Samsung launches Galaxy A8 and A8+ phones with dual front-facing cameras

Borrowing the tall and immersive experience from the Galaxy S8, the less expensive Galaxy A-series for 2018 brings an 18.5:9 aspect ratio, bezel-free display and a heavy emphasis on cameras. A rear 16MP f/1.7 camera handles everyday shooting but things get much more interesting up front.

Opting for the standard size Galaxy A8 provides a 5.6 inch 1,080 x 2,220 AMOLED display and a 3,000mAh battery. Stepping up to the larger Galaxy A8+ offers the same display but at six inches alongside a 3,500mAh battery. The A8+ also receives 6GB of RAM in the 64GB capacity compared to the 4GB found in the standard A8 and 32GB A8+ model.

Samsung has opted to go with dual cameras on the front of the Galaxy A8 and A8+. Both are f/1.9 aperture but one is 16MP while the other is 8MP. For those interested in Portrait mode and taking lots of selfies, these phones certainly will be of interest. Live Focus will allow previewing of bokeh effects before snapping the perfect shot.

Similar to many other options, the Galaxy A8 is IP68 rated, making it resistant to water and small debris. Android 7.1.1 is the default operating system with no word on when Android 8 (Oreo) will be available. Both sizes of the Galaxy A8 offer a reasonable improvement over the previous generation. One notable improvement is the placement of the fingerprint sensor directly below the camera instead of off-center like on the Galaxy S8.

Neither the A8 nor A8+ are overtly impressive in their own right but that was never Samsung's goal with these devices. The A-series is targeted at consumers who want a smartphone that runs well and is almost as good as a flagship but without the high-end price tag to match. Pricing has not yet been announced but the A7-series have been selling for around $350.

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Source: Samsung launches Galaxy A8 and A8+ phones with dual front-facing cameras

The iPhone was the camera of choice in 2017, but standalone cameras still have a loyal following

More Charts

 

Your smartphone's built-in camera can't match the photo quality and features offered by a standalone camera, but that's not stopping most people from using their phones to take pictures. According to recent data from photo-sharing site Flickr, charted for us by Statista, smartphones are far and away the most popular photographic device.

Half of the photos uploaded onto Flickr in 2017 were captured by phone cameras, while digital SLR cameras accounted for one third of the pictures. Point-and-shoot cameras, once the standard tool for amateurs to snap red-eyed photos of family dinners and birthday parties, are now a distant third place.

When it comes to smartphone cameras, Business Insider's Antonio Villas-Boas found the iPhone 8's camera to be the best of the pack. And Flickr users seem to agree: more than half of all photos uploaded to the service in 2017 were taken on an iPhone.

BI Graphics

EXCLUSIVE FREE SLIDE DECK: The Next Smartphone by the BI Intelligence Research Team.Get the Slide Deck Now » SEE ALSO: Americans love to buy toys, jewelry, and music on their smartphones NOW WATCH: A guy who reviews gadgets for a living spent a week with the iPhone X and the Pixel 2 — the winner was clear
Source: The iPhone was the camera of choice in 2017, but standalone cameras still have a loyal following

Sony's next generation flagship smartphone to offer a dual-camera setup

According to leaks, the phone will be powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 845 SoC

New leaks have surfaced online suggesting that the next Sony flagship may feature a dual-camera setup. Alleged specifications of a Sony H8216 smartphone surfaced on Reddit two days ago suggesting that the phone will have two 12MP cameras at the rear. The front-facing camera is suggested to be a 15MP snapper using Sony's EXMOR RS sensor with f/2.0 aperture. It will have a 5.48-inch (5.5-inch) display with a 1920 x 1080p resolution. The leak also mentions that it will be using Sony's X-Reality engine and will cover 148% of the sRGB colour gamut in addition to supporting HDR. Earlier leaks suggested that the phone might have a 4K display with a resolution of 3840 x 2160p.

As expected, the device is suggested to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC, which was announced recently. Xiaomi has already confirmed that its next flagship smartphone will be powered by the new SoC. Snapdragon 845, which is a new Octa-core SoC is claimed to have a 30% better GPU performance and is more power efficient as well. The chip will also bring enable the phones powered to produce better images and videos. The SoC is also claimed to provide better FaceID, faster data speeds, and improved VR experience.

Besides the newer SoC, the leaked specifications reveal that Sony's upcoming smartphone will sport 4GB of RAM and 64GB of on-board storage. The device will come with a 3130mAh battery and will support Qualcomm's quick charge functionality. It will also be running on Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. 

A previous report suggest that Sony will unveil this phone along with half a dozen other H8XXX series smartphones at MWC Barcelona 2018. We are yet to see any leaked images of the device/s from Sony for the year of 2018.

Digit NewsDesk  news@digit.in

The guy who answered the question 'What are you doing?' with 'Nothing'.

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Source: Sony's next generation flagship smartphone to offer a dual-camera setup

Huawei P11 may have Camera Technology to Rival Apple iPhone X’s Face ID and Animoji

2017 is coming to an end, which means the technology media is turning their attention towards the Consumer Electronics Show in the beginning of January and Mobile World Congress in the beginning of March to see what's coming in 2018. Observers of Chinese tech giant Huawei expect the company to unveil the Huawei P11 at Mobile World Congress. The P11 is expected to have a radically different design compared to its predecessor, with an Apple iPhone X style notch. The upcoming Huawei flagship may share more than just a notch with the iPhone X, however, since it may also feature camera technology that rivals Apple's Face ID.

