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OnePlus 10 Ultra launching this year? Here’s all the details

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OnePlus has recently launched its new flagship phone – the OnePlus 10 Pro – in China. The smartphone encapsulates everything that the tech major has to offer in the premium smartphone market. However, it appears that OnePlus will try to outdo itself by releasing a more powerful version of the OnePlus 10 Pro with the ‘Ultra’ tag.

The information comes from tipster Yogesh Brar who revealed details related to the OnePlus 10 Ultra on Twitter. In the post, he stated, “Technology sharing between OnePlus & Oppo is in Full swing, Find X5 series gets Hasselblad treatment and I’m hearing that MariSilicon will be seen on a OnePlus Flagship in the 2nd Half of this year. There are rumours of an Ultra flagship from OnePlus in the EVT phase right now.”

OnePlus 10 Ultra details

As per tipster Yogesh Brar, OnePlus is possibly working on a smartphone called the OnePlus 10 Ultra that will use technology developed by Oppo. He talks about the partnership between Oppo and OnePlus has led to technology sharing between the two Chinese tech companies.

Brar mentions that a OnePlus flagship smartphone could use Oppo’s MariSilicon X NPU to improve its performance in both photos and videos. The OnePlus flagship smartphone could get Oppo’s inhouse NPU sometime in the second half of 2022. Oppo came out with its self-produced image chipset for the first time in December last year. We can now expect to see the technology on both premium phones from both Oppo and OnePlus.

Oppo, in exchange for the MariSilicon X NPU, will be taking OnePlus’ Hasselblad treatment for smartphone cameras. The Chinese smartphone maker will then apply the same on its Oppo Find X5, that is set to launch later this year.

As per the information, the OnePlus 10 Ultra could be announced in the second half of 2022. The device is currently in the EVT (Engineering Validation Test) phase, which means it is in its early alpha testing stage. If the reports are to be believed, we should start hearing about the Ultra flagship in the coming weeks. This would be the first Ultra smartphone from the house of OnePlus, which has always used the Pro tag for its top-end devices.

OnePlus 10 series launch in India

OnePlus recently released the OnePlus 9RT in India and it now plans to bring new Nord devices and the OnePlus 10 series to India. As per the latest reports, the OnePlus 10 Pro is likely to hit the Indian market sometime around March this year. The exact launch timeline hasn’t been revealed yet.

Also Read | Motorola ‘Frontier 22’ likely to debut in July: Know more about this flagship smartphone

Motorola ‘Frontier 22’ likely to debut in July: Know more about this flagship smartphone

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There is a new flagship in the making, and this time it’s from the house of Lenovo-owned Motorola which is said to be working on a smartphone codenamed ‘Frontier 22’. Although the device is yet to be officially confirmed by the brand, some renders along with specifications of the phone have now surfaced online. Motorola Frontier 22 is tipped to debut in July this year.

As per leaks, the rumoured Motorola handset will come with a hole-punch display and triple rear camera unit. It’s said to feature a 144Hz refresh rate display and a fingerprint scanner for authentication. The phone is also expected to house a 4,500mAh battery with 125W wired charging and 50W wireless charging support.

The renders and specs of the anticipated Motorola device has been leaked by WinFuture.de, a German publication. Interestingly, the renders show a centrally placed hole-punch cutout on the display. Besides, the phone is seen sporting a triple rear camera unit along with the LED flash.

Also Read: Apple captures 23% market in China in 2021 Q4, here is what helped the company to beat vivo

If the reports are to be believed, the much-talked about Motorola Frontier 22 dual-SIM device will run on Android 12 out-of-the-box. It is likely to have a 6.67-inch full-HD+ OLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate, and DCI-P3 colour gamut. The display could have HDR10 support as well.

In terms of chipset, the forthcoming smartphone will reportedly come with Qualcomm Snapdragon SM8475 under the hood. The processor could be Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 “Plus” SoC. The

The upcoming Motorola handset is said to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon SM8475 processor under the hood. According to the report, the chipset could be Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 “Plus” SoC. The handset is expected to feature up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. It’s likely to be available in three RAM and storage variants — 8GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM+256GB storage, and 12GB RAM +256GB storage.

