Let’s get it straight: the OPPO Find X9 Ultra did not disappoint. It’s genuinely a great camera phone. After carrying it on a five‑day trip to Japan and capturing over a thousand photos, I came to fully appreciate just how impressive its strengths really are. That said, I also discovered quite a few weaknesses. So let’s dive into the sample shots and break down the camera performance of the Find X9 Ultra.

**All the photos on this webpage are compressed. Please check out the video for high-resolution samples.**

Buy the OPPO Find X9 Ultra Global version on GeekWills here.

Master Mode

Since Master Mode tends to reduce shutter time, photos often come out slightly underexposed. Combined with vignetting and lighter post-processing, the results look more cinematic. Shots taken at dusk also appear much closer to what your eyes actually see, while the default mode makes it feel like the sun never went down. The downside, however, is that exposure can sometimes be pushed too low, turning sunny days into scenes that look overcast.

As for the default mode, its characteristics are very aggressive HDR, heavy sharpening, and highly saturated colors. Well, sometimes it really does make your photos look better, like sharper details and higher dynamic range. But it depends on the scene, and sometimes it completely ruins the shot. For example, the excessive HDR processing can make daytime photos look flat, and even the sun no longer feels blinding.

At night, shadow areas may also exhibit slight color artifacts.

Based on my experience of taking over a thousand photos, I still recommend using Master Mode for daily shooting, and only switching back to the default mode when the scene doesn’t suit it. Because honestly, after looking at too many high-contrast and over-sharpened photos, it really feels like they’re assaulting my eyes. So, unless otherwise specified, every photo shown was taken using Master Mode.

23mm

Although the sensor has become smaller and the glass elements is gone, the actual image quality has not regressed. You can still take photos with an extremely shallow depth of field. Though sometimes a shallow depth of field is not necessarily a good thing, especially when shooting food.

Thankfully, this time the main camera is 200MP, so OPPO added a new option in the Find X9 Ultra: High Resolution mode. Once enabled, under good lighting conditions, the photos you take will be 28MP. This allows the camera to fully take advantage of the high-resolution sensor.

Well, there’s honestly not much else to say. This main camera is simply one of the best cameras available right now, and it can reliably capture what you want in almost any situation.

For example, the photo was taken in an environment where I could barely see anything with my own eyes. Under conditions like that, only the main camera could capture the black cat walking by at night.

230mm

Because this new 10x optical telephoto lens requires light to go through five reflections before reaching the sensor, theoretically, its optical quality was never going to be amazing. And in practice, that’s exactly the case. If you zoom in and inspect any photo taken with this lens, you can almost always find red or green outlines appearing around object edges.

Since chromatic aberration exists, spherical aberration naturally exists as well. Simply put, the image just doesn’t look sharp enough. And if you’re using Master Mode, the photos can end up looking like they have a soft diffusion filter applied. So it’s obvious that the bottleneck of this camera is not the sensor, but the lens itself. Compared to the Samsung S23 Ultra, this telephoto camera only wins by a very narrow margin in image quality.

The scenarios where this high-resolution sensor truly shines are cloudy weather or scenes beyond 230mm. Without harsh lighting, the aberration issues become much less noticeable. And thanks to In-Sensor Zoom, it can extend to 460mm, making bird photography barely usable as well. Even though I complained quite a bit about the aberration problems earlier, realistically, if you don’t zoom in, you probably won’t notice them at all. And once the photos are uploaded to social media, nobody will notice those tiny flaws anyway. In reality, I’m still pretty satisfied with this lens. It may not be perfect, but it genuinely allows me to capture more distant scenery.

Have you ever thought about this question: under what circumstances would you even photograph such distant objects in pitch-black darkness? So even though it does perform better than Samsung at night, I honestly think that advantage is meaningless.

70mm

Between the ultra-long telephoto camera and the main camera, OPPO chose a 200MP sensor as the transition camera. But with an aperture this large, calling it a “transition camera” doesn’t really feel appropriate. In fact, out of all four cameras, this one is my favorite. With its massive sensor size and huge aperture, this is the best 70mm camera ever made on a smartphone.

Just like the main camera, it delivers professional camera-level background blur. At 6x zoom, image sharpness drops slightly, but it’s still acceptable. Most telephoto cameras struggle badly at night, but the Find X9 Ultra does not. This camera can still produce satisfying results after dark.

For example, in this photo taken at dusk, both the white house nearby and the signal tower in the distance remain incredibly sharp. Just like the main camera, I genuinely cannot find anything to complain about with this 70mm camera. It is simply one of the best smartphone cameras ever made.

14mm

The ultra-wide camera is slightly better than the one on the Find X8 Ultra, but compared to the other three cameras, it feels pretty bad. Purple fringing is quite severe. Even without backlighting, you can still spot purple edges once you zoom into the corners of the image. And if you combine backlighting with scenes full of high-frequency detail, the results become downright terrible. This once again proves that the bottleneck, just like the 10x telephoto camera, lies in the lens rather than the sensor.

At night, the gap between this camera and its siblings becomes even larger. Besides the obvious loss in sharpness, the lack of OIS also dramatically increases the number of blurry shots. The only solution is to take multiple photos and hope one of them comes out sharp.

Although this ultra-wide camera drags the whole system down, I can understand OPPO’s decision. During my trip, only about 1/10 of my photos were actually taken with this camera. Even when facing extremely grand scenery, the main camera’s 23mm focal length was already wide enough. Sacrificing the ultra-wide camera in exchange for more space for the telephoto system was honestly a smart decision.

Photography Kit

Unfortunately, OPPO’s photography kit and teleconverter are not sold separately this time. If you want them, you’ll have to spend nearly $1800, together with the 1TB version of the phone. I’m not rich, so I didn’t buy it, but I did get some hands-on experience with the kit at an OPPO offline store. My first impression was this: compared to practicality, it gives you far more emotional value.

Although the teleconverter is only 300mm, it is physically larger and longer than vivo’s 400mm one. The grip and phone case are integrated together, but the grip itself is very shallow, making it difficult to hold such a heavy phone securely. The only buttons are the shutter key and zoom lever, and it connects via Bluetooth. There’s no doubt that the design is ahead of both Xiaomi and vivo, but in terms of practicality, it also unquestionably ranks last.

Considering the Find X9 Ultra already has a 230mm camera, and the global version could potentially exceed $2000, I’d still recommend saving your money for the hardships of life instead.

Video Recording

Every clip was recorded in 4K 30FPS, converted from O-Log2 back to Rec.709, without any color grading. I set the bitrate to the highest setting, so every clip basically exceeded 75Mbps. For a smartphone, this level of stabilization plus such clear image quality is already top-tier.

But there are still some flaws. For example, the telephoto camera occasionally shows slight jitter. And once again, this ultra-wide camera drags everything down. Not only does it still suffer from purple fringing, but its dynamic range is also noticeably weaker. Even enabling O-Log2 cannot recover the highlights.

At night, the image quality also drops dramatically, with noise dancing all over the screen. You can clearly see how massive the gap becomes once I switch back to the main camera. But aside from that, I’m still very satisfied with the video quality from the other cameras.

Verdict

In the past, whenever I traveled and wanted a full focal‑length photography experience, I had to carry a massive lens—bigger than this phone. Now, OPPO offers a much smarter alternative. The Find X9 Ultra is the first true all‑focal‑length smartphone I’ve ever seen. And for me, the essence of smartphone photography comes down to one word: convenience.

Even if its image quality can’t quite match a mirrorless camera, it lets you carry fewer lenses, climb higher mountains, travel to more places, and meet more people. That, to me, is the true essence of smartphone photography. And the Find X9 Ultra is the ultimate device that fully embodies that philosophy.

The post OPPO Find X9 Ultra Global Version Camera Test: The Best Smartphone for Travel appeared first on Gizmochina.

Although I already shared my hands-on experience with the photography kit in the vivo X300 Ultra review, the weather during those days was quite poor, so I didn’t manage to capture many sample shots. Recently, I decided to head out again—into the woods and down to the seaside—to see if I could truly uncover the potential of this kit. When something costs €600, you definitely wouldn’t dare buy it casually without doing your homework first. Hopefully, after reading this article, you’ll have a clearer idea of whether it’s worth the investment.

Unboxing

The first layer of the packaging is the X300 Ultra itself, while the second layer contains all the accessories from the vivo X300 Ultra photography kit.

Actually, the accessories are basically the same as those of the first generation. There’s a tripod collar ring and also a 67mm filter adapter ring. Aside from this new 200mm teleconverter lens, everything else can easily be purchased from the official website. If you really only want the 200mm lens, make sure you check the link here.

Grip Usage Experience

The overall design of the new photography kit is pretty similar to the one from the X200 Ultra, except that the color has changed from black to silver. Once all the accessories are attached to the phone, it really does look quite a bit like a professional camera, right?

The imaging grip allows you to customize the function of every button and dial. Among them, I recommend customizing this function for the Fn key, because if you want to use the teleconverter lens for street photography or birding, this is the only way to quickly activate teleconverter mode.

Speaking of street photography, the 200mm teleconverter is probably the more suitable choice. The 400mm one not only sees farther than you’d imagine, but also feels pretty awkward in the hand. Compared to the grip, I actually prefer holding onto the lens itself. But with the 200mm one, you can just hold the grip normally.

As for things like build quality or compatibility, I already talked about them in the X300 Ultra review, so I won’t repeat them here. Instead, let’s combine it with some photos and talk about the actual user experience.

Astrophotography

If you have a 400mm lens, I’m pretty sure you’ll be interested in the moon.

What do you think about this photo? Isn’t it hard to believe this was taken with a smartphone? Even though it was shot at 1600mm and definitely uses algorithms to enhance image quality, this is still the most natural-looking moon photo I’ve ever seen, with the least amount of obvious AI processing. You can see the craters on the surface, but without excessive sharpening. That’s the charm of an optical telephoto lens.

Maybe you haven’t realized what it means to shoot celestial objects without a tripod: the stabilization on this kit has reached to the next level. Out of the 9 photos I took, only one came out slightly blurry.

Even if you were holding a professional camera, you still wouldn’t be able to capture shots like this without a tripod. But aside from the moon, other celestial bodies are still too far away from Earth. If you really want to get into astrophotography, you’ll still need to buy more professional lenses.

Concert Photography

Ever since vivo started making teleconverter lenses, its phones have included a mode called “Stage”.

In this mode, exposure is lowered, shutter speed is shortened, contrast is increased, and AI enhances every detail of the subject. It’s hard to believe that from 20 meters away, you can clearly capture someone’s hair strands and even the texture of their face, but the X300 Ultra, combined with the teleconverter lens, really does achieve this.

Some people don’t really like AI-enhanced photos, and honestly, neither do I, but if you’re actually at a concert and don’t want to regret your photos after getting home, then I’d still recommend using Stage mode. The AI is basically just bringing back your wrinkles and hair details. I think that’s acceptable.

If you’re outdoors during the daytime, then Auto mode can also produce a very sharp photo. No AI, everything just looks natural.

Wildlife Photography

Wildlife photography has always been a category that demands a lot from photography equipment. But now, you only need to spend 3000 dollars to step into the world of wildlife photography. You just need to walk into the woods, attach the grip and teleconverter lens, and then you’re already a qualified birder.

Well, this combination really can take some very beautiful bird photos. Sharp, clear, and sometimes it can even capture what they’re eating. You should also remember that these were handheld shots. Being able to take photos like these without a tripod proves to some extent just how high the upper limit of the stabilization performance is.

Maybe you’re wondering how much the teleconverter lens improves image quality. Here’s a photo taken without the teleconverter lens. At first glance, it still looks quite clear, but compared to the one shot with the teleconverter attached, there’s still a pretty noticeable gap. Taking excellent wildlife photos also requires some skill, because animals are always moving, making them much harder to photograph than the moon or singers.

First of all, you need to be willing to press the shutter button. Smartphones are not like DSLRs; electronic shutters don’t have a lifespan. So you really need to take a lot of shots before getting a satisfying photo. Secondly, if you want to photograph birds in flight, you still need to mount it on a tripod. And remember to turn off stabilization, because that’s the only way to keep the bird inside your frame.

If I had to point out a weakness, I’d say autofocus. Right now, the X300 Ultra’s bird recognition isn’t very accurate. In about 1/4 of the bird photos, the focus wasn’t actually on the bird itself, which is why I emphasized earlier that you absolutely need to shoot more photos.

There are also two more issues that are neither big nor small. The first is that the higher the magnification, the more obvious the shaking around the edges of the video becomes. This is caused by electronic stabilization, so if you avoid zooming in too much, the issue becomes less noticeable.

The second is that a 400mm focal length is still a bit too short for bird photography. In-Sensor Zoom alone simply can’t save photos taken in low light. So this photography kit can only really serve as an entry-level setup for wildlife photographers. Once the X300 Ultra helps you discover the charm of wildlife photography, then you can move on to buying a dedicated camera and longer telephoto lenses.

Conclusion

I’ve already tested the teleconverter lenses in the three main scenarios they’re designed for: astrophotography, concert photography, and wildlife photography. Looking at the results, concert photography turns out to be the most suitable use case for this kit. vivo clearly understands that its strength lies in portrait shooting, so even in a dim concert venue, it handles capturing the moment remarkably well.

The post Is a teleconverter worth buying? vivo X300 Ultra Photography Kit Real-World Test appeared first on Gizmochina.

I’ve already switched my SIM card back to the iPhone, yet I still shoot with 35mm as my default focal length year-round. It’s not because I’m particularly into street photography—it’s simply that this focal length isn’t too wide or too narrow, making it just right for everyday shots. So when I heard that the vivo X300 Ultra‘s main camera remains at 35mm, I was genuinely pleased.

After using the phone for a while, I can tell it’s indeed better than the previous generation, even if some specs don’t look impressive on paper. But is this minor upgrade really worth an extra cost? Well, why not bring in the X200 Ultra and run a direct comparison to find out?

35mm

The X300 Ultra’s main camera uses Sony’s latest 200MP sensor. The aperture is smaller, but in exchange, you get stronger stabilization.

In well-lit conditions—basically daytime and indoor environments—the X300 Ultra performs slightly better overall than the X200 Ultra. Exposure is more accurate, clarity is higher, colors aren’t overly saturated, and the sharpening isn’t as aggressive as before. The new sensor and updated algorithms bring noticeable improvements to the X300 Ultra.

At night, the gap becomes even more obvious. I don’t even need to explain it—you can see how much it has improved just from the photos. Especially with the help of the multispectral sensor, the white balance accuracy is significantly better. There’s only one situation where the X300 Ultra loses to the previous generation: in near-total darkness.

If you’re shooting in an environment where people can barely see anything, the X200 Ultra will have slightly better clarity. The performance of the X300 Ultra’s main camera can be summed up with this curve. I still appreciate the effort vivo put into this main camera.

There’s a feature on the X300 Ultra that I really like, called “Raw Lighting”. “Restore the camera’s raw lighting for authentic results”—that’s how vivo describes it. Simply put, it reduces the impact of computational processing on the photo. The most obvious result is that the images look more like they were taken with a professional camera rather than a phone. Saturation is further reduced, sharpening is significantly toned down, and fine details look more natural. I think this feature is way more practical than those flashy new filters.

X200 Ultra users don’t need to be jealous—just update your system, and you’ll get it too. Well done, vivo.

85mm

This 85mm telephoto camera is probably the most controversial one on the X300 Ultra. The sensor size hasn’t changed, and once again, a smaller aperture is traded for better stabilization. So which matters more—the downside of a smaller aperture, or the benefits of improved stabilization?

Honestly, the difference isn’t as obvious as with the main camera. You’ll only notice it when you zoom in 200% or 300%—then you’ll realize, okay, the X300 Ultra is indeed better. And this is mainly in low-light conditions; the stronger the lighting, the smaller the gap.

So the conclusion is: the X300 Ultra’s telephoto camera is a real upgrade, but only for photos. Video is a different story—I’ll explain that in a bit.

14mm

Since there’s no hardware change for the ultra-wide camera, its performance should theoretically be very similar—and it is.

In scenes without extreme contrast, the image quality is basically identical to that of the previous generation. However, the two phones take different approaches to HDR. The X200 Ultra tends to control highlights and leaves shadows untouched, while the X300 Ultra does the opposite. There’s no clear winner here—it just comes down to personal preference.

Anyway, the main purpose of the ultra-wide camera on the X300 Ultra is to compensate for the narrow field of view when recording video with the 35mm lenses. So next, let’s look at video performance.

Video & Selfie

If I didn’t label which footage came from which phone, you definitely wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. In fact, even during editing, I had to carefully check the file names to distinguish which clips were shot from the X300 Ultra. And it’s not just the ultra-wide camera—even the main camera footage looks the same. The improved stabilization doesn’t give you a wider field of view either. You can basically consider their video capabilities to be nearly identical.

For photography, better stabilization allows for longer shutter speeds, improving image quality. But in a video, shutter speed cannot drop below the frame rate. That’s why you can see the X300 Ultra’s telephoto camera actually performs worse in low light. Especially compared to the previous generation, with a larger aperture.

The front camera’s the same story as the rear—you really have to pixel-peep to notice any difference. Thanks to reduced noise reduction in the new algorithm, more texture detail on clothing is preserved.

Overall, this entire camera system has more upgrades than downgrades. But without any new technology, the X300 Ultra lacks that one “hook” to really grab users. For those who chase novelty—like me—most probably won’t be willing to pay that extra $145.

Grip & Teleconverter

Luckily, we also got the photography kit and the G2 Ultra lens. Let’s start with the grip. It still connects via Type-C and has a screw mount at the bottom. The build quality is more refined—it both looks and feels more premium. There’s an extra customizable button, and whether the grip charges the phone can be toggled with another button.

But two issues remain. First, the unlock slider is still positioned near your fingers, which honestly makes me nervous about accidentally unlocking it. Second, when charging the phone through the grip, the power is only 7.5W. The only real downgrade might be the removal of the kickstand on the case.

At the X300 Ultra launch event, two new teleconverters were introduced: a 200mm and a 400mm. The 200mm is more compact, but otherwise unchanged. We already covered it in detail in last year’s X200 Ultra Camera Test, so this time we’ll focus on the 400mm.

First, you can now enter teleconverter mode directly via the top button, which is much more convenient than before. Image quality is still excellent and looks more natural than AI-enhanced photos. And then… well, that’s about it. It’s big, heavy, expensive, and the stabilization isn’t as good as expected. So I’d recommend the 200mm version instead—unless you’re really planning to shoot wildlife with a phone.

I’m glad vivo considered compatibility between old and new teleconverters. The X300 series photography kit can use the previous generation teleconverters. The G2 and G2 Ultra lenses also work on the X200 Ultra, but the adapter rings are not interchangeable due to changes in lens layout.

Also, the X300 Ultra’s grip does not work properly on the X200 Ultra, so you’ll need to buy the correct version for your phone. However, the lenses have no such limitation.

Design

I think I already described the X300 Ultra’s design clearly enough in the hands-on video. In one sentence: you can hardly tell it apart from the X200 Ultra. You can even put an X200 Ultra case on the X300 Ultra, and all the cutouts will line up perfectly. If you’re being picky, yes, there are tiny differences.

For example, the X300 Ultra is indeed thinner—but what they don’t tell you is that it’s actually thicker, including the camera module. Put the phone on a table; it feels more like a seesaw.

Also, the white version looks worse—especially compared to how good the X200 Ultra looked. But these are basically the only two design downgrades. The larger vibration motor and the removal of the camera control button are both good changes. Another positive is that the X300 Ultra is the first in the vivo lineup to support USB 3.2 Gen2 with video output.

Perhaps the best news is that the X300 Ultra finally has a global version, making it easier to buy and service. That said, the Chinese version also has excellent band support—except for slightly weaker signals in rural areas of the US, it works well almost anywhere in the world.

Performance

The X300 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5, so peak performance is not a concern. However, since the ultra-wide camera is still stacked above the processor, its thermal performance is slightly worse than that of other Ultra phones.

In Honkai: Star Rail, its maximum in-game resolution exceeds 900P, which is slightly higher than that of other phones. To keep things fair, I lowered the X300 Ultra’s resolution to 1200P. Even so, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra still wins easily. Even though game optimization could be better, I don’t think it will affect the target audience of the X300 Ultra. If you care that much about gaming performance, you probably shouldn’t buy a phone with such a massive camera module in the first place.

Display

The display and battery life are not the focus of this upgrade. The X300 Ultra’s screen looks and feels very similar to the X200 Ultra. Most apps still top out at 120Hz, and the peak brightness increase is only 100 nits—these “upgrades” are basically unnoticeable.

What I can notice is that the old 2.5D glass is now completely flat—finally, it’s easy to apply a tempered glass screen protector. Thanks to the upgraded top speaker, the overall audio experience is better. I’ll include a speaker test at the top of the video—listen for yourself.

Battery Life

The X300 Ultra’s battery capacity increased by 600mAh compared to the X200 Ultra, but in our standard tests, the difference is negligible. After a full day of gaming and camera testing, 46% battery remained. It may not beat Xiaomi or OPPO’s Ultra models, but it comfortably outperforms Samsung’s. As for charging speed, there’s not much to say—you can tell its level just by looking at the curve.

I know—even if you agree that the X300 Ultra’s upgrades are minimal, you might still buy it. Why? Because on the global market, you simply can’t get the more cost-effective X200 Ultra. But after our comparison, you can’t deny that the upgrade is good, though not significant. I’m not a fanboy or a hater of any brand—being loyal to products is definitely smarter. Back when the Xiaomi 15 Ultra showed the smallest improvement, I voiced my dissatisfaction as well. However, since the vivo X300 Ultra is indeed an enhanced version of one of the most powerful camera phones on the market, we still consider it one of the best options—though you’ll have to pay a bit more for the new model. And if you’re already holding the X200 Ultra, considering the price increase, it’s probably not necessary to upgrade to the X300 Ultra in 2026.

The post Still The King of Camera Phones? vivo X300 Ultra Review vs X200 Ultra appeared first on Gizmochina.

Amid much anticipation, the king of camera phones in 2025 was updated with the vivo X300 Ultra at the end of March 2026.

Among a crowd of Ultra models, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica features the best optical zoom lens in the world, and the stunning colors of the Leica Essential mode leave a deep impression. As for the OPPO Find X9 Ultra, although it hasn’t been released yet, the official has already revealed an exciting piece of information: it will come with a 200MP 3x telephoto, along with the world’s best 10x ultra-telephoto camera.

In contrast, the vivo X300 Ultra doesn’t seem to bring us many surprises, and there are even “downgrades” in its camera specifications. If last year’s X200 Ultra was one of my favorite phones, then this year’s X300 Ultra is probably no longer on that “favorites” list.

Camera

Looking purely at the raw capabilities of the camera system, the X300 Ultra remains one of the strongest contenders. However, when compared to its predecessor, it feels like vivo hasn’t fully pushed the envelope. Most of the upgrades are concentrated on the main camera, which now features a slightly larger sensor and higher pixel count. And It also follows the industry trend by incorporating a 5MP multispectral camera.

The ultra-wide camera remains largely unchanged, while the apertures on both the main and telephoto cameras have actually been reduced. For a device priced over $1,000, seeing such minimal hardware improvements is unlikely to sit well with most users. All that’s left is to hope the real-world camera performance delivers a pleasant surprise.

Teleconverter

That said, for those with ultra-long-distance photography needs, vivo remains a trusted choice. Its teleconverter kit was well-received last year, and the new iteration should be no exception. The new 200mm teleconverter is significantly more compact, and an additional 400mm lens is now available. If you’re determined to capture wildlife on the African savannah or shoot from the back of a concert hall using a smartphone, the X300 Ultra paired with the teleconverter kit might be your best option.

Unlike the hardware, the camera software sees no downgrades. The most notable addition is a new photo color tuning style—no need to guess where the inspiration comes from, right? There are also two new photography styles, said to be developed using vivo’s latest color science. We’ll dive into how effective these new features are in our full review.

Design

Aside from the camera, I also have some reservations about the design. The X300 Ultra is available in three colors. While the black version remains as satisfying as ever, the other two fall short of their counterparts on the X200 Ultra. The white model, in particular, feels a bit overdone—in my opinion, the snow mountain pattern is simply unnecessary. Then again, maybe I’m wrong—maybe it could end up being a favorite for some people.

After a year of trial and error, vivo has finally come to the conclusion that the camera control button was unnecessary—so it’s gone on the X300 Ultra. Personally, I wish they had added an AI button instead; having an extra customizable button is quite convenient for everyday use.

Other

Other changes aren’t very noticeable. For example, the body is slightly thinner, but the weight has increased a bit. Charging power has gone up slightly, and so has the battery capacity, both by around 10%. As for the processor, it’s definitely the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5.

The screen refresh rate has been upgraded to 144Hz, while the resolution remains at 2K (3168×1440), and the display finally uses flat glass. The bezels are very narrow and appear symmetrical on all four sides. There are also some upgrades that aren’t visible from the outside, including an improved vibration motor and top speaker.

During the initial hands-on, the X300 Ultra feels more like an X200s Ultra – far from what I would define as a true next-generation upgrade.

The good news is that we can still safely say it remains one of the most powerful camera phones on the market. If you really love a 35mm main camera, then the X300 Ultra is indeed a more reassuring choice than the Nubia Z80 Ultra. But beyond that, if you are holding an X200 Ultra, I don’t see enough must-buy reasons to upgrade. I would even recommend buying the X200 Ultra instead—it’s not that different from the X300 Ultra, but costs less. Meanwhile, I’m more looking forward to the OPPO Find X9 Ultra, which, based on the rumors we know so far, feels much closer to what the X300 Ultra should have been—the true king of camera phones. In any case, please wait and see whether our real-world tests and full review prove us completely wrong.

The X300 Ultra is now available on GeekWills.

The post vivo X300 Ultra Hands-on: It might as well be called the X200s Ultra appeared first on Gizmochina.

For those who are already using foldable phones, most people probably don’t care much about how deep the crease is. Your fingers almost never swipe across that area, and when you’re looking straight at the screen, you can’t really see any impact from the crease on display quality. If the crease truly affected the daily experience, then Samsung wouldn’t be the best-selling foldable phone brand on the earth. However, the OPPO Find N6 with the best crease-control ever is still breathtaking at first glance.

As no model had ever reached this level before, eliminating the crease is definitely significant: it doesn’t affect your experience after purchase, but it does affect your decision before buying. Many potential users, when they see that deep crease, genuinely believe it will constantly interfere with their vision—even if it won’t. When no one can see the crease anymore, and it looks like a tablet and feels like one in use, more people will want to give it a try. This is the killer feature of the Find N6: attracting more new customers with a crease-free display.

China ver. VS Global ver.

This time, the internationalization of the Find N6 has been done very well. The Chinese version and the global version are identical in most specifications, including battery capacity. I’ve listed all the differences between them. Aside from the eSIM, the Chinese version actually has strong advantages.

You may not know this, but the cost of 16GB RAM plus 1TB ROM alone already exceeds that of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5. So the 1TB version is the most cost-effective choice for now.

Display & Hinge

How flat the inner screen of the Find N6 is has already been proven countless times by other reviewers. But what they didn’t tell you is whether long-term use will make the crease more noticeable. Unfortunately, the answer is yes (a slightly yes). Every second you keep the phone folded will make the crease slightly deeper. It doesn’t take long—after just one night’s sleep, you can already notice the crease becoming more pronounced.

