For Xiaomi, 2020 is a special year. The company successfully entered the flagship market for the first time. Many people recognize the Xiaomi Mi 10 series as a flagship phone with a worthwhile flagship price. Xiaomi is now ready to meet the challenges of the new year. Not long ago, Qualcomm officially released its latest flagship 5nm chip – the Snapdragon 888. Subsequently, Xiaomi announced that the Xiaomi Mi 11 series will be the world’s first series to use this chip. However, Snapdragon 888 smartphones will abound in 2021. The Xiaomi Mi 11 series will not be the only Android flagship in 2021 to use this chip. Although the Xiaomi Mi 11 series will have a Snapdragon 888-exclusive period, other manufacturers will also launch new phones with this chip in the first quarter of next year.
Obviously, these phones will compete head-to-head with the Xiaomi Mi 11 series. So, what models are we expecting? Let us take a look
Realme Race
Realme seems to have made an appointment with Xiaomi. On the same day as Xiaomi’s official announcement, Realme will also reveal the release information about its new flagship phone with Snapdragon 888. According to close watchers, Realme’s announcement comes two minutes after Xiaomi’s announcement. Of course, this is not a simple coincidence. You can smell the smoke of the competition between the two manufacturers across the screen.
Whether it is Xiaomi Mi 11 or Realme Race, they are all new flagship phones with Snapdragon 888. This move means that the two new flagship phones will have a head-on confrontation.
Although Xu Qi did not disclose more information about the new machine, there have been a lot of news on the Internet. From what we know so far, the Realme Race will use a splicing element design, which is similar to the OnePlus Concept One. The Realme brand logo will be at the upper right while the upper left hosts the matrix triple-camera solution. According to reports, the main camera of this device is 64MP.
In addition, we expect the Realme Race to arrive with a 125W super flash charge. Furthermore, this smartphone will also launch an ACG co-branded in-depth customized version.
From the perspective of the design alone, the Realme Race plain leather version seems to combine the classic designs of OPPO and OnePlus, such as the plain leather of the OPPO Find X2 series and the splicing element design of the OnePlus concept phone. After all, they are all a family and are similar.
Honor V40
As an old rival of Xiaomi, how could it be less glorious? According to recent reports, the Honor V40 series may come with a 300Hz screen touch sampling rate. This exceeds 270Hz which is the current highest for Chinese smartphones.
Earlier renders of this device show that it comes with a hyperboloid dual punch-hole waterfall screen design. The camera module on the back of the fuselage adopts a circular design similar to a mechanical dial. The design inspiration comes from the classic four-eye dial of the famous watch and the flash is in the center of the four lenses. On the left side of the camera module, we can see the words “Matrix Camera Asphlens”
According to the 3C certification, the Honor V40 (YOK-AN10) will use a 66W charging adapter and support 45W wireless fast charging.
It is still unclear what processor the Honor V40 will be. However, there are strong indications that one of the Honor V40 series will use the Snapdragon 888 SoC. There are also reports that since Honor is now independent and will not use Kirin chips, it may also add Dimensity 1000+ to its supply chain. If Honor uses only the Dimensity 1000+ for this phone, then it will be below the Xiaomi Mi 11 series. However, considering Honor’s performance in the Chinese market, it will give Xiaomi a good run for its money.
OPPO Find X3 series
Oppo is another manufacturer that will use the Snapdragon 888 SoC for sure. The company will use this new flagship chip for its upcoming OPPO Find X3 series. According to Oppo, this flagship will be official in the first quarter of the year.
Recent reports show that the Find X3 series will come with a 6.7-inch 3K QHD screen that supports a 120Hz refresh rate. This display also supports adaptive refresh rate and 10bit color depth. In terms of cameras, the Find X3 series rear matrix camera module has built-in dual main cameras and an ordinary auxiliary lens. It uses the same 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 image sensor as OPPO Reno 5 Pro+.
