Tecno Phantom V Fold debuts at MWC 2023

Image: Tecno

Tecno may not be a familiar brand on this side of the world, but it is the latest Chinese mobile device maker to release a competitively-priced foldable. The Tecno Phantom V Fold is coming to India first at INR 89,999 (around CAD 1,485) for the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage model and INR 99,999 (~CAD 1,650) for the 51GB storage variant. It's the first book-style foldable to run on the MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ processor, which powers devices like the OPPO Find N2 Flip. 

It has a wider body than Samsung's foldable, with a "virtually crease-free" 7.85-inch screen with a 2,296 x 2,000 resolution inside the fold and a 6.42-inch 2,550 x 1,080 outer display. Both screens are AMOLED panels with refresh rates of up to 120Hz. Tecno claims the Phantom V Fold can handle "200,000 folds," which is the same for the Galaxy Z Fold4.

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Canada bans TikTok use on government devices

Photo: Solen Feyissa/Unsplash

Canada is banning the use of TikTok from all government-issued devices starting Tuesday. This decision follows a review by Canada's chief information officer, saying the app "presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security." TikTok expressed disappointment over the decision and refuted that the ban happened "without citing any specific security concerns about TikTok or contacting us to discuss any concern prior to making this decision." The Canadian government's decision comes days after the European Commission imposed a similar ban. The app will be removed from government-issued phones this week. And it will be blocked from downloads in the future.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was enough concern about security around the app to impose the change. "This may be the first step, this may be the only step we need to take," he said during a press conference on Monday near Toronto. Canadian privacy regulators are also investigating the video app over concerns about user data and how the company obtains "valid and meaningful" consent from users when collecting personal information. According to a recent survey by researchers at the Social Media Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University, around a quarter of Canadian adults use TikTok.

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Xiaomi 13 Lite brings dual-selfie cameras

Image: Xiaomi

Xiaomi didn't just introduce the Leica-equipped Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro. It also launched the Xiaomi 13 Lite, a follow-up to the 12 Lite. This new variant has a design similar to the China-only Xiaomi Civi 2. It gets a dual-front camera setup, including a 32-megapixel primary sensor paired with an 8-megapixel depth sensor. The latter is supposed to help with more natural-looking bokeh in selfies. The camera also has a 100-degree field of view and automatically adjusts the framing for group shots.

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OnePlus 11 Concept demos new cooling tech for smartphones

Image: OnePlus

OnePlus doesn't have a new phone to show off at Mobile World Congress 2023 in Barcelona, but it did have a new concept. The OnePlus 11 Concept phone shows off what active cooling technology looks like on a smartphone. It sports an Active CryoFlux design that you can see off the back of the phone, reminiscent of cooling pipes you'll see on PC rigs. 

What this does for the phone is it reduces the temperature up to 2.1℃, improving the frame rate by three or four frames per second during gameplay. When charging, it also brings down the temp by 1.6℃, which shaves off 30 to 45 seconds from the charging time.

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