The good news is that the new UTG glass has a self-healing feature. As long as you keep it unfolded and use it for a while, it will become flatter again (impressive!). I left two Find N6 units folded and unfolded, respectively for 48 hours, and you should be able to see the impact of time on them. As a reference, I also left another foldable phone unfolded for 4 days, and you can clearly see the effort OPPO has made regarding the crease. So if you can use it unfolded, just keep it unfolded. This can extend the lifespan of a foldable phone.

I haven’t used it for very long, and compared to when I first got it a week ago, the crease hasn’t changed noticeably. However, I still don’t believe it will remain crease-free after one or two years. But one thing I do believe: when it comes to crease control, no other foldable phone does it better.

The new hinge design not only helps reduce the crease but also improves the tactile experience. The hinge on the Find N6 is the tightest I’ve ever used—you need to apply some force to open or close it. Solid, no wobbling, and no noise. The minimum opening angle is even less than ten degrees. While that may not be particularly useful, it’s these small details that make every dollar you spend on this phone feel worthwhile.

Stylus

The dedicated stylus bundle for the Find N6 has also attracted a lot of attention. The stylus itself is very ordinary, almost the same as the one on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. The difference is that it still has a built-in battery and supports Bluetooth connectivity. Unfortunately, once you put on this phone case, you won’t be able to use wireless charging.

If there’s anything special about this stylus, it would be all the AI-related features. For example, if you want to convert a hand-drawn table or line chart into a digital version, just hold down the AI button on the stylus and circle the area you want to generate. Although there are usage limits, it’s undeniably an attractive selling point for office workers. Also, thanks to the flat screen, using the stylus doesn’t feel like driving over speed bumps.

For a stylus designed for a foldable phone, it has already reached a top-tier level in both portability and functionality.

Performance & Battery Life

As mentioned in the hands-on video, just like the N5, the Find N6 has one performance core of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5 disabled. As you might expect, its gaming performance is extremely bad. Genshin Impact is no longer a challenge for modern flagship phones, but for the Find N6, it’s a big problem. The frame rate hovers around 45.

Of course, this isn’t entirely the processor’s fault, since the inner display’s gaming resolution is twice that of a regular phone. The weak cooling system and conservative performance tuning also share the blame.

If this were a regular phone, I would probably start complaining. But this is a foldable phone, and its target users likely don’t care about gaming performance at all. In fact, if you don’t play games, this cut-down 8 Elite Gen5 can actually save you quite a bit of battery. A 6000 mAh battery may not sound impressive, but in real-world use, it easily lasts a full day—and I mean whole 24 hours.

I didn’t use it heavily, just like most people on a typical day out: navigation, scrolling TikTok, chatting on messaging apps, then getting some sleep. After waking up, there was still 45% battery left, equivalent to about 5 and a half hours of Genshin Impact. By the time you brush your teeth and take a shower, the 80W wired charging can almost fully recharge the Find N6. Trust me, 6000 mAh only sounds underwhelming—it performs much better than you’d expect.

Camera

All four cameras on the Find N6 are familiar faces. Not the best, but reliable.

They can deliver satisfying photos in almost any environment. The ultra-wide camera, in particular, has improved significantly, upgrading from 8MP to 50MP. Anyone familiar with OPPO phones knows their biggest strengths in photography are high dynamic range and high saturation. That makes the Find N6 especially suitable for everyday shots like food photography. Of course, the two secondary cameras don’t have large sensors, so in low-light conditions, you shouldn’t expect outstanding image quality.

As for video recording, the evaluation is roughly the same as for photos: stable footage, vibrant colors, and good quality as long as there’s enough light. The two front-facing cameras have been upgraded to 20MP. Perhaps the image quality has improved, but come on, you’re using a foldable phone—unfolding it then using the rear cameras is definitely the smarter choice.

System

For the Find N6, ColorOS 16 introduces new exclusive gesture controls. By swiping from the corner toward the center of the screen, you can turn apps into windows of various sizes. When minimized, they automatically arrange themselves in the top-right corner, and you can double-tap to switch between them. If you want split-screen mode, just use a four-finger pinch gesture to switch between windowed and split-screen modes. This familiar gesture system was clearly inspired by someone, but it’s undeniably a unique interaction method among foldable phones.

Another thing that impressed me is how much OPPO wants iPhone users to switch. When I connected my AirPods to the Find N6, I realized I could fully control my earbuds using an Android phone—features like noise control, spatial audio, and even accessing earbuds settings directly from the control center. Although this has been possible since last year, it still blows my mind every time I see it.

Conclusion

Due to the recent shortage of DRAM and NAND supply, price increases for smartphones in 2026 are inevitable. Indeed, the Find N6 has become more expensive, but it’s still within an acceptable range. I’m glad it hasn’t downgraded anything and has achieved the best crease control in Foldable history. Gizmochina Review has been asked time and time again which foldable phone is the best. Well personally, before Apple releases its foldable, the answer is likely to be “Find N6”. Furthermore, based on my experience and taking factors such as price into account, I believe it will be difficult to revise this answer in the first half of 2026.

The post OPPO Find N6 Review: My Favorite Foldable Phone (For Now) appeared first on Gizmochina.

Let’s be clear at the beginning: if you’re looking for a tablet with a large screen, the HONOR MagicPad 4 is a premium option that you shouldn’t overlook. Compared with the previous generation, the MagicPad 4 has undergone a comprehensive upgrade while maintaining the same price. This means that for around half the price of an iPad Pro, you can get a large-screen tablet with slimmer bezels, a thinner body and a lighter design.

Without a doubt, this could easily become one of the best portable displays to carry with you when you’re on the go.

Ultra-Thin Design with a Premium Feel

Starting with the design, the MagicPad 4 gives a very different first impression. The device measures only 4.8 mm in thickness and weighs around 450g, which already places it among the extremely thin and light tablets currently available. In fact, this thickness is close to that of many OLED display panels, so when you hold it in your hands, it feels surprisingly unusual—you don’t really feel like you’re holding a tablet, but rather a screen.

HONOR is also clearly moving toward a more premium design language. The full-metal body and ultra-narrow bezels make the device look very clean, without the typical “tool-like” feel that many cheap Android tablets tend to have. Some tablets may look powerful on paper, but the moment you pick them up you can immediately sense their positioning. At least in terms of first impressions, the MagicPad 4 genuinely feels more like a high-end device.

A Flagship-Level OLED Display

If the design is what attracts you at first glance, the display is truly one of the tablet’s core selling points. The MagicPad 4 features a 12.3-inch OLED display with a resolution of 3000 × 1920, and it supports a refresh rate of up to 165 Hz. Although the resolution is slightly lower than the MagicPad 3, the screen size has also been reduced, so the pixel density remains the same at 290 PPI.

What’s even more impressive is that the display reaches a 2400-nit HDR peak brightness, while also supporting 1.07 billion colors and 5280 Hz PWM dimming for eye protection. As you might expect, HONOR’s displays have always maintained this balance—high visual quality while still being comfortable for the eyes.

For a tablet, the screen is arguably even more important than it is on a smartphone. Many people primarily use tablets for watching videos, reading comics, or browsing the web, meaning the display essentially defines the entire experience. This time, HONOR clearly didn’t treat the screen as a component that just needs to be “good enough.” Instead, they built it with true flagship-level specifications.

Powerful Performance for Everyday Tasks and Gaming

Of course, a flagship tablet needs more than just a good display—performance is equally important. The MagicPad 4 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, built on a 3 nm process. While this processor may not be the absolute top-tier flagship chip, it still belongs to the latest upper-high-end category.Most games run without any issues, and even demanding titles can remain smooth if you lower the graphics settings slightly.

PC Mode and Productivity Features

The positioning of this tablet is actually quite clear—it’s not just an entertainment device, but an attempt to become a lightweight productivity tool. HONOR has made several efforts at the system level, such as introducing PC Mode.

In this mode, the interface transforms into a desktop-like layout with a taskbar, multi-window operations, and mouse support. You can even open multiple app windows simultaneously. This experience differs significantly from the traditional full-screen app logic of Android tablets and feels more like a simplified computer.Combined with keyboard and stylus accessories, many basic productivity tasks—such as writing documents, organizing materials, or taking meeting notes—can realistically be completed on the tablet.

In addition, HONOR has integrated several AI features into the system, such as AI Meetings and AI Creation. While these functions may initially sound like marketing buzzwords, they can actually provide practical value in everyday work scenarios.

Immersive Audio and Long Battery Life

Finally, there are some aspects of the tablet experience that are often overlooked but still very important, such as audio and battery life. The MagicPad 4 is equipped with eight built-in speakers and supports spatial audio as well as IMAX Enhanced sound.

For a device focused on multimedia experiences, this multi-speaker setup delivers better stereo separation. When watching movies or playing games in landscape mode, you’ll notice stronger directionality and a more immersive soundstage.As for battery life, despite its 4.8 mm ultra-thin body, the tablet still manages to fit a 10,100 mAh battery and supports 66 W fast charging. This capacity is already quite large for a tablet, and in theory it should easily support a full day of video playback or productivity use.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the goal of the MagicPad 4 is very clear: to replace the MagicPad 3 and become HONOR’s most premium tablet for markets outside China. An ultra-thin body, a flagship-level chip, a high-refresh-rate OLED display, a PC-like system experience, and a complete ecosystem of keyboard and stylus accessories—all of these elements combined show that HONOR already has significant experience in building a great flagship tablet.I believe the MagicPad 4 will earn recognition from the majority of users.

The post HONOR MagicPad 4 Review: A Premium Tablet Built for Work and Play appeared first on Gizmochina.

As many of you may already know, DOOGEE is a brand best known for making rugged phones. This year marks their 16th year in the rugged phone business, and to date, they have over one million users across more than 60 countries worldwide. One of the reasons I believe DOOGEE has been so successful is its extremely detailed and diverse product lineup.

We’ve reviewed many DOOGEE phones in the past, and each one had its own distinct selling point. The two new Fire series devices we’re introducing today are no exception. The positioning of this series can be summed up in one phrase: “All Tools, One Phone.”

Within the lineup, the Fire 7 Pro is geared more toward outdoor team recreation and camping adventures. At the same time, the Fire 7 Ultra is designed for more professional teams, such as off-road vehicle crews or forest firefighters.

Buy the DOOGEE Fire 7 Pro & Ultra at DOOGEE Official here, or specifically on Amazon:
Fire 7 Ultra: 30% off + 5% Code: BNYLO45A, Final Price: $303.99
Fire 7 Pro: 30% off, Final Price: $279.99

Design

Although both phones belong to the same series, they look quite different—and that’s perfectly reasonable given their different use cases. To accommodate the 1,200-lumen camping light on the back of the Fire 7 Pro, the DOOGEE logo has been moved to the very bottom of the rear panel.

By the way, while this camping light may look a bit like MagSafe, it is simply a standalone light with no magnets inside.

The back of the Fire 7 Ultra, on the other hand, is much cleaner, featuring only two contact pins near the bottom. What are these contacts for? That brings us to the packaging.

The Fire 7 Ultra comes in a much larger box, mainly because it includes more accessories. In addition to the usual manuals, charger, and cable, you also get a desktop charging base and a walkie-talkie headset. See those two contacts on the charging base? Through them, the Fire 7 Ultra can be charged at 10W.

The “Ultra” branding also extends to the speaker. This 3.5W speaker can reach a maximum volume of up to 125dB, making it easy to hear the other party clearly in virtually any environment.

The Ultra also has an extra button on the top that the Pro doesn’t. As its name suggests, pressing it activates SOS mode. You don’t have to worry about accidental presses—unless you really dig into it with your finger, you won’t be able to trigger it, no matter how hard you press it.

Aside from that, the remaining features are the same on both phones: triple card slots, NFC, an IP69K waterproof rating, and 8GB of RAM paired with 256GB of storage.

Walkie-Talkie

The PoC (Push-to-Talk over Cellular) walkie-talkie function is one of the Fire 7 series’ core features—and also one of its most controversial. When people hear “walkie-talkie,” their first reaction is often: outdoor signal coverage is poor, so why not just use a traditional radio? The answer is that these phones are not meant to replace your traditional walkie-talkies, but to serve as a backup solution that ensures you’re never completely out of contact.

The biggest advantage of Push-to-Talk over Cellular isn’t whether it works in places with absolutely no signal, but rather its communication range and management capabilities. With 4G or 5G network coverage, the walkie-talkie range of the Fire 7 series is essentially equal to the coverage of the cellular network itself. You can be on one side of a city and talk in real time with teammates dozens of kilometers away—or even in a different city altogether—something traditional walkie-talkies simply can’t achieve.

The Fire 7 Ultra is clearly the more professional tool when it comes to walkie-talkie performance. The included walkie-talkie headset connects via the contact pins on the side of the phone. Even in extreme environments such as heavy wind, engine noise, or fire scenes, it can still ensure clear and intelligible communication.

Battery Life

For rugged phones, battery life is always a key topic. In this regard, the Fire 7 Pro and Fire 7 Ultra continue DOOGEE’s long-standing “stack-the-specs” approach. Both phones are equipped with massive 13,000mAh batteries, enough to support multiple days of intensive outdoor use. If left on standby, they can last up to a month.

Both devices support 33W wired charging and 5W reverse charging. There is one area that could be improved: since the battery capacity is already larger than my power bank, it would be great if the reverse charging power were higher. That way, I could genuinely stop carrying an extra power bank to charge my other devices.

Other Features

In terms of core hardware, neither the Fire 7 Pro nor the Fire 7 Ultra aims for flagship-level performance. Instead, they opt for the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 platform, which prioritizes stability and power efficiency. This chipset is more than capable of handling navigation, PoC communication, multitasking, and everyday apps, while also helping to control heat and battery consumption.

Both phones feature a 6.6-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate.

When it comes to cameras, both rely on a 64MP main sensor. The Fire 7 Pro stands out by adding a 20MP night vision camera, which is especially useful for camping or nighttime environments.

The Fire 7 Ultra, by comparison, focuses more on basic documentation and work-related evidence capture. Overall, this setup may not be flashy, but it’s stable, durable, and well aligned with the Fire series’ positioning as a tool-oriented phone.

Conclusion

The Fire 7 Pro and Fire 7 Ultra are not phones that try to please everyone. Their target users are clearly defined, and their roles are well differentiated. If you’re an outdoor enthusiast, a camping fan, or someone into hiking or light exploration, and you want a phone that can handle lighting, night photography, and quick team communication, the Fire 7 Pro offers a very appealing combination of features.

If you’re part of an off-road vehicle team, forestry patrol, or firefighting-related profession, and what you need is reliable walkie-talkie performance, clear command transmission, and dependable battery life, then the Fire 7 Ultra is clearly the tool designed for you. They may not be “value-for-money phones” in the traditional sense, but they do deliver on the promise of “All Tools, One Phone” in a very thorough way.

The post DOOGEE Fire 7 Pro & Ultra Review: “All Tools, One Phone” appeared first on Gizmochina.

Introduction

Seeking a premium alternative to the AirPods Pro outside the Apple ecosystem? For Android users demanding excellence in build quality, acoustic performance, controls, design, and feature set, the answer has arrived. HUAWEI continues to close the gap between platforms, and the FreeBuds Pro 5 represents its most compelling statement yet.
After extensive hands-on testing, my assessment is unambiguous: alongside the AirPods Pro, the FreeBuds Pro 5 currently stands as one of the two finest true wireless earbuds available—period.

Design & Comfort

The FreeBuds Pro 5 adheres to the established design language of its predecessors, retaining the familiar oval charging case. Yet HUAWEI has refined numerous details with precision. The front indicator light now sits within an elegant circular ring, while the lid hinge has been seamlessly concealed from view. Particularly noteworthy is the ingenious unification of the speaker grille and charging port into a single structural element—among the most thoughtful industrial design choices I’ve encountered—yielding a notably cleaner silhouette.The matte finish of the charging case delivers a satisfying tactile quality, though users should exercise caution: the smooth surface offers minimal grip and can prove somewhat slippery in hand.

The earbuds themselves have undergone the most noticeable changes. The battery section is made with a combination of glass and metal materials, and the HUAWEI SOUND logo highlights the flagship status of these earbuds. Each FreeBuds Pro 5 earbud weighs only 5.5 grams, which is 0.3 grams lighter than the previous generation, and the overall size has also been reduced by 10%. I once wore them from nine to six during a full workday without taking them off, and I did not experience any discomfort. They truly manage to be both stylish and comfortable.

Inside the box, three sets of silicone ear tips of different sizes are included. If you want to try different types of ear tips, HUAWEI also offers memory foam tips in its store. There is even a dedicated audio setting specifically designed for these tips.

Controls & Features

The FreeBuds Pro 5 offers three input methods: swipe gestures, pinch controls, and tap commands. Swiping and pinching will feel immediately familiar to AirPods Pro veterans, while tapping remains the standard across most Android and third-party alternatives. This comprehensive approach ensures that regardless of your established muscle memory, the FreeBuds Pro 5 accommodates your preferences with minimal adaptation required.
The feature set extends beyond basic controls, and it’s clearly designed to compete directly with the AirPods Pro. Call management via head gestures—answering or declining by nodding or shaking—alongside automatic volume adjustment based on ambient noise levels, positions the FreeBuds Pro 5 among the most intelligently adaptive earbuds in its class.

In fact, the dual-device connection capability may render the FreeBuds Pro 5 superior to the AirPods Pro for multi-device workflows. For users operating across ecosystems—such as those with a Windows workstation alongside mobile devices—seamless switching between sources proves remarkably efficient.
Spatial audio with head tracking extends to virtually any paired device, including Windows PCs, Android handsets, and even iOS hardware. This degree of platform-agnostic feature parity is genuinely impressive, and notably rare in the current market.

The sole functional advantage held by the AirPods Pro is direct camera control from the earbuds—a minor concession in the broader feature landscape. Beyond this single exception, the AirPods Pro offer no meaningful functional superiority.

Sound Quality

Unlike Apple, HUAWEI’s pursuit of sound quality seems to have no limits. HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5 uses advanced digital cross-over technology based on its third-generation audio chip with dual DSPs. This chip includes two professional audio DACs. The audio source is split by the DSPs, and each DAC independently drives the low-frequency and high-frequency drivers. This results in a 200% improvement in digital cross-over precision and a 50% reduction in DAC noise.

The FreeBuds Pro 5 sounds fuller and more engaging than most rivals. The dual-driver setup—with separate processing for bass and treble—delivers punchier lows and clearer mids, so vocals stand out with real presence. Where the AirPods Pro 3 can sound a bit muffled, Huawei’s tuning feels more open and immediate. The soundstage is wide, with background details crisp rather than buried. It’s a musical, immersive presentation rather than a digital-simulated one—and for most listeners, that’s a definite strength.

Of course, in order to satisfy different listening preferences, FreeBuds Pro 5 also provides a variety of EQ presets as well as customizable EQ options. The absence of these features is one of the reasons why some music enthusiasts are not particularly fond of AirPods Pro.

Noise Cancellation & Transparency

HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5 is the first-ever dual-driver ANC earbud that uses both an ultra-linear dual-magnet driver and an ultra-thin micro planar diaphragm driver to emit inverted-phase sound waves that counteract external environmental noise. Both acoustic units work together to generate counter-noise, while a new MIMO AI sensing model actively detects the surrounding environment and adjusts parameters in real time—improving overall noise reduction performance to 220% compared with Huawei FreeBuds Pro 4.

As shown in the chart, the maximum noise reduction depth can reach up to 47 dB. Wind noise suppression is also very impressive. When encountering strong wind, the earbuds will moderately reduce the noise cancellation intensity to prevent wind noise from becoming too noticeable.

Advantages for HUAWEI Phone Users

The features mentioned above are available to both Android phones and iPhones. However, since these are HUAWEI earbuds, connecting them to HUAWEI phones naturally unlocks some exclusive advantages.

The most notable one is 2.3 Mbps lossless audio. When paired with certain HUAWEI phones and using HUAWEI’s self-developed L2HC 4.0 codec technology, the transmission speed can reach up to 2.3 Mbps, delivering 48 kHz / 24-bit lossless audio quality. Even if you are using an older HUAWEI device, such as the Pura 70 Pro, the transmission speed can still reach 1.5 Mbps.

Some additional features, such as voice message announcements and certain health-related options, are also exclusive to HUAWEI phone users.

Battery Life

Officially, HUAWEI claims that FreeBuds Pro 5 can last up to 9 hours with ANC turned off, and around 6 hours with ANC turned on. In practical terms, that means charging the earbuds once during lunch is enough to keep them running throughout the rest of your workday.

During my usage, I never actually managed to drain the battery completely. In-ear earbuds usually need to be taken off occasionally to let your ears rest anyway. In short, battery life is definitely not a weak point of the FreeBuds Pro 5.

Conclusion

The HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5 delivers exceptional performance across nearly every metric. Frankly, with the series now in its fifth generation, it’s genuinely difficult to identify any glaring weaknesses. If the price gives you pause, consider this: the AirPods Pro, which falls a bit short on sound quality, commands an even higher premium. From that vantage point, HUAWEI’s pricing feels entirely justified.
In my assessment, the FreeBuds Pro 5 establishes a new benchmark for ANC earbuds. If your budget sits above $200, this pair deserves a spot on your shortlist.

The post HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5 Review: The New Benchmark for ANC Earbuds appeared first on Gizmochina.

The wait is finally over. While we usually wrap up our annual rankings in December, we made the strategic decision to hold off until the final days of the year. The reason? Several heavyweight contenders launched at the very last minute, barely catching the “2025 train.”

After extensive hands-on testing—including our just-completed review of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra—we have finalized our list. Here are Gizmochina’s picks for the top smartphones of 2025.

Best Camera: Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica

It probably won’t surprise anyone that the Xiaomi 17 Ultra takes the Best Camera award. Compared to other “Ultra” phones that have already been on the market for half a year, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra has only been out for about two weeks.

As Xiaomi’s latest imaging-focused flagship, it comes packed with the newest Snapdragon chipset and a true optical-zoom telephoto camera. Most importantly, the main camera features the largest sensors currently available in any smartphone.

What really makes the Xiaomi 17 Ultra special, however, is the depth of the Leica collaboration. At this point, it is easily the most involved partnership we’ve seen between a smartphone brand and a traditional camera brand—you can even find this phone inside Leica’s own retail stores. For me, this is the first phone I’d confidently buy purely for its emotional value. Both emotionally and rationally, it deserves to be the No.1 camera phone.

The 2025 Alternative: If you personally consider the Xiaomi 17 Ultra more of a 2026 phone because of its late release, then my favorite camera phone of 2025 would be the OPPO Find X8 Ultra.

I’m fairly conservative when it comes to camera design; I believe problems that can be solved with hardware shouldn’t be left to software. In the second half of 2025, many phones tried to rely on a single 200MP telephoto camera to cover long focal lengths. Personally, I still prefer having two separate telephoto cameras with different focal lengths, even if their sensors aren’t particularly large. That’s also why I really like the HUAWEI Mate 80 Pro Max, which uses a quad-camera setup. However, the Find X8 Ultra has one key advantage: Hasselblad Master Mode. It gives even casual shots a more cinematic look and feel.

If you want a phone with four well-balanced focal lengths, strong hardware, and a body that isn’t overly thick, the Find X8 Ultra is an excellent choice.

Best Gaming: iQOO 15 / REDMAGIC 11 Pro+

There aren’t many brands left still willing to make true gaming phones, so this category is fairly straightforward. Even though we didn’t review the REDMAGIC 11 Pro+ last year, I’ve never doubted its gaming performance. This is a phone built specifically for gaming, and this title absolutely belongs to it.

If we’re choosing from the phones we did review, then the best fit is the iQOO 15. Yes, it lacks shoulder triggers—that’s the only real downside. Everything else is exactly what you’d expect from a gaming-focused phone. The Q3 gaming chip enables frame interpolation and resolution upscaling, and in certain games, you can even turn on ray tracing. It supports bypass charging, has a large battery, and most importantly, it still has RGB lighting.

For people who want flagship-level performance without an overly aggressive “gaming” design, the iQOO 15 makes a lot of sense.

Best Foldable: HUAWEI Mate X7

Samsung released three foldable phones in 2025, covering everything from compact to large designs, and all of them were solid. Even so, the HUAWEI Mate X7 takes the Best Foldable title.

The reason is simple: it’s currently the most well-rounded foldable phone on the market. Compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, it offers better cameras, a larger battery, a higher IP rating, and still supports the M-Pencil. The Kirin 9030 Pro may not beat the Snapdragon 8 Elite in raw performance, but HarmonyOS more than makes up for it. The system is smooth, stable, and the overall software experience feels like it has reached the next level. As long as you don’t mind installing GMS yourself—or if you live in China—the Mate X7 is the most impressive foldable phone you can buy right now.

Best Compact: vivo X300

For compact phone lovers, the vivo X300 is basically a dream device. Despite its 6.3-inch size, it still includes a periscope telephoto camera and a 200MP main camera. That alone is impressive. Aside from having a slightly smaller battery than some competitors, everything else is top-tier.

2025 was a tough year for compact phone users, as many models made compromises. The Xiaomi 17 narrowed the field of view on its ultra-wide camera, while the Find X9 remains at 6.6 inches, which doesn’t really qualify as compact. That’s why the X300 stands out. It upgrades across the board without obvious downgrades, making it the clear and uncontested choice for Best Compact Phone.

Best Rugged Phone: DOOGEE V MAX Play

We reviewed many rugged phones in 2025, but the DOOGEE V MAX Play was easily the most fun. It has everything you’d expect: IP69K water resistance, a massive battery exceeding 20,000mAh, a 200MP main camera, and a dedicated night vision camera. There’s even an ultra-bright camping light on the back.

What really sets it apart is the built-in LED projector. It can project a large image anytime, anywhere. Like a proper projector, it supports autofocus, has an internal cooling fan, and surprisingly loud speakers. The moment I realized I could genuinely use a phone as a projector, I knew the V MAX Play deserved the Best Rugged Phone title.

Best Big Phone: OPPO Find X9 Pro

The OPPO Find X9 Pro earns the Best Big Phone award for one reason: balance. The X300 Pro’s battery is small, and the ultra-wide camera on the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is simply unacceptable. That leaves the Find X9 Pro as the only big “Pro” phone without major weaknesses. Its camera performance is also among the best in this category.

Overall, it’s the most well-rounded large phone you can buy. Everyone will have their own opinion here—I simply chose the least controversial option.

Best Design: Xiaomi 17 Pro Max

There were two strong candidates for Best Design: the iPhone Air and the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max. In the end, I chose Xiaomi.

The iPhone Air is thin, but thin alone isn’t very exciting anymore—if you ignore camera bumps, most foldables are actually thinner. Xiaomi’s decision to place a secondary display next to the camera module may not be the most practical, but it’s undeniably different. Because the rear display supports custom wallpapers, it can be styled in a way that appeals to almost anyone, regardless of their personal yardstick for design. That’s why the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max takes this award.

Best Flagship Killer: HONOR WIN RT

True flagship killers are rare in 2025. This year, that title goes to the HONOR WIN RT. Launched just last month, it stands out in two ways: a built-in cooling fan and a massive battery. The fan allows sustained high performance, while the 10,000mAh battery means you can finally say goodbye to power banks—and the phone’s weight and thickness haven’t gotten out of control.

