HONOR Magic V launched as the world’s slimmest foldable smartphone

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Jan 10, 2022

HONOR through a launch event that also saw the curtains lift on Magic UI 6 and HONOR Watch GS 3, today launched the HONOR Magic V foldable smartphone. Its main focus is on providing the perfect combination of a regular smartphone when folded and a large screen when unfolded.

To fulfill that, the outer display keeps a 21:9 aspect ratio with extremely slim bezels, because of which the Magic V looks and feels like any other smartphone when folded. This 120Hz panel is sized 6.45-inches and has a peak brightness of 1000nits.

The inner display, on the other hand, comes with a near-square 10:9 aspect ratio and has a 90Hz refresh rate.

Toughness has also been given special attention, with curved nanocrystal glass used for the outer display, which helps the device achieve 5 times better anti-drop performance. To prove the resilience, the HONOR executive hosting the launch even dropped the Magic V a couple of times.

The hinge is another highlight of the phone and HONOR says it’s made of aerospace-grade materials. When folded, there’s barely any gap between the frame, which has helped the HONOR Magic V achieve the title of being the slimmest foldable smartphone available as of now, with a folded thickness of 14.3mm and unfolded thickness of 6.7mm. The hinge also folds the display in a water drop shape, making the crease nearly invisible, and is rated to survive 10 years of usage if folded and unfolded 50 times a day.

Under the hood, you get the latest and greatest from Qualcomm — the 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 5G SoC. Its AI performance has been claimed to be increased by 300%, which helps Magic UI adapt to a user’s usage scenarios through Magic Live AI Engine.

The battery of the device is sized 4750mAh that has been packed in an innovative dual battery layout to balance charging and heat dissipation. Its 66W wired SuperCharge means that it can fill up to 50% in just 15 minutes.

Also featured on the phone are dual speakers certified by IMAX ENHANCED for an extremely immersive video and audio experience.

For photography, you get a triple snapper setup at the rear, comprised of 50MP primary (f/1.9 aperture), 50MP spectrally enhanced (f/2.0), and 50MP ultrawide (f/2.2 aperture) cameras. The “spectrally enhanced” lens helps capture detailed images even in foggy conditions. For selfies, you get dual 42MP cameras, one in the outer and one in the inner display.

The HONOR Magic V boots into Magic UI 6 out of the box with a bunch of features dedicated to making multitasking and split-screen usage easier. It is available in Space Silver, Black, and Burnt Orange color options. In-box you get a 66W HONOR SuperCharge brick, 66W car charger, and fiber phone case.

The phone is available in 12GB+256GB and 12GB+512GB variants and sells for a starting price of 9,999 Yuan ($1,568).

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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 starts receiving Android 12-based One UI 4 update in the US

By

Pranav Sawant

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Jan 10, 2022

Earlier, Samsung pushed the Android 12-based One UI 4 update for many devices across the world, and the Samsung W33 5G a.k.a the Galaxy Z Fold 3 for China also received the update. Later, the Z Flip also started receiving the update, but it was limited to the European markets. Now, users in the US have started getting the new update.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 devices on the Sprint network are receiving the notification for the new Android 12-based One UI 4 update. However, if you didn’t get any such notification, then do visit the software update tab in the settings and check for the update.

The new One UI 4 update for the US is for the Z Flip 3 versions with model number SM-F707U. It has the firmware version F700USQS4FUL9. It brings December 2021 security patch and also has all the Android 12 features.

As said earlier, the update is currently available for devices on the Sprint network. But, we expect Samsung to release the update for devices on other carriers soon.

In related news, Samsung recently launched a special edition of the Z Flip 3 in China. The phone is called the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 Olympic Games Edition and it comes with the Olympic logo embossed at the back. It has the Snapdragon 888 SoC under the hood and it costs a hefty ¥7,999 ($1,259) in China.

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Another Redmi K50 model appears on Geekbench; this one has the Snapdragon 870 SoC

By

Pranav Sawant

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Jan 10, 2022

Xiaomi’s Redmi is expected to launch the all-new Redmi K50 series soon as a few of the models from the series have passed several certifications. Earlier, a K50 device with model number 21121210C passed the Geekbench certification and now, another K50 phone carrying the model number 22021211RC has appeared on Geekbench.

As per the listing, the Xiaomi 22021211RC scored 963 single-core points and 3123 multi-core points on the Geekbench v5. These scores are possible due to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC under the hood. It runs on Android 12 out of the box and has 12GB of RAM. Netizens believe that this could be the vanilla Redmi K50 phone.