For photography purposes, the smartphone is said to feature a triple rear camera unit that includes a 200MP main sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS), a 50MP wide-angle sensor, and a 12MP telephoto shooter. On the front, it is said to provide a 60MP for taking selfies.

Apple captures 23% market in China in 2021 Q4, here is what helped the company to beat vivo

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A mix of its pricing strategy and gain from Huawei’s premium base have collectively helped Apple to become number one brand in China in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021. With 23% market share, Apple has now surpassed vivo for the first time since Q4 2015, according to Counterpoint Research’s Monthly Market Pulse Service. Researchers believe that Apple’s success in the premium segment is an encouraging sign and will continue to motivate Chinese Original equipment manufacturer (OEMs) to strengthen their footprints in the segment. The report also indicates that realme was the fastest growing brand (83% YoY) in Q4 2021. While, four out of five smartphones sold in China in Q4 2021 were 5G capable.

 

The report also claims that overall smartphone sales in China has noted a decline in Q4. The country’s smartphone sales declined 2% QoQ and 9% YoY, respectively and full-year smartphone sales too continued the downward trend for the fourth consecutive year, declining 2% YoY in 2021.
Commenting on the overall Chinese smartphone market, Senior Analyst Ivan Lam said, “The market in China continues to decline due to various factors in both the supply side and the demand side. Firstly, the ongoing component shortages are impacting shipments of all OEM). Secondly, China’s average smartphone replacement cycle is becoming longer. Smartphone designs within brands have also become more homogeneous, especially in hardware, failing to motivate consumers to upgrade. Lastly, China has been experiencing a complex economic environment where exports are driving the growth and domestic spending remains lackluster.”

However, in terms of OEMs, the competition has intensified after Huawei’s decline and the market dynamics are changing rapidly. OPPO was the top OEM in Q1 2021, followed by vivo in Q2 and Q3 and now Apple in Q4.

“Apple’s stellar performance was driven by a mix of its pricing strategy and gain from Huawei’s premium base. Apple rose to first place in China right after the iPhone 13 was released (week 39) in September. Afterwards, it remained in the leading position for most of the fourth quarter. The new iPhone 13 has led the success due to a relatively lower starting price at its release in China, as well as the new camera and 5G features.

Furthermore, Huawei, Apple’s main competitor in the premium market, faced declining sales due to the ongoing US sanctions,” said Mengmeng Zhang, Research Analyst.

vivo and OPPO took the second and third spots respectively, driven by their strong offline penetration and expansive product portfolio strategy. vivo’s performance was driven by the X70 series and S series, and OPPO took off with the Reno 7 series. HONOR also started rebounding in the second half of 2021 after restoring relationships with suppliers. It captured the fourth spot in Q4 2021. Facing more severe component shortages, slower penetration in offline channels as well as competition from HONOR, Xiaomi ranked fifth during the quarter.

The year gone by also proved to be a milestone in terms of Chinese OEMs embracing advanced technology. vivo, OPPO and Xiaomi all launched self-developed chipsets to showcase their investments in semiconductors. OPPO and HONOR also launched foldable flagship models, with more mature designs and highly customized software, especially for Chinese users. Foldables bring a new form factor to the smartphone design. As foldables become more affordable, they are likely to drive some users to upgrade.

MediaTek announces Kompanio 1380 for premium Chromebooks

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MediaTek to showcase its latest technologies across Chromebooks, IoT devices, smart TVs

MediaTek announced its new Kompanio 1380 chip, which offers a new level of performance and best-in-class features for premium Chromebooks such as the new Acer Chromebook Spin 513. The Kompanio 1380 delivers incredible portable computing experiences with superb battery life, all in a compact form factor for slim and lightweight devices.

“Kompanio 1380 continues MediaTek’s legacy as the No. 1 chipmaker for Arm-based Chromebooks, elevating premium Chromebook experiences with next-level performance and extra-long battery life,” said PC Tseng, general manager of Intelligent Multimedia Business Unit at MediaTek. “This chip stands out with its outstanding processing performance, best-in-class multimedia and AI features, and smooth cloud gaming capabilities, all integrated into an ultra-efficient 6nm chip.”