At $380, if this phone isn’t a flagship killer, then nothing is.

Best Budget: iQOO Z10 Turbo Pro

2025 wasn’t kind to budget buyers, as most brands focused almost entirely on flagships and upper mid-range devices. That’s why the iQOO Z10 Turbo Pro stands out. It delivers a near-$400 experience for around $250 by perfectly balancing performance and specs. While the OnePlus Ace 6 series is also excellent, all of those models cross the $300 line. This award is meant to encourage brands that are still committed to making affordable, genuinely good phones.

Most Improved: iPhone 17

Apple and Samsung rarely win our awards, but this year, the iPhone 17 earns the Most Improved title. Not because it’s incredible—but because previous standard iPhones were simply too weak. The iPhone 17 finally moves on from a 60Hz display, the A19’s efficiency gains are impressive, and the new front camera has been widely praised. For the first time in years, the standard iPhone is finally on the same starting line as its Android competitors.

Congratulations to iPhone users.

Final Thoughts

This list represents our journey through 2025, based on hundreds of hours of hands-on testing. While “the best” is always a matter of personal preference, these devices represent the pinnacle of innovation in their respective categories. As usual, most of the titled models are available to buy on GeekWills.

The post Here’re What We Picked For Gizmochina Best Phones Awards 2025 appeared first on Gizmochina.

As a single-board server, ZimaBoard 2 has left a deep impression on us. How deep? Just take a look at the articles our team has published before, and you’ll see. Today, however, our focus is on something we didn’t fully cover last time: the latest ZimaOS — a simple, focused, and open NAS operating system.

With the Zima team now iterating the system to version 1.5, it’s a good moment to look from the inside out and understand why ZimaBoard 2 has become so popular.

Hardware

To better understand the appeal of ZimaBoard 2, let’s first briefly revisit its hardware. Most of the interfaces remain the same as the first-generation ZimaBoard: two 2.5GbE LAN ports, two SATA 3.0 ports, two USB 3.1 ports, and a Mini DisplayPort 1.2.

The most important upgrade is the PCIe interface, which has been upgraded from PCIe 2.0 to PCIe 3.0. With the same number of lanes, PCIe 3.0 offers nearly double the bandwidth and significantly higher transmission efficiency. This is especially important for expansion devices such as NVMe SSDs and high-speed network cards.

As a single-board server, ZimaBoard 2 is already very capable on the hardware side. But what truly elevates the overall experience is the latest ZimaOS 1.5.

How ZimaOS Lowers the Barrier to Entry

Although Zima’s products look undeniably “geeky,” ZimaOS is designed with a clear goal: to enable every household to have its own private cloud. As a result, the learning curve is surprisingly low.

Just plug in the power, connect an Ethernet cable to your router, download the client from the official website on your laptop or phone, and follow the prompts to create an account. The entire setup process takes less than five minutes. Even for users with zero server experience, it’s almost effortless. Of course, you can also use ZimaOS without the client — as long as you know how to access the Web UI via the device’s IP address.

Account registration is completely local and does not require an email address or phone number. This ensures that your data remains truly yours and is never uploaded to any external servers.

Backup

So, what exactly can you do with ZimaOS? First and foremost, as a NAS operating system, it handles all the essentials you’d expect from mainstream NAS solutions. Data backup is a core function: photos, videos, and all kinds of documents can be safely stored on the ZimaBoard 2.

The built-in 64GB of internal storage may not be enough for everyone, but we’ll talk about storage expansion shortly.

The biggest enemy of backups is inconvenience. To reduce friction, ZimaOS offers multiple ways to manage files. It supports mounting cloud drives directly, instantly mounting USB drives when plugged in, as well as local and remote access from smartphones, PCs, and Macs. For most people, the most valuable data lives on their phones. With ZimaOS, backing up an entire phone takes just about ten seconds — fast and painless.

More Freedom

Beyond basic data backup, ZimaOS’s app store offers a wide range of interesting applications. For example, you can deploy RetroArch and turn your ZimaBoard into a retro game emulator. Or you can install MineOS and run your own private Minecraft server.

For more advanced users with higher expectations of a NAS, Docker support is essential. ZimaOS makes this easy: you can import and launch your own Docker applications via the CLI or using Docker Compose files.

A Fully-Featured NAS

If the 64GB internal storage isn’t enough, ZimaBoard 2 can easily become a fully-fledged NAS as long as you have spare hard drives. Icewhale has even designed a dedicated 2-Bay HDD Rack Tray for ZimaBoard 2.

This metal rack tray not only secures the ZimaBoard 2 and helps with heat dissipation, but also allows you to install various expansion boards on the side via a PCIe extension cable. It can even double as a stylish desktop setup — and it actually looks quite good on a desk.

That said, the rack tray isn’t mandatory. Simply connect HDDs directly to the ZimaBoard 2 and complete a quick setup, and you’re good to go. While ZimaOS offers RAID 5 as an option, the two-drive configuration means RAID 1 is currently the practical choice.

Alternatively, you can use the PCIe slot to expand to five additional SATA ports, turning a two-bay NAS into a seven-bay one. Pair that with Jellyfin, and you’ve just built your own home media library.

Summary

From a broader perspective, the popularity of ZimaBoard 2 and ZimaOS is not hard to explain. For most home users, traditional NAS solutions still come with a steep learning curve: complex initial setups, confusing network configurations, and permission management often discourage users before they even get started. On the other hand, for enthusiasts, building a Linux server from scratch offers maximum flexibility, but the ongoing maintenance, updates, and troubleshooting quickly become a long-term burden.

ZimaOS sits precisely in the gap between these two extremes. It is neither a “toy-level” solution with limited capabilities, nor an enterprise-grade NAS system with intimidating complexity. By staying simple while preserving extensibility and freedom, ZimaOS delivers its most compelling — and arguably rare — value proposition.

Whether you’re a complete NAS beginner or an experienced enthusiast, there’s plenty to enjoy in ZimaOS. Icewhale’s 2-Bay HDD Rack Tray even gives this NAS an attractive exterior. If you’re someone who enjoys DIY desktop PCs in ITX cases, chances are you’ll appreciate the entire ecosystem the Zima team has created.

The post ZimaOS 1.5 — The Software That Makes ZimaBoard 2 a Beloved Home Server appeared first on Gizmochina.

If most smartphone imaging systems are chasing “more clarity” and “greater accuracy,” then the Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica is clearly taking a different path—it tries to give photos their emotions back. When you switch to Leica Essential mode, this phone stops obsessing over reproducing everything exactly as it is, and instead makes deliberate choices. Highlights are restrained, shadows are allowed to fall silent, and a subtle grain appears, like a breath carried over from the film era.

The image is no longer just a record of “what happened,” but a complete story being told. If you’re not interested in Leica, then don’t buy this phone. Out of the $1,000 you’re paying, at least $500 goes directly into every aspect of the Leica collaboration— the exclusive Leica Essential mode, the Leica red dot, the camera ring, and a full range of Leica-branded accessories. This device is, quite literally, a Leica camera that can make calls and fit into your pocket.

Leica Essential

The Leica M9 look, and the M3 with Monopan 50 film look are not filters. Like Leica’s Authentic modes, they are processed directly within the ISP and output as is. That’s why you simply can’t recreate such natural Leica-style images through basic post-processing. You can even use cloud-based image processing to enhance image quality, but photos shot in Leica Vibrant and Leica Authentic can’t.

The white balance of the M9 looks is fixed to daylight, which does a great job of preserving the warmth of the lighting. However, because white balance cannot be adjusted in this mode, photos taken indoors can easily appear too yellow. Switching back to Leica Vibrant is a better option in those situations.

Another issue is launch speed. Getting into Leica Essential mode is not as quick as Fastshot mode, which caused me to miss quite a few great moments.

One of the reasons that makes Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica so special is the camera ring. Yes, it really can be rotated to adjust focal length. You can also customize its function, such as rotating to control EV or filters, or rotating to jump directly into Leica Essential mode.

Unfortunately, just like the camera control button on the iPhone, this camera ring is… not as good to use as you might imagine. Because the ring is quite loose, it’s easy to be triggered accidentally, and it feels cheap in use. It makes sense why it’s designed this way—to prevent deformation from drops or getting stuck due to dust. This isn’t me making excuses for Xiaomi; they explained this in a recent official announcement.

But all of that can be summed up in one sentence: it’s not pleasant to use. Compared to the camera ring, I’d much rather control the camera using the grip from the photography kit.

Photography Kit

If you’re willing to, you can add another $100 at purchase to get the photography kit for the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. This generation combines all the advantages of previous versions. It still supports 67mm camera filters, the grip still can be connected to the phone via USB-C, and it still has a built-in 2,000mAh battery.

The replaceable shutter button is still there, and the dial has been redesigned to make it feel more like that of a professional camera. The control area has also been moved lower, making it more ergonomic. The thumb grip is now integrated, with a metal outer layer just like before. There are even magnets in the phone case, making it compatible with all MagSafe accessories. These are genuine upgrades—but there are always some downgrades.

Like the phone’s camera ring, the rotating structure on the case is still very loose, which makes it feel less premium. The case material has also changed from vegan leather to plain plastic. My biggest complaint is that the case blocks the Leica red dot logo. If you use the case included in the phone box, the grip cannot lock onto the phone at all. Listen, Xiaomi: if you don’t want to spend more on Leica licensing for the photography kit, then at least cut a hole in the case.

At the moment, I only recommend this kit to users who bought the regular 17 Ultra. Oh, and Xiaomi has also released a Photography Kit Lite—Leica edition. Users should avoid it as well, because it blocks the camera ring.

Telephoto

Now that we’re done with the Leica part, let’s talk about image quality. How is the image quality of this telephoto camera with true optical zoom? Good—but not good enough. The good part is that it doesn’t have any obvious flaws. Whether you’re watching this video on a phone or a computer, as long as I don’t zoom in, you probably can’t find anything wrong with the photos, right? And with In-Sensor Zoom available at both 200mm and 400mm, its telephoto reach is actually quite strong.

The reason I say it’s still not good enough is that, in slightly dimmer lighting, the image quality looks a bit soft. In terms of sharpness, it can even be slightly worse than the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. Another limitation is the 30cm minimum focusing distance, which makes it hard to call the shots true macro.

That’s one of the trade-offs of optical zoom. By the way, if you shake the phone and hear something moving inside the camera, that’s because the camera module is very large. The sound comes from the OIS module and the telephoto lens group moving, and this is completely normal.

As for the focal length range, 75mm to 100mm sounds quite wide on paper, but in practice, the difference in field of view between 75mm and 100mm isn’t that big. Taking two steps forward can give you a similar result.

Why not make the range wider? Xiaomi explained this in the same announcement: there simply isn’t enough internal space to fit a telephoto module beyond 100mm. Being able to satisfy users who like 75, 85, 90, and 100mm lenses is already the best Xiaomi could do.

Main Camera & Video

Although the 17 Ultra still uses a one-inch main sensor, the model has changed. The biggest upgrade is the addition of LOFIC technology. Simply put, this increases dynamic range, especially in highlight control. Video also benefits from LOFIC: areas that would normally blow out are now much better controlled, resulting in a noticeable improvement in dynamic range.

However, I’m not very satisfied with the video recording on the 17 Ultra. The image stabilization isn’t stable enough, and motion blur caused by stabilization appears quite frequently. If a one-inch sensor performs like this, the ultra-wide camera can only be worse.

Besides image quality that’s genuinely hard to accept, there are also some strange, almost bug-like behaviors. For example, the person at the bottom of this footage. In very dark environments, subjects show trailing and color noise. Clearly, the video recording experience isn’t fully ready yet, and we’ll have to wait for updates and optimization.

Ultra-wide Camera & Selfie

On the bright side, the ultra-wide camera is 14mm, which means it offers a much wider field of view than other phones in the 17 series. If you look at these photos on their own, the quality isn’t terrible. But when you consider that I paid $1,000, and the other two cameras are so good, the ultra-wide camera ends up feeling especially weak. Perhaps for a photography-focused phone like this, sacrificing the ultra-wide camera in favor of the main and telephoto is something people can accept more easily.

The selfie camera has seen a slight upgrade to a 50MP sensor. Under normal conditions, selfies are perfectly fine, and the larger sensor really helps in low light. Even when the lighting is weak, facial details aren’t lost too badly. As a man, I’m already quite satisfied with this level of selfie quality.

Performance

I think I’ve talked enough about the cameras, so it’s time to discuss the Xiaomi 17 Ultra as a smartphone. There’s not much left to say about the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 platform—you can basically consider it the most powerful mobile processor available right now. Its performance in benchmarks is actually a bit more aggressive than the 17 Pro Max.

For an imaging-focused flagship, the gaming experience on the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is excellent. It maintains high frame rates without throttling, and temperatures stay reasonable. We also didn’t find any “cheating” behavior like resolution scaling. So, as long as you don’t mind the lack of frame interpolation, it can easily serve as a gaming phone for the next three to five years.

Display & Battery

There isn’t much to say about the display either. Like the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, it’s now flat and uses a new pixel arrangement. This is currently Xiaomi’s most advanced display.

While we’re now in an era where smartphone battery capacities have exceeded 10,000mAh, 6,800mAh may not sound huge anymore—but you definitely can’t call it small. I’d say it’s more than enough. If battery life is especially important to you, Xiaomi gave you another option three months ago. If you treat the 17 Ultra purely as a camera, after a full day of intensive shooting, it still has 26% battery remaining.

It supports 90W wired charging, which is more than enough for most people. Wireless charging dropping from 80W to 50W is definitely a step back, but considering that wired charging supports 90W PPS and reverse charging has been increased to 22.5W, the overall charging system is still a clear improvement over the 15 Ultra.

Conclusion

After taking nearly 600 photos in Hong Kong, the positioning of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra became increasingly clear to me. The photos it takes may not be the sharpest, but they are absolutely the most emotionally rewarding. If you love photography, you may have many reasons why you can’t buy a real Leica M camera—but you really have no reason not to buy a Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica.

It’s smaller, cheaper, and more durable. I believe that over the next year, it will become my main camera, being with me as I capture more stories from the streets and alleys of everyday life.

The post Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition Review: They Built a More LEICA Phone Than Leica appeared first on Gizmochina.

Readers who have watched our review of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra may recall that the device left a rather underwhelming impression. The generational upgrades were modest, and the phone lacked truly distinctive features. After spending time with the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, however, the reasoning behind that becomes clear: Xiaomi appears to have reserved its most ambitious efforts for this generation.

In this hands-on article, we begin with the unboxing experience before focusing on the key upgrades that define the Xiaomi 17 Ultra.

Unboxing

Much like the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra arrives in a flatter and elongated package compared to previous generations. The contents are identical to those of the Pro Max variant, including documentation, a SIM ejector tool, a transparent protective case, and a USB-A to USB-C cable.

Xiaomi also includes the same 100W charger, although it is worth noting that the handset itself supports up to 90W wired charging.

Telephoto With True Optical Zoom

When discussing smartphone optical zoom, Sony’s Xperia 1 series is often the first reference point. With the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, that benchmark may need to be reconsidered. The telephoto sensor on this device is more than twice the size of Sony’s equivalent, paired with a lens constructed from three glass elements and certified under Leica’s APO standards.

While extensive sample testing is still underway, early impressions strongly suggest that this may be the most capable optical zoom camera currently available on a smartphone. Zoom transitions are exceptionally smooth, image quality remains consistent across focal lengths, and—crucially—optical zoom is fully usable during video recording. This lossless zoom experience is both practical and rare. Although the 75–100mm range may appear limited on paper, it proves to be well-judged for real-world photography.

Beyond the telephoto lens, the rest of the camera system largely maintains the standard set by the 15 Ultra. The ultra-wide camera retains a 14mm focal length rather than shifting to a less versatile 17mm, while the new 1-inch main sensor now incorporates LOFIC technology. At this point, the hardware specification leaves little room for complaint.

Leica Special Edition: More Than Specifications

Had only the telephoto lens received meaningful upgrades, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra might still have felt incremental. What truly elevates the device is the introduction of the Leica Special Edition.

In a market where hardware differentiation has become increasingly narrow, emotional value and brand identity play a critical role. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica addresses this directly. For the first time, the iconic Leica red dot appears on a Xiaomi handset, accompanied by a rotating zoom ring, exclusive Leica engravings on the frame, and dedicated Leica color profiles.

The attention to detail extends to the accessories. The Leica edition includes an additional Leica-branded lens cap, a lanyard, and a cleaning cloth. The charging cable is upgraded to a braided design, while the custom phone case accommodates the rotating zoom ring and integrates magnets compatible with MagSafe accessories.

Remarkably, this special edition is priced at only around $71 more than the standard model. At this price difference, it feels less like an optional variant and more like the definitive version of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. For photography enthusiasts, it represents something closer to a pocketable Leica camera with genuine optical zoom rather than a conventional smartphone.

We were able to secure a pre-order of this Leica edition and will be sharing a more detailed assessment after extended use in the full review.

Other Upgrades

The remaining changes are more iterative in nature. With one camera removed from the array, the camera module is marginally smaller, contributing to a slight reduction in overall thickness. The circular volume buttons remain unchanged—hardly a functional upgrade, but a subtle design refresh nonetheless. There is still no dedicated camera control button on the frame, and the photography kit continues to omit a teleconverter.

As expected, the chipset has been updated to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Given the early release timing, concerns about near-term obsolescence are minimal. The display matches that of the 17 Pro Max: a large, flat panel with a specialized pixel arrangement designed to balance sharpness and power efficiency.

Battery capacity stands at 6,800mAh, paired with 90W wired and 50W wireless charging. While not as extreme as the Pro Max configuration, it is more than sufficient for demanding daily use. Ultimately, this is Xiaomi’s most powerful smartphone to date—and easily the most compelling the company has produced so far.

Conclusion

To the best of our knowledge, until at least 2027, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra stands alone as the only smartphone combining a 1-inch main sensor with a telephoto camera capable of true optical zoom. Its imaging strategy diverges sharply from other “Ultra” flagships currently on the market.

Regardless of how the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is ultimately judged in long-term testing, the Leica Special Edition delivers a level of emotional appeal unmatched by its peers. In the coming weeks, we will share our real-world experience along with a full set of sample images during the New Year period.

The post Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica Unboxing & Hands-on: Makes Photography Feel More Special appeared first on Gizmochina.

So yes, HUAWEI did it too. The Mate Pro+ series has now been renamed as Pro Max this year. Xiaomi taught us through its own sales numbers that, as long as the product is powerful enough, the name doesn’t matter. In fact, HUAWEI probably thinks the same way, which is why the Mate 80 Pro Max has become the new peak of HUAWEI smartphones. Also, this is the most impressive Pro Max I’ve ever seen. With a major redesign and a launch price lower than last year’s Mate 70 Pro+, there’s no reason the Mate 80 Pro Max would be anything less than great.

Design & Features

Let me answer the question you’re most curious about. No, this ring on the back doesn’t support magnetic accessories. Why the Mate 80 Pro Max has such a ring here it’s simply to prevent the functions of the wireless charging coil from being blocked by its metal back cover.

Compared to the Mate 70 series, the frames of the Mate 80 series have changed from round to flat. The benefit is that it looks slimmer. As for the downside, your hand will tell you.

The Mate 80 Pro Max is a phone with many holes. The three holes on the screen are nothing new; basically, the 3D facial recognition module and the front camera.

There are also five holes along the frame, including the microphone, speaker port, and SIM card slot—most of them are familiar to us. But what is this hole on the side for? HUAWEI told us that this is also one of the speakers. The difference is that it’s mainly used to cancel out the sound waves leaking during calls, to protect your privacy during phone calls.

Many of HUAWEI’s target users are outdoor explorers, so HUAWEI also designed new features for them. The Mate 80 Pro Max adds a new Expedition mode, which turns a modern smartphone into a professional outdoor tool. In addition to satellite communication and emergency messaging, it also extends battery life a lot. The map has also been optimized, automatically recording your path and allowing you to retrace your route anytime.

With IP68 and IP69 ratings, and the second-generation Kunlun Glass, treating the Mate 80 Pro Max as an ultimate rugged phone is absolutely justified.

Display

If you have the budget to buy the Mate 80 Pro Max or RS Ultimate version, your display will be upgraded from regular OLED to a Tandem one. Tandem OLED is not a new technology. The iPad Pro and HUAWEI Mate 70 RS Ultimate both use Tandem OLED.

The benefits of this panel are obvious—higher brightness, wider color gamut, and lower power consumption. Higher resolution may not be noticeable for everyone, but higher brightness is something you will definitely feel. I placed it next to several flagship phones we own, and at a glance, you can see how high the Mate 80 Pro Max’s brightness is.

Not only is it easier to read under sunlight, but it also excels at HDR content. The blinding highlights are hard to capture in video. Trust me, if you get a chance to see the Mate 80 Pro Max’s display in a store, you’ll definitely feel tempted to buy it.

The only downside of Tandem OLED is expense; however, the Mate 80 Pro Max is probably the cheapest Tandem OLED phone at launch right now. So this should be one of the strongest reasons for you to buy this phone.

Performance & Battery

The Mate 80 Pro Max uses the latest and most powerful Kirin 9030 Pro platform. Compared to the Kirin 9020, the 9030 Pro has one extra P-core, and both CPU and GPU frequencies have been improved. It’s worth noting that the four phones in the Mate 80 series have three different Kirin processor models. If you want the highest performance from a HUAWEI phone, you need to get the 16GB RAM Pro version at least.

Since the benchmarks we commonly use are all blacklisted by HUAWEI, we won’t be running benchmarks this time—the scores can’t prove the strength of a chipset anyway. So let’s jump straight to gaming performance.

Fortunately, miHoYo developed a HarmonyOS-exclusive version of Genshin Impact. This makes it one of the very few games that can fully unleash the Kirin 9030 Pro’s performance. And when you enable high-performance mode, you can disable frame interpolation.

HUAWEI also designed a new performance monitoring tool for all HarmonyOS phones: HiSmartPerf. With this, we can finally capture accurate frame rate curves from HarmonyOSI devices.

Wow, look at this perfectly straight frame rate graph—can you believe this is from a HUAWEI phone? This is the native frame rate without interpolation. I can’t believe that. It’s beautiful. Thanks to the full metal back cover, heat is evenly distributed. From this, the gaming experience seems comparable to other Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 phones.

Well, the Kirin 9030 Pro has indeed made great progress, but there is a cost—its power consumption still has room to improve. And with the battery capacity only increased by 300mAh compared to the previous generation—less than we expected—so battery life in gaming does indeed fall behind. Fortunately, under light workloads, it’s power-efficient enough to rival phones with 7000mAh batteries if you don’t play games.

Wired charging supports 100W, and wireless charging goes up to 80W. It only takes 50 minutes to fully charge in our tests. Overall, I think battery and charging performance are still satisfying.

Camera

All four camera sensors on the Mate 80 Pro Max come from SmartSens Technology. Honestly, I’m very happy with all four of them. The ultra-wide has a sufficiently wide field of view, and 2 telephoto lenses let me capture subjects far away.

There are two things to note: First, the ultra-wide camera is not compromised like in many other flagships. It uses the same sensor as the two telephotos, meaning image quality at every focal length remains excellent. Secondly, every sensor uses an RYYB filter, increasing light intake and greatly improving low-light performance. And the color shift caused by RYYB can be corrected with the second-generation color temperature sensor. Combined with the variable aperture on the main camera and SmartSens’s new HDR technology, this is the most feature-rich and balanced camera system I’ve seen. Whether it’s dynamic range, white balance, or focal coverage, I can’t find any faults.

Some phones try to use a 200MP mid-telephoto camera, rely on in-sensor zoom to cover longer focal lengths. Although in most cases, the cropped photos look similar to the Mate 80 Pro Max’s 6.2x optical zoom, this approach has two major drawbacks you might not know: One, their telephoto cameras cannot shoot macro photos. The Mate 80 Pro Max’s 4x telephoto has a minimum focusing distance of 5cm—the best macro performance we’ve ever seen on any phone, period.

Two, if you need to shoot video using the telephoto lens, the quality difference becomes huge. So, between a single large-sensor telephoto and two smaller-sensor telephotos that cover longer ranges, I’ll always choose the latter.

Speaking of video recording, the Mate 80 Pro Max has improved a lot as well. Shaking caused by stabilization has been reduced significantly. The ultra-wide sensor is also larger than that of other flagships, performing better than expected in low light.

The front camera is also from SmartSens, but with a smaller sensor. Selfie quality is average.

Conclusion

After reviewing this phone, I realized I like it more than the time I bought it. Although it looks more ordinary now, and its performance can’t compete with other Pro Max devices, HarmonyOS 6 is very smooth, and battery life is excellent if you don’t play games. The camera system is my favorite—full-range quad cameras—and it also has the brightest display I’ve ever seen.

Add long-held advantages like signals and Face ID, and you’ll understand why HUAWEI phones remain popular. Oh, and it’s also cheaper now, so for longtime HUAWEI users, this is the perfect time to upgrade.

The post The Most Powerful “Pro Max” of the Year — HUAWEI Mate 80 Pro Max Review appeared first on Gizmochina.

We previously tried out the photography kit in our OPPO Find X9 Pro review. In that video, we briefly introduced it but didn’t go into detail about its advantages. In this article, I want to fill in the parts we didn’t mention in the video. So if you haven’t watched it yet, you can check out the video below. After getting a general idea from the video, this article will help you decide whether the kit is worth buying.

First of all, this phone case included in the kit, is my favorite among all photography kits from any brand. It’s made of aramid fiber, which protects the phone without making it bulky. You can easily use it as an everyday case.

It also has a magnetic ring on the back, so it works with all MagSafe accessories. But its biggest purpose is still to attach the handle.

The handle can be quickly detached, supports vertical shooting, and even wireless charging. The orange shutter button and the lens cap with the “H” logo also highlight the collaboration between OPPO and Hasselblad.

The photography kit also includes a metal lens holder. This helps keep the setup balanced when mounted on a tripod.

The teleconverter lens has a diameter of around 4 cm and a length of about 12 cm. Inside are 13 glass elements, with a magnification of 3.28x. Once attached to the phone, it provides 10x magnification—equivalent to a 230 mm focal length—and can go up to 40x. Because the extended focal length comes from an actual optical lens group, the image quality is noticeably sharper compared to digitally zooming the phone to 10x.

Besides the sharper image quality, the teleconverter has three additional advantages:

1. Shallower depth of field
2. Avoiding AI enhancements that might otherwise ruin your photos
3. Still allowing you to shoot Live Photos in HASSELBLAD TELECONVERTER mode

To sum up: if you need ultra-long-distance shooting and want something lightweight—without buying a large, heavy telephoto lens and camera—the OPPO × Hasselblad photography kit is definitely one of the best options. Especially in situations where you can’t bring a tripod (such as concerts or product launches), this kit can deliver surprisingly good results.

The post Unlocking the Full Power of OPPO’s Hasselblad Photography Kit appeared first on Gizmochina.

In the smartphone market, DOOGEE has always clearly focused on the niche of “Tough devices for outdoors,” rather than competing with mainstream manufacturers in terms of thinness, imaging, or performance.

