Nother CarGuy

OnePlus warmed up the crowd a few weeks ago by announcing its three year, $150 million partnership with legendary camera maker Hasselblad. Hasselblad cameras flew on Apollo 11 to the moon, now they come equipped on the latest Snapdragon 888 flagship. The OnePlus 9 Pro introduces Fluid Display 2.0 and Warp Charge 50 Wireless charging. It also has a bespoke Sony IMX789 image sensor in its main camera. The vanilla model has its own upgrades. The headlining feature this generation is the camera that Hasselblad helped develop and the OnePlus 9 Pro has the best version. On its first go-around in the smartphone segment, the Swedish camera maker focused on improving the color science of the two phones. The main camera uses a IMX789 sensor that was co-developed with Sony. It’s a large 1/1.43” sensor with 1.12 µm pixels, 48MP resolution. It features the latest camera technologies, including dual native ISO, Digital Overlap HDR (DOL-HDR) and 2x2 on-chip lens (OCL). And OIS, of course. This sensor...

OnePlus has announced its latest smartphone — actually, it announced two. The first is the familiar-looking OnePlus 7, which will be available later this year in select markets. But the central focus is the all-new OnePlus 7 Pro, which is available this week everywhere OnePlus phones are sold, including on T-Mobile in the US. Both new models bring the latest processor from Qualcomm, multiple camera arrays, large screens, large batteries, stereo speakers, and OnePlus’ proprietary fast-charging systems. But while the OnePlus 7 retains the exact same design as last year’s OnePlus 6T, complete with a 1080p display and “teardrop”-style notch cutout, the 7 Pro debuts a number of firsts for the company. It’s the first truly full-screen OnePlus phone without a notch or other screen cutout for a front camera, it’s the first OnePlus phone with a screen resolution higher than 1080p, and it’s the first OnePlus phone with three cameras on the back (in a wide, standard, and telephoto configurat...

Jean-Marc Gales, Lotus CEO, has reportedly confirmed that the company is working on two new sports cars as investment from their new owner, Geely, begins to materialize. This will include a new flagship model that’s set to arrive in 2020, as reported back in January, and will be positioned above the Evora in the company’s lineup. The new Lotus sports car will be essentially a modern-day version of the iconic Esprit. Gales said to Autocar that the new model will be a significant development, sitting “in an upper segment, above the Evora”, and it will “take the Evora a step further” and will be lighter. The company’s boss didn’t divulge the power output or with which cars the new Lotus flagship will likely compete but he said that the new car will achieve a class-leading status via “efficiency, aerodynamics, agility and braking working together in balance”. Fewer details became known about the second sports car, which is likely to be a two-seater. We don’t know yet if it will ...

Aston Martin sure is busy at the moment. While one would expect the British marque to have its hands full with the recent release of the new Vantage and the DB11 not too long ago, Aston’s busy at work on what they’re calling a flagship super GT. While we don’t know a lot, we do know that the car will be dubbed the DBS Superleggera. Car enthusiasts and Aston Martin fans won’t have to reach into the deep recesses of their mind to know that the DBS nameplate has played a large role in the automaker’s history. The three letters have been a part of the brand for nearly 50 years. In 1967, Aston unveiled the first vehicle to have a DBS badge. More recently, we saw the nameplate return for the range-topping variant of the DB9 in 2007. Well DBS fans, the name’s making a comeback. And it’s bringing something even more iconic with it – a Superleggera badge. Now that might throw even some of the astute fans for a loop. Aston Martin tacked the Superleggera moniker onto vehicles like the DB...

Cadillac doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to halo vehicles as both the ELR and XLR failed to catch on with consumers. Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen is apparently undeterred as he used the 2018 Automotive Forum in New York to confirm the automaker is working on a new halo model which will “stun the world.” The executive asked people to be patient as he can’t talk specifics yet but the company has released a handful of high-profile concepts over the past few years including the Ciel, Elmiraj and Escala. The latter concept’s styling was recently applied to the 2019 CT6 V-Sport which will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show later this week. While de Nysschen wasn’t ready to go into details, he said “I do not think the world needs yet another large, three box conventional sedan.” He went on to say such models are in a “segment we used to own” but the market is now occupied by vehicles such as the Audi A8, BMW 7-Series and Mercedes S-Class. His statement seems...