In addition, the Find X3 series standard version will use a 4500mAh battery while the Pro version will support 125W wired fast charging and 65W wireless fast charging. It is worth mentioning that the wireless charging of the Find X3 series supports the WLC protocol. This technology can charge devices that do not support wireless charging but have NFC. However, the charging power is very low.
The latest leak shows that the front of the OPPO Find X3 Pro is consistent with Find X2 Pro. The rear has a four-camera solution. The appearance of the camera module looks a bit like the iPhone 12 Pro. It has a rounded square design but the lens arrangement is just the opposite.
Judging from the paper parameters alone, the OPPO Find X3 series hardware is very sufficient. It will obviously have a heads-on challenge with the Xiaomi Mi 11 series.
iQOO 7 series
In recent years, iQOO has captured the hearts of many users with its ultra-high configuration and cost-effectiveness. On December 19, the official Weibo of iQOO mobile phone announced that it would release its latest flagship iQOO 7 series in January next year.
More interestingly, the iQOO7 series will cooperate with BMW to launch a deeply customized model. This product was exposed in the KPL autumn finals. We can see that the overall ID design of the device tilts towards the vivo X60, which further weakens the e-sports element.
From the live broadcast video, iQOO7 uses Samsung AMOLED flexible straight screen, supports 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate. According to recent renders, the iQOO7 comes with a center punch-hole design.
Although it is still unclear what the iQOO7 main camera model is, there are reports that it may be the IMX598 image sensor with a 48-megapixel outsole main camera. In addition, the device will also support 120W wired fast charging.
Under the hood, it will have a Snapdragon 888 SoC. The performance of the iQOO 7 series in China cannot be underestimated. Therefore, it may be one of the main competitors of the Xiaomi 11 series.
Conclusion
Despite the exclusivity of the Snapdragon 888 SoC to the Xiaomi Mi 11 series, it will obviously face competition. After the exclusive period, no less than two Snapdragon 888 smartphones will hit the market. However, it will boil down to “what the phones have to offer”. Xiaomi Mi 11 series is already at a disadvantage by expunging the charger. However, it claims that there will be improvements to the screen, battery, charging, camera, and software. Whether these will be enough for the Mi 11 series to seize the market remains to be seen.
Although no one likes a know-it-all, they dominate the Internet.
The Internet began as a vast repository of information. It quickly became a breeding ground for self-proclaimed experts seeking what most people desire: recognition and money.
Today, anyone with an Internet connection and some typing skills can position themselves, regardless of their education or experience, as a subject matter expert (SME). From relationship advice, career coaching, and health and nutrition tips to citizen journalists practicing pseudo-journalism, the Internet is awash with individuals—Internet talking heads—sharing their “insights,” which are, in large part, essentially educated guesses without the education or experience.
The Internet has become a 24/7/365 sitcom where armchair experts think they’re the star.
Not long ago, years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work and acquiring education in one’s field was once required to be recognized as an expert. The knowledge and opinions of doctors, scientists, historians, et al. were respected due to their education and experience. Today, a social media account and a knack for hyperbole are all it takes to present oneself as an “expert” to achieve Internet fame that can be monetized.
On the Internet, nearly every piece of content is self-serving in some way.
The line between actual expertise and self-professed knowledge has become blurry as an out-of-focus selfie. Inadvertently, social media platforms have created an informal degree program where likes and shares are equivalent to degrees. After reading selective articles, they’ve found via and watching some TikTok videos, a person can post a video claiming they’re an herbal medicine expert. Their new “knowledge,” which their followers will absorb, claims that Panda dung tea—one of the most expensive teas in the world and isn’t what its name implies—cures everything from hypertension to existential crisis. Meanwhile, registered dietitians are shaking their heads, wondering how to compete against all the misinformation their clients are exposed to.
More disturbing are individuals obsessed with evangelizing their beliefs or conspiracy theories. These people write in-depth blog posts, such as Elvis Is Alive and the Moon Landings Were Staged, with links to obscure YouTube videos, websites, social media accounts, and blogs. Regardless of your beliefs, someone or a group on the Internet shares them, thus confirming your beliefs.
