RIP: the deal between Qualcomm and Iridium to bring satellite connectivity to smartphones for two-way emergency messaging has collapsed, as reported by PCMag.

Qualcomm announced Snapdragon Satellite back in January of this year and said that "emergency messaging on Snapdragon Satellite is planned to be available on next-generation smartphones, launched in select regions starting in the second half of 2023."

However, Iridium in a press release today said that "the companies successfully developed and demonstrated the technology; however, notwithstanding this technical success, smartphone manufacturers have not included the technology in their devices."

Given all the hype around satellite messaging on Apple devices, I'm surprised that there wasn't much interest from Android smartphone makers! Perhaps the cost to support this in terms of extra hardware needed plus patent licensing wasn't worth the relatively small number of users who might utilize this feature?

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EDIT: It wasn't that Android smartphone makers weren't interested in bringing satellite connectivity to their phones, but instead they wanted a "standards-based solution" instead of a proprietary one.

Qualcomm said in a statement to CNBC that smartphone makers have "indicated a preference towards standards-based solutions" for satellite-to-phone connectivity. "We expect to continue to collaborate with Iridium on standards-based solutions while discontinuing efforts on the proprietary solution that was introduced earlier this year," the company said.

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In any case, Iridium says that, with the termination of its agreement with Qualcomm, it will be "free to directly re-engage with smartphone OEMs, other chipmakers, and smartphone operating system developers that the Company had been collaborating with previously." It will also pursue "new relationships with smart device OEMs, chipmakers, and developers for its existing and future service plans."

Valve announced Steam Deck OLED

This new Steam Deck OLED is more like a Steam Deck Pro variant.
It is the “first handheld with HDR OLED”.

Comes with 50% battery improvement over the original Steam Deck but features the same processor

What's NEW:
• 7.4-inch RGB-stripe OLED custom Samsung Display
• 90Hz refresh rate
• 1000-nit HDR peak brightness
• Multi-color indicator LED
• 110% DCI-P3 color gamut
(OG Steam Deck has 67% sRGB)

• More efficient die-shrink 6nm AMD “Sephiroth” APU
• 50Wh battery (up from 40Wh)
• 6400MT/s memory (up from 5500MT/s)
“Onboard mic can now be used simultaneously as headphone jack”

• Larger & quieter fan
• Larger heatsink
• Louder speakers “with improved bass”
• “Higher fidelity haptics”
• 29g lighter & Wi-Fi 6E

Machine screws on rear cover with metal bosses for easier repair
Replacing the display does not require taking the back off

Priced at 550$ for 512GB model

Steam Deck 2 is still in the works

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First look at OnePlus Watch 2 Renders
Source

After launching the OnePlus Watch 1 in 2021, OnePlus is now preparing to launch the Watch 2 in 2024

The OnePlus Watch 2 will flaunt a 1.43-inch AMOLED display & will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 processor

It will run latest WearOS 4 by Google

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Redmi 13C Launched Globally

This is the rebranded Poco C65 which was launched a few days ago. It comes with the same specsheet:

• 6.74" (1600x720 px) HD+ resolution LCD Display
• 90Hz refresh rate
• 600nits brightness

• MediaTek Helio G85 12nm SoC
• 8GB Virtual RAM support
• eMMC 5.1 storage
• MicroSD Card slot

• 50MP main + 2MP useless dual rear camera
• 8MP front camera
• 5000mAh battery with 18W charging
• Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
• 3.5mm audio jack; FM Radio
Colors: Black, Blue & Purple

Priced at 110$ for 4GB RAM & 128GB storage

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First Look at the Polestar Phone

Volvo and Polestar are owned by Geely and now it has even purchased MEIZU, a Chinese smartphone brand.
The company teased Polestar Phone’s design during its inaugural Polestar Day event.

This Polestar Phone will be launched in December 2023 and will be made by Meizu only. It will be a premium device

The phone has the signature Meizu design language seen on the Meizu 20 series with a flat metal frame and three camera modules

Polestar will integrate this upcoming phone with its cars and Meizu even has its own Flyme Auto car software.

It might come with Polestar OS interface which is likely developed in collaboration with Meizu.