“Chromebook users have come to expect more from their Chromebooks, increasingly they are looking for their devices to strike a perfect balance of performance, weight and power efficiency,” said John Solomon, VP of Chrome OS at Google. “The Kompanio 1380 is an integral part of delivering a great experience for users whether they’re working from home, enjoying media on the go, or anything in between. We’re excited to see its versatility come to life on the Acer Chromebook Spin 513, the first product to launch with this chip.”

Also Read | MediaTek to enhance India 5G prospects in 2022

Key features of Kompanio 1380 include:

Powerful processing: Kompanio 1380 features an octa-core CPU with four high-performance Arm Cortex-A78 cores with speeds up to 3GHz for improved responsiveness. For gamers, its five-core Arm Mali-G57 GPU supports fast and vivid visuals, while the quad-channel 2133MHz LPDDR4X ensures there is plenty of data bandwidth.

MediaTek APU 3.0: This powerful multi-core AI processor accelerates AI-camera and AI-voice applications while also optimizing battery life.

4K60 HDR Display Support: The chip supports up to two 4K 60Hz displays, or one 4K 60Hz display plus two 4K 30Hz displays, giving device makers a wide variety of resolution, performance and external connectivity choices to meet any product design aspiration.

AV1 Hardware Decoding: The chip’s advanced decoding features mean that consumers can stream 4K movies and TV shows with the best quality settings, while also enjoying longer battery life.

Voice Assistant Ready: Kompanio 1380 comes with a dedicated audio digital signal processor (DSP) that provides ultra-low power voice on wakeup (VoW) capabilities for a wide variety of voice assistant services.

Ultra-fast Connectivity: The chip is ready for Wi-Fi 6/6E and Bluetooth 5 connectivity, enabling the fastest wireless data transfers.

MediaTek’s Kompanio chips have been widely adopted by device manufacturers to power the world’s most popular mobile computing devices, including Chromebook laptops and tablets. Additional devices powered by the Kompanio 1380 will be available in the market soon.

Also Read: Tech NewsWrap: Redmi Note 11 series launched globally…. and more

Tech NewsWrap: Redmi Note 11 series launched globally…. and more

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Redmi Note 11, Note 11S, Note 11 Pro 4G and 5G launched globally

Xiaomi has unveiled its Redmi Note 11 series in the global markets. The series includes – Redmi Note 11, Redmi Note 11S, Note 11 Pro 4G and 5G – that was initially launched in China. The Redmi phones are now available in other parts of the world. All of them come with a flat frame design, mid-range processors, AMOLED displays, and 5,000mAh batteries. Owing to its lightweight, smart design and most importantly being cost-efficient, the latest offering of Redmi is winning admirers. All the models share a host of common features.

Apple has released iOS 15.3

The latest iOS update of Apple is here and it’s all about security and fixing particular vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the iPhone software. This version bump to iOS 15 is now available to download as an over-the-air (OTA) update if you have a compatible iPhone. Most notably, though, iOS 15.3 fixes Safari IndexedDB data leak, and all users are advised to update their devices. Compatibility for the phones reaches back as far as iPhone 6s, including iPhone SE first and current editions, plus the seventh-generation iPod touch.

Also Read | WhatsApp rolls out new features for iPhone users; details inside

Philips launched 2022 audio range

Philips has launched new headphones, true wireless earbuds (TWS), party speakers, including the Philips TWS TAT2206BK, Philips TAT2236BK, Philips TAA4216BK sports headphones, Philips TAX5206, and Philips TAX3206 party speakers. The new device has a longer playback time, better sound quality, and a fun light effect. The TWS earbuds have a long battery life and fast charging technology, while the sports headphones are durable and have an IP55 grade for water and dust resistance. Bluetooth connectivity is available on the Philips party speakers. One has a trolley style, while the other has a carry handle for convenient portability.

