US House of Representatives bans TikTok on its devices

TikTok is now banned on any device owned and managed by the US House of Representatives, according to Reuters. The House’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) reportedly told all lawmakers and their staff in an email that they must delete the app from t…

LG teases a smaller smartphone camera module with true optical telephoto zoom

LG may not make smartphones anymore, but it’s still building components for them. The company’s LG Innotek arm just unveiled a periscope-style true optical zoom camera module with a 4-9 times telephoto range. That would allow smartphone cameras to reta…

LG’s 2023 soundbars offer Dolby Atmos and wireless TV connections

Keeping its tradition of making several announcements before CES, LG has teased its 2023 soundbar lineup ahead of the big show. The company says the SC9 and SE6 models will be on display in Vegas, both equipped with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X for immersive sound. Details are scarce for now on the specifics, but LG did elaborate on some of the key features both soundbars will offer. 

First, the company says the SC9 and SE6 will have Wow Orchestra, a tool that “utilizes every one of the two products’ audio channels to create an expanded soundstage with improved height, depth and power.” That somewhat vague description is all we have to go on until we hear these in action, but LG did explain that the feature will arrive after launch via software update. The two soundbars will also use Wowcast to connect to LG TVs wirelessly over WiFi. Once synced up, you can access audio settings through the Home Dashboard on those displays (also coming via future update). 

A Triple Sound Optimizer feature “boosts” the performance of the SC9 and SE6 while Smart Up-mixer turns stereo audio into multi-channel surround sound. LG says its AI Room Calibration tailors each soundbar to the place you put them, improving low-end frequency range and subdividing the front channels for better balance, clearer vocals and enhanced dialogue. The SC9 and SE6 also have an AI Sound Pro feature that can analyze content — movies, games sports or music — and automatically apply the best settings. 

LG says the SC9 and SE6 were designed with a minimalist focus so that they might blend in better with a range of home furnishings. The company explains that a bracket for the SC9 attaches to LG’s 2022 and 2023 OLED C series TVs to further eliminate clutter. LG didn’t elaborate much on the differences between the two units other than the fact that the SE6 is “ideal for smaller spaces” due to its compact stature. Despite the smaller size, that soundbar still packs four passive radiators for “powerful bass,” according to LG, and Dolby Atmos support is still onboard. 

The company didn’t say whether or not either of these will come with a subwoofer or which additional speakers they’ll be compatible with for a true surround sound setup. But, we expect all of the finer details on that, as well as info on connectivity and availability, when we arrive in Las Vegas next week. 

OnePlus 11 will debut in China on January 4th

The OnePlus 11 is launching globally on February 7th, but the flagship smartphone will actually make debut in China earlier on January 4th, OnePlus announced. The company has also announced pretty much all the specs, including the processor, RAM and storage, showing it’ll be right up there with other high-end smartphones. 

The OnePlus 11 will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, already announced with recent Xiaomi and Vivo phones. That chip promises not just the usual speed improvements, but upgrades to AI, camera features, 5G speeds and graphics, including ray tracing support. 

OnePlus 11 set to debut on January 4th with high-end specs
OnePlus

You’ll get 12 or 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, along with up 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage, and it should have OnePlus’s Color 13 version of Android 13 right out of the box. Full camera specs have yet to be released, but we’re seeing three cameras on a circular module with Hasselblad branding front and center. 

Along with the smartphone (shown in green and black colors), OnePlus is expected to unveil the Buds Pro 2 and TWS earbuds on January 4th, and also internationally in February. We should learn all the details (perhaps apart from international pricing) at the event on January 4th, though you’ll have to pay close attention with CES 2023 going on at the same time.