The Morning After: A smartphone that feels like paper?
Realme, the sister brand of Oppo and OnePlus, has revealed its new flagship GT 2 Pro, and the most notable feature may not be a tech spec, but literally how it feels. The body of the phone uses an eco-friendly bio-polymer material on its back cover. It’s made from paper pulp, and it has obtained International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (or ISCC in short) as proof of its environmental bonafides.
Realme
Apparently, this adds a satisfying paper feel to the GT 2 Pro, which Realme is calling “Paper Tech Master Design,” tapping Muji and Infobar series designer Naoto Fukasawa for his input. For now, the phone launches in China on January 4th, 2022, with the device eventually going overseas later next year.
-Mat Smith
The service is meant to help people who were wrongly suspended from their accounts.
When users are wrongfully suspended from their social media accounts, it’s difficult to figure out how to regain access. Now, the “robot lawyer” company DoNotPay, which offers automated legal services, has a new feature: getting social media accounts unbanned.
It’s an alternative to emailing companies’ help center bots or appeals that may never get answered. Instead, DoNotPay asks users for information about what happened to them, and sends a letter to the relevant company’s legal department on their behalf.
It’s got several OLED concepts ready for CES 2022.
LG Display
This is the “Virtual Ride” stationary bike. It features three vertical 55-inch OLED displays that form one continuous screen in front and above the rider. The topmost panel has a 500R curvature radius. According to LG Display, that’s the most extreme curve in a large screen to date. No word on whether it has a pause button.
The Paxlovid treatment could be available within a few days.
The FDA has issued emergency authorization for Pfizer’s antiviral pill Paxlovid, making it the first oral method for treating mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. The treatment is meant for high-risk people 12 and older who could progress to a more serious COVID infection. Paxlovid will be available by prescription only, and is meant to be taken within five days of first noticing COVID symptoms.
According to Pfizer’s tests, it can reduce hospitalization or death by 88 percent in high-risk patients. The treatment, which can be prescribed to both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, consists of 30 pills taken over five days. So far, the US has ordered enough pills to treat 10 million people.
The low-poly fruit became a meme.
Square Enix
Square Enix has rolled out the first Final Fantasy XIV patch after the ultra-popular Endwalker expansion arrived in November. Along with adding more quests, items and a raid dungeon, the update addressed various issues. One of those was a so-called bug fix that targeted some delightfully janky-looking grapes. Just don’t expect them to suddenly look photo-realistic.
Rumors suggest the device will be the only model in the 10-series lineup.
OnePlus is gearing up to show off its next smartphone, and it seems we won’t have to wait long to get our eyes on it. It will reveal the OnePlus 10 Pro next month, according to co-founder and CEO Pete Lau, who wrote “OnePlus 10 Pro, see you in January,” on Weibo. Rumors suggest OnePlus will only reveal a single phone this time around, instead of the usual approach of having a base model and a pro device. Leakers have already offered a peek at what the phone may look like, with several unofficial renders. It seems OnePlus will again use Hasselblad cameras, while the OnePlus 10 Pro screen is slated to be a 6.7-inch QHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
The NHTSA is looking into how games being played while the car’s moving may distract drivers.
Tesla came under fire earlier this month following reports that certain games are playable on dashboard infotainment systems while an EV is in motion. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is now investigating Tesla over the so-called “Passenger Play” function. While the feature prompts players to acknowledge they’re a passenger before they start a game, the NHTSA said Passenger Play “may distract the driver and increase the risk of a crash.” Before the summer, Passenger Play was only available when the EV was in park.
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