Huawei P50 Pro and P50 Pocket global availability officially announced

Huawei officially announced the start of the worldwide availability of its recent flagship smartphones. The first phase of the P50 Pro and the P50 Pocket’s will hit markets across Asia Pacific, The Middle East & Africa, Europe, and South America. Both the smartphones are powered by the Snapdragon 888 4G chip. Unlike its 5G variant, the chip comes equipped with only a 4G LTE modem, and so far, Qualcomm seems to have produced it only for Huawei.

Also Read: IDEMIA, Microsoft collaborate to provide next-gen eSIM Connectivity services

IDEMIA, Microsoft collaborate to provide next-gen eSIM Connectivity services

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IDEMIA, the leader in Augmented Identity has entered into a global collaboration with Microsoft aimed at delivering next-generation eSIM and connectivity solutions for consumer and M2M/IoT devices. The collaboration will bring together IDEMIA’s advanced connectivity solutions and longstanding industry expertise with Microsoft’s trusted cloud platform to improve support of eSIM services around the world.

IDEMIA provides connectivity solutions that enable Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to prepare for the exponential growth of connected services for both consumer and M2M eSIM-enabled devices. Today, the company works with over 500 MNOs worldwide to support connectivity through SIM cards, eSIM services for consumer and M2M devices (including smart meters and automobiles, as well as mobile authentication use cases. This relationship will enable the companies to broaden their support for mobile operators by delivering solutions with high levels of service availability, geo-redundancy capacities, as well as state-of the-art security technologies that improve resilience against DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks.

“We are very excited to strengthen our collaboration with Microsoft,” says Ea Chaillioux, VP Strategic Alliances at IDEMIA. “The combination of the IDEMIA and Microsoft Azure expertise will enable us to deliver the best-in-class eSIM Remote Subscription Management services that secure connectivity for consumers, devices and citizens across the world.”

“Access to secure Connectivity services has never been as critical as it is today. Our collaboration with IDEMIA will enable us to equip Mobile Operators with the secure, scalable infrastructure they need to future-proof their business, while offering consumers reliable and innovative services that improve the way they connect,” says Tony Shakib, General Manager of Azure IoT at Microsoft.

Azure and IDEMIA have both been certified by the GSMA for eSIM services.

Also Read: Google Pixel Notepad foldable smartphone’s details leaked

Focus on next-generation connectivity

The IDEMIA/Microsoft collaboration will accelerate development of advanced connectivity features and location-based services including:

– Hosting of eSIM Remote Subscription Management services for Consumer and M2M environments

– Global extension of the IDEMIA/Microsoft SAS-SM footprint in GSMA-certified regions

– Ongoing improvement of service levels proposed to address the criticality of eSIM business for mobile operators and IoT device manufacturers across the world

– Co-innovation of next-generation mobile operator solutions, based on Azure services

– Create synergies together to address the network slicing opportunity combining Microsoft footprint among MNOs for 5G back-end systems and IDEMIA’s eSIM expertise

MoonBounce: Why this new version of the Chinese malware a significant threat for your PC

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MoonBounce

A new version of the MoonBounce malware, first appeared in 2021, has been detected by the cybersecurity experts. It is the third case of a firmware bootkit in the wild. As compared to two previously discovered bootkits, LoJax and MosaicRegressor, MoonBounce demonstrates significant advancement with a more complicated attack flow and greater technical sophistication.

According to the researchers, the new version of the malware is hard to detect as it stays in the reserved memory of a computer that is used while booting the device.

What is MoonBounce?

Found by the Kaspersky researchers on the network of a company dealing in transportation services, MoonBounce, once activated, can access the host computer and it can also deploy new malware to further infect the machine. The researchers have attributed the attack with considerable confidence to the well-known advanced persistent threat (APT) actor APT41.

“While analyzing MoonBounce, Kaspersky researchers uncovered several malicious loaders and post-exploitation malware across several nodes of the same network. This includes ScrambleCross or Sidewalk, an in-memory implant that can communicate to a C2 server to exchange information and execute additional plugins, Mimikat_ssp, a publicly available post-exploitation tool used to dump credentials and security secrets, a formerly unknown Golang based backdoor, and Microcin, malware that is typically used by the SixLittleMonkeys threat actor,” reads an official release.

Related to Chinese-speaking hackers

Recently, it has been found that the MoonBounce malware belongs to an elite group of Chinese-speaking hackers called Winnti.

