Mobvoi announces the TicPods 2 and 2 Pro wireless earbuds with voice/gesture controls and noise cancellation

Ever since smartphones started ditching the headphone jack, competition in the wireless earbuds space has picked up. Apple’s AirPods have become incredibly popular, which has led many companies to offer similar products. Mobvoi, the makers of the TicWatch Pro, released their own version, the TicPods, back in 2018. Today, the company is announcing the TicPods 2 Pro and TicPods 2.

The TicPods 2 and 2 Pro offer a pretty substantial improvement over the nearly 2-year old TicPods. The original TicPods featured silicone tips and were shaped to seal off ambient noise. The TicPods 2 feature a more lightweight “open-fit” design that sits in your ear without the need for silicone tips. Essentially, they fit more like AirPods, which can be a good or a bad thing depending on your ears. Personally, I much prefer the open-fit design.

What may be even more of a big deal than the shape of the earbuds is the charging case. The case for both the TicPods 2 and 2 Pro is 42% smaller than the original. That’s a very big deal. You can fit the new case in the small pocket on the right front that most men’s jeans have. Another big update for the charging case is USB-C. Wireless charging would be even better, but not needing a separate cable from your phone is a big improvement.

Mobvoi is a company that does a lot of work with AI and that is present on the TicPods 2 Pro. The earbuds have two new AI-powered features: TicHear and TicMotion.

• TicHear – Use Quick-Commands to control your audio with your voice (“Play Music” | “Pause Music” | “Next Song” | “Previous Song” | “Pick Up” | “Hang Up”). Powered by Mobvoi’s innovative in-house AI algorithms, the TicHear Quick-Commands feature cuts out the wake-up word to give you a very direct and natural way to interact with the device. TicHear is built from a set of algorithms that includes VAD, noise reduction, AEC, beamforming, wake-up word detection and more, allowing you to activate your personal assistant whenever and wherever for a seamless interactive experience.
• TicMotion – Nod your head twice to pick up a call, shake twice to refuse TicMotion proactively tracks your head movement without your need to activate or notify the device. It enables TicPods 2 Pro to detect head and neck motion, giving you a seamless experience that goes beyond audio. You can now enjoy another point of hands-free access to interact with their device.

You can also easily activate the smart assistant of your choice with the “Hey Tico” voice command. The first time you do this you will be asked to select a default app. The TicPods 2 do not include TicHear or TicMotion, but both models still have the standard “tickle touch” controls for volume, play/pause, skip tracks, and pickup or refuse calls.

Last, but certainly not least, the TicPods 2 and 2 Pro have improved sound quality with Qualcomm aptX audio. This means Qualcomm’s aptX encoder is included in both models for clearer, high-definition audio. The TicPods 2 Pro takes things a step further with dual-mic noise cancellation for enhanced voice clarity and reduced ambient noise interference.

The TicPods 2 Pro will cost $139 at launch while the TicPods 2 will be priced at $99. They are available in three colors: Navy, Ice, and Blossom. Again, the difference between the models is the inclusion of TicHear/TicMotion and dual-mic noise cancellation. Pre-orders for both models begin today on Mobvoi.com and Amazon. You can get 10% off the retail price if you pre-order the earbuds before they launch on January 15th.

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Free, Real-time Flight Status & Global Aviation Data API

Aviationstack is an API that offers developers access to full aviation data. With plans starting at $0 per month, different packages offer access to different features. Developers that use this powerful API will be able to gain access to real-time flight data, historical flights, airline routes and much more. It’s a complete solution for anyone looking for flight data to implement into their app, or other projects.

The API features access to 10,000+ airports, 300+ airplane types, 13,000+ airlines, 9,000+, 250+ countries and 500+ aviation taxes.

Powered by a strong backbone of aviation data sources, the API produces accurate details related to any global flight. These details are accurate down to the minute, for any stage of the flight. The API is built on top of scalable cloud infrastructure, which has the ability any volume of requests. With plans offering access to as many as 250,000 requests, it’s important to know that Aviationstack is prepared to handle any amount of requests.

“Whether it’s building booking platforms, visualizing and monitoring global flights or creating popular flight tracking applications — our flight data API is used by thousands every day. ”

Aviationstack

You can sign up for free, which will get you 500 requests to the entry-level access of data. This is a good option for anyone who wants to try out the API to see if it suits their needs. Use the link below to get started and see the different plans that are available.

