OPPO Find X: The era of pop-up cameras is here

Updated on Wednesday, June 20, 2018 at 11:44AM by Nicole Batac

Amelia Holowaty Krales/The Verge

The Chinese company OPPO might not be a brand you’ve heard of before but be prepared to read tons of news on their newest smartphone that’s launching in a few hours from the Louvre in Paris. It’s going to be OPPO’s first phone that’s coming to North America and Europe. Called the Find X, it’s ditching the notch in place of pop-up cameras to give you an impressive 92.25 screen-to-body ratio. Unlike the Vivo Nex (another Chinese brand), which just hides the front camera with a pop-up mechanism, OPPO has hidden all its cameras and 3D facial scanning system. It’ll motorize up when you want to unlock the phone or use the cameras (25-megapixel front-facing camera and dual 16-megapixel and 20-megapixel rear-facing cameras). The company promises that it’ll take 0.5 seconds for the camera to open. As mentioned, it’ll pop-up when you want to unlock the phone because there is no fingerprint authentication system on the OPPO Find X. The company relies on the 3D facial scanner for biometric authentication.

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Apple Camp programs for kids registration is now open

Summer is a great time for kids to learn new skills and Apple Camp is offering an opportunity for children aged 8 to 12 to expand their digital creativity with many hands on projects.

Kids ages 8 to 12 can expand their digital creativity through hands-on projects at Apple. Campers choose one of three tracks, then spend 90 minutes a day for three days at a local Apple Store immersed in their chosen subject. Check out the lists of tracks available here.

You can no longer book Uber rides through Google Maps

One of those neat little tricks hidden within Google Maps is being able to book your Uber ride right from the navigation app. Unfortunately, that no longer exists. Eighteen months after the feature was introduced, Google posted a new support page that states plainly that “You can no longer book Uber rides directly in Google Maps.” The feature was previously accessible when you searched for a location and a tab for ride-sharing existed where you could book the ride from there. This tab still exists but now it’ll only show you an estimate of your ride and then it’ll send you out to the Uber app if you want to book a ride.

Even with 17 different services supported within the ride-sharing tab, Uber used to be the only app that will let you pay for a ride and complete the trip right from within Google Maps. It’s not known why Google and Uber decided to end this program.

Source: Ars Technica

Motorola’s been granted a patent for a foldable smartphone with a heating hinge

Back in 2016, Motorola filed for a patent that would let them add a heating hinge to its foldable smartphone concept. What good would a heated hinge do? Well, it’ll solve the issue of a permanent crease affecting screens that are folded or straightened constantly. The company’s patent just got granted. While we can’t say this will ever be used for an actual product, it does show us the possibility of this existing.

With this design, it allows for Motorola to use a flexible OLED screen that flexes both inward and outward and can even have more than one hinge. The temperature sensor works even when the phone is off and when it’s folded so when the screen starts to deform because the temperature is low, the hinge heats up to correct this. At the moment, Samsung seems to be the closest one to release a flexible OLED phone, which is slated for a release next year.

Source: GSMArena