iQOO Neo 5S vs Motorola Edge S30: Specs Comparison

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Dec 30, 2021

Vivo made us a great surprise for this final part of 2021: it released the iQOO Neo 5S, a flagship with the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform which not everyone expected in a period in which the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 went official. But despite it being very recent, it has a lot of rivals to fight with. That is why we are comparing it to a lot of phones. After the comparison with iQOO Neo 5SE and the one with OnePlus 9RT 5G, here is a comparison between the specifications of the iQOO Neo 5S and the new Motorola Edge S30 which debuted alongside the Edge X30 as a more affordable handset with flagship-class performance.

Motorola Edge X30 Giveaway:

Giveaway: Win A Motorola Edge X30

Vivo iQOO Neo 5S vs Motorola Edge S30

	Vivo iQOO Neo 5S	Motorola Edge S30
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT	163.2 x 76.4 x 8.4 mm, 196 g	168.1 x 75.5 x 8.9 mm, 202 g
DISPLAY	6.62 inches, 1080 x 2400 pixels (Full HD+), AMOLED	6.8 inches, 1080 x 2460 pixels (Full HD+), LCD
PROCESSOR	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, octa-core 2.84 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+, octa-core 2.99 GHz
MEMORY	8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB – 12 GB RAM, 256 GB	6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB – 12 GB RAM, 256 GB
SOFTWARE	Android 11, OriginOS Ocean	Android 11, MYUI
CONNECTIVITY	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS
CAMERA	Triple 48 + 13 + 2 MP, f/1.8 + f/2.2 + f/2.4 16 MP f/2.0 front camera	Triple 108 + 13 + 2 MP, f/1.9 + f/2.2 + f/2.4 16 MP f/2.2 front camera
BATTERY	4500 mAh, fast charging 66W	5000 mAh, Fast Charging 33W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES	5G, dual SIM	5G, dual SIM, water-repellent

Design

I personally prefer the aesthetics of the iQOO Neo 5S because it is a more compact device and it is even thinner. The Motorola Edge S30 has a higher screen to body ratio, but it is a bigger phone due to its bigger display. On the other hand, it is an interesting device in terms of build quality because it has a water repellent coating. Both the phones are made of polycarbonate so, despite they being high-end devices, they do not offer premium designs. Their displays come with a punch hole placed at the center, while on the rear side there are two different camera modules: the one of the Edge S30 is definitely more minimalistic.

Display

There is no challenge if we talk about the display: the iQOO Neo 5S is the winner. Unlike the Motorola Edge S30, it features a great AMOLED panel. The display has a diagonal of 6.62 inches, a 120 Hz refresh rate, the HDR10+ certification, and a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. The Motorola Edge S30 has a wider 6.8-inch diagonal and a higher 144 Hz refresh rate, but it comes with an IPS panel showing less impressive colors. The iQOO Neo 5S has an in-display fingerprint reader and stereo speakers, while Motorola Edge S30 has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and a mono speaker.

Specs & Software

With the Motorola Edge S30, you can get slightly better hardware because it is powered by the Snapdragon 888 Plus mobile platform: an upgrade of the Snapdragon 888 found on the iQOO Neo 5S. In both cases, the SoC is paired with up to 12 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. A great added value of these devices is the fact that they run Android 12 out of the box. Android 12 is customized by the brand new OriginOS Ocean user interface on the iQOO Neo 5S, while the Motorola Edge S30 relies on the MYUI.

Camera

Do not get fooled by the resolutions: despite the Motorola Edge S30 having a 108 MP main camera, the iQOO Neo 5S is able to provide a higher photo quality because it has a better main camera with a 48 MP resolution and OIS. In both cases, the main camera is paired with a 13 MP ultrawide sensor and a 2 MP depth sensor. The iQOO Neo 5S looks to have a better 16 MP front camera.

Read More: Motorola global smartphone shipments to cross 53 million units in 2021: Lenovo Exec

Battery

The Motorola Edge S30 should be able to provide longer battery life in a lot of scenarios thanks to its bigger 5000 mAh battery, but it does not apply to each and every usage pattern because its display consumes a lot more energy if compared to the AMOLED panel of the iQOO Neo 5S. Further, the Vivo flagship charges quicker thanks to 66W fast charging (against just 33W).