Apart from this, there are no other details about the 22021211RC or the purported Redmi K50. But, Previously, a device with model number 21121210C passed the same certification with the more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. It scored 1240 single-core points and 2645 multi-core points. This particular variant is touted to be the Redmi K50 Gaming Edition.

The same device also passed China’s 3C certification confirming a whopping 120W fast charging support. Moreover, Redmi itself teased that the phone will pack a 4,700mAh battery and will have a Double VC Cooling system.

Furthermore, the Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station revealed that this device may run on MIUI 13 based on Android 12 out of the box. It could feature a display with 120Hz or a 144Hz OLED screen and have 108MP or 64MP quadruple cameras.

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New tech breakthrough will let you 3D print OLED displays at home

By

Sean

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Jan 10, 2022

A new breakthrough has given us a glimpse of the future of repairs. This new tech would even allow you to replace your broken display by making an OLED screen yourself.

According to an Engadget report, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers have developed what they believe is the first fully 3D printed flexible OLED display. In other words, you might not have to rely on major display makers like BOE or Samsung to manufacture a replacement panel to fix your electronic devices. Talking about the process, the breakthrough involves the combination of two methods of 3D printing to print the six layers needed for a functional display.

The University team used extrusion printing to make the electrodes, encapsulation, insulation and interconnects, with active layers being spray painted at room temperature. Notably, previous attempts from others had ran into issues with light uniformity (consistency across the whole panel) or relied on techniques beyond 3D printing to assemble the components. But, the researchers at Minnesota Twin Cities managed to build a prototype, which is just 1.5 inch wide and uses 64 pixels.

Meaning, this technology is still quite far from being viable since any practical use would require a much higher pixel count. The people behind this technology are also working on making the display brighter while also adapting the technology for use at homes. Unfortunately, the brand used a custom 3D printer that costs as much as a Tesla Model S. So, we don’t expect this breakthrough to make it to your homes within the next couple of years.

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OnePlus 10 Pro’s vibration motor will be better than ever

By

Sudhanshu

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Jan 10, 2022

With OnePlus gearing up to launch the OnePlus 10 Pro tomorrow (January 11th) in China, the brand has proactively teased a bunch of its features. Earlier today, the company teased that the OnePlus 10 Pro will have a 2K AMOLED LTPO 2.0 120Hz display supporting a 1Hz Always-on Display feature.

Now, OnePlus has dropped another teaser featuring a new vibration motor. According to a Weibo post by OnePlus (via ITHome), the upcoming flagship smartphone will carry a custom X-axis linear vibration motor which is said to be the most advanced in any Android smartphone yet.

The new motor has increased vibration strength, offers a more sensitive vibration response, and has more than 170 different vibration effects making for a rich user experience.

The custom X-axis linear vibration motor is around 47% larger than the previous generation. According to Zhou Bingxun, the product manager of OnePlus, the size of this motor is about 90% of the “huge” motor on the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

To showcase the capabilities of this new vibration motor, OnePlus has adapted it to the vibration scenarios of the popular game “Peacekeeper Elite,” like footsteps, broken glass, gunshots, and vehicle vibration.

In a recent teaser, the brand had revealed the front design of the upcoming smartphone, showcasing that it features minimal bezels, rounded corners, and a single punch-hole cutout in the top-left corner of the screen. The device has also been confirmed to be the first to come pre-installed with OPPO’s latest ColorOS 12.1 in the Chinese market. It will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset and packs a 5,000mAh battery that supports 80W SuperVOOC wired charging 50W AirVOOC wireless charging as well as reverse wireless charging.

The OnePlus 10 Pro will have a second-generation Hasselblad camera module on the back panel, consisting of a 48-megapixel primary lens, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, and an 8-megapixel sensor for the triple-camera setup. On the front side, it will be equipped with a 32-megapixel selfie snapper.

The device is set to debut in China on January 11th at 14:00 CST where OnePlus will reveal all the specs and features along with the Chinese price of the OnePlus 10 Pro, so stay tuned for more.

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Y2K-styled bug leaves several Honda & Acura car clocks stuck in the year 2002

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jan 10, 2022

A widespread glitch has been reported by several Honda car owners relating to the clocks and calendar of their cars being stuck in 2002. These complaints have flooded some of the carmaker’s platforms. Several persons have complained that the clocks and calendars in their vehicles are stuck in the year 2002. These complaints are coming from persons in the US, Canada, and the UK.

