The new OnePlus 6 has almost everything you’d want in a flagship phone for a very affordable price, but it is missing one feature we expected: wireless charging.

It’s surprising because the OnePlus 6 has a glass back, a switch from the aluminum shell on the OnePlus 5T and all OnePlus phones before it (except the old OnePlus X). 

Electricity easily passes through glass, whereas it cannot easily pass through metal. It’s one reason why the iPhone X and iPhone 8 switched to all-glass bodies last year. 

OnePlus team decided the feature isn’t for them, though. There are a few reasons for their design decisions, according to the OnePlus representatives we talked to. 

Reason 1: OnePlus 6 Dash Charge is far superior

Why is there no wireless charging? Fast Charging is optimal

This is always the first answer we get. We got the same statement from Google when it launched the Nexus 6P and 5X in 2015: “Our fast charging is just so much better.”

Three years later, OnePlus reps have told us: “Our fast charge is the fastest charging technology on the global market, and can provide a full day’s power in 30 minutes.”

“Wireless charging, in contrast, still provides a slow recharge rate. We are confident that our fast charging provides the best recharge experience on the market.”

It’s true. The Dash Charge plug included in the OnePlus 6 box is a bit bulky, but gets the job done. We went from 0% to 60% in just 30 minutes on our in-depth testing. That won’t last most people a full day (80% is a safer bet), but the numbers don’t lie.

Wireless charging on other devices has taken twice as long in our tests. When we wirelessly charged the Galaxy S9 Plus, it went from 0% to just 19% in 30 minutes. And that was using Samsung’s Fast Charge Wireless Charging Stand. 

When we did it again with a wired connection (USB-C and Samsung’s Adaptive Fast Charging Wall Charger), it went from 0% to 38%.

That’s a big difference.

Reason 2: It’s all about connectivity

Why is there a glass back then?

OnePlus says that the glass body all about connectivity. It’s able to achieve faster LTE speeds through glass, and that metal unibody phones have signal interference.

This makes sense, and it’s the secret reason we’re seeing more phones enveloped in glass. OnePlus wouldn’t comment on why competitors have ditched aluminum, but the days of aluminum phones may be numbered due to inferior signal strength.

It wanted to fit in more bands on the left side of the phone.

OnePlus did give us insight into why the Alert Switch changed from the left side of the phone (on previous models) to the right side (on the OnePlus 6): it wanted to fit in more bands on the left side of the phone. 

As a result, OnePlus 6 has more robust connectivity than the OnePlus 5T, with three additional bands, although it still doesn’t work with Verizon or Sprint in the US.

The value of wireless charging

There’s a vocal minority that insists the lack of wireless charging in the OnePlus 6 is a dealbreaker, but, in truth, the value of it is a bit overrated.

It’s simply too slow to rely on daily. Switching to glass and positioning the Alert Slider to the right side for the sake of a stronger LTE signal, conversely, are more important changes to our everyday needs.

While the OnePlus reps we talked to said it was never really about cost, we do know that each component adds to the price and girth of a phone. Is it worth it? 

For a phone that runs Android P beta and costs $529 (£469, Rs 34,999), the answer is: hardly. Wireless charging in 2018 is merely a nice convenience, with potential not fully realized. It’s something the inevitable OnePlus 6T or OnePlus 7 can remedy.

http://www.techradar.com/news/oneplus-6-doesnt-have-wireless-charging-yet-has-a-glass-back-heres-why

Remember the Meltdown and Spectre fixes that Intel is baking into its processors to make them bulletproof to these vulnerabilities at a silicon level, and which are expected to be incorporated into new CPUs that ship later this year? Well, it’s allegedly the case that those countermeasures won’t defend these chips against a new freshly-discovered Spectre flaw.

Earlier this week came the official revelation that there is a fresh strain of Spectre – Variant 4, known as Speculative Store Bypass – which leverages similar vulnerabilities to the existing variants, although Intel noted it uses a different method to crack into the sensitive data held in your computer’s memory.

And, according to sources who spoke to Threatpost, the aforementioned safeguards which Intel is implementing may protect against Spectre Variants 2 and 3, but not this fourth incarnation.

There may also be further spins along these sort of speculative execution side channel vulnerabilities in the future, the sources further noted (which is precisely why Microsoft, for one, recently kicked off a major bug bounty program with big rewards for those who flag up these issues).

At any rate, Intel isn’t leaving processors undefended against Variant 4, of course, even if it does turn out to be the case that the new integrated silicon-level countermeasures aren’t able to protect against V4.

Medium risk

As the chip manufacturer said earlier this week, the new bug is ‘medium risk’, and it has “already delivered the microcode update for Variant 4 in beta form to OEM system manufacturers and system software vendors, and we expect it will be released into production BIOS and software updates over the coming weeks.”

The issue with this fix is, unlike baked-in protection, there’s a performance price to pay, just like previous Meltdown and Spectre patches. Intel estimates that to be a slowdown of around 2% to 8% based on SYSmark and other benchmarks, but of course mileage will doubtless vary from system to system.

As has been the case in the past, as well, you may see more of a detrimental effect if you’re running an older version of Windows (i.e. pre-Windows 10).

Interestingly, Intel will be delivering this Variant 4 fix as an optional measure, and it will actually be set to off by default. That means users will need to enable protection if they so wish, or carry on regardless and avoid any performance hit, with the potential risk of being exploited down the line.

http://www.techradar.com/news/intels-cpus-with-baked-in-spectre-defenses-could-still-be-haunted-by-new-variant

Turns out, JVC Kenwood isn’t the only one that can do wireless Android Auto. 

And, in fact, Pioneer Electronics is doing it one better by adding wireless Apple CarPlay support to its latest in-car units, too.

Pioneer’s new receivers – the AVIC-W8400NEX, AVIC-W6400NEX and AVH-W4400NEX– are now official after an initial tease at CES 2018. 

In addition to the traditional wired connection to your smartphone via USB, the units, which range in price from $1,200 for the W8499NEX to $700 for the W4400NEX, are able to pick up what your phone is beaming out without a wired connection. 

W8400NEX, the flagship in the series, features a 7-inch capacitive display. Moving down the line, the W6400NEX houses a 6.2-inch clear resistive display, and the W4400NEX, though its display stretches to seven inches, is also a resistive touch screen. 

In addition to making phone calls and playing music for you, the receivers will listen to your commands via Google Assistant and Siri, according to Engadget. 

With the voice assistants in your control, you can do everything from control lights in your home to adjust your thermostat before you even step in the door. 

At the moment, Android Auto Wireless is only supported on the Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P. Eventually, Android P and Android Oreo will bring further wireless support to more smartphones.

http://www.techradar.com/news/wireless-apple-carplay-hits-the-road-in-pioneers-latest-receivers