Facebook is finally testing a dark mode in its mobile app beyond a handful of users. The social network has teamed up with code sleuth Jane Manchun Wong to confirm that it’s publicly testing dark mode on Android and iOS. Just who’s getting the option isn’t clear, but MacRumorsnoted that many more people were reporting access to the night-friendly option.
If you have the option, you’ll see a Dark Mode button in the Settings & Privacy section under the Menu tab. You can force it on or off, or leave it up to your system-level settings. If you have an OS-level dark mode switch on when the Sun goes down, Facebook can follow suit.
The feature has been a long time in coming. Facebook let users opt in to a dark mode on desktop back in March, and companion apps like Messenger have had the choice since 2019. It’s not certain why the core Facebook app is getting this feature so much later, but the wait suggests it was determined to tread carefully given the sheer importance of an app likely used by billions of people.
Want to know how Google’s Pixel 5 supports wireless charging despite a predominantly metal body? Google explained the essence of how it works, but a video teardown at PBKReviews (via 9to5Google) has eliminated the mystery altogether. There’s a large cutout in the middle of the otherwise aluminum shell that lets the wireless charging coil work its wonders — the bio-resin plastic you see on the outside merely gives the illusion of an uninterrupted surface.
The design is more familiar beyond that, with a few twists. Google has tucked millimeter wave 5G antennas near the volume rocker and top edge, and clips keep the screen firmly attached to prevent a repeat of issues with some Pixel 4 units. There may be further room for improvement, though. iFixit noted that Google is using a mainboard much like that on the Pixel 4, limiting the amount of room for a larger battery and other components.
The teardown reflects Google’s play-it-safe approach to the Pixel 5. While it’s willing to use a clever trick to add a staple feature like wireless charging, this isn’t a radical reinvention. The company is focused on delivering the fundamentals at a competitive price, and that apparently involves a conservative design.
We had an inkling that theSurface Duo would be coming soon, and —after letting things slip a little early— Microsoft just confirmed it. The dual-screen Android phone is officially arriving on September 10th, with astarting price of $1,399. Pre-orders begin today. It’s rare to see a long-awaited device released earlier than expected, but it makes sense why Microsoft might be rushing things: It’s aiming to launch right in the middle of peak iPhone season. Last year’siPhone 11 launch eventwas also on September 10th, which is also close to previous debuts.
To recap, the Surface Duo features two screens connected by a 360-degree hinge. It's meant to be an adaptable device: You can fold it up to use it like a normal smartphone, hold it open like a booklet (similar to Microsoft's long-lost Courier project), or splay the two screens open like a tablet. And yes, you can even use one screen as a stand to prop it up on a table. Microsoft is taking the same approach with the slightly larger Surface Neo, a portable PC that'll run Windows apps (and is reportedly delayed until next year). But the Duo is the potentially more interesting device, since it marks Microsoft's return to smartphone hardware after Windows Phone fizzled so spectacularly.
The Surface Duo features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 processor, 6GB of RAM and starts with 128GB of storage (you can get a 256GB model for $1,500). Its two 5.6-inch AMOLED screens sport a resolution of 1,800 x 1,350 each -- together they form a 8.1-inch display (with a hinge in the middle, of course). Microsoft says it’s the thinnest Surface device yet, measuring 4.8 millimeters when it's opened. At 0.55 pounds (250 grams), it's a touch heavier than the iPhone 11 Pro Max. But really, what else did you expect from a device that's wrapped in Gorilla Glass around two screens?
As Panos Panay, Microsoft's Chief Product Officer, demonstrated the Surface Duo in a media briefing, it was difficult to tell if the hardware changed much since it's debut last October. The software, on the other hand, seems far more polished for multi-tasking than any dual-screen or folding phone we've seen yet. If you're following a link from a text message or email, it'll pop open in a web browser on the other screen, so you won't be distracted. You can pair apps to open up together from together Android launcher (Panay says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is regularly using the Kindle app alongside a note-taking program).
You can also drag over content easily between the screens -- in the demo, Panay pulled over recipe ingredients from a website that instantly transformed into a bullet list in Microsoft's To Do app. That's something that would involve copying text, swapping apps, and pasting on a normal smartphone. Microsoft is clearly banking on the need for better multi-tasking in phones. Who wouldn't want an extra screen to browse the web without leaving a video call? Wouldn't email be easier to deal with if you could view all of your messages in one window, while reading them in another?
