Anyone who isn't familiar with the business relationship that the two companies actually share will probably assume that Apple and Samsung are the worst of enemies. Although that statement wouldn't really be off by much, the truth is that the two giants have had multiple business relationships for years now, in spite of all the controversies and lawsuits in-between them. For example, the rigid OLED panel used in making the innovative touch bar for the new range of Apple MacBook Pros is a product supplied from the A2 line of Samsung Displays.

The reason as to why Apple chose OLED over LCD for making the touch bar lies in the fact that OLED panels are considerably slimmer than LCD panels (three times approximately). Another report indicates that even the Driver IC used to bond the touch bar to the MacBook was supplied by System LSI division of the Korean tech giant. There is no doubt that OLED is the next step in terms of display evolution as they consume less power, produce better colors and have a lower response time than LCD. In fact, most smartphones have been predicted to switch over to OLED panels by 2018. Once you consider that Samsung is the largest OLED panel manufacturer in the world, the future does seem bright for them.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

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Vivo is no longer just another Chinese manufacturer trying to copy Apple; as a matter of fact, it has not only risen as a global smartphone OEM to reckon with, one can go as far as saying that the Chinese company has managed to beat both Samsung and Apple when it comes to introducing true innovation. If you are wondering why anyone would think so, then you probably don't know that Vivo has already showcased the in-display, under the screen fingerprint scanner with its Vivo X20 Plus UD smartphone, that both Apple and Samsung have failed to do, even after repeated attempts by the latter in the last year or so. As if that was not impressive enough, take a look at the leaked shots of this smartphone from Vivo, which will likely be coming in with the in-screen fingerprint scanner and this gorgeous, truly bezel-less display.

Sources are unsure whether this is the Vivo Xplay 7 or not, but it could very well be. It would be really interesting to see if Vivo also packs in a 4K resolution in that beautiful display, just like the rumors had been predicting. If they do, that would make Vivo the only company apart from Sony to have a smartphone with a 4K display. It is quite possible that the upcoming Snapdragon 845 SoC will be powering the device as well, alongside an internal storage capacity of 256GB/512GB. Would you buy this beauty if it became available in your country?

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Tags: apple macbook pro’s impressive oled touch bar was supplied samsung vivo preparing most visually impressive phone ever 

 

Vivo is ready to launch two brand new phones for its X-series. The two models are Vivo X30 and X30 Pro. Both of these phones have 5G network support and are the first mobile phones to be powered by the Exynos 980 processor. Both phones have a similar design with a punch-hole display at the top right corner of the panel for the selfie camera. The phones are covered in glass on both sides and have some shades. Both have a large 6.44-inch super AMOLED display with a 2400 x 1080 resolution. Under the display, there is a fingerprint scanner and a support for face unlock.

The phones are powered by the latest Exynos 980 processing chip with 5G modem integration which was developed by Samsung and Vivo in partnership. The octa-core processor features cortex-A77 cores and paired with 8GB of RAM on both phones with the option of 128GB or 256GB of storage. The processing chip has support for SA and NSA networks (n41 and n78 bands) and boasts up to 2.55Gbps in the download speed. For connectivity, both phones have support for Bluetooth, NFC, and there is also an audio jack for sound. Vivo ships both phones with a 4350mAh battery with support for fast charging via USB type-c.

Now, you must be wondering that if the specs are the same for both phones, why there are even two models? Well, the phones have different camera specs and price tags. The Vivo X30 has a triple camera - a 64MP f/1.8 camera with a 26.4mm focal length; an 8MP ultrawide angle camera with an f/2.2 aperture, 16mm focal length and a 112° field of view; and a whopping 32MP f/2.0 professional portrait camera with a 50mm focal length. The camera has a super night mode 2.0 to reduce noise and bring a brighter picture even at night.

The X30 Pro also has a 64MP primary rear camera with the same f/1.8 aperture and 26.4mm focal length. It pairs it with an 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide angle camera with a 122° FOV and also has a 32MP professional f/2.0 portrait camera with a 50mm focal length. Vivo then rounds it off with a 13MP periscope lens with a 5x optical zoom. The Vivo X30 is priced at ¥3298 (~$472) for the 128GB version and ¥3598 (~$515) for the 256GB version.

 

 

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It would be a lie to state that the Galaxy Note 9 is almost the same as the Note 8, but as far as looks are concerned, they do look almost identical! Nevertheless, it features every innovation that the last leak suggested, but at an eye-watering price of $999.99 and $1249.50 for the 128GB/6GB and 512GB/8GB versions respectively. Primary highlight of the unveiling was the new Bluetooth powered S-Pen's capabilities, which comes with its own battery now. In addition to the stylus finctionalities, the S-Pen can also be used as a remote control for controlling the Note 9. AI powered scene detection, a bigger battery and early adopter goodies for Fortnite players were the other highlights of the show. Do check out the full spec list below.

Display: 6.4-inch, 18.5:9, Super AMOLED display at 2,960 x 1,440 resolution (516 ppi)

SoC: Global: 10 nm, 64-bit, octa-core Samsung Exynos 9810 (2.8 GHz quad + 1.7 GHz quad); U.S.: 10nm, 64-bit, octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845

GPU: ARM Mali-G72 MP18 (Exynos); Adreno 630 (Snapdragon)

RAM: 6GB or 8GB LPDDR4 RAM

Storage: 128GB or 512GB with microSD expansion up to 512GB

Rear Cameras: Dual camera with dual OIS, Wide-angle: Super Speed Dual Pixel 12 MP AF sensor with OIS, f/1.5 and f/2.4 apertures; Telephoto: 12 MP AF sensor, f/2.4 aperture, 2x zoom

Front: 8 MP AF sensor, f/1.7 aperture

Audio: Stereo speakers tuned by AKG, surround sound with Dolby Atmos technology

Audio formats: MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, DSF, DFF, APE

Video: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM

Battery: 4,000mAh battery

Fast Wired Charging compatible with QC 2.0

Fast Wireless Charging compatible with WPC and PMA

IP rating: IP68

Sensors: Iris, pressure, accelerometer, barometer, fingerprint, gyro, geomagnetic, hall, HR, proximity, RGB Light

Network: Enhanced 4X4 MIMO/CA, LAA, LTE Cat. 18

Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, 1024QAM

Bluetooth: v5.0 (LE up to 2 Mbps)

ANT+

USB Type-C

NFC

Location: GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou

SIM: Single nano-SIM

Authentication  Lock type: Pattern, PIN, password

Biometric lock type: iris scanner, fingerprint scanner, face recognition, Intelligent Scan

Software: Android 8.1 with Samsung Experience

Dimensions and weight: 161.9 x 76.4 x 8.8mm, 201g

Colors: Lavender Purple, Ocean Blue, Midnight Black, Metallic Copper

***All pictures were obtained from Android Authority

Saikat Kar

Tags: apple macbook pro’s impressive oled touch bar was supplied samsung vivo preparing most visually impressive phone ever vivo x30 series has impressive design zoom cameras galaxy note unveiled both impressive expensive