OnePlus Pad Android Tablet: Details, Specs, Release Date
There’s no shortage of tablets in the world, from the ever-dominant iPad to a variety of Android options and Fire tabs to niche weirdos like the E-ink and stylus Kindle Scribe. Now OnePlus, a Chinese manufacturer known for its fast, solid smartphones, is throwing its own Android tablet on the table. The company announced the OnePlus Pad this week, along with the second generation of its Buds Pro Bluetooth earbuds, and an all-new mechanical keyboard.
The aluminum tablet looks like a sleek addition to the often clunky world of Android tablets. Most notable is its 11.6-inch display with an aspect ratio of 7:5. That’s strange for a tablet; most iPad screens are 4:3, which is the same as a classic television set. When you hold the OnePlus Pad in landscape mode, the tablet’s screen should be a little taller than you might be used to on a tablet.
Photo: OnePlus
There’s a 13-megapixel camera on the back of the tablet (and an 8-megapixel selfie camera on the front).
Also notable is the matching keyboard that attaches magnetically, and the stylus for pen input. Both are sold separately. OnePlus claims battery life is good for more than 12 hours of continuous video playback; you can watch Seven Samurai three times plus a few episodes of The Office before you reload. It is available in one color (green) and will be available for pre-order in April for an undetermined price. Ominously in the background here is the idea that Google is expected to debut its latest Android tablet later this year, possibly in May.
Here are some other stories from the world of consumer technology.
Netflix
Last week, Netflix accidentally leaked the news that it was going to crack down on password sharing. Then it hurried back to a public outcry. But now Netflix has officially announced that it is implementing rules that prevent people who don’t live in the same house from sharing a single Netflix account. The unfortunate first victims of this policy are subscribers in Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Portugal.
In its announcement, Netflix outlined its plans for limiting account sharing. Now anyone not living in the same household as the account holder will be asked to transfer their profiles to a new paid account or be cut off. Netflix says the restrictions will roll out more widely within months. It also said the service will “refine these new features based on member feedback.” As you might imagine, that feedback was not good.
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The streaming service has been building on this for a while, testing these restrictions in countries with a smaller customer base. The crackdown hasn’t come for the US yet, but it would seem about as likely as Netflix canceling one of its shows after a single season. (That is, very likely.)
Apple tests Buy now, pay later
Buy-now, pay-later plans are all the rage, allowing customers to pay for things in interest-free installments rather than one bank-breaking lump sum. Financial services like Klarna and Affirm have become very popular among cash-strapped consumers, who have even used it to buy food and holiday gifts. Of course they have problems. (Who doesn’t like the idea of not paying full price and then potentially being saddled with debt months later?)
Apple is obviously keen to join the BNPL game under its own proprietary system. Apple first announced the feature during its 2022 Worldwide Developers Conference, but it has yet to come to the public. Recently, Apple expanded its testing of the plan to employees at its retail stores, a move that often preceded other Apple service announcements. This seems to indicate that the wider rollout of its BNPL plan is imminent.
The Crypto Keeper
Back then, all the cool child criminals were using crypto. Blockchain-based currencies like Bitcoin were considered an anonymous, untraceable means of payment. Would-be lawbreakers can use crypto to purchase even the darkest dark web contraband with impunity, their identity shrouded in the mystery guaranteed by their means of payment. Or so many people thought.
It turns out that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are in fact completely traceable. You just have to know where to look. And unfortunately for some crypto-wielding criminals, federal law enforcement knew exactly how to track them down.
This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior writer and author of the book Tracers in the Dark Andy Greenberg delves into the cat-and-mouse game that exposes crypto cybercrime, and why even the people who depended on the complexity of crypto the most failed. to understand the digital trail it leaves behind.
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