A writer from Italian technology website NotebookItalia reached out to me with some pretty solid reasoning behind why the Huawei P11's notch may be used to hold a camera bar with enhanced technology to compete with the iPhone X. At the global launch event for the Honor 7X and Honor View 10, the company unveiled new 3D camera technology it is calling the "Point Cloud Depth Camera." The purpose of this Point Cloud Depth Camera is to provide facial recognition accurate enough for biometrics and 3D facial mapping for animation purposes.

Huawei's Point Cloud Depth Camera

The Point Cloud Depth Camera is made up of multiple sensors. It uses a structured light near-infrared projector to project a lattice of light onto an object to determine its shape based on how the light deforms. There's also an IR camera, RGB camera, and a near-infrared illuminator all of which is enclosed between two RGB LEDs. All of these sensors are packed into an external accessory that connects to a Huawei smartphone via the USB C port, but it's possible that the Huawei P11 may be the first smartphone to integrate this Point Cloud Depth Camera into the device's frame. If the Huawei P11 does have an iPhone X style notch, then it's likely that the notch area is where Huawei will pack these sensors.

NotebookItalia was able to record a demonstration of the Point Cloud Depth Camera in action. In the video, a Huawei employee shows off 3D facial reconstruction via the external accessory. It's clear that this technology can be used to mimic the animoji on the Apple iPhone X, as Huawei demonstrated on stage. Further, Huawei claims that their technology is more accurate and secure than Apple's. They claim that their facial recognition will be suitable for payment authentication, that their face unlock works in 400ms, and that their facial reconstruction works with less than one millimeter of accuracy.

These are bold claims that will need to be evaluated once a commercial device with this technology is released. We believe that the Huawei P11 may be the first device with this technology, though we can't confirm that in the firmware files we obtained. Roland Quandt from WinFuture points out that the P11 may launch in Q1 2018 as a Huawei executive promised "exciting new products" in Q1 with a focus on camera and AI. Thus, it would make sense for the "exciting new product" to be the Huawei P11 with the Point Cloud Depth Camera. Given the success of the Apple iPhone X, we can't imagine that Huawei isn't already working on a direct competitor with its own version of Apple's Face ID and animoji.

Source: Huawei P11 may have Camera Technology to Rival Apple iPhone X's Face ID and Animoji

Your smartphone camera could one day be your new pin code

Researchers recently conducted a study that allowed them to identify which smartphone took a picture

It was able to identify the correct smartphone 99.5% of the time and only needed one picture to do so

The method relies around on identifying the defects in a phone's camera sensor

The cameras in smartphones today are the best they've ever been. That's not to say you'll be tossing your DSLR out of the window anytime soon, but the improvements over time have certainly been noticeable.

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But, what you may not realize is that there are still flaws in your pictures. These defects are called photo-response non-uniformity (PRNU). The flaws show up due to imperfections in your camera that happen during the manufacturing process. These are the tiniest of variations that are imperceptible to the human eye and are the focus of a new study.

Researchers at the University of Buffalo conducted the study. The researchers studied over 10,000 pictures from 30 Apple iPhone 6s and ten Samsung Galaxy Note 5 smartphones. It usually takes about 50 photos identify which standalone camera took a photo. The researchers were able to use just one picture and get a 99.5 percent accurate result when testing smartphones.

The study's lead author, Kui Ren, shared this in this paper:

Like snowflakes, no two smartphones are the same. Each device, regardless of the manufacturer or make, can be identified through a pattern of microscopic imaging flaws that are present in every picture they take. It's kind of like matching bullets to a gun, only we're matching photos to a smartphone camera.

The study identified the variations in each camera's sensor to correctly identify them. Factors that researchers looked at included the smartphone cameras projecting colors brighter or darker than average. This is called pattern noise. It's too subtle for the human eye to pick up, but special filters can identify it and each camera has its own pattern.

Researchers say that the process of identifying this pattern could lead to a new form of authentication. They envision a system where a customer supplies a bank or a retailer with a reference photograph of a QR code. The picture is analyzed to find the specific imperfections in their camera. Then, when the customer wants to withdraw money or make a purchase, they just take another picture of the QR code. If the flaws in the picture match, the transaction continues.

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There is always the threat of a hack, but the researchers say that this method may prevent them. Hackers can remove the PRNU from a picture, but doing so would damage the embedded probe signal in the QR code.

This seems promising, but we see some issues that could arise from it. Phones are stolen every day. Relying on just this form of authentication alone could lead to some pretty nasty issues. Combining it with fingerprints, iris scans, or pin codes could be the way to go. It also seems like you'd need to have your phone with you at all times and set this security up every time you got a new one.

Source: Your smartphone camera could one day be your new pin code

Again, Nubia Phone Renders With Unique Front Camera Appears

Recently, we came in contact with the renders and schematics of a bezel-less Nubia smartphone with some uniqueness in its design. Another render of the Nubia bezel-less phone has appeared online with the special highlight focused on the full-screen design and the unique selfie camera design.

The bezel-less Nubia smartphone render gives a close up shot of the front camera notch which is similar to that of the Essential phone. Apart from the notch, the upper aspect is completely bezel-less as well as the chin. The bottom edge has a very narrow bezel. At the rear, there is a dual camera setup aligned in a vertical direction with the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor sitting under the camera.