Still, as intrigued as I am, I can already see a few potential issues with the Surface Duo. For one, typing might be a bit annoying in certain orientations. If you click a text field on the left screen in booklet mode, you'll get a one-handed keyboard that's aligned to your left thumb. That seems like a good idea, but I can't imagine typing much with a single finger, and it seems too awkward to lean over with your right hand. Instead, you'll have to flip the Duo around into landscape mode to get a large keyboard suitable for both thumbs. You can also use any Surface Pen to jot down notes, but that's something you'll have to buy separately and carry around in your pocket, since there's no way to attach it to the Duo.
Microsoft is also going directly against the multi-camera smartphone trend. The Surface Duo just has a single 11-megapixel shooter located above its right screen. It looks a typical front-facing lens -- to use it as a rear camera, you just have to fold the screen back. While Microsoft says the Duo has a portrait mode and can shoot multi-frame HDR photos, that's all software based. It won't be able to take advantage of different lens lengths like other premium smartphones. There's no mention of any night shooting mode either, so you can likely forget about decent low-light performance. While Microsoft could still end up surprising us with the camera, the specs don't give me much hope.
The Surface Duo might also seem a bit quaint now that Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 2, its third attempt at making flexible phones work. But Panay, ever the company man, thinks there's a very clear reason why Microsoft opted to build devices with two separate, hinge-connected displays. "I do believe in windows," he said. "I believe in windowing." The company has found that users multi-task differently when they can organize their work across two separate displays, instead of a single screen. And of course, it also helps that the Duo is much cheaper than the original Galaxy Z Fold, which cost well over $2,000 (we still don't know the pricing of the Z Fold 2). The $1,380 Galaxy Z Flip is a bit more reasonable, but it's smaller screen isn't nearly as useful as the Surface Duo's.
You can pre-order the Surface Duo at the Microsoft Store, AT&T and Best Buy. It'll also work on T-Mobile and Verizon's networks, if you nab an unlocked model.
HTC manufactured the first Android phones, working closely with Google and carriers like T-Mobile and Verizon. However, the company’s fortunes took a downturn in the face of competition from Samsung and numerous Chinese smartphone makers. HTC has been losing money consistently since 2015, but it just announced the U20 5G and Desire 20 Pro, its first new phones in a year. This might not get HTC back to the upper echelons of the smartphone market, but at least it’s trying.
HTC is currently living off of the $1.1 billion it got from Google for handing over its Pixel engineering division. Its revenues have consistently dropped by about 50 percent year-over-year in each quarter, and it lost more than $60 million in the first quarter of 2020. That Google money will keep it chugging along for a while, but there isn’t much hope on the horizon. The smartphone market is extremely crowded, and HTC is no longer a well-known brand. Meanwhile, the virtual reality market is growing more slowly than HTC’s Vive division had hoped.
Understandably, HTC is playing it safe in 2020. Both of HTC’s new devices will launch in its home country of Taiwan, with availability in other regions following at a later date. The U20 5G is HTC’s first 5G phone, but it doesn’t have the spendy Snapdragon 865. This is a Snapdragon 765 phone, which is a bit less powerful than the 865. Although, it has an integrated 5G modem that should be better for battery life than the 865’s separate modem.
The U20 5G is a mid-range device, priced at NT$18,990 (about $640). In addition to the 765 SoC, this device has 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage (with microSD slot), a 5,000mAh battery, USB-C, and no headphone jack. It sports a 6.8-inch 1080p LCD with a punch-hole selfie camera and a rather large chin at the bottom. While the Snapdragon 765 can support millimeter-wave 5G (at slower speeds than the 865), the U20 5G doesn’t have the necessary antennas. This phone will work only on sub-6 5G, which is more common than millimeter-wave.
The Desire 20 Pro is a bit smaller and explicitly a midrange phone. It will cost NT$8,990 (about $304) with a Snapdragon 665, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage (with microSD slot), a 6.5-inch 1080p LCD, and a 5,000mAh battery. Like the U20, this phone has a hole-punch camera and large bezel at the bottom of the device. There’s also no 5G support. HTC is also launching this phone in Taiwan with an international launch possible in the coming months.
