Huawei has officially announced the P50 Pocket, a clamshell-style folding smartphone that has an external display for quick access to notifications and widgets. The device launches in China, though US sanctions mean the P50 Pocket won’t make any impact in the West. Huawei teased the handset earlier in Dec with a photoshoot focused on the P50 Pocket Premium Edition. This version of the device was created with Dutch designer Iris Herpen. It has a gold or silver finish, and a 3D pattern on the exterior surface that’s typical of Herpen’s work, resembling feathers or leaves. When unfolded, the Pocket’s OLED screen is 6.9-inches in size, with a 21:9 ratio and 120Hz refresh rate. The P50 Pocket’s main camera array has a 40-megapixel main sensor, 13-megapixel wide angle lens, and 32-megapixel “super spectrum” lens which Huawei says captures a greater range of colour. There’s a hole-punch camera built into the main display, but Huawei notes that the phone’s foldable design makes it more convenient to use the main camera for taking selfies, with the 1-inch cover screen doubling up as a viewfinder.

Samsung to launch its first HDR10+ gaming displays

Samsung has announced its first displays that will support the HDR10+ Gaming standard, an expanded games-focused version of HDR10 that can also calibrate automatically. HDR10+ Gaming was initially announced in October, but now Samsung reveals that its new 2022 lineup of QLED TVs (Q70 and above) and gaming monitors will be the first to support the standard. Samsung partnered with Saber Interactive to bring support for HDR10+ to Redout 2 and Pinball FX, which will both be showcased at CES 2022 (as long as the game developer doesn’t drop out). The games Samsung is touting are in contrast to major games available on the competing standard. HDR10+ Gaming has more visual metadata than regular HDR10 (targets four times its peak brightness), supports variable refresh rate (VRR), and auto low latency mode (ALLM) for better looking and performing game visuals. Samsung also says the standard will work “over 120Hz” but does not go into detail. The competing standard, Dolby Vision gaming, is already doing all of this (save for the 120Hz plus claim).

New at-home Covid-19 test kits launched by a former Google and Meta executive

A new medical testing startup called Detect began selling at-home molecular Covid-19 tests through its website earlier in Dec. The company also announced its CEO – Hugo Barra, a former executive at companies like Meta and Google who previously worked on hardware products like smartphones and virtual reality. The timing was sadly serendipitous – the launch coincided with a near-unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases in the United States, driven by the omicron variant. It’s nearly impossible to find an at-home test for the virus. Detect’s website shows that its tests are sold out and notes that “limited quantities” will be available at noon each day. “During this kind of high pressure, high tension period, where people really need these tests, we’re operating just in time – we receive inventory, we put it up for sale and literally ship it out the door,” Barra told. Detect’s multi-use testing platform and one single-use test sells for $75. The company joins a handful of other groups making similar at-home molecular tests.