The 48-megapixel “gimbal camera” below the zoom camera is rather fascinating. As the name suggests, Vivo managed to stuff some sort of “gimbal-like structure” into this camera, so that “it achieves optical stabilisation in the front-back and left-right inclined directions with enhanced performance.” This design was actually inspired by the chameleon’s eyeball, which steadily rotates in a way that helps the reptile lock onto its prey. Think of it as OIS (optical image stabilization) on steroids, if you want, with Vivo’s lab tests claiming that compared to the traditional OIS, this implementation extends the stabilisation angle by 200 percent.

You may recall that last year’s APEX lacked a selfie camera. Well, just as I predicted, Vivo has indeed been working on under-screen camera technology as well. Much like Oppo’s experimental implementation, when the hidden 16-megapixel front camera is activated on the APEX 2020, the screen area right above the camera becomes transparent. This part also features much larger display pixels to allow for better light transmittance — in this case, it’s six times that of the normal parts of the screen.

The rest is then handled by algorithms to make up for any optical interference, and it can also use 4-in-1 pixel-binning to boost sensitivity. I wasn’t convinced by the results I got on Oppo’s prototype device back in December, but if Vivo is still betting on this technology, then maybe there’s still hope.

In addition to camera hardware, this concept phone also has the ability to remove background passersby while filming in real time, meaning strangers will no longer be able to photobomb you, be it intentional or not. Vivo claims that this feature works well “no matter how complicated the background environment is,” so we’ll believe it when we see it.

There’s also another feature called “Voice Tracking Auto-Focus,” which makes use of the phone’s three microphones — two for picking up sound and one for acoustic “auto-focus” — along with image recognition to better focus on the audio of your desired subject. This sounds very much like the “Voice Bokeh” feature on the recent LG V60 ThinQ 5G and is somewhat similar to Samsung Galaxy Note 10’s “Zoom-in Mic.”

Following last year’s waterfall screens on Vivo’s very on NEX 3 5G and Huawei’s Mate 30 Pro, this year the APEX 2020 has brought us a “120-degree FullView Edgeless Display.” It’s rather self-explanatory: this 6.45-inch 2,330 x 1,080 AMOLED panel wraps around both edges at 120 degrees, thus beating the 88-degree bend on the waterfall screens and rendering the bezels truly invisible when viewed from the front. In fact, you can even just about see this screen’s two glowing edges from the back of the phone.

As cool as this looks, there’s the inevitable question of whether this would increase the chances of damaging the screen — along with the virtual pressure-sensing buttons on the sides — when dropped. Perhaps it won’t make much of a difference compared to existing curved screens (except for Xiaomi’s indefinitely-delayed Mix Alpha), but such an exaggerated bend does make it a lot more difficult to find suitable screen protectors, if any.

Another new feature hidden underneath the screen is Vivo’s third-generation Screen SoundCasting technology, which eliminates the need of speaker holes and thus improving protection against liquids plus dust. Rather than casting sound through the glass body like on last year’s APEX, this time it’s the screen that’s doing the job (remember the LG G8?), and apparently this new solution delivers better bass as well as sound directivity.

One problem I had with the APEX 2019 was the use of pogo pins on the otherwise clean glass body. Luckily, those are gone on the APEX 2020 thanks to Vivo’s impressive “Wireless Super FlashCharge 60W.” Until now, the fastest wireless charging available out there is Xiaomi’s 30W solution, and Oppo has also shown off its very own 30W wireless VOOC demo, with Huawei’s 27W solution for the Mate 30 Pro being the runner-up. 60W is obviously a huge leap from those figures, though for some reason, Vivo only used a 2,000mAh battery as an example for charging time: 20 minutes. We can’t just double this figure to get an estimation for a proper phone battery, but knowing that Xiaomi’s 30W solution takes 69 minutes to fully charge up a 4,000mAh cell, chances are Vivo’s upcoming tech will take much less than that.

It should be no surprise that the APEX 2020 runs on Android 10 and is powered by Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 865 chipset, which is paired with a 5G modem. Not that this matters since the device will never hit the market, but it packs 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage space — maybe those are the bare minimum for this year’s flagships, in Vivo’s view. Hopefully we’ll be seeing some of these next-gen features on a new smartphone some time this year.

