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Google reveals when Apple-like Bluetooth ‘Fast Pair’ will come to more devices

If you’re a Google device user, the tech giant’s latest announcement at CES 2022 could be what you’ve been waiting for.

Google’s ‘Fast Pair’ feature, which allows you to easily connect wireless earbuds and Android smartphones to various devices without accessing your Bluetooth settings, will soon work on Chromebooks, Google TV and more.

Though Google teased that Fast Pair was making its way to more devices a few months ago, we now know more specifically when it will arrive. Fast Pair will work with Chromebooks in a few weeks, making it easier to switch between your Android device and a laptop. Google says it plans to bring Fast Pair to Google TV/Android TV devices later this year.

 

Further, Google detailed plans to utilize Fast Pair to make switching Bluetooth headphones between Android devices and Windows PCs easier through a partnership with Acer and HP. This new platform also includes syncing text messages and sharing files with ‘Nearby Share.’

Other new features include the ability to set up a Chromebook using an Android smartphone, photos you’ve shot with your Android device syncing to your laptop and the ability to drop images into Chrome OS through the Camera Roll in the Phone Hub app. Wear OS smartwatches will also soon be able to unlock Chromebooks and Android devices.

If all of this sounds strikingly familiar, you’re onto something. Apple has offered comparable features through its ecosystem of different devices for several years. In a flip on the way things usually play out in the industry, it seems Google is playing catchup with Apple and wants to create a more cohesive ecosystem for its devices.

You can check out more news from CES 2022 here.

Image credit: Google 

Source: G00gle

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Mobile Syrup

Google removes all traces of Pixel 6 series December 2021 update

All signs of the Google Pixel 6 series December 2021 security patch have officially disappeared.

In December, Google released its December 2021 security update for the Pixel 6 series a little late and only to some users. Following that, this, the tech giant paused the rollout due to an issue related to dropped calls and disconnections, but the company didn’t take down the image files from its developer site, allowing users to still manually update on the Google flagship.

However, following the January 2022 update, Google has officially removed all links to the December update for the Pixel 6 series.

Google’s factory image and OTA image pages for the Pixel now lack the December update and only mentions the November 2021 patch.

January’s update rolled out to the Pixel 3a and the Pixel 5a (not available in Canada.

Unfortunately, Pixel 6 owners won’t get the January or December update until later this month. Pixel 6 owners will recieve the January and December update later this January.

Source: 9to5Google

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Mobile Syrup

Samsung finally officially unveils the Galaxy S21 FE

Following an onslaught of rumours, delays and leaks, Samsung has revealed the Galaxy S21 FE.

The ‘Fan Edition’ (FE) smartphone features a 6.4-inch display with a 1080 x 2400 pixel resolution with an in-display optical fingerprint scanner and a 120Hz refresh rate. While the display resolution is lower than other devices in the Galaxy S21 lineup, you still get a 120Hz refresh rate that should offer a buttery smooth scrolling and swiping. The matte plastic back of the devices comes in four colours ‘Olive,’ ‘Lavender,’ ‘Graphite’ and ‘White.’

Regarding cameras, the S21 FE features a 12-megapixel primary, 12-megapixel ultrawide, and an 8-megapixel telephoto shooter with 3x optical zoom. On the front, the device features a 32-megapixel selfie shooter.

The Galaxy S21 FE comes in two variants, including one with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and the other with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Both versions of the S21 FE feature a 4,500mAh battery that offers 25W wired charging and 15W wireless charging. Further, the phone offers ‘Samsung Wireless Powershare,’ allowing it to charge Qi-compatible devices like Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2.

The phone is available for pre-order on January 5th and releases on January 11th. Samsung is currently offering a pair of Galaxy Buds 2 as a pre-order bonus.

In Canada, the 6GB Galaxy S21 FE costs $949.99 and the 8GB variant retails at $1,039.99. It’s currently unclear if the smartphone will support Android 12 at launch or if the update will come at a later date. MobileSyrup has reached out to Samsung for more information. We’ll have more on the Galaxy S21 FE in the coming weeks.

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Google’s rumoured Pixel 7 Pro could feature an under-display selfie camera

Google’s Pixel 7 might include Samsung-esque technology.

First discovered by LetsGoDigital, Google recently published a patent to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a smartphone that features an under-display camera.

The USPTO describes the patent as a “display configuration for mobile computing devices.” The patent was published back in December but was only spotted recently.