Price

You need at least €380/$430 to purchase the iQOO Neo 5S in China, while the Motorola Edge S30 starts from just €280/$317. The iQOO Neo 5S is a superior handset thanks to a better display, faster charging, and a superior camera department, but the Motorola Edge S30 offers a slightly better chipset and a bigger battery for a more affordable price.

Vivo iQOO Neo 5S vs Motorola Edge S30: PRO and CONS

Vivo iQOO Neo 5S

PRO

Better main camera
AMOLED display
Faster charging
Thinner and more compact

CONS

Inferior chipset

Motorola Edge S30

PRO

144 Hz refresh rate
Better processor
Bigger battery
Wider display

CONS

LCD display

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OnePlus 10 Pro ‘Official’ teaser video leaked, showcases design profile and a peculiar sensor

By

Sudhanshu

-

Dec 30, 2021

Earlier today, the OnePlus 10 Pro appeared on GeekBench revealing details about its RAM configuration, SoC, and Android version. Now, an alleged official video has revealed the looks and design as well as the launch date of the device.

OnePlus 10 Pro Official Teaser Video. pic.twitter.com/pExux8WM3K

— Mayank Kumar ❂ (@MayankkumarYT) December 30, 2021

Tipster Mayank Kumar has posted a teaser video featuring the upcoming OnePlus 10 Pro on his Twitter account. The video features the OnePlus 10 Pro revealing its design which appears to be in line with recent renders of the device. The square Camera island located in the top left corner of the device features a triple-lens setup, which going by previous rumors should be the 48MP primary unit, a 50MP ultra wide-angle sensor, and an 8MP telephoto lens with 3.3x zoom.

A sensor with “P2D 50T” written on it is also present on the camera housing however, information is scarce on its functionality. The Hasselblad branding is also present on the camera module, indicating collaboration between OnePlus and Hasselblad for OnePlus 10 Pro’s cameras.

On the front panel, nothing looks notably different from the current-gen OnePlus 9 Pro and the phone is likely to retain the 6.7-inches curved panel with thin bezels and a 120Hz refresh rate. The punch hole in the upper left corner of the screen is likely to house a 32MP camera.

According to the specs spotted on a GeekBench listing, the OnePlus 10 Pro will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset and will be coupled with up to 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage. The device will run Android 12 out of the box and is expected to come with a 5000mAh battery with 125W fast charging support.

Previous leaks have hinted towards a January 4th, 2022 release but if this video is to be believed, the phone will get an official launch on January 11th.

The video appears to have first surfaced on the Chinese microblogging website Weibo but we have failed to locate its source and verify its legitimacy hence we advise you to take this information with a grain of salt.

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Four-year-old Xiaomi Mi 6 gets a surprise MIUI 13 update but there’s a catch

By

Jed John Ikoba

-

Dec 30, 2021

Xiaomi released the Mi 6 in 2017 as its last compact flagship running Android 9.0-based MIUI 8. The device turned out to be a hugely successful phone such that there were rumors of a remake earlier this year. Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun recently revealed that that the Mi 6 userbase stood at over 2.15 million 4 years after the compact flagship was released. However, despite the popularity, Xiaomi ended support for a new MIUI version update after the device received MIUI 11. Although the MIUI 12 beta update was officially pushed to the Mi 6, it never did receive the stable version.

In a surprising twist, though, the Mi 6 flagship has now gotten a fresh update to MIUI 13 but it is an unofficial ROM. A Weibo user @Amktiao announced the update which he dubbed Mi 6 MIUI 13 experience version. Since it is an unofficial installation package, a third-party REC (ie TWRP) is required to flash the device. Users will need to back up their data before trying this out.

At present, the Mi 6 MIUI 13 experience version created by @Amktiao has been updated to the third version, which fixes many bugs such as frame drop, earpiece, fingerprint recognition, and so on. Thus, if you plan to try this out, you have some level of guarantee that it isn’t infested with bugs.

As a reminder, the Xiaomi Mi 6 is equipped with the world’s first 10nm chip which is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 with a clock speed of up to 2.45GHz. With the powerful performance of Snapdragon 835, all Mi 6 series come standard with 6GB LPDDR4x RAM with a base 64GB storage as well as a 128GB storage option.

Xiaomi is expected to officially start rolling out the MIUI 13 update to the first batch of models from around the end of January 2022. Apart from the Xiaomi 12 series which will come pre-installed with MIUI 13, the other models getting the update first include the Xiaomi 11 Ultra, Xiaomi 11 Pro, and Xiaomi 11, Mi Pad 5 Pro 5G, Mi Pad 5 Pro, and Mi Pad 5.