START TRACKING FLIGHTS

We thank aviationstack for sponsoring this post. Our sponsors help us pay for the many costs associated with running XDA, including server costs, full time developers, news writers, and much more. While you might see sponsored content (which will always be labeled as such) alongside Portal content, the Portal team is in no way responsible for these posts. Sponsored content, advertising and XDA Depot are managed by a separate team entirely. XDA will never compromise its journalistic integrity by accepting money to write favorably about a company, or alter our opinions or views in any way. Our opinion cannot be bought.

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How OnePlus made an Invisible Camera on its Concept One smartphone

In our post covering the top smartphones of 2019, I believed that the Mi Note 10’s penta-camera setup was the best new hardware feature of the year. What drove this innovation in multi-camera technology is the fact that image sensors have gotten much better, modern image signal processors are more powerful, and camera software has become more sophisticated. That’s why this year, smartphone giants like Samsung and Huawei will unveil devices with quad and penta-camera modules contained within a rectangular area on the rear. Housing camera modules in a circular or rectangular enclosure is how smartphone brands make multi-camera devices look aesthetically pleasing. But what if there were another way? That’s what OnePlus is demonstrating with the Concept One – a prototype smartphone with cameras that can turn invisible.

During a briefing with the press at CES, OnePlus explained that the Concept One device is the latest example of the company’s push to improve the colors, materials, and finish (CMF) of smartphone design. With the new device, OnePlus says they’ve now stepped into the territory of “ECMF,” where the E stands for Electronic. Their goal is to create a material finish that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional for day-to-day use. To that end, OnePlus chose to once again partner with McLaren, the British sports car manufacturer. Over the course of 18 months, OnePlus worked to create a concept smartphone with McLaren’s iconic orange leather, aluminum alloy framing, and electrochromic glass. Internally, the OnePlus Concept One has the same specifications as the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition, but it has a radically different design.

McLaren Papaya Orange

The leather on the rear of the OnePlus Concept One has the same Papaya Orange color found in McLaren vehicles, specifically the McLaren 720S. There’s even stitching in the leather that surrounds both sides of the camera lenses and runs down the length of the body. The frame of the device is made up of PVD (physical vapor deposition) coated aluminum rather than an oxidized aluminum layer. OnePlus also added a thin layer of 24 karat gold to make the frame shiny.

OnePlus says they’re the first to utilize PVD in smartphone design, but while the McLaren Papaya Orange finish is indeed beautiful, it’s not what’s most interesting about the Concept One. That crown belongs to the Invisible Camera.

Invisible Camera

In order to hide the camera, OnePlus says they needed a new easement approach. OnePlus took inspiration from the McLaren 720S and other luxury vehicles where the sunroof’s transparency can be adjusted to control how much light can shine through. Basically, the glass can shift from transparent to opaque by changing the current and voltage. The technology, called electrochromic glass, is thus not new, but it’s now been applied to smartphone camera lenses for the first time.

OnePlus makes the argument that the smartphone industry will eventually figure out under-screen camera technology, eliminating visible cameras on the front of a device. Indeed, OPPO showed off an impressive under-screen camera prototype at its Innovation Day event last month. What OnePlus is doing with the Concept One, is, therefore, complementary to under-screen camera technology: the end goal of both technologies is to hide cameras from view. With electrochromic glass, OnePlus is able to show the rear cameras while the camera app is in use but hide them when the camera app is closed. Furthermore, this glass technology enables OnePlus to make the camera module part of the overall design of the rear rather than having the cameras isolated in a circular or rectangular bump.

The process to bring this glass technology down to the size of a smartphone took 18 months because OnePlus needed to lower the power consumption, speed up the switching of the transparency, and reduce the size while maintaining the opacity of the electrochromic glass. At its current stage, OnePlus says the electrochromic glass technology now draws a negligible amount of power, switches in 0.7 seconds, and measures only 0.05mm – about the thickness of a tempered glass screen protector.

OnePlus spent several months improving the thickness of the glass and electrochromic glass layers. They needed the electrochromic material to be thin, but not so thin that its opacity would be impacted. Similarly, they also needed the glass to be thin without being too fragile, so they added nonpolar glass particles to give the entire glass more structure and rigidity. These nonpolar glass particles are 0.05mm in diameter and don’t cover the camera lenses so as to not impact the electrochromic effect. In total, OnePlus shaved the thickness of the glass panels down to 0.15mm each, resulting in a total combined thickness of 0.35mm.

An overview of the electrochromic glass solution on the OnePlus Concept One. There are two pieces of 0.15mm glass, one piece of 0.05mm electrochromic material, and two pieces of indium tin oxide (ITO) coating. The ITO coating makes the glass surface conductive.

