Rumour Suggests Next iPhone SE Retains Predecessor’s Design; Gains 5G And A15 Chip

Apple is said to be releasing a new entry to its more occasional smartphone series, the iPhone SE, sometime in early 2022. According to Japanese blog Macotakara, the upcoming model will allegedly come with recent hardware for its core internals, but retains its predecessor’s overall design.

In regards to the latter, this means that the new SE will still sport the iPhone 8’s look once more. Therefore, it may also feature a 4.7-inch LCD display with large upper and lower bezels, a curved aluminium frame, and a single rear camera setup. Concurrently, this would see the return of the Touch ID-enabled Home Button below the phone’s screen as well.

As for hardware, Macotakara suggests the next-gen iPhone SE will be equipped with the 5G-enabled A15 chip – the same SoC that is featured in the brand’s current generation iPhone 13 series. Unfortunately, no information regarding its battery or its front and rear camera sensors were shared by the Apple-specialised Japanese blog. Lastly, it is said that the new SE will begin production this December, and is expected to be launched later in Spring 2022.

This actually isn’t the first time that Apple is rumoured to be releasing a follow-up model to its iPhone SE line-up. Back in June, reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo similarly suggested a new iteration of the phone with upgraded internals is currently in the works, and that it would also feature the same chassis as its predecessor. While the rumours are seemingly corroborating with each other, it is still worth reminding that both of which are unofficially sourced and may end up to be inaccurate in the end.

Apple’s Next Launch Event To Take Place On 14 September

For the past week or two, there have been rampant rumours claiming that Apple has planned to have a special launch event this month. True enough, the company has just officially announced the date for its next event.

According to the media invite as well as its US website, the event is scheduled to take place at 10:00 AM PDT on 14 September which is equivalent to 1:00 AM Malaysia time on 15 September. This round of Apple’s special event will once again take place virtually as the threat of COVID-19 is still at large throughout the world.

Greg Joswiak, the company’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing tweeted a short clip to mark the occasion. The clip is essentially a demonstration of the AR feature that you can activate through your iPhone and iPad by tapping the glowing Apple logo on the event section of Apple US website.

It is really hard to guess what Apple is trying to hint through the images and AR easter egg that accompanied today’s announcement. However, the “California streaming” tagline does remind us of a very famous song from the 1960s, California Dreamin’ which was made famous by The Mamas and The Papas.

At the moment, among new products that are expected to be revealed at the upcoming event includes iPhone 13 (or iPhone 12s, depending on who you ask), Apple Watch Series 7, and next-generation AirPods. Expect to hear more rumours as they make their way into the Internet, now that there is only one week to go before the event takes place.

OnePlus Nord 2: The Next Chapter of The Brand’s Mid-Range Journey

Following the company’s announcement earlier this month, OnePlus has officially unveiled its new mid-range offering, the OnePlus Nord 2. At a glance, the new model does not look so different from its predecessor but once you go through at least its specs sheet, there are plenty of things that set them apart.

For starters, OnePlus has ditched Qualcomm Snapdragon for the new model which is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1200-AI processor. OnePlus and MediaTek apparently have worked together to boost the AI capability of this chip while it also offers 65% faster CPU performance and 125% better GPU performance.

OnePlus has also decided to use the faster UFS3.1-based storage for 5G-capable Nord 2 although the phone still comes with LPDDR4X memory. We doubt that it is noticeable to most people but the dimension of the Nord 2’s display is slightly different at 6.43-inch as compared to the 6.44-inch display on the original Nord but it still features a Full HD+ 90Hz Fluid AMOLED panel just like its predecessor.

When it comes to photography, OnePlus has once again roped in Sony’s hardware into the picture as the main camera inside Nord 2 which has been equipped with a 50MP IMX766 sensor that is also being accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide camera and 2MP mono lens. There is also another Sony sensor on the phone’s selfie camera in the form of the 32MP IMX615.

Completing the general specifications of the Nord 2 is a 4500mAh dual-cell battery that supports the company’s proprietary 65W Warp Charge technology. Through the tech, OnePlus claimed that the phone can be fully charged in just 30 minutes.

Pricewise, the OnePlus Nord 2 with 8GB/128GB setup goes for EUR399 (~RM1,988) in Europe while 12GB/256GB option costs EUR499 (~RM2,485). The price tag seemed rather hefty but we do expect the phone to be priced much lower in Malaysia although it is not yet known if OnePlus would bring it to our market anytime soon.