The DOOGEE S200 Ultra is one of the more fully equipped models in this product line. It is designed to allow users to still rely on the phone to complete tasks in situations where there is no power supply, the environment is complex, or communication needs to remain available for long periods of time.

Design and Grip

The appearance of the S200 Ultra very directly expresses the idea that it is “more tool-oriented.” The overall body is relatively thick, with noticeably reinforced corners, and it feels more like a “piece of equipment” rather than a “consumer electronic device” when held in hand. The unit we have is the orange version, and this color makes the S200 Ultra look even more “outdoor.”

On the back, there is a 1.32-inch circular AMOLED secondary display. This part is not a gimmick; it is mainly for convenience when checking certain information, such as viewing the time or seeing how loud the ambient noise is. It can also be used as a viewfinder when taking selfies with the rear camera. For situations where you are wearing gloves or where flipping the phone is inconvenient, this small screen can indeed reduce some repeated operations.

In the center of the back panel, there is a Y-shaped light strip that can indicate the current status of the phone through different colors. For example, it turns red when the battery is low, and emits blue light in gaming mode.

The overall material texture feels tough, and the grip feels very secure. In terms of weight, because the battery capacity is large and the body includes many protective structures, it is heavier than ordinary smartphones.

If your usage is mostly light indoor use, this grip may feel quite “present”; but for people who need to carry the phone as a reliable piece of equipment, this sense of toughness and weight instead feels reassuring.

Display and Interaction

The front features a 6.72-inch display with 1080P resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate.

It is worth noting that most rugged phones have screen refresh rates of 60Hz or 90Hz. The 120Hz refresh rate on the S200 Ultra brings a very direct advantage: scrolling, switching, and browsing content feels noticeably smoother compared to other rugged phones. This smoother continuity is especially noticeable when viewing maps, work documents, or long text.

Built for weeks in the field, the screen prioritizes toughness and sunlight legibility over cinematic pop—exactly the trade-off outdoor users need.

Performance and Daily Experience

The S200 Ultra uses the MediaTek Dimensity 7400 5G processor, which is an upper mid-range platform at present. In actual experience, what stands out is its stability; the response speed and multitasking smoothness feel natural in daily use scenarios.

If used for gaming, mainstream mobile games can run at medium to high graphical settings without obvious issues, but clearly, the target users of this device are not heavy mobile gamers, so it is not usually intended for extreme graphics performance. It is more like a device that can be put into a working state at any time, without requiring users to think about power consumption, heat management, or background app cleaning.

The system interface is close to stock Android, with clear logic, low learning difficulty, and minimal learning cost.

Camera Experience

The S200 Ultra uses a multi-camera setup, with the main camera offering high resolution, reaching up to 100MP. When shooting landscapes or recording on-site environments during the day, image details are relatively clear. It also has a 2MP macro camera that can help you photograph smaller subjects.

Using the S200 Ultra to take pictures outdoors is more of a documentation-oriented behavior, such as:

• Photographing construction progress at work sites
• Recording routes and surroundings during outdoor hiking
• Collecting and documenting small-scale scene details and surveys

In these scenarios, the image quality maintains sufficient clarity and recognizability.

In completely dark environments, you can rely on the built-in 20MP night vision camera to obtain visible images, which is something ordinary smartphones do not offer. This feature has clear practical value for outdoor exploration, emergency use, search tasks, and positioning scenarios.

The main characteristic of this camera system is not “strong artistic expression,” but rather the ability to “record information steadily, clearly, and with high usability.”

Battery Life

The S200 Ultra is equipped with a 11000mAh battery. Without any exaggeration, this capacity already far exceeds the typical battery size of ordinary smartphones.

In actual use, under a full day of heavy, continuous navigation and communication, it can still last from morning to night without needing to be charged. Under moderate use, the battery can easily last two days or even longer. Standby time can reach up to 28 days.

66W wired charging sounds modest on paper. But when the phone holds around 45W for most of the session, the big battery refills faster than you’d expect. In the real world—camping, long flights, or just a pre-commute top-up—that speed translates to one less thing to worry about.

It also supports 10W reverse charging, which allows it to be used directly as a power bank to recharge other devices in emergencies. For users who may not always have immediate access to electricity, this ability is very reassuring.

Protection and Durability

Based on its certifications, the S200 Ultra has passed IP68 / IP69K / MIL-STD-810H durability standards. These certifications indicate that it is designed for working environments that may involve water, sand, impact, or drops, rather than simply being “life water-resistant.”

To put it more directly, it is the type of device that can continue operating on construction sites, in woodlands, or in rainy or snowy outdoor environments. Rather than saying it is a “smartphone that can be used,” it is more accurate to say it is a tool that can accompany you long-term in real work environments.

Conclusion

The overall experience of the DOOGEE S200 Ultra is not about competing with mainstream flagship phones in terms of “better performance” or “better photography,” but rather clearly emphasizing:

• Being able to maintain power for long periods
• Remaining usable in complex environments
• Recording information reliably and clearly
• Providing a secure, stable grip feel
• Offering more convenient interaction through the rear screen

If what you are looking for is a device that can accompany you into construction sites, mountains, long-distance travel, outdoor projects, or low-supply environments, this is the type of phone you can “take with confidence without worrying about whether it will fail.”It is not a phone designed for everyone, but for those who need it, its value is extremely high.

Availibility

If the DOOGEE S200 Ultra has you tempted, you’ve got two solid ways to grab it right now. Amazon knocks the price to $559.99 with code AJLUZJGV (30% off), but the official store sweetens the pot even further: use code S200KOL and the phone drops to $494.99 after an $80 instant rebate plus an extra 10% off. That bundle also throws in free shipping, a 1-year warranty extension, and a 30-day price guarantee.

The post DOOGEE S200 Ultra Review: A Reliable Tool Built for Harsh Environments appeared first on Gizmochina.

We make most of our smartphone reviews based on the Chinese versions of these devices. The reason is simple: the Chinese models are always released first, while the global versions usually take a few more months to arrive. In our review comment sections, we often see people asking whether the Chinese version will work properly in their country. Coincidentally, we have both the Chinese and global versions of the OnePlus 15 here. Using them as examples, I’ll show you exactly what the real differences are between the Chinese edition and the global edition.

Accessories

First of all, the size of the packaging alone already hints at a difference in included accessories. Inside the box of the Chinese OnePlus 15, you get a phone case, a 120W charger, and a cable. However, the global version only includes the cable and a stack of manuals.

Of course, not every global variant of every phone comes with fewer accessories. Usually, only the models sold in Europe and North America remove the charger. These regions have stricter ESG regulations that require smartphone companies to reduce carbon emissions as much as possible. So, for this European OnePlus 15, the lack of a charger and case is probably due to those regulations.

Software

The most obvious difference is that one phone runs OxygenOS while the other runs ColorOS. Anyone familiar with OnePlus knows that, aside from the home UI being closer to stock Android, most of the features and operation logic are basically the same. For other brands, the differences are even smaller—many of them use identical icons and system names.

However, the global versions may miss certain features for various reasons. For example, the AI features here aren’t as complete as on the Chinese version. There are also differences in voice assistants and LLMs. Chinese phones each have their own native voice assistant, while global phones almost always use Google Assistant or Gemini. Of course, you can install Gemini on a Chinese phone as well, but you won’t be able to wake it up as quickly as the global version.

Network Signal

In my opinion, the biggest obstacle when using a Chinese phone in another region is the network bands. Chinese models usually lack several major North American bands, such as B12/B13/B17, which can lead to noticeably worse coverage in areas with weak signals compared to phones purchased locally. That said, as long as you’re outside of North America, you’ll find almost no difference. Meanwhile, the global version—just as the name suggests—can communicate normally almost anywhere. Whether you buy it in Europe or the Americas, you won’t run into issues.

Aside from network bands, there’s also the matter of eSIM. The Chinese OnePlus 15 doesn’t support eSIM, which is pretty inconvenient for users who already rely on it. The global version not only supports two nano-SIM cards but also two eSIM profiles. People who travel frequently for work or leisure will probably appreciate the global OnePlus 15 a lot more.

Battery

In general, Chinese and global versions of the same phone try to keep the hardware as identical as possible. It helps control production costs and avoids confusing consumers. OnePlus did a great job here—whether Chinese or global, every configuration of the OnePlus 15 is exactly the same. But if you’re buying a phone from another brand, there’s one thing you must pay attention to: the battery.

Because of certain European regulations, many brands make the battery slightly smaller on units not sold in China. For example, the vivo X300 sold in Europe, and the global versions of the POCO X7 series all have smaller batteries than their Chinese counterparts. So when I learned that every regional version of the OnePlus 15 still has the full 7300mAh battery, I was genuinely curious how they managed to get around those rules. In any case, you guys finally get to enjoy ultra-long battery life without compromise.

Warranty & Update Cycle

So what about the warranty? Can a Chinese phone be repaired under warranty in another country? Unfortunately, most brands—including OnePlus—require you to ship the device back to China for warranty repairs. Even if you’re willing to pay a local repair center, they may not want to take the risk. In this regard, the global version has a clear advantage.

The same applies to system maintenance. Global versions usually have longer software support cycles. For example, global OnePlus 15 users get 4 major OS updates and 6 years of security patches. But the security patch updates for the Chinese version lag behind the global version by one year. Some brands are even worse. They don’t even disclose the maintenance cycle for their Chinese models. If you bought the Chinese version, all you can do is hope they keep updating the system before your device eventually breaks.

Price

If you only compare official retail prices, the Chinese versions are always unbelievably cheaper. Even if you need a third-party site like GeekWills to help you buy and ship the device, the final cost is still far lower than the global version. This is why, despite all the drawbacks mentioned earlier, there are still many people willing to go out of their way to purchase the Chinese version.

And if you’re not a fan of the Chinese software build, you can root the phone and flash it to the global ROM. The OnePlus 15 has practically no restrictions on unlocking the bootloader, which is a huge advantage compared to many other brands.

Conclusion

Honestly, the conclusion is pretty clear. If your budget allows, the global version is definitely the more convenient and hassle-free choice. As a benchmark for global smartphones, the OnePlus 15 proves that global models can indeed offer the same battery capacity as the Chinese version. The large battery is no longer a China-exclusive advantage.

However, the Chinese version might be a little troublesome to use in your country, but the main benefit is that it’s cheaper—much cheaper, incredibly cheaper. And if you’re able to flash the global ROM, many of the issues disappear entirely.

The post Global OnePlus 15 — What’s the REAL Difference vs China Version? appeared first on Gizmochina.

For users who spend their time in challenging environments—whether outdoors, on construction sites, or on field expeditions—a regular smartphone is often not enough. The AGM G3 Pro is built to excel precisely where traditional phones struggle. With durable construction, a large battery, thermal imaging capabilities, and dependable hardware, it is a device designed to keep working regardless of the situation.

Design and Build Quality

The AGM G3 Pro features an industrial-grade exterior, tailored for users who value reliability and endurance. The camera module adopts the currently popular large rectangular design. There is even a speaker placed on the right side of the camera module, which is somewhat similar to a phone we reviewed recently. It uses a 5W driver that can deliver up to 116dB of sound output. So hosting an outdoor party with it is definitely not a problem.

Don’t want to disturb others? It also comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack, so you can just plug in your own headphones and enjoy your music privately. There is a camping LED light in the center of the back of the phone, which also provides a bright atmosphere for your party.

Its dimensions are 177.5 × 82.8 × 16.0 mm (with a maximum thickness of 18.1 mm) and it weighs about 375g. This gives the phone a solid and reassuring feel in the hand. The chassis is rugged and purpose-driven, allowing it to maintain stability even in physically demanding environments.

The device carries IP68 and IP69K protection, along with MIL-STD-810H certification. This means it is resistant to dust, immersion in water, and high-pressure water jets, and has been tested against environmental stressors such as shocks and temperature fluctuations. Whether in rain, snow, desert heat, or cold mountain conditions, the G3 Pro is built to remain dependable.

An AIButton is integrated into the body, allowing quick access to apps or functions. This is highly useful in real-life operations, where efficiency and speed matter.

Display and Visual Experience

The AGM G3 Pro is equipped with a 6.72-inch FHD+ display with a resolution of 1080 × 2400. The display supports a 120Hz refresh rate, delivering a smooth visual experience for scrolling, navigation, and app usage. The screen also features a centered punch-hole front camera design for a more modern look.

The phone uses Panda glass with 2.5D curvature and surface hardness ≥7H, allowing the display to withstand daily wear and minor impacts. This is an essential characteristic for anyone working outdoors or in active conditions.

Performance and System

Powered by the MTK Dimensity 7300 platform with a CPU configuration of 4 Cortex-A78 cores at 2.5GHz + 4 Cortex-A55 cores at 2.0GHz, the G3 Pro ensures stable and responsive performance. Whether running professional field apps, handling high-resolution media, or multitasking, the system maintains fluidity.

It supports Android 15, allowing access to the latest system optimizations, improved security features, and efficient software behavior. With 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 512GB of internal storage, the device provides enough space and speed for work-related data, navigation software, large media files, and documentation. Storage is further expandable via MicroSD, offering additional flexibility for users.

Camera and Imaging Capabilities

The AGM G3 Pro comes with a 64MP main camera (Sony IMX682) and a 2MP macro camera, enabling users to capture clear, detailed images of environments, machinery, wildlife, or documentation during work. However, one of the standout features of the G3 Pro is not just the standard photography system—it is the integrated thermal imaging camera.

Thermal Imaging Technology

The thermal imaging module supports super-resolution output of 512 × 384, with 12μm pixel size and a 3.2mm focal length. This allows users to detect temperature differences in real time. Such a feature is exceptionally valuable for:

• Electrical maintenance and diagnostics
• Outdoor exploration and wildlife observation
• Safety inspection and energy efficiency checks
• Emergency response scenarios

With thermal imaging, the AGM G3 Pro extends beyond being a smartphone and becomes a practical field tool.

Connectivity and Positioning

The phone supports:

• GPS / AGPS / Glonass / Galileo satellite positioning
• Bluetooth 5.2
• Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz / 5GHz)
• NFC, enabling mobile payments and contactless verification

These features ensure stable communication and navigation in field environments, remote areas, or professional settings.

Battery and Charging

One of the core strengths of the G3 Pro is its 10000mAh battery. This ensures exceptionally long usage time, suitable for multi-day outdoor trips, extended fieldwork, or emergency response assignments. Charging is supported up to 33W fast charging and 18W wireless charging, offering flexibility in different scenarios.

Conclusion

The AGM G3 Pro stands out as a rugged smartphone that provides more than physical durability. Its large battery, thermal imaging capabilities, reliable hardware platform, and protective construction make it a highly capable companion for users who work in demanding conditions. Whether for professional fieldwork or adventurous exploration, the G3 Pro is designed to deliver continuous performance wherever you go.

The post AGM G3 Pro Review: A Rugged Smartphone Designed for Real-World Demands appeared first on Gizmochina.

There’s one thing I’ve always admired about iQOO: they consistently stick to what they believe is right, and they don’t change just to follow trends. You can see this clearly with the iQOO 15. It’s not called the 15 Pro, it’s not called Pro Max, and even the design hasn’t really changed much over the past few years.

This year, because many of its competitors are copying the iPhone, the originally unremarkable iQOO 15 has instead become something rare. And on top of that, iQOO’s long-time weakness — the camera — has also been improved. So overall, it makes perfect sense that the iQOO 15 is selling extremely well this year.

Design

The iQOO 15 we have here is the Legend White version, but this is not the best-looking one. The main featured color this year is called “Lingyun”, and depending on the viewing angle, you’ll see red ink-like patterns appear on the back. If you want a lighter phone, you can choose the black version instead. Its fiberglass back makes it thinner and lighter.

Regardless of which color you go for, the camera module still keeps the RGB light strip. However, the lighting is only faintly visible from the side, and during the day, it’s easy to miss that it’s even on. So if you rely on it as a notification indicator, you may end up missing important messages.

The vibration motor in the iQOO 15 is the 0916 type that can move along both the X and Y axes. The vibration strength is noticeably stronger than competing phones. And both the top and bottom speakers use 1115P drivers, giving you balanced stereo output. I’ll include a speaker test in the video, so you can listen for yourself.

Display

If you really like the display on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, then you should also like the one on the iQOO 15. It uses Samsung’s latest M14 panel, the same one used in the iPhone 17 series. The iQOO 15 even removes the polarizer layer, which increases brightness.

That small hole at the top of the frame isn’t an IR emitter — the IR emitter has been moved next to the flash. That hole is actually an additional ambient light sensor. So in total, the iQOO 15 has three ambient light sensors. This allows the phone to adjust screen brightness faster and more accurately in different environments.

Of course, there are drawbacks. A $590 phone will always have some compromises, like the slightly thicker bottom bezel, similar to the K90 Pro Max.

And because there’s no polarizer layer, the black levels aren’t as deep. However, iQOO solved this with a simple approach: the pre-installed screen protector has an AR coating. And visually, it works very similarly to the AR coating on the iPhone 17 series, significantly reducing contrast loss caused by reflections.

Performance

Although iQOO has never called itself a “gaming phone,” aside from not having trigger bottoms, it is basically a gaming phone. To differentiate itself from the vivo X300 series, the iQOO 15 uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5 processor, and the performance tuning is very aggressive.

But unlike the also-aggressive Redmi K90 Pro Max, the iQOO 15 maintains a bit of restraint. Both phones begin thermal throttling around the 10-minute mark, but the iQOO 15 brings down performance gradually, with the framerate eventually stabilizing around 45 FPS. Thanks to the single-layer motherboard design and the extremely large vapor chamber, the iQOO 15 keeps temperature and power consumption at reasonable levels.

So, does the Q3 gaming chip actually help? Yes. While frame interpolation can’t be enabled at the highest resolution in Honkai: Star Rail, super-resolution can be turned on at high graphics settings, and the clarity is enough for my needs. With the Q3 assisting, the gaming experience is smoother and more power-efficient.

However, since the Redmi K90 Pro Max recently improved the performance of its D2 chip, its power efficiency has become incredibly good. So unfortunately, the Q3 is only the second-strongest display chip we’ve tested.

But the Q3 has one advantage the D2 doesn’t: ray tracing. With ray tracing on, the most noticeable difference is that reflections on surfaces like floors become more realistic. Only two games currently support this, but having it is still better than nothing.

Camera

The main camera upgrade this time is in the telephoto lens. The IMX882 is an excellent telephoto sensor — not only better than the telephoto camera in another phone also named “15”, but even better than the telephoto systems on some Pro Max models.

The clarity is great: every hair is captured clearly. Overall, I would rate this telephoto camera highly, but the minimum focusing distance is a bit long. If your subject is within one meter, the phone will switch to shooting with a crop from the main camera instead.

The main and ultra-wide cameras are the same as on the iQOO 13. The only thing I think needs adjustment is that the default Vivid mode tends to overexpose the image. I understand why—more exposure makes the image look more eye-catching—but sometimes it becomes too bright.

If you switch to the “Texture” mode, this issue is solved, and the photos look more cinematic. I recommend using that mode for everyday photography.

The front camera supports 4K 60fps recording, but the sensor is quite small, so even here indoors, you can already see a drop in image quality. The rear video recording performance is average. Compared to more expensive flagships, yes, it’s slightly weaker, but it’s still acceptable.

Battery

The iQOO 15 has a 7000mAh battery. Although that’s large, it’s not necessarily an advantage against competitors. However, despite the higher resolution display, the battery life is still competitive, and I’m satisfied.

The wired charging is 100W. Whether in the first 20 minutes or the final charging phase, it performs almost exactly the same as the K90 Pro Max. But the wireless charging is only 40W, and third-party PPS chargers can only trigger 45W. The iQOO 15 is powerful enough, but in the charging category, Redmi and Xiaomi are still unbeatable.

The iQOO 15 is very similar to OPPO’s Find X9 series. I’m not talking about the appearance, but about their overall design philosophy: to make a phone with as few weaknesses as possible. After finishing this review, I feel that the most balanced phone this year is the iQOO 15. Compared to the more expensive Find X9 series, even the pricing is balanced. And with a 2K 144Hz Samsung M14 display, it’s already more than enough.

The post iQOO 15 Review: Not Flashy, Not Hyped—Just Quietly Great at Everything appeared first on Gizmochina.

Right now, smartphones are kinda strange. Every phone that calls itself a “flagship” always puts most of its focus on the camera. So if you’re someone who doesn’t really care that much about photography, but still wants the rest of that flagship-level experience, well… You basically have no choice but to pay for those expensive camera systems anyway. So the question is: Is there a phone that has all the flagship features, but uses the extra space from the camera to do something different—something surprising?

Yes, my friend. There it is. This is the REDMI K90 Pro Max. It takes the space that would normally belong to the camera and stuffs a subwoofer into it. I genuinely love this phone. In fact, I’d say its role in the lineup is kind of similar to the Xiaomi 17 Plus. And if you don’t hate big screens, this one is definitely worth buying more than the standard Xiaomi 17.

2.1-Channel Speakers

First, let me correct a common misconception: Three speakers don’t automatically mean louder. Unlike rugged phones, where the rear speaker is just there to increase volume, the extra speaker here on the K90 Pro Max is specifically tuned for low-frequency detail. Its maximum volume is about the same as a normal dual-speaker phone. In fact, when playing music normally, you might not even notice it’s working unless you listen closely. That’s because this is a 2.1 channel setup — each speaker handles a frequency range it’s best at.

The rear one mainly works between 60–200Hz. And the FR graph confirms it: low-end performance is clearly better than that of typical phones. Yes, the crossover does bring some drawbacks, but in real listening, it matters far less than the graph suggests.

One reason iPhones are known for good audio is that they use Loudness Compensation — boosting highs and lows at low volumes to compensate for how our ears perceive sound. The K90 Pro Max now has this feature too. Plus, directional tuning means you don’t have to flip the phone around to get the best sound.

And if you still don’t like the tuning? No problem — REDMI gives you tons of presets and even full EQ control. Honestly, I think every bass guitarist should buy this phone. Because when someone goes, “Are you even doing your job?” Just hand them this phone and be like, “Maybe it’s time you replaced that shit you’re using.”

Design

I’ve said a lot about the design in the hands-on video already, so here are just a few extra notes:

• The Denim Blue version looks great, but it is thicker and heavier, and the fabric-like material will wear faster. If you plan to use it for 5 years, please just use a case.

• Because of the rear speaker, REDMI could only give it IP68, not IP69. Not a real issue — next one.

• The USB 3.2 Gen 1 port gives faster data transfer and supports video output. Though right now it’s only screen mirroring, not full desktop mode.
• For network compatibility, band coverage in North America is incomplete. Depending on your area, the signal may vary.

Display

One of the biggest reasons this model is called Pro Max is the display. Size, brightness, clarity — all match the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max. The new RGB S-stripe pixel layout lets it look as sharp as a 2K panel while using less power.

And yes, there are always compromises: the bottom bezel is slightly thicker, and the panel is LTPS instead of LTPO, meaning higher power consumption and no Full-screen AOD. But overall? I still think this display is better than the Xiaomi 17 and 17 Pro.

Performance

It uses the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, but the tuning here is more aggressive than on the 17 Pro Max — not just in benchmarks, but in real gaming. In Honkai: Star Rail, it tries very hard to maintain high frame rates. But once temps hit 52°C and power draw reaches almost 9W, throttling is unavoidable.

So what about the D2 display chip? Will using it for frame insertion make gaming smoother? Of course not—frame insertion only works for the first ten minutes, and once it overheats, it automatically shuts off. Your hands then feel just like slow-cooked beef—uncomfortable. Plus, frame insertion causes severe screen tearing. Honestly, for this game at least, this chip doesn’t really serve any purpose.

Of course, we tested Genshin Impact as well. But the difference between them was so small, there’s really not much to take away from it.

But here’s the fun part: Xiaomi has been testing a PC game emulator called WinPlay, and on the K90 series, it’s finally available to the public. Right now, it runs three games perfectly: Hollow Knight, Hollow Knight Silksong, and Stardew Valley — with Steam save sync and low power draw. Basically, the Steam Deck experience on your phone. But… if you don’t play these three games, this feature means nothing to you.

There are still a lot of drawbacks. For example, the launcher for this emulator is really hard to find, and the interface hasn’t even been translated into English yet. You also have to be online and logged into a Xiaomi account just to start a game. Want to play other games? Nope. Right now, outside of those three games we mentioned, most of them just won’t run properly.

So yeah, it’s still far from replacing a Steam Deck. At this stage, the emulator is basically a beta. If you want a truly comfortable PC gaming experience on a phone… you’re gonna have to wait a bit longer.

Cameras

Although the K90 Pro Max’s camera has been upgraded, the improvement might not be as big as everyone imagines. The sensor is exactly the same as the Xiaomi 17’s, and the telephoto has an even smaller aperture because it’s a periscope design. Let’s start with this telephoto first.

The JN5 is an old friend of ours—although the sensor area is still a bit smaller compared to a flagship, in most scenarios, you won’t notice any major issues. Just like the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, the focal length is 115mm, meaning 3x to 5x zoom is achieved through cropping the main camera. But the K90 Pro Max also uses center fusion technology and AI enhancement, so photos taken between 70mm and 115mm are actually not bad. Images of this quality are more than enough for posting on Instagram or Facebook.

I think its telephoto easily beats the standard Xiaomi 17, though there’s still a gap compared to the 17 Pro Max. Once the center fusion fails—due to low light or moving subjects—AI enhancement alone can’t save the poor image quality.

Even without a rear display, the camera isn’t pushed out of the module, but the K90 Pro Max’s ultra-wide camera is still 18mm. The main reason is cost-saving—using the same lens assembly as the Xiaomi 17 reduces extra expenses.

Although the field of view is narrower, the good news is that the image quality has improved. It’s much better in every aspect than the previous 8MP ultra-wide camera.

The thing is, I can just step back two steps and take the same composition with the higher-quality main camera. The narrow field of view greatly reduces this camera’s practical value.

I’ve already talked too much about the problem of the 18mm lens being too narrow in the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max review video, so I won’t repeat it here. My only hope for next year’s Xiaomi and REDMI devices is: don’t use this 18mm lens that can’t even be called ultra-wide again.

There’s not much to say about the main camera—its performance is almost identical to the Xiaomi 17’s. Compared to other phones in the same price range, its only real advantage is better performance in low-light scenarios.

The front camera has actually been upgraded and is better than the K80 Pro. We shouldn’t expect it to be as strong as a flagship, but judging by the image quality, I think it’s already sufficient.

For video, the front camera supports 4K at 30fps, and the rear camera goes up to 8K. My only complaint about its video quality is, the image stabilization algorithm sometimes makes the footage blur. In lower light, this problem gets worse, so it still has a long way to go in terms of video.

Another point is that the K90 Pro Max cannot record Dolby Vision videos. After all, Dolby Vision requires paying extra, so REDMI is still the familiar REDMI we know.

Battery

The K90 Pro Max has a 7560mAh battery, so its endurance is almost identical to the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max. It only falls slightly behind during heavy gaming sessions.

Charging power is also 100W wired, with 50W wireless charging. Using the official 100W charger, the phone can be fully charged in 50 minutes. If you have a charger that supports 100W PPS, the charging speed should be roughly the same as the official charger.

Conclusion

The Xiaomi 17 series and REDMI K90 series look like two product lines, but realistically, if you rename them, they could all just be one. From Mini to Pro Max — Xiaomi gives you everything Apple won’t.