Infection through remote access

It is assumed that the infection occurs through remote access to the targeted machine. Though, the exact infection vector is yet to be known.

Read Here: The world’s fastest AI supercomputer in the making: A reason to rejoice for Facebook parent Meta.

 

The 4G revolution in India led us to the notion of a voice-centric platform: Wafa CEO

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From starting off his career with Facebook pages during his school days to having a business turnover of $100,000 by his final year in college and access to 100+ Facebook pages with 100 million followers, Muhammed Aqib TP has a long standing history of going all out and giving all in. He’s the COO of THE BACK Benchers, which integrates with brands for meme and video amplification.

Wafa, a voice-centric socio-gaming platform, is another interesting venture of him. From allowing people to create their own rooms, be a moderator, participant or even take a seat in the audience with all other passive listeners to providing premium features of customized virtual gifts, user profiles and various other in-app purchases, Wafa is in a class by itself. Muhammed Aqib, who happens to be the CEO of Wafa, speaks more about this app, in a conversation with Ramesh Kumar Raja. Aqib also talks about how Wafa is moving towards integrating the social, lightweight leisure gamers who aim to interact and play along with other users or friends. Excerpts:

You have a very interesting entrepreneurial journey that began with Facebook pages. Tell us about the same and how it has shaped up till date.

I made my way into image and video content creation ever since my school days, what started off as a means to kill time grew into generating a business turnover of $100,000. Having set up The BACK Benchers in 2012, it had access to 100+ pages with 100 million followers, generating revenue by diverting traffic from the page to the website and integrating with brands for meme and video amplification. Found Beeyams Media, an ROI and performance marketing company, and worked with Sony, Zee5, OnePlus, LG, VanityKart and many other brands. Later, influenced by the 4G revolution in India, I launched Wafa app, a voice-centric platform that followed the audio voice chat room format.

How The BACK Benchers happened, what’s the idea behind it?

Initially, it started off for fun, and due to the increased positive traction and response from followers, filtered content based on and around the school and college lives of the audience were created. As followers spiked, adhering to their likes and wants, we catered content along the lines of news, facts and entertainment.

How did the idea of a voice-centric socio-gaming platform strike you?

The 4G revolution in India led us to the notion of a voice-centric platform, an audio voice chat room model that’s easily accessible to all users. Going back to the time when gaming was merely just about playing games, gamers then have realised their want to talk to their gaming friends even when they weren’t in a game, and with traditional method not being user friendly for group communication due to its limitation for the number of people joining in and its inability to have passive listeners, Wafa was introduced. A voice chat feature that offered gamers a crystal clear, seamless voice chat service that blew the functionality of in-game chat services out of the water.

Also Read: “Customer-centricity has been the cornerstone of Huawei’s strategy in India”

What is Wafa all about and how is it different from others in the business?

Wafa caters specifically to the tier 2 and tier 3 non-English speaking users of India. Through UI and product localization, it supports local communities and languages like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Urdu, giving users better user experience.

“With 5G providing necessary thrust in making socio-gaming accessible to all and owing to the surge in young population, soaring use of smartphones, easy availability and accessibility of technology and internet, and rising investment by capitalists, gaming today is considered the most lucrative business sector in India, comprising an ecosystem of engaged and enthusiastic gamers”

Please tell us about its user base and how many installs it has accumulated till date?

Wafa has 3M+ installs till date. Most of our users hail from India, among whom majority are Hindi speaking users followed by Tamil, Urdu and Telugu, all falling in the age group of 18 to 35. Currently, with a deeper user base in India, we plan on focusing more towards Indians living in the Middle East region in the next 6 months.

How are you changing the gaming landscape?

With the number of online gamers using their phones having grown by 60%, voice communication bagged its spot in the gaming world by alleviating the gaming experience, making way for an efficient mode of communication by providing a chance to virtually talk and hang out, all the while battling.

How does integrating voice with games work?

Contrary to the time when gaming was merely just about playing games, gamers then have realised their want to talk to their gaming friends even when they weren’t in a game, and to talk about things other than games. To bring this thought into reality and to bring out the maximum potential in the socio-gaming economy, an integration of voice with games was made with the help of advanced technology.

