Tuesday, 3 March 2020

Motorola Edge Plus: Everything we know so far (Update: Availability)

Motorola Moto One Zoom home screen in hand 1

Update, March 3, 2020 (2:20AM ET): We’ve updated the original article with information about the expected availability of the new Motorola flagship. In all likelihood, the Motorola Edge Plus will be available through Verizon at launch in the US. Read on for more on that.

Original article, February 13, 2020 (9 PM ET): Motorola hasn’t released a solid premium flagship competitor in several years. Motorola President Sergio Buniac announced in December that that would change in early 2020. We expect this will come in the form of the rumored Motorola Edge Plus.

Unfortunately, the company seems to have done a decent job of keeping leaks at bay, so there isn’t much we know about the device yet. For now, this is everything we expect from Motorola’s upcoming flagship.

Related: Here’s how Motorola’s next flagship can take the fight to Samsung, Huawei

Motorola Edge Plus: Name and design

Moto 5G Snapdragon 765 Phone 2020XDA Developers

We have yet to see any renders or pictures of the Motorola Edge Plus come through Android Authority, though we have caught a glimpse of the device’s rumored mid-tier counterpart (pictured above). What we do know is that the device is rumored to come with one of 2019’s most polarizing features: a waterfall display.

This feature is likely one of the things that led to the device’s rumored Motorola Edge Plus name. It’s also possible the device could come with the “Motorola One 2020” moniker, but we will stick with the Edge Plus title for now.

Read also: Motorola Moto G8, G8 Power, G8 Stylus renders surface online

Recent rumors suggest the device could come with a hole-punch selfie camera at the top left corner. This camera cutout should be smaller than the ones seen on Motorola’s previous phones like the Motorola One Vision.

Aside from that, we can also expect Motorola to include some of the other staple premium flagship design features we’ve come to expect from recent devices. This could consist of a glass and metal chassis, thin bezels, or some form of biometric authentication, whether that be a fingerprint scanner or facial recognition sensor.

Motorola Edge Plus: Specs and features

Motorola Moto One Hyper back and fingerprint reader

We expect the Motorola Edge Plus to come with a 6.67-inch, 2,340 X 1,080 waterfall display. This display should run to the edges of the device, and it will most likely support a 90Hz display refresh rate. It’s also expected to come with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 865, 8GB or 12GB of RAM, a 5,170mAh battery, and Android 10.

The device should also tout 5G support, and Motorola President Buniac said it would be the “fastest 5G phone on Qualcomm’s flagship platform” with “5G speeds greater than 5Gbps.” Other than that, we are unaware of the rest of the device’s hardware specs.

Motorola could take this opportunity to launch several new applications as well.

Software, on the other hand, is another story. Motorola could take this opportunity to launch several new applications with the phone, including Moto Edge Assistant, Moto Gametime, and Moto Audio.

Moto Edge Assistant will reportedly help users take full advantage of the new curved display. This app should allow them to tweak and customize tap actions on the edges of the screen.

Moto Gametime should introduce a customizable toolbar for users to easily access settings and other tools useful during gaming sessions. Some of these features could include notification blocking, brightness locking, and more. Users should be able to access this toolbar with a tap of a floating button or swipe in from one of the device edges.

Read also: Best Motorola phones at every price point

Moto Audio should allow the Motorola Edge Plus to tune audio profiles to match specific types of content automatically. It could boost voice clarity during calls or increase the bass while you play music. This would be possible thanks to the various audio profiles for gaming, movies, music, and more.

Motorola Edge Plus: Price and release date

Motorola Moto One Zoom notch and earpiece speaker

We expected Motorola to announce the Motorola Edge Plus on February 23, a day ahead of the official start of Mobile World Congress 2020. Unfortunately, this year’s MWC event was canceled due to concerns surrounding the current coronavirus outbreak.

Since the initial event date was scheduled for just over a week away from now, Motorola could unveil the Edge Plus at any time within the next couple of weeks. We don’t know where the device will be made available, but we hope to see a global rollout with this handset.

Read also: The Motorola Razr is back: Is this the foldable you were waiting for?

In the US, the Motorola Edge Plus will most likely launch on Verizon’s mmWave 5G network. The carrier recently revealed in a press release that it was able to achieve multi-gigabit speeds on Motorola’s upcoming flagship smartphone. The only other information confirmed in the press release is that the phone is powered by the Snapdragon 865 chipset and features the Snapdragon X55 5G modem.