Misinformation is the Internet’s currency used to get likes, shares, and engagement; thus, it often spreads like a cosmic joke. Consider the prevalence of clickbait headlines:
You Won’t Believe What Taylor Swift Says About Climate Change!
This Bedtime Drink Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep!
In One Week, I Turned $10 Into $1 Million!
Titles that make outrageous claims are how the content creator gets reads and views, which generates revenue via affiliate marketing, product placement, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Clickbait headlines are how you end up watching a TikTok video by a purported nutrition expert adamantly asserting you can lose belly fat while you sleep by drinking, for 14 consecutive days, a concoction of raw eggs, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar 15 minutes before going to bed.
Our constant search for answers that’ll explain our convoluted world and our desire for shortcuts to success is how Internet talking heads achieve influencer status. Because we tend to seek low-hanging fruits, we listen to those with little experience or knowledge of the topics they discuss yet are astute enough to know what most people want to hear.
There’s a trend, more disturbing than spreading misinformation, that needs to be called out: individuals who’ve never achieved significant wealth or traded stocks giving how-to-make-easy-money advice, the appeal of which is undeniable. Several people I know have lost substantial money by following the “advice” of Internet talking heads.
Anyone on social media claiming to have a foolproof money-making strategy is lying. They wouldn’t be peddling their money-making strategy if they could make easy money.
Successful people tend to be secretive.
Social media companies design their respective algorithms to serve their advertisers—their source of revenue—interest; hence, content from Internet talking heads appears most prominent in your feeds. When a video of a self-professed expert goes viral, likely because it pressed an emotional button, the more people see it, the more engagement it receives, such as likes, shares and comments, creating a cycle akin to a tornado.
Imagine scrolling through your TikTok feed and stumbling upon a “scientist” who claims they can predict the weather using only aluminum foil, copper wire, sea salt and baking soda. You chuckle, but you notice his video got over 7,000 likes, has been shared over 600 times and received over 400 comments. You think to yourself, “Maybe this guy is onto something.” What started as a quest to achieve Internet fame evolved into an Internet-wide belief that weather forecasting can be as easy as DIY crafts.
Since anyone can call themselves “an expert,” you must cultivate critical thinking skills to distinguish genuine expertise from self-professed experts’ self-promoting nonsense. While the absurdity of the Internet can be entertaining, misinformation has serious consequences. The next time you read a headline that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably an Internet talking head making an educated guess; without the education seeking Internet fame, they can monetize.
TORONTO – A new survey says a majority of software engineers and developers feel tight project deadlines can put safety at risk.
Seventy-five per cent of the 1,000 global workers who responded to the survey released Tuesday say pressure to deliver projects on time and on budget could be compromising critical aspects like safety.
The concern is even higher among engineers and developers in North America, with 77 per cent of those surveyed on the continent reporting the urgency of projects could be straining safety.
The study was conducted between July and September by research agency Coleman Parkes and commissioned by BlackBerry Ltd.’s QNX division, which builds connected-car technology.
The results reflect a timeless tug of war engineers and developers grapple with as they balance the need to meet project deadlines with regulations and safety checks that can slow down the process.
Finding that balance is an issue that developers of even the simplest appliances face because of advancements in technology, said John Wall, a senior vice-president at BlackBerry and head of QNX.
“The software is getting more complicated and there is more software whether it’s in a vehicle, robotics, a toaster, you name it… so being able to patch vulnerabilities, to prevent bad actors from doing malicious acts is becoming more and more important,” he said.
The medical, industrial and automotive industries have standardized safety measures and anything they produce undergoes rigorous testing, but that work doesn’t happen overnight. It has to be carried out from the start and then at every step of the development process.
“What makes safety and security difficult is it’s an ongoing thing,” Wall said. “It’s not something where you’ve done it, and you are finished.”
The Waterloo, Ont.-based business found 90 per cent of its survey respondents reported that organizations are prioritizing safety.
