 90Hz. Aside from the fact that it’s a gorgeous display, it is also extremely curved around the edges, to the point where content flows over almost to a 90-degree angle.
Underneath the display, you’ll find a fingerprint scanner that is fast and accurate and gives you an easy alternative to unlock your phone in case facial recognition fails, you know, due to the fact that you’re wearing a mask most of the time when you’re out.
Just in case HUAWEI needed to prove that they really mean business with the Mate 40 Pro, they packed a total of 5 cameras, 3 on the back and 2 on the front.
On the back, you’ll find a trio of 50MP Ultra Vision Camera (Wide Angle, f/1.9 aperture), 20MP Cine Camera (Ultra-Wide Angle, f/1.8 aperture), and 12MP Telephoto Camera (f/3.4 aperture, OIS), as well as the LED flash.
On the front, inside the oval pill-shaped cutout, there’s a 13MP Ultra Vision Selfie Camera (Wide Angle, f/2.4), as well as the 3D Depth Sensing Camera.
Performance
I’ll be honest, I haven’t handled a smartphone snappier than the Mate 40 Pro in the past 12 months. Whether it’s the fast processor, the amount of memory, or EMUI 11 (or a combination of all the aforementioned), I really don’t know, but it’s wicked!
Throw at it whatever you want and it will instantly execute without breaking a sweat. It does that both fresh after a restart as well as running without a reboot for days.
We won’t bore you with benchmarks and other analytical information (there are other reviews out there that specifically focus on that) as we here at Pocketnow believe in real-life performance.
Now, whether you’re playing a demanding game, like Asphalt 9 Legends, or you have several other applications running in the background, you won’t feel any lag, delay, or hiccups.
While we weren’t able to test out 5G due to the lack of service in this particular region, we can safely say that the same performance is translated to WiFi and 4G as well. Data speeds are right there at the upper limit of what the service provider guarantees. Phone calls and general call audio is crisp and clear, and limited only by the quality of your service provider (for instance Hi-Fi voice is only available if both parties’ phones, and their carriers, support it). That is not the case with calls placed on WhatsApp or Facebook, where the quality is crisp and clear.
This brings us to the speakers. The Mate 40 Pro has a pair of rather powerful speakers, one at the top, and one at the bottom, for stereo effect. They are not only loud, but they produce a rather surprising high-quality sound, considering where that sound is coming from (a phone).
HUAWEI has literally spoiled us with the performance of the cameras it equips its phones with. The triple-camera setup on the Mate 40 Pro is no different. It is needless to say that it’s one of the best camera phones out there, competing head to head with its other siblings in the Mate 40 line-up, as well as the P40 lineup.
Regardless of what you decide to capture for posterity, the Mate 40 Pro will not disappoint, let it be landscapes, close-ups, portraits, etc. Colors are accurate, contrast and depth are spot-on, and with the improved focal length of the ultra-wide camera, you’ll get great results. These are also due to the free form lens Huawei decided to use on the Mate 40 Pro, where an uneven shape is utilized to reduce and sometimes completely remove distortions.
HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro zoom increment samples
HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro miscellaneous camera shots
When it comes to the telephoto lens, you have the option to zoom in optically up to 5X. Since it’s an optical zoom, and it’s heavily stabilized, the quality of the pictures is exceptional. There’s also the option to go further with digital zoom, but we’d advise you to keep it towards the lower end.
And, again, when it comes to low light, Huawei does such a great job that oftentimes night photos are as bright as if they were taken at dawn or sunrise.
HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro night shots (pitch black, all zoom ranges, handheld)
Turning to the front we can only commend Huawei for opting for a wide-angle lens for the selfie camera. It makes it easy to frame your shot, as well as gather more people inside the same frame, should you decide to not distance yourself socially.
HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro selfie shots
Selfies snapped can often benefit from the effects you choose to apply, but you’ll be satisfied with the results even if you opt not to utilize one.
Experience
This elephant in this same room has been addressed so many times before that I feel I’m writing the same paragraphs every time I review a modern HUAWEI smartphone.
Yes, it’s Google! I won’t beat the same dead horse once again. The status quo has become the “norm”, so I think it’s time the world shifts from a complaining/wishful thinking/criticizing mindset to just accepting the product for what it is.
EMUI 11 is based on AOSP Android 11, and, instead of Google Play, you get your apps officially from the HUAWEI AppGallery, or unofficially (at your own risk) from one of the various services out there.
We touched on this topic in detail in at least two of our recent reviews with the occasion of the HUAWEI P40 Pro and Mate 30 Pro. Read any of those (heck, read both!) for more details on the topic.
So instead, we’ll be looking at the present and the future. HUAWEI is not only committed to, but has already proven that it can build a solid alternative ecosystem. The AppGallery is expanding every day and yes, while it’s still far behind the Play Store, chances are more and more apps are available every day, slowly filling in the gap.
