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Vue lecture

The Selfie Camera on Your Phone Has Always Been in the Wrong Place

Most budget phones have one screen you stare at and a back you think about. The Honor X5d s makes that back worth a second look by placing a 2.01-inch touchscreen next to its rear camera. It shows the time and alerts, handles music, and helps you take selfies with the better camera. That’s a useful design trick for an inexpensive phone.

The camera island looks like it was built around that display, rather than having a screen tacked on afterward. Two dark circles sit beside it, although Honor lists only one rear camera. Forest Green makes the island pop against a pale back, while Midnight Black keeps things subdued. Either way, the phone’s most interesting feature is visible before you even wake it.

Designer: Honor

That rear screen makes sense when you’re trying to get everyone into a photo. Instead of extending your arm, guessing at the framing, and discovering that someone’s head is missing, you can see the shot while using the 50-megapixel rear camera. A tap on the back takes the picture. There’s also a 5-megapixel front camera, but this arrangement gives selfies another option.

Of course, a phone can’t spend all day posing for pictures. Leave the X5d s face down on a desk, and its little window can still show the time or a call alert. Music controls live there too, so skipping a song doesn’t require turning the whole device over. It’s a small convenience, but those are often the ones you keep using.

On the other side, there’s a 6.78-inch LCD for more than a glance. Its size makes room for videos, messages, and the photos you took, although the 1,576×720 resolution isn’t particularly sharp for such a large panel. The rear display doesn’t fix that limitation. It simply gives quick tasks their own place instead of asking the bigger screen to do everything.

There’s a 6,000mAh battery to keep both screens running, though the phone’s 15W wired charging might test your patience when it finally needs a refill. Honor also provides 64GB of storage and a three-card slot, letting you add a microSD card without sacrificing either SIM. That’s handy if you keep your photos and music on the phone rather than in the cloud.

Inside, the Unisoc T610 processor and 4GB of RAM tell a more familiar budget-phone story. The side-mounted fingerprint reader is convenient, but there’s nothing particularly exotic about the rest of the hardware. In South Africa, the 4GB/64GB version costs R2,499 (about $150), which puts the extra screen in reach of people who aren’t shopping for a flagship just to get a conversation-starting feature.

That display won’t replace your phone’s main screen, nor will it make the X5d s a better choice for demanding games. But it changes the small interactions that fill a day: a glance at a call, a tap to skip a song, a preview before taking a selfie. At this price, giving the back something useful to do feels refreshing.

The post The Selfie Camera on Your Phone Has Always Been in the Wrong Place first appeared on Yanko Design.

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4 Times a Day the StillFrame Headphones Switch Jobs For You

A lot of people spend the entire eight hours of a working day just sitting in front of their screens. You probably have your speakers on or put on your headphones to listen to some background music or for online meetings. But for those of us who don’t want to spend one-third of the day like this, we go through different “phases,” which means that the audio that accompanies us throughout the day also changes. From commuting to work to sitting down at your workstation to going on a dinner date and finally relaxing at home, you don’t want the same setting all day.

That’s the more interesting way to look at the StillFrame Headphones. Rather than asking them to create one uninterrupted listening session, imagine taking them through a day full of stops and starts. They offer Noise Cancelling and Transparency modes, Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity, a USB-C wired option, and dual microphones with noise control. Each feature has a place in that routine, even if no two days follow quite the same route.

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The first part of the day for most of those who go to a regular office is the morning commute. You might be on a noisy train with a lot of people talking or walking along a busy street with a lot of city noise. StillFrame’s Noise Cancelling mode will help you focus on what you’re listening to and drown out some of the chaotic noise around you. It is always there as an option for times when you want to immerse yourself in your playlist or the next chapter of the book you’re listening to.

When you do need to let the world back in, you don’t have to turn off your podcast episode at a crucial moment. The headphones have a Transparency Mode option that’s there with a tap for moments when you need to order a coffee or you’re walking somewhere that requires your full attention. Just tap between the two modes for what you need at the moment without having to pause or stop what you’re listening to. It’s also a good reminder that the world isn’t always a distraction.

When you finally reach your office, you might have a scheduled meeting sometime during the day. StillFrame is useful even for work things, as it has dual microphones with noise control so you can shift from consuming audio to communicating with others using the headphones. That doesn’t mean every conversation will sound perfect in every environment. It does mean you can move from a podcast or playlist to a meeting without reaching for a separate pair of headphones just because your role in the audio has changed.

When you finally get home to your cozy bed, you sometimes still want to continue listening to that audiobook, start a new podcast episode, or let some soothing music lull you to sleep. You can choose to continue using your StillFrame headphones over Bluetooth 5.4 or use the USB-C wired option if you’d rather plug in. Either way, the wired option is an alternative to wireless listening and not a reason to assume the headphones will work after their battery runs out.

A few other details help round out the picture. StillFrame weighs 103 grams and has a stainless-steel headband, a minimalist frame, and 40mm drivers. Its ear cushions attach magnetically, making them easy to swap; the white model comes with extra pairs in light gray and turquoise. Battery life is rated at up to 24 hours per charge, though actual use may vary. Those details aren’t the main story here, but they help explain what you’re carrying from one part of the day to the next.

No pair of headphones can make a commute quiet, a meeting short, or a busy day slow down. What StillFrame Headphones offer is a set of ways to respond as those moments change. You can focus, let the world in, take a call, or settle into an evening listen. The best setting isn’t one you choose in the morning and keep all day. It’s the one that fits where you are now.

The post 4 Times a Day the StillFrame Headphones Switch Jobs For You first appeared on Yanko Design.

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