Tech Round Up Week 3 June 2020: BTS Limited Edition Phone, Computex 2020 Cancelled and More

Like many other tech conferences, organizers of Computex 2020 have decided to cancel this year’s event as a result of the global outbreak of the coronavirus. The event was originally postponed from June to September. The organizers explained that travel restrictions, a result of the pandemic, would make it hard for participants around the world to attend the show in Taipei. The next Computex event will be scheduled for early June 2021.

Zoom announced that users that are using the video platform for free will no longer have encrypted calls. Currently, those that use Zoom for free only need to provide an email address. The new update will require users to provide more information to verify their identity.

The company said this update is due to the fact that they wanted to be able to comply and work with local law enforcement agencies and FBI in the event that Zoom would be used for malicious reasons.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 is scheduled to launch on August 5 together with Galaxy Fold 2, Galaxy Z Flip 5G, and Galaxy Tab S7. Recently, serial leaker Jon Prosser leaked the 4 colours of Samsung’s next huge flagship phone. Black will be an option, there will be a white/grey version as well.

There will be a potential copper colour and a mysterious mint green shade. For the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G, there will be only two colours, Black and Copper. This sounds like an exciting line-up for the Samsung Galaxy series.

The latest Samsung special edition phone is a unique iridescent purple Galaxy S20 Plus BTS Edition. It comes with a matching set of the Galaxy Buds Plus, equipped with a decorative BTS and heart icons on each of the earbuds. The phone has a BTS logo at the back and the band’s heart iconography on the camera array.

The special edition phone also includes BTS-inspired Android themes and a pre installed copy of the Weverse app, a social media platform used by BTS band members to communicate with fans and share content. Photo cards of the band are included in the box as well. Both the phone and earbuds cost $50 more than the standard S20 Plus and standard Galaxy Buds respectively. BTS fans will definitely be looking forward to when it launches!

Lenovo has announced the Flex 5G will launch on June 18 this year. It is one of the first laptops equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx 5G chipset and Lenovo claims the device will hold up to 24 hours battery life after a single charge. The laptop’s processor comes paired with Qualcomm’s X55 5G modem, which means that it supports both sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G.

The built-in support for 5G connectivity also enables the device to reach download speeds of around 4Gb/s which potentially means that you can download a full movie in seconds. For people in America, the Lenovo Flex 5G is available to pre-order from Verizon starting today priced at USD$1,399.99. Launches in other markets will be coming later in the year.

Brazilians will soon be able to make payments via WhatsApp, not only to businesses but also to their friends and family. Enabled by Facebook Pay, users on WhatsApp will be protected by a six digit pin or fingerprint verification requirement whenever a payment is being made. Debit or credit cards from Banco do Brasil, Nubank, and Sicredi on the Visa and Mastercard networks are supported, and WhatsApp is working with Cielo, the leading payments processor in Brazil.

Sending money or making purchases will be free, but businesses will have to pay a processing fee similar to transaction fees with credit card payments. Unfortunately, there are no plans to bring payments on WhatsApp to Singapore at this time.