Solid Google Maps alternatives are represented by TomTom and Here Maps, local banking apps are being added (localized to each country), Bolt is available as an Uber alternative, so yes, there’s an app gap, but it’s closing slowly to the point where the absence of Google and its services is really manageable.
HUAWEI did a nifty little thing with Quick Apps. You go to a website, like YouTube for instance, and it loads the mobile version of the page (which is pretty much as close as you can get to the mobile app functionality-wise). With Quick Apps, you can send that page directly to your home screen, retaining the icon and everything, so for an untrained eye it would seem like it’s the regular app you have installed.
You can do that with Google Maps, Gmail, and pretty much every other service that has a mobile-optimized web offering. Trust me, even if one or two features are missing (which is on the company that’s offering the service, not HUAWEI), it’s as close as it gets.
HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro review: conclusion
Sure, I’ve been commending and recommending modern HUAWEI smartphones for years now. Their solid build quality, great design, snappy performance, stellar cameras, and the all around experience makes it easy to recommend them hardware-wise.
But it’s the software and services that really made me hold back just a little in recommending a purchase, especially for those who are not advanced users to the point where you can make this work by spending a little extra time and tinkering with the software.
This has now changed thanks to HUAWEI’s efforts. Sure, the product is continuously improving hardware-wise from the predecessor to successor, and that’s easy to recommend, but it’s the company’s software and ecosystem efforts that allow me to finally recommend HUAWEI’s flagship without major reservations, and I think that’s the most important conclusion to our HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro review.
And the thing is, with top-notch hardware components inside the Mate 40 Pro, it’s future proof enough to where it will still be a top performer down the line when the HMS ecosystem will continue developing into what HUAWEI’s vision is down the road.
Samsung made a splash last year when it launched the bean-shaped Galaxy Buds Live earbuds. Focused more on the comfort aspect, they came with an impressive tool up their sleeve – active noise cancellation – at a rather modest asking price of $169. Now, the company is adding some useful tricks to their arsenal with a new software update.
Galaxy Buds Live now let you make left and right earbud sound adjustment
Spotted by a Reddit user (u/apopheniac01), the Galaxy Buds Live update carries the build number R180XXU0AUB5. And as per Samsung’s official update log, it started rolling out on February 23. Another report by SamMobile mentions that the rollout is currently limited to the US market, but users in other regions will get it in the coming days as well.
Coming to the changelog, the update brings some features from the new Galaxy Buds Pro to the bean-shaped earbuds. The first one is hearing aid, which allows users to adjust the sound balance for each earbud based on their preference. This will come in handy for users who have some hearing impairment in either ear.
Auto-switching audio stream between two devices is finally here
The second new feature making its way to the Galaxy Buds Live is Auto Switching. As the name suggests, it allows them to switch the audio stream between two paired devices. For example, if you’re watching a movie while connected to a tablet and get a call on your phone, the audio output will automatically switch to your phone to let you attend it. And once the call is over, media playback via the tablet will resume.
Additionally, the update adds the ability to adjust some of the connectivity settings from the Bluetooth settings section on the phone, instead of opening the companion app and digging deeper inside. Some system stability and reliability improvements are here as well.
Eyeing Samsung’s fancy noise-canceling earbuds? Check out Pocketnow’s review in the video below:
Motorola made one of the most gorgeous Wear OS smartwatches for three generations with the Moto 360 family. However, these wearables were not exactly affordable, with the latest one going for a listed price of $300. It looks like the company is planning to make a splash a splash in the wearable segment with three Moto-branded smartwatches, divided across different families targeting different price brackets. As per leaked CE Brands investor presentations (spotted by WatchSmarty), the company has three smartwatches in the pipeline.
Moto G Watch might be the affordable Wear OS smartwatch you've been waiting for
The first one is Moto G smartwatch, which is going to debut in June as per the expanded product launch schedule shown in the presentation slides. This one has a silver metallic ring, but it doesn’t look like a rotating bezel, and there are two flat buttons along the right half. This is a fresh design approach vis-a-vis the Moto 360, which had two prominent circular buttons. And going by the Moto G Watch name, it appears to be an affordable offering akin to the Moto G series smartphones and will go against the likes of Mobvoi’s TicWatch line.
A month later, the company will unveil two smartwatches – Moto Watch and Moto One. The more interesting one of the duo is the Moto Watch, which has a rectangular profile with rounded edges, but this one has a wider profile compared to the Apple Watch. There is a single button positioned symmetrically alongside the right edge, and nothing like a rotating crown.
Moto Watch and Moto One will likely be the premium offerings set to arrive in July
The Moto Watch will be accompanied by the Moto One, which has a more minimalist rounded profile with two flat buttons alongside the right half. Going solely by the aesthetics, this one appears to be a premium offering. Details about the internal specs or pricing are a mystery at the moment. The slide also gives a glimpse of what looks like a Moto 360 smartwatch with a transparent real, and it looks pretty cool.
Mous has a couple of case options for the Samsung Galaxy S21 lineup. Both models offer AiroShock drop protection while the Limitless 3.0 case includes strategically placed magnets for accessory support.