Read Also: Renders & Schematics Of Nubia Full Screen Phone Leaked Online

We don't know how authentic the renders are but if at all Nubia is working on a full-screen phone just as the earlier leaked schematics and these renders are suggesting, then it may likely drop next year. There are rumours that the smartphone will be known as Nubia Z19 but that has also not been confirmed. The device is also expected to pack the recently announced Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor which would find its way into flagship models in Q1 2018.

(source)

Source: Again, Nubia Phone Renders With Unique Front Camera Appears

LG V30+ with 6-inch FullVision display, dual rear cameras launched at Rs 44,990

The smartphone is powered by a Snapdragon 835 SoC and features 16MP + 13MP dual rear camera setup with f/1.6 aperture

LG has launched its V30\+ flagship smartphone priced at Rs 44,990. It will be up for sale exclusively on Amazon.in from December 18. The USP of the device is its curved slim-bezel design and a taller 18:9 display. It also sports a dual rear camera setup with PDAF and laser detection autofocus. The handset comes with high-end headphone out-of-the-box and early customers will get a one-time free screen replacement guarantee along with a wireless charger. It will be available in Aurora Black and Cloud Silver colour models.

Coming to the specifications, The LG V30+ sports a 6-inch QHD+ P-OLED FullVision display with 81 percent screen to body ratio and supports HDR10. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 platform coupled with 4GB of RAM. The smartphone comes in a 128GB storage variant, which can be further expanded up to 2TB using a microSD card. It sports a 6-inch QHD+ OLED FullVision display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and runs on Android 7.1.2 Nougat with LG UX 6.0+ on top, which can be upgraded to Android 8.0 Oreo.

The LG V30+ features a dual rear camera setup with one 16MP sensor with f/1.6 aperture lens and another 13MP sensor with a 120-degree wide-angle lens and an aperture of  f/1.9. The main camera comes with EIS and OIS both PDAF and LDAF. It sports a 5MP front-facing camera with f/2.2 aperture and a wide-angle lens. 

Additionally, the LG flagship smartphone is equipped with a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC by B&O PLAY and is capable of recording lossless audio. It is powered by a 3300mAh battery and supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 and Wireless charging as well. The device comes with a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and is IP68 water and dust resistant. 

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Source: LG V30+ with 6-inch FullVision display, dual rear cameras launched at Rs 44,990

Best smartphone cameras

These are the smartphones with the best cameras in 2017

2. HTC U11 ​phone: Full, in-depth review

The Android flagship phone market is a crowded place but HTC's U11 is one of the best thanks to great design and very good handling.

Review Date: 14th June, 2017

3. ​Huawei P10 smartphone review

If you can't run to the more-expensive P10 Plus this is a superb, powerful mid-range phone thanks to the brilliant Leica camera and beefy processors.

Review Date: 17th May, 2017

5. ​Oppo R9s smartphone full review

There's much to like about the R9s: it does so many things and looks great. It's a bit sluggish in terms of performance and camera, though. But at this price it's still great value.

Review Date: 27th Jan., 2017

6. Nokia 8: Full, in-depth review

There's so much more to like about the Nokia 8 than just the nostalgia factor. Solid specs, crisp cameras and fantastic form factor make it a comeback for the brand.

Review Date: 31st Aug., 2017

7. Sony Xperia XZ Premium: Full, in-depth review

Sony's (big) new flagship has no real weak points. It's a crowded market but this is one of the best all-rounders. But there's virtually no 4K content available for the 4K screen.

Review Date: 3rd July, 2017

10. ​Huawei P10 Plus phone: Full, in-depth review

Huawei's phones have arguably been the most innovative in recent years. The P10 Plus is an impressive flagship with an outstanding camera and no real weak point (except for annoying low-light camera performance).

Review Date: 16th May, 2017

Source: Best smartphone cameras

Only around 50,000 units of the Essential Phone have been sold, according to its camera app's download figures from the Play Store

By now, it should be apparent that the Essential Phone hasn't sold in the numbers that Andy Rubin and co. had thought it would. Having started at an MSRP of $699, the PH-1 dropped to $499 just two months after release (and to $650 CAD in Canada). On top of that, there have been numerous opportunities to get the phone for even more cheaply, including through a $200 friends-and-family discount and an incredible Cyber Monday Amazon deal. After all this, it looks like Essential has only sold around 50,000 units of the PH-1, if install figures from the Play Store of the Essential Camera are to be trusted. That's not very impressive.

The Essential Camera app hit 50,000 downloads within the past few days. Last we heard about Essential sales figures of any sort, it was back in late September when a research firm estimated a measly 5,000 units had been sold within the month after release. If that figure is to be believed, it looks like the price drops did wonders for sales (two members of the AP team bought them on Cyber Monday), though 50,000 is still not very many phones sold within four months.

You might be wondering how we could come to the conclusion that the download figures for this app could lead to production figures. Well, the Essential Phone is the only phone that is capable of downloading the Essential Camera app via the Play Store, hence the assumption. The Play Store counts installs by the "(t)otal number of unique users who have ever installed this app on one or more of their devices. Only one install is counted per user, regardless of how many different devices they installed it on. Includes users who uninstalled the app later." Similar logic was used a couple of months back on the Pixel phones, and in that article, we stated that there were four reasons that the install figure could be even more inflated than actual sales figures:

Devices being resold and signed into by other accounts (this is probably the most common situation).