Further refinements include lowering the resistance of the ITO conductive layer so it could be as transparent as possible while above the camera lenses and adding an anti-reflective coating to the inner and outer sides of the glass panels to reduce light reflection. As you can see, the result is that the cameras on the Concept One device are barely visible to the naked eye; you have to hold the device up close and at the right angle to catch a glimpse or do the same while shining a light directly on the cameras.

I recorded a short video showing the glass changing from transparent to opaque. At about 7 seconds in, I used the index finger of my left hand to perform the back gesture to close the camera app. The triple rear cameras of the Concept One quickly go from visible to (nearly) invisible.

Neutral Density Filter Effect

Beyond simply hiding the camera lens, the electrochromic glass can also be used to enable a neutral density (ND) effect in the camera app. This is because the electrochromic glass can be used to control the transparency, so the intensity of all wavelengths of light in the image can be reduced without affecting the hue. As a result, if you’re using the pro mode in the OnePlus Camera app, you’ll be able to lower the ISO and increase the shutter speed more than you would normally be able to without an ND filter.

The venue we were in wasn’t conducive to good photography, and we weren’t allowed to take the smartphone out of the venue. Thus, we weren’t able to try out the ND effect on the OnePlus Concept One for ourselves.

OnePlus Concept One – Will it come to the market?

OnePlus’ first concept phone, unfortunately, remains a concept for now. The company does not have a date set for a release, although they did have functioning units for the media to test at CES. OnePlus seems confident in where they’re at with the electrochromic glass technology, but the company says the device needs more thorough testing before it’s ready for production.

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Lenovo unveils 2 affordable Chromebooks: the detachable IdeaPad Duet and the convertible IdeaPad Flex 5

Chromebooks are more about power-efficiency and mobility than performance. This is why their market share among laptops is relatively smaller. OEMs such as ASUS and HP are among the brands that routinely churn out Chromebooks while Samsung chips in sometimes. Google, on the other hand, has a yearly ritual of launching a new Chromebook (or Chrome OS device) but the high prices often deter prospective buyers to cheaper options. For those planning to grab a Chromebook without spending too much, Lenovo has launched two new devices: the IdeaPad Duet, which is a Chrome OS tablet with a detachable keyboard, and the IdeaPad Flex 5, a Chrome OS laptop with a 360º hinge and Intel Core i5 CPU.

With a sub-$350 pricing, both of these Lenovo Chromebooks can be seen as realistic replacements to Google’s own premium offerings.

Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chrome OS tablet

The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet tablet is built pretty much on the principle as the 2018’s Pixel Slate but nearly one-third of the price. It features a 10.1-inch Full HD display and comes with a single USB Type-C port for I/O. A cover attaches to the back of the tablet, and it has a kickstand which helps tablet stay upright when being used on a table. The detachable keyboard connects magnetically and has a full keyboard and a trackpad. Both the back cover and the keyboard come pre-bundled with the IdeaPad Duet tablet in the same packaging. The tablet also has USI stylus compatibility but you’ll be required to buy the stylus separately.

Inside, there’s a MediaTek Helio P60T processor along with 4GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage. To keep the hardware up and running, Lenovo promises eight long years of software support. This means those who buy the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook will get Chrome OS updates till 2028 and that pretty endearing. Plus, there are cameras on both front and back – 8MP on the back and 2MP on the front.

While a lot of Chromebooks also support Linux apps besides Android apps, we don’t clearly know if this particular one will and that’s primarily because of the onboard MediaTek chip. Even if it doesn’t, at $279.99 with the keyboard included, the IdeaPad duet is a pretty sweet deal, especially if you want the experience of an Android tablet as well as a laptop and not just a tablet with a keyboard.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet should go on sale starting in May 2020.

Specifications

Specifications	Lenovo IdeaPad Duet	Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5
Dimensions and Weight	239.8 x 159.8 x 7.35mm 430g (without keyboard)	310 x 214 x 17mm 1.35kg
Display	10.1″ 1920×1200 touchscreen 400 nits peak brightness	13-inch Full HD IPS touchscreen 360º hinge rotation 300 nits peak brightness
Processor	MediaTek Helio P60T	up to 10th Gen Intel Core i5
Memory	4GB LPDDR4x RAM	8GB DDR4 RAM
Graphics Configurations	Mali-G72	Intel integrated graphics
Storage Configurations	up to 128 eMMC Expandable using microSD	32GB or 64GB eMMC or 128GB PCIe SSD Expandable using microSD
I/O Ports	USB Type-C microSD card slot	1x USB Type-C 1x USB 3.1 Type-A microSD card slot Headphone/microphone combo jack
Camera	2MP front, 8MP back	720p webcam
Audio	Dual speakers	Dual speakers
Battery Configurations	7,180mAh	52Wh
OS	Chrome OS	Chrome OS