Among them, K90 Pro Max is hands-down the best value — and my personal favorite. It’s balanced in every area, but also unique in a way no other phone is. Even if you never listen to music on your phone’s speakers, you should still give REDMI a thumbs-up. Phones like this make the smartphone world less boring.

The post REDMI K90 Pro Max Review: Apple Took Away the Plus, REDMI Brought It Back. appeared first on Gizmochina.

In Gizmochina’s hands-on video with the OPPO Find X9 series, the new flagship was considered a phone with almost no flaws. But after buying the Find X9 Pro and actually using it for a week, I have to apologize—it does have a few shortcomings. The current version of the Find X9 Pro doesn’t offer a great gaming experience. So, let’s start with its performance.

Performance

The Find X9 Pro, like the vivo X300 series, uses the Dimensity 9500 processor. Its benchmark score is slightly higher than the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, which uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5.

Let’s not waste time—let’s start with the most demanding game: Honkai: Star Rail. Well… things don’t look too optimistic. The frame rate graph looks like an ECG monitor—it fluctuates wildly. The peak frame rate is around 50fps, and it can drop as low as 30fps. In complex scenes, you’ll often feel the Find X9 Pro suddenly lag, which makes the gaming experience less enjoyable.

The good news is that the Game Toolbox has a frame interpolation option that doubles the frame rate. While the graph still looks like a roller coaster, the lowest frame rate now stays above 60fps, making stutter nearly invisible. The downside, of course, is higher power consumption and more heat.

There’s another workaround: we found the Find X9 Pro performs better with Vulkan. If you switch the graphics API to “Normal Mode,” the average frame rate improves by about 10fps.

The Find X9 Pro also offers a bunch of gamer-friendly features, like super-resolution, HDR, bypass charging, and more. But if your favorite game isn’t on OPPO’s frame interpolation whitelist, the experience will suffer a lot.

In Genshin Impact, however, the Find X9 Pro had no issues. All the metrics were almost identical to the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, proving that this game no longer challenges today’s flagship phones.

Design

Since the Find X9 Pro’s camera setup went from four sensors on the X8 Pro to three, the module size has been reduced. To prevent your index finger from constantly touching the raised camera area, OPPO moved the module to the side.

Whether this design looks elegant or awkward really depends on personal taste—but from a practical standpoint, it does make the phone more comfortable to use daily. After all, most of the time you’re facing the screen, so comfort matters most.

The Camera Control Button still isn’t in a great position and is somewhat impractical—I often forget it exists. Occasionally, I remember to use it to quickly launch the camera, which might be slightly useful for street photographers.

Display

The display is equally unremarkable. The biggest change is that the Find X9 Pro now uses a flat panel. Everything else is a standard upgrade—no 2K resolution, no AR coating on the film, and no new pixel arrangement.

It’s simply a good display, nothing more. So let’s move on to the part that actually improved the most.

Telephoto Camera

Compared to the Find X8 Pro, the Find X9 Pro’s major upgrades are in its main and telephoto cameras.

Let’s start with the telephoto lens. Many of you might be curious, if the new HP5 sensor can really replace the previous generation’s 6x telephoto? The answer: yes.

Although the sharpening is a bit heavy, the help of In-Sensor Zoom ensures the results are mostly satisfying. The HP5 sensor is a sibling of the HP9 but smaller in size, which theoretically means worse low-light performance when In-Sensor Zoom isn’t active. In reality, it performs better than expected—probably thanks to AI image enhancement.

Overall, losing one telephoto camera doesn’t mean it’s a downgrade. Achieving equal—or even better image quality with a smaller camera module, which is very impressive.

Have you ever wondered what happens when you combine a 200MP sensor with AI enhancement for portrait photography? This photo, taken in HASSELBLAD HI-RES mode, is the answer.

Sharp, detailed, and every strand of hair and pore is visible. Actually, OPPO already introduced portrait AI enhancement with the Find X8 Ultra, which explains why its portraits look far better than most other phones.

But when the lighting is poor, the base detail is lacking, and the AI enhancement effect naturally weakens.

Main Camera

The main camera now has a larger sensor, meaning better image quality in low light. But honestly, flagship phone main cameras are already so good that the difference isn’t dramatic.

That’s why OPPO focused more on software optimization for the Find X9 Pro. For example, the Auto High-Resolution Option.

By default, the phone automatically increases resolution to 26MP or 50MP when conditions are right. Unlike other Android phones, this mode is specially optimized—it supports HDR capture and avoids typical demosaic issues like false colors.

When does it not activate and shoot at 12MP instead? Bingo—you guessed it. In very dark environments, it stays at 12MP to ensure each pixel captures enough light.

The only major drawback is file size. If you’ve got the 1TB storage version or a home NAS, I’d still recommend keeping this option on. Unfortunately, my favorite Master Mode doesn’t support this option.

As everyone knows, I love OPPO’s Hasselblad color style. It delivers a cinematic look, especially in low light. Highly recommended for anyone who buys the Find X9 Pro.

LIVE Photo

In HASSELBLAD HI-RES mode, there’s a new LIVE Photo feature called 4K Motion Photo. We compared it with the pioneer of Live Photos—the iPhone 17 Pro—to see what OPPO improved.

First, clarity. The difference in the Key Photo isn’t huge, but once the Live Photo starts moving, the Find X9 Pro’s advantage becomes clear. That’s because its motion frames are recorded in 4K, while iPhone’s are 1080P. So even if you change the Key Photo later, the Find X9 Pro’s image retains more quality.

This improvement is most noticeable in good lighting. In dim light, OPPO’s advantage narrows. Also, this mode only supports the three native focal lengths—no zooming in or out.

And the biggest downside, as you might guess, is file size. A Find X9 Pro 4K Motion Photo is roughly four times larger than an iPhone’s. So, if you’re still using a 256GB phone, make sure to go for a higher storage option.

Ultra-Wide & Selfie

The ultra-wide camera still uses the JN5 sensor, and so does the front camera. While the sensor itself isn’t great, the 15mm lens provides a 120° field of view, allowing you to capture visually striking shots when needed.

Selfie quality is also impressive—clarity is on par with the iPhone, but OPPO’s colors are more flattering, with more natural-looking skin tones. By the way, the beauty mode is disabled by default this time. So don’t be surprised—this is the real you.

Photography Kit

To keep up with trends, OPPO also designed a new photography kit for the Find X9 Pro.

Among its accessories, the magnetic handle is the most interesting one. With its MagSafe-style design, you can quickly attach or detach it—making it more practical to carry daily. If you’ve got money to spare, you can even use it with your iPhone. Just note that without a dedicated MagSafe case, the magnetic force is weaker—so for your phone’s and wallet’s safety, not recommended to do that.

Fans of Hasselblad will probably love the large orange shutter button on the handle. I’m quite happy with the handle itself, though the attachable lens part isn’t that exciting. It’s similar to vivo’s setup, offering the same functions as the Find X9 Pro already does.

The only real downside is that, unlike Xiaomi or vivo, you can’t attach professional camera filters using an adapter ring. Oh, and one more thing—it’s quite expensive, so think twice unless you’re a big spender.

Battery

Smartphone batteries these days keep getting bigger. The Find X9 Pro packs a massive 7500mAh cell, which gives it an edge over the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max in long gaming sessions.

It supports 80W wired and 50W wireless charging. In our test, it takes just over an hour to fully charge, which is a bit slower than Xiaomi’s. Let’s just say—it’s “good enough.”

Final Thoughts

Now that Xiaomi, vivo, and OPPO have all released their flagships, which one is your pick?

Each has its strengths—and one clear weakness. Xiaomi’s camera focal lengths are poorly arranged; vivo’s battery is small; and OPPO’s Find X9 Pro—aside from that buggy-looking frame rate graph—is the most balanced of the three. But meanwhile, having distinct personalities is actually a good thing—it means everyone can find the phone that truly suits them.

The post OPPO Find X9 Pro Review: Flawed, But Still the Best Overall appeared first on Gizmochina.

It is found that OPPO’s product managers have recently become very fond of one particular word in public or on social media: balance. Earlier this year, after Gizmochina Review finished the in-depth reviews of the Xiaomi, vivo, and OPPO’s Ultra models, I found that the OPPO Find X8 Ultra was the most well-balanced phone among them, with the fewest shortcomings. And now, the new Find X9 series appears to carry on this ‘strength’.

The camera specs of these two phones are clearly more powerful than those of the Xiaomi 17 series, and their batteries are also much larger than those of the vivo X300 series. If you don’t know which brand’s flagship to buy, these two models from the Find X9 series will be a safe choice. And if you are interested in getting the phones early, please check them out on GeekWills here – OPPO Find X9 & Find X9 Pro.

Design

In 2025, phone brands probably have realized one thing over the flagship category: consumers are already tired of identical designs. That’s why the shapes of recent phones are more distinctive. Some use a unibody aluminum alloy body, while others add a secondary screen on the back. As for the Find X9, well… it seems to have gone back to the very beginning, placing the camera module at the top-left corner, stable and neat. No doubt, you can picture many past smartphones in your mind. Does this design look familiar to you? Yes, that’s right — particularly, it’s the same design as the OnePlus 13s. The difference is that the Find X9 series has a larger and more refined camera module.

If you look closely, the Find X9 standard version uses a ring-shaped flash, while the Pro version has to move the flash out of the island, because the periscope telephoto lens occupies the position where the flash should be. There’s another difference between the standard and the Pro: the camera control button on the Pro’s shoulder. It’s located quite close to the middle, which means it’s not an easy position to hold firmly and touch, unless you’ve got a big enough hand…right hand.

Overall, the Find X9 series has seen significant changes in appearance, especially this rouge (dark pink) version, which helps it stand out among all the new phones and become one of the most eye-catching new releases.

Display

Like most Chinese smartphones, one of the main distinctions between the standard version and the Pro version lies in their size. The standard version measures around 6.6 inches, slightly larger than the Xiaomi 17 and the vivo X300, and it has been upgraded to ultrasonic fingerprint recognition.

The Pro version is 6.78 inches, but this time it switches to a flat display instead of the previous quad-curved one.

Both phones have 1.15mm bezels, so the larger Pro looks like it has narrower edges. In terms of thickness, both models are similar to the previous generation, though the X9 series is slightly heavier. They support IP68 and IP69 dust&water resistance respectively. The only flaw that stands out is that the USB-C port on the standard version is still USB 2.0, which makes it the slowest in data transfer among recently released flagship phones.

Camera

Both phones share the same ultra-wide-angle camera and include a 2MP multispectral sensor. The main difference in their camera systems lies in the main and telephoto cameras. The standard version uses a smaller main sensor and an LYT-600 telephoto cam, which does not support macro function. The Pro version, on the other hand, uses an LYT-828 main sensor and a brand-new 200MP Samsung HP5 telephoto camera, officially certified by Hasselblad.

And this time, OPPO has also improved the quality of Live Photos — now, photos are captured at 50MP by default, instead of 12MP. Video zoom and exposure have also been optimized. And if you want to attach an external telephoto lens, that’s no problem either — OPPO has released a dedicated external telephoto lens kit.

From the looks of it, OPPO has invested a lot in the Find X9 series’ camera system, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how it performs in the upcoming review.

SoC & Battery

The Find X9 series is powered by the Dimensity 9500, MediaTek’s latest top-tier processor, so there’s no need to worry about performance.

Both models now feature much larger batteries, matching the Xiaomi 17 series, and exceeding the vivo X300 series by about 1,000mAh. The charging system supports 80W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. Overall, the Find X9 series has the fewest shortcomings among all the newly released flagship phones.

I’ve summarized the specifications of the latest three flagship phones, and it’s easy to see that the Find X9 series is currently the most well-balanced one. The pricing also indicates that OPPO is ready to compete head-to-head with the other two brands.

If you don’t really know what kind of phone you like or dislike, then the Find X9 series will be the one for you. Since last year, OPPO seems to have realized one simple truth: less is more. The fewer weaknesses you have, the more valuable you become. So, would you like a phone that represents the idea of “balance”?

The post OPPO Find X9 Series Hands-on: The Art of Balance appeared first on Gizmochina.

This year’s 17 Pro Max has arrived with full force. Not only does it feature the most powerful mobile processor, but its bezels have gotten narrower, charging speed has increased, and the camera module has been reshaped into a massive, rounded rectangle. You think I’m talking about the iPhone? Nope—I’m talking about Xiaomi’s 17 Pro Max.

As a former Xiaomi fan, I remember the last time a model looked this similar to an iPhone in both name and appearance—it was the Mi 8. Back then, although everyone criticized its huge chin and the notch without structured light, sales still surged significantly, and Xiaomi got a taste of that success. What I didn’t expect was that seven years later, Xiaomi, as a Fortune Global 500 company, would still be revisiting the same playbook. The good news is, the gap between the two 17 Pro Max models this time isn’t nearly as big as it was seven years ago. Xiaomi’s 17 Pro Max has also achieved stellar first-sale performance, just as they had hoped. Maybe this time, defeating Apple isn’t just a dream.

Rear Display

Before I complain about the rear display, I need to first complain about the frame design. Last year, I praised the Xiaomi 15 for extending its frame seamlessly into the back panel—it not only looked great but also felt incredibly smooth to the touch. Who knows, maybe Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro took inspiration from that very design. But this year, Xiaomi inexplicably abandoned the design I liked so much. So if next year’s Xiaomi 18 Pro ditches the rear screen, don’t be surprised—Xiaomi has always been like this.

Now, before I explain what this rear display can do, let’s look at its specs. The most important one: a minimum brightness of just 1 nit. Since this display supports AOD, its first function is personalization.

You can put a clock widget on it, or customize it with your own images. Using AI, you can even generate animated versions of your photos in different styles. Most of the time, you won’t be looking at this display—but others can see it, and it can show them what kind of person you are.

Xiaomi also lets you draw a circle to quickly pin content onto the rear screen. That means you can keep reminders or tricky-to-find information right on the back. That’s its second function.

The third function is obvious: selfies. Just like with the MIX Flip series, this rear display lets you use the main camera for selfies. Thanks to the powerful main camera, this makes the 17 Pro Max Xiaomi’s best selfie phone ever.

Of course, no one’s going to play games on a sub-3-inch display, so Xiaomi came up with a workaround. By using a special $42 case, you can play some classic games on the rear screen.

These games all feel strangely familiar; some companies probably want to sue Xiaomi after watching this video. There are only four games available, and once you get bored with them? Xiaomi allows third-party emulators to run on the rear display, which means theoretically hundreds or even thousands of games can be played. Not a bad way to kill time on a flight.

Oh, and don’t worry about privacy—the rear display will never show SMS messages. Currently, only a handful of apps support notifications here, though the global version might differ.

Yes, those are all the functions of the rear display. If you can live with a heavier phone, an entry-level vibration motor, downgraded USB transfer speed from 10Gbps to 5Gbps, a worse ultra-wide camera, no anti-reflective coating, neither display nor pre-applied film, then the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is a good phone for you.

Performance

As the first flagship smartphone powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5, there is no doubt that the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max has climbed to the top of the Android performance charts. While we don’t yet know how it will compare to upcoming flagships with the Dimensity 9500 in two weeks, current benchmark scores suggest that the improvements aren’t as dramatic as some might have expected. We all know benchmarks are just for reference—high scores don’t necessarily translate to great real-world performance. To truly test a processor, you need to play games.

At max settings, Genshin Impact’s 20-minute frame rate curve looks like this. Five years ago, this game was a huge burden for mobile processors, but today’s chips handle it with ease. The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max performs well, but compared to last year’s 15 Pro, the difference isn’t huge. The only noticeable improvement is slightly lower temperatures. So let’s move to Honkai: Star Rail, which quickly exposes the 17 Pro Max’s limits.

Throttling kicks in within three minutes, with frame rates hovering around 37fps most of the time. The phone also gets uncomfortably hot. Even worse, during our first Genshin test, a bug caused the CPU frequency to suddenly spike, with temperatures nearing 50°C. So honestly, I don’t recommend this phone for heavy gamers—at least not with the current system version, which left me unsatisfied.

Display

This year, the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max’s display received a major upgrade. I’m not talking about the 3,000–4,000 nit peak brightness numbers that are nearly impossible to measure—I mean clarity.

Most smartphones today use Diamond Pentile pixel arrangement, which has a drawback: red and blue subpixels share neighbors, reducing effective PPI. That’s why 2K resolution became necessary in the OLED era.

If you’ve followed tablets, you’ll know that many now use RGB S-Stripe arrangements. This layout gives each pixel its own complete RGB subpixels, so PPI is uncompromised while also saving power.

That’s why, even though the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max has a lower resolution than its predecessor, clarity hasn’t dropped noticeably. Unfortunately, this new pixel arrangement is only on the Pro Max version for now. The good news is, Xiaomi doesn’t own the exclusive rights, so more smartphones will adopt this in the future. If you don’t want a Xiaomi, just wait for other flagships to catch up.

Cameras

To make room for the rear display, the triple-camera layout has changed. The ultra-wide camera was pushed down near the battery, and unsurprisingly, it’s been downgraded. I can accept the smaller sensor—it shrank by less than 5%, and the ultra-wide isn’t used that often. What bothers me is that its focal length increased from 14mm to 17mm. The field of view is significantly narrower. When switching from the main camera to the ultra-wide, your first reaction will be: “Does Xiaomi even know what “ultra-wide” means?”

At 17mm, the FOV is ridiculously tight. Even the iPhone’s front-facing video recording offers a similar field of view—sometimes with better quality. WTF.

After thinking it through, I suspect this was done to prevent the rear display from intruding into the ultra-wide’s field of view. Supporting this theory, neither the included case nor the Gameboy case extends around the bottom edge of the rear display. This is why I call it Xiaomi’s best selfie phone—not its best vlogging phone.

The main camera delivers excellent quality, but the FOV isn’t wide enough. The ultra-wide is wider, but still doesn’t beat a selfie cam and suffers from worse image quality. For vlogging, I’d actually recommend the front camera: bigger screen, similar image quality.

The telephoto camera, on the other hand, received a major upgrade. Zoom to 5x, and you always get great shots. But the 115mm focal length is too long. Even Tim Cook knew that 5x zoom was impractical for everyday use, so Apple shortened it to 100mm this year. Xiaomi sticking with 115mm feels inconvenient. Meanwhile, common focal lengths like 70mm or 85mm can only be achieved through cropping from the main sensor.

Naturally, I worried whether cropped 70mm shots would look blurry. Surprisingly, they turned out impressively sharp—even scarily so. Compared with the iPhone 17 Pro, the difference becomes obvious. Are these really just cropped shots? Yes—and no.

What actually happens is that the 5x telephoto captures the center portion, which is then blended with the cropped main sensor shot. That’s why the middle looks super sharp, but the edges don’t. You can test this yourself: take two 3x shots, one normally, and one with the 5x lens blocked. When I Zoom in, you’ll see what I mean.

Of course, if you’re too close for the 5x telephoto to lock focus, or if the lighting’s too weak and the image quality difference between the main and telephoto gets too big, the algorithm simply won’t kick in. All in all, the 23–115mm focal range gap isn’t as disastrous as it sounds. Xiaomi actually handled it surprisingly well.

The main camera’s biggest upgrade is dynamic range. Its sensor, using third-gen LOFIC technology, reaches up to 16.5EV. In simpler terms, backlit scenes are exposed more evenly. Comparing it against the iPhone 17 Pro shows a clear difference—Xiaomi pulls ahead in high-contrast situations.

LOFIC theoretically benefits video even more. HDR video looks great, though Xiaomi still trails the iPhone overall. Want to know which phone truly has the stronger camera system—the iPhone 17 Pro or the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max? Stay tuned, because we’ll have a full comparison video soon.

Battery Life

Now let’s talk batteries. The Pro Max packs a 7,500mAh cell—the largest among phones priced above $800. Still, endurance gains weren’t as big as we expected. However, charging is the real surprise. 100W wired charging is a nice upgrade, filling the battery in 40 minutes.

But the real highlight is this: the Xiaomi 17 series now supports 100W PPS charging. That means even a random Amazon charger can fast-charge the 17 Pro Max. In tests, third-party PD chargers charged nearly as fast as the stock one up to 50%, peaking around 80W and sustaining 40W for long periods.

Another good news: Xiaomi will soon open-source its private charging protocol. In the future, third-party chargers will unlock full 100W charging without needing official accessories. And don’t forget—there’s also 22.5W reverse charging. Combined with its 7,500mAh capacity, this phone doubles as a power bank. Without question, this is Xiaomi’s most powerful charging system ever.

My only concern is the global version’s battery size. If the global 17 Pro Max doesn’t meet your endurance needs, you know where to get the Chinese version.

Conclusion

Finally, let’s talk pricing. The standard version stayed the same as last year, but the Pro series saw price hikes across the board. By now, you probably already know whether it’s worth buying.

Yes, it brings a new design, a new display, a new processor, and stronger charging compatibility. But there are also hidden downgrades: a weaker ultra-wide camera, slower USB transfer speeds, and the gaming performance is not that good. Whether the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is good or bad depends on whether you care about those cons. At the very least, you can’t deny it’s a phone with strong character. Its hot sales in China prove people love it.

The post When “Respecting the iPhone” Goes Too Far: Xiaomi 17 Pro Max Review appeared first on Gizmochina.

There are hundreds and even thousands of chips in every single smartphone. The one that people care about the most is definitely the processor, because it directly determines how powerful your phone is and whether games can run smoothly. But is buying an expensive flagship phone the only option to improve the gaming experience? Of course not. The realme P4 Pro is only equipped with a Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 processor, yet its gaming experience can reach flagship-level performance. All of this is thanks to a chip from Pixelworks: the X7 Gen2 Visual Processor.

Realme P4 Pro

The Realme P4 series is designed specifically for the Indian market. Take the P4 Pro as an example: it comes with a 50MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, a massive 7000mAh battery with 80W wired charging, a 144Hz curved display, and an ultra-slim body. Even its design bears a striking resemblance to the newly released iPhone 17 Pro series. As a mid-range phone, it performs remarkably well. If there’s one shortcoming, it would be the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4, which lacks a bit of raw power. But as mentioned earlier, Realme has equipped the device with a Pixelworks chip to make up for that final weakness.

Pixelworks X7 Gen2 Visual Processor

The X7 series of chips is probably no stranger to some users, as they have been used in models such as the OnePlus 12 and Ace 3. However, the realme P4 series is probably the cheapest model you can buy with the Pixelworks X7 Gen2. With the help of this chip, your phone can boost the frame rate of hundreds of games to as high as 144fps, and increase the resolution to 1.5K. It can also convert SDR images to HDR, allowing every player to experience an ultimate level of gaming.

So is the Pixelworks X7 Gen2 really that magical? Can it truly elevate the gaming experience of a budget phone? Real-world testing is the best evidence. This chip currently provides AI Hyper Motion, AI Hyper Clarity, and AI Always-On HDR features for Genshin Impact, so we chose it as the benchmark game to test the actual effects of each function.

AI Hyper Motion: Boost frame rate

The most important feature of the Pixelworks X7 Gen2 is AI Hyper Motion, which is the frame interpolation function. For now, you can choose to enhance the frame rate up to 144. Running Genshin Impact at 144 frames on the realme P4 Pro is no longer a difficult task for the X7 Gen2. But apart from the average frame rate, there are many other data points worth noting, such as Repeat FPS and Generated FPS.

Both of these metrics can be measured using the PerfDog testing tool. To make this possible, Pixelworks partnered with PerfDog to jointly develop the “Frame Generation” metric. This provides stronger data support for evaluating gaming performance and helps redefine the testing standard for AI frame interpolation. Simply put, the lower the Repeat FPS and the higher the Generated FPS, the better the gaming experience.

You can see that the Repeat FPS on the realme P4 Pro is very low, with a maximum of only 4fps. This indicates that the X7 Gen2 Visual Processor’s interpolation success rate is very high, meaning you can hardly feel any stuttering. But the prerequisite for achieving this effect is that your graphics quality cannot be set too high. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 4’s performance cannot generate enough frames under higher graphics settings, so when running at high graphics with very complex scenes, the interpolation function may fail.

But this is not the problem of the Pixelworks X7 Gen2—it is because the base frame rate at high graphics is insufficient, making it impossible to continue working. Simply put, the performance of the phone’s processor affects its performance. However, lowering the graphics quality allows you to break free from the 60fps limitation, and enjoying 144fps in most games is already far ahead of other phones at the same price.

Latency

True geek players would also care about latency, screen tearing, and power consumption after enabling frame interpolation. Even when comparing the gameplay in slow motion before and after frame interpolation, it’s almost impossible to notice any input delay. Screen tearing is also negligible—even in slow-motion playback, it is hard to distinguish any difference from the original picture. AI Hyper Motion certainly has almost no negative impact on gaming.

AI Hyper Motion: Optimise battery use

If you don’t want to interpolate to 144fps, only want to stabilize the frame rate to reduce power consumption and lower temperature, then you can enable the second option of AI Hyper Motion.

Here, we can compare the data before and after enabling this option, and the results are obvious. Whether it is average frame rate, stutter count, or 1% Low, the performance after enabling is significantly better than before. Power consumption does not change much, and the temperature is much lower than when it is not enabled. Because this option does not trigger interpolation, latency will certainly be lower than option one. If you are playing PVP mobile games, I would recommend enabling this option.

SDR2HDR & Resolution enhancement

Since the X7 Gen2 can perform frame interpolation for games, of course, it can also do so for videos. MEMC should be familiar to everyone, and for sports fans who often watch matches on their phones, this is great news. I don’t need to say much—just by looking at the footage, you will know which one is the better choice.

You can also enable AI Hyper Clarity and AI Always-On HDR in games. The details of character and background models will increase, and contrast will also change slightly. There are also some changes that screenshots cannot capture, such as saturation, which can be clearly seen when recording the screen with a camera.

Summary

After a bunch of tests, it can be proven that the Pixelworks X7 Gen2 Visual Processor greatly enhances both gaming and video experiences. Especially for gaming, phones equipped with this chip can break frame rate limits, achieve higher frame rates with lower power consumption, and lower temperatures.

Currently, both variants of the realme P4 series are equipped with Pixelworks X7 Gen2, and PVP games such as Battlegrounds Mobile India and Free Fire also support all of the above features. For viewers who want a good gaming experience without spending too much money, they are definitely worth considering.

The post Boost realme P4 Series Gaming With Pixelworks X7 Gen2: Let Everyone Enjoy Smooth Gaming appeared first on Gizmochina.

Global AI-driven technology brand TECNO, in partnership with DXOMARK, the internationally recognized authority in imaging testing, today announced the official opening of their joint imaging laboratory in Chongqing. This state-of-the-art facility is the world’s first fully automated imaging lab built entirely around DXOMARK’s sixth-generation Smartphone Camera Evaluation Protocol, designed to drive innovation, precision, and inclusivity in smartphone photography.

The inauguration ceremony brought together key executives from both companies and media representatives to witness a new chapter in imaging technology collaboration. The lab represents a significant milestone in TECNO’s commitment to delivering exceptional image quality tailored to diverse global users.