Developers using multiple accounts to test their apps out (more common that you might think).

Custom ROMs like LineageOS for other devices allowing non-Pixel devices to trick the Play Store.

Modders tweaking their build.props to get the Play Store to recognize their device as a Pixel (similar to above).

However, only the first two reasons listed above could realistically apply here. There's no reason for ROMs or people to trick the Play Store into thinking their phone is an Essential Phone to download the camera app, since it's not particularly useful on other devices. The development excuse is a slight possibility, though the resold devices factor is likely the biggest one here. It's also possible that people are immediately unlocking the bootloaders on these phones and installing ROMs like LineageOS, but I'm not sure if that's an especially common scenario given Essential's near-stock software and already-released Oreo beta. Even Ryne, who installs LineageOS on practically all of his Android devices, is still running stock Nougat.

It's worth noting that we aren't technically sure if a pre-installed app counts as a download in the Play Store's eyes if it's not updated, though Cody has noticed pre-installed apps showing up on his profile before any updates could even be installed. In any case, since the percentage of devices that are acquired and immediately having different ROMs flashed would be extremely low, there's virtually no chance that the 50k number is actually lower than the total number of PH-1s in consumer hands. Keep in mind that the Essential Camera automatically updates as soon as a Google account is connected on the phone, meaning that even if updates are required for a 'download' to count, the numbers lean in accuracy's favor.

As for other pre-installed Essential apps on the Play Store, both Essential Resources and Essential Services are still sitting at the 10k-50k range. This might be because there's a delay in the Play Store's figure updating for those apps, or if the update theory is to believed, simply because people are more likely to update the camera app, which Essential has added portrait mode and other improvements to.

At the end of the day, even in the unlikely event that sales figures are above 50,000 (which they wouldn't be by much), the Essential Phone still can't be considered a commercial success. Hopefully the new, lower MSRP of $499 and more discounts drive sales upwards, as more competition is better in this space. It'd be interesting to see what, if anything, Essential has in store for the PH-1's successor.

Source: Only around 50,000 units of the Essential Phone have been sold, according to its camera app's download figures from the Play Store

Xiaomi Mi Note 3 camera at par with Google Pixel, HTC U11: DxOMark

The Xiaomi Mi Note 3 achieves an overall score of 90 on the DxOMark test, which is same as both the Google Pixel and the HTC U11. It gets 94 points in Photo score and a video score of 84.

Xiaomi launched its Mi Note 3 in China last month which has achieved an overall score of 90 points on the DxOMark test. DxOMark is a benchmarking website which tests and rates a smartphone's camera quality. As per their test results, the Mi Note 3 features an impressive camera setup, which puts it alongside the likes of the Google PixelWhere to buy 44000 49000 and the HTC U11, both the phones had DxOMark scores of 90. 

DxOMark said, "With an exceptional Photo score for still photos of 94 points, and a solid video score of 84, the Xiaomi Mi Note 3 is a great choice for smartphone photography and video enthusiasts alike. Packed with top-end features, including a 2x optical zoom function, bokeh simulation mode, phase-detection autofocus, and 4K video, this device offers the capabilities and performance of premium flagship smartphones at a mid-range price point." 

While capturing images, as per DxOMark, the Mi Note 3 is fast and accurate with good zoom capabilities and generally accurate exposure. The smartphone was also praised for its ability to reduce noise effectively in most lighting conditions and capture good bokeh shots. However, images lost fine details in low light conditions with some colour cast and some visible noise while capturing images in bright lights. 

In terms of video recording, DxOMark notes that the Xiaomi Mi Note 3's auto-focus is fast with acceptable tracking, and the smartphone offers "reasonably effective stabilisation" with generally accurate exposures and usually accurate white balance count despite occasionally visible frame drops. However, the smartphone captures low details in all conditions and there is also a noticeable difference in sharpness between consecutive frames.

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Source: Xiaomi Mi Note 3 camera at par with Google Pixel, HTC U11: DxOMark

Employee hides camera phone in vent of women’s bathroom of Queens restaurant: police

LONG ISLAND CITY — More than three months after a dishwasher disappeared from a bar after his phone was found in the women's bathroom, police have taken him into custody.

Hector-Miguel Ramirez-Vargas, 31, worked at Holy Guacamole in Long Island City when he was caught in the act. He allegedly admitted he that set up his cell phone in the bathroom's ceiling vent when "attractive women" came in, according to the Daily News.

When the customer confronted the manager, he called police, but Ramirez-Vargas ran through the back of the restaurant and got away, Daily News reported. After the incident, he never came back to the restaurant, the manager told Daily News.

He was eventually caught by police and faces charges of unlawful surveillance.

He remains held on $1,500 bond or $3,000 cash bail.

Source: Employee hides camera phone in vent of women's bathroom of Queens restaurant: police

Huawei Copying Apple iPhone X TrueDepth Camera Notch For P11 Phone?

Well that didn't take long. When Apple introduced the iPhone X last September, all eyes were drawn to the notch that was occupying minimal space on top of the all-screen, bezel-less handset. It's a feature that has become a defining trait of the new flagship phone in the absence of a physical Home button. And now it looks like Huawei is taking cues from Apple.

