Leaked Google Documents Suggest Foldable Pixel Phone in the Works

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Google plans to release a foldable Pixel phone in the fourth quarter of next year, according to leaked internal documents (via 9to5Google). Codenamed "Passport," the device is explicitly referred to as "foldable," and appears alongside a list of past and future Pixel devices.

MacRumors concept

Google confirmed last year that it is developing technology that could be used in foldable devices, although the company played down the prospect of actually launching a foldable any time soon, saying it didn't see "a clear use case yet." Today's leak suggests one is indeed in the works for a possible 2021 release.

Samsung was first to launch a consumer foldable device, but the Galaxy Fold suffered from major issues that impacted the durability and performance of the device. The tablet-sized device was unveiled in early 2019, but its launch was delayed until September while Samsung fixed the problems. Samsung has since launched the Galaxy Z Flip, a smartphone-sized device that folds in half and can be tucked into a pocket, but it has durability issues, too.

The launch of Huawei's first foldable, the Mate X, was also delayed last year before arriving in September. The Chinese smartphone maker said it was being more "cautious" that it had a quality device, after witnessing Samsung's troubles.

It is unclear if Apple will ever release a folding mobile device, but there is one rumor that it's working on a foldable iPhone prototype that features two separate display panels that are connected by a hinge rather than a single display like the Samsung Galaxy Fold.

Whether or not such a device materializes, Apple has certainly explored the idea of foldable devices for years, as various patents show. Recently the company has been investigating ways to circumvent the issue of foldable displays creasing and cracking at the fold over time – a problem that has plagued many of the consumer foldable devices that have made it to market so far.

Tags: Google, Google Pixel, Foldable iPhone

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Supposed iPhone 12 Display Unit Leaks

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An image supposedly of an iPhone 12 display unit has been shared online by leaker "Twitter user Mr. White".



Compared to images of an iPhone 11 Pro display piece, this new unit has a reoriented display connector, reaching up from the bottom of the display, rather than from the left-hand side on ‌iPhone 11 Pro‌. This may be due to the logic board moving to the other side of the device. A change of logic board position was rumored earlier this year, in order to accommodate the 5G antenna module expected in all four ‌iPhone 12‌ models. The SIM tray is also expected to move to the left side of the device under the volume button as a result of this change. In May, a logic board also seemingly from ‌iPhone 12‌ leaked.

Apple is expected to release four OLED iPhones this fall, including one 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch models, and one 6.7-inch model. Rumors suggest the 6.7-inch ‌iPhone‌ and one 6.1-inch model will be "Pro" devices with triple-lens cameras, while the 5.4 and 6.1-inch models will be lower-end iPhones with dual-lens cameras and a more affordable price tag.

It is not immediately clear which size of ‌iPhone 12‌ this display unit may be from. Given the size of the notch components, it seems likely that this unit is from the anticipated 5.4-inch ‌iPhone 12‌. Last month, display panels allegedly from ‌iPhone 12‌ leaked.



The leaker suggests that the notch on this unit is the same size as previous models. Numerous minor disparities between this display unit and that of ‌iPhone 11 Pro‌ suggest that the internal redesign of ‌iPhone 12‌ could be substantial.

Leaker Mr. White has been known to share accurate information on Apple's future plans and pictures of components from upcoming devices. They have previously released images purportedly of the A14 processor and a 20-watt power adapter, both set to arrive with ‌iPhone 12‌.

Tags: Mr. White, iPhone 12

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Goodbye Pixel 4 – we barely knew you

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2020 iMac Benchmarks Surface Online, SSDs Soldered to Motherboard

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Benchmarks from the new 2020 iMac have today been shared online by Mac Otakara.



The Geekbench benchmarks are from the newly-released 27-inch ‌iMac‌ with 3.0GHz Intel Core i5 processor and Radeon Pro 5300 graphics, compared to multiple specs of the previous 2019 ‌iMac‌.

The lowest spec 27-inch i5 ‌iMac‌ from 2020 performs about 20 percent better in multicore than the lowest spec 27-inch i5 ‌iMac‌ from 2019. Although the lowest spec 27-inch 2020 ‌iMac‌ has a Intel Core i5 3.1GHz processor, it seems to perform better than an equivalent Intel Core i5 3.7GHz model from 2019. This is likely thanks to new 10th-generation Intel Core processors, which Apple says offer up to 65 percent faster CPU performance.

The 3.1GHz ‌iMac‌ gave a Geekbench Single-Core Score of 1090 and a Multi-Core Score of 5688.



Graphics capability has been measured using Geekbench Compute benchmarks. Compared to the 3.0GHz Intel Core i5 2019 ‌iMac‌ with AMD Radeon Pro 570X graphics, the 2020 ‌iMac‌'s Radeon Pro 5300 performs about 40 percent better. The Radeon Pro 5300 does not surpass the performance of the 2019 ‌iMac‌ with AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 graphics, however. Apple states that the next-generation AMD Radeon Pro 5000 graphics deliver up to 55 percent faster performance than the previous generation.



MacRumors reader Stefan tested the high-spec 2020 ‌iMac‌ with 3.8GHz 8-Core Processor with Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz, giving a single-core score of 1141 and a multi-core score of 7006. This is approximately 36% higher than the equivalent chip from the previous generation.



Stefan also offered Blackmagic speed tests of the 3.8GHz ‌iMac‌'s SSD, giving write speeds of 1963.3 MB/s and read speeds of 2250.2 MB/s.



The new ‌iMac‌'s SSD is soldered to the motherboard and therefore is not user-replaceable, according to ifun.de. Previous iMacs have not been soldered in place, allowing for upgrade or replacement. Supposedly according to internally published technical information, the 2020 ‌iMac‌'s individual SSD modules are soldered directly onto the motherboard, similar to how storage in MacBooks have been soldered down for several years. As a result, the storage configuration at the point of purchase is fixed and cannot be changed afterwards.