The issue seems connected with Honda and Acura models with GPS navigation systems manufactured between 2004 and 2012. There seems to be no solution to the issue for now, as the clock automatically resets to January 1, 2002, each time the car starts, even after correcting it manually previously. This is an issue that has been there since manufacture but is now coming to the fore. The two years, 2002 and 2022 look similar, and the glitch could be connected to shoddy coding.

An official from Honda indicates that the company is aware of the issue and is investigating it to determine possible countermeasures to resolve the problem.

This is the third time Honda car owners have run into the clock resetting issue. In 2017, Honda and Acura models from 1999 to 2004 with navigation systems had their clocks reset to 1998. The issue resurfaced again in 2021. In both instances, the clocks went back exactly 1,024 weeks.

A proximate cause of the malfunction is loose coding around the rollover of the GPS clock system in the Honda and Acura models that were affected. A single GPS epoch has 1023 weeks (just under 20 years), with the system rolling over on week 1,024.

The first GPS systems started counting time in 1980, and they have rolled over twice – in 1999 and 2019. Thy system must therefore take care of rollovers to prevent the looping issue.

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Apple Watch may not feature latest health tracking sensors for several years: Gurman

By

Sean

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Jan 10, 2022

With the launch of the Apple Watch Series 7, many were left disappointed that the new smartwatch from the company lacked a some of the latest sensors that are offered by some of its rival brands in the wearable market. Now, a new report has shared more details regarding this and, unfortunately, there are some bad news.

The news arrives from the latest Power On newsletter from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (Via 9To5Mac), in which he talked about the new sensors that Apple is currently working on and when we might possibly we see it on the commercial build of its smartwatch. Gurman stated that the three major health tracking sensors that are currently available in the market will not be available on the Apple Watch anytime soon.

The features in question include the glucose/blood sugar monitoring, blood pressure mapping, and measuring body temperature. So while the Cupertino based giant is supposedly working on these sensors, Gurman believes that these features are still several years away. In other words, the next gen Watch Series 8’s latest health tracking feature might be the advanced sleep pattern monitoring system that can even detect sleep apnea.

Keep in mind that the launch of the new Apple Watch is still many months away. So, it is still too early to confirm any finer details regarding the upcoming smartwatch at the moment. On the other hand, the iPhone maker is rumored to launch an updated SE version of its Watch, alongside a new rugged sports variant, and the flagship Watch Series 8. So, stick around for more updates, as we will be covering any notable leaks or rumors regarding this matter.

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iQOO 9, iQOO 9 Pro will have tweaked specs for the Indian market

By

Pranav Sawant

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Jan 10, 2022

Recently, iQOO teased its iQOO 9 flagship series’ India launch by creating a micro-site for the phones on its official website. However, it was learned that the iQOO 9 for the Indian market will be slightly tweaked, wherein the vanilla iQOO 9 for India will be the iQOO 8(Chinese model), while the iQOO 9 Pro India model could originally be the iQOO 9(Chinese model). Now, the tipster Yogesh Brar has revealed that despite the series being rebadged, these devices won’t have the same specs as that of the Chinese models.

Brar reaffirms that the iQOO 9 series will be a mix of iQOO 8 and iQOO 9 models. He reveals that the iQOO 9 India will be powered by the Snapdragon 888 SoC, while the Pro will have Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. He further reveals that the company will eliminate some features and hardware from the phones to keep the cost down.

iQOO 9 series for India gets a mix between iQOO 8 and 9.

SD888 on the vanilla model
SD8 Gen 1 on the Pro model

These won't be the exact same ones launched in China, some features/hardware will be removed to keep the cost down.

— Yogesh Brar (@heyitsyogesh) January 10, 2022

This could be a legit move since a number of Snapdragon 888 phones are scheduled to launch in India. The upcoming OnePlus 9RT, the vanilla Realme GT 2, and Xiaomi 11T Pro are riffed to come powered by the Snapdragon 888 SoC. That said, tweaking the series as per the Indian market competition does make sense for the company.

Regarding the other specs, the iQOO 9 for India, may have the iQOO 8(China model) specs. But these will be slightly tweaked. The iQOO 8 has a 6.56-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution. It has a 48MP + 13MP + 12MP triple rear camera system and a 16MP selfie snapper. The phone packs a 4,350mAh battery and has support for 120W fast charging.