Just this Thursday, XDA Developers learned that Huawei's upcoming flagship offering could sport an iPhone X-inspired notch. The outlet says it obtained such information from a reliable source, and it's none other than firmware files for the upcoming device. According to the data obtained by the publication, it looks as though Huawei's next flagship will have a notch that's somehow similar to the one on the iPhone X.

XDA Developers recreated an overlay image of the notch, and it does resemble the iPhone X notch. The only difference is it's shorter than the Apple flagship's notch. But it's definitely not too narrow or circular to resemble the one on the Essential Phone. The configuration file from which the overlay image was based is for a design feature labeled "RoundCornerDisplay." A separate configuration file explicitly mentions a "notch," which has a value set to "258, 84, 411, 27." It's being reported that the value could possibly be representing the left, top, right and bottom offsets that serve as guide when moving screen content around the notch.

The configuration file of the device in question indicates that it has a 6.01-inch 2160 x 1080 LCD screen, but system property, boot animation and charging images mention a 2244 x 1080 screen resolution. The discrepancy in the screen resolution is believed to be due to the presence of the notch on top of the handset's display.

The firmware files that XDA Developers dug up with the help of FunkyHuawei.club do not, in any way, mention an actual product name. However, it won't be that surprising when the notch ends up being a statement feature of the upcoming Huawei P11 flagship phone. After all, Huawei is rumored to be announcing the P11 at Mobile World Congress this coming February, so the timing of the firmware files' appearance may not just be a coincidence.

Meanwhile, if the latest rumor about Huawei's next flagship phone is to be believed, the P11 could debut as an imaging powerhouse. Notorious tech leaker Evan Blass has apparently spotted some ads for a "Huawei PCE Series" phone that comes with pretty impressive specs, like a triple camera system with 40-megapixel lenses, 5x hybrid zooming and a 24-megapixel selfie camera. All of these camera technologies are reportedly being developed by Huawei with German optics and high end cameras manufacturer, Leica.

For now, the Huawei P11 is nothing more than a rumored device. Huawei has not even announced the possible timeframe for when it is going to introduce its next-generation P series offering. Still, there's a good reason to watch out for what the company will be showcasing at the MWC early next year.

Huawei's upcoming phone could feature an iPhone X-like notch. Photo: Reuters/Philippe Wojazer

Source: Huawei Copying Apple iPhone X TrueDepth Camera Notch For P11 Phone?

Body Camera, Cellphone and Surveillance Videos Show Fatal BSO Deputy-Involved Shooting in Lauderdale Lakes

A man who was killed by a deputy in Lauderdale Lakes is seen kicking and dragging another deputy moments before he's fatally shot in new body camera, cellphone and surveillance videos.

The video shot by a witness shows Wednesday's fatal encounter between Broward Sheriff's deputies and 42-year-old Jean Pedro Pierre at the Sunset Hills Condominium in the 3600 block of Northwest 21st Street.

Surveillance footage and body camera footage from the officers involved in the shooting released by BSO Friday also shows the incident from multiple angles.

"There's a guy fighting with two cops," a woman tells a dispatcher in 911 calls of the incident released Friday.

Officials said Deputy Sean Youngward responded to a disturbance at the scene and was confronted by Pierre, who attacked the deputy.

Youngward's body camera showed him knocking on an apartment door and the confrontation immediately begins.

"Back down man, what is wrong with you? Stand down!" Youngward yells at Pierre, who chases him through a hallway and out into a courtyard.

Youngward fires his Taser at Pierre, who keeps walking toward the deputy and knocks him to the ground.

"What is your problem, what is wrong?" Youngward yells. "Tell me what is wrong? Just tell me."

Youngward is seen trying to break away from Pierre by using his baton as Pierre has a hold of his leg.

"Let go of my leg, let go of my leg sir," Youngward says.

The videos show Pierre dragging Youngward on the ground, while a second deputy, Steven Briggs, arrives and points a gun at Pierre, trying to get him to stop.

"Get your hands off him now!" Briggs yells at Pierre.

"They're gonna shoot you man," a witness is heard telling Pierre in the cellphone video. "Let him go, you're gonna get yourself in bad trouble."

"Tase him, tase him, don't shoot him," another witness is heard saying to the deputy.

Pierre suddenly drops Youngward's leg and starts to run at Briggs, and that's when three shots were fired by Briggs. Officials said Pierre wasn't armed.

"Deputy Sean Youngward was attacked by Mr. Pierre. He was punched, he was kicked and he was knocked to the ground," Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said at a news conference Friday. "It was a violent encounter."

The footage then shows Pierre alive, laying on the ground, as officers approached him with guns drawn.

One of the officers then bends over to check Pierre's condition. The officer put on gloves and approached the suspect, while another approached him with a gun. A few minutes later, an officer was seen administering CPR to the victim.

Broward Sheriff Rescue officials took Pierre to the hospital, where he later died.

Officials said Youngward used his Taser but it didn't stop Pierre from attacking him.

"He did everything he could to save himself and to end this confrontation, he was overwhelmed by the superior size and strength of Mr. Pierre," Israel said.

Israel said Briggs also tried to diffuse the situation.

"He gave several clear concise, lawful and legal orders to Mr. Pierre. Mr. Pierre chose a path of non-compliance," Israel said.

Pierre's friends and family said that's not the man they know.

"He was a loving, caring person. Loved his family, loved his kids. This is devastating to all of us, it's not making sense," said Nekita Dulcio, a friend of Pierre's.