Inside the Lab: A Fully Automated Imaging Wonderland

During the media tour following the ceremony, journalists were granted exclusive access to the revolutionary testing facility. The laboratory represents a leap forward in imaging evaluation technology:

Complete Robotic Automation

The lab operates with zero human intervention in the testing process. Precision robotic arms smoothly handle device positioning and angle adjustment, while motorized sliders and gimbals simulate every possible shooting scenario—from handheld motion to tripod-stable conditions. This eliminates human variability and ensures perfectly consistent test conditions.

Advanced Lighting Systems

Flanking both sides of the testing area are professional-grade lighting arrays capable of replicating everything from bright sunlight to subtle indoor illumination. These systems can simulate the full spectrum of natural lighting conditions, from the harsh midday sun to the golden hour glow, allowing TECNO to optimize camera performance for any lighting environment users might encounter.

Comprehensive Testing Scenarios

The lab features an extensive collection of test charts and human models that cover every aspect of image quality evaluation. Dozens of specialized color charts, texture plates, and multi-tone calibration targets enable precise measurement of color accuracy, detail preservation, and noise performance. The collection of realistic human head models spanning the full range of global skin tones ensures that TECNO devices deliver natural and flattering results for all users.

Video Stabilization Simulation

Beyond photography, videography is a crucial part of a mobile camera system. Behind the robotic arm in the lab is a platform that provides sustained vibration, capable of shaking every phone with the same amplitude. Compared to manual testing, this approach saves significant time and, more importantly, ensures perfect consistency and repeatability across all tests.

Three Breakthroughs: Automation, Inclusion, and Customization

1. Full Automation for Unmatched Precision

The lab eliminates human error and variability through fully automated workflows. Robotic systems handle device positioning, lighting control, scene switching, and image capture with micron-level precision. This allows TECNO to execute thousands of test cases consistently and rapidly, significantly accelerating R&D cycles.

2. Inclusive Testing for Global Users

To address the diverse skin tones and cultural preferences of users across over 70 markets, the lab features six realistic human head models spanning a wide range of skin tones, complemented by multi-tone calibration charts. This ensures that TECNO devices deliver accurate, flattering, and natural-looking skin tones for everyone.

3. Region-Specific Customization

The lab enables hyper-localized tuning based on regional preferences. For example:

• In African markets, users prefer authentic skin tone reproduction.
• In Southeast Asia, clarity and bright exposure are prioritized.

TECNO can now generate customized evaluation reports per region, ensuring each device meets local expectations.

Q&A Highlights: Addressing Key Industry Questions

Q: What are the main advantages of a fully automated lab compared to manual testing?

A: Beyond efficiency gains, automation ensures perfect consistency and repeatability over time. Complex test setups that previously took hours to configure manually can now be completed in minutes with robotic precision. This eliminates technician dependency and ensures testing standards remain unchanged for years.

Q: Why did TECNO choose to partner with DXOMARK instead of local studios?

A: While we work with local studios for regional style preferences, DXOMARK provides scientific fundamentals, global standards, and transparent evaluation systems that help us build truly world-class products. Their scoring systems and software tools bring tangible benefits to our product development process.

Q: How will end-users perceive these technical improvements?

A: Users will experience more stable performance across all lighting conditions, more accurate skin tones, faster autofocus, and better HDR processing. Our testing methodology is based on real user preferences—for example, color scoring is calibrated through global user surveys to ensure we deliver what people actually want to see.

Q: Which test scenarios received the most investment?

A: The “All in One Portrait” setup is our most complex and important configuration, simulating real-world person photography. It uses AI-trained models based on millions of images to evaluate facial detail preservation, exposure, HDR, noise, and timing. Additionally, the DMC chart setup with realistic objects allows us to measure texture noise and color accuracy in unprecedented ways.

Q: Does TECNO aim to top DXOMARK rankings?

A: While we’re proud that our TECNO CAMON 40 Pro previously achieved top scores under $600 and received the DXOMARK 2025 Smart Choice Label Award, our focus remains on delivering stable, reliable camera experiences that exceed user expectations in daily life. We’re committed to breaking technical limitations rather than chasing scores.

DXOMARK’s Role: Science-Driven Innovation

DXOMARK brings over 25 years of imaging expertise, scientific rigor, and global benchmarking standards to the partnership. The Camera V6 protocol—a comprehensive revision focused on real-world usage—forms the foundation of the lab’s testing methodology.
“We are not just measuring performance; we are defining what excellence looks like,” said the Scientific Director of DXOMARK. “Our tools and metrics are designed to reflect how people actually use their cameras—in portraits, low light, zoom, video, and HDR scenarios.”
The lab also fully supports HDR photo and video evaluation, a first in the industry, ensuring TECNO devices are future-ready for next-generation imaging formats.

Looking Ahead: Collaboration and Future Roadmap

The joint lab is just the beginning of a long-term partnership between TECNO and DXOMARK. Both companies plan to:

• Explore AI-enhanced image quality algorithms.
• Develop next-generation evaluation methods.
• Introduce real-world perceptual metrics beyond traditional lab tests.
• Promote transparency and open standards in the imaging industry.

About TECNO

TECNO is an AI-driven, innovative technology brand with a presence in over 70 markets across five continents. Committed to transforming the digital experience in global emerging markets, TECNO relentlessly pursues the perfect integration of contemporary aesthetic design with the latest technologies and artificial intelligence.

About DXOMARK

DXOMARK is a French independent engineering company that has been a global leader in objective and scientific testing of cameras, displays, and audio systems for over two decades. Its benchmarks are trusted by manufacturers and consumers worldwide.

The post TECNO and DXOMARK Launch World’s First Fully Automated Imaging Lab in Chongqing appeared first on Gizmochina.

Global smartphone brand TECNO has partnered with imaging authority DXOMARK to launch the world’s first fully automated smartphone imaging lab in Chongqing, China. The new lab is built entirely on DXOMARK’s sixth-generation Smartphone Camera Evaluation Protocol. This milestone aims to drive innovation, accuracy, and inclusivity in mobile photography. 

Inside the Lab: Features and Technology

The imaging lab is designed with advanced robotic systems that allow testing without human involvement. Robotic arms control device positioning, angles, and movement, while motorized sliders and gimbals simulate real shooting conditions. This ensures consistency and eliminates errors caused by manual testing.

Lighting plays a key role in camera evaluation, and the lab is equipped with professional lighting arrays that replicate diverse conditions such as bright sunlight, indoor light, and golden hour. Testing also involves comprehensive scenarios like color charts, texture plates, and multi-tone calibration targets to evaluate color accuracy, detail, and noise performance. To ensure inclusivity, the lab also uses human models with different global skin tones.

Another highlight is video stabilization testing. Devices are placed on robotic platforms that apply uniform vibration, allowing engineers to measure stabilization consistently and reliably.

Breakthroughs in Imaging Testing

The lab introduces three breakthroughs. First, full automation allows robotic workflows to manage positioning, lighting, scene switching, and image capture with micron-level precision. This speeds up research and development cycles.

Second, inclusive testing ensures that skin tones are represented naturally across global markets. Six realistic head models and special calibration charts help deliver flattering and accurate results for all users.

Third, the lab enables region-specific customization. For example, cameras can be tuned for authentic skin tones in Africa and for bright, clear exposure in Southeast Asia. This means smartphones can be optimized for different user preferences.

Industry Insights and User Impact

TECNO and DXOMARK explained that automation brings faster and more reliable testing, reducing setup times from hours to minutes. The partnership combines DXOMARK’s global standards with local input, creating devices that work well in real-world conditions.

For users, this means better camera performance in all types of lighting, improved HDR, faster autofocus, and more accurate skin tones. Testing is informed by real-world surveys to reflect what users actually want. The companies also revealed that the TECNO CAMON 40 Pro recently received the DXOMARK Smart Choice Award 2025, ranking as the best-scoring smartphone camera under $600.

DXOMARK’s Expertise and Future Roadmap

With over 25 years of imaging expertise, DXOMARK provides the testing foundation through its Camera V6 protocol. This protocol focuses on real-world scenarios such as portraits, low light, zoom, HDR, and video. DXOMARK is also the first in the industry to fully support HDR photo and video testing.

TECNO and DXOMARK plan to develop AI-enhanced imaging algorithms, next-generation evaluation methods, and perceptual metrics that go beyond lab conditions. The roadmap also includes promoting transparency and open standards for the global imaging industry.

The post TECNO and DXOMARK Open World’s First Fully Automated Imaging Lab appeared first on Gizmochina.

HONOR Magic V5, the thinnest foldable phone in the world. Even when unfolded, it’s still the second thinnest among all smartphones. Honestly, this isn’t much of a surprise—the HONOR Magic V3 also held the title of thinnest foldable at one point. They’ve simply outdone their own past achievements.

We were fortunate enough to get our hands on the global version of this phone ahead of its release. After using it for a while, I have some thoughts to share beyond just the standard test results. Let’s start with this bulge camera module.

Camera

Maybe the body is too thin, or the camera system is too powerful—either way, the camera bump is more pronounced than I expected. But I’m not complaining; some flagship phones are much worse. And I do enjoy the benefits of a larger camera.

First up is the telephoto camera. It uses an older sensor and has a shorter focal length compared to last gen, but the sensor size has actually increased. So much better than the poor 3x telephoto of the Z Fold 7. I like this focal length—it’s one I use often in everyday shooting. Plus, its 64MP resolution without the 2×2 OCL technology gives it an edge in detail retention, outperforming most other phones in most scenarios.

HONOR is so confident in its quality that it doesn’t use AI upscaling for zoom levels under 15×. Even beyond 15×, the AI enhancement doesn’t make photos look overly processed. It doesn’t add fake details, which is great for those who dislike heavy AI intervention.

The ultra-wide camera now has an even wider field of view. I’ve always maintained in my reviews: An ultra-wide camera must be truly wide, or it’s pointless. HONOR clearly took my advice. Even though this camera still has flaws—like persistent purple fringing and mediocre low-light detail—I still love the dramatic perspective it offers.

Magic V5’s default color profile is **Vibrant**, but you can switch between two other modes depending on the scene. My favorite is **Authentic mode**, with its high-contrast, cinematic look. As for video recording, there’s little to criticize. You can freely switch between lenses even at **4K 60fps**, and stabilization is solid. The Pro mode even includes a **LOG profile**, showing this phone’s high ceiling for videography. The only nitpick is that sometimes focus hunting in low light.

Compared to the rear camera, the front cameras aren’t as impressive. They max out at **4K 30fps**, and noise is noticeable in dim lighting. But hey, as long as they don’t ruin your Zoom meetings, the image quality is acceptable—which is probably what HONOR intended.

Design & Experience

Maybe you don’t care about the cameras, but you’re definitely here for the paper-thin body. This is an HK$5 coin, 3.3mm thick. Place it next to the Magic V5, and you’ll see just how absurdly thin this phone is. The slimness is even more apparent when folded. Here’s an iPhone 16 Pro, 8.25mm thick, and the Magic V5 next to it doesn’t look much thicker.

I know, the Z Fold 7 is just as thin. In order to slim it down, Samsung chose not to increase the battery capacity. How about Magic V5？What did HONOR sacrifice to achieve this thinness? Nothing. Nothing compromises. Even the battery got bigger. Except for a slightly lower dust-resistance rating, it’s just like a normal flagship phone. You can’t use weight or thickness as an excuse to avoid using it anymore.

Now, the biggest pain point of foldables: the inner screen experience. Like all foldables, the Magic V5 still hasn’t solved it. It can’t fill the entire screen with videos, and apps not optimized for foldables look awkward. But HONOR still tries to solve these problems the way they do.

For example, the split-screen and multi-window UI is excellent. You think you want this window to be bigger, no problem. That window gets bigger too, no problem. Unlike other brands that have 4 small 1 big multi windows, HONOR wants to let users decide the size of each app. Even if you want to swap the position of the apps or the orientation of the arrangement, you can do it on Magic V5. Together with this small, flexible floating window, you can keep up to 4 apps in the foreground.

The USB is a 3.2 Gen 1 port; of course, it supports video output. And there’s a **PC mode**—though there’s a bug when connecting to ultrawide monitors, the image stretches. But the 16:9 monitors don’t have this problem. Hopefully, this gets fixed in the final software.

Although the Magic V5 can be used like a laptop, by simply unfolding it in half to allow the bottom half to become a keyboard or touchpad. But I’m not a big fan of doing that. In addition to being cut in half because of the display, the outer screen is also susceptible to scratches from desk dust. The keyboard is too small and there’s no way to type with both hands, so if you really want to use it for the office, you’ll have to connect a Bluetooth keyboard at least.

Display

I put the Magic V5 display specs here. As you can see, they are **top-tier across the board**, especially the **PWM dimming frequency**—HONOR remains the only brand pushing ultra-high-frequency PWM for eye comfort. I have to say, their phones have always been the best in the eye care department.

Both the inner and outer screens support a stylus. Just the stylus is something you need to buy separately. As for the crease, after about a month of use, it’s about what you’d expect from an average foldable phone. It has indeed become more noticeable compared to when it was first unboxed, but when viewed straight on, there’s still no visible change.

Bonus: The Magic V5 has **AI-powered foreign object detection**. If anything larger than 0.8mm is on the inner screen, it’ll warn you on the outer screen. Finally, AI does something useful.

Performance

Magic V5 is a foldable phone with a Snapdragon 8 Elite. Peak performance is certainly much better than those phones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, or 8 Elite with one less P-core. It’s not much different from that custom overclocked 8 Elite from the Z Fold 7. But after all, the Magic V5 is still a foldable phone, and combined with its ultra-thin body, gaming performance wouldn’t be great—and Genshin Impact’s frame rate graph confirms it.

Not only does the frame rate quickly lock at 45, but by the end, it shows a tendency to drop further. With the cooling system overloaded, the body temperature reaches nearly 50°C. Fortunately, since my hands grip the lower half, it doesn’t feel too hot during gameplay. So, is the Magic V5 bad for gaming? Not really. Fold it, and magic happens—gaming on the outer screen actually provides a better experience. Smoother, more stable, and cooler. But why? We find this is due to different rendering resolutions between screens.

The inner screen renders twice the resolution of the outer screen, doubling GPU load. Simply put, gaming on the inner screen is like running two identical games simultaneously. Therefore, the correct way to game on the Magic V5 is: for light games, use the inner screen for a larger display and better graphics; for demanding games, use the outer screen for more sustained and smoother gameplay.

Battery & Charging

What makes Magic V5 remarkable? It must: being thinner, the battery is bigger. With fewer foldable phones reviewed recently, we can only compare it to last year’s Magic V3. The progress in battery endurance over this year is quite significant.

Here’s the battery endurance curve from my heaviest usage day – I tried to use the inner screen as much as possible, and primarily used the 5G network. Even with such intensive usage from work start to finish, I didn’t manage to drain its battery.

And if that’s not enough, the Chinese version of 1TB model upgrades the battery to 6100mAh. That’s a whopping 1,700mAh larger than the Z Fold 7! This is the longest-lasting foldable yet. If you’ve got deep pockets, you should take note.

The charging speed isn’t as impressive as the battery capacity, though. 66W wired charging might not sound exceptionally fast, but it can fully charge the phone in under 50 minutes, which is still quite speedy. The Magic V5 hasn’t sacrificed wireless charging despite its thinness, and third-party PD chargers can deliver up to 45W. There’s really nothing to complain about in terms of charging.

Final Thoughts

2025 has been a rough year for foldable fans: Samsung’s Z Fold 7 dropped S Pen support. Xiaomi paused the MIX Fold series. Vivo skipped the X Fold 5 Pro. And OPPO’s Find N5 cut a CPU P-cores. Against this backdrop, the Magic V5’s all-around upgrades—with zero downgrades—are its biggest selling point. Even if it’s a cell phone case, they’ve upgraded to a vegan leather version with a stand. The Chinese pricing matches the Magic V3’s launch price, so hopefully, the global version Magic V5 won’t disappoint us.

The post HONOR Magic V5 Full Review: The Z Fold 7’s biggest rival appeared first on Gizmochina.

The year is already fifty percent done. Over these six months, Gizmochina Review have released hundreds of videos and articles, many of which featured impressive smartphones and tablets. I often see YouTube comments asking which phone is my favorite. Well, this article will answer those questions, while also summarizing the standout devices of the past half-year. I have to say, the list is still subjective with the team’s preference — these are the phones highly matching the reviewers’ preference and expectation. If you disagree, feel free to share your own opinions in the comments.

Camera Master

Over the past few months, every major brand has released their “Ultra” flagship models, each boasting incredible camera capabilities—any one of them could rightfully be called a “Camera Master.” But if I had to pick just one, I’d still give the Master title to the HUAWEI Pura 80 Ultra.

That said, the vivo X200 Ultra is a strong contender, especially since last year’s “Best Camera Phone” was the vivo X100 Ultra. My choice ultimately comes down to the Pura 80 Ultra’s periscope zoom system. We have to admit that the innovative dual-focal-length telephoto setup stunned everyone—sharing a single sensor between two lenses was a stroke of genius. And in real-world use, both lenses deliver performance worthy of the “Camera Master” title. And the vivo X200 Ultra’s AI enhancement sometimes messes up my photos, so yes, the Pura 80 Ultra takes the crown as my current favorite camera phone.

Gaming Beast

For gaming phones in the first half of 2025, I’d recommend two. The first is undoubtedly the RedMagic 10S Pro.

While we haven’t made a dedicated review video for it, we’ve tested its sibling, the 10 Pro. Given the RedMagic 10 Pro’s outstanding gaming performance, there’s every reason to believe the 10S Pro is also one of the best gaming phones out there.

For those on a tighter budget, I’d also recommend the OnePlus Ace 5 Pro.

As one of the cheapest phones with a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, its gaming performance is surprisingly good, complete with features gamers love, like frame interpolation and bypass charging. While it may not excel in other areas, this segment is purely about raw performance, and the Ace 5 Pro absolutely delivers.

In short, choose between these two based on your budget; both deserve the “Gaming Beast” title.

Smartphone Supreme

If I had to pick just one phone from our reviews to use long-term, I’d probably go with the OPPO Find X8 Ultra as my daily driver.

It offers camera capabilities on par with other Ultra models, but without their bulkiness. I also prefer flat screens, and Samsung’s One UI on the Galaxy S25 Ultra just doesn’t click with me. Plus, the Find X8 Ultra has no glaring weaknesses and is reasonably priced. So yeah, my reasons for loving this phone are pretty straightforward.

Flagship Killer

The “Ultra” model in REDMI’s K series has always been the flagship killer of its year, and the REDMI K80 Ultra lives up to that legacy.

Since early 2025, I haven’t found any phone that fits the “Flagship Killer” label better. Premium build quality? Check. Flagship-tier display and processor? Check. It even has symmetrical stereo speakers, an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, and a massive battery—all for half the price of a typical flagship. If you can live with its mediocre camera system, this phone is a no-brainer.

Mini Tablet King

This year’s compact tablet competition has been fierce. Alongside the returning Lenovo LEGION Y700 (Gen 4), both RedMagic and REDMI have entered the small-tablet arena. We’ve tested all three—check out our earlier reviews if you’re curious. My pick, I think still the Lenovo LEGION Y700 (Gen 4).

The RedMagic Astra’s OLED screen is tempting, but it’s way too expensive, and its built-in fan doesn’t even help much with thermals. The REDMI K Pad and Y700 each have their strengths: the K Pad’s HyperOS offers a smoother daily experience, but its gaming performance falls short of the Y700’s. Since I do play mobile games on my tablet, I’ll stick with the LEGION Y700.

“Most Impressive”

If you asked me which phone impressed me the most in the first half of 2025, I wouldn’t hesitate: the Xiaomi 15S Pro.

Why? Simply because it’s powered by the XRING O1, Xiaomi’s most powerful custom SoC. This isn’t Xiaomi’s first time making their own chip, but it’s the first time come shockingly close to Qualcomm’s flagship silicon in performance. This means that, barring U.S. interference, Xiaomi could soon replicate the success Huawei once achieved with its Kirin chips, paving the way for more affordable flagship and mid-range phones. I still remember the excitement when I tested this chip and found it neck-and-neck with the Snapdragon 8 Elite. That’s why the 15S Pro earns my “Most Impressive” title.

Final Thoughts

Okay, those are my picks for the first half of 2025. They might not be the “best” in an objective sense, but they’re the ones I love. I’ve told you what I pick—now it’s your turn. Drop your favorites in the comments! And don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

The post Gizmochina Picks for H1 2025: The Phones are Winners appeared first on Gizmochina.

Whether tablets can truly replace laptops has long been a contentious discussion. But there’s no denying that tablets are becoming more and more like laptops. Today’s flagship tablets come with their own dedicated keyboards, support mouse connectivity, and even include a stylus. After spending some hands-on time with the HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2-inch and its accessories, I finally understand why this debate persists. Let’s explore the advantages of tablets over laptops while introducing the brand-new MatePad Pro.

Weight & Thickness

Those who want to replace their laptops with tablets are likely frustrated with the weight and bulk of laptops. Even the lightest and thinnest laptops typically weigh over 1 kg and exceed 10 mm in thickness. Tablets, however, easily cut these numbers in half. Take the MatePad Pro 12.2-inch, for example—it weighs just 508g and is only 5.5mm thick. This is an incredibly appealing selling point for people who frequently work on the go.

Glide Keyboard

If you want your tablet to serve more like a laptop, a keyboard case is a must. The HUAWEI Glide Keyboard is one of the most sophisticated keyboard cases I’ve ever seen. It allows the tablet to hover at adjustable angles and can even be used on your lap, just like a laptop. If you want to draw, you can flip it 180° backward. The hinge area even features a slot for the stylus, so you’ll never lose it when carrying the tablet in a bag.

Best of all, it’s lightweight—just 417g, about 28% lighter than the Apple 11-inch Magic Keyboard. After attaching the Glide Keyboard, the MatePad Pro still only weighs 925g, and its thickness increases to 13.6mm, still thinner than most laptops.

Display

A significant portion of this thousand-dollar tablet’s cost goes into its Tandem OLED display. With 2000 nits peak brightness and ultra-thin bezels, this screen is a standout. The PaperMatte glass cover (similar to the iPad Pro’s Nano-texture glass) delivers an unprecedented writing experience with the stylus. If you’re looking for a touchscreen laptop with specs matching the MatePad Pro, you simply won’t find one. So, if you need a premium media consumption device, the MatePad Pro outperforms any laptop.

M-Pencil & Mouse

If you splurge on the HUAWEI M-Pencil, congratulations—you’ve unlocked the tablet’s killer feature: an exceptional writing experience. I’m not exaggerating—it’s on par with the Apple Pencil (2nd Gen). The latency is nearly imperceptible, and with 10,000+ pressure sensitivity levels, you have full control over stroke thickness.

Unlike the Apple Pencil Pro, the M-Pencil doesn’t yet support rotating the barrel to adjust pen and brush tool orientation.

We also got our hands on the HUAWEI NearLink Mouse, which boasts top-tier build quality. Powered by a single AA battery (lasting months), it supports multi-device pairing (up to four devices via USB-C dongle)—a flawless productivity mouse.

Experience

Since HUAWEI hasn’t officially disclosed the MatePad Pro’s processor model, we don’t know which Kirin SoC it uses. Given HUAWEI’s current challenges, we won’t judge its performance too harshly, as long as it handles office tasks smoothly. To boost productivity, the MatePad Pro introduces a new multi-task view, keeping apps alive instead of killing them in the background. You can freely resize app windows and run up to three apps simultaneously.

Final Verdict

For entertainment and light productivity, tablets can absolutely replace laptops. As one of the flagship tablets in the market, the HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2-inch (with its Glide Keyboard) proves its strong capabilities. If you’re not a hardcore gamer and don’t rely on Windows/macOS-exclusive apps, this tablet is a great choice.

The post HUAWEI MatePad Pro 12.2″ Review: Some users will certainly ditch their notebooks for it appeared first on Gizmochina.

Here we have the brand new HUAWEI Pura 80 Pro+, I am sure you still remember the Pura 70 Ultra which has a retractable lens. Well, on the Pura 80 series, it’s gone. But the new series comes with a ground-breaking lens structure inside, along with some new camera features. We are lucky enough to have it (China version) right after the launch event, now let’s take a first look.

Camera

We were invited to the launch event, where my colleague experienced the legendary Switchable Tele Lens, meaning “one sensor, with two focal length lenses” on the Pura 80 Ultra.

The telephoto cameras of this phone share the same sensor to achieve two different focal lengths, and the movable prism is the key to this technology. When using the 10x telephoto, it is the same as a normal periscope telephoto. When switching to the 3.7x camera, the prism moves to the second lens.

There are many advantages to doing this, the most obvious of which is saving space inside the phone. Compared to other 4-lens phones, the camera module on this phone is a little smaller. The space saved can be used to fit a larger battery or a larger Vapor Chamber.

The second advantage is image quality. As you all know, Sony has achieved 85-170mm optical zoom on mobile phones, which changes the focal length by moving the lens back and forth. Although the principle of the Pura 80 Ultra is similar, the 3.7x to 10x is still digitally cropped. Because HUAWEI knows that the optical quality of a zoom lens is hard to match that of a fixed-focus lens, they chose to make two fixed-focus lenses instead of one zoom lens. The photo quality must be better.

In addition to the telephoto camera, there is also a new one-inch main sensor made in China, which is worth paying attention to. The retractable structure is cancelled, the variable aperture is still there, and the dynamic range is further improved. I am looking forward to using it for more photography creations, and I will definitely do a more detailed camera review after we buy the Pura 80 Ultra.

Pura 80 Pro+

I have also listed the other camera specs in a table, all of which are world-class. Except for the camera part, other specs of the Pro+ and Ultra versions are almost the same. So… (Take out the phone) I borrowed the Pro+ from HUAWEI, and now let’s talk about the more affordable Pura 80 Pro+.

Design

The overall design of the Pura 80 series has not changed much compared to the 70 series. The camera module is still placed in the upper left corner, but it is a little bigger. The module isn’t in the way of the finger, which is a good thing. The frame is arc-shaped, so the phone is like a pebble with a screen.

The one we borrowed is the bright black version with a ceramic coating, so you can really use it as a mirror. One controversial thing is that the fingerprint recognition sensor has been moved from under the screen to the power button. Some people like it and some don’t. I am not sure what I think yet.

Although due to the limitations of HarmonyOS NEXT, we cannot know its specific processor model. But according to the data of GeekBench 6, it must be Kirin 9020 at least. Maybe it is the new Kirin 9030? I don’t know, we still need time to explore.

Screen & Others

The screen of Pura 80 Pro+ does not look changed, and it is also a popular four-curved screen recently. The maximum brightness has increased, and there are not many upgrades other than that.

The battery is definitely bigger, it is a 5700mAh battery plus 100W wired charging power, which is what a flagship phone should have. Of course, there are also features like 80W wireless charging and satellite communication. Anyway, you have spent $1,100, HUAWEI will embrace your requests.

Ending

It is obvious that the Pura 80 series has evolved again. The stronger screen and processor, the one-inch sensor made in China, and the two telephoto cameras of the Ultra version they’ve made everyone marvel at the talent of HUAWEI engineers. There are very few new technologies on mobile phones that can make people say WOW, and the debut of Pura 80 Ultra has made everyone excited.

The post HUAWEI Pura 80 Ultra & Pro Plus Hands-on: The Most Insane Telephoto Camera on Earth appeared first on Gizmochina.