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OnePlus 9, 9R, and 8T may get discontinued immediately after OnePlus 9RT’s India launch

By

Pranav Sawant

-

Dec 30, 2021

OnePlus may launch the OnePlus 9RT in the Indian market soon as the tipster Yogesh Brar has learned from a distribution channel that the company will discontinue a few of its phones soon.

OnePlus may discontinue the OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9R, and OnePlus 8T soon after the OnePlus 9RT’s Indian arrival and the firm seems to be already gearing up for it. The tipster said that the 9RT’s arrival could be the primary reason behind the discounted price of some of the existing OnePlus models.

For those who don’t know, the OnePlus 9 is currently selling for ₹36,999(~$497) in India after clubbing the discount coupon and bank cards. Originally, the phone costs ₹49,999(~$671). The OnePlus 9R costs ₹39,999(~$537) and it is also available at a cheaper price after clubbing the same discounts.

As per the distribution network OnePlus is planning to discontinue 8T, 9R and vanilla 9 as soon as 9RT is launched. This could be the case behind all these sudden discounts across the lineup.
Haven't seen OnePlus products to come done in price within 6-8 months of launch.

— Yogesh Brar (@heyitsyogesh) December 30, 2021

While we take the discontinuance with a grain of salt, OnePlus may actually be preparing to introduce the OnePlus 9RT in the future months.

As for now, OnePlus China plans to unveil its flagship OnePlus 10 series next month. Recently, the phones were touted to launch in early January 2022. Notably, it will be a China launch and we’re expected to see plenty of upgrades over the predecessors. The major upgrades will be to the design and internals.

The series will be employing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC will have a unique camera module. It was recently touted to come with 80W fast charging support. The phones are expected to run on Android 12 OS out of the box.

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Xiaomi launches the MIJIA Zero-Cold Water Gas Water Heater S1

By

Jed John Ikoba

-

Dec 30, 2021

Xiaomi has launched the MIJIA Zero Cold Water Gas Water Heater in CHina. The water heater is touted to be the brand’s first zero-cold water gas water heater. It carries a starting price of 2,399 yuan (~$376) but is now on pre-sale for 1999 yuan (~$313) on Xiaomi Mall.

The major selling point of the product is that owners won’t need to wait for the water in the tan to get hot as it provides instant hot water. The device has an 18L and it preheats the water, including that in the pipe. This ensures the flow of hot water when the shower is turned on. The heater equally features a ±0.5℃ precision control constant temperature system.

The installation of the portable gadget won’t require homeowners to change the pipes that will supply hot water. Also, it can be installed with or without the return pipe. The water heater uses the DC variable frequency water pump and different boosting modes can be selected according to the water demand.

The water heater is equipped with 3 major temperature control elements, providing real-time sensing of water temperature changes. Also, water and air are adjusted in equal proportion. The temperature difference is accurately controlled at 0.5″C thus preventing sudden changes in water temperature during switching on and off.

Thanks to the segmented fire control, the heating temperature control is more precise. When the water temperature demand is low, the low firepower is automatically used, and the water temperature can be set as low as 35°C. When the hot water demand is high, it automatically switches to high firepower to meet the demand. The device supports four bathing modes, including adult wash (43℃), comfortable wash (41℃), children wash (39℃), and kitchen use (36℃).

The MIJIA Zero Cold Water Gas Water Heater S1 also supports the interconnection of various devices in the entire house, linking smart door locks, human sensors, and other devices to customize the bathing scene you want.

Realme GT 2 Pro image samples reveal a highly capable camera setup

By

Sudhanshu

-

Dec 30, 2021

Earlier today, Realme revealed the key specifications regarding their upcoming Realme GT 2 Pro’s triple camera setup. And now, the brand has released photo samples taken by the GT 2 Pro to give us an idea of what to expect from the device in photographic capabilities.

The Realme GT 2 Pro will feature a triple camera setup. The device is revealed to have a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 sensor with OIS anti-shake functionality. The GT 2 Pro features a 50-megapixel ultrawide sensor which offers an industry-first 150-degree of field-of-view.

The ultra-wide samples showcase an excellent image quality with the center and edges of the images retaining excellent details and sharpness. The color intensity also appears to be accurate, delivering a natural-looking picture.

