🐇 Good morning! This newsletter will be closed for the Easter break tomorrow but back on Monday!
OnePlus Ace
Oh boy! OnePlus can’t stop doing weird things. The smartphone industry is never static. (The image above is self-translated, so don’t condemn the word too much …)
What happened:
- OnePlus has announced a product launch for the OnePlus Ace, its new product line, the announcement is set for one week: April 21, in China.
- Quote: “According to the brand, the Ace line (yes, there will be more Ace brand OnePlus phones in the future) will focus on high-end textured design, reliable quality and robust performance.“
- Pictures of the phone, a new logo and some details have been revealed: OnePlus has confirmed that it will pack a MediaTek Dimensity 8100 chip, and it is charging very fast and (arguably unnecessary) 150W.
- Unofficially, the tip is that Ace is effectively a beef-up version of the OnePlus 10R, released only in India.
- It also looks a lot like the Realme GT Neo 3, which has another Oppo brand and the same space.
- The Chinese launch tells us a lot, but leaves a gap, we don’t know if it is coming with more widespread availability.
- It’s really funny that OnePlus says its new phone is focusing on design, performance and quality. It’s not that OnePlus phones didn’t focus on these things!
Huh?
- So what’s really going on?
- The OnePlus brand is now being used in Xiaomi style: Xiaomi uses its Redmi and Poco sub-brands, revealing a wide variety of similar phones, with minor differences in software and marketing, as well as regional availability.
- Realme must be the main Oppo effort to do this, it has been seen as a direct Redmi competitor.
- Now, OnePlus, with its relatively high brand reputation, is the next work horse.
- Why a little hard to explain: Maybe the new Oppo-OnePlus leadership thinks the OnePlus has unnecessary potential. Perhaps the idea of selling more devices in the US is a strategy, and China launches provide a low-risk option to get feedback and market appetite.
- Maybe something else! Whatever the exact reason, it will be difficult to keep up with the new OnePlus.
Roundup
🆕Breaking: Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter for $ 54.20 a share, so it could be ‘transformed into a private company’, with a total cost of about $ 43B, less than Musk owns. Interestingly, he did not tweet this (CNBC).
Official: The Poco F4 GT will arrive later this month (Android Authority).
Big sound in that small package, because Sonos bought Mayht with $ 100M (TechCrunch).
Windows 3.1 6 April 30 years back. Amazing.
Windows 3.1 has a long history How-to geek Introducing elements such as the Windows Registry, and the things we still use:
- It first launches CTRL + C and CTRL + V shortcuts for copying and pasting.
- It also adds TrueType fonts, comes with a screensaver, and has a media player.
- Perhaps most memorable, it has two (!) Games already installed: Solitaire, similar to Windows 3.0, but it booted the reverse game for the iconic Minesweeper. Good choice!
Cheers,
Tristan Rainer, Senior Editor.