In all, EA says the tournament circuit will consist of 12 global live events, including four “Majors,” in 2020. Some of which the company will host itself, with the remaining ones put together by esports organizations like PGL and GLL. The first three Majors will feature 100 three-person teams, while the fourth and final one, the Apex Legends Global Series Championship, will spotlight the top 60 teams in the world. At that event, there will be a $1 million prize pool, with more than $3 million on the line throughout the year.

The circuit is open to players from more than 60 countries around the world — as long as they meet certain eligibility requirements. Notably, the league will only be open to PC players initially.

“This is only the first step in the Apex Legends Global Series journey and we’ll have more to discuss about console competitions in the future,” Todd Sitrin, senior vice-president of EA’s competitive gaming division, told Engadget when we asked him about the eligibility requirement. He also noted console players can still take part in the league and play with a controller as long as they have access to a PC.

To compete in the Majors, most teams will first need to first qualify through an online tournament. They’ll then need to make their way through live regional “Challenger” and global “Premier” events. At each step, they’ll earn points. The teams with the most points will get an invite to the Majors.

While the league’s total prize pool is modest by the standards of the biggest esports tournaments (the team that won this summer’s Dota 2 International tournament took home $15 million), it’s certainly a start. And whether or not you personally have an interest in Apex‘s competitive community, it is a way to keep players invested in the game — which is something it needs to find ways to do. With approximately 70 million players globally, Apex is one of EA’s most important properties. However, it’s in an extremely competitive market that includes games like Fortnite and Overwatch, which have growing communities of 200 million and 50 million players respectively.

The company will host the first online tournament on January 25th, with registration opening earlier in the month. You’ll be able to watch the first Major event starting on March 13th.

This eScooter is Ninebot’s first one intended for mid- to long-range use, and it can hit 24 MPH in four seconds. There are five variants, with a top-of-the-line E200P model that has a 62 MPH top speed and estimated 124 mile range from its 54Ah battery.

Both the scooter and moped connect to the Segway-Ninebot app to enable various smart features including a “triple GPS” anti-theft system. There’s no word yet on pricing or exact release date, We’ll see these next month at CES, along a couple of concepts: an Apex electric motorcycle capable of 125 MPH and 0 – 37 MPH acceleration in 3.2 seconds, as well as an eScooter T that adds self-balancing and autonomous capabilities. The eScooter T can be remote controlled via app, sort of like Tesla’s Smart Summon — but with a vehicle that’s much smaller.

With the start of Apex Legends Season 3 just days away, developer Respawn Entertainment has saved the biggest surprise for last. When the new season starts next Tuesday, players will get to check out the game’s brand-new map, World’s Edge. Respawn shared a cinematic trailer this morning that helps give a sense of the new battleground.

As an attack-minded Apex Legends player, I likely won’t play with Wattson much; Octane is still the way to go for me. But I can see how she could be come a strong asset for any squad, especially for players who master her abilities, which will come in super handy to protect and support your team. More importantly, though, I’m just glad to see that we’ll soon have a new face in Apex Legends, along with the daily and weekly challenges that Respawn has promised for Battle Pass Season 2. I only wish my fellow Apex Legends players didn’t have to wait until July 2nd to play with Wattson.

Aside from the new character, I’m also looking forward to Respawn making the Mozambique shotgun a useful weapon, which the developer hinted at during today’s EA Play event. It’s unclear what the plans are, exactly, but let’s just hope the changes at least make it more powerful than just punching someone. Because, seriously, while the Mozambique is great meme fodder, that gun may as well not even exist in the game right now.

To jog your memory, APEX is Vivo’s line of concept phones, with the edition that was announced earlier this year being its second model. The pitch? It was some crazy all-glass “Super Unibody” sans buttons nor ports, and boy did it look slick in the press shots. It wasn’t until yesterday — weeks after MWC wrapped — when I finally got to hold a unit in my hands. Just as I was starting to appreciate the premium feel of this rare device, though, my unit slipped off my hand and destroyed another APEX in a display case, an accident for which I apologized profusely.

