Baidu has apparently laid off more than 100 employees in China, following the recent regulations from the local government that are cracking down on the Chinese video gaming industry.
According to a SCMPreport, two sources close to the matter have revealed that the Chinese online search engine giant is currently downsizing its video gaming unit to cut down on losses over Beijing’s “anti-gaming” regulations. As per the two sources, the decision was announced to some employees within the gaming unit earlier this week, although, the exact number of staff being laid off is unknown at the moment. Baidu has yet to publicly comment on this news as of right now.
The move by the company also highlights the negative impacts on the gaming industry in China as the government cracks down on video gaming in general. The government has restricted the gaming time for teenagers under the age of 18 to a maximum of three hours per week, while also suspending new gaming licenses since the end of July. During the latest quarter, the tech giant saw a net loss of a notable 16.6 billion Yuan (roughly 2.6 billion US Dollars), after investing around 18.9 billion Yuan (roughly 3 billion US Dollars) as per a recent financial report.
As the firm pulls away from gaming, it is now shifting its investment into “hard tech” sectors such as autonomous vehicles and the semiconductor industry. Although, both these segments require years if not decades of investment before turning a profit owing to the technical complexity and rising competition.
AliExpress is giving out this fantastic deal on Yeelight 1SE Smart LED Bulb. This advanced smart bulb which usually retails at $20 is now available only for $10.84($13 including VAT). This flash deal ends in 3 hours.
Yeelight 1SE Smart LED Bulb is a one-stop solution for your lighting needs. The 6W compact bulb comes with 16 million color options and a color temperature adjustment function. The advanced voice control function enables you to switch on and off the bulb from the comfort of your seat. All you need is a Google Assistant, Alexa, Samsung Smart Things, or Mijia App. The smart bulb is compatible with all of the above devices and can be controlled with a simple voice command.
Another cool function is the color picking ability wherein when you point the scanner ( from the app) to a particular object, the bulb changes its color to that of the object, in real-time. This means you can easily change your smart bulb color to match your background by simply pointing at any background object. Additional features like the music sync function and the moonlight mode for your sleep make this smart bulb a must for your home.
The low-power-consuming Yeelight 1SE Smart LED Bulb usually retails at $20. But only for the next 3 hours, AliExpress is giving this smart bulb at $10.84. This offer is applicable only on shipments from China Warehouse and additional shipping charges may be applicable.
Please note that the above price is region-specific and the final price may vary according to your shipping region, warehouse, and regional taxes.
For more information on such exciting deals and offers check out our deals hub.
* Please Note: When you buy something using the links in our articles, we may earn a small commission at no cost to you.
OPPO Reno7 New Year Edition has debuted in China. The company recently unveiled the Reno7 Pro League of Legends mobile game limited edition in the Chinese market, and now its back with Reno7’s special edition. As can be seen in the image below, the Reno7 New Year Edition comes in a chic Red Velvet color.
The bright red edition of the Reno7 features a velvety texture. For those who are unaware, 2022 is called the Year of the Tiger. Hence, there is a logo of a tiger alongside the OPPO branding. A golden lining can be seen on the two camera rings of the special edition phone.
The OPPO Reno7 in Red Velvet comes in three options such as 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage, and 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage. These variants are priced at 2,699 Yuan (~$424), 2,999 Yuan (~$471), and 3,299 Yuan (~$518).
OPPO Reno7 New Year Edition in Red Velvet
The special edition phone is now up for reservations in China and its pre-orders will begin on Dec. 27. The first sale date of the device is yet to be confirmed. Apart from red, the handset comes in black, blue, and gold colors.
OPPO Reno7 New Year Edition (Red Velvet) specifications
The OPPO Reno7 New Year Edition has a 6.43-inch AMOLED display that delivers an FHD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. It has a front camera of 32-megapixel, and its back panel has a 64-megapixel (main) + 8-megapixel (ultrawide) + 2-megapixel (macro) camera. The device runs on ColorOS 12 based Android 11.
The Snapdragon 778G chip fuels the Reno7 New Year Edition with up to 12 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of storage. It has a 4,500mAh battery that supports 60W fast charging. It has an in-screen fingerprint scanner for security.
Noise is one of the fastest-growing tech companies in India right now, and to keep growing its market share in the smartwatch space, the Noise ColorFit Ultra 2 smartwatch was launched in India on Thursday, Dec. 23. It is the successor to the Noise ColorFit Ultra which was launched not too long ago, back in July 2021.
Noise ColorFit Ultra 2 rated IP68 water and dust resistant
Compared to its predecessor, the Noise ColorFit Ultra 2 smartwatch has an upgraded screen as it features a 1.78-inch AMOLED screen accompanied by an Always-on display feature, allowing the smartwatch to display the time and health data at all times. The smartwatch adopts a squarish design similar to the Apple Watch with one button on its side.
As for the build quality, the Noise ColorFit Ultra 2 smartwatch is in a stainless steel body, rated with IP68 water and dust resistance to keep the smartwatch running during rainy days or sunny beach days. Compared to the only two color options of its predecessor, the Noise ColorFit Ultra 2 now comes in 4 brand-new colors: Jet Black, Navy Gold, Olive Green, and Silver Grey.
Noise ColorFit Ultra 2 in its 4 new colors
For fitness lovers, the Noise ColorFit Ultra 2 comes with the Noise Health Suite, which allows users to keep track of their health via the NoiseFit App. The smartwatch can measure blood oxygen levels(SpO2), stress, and sleep cycles. It also comes with 24/7 heart rate monitoring, and support for over 60 sports modes. There is also a female health feature that helps women to track their menstrual cycle.
For software customization, users can jazz up their smartwatch with over 100 watch faces, including some customized animated, cloud-based, and customizable watch faces.
