Articles by Derrek Lee

OPPO becomes the second OEM to use the Snapdragon Wear 4100.

What you need to know

OPPO has launched the OPPO Watch 2 with the Snapdragon Wear 4100 chipset.
The company claims up to 16 days of battery life thanks to its Ultra Dynamic Dual Engine.
The OPPO Watch 2 is only available in China for now, with an international launch likely planned for next month.

OPPO has just launched the follow-up to last year’s impressive OPPO Watch, this time with a new processor and vastly improved battery life.

The new watch doesn’t stray far from its predecessor in terms of looks, with a rectangular design closely matching the Apple Watch. The OPPO Watch 2 comes with a curved 1.75-inch or 1.91-inch AMOLED display for the 42mm and 46mm sizes, respectively. The display has a pixel density of 336ppi and runs at a relatively smooth 60Hz.

The new OPPO Watch 2 features the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 chipset, making OPPO only the second OEM to make use of the new chip since it launched las…

Another BlackBerry is on the way, but do you care?

The smartphone industry has become a cutthroat business, and only those that can keep up will last. Companies like Nokia and LG have fallen victim to the fast-moving business. BlackBerry used to be one of the biggest players in the market, but the rise of all-screen smartphones, among other things, brought the company to its knees more than once. But now, it appears BlackBerry is getting another chance, and we want to know if you’d actually be interested in a new BlackBerry smartphone.

Would you buy a 5G BlackBerry smartphone?

After years of struggling to keep up with the best Android phones, TCL managed to give BlackBerry new life in 2016 by agreeing to build its smartphones while Blackberry would focus solely on its software. However, that partnership ended last year, which seemed to mark the final death of BlackBerry. Until, later that same year, the company entered a partnership with OnwardMobile and FIH Mobile Limited to bui…

Qualcomm is one of Intel’s biggest competitors, and that makes it an ideal situation.

What you need to know

Intel announced a new node process for building chips.
The new 20A process includes Intel’s first new architecture in 10 years as it fights to regain its spot as a top chipmaker.
Intel will be using its new process to build future Qualcomm chips.

Intel has unveiled its plans to regain its spot as a top chipmaker and has managed to make Qualcomm an integral part of its roadmap.

As part of its plan to supercharge its chip business, Intel Foundry Services will use a new 20A node process that includes its first new architecture design in a decade. Intel says that RibbonFet promises faster switching speeds “while achieving the same drive current as multiple fins in a smaller footprint.” It’s coupled with the company’s new PowerVia technology for backside power delivery to help make chips more efficient.

The new process node isn’t expected to be ready until 2024. Still, Intel …

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are happening now!

After the Tokyo Olympics were postponed last year due to the pandemic, things are back on. The time has come when the people you didn’t know were into sports suddenly spring into action and start cheering on their countries in various sports events. There’s been some drama in the lead-up to the big event, but the opening ceremony went off without a hitch, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are now underway. So, naturally, we want to know if you’re tuning in to watch!

Are you planning on watching the 2020 Summer Olympic Games?

There are a few ways you can go about watching the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Most notably, the event is hosted by NBC, meaning your best way to catch the games is with the NBC Peacock app. Chromecast with Google TV owners can find this and other apps broadcasting the Olympics on the For You tab.

YouTube TV subscribers can easily tune into NBCUniversal’s live coverage of the games. You can even catch the even in glorious 4K tha…

It’s a nice perk for Olympic athletes.

What you need to know

Samsung is giving athletes gift bags for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The gift bag includes a new smartphone, wireless earbuds, a pen, and a case.
Samsung has been a long-time partner of the Olympics.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics is underway, and as one of the event sponsors, Samsung is providing gift bags for competing athletes. One athlete just showed off the goodies in a TikTok video, and it’s quite the generous package.

British slalom canoeist Bradley Forbes-Cryans took to his social media to show off the Samsung Galaxy S21 Tokyo 2020 Athlete Phone, a limited version of the Galaxy S21 with an exclusive colorway and official Olympic branding. Besides the new color and branding, it’s largely the same phone running the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888

In addition to receiving one of the best Android phones on the market, athletes are also receiving the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro with a separate white case, as well as a premium-looking c…

Spotify and Giphy make an unlikely pair.