On the other hand, the iQOO 9 Pro, the rumored iQOO 9 Chinese model, may come with a 6.78-inch curved LTPO AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh and a QHD+ resolution. The iQOO 9 Chinese model has a 50MP + 50MP + 16MP triple camera system and a 16MP selfie lens. It houses a 4,700mAh battery and 120W fast charging support.

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ASUS laptops and graphics cards help company achieve 20% revenue growth in 2021

By

Zohaib Ahmed

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Jan 10, 2022

ASUS on Monday announced its revenue figures for December 2021 and its complete financial report for the year 2021. The Taiwanese company reported total revenue of NT$535 billion (~$19.3 billion), which is an annual increase of about 20%. Most of the growth can be owed to the surge in laptop shipments last year and the price rise of graphics cards.

Similarly, ASUS Group’s revenue for the month of December 2021 stood at NT$51.5 billion (~$1.8 billion), which again is an annual increase of 20%. And as for the fourth quarter of last year, the group’s revenue totaled NT$151.6 billion (~$5.5 billion) — an annual increase of 24%.

The ASUS brand alone generated annual revenue of (~$18.7 billion), which is an impressive increase of 32% when compared to 2020.

ASUS stated that the industry witnessed quite a change last year and the company’s team worked hard with upstream and downstream partners to adapt to them, promoting strong growth in operations.

Take the company’s Open Platform Business Group and System Business Group, for example, which reported annual revenue growth of 30%. The brand value and NPS (Net Promoter Score — a metric used in customer experience programs) of motherboards, computers, and gaming computers also rose once again, raising the brand value to USD 1.87 billion.

But it’s not just PC and PC hardware that has contributed to the company’s success as ASUS e-sports and commercial product lines have grown at an outstanding rate as well, far exceeding the industry average.

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Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra’s S Pen is 3x faster than Galaxy Note20 Ultra version

By

Sean

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Jan 10, 2022

A new video has just revealed some interesting details regarding the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and its S Pen. Apparently, this new variant of the stylus is about three times faster than the one paired with the Galaxy Note20 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Render Leak — Galaxy S22 Ultra Render Leak via Evan Blass

The information arrives from a YouTube video from XEETECHCARE. While we have already covered a number of reports and rumors related to the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s specifications, the new video offers us more details about its S Pen. With the South Korean tech giant being intent on continuing the Note series with its annual flagship’s Ultra models, the new information might be welcomed by Galaxy Note fans. Reportedly, the brand has improved upon the stylus, which will now be three times faster than the Galaxy Note20 Ultra.

Looking at the video, the company has worked on the S Pen to reduce the input delay or latency for the S Pen to just 2.8 ms when paired with the Galaxy S22 Ultra. This is more than three times faster than the 9 ms input lag of the S Pen on the Galaxy Note20 Ultra. Through this improvement, the YouTuber claims that Samsung is aiming on offering users a handwriting experience that is close to the real deal. He even called it as “the fastest, most realistic S Pen with 3x improved pen latency.”

S Pen Fold Edition vs S Pen Pro featured — S Pen Fold Edition & S Pen Pro

Apart from this, the Tech YouTuber also shared that the upcoming top end model of the flagship series will be the first to support the 12 bit HDR standard. Unfortunately, this is still an unconfirmed report, so take it with a pinch of salt for now. The Galaxy S22 series is expected to launch sometime in February 2022, so stick around for more updates.

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BlackBerry 5G phone with keyboard confirmed to launch this year

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jan 10, 2022

BlackBerry recently confirmed that it will be ending support for all its classic smartphones. It said that it will not be offering support for devices that run on BlackBerry 10 OS or later. In August 2020, Onward Mobility, the company that is licensed to launch BlackBerry-branded phones, revealed that it will be launching new and innovative BlackBerry 5G phones in 2021, but it did not come true. The American company released a new update to confirm that it will be launching a 5G-ready BlackBerry phone even though its arrival has been delayed.

When BlackBerry released an official confirmation that it will stop providing support for BlackBerry phones running BB10 OS, people assumed that the BlackBerry brand is dead. In a blog post, Onward Mobility said that the year 2021 was so challenging for the company that it could not launch a new phone.