Well, looks like LG phone owners in the US are finally going to get a taste of Android 11. Yes, a majority of OEMs began seeding the update a while ago, and Google has even released the first Developer Preview of Android 12. But hey, it’s better to finally have it, than not getting the upgrade at all. The update is rolling out for both Verizon and T-Mobile units of the LG flagship.
The official support page for LG V60 ThinQ 5G UW on Verizon mentions that the update started rolling out on February 26 and it carries the build number V600VM20a. But there is some disappointment here. The likes of Samsung have released the March security update for some of their phones, but the Android 11 update for LG V60 ThinQ arrives with the January patch.
T-Mobile, on the other hand, is shipping the Android 11 update (build number V600TM20f) with the February security patch. Notably, the update also enables 5G SA (Standalone) for LG V60 ThinQ units on its network.
As for the changelog, you get the usual set of goodies such as floating bubbles for notifications, overhauled controls, native screen recorder, notifications, wireless Android Auto, and scheduled dark mode. You also get better privacy tools such as the ability to grant one-time app permissions.
Listed below are some additional changes that the Verizon-locked LG V60 ThinQ gets:
Wireless Emergency Alert: Applications and Menu update: In Settings > Network & Internet > Wireless Emergency Alerts, the menu has been updated with Google WEA.
Tap & pay: Tap & pay is now shown when NFC is on, and disappears when it is off. It has also moved from Default apps to Settings > Connected devices > NFC.
Camera:
Tutorial slider: The order of tutorial in the slider windows has been changed to Camera modes and Front/rear cameras. Also the background color has changed to black.
Quick Video: Press and hold the shutter button to record a short video. Drag and hold the button for burst mode.
Switch camera button: The button shape has changed in Photo, Video and Time-lapse mode.
Quick settings:
Three icons (Focus mode, Bedtime mode and Nearby Share) have been added to the main notification panel from the edit list (hidden).
Focus Mode: You can pause distracting apps and hide their notifications on your schedule.
Bedtime Mode: Avoid interruptions such as calls and notification while you sleep.
Nearby Share: Turn on for sharing with nearby devices together.
Here’s what you need to know about Chinese phone brand Oppo, including the phones it makes, the markets it sells to, and any non-phone devices of interest.
Apple is expected to launch an iPad Pro refresh, and possibly a new iPad mini – among other things – at its upcoming March event later next month. But, is the iPad Pro, or any iPad for that matter, still a product that users should be excited about?
Just like its iPhone line-up, Apple’s iPad lineup has something for everyone, with various sizes, colors, and performance figures. While the iPad mini – rumored to be sacrificed for a foldable iPhone within the next couple of years (note: only if it folds out to a bigger canvas) – is still the easiest to manipulate, it offers just a slightly larger display than a large phone. In this particular case, the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Something (an Apple iPad) for everyone
If you’re using your iPad for work, the 12.9 and the 11-inch iPad Pro models have everything you need, whether you’re a graphic designer, photographer, or light content creator.
The new iPad Air, with a slightly smaller display, is a more personal device, thanks to the color options it comes in. It’s a happier tablet that doesn’t scream business like the iPad Pro unless you choose to go for the Space Gray version. This is typically a tablet for media consumption, light office work, and social media, and not because it lacks in horsepower.
Then comes the classic iPad with the old design, but with a really attractive price tag, and last comes the iPad mini, the smallest of all, with just a hair under eight inches.
At the end of the day, we all use the iPads differently, but it’s safe to assume you won’t go for the iPad Pro if all you use it for is watch Pocketnow videos on YouTube.
Is an extra device necessary?
This is a question many, including companies, have tried to answer. Manufacturers have slowly started bridging the gap between smartphones and tablets. This was how the phablet category was created, and today, a six-inch smartphone is pretty much standard, just under two inches away from the smallest iPads (or tablets in general, for that matter).
The question seems to be unanswered, as the problem at its core still remains unsolved. The larger and larger smartphones are getting, the harder and harder they can be fit inside your pockets, purses, etc., which is a problem tablets were facing from the get-go. Trying to solve this problem (among other things, like technological advancements) gave birth to the extremely expensive foldable smartphones which aim to offer the best of both worlds.
But, since not all of us can afford a $2,500 foldable smartphone, and carrying your laptop everywhere you go is not always feasible, I’m afraid the extra device is necessary, with a caveat.
It all comes down to your usage and preference
The only places I’m using my Apple iPad are in the bedroom for the end of day e-book read and Pocketnow Daily video, at the park or coffee shop (if it’s open during the various pandemic health and security protocol stages) to consume media and news, as well as while at my parents or friends’ house, where I need to often have a larger screen but don’t want to carry my laptop.
So, in my case, I do care about the iPad. Well, not “the next iPad”, since I have a fairly fresh model, but as a product category, and I’ll likely care about the 2022 or 2023 iPad when it will be time to upgrade my current model.
How about you? Drop us a line below and tell us whether you care about the iPad or not. Or any tablet, for that matter.