The patent outlines a smartphone with a larger display than we’ve seen before from a Pixel device. However, the overall body of the device doesn’t seem to be larger than the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. According to Android Headlines, this isn’t the first time Google has published a patented related to an under-display camera, though this is reportedly the most cost-effective approach to the technology.

The patent outlines how the smartphone would feature an emissive display with a small “non-emissive” part where the camera looks through. Alongside the front-facing camera, a light sensor and other sensors will be placed under the camera. The smartphone also features an in-display fingerprint scanner.

At this point, several smartphone manufacturers offer this technology, including most recently Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3. Even Apple is reportedly working on bringing the technology to its upcoming iPhone 14. 

Google’s Pixel 7 Pro will likely be revealed in October at the tech giant’s annual ‘Made By Google’ hardware event.

Image credit: LetsGoDigital

Source: LetsGoDigital

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Mobile Syrup

Watch Santa deliver gifts around the world using Google Santa Tracker

Santa has left the North Pole and begun delivering gifts around the world. Led by his nine reindeer, Santa’s journey will take him through each country. Thanks to Google Santa Tracker, you can keep up with where in the world Father Christmas is.

Google has held on to the annual tradition of tracking Santa Claus each Christmas since 2004. The tracking system is powered by Google Maps. Google uses satellite technology and a bit of magic to keep up with Santa’s location. It’s become a favourite of families around the world as they can see where Santa is and where he is off to next.

Google has been expanding the Santa Tracker portal with beloved features as well as new activities families can take part in. One of my personal favourites is the ‘Local Guide’ which shows the exact location of Santa and provides the ability to see details and attractions of the area. Google will redirect users to Google Maps to see a more in-depth look at the area.

Additionally, the Santa Tracker shows the grand total of presents delivered by the big guy. At the time of writing, over 2,500,000,000 gifts have been dropped off across the world.

Google Santa Tracker also includes a whole bunch of interactive games to play. Santa Selfie, for instance, enables users to give the jolly old elf a beard trim and style his hair. There are also games like Gumball Tilt and more. Of course, what’s a Christmas without a Yule Log fire video. Yes, the Santa Tracker portal includes one of those as well for your viewing pleasure.

It’s a pretty impressive offering of activities Google has helped put together for families across the world. Kids can learn a bit of geography while Santa and co. zip from location to location around the world throughout the day.

Google Santa Tracker can also be installed on Android as well through the Google Play Store.

Image credit: Google

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Mobile Syrup

Huawei unveils P50 Pocket clamshell foldable phone

Huawei has unveiled its latest smartphone, the foldable P50 Pocket.

The device features two displays, including a circular screen on the outside. The circular display is smart as it’s in line with the company’s Huawei Watch display in terms of design.

The clamshell-style folding smartphone features a 1-inch external display for quick access to notifications/widgets. The P50 Pocket will launch in China first and likely won’t make its way to Canada.

P50 Pocket features a pretty cool gold or silver finish and a 3D pattern designed by Iris Van Herpen from the Netherlands. When the device unfolds, it sports a 6.9-inch display with a 21:9 ratio and 120Hz display refresh rate. It also features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 4G processor, a 4,000mAh battery and Harmony OS.

Additionally, the foldable sports a 40-megapixel primary shooter, a 13-megapixel wide-angle lens and what Huawei calls a “super spectrum” 32-megapixel shooter. The China-based company says the shooter features a greater range of colours when compared to its other smartphones. Further, the phone features a hole-punch camera in the main display, and you can use the 1-inch cover screen as a viewfinder if you want to use the main shooter.

The P50 Pocket also offers both face unlock on the main/cover screen and a fingerprint sensor.

The P50 Pocket with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage variant costs CNY 8988 (roughly $1,807 CAD). The foldable device will also be available in a 12GB of RAM/512GB storage version for about $2,219 CAD.

Image credit: Huawei 

Via: The Verge 

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Mobile Syrup

Huawei unveils P50 Pocket clamshell foldable phone

Huawei has unveiled its latest smartphone, the foldable P50 Pocket.

The device features two displays, including a circular screen on the outside. The circular display is smart as it’s in line with the company’s Huawei Watch display in terms of design.

The clamshell-style folding smartphone features a 1-inch external display for quick access to notifications/widgets. The P50 Pocket will launch in China first and likely won’t make its way to Canada.

P50 Pocket features a pretty cool gold or silver finish and a 3D pattern designed by Iris Van Herpen from the Netherlands. When the device unfolds, it sports a 6.9-inch display with a 21:9 ratio and 120Hz display refresh rate. It also features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 4G processor, a 4,000mAh battery and Harmony OS.

