Technology - Google News

Samsung poised to unveil new phones in bid to revive sales - DAWN.com

Posted: 20 Feb 2019 01:44 AM PST

Samsung is expected to show off its latest smartphones on Wednesday, the latest effort by a phone maker to come up with new features compelling enough to end a sales slump.

The new models expected in San Francisco will commemorate the 10th anniversary of Samsung's first smartphone.

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Samsung is also expected to provide a glimpse at a highly anticipated smartphone with a foldable screen.

Apple touted the iPhone's 10th-anniversary edition as a breakthrough when it was released in late 2017. But the iPhone X didn't sell as well as analysts hoped, partly because it carried a $1,000 price tag.

Smartphones made in recent years also haven't made dramatic improvements from earlier models. The lull in innovation has given consumers little incentive to dump their current devices and buy something new.

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HTC announces new Vive Focus with two updated motion controllers - The Verge

Posted: 21 Feb 2019 06:00 AM PST

HTC has announced the Vive Focus Plus, a new version of its Vive Focus standalone headset that includes a pair of its updated motion controllers, which were first announced as developer hardware back in October. Whereas the Vive Focus's sole original controller supported three degrees of freedom, these new controllers support six, meaning they can be tracked as they move around, rather than just as they rotate on the spot.

The addition of these two controllers puts the Vive Focus Plus in direct competition with the Oculus Quest, a standalone headset that's due to be released in spring this year and also includes a pair of controllers. Facebook has promised that its new headset is capable of "arena-scale" tracking, allowing you to walk around as much as 4,000 square feet of space and have the headset track your movement the entire way.

Outside of the new controllers, the headset portion of the Vive Focus Plus is very similar to the original Vive Focus. It still supports six degrees of freedom tracking, it's powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, and it's equipped with a 3K (read: 2880 x 1600) AMOLED display. The Vive Wave platform powers the Vive Focus Plus, and you can download new content and apps from the Viveport online store. However, the design of the headset has been slightly tweaked to create more forehead contact area, which HTC claims allows the its weight to be better distributed.

The Vive Focus Plus is aimed primarily at business customers, and will be available in 25 countries including the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Japan, and China. HTC has yet to announce any pricing for its new headset, but it has said that it expects it to be available in the second quarter of this year.

Update February 21st, 11:15AM ET: Added more details about the design of the headset and the countries of release.

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