Technology - Google News

Here's when we might expect the Huawei Mate X 2 to launch - Android Authority
Sonos raises prices on pro products as production moves out of China - The Verge
[Update: New camera layout] Samsung Galaxy S11+ breaks cover w/ domino-looking camera array - 9to5Google

Here's when we might expect the Huawei Mate X 2 to launch - Android Authority

Posted: 26 Dec 2019 02:24 PM PST

Huwei Mate X unfolded upright with website 2

After months of delays, the Huawei Mate X foldable smartphone launched in China mid-November. Now a new report from DigiTimes claims the phone's full-blown successor — presumably called the Huawei Mate X 2 — could ship in the second half of 2020.

There's no info about the hardware specs for the phone, which we are calling the Huawei Mate X 2 just for clarity. However, DigiTimes claims the Taiwan-based part suppliers for Huawei have already started to make small numbers of the phone's display as well as its hinge. Mass production of these parts is not expected to happen until H2 2020.

It's not exactly a shock that the Huawei Mate X 2 might be in the works. The company hyped the original phone throughout much of 2019. However, that phone got hit with several delays. One big reason was likely the US trade ban against Huawei. The Mate X launched several months after its planned summer 2019 ship date.

Huawei consumer business group CEO Richard Yu recently stated a new version of the Mate X would launch in March 2020. The upgraded version, called the Mate XS, would include the faster Kirin 990 processor, an improved hinge, and a "more resistant" screen. Yu added that the phone would be shown off in February during the MWC 2020 trade show. In addition, Yu said it's possible the Mate X could launch in Europe in the first quarter of 2020. It's highly unlikely the phone will ever be released in the US, due to Huawei's troubles with the US government.

More posts about Huawei Mate X

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Sonos raises prices on pro products as production moves out of China - The Verge

Posted: 27 Dec 2019 06:00 AM PST

Sonos today announced that it will increase prices on the Sonos Amp and Sonos Port by $50 as it shifts production out of China and into Malaysia. The Amp will now retail for $649 and the Port will sell for $449; the price increases will be effective January 9th, 2020. Other Sonos products will remain the same price.

Sonos telegraphed this move earlier in the year, telling analysts on earnings calls that it would be moving production out of China and prices might be affected. The company tells me the move is less about tariffs, which it called a "one-time hit," and more about diversifying production for the future.

The Amp and Port are at the upper end of the Sonos product line — they allow custom AV installers and enthusiasts to integrate Sonos whole-home audio into virtually any kind of setup. (The Amp allows you to drive whatever speakers you might have, while the Port allows you to connect components from surround receivers to turntables to a Sonos system.) I've reviewed both the Port and the Amp, and they're great products, but the bump in price — especially for the Port — means that they're starting to get too pricey for average consumers. Sonos knows this; the company told me the Port and the Amp generally sell to high-end integrators who are a little less sensitive to pricing on devices like these. This tracks with what I've heard from integrators, who intend to just pass the price increase along to customers who are generally getting enormous total bills anyway.

Sonos customers are being notified of the price change today, and you can still buy the Port and the Amp for their lower prices until January 9th.

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[Update: New camera layout] Samsung Galaxy S11+ breaks cover w/ domino-looking camera array - 9to5Google

Posted: 27 Dec 2019 05:58 AM PST

The Samsung Galaxy S11 series is right around the corner and over the past week, a handful of leaks have shown off the company's smartphones. Now, the Galaxy S11+ has finally broken cover in its first major leak and it reveals an absolutely massive camera array on the back.

Nomad case for Pixel 3

@OnLeaks and CashKaro have published the first collection of images of the high-end Galaxy S11+ – a phone that's been teased as Samsung's "nuclear weapon" for 2020.

As reported previously, the Galaxy S11+ is expected to offer a 6.9-inch display – possibly 120Hz – and that larger body apparently measures a size of 166.9 x 76 x 8.8 mm. That's considerably taller, wider, and thicker than the Galaxy S10+ was to make room for that bigger display. That larger body also makes room for some huge camera advances.

These new renders show off a Galaxy S11+ that ditch the three-camera setup on the previous generation and instead features a whopping 5 camera lenses on the back.

Update 12/27: About a month after first posting these images, @OnLeaks has updated his renders. Apparently, the camera array first seen in this leak was a "first stage prototype" and now, he can show off the real deal. Much like another leak from earlier in December, this render shows three cameras along one side and and 4th along the right side. There's no 5th sensor to be found, but there is an LED flash. It's assumed this will be the final design.

galaxy s11+ camera array design layout samsung

It's not reported here what these cameras will be, but the housing itself is huge coming an extra 2mm out from the phone and making up a huge portion of the phone's rear design. Visually, it looks a lot like a domino and copies Google's Pixel 4 with a blacked-out interior too.

There have been mentions of a 5x optical zoom lens being used in this device and we can only assume that the S11+ is also using a standard lens – possibly at 108MP –, telephoto, ultrawide, and perhaps a time-of-flight sensor as well. The renders also show off two small sensors, one likely being for autofocus, as well as an LED flash.

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