Looks like Essential has a patent for a no-notch screen with a pop-up camera

If you’ve been following the news from MWC 2018, you’ve probably heard of the Vivo Apex, an almost bezel-less concept phone with a pop-up front camera. It seems they aren’t the first ones to think of the idea. A Twitter exchange between an Essential fan named Rafael and Essential CEO Andy Rubin shows off that the company has a patent for the technology. Rafael sent over a Gizmodo article about the Apex and Rubin responded with a link to a Google Patents page that showed Essential filing a US patent back in May 2016 entitled "Apparatus and method to maximize the display area of a mobile device." A follow-up patent is currently pending.

It shows basically the exact thing Vivo showed off and the patent was granted in August 2017. Another implementation shown has the camera placed on the top-left corner of the screen and acts as a permanent camera icon. But, of course, we must remember that even if a patent has been filed it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’ll come to a device soon. But if Rubin was willing to talk about it, perhaps our odds of seeing one in the future might be more likely than we think.

Source: Android Police

Leaked Nokia 8 Pro specs show off a promising 2018-ready flagship

If there’s one thing about the Nokia 8 Sirocco that can seem lacking, it’s that it’s running on a Snapdragon 835 processor, which is a generation behind from what current flagships are supposed to be rocking. But it seems Nokia phone manufacturer HMD Global has something else up its sleeve this year with a Pro version of this device. A specs list for a Nokia 8 Pro device was posted on HowToTechNajia a few days ago. It packs in the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip, a 6-inch display with a 2,160 x 1,080 resolution, 6GB/8GB of RAM, 64GB/128GB of internal storage, dual 16-megapixel rear camera, 13-megapixel front camera, 4,000mAh battery with wireless charging, Android Oreo, and USB-C port. It’s better in every way over the Nokia 8 Sirocco. The phone will reportedly come out in the third quarter of the year. It must be remembered that at the moment this is still just a rumoured device and we don’t know yet if it’ll be an actual release. We’re keeping our eyes peeled for this one.

Source: BGR

Toyota now has a self-driving car company to focus on software systems

Toyota fully committing to its autonomous driving initiatives and is now making sure the research it has been working on in the field gets the focus it needs. The company just established the Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development or TRI-AD, for short. It’s a sub-company underneath the Toyota Research Institute, which is already working on the company’s self-driving car programs. Toyota is partnering with auto-parts manufacturer Aisin Seiki and Denso and will be investing US$2.8 billion into the company and hire around 1,000 employees for the company.

The focus of TRI-AD will be on developing software systems for self-driving vehicles. “Building production-quality software is a critical success factor for Toyota’s automated driving program,” said Dr. James Kuffner, the former CTO of TRI and the new CEO of TRI-AD. “This company’s mission is to accelerate software development in a more effective and disruptive way, by augmenting the Toyota Group’s capability through the hiring of world-class software engineers. We will recruit globally, and I am thrilled to lead this effort.”

Source: BGR

Are we getting another version of Snap’s Spectacles?

We aren’t just getting one new iteration of Snap’s Spectacles. Rumour has it the company is working on two new Spectacles models. The second-generation version will offer bug fixes, performance improvements, and new colours. Meanwhile, the company is also preparing another version that could come with two lenses and feature more advanced camera technology that could cost up to $300. The second-generation model is supposedly far along in the production process and we should expect a Q2 or Q3 launch. With the big US$40 million loss on the first generation verson of Spectacles, Snap is expected to produce fewer units this time around.

On top of this, Snap has reportedly acquired imaging company FiveFocal at the end of 2017 to expand its camera ambitions. Snap is also reportedly in talks with major glasses manufacturers Warby Parker and Luxottica to license out its camera tech.

Source: The Verge