To be fair, most glass phones would be unlikely to survive the impact of another phone landing on a corner. And yet, the fallen APEX remained intact, which suggests the “G2 curved-surface waterdrop glass” does serve its purpose. Specifically, the glass thickens around the phone’s bezel, hence the waterdrop shape in a cross-section. Still, such protection comes at a cost: it requires a complex process combining hot-bending techniques and CNC glass shaping methods.

Seemingly unfazed by the damaged prototype, product manager Ding Guanli told Engadget that there’s a good chance that Vivo will mass-produce an all-glass device like this. Given the unfortunate incident, Ding assured me that the mass-produced version will somehow be more resilient to external impact. Fragility aside, the APEX still serves its purpose of showcasing Vivo’s main areas of interest when it comes to future mobile tech. Or as the exec put it, “we want to do something that hasn’t been done before.”

This Android Pie device has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset, 5G radio, 12GB of RAM, 512GB of storage space and 12MP/13MP dual rear cameras, but none of that matters. It’s more about the list of “firsts” here, including the lack of ports and physical buttons; then in-display dual-fingerprint reader covering the entire FullView screen; the “MagPort” connector on the back to replace the conventional USB port; and “Body SoundCasting Technology” taking the place of conventional speakers.

Save for the 5G connectivity and an eSIM feature which I couldn’t test, those features worked surprisingly well during my hour-long demo. What impressed me most was the new full-display fingerprint scanner, which can read two fingerprints simultaneously anywhere on the 6.39-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen. Better yet, the registration process only required two taps for each fingerprint, which is a huge improvement over the 10-plus taps required on existing phones with similar tech.

Another benefit of having an all-screen in-display fingerprint reader is that you’ll be able to unlock and toggle an app in just one tap. Imagine the screen waking up automatically as you lift the phone, and it shows your favorite apps or shortcuts on the unlock screen, then it’s just a matter of tapping a registered finger onto your desired icon to launch the app right away.

As awesome as this beefed-up in-display fingerprint reader sounds, Ding admitted that this essentially requires an array of optical sensors covering the entire screen, which translates to a notable bump in production cost. As such, there’s no word on when we’ll see this technology baked into a mass-produced smartphone.

I would have also liked to test this new fingerprint reader under varied lighting conditions, mainly because this became a pain point on my OnePlus 6T and Huawei Mate 20 Pro. That said, I’ve been mainly using the NEX Dual Display Edition over the past few days, and its fifth-gen in-display fingerprint reader has so far been a godsend. As such, Vivo likely won’t disappoint when it eventually brings the full-display version to the masses.

The Peacekeeper shotgun is also slightly weaker, but it hasn’t been nerfed directly. Instead, the Shotgun Bolt attachments don’t increase the rate of fire as significantly as they did before, but only when paired with the Peacekeeper specifically (leaving other shotguns unaffected). Perhaps the biggest hit on both guns, though, is that they’re now harder to find, while energy weapons and ammo boxes are no longer quite so rare. Respawn Entertainment explained in a Reddit post (where you’ll find further details on the changes) that it decided to tweak the strongest weapons and leave everything else as it is to preserve the game’s “power curve.”

In other words, guns like the P2020 pistol and Mozambique shotgun are supposed to be weaker, and something you hope to discard ASAP. In the same way you’re always after armor, equipment and attachment upgrades, maintaining a gun tier list of sorts (because everyone has their preferences) encourages players to move around the map and hunt for kills in order to improve their loadout. Respawn also says its general approach to balance is to make minor, impactful changes that have been thoroughly playtested, giving players ample opportunity to master weapons and characters without a balance patch meddling with the metagame every week.

While there are no changes to the legends themselves in this balance patch, Respawn has confirmed a few minor tweaks to character abilities will be introduced alongside the Season 1 Battle Pass. More importantly, though, the same update will attempt to address the issue of the larger legends having unfairly bloated hitboxes. As it stands, the bigger the legend, the easier they are to shoot. The game is designed that way, but players have complained that the benefits of using the larger characters don’t feel like they make up for the fact they’re bigger targets. Respawn’s going to start by making small adjustments to the size of hitboxes, but may consider other changes like reducing incoming damage or increasing the power of abilities.

Again, Respawn doesn’t want to drastically alter the feel of the game with any one update, which seems sensible when you’re currently the hottest battle royale title that’s attract over 50 million players just a month after release.