"It is sad to hear that there was a shooting in Dade County, then Coral Springs, then here in Broward County," said Israel. "We can do better as a society. It is just a dangerous world that we live in."

The shooting remains under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Published at 9:51 AM EST on Dec 8, 2017 | Updated 5 hours ago

Source: Body Camera, Cellphone and Surveillance Videos Show Fatal BSO Deputy-Involved Shooting in Lauderdale Lakes

iPhone models dominate Flickr’s list of most popular cameras in 2017 with 54% of top 100 devices

Apple's iPhone remains the most popular camera used by the Flickr community, the photo-sharing site revealed today in its annual review of camera rankings and top photos. This year, the iPhone beat out other camera makers – like Canon and Nikon, the number two and three respectively – by accounting for 54 percent of the top 100 devices used on the site, the company found. In addition, all top 10 devices of 2017 were iPhone models, Flickr says.

The site's still sizable community of over 75 million registered users offers a good gauge of what devices people today use to take photos. Over the years, the top device has consistently been the iPhone – an indication of how consumers have moved away from traditional point-and-shoots for everyday photos. Many professionals also often turn to iPhone for their higher-quality photos thanks to Apple's improvements to the smartphone's camera.

The camera system on iPhones, in fact, has become a central focus for Apple's technological advancements over the years, and has consistently remained of the top reasons to upgrade to the latest iPhone model. That remained true in 2017 as well, with the release of the iPhone 8 and iPhone X.

This year, iPhone has scored the majority (54%) of usage on Flickr's site, up from 47 percent of the top 100 in 2016, and 42 percent the year prior. The iPhone also passed Nikon to score the spot as the second-most popular camera back in 2014.

Nikon was the third most popular brand with 18 percent in 2017, and Canon was number two, responsible for 23 percent of the top 100 devices.

In addition to the iPhone's top ranking, Flickr's list this year also shows the impact of smartphone use on the photography industry in general. The smartphone has become the dominant device choice by volume of uploads, Flickr notes.

This past year, smartphones accounted for half (50%) of all photos uploaded to Flickr, topping last year's figure of 48 percent. DSLR usage has increased as well, up from 25 percent in 2016 to 33 percent in 2017.

The rise of smartphones and DSLRs have come at the expense of point-and-shoots in 2017. This category has seen the biggest drop of the year at 12 percent down from 48 percent in 2016 – a massive decline. Meanwhile, mirrorless remained at 4 percent of the total uploads for the third year in a row, the report stated.

Source: iPhone models dominate Flickr's list of most popular cameras in 2017 with 54% of top 100 devices

Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 details revealed, may bring Pixel 2-class camera to phones like OnePlus 6, Xiaomi Mi 7

A day after Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 845 at its Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit, the company revealed more details about the next-generation high-end processor that will power premium phones like the OnePlus 6, Xiaomi Mi 7 and the Samsung Galaxy S9 next year. Although the performance of the Snapdragon 845 is going to be better than that of the Snapdragon 835 by -- according to Qualcomm -- up to 30 per cent, the big features of the new processor are all related to areas like camera performance, AI processing, virtual reality and security.

The Snapdragon 845 has 8 cores, built using the ARM A75 cores and ARM A55 cores. These ARM cores have been modified by Qualcomm so the company is calling them semi-custom cores. It says that the four high-performance A75 cores will run at a speed of up to 2.8GHz, a decent improvement over the 2.45Ghz that is the top speed of the Snapdragon 835. The smaller and power-efficient A55 cores run at a speed of up to 1.8Ghz in the Snapdragon 845, which is actually a slight decrease compared to the top speed of 1.9GHz from the similar cores in the Snapdragon 835.

However, due to the improvements in the processor architecture, and most likely because of additional L3 cache of 2MB and 3MB system cache, the high-performance cores in the Snapdragon 835 offer performance improvement of up to 30 per cent and the power-efficient core provide up to 15 per cent more performance.

The Snapdragon 845 comes with a new graphics processor called Adreno 630 that offers up to 30 per cent more performance while gaming compared to the Adreno 540.

The core performance is, however, not the big deal about the Snapdragon 845. Instead, according to Qualcomm, its new processor aims t solve the specific problems that define the user experience.  The company says that with the Snapdragon 845 it wants to improve the camera experience, the security on a smartphone, the way virtual assistants work on the phone, the way video is recorded and how the AI-rich apps run on a device.

The camera performance, AI, security, and battery life are some of core areas that Qualcomm identified three years ago as the factors that matter more to consumers and so when it set out to work on the Snapdragon 845, it decided to focus on them.

Big focus on cameras

Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon 845 will allow phone makers to create cameras that capture richer colours and better micro-contrast in images. It will also offer them ability to create better portrait photos with blurred background, even with just one camera, as well as offer better low-light photos by allowing multi-frame processing. Incidentally, multi-frame processing as well as AI-driven single lens portrait mode is something Google's Pixel 2 already uses to create magical photos. If Qualcomm indeed delivers on its promise, many more phone companies - including companies like OnePlus, Xiaomi, Motorola, LG and Nokia - will be able to offer Pixel 2-class cameras on their phones.

 

To be specific, Qualcomm claims that phones powered by Snapdragon 845 will be able to get 100 plus points in DxO camera benchmarks. Currently, the list at the DxO is topped by Google Pixel 2 that scores 98 points. Along with the improvements in the imaging performance, the Snapdragon 845 will also improve video recording by allowing phone makers to enable slow-mo modes of up tp 480FPS.

