The closer we get to the next Unpacked event, the more certain it seems that Samsung will release its first-ever Fan Edition foldable phone this year. It’s been tentatively named the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE, and a new report from Korea claims to have uncovered some interesting facts about the device, initial production, and […]
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Read MoreWhatsApp has announced a laundry list of new features aimed at enhancing the user experience across chats, calls, and channels, with some of the features available now or currently rolling out.
Among the most notable additions is a new “Online” indicator for group chats, which shows how many people are currently active in a conversation without revealing specific names. The feature makes it easier to see whether members are available or if you’re messaging into a quiet group.
For users overwhelmed by group notifications, WhatsApp has introduced customizable alert settings. The new “Notify for” option allows users to choose between receiving all notifications or only “Highlights” – which includes @mentions, replies, and messages from saved contacts.
The encrypted chat platform has also expanded its Events functionality, which was previously limited to groups. Users can now create events in one-on-one conversations, add RSVP options including “maybe,” invite plus-ones, and pin events directly in chats.
Elsewhere, communication has been made more interactive with tappable reactions. When someone reacts to a message, users can simply tap on that reaction to add their own or to “+1” the existing emoji, similar to platforms like Slack.
Video calling has received several improvements, including a more reliable connection system designed to reduce freezing and dropped calls. WhatsApp says it has optimized its routing system to find the best connection path and improved bandwidth detection to upgrade video quality to HD faster when internet speed allows.
Meanwhile, iPhone users are set to gain some platform-specific features, including the ability to pinch-to-zoom during video calls, and document scanning directly from the attachment menu. As previously reported, users can also now set WhatsApp as their default call and messaging app on iPhone.
Lastly, for Channels, WhatsApp is rolling out tools for admins to record and share short video clips up to 60 seconds long, generate unique QR codes for easy channel sharing, and provide transcripts of voice messages for followers who can’t listen to audio updates.
Most of these features are now available in the latest stable build of WhatsApp for both iPhone and Android, although some users may need to wait a few weeks as the rollout completes.
This article, "WhatsApp Gets Updates to Group Chats, Events, Calls, Channels, More" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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As promised, vivo today unveiled the V50e as the newest member of the V50 series, which includes the V50, V50 Lite 4G, and V50 Lite 5G. [#InlinePriceWidget,13656,1#] The vivo V50e has the Dimensity 7300 SoC under the hood, like its predecessor V40e. It’s paired with 8GB RAM, and you get two storage options – 128GB and 256GB. The V50e runs Android 15-based Funtouch OS 15 out of the box, and vivo has promised three Android version upgrades and four years of security updates for the smartphone. The vivo V50e has a 6.77″ quad-curved AMOLED display on the front, which has a 120Hz…
Read MoreApple in October 2024 overhauled its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display changes, and more. That’s quite a lot of updates in one go, but if you think this means a further major refresh for the MacBook Pro is now several years away, think again.
Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman has said he expects only a small performance boost for the 2025 MacBook Pro models with the introduction of new M5 chips, while the “true overhaul” for the laptop will come in 2026. So if you are planning to skip this year’s MacBook Pro, or you’re just plain curious about what’s two generations away, here are the biggest changes rumored to be coming to Apple’s premium laptop line next year.
OLED Display
Goodbye, mini-LED
Several rumors have indicated that the first MacBook Pro models with OLED displays will be released in 2026. Research firm Omdia claims Apple is “highly likely” to introduce new MacBook Pros featuring OLED displays next year, while display analyst Ross Young has said that Apple’s supply chain is expected to have sufficient notebook-optimized OLED display production capacity in 2026 to bring the technology to MacBook Pro. Compared to current MacBook Pro models that use mini-LED screens, the benefits of OLED technology would include increased brightness, higher contrast ratio with deeper blacks, improved power efficiency for longer battery life, and more.
