Literally, Windows on your phone
For most people, computers are a two-device system: you have your main PC, be it a desktop or laptop, and your phone, which you connect to your main computer to sync and manage your mobile data. Well, you wouldn’t be alone if you’ve ever wished you could just use ONE device for everything, and now Microsoft is working to realize that idea by running Windows 10 and desktop apps… on a phone.
Microsoft says they can now run Win10 on a Snapdragon 835 mobile processor using x86 emulation – basically, they’re fooling Windows 10 into running on a phone by packaging it inside a pool of code that tells it it’s running on a PC – and the ARM chip is fast enough to pull it off. It can even run apps like photoshop, chrome and HD video applications. And if it can run those things, well, it can run pretty much anything.
This is different from Windows RT. In that disaster, Microsoft basically did the opposite – they tried to run a mobile OS on a desktop, and the results were pretty much unworkable. But with this new effort, the day may come soon where you just plug your phone into a bigger monitor at home… and Windows looks and works like normal.
Funny name, but great tech
With smart home tech on the rise and the whole world going wireless, we depend on Bluetooth technology more and more these days. Good news, then: Bluetooth 5 is now here to make life a little bit easier. As you might expect, it’s bigger and better than the latest iteration, known as version 4 point 2. Version 5 packs four times as much range, double the speed, and eight times more data-sending capacity. And it’s also better at rejecting interference as well.
Expect version 5 to show up in devices starting early next year, and don’t worry about your old Bluetooth devices becoming obsolete—as usual, the new standard is totally backward compatible with all your older Bluetooth gear, thank goodness.
Buh bye bezels?
Much of the new-phone-hype-and-rumors these days seem centered on the still way-off iPhone 8, but Samsung is still in the game and will debut the new Galaxy S8 in just a couple months, and some new leaks hint that it could be super cool. The biggest change: the S8 may feature what is trending to be the next hot look for smartphones: the nearly-bezel-less edge-to-edge main display.
According to Bloomberg, the new S8 will do away with the bezel, which will allow Samsung to actually shrink the phone while maintaining its large display capability. How Samsung will incorporate a selfie cam, home key, microphone and earpiece speaker into the design remains to be seen.
However, Samsung isn’t the first out of the gate here. Chinese phone maker Zow-me’s upcoming Me-Mix phone nearly pulls it off, with a screen flush to the top of the phone, and a tiny bezel at the bottom of the screen. So yeah, this all-screen design element is a thing that can be done. If Samsung pulls it off with the S8, the heat will be on Apple to either do the same – or explain why they didn’t. Either way, expect the look for smartphones to change in 2017.