Next up, we have a sample of the fisheye mode of the ultra-wide. This is the first time this feature has been included in a smartphone and produces an ultra-long depth of field effect for creative photography.

The third sample provided by the Realme is of the device’s 2-megapixel microscope camera. The image features the details of the condensed salt in the Gobi Desert. The microscope lens captures objects that cannot be seen by the naked eye.

Additionally, Digital Chat Station has revealed that the Realme GT2 Pro’s microscope lens has upgraded its depth of field by 4 times and the object distance by nearly 2 times. He added that it can detect skin to reveal its quality and water content.

The Realme GT 2 Pro along with the realme GT 2 is expected to debut in China on January 4, 2022. Based on the leaks and rumors, the Realme GT 2 Pro is expected to feature a 6.7-inch QHD+ 120Hz AMOLED display, a 32-megapixel front-facing camera, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, up to 1TB of UFS 3.1 storage, and 65W fast charging support.

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Tomb Raider Trilogy is FREE to claim on Epic Games Store right now!

By

Sudhanshu

-

Dec 30, 2021

The Epic Games Store 15 game giveaway which commenced in the spirit of the holiday season has now reached its climax, and the company has ended it with a bang. The latest addition to the free giveaway is the Tomb Raider trilogy.

The trilogy features the reboot games of the famous Tomb Raider saga and includes the Tomb Raider game of the year edition, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and the latest addition to the franchise, Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

The game combines action-adventure, exploration, and survival mechanics and gives the players control of the series lead character Lara Croft. The trilogy features different geographical settings starting with Lara Croft being trapped on the shrouded island of Yamatai off the coast of Japan, to the harsh Siberian tundra hiding an immortal secret in Rise of the Tomb Raider, and finally to the mountainous landscape of Peru to uncover a cataclysmic power in Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

The Trilogy promises dozens of hours of breathtaking exploration, challenging puzzle-solving, and survival combat with Lara as she becomes the Tomb Raider she was destined to become.

The giveaway is currently live and will go on till January 7th, 2022. So players have till then to claim the three games for free from the Epic Games Store. Epic has offered a larger window for their final game compared to their previous giveaways this holiday season, so claim yours now!

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Samsung’s Exynos 2200 flagship chipset will be announced on January 11, 2022

By

Pranav Sawant

-

Dec 30, 2021

Earlier this month, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, while MediaTek launched its Dimensity 9000 flagship chipset. These chipsets will be seen in flagship phones next year, and in fact, some newly launched phones are already using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. Now, it seems like it’s Samsung’s turn as today, it has officially revealed that its next Exynos processor dubbed Exynos 2200 will be announced in early January 2022.

Samsung Exynos 2200 Release Date and Specs

The Exynos 2200, Samsung’s in-house processor for flagship phones will be announced on January 11, 2022. The company has teased the new chipset with the hashtag #PlaytimeIsOver hinting at its performance. But unfortunately, the company has not revealed any explicit details about the processor.

What we know is that the company won’t be using a 4nm process like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, but it may have the same 5nm process as seen in the Exynos 2100. This time around, the new Exynos 2200 will drive graphics from AMD’s RDNA2 GPU which is seen in PC and consoles. That said, it will come with impressive features like ray-tracing and variable rate shading.

#PlaytimeIsOver. The gaming marketplace is about to get serious. Stay tuned for the next #Exynos with the new GPU born from RDNA 2. January 11, 2022. pic.twitter.com/0H2MeVUbeS

— Samsung Exynos (@SamsungExynos) December 30, 2021

The Exynos 2200 will be an octa-core chipset with one Cortex-X2 CPU core, three Cortex-A710 CPU cores, and four Cortex-A510 CPU cores. It is also expected to have an improved 5G modem, better image signal processing, and enhanced AI processing.

It is evident that the Exynos 2200 will be in the upcoming Samsung flagships like the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+, and Galaxy S22 Ultra in some markets. The rest of the markets including India and China will get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 powered Galaxy S22 units.

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T51u_TKUBQI[/embedyt]

MIUI TV Enterprise Edition released for Businesses in China

By

Pranav Sawant

-

Dec 30, 2021

Xiaomi on Wednesday released custom skins for all of its devices. The company updated the MIUI 12.5 with the new MIUI 13 custom skin for phones, launched the MIUI 13 Pad OS for Tablets, MIUI Watch and MIUI Home for the smartwatches & smart home gadgets. Interestingly, the company also released the all-new MIUI TV Enterprise Edition for Businesses in China. Let’s have a look at the new business-centric UI’s features and release timeline.

