We’re seeing more and more brand collaborations recently. From the reviled, like Balenciaga’s high-heeled Crocs, to the odd, when Tag Heuer teamed up with Super Mario for a fancy smartwatch. 

• Everyone wants to create a meaningful limited edition.
• It’s both for creative marketing to grab headlines, add a sweet margin to a short-run product, and give the brand a little shine, too.
• Sometimes a collab goes bigger too: think YEEZY and Adidas shoes.

Anyway:

• The smartphone world has seen a few collabs too. 
• Samsung has found a friend in Thom Browne in recent years, while Apple and Hermès have been fairly consistent collaborators over the years, along with Huawei and Porsche Design.
• OnePlus has had a bit more fun: it worked with McLaren on special editions with more RAM, along with Avengers-styled phones, and there was a Harry Potter edition of the OnePlus Watch for that completely forgettable wearable, and a Cyberpunk 2077 release before it as well.

Now, it’s Pac-Man!

• My colleague Dhruv has been playing with the OnePlus Nord 2 Pac-Man edition, and has found it’s actually good and proves brand collaborations can be fun.
• There’s glow-in-the-dark elements, there’s Pac-Man-themed wallpapers, ringtones, and custom animations for the fingerprint scanner.
• Look, our man Dhruv really likes it.
• “It co-opts the fun, frenetic nature of the game and truly leans into the game’s aesthetic. As someone who juggles dozens of phones at a time, it is rare that a phone’s design sparks joy.
• “Watching the Pac-Man characters racing across the fingerprint scanner brought a smile to my face every single time, and I often found myself holding the phone to a bright light just to admire the glow-in-the-dark back panel.”

Here’s that fingerprint animation, slowed down a little so you can catch it around the fingerprint:

Small price premium:

• OnePlus has added a little premium to the price, but it’s not too wild.
• The limited edtion Nord 2 will be £499/€529, up from the standard Nord 2 at £469/€499, which has the same specs.
• And still no sign of a US launch…

👉 OnePlus 10 and 10 Pro: What we hope to see in 2022 (Android Authority). And, here’s a big leak featuring OnePlus 10 renders via @OnLeaks, following some 10 Pro leaks last week.

👆 Just how bad is the Pixel 6’s fingerprint scanner? Six of AA’s editors weigh in (Android Authority).

🎧 Leak suggests Samsung could kill the audio jack on the A33 (Android Authority).

📈 These are the best and worst countries in which to buy a Samsung or Apple phone (Android Authority).

🔓 The FBI’s email system was hacked to send out fake cybersecurity warnings (The Verge).

📺 If you missed it: Everything announced as part of Disney Plus Day. Also, what is Imax Enhanced for Marvel films on Disney Plus, and should you care? (Wired).

Read this report about how Amazon tries to evade responsibility in delivery vehicle crashes (The Verge).

⛓ Bitcoin has had a major code upgrade, the first in years (The Block).

🎥 Seeing how Squid Game was made is both relieving and intense as hell (Gizmodo).

📉 Why the chip shortage drags on and on… and on (Ars Technica).

🔊 Fifty percent of Facebook Messenger’s total voice traffic comes from just one country: Cambodia, because keyboards don’t suit the Khmer language (restofworld.org).

🚗 New Teslas delivered with surprise missing USB ports due to parts shortages (Electrek).

🥙 “Is there a clear definition of clear “highly processed food”?” (r/askscience).

Bonus: @scarytoilet:Toilets with Threatening Auras.

Cheers, 

Tristan Rayner, Senior Editor