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 Chromebook

The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 Chromebook is a more like conventional a laptop but with its quirks of being a convertible. The swivel hinge allows for the screen to be rotated 360º while the touchscreen allows inputs using both – a finger and a stylus. The IdeaPad Flex 5 has a 13.3 Full HD display which is claimed to get as bright as 300 nits. You can choose up to a 10th Gen Intel Core i5 processor with 4GB or 8GB of RAM. Plus, in terms of storage, there’s an option to either choose between a 32GB or 64GB eMMC storage or go for a 128GB PCIe SSD for a smoother experience.

The keyboard on the IdeaPad Flex 5 is also backlit and spill-resistant. There are two tiny 2W speakers on either side of the keyboard. Additionally, it supports Wi-Fi 6 and has a promised 10 hours of battery life, even though there’s no announcement about the long Chrome OS support such as in the case of the detachable Chromebook.

The IdeaPad Flex 5 Chromebook will start at $359 but you’ll have to shell out more for the upgraded specs. It will be available for purchase starting June 2020.

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TCL announces the 10 5G, 10L, and 10 Pro: Affordable Mid-Range Smartphones for North America

The Consumer Electronics Show 2020 is full of surprises for tech enthusiasts. TCL announced its first self-branded smartphone, which also turns out to be the first 5G phone from the company. TCL isn’t a new name in the tech industry as they manufacture a lot of TVs. A TCL-branded smartphone, however, is something we’ve never seen before. The company does have a lot of experience making phones under the Alcatel brand.

TCL’s new 10-Series smartphone lineup includes three new devices, TCL 10 5G, TCL 10L, and TCL 10 Pro. Most of the specifications of these devices are unknown as of now, though we got a first look at the device and information about some of the components inside. TCL 10 5G is arguably one of the most interesting devices, as it offers 5G connectivity and the Snapdragon 765. This SoC is manufactured with 7nm technology and offers all the latest trends like Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi 6.0, and, most importantly, 5G connectivity. The company representatives also confirmed that TCL 10 5G will be a sub-$500 phone, drastically lowering the current price of 5G phones in the industry. The official render of the device shows a nearly bezel-less screen on the front and a four-camera system with a fingerprint scanner underneath it on the rear. According to the TCL USA website, this is a 64MP NXTVISION AI quad-camera module.

TCL also emphasizes the device’s screen, with “Display Greatness” marketing. Though it’s unknown what’s so special about these displays just yet. We don’t know much about the other two devices, either. Though, I’d expect similar spec sheets from the TCL 10L and TCL 10 Pro. More details about TCL’s 10-Series smartphones will be available during Mobile World Congress next month. Stay tuned for more detailed and confirmed information about these devices.

Source: TCL

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Xiaomi Redmi Note 7, Redmi Note 8 Pro, Redmi K20/Mi 9T, Mi MIX 3, Mi 9 SE, and Mi 8 SE receive Android 10-based MIUI 11 betas

Following the official rollout of Android 10 back in September last year, Xiaomi showcased MIUI 11 at a launch event later that month. Shortly thereafter, the company started rolling out MIUI 11 for a number of Xiaomi and Redmi devices, however, the software was still based on older versions of Android. The company has since rolled out MIUI 11 based on Android 10 for a couple of devices, including the POCO F1, Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro, Mi 9, and more. Now, the company is rolling out MIUI 11 based on Android 10 for the Redmi Note 7, Redmi Note 8 Pro, Redmi K20/Mi 9T, Mi MIX 3, Mi 9 SE, and Mi 8 SE.

Redmi K20/Mi 9T XDA Forums || Mi MIX 3 XDA Forums || Redmi Note 7 XDA Forums || Redmi Note 8 Pro XDA Forums || Mi 8 SE XDA Forums  || Mi 9 SE XDA Forums

Buy the Redmi K20 from Flipkart || Buy the Redmi Note 8 Pro from Amazon.in

Out of the aforementioned devices, only the Redmi K20/Mi 9T has received the MIUI 11 global stable beta while the remaining devices have received the China stable beta. The Redmi Note 7, on the other hand, has just received the Chinese closed beta. In case you wish to try out MIUI 11 based on Android 10 on one of the aforementioned devices, you can download the ROM from the link below and install it on your device. You’ll have to use a custom recovery in order to install these ROMs, however, before you go ahead and flash the ROM on your phone, do note that these are early builds of the software so you might encounter some bugs.