We haven’t heard any rumors on pricing yet either, but we expect this device will fall within a premium territory. However, we don’t expect it to come anywhere near the new Galaxy S20 series or even Motorola’s new Razr foldable. It’s more likely that the device will fall somewhere between the $700-$900 price range, though that’s just speculation at this point.

Those are all the details we have on the Motorola Edge Plus so far! Be sure to bookmark this page and check back often as we will update it with new information as we get our hands on it.

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Monday, 2 March 2020

Ingram Micro gets Great Place to Work certification

Ingram Micro Philippines received its first Great Place to Work certification from the institute of the same name. It joins an elite select group of companies recognized for great workplace culture.
Ingram Micro gets Great Place to Work certification
Ingram Micro Philippines wins Great Place to Work certification

Ingram Micro PH certified great workplace

Over 1,500 employees participated in a confidential survey. They rated the company in key areas such as culture, teamwork, career growth and development, leadership communication and support, work environment, and sense of pride. The Great Place to Work Institute then took the stats from the survey to certify Ingram Micro Philippines.

Sam White, Director for Human Resources of Ingram Micro, states that it is their employees who drive the company's vision and values to the realization that make their workplace a great place to work in.

The company also believes that its focus and commitment to enhance the experience of its associates that brings the company to success.

Ingram Micro welcomes talents from all walks of life which led to it gaining a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation’s 2020 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). 

This is measured according to policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality, including practices and benefits.


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JOYROOM JR-TL1 Review - Budget price tag, good connectivity and battery

JOYROOM really puts the word "joy", as it unveiled another affordable TWS (True Wireless Stereo) earphones, the JR-TL1.
JOYROOM JR-TL1 TWS Review - Noteworthy price, battery and connectivity
Meet the JR-TL1 TWS earphones

For those who are not aware of the brand, JOYROOM is a mobile phone accessories manufacturer based in Shenzen since 2009. The JOYROOM JR-TL1 is packed with IPX7 waterproofing, Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, 6 hours of playtime, all for PHP 1,690.

So let's find out if these earbuds will suit your audio needs.

Unboxing/Accessories

The packaging

The JR-TL buds came in a neat-looking package. Inside, you can see charging case, short lanyard, USB cable for charging, extra ear tips and documents. The lanyard enables you to attach the small casing to your bag, sort of a keychain. This is really a good idea for those who commute frequently since there's a tendency for the casing to be misplaced with its tiny size.
What's inside the box
What's inside the box

It would be nice if there's a charger head included, but there's nothing to complain about with this price point.

Build Quality/Design

Capsule-shaped case
Capsule-shaped case

Unlike your usual AirPods Pro-like design of most TWS, the JR-TL's charging case is shaped like a pill that is quite similar to HONOR FlyPods. The build is made of polycarbonate material in a matte finish.

The feature that I personally like the most is the IPX7 waterproof protection that will allow the buds to survive accidental water splashes. It should be great for those who are working out.
A few details below
A few details below

There's a plain brand label on the top while few product details are written at the bottom. No indicator or button is found in this casing, only a USB port for charging and that's it.
Micro USB charging pin
Micro USB charging pin

The good thing about this casing is that the lid is kept close by a strong magnet. However, the hinge feels a bit fragile. Inside, it reveals the earbuds that are shaped in a triangle but with curved edges.
The buds with LED light indicator
The buds with LED light indicator

You can also notice four LED indicators that stand for the battery life of the casing itself. This will give you an idea of how many times you can recharge the buds since one light means it has 0 to 25 percent of battery. Two lights are equivalent to 25 to 50 percent of power while three lights are to 50 to 75 percent. If all four lights up, it means the casing has a charge of 75 percent to full.

The lights on the buds do not only add visuals but also have practical uses. If the light is red, it means the buds are charging. They will emit blue, blinking lights if a pairing occurs whereas steady blue lights mean that the buds are in use.

Comfort/Isolation

Right and left markings
Right and left markings

Looking at the earbuds, we observed that they're pretty huge since each measure 6 x 3 x 3.5 centimeter. However, they are nicely designed in such a way that they fit the curves of your ears. Aside from that, the lightweight build of these buds means comfort for those who tend to use them for a long time.

