It looks like Motorola may be working on a device to rival the Samsung Galaxy Note series — and we may see it at MWC 2020. The Note series has long been a go-to for professionals who want a big-screen phone with productivity features, and its stylus continues to be a major selling point. Professionals may soon have another option.
Prolific Twitter leaker Evan Blass has offered some details about the upcoming device, including an image showing the phone with a stylus. The device has a pinhole cutout in the top left of the display, along with slim bezels and a small chin at the bottom.
Not much else is known about the device, other than the fact that it comes with a stylus. It can be assumed that the stylus would slide into the phone itself when it’s not being used — though the image doesn’t necessarily show exactly where the stylus would be stored. As Blass notes in his leak, this would be the first Motorola phone with a stylus to be released since the company was releasing Windows Mobile devices.
While this Note-style phone wouldn’t be the first on the market with a stylus, it could have some significant advantages over the other offerings. For example, the phone would likely come with stock or near-stock Android, which many people prefer.
We also don’t know what specs to expect from the phone. If Motorola truly wants to compete with devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note series, it will need to include flagship-level specs in the device. It’s also possible that Motorola wants to go after a more midrange market. The render of the device shows that it will come with Android 10.
According to the leak, this phone is not the rumored Motorola Edge+ smartphone, which is said to be a new flagship from Motorola that will be released on Verizon.
We’re not quite sure exactly when the phone will be released, but with Mobile World Congress on the horizon, we may not have to wait long until we can see it in person. Mobile World Congress is set to take place starting February 24. We also don’t yet know if the phone will launch in the U.S.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.