New information regarding the new 27-inch ‌iMac‌'s redesigned microphone array has also emerged today. The new ‌iMac‌ apparently features two microphones installed in the lower area of the ‌iMac‌ behind the screen, as opposed to the single microphone on previous models. This allows the 2020 ‌iMac‌ to deliver what Apple calls "studio-quality audio."

The new 27-inch ‌iMac‌ was unveiled by Apple on Tuesday, with faster 10th-generation Intel Core processors, next-generation AMD graphics, up to 128GB of RAM, a higher-resolution 1080p front-facing FaceTime camera, a True Tone display with a nano-texture glass option, a T2 chip, higher fidelity speakers, and more.

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Tags: macotakara.jp, Geekbench, benchmarks

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OWC Quick-Change Wheel Kit for 2019 Mac Pro Available for Pre-Order for Just $199

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OWC today announced the upcoming launch of its Rover Pro wheels kit for the new Mac Pro, an innovative quick-change solution to convert back and forth between feet and wheels at a much cheaper price than Apple's official wheels kit.


Designed to attach to the stock ‌Mac Pro‌ feet rather than replace them, the OWC Rover Pro wheels can be attached in just two minutes by hand-twisting and are made of stainless steel with soft rubber treads and a silicone rubber pad at the interface between the wheel and the ‌Mac Pro‌'s foot to absorb vibrations.


While swapping the wheels on or off only takes a couple of minutes, OWC also provides a set of wheel stops that clip to the casters to prevent rolling without needing to remove the wheels at all.


The OWC Rover Pro wheels kit is available for pre-order now and will begin shipping next month. It's available for an introductory price of $199 that will eventually rise to $249, a significant saving over Apple's $699 wheel kit.

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Tag: OWC

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US to Purge ‘Untrusted’ Apps in New Measures Against China

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The U.S. government is stepping up efforts against Chinese technology companies as it prepares to purge App Stores of "untrusted" Chinese apps, reports Reuters.



Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. "Clean Network" program would focus on five areas and include steps to prevent various Chinese apps and telecoms companies from accessing the sensitive information of American citizens and businesses. One U.S. official said it was a push back against a "massive campaign to steal and weaponize our data against us."

The announcement comes the week after President Donald Trump threatened to outright ban TikTok within the United States.

"With parent companies based in China, apps like TikTok, WeChat and others are significant threats to personal data of American citizens, not to mention tools for CCP (Chinese Communist Party) content censorship," Pompeo said.

In an interview to Chinese state news agency Xinhua on Wednesday, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said the U.S. had "no right" to establish the Clean Network program and called the actions by Washington "a textbook case of bullying."

"Anyone can see through clearly that the intention of the U.S. is to protect its monopoly position in technology and to rob other countries of their proper right to development," said Wang.

Microsoft now faces a deadline of September 15 to purchase TikTok, or the platform will be banned in the U.S.

Moreover, Pompeo explained that the United States is working to prevent Chinese telecoms company Huawei from being able to install popular U.S. apps on its devices. The exact apps and services to be banned from Huawei devices is as yet unknown.

"We don't want companies to be complicit in Huawei's human rights abuses, or the CCP's surveillance apparatus," Pompeo stated.

Pompeo said the State Department would work with other government agencies to protect the data of American citizens and intellectual property, including vaccine research, by preventing access from cloud-based systems run by Chinese companies such as Alibaba, Baidu, China Mobile, China Telecom, and Tencent.

The Secretary of State is joining Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to urge the U.S. telecoms regulator, the Federal Communications Commission, to terminate the authorization of China Telecom and three other Chinese companies to provide services in the United States.

He also drew attention to new State Department precautions to ensure China could not compromise information carried by undersea cables that connect the United States to the global internet. He called on U.S. allies "to join the growing tide to secure our data from the CCP's surveillance state and other malign entities."

Huawei, ByteDance, and various other Chinese companies deny allegations that they spy for the Chinese government, and says the United States seeks to frustrate its growth because no domestic U.S. company can offer the same technology at a competitive price.

The U.S. government now regards more than 30 territories as "Clean Countries" with "Clean Telcos" in the program. The statement from Pompeo and expansion of the Clean Network program reflects an accelerated push by Washington to limit the access of Chinese technology companies to the United States.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: China, alibaba.com, China Mobile, China Telecom, Huawei, WeChat, TikTok

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Twitter iOS App Now Lets All Users Limit Who Can Reply to Their Tweets

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Twitter has updated its official iOS app to allow all users to limit who can reply to their tweets. The company has been testing the "conversation participants" feature with select users since May, but it now appears to be ready for a wider rollout.

"In May, we tested a new way to have a chat with exactly who you want, so you can create and consume more meaningful changes," reads the update release notes on the App Store. "Now, everyone can try this new feature and choose who can reply to their tweets."

The feature appears in the compose tweet screen as a box above the keyboard that says "Everyone can reply." Tapping the box brings up three options to allow everyone to reply to the tweet, allow only people you follow to reply, or allow only people you mention to reply.

The "everyone" represents how Twitter traditionally works and it's the default setting that's selected for every tweet, while the other two options limit replies. Tweets that have limited replies are labeled and the reply icon is grayed out so it's clear to people that they're unable to reply.

Even when replies are limited to followers or people mentioned in a tweet, people unable to reply will be able to view, Retweet, Retweet with Comment, and like the tweets.

The feature should help cut down on online abuse and harassment, and it could also potentially be used to promote more focused discussions on the social platform with a select few users.

Update: Some users are reporting that the feature is not accessible to them, despite updating the Twitter app to the latest version, suggesting it is still rolling out.

Tag: Twitter

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