It encountered various delays, which prevent it from launching the first BlackBerry phone with 5G support in 2021. It further said that it will release timely updates on the “ultra-secure 5G enterprise smartphone” starting from this month. It will come equipped with a keyboard for a better productivity experience. However, there is no information available on the moniker and specifications of the device.

BlackBerry phones that were launched under the TCL brand between 2016 and 2018 came with Android OS. To those who are unaware, the licensing agreement came to an end in 2020. It appears that the upcoming 5G BlackBerry phone may run on Android 12 OS. Hopefully, the company will release some interesting information about the much-awaited BlackBerry 5G phone later this month. It is expected to release in multiple markets like North America, Europe, and Asia. The company is said to be working with Foxconn’s FIH Mobile to develop the first BlackBerry phone with 5G support.

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Huawei P40 series, Mate 40 Pro, and Mate 30 Pro get the EMUI 12 treatment

By

Zohaib Ahmed

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Jan 10, 2022

Huawei has released the EMUI 12 update for some of its flagship-level offerings, namely the Huawei P40, P40 Pro, Mate 40 Pro, and Mate 30 Pro with a number of new features.

The update for all of the devices carries version number 12.0.0.218 and comes with a package size of 1.04GB.

According to Huaweiblog (via Huawei Central), users currently on EMUI 11 can update to stable EMUI 12 easily through the said OTA update. EMUI 12 beta testers, on the other hand, will receive another EMUI 12 stable build sometime later.

EMUI 12 brings along a number of goodies such as granular adjustment for font, updated system UI, smart folders, cooperative authentication function between cellphones and laptops, and multi-device file management. The complete changelog has been given below.

Font:

Supports more flexible font adjustment, in which you can adjust the font size and width with a slider.

Neuromorphic Design:

Applies the concept of neuromorphic to UI elements. Simple colors, tones, shadows, and highlights are used to achieve a more realistic effect.

Smart Folders:

Supports pressing and holding app folders on the home screen to enlarge them and make the apps within them easier to access.

Notification Panel and Control Panel:

Allows you to swipe down from the top left of the screen to access the Notifications panel to view notifications, and swipe down from the top right of the screen to access the control panel for shortcuts.
Adds an audio control area to the control panel to make it easy to switch between different audio devices and apps. Allows you to quickly activate cross-screen cooperation by tapping symbols for Huawei laptops and tablets in the “Device +” area of the control panel.

Cooperative Security:

Adds a cooperative authentication function between cellphones and laptops, which allows you to unlock your phone by entering the screen unlock password for the phone on Huawei laptop when the phone and laptop are connected through cross-screen cooperation are.

Multi-device file management:

Supports access to documents or pictures on the phone via a laptop without connecting the two devices with a data cable.

Huawei Share:

Improves the transfer speed of Huawei Share for faster file sharing between Huawei phones, tablets, and laptops

All in all, the OS is now nearly identical to the China-specific HarmonyOS 2. Huawei hasn’t said anything on what Android version EMUI 12 is based on but it’s likely Android 10 or Android 11.

It is mention-worthy here that the EMUI 12 update rollout for the Huawei P40, P40 Pro, Mate 40 Pro, and Mate 30 Pro is still in its initial stages, so it may take a while to reach your unit.

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Oppo Find N sees great success in China, as bookings cross 1 million

By

Sean

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Jan 10, 2022

Earlier today (10th January 2022), Oppo shared an image poster on Weibo (a Chinese microblogging website) to show off the popularity of its newly announced Find N foldable smartphone in China, as early buyers shower the device with praises.

For those unaware, the Find N is the Chinese smartphone maker’s first commercial foldable handset and features some notable specifications as well. But since it is a device with a flexible display, it targets the ultra premium segment with its starting price of 7,699 Yuan (roughly 1,200 US Dollars). However, despite its expensive price tag, the device is still seeing a robust demand as reservations for the model has crossed 1 million.

According to Liu Bo, President of Oppo China, the first sale of the Find N was a success, with a umber of users praising its performance, attractive design, and crease less display as well. Talking about the smartphone itself, it sports a 5.49 inch AMOLED outer display and a 7.1 inch E5 AMOLED primary screen. Under the hood, a large 4,500mAh battery pack powers the device with 33W fast charging.

Furthermore, it packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, which is paired with either 8GB or 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage. On the rear, the Find N features a 50 megapixel triple camera setup, while the front has a 32 megapixel selfie shooter on the primary and secondary display. With reservations piling up, its evident that the company has yet to prepare sufficient inventory so far. Even the initial sales were an explosive hit, with the device selling out in mere minutes.