Lexus will reveal a new flagship SUV concept called LF-1 at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show and decided to tease us with a partial photo of it. All we know so far is the LF-1 was designed at the CALTY design studio in Southern California and is expected to showcase the next step in Lexus’ current design language, with the company describing it as a "crossover with no limits". “Lexus will reveal a striking new concept that reflects the next genre in luxury crossover vehicles. Created by the CALTY design studio in Southern California, the Lexus LF-1 Limitless is a flagship crossover that redefines the boundaries of luxury,” the company said in their short press release. So it looks like Lexus is getting ready to enter the luxury SUV game, with the single teaser image revealing a sloping roofline which means that the LF-1 concept will most likely be a big SUV Coupe of some sort. Everything will be much clearer once Lexus pulls the wraps off the LF-1 SUV concept at the ...

The HTC U11 has been one of the best flagship Android phones of 2017, and now it has been upgraded and enhanced as a new U11 Plus model, freshly announced by HTC today. What are the big differences? The display is the most obvious one, moving from 5.5 inches up to 6 inches, though HTC has shrunk the bezels to fit the new phone into a physical footprint that’s only slightly larger. A new, substantially bigger battery has also been added, and the two changes together have led to a subtle alteration of the design. But, all in all, this device is exactly what its name suggests: a U11 with more of the good stuff and a topping of Android 8 Oreo to sweeten the deal. For US readers, though, the biggest disappointment is probably that HTC has no plans to bring this device Stateside. It’s intended for other markets around Europe, Asia, and the rest of the world. Firstly, the good stuff. The new screen size and 18:9 aspect ratio might lead you to think this is another of those ill-fa...

Infiniti has just dropped the first teaser images of its upcoming 2018 QX80, which is set to make its debut at the Dubai International Motor Show on November 14. Just as we expected, the new generation QX80 looks heavily inspired by the QX80 Monograph Concept that was first seen at this year’s New York Auto Show. The company’s large SUV is set to adopt the concept’s fluid styling, retaining features like the shape of the front grille and that of the headlights as portrayed in these images. These changes are destined to make the new QX80 a much more attractive proposition than its predecessor, whose bulky exterior design didn’t win many fans. However and despite the all-new design, Infiniti is reportedly going to keep the existing platform as the basis of the new QX80, as well as the same powertrain. This should mean that the new 2018 Infiniti QX80 will be powered by a 5.6-liter V8 with 400hp and 413lb-ft of torque. The interior will be overhauled, packing all the be...

Changes are on the way to Sony’s smartphone lineup. The company is discontinuing its Xperia X and Xperia X Compact lines of devices, which it considers “premium standard” (midrange), Sony announced at its investor conference, according to XperiaBlog. Sony has decided to shift its focus to its flagship devices, and says it will launch at least two new devices that fit into that category before the end of the year under the Xperia name. Given the trend of smartphones and Sony’s design prowess, those devices should be something interesting to say the least. But as usual with Sony smartphones, the software will remain the big question. Sony usually unveils its flagship device at IFA in September, so it shouldn’t be too long before we see new devices from the fabled company. TheVerge

It's been 28 years since the first-generation Lexus LS premiered at the 1989  Detroit Auto Show , making the debut of the all-new 2018 LS luxury saloon all the more symbolic. The all-new 2018 LS boasts a  bold new appearance , with a coupe-like silhouette that still allows for luxury-levels of interior roominess, while adding what the automaker calls "visionary technology." In terms of design, the new LS is meant to reflect a "strong, uniquely Japanese identity and approach to luxury," yet it's been imagined as more of a global luxury saloon, which will be made available in no fewer than 90 countries. "Not only will the LS symbolize the Lexus brand, it will become the definitive new-generation luxury car embodying Japanese tradition and culture,"  said Toshio Asahi, chief engineer for the new LS.  "As such, this global pinnacle must go far beyond what the world expects from a luxury car." The new LS sits on the company's premium re...