Tag: smart devices

OnePlus 8 Pro – More like one more broke bro

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OnePlus 8 Pro specifications

OnePlus just announced their new OnePlus 8 flagship series. I think many would agree that it felt a lot like an iPhone launch. For the most part, the OnePlus 8 Pro is your typical flagship phone that checks all the boxes. There are 3 key features that stand out but it comes with at a disappointing price point.

Display

It’s clear that there was a focus on the material design of the phone. They claim that they’ve tested hundreds of colors, materials and finishings to develop a new matte-frosted glass in Onyx Black, Glacial Green and Ultramarine Blue. One of the best features of the OnePlus 8 is the 120Hz refresh rate that provides an extremely smooth scrolling experience. Other phones have this 120Hz display, but OnePlus offers it with their QHD (1440p) display turned on. In my previous post about Samsung’s new S20 series, I shared how they only offer 120Hz with the FHD (1080p) display. The OnePlus 8 has a JNCD (just noticeable colour difference) of 0.4 which allows for colour reproduction on the display to be apparently indiscernible from real life. It sounds a bit like a gimmick but DisplayMate, the industry standard of excellence for image and picture quality rated it very high in a wide array of tests in their recent article.

Camera

OnePlus 8 Pro Camera Modules

The 8 Pro’s 48-megapixel main camera and ultra wide-angle camera can shoot sharp, vibrant daytime shots and above average shots in dark environments. The hybrid zoom camera has 3x hybrid optical and 30x digital zoom (the max I would probably go is 10x for a decent quality picture). The color filter camera is fairly new – it allows you to swap out colours in your pictures on-the-go to supposedly bring out your inner creativity. This seems like an unnecessary gimmick so that they can say it’s the first OnePlus phone with four camera modules. Here are some of the unique camera features:

  1. Optical image and video stabilization on both the ultra wide and main camera
  2. Dynamic video that captures three different exposures and blends them together for the best quality
  3. Windscreen technology that aims to filter out wind noise from your videos
  4. Audio zoom technology that lets you zoom in to different audio sources (for your eavesdropping pleasure)

Warp Charge

Finally, an amazing feature you didn’t know you needed… warp charge. You can get up to 60% charge in 30 minutes when plugged into their warp charger and a never-before seen 50% charge in 30 minutes using their warp wireless charger! OnePlus’ whole reasoning for not supporting wireless charging until now was that previous technology wasn’t fast enough for them to support. It’s great to see they’ve really pushed the boundaries of current technology. Check out how fast the 8 Pro charges compared to the new Samsung S20 Ultra and Apple iPhone 11 Pro below.

Pricing

Pricing is not a highlight here, it’s actually quite disappointing considering the first OnePlus One phone was known for its “Never Settle” campaign, offering flagship specifications for a fraction of the cost. There’s no doubt that you’re still getting value – it’s just a shame it couldn’t come for less this time around. The OnePlus 8 doesn’t have all the features of the Pro model but comes it in at $200 USD less.

OnePlus 8 Pro pricing; $899 for 128GB and $999 for 256GB.
OnePlus 8 pricing; $699 for 128GB and $799 for 256GB.

What do you think of OnePlus’ new colour filter camera? Would you use it? The OnePlus 8 is a strong contender in the current market but to be honest, it’s hard to be excited when the world is at a halt. Good thing technology never sleeps, just like Technomuscle.

Company Estimote creates a new range of wearable devices to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in workplaces

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Estimote has been making wearable and programmable devices for a while now but with the current pandemic, they’ve adapted their technology to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in workplaces. Even though companies have social distancing and physical isolation measures in place, we all know there are times when we accidentally slip up. If there is someone that is frequently slipping up, this technology can help to identify them and find out why.

The hardware uses passive indoor GPS location tracking with proximity sensors powered by Bluetooth throughout a workplace facility, ultra-wide-band radio connectivity and built-in LTE to trace contact and provide data to employees and employers in real-time. Through a simple but powerful interface, employers can then track everything from frequency and length of individual close encounters to mapping the most troublesome locations in a workplace where multiple close encounters seem to happen. Companies can track and identify hot zones versus safe and pre-authorized zones.

wearable
Employers can then track everything from frequency of one-on-one close encounters to mapping the most troublesome locations in a workplace

On an individual level, the devices can warn you when you are too close to someone else who is wearing a device. Individuals can also indicate their own health status (e.g. “Quarantined”) with an app and display their workplace status publicly with built-in LEDs. Employers can then monitor those who are “Quarantined” and warn those that may have accidentally come in contact with them.

The wearable is constantly scanning for other wearables to register close interactions

*Technomuscle is in no way affiliated with, or supported by Estimote. However, we think this is a product worth sharing and investing in, especially during these challenging times. If you are interested in the product, feel free to reach out to the Estimote team by email.

Bio Processing: Your Heartbeat May Be the Key to Your Car, Home, Bank Account…

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What if your heartbeat was the key to your car, home, bank account… It turns out this may be coming in the future! Samsung Electronics has developed a Bio Processor (BioP) which is able to constantly monitor one’s heart rate with a built in Electrocardiogram (ECG). This technology puts it far ahead of any current wearables in accurately detecting heart rate by being able to actually graph and record changes in electrical currents that cause heart muscle depolarizations. The applications for health informatics would be huge if this technology was affordable for the everyday consumer, especially for people with heart problems.

Aside from the obvious health applications, Samsung Electronics is looking to use the BioP’s technology to securely unlock car doors and homes. To do this, the BioP has an included bluetooth transmitter and flash-memory to connect to your phones and other devices and provide constant health-related information very similar to the smart wearables we use today. Due to its ability to constantly monitor one’s unique heart rate (which is very hard to copy), it provides a high level of security. The downside to the current iteration of the device is that it needs to be placed directly on your skin next to your heart. Samsung is working to make this chip smaller and hopefully more affordable.

As a side note, you may be wondering how everyone’s heart rate can be unique when one’s heart rate varies during different activities and that is a very good question. The uniqueness of one’s heart rate comes from the patterns of electrical currents within the depolarization of the heart muscle that generates the beat. So although you may have increased your heart rate substantially after running, the pattern of eletrical currents that causes your heart polarization, albeit at a faster rate, will still be constant and unique to you.

Sources: Samsung, EtNews