RELATED:

Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold becomes the cheapest horizontally foldable phone money can buy

By

Zohaib Ahmed

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Jan 10, 2022

The Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold was released in April 2021 as the first foldable phone from Xiaomi, and while it did come with some really compelling specs, it also carried a seriously hefty price tag of 10,999 Yuan or around USD 1,725 for the 12GB + 512GB variant.

But less than a year later and it has now already become the cheapest horizontally foldable phone on the market.

The discount comes as part of the New Year’s Day festive spirit, with both the Gregorian and Chinese new year being just a month apart from each other in 2022. A price cut of 4,000 Yuan is being offered as part of the discount, effectively bringing down the price to 6,999 Yuan, which is less than USD 1,100. The sale will last until the end of January.

Of course, the phone never made it out of China despite rumors of a global launch surfacing just a few days following its announcement. The offer can thus only be availed in China, that too from only Xiaomi Mall on JD.com as of now.

Additionally, Xiaomi has also launched a Folding Screen Tiger Year gift box, priced at 8,999 yuan, which includes a Mi MIX Fold Ceramic Special Edition (16+512GB) and Xiaomi True Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones 3 Pro.

The Xiaomi MIX Fold uses a 6.52-inch external AMOLED screen, which still holds up as the largest external screen in a folding phone, despite more recent launches like the OPPO Find N. It’s also quite high-end with a refresh rate of 90Hz and support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.

Other specs include Snapdragon 888, 5020mAh battery with support for 67W wired fast charging, 108MP triple camera setup, and stereo 4-unit speakers.

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Future Apple iPads to sport up to 15 inch OLED displays made by BOE: Report

By

Sean

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Jan 10, 2022

Known display maker BOE has recently converted one of its production sites in China to manufacture larger OLED displays for a next gen smartphones and other devices. Now, a new report has suggested that the new site will also supply future Apple iPads as well.

According to TheElec, the display manufacturer converted the facility to make larger OLED panels for a number of different electronic products. But one of its primary client would reportedly be the Cupertino based giant. For those unaware, BOE is currently the supplier of the iPhone 13 series’ OLED displays. In other words, it arrives as no surprise that both companies would expand their partnership to include other products from Apple as well.

This new facility will supply the smartphone brand with larger OLED displays, which will apparently reach 15 inches in size for what is said to be the next gen iPads. It was previously rumored that the iPhone maker is planning to launch iPads with larger displays in the future, so the new report is also in line with this estimation. Furthermore, the repurposed factory will be able to manufacture OLED displays with two layers of red, green, and blue emission, which would enable the future iPads to offer higher brightness from their screens.

Although, it is still too early to tell if BOE will be able to manufacture these panels at a commercial level owing to the complexity of the display technology. As of right now, Apple buys OLED panels from Samsung and LG as well, however, the company always seeks to expand its supply chain to avoid any risk associated with employing just one supplier. Keep in mind that this is still just an unconfirmed report, so take it with a pinch of salt for now and stick around for more updates.

RELATED:

Tecno announces a new type of macro lens with the ability to extend from a phone’s body

By

Zohaib Ahmed

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Jan 10, 2022

Chinese smartphone maker Tecno has announced a new Telescopic Macro Lens tech that has the ability to extend from the body of the phone, helping improve the quality of macro images and the ease of taking them.

The official teaser video shows a proxy phone with a retractable lens. The lens, when extended, will allow a user to shoot pictures of a subject without the need for getting perilously close, which makes it quite ideal for wild stuff like snapping the scales of your favorite snake.

The company claims that the end result is comparable to that of the main camera and that the macro lens is capable of 5x optical zoom. A bigger aperture is also offered, allowing for better low-light performance.

And last but not least, Tecno has said that the design is quite compact and doesn’t need too much space, although specifics were not provided.

Of course, the phone featured in the video is nothing but a dummy that exists only in video, designed to show off the Telescopic Macro Lens tech. It is unclear when Tecno will be launching a phone with the same.

OPPO had teased a similar technology last month, except it had actually shown a phone with it in action. While the company hadn’t talked about its purpose at the time, it looks to be trying to achieve something akin to the tech from Tecno.

