Finally, after a long wait, OnePlus has launched their first foldable phone, the Open. This phone, announced yesterday, on October 19, will be available for purchase later next week. But, OnePlus isn’t the only company with a new phone out— Samsung is out with their own Galaxy A05s, which is a relatively budget friendly option, while still packing a punch. Apart from that, there’s new features to check out on WhatsApp, YouTube and Instagram. Read this and other tech news in this edition of Today in Tech.
Creased out: OnePlus Open foldable phone launched at Rs.1,39,999
OnePlus has made its entry into the foldable smartphone market with the OnePlus Open. Since this phone has two screens, lets start right there. The cover screen sizes in at 6.31-inches, with an aspect ratio of 20:09. When open, the device has a large 7.82-inch main display that boasts an 89.6 per cent screen-to-body ratio.
Under the hood, it sports the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. This foldable features a “triple main camera” setup. There’s a 48MP primary camera with OIS, complemented by a 64MP periscope telephoto with 6x in-sensor lossless zoom and OIS, and a 48MP ultra-wide angle camera. As for the selfie cameras, there are two— a 20MP sensor on the main display and a 32MP camera on cover screen.
The OnePlus Open price in India stands at Rs 1,39,999, at launch. It will be available in two colours on the official website and key online and offline stores starting October 27.
WhatsApp tests ‘view once’ mode for ‘voice notes’
WhatsApp is testing a ‘view once’, or rather ‘listen once’ mode for voice notes. Only available to Android and iOS users on the beta version of the app, the feature can be accessed by tapping the “1” icon that appears to the right of the voice note waveform when recording.
This is a one time listenable message, similar to one time view pictures and videos. These voice notes cannot be exported, forwarded, or shared with others. In addition recipients won’t be able to save or record one-time voice notes.
AMD introduces new flagship Ryzen Threadripper & Threadripper PRO chips
AMD has a new line-up of Ryzen Threadripper 7000 Series processors for high performance workstations. There is now a set of Threadripper PRO 7000 WX-Series processors for enterprise level computing, and the reintroduced Threadripper processor lineup which is geared towards the high-end desktop space.
Pair it up with high end RAM: These PRO series processors offer up to 384MB of L3 cache along with eight channels for DDR5 memory for applications which require high memory capacity and bandwidth.
Meanwhile, the Threadripper 7000 Series is built to enable powerful I/O for desktop users, with up to 48 PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes for graphics, storage, and more. Capable of more high memory bandwidth compared to typical dual-channel desktop systems, the quad-channel DDR5 memory controller on here can support extremely intensive workflows.
Instagram could allow polls in comments section of posts
Instagram will soon allow users to create polls in the comments section of their posts. It’s just a limited test for now, but Mark Zuckerberg stated in his own update that it will be “rolling out to everyone soon.”
Polls in the comments section will look similar to those in Stories, where they’ve been available to users as a sticker for years, according to Engadget. It’s unclear how long polls will remain open after they’re posted, or if users will be able to choose from different timeframes to continue receiving votes.
Smartphone shipments in India for Q3 of 2023 take a dip
According to a report by Canalysis, smartphone shipments to India have noticed a significant dip. As per the report, a 3 percent year-on-year (YoY) decrease for Q3 (July-September period) was noted. Talking figures, Canalysis revealed that 43 million smartphones were shipped to India in Q3 of 2023. Despite this, Samsung has managed to retain a spot for themselves, and ofcourse it’s at the top. The second, third, fourth and fifth places, for smartphone shipments to India are held by Xiaomi, Vivo, Realme and Oppo. As was expected, users are likely to hold on to their cash till the festive season, which will see bonanza deals and offers on tech.
YouTube Premium now has added functionality
Adding several new features to it’s premium tier, YouTube will launch a ‘You’ tab on their app, in addition to more functionality right from the lockscreen. The You tab within the app now combines your YouTube library as well as your own profile and account. As for the lockscreen functions, there’s a new scrubber, and you can even watch videos when your phone is locked. One of the more neater features is that you can hum or sing a song and YouTube will recognize it.
Samsung Galaxy A05s launched in india
Samsung has launched an all new smartphone in the mid-range segment, one where it has quite a lot of competition from the likes of Vivo, Xiaomi, Oppo and others. Their all new A05s smartphone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 680 chip along with 6GB of RAM. On the front is a 6.7-inch full-HD+ LCD screen. The phone supports 4G connectivity and runs on Android 13 out-of-the-box. Round back, there’s a triple rear camera setup, headlined by a 50-megapixel primary camera. Powering it all is a 5,000mAh battery with support for 25W charging.
X to roll out three tiers of paid subscription plans
X will soon roll out two new paid premium tiers. X Premium subscriptions are launching soon, although a date is unknown at this point. X is planning to split its premium paid subscription service into three membership tiers by 2024. There would then be a Basic Plan, a Standard Plan, and a Plus Plan, at various price points.
The entry-level Basic plan will not reduce the number of ads that users see on the platform. The Standard tier will show half as many ads and the top Plus premium offering will remove ads entirely and may cost more than $8 per month.