This phone could be EXCLUSIVE to China

Seems like Car manufactures are shifting to smartphones (Nio and Polestar) & smartphone makers shifting to cars (Apple and Xiaomi)

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Honor X50i Plus launched in China

From the looks, Honor has shamelessly copied iPhone's design from rear & front both

Specifications:
• 6.7-inch FHD resolution OLED
• 90Hz refresh rate
• 3240Hz PWM dimming
• 2000nits brightness

• MediaTek Dimensity 6080 SoC
(rebranded Dimensity 810 chip)
• 12GB Physical + 8GB Virtual RAM

• 8MP Front camera
• 108MP main + 2MP useless dual rear camera
• Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
• 4500mAh battery
• 35W fast charging
Colors: Liquid Pink, Fantasy Night Black, Ink Jade Green & Water Blue

Prices:
• 12GB + 256GB = 1,599 CNY (~$220)
• 12GB + 512GB = 1,799 CNY (~$250)

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Xiaomi is the MOST Creative brand of all time

Xiaomi proudly unveiled the Mi 14 Pro in Titanium by shamelessly replicating the iPhone 15 Pro intro video.
it's not a glitch in the matrix, it's just Xiaomi hitting the copy-paste jackpot again!

Can't design your own intro video? Just borrow someone else's!

It's almost impressive how Xiaomi, despite being a giant, got ZERO creativity
It's not just a smartphone; it's a tribute to the lack of originality.

Even an independent designer with a laptop could whip up a more creative intro video than Xiaomi which has thousands of designers/engineers

Then in their launch event, Xiaomi compares their smartphone with iPhones after copy-pasting intro videos, cloning features, and still walking around like they invented the wheel.

From 'borrowing' QS tiles to hijacking animations & now the launch video – Xiaomi has become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the 'Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V' Olympics.

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Realme GT 5 Pro Leaks

Specifications:
• 6.78-inch (1264x2780px) Curved OLED BOE display
• 120Hz refresh rate
• 3000nits peak brightness
• 1.07 Billion colors display

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC
• LPDDR5X RAM ; UFS 4.0 storage
• Large area Heat dissipation

• 50MP main (Sony LYT-808, OIS)
• 8MP UltraWide
• 50MP Periscope Telephoto (IMX 890)
• 2.7X Optical Zoom

• 32MP Front camera
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• 5400mAh battery
• 100W SuperVOOC wired + 50W Wireless charging
• USB-C 3.2 finally

Launching at the end of this month in China

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Apple Music Award Design Features Apple's Custom Silicon Wafer

Taylor Swift is Apple Music’s Artist of the Year for 2023

As Apple Music’s Artist of the Year, Swift will receive a physical award that represents the extraordinary craftsmanship integral to creating music.

Each Apple Music Award features Apple’s custom 12-inch silicon wafer suspended between a polished sheet of glass, and a machined and anodized aluminum body."

Awarding a custom silicon wafer for being artist of the year has existed since 2019

Imo, pretty creative way to honor someone so thought of sharing it with you

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Vivo Watch 3 powered by Vivo's BlueOS launched in China

The vivo WATCH 3 operates on the all-new Blue OS developed by Vivo which is based on the Rust language

Specifications:
• 1.43-inch (466×466 px) AMOLED screen
• Stainless steel casing
• Bestechnic BES2700BP platform
• 64MB RAM with 4GB storage

• 100+ sports modes, professional coach & courses
Sensors: Optical heart rate, blood oxygen monitoring, air-pressure etc

• 5ATM water resistant
• Speaker & microphone for voice calling
• e-SIM support; NFC
• 505mAh battery
• 7 days battery life on LTE & 16 days on Bluetooth

Colors: black, moonlight white, starlight, and bright moon
Pricing:
• BT + rubber strap = CNY 1099 (~150$)
• BT + leather strap = CNY 1199 (~165$)
• LTE + rubber strap = CNY 1299 (~178$)
• LTE + leather strap = CNY 1399 (~191$)

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Amazon is making its own Linux-Based OS to replace Android

Amazon’s new OS is being developed under the codename 'Vega'.

Amazon is building its own iOS/Android competitor and has tasked “hundreds of people” within the Amazon Device OS group with building it. Vega is expected to begin shipping on Fire TVs early next year. An SDK is now being readied for release so developers have time to port their apps to Vega ahead of its debut.

Amazon’s new operating system is also based on a flavor of Linux, and is using a more web-forward application model. App developers are being told to use React Native as an application framework, which allows them to build native apps with Javascript-powered interfaces

Vega is primed for lower-power devices that struggle with the bloat Android contains.

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