The Xiaomi 15S Pro definitely has an important spot in the history of Chinese smartphones. Not that its camera is exceptionally powerful or the screen is incredibly good, but simply because the SoC inside is Xiaomi’s best and self-developed processor. Compared to other flagship processors, what can the XRING O1 bring us, and what might be less competent?

Compared to the sibling, the 15 Pro, a phone with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, we can clearly see where the XRING O1’s CPU, GPU, NPU, and ISP stand on the global stage.

Hardware Specifications

To understand the performance of the XRING O1, we must check the inside first. This is the dieshot of the XRING O1. Thanks to TSMC’s N3E process, this chip achieves a remarkably high level of integration. Compared to other flagship SoCs, its die area is even smaller.

However, the trade-off is that the modem is not integrated into the chipset. The XRING O1 uses a standalone MediaTek T800 modem chipset instead of Xiaomi’s in-house Surge T-series modem. After all, it even took six years for a giant like Apple to have its first 5G modem. So Xiaomi still has a long way to go in the 5G modem race.

The CPU unit sits on the upper half of the dieshot. It features 10 cores across four different ARM architectures and clock speeds. Apart from the two A520 cores, all others use ARM’s latest and most advanced architectures. The CPU’s peak frequency can reach an impressive 3.9 GHz.

The GPU unit is also unusually large, packing a 16-core ARM G925 GPU—even more ridiculous than the Dimensity 9400’s 12-core GPU. Benchmark tests reveal that the XRING O1’s CPU performance slightly outperforms the Snapdragon 8 Elite, while its GPU falls just a tad behind the 8 Elite.

On paper alone, the XRING O1 already has what it takes to compete with Apple, Qualcomm, and MediaTek. But whether it can truly win depends on real-world gaming performance. For the 15S Pro, we prepared three games to test the overall experience and power efficiency under different workloads.

Performance & Gaming Tests

Let’s start with the highest load game—Honkai: Star Rail. Although the processor begins throttling after 4 minutes, the frame rate gradually drops to 40 FPS and stabilizes, resulting in a relatively smooth gaming experience. Both temperature and power consumption are well-controlled, placing it firmly in the “excellent” category.

In contrast, the 15 Pro’s performance falls short. Whether in average power consumption, temperature, or frame rate, it fails to outperform the XRING-powered 15S Pro. Additionally, the 15 Pro shows significant frame rate fluctuations, making stutters noticeably perceptible during gameplay.

I believe Xiaomi has optimized this game specifically for the 15S Pro, with the XRING O1 playing a key role in delivering such a substantial improvement in gaming performance.

For flagship phones, Genshin Impact is no longer a particularly demanding game—both devices handle it effortlessly at a stable 60 FPS over extended sessions. Our focus here is on power efficiency and thermal performance. Once again, the 15S Pro wins; it can maintain similar frame rates while running cooler and more efficiently. The same trend continues in PUBG Mobile, with almost the same result.

With Wi-Fi, the XRING O1’s power and thermal management are truly world-class, offering slightly better gaming performance than the Snapdragon 8 Elite. So why do I say ” With Wi-Fi”? Because the XRING O1 lacks an integrated 5G modem.

5G Modem & Battery Life

Since the 15S Pro’s modem is a chipset separate from the SoC, its power consumption on 5G networks is inevitably higher than devices with integrated modems. But exactly how much higher? I ran some tests, under the same conditions, when switching from Wi-Fi to 5G gaming, the 15S Pro’s average power consumption was higher than the 15 Pro’s.

I also tested daily Apps like video calls and TikTok on 5G networks. The 15S Pro’s power consumption was consistently higher, too.

So when some people ask me about the Xiaomi 15S Pro’s battery life, I can only say it depends on your usage environment. If you’re mostly in Wi-Fi environments, then the 15S Pro’s battery life will outperform the 15 Pro’s. On the contrary, when going from 100% to empty on 5G networks, the 15S Pro’s battery life lasts about half an hour shorter than the 15 Pro’s.

ISP

The XRING O1’s ISP significantly impacts camera performance, both positively and negatively. Let’s start with the positives.

The most improved camera on the 15S Pro is this 5x telephoto camera, with very accurate white balance. And the weaker the light, the greater the advantage. The main camera’s dynamic range is also better, there are more details in highlights. Videos are sharper with less cropping. So the image stabilization becomes weaker.

In low light, the 15S Pro’s exposure will be higher. At 30fps, it may not be very noticeable, but when switching to 4K 60fps, you can clearly see the XRING’s advantage.

Unfortunately, the 15S Pro’s Leica tone has been weakened again, with not as high contrast. And the green problem in the night scene has also appeared on the 15S Pro’s ultra-wide camera, while the 15 Pro’s white balance is done very well. The viewfinder also underexposes in low light, and the clarity drops significantly.

I would say the O1’s ISP isn’t as powerful as imagined – it still needs some time to defeat Qualcomm.

Bluetooth & NPU

Music enthusiasts may worry about aptX-related Bluetooth protocols not being available on the 15S Pro. Xiaomi certainly wouldn’t disappoint earbuds users – they’ve licensed nearly all mainstream Bluetooth protocols. Whatever works on the Xiaomi 15 Pro will be the same on the 15S Pro too.

The XRING O1 features a 6-core NPU with 10MB cache, delivering computing power up to 44 TOPS. Although this NPU is powerful, Xiaomi hasn’t utilized it for many features. Xiaomi HyperAI still can’t work offline – all AI-related functions become unavailable without an internet connection.

Even when trying to benchmark this NPU’s AI performance improvements, scores are low due to Apps not being optimized for this new chipset. Hopefully, the HyperAI will be significantly better on the XRING O2 and truly unleash this NPU’s full potential across more Apps.

Others

While carefully testing whether the Xiaomi 15S Pro has other special features compared to the 15 Pro, I did find some differences. For example, the 15S Pro cannot keep AOD (Always-On Display) constantly active.

The ray tracing performance of XRING O1 also falls short of the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Using Geekerwan’s ray tracing demo for testing, the frame rate difference is significant.

However, XRING excels in other areas, such as HDR video decoding, WiFi-7 support, and GMS compatibility – these show very little difference compared to phones using Qualcomm chips.

Conclusion

So, the XRING O1 has undoubtedly become one of the world’s most powerful mobile processors. It is excellent in nearly all aspects, with only one notable weakness: subpar battery life on 5G networks. The good news is that Xiaomi has already developed a 4G modem, currently used in their smartwatches. Integrating a 5G modem into XRING is just a matter of time. The birth of the Xiaomi 15S Pro is to show the world that Xiaomi can develop its own chips – and do it just as well as anyone else.

XRING O2 is already on the way, with a clear goal this time: to become the world’s number one mobile platform. The Xiaomi 15S Pro will likely not have a global release, so if you’re a Xiaomi fan wanting to support the XRING team, you can check it out at GeekWills.

The post XRING O1 Review: Next Stop: World No.1! Xiaomi 15S Pro Performance Test appeared first on Gizmochina.

In this article, we will review a Super Affordable Entry-Level Phone – MEIZU Mblu 22 Pro. Within limited discount offers, this phone can even be available for less than $80 – arguably the most budget-friendly device we’ve ever tested. These devices primarily target users with needs of essential daily functions, such as individuals who prefer straightforward technology or simply require a reliable backup.

Let’s approach the Mblu 22 Pro with appropriate expectations. By the end of this review, you’ll gain clear insight into the current evolution of entry-level smartphones.

Unboxing

Let’s examine the package contents: basic manuals, 18W charger, USB-C cable, transparent phone case, SIM eject tool, and a pre-applied screen protector. While our phone didn’t have the screen protector pre-applied, the official website specifies retail units include factory-installed protection – yours likely won’t require manual application.

Design

The Mblu 22 Pro’s design follows mainstream conventions. The circular camera module positioned centrally contains three lenses (details forthcoming). Available in three colors, the white and blue variants feature subtle concentric patterns on the back. From a distance, it could easily be mistaken for a premium device. With IP52 dust/water resistance certification, an all-plastic body, and specialized impact-resistant construction, reliability shouldn’t be a concern.

The top edge houses an increasingly rare 3.5mm headphone jack and speaker grille. While audio quality won’t impress audiophiles, the loud volume output proves ideal for elderly users.

The bottom contains the USB-C port and hybrid SIM tray (supports dual SIMs or SIM+microSD card). NFC and side-mounted fingerprint recognition are both present – functionally, the Mblu 22 Pro leaves little room for complaint.

By the way, the operating system on this phone is Flyme Lite. Compared to FlymeOS, the Lite version is closer to stock Android. So don’t expect too much from its system.

Display

The 6.79″ 720P LCD display won’t satisfy those accustomed to flagship-grade screens. But at $80, let’s maintain perspective. The inclusion of a 120Hz refresh rate deserves mention. As long as the screen functions properly (which it does), this specification remains acceptable for its price tier.

Performance & Battery

It is powered by MediaTek’s Helio G81 chipset (AnTuTu score ≈230,000), and it handles web browsing and TikTok smoothly. Video playback works adequately for SDR content.

The 5000mAh battery with 18W charging easily lasts a full day, given its non-gaming usage scenario. Considering the price point, MEIZU has maximized component value.

Camera

The Mblu 22 Pro features a 50MP main camera and a 2MP macro lens. Sample images below demonstrate its capabilities – at this price, capturing recognizable subject matter constitutes success.

Regarding the third camera: No functional information exists in the system interface or official documentation. Consider this module decorative until further notice.

Conclusion

Most tech enthusiasts won’t much covet this device, but the Mblu 22 Pro serves vital needs: calling, basic web browsing, and video playback with reliable software, most importantly, at a super affordable price tag. Its existence proves crucial for wide users who are concerned about budget and value for money. By delivering essential smartphone functions under $80, MEIZU is truly practicing universal access to mobile technology.

The post A Super Affordable Entry-Level Phone: MEIZU Mblu 22 Pro Review appeared first on Gizmochina.

DOOGEE has sent the team another crazy rugged phone. What makes it so interesting? I can summarize its features in one sentence: it’s a power bank that can glow on the back and also make calls. Yes, the DOOGEE V Max S is a rugged phone designed for camping. It helps you reduce the weight and space of your backpack. Making your camping trip lighter is the ultimate mission of the V Max S.

Unboxing

Let’s start with the unboxing. The V Max S doesn’t come with many accessories. Aside from the usual items like the manual, charger, and charging cable, there’s also a spare screen protector. The charger also has a USB-C port and supports up to 33W PPS fast charging, so you don’t need to bring an extra USB-A cable with you. These have always been DOOGEE’s traditional strengths, and I’m glad the V Max S has kept these advantages.

Camping Light

The most eye-catching feature of the V Max S—and the one you’re most curious about—must be these two huge glowing panels on the back, right? While this isn’t the first time we’ve reviewed a rugged phone with LED lights on the back, it is the first time we’ve seen a phone with two LED panels.

To ensure campers have clear visibility at night, the V Max S delivers an impressive 1,200 lumens of brightness, making it the brightest phone we’ve ever tested. Numbers alone might not do it justice, so let’s do a quick comparison.

With these two images, you can clearly see how strong 1200 lumens is.

Of course, if you don’t need that much brightness, there are five adjustable levels to choose from, plus three lighting modes, so you can customize it for any use case. In short, if you don’t want to carry a camping lamp or flashlight, the V Max S can easily replace them.

And if you don’t even want to bring a **power bank**? Well, the V Max S might just handle that too.

Battery MAX

Just by looking at the thickness of this device, you can probably guess it packs a massive battery. And you’re right—to prevent those ultra-bright LEDs from draining your phone dry, the V Max S comes with a 22,000mAh battery, supporting charging speeds of up to 33W.

According to DOOGEE’s lab tests, this battery enables nearly a week of continuous calls and over two months of standby time. Light users can go a full week without charging, while heavy users will still get three to four days of runtime.

If your V Max S has a spare battery, you can even use it to charge other devices. It tops out at around 7W—handy for emergencies.

Other Features

Let’s take a look at the other functions of the V Max S. As a rugged phone, it comes with rubberized edges and waterproof port designs—classic rugged phone styling. Another signature rugged phone feature is the customizable side button that can be programmed for various functions.

Then there’s the SIM card tray, which supports hot-swapping without a pin tool, and can accommodate either dual SIM cards or one SIM plus one TF card simultaneously. Of course, the V Max S also comes with all the standard water and dropproof certifications. It works up to 60 degrees Celsius and down to -20 degrees Celsius.

The V Max S has perfectly positioned speakers—both fire directly toward your face, with balanced left/right channel volume.

The phone sports a 6.58-inch LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate. One thing to note: The V Max S ships with its display set to 60Hz by default—don’t forget to manually switch it to 120Hz in the settings for smoother visuals.

Under the hood, it’s powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7050 chipset paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. While its raw performance isn’t groundbreaking, this makes sense—the V Max series has always prioritized extreme battery life over sheer power. And let’s be honest, who’d want to game on a phone this thick anyway? This processor is more than capable of web browsing or light gaming—no complaints about the price.

Camera

The V Max S features a triple-camera setup: a 108MP main camera, a macro camera, and a night vision camera. These are all familiar components, performing just as well as those on other flagship rugged phones. Here’s a pro tip: If you’re not photographing animals, turning on the LED camp lamp while shooting with the main camera actually delivers better image quality.

Verdict

The V Max S has a clear target: campers who hate carrying extra gear. They need a camping light, a power bank, and a tough, reliable communication device—and the V Max S delivers all three in one. This phone was made for them. Yet it’s priced affordably, delivering a flagship rugged phone experience in its price range—a key selling point of the V Max series. And this “S” model is the best value-for-money variant in the lineup. “Flagship experience, starter price”— that’s what V Max S delivers.

The post DOOGEE V Max S Review: A rugged phone built for camping appeared first on Gizmochina.

If you want to buy an latest phone powered by Snapdragon 8s Gen4, you currently only have two options: either you get the REDMI Turbo 4 Pro, or this iQOO Z10 Turbo Pro. Their specs on paper are similar, and so are their prices. If you really like the REDMI Turbo 4 Pro, then you should definitely be interested in the iQOO Z10 Turbo Pro as well.

Design

The design of the Z10 Turbo Pro follows the style of the iQOO 13, with a rounded rectangular camera module placed in the top-left corner. But it only has two cameras—was it really necessary to make the module that big? When holding the phone horizontally, it’s still easy to touch this area.

Despite having a similar positioning, the Z10 Turbo Pro falls slightly short in terms of build quality. Both the back panel and the frame are made of plastic, so it feels and looks a bit cheap. However, there are two advantages to the plastic body: first, the back won’t shatter if dropped, and second, it makes the phone lighter. Unfortunately, it still uses USB 2.0, but given the low price, I can accept that. But it only has an IP65 rating for water and dust resistance, which isn’t as good as REDMI’s.

Compared to REDMI’s “All in on a big battery” approach, iQOO chose to sacrifice a bit of battery capacity for faster charging. It also supports third-party chargers with PPS protocol up to 100W. One has a bigger battery, the other has faster charging—which combo do you prefer? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Display

The display on the Z10 Turbo Pro meets expectations. It’s slightly smaller than the REDMI Turbo 4 Pro, but its peak brightness in the 25% area is a bit higher.

One downside is that the Z10 Turbo Pro’s bottom bezel is still a bit thick, which contributes to its somewhat cheaper appearance. Although it boasts a 144Hz refresh rate, it mostly runs at 120Hz in everyday use. The full 144Hz only kicks in under specific conditions, like when gaming with frame interpolation enabled.

Performances & Gaming

The capabilities of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 were already demonstrated in our Quick Review of the REDMI Turbo 4 Pro. The Z10 Turbo Pro doesn’t lag far behind.

To put it simply, in heavy-load games, it delivers sufficient performance, though at the cost of higher power consumption and temperatures. One advantage it has over the REDMI is its comprehensive gaming features. Bypass charging, super resolution, and frame interpolation are all included. iQOO has essentially treated it like a gaming phone.

In everyday apps, it performs just as well, if not better than the 8 Gen 3—mainly due to improved power efficiency at the same clock speeds. As long as you’re not gaming, I believe it can easily last a full day without needing a charge.

Camera

The camera system on the Z10 Turbo Pro feels familiar—aren’t these the same two cameras found on the REDMI Turbo 4 Pro?

Our hands-on time with this phone was very limited, so we didn’t take many sample shots. But at first glance, the image quality doesn’t seem much different from REDMI’s, with the main variation being in color tuning. That said, the more vibrant color profile does make photos more eye-catching.

As a mid-range phone under $300, the Z10 Turbo Pro does a solid job. It delivers strong battery life and 120W fast charging while packing enough performance for most users. It’s just a shame that it falls slightly short in build materials and water resistance compared to its rivals.

Oh, and one more advantage worth mentioning—the Z10 Turbo Pro’s stereo speakers use identical sound chambers, meaning left and right channels have balanced volume.

The post iQOO Z10 Turbo Pro Quick Review: The 2nd Best $300 Budget Phone appeared first on Gizmochina.

Eventually, OnePlus updated its T series. But when I saw the specs of the OnePlus 13T, I couldn’t help but have a few concerns. It has a dual-camera system without ultra-wide lens, no wireless charging, and no ultrasonic fingerprint unlock. The USB is still version 2.0, and it’s only IP65-rated. All these on paper probably cannot make it a competitive candidate among all the compact phones.

But when we finally noticed its official price was $100 cheaper than the Xiaomi 15’s, then we felt this phone wasn’t so bad after all. It looks quite sleek, and it uses a top-tier processor. Plus, they managed to fit a battery of over 6000mAh into such a compact body. I’m sure there will be people who think this is their dream phone.

Design

The moment I held the OnePlus 13T for the first time, I had a strong sense of déjà vu. It reminded me of a lot of other phones: it feels like the Xiaomi 15 in the hand, it operates like the OPPO Find X8s. From the side, it resembles the iPhone 16, and from the back, it looks like the Mi 11 Lite from years ago. Even the slightly thicker bottom bezel reminded me of the vivo X200 Pro mini.

I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, but one thing is certain: the build quality is excellent. Despite its affordable price, it still uses an aluminum frame and glass all with matt finish. It feels more premium than we’d expect. The smaller & less bumping camera module is placed in the top-left corner, making it hard to accidentally touch, whether you’re left- or right-handed.

And then… well, it does look organized but not much else to praise. As I mentioned earlier, many of its features fall short compared to other phones of the same size. The 13T feels like a smaller version of the OnePlus Ace 5 Pro. If you’re not particularly fond of compact phones, you might need to check out the more affordable Ace 5 Pro instead.

Gaming

The OnePlus T series has always been marketed for its powerful performance, which is why they equipped the 13T with the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Personally, I think the Dimensity 9400+ might have been a better choice—after all, the 13T doesn’t need a top-tier ISP. A MediaTek chip could’ve lowered costs, making the 13T even more appealing. That said, the 8 Elite in the 13T doesn’t disappoint.

We bought the OnePlus 13T at a pop-up event where they organized a MOBA gaming tournament under the midday sun. The fact that OnePlus dared to host an outdoor esports competition speaks volumes about their confidence in the 13T. And after testing it ourselves, it does perform better than other compact 8 Elite phones. Its refreshrates and power efficiency outperform the Xiaomi 15’s, and its temperatures are shockingly low. It’s hard to believe this is the gaming performance of a 6.3-inch model.

But the 13T’s gaming excellence isn’t just about high frame rates and low temperatures. It also comes packed with gaming-centric features like bypass charging, AI-assisted controls, frame interpolation, and super-resolution—stuff usually reserved for dedicated gaming phones. Among phones of this size, the 13T is the only one that offers all these features at once, making its gaming experience one of the strongest in recent memory.

Battery & Charging

The 13T supports 80W charging. It reaches 28% in 10-minute charge and 82% in half an hour. A full charge takes 52 minutes. Not the fastest, but more than adequate. And with a 6260mAh battery capacity, it’s not just “adequate”—it’s “more than enough.” Silicon-carbon batteries are truly impressive, allowing compact phones to pack such large batteries, even surpassing most flagship models. If you don’t play games, you can easily go a full day without charging.

Display

Here are the screen specs of the OnePlus 13T. On paper, it’s close to flagship-level. This TIANMA panel boasts a peak brightness of over 800 nits, with a high brightness mode reaching 1600 nits. Below 50 nits, it defaults to 2160Hz PWM dimming, though a DC dimming option is also available.

The screen itself leaves little to complain about, except for the awkwardly low fingerprint sensor position. The slightly thick bottom bezel might leave space for improvement, especially since its sibling, the Find X8s, set a high bar with its ultra-slim chin, making the 13T’s design less striking in comparison.

Camera

The OnePlus 13T has two cameras: a 24mm main camera and a 49mm telephoto camera.

The main camera handles daily photography most of the time. In daylight, you can usually snap a decent photo without much effort. Nighttime photos are passable, roughly on par with a $250 phone, assuming you don’t care about video shooting, because its video recording is not that good. Unless mounted on a tripod, focus hunting is constant, and low-light video quality is downright awful.

Then there’s the 2x telephoto. It’s usable in daylight, and even at 4x zoom, it’s tolerable. But at night, its flaws show: no OIS means frequent blur even with slgiht motion. You can check out the sample we shot at moderately lighting places like subway stations.

The lack of an ultra-wide camera is also frustrating. Sure, panorama mode can somewhat compensate, but without night algorithms, nighttime shots are almost unusable.

And the front camera maxes out at 1080p 30fps video. If it‘s a below-$400 phone, I could take it. But unfortunately, it costs $460.

In China, We’ve also heard some less-than-satisfactory voices about the OnePlus 13T in online discussions.. Although it was mentioned at the beginning that the 13T is $100 cheaper than the Xiaomi 15, that’s only based on the official price. The Xiaomi 15 has already been on sale for six months, and its price has dropped a bit on third-party retailers.

Compared to the OnePlus 13T, the Xiaomi 15 is now only about $50 more expensive. To save that $50, you’ll be missing out on an extra camera, wireless charging, an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, IP68, and USB 3.0. We also have to note that the OnePlus 13T has a large enough battery, but it seems like that’s one of the few things it can really boast about.

The post OnePlus 13T Full Review: Small Size + Big Battery… So What Else? appeared first on Gizmochina.

At the end of Gizmochina’s OPPO Find X8 Ultra camera test video, we suggested that the Find X8 Ultra was our favorite camera phone in 2025, even at the fact that the team had already experienced the vivo X200 Ultra. But don’t get me wrong: The X200 Ultra is truly powerful. Everything blew my mind, whether it’s photography or videography, ultra-wide or telephoto cameras, and even that external lens. I’m sure your first reaction to seeing it was exactly the same as mine.

So why didn’t it take the top spot in my ranking? There’s just one simple reason. I won’t give you the answer right away. After I show you just how powerful this phone is, I’ll tell you why I ranked it second.

35mm

The main camera on the X200 Ultra is where the biggest updates are, and also the most debated. The focal length has shifted from the previous 23mm to 35mm. It’s not new, and we’ve seen this insistence in Nubia’s flagship lineup as well. And that’s a good thing.

I made a chart so you can see at a glance how the X200 Ultra’s focal lengths are now more logically spaced. On other brands, the ultra-wide and main cameras are often too close to each other. But the bad news is, the 1-inch sensor is gone. If you don’t want your phone to turn into a hammer, shrinking the sensor was inevitable for such a 35mm lens.

So, between 35mm lens and a 1-inch sensor, vivo chose the former. There must be a reason, right? They say 35mm is the ideal focal length for street and documentary photography. But I’m not a professional street photographer, and most of you probably aren’t either. So, for an everyday shooter, the main advantage of a 35mm lens is that you can frame & compose your shots without taking extra steps for a more natural perspective (closer to what you see). Plus, compared to the old 23mm + 1-inch sensor setup, edge sharpness has improved.

As for the downside of the smaller sensor, honestly, it’s hard to notice. When I shot in near-dark conditions, without a comparison in depth, I couldn’t even tell how much worse it was. Let me put it this way: If I didn’t tell you the sensor was downgraded, you probably wouldn’t spot the difference. And compared to the ultra-wide cameras on Xiaomi and OPPO’s latest flagships, the downgrade here is almost negligible.

If you’re not used to the 35mm main camera, you can also crop the 14mm ultra-wide lens to 28mm instead. There will be some loss in image quality, but it’s still within acceptable limits—after all, it uses the same sensor as the 35mm camera.

You might wonder: Why not crop to 23mm instead? Because 28mm is exactly double 14mm, which means the In-Sensor-Zoom feature only works properly at this focal length. Even though it’s just a 5mm difference, the clarity gap is huge. So, avoid to use the 23mm one. The same logic applies when shooting at medium telephoto: stick to 70mm instead of 50mm. That said, since these shots are still digitally cropped, low-light performance won’t match phones with a native 23mm main camera.

14mm

This 14mm camera is the best ultra-wide shooter in recent Ultra models—especially after trying the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Find X8 Ultra, I realize how satisfying it is to have a good ultra-wide camera.

I rarely used ultra-wide before because, usually, the image quality lags behind the other two cameras. Plus, framing is tricky—it captures way more than you intend. But since I paid so much for all three cameras, skipping one feels like wasting $300. So lately, I’ve been practicing ultra-wide composition. For example, with pets, I used to rely on a telephoto for close-ups to capture the motions of their cuteness.

But after switching to ultra-wide, a completely different perspective—big heads, tiny paws, a whole new kind of adorable. And the fur details are still sharp. Trust me, once you see how good the image quality is, you’ll fall in love with this camera.

Of course, there are downsides: lens limitations mean edge sharpness isn’t perfect, and coma or chromatic aberration can be noticeable in some scenes. But overall, it outperforms most smartphones, especially in night shots and video. If you get this phone, experiment with it. You might discover a whole new creative world.

Video & Selfies

When it comes to video, a great ultra-wide camera matters even more than for photos. Thanks to OIS and a larger sensor, I’d say the X200 Ultra’s video quality and stabilization are close to the iPhone’s—and it even surpasses the iPhone thanks to that bigger sensor at night. The X200 Ultra also supports 4K 60fps 10-bit Log recording—yes, without needing an external SSD—and all three cameras can do it!

Rarely, the X200 Ultra is currently the few flagship Ultra models with an autofocus-enabled selfie camera. Combined with its wide range of beauty filters and modes, you never have to worry about a bad selfie with a Vivo phone. It even supports 4K 60fps video recording. While it doesn’t have as many settings as the rear cameras, vivo has done an impressive job with the front-facing camera.

85mm

The 200MP HP9 sensor is an old friend at this point. This time, the only upgrade is a slightly larger aperture—everything else remains the same. Sure, it’s powerful, but we’ve already seen its capabilities in so many phones that the “wow” factor is gone. Just know this: Whether it’s photos or videos, day or night, landscapes or portraits, this camera delivers exceptional results. Even at 170mm zoom, the quality stays decent.

It also supports macro mode, and I’d argue it’s the best telephoto lens on any smartphone—no debate. Like OPPO, the AI enhancement in Portrait or Stage modes sharpens subjects noticeably. Beyond 460mm, equivalent to 10x zoom on other phones, the AI kicks in to polish everything. If you hate AI processing, you can either disable it in settings or grab the $230 Photography Kit for a more natural look.

Photography Kit

Every time I review Xiaomi’s Ultra series, I recommend their photography kit. Now that vivo has its own version, I’m doing the same, because the premium kit includes a telephoto extender that boosts the optical zoom to 200mm.