What you need to know

Spotify has partnered with Giphy to integrate the music service into the GIF platform.
Select artists will feature direct links to their Spotify pages on Giphy.
Artists include Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj, The Weeknd, and more.

Spotify announced a partnership with Giphy this week to bring music to your favorite GIFs, in a move that may leave some scratching their heads.

Thanks to the new partnership, whenever you search for a GIF from select music artists, you’ll have the opportunity to jump straight into their Spotify page to a listening session.

“No matter how you pronounce it, GIFs are the ultimate visual metaphor,” Spotify said in its announcement. “And now, thanks to a partnership with Spotify and Giphy, music can be part of the equation.”

Selecting a GIF from an artist’s verified Giphy profile will display a tag underneath the GIF that will prompt you to listen to the artists, and clicking it will bring you straig…

Corning says its new smartphone camera glass is coming first to Samsung Galaxy phones.

What you need to know

Corning is bringing its Gorilla Glass with DX/DX+ to smartphone cameras.
The company claims tougher glass, clearer images, and more light capture.
Samsung Galaxy smartphones will be the first to adopt the new lens cover.

Corning has announced that it’s bringing its tough glass solution to smartphone cameras. The new glass composite products are dubbed Gorilla Glass with DX and Gorilla Glass with DX+.

While the company previously released this product to help protect some of the best Android smartwatches, Corning says this is a new category for them and that bringing their new product to smartphone cameras “enables professional-grade image capture through a unique combination of advanced optical performance, superior scratch resistance, and durability.”

Corning says that glare from taking photos is reduced by 98%, compared to the antireflective coating typically found on…

Android 12 is trading some customization options for others.

What you need to know

Users have noticed that certain customization options have been missing from the Android 12 beta.
A comment on the Google Issue Tracker appears to confirm the removal of these features.
Android 12 beta is approaching platform stability, meaning everything will be final.

Android 12 is close to final, but some users aren’t too happy with one change that’s been made to remove certain customization options in favor of others.

XDA-Developers spotted a thread in the Google Issue Tracker, highlighting the lack of Custom Styles in the Pixel Wallpaper & Styles menu. The complaint states that customization options “have been reduced to almost none” and that the change “destroyed a lot of appeal of pure Android and Google phones.”

Others have chimed in, agreeing with the complaint, but a comment from Google may have provided the final word on the issue:

The custom style features (font, icon shape, …

Twitter finally heard our pleas.

What you need to know

Twitter is testing a dislike button on its platform.
The new upvotes and downvotes will have a few different styles and only apply to tweet responses.
Downvotes won’t show publicly but will be visible to the original tweeter.
The test is currently rolling out for some iOS users.

Twitter has announced that it’s started testing letting users dislike tweets with a new upvote/downvote system.

The company says that the new system will appear in a few different styles and will be used as a way to figure out the kinds of responses Twitter users like. The company also says that dislikes or “downvotes” aren’t shown publicly and that the original Tweeter won’t be notified of them but will still be able to see them.

Some of you on iOS may see different options to up or down vote on replies. We’re testing this to understand the types of replies you find relevant in a convo, so we can work on ways to show more of them. Your downvotes a…

The FTC is going all-in on restoring the Right to Repair movement.

What you need to know

The FTC has unanimously voted on increasing efforts on enforcing unlawful repair restrictions.
Consumers are encouraged to submit complaints of companies violating certain product warranty laws.
The new Right to Repair efforts come just after an executive order from President Joe Biden encouraged action by the FTC.

The FTC is ramping up its efforts on restoring the Right to Repair movement, thanks to a unanimous vote on Wednesday laying out a new policy statement.

The new policy statement says that the FTC will direct more attention to unlawful repair restrictions imposed by companies that discourage consumers and small businesses from repairing their own devices. That includes using third-party parts or seeking assistance from third-party repair shops like iFixit.

The policy statement follows a sweeping executive order laid out by President Joe Biden, which sets the groundwork for reignin…