Microsoft may be preparing to launch an update to its Surface Book line of 2-in-1 devices, but rather than a detachable display, the new model may have an easel-style screen that you can pull forward for pen & graphics work. Fairphone, maker of modular, repairable phones made from ethically sourced materials, may be planning to launch their first 5G phone. And Chinese device maker Honor is introducing new flagship phones and tablets.
While the new Honor Magic 3 series phones and Honor Tab V7 Pro tablet look pretty good in their own right, they’re particularly interesting since these are the first flagship devices from the company since it split off from Huawei in an effort to circumvent US trade restrictions. It’s unclear how long that strategy will work, but for now the devices ship with Android 11 rather than HarmonyOS.
Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.
- Honor Tab V7 Pro with 120Hz display, Dimensity 1300T, and 13MP dual cameras launched [GizmoChina]
The Honor Tab V7 Pro is an 11 inch, 2560 x 1600px Android tablet with a MediaTek Dimensity 1300T processor, up to 8GB/256GB, and support for fast charging, pen and keyboard accessories, and prices ranging from about $400 to $570 (in China, at least). - New details about Intel Alder Lake-M and Alder Lake-P processors emerge [NotebookCheck]
New Intel Alder Lake processor details point to a chips ranging from a 9-watt Alder Lake-M chips with 2 high performance cores and 8 energy-efficient ones and a 45 watt Alder Lake-P chips with 6+8 cores. 15W and 28W chips fill in the middle. - Surface Book 4: Specs, features, and everything we know so far [Windows Central]
Microsoft’s next 2-in-1 laptop could be a new “Surface Studio” rather than the Surface Book 4. Rumor has it the 14 inch display won’t be detachable, but can be pulled forward like an easel. It’ll likely have NVIDIA RTX graphics and ship with Win11. - WhatsApp to allow chat history transfers between iOS and Android [The Verge]
WhatsApp will finally let users transfer chat history between iOS and Android devices, starting with folks switching from an iPhone to Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip 3 or Fold 3. It requires a Lightning to USB-C cable though, cloud backups are still separate. - Fairphone 4 coming soon with 5G support & Android 11 [WinFuture]
Fairphone, maker of modular, repairable phones featuring ethically-sourced materials (where possible), is planning a new model. The Fairphone 4 will be the first 5G version, and it’ll ship with Android 11, according to a WiFi Alliance listing.
You can also find the latest news about open source phones by following our sister site LinuxSmartphones on Facebook and Twitter.
Will be sad to see the Surface Book’s current design disappear. The strength of this form factor was you get a truly usable tablet, which came in at just 800g / 1.6lbs.
The design suggested in the patent drawing is minimally different from the Sony Vaio Flip 15 from 8 years ago (and possibly other earlier laptops)… maybe just the addition of floating detents, though don’t believe that adds too much usage.
Hopefully MS finally figures out that they have to add TB to their premium devices – with it being built onto the CPU, this should have been done years ago.