In a way, many of the technologies and features that Snapdragon 845 brings are already available in some high-end phones. For example, Apple's iPhones already have hardware-based on-device security protection. Similarly, companies like Google and Samsung already have dedicated processing chips for cameras that allow features otherwise not possible on phones. But by bringing everything in one place in the Snapdragon 845, Qualcomm will be able to ensure that many of these features reach more people and at a lower price point compared to what Google, Samsung and others charge for their high-end phones.

Faster LTE

The Snapdragon 845 also comes with a new modem X20 LTE that will support download speed of up to 1.2gbps, 20 per cent higher than what the Snapdragon 835 offered. Although, this speed can be utilised only with Gigabit LTE networks that are currently available only in 20 odd countries. For now, no telecom operator in India offers Gigabit LTE network.

"Thoughtfully designed with tech savvy consumers in mind, Snapdragon 845 utilises Qualcomm Technologies' industry leading wireless heterogenous compute expertise to design a platform for immersive multimedia experiences including eXtended reality (XR), on-device artificial intelligence (AI), lightning-fast connectivity, and introduces our new secure processing unit (SPU) delivering vault-like security for premium, flagship mobile devices," a Qualcomm spokesperson said.

 

The phones with the Snapdragon 845 will be available in 2018. It is expected that the Samsung Galaxy S9 will be the first phone to use the Snapdragon 845. Also, yesterday Xiaomi CEO had confirmed that the next flagship from the company will use the Snapdragon 845. This phone is likely to be the Xiaomi Mi 7. Other than these two phones, there will be tens of other high-end phones, including OnePlus 6, next-gen Nokia flagship phone, next-gen Moto Z flagship phone, Pixel 3 as well as possible devices like the LG G7 that will use the Snapdragon 845.

In addition to phones, the Snapdragon 845 will also be used by companies to make laptops. yesterday Asus and HP announced laptops that use Snapdragon 835 and support LTE aka SIM connectivity. In 2018, laptops featuring the Snapdragon 845 will most likely appear in the market.

Also Read: Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit: Snapdragon 845, Always Connected PCs, 5G and other big announcements

For more news from India Today, follow us on Twitter @IndiaTodayTech and on Facebook at facebook.com/indiatodaytechFor news and videos in Hindi, go to AajTak.in.ताज़ातरीन ख़बरों और वीडियो के लिए आजतक.इन पर आएं.

Source: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 details revealed, may bring Pixel 2-class camera to phones like OnePlus 6, Xiaomi Mi 7

Elephone S9 To Arrive In Two Versions With Dual Cameras

Elephone has been teasing the arrival of the Elephone S9 for a while now, and our source at the company has just shared some additional info when it comes to the phone. Now, it seems like the company is planning to release two variants of the phone, the Elephone S9, and Elephone S9 Pro, which is something we did not know thus far. Now, our source did not mention that the Elephone S9 Pro will support NFC, though nothing was said regarding the Elephone S9, so it is possible that only the Elephone S9 Pro will ship with such functionality.

Having said that, both the Elephone S9 and S9 Pro will ship with a dual camera setup on the back, and we also received some camera info this time around. The two phones will include two 13-megapixel snappers on the back, one camera will pack in a regular RGB lens, while the other one will ship with a monochrome lens. Elephone has also partnered up with Arcsoft, a company which will provide image algorithms to Elephone, so that it boosts Elephone S9's images, mainly its bokeh effect. This company has been cooperating with a number of other smartphone manufacturers thus far, including Xiaomi, Huawei, and Samsung, according to Elephone, and Meizu has also joined that list a while back. Now, on top of all that, our source has shared yet another image of the Elephone S9, and this seems to be its pro variant.

As you can see, the Elephone S9 Pro sports a curved display, it seems, and its bezels are extremely thin. The design of the phone reminds us of the Galaxy Note 8 and Samsung's Galaxy S8 devices, at least from the front. The phone's bezels are really thin, and it's easily noticeable that the Type-C USB port and speaker grills will be placed at the very bottom of the phone. The device will be made out of metal and glass, and interestingly enough, it does not have any blacks bars on the sides, at least according to the provided image. We still do not know when will the Elephone S9 and S9 Pro land, but the company will probably reveal that soon enough, stay tuned. You can also follow Elephone's Facebook page if you'd like, as the company shares plenty of info over there.

Source: Elephone S9 To Arrive In Two Versions With Dual Cameras

Samsung’s new luxurious smart flip phone has the widest aperture camera lens yet

© Provided by The Verge Samsung unveiled a new expensive flip phone, the Samsung W2018, during a launch event in China today, as first reported by GizmoChina. Many of the W2018's specs are on par with the S8 and Note 8, with one exception: the camera lens.

The W2018 is the latest addition to Samsung's W line, which gets updated with a new flip phone every year. It's also the 10th anniversary of the W series, which is still popular in Asia. They are priced higher than typical Samsung global flagships, like the S8 and Note 8. A cheesy Chinese ad for the phone reads, "Hi Bixby, what's true luxury?"

With an aperture of f/1.5, Samsung claims that the W2018's 12-megapixel rear camera can capture sharp images in less light than the cameras on rival phones can. It also has a 5-megapixel front camera. Through software, the camera can sense when there's enough light to switch to f/2.4 and capture more of the background in photos. The phone will launch with Android Nougat, instead of Oreo.

