Lilbits: Pixel 6 launches October 19, Cyrcle Phone 2.0 hits Kickstarter, Firefox 93 is here

Google has been talking about its upcoming Pixel 6 phones for months, but the company hadn’t announced a launch date or pricing information… until now. Google has scheduled a Pixel Fall Launch Event for October 19th, when we’ll likely learn more about the first phones to ship with Google Tensor processors, the biggest camera upgrade for the Pixel lineup since the company started offering multiple cameras, and you know, when you’ll be able to buy one.

Want something… weirder? Cyrcle, a company that crowdfunded a kit for making ad Android phone with a circular display a few years ago, is back with the Cyrcle Phone 2.0. This crowdfunding campaign asks users to spend $699 on a phone that won’t ship for nearly a year. Oh, and it has lousy specs and a small, round display that most Android apps aren’t designed for.

Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.

Pixel Fall launch [Google]

Google schedules a Pixel Fall launch event for October 19th, when we’ll finally learn how much the company will charge for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro smartphones with Google Tensor processors, new cameras, and Android 12.

The Cyrcle Phone 2.0 [Kickstarter]

Cyrcle Phone 2.0 is an Android phone with a 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and a 3.45 inch, 800 x 800 pixel circular display that most apps won’t look right on.

Crowdfunding now for $699 with an estimated $999 retail price and Sept 2022 ship date.

Somehow this video is not a parody: 

Brave and Firefox to intercept links that force-open in Microsoft Edge [Ctrl Blog]

Brave for Windows now intercepts microsoft-edge: links that previously opened in Edge, even if it’s not your default browser. Firefox will soon as well. But Brave also plans to redirect Windows Search links from Bing to Brave, which is a bit shadier.

Tab Unloading in Firefox 93 [Mozilla Hacks]

Firefox 93 brings a new crash-protection feature: it monitors available system memory and if a crash seems likely, it’ll unload inactive but memory-heavy tabs. Available now for Windows, coming later to Linux and Mac.

Yubico Launches First YubiKeys With Biometric Authentication [Yubico]

Yubico’s new multi-factor authentication keys bring support for fingerprint recognition. The new YubiKey Bio series sells for $80 and up and comes in USB-A and USB-C versions.

Swmo for PinePhone (postmarketOS with the Sxmo user interface and Wayland) [@linmobblog]

Sxmo is one of the fastest graphical user interfaces for Linux phones with entry-level specs like the PinePhone, thanks to an emphasis on simplicity over visual flair. When I’ve tested Sxmo, I’ve found that it has a bit of a steep learning curve, as you have to get used to the idea of a tiling window manager on a mobile phone, as well as using hardware buttons for navigation. Now there’s a new way to build Sxmo using the Wayland display server rather than x.org. Referred to as Swmo, it adds support for some apps that wouldn’t otherwise run. 

It’s fairly nice (one benefit over Sxmo is that you can use GTK4 Megapixels), but I really need to modify it so that I have an easy way to lock the screen and put it to suspend with the press of one button to make it actually usable for me. Can’t override Muscle memory.

— LINux on MOBile (@linmobblog) October 5, 2021

Despite my inability to change my muscle memory to work with #Swmo (I am always confused by the power button not working as a power button once I don’t actively keep it in mind), I think I have found a place for it: #PinePhone “Convergence.” pic.twitter.com/md4abUr3J3

— LINux on MOBile (@linmobblog) October 5, 2021

You can read more about Swmo at LINMOB.net.