How do you look at the year 2022 from gaming perspective, especially in terms of adopting voice technology?

With 5G providing necessary thrust in making socio-gaming accessible to all and owing to the surge in young population, soaring use of smartphones, easy availability and accessibility of technology and internet, and rising investment by capitalists, gaming today is considered the most lucrative business sector in India, comprising an ecosystem of engaged and enthusiastic gamers. The advancement in technology made gaming easy to integrate along with voice to bring out the maximum potential in the socio-gaming economy, and with more virtual events, dedicated social spaces, and increased social features, strong growth in this new mobile social era is surely the one to envisage.

Also Read: We aim to create world’s largest active engagement platform from India: Bolo Live CPO

The world’s fastest AI supercomputer in the making: A reason to rejoice for Facebook parent Meta

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Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has created what it believes is among the fastest artificial intelligence supercomputers running today. According to an AP report, the social media giant said it hopes the machine will help lay the groundwork for its building of the metaverse, a virtual reality construct intended to supplant the internet as we know it today. Facebook said it believes the computer will be the fastest in the world once it is fully built around the middle of the year.

Supercomputers are extremely fast and powerful machines built to do complex calculations not possible with a regular home computer. Meta did not disclose where the computer is located or how much it is costing to build, said the AP report.

Redefining the power of computing

It said the computer, which is already up and running but is still being built, is called AI Research SuperCluster. Meta says it will help its AI researchers build “new and better” artificial intelligence models that can learn from “trillions” of examples and work across hundreds of different languages simultaneously and analyze text, images and video together.

The way Meta is defining the power of its computer is different from how conventional and more technically powerful supercomputers are measured because it relies on the performance of graphics-processing chips, which are useful for running “deep learning” algorithms that can understand what’s in an image, analyze text and translate between languages, said the report quoting Tuomas Sandholm, a computer science professor and co-director of the AI center at Carnegie Mellon University.

“We hope RSC will help us build entirely new AI systems that can, for example, power real-time voice translations to large groups of people, each speaking a different language, so they can seamlessly collaborate on a research project or play an AR game together,” Meta said in a blog post, as per AP.

Also Read: Google Pixel Notepad foldable smartphone’s details leaked

Google Pixel Notepad foldable smartphone’s details leaked

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The much-anticipated foldable phone from the house of Google – Pixel Notepad – is in the news again. This time, the smartphone’s pricing and availability have been leaked in international markets.

The Google Pixel Notepad is said to have its pricing lower than that of the recently launched Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3. As per the report, the price of Google’s first foldable phone could be changed “in the lead up to the unveiling”. The sources suggest that it will arrive with a $1,400 price tag (roughly Rs 1,04,700). This information goes along the lines of previous rumours that claims the device would be more affordable than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, which currently sells for $1,800 (roughly Rs 1,34,300).

In terms of availability, the alleged Google Pixel Notepad is said to be available in the United States and other worldwide regions. According to the newest rumour, there will be a gap between the US and international launches, and it will be available globally by the end of 2022. As per a prior report, the phone will only be available in a few markets. However, it isn’t clear whether the Google Pixel Notepad foldable phone will debut in India considering the Google Pixel 6 series never made it to the country.

Google Pixel Notepad foldable smartphone

Other reports indicate that Google Pixel Notepad foldable phone will resemble the Oppo Find N rather than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3. This means, we may get a shorter and wider phone instead of the tall and narrow design found in Samsung’s Fold series. The phone is also said to be equipped with Google’s Tensor SoC, which is currently used in the Pixel 6 devices. However, it may not have the same photography capabilities as the Pixel phones. The phone is said to include a 12.2MP Sony IMX363 primary camera, which we’ve seen in the Pixel 3 to Pixel 5a range. It will be equipped with a 12MP IMX386 ultra-wide-angle sensor. The handset will have an 8-megapixel selfie camera at the front. To know more details about the Pixel Notepad foldable phone, we may have to wait a little longer.

Also Read: Oppo Reno 7 Series set to launch on Feb. 4: Check expected price and specs