The W2018 has a 4.2-inch full HD AMOLED front display, and a 4.2-inch full HD inner display. As retro touches that make me nostalgic as I type them, it has a directional pad and a number keypad. There's a fingerprint scanner beside the rear camera, like other Samsung models, and a Bixby button for voice assistance. It comes in gold and platinum in a metal-and-glass body protected by Gorilla Glass.

It's equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor with 6GB of RAM and 64GB or 256GB storage options. A 2,300mAh battery powers it all.

As an attempt to sweeten the deal for luxury lovers, Samsung says that W2018 buyers also get perks like concierge help at airports and subways, free software tech support, and a hotline just for VIPs. The phone will get released in China first and the price is yet to be announced, but we can guess it might be even higher than the W2017's price tag of $3,000. That's a lot to pay for tech support and taking clear photos at night.

Source: Samsung's new luxurious smart flip phone has the widest aperture camera lens yet

Razer Phone's camera app gets a performance enhancing update

One of the biggest flaws with the Razer Phone is the camera.

It's lacking in just about every area, especially the app Razer built to go with it. And now, at last, the first post-launch update to the Razer Camera app has pushed out.

Don't get too excited about it though, as this is simply a performance-enhancing and bug fixing update. There are no new features added, so we're still in barebones town when it comes to using the camera.

I've been using the Razer Phone for a month now and coupled with the OTA update the phone received around public launch better camera performance would certainly be expected. However, one thing that's still pretty rough is the seamless zoom using the telephoto lens. It's still really jerky and doesn't feel improved in any way. Honestly, Razer, please just give us a button to switch between lenses. That would be best right now.

It's too early to tell if there is any noticeable improvement in photos so we'll need to play around with it for a couple of days to get a feel for it. But if you're a Razer Phone owner (and you didn't already load up a different camera app) hit the Play Store and grab it now.

Source: Razer Phone's camera app gets a performance enhancing update

Samsung continues to torment us with gorgeous flip phones we can’t buy

Samsung is into flip phones in a big way, although you wouldn't know it to look at the decidedly hinge-less range of handsets bestowed upon the west.

The company stuck it to us again on Friday by unveiling its fanciest flipper yet; albeit with a likely price tag that makes the iPhone X look like a budget phone.

The Samsung W2018 has some amazing specs (and Bixby) to rival the Galaxy S8 and Note 8 ranges, and a camera with a wider aperture than that flagship pair.

Related: Best smartphones

Better still the 12-megapixel rear facing camera has the rarest of rarities, a varible aperture. The W2018 can switch between f/1.5 and f/2.4 depending on the light you're shooting in. Here it is in action (via Weibo)

Other than that, the rear-facing camera is up there with the S8 and Note 8 handsets.

Fear not though, if the variable aperture feature works well, we might end up seeing this on the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S9 handset, which will be unveiled earlier next year.

The front-facing camera is 5-megapixels while the 4.2-inch Super AMOLED display has. 1080p resolution.

In terms of power, it has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 and 6GB RAM, meaning it matches up to the other 2017 headliners.

There's USB-C and NFC connectivity as well as a fingerprint sensor on the back of the device.

The China Telecom exclusive handset is likely to sell for upwards of $1,500 when it goes on sale in the Far East.

Would you be in line for a Samsung W2018 is the company stopped being so damn rude and gave us a chance to buy one? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.

Source: Samsung continues to torment us with gorgeous flip phones we can't buy

Orangutan takes playful selfies of himself monkeying around in the forest, after running away with the hidden camera

AN orangutan captured himself monkeying round in the jungle in these cheeky selfies.

The two and half-year-old primate pinched Ian Woods' hidden camera after he spotted it on a feeding platform in the Tanjung National Park in Borneo.

Ian Wood

The orangutan took a while to figure out how to take the best shot

Ian, a professional wildlife photographer, was trying to get candid snaps of the apes in their natural habitat on his brand new Go Pro.

But this inquisitive monkey quickly spotted it and disappeared in to the jungle to take his own snaps.

After a few awkward pictures showing just the bottom of his chin he soon got the hang of the camera.

Ian who runs charity wildlife photography trips to the jungle was watching a live-stream of the monkey's antics on his phone.

Ian Wood

Miraculously the camera was only slightly damaged by the ape and the pictures could be recovered

Ian Wood

Ian was trying to get a few candid snaps of the great ape in Borneo

Ian Wood

The whole crazy escapade was streamed back to Ian's iPhone

The 53-year-old said: "He was very inquisitive and quickly found my Go Pro on the feeding platform."I was about 20 metres away and streaming the Go Pro through my iPhone.

"He put it in his mouth - to decide if it was food and then disappeared off in to the jungle.

"I was very worried because I did not want a baby orangutan choking to death on my camera but after deciding he could not eat it he just started to play with it.

Ian Wood

Because his mother was hand-reared, the orangutan was not afraid of humans

Ian Wood

The thief was one of 4,000 orangutans in the national park

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"He managed to trigger the "burst" mode which meant the camera started taking hundreds of pictures.

"I thought, 'well that's the end of my Go Pro'."

Fortunately the orangutan – one of 4,000 in the national park - returned after his photoshoot.

Source: Orangutan takes playful selfies of himself monkeying around in the forest, after running away with the hidden camera