RELATED:

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G launched in India for Rs 49,999 (~$676) with cashback offer

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jan 10, 2022

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (Fan Edition) has gone official in India. The Snapdragon 888 chip edition of the device was announced for markets like the U.S. and Europe in the previous week. The variant that is heading to India is equipped with the Exynos 2100 chip.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE specifications and features

The Galaxy S21 FE 5G has a 6.4-inch AMOLED FHD+ display that offers a 120Hz refresh rate. The screen is shielded by the latest Gorilla Glass Victus protection. For security, it has an under-display fingerprint scanner. The device is equipped with an IP68 rated dustproof and water-resistant chassis.

The S21 FE features a 32-megapixel camera for snapping selfies and video calls. Its rear camera setup has an OIS-assisted 12-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide shooter, and an OIS-enabled 8-megapixel telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom. The S21 FE offers photography features such as 30x Space Zoom, object eraser, dual recording, and so on. The device runs on One UI 4 flavored Android 12 OS.

The Exynos 2100 powered handset has LPPDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. For more storage, it has a microSD card slot. The device is packed with a 4,500mAh battery that supports 25W fast charging, 10W wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging. Samsung will not be offering the power brick in the retail package of the S21 FE. It’s packed with other features like dual SIM support with 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, and a USB-C port. The device lacks a 3.5mm audio jack.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G price in India

The Galaxy S21 FE 5G has arrived in two options in India such as 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage. They are priced at Rs 54,999 (~$742) and Rs 58,999 (~$796), respectively. With the introductory offer, the HDFC Bank card owners can get a Rs 5,000 cashback on both models between Jan. 11 and Jan. 17. With the cashback, these models can be purchased for Rs 53,999 (~$729) and Rs 49,999 (~$676), respectively. The S21 FE can be bought through Amazon India and Samsung India’s website in colors like Graphite Olive, Lavender and White colors.

RELATED:

OPPO A36 with Snapdragon 680 SoC, matte rear glass launched in China

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Jan 10, 2022

OPPO has quietly launched a new budget smartphone in China called OPPO A36. The latest handset from the brand offers a high-refresh-rate display, a dual-camera setup, a Qualcomm processor, a matte glass finish on the rear, and a large battery.

OPPO A36 Specifications and Features

The newly unveiled OPPO A36 flaunts a matte glass panel on the rear with a rounded rectangular camera island on the top left corner. The rear glass features millions of crystalline structures, like on the OPPO Reno series.

On the front, the device sports a 6.56-inch LCD panel with a resolution of 1612 x 720 pixels (HD+), a 90Hz refresh rate, a 180Hz touch sampling rate, and a punch-hole at the top left corner. The screen covers 96% of the NTSC color gamut, 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and its brightness can go up to 600 nits. Finally, the display has an 89.9% screen-to-body ratio, can output 16.7 million colors and has a pixel density of 269 PPI.

As for optics, it houses a dual-camera setup on the back consisting of a 13MP primary sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. Whereas, for selfies and video calls, it uses an 8MP shooter.

The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 chipset paired with LPDDR4x RAM and UFS 2.2 storage. It runs ColorOS 11.1 based on Android 11 and has a MicroSD card slot to further expand the storage by up to 1TB.

On the connectivity front, the handset supports dual-SIM, 4G, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0. GNSS (BeiDou, GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS), USB Type-C, and 3.5mm headphone jack. It has all the required sensors like an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, gyroscope, proximity sensor, compass, and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

As far as the size and weight are concerned, the smartphone measures 164.4 x 75.7 x 8.4mm in dimensions and weighs 185g. Last but not least, it gets its juice from a 5,000mAh battery with support for 10W charging.

OPPO A36 Price and Availability

The OPPO A36 comes in a single 8GB + 256GB memory configuration in China priced at ¥1,599 ($251). It can be availed in either of these two color options – Cloudly Black and Qingchuan Blue.

The phone is up for pre-order at a discounted price tag of ¥1,499 ($235). It will start shipping to customers from January 14.

Oppo Pad to support 33W charging & Cross Platform integration

By

Sean

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Jan 10, 2022

Over the last couple of weeks, we have covered a couple of reports and rumors related to the Oppo Pad. Now, a certification has revealed another key specification of the upcoming tablet while a tipster has shared other new information as well.

According to known Weibo tipster Digital Chat Station, the Chinese smartphone brand is testing and completing optimizations for the tablet that will reportedly feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 platform. Furthermore, the tipster added that the brand is also testing cross platform integration on the tablet as well. Through this, the Oppo Pad would be able to support multi device connections with other smartphones, tablets, notebooks, TVs, and other platforms. Notably, cross platform integration might be the company’s attempt on bring its different products closer together.

