Sony reportedly plans to retire its Xperia C, M, and E brands for Xperia X

Sony has been in the process of rebranding its smartphone efforts; thus, the release of the Xperia X line during MWC 2016. With the new line out, it was seen as the end of the Xperia Z line. However, it looks like that isn’t the only line of products getting cut by Sony. According to reports from Chinese media, even the Xperia C, M, and E brands will be getting cut, while the Xperia X will be developed all the way up to 2018.

The Xperia Z brand was considered the line of premium devices from the Japanese brand, while the C, M, and E brands were more budget-friendly and highlighted specific features like waterproof ratings or battery life. The Xperia X line is seen to expand beyond just smartphones and incorporate all the different consumer electronics Sony develops. Not only is this seen as a way to consolidate its efforts but to also give them room to diversify outside of smartphones and into the growing Internet of Things market as well. Speculation about upcoming Xperia C, M, and E devices will be that they’ll be renamed to fit into the Xperia X brand.

Source: Xperia Blog | Via: SlashGear

Dedicated smart home app reportedly coming to iOS 10

The list of devices that support Apple’s HomeKit platform continue to grow. And with that means varied apps needed to manage different kinds of appliances or devices. Thankfully, there might be a central hub for all of that in the future, if the rumours are to be believed. MacRumors reported they saw a review on Amazon from an Apple employee that claims a “standalone” HomeKit app will be coming in the fall just in time for the release of iOS 10. The staffer can’t say how it’d work but the implication is it’ll be a hub for all HomeKit-compatible gadgets. Of course, there’s no certainty that Apple plans to show up soon. But if this does get released, that’ll give Apple an edge in the smart home market.

Source: Engadget

Huawei and Xiaomi will reportedly release their own curved devices

There might be more curved devices in our future and this might be thanks to Samsung and LG. There are reports that Xiaomi and Huawei plan to release their own devices that come with curved displays with panels taken from LG and Samsung, respectively.

LG will reportedly be supplying Xiaomi with the panel they’ll need to build the Mi Edge or Mi Note Edge, using the screen LG uses for its G Flex series. The phone will supposedly run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 16-megapixel camera. It’ll reportedly be priced at US$463 (around CA$590). Meanwhile, Huawei is rumoured to be tapping Samsung and its tech to create the Mate Edge. Their edge phone will supposedly be using Huawei’s in-house Kirin 950 chipset and will have 4GB of RAM as well. Cost of this device is reportedly $617 (around $790). Of course at the moment, this is all still speculation. We have to wait for confirmation from the brands. So right now, take these rumours with a grain of salt.

Source: Android Community

Google said to be building in-house startup incubator to keep staff from leaving

Google is hoping to keep its talent in-house and stop them from striking out on their own by creating its own startup incubator, if rumours are to be believed. According to The Information’s sources, Google is creating what’s called Area 120, which will let employees pursue their 20% projects—a.k.a. those projects Google allows its employees to work in a fifth of their working hours—full time. Those supposedly interested in doing this just have to submit a business plan, and if these are accepted, they can spend several months working on the idea. It could mean helping employee’s scratch their inventor itch while keeping them from losing their job at Google.

The tech giant hasn’t confirmed these plans yet. But it does seem like something that will help them keep their employees from jumping ship and joining other companies that look to undermine Google’s business. But whether that is enough to keep employees in remains to be seen. It could help them with developing the next big idea within its walls though.

Source: The Information | Via: Engadget