However, when asked about why safety may not be a priority for their organization, 46 per cent of those surveyed answered cost pressures and 35 per cent said a lack of resources.
That doesn’t surprise Wall. Delays have become rampant in the development of tech, and in some cases, stand to push back the launch of vehicle lines by two years, he said.
“We have to make sure that people don’t compromise on safety and security to be able to get products out quicker,” he said.
“What we don’t want to see is people cutting corners and creating unsafe situations.”
The survey also took a peek at security breaches, which have hit major companies like London Drugs, Indigo Books & Music, Giant Tiger and Ticketmaster in recent years.
About 40 per cent of the survey’s respondents said they have encountered a security breach in their employer’s operating system. Those breaches resulted in major impacts for 27 per cent of respondents, moderate impacts for 42 per cent and minor impacts for 27 per cent.
“There are vulnerabilities all the time and this is what makes the job very difficult because when you ship the software, presumably the software has no security vulnerabilities, but things get discovered after the fact,” Wall said.
Security issues, he added, have really come to the forefront of the problems developers face, so “really without security, you have no safety.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
As online shoppers hunt for bargains offered by Amazon during its annual fall sale this week, cybersecurity researchers are warning Canadians to beware of an influx of scammers posing as the tech giant.
In the 30 days leading up to Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, there were more than 1,000 newly registered Amazon-related web domains, according to Check Point Software Technologies, a company that offers cybersecurity solutions.
The company said it deemed 88 per cent of those domains malicious or suspicious, suggesting they could have been set up by scammers to prey on vulnerable consumers. One in every 54 newly created Amazon-related domain included the phrase “Amazon Prime.”
“They’re almost indiscernible from the real Amazon domain,” said Robert Falzon, head of engineering at Check Point in Canada.
“With all these domains registered that look so similar, it’s tricking a lot of people. And that’s the whole intent here.”
Falzon said Check Point Research sees an uptick in attempted scams around big online shopping days throughout the year, including Prime Days.
Scams often come in the form of phishing emails, which are deceptive messages that appear to be from a reputable source in attempt to steal sensitive information.
In this case, he said scammers posing as Amazon commonly offer “outrageous” deals that appear to be associated with Prime Days, in order to trick recipients into clicking on a malicious link.
The cybersecurity firm said it has identified and blocked 100 unique Amazon Prime-themed scam emails targeting organizations and consumers over the past two weeks.
Scammers also target Prime members with unsolicited calls, claiming urgent account issues and requesting payment information.
“It’s like Christmas for them,” said Falzon.
“People expect there to be significant savings on Prime Day, so they’re not shocked that they see something of significant value. Usually, the old adage applies: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
Amazon’s website lists a number of red flags that it recommends customers watch for to identify a potential impersonation scam.
Those include false urgency, requests for personal information, or indications that the sender prefers to complete the purchase outside of the Amazon website or mobile app.
Scammers may also request that customers exclusively pay with gift cards, a claim code or PIN. Any notifications about an order or delivery for an unexpected item should also raise alarm bells, the company says.
“During busy shopping moments, we tend to see a rise in impersonation scams reported by customers,” said Amazon spokeswoman Octavia Roufogalis in a statement.
“We will continue to invest in protecting consumers and educating the public on scam avoidance. We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe.”
Falzon added that these scams are more successful than people might think.
As of June 30, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said there had been $284 million lost to fraud so far this year, affecting 15,941 victims.
But Falzon said many incidents go unreported, as some Canadians who are targeted do not know how or where to flag a scam, or may choose not to out of embarrassment.
Check Point recommends Amazon customers take precautions while shopping on Prime Days, including by checking URLs carefully, creating strong passwords on their accounts, and avoiding personal information being shared such as their birthday or social security number.
The cybersecurity company said consumers should also look for “https” at the beginning of a website URL, which indicates a secure connection, and use credit cards rather than debit cards for online shopping, which offer better protection and less liability if stolen.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