Additionally, the foldable sports a 40-megapixel primary shooter, a 13-megapixel wide-angle lens and what Huawei calls a “super spectrum” 32-megapixel shooter. The China-based company says the shooter features a greater range of colours when compared to its other smartphones. Further, the phone features a hole-punch camera in the main display, and you can use the 1-inch cover screen as a viewfinder if you want to use the main shooter.

The P50 Pocket also offers both face unlock on the main/cover screen and a fingerprint sensor.

The P50 Pocket with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage variant costs CNY 8988 (roughly $1,807 CAD). The foldable device will also be available in a 12GB of RAM/512GB storage version for about $2,219 CAD.

Image credit: Huawei 

Via: The Verge 

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Mobile Syrup

OnePlus 10 Pro confirmed to launch in January 2022

OnePlus’ upcoming smartphone will reportedly launch its next flagship smartphone in January, according to a new report.

GSMArena’s says that the OnePlus founder, Pete Lau, has indicated the device is scheduled for a January launch on China-based microblogging site Weibo. 

Lau’s post reportedly says, “OnePlus 10 Pro, see you in January.”

With a January launch, it seems OnePlus is trying to beat Samsung to the punch, as it’s unclear when the South Korean company will unveil its flagship.

Previous leaks indicate that the 10-series will receive a China-exclusive launch in January and that it will release in more regions in March or April. Considering Lau posted the teaser on Weibo instead of an international social media platform, this is a plausible scenario.

The OnePlus 10 Pro will reportedly sport a camera array that extends around the edge of the phone, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, a 120Hz refresh rate 6.7-inch display, a 5,000mAh battery and Oppo’s ColorOS.

Source: GSMArena,  Weibo

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Mobile Syrup

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra to sport new ‘Detail Enhancer’ feature

Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra is rumoured to sport a 108-megapixel camera similar to its predecessor, the S21 Ultra. While this seems relatively expected, the South Korean tech giant also seems to have a surprise up its sleeve.

According to a report from Material IT Korea references to code related to a feature called “Detail Enhancer” have been uncovered in the S21 Ultra’s camera app.

Detail Enhancer will reportedly allow the user to “capture even more detail” when using the smartphone’s primary shooter. Further, it will also enable macro shots higher in quality than the S21 Ultra’s.

Though Samsung plans to launch two other phones alongside the S22 Ultra, reportedly it will be the only device to feature Detail Enhancer. However, it’s possible that this feature might be brought to the other handsets in a future update.

To back up Material IT Korea, well-known leaker, Ice Universe has tweeted in support of rumours surrounding an improved camera coming to the S22 Ultra.

Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra is expected to launch in either January or February next year.

Source: Material IT Korea, Ice Universe, Android Central

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New Galaxy S21 FE leak suggests that the device will cost roughly $1,087

Samsung is expected to officially reveal its often-rumoured Galaxy S21 FE early next year during its CES keynote presentation, and thanks to a new leak from WinFuture, we now know a bit more about the device.

For those not familiar, recent leaks suggest that the Fan Edition (FE) device will run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor and feature a 6.4-inch FHD+ 120Hz OLED screen with an in-display fingerprint scanner.

This latest rumour suggests that the S21 FE will be offered in 6GB and 8GB RAM variants along with 128GB and 256GB storage options.

The leak also indicates that the device will feature a primary 12-megapixel shooter, an 8-megapixel 3x telephoto zoom lens and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens with a 123-degree field of view. The front camera is reported to be 32-megapixel with an f/2.2 aperture and an 81-degree field of view.

WinFuture‘s report also suggests that the device will feature two NanoSIM slots along with eSIM support, no microSD card slot, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC. It will be powered by a 4500mAh battery that can be wirelessly charged and can also dispense charge with PowerShare.

The device is reported to be IP68 water-resistant thanks to an aluminum frame and a polycarbonate back panel.

WinFuture suggests that the device will weigh in at 170g with a starting price of 749 Euros ($1,087.11 CAD) for the 6GB/128GB variant, whereas the 8/256GB variant is expected to cost 819 Euros ($1,188.27 CAD).

Lastly, according to a recent firmware update, the S21 FE will be the first Samsung smartphone to launch with Android 12 out of the box. The Fan Edition device will sport Google’s latest OS update alongside Samsung’s One UI 4.0.

Source: WinFuture