MIUI 11 Global stable beta for the Redmi K20/Mi 9T (Global, EEA, India)

MIUI 11 China stable beta for the Mi 8 SE

MIUI 11 China stable beta for the Mi MIX 3

MIUI 11 China stable beta for the Mi 9 SE

MIUI 11 China stable beta for the Redmi Note 8 Pro

MIUI 11 China closed beta for the Redmi Note 7

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Thanks to XDA Recognized Developer yshalsager for the download links!

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Coolpad’s 5G phone costs under $400 and packs impressive hardware

If you’re looking for an affordable smartphone in the United States, then Coolpad is one of the brands that you’ll likely come across. The company is well known as an entry-level brand, but last year, they pivoted to become a more family-oriented brand with products like the Dyno smartwatch and FamilyLabs application. While major smartphone brands heavily market their high-end (and expensive) 5G devices, Coolpad aims to democratize 5G access by bringing a 5G device below the $400 price point. At CES 2020, the company announced a family of Legacy 5G devices, starting with the Coolpad Legacy 5G. It’s the first 5G smartphone from Coolpad, and it’s likely the cheapest 5G smartphone coming to the U.S.

Coolpad caught our attention when they announced that they were making a 5G smartphone for under $400, but they grabbed our interest when they shared the full specifications of the device with us. When the device launches this year, it’ll bring a 6.53″ FHD+ LCD, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of UFS 2.1 storage, a microSD card slot for expandable storage, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a 4000mAh battery, a 48MP primary camera, and Android 10. These specifications place the Coolpad Legacy 5G in the upper tier of mid-range devices in the U.S. market. At least on paper, the Coolpad Legacy 5G should be the best performing mid-range phone in the U.S.; the only other mid-range smartphone with a Snapdragon 7 series chipset in the U.S. is the Motorola razr, a foldable phone that costs nearly 4 times as much as the Coolpad Legacy.

Sure, when compared to the Google Pixel 3a, the Coolpad Legacy 5G lacks NFC, an AMOLED display, comparable camera processing, and guaranteed updates. What’s most important about the device, though, is the fact that it supports sub-6GHz 5G networks like T-Mobile and AT&T, thanks to the integrated Snapdragon X52 modem in the Snapdragon 765. Sub-6GHz frequencies don’t provide as high throughput or as low latency as mmWave frequencies, but sub-6GHz connections are more reliable and have far better range, which is why these frequencies form the backbone of 5G networks across the U.S.

Coolpad Legacy 5G Specifications

Specification	Coolpad Legacy 5G
Dimensions and Weight (Not Final)	165 x 77 x 9.5 mm 195g
Display	6.53″ FHD+ IPS LCD; PixelWorks HDR for HDR 10; Waterdrop notch
CPU and GPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 765: 1x Kryo 475 (ARM Cortex-A76-based) Prime core 1x Kryo 475 (ARM Cortex-A76-based) Performance core 6x (ARM Cortex-A55-based) Efficiency cores 7nm EUV manufacturing process Adreno 620
RAM and Storage	4GB + 64GB UFS 2.1; Expandable through microSD card slot (up to 128GB)
Battery and Charging	4,000 mAh battery 18W fast charging (Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0)
Rear Camera	Primary: 48MP primary (undisclosed sensor) Secondary: 8MP wide-angle (undisclosed sensor)
Front Camera	16MP, fixed focus
Software	Android 10, monthly security patches, no commitment yet for major OS upgrades
Connectivity	4G and 5G (sub-6GHz): T-Mobile, AT&T, support for Sprint bands CDMA fallback to support rural carriers No NFC No WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.0, with Tempow’s technology built-in multi-Bluetooth broadcasting Dual-frequency GNSS Single SIM
Audio	3.5mm headphone jack Dual microphones Hotword detection for Google Assistant voice wakeup Audio tuned by THX
Security	Rear-mounted capacitive fingerprint sensor Face unlock (software-based)

The specification sheet paints the Coolpad Legacy 5G as an excellent mid-range smartphone made even better with its support for sub-6GHz 5G and a sub-$400 price tag. While other 5G phones in the U.S. are near $1,000, this device is less than half that. Only the upcoming TCL 10 5G is comparable in price, though that device is still at least $100 more expensive. We’ll have to test the Coolpad Legacy 5G for ourselves to see if the device actually provides a good experience beyond what the specification sheet can tell us.

The Legacy 5G will be available for purchase through Amazon, Coolpad’s website, and in retail outlets across the USA in Q2 of 2020.

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