The MIUI TV Enterprise Edition comes with a bucketful of features for the television displays at business meetings. Xiaomi claims that with MIUI TV Enterprise Edition, the presentations carried out at the seminars would be a convenient task.

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As for the features, the MIUI 13 comes with pre-built rich enterprise templates. It also supports mobile phone uploads, meaning that one can easily have control over what’s being presented on the screen. With phones, users can also manage and play movies, videos, and TV shows.

The MIUI TV Enterprise Edition also comes with a guest Wi-Fi feature where visitors in the meeting can easily surface the web on the guest network. The new user interface will work seamlessly with the Xiaomi Paipai.

Regarding its support & release plans, the MIUI TV Enterprise Edition will arrive on the first batch of TVs like the Redmi MAX TV 86-inch(in January 2022) and Redmi Max TV 98-inch( in March 2022). The second phase of the release plan will start from April 2022 and will include Mi TV ES55, 65, 75 2022 models and Redmi Smart TV X55, 65, 75 2022 models.

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OnePlus 10 Pro (NE2210) with 12GB RAM appears on GeekBench

By

Jed John Ikoba

-

Dec 30, 2021

OnePlus may launch its next-gen flagship in no distant time and so it is hardly a surprise that the device is getting benchmarked and certified on multiple platforms. But then, we get to see the key features that the flagship model is expected to come with. The OnePlus 10 Pro has now been certified on GeekBench.

The Geekbench appearance comes not too long after the model made an appearance on China 3C quality certification platform showing the device will come with 80W fast charging support. The device hits Geekbench with the model number NE2210 which is similar to that of the 3C website.

The listing shows the device will have 12 GB RAM and will run on the Android 12 operating system. The phone will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. The device obtained a single-core score of 976 and a multi-core score of 3,469. The score is lower than the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro scores but the likely explanation is that this model may not have been optimized for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It is also possible that the company may have underclocked the device in order to preserve the battery life.

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ASUS ROG Flow Z13 tablet launch date announced, claims to be the most powerful gaming tablet yet

By

Sudhanshu

-

Dec 30, 2021

At the start of November, we reported on leaks indicating that ASUS might be planning to launch a new notebook that will be the successor to the ROG Flow X13. Now, a new leak has surfaced revealing that the device might actually be a tablet.

According to the tweet by ROG Global, the upcoming ASUS tablet dubbed the ROG Flow Z13 is slated to launch on January 4th at 11 AM PST. The announcement comes with a poster that claims that the device will be the world’s most powerful gaming tablet.

The world’s most powerful gaming tablet is coming to #CES2022.
Full reveal at the #CES2022ROG virtual launch event, January 4, 11AM PST.
👉 https://t.co/tVAhAej7zY #TheRiseOfGamers pic.twitter.com/4bRhKMqMUQ

— ROG Global (@ASUS_ROG) December 30, 2021

The teaser image posted by ASUS appears to confirm that the tablet will have an XG Mobile connector. The presence of the XG Mobile connector confirms that the upcoming device will support the external eGPU (external GPU) from the Taiwanese PC maker. This external GPU is called the XG Mobile that could boost the gaming performance of the thin and light convertible tablet. Apart from just gaming, the eGPU also acts as a USB dock that offered a number of ports.

Additionally, the presence of XG Mobile connector also means that the tablet is Windows-based and will target the same market Microsoft Surface Pro 8 does, which are powerful 2-in-1 convertibles.

Since the tablet is a spiritual successor of the ASUS ROG Flow X13, it is expected to come featuring the upcoming AMD Ryzen 6000 series APUs. The Ryzen 6000 series APUs feature Zen 3 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU architectures with significant improvements in the Vega iGPU department. The APUs are expected to perform on par with Nvidia’s GTX 1050 Ti and ever deliver an experience close to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650.

As mentioned in the poster, the device will be released on January 4th i.e. CES 2022. So stay tuned as we will be covering the launch event.

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OriginOS Ocean public beta builds rolled out to 13 vivo and iQOO devices

By

Zohaib Ahmed

-

Dec 30, 2021

A total of 13 models from both vivo and iQOO got updated to public beta versions of OceanOS Ocean today in China. The rollout comes following the commencement of beta recruitment for the same earlier in December.