Facebook Smartwatch May Release Next Year; To Feature Two Cameras

Earlier in February, we saw reports that say Facebook may be working on a smartwatch of its own. New reports provide more details on what this wearable may entail, as well as when it may be released. And it’s not anytime soon, to be sure.

The Verge reports that the smartwatch by Facebook will come with a detachable display. This display will also come with two cameras . Detaching the module will then let users take pictures and videos, Naturally, you’ll be able to upload them to the company’s many platforms, including Instagram. It may also come with LTE connectivity for this purpose, so that it can work without a phone.

One camera will sit in front, the way a front-facing camera on a phone will. This one exists mostly for video calls, which probably means a lower resolution. Another sits at the back of the module, allowing for 1080p recording with auto-focus. Facebook will also be working with other companies to make accessories to allow the module to be attached to things like backpacks. Which makes it sound like an action cam.

The Verge reports that the smartwatch by Facebook will come with a detachable display. This display will also come with two cameras . Detaching the module will then let users take pictures and videos, Naturally, you’ll be able to upload them to the company’s many platforms, including Instagram. It may also come with LTE connectivity for this purpose, so that it can work without a phone.

One camera will sit in front, the way a front-facing camera on a phone will. This one exists mostly for video calls, which probably means a lower resolution. Another sits at the back of the module, allowing for 1080p recording with auto-focus. Facebook will also be working with other companies to make accessories to allow the module to be attached to things like backpacks. Which makes it sound like an action cam.

The report also states that this is the social media company’s plan to circumvent Apple and Google, going straight to users. Which also goes to explain why, despite it being a smartwatch, the detachable module behaves quite like a dumbed down smartphone.

Facebook is also reportedly already working on second and third generations of the device. Which sounds like the company is confident of its success. But the first generation will not be seeing the light of day until some time in summer 2022.

Next AstraZeneca Registration Session Opens On 23 May; Only For Senior Citizens In Selected States

The coordinator of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK), Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced that the next registration session for AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine will take place this coming Sunday, 23 May. The registration opening is following the original session that took place earlier this month which involved 268,000 doses for Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

While the vaccine coverage under the upcoming registration session will be expanded to more areas, it will not cover the whole country just yet as some might be hoping for. Instead, the 23 May session will only involve Penang, Johor, and Sarawak in addition to Klang Valley itself due to the high number of daily cases within these regions.

Furthermore, the registration session will only be opened to senior citizens aged 60 years and above. Those who are under the age of 60 will have to wait until 26 May to see if there are any leftovers and only then, will they be allowed to register.

The majority of the new AZ vaccine batch will be reserved for those who registered via the official website of The Special Committee for COVID-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV). The authorities will also allocate some of them to the District Health Offices (PKD) in order for them to administer the vaccine via on-ground outreach programs in selected areas.

Minister Khairy has also said that some of the vaccines will also be delivered to elderly care homes. Aside from senior citizens, another group of people that will be given priority access to the upcoming batch of AZ vaccine are individuals that are still on the Waiting List from the 2 May registration session.

From what we understand, Minister Khairy’s remarks during today’s briefing and subsequent tweet, the appointments for these individuals will be provided to them through the existing method.

With that, make sure to note down the specific dates we mentioned above if you are planning to register yourself or your loved ones for the AZ vaccine. Not to forget, do get ready to face all sort of possibilities during the registration session including technical difficulties.

Next Battlefield Release Within Q4 2021; Announcement Coming In June

EA has the next Battlefield game locked for release within the last quarter of this year. This release window lines up with the release window of previous entries in the series. And it falls in the ever popular year-end holiday period.

In a set of presentation slides that accompanied its earnings report, EA has highlighted the games it plans to release for its financial year of 2022. In this, the company notes that a Battlefield game will be released in Q3 of its fiscal year. This lines up with Q4 of the calendar year of 2021. You can find this on page 13 of the slides, linked below.

The game will be developed by four studios. The company named EA DICE, DICE LA, Crterion and EA Gothenburg as contributing studios in its earnings call. In the same call, the publisher said that the game will be released for both previous- and current-gen consoles, as well as PC.

As for the game’s reveal to consumers, EA has the announcement for the next Battlefield game lined up next month. The company teased this via the official  Battlefield Twitter account, with no details as to the specific date that it will happen on.

Last month, the publisher announced a mobile Battlefield title is in development, bound for 2022. Considering the release schedule, it doesn’t look like it will show up until at least Q2 of next year.