Rollable smartphones start now, Google Maps updates, and more tech news

Your Tech News Digest via the DGiT Daily Tech Newsletter for Tuesday, November 17th, 2020.

1. Oppo X 2021

Oppo has a rollable phone that looks ready for 2021 and is actually cool? I doubt that affordable will be an adjective associated with the device, but it will be fun.

What’s new:

• As a motorized function, the display rolls from one side without manual pulling or pushing.
• Oppo detailed technology and mechanical features to ensure the display is assisted as it unrolls, and track resistance when the display is extended or retracted.
• Oppo calls the concept device this Oppo X 2021and claims that the screen has no wrinkles at all as you can see along the folded line on current foldable phones.
• It’s unclear whether Oppo fitted the screen with protective glass or if it is made of plastic, as we saw with the first Galaxy Fold.
• And there is no word on when this will become a commercial reality.
• It’s entirely possible that Oppo is more about the tech concept than the risk of launch – it’s been more than a year since it demonstrated its selfie camera technology in the display, and only ZTE was willing to put that technology in its ZTE Axon 20 5G. not Oppo.
• Given that neither Opp’s founder and CEO Tony Chen nor Opp’s Vice President Levin Liu had it in their hands on stage to show off, I thought it was a little early and not ready for the ever-stressful live demo
• But Oppo posted a short video on Weibo, and then a couple of technicians at the event in China posted various pictures and gifs like the following, so maybe practical time has passed and it is more ready!

Anyway, it actually looks … pretty awesome:

• What is shown is clearly a best-case scenario, where the transition from the smartphone to the wider tablet view on the display is likely to be as smooth. But the motorized function looks fine.
• Speculation suggests that it is all thanks to the Samsung display technology that Oppo is working with here, although details have not been revealed.
• LG is working on its own rollable phone, the design of which was released in September. Korean media report a launch in March 2021. LG has its own capable display technology.

We asked Oppo for more details regarding the X 2021’s display and the chances of a commercial release, but received no response at the time of shipping.

2. Finally the time has come: Huawei sold Honor under “enormous pressure” from the US sanctions (Android Authority).

3. Former Essential team to offer privacy-related products in 2021 (Android Authority).

4. Save up to $ 110 on the Sony WH-1000XM4 and other headphone deals (Android Authority).

5. Can you buy a one-year Disney Plus subscription for gift friends and family members just in time for Christmas? (Android Authority).

6. Apple Likely to Test Foldable Phones for a Future iPhone – This report says Foxconn is allegedly testing foldable iPhones, with a planned release in September 2022. This would be the iPhone 14 version if normal conventions were followed. A treat: “Foxconn will conduct over 100,000 opening and closing tests for the foldable iPhone.” (Apple Insider).

7. New Google Maps updates to help you cope: Better COVID overlay, crowds on public transport, and takeaway tracking (blog.google).

8.Amazon Pharmacy: Amazon is now in pharmacy business with online prescription fulfillment and free delivery for Prime members (TechCrunch).

9. Airbnb went public and the S-1 is great read (SEC.gov) – a breakdown of the importance of the financial data released (TechCrunch).

10. Github has a great detailed explanation of a new approach it can use to advocate for open source developers who are attacked by frequently malicious, dubious, or even troll takedown requests. It invests $ 1 million in a developer defense fund to protect open source developers and donates to the EFF and Software Freedom Law Center for Legal Aid (Github).

11. With that in mind: Tired: Open Source Coders – Wired: The open source movement is built on the heroic efforts of not enough people doing too much work (Wired).

12. How the U.S. military buys location data from common apps – including a hugely popular Muslim prayer app (Vice).

13. Seamless car charging comes to Electrify America with Plug & Charge: the car does the authentication and billing, no extra cards and problems. Also known as ISO 15118, less exciting (Ars Technica).

14. The $ 35,000 Tesla Model 3 is dead again. But at least Tesla got into the S&P 500? (The edge).

15th Zoom lifts its 40 minute limit for all thanksgiving meetings worldwide: from 12:01 a.m. on November 26th to 6:00 a.m. (ET) on November 27th (Twitter).

16. Now the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine looks good too! The best news is that it doesn’t require super cold cooling (BBC).

17. The astronauts of Crew 1 have arrived: The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is docking at the space station. Nice video of the excitement (room).

18. “What myth is still prevalent as truth?” (r / askreddit).

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