Thinner, Lighter Laptop
Major Redesign
The switch to OLED displays could allow future MacBook Pro models to have a thinner design, and rumors suggest that is indeed what Apple intends. When the M4 iPad Pro was unveiled in May 2024, Apple touted it as the company’s thinnest product ever. Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman subsequently called the iPad Pro the “beginning of a new class of Apple devices,” and said Apple was working to make the MacBook Pro thinner over the “next couple of years.” Apple is reportedly focusing on delivering the thinnest possible device without compromising on battery life or major new features.
Notably, the MacBook Pro got thicker and heavier with its most recent redesign in 2021. A major highlight was the reintroduction of several ports that were removed in previous iterations in favor of chassis thinness. How Apple will make its 2026 MacBook Pro thinner without removing the functionality it reintroduced fairly recently is the big question.
Punch-Hole Camera
No More Notch
If you are fed up of the notch intruding on your Mac display, here’s some good news. Apple plans to remove the notch from the MacBook Pro in 2026, according to a roadmap shared by research firm Omdia. The roadmap indicates that 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models released next year will have a hole-punch camera at the top of the display, rather than the notch we’ve become accustomed to. A MacBook Pro without a notch would offer additional visible pixels on the screen, creating a more uninterrupted and cohesive display design.
5G Modem
Cellular Connectivity
Early in 2025, Apple plans to introduce the custom-built 5G chip that it’s had in the works for years now. The modem chip will be added to the iPhone SE, low-cost iPad, and iPhone 17 “Air,” giving Apple an opportunity to test the technology before rolling it out to flagship devices. According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple will then consider bringing cellular connectivity to the Mac lineup for the first time. The company is said to be “investigating” the possibility of adding a second-generation modem chip to a future Mac as soon as 2026, teasing the potential for a cellular MacBook Pro in the same year. The first Apple modem chip will be limited to sub-6GHz 5G speeds, but the second-generation version will support faster mmWave technology, according to Gurman.
M6 Series Chip
2nm Process
Assuming Apple follows a similar timeframe to its M4 chip rollout, Apple will update the MacBook Pro lineup in October this year with M5 series chips. The chips will be manufactured with TSMC’s third-generation 3nm process, known as N3P, resulting in typical year-over-year performance and power efficiency improvements compared to the M4 series of chips. M6 chips, on the other hand, could adopt a completely new packaging process for Apple’s 2026 MacBook Pro models.
According to one rumor, Apple’s A20 chip in next year’s iPhone 18 models will switch from the previous InFo (Integrated Fan-Out) packaging to WMCM (Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module) packaging. WMCM integrates multiple chips within the same package, allowing for the development of more complex chipsets. Components such as the CPU, GPUs, DRAM, and Neural Engine would therefore be more tightly integrated. While we don’t know for sure, this could see Apple develop the M6 using the 2nm process while taking advantage of WMCM packaging to make even more powerful versions of its custom processor.
This article, "Waiting for the Perfect MacBook Pro? 2026 Might Be the Year" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Read MoreA novel drug that produces a temporary coating in the small intestine could be a new strategy for weight loss—and an alternative to surgeries and GLP-1 drugs.
Read MoreA novel drug that produces a temporary coating in the small intestine could be a new strategy for weight loss—and an alternative to surgeries and GLP-1 drugs.
Read MoreThe long-awaited One UI 7 update is finally rolling out on 2024 Galaxy flagship phones in more regions. One UI 7 is a massive software upgrade that brings numerous visual and functional changes across the user interface and most Samsung apps. Samsung Weather is among those first-party apps that have received an overhaul through One […]
The post Where did all my weather locations go in One UI 7? appeared first on SamMobile.
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Yesterday, vivo teased a photography kit for its upcoming X200 Ultra flagship which is due to launch on April 21 in China. That won’t be the only optional camera accessory for the X200 Ultra as vivo product manager Han Boxiao shared details about an additional add-on zoom lens co-engineered with Zeiss. This lens attaches to the X200 Ultra’s photography kit via a custom adapter and sits over the phone’s 200MP periscope zoom lens. It features an intricate 13-piece glass lens setup, expanding the 200MP sensor’s native 3.7x optical zoom. The add-on zoom lens offers a f/2.3 aperture…
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