Samsung now making chips for Bitcoin mining hardware

Even Samsung’s foundries have been roped into making Bitcoin mining hardware now. The design for the ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) was completed last year and it went into mass production this month, according to The Bell. These ASIC chips are headed to an unnamed company in China.

An analyst from Samsung Securities stated that producing ASICs takes up only a small portion of the capacity of the company’s foundries. So this shouldn’t affect the production of other chips.

Still, this is a win for Samsung. For example, Bitmain (one of largest makers of Bitcoin mining hardware) fabs its AntMiner chips over at TSMC (based on its 16nm process). Samsung did not say which node is being used for its Bitcoin chips.

The company also started mass producing GDDR6 chips recently, which would be a boon for mining GPU-based cryptocurrencies (mining Bitcoin on a GPU is a lost cause, but it’s the most popular option for Ethereum).

Oreo update now rolling out to OnePlus 5T users

The OnePlus 5T may be the company’s latest device, but it is also the last to receive Oreo. The beta testing is complete and OxygenOS 5.0.2 is rolling out over the air.

The update brings a new design for Quick settings as well as new versions for some system apps. It squashes several bugs, the biggest fix being mitigation for Spectre-style attacks.

As for the system apps, the Launcher was bumped up to v2.2 (includes goodies like dark theme), the gallery to v2.0 (tabs and Maps integration), Weather to 1.9 and the File manager to 1.7.6. This is an incremental update and only a small percentage of users will get it today. If all goes well, the rollout will expand in the next few days.

Motorola launches 6GB RAM variant of the Moto X4 with Oreo

Motorola has launched a new variant of the Moto X4 in India. This device has 6GB RAM over the 4GB on standard model, 64GB storage and comes with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. It is priced at INR 24,999 ($393) and will be available exclusively through Flipkart and Moto Hubs in India, starting January 31, 11:59pm IST.

The new Moto X4 comes with all the additional features that you expect from Android Oreo, including smart text selection, improved notifications, split-screen apps support, autofill framework for apps such as 1Password and LastPass, and improved battery life.

iPhone X Bentley Edition

When you cross two expensive brands you get a hybrid with an even bigger price tag. I don’t know what it says on that price tag in the case of this special edition iPhone X for Bentley.

It’s a limited edition, you can see that the unit in the photo is #19 out of 100. I kind of like the look of 18K gold on black glass, though we’re not sure about Bentley logos completely displacing Apple’s.

Galaxy S9 and S9+ press images leak

The Galaxy S9 duo have leaked again, this time in a press image, courtesy Evan Blass aka evleaks writing for VentureBeat.

From the image, you wouldn't really be able to tell these are new devices at first glance until someone told you otherwise. The phones feature largely the same design as last year's S8 and S8+ but have slightly thinner bezels, especially at the bottom.

Although the back of the phones aren't visible in this image, Blass confirmed that it will be different from the current S8, wherein the cameras will be mounted vertically and the fingerprint sensor placed below them, making it easier to reach.

The S9 and S9+ are also said to differ much more from each other than the S8 and S8+ did. The 6.2-inch S9+ will get 6GB RAM and 128GB storage while the 5.8-inch S9 will have 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. The S9+ will also have a dual rear camera system while the S9 will have only a single camera.

Speaking of cameras, the teaser for the phones talks exclusively about the camera being reimagined. On that front, we know that the main rear camera found on both phones will have variable aperture from f2.4 to f1.5 and also 480fps 720p slow motion recording that is triggered automatically when it detects fast motion.

The phones will be announced at MWC on February 25 and according to the date on the screen in the image should likely go on sale on March 16.

Nokia 10 sketch hints at penta-camera setup

The plot thickens regarding the eagerly-anticipated Nokia 10 and its alleged penta-camera setup. To be clear, beyond a leaked Snapdragon 845 future device list and a few crude schematics, at this point, no concrete evidence has been brought forward to prove HMD is even working on a Nokia 10, let alone one with a revolutionary camera.

That being said, however, the various bits and pieces do seem to be aligning suspiciously well, forming an overall picture. The latest development comes in the form of a rather detailed sketch of the back side of the alleged Nokia 10. Its source is an industry insider, apparently basing the drawing on information, as well as an interesting ZEISS patent for a mobile multi-lens camera solution.

According to the sketch artist, this setup is placed within the round camera module on the back, with the lenses themselves rotating around and repositioning above the main camera in the middle of the module. The Nokia 10 is also said to feature a secondary camera, on the very top of said module. Its supplementary features (wider field of view, bokeh, etc.) are still unclear.

As for the rest of the Nokia 10 hardware, as previously mentioned, it will likely be powered by a Snapdragon 845 chipset and could feature an 18:9 display. Design-wise, the source claims it will share many of the traits of the Nokia 9 - also unannounced. Most notably, a 3D glass back and front.

The device featured on the sketch on the right of the Nokia 10 does match up with earlier back plate and case leaks attributed to the Nokia 9, giving even more merit to the insider info.

Sources suggest the Nokia 10 could arrive as early as IFA 2018 in Berlin this September. Meaning, there is still some waiting to be done and likely more info on the horizon. Even so, there might very well be a Nokia 7 Plus to look forward to at MWC 2018 in just a few days.

iOS 11.3 will let you disable battery-related throttling

This spring iPhone 6 (and later) users will regain control over the performance of their phone. iOS 11.3 will add more detailed info on the battery’s health and whether or not the chipset is throttled. If it is, there will be an option to return it to full speed.

This new version of iOS came out in beta today, but the battery toggle has not been implemented yet. It will be added in a later beta release.

Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus might arrive in India as Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

 Xiaomi announced the Redmi 5 and the Redmi 5 Plus back in December, but the phones are currently available through official channels only in China. An arrival of the devices is expected in February, according to a tweet from Clinton Jeff, Product PR at Xiaomi.

Xiaomi is also having a monthly discussion with its Mi Community on the Redmi Note series. This might be an overture to the introduction of Redmi 5 Plus as a Redmi Note 5 in the global markets.

Both the Redmi Note 3 and the Redmi Note 4 were first tested by “Mi Explorers” under the Mi Generation program that will be a point of discussion at the upcoming meeting. From the looks of it Xiaomi will relaunch it for the Redmi 5 phones. Changing the Redmi 5 Plus name to Redmi Note 5 seems logical, especially knowing that Xiaomi gives different names to the same phone - just check out the Redmi Note 5A Prime or the Redmi 4X.

Xiaomi Mi A1 finally getting Android 8.0 Oreo

Today, I got the Oreo update on my Mi A1. This comes after a tweet by Xiaomi India which announced the pending start of the update seeding yesterday.

The update weighs in more than 1GB so it's quite a large download. It also brings the December security updates. 

 

We are also yet to hear whether the final build brings the fast charging support, which was available in the earlier beta build.

 

Users who update should expect to see the standard new Oreo features such a lighter UI color, the notification dots, Auto Fill in apps, Night Light mode, Picture-in-Picture mode, and others.