OnePlus is taking an interesting approach with its next-generation smartphone.
The Chinese manufacturer is reportedly gearing up to start production for its 2017 flagship handset and it seems the company might skip the ‘four’ and follow up the 3T straight with the OnePlus 5.
The unusual decision purportedly has to do with an old Chinese superstition – more commonly known as tetraphobia – which associates the number ‘four’ with bad luck.
The phonemaker isn’t counting solely on good luck though. Among other things, the OnePlus 5 is expected to feature a 5.5-inch 2K resolution display, Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 , 3,000mAh battery as well as 23MP rear-facing camera, Chinese outlet PC Pop reports .
The publication further said the flagship could come with 8GB of RAM – 2GB more than the 3T’s 6GB configuration.
But more interestingly, the new device could significantly diverge from previous OnePlus designs. Rumors suggest the handset will have little to no bezel and will likely also move the fingerprint scanner to the back – much like the Samsung Galaxy S8 . But it might also retain its capacitive buttons on the front.
It remains unclear when and at what price the OnePlus 5 will land, but we’ll let you know as soon as we learn more.
Pebble launches its first round smartwatch, arriving in November from $249
Pebble , best known for its Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel smartwatches, has announced its first circular device, the Pebble Time Round.
The device follows the recent trend for circular, rather than square-edged smartwatches – most notably with devices like the Moto 360 and Huawei Watch .
The Round is 7.5mm thick and weighs 28 grams, making it exactly half the weight of the lightest Apple Watch and more than 100 grams lighter than a 42mm model with a stainless steel strap.
The Pebble Time Round’s band comes in either 14mm or 20mm and the unit is available in one of three different colors – black, silver or rose gold. There are different leather and stainless steel bands available too, which can easily be swapped using the quick-release mechanism.
Crucially, Pebble says that the new model can last up to two days on a single charge – and you can get a day’s use out of it from just 15 minutes of charging.
Just like previous versions, the Round will ship with a color e-ink display and is compatible with Android and iOS devices.
Alongside the new watch, Pebble launched a new SDK that allows developers to make (or modify) their apps for the round screen.
While the Pebble Time Round is available to reserve for customers in the US (to arrive in early November) from $249/£229, it won’t be making its way to Europe until next year. A spokesperson confirmed it should be available in the UK before the end of 2015, though.
➤ Pebble
An Ubuntu HDMI dongle that runs Intel hardware is going on sale next week for $110
Canonical has announced that an Ubuntu-flavored version of the Intel Compute Stick will go on sale next week, priced at around $110, via online and brick-and-mortar stockists.
Essentially, the Intel Compute Stick is an HDMI dongle that you plug into a TV or monitor to get a PC-like experience, which makes it attractive for use as a halfway house between something like a Chromecast and having a full media center plugged into your TV, for example.
The stick will ship with the 64-bit version of Ubuntu 14.04 LTS pre-installed and has an Intel Atom 1.3Ghz quad-core processor, 1GB RAM and 8GB of on-board storage. There’s a microSD slot for additional storage too.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Intel Compute Stick but it is the first time that the Ubuntu version has been offered for sale. The Windows version, with slightly better hardware, costs a little more though, at $150.
The Ubuntu version will be available from retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy and Neweggom, but Canonical didn’t say exactly when next week they’d go on sale.
➤ Intel Compute Stick
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