Press invites have been going out to publications for a launch event on May 17th. With the latest rumors pointing to a new Moto G, it’s likely that the latest tweet from Motorola’s India branch is trying to hype up its camera. Sadly, there are any details about the camera itself, but the text does talk about the autofocus on smartphones ruining photos.
Fingerprint sensors are not exactly a new feature to grace our phones. They have been around for a quite some time, with one of the first commercial Android smartphone to bear it being the Motorola Atrix 4G, way back in 2011, even predating the launch of the first Samsung Galaxy Note.
Motorola Atrix 4G
But one thing unanimous with fingerprint sensors, a talking point that has remained relevant from their start to their current forms, is how they blend in with the design of the phone. In the case of the Motorola Atrix 4G, the fingerprint scanner doubled up as the power button, but the placement of this button scanner gave the phone a very distinguished look in its prime time.
Even with current smartphones, OEMs have to make a decision on where they want to place the fingerprint scanner. Many have opted for placing it on the back of the device, some have opted for clubbing it on the side mounted power button. Samsung preferred to incorporate the fingerprint scanner onto the home button, which has remained a staple on Samsung devices. Some OEMs even went so far to add a home button on the front just to tuck away the fingerprint scanner. With this latest news, these manufacturers may have no more reason to add in a home button anymore.
LG Innotek’s latest innovation is a fingerprint sensor module that is placed beneath the glass. This module removes the requirement of having a raised button on the front of the device to act as the fingerprint sensor. LG achieved this by creating a shallow furrow on the back of the glass and installing the fingerprint sensor in there. This sensor does not directly come into contact with your finger due to the glass layer, and still manages to boast of similar recognition rates.
With the home button no longer a necessary evil for a front fingerprint scanner, OEMs will now be free to experiment with sleeker and more-minimal phone designs. It will also allow manufacturers to opt for waterproofing and scratch resistant solutions that some had to forego in lieu of the fingerprint scanner button. It will also allow more OEMs to jump back onto using the Navigation Bar instead of capacitive buttons.
As mentioned to Korea Times, LG is in talks with some handset manufacturers to commercialize the new module within the year. So, we might see smartphones with this button-less fingerprint tech by the end of 2016.
What do you think of LG Innotek’s Button-less Fingerprint Sensor Module? Would you like a minimalistic-front smartphone with a front fingerprint scanner, or do you prefer clubbing the functionality with a home button? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
After the OnePlus One, the OnePlus 2 and the OnePlus X, a lot of Android enthusiasts are looking forward to see the next device to come out of the OnePlus stable. Even if the recent devices were not the best in light of the heightened competition in the market, they still offered a value package at an affordable price. So it is natural that the next OnePlus device will be scrutinized and judged on both of these aspects: the value it brings over the competition, and the price.
As we slowly inch our way to marking a year since the OnePlus 2 was released, the question that will inevitably pop up is: what about the OnePlus 3?
There are rumors and speculation floating around the interwebz on the successor to OnePlus’ affordable flagship lineup. This time, new information flowing from GizmoChina points that the OnePlus 3 will supposedly come in two variants, much like how several Chinese manufacturers are opting in late 2015 – early 2016.
The base model of the OnePlus 3 is rumored to bear the flagship grade Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. This by itself makes this device competent enough with latest flagships, on paper at least. Further, this base variant of the device will cost CNY 1999 (~$310) at launch, which is lower than the launch price of the OnePlus 2. If you think that is not a good enough flagship for you, the OnePlus 3 will also come in a higher specced variant which will bump up the RAM to 6GB and the internal storage to 64GB. There is no leak or extra information regarding the price of this variant, but a guesstimate from our end would be a $50-$80 premium in the international market.
If these leaks and information do turn out to be true, the OnePlus 3 will be a direct competitor to Xiaomi’s Mi 5. In fact, it might just hold an upper-hand thanks to its comparatively wider presence and distribution in the West, while Xiaomi remains a player in select markets only. But in case you get too happy about it, there is no mention whether the OnePlus 3 will continue with the company’s invite system, so things could flow either way.
The OnePlus 3 is expected to launch in late May – June, so we hope to lay our hands onto more information as the days pass. Stay tuned for more coverage!
What are your initial thought on the OnePlus 3? Let us know in the comments below!
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Carrier billing is very popular in parts of the world as credit cards just aren’t readily available to everyone. The Play Store now supports carrier billing in India with the Idea cellular network. It seems to be a slow rollout(likely server side) as not everyone on the Idea network is currently seeing the option. It’s unknown if this will expand to other carriers or not.
Microsoft’s research team has been coming up with some unique mobile tech over the last few years & their latest video shows what they’re calling pre-touch sensing. It uses a self-capacitive touch screen to sense multi-touch above the screen and can even be used to detect how you’re gripping the device. The demo video shows how this tech could create dynamic controls in a video player.
At the end of last week, we told you Lenovo would be releasing a rebranded version of the ZUK Z1 in India. This was interesting because until now, Micromax had exclusive rights to Cyanogen OS in the country. Lenovo says Cyanogen told them the deal “was there before” but that “its ok now”. So it would seem as if the exclusivity deal is over now.
Xiaomi has just announced the Mi Bunny, a smartwatch for kids that includes GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth and even cellular connectivity. It uses a prepaid SIM so parents can keep the bill at a reasonable level and lets you add up to 6 family members for one touch calling. The device will cost around $50, and is said to go 6 days on a single charge.