The devices are part of the first batch of the models eligible for the update. Among these, the vivo devices are X70 Pro+, X70 Pro, X70, X60 Pro+, X60t Pro+, X60 Pro, X60 curved screen, S10 Pro, and S10. And from the iQOO camp, we have iQOO 8 Pro, iQOO 8, and iQOO 7.

Next in line will be the second batch set to get OriginOS Ocean public beta builds in January 2022. The non-Pro variants of the vivo X60 series along with multiple other devices are a part of it. The second and third batch rollouts will commence from February and April 2022, respectively. All in all, all models released in the last two years can be upgraded to the new OS.

Coming to the update itself, OriginOS Ocean is undoubtedly a major upgrade over OriginOS 1.0 and comes with a number of UI changes and new features for both vivo and iQOO devices. For starters, there is a new Walkman music player that can be brought up from any screen. Multiple apps including the Dialer and Cameras have also been re-designed. But it’s the Android skin’s lock screen that stands out the most, coming with a very unique UI that offers cards for several commonly-used functions.

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BOE 6th Gen Flexible AMOLED production line enters mass production phase

By

Sean

-

Dec 30, 2021

Earlier this week, BOE announced that its 6th generation of flexible AMOLED production line has just entered mass production. The site for the advanced display technology facility is situated in the southwestern city of Chongqing, China.

According to a PanDaily report, the known Chinese display maker is planning on expanding its flexible displays portfolio. The cutting edge production line will join other manufacturing sites in Chengdu and Mianyang. During the mass production ceremony, BOE President, Liu Xiaodong stated that “In the current information and digital age, new application markets such as smart mobile terminals, smart wearable devices, and smart connected cars are showing explosive growth trends. This is increasing the demand for high end display technologies such as flexible displays.”

As of right now, the company already has 6 key projects operating in Chongqing, with the latest 6th generation flexible AMOLED production line being one of them. It even has its 8.5 generation of TFT LCD panel line and the BOE Chongqing Smart System Innovation Center in the region as well. All of these facilities combined are estimated to include around 86 billion Yuan (roughly 13.5 billion US Dollars) in terms of investment.

Furthermore, the latest 6th gen flexible AMOLED production line covers a massive area of 970,000 square meters. This facility is also independently designed and developed by BOE, with the panels being produced set to target small and medium sized high end display markets. In other words, we can expect to see the new flexible panels in a number of new consumer electronic products sometime next year.

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OPPO Reno 10x Zoom gets January 2022 security update a month earlier than expected

By

Zohaib Ahmed

-

Dec 30, 2021

Remember when the smartphone industry was suddenly obsessed with how much the rear cameras could zoom in? We saw flagship devices from Xiaomi and Samsung with crazy camera setups capable of zooming in a hundred times, and boy did the duo brag about it. OPPO had done its own bit during the time, hopping onto the bandwagon with a phone dedicated to making stuff appear bigger — and such was the dedication that it even had ‘Zoom’ in its name.

We are talking about the OPPO Reno 10x Zoom that did exactly what its name implied — zoom in ten times — 5x optical followed by 10x hybrid. And if that wasn’t enough, the device even had a rather unconventional, tipsy slide-out mechanism for the selfie camera, all in all, making it a pretty unique offering.

Point is, it would have sucked if OPPO would’ve abandoned such a memorable phone since it’s now almost a couple of years old. There indeed are not-to-be-named Android OEMs guilty of doing so, but that’s not the case with our OPPO.

Not only has it made it the Reno 10x Zoom eligible to an impressive 4 years of security updates but also seems exceptionally quick in rolling them out.

The OPPO Reno 10x Zoom has just received the January 2022 security update in December itself, making it one of the first phones, if not the very first, to get it (via BongGeek). The update changelog doesn’t say much other than notifying about the security patch version, but needless to say, it’s all quite impressive.

The update comes at a time when OPPO is already rolling out ColorOS 12 based on Android 12 for its devices — something that the OPPO Reno 10x Zoom is thankfully eligible for. According to the official ColorOS 12 beta timeline, the phone is scheduled to get it in the first half of 2022.

OPPO has undoubtedly been killing it when it comes to updates and we hope to see more of the good stuff in the future.

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Samsung & LG are expecting to see the highest ever sales in 2022

By

Sean

-

Dec 30, 2021

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are expecting to see a great performance in 2022, with both companies projected to see the highest ever sales since their establishment this year.