Additionally, the buds did not fall easily during my short jogging session to test its fit. This is a plus since you won't want to be too self-conscious while using them outdoors. Isolation on this TWS is great as they were able to block ambient sounds, but not totally like those earphones with ANC. 

There are extra ear tips included so you can listen to your playlist without distractions or audio leakage.

Battery

JOYROOM claims that the earbuds have six hours of playback time and we put this to a test. Amazingly, the buds played music for more than five hours. This is commendable since those highly-priced TWS only endured three to four hours of usage.

However, the JR-TL buds do not come with fast-charging support that others look for a device, especially those who are always on the go. In our experience, it took almost one and a half hours to charge the casing after draining it. 

Features

The JR-TL has practical features, hence improving its overall usability. The Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity enables solid connectivity within 10 meters and this claim is accurate as tested.

I must say that the JR-TL earbuds did a quick pairing with my Android phone, probably took less than ten seconds. Just simply open the Bluetooth connection and take out the buds from its casing. After that, wait for few seconds for your phone to detect "JR-TL" then select the pair option. When you hear a sound or a beep, it's a signal that pairing was successful.

Overall connectivity is stable and audio delay is hardly noticeable.

There's also another feature called Main-slave switching that allows the user to use the buds independently or both. I rarely use a single earbud since I prefer to be immersed with whatever I'm watching or listening to. But maybe, some may find this handy like for example, you want to prolong the playback hours of the earbuds.

Like most of the TWS, these buds are controlled by tapping them. One tap to play or pause the media you're currently playing while double-tap to skip tracks.

To answer incoming calls and finish outgoing calls, simply tap the buds by one second. Additionally, you have to tap either the right or left bud to activate Google Assistant for voice commands.

The responsiveness of the buds by tapping is great but there are times that the outer surface was oversensitive. Sometimes, I accidentally pause a song when I fix my hair while using them. 

There were no problems and inconveniences during the phone calls made during usage.

Audio

Decent audio
Decent audio

One thing that made us excited about the JR-TL1 is the promise of delivering HiFi audio for less.

So, we did a test by playing songs of different genres like rock, R&B, acoustic, and pop.

It seems that JR-TL earbuds can produce rumbly bass that is good for Hip Hop and RNB music lovers.

However, you can also notice that the vocals and the trebles are somewhat less pronounced. The bass is a bit too overpowering at times. Highs are okay, but it doesn't have the sparkle and clarity of more expensive buds. That's understandable.

Thankfully, despite having an in-ear design, the sound stage quite wide so you can easily immerse yourself with good music.

But, if you are okay with having less isolation, I must say that its sibling, the JR-T04S is still the better sounding buds.

In general, while I still cannot call this HiFi and that's okay for the price, the buds can still offer a pleasing experience for listening to casual music and watching series or movies.

JOYROOM JR-TL Specs

Driver: 6mm dynamic driver
Microphone: 2x mic
Battery: 55mAh per earpiece w/o case, 300mAh w/ case
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0 
Others: IPX7 water resistance, master-slave switch
Dimensions: 60 35 x 30 mm (case)
Weight: 37g (case)
Price: PHP 1,690 (PHP 1,390 promo price)

Verdict

For its price, the JoyRoom JR-TL earbuds gave an admirable performance in almost all aspects.

I appreciate that even in its simple and tiny form, it gets the job done. It easily pairs with my phone with stable connectivity so I can make clear calls with my friends and loved ones.

Aside from that, these buds are ideal whether I'm working out or binging on my favorite shows with its long-lasting battery, good isolation, decent audio quality, and IPX7 waterproof protection.

So if you're on a tight budget but want to enjoy the benefits of a TWS, this is a great go-to product. 

Build/Design - 3.75
Comfort/Isolation - 4
Battery Life - 4.5
Features - 3.75
Sound - 3.75
Average - 3.8


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Researchers use ultrasonic waves, table to hack Google Assistant, Siri

Your smartphone is capable of hearing ultrasonic waves, even though humans can’t hear these frequencies. Now, researchers have used this capability to hack Google Assistant and Siri on smartphones.

A team at Washington University in St Louis successfully used guided ultrasonic waves to trick the voice assistants into performing various actions (h/t: Vice). These actions include placing calls, taking pictures, retrieving passcodes in text messages, and adjusting volume.

