Waveform: Oppo Foldables, Tech Habits, and Shipping Tips

Episode Overview

This episode of the Waveform podcast covers a variety of tech-related topics, ranging from hardware reviews and industry news to practical advice on holiday shopping and personal wellness.

Content Highlights

Industry Updates and Recommendations

• Italian Renaissance and Smartphones: Discussion of a video exploring how historical art techniques can inform modern smartphone camera development.
• Mark Rober’s Content: A shout-out to the annual Glitter Bomb videos, highlighting their incredible impact and engineering ingenuity in solving package theft.
• Tech Media Highlights: Mention of recent technical content regarding Tesla’s self-driving beta in challenging environments.

Holiday Shopping Logistics

• An article by The Verge is highlighted as a critical resource for shipping deadlines, helping last-minute shoppers understand express service options to ensure gifts arrive before Christmas.

Hardware Reviews: The Oppo Find N

• Design and Form Factor: The hosts praise the Oppo Find N for being a highly portable and reachable foldable device with a unique aspect ratio.
• Technical Strengths: The hinge mechanism is described as world-class, with a zero-gap close and a subtle crease that feels superior to competitors.
• Known Limitations: As a China-only release, the software lacks optimization for Google services, and the outer screen is limited to 60Hz.

Personal Wellness: Screen Habits

• The hosts discuss the difficulty of breaking the habit of using smartphones immediately upon waking or before sleeping.
• Strategies for Improvement:
• Keeping the phone away from the bedside to avoid early-morning scrolling.
• Utilizing wearables as silent alarms.
• Implementing meditation as a way to wind down instead of screen time.

"I feel like most of the folds we're seeing... focus on the inside and the outside is like... we think you're going to mostly use this here. This [Find N] feels like it's focused equally on both."