The Sony Xperia XZ3 was a big step forward for the company with one of the best screens we've ever seen on a phone and improvements to 4K HDR video. But that doesn't stop us being excited about the Xperia XZ4, and we may now know when it's coming.Leaks and rumors of the next Sony flagship have been circulating for a while, and it seems the phone will actually be launching toward the end of February. That suggests you'll be able to buy the phone from March.Sony's invites for an MWC 2019 event have gone out, which follows the normal release schedule for the company's flagship phones. Sony often introduces one high-end phone at MWC and then another around six months later at IFA. That has been the case since 2016's Xperia XZ.Sony's showcase will take place in Barcelona at MWC on Monday 25 February at 8:30AM CET (7:30AM GMT, 2:30AM ET, which is 11:30PM PT on Sunday 24 February).Six month updateYou can see an example of the invite above, which was sent to both Russian and Italian press. We … [Read more...] about Sony Xperia XZ4 looks set for MWC 2019 as company sets date for event
Announcement example for event
“There’s more in the making”—Apple announces October 30 event
Apple will host another product announcement event on October 30 at 10am Eastern time, according to invitations that have gone out to members of the press and an update to Apple's live events page. The invitation for the event carries the copy, "There's more in the making," and it's accompanied by artistic renditions of Apple's logo. This combo suggests the products discussed at this event might be targeted at creative professionals and hobbyists—a common theme for Apple's products of late. In fact, there appear to be a total of 10 versions of the logo, and different members of the press received different ones. You can see them all above or by refreshing the Apple live events page. Further ReadingA new Mac mini and a Retina MacBook Air are imminent, report saysThe creative focus lines up closely with previous rumors about Apple's hardware plans for the rest of the year. Multiple reports from Bloomberg and others have said that Apple plans to introduce new iPad Pro models this … [Read more...] about “There’s more in the making”—Apple announces October 30 event
Android Jetpack: What do the recent announcements mean for Android’s Support Library?
The official Android docs describe Android Jetpack as “a set of libraries, tools and architectural guidance.” This vague description has left many developers wondering what Android Jetpack really is. Taking a look at the list of Android Jetpack components just raises even more questions — there’s clearly a ton of crossover with existing Android libraries and projects. A good chunk of the components seem to be taken straight from the Support Library, such as AppCompat. So, is Android Jetpack just a rebranded Support Library? Is it a replacement? Can you use the two side by side, or should we all be migrating our apps to Jetpack?The Support Library components aren’t the only familiar features in the list of Jetpack components. All of the Architecture Components (Lifecycles, LiveData, Room and ViewModel) are now part of Jetpack, too. To add to the confusion, at Google I/O 2018 we learned future Support Library updates will be published to the … [Read more...] about Android Jetpack: What do the recent announcements mean for Android’s Support Library?
Google Pay gains support for event tickets and boarding passes
Google has unveiled some new Google Pay tools and features, including support for both event tickets and boarding passes. Until now, Google Pay only worked with loyalty cards and offers. The announcements were made at Google’s annual I/O developer conference in Mountain View, California. Google announced in January that it was combining Android Pay and Google Wallet under the new Google Pay brand, with the big global rollout kicking off in February. Last week, it was expanded to other browsers and onto iOS, too. Speaking of iOS, Apple’s mobile users can now use Google Pay to send and request money, manage payment info linked to their Google accounts, and see their transaction history. In the build up to today’s event, news started to trickle out that Google was readying some notable updates to the Google Pay platform. Southwest Airlines added the ability to add boarding passes to the Google Pay app on Android, for example. Now we know that companies from … [Read more...] about Google Pay gains support for event tickets and boarding passes
The 10 best lenses for full-frame Canon DSLRs
The sheer resolving power of full-frame Canon EOS bodies like the EOS 5DS and 5DS R, with their 50.6MP image sensors, demand the utmost sharpness from lenses, while even the EOS 5D Mark IV and EOS 6D Mark II have fairly high megapixel counts, at 30.4MP and 26.2MP respectively. But there’s more to a good lens than just its ability to resolve fine detail.Handling is a key factor in how a lens performs in real-world shooting. You’ll need fast and accurate autofocus, to ensure that you nail defining moments in anything from a fleeting expression in portraiture to action sports and wildlife photography. In handheld shooting, meanwhile, effective image stabilization can make an enormous difference.And outright image quality is about much more than sharpness. Good contrast is highly desirable, even when shooting wide-open at the largest available aperture. Other attributes we tend to look for are minimal distortion and color fringing, good resistance to ghosting and flare, and … [Read more...] about The 10 best lenses for full-frame Canon DSLRs