LG to stop manufacturing smartphones in South Korea

LG plans to suspend manufacturing smartphones in its South Korea plant, according to a report by Reuters. The report further states that LG will be moving the manufacturing to its plant in Vietnam. The information original comes from an unknown source at the Yonhap News Agency and alleges that the move is to help reduce the cost of manufacturing and turn around the company's smartphone division, which has been making losses since the past several quarters. The information is not completely unexpected. LG has been receiving increasingly lukewarm response for its smartphone...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/lg_to_stop_manufacturing_smartphones_in_south_korea-news-36741.php

iPhone XR is the best-selling smartphone for Q2 2019 in the US

A research from CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners) has found that the iPhone XR is still outselling every other smartphone on the US market for the second quarter this year. Despite the XR's success, the report claims that not everything is roses. The relatively low price of the iPhone XR will bring down the average selling price down to $800 if the trend continues. During the previous quarter, the higher storage tiers boosted the average selling price. For comparison, last year's Q1 storage upgrades accounted for 33% of the total sales while Q1 2019 saw an increase to...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/iphone_xr_is_the_bestselling_smartphone_for_q2_2019_in_the_us-news-36740.php

Samsung is investing $116 billion in logic chip R&D and production through 2030

Early last year Samsung became the world's largest chip manufacturer (taking the crown from Intel) largely thanks to the strong performance of its memory division. Today the company announced plans to invest $116 billion through 2030 in non-memory chips. This will help reduce its reliance on the memory segment (which didn't do so hot last quarter). More than half of the money will go towards R&D, creating 15,000 jobs. The rest will go to building the infrastructure. Samsung System LSI, which develops Exynos chips and modems, ISOCELL sensors and more, along with Samsung Foundry (which...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_is_investing_116_billion_in_chip_production_through_2030-news-36738.php

Oppo Reno hands-on review - the non-10x zoom version

We're in Zurich for the global announcement of the Oppo Reno lineup and we got to spend some quality time with the fully tricked out Reno 10x zoom. After that proper flagship, we also got the opportunity to briefly play around with the regular Reno. The differences in hardware aren't minor and the vanilla Reno comes with the mid-tier Snapdragon 710 instead of the 10x zoom's 855. There's also no periscope telephoto camera on its back and the ultra wide module didn't make the cut either. The main cam does use the same 48MP Sony sensor as the flagship, but the lens isn't stabilized...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/oppo_reno_handson_review__the_non10x_zoom_version-news-36737.php

Google Maps adds real-time availability of EV chargers in the US and UK

Google has just made life easier for electric car users thanks to its latest update in Google Maps. Now EV drivers can enjoy live updated information on charger availability in the US and UK so they don't have to spend time waiting for their next top up. A simple "ev charging stations" search query will bring out the nearest charger and show availability information. According to Google, users will be able to see details such as port types, charging speeds and availability alongside photos, ratings, and reviews from other drivers. Google said it partnered with Chargemaster, EVgo,...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/google_maps_adds_realtime_availability_of_ev_chargers_in_the_us_and_uk-news-36736.php

iFixit tears down Galaxy Fold, finds it fatally fragile

Despite Samsung's recalls, tear down specialists iFixit have managed to get their hands on the Galaxy Fold and open it up a lot more than it already does. While it's best to read the tear down in its entirety, here are some of the talking points raised by the article: One of the areas for concern are the gaps all around the phone. While we already know the Galaxy Fold is not ingress protected, the gaps are rather large around the hinge and may potentially be a location for small particles to get stuck and jam the mechanism or even damage the display. The phone has two batteries,...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/ifixit_tears_down_galaxy_fold_finds_it_fatally_fragile-news-36735.php