According to an ETNews report, Samsung is forecasted to bring 75.26 trillion KRW (roughly $63 billion) in sales and 15.07 trillion KRW (roughly $12 billion) in operating profit in the fourth quarter of this year. In other words, the South Korean tech giant’s sales surpassed the third quarter of this year, while also marking an increase of 67 percent over the same period last year. Furthermore, the company is forecasted to earn 278.67 trillion KRW (roughly $234 billion) annually in 2022, which is its highest ever revenue that even crosses its 2018 earnings,

During this year, the company’s operating profits are expected to hit 52.83 trillion KRW (roughly $44 billion), which is also the highest since 2018. The news also arrives amid an explosive demand for semiconductors. Daishin Securities researcher, Soo-bin Lee stated that “Samsung Electronics is expected to enter the upcycle of DRAM memory semiconductors in the new year,” while another researcher, Yu-mi Cha, said that “The situation of automotive semiconductor parts shortage will improve after the first half of the year.”

Similarly, South Korea’s LG is also expecting record performance this year. Its overall sales and operating profits is projected to hit 19.67 trillion KRW (roughly $16 billion) and 831.3 billion KRW (roughly $700 million) respectively. However, while the company saw record high revenue, its operating profits were lower than the first quarter of this year. Despite this, the brand is projected to hit 73.70 trillion KRW (roughly $62 billion) in annual sales for the first time in its history while its annual operating profit is expected to hit the record high of 4 trillion KRW (roughly $3 billion).

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Samsung Galaxy S21 FE cases leaked by company itself and they’re quite a visual treat

By

Zohaib Ahmed

-

Dec 30, 2021

The Galaxy S21 FE launch is almost upon us and Samsung has been expectedly hyping up the device ahead of its release. A new ‘leak’ now from the company itself reveals the complete list of official case accessories you will soon be able to slap onto your brand new S21 FE.

Details about all of the case models, which total 15, along with their images have been uploaded to Samsung’s Hungarian portal (via GalaxyVilaga, SamMobile). These 15 are divided into 5 categories, of which two are transparent (regular transparent and transparent standing case). The other three models have a solid design and come in a variety of colors to match the phone.

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All of the models appear to be made of silicon, with the regular Silicone case being available in black, lavender, olive, red, and white color options. It is joined by the Galaxy S21 FE Smart Clear View case will be available in black, lavender, olive, and white – yep, no red this time.

Lastly, there is the Galaxy S21 FE Thin Strap, which just as its name implies, will feature a hand strap at the rear. While the case itself looks to be transparent, there are multiple color options for its hand strap, namely navy blue, yellow, orange, and lime green.

All in all, the color options offered for the cases appear to correspond to the colors the Galaxy S21 FE will be coming in — black, lavender, olive, and white. The options seem to be fewer than last year’s S20 FE that came in 6 colors, unless if Samsung’s planning on a surprise with the launch, which sadly doesn’t seem to be the case.

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Samsung Bugzzy could be a Chrome OS detachable tablet

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

-

Dec 30, 2021

Samsung is not a big name in the PC industry. But the company is known for its laptops in certain parts of the world. Apart from Windows, it also sells computers with Chrome OS pre-installed. According to new findings, the company is working on a mysterious Chrome OS product.

Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Go Featured A — Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Go

A report by Chrome Unboxed (via SamMobile) reveals that Samsung is readying a Chrome OS device codenamed Bugzzy. Unfortunately, only a few details are known about this product.

First and foremost, it will be powered by an Intel Jasper Laker processor. Based on this, we can expect it to be a budget model like the already available Galaxy Chromebook Go, which is codenamed Sasuke.

Secondly, the device might sport a display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. This particular screen resolution is clearly high for a Chromebook with the aforementioned chipset. Hence, it probably won’t have this display resolution.

Last and most importantly, the upcoming Samsung Bugzzy could be a detachable tablet. If this happens to be true, then it will compete against the likes of Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 and ASUS Chromebook Detachable CM3. Also, it will be the only one among the competition with X86 silicon instead of ARM.

Having said that, we expect to learn more about this Chrome OS product from Samsung before its official launch in the near future.

Huawei to partner with SMIC to build new fab plant in China: Report

By

Sean

-

Dec 30, 2021

Huawei is apparently planning to build a new fab manufacturing plant in China. The new site will be built in partnership with SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp) and will cost tens of billions of dollars.