Furthermore, the smartphones were simply placed on tables, with the ultrasonic waves being transmitted via this solid surface. The team noted that the so-called Surfing Attack worked on tables made out of wood, glass, and metal. They added that the hack worked on plastic tables too, but wasn’t as reliable.

So how does the hack work?

Researchers attached a microphone (to hear the assistant’s responses) and piezoelectric transducer to the bottom of the table. The team also had a waveform generator nearby to generate the relevant signals, with a laptop running the Surfing Attack software.

The researchers tested 17 phones and found that the attack worked on 15 devices from four manufacturers. These brands are Google (Pixel 1, Pixel 2, Pixel 3), Motorola (G5, Z4), Samsung (Galaxy S7, Galaxy S9), Xiaomi (Mi 5, Mi 8, Mi 8 Lite), and Apple (iPhone 5/5s/6 Plus/X). They also noted that the attack worked against phones with silicone cases. Either way, it’s extremely likely that loads of other phones could be affected by this hack.

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Hackers can control your smart speakers by shooting laser beams at them

In a series of bizarre experiments conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan and Tokyo's University of Electro-Communications, smart speakers from Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple were hacked using laser beams. It might sound like …

The team also tested the Huawei Mate 9 and Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus but found that they weren’t susceptible to the hack. It’s believed that the phones’ curved rear covers helped here, as they reduce the surface area touching the table.

As for protecting your device against the Surfing Attack, the team called on people to use thicker phone cases (e.g. wood), to place the phone on a tablecloth, and to disable voice assistant activation on the lock screen. They also recommend that you turn off lock screen personal results on Android, which means you need to unlock your device before Google Assistant can communicate on your behalf and access other personal info.

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Looks like it’s Oppo’s turn to clone the Apple Watch now (Update: Launch date)

Oppo SmartwatchOppo/Weibo

Update, March 3, 2020 (1:22AM ET): Oppo has officially revealed the launch date for its first smartwatch. The Oppo watch will launch alongside the Oppo Find X2 smartphone on March 6 at 4:30AM ET. The company made the announcement on Twitter and also posted an image of the watch. You can see that tweet below.

As expected, the image shows a smartwatch that bears an uncanny resemblance to the Apple Watch, minus the side-mounted digital crown. We can gather from the image that the Oppo watch will be able to make and receive calls. It is expected that the device will run on Google’s WearOS, but nothing is confirmed as of now.

We’ll update this article as and when we know more about the Oppo watch.

Original article, January 30, 2020 (5:54 AM ET): Oppo VP Brian Shen has taken to Chinese social media platform Weibo to share the first image of the company’s upcoming smartwatch. Lo and behold! We have another Apple Watch clone on our hands.

As you can see in the image (above) of the Oppo smartwatch teased by Shen, it bears a very strong resemblance to Apple’s counterpart. Thankfully, there’s one striking difference in the type of navigational buttons it sports.

The Oppo watch has two buttons on the side instead of a crown and a button that the Apple Watch houses. We don’t get a look at the left side of the watch, so it’s possible (but unlikely) that there’s a crown here anyway. Otherwise, the display, as Shen notes, is curved on the sides, unlike the Apple Watch Series 5.

It also looks like there’s some sort of green notification light on one of the buttons of the watch. A microphone hole rests between the two buttons.

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Smartwatches are still a very new thing to a lot of people, and for good reason. You don’t absolutely need one to get through the day, and some of the best smartwatches are much too …

Shen doesn’t say much else about the wearable but he’s previously confirmed that it’ll launch in the first quarter of this year. We could expect the watch to show up at MWC 2020, unless the recent coronavirus outbreak delays Oppo’s plans.

On another note, how many Apple Watch clones will we have to see before companies realize they need to do something different? Recently, we saw the Mi Watch and Xiaomi-backed Amazfit GTS sport similar designs. Both even had crowns to complete the Apple-esque look. Not to mention the countless other cheap Apple dopplegangers like these ones.

Related: We need to stop with the AirPods clones

Anyhow, other than its obviously borrowed design, we look forward to how Oppo differentiates its smartwatch in terms of features. We expect the usual fitness tracking capabilities, cellular connectivity, and perhaps an ECG sensor. What more could Oppo put in it? We’ll update you as soon as we know more.

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