Yes, this Zeiss lens lets you capture distant subjects effortlessly. You could literally use this phone to shoot wildlife on an African safari—I’m not joking. That said, beyond 400mm, AI processing becomes overly aggressive, and the viewfinder shows noticeable jelly effect (Rolling Shutter Effect) when panning quickly. Though oddly, this doesn’t happen in video recording.

Since the lens flips the image upside down, you must use a special mode to shoot, but this disables RAW shooting, LOG video, and color mode adjustments. There are also occasional bugs, like camera unresponsive, or untranslated Chinese UI elements. Despite these flaws, if you are a wildlife or concerts person, it’s still worth buying.

Too expensive? Wait a few months. The lens attaches via a standard threaded mount without electronic contacts, meaning third-party clones will inevitably appear at lower prices. Does this mean it will be the best expandable model in the camera phone category? We will see.

Now let’s talk about the other accessories in the photography kit. The grip and phone case are functionally flawless. The grip is significantly bulkier than Xiaomi’s version, providing a much more secure hold. It connects via Type-C and even features a built-in battery that can reverse-charge your phone. The kit includes an adapter ring that allows the X200 Ultra to use 67mm filters. It has all the necessary buttons, even including a tripod screw mount that Xiaomi’s version lacks. When detached from the grip, the case itself has a built-in kickstand. Sounds perfect, right?

However, vivo falls short in one area: build quality. The connection between the external lens and adapter ring isn’t as stable as expected. Plus, the plain plastic exterior lacks any premium finishing, making it feel noticeably cheaper than Xiaomi’s metal-clad version. Although I shouldn’t ask for more, the fact has to be pointd out that the bird lens has a fixed aperture and does not support manual focusing. Final verdict: For this photography kit, I’d give it 8 out of 10. Just refine those details in the next generation, and it could be perfect.

Camera Experience

Yeah, the X200 Ultra delivers a solid camera experience overall. It introduces more customization options, like finally letting you adjust that oversharpening we’ve often complained about. The ultra-wide field of view, previously cropped too aggressively by EIS, now allows you to sacrifice some stabilization for a wider perspective.

So, time to answer the opening question: What’s my real gripe with it? The answer is Tonality—the color character of photos. While the X200 Ultra offers multiple color modes, none truly satisfy me. Simply put, I can’t achieve that cinematic look Xiaomi and OPPO deliver effortlessly. No matter how I tweak settings, something always feels missing. Even Zeiss modes fall short of Leica or Hasselblad’s tonal richness. This might not matter to everyone, but it matters to me.

Most of vivo’s default color styles lean too vibrant—great for snapshots, but tiresome over time. They excel at everyday documentation but easily get bored for a long time.

While the X200 Ultra isn’t my favorite phone this year, that doesn’t mean I dislike it—in fact, I’m quite fond of it. Its perfect balance of three cameras is likely the main reason for its popularity. There’s no “main camera” here—or rather, every camera can be the main camera. You simply choose the focal length that best suits your scene, then capture it, no overthinking required. This feeling of just focusing on what’s right in front of you is fantastic.

The post vivo X200 Ultra Camera Test: The Most Insane Camera Phone Ever Seen appeared first on Gizmochina.

The sales of the OPPO Find X7 Ultra last year were not great – just not as high as we had hoped. So, with the Find X8 Ultra, the brand seems to shift its upgrade strategy: abandoning the camera specs race, and instead, focusing on better everyday usability.

Among all the Ultra-level phones with increasingly larger and more protruding cameras, the Find X8 Ultra is the one that feels the most like a ‘normal phone’. Its predecessor, Find X7 Ultra was truly impressive for the ‘Ultra-like’ camera specs. So accordingly, this also means the camera upgrades are relatively modest.

You’re probably worried about whether its camera system is outdated, right? I was, too, at first. But after a full day of testing, all those concerns disappeared. In fact, I’ve even grown to like this phone a little.

3x & Multispectral Camera

Compared to the Find X7 Ultra’s quad-camera setup, the Find X8 Ultra has two cameras upgraded, one unchanged, one downgraded, and a brand-new addition. Let’s start with the 3x telephoto camera, which OPPO takes great pride in. This lens has a true 3x optical focal length, which is 70mm, meaning it fully utilizes all the sensor’s pixels. On paper, this should be the second-best 70mm camera in the world.

Since the focal length is neither too long nor too short, it’s just perfect for street photography and everyday shots. Macro capability is also present. You can still get a lot of stunning shots with it. Honestly, I can hardly find any flaws with this camera. No matter the time or lighting, it delivers razor-sharp photos.

If I had to nitpick, the large sensor with a fixed large aperture creates an extremely shallow depth of field. For example, in a shot of a cat, the head and legs might be sharp, but the belly could be blurred. Excessive bokeh isn’t always ideal.

OPPO includes an option to reduce background blur via multi-frame processing, but honestly, the effect isn’t always noticeable. Still, this minor drawback doesn’t overshadow its strengths—this camera has undoubtedly helped me capture countless stunning shots.

Portraits & Multispectral Camera

A great lens needs equally great software to truly shine. And I have to say, the portrait mode on the Find X8 Ultra is in a league of its own. Look at the edges of the beard—every single strand of hair is cleanly separated from the background. Even the iPhone can’t compete with the X8 Ultra in this regard.

This is thanks to OPPO’s AI-powered segmentation algorithm, which delivers bokeh so natural it looks like optical blur. The newly added multispectral camera plays a key role here—it identifies the color temperature of different areas in a scene, allowing the phone to adjust each zone individually.

Take this photo, for example: even ignoring image quality, since the iPhone 16 Pro Max lacks a 3x telephoto, the X8 Ultra’s shot renders skin tones more lifelike.

This phone excels at color correction for people, but for scenes without human subjects, the difference from the iPhone becomes negligible.

To sum up, this camera might not be as revolutionary as you’d expect—it doesn’t perfectly replicate real-world color temperature in every scenario. But in extremely tricky lighting conditions, it could be a lifesaver. After all, your girlfriend won’t kill you for ruining her photos.

6x Telephoto

On paper, the 6x periscope camera sees the most significant improvements—larger sensor, wider aperture, yet minimal size increase, thanks to a new prism design. But why “on paper”? Isn’t the actual performance good?

Well, the triple-refracting prism causes light loss at each bend, so its low-light performance doesn’t deliver a “Wow” moment. Compared to the last gen, it feels almost the same.

In fact, in dim lighting, the X8 Ultra often defaults to cropping the 3x telephoto to 6x instead of using this native 135mm lens—proof that its night capabilities aren’t stellar.

Another downside? The prism makes its minimum focus distance absurdly long, over 90cm, ruling out close-up shots entirely. But it’s not all bad. As the longest native focal length among Ultra phones, it shines in good lighting—with some creativity, you can still capture great shots. And if that’s not enough? There’s always AI Zoom to save the day.

0.6x Ultra-Wide

The ultra-wide camera on the Find X7 Ultra was already mediocre, and the X8 Ultra made it worse—it now uses the same sensor as the $180-cheaper Find X8s. Ouch. If you love shooting ultra-wide photos or videos, you might want to wait for the vivo X200 Ultra instead.

I get it—both Xiaomi and OPPO chose to shrink the ultra-wide camera to prioritize telephoto performance, since most people rarely use it. Unless you’re into hiking or vlogging, you probably won’t care much about its quality. And without direct comparisons, many won’t even notice how much worse it is. But as a consumer, spending $1,000 only to get a weaker ultra-wide cam feels hard to swallow.

That said, if you can live with a 10%, or maybe 20% drop in image quality, this lens still gets the job done. I’ve even managed to take some decent shots with it. However, video recording is where this camera truly struggles.

Video Recording

The Find X8 Ultra supports recording up to 4K 120fps with Dolby Vision, though only the main camera and 3x telephoto actually work at this setting. All four cameras can shoot 4K 60fps with Dolby Vision, but OPPO still hasn’t added 8K or LOG recording, which is not a good message for those professionals.

The footage itself? Nothing groundbreaking. In fact, with the downgraded ultra-wide sensor, low-light video quality is outright disappointing for its price tag. Like many mid-range Android phones, it suffers from muddy details, noise, and aggressive focus hunting in motion shots. One other thing to note: there is no way to adjust video settings such as shutter speed, ISO, or anything else in Master mode. To have full control over recording options, you’ll have to go to movie mode, which is very counterintuitive.

If video recording is your priority, wait for vivo’s flagship. The X8 Ultra just doesn’t cut it perfectly.

1x Main Camera

The 1-inch LYT-900 sensor is an old friend we’ve seen many times before—no surprises here. It’s the only unchanged camera on the Find X8 Ultra, and its capabilities are already well-known: stellar dynamic range, crisp details, and excellent low-light performance. I won’t dwell on it too much—just enjoy the samples.

By the way, play with the “Master Mode” settings to capture photos with more of that “Hasselblad-like” tonal richness. Personally, I often prefer shooting in this mode.

Front Camera

The front camera got an unexpected upgrade—but again, it’s just on paper. Real-world performance isn’t much different from before. Since it lacks the multispectral sensor, the portrait mode algorithms don’t seem to match the rear cameras, so you don’t get the same precise edge detection or color accuracy.

The surprise is in video recording. Like rear cameras, it can also shoot Dolby Vision at up to 4K 60fps.

Camera Experience

Like the iPhone 16 series, there’s a camera control button on the shoulder. It’s also just as shitty of an experience as the iPhone. Positioned too close to the center – kind of awkward to reach. Since it’s not a physical button, the haptic feedback feels sluggish. The lag when swiping to switch focal lengths makes it hard to select the desired zoom quickly. Honestly, aside from double-tapping to launch the camera instantly, I barely use it.

You might not know this, but the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s Pro Mode no longer lets you adjust the Leica toning intensity, which honestly makes me furious, since most of my best shots relied on tweaking that setting. Thankfully, OPPO hasn’t followed suit: the Master Mode still allows full control over Hasselblad toning. Just don’t know why you can’t adjust the contrast here. One minor bug popped up during testing, but other than that, I really don’t have much to complain about.

My time with the Find X8 Ultra has been brief, but it’s already won me over. While it has its flaws, they’re all within acceptable limits for me. The comprehensive focal lengths, Hasselblad color science, and the least bumping-up camera module among Ultra flagships have made me see OPPO in a new light this year. That 70mm lens in particular has stolen my heart. Barring any surprises, the Find X8 Ultra might just be my favorite flagship camera phone of the year.

The post OPPO Find X8 Ultra Camera Test: Not perfect, but still the best-balanced camera phone out there appeared first on Gizmochina.

Look back at Xiaomi 14 Ultra released last year: it’s not much fun, and technically, it’s not that different from the 13 Ultra. But the latest Xiaomi 15 Ultra is truly upgraded. The camera system has been updated dramatically, and the Snapdragon 8 Elite in this phone is further powerful than its predecessor. Every aspect from the look to internal upgrades makes me genuinely excited. Before it officially goes on sale, let’s get to know this beast, starting with the unboxing and hands-on experience.

Unboxing

The front side of the box is no different than before. But on the back, there is a brand-new Ultra logo, in the same font as the SU7 Ultra supercar.

When you open the box, the accessories inside are still the same: card pin, manual, and a transparent-PC case. In the botton, there is the USB A to C cable and the 90W charger. That’s all the accessories.

Design

Without a doubt, for the design alone, especially the camera island, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra deserves a thumbs-down. The erratic camera layout looks like something my second-grade nephew would draw.

I’m sure someone will tell me in the comments section: This arrangement is inevitable, to cram those large sensors in it. In architectural speak, it’s called: “Form follows function”. I totally understand all these points, but it is undeniable that it is not following aesthetic rules at all. When we spend close to a thousand dollars on a phone like this, it’s reasonable to expect more, at least on the look.

I won’t feel any sympathy for Xiaomi’s designers who confirmed the sensors’ location at that moment, just as my friend won’t sympathize with the fact that I can spend so much money to put up with such a disorganization.

Strangely though, after spending just a few hours with it, I found it growing on me. I guess that’s the power of “habit”. It could also be the result of the designers realizing this: they seem to be working harder to show ‘the power of design’ in the details of the back except for the camera island. So we can see similar elegant mirrorless-camera-like colors and material splits here, moreover, with a well-designed ‘Ultra’ logo to call back with their latest super EV – SU7 Ultra sold start from $72,700.

So aside from the camera layout, I kind of like other aspects of it. Like the standard version, the 15 Ultra frame extends to the back panel as well. It’s still very comfortable to not feel the seams on your fingers. Though I’ve always been critical of vegan leather materials, I must admit I’m genuinely fond of the two vegan leather editions this time around. They look like some old cameras, old school, but premium, and I’ll probably pick one of them for our review.

The white and black versions each have their own features as well. The white has curved stripes (Granite-like texture) on the back cover, while the black has a red ring around the island. All the colors look great, which is rare in the history of Xiaomi phones.

The weight has also been optimized and balanced by Xiaomi, so the top part is not overly heavy. While not as ergonomic as standard or Pro models, it’s surprisingly comfortable for an Ultra-class device.

Camera specs

But what camera specs can justify this visual chaos? Well, a One-inch main camera sensor. And, the telephoto camera sensor is a 200 MP S5KHP9 from Samsung. And it’s still the 70mm lens. The lenses are also coated with all sorts of new technology that reduces all sorts of glares. Each camera is capable of recording 8K video. This really makes it the most powerful camera system available.

But there are three downgrades you need to be aware of here: One, the variable aperture of the main camera has been removed. Two, the ultra-wide-angle camera sensor has gotten weaker. Third, the 100mm telephoto doesn’t support macro photography. How do these compromises affect real-world performance? Stay tuned for our full review, and I promise you, you won’t need to wait long.

Others

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra rightfully uses a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, with a couple of chips in there for signal boosting and satellite communications. The display is the same as the 15 Pro, a 2K 120Hz quad-curved screen that’s nothing special. The battery is 6,000mAh, which isn’t particularly large, but it’s a significant increase over the previous gen. It’s the charging that hasn’t changed at all, so those hoping for faster charging may be disappointed.

Photography kit

The new photography kit has a major update this time as well. Two color options, a metal thumb grip, a replaceable shutter button, a bigger built-in battery, and IP54 waterproofing are all very appealing for photography enthusiasts. To make the Xiaomi 15 Ultra complete, we have of course pre-ordered this new photography kit. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel and I’ll let you know if it’s worth buying or not in the full review.

Price

Since the hardware has been upgraded, surely the price will be as well, right? But surprisingly, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra starts at about $892 in China, which is the same as the 14 Ultra. Still pricey, but now packed with more value.

(12+256GB: $892, 16+512GB: $961, 16+1TB: $1071, 16+1TB Dual satellite version: $1098)

The post Xiaomi 15 Ultra Unboxing & Hands-on: Form follows Function, The Monster With Design Compromises appeared first on Gizmochina.

Did you see that? This HUAWEI Mate XT Ultimate is running apps that typically require Google Framework. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. We’ve learned how to install YouTube, Instagram, and X on the Mate XT. Honestly, it’s much easier to have on the HUAWEI Mate XT than what we imagined before. Let me introduce you to the secret weapon: GBox. There are a couple of available tools to make it happen, While GBox is probably the most easiest way to get it.

GBox

GBox stands for ‘Google Box’ – a third-party app. It helps any phone without Google Mobile Services or Google Framework run Google apps. Since HUAWEI’s ban from Google services, I’m sure many global users have tried solutions like GBox or GSpace.

To make things easier for new users, HUAWEI lists GBox right in the Mate XT Ultimate’s App Gallery. You’ll find all your favorite Google apps here completely free. I know this sounds like a paid promotion for GBox, but seriously – it’s not. This is also an explanation for all the questions asking Gizmochina Review about the software availability on HUAWEI phones. At least now “no Google” as an excuse is not standing firmly when talking about HUAWEI phones.

Experiences

But do these Google apps work properly? I’ve tested most of them and found no major issues. They’re even optimized for the Mate XT Ultimate – the UI automatically adapts to the folding screen.

By the way, for testing the availability of most popular apps in global markets, we tried instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, X, etc., messages sent and received without problems. Even when the device got lighted off, you’ll get notifications through HUAWEI Push within 30 seconds. It’s the same smooth experience we tried for most Google-related apps, but the only app I couldn’t install and use was Google Wallet, meaning Google Pay remains unavailable. Here’s another bummer for streaming-video lovers – Netflix can be installed, but because it’s not certified, it doesn’t allow you to watch episodes or movies normally. Here we suggest users to try other streaming apps as alternatives.

While HUAWEI can’t pre-install Google services, that doesn’t mean you can’t make it work your own way. The story just try to encourage you while sharing our experience: If you’re genuinely interested in a HUAWEI phone and it’s available in your region, please better check it out in offline stores. It may surprise you. But since the HUAWEI innovative phone is so impressive, we just want to point out that the lack of Google services shouldn’t stop you from considering it.

The post Unlocking Google on Huawei Phones (Yes, It’s Possible on Mate XT!) appeared first on Gizmochina.

Last review we focused on the POCO X7 Pro version, and in this story, it’s the turn of the POCO X7 standard variant. The X7 Pro is designed for those who like extreme performance but don’t want to spend too much money. Then the non-Pro version of the X7 is designed for those who have a much smaller budget, and don’t play much heavy games on their phone either. Without further ado, let’s check if it’s worth a high rating like what we gave to the Pro model.

Design

Although it’s from the same series, the design is hugely different from the Pro version. This silver color variant is already the most minimalist version of the X7, but I would still have liked it to be a bit more minimalist. Especially the large logo, which some people might like, but definitely not me.

Other than that, POCO hasn’t neutered anything in terms of functionality, it has all your favorite features except for the headphone jack, of course.

This time, POCO has upgraded the rugged sturture of the X7. Inside, the introduction of the new cushioning structure inside the device further boosts its capacity to withstand drops. It is certified for IP68 dust and water resistance, on par with the pro version. The screen protection glass also got Corning Gorilla Victus 2. So those who have the butterfingers, this time you finally won’t be using a phone with a broken display every day… I mean, not that easy (Do not test purposely).

Display

The display specs of the POCO X7 on paper are good. There are no obvious shortcomings, at a fine level that should be in a budget phone. The manual maximum brightness is 500nit, and the High Brightness mode is 1200nit. Low brightness PWM dimming is 1920Hz, good for eyes at night.

There is also an under-screen fingerprint recognition, although the position is a little lower. Together with the Victus 2 cover glass just mentioned, all in all, there are no drawbacks that can be pointed out with this screen at this price point. If you’re hoping for a better screen, then you’ll have to up the ante for a more expensive phone, such as its brother, the POCO X7 Pro.

Performance

We all know that budget phones all need to save money in different aspects to cut the selling price. So what has the X7 sacrificed to save costs? The answer is performance, the Dimensity 7300-Ultra is an entry-level processor, slightly better than the non-Ultra version. You can understand that they picked the best units from the same chipsets and focused on slightly optimizing their extreme performance (2-5% improved).

Some mainstream games can still run smoothly, such as PUBG Mobile. there is no lag in smooth graphics. Power consumption and temperature are pretty low. Games with higher loading, such as Genshin Impact, are not as smooth. It should have no problem completing daily tasks, and meanwhile users would gain such well-controlled temperature and power consumption. As an ambitious budget phone, it really does a good job.

Gaming space, like the REDMI K80, also adds FPS monitoring.

All in all, the X7 is a phone that takes care of daily applications. As long as the tasks you work on it aren’t that heavy, it does its job well.

Camera

The X7’s three cameras are our old favorites: the main camera’s sensor is a Sony IMX882, and the ultra-wide camera and macro camera are 8MP and 2MP respectively. It seems to have done its best.

To be honest, the photos shot on it are better than I expected. Of course, as a budget phone, the X7 has a lot of common problems that other phones in the same price range have, such as the purple-fringing issue and the loss of clarity in dark light. But if you lower your expectations a bit, not comparing it to the flagship phones, then it can still delight you with good photos. In-sensor-zoom will take effect at more than 2 times the zoom, so it can hold slightly farther away objects as well.

The Ultra-wide camera didn’t disappoint me either, except for the purple-fringing issue which is still as much of a problem as ever. Again, this issue is present in all mid-range phones, not just the X7. Night details are also fine, an improvement over previous POCO phones.

As for that 2 MP macro camera, just pretend you don’t have it. Actually the main camera can shoot just as well as what it can shoot, and even with better image quality. You don’t have any reason to use it to take pictures, so forget about it.

The X7’s 20 MP front camera is also surprisingly good. It’s not just that it takes clear selfies and keystrokes well enough. Rather, it can actually record 1080P 60fps video with EIS. The detail is good too, so at least you won’t have any problem recording 1080P Vlogs with it.

The main camera can record 4K video, but the ultra-wide camera can only record 1080P. The frame rate is only 30 for both, but the footage is stable and the sharpness is acceptable. For a early-2025 phone in this price range, this is more than enough.

Battery & Charging

Like the REDMI Note 14 Pro, the POCO X7 has a wired charging power of 45 W. 10 minutes for a 26% charge, and 55 minutes for a full charge. But unlike the Note 14 Pro, the X7’s battery is only 5,110mAh.The battery capacity isn’t shockingly large, but the good news is that the processor is power-efficient enough.

By the way, POCO X7 is equipped with Solid-state electrolyte technology. The device can make voice calls at -10°C for up to 24 hours and standby for 66 hours.

Verdict

The POCO X7 is not quite like other POCO phones. Most POCO phones are emphasizing in leaping performance, but relatively mediocre in other parameters. But the X7 is only conservative in performance, while other features are well done. For those groups who have a limited budget and don’t play games on their phones, this phone will be perfect for them.

The post POCO X7 Review: Impressive Overall, But the Performance Needs Work appeared first on Gizmochina.

F6, F6 Pro, M6, M6 Pro, X6, X6 Pro – POCO has already run out of codename ‘6’ already, so it’s time to release the ‘Agent 7’: The first is the POCO X7 series. The first article is all about the POCO X7 Pro, while the standard X7 will be settled in another review. So let’s check out all important facts about the Pro variant, the coolest model ever of the POCO X series.

Actually, it looks familiar but have to say, it is still a new look. Yes, it’s the re-branding model of the REDMI Turbo 4, and has almost the same debut timeline as the REDMI Turbo 4. The Turbo 4 is limitedly available in mainland Chinese for now, but you can definitely look forward to the POCO X7 Pro in your market.

Design

The X7 Pro we got is the yellow-black vegan leather version, the one POCO wants everyone to buy. They have really done a great job with the new design. The color is impressive, and the recessed line texture looks and feels awesome. It’s no slouch compared to the Turbo 4’s best-looking white variant. I’d recommend you get this X7 Pro with the stunning color-crashing, as the other two models are likely offering less with their plastic back covers.

Sadly, the LED light strip from the Turbo 4 camera isn’t heritaged on the X7 Pro. However, the weight of the body got also well controlled, with none of the three color variants weighing over 200g. NFC and IR blaster are there too, just missing the headphone jack and TF card expansion. Furthermore, both phones of the X7 series impressively get IP68-rated water and dustproof. Considering the X7 and X7 Pro are positioned as mid-rangers, ignoring the progress it made is unacceptable to us. Good job, POCO.

Display

What exactly is ‘Pro’ about the X7 Pro? One of another Pro-like upgrades is the screen. The main upgrade over the standard version is that it’s brighter, though it’s not an LTPO panel, and like the non-Pro version, the minimum refresh rate is only 60Hz. But the completely flat screen, ultra-narrow bezels, and flagship-level brightness are excellent enough for such a mid-range phone in early 2025. Except that the resolution isn’t as high as the one on the REDMI K80 Pro, and the low brightness isn’t DC dimming, all the other specs are almost the same. So POCO has actually tried its best to give us the best screen possible, after all, it’s not priced that high.

The only thing we can complain about is that the cover glass uses Corning Gorilla 7i. and the non-Pro version uses Victus 2, which is even better than the Pro version.

So exactly where did POCO spend the cost? The answer is: performance.

Performance

The biggest selling point of the X7 Pro, and the most intriguing, is the heart inside: the MTK Dimensity 8400-Ultra. This is MTK’s latest mid-range processor, tasked with beating the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. Judging by the benchmark scores, it does fulfill its mission. Except for the single-core performance which lags behind the 8s Gen 3 a bit, it wins in every aspect.

The main reason for this result is its unique ALL P-Core design. all 8 cores are A725, with only the frequency difference. Coupled with the TSMC 4nm process, this processor promises to be the best mid-range processor of 2025.

As usual, gaming tests were still focusing on the Genshin Impact. With the 5.0 version of the graphics upgrade, the X7 Pro also performed well. Of course, there is a gap with a newly flagship processor like Dimensity 9400, after all, the GPU performance is only half of it. But meanwhile, the X7 Pro trades higher power consumption for higher frame rates. The cooling system seems to have been enhanced as well. It consumes a lot of power under high-load games, as long as you’re playing games that don’t require a lot of performance, such as PUBG Mobile. then it’s almost as good as the flagships, both in terms of power consumption and frame rate.

Overall, like the scores, the gaming experience is improved, but not by much. It’s hard to say that this is a phone designed for gamers, but it performs well for most apps that most people use. Because of the excellent power efficiency at low to medium loads, the X7 Pro will definitely last much longer than those mid or low-end phones.

Camera

I’m glad to see that the X7 Pro has only two cameras. Removing that 2 MP macro camera was the best decision POCO ever made. The main camera is an IMX882, just like the standard version. The ultra-wide camera is again 8 MP, so you guys shouldn’t expect too much from the X7 Pro’s camera system. Just… It can fulfill the basic needs, you know.

Because the main camera has the help of In-sensor-zoom, it can hold the scene within 50mm. The color style is more on the realistic side and the clarity is good. Even if there is no macro camera, you can still get good macro photos after 2x zoom. Anyway, the main camera is pretty good, the camera you really need to worry about should be that 8 MP ultra-wide camera.

Yes, this camera is as bad as you think it is. I’m not going to repeat what flaws it has, because as you can see by looking at these photos, it has exactly the same flaws as any other mid-ranger. If you must take pictures with it, then use your photo skills to make up for the hardware flaws.

There’s not much to say about video recording. Thanks to the power of the processor, you can also enjoy the stabilized footage from EIS in 4K 60fps video recording. The front camera should satisfy most people if they just take selfies. Just recording video still supports up to 1080P 30fps.

Battery & Charging

The X7 Pro comes with 90W wired charging. Ten minutes to charge up to 38% and 37 minutes to fully charge. There’s no wireless charging, but the good thing is that it charges pretty fast.

It also has a huge 6000mAh battery. It’s pretty impressive that you can put such a large battery in a phone that’s less than 200g, to say the least. Except for the Genshin Impact which consumes more power, all the other segments are very power efficient. Compared to the Turbo 3, also known as the POCO F6, the improvement in battery life is very obvious.

Verdict

In my opinion, there are two most important things about mid-range phones: performance and battery life. As long as you get these two core sections well, the phone will be with you for a very, very long time, without being laggy. As it happens, the POCO X7 Pro does a great job of both. And it even offers more than what we expected: bonus features such as IP67-rating water and dustproofness and a decent display. If you don’t have high demands on its imaging quality, then it is the best New Year’s gift from POCO to us.

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