Additionally, it was also revealed that the Oppo Pad has just been spotted on China’s 3C certification database as well. This listing had revealed that the tablet will feature fast charging support up to 33W. Unfortunately, this was all the information the tipster shared at the moment, although, he had previously also revealed that the tablet would supposedly sport an 11 inch LCD panel with 120Hz refresh rate and 2560 x 1600 pixels resolution.

Other features include, an 8 megapixel camera on the front and a 13 megapixel Hynix Hi336 sensor on the rear. Under the hood, the Snapdragon 870 SoC powers the device along with 6GB of LPDDR4x RAM. The tipster added that the device will house a large 8,080mAh battery, and we now know that it will support 33W fast charging as well.

RELATED:

Deal: Get Blackview BV8800 Rugged Smartphone for $199.99 (Retail Price $275)

By

Daily Deals

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Jan 10, 2022

Blackview is giving an amazing deal on its latest rugged smartphone the Blackview BV8800. The smartphone which retails for $275 will be available at a heavily discounted price of $199.99 only at AliExpress. Please note that this price is limited to the first 500 units only. Thereafter the price will increase to $239.99. This early bird offer starts on 10 January and ends on 14 January 2022, PT.

WHERE TO BUY

Blackview BV8800 at $199.99 (after discount)@AliExpress

Blackview BV8800 rugged smartphone is designed to meet every need of an adventure lover and globe trotter. The stylish smartphone is powered by a massive 8380mAh battery that can easily give you 720 hours of standby time and 34 hours of continuous music playback. The smartphone supports 33W fast charging and also reverse charge and comes with a Type-C charging interface.

The smartphone features a 6.58-inch FHD+ fluid display with 2408 x 1080p resolution and 480nits brightness. Unlike other smartphones in this price segment that generally offer a 60Hz refresh rate, Blackview BV8800 comes with a 90Hz refresh rate that gives you an immersive and smoother viewing experience.

Powered by MediaTek Helio G96 4G Octa-Core processor, the smartphone packs 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB internal storage. With an AnTuTu benchmark score of 301167, the phone assures you superior performance in data processing, multi-tasking, response time, and visuals. Moreover, with a 3D copper pipe liquid cooling technology the smartphone temperature is regulated even when the performance rams up.

BV8800 comes with a quad rear camera setup with a 50MP AI main camera with night vision function, 20MP IR night vision sensor, 2MP depth sensor, and 8MP ultra-wide lens. The main camera features an improved light sensitivity and color fidelity, which captures striking texture and color every time you snap a photo. The 20MP IR night vision camera, backed by two IR LEDs, makes wonders for photos and videos in complete darkness. Also for people who travel a lot and rent rooms and houses all the time, the night vision camera comes in handy as it can help in detecting a hidden pinhole camera and burglar activities in the dark thereby ensuring your privacy and safety.

For your selfies, you have a Samsung ® ISOCELL 3P9 16MP sensor in the front. It’s powered by Tetrapixel™ technology that increases light sensitivity to enhance image quality in both bright and dark lighting conditions.

Other interesting features include HDR, Night mode, PortraitColor, and Underwater mode. Apart from these, the BV8800 supports cinematic 2k video recording that supports 30 frames per second so you can capture your favorite moments in stunning detail, just as you remember them. Basically, this highly unified camera system can back you up to shoot in any conditions, day or night, wide or ultra-wide, on land or underwater.

With an IP68, IP69K, and MIL-STD-810H certification, the phone shows outstanding resistance to water, dust, shock, and drop. Basically, an ordinary mainstream phone cannot match the toughness and durability of this waterproof and drop-proof smartphone.

Running on the newly-launched Doke OS 3.0 (based on Android 11)Blackview BV8800 features intuitive gestures to navigate, smart app pre-loading, more user-friendly design, and an upgraded notebook supporting recording, handwriting, reminding, and encryption. Other features include a fingerprint sensor, power button 2-in-1 key for more speedy unlock, a customized function button for 7 function shortcuts and quick access, multi-functional NFC, etc.

Blackview BV8800 is now available at a heavily discounted price of $199.99 only at AliExpress. This early bird offer is limited to the first 500 units only and starts on 10 January and ends on 14 January 2022 PT. So place your order before the deal expires.