Chinese brand Vivo might be the first to introduce an on-screen fingerprint sensor for its upcoming smartphone

While Vivo might be an unfamiliar name here, the Chinese manufacturer has been aggressively promoting its brand across Asia. And it looks like it’ll be leading the charge when it comes to introducing a device with an on-screen fingerprint sensor. A leaked video on Chinese microblogging site Weibo shows what looks like the Vivo X9 Plus but with the optical fingerprint sensor embedded into the screen itself. A report coming out of Korea reaffirms this claim but says Huawei will be the first to put on-screen fingerprint sensing on its device with the P11 and then they’ll be followed by Xiaomi and Vivo.

For this side of the world, though, Apple is said to be making this feature a mainstream requirement for phones with the upcoming release of the next iPhone. Samsung supposedly won’t have it ready in time for the release of the “Galaxy Note 8” because of “security vulnerabilities.”

Source: Android Central

The ‘OnePlus 5’ gets leaked

Speculation about OnePlus’ next device have already started to surface. The rumoured “OnePlus 5” is supposedly getting its name because the number four is considered bad luck in China so we might not see a OnePlus 4 show up. According to Chinese site PCPop, the OnePlus 5 will be carrying flagship worthy specs like its predecessors. Like the recently launched Samsung Galaxy S8, it’ll have very thin bezels and a fingerprint sensor at the back but should be in a more central position. Like the S8, it’s said to not be sporting a physical home button, too. As expected, there aren’t any actual photos of the device yet but PCPop offered the mockup shot above.

The OnePlus 5 is rumoured to be running on Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 8GB of RAM, 5.5-inch 2K resolution display, and 3,000mAh battery. It’ll supposedly just be 7mm thick and have a 23-megapixel dual lens rear camera with optical zoom and optical image stabilization. No word yet about when this device could launch or how much it’ll cost. But if we follow OnePlus’ previous releases it should come out in the summer and come at a competitive price.

Source: BGR

Samsung has new eight-step process for testing batteries

Samsung is looking to avoid the mishap of the Galaxy Note7 by introducing a new testing process as well as forming a battery advisory board. The latter will be comprised by academics from the likes of Cambridge, Berkeley, and Stanford. The former will be implemented for all lithium ion batteries in Samsung products.

The first three steps—durability, visual inspection, and X-ray—as well as open circuit voltage tests are already being conducted on batteries but now Samsung says the testing has been “enhanced” and will be done more frequently. As you see above, the other tests include charge and discharge tests, tests of total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), disassembling tests, and accelerated usage tests. It’ll take some time for Samsung to win back the trusts of consumers but taking steps to make sure they do that is a step in the right direction.

Source: The Verge

Android creator plans to build AI-centered smartphone

Android maker Andy Rubin has been out of Google for over two years already but it looks like he’s kept busy and is planning to re-enter the segment he left. Rumour has it Rubin is planning to launch a company that’ll produce a high-end smartphone that will focus on artificial intelligence and have a bezel-free screen and ceramic back. The company, which will be called Essential, has been registered by Rubin as “Essential Products Inc.” in California back in November 2015. The word “Essential” has also been submitted at the end of last year to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with smartphones, tablets, and mobile OS software as part of the outfit’s goods and services. The company is supposedly composed of around 40 people with a lot of them recruited from both Apple and Google.

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