Apple launches 5G-enabled iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

Apple held a streaming event today to launch the new iPhones 12. This year brings a refreshed design as well as a smaller variant in the iPhone 12 mini. The big feature is 5G, which has bee available on other devices for over a year. Noteable features for the new iPhones 12 include a squarish design that's reminiscent of the iPhone 5 and the latest iPad Pros and iPad Airs. The notch is still there and doesn's seem to have shrunk much, Apple has also retained the Lightning adapters for power and connectivity, making the iPhone the only product it sells that still does not use the USB-Type C industry standard. Apple is omitting power supplies as well as the EarPods headphones in the new iPhones to ostensibly cut down on e-waste and also to increase their margins.

The new iPhones do feature a new screen technology in the Ceramic Shield front cover. The Apple-designed A14 Bionic, ups performance while the dual-camera system provides new computational photography and video MagSafe, previously a much-missed feature on MacBooks, is now on iPhones  as a high-powered wireless charging and an all-new ecosystem of accessories that easily attach to iPhone. 

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OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei is reportedly no longer with the company

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Reports have surfaced claiming that OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has left the company. A post on Reddit first broke the news, showing internal memos suggesting Pei's departure. The information comes out after the OnePlus Nord's launch and the upcoming release of the OnePlus 8T.

Pei co-founded the company with Pete Lau in 2013, and he's reportedly left to start a new, unspecified venture. OnePlus has yet to confirm the reports.

Source: Engadget

Google's new Nest Thermostat is its cheapest yet

The new Nest Thermostat's launch isn't a surprise. We've even heard it supports gesture controls. Now, that rumoured smart thermostat is official, and it's Google's most affordable model yet. In Canada, it retails for $179.99, which is well below the Nest Learning Thermostat's $329 price tag or even below the Thermostat E's $229 price.

It looks similar to the previous models' rounded design, but this Nest Thermostat has a mirrored display and updated controls. Instead of gesture control, it has a "swipe and tap" touch interface on the side instead of a thermostat dial. The integrated Soli chip helps detect motion. Soli allows this smart thermostat to automatically switch between settings since it can detect nearby activity.

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Analyst believes regular iPhone 12 will be series' bestseller

Four new iPhones are expected to launch at the upcoming Apple "Hi, Speed" event, and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes the second cheapest option, the regular iPhone 12, will sell the most at launch. It'll supposedly garner 40% of the iPhone 12 series' total shipments, while the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max will each get 20%.

While you might think the cheapest variant will earn the company the most, Kuo believes its smaller size might not have as broad an appeal as the rumoured 6.1-inch display on the regular iPhone 12. This model is expected to cost around US$799 (around CA$1,048), which is US$100 (CA$131) more expensive than the mini. It's believed the new iPhones won't sell as well when compared with the iPhone 11 because of its later launch and the effect of COVID-9 on the economy.

Source: GSMArena