Motorola is patching a hole in its US lineup with a non-folding flagship phone, but the pricing puts this device dangerously close to the company's expensive tablet-style foldable. The long-rumored Motorola Signature 27 is real, featuring top-of-the-line specs, a super-bright OLED screen, and a ton of cameras. But all this high-end hardware won't come cheap in the age of AI. Motorola's new flagship smartphone will run a whopping $1,600 when it arrives later this month.

The Signature 27 is a new take on flagship smartphones from Motorola, leaving behind the middling legacy of the Edge series. However, you'll still immediately clock this as a Motorola device due to its distinctive use of materials and Pantone colors. The phone is metal, ceramic, and glass, but the backs are textured polycarbonate. The device comes in Coal Smoke (black) or Capulet Olive (green) colors. The former has a "tactical weave" finish inspired by automotive design, and the latter is "textile-inspired."

This device will include the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, the most powerful mobile chip Qualcomm offers right now. While some smartphones have flirted with 16GB of memory, that's less common these days. The Signature 27 will have 12GB like Samsung's base model flagships. However, there's not going to be an upgrade option for more. You will, however, get a generous 512GB of storage.

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The first modern smartphones had 3.5-inch screens, which can be hard to remember in today's world of gargantuan glass slabs. Sure, people talk about wanting smaller phones, but will they buy one? Enough Phone is betting they will. The company will begin taking preorders for its first device today, which is built around a petite 5.3-inch screen that is apparently the smallest it could find with decent performance metrics.

The company's cheeky name is reflected in its approach to phone design. A flagship killer this is not, but it's probably "enough" for most people. It has a mid-range MediaTek processor, a single rear-facing camera, a polycarbonate body, and a fingerprint sensor in the power button.

With that compact screen, the Enough Phone will be dwarfed by almost every existing smartphone. While it's a bit thicker, the device has almost the same footprint as the iPhone 13 Mini. Thinness takes a hit, as the designers have opted to make the battery user-replaceable. Like the Fairphone, you'll just have to remove a few screws to get the back cover off.

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The man who helped develop the technology for liquid crystal displays — the screens in flat-panel televisions and laptops — has died at 101.

© via Hilsum Family

The man who helped develop the technology for liquid crystal displays — the screens in flat-panel televisions and laptops — has died at 101.

© via Hilsum Family

The recent updates to Google Maps and Apple’s Maps use artificial (and human) intelligence for better navigation, planning and travel guides.

© Apple

The recent updates to Google Maps and Apple’s Maps use artificial (and human) intelligence for better navigation, planning and travel guides.

© Apple

Running an app ecosystem has gotten a lot more complex for Google after its loss in the Epic Games antitrust case. While US users can access app stores in Google Play by court order, international users will use Google's voluntary Registered App Stores program. Google has announced that stores wishing to be part of that program are now free to apply, and support will roll out to some Android devices later this year.

App stores accepted into the program will enjoy preferential treatment on the Android platform. Users of approved stores will be able to install apps with a single click, similar to the experience in the Play Store. These stores will also be allowed to update apps silently in the background like Google's store does.

"In March, we announced the Registered App Stores program to give third-party app stores a more streamlined way to reach users while maintaining the safety and security of the Android ecosystem," said a Google spokesperson. "Eligible app stores outside the US can now apply to register their stores ahead of the new simplified installation experience rolling out to users later this year."

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The iPhone Duo launched last week, offering anyone willing to spend $2,000 a chance to experience Apple's first foldable phone. For some early buyers, the morning after isn't going great. Despite the company's big talk about its "precision-engineered" hinge, some devices appear to have a hardware flaw that destroys the device's impressive internal display within hours (or minutes) of use.

The Internet is currently overflowing with images of busted iPhone Duos, all sporting almost identical damage. The OLED is marred by several bright lines originating just below the midpoint of the display. These bands of damaged pixels extend all the way to the bottom and right edges. Some units also show lines of dead pixels following the crease from the top to the area where the bright lines begin.

Anyone who has seen a damaged OLED panel will be familiar with this type of defect. When the layers of the display are damaged, the pixels no longer receive the correct voltage to illuminate them. Instead, they get the full driving voltage and are permanently on at maximum brightness. Some pixels can get no voltage, leaving them totally black. The only fix is to replace the OLED, but swapping the iPhone Duo's screen reportedly costs half as much as the device itself.

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Streaming services can introduce you to a wonderland of nearly unlimited audio, but downloading your digital collection has advantages.

© Apple

With phone and computer prices soaring, it helps to know the true cost of owning electronics so you can bring those numbers down.

© Sisi Yu