The news arrives from Media reports in China, which claim that the smartphone and telecommunications based giant will be setting up a new fab site in Shenzhen. For those unaware, SMIC is China’s largest wafer fab and contract chipmaker. Thus, Huawei will leverage SMIC’s expertise in semiconductor production technology along with its own chip designing capabilities. Notably, the brand also sought TSMC‘s supply chain for cooperation to help grow its semiconductor proficiency via funding.

Additionally, the report also stated (Via HuaweiCentral) that “Recently, Huawei has come to us to help build a fab in the mainland.” It further added that the company’s primary focus at the moment is to acquire an ample amount of equipment and plant resources to reach mass production levels. So, Huawei has reached out to members of the “TSMC Alliance.” This, in turn, would help accelerate setting up its fab while also shortening the time to enter mass production.

Interestingly, the company is even looking for partners to promote its semiconductor production plans. As of right now, the investment amount for this major project is still unknown, although, the company is expected to receive official support as well. For those unaware, US sanctions had cut off Huawei from its primary chip supplier TSMC, so it arrives as no surprise that the company plans to build its own chip plant.

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Philips Fidelio T1 premium TWS with LDAC, ANC launched in China

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

-

Dec 30, 2021

After releasing two budget smartphones dubbed Philips PH1 and Philips PH2 in China, the brand has now launched a new premium pair of truly wireless earphones in the country. These earbuds are officially called Philips Fidelio T1. Let’s take a look at what they offer and how much they cost.

Philips Fidelio T1 Specifications and Features

Unlike most TWS in the market, the Philips Fidelio T1 buds feature a brushed aluminum alloy casing. Also, the lid of the charging case sports a leather-like finish. The brand claims that these earphones have won Red Dot Design Award 2021 for the aforementioned specifics.

Coming to specifications, the earbuds connect with devices via Bluetooth 5.2 and they are rated IPX4 for splash resistance. The buds sport 10mm drivers, 2 noise reduction microphones, and 3 microphones for calls. Thanks to these many mics, they support both ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) and ENC (Environmental Noise Cancellation).

These Hi-Res-certified buds are also compatible with LDAC and aptX codecs. They can transmit bandwidth of up to 990kbps. Their frequency response range is rated at 20Hz~40kHz.

As far as endurance is concerned, they are said to last up to 13 hours and 9 hours with ANC enabled and disabled respectively. The charging case can be filled both wired via USB Type-C and wireless through Qi protocol.

Last but not least, the product ships with 6 pairs of silicone ear tips and 3 pairs of sponge sleeves.

Philips Fidelio T1 Price and Availability in China

The Philips Fidelio T1 truly wireless earphones are priced at ¥2,599 ($408) in China. But for a limited time, they are being sold at ¥1,699 ($267) in the region.

They are available in black and silver color options. The black version has a black-colored leather finish, while the silver variant arrives with a brown-colored leather finish.

Realme GT2 Pro teaser hints at a Dragon Ball Z Special Edition

By

Sean

-

Dec 30, 2021

The launch of the Realme GT2 series is just around the corner. But prior to its launch, the company has teased the GT2 Pro. However, this teaser is a bit more special as it hints at a limited edition in collaboration with Dragon Ball Z.

The company shared the news on its official Weibo account (a Chinese microblogging website), which teased the “realme X Dragon Ball Z” partnership. This teaser was shared in an image poster and a short video, however, the Chinese smartphone maker didn’t reveal any finer details regarding this device or showcase its design in any manner. In other words, we still have no idea what the Dragon Ball Z Special Edition might look like.

While the Realme GT2 series has already garnered anticipation, the Dragon Ball Z collab adds to the hype. For those unaware, Dragon Ball Z is a massively popular Anime series that first aired back in 1989 and ran till 2003. Before anime became a global phenomenon, the Dragon Ball series was one of the first anime that was successful in the west. This also implies that it was one of the first anime for many, which adds to the nostalgia for the upcoming Realme GT2 Pro Dragon Ball Z Special Edition.

Talking about the smartphone itself, the GT2 Pro is set to house a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. The new chip is expected to be paired with up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. It sports a 6.7 inch display with Quad HD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and an in display fingerprint scanner. On the rear, it is also set to house a triple camera setup with 50 megapixel + 50 megapixel + 2 megapixel sensor while the front features a 32 megapixel selfie shooter.

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