Other features of the ColorFit Ultra 2 include weather forecast, reminders, calls & SMS quick replies, world clock, music, stocks, flashlight, Smart DND, and calculator among others. Noise claims that the new ColorFit Ultra 2 can offer up to 7 days of runtime on a single charge.
The Noise ColorFit Ultra 2 is on sale at an introductory price of Rs. 4,499 (USD 60), and it is listed on Amazon India and the Noise official website. After the sale, the smartwatch is retailed officially at the price of Rs. 8,999(USD 120).
As of recent, Huawei Senior Product Manager, Mr. Wang Yonggang, who is in charge of the development of the Huawei flagship P series lineup of smartphones, broke out the great news that the Huawei P series flagships have exceeded 100 million sales globally(including in China) in total since it launched the Huawei Ascend P1 almost 10 years ago. Through a blog post in the Huawei Xinsheng online forum (an online community for Huawei users in China), he shared the many milestones that Huawei has achieved in the smartphone market throughout the 10 years since Huawei launched its first flagship, the Huawei Ascend P1, back in January 2012.
All Huawei P series flagships from Huawei Ascend P1(Top Left) to Huawei P50 Pocket(Bottom Right)
Huawei first started development for the Huawei Ascend P1 as early as in the summer of 2011, where Huawei wanted to put out its first competitive flagship smartphone to the market to make a name for itself in the industry. Mr. Wang Yonggang recalled that Huawei called in their research team from Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi’an to fly over to Shenzhen to help develop the Huawei Ascend P1 together with their Shenzhen team.
After many months of market research and prototypes, they finally launched the Huawei Ascend P1 in January 2012 with a 4.3 AMOLED display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 8MP BSI rear camera in a lightweight and 7.6mm unibody, at a flagship price of RMB 2,999(471 USD) at the time.
Although the Huawei Ascend P1 was not a bestseller by any metrics, it was Huawei’s first step to transition away from a B2B (Business to Business) company to a B2C(Business to Consumer) company with its first-ever flagship smartphone for the Chinese public.
Huawei Ascend P1
Huawei’s next flagship, the Huawei Ascend P2, however, was not released in China and was instead released outside of China in markets such as the European and Japanese markets in 2013. This was due in part that the Huawei Ascend P2 was equipped with 4G which China did not have a proper rollout till 2014, and therefore Huawei decided to release it in the global market instead. The Huawei Ascend P2 was also the first Huawei flagship to be equipped with Huawei’s in-house Kirin SOC.
The next milestone for Huawei was the Huawei Ascend P6 with its show-stopping ID design, as the P6 was the world’s thinnest smartphone at its release, with a thickness of only 6.18mm. Looking back, it was the Huawei flagship that defined the premium design language of Huawei P series flagships for many years to come.
Huawei Ascend P6
The next big leap was the Huawei P9 with its dual rear camera setup. The Huawei P9 was Huawei’s first phone to collaborate with famous camera imaging company Leica, and the P9’s rear camera was equipped with a normal color lens as well as a monochrome lens. The phone then captures the image with both lenses and uses computational software to provide the best-looking photo for the user.
The next generational leap in photography was with the Huawei P20 Pro with its industry-breaking triple camera setup consisting of a wide lens, a monochrome lens, and a telephoto lens for versatile photography. The Huawei P20 Pro also came with the popular colourway Twilight, which solidified Huawei’s flagship design philosophy in the premium market.
Huawei P20 Pro
The Huawei P30 series adopted a new type of RYYB colored lens for better images, while the P40 series provided marginal upgrades, such as 10x optical zoom for the series.
The Huawei P50 series was quite a confusing flagship lineup until recently. But Huawei launched the P50 Pocket this week, the company’s first-ever clamshell flagship foldable, which proved that Huawei is bringing forward innovation to its P series flagships once again.
A couple of days ago, China Telecom had announced the Maimang 10 smartphone, dropping the Huawei branding from the name as the Huawei Maimang brand has now been acquired by China Telecom.
Today, the Maimang 10 goes on sale in China for the first time through the official store of Huawei on JD.com for the price of 2,299 yuan which roughly converts to $361. It is offered in three colors — Aurora Blue, Pearl White, and Obsidian Black.
The smartphone features a 6.6-inch LCD display that offers a 2400 × 1080 pixels screen resolution, 94.2 percent screen-to-body ratio, a 90Hz screen refresh rate, and a 180Hz touch response rate.
The device is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 720 chipset which consists of four fast ARM Cortex-A76 cores and four power-efficient Cortex-A55 cores, all clocked at 2GHz along with the Mali-G57 GPU. The phone packs 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage with support for expandable storage using a microSD card.
As for the camera department, there’s a 40-megapixel AI primary sensor, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. On the front side, the device features a 16-megapixel snapper for selfies and video calls.
The Maimang 10 smartphone is powered by a 4,000mAh battery which comes with support for 40W fast charging technology. The device measures around 8.3mm in thickness and weighs just 179 grams.
Holiday sales are a good way to save some money when you’re shopping for gifts. So, in the spirit of the holiday season, Samsung is offering some solid deals on their foldable range of smartphones, especially the Galaxy Z Flip3 Bespoke Edition.
The South-Korean tech giant is offering $150 off on the customizable Galaxy Z Flip3 Bespoke Edition. But that’s not all, the Galaxy Buds2 come as a free add-on with this purchase making the deal a whole lot sweeter.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 Bespoke Edition is a version of the Galaxy Z Flip3 that you can choose your own colors for. The device is offered in five color options each for the top and bottom rear panels. Also, two color options are provided for the frame namely silver and black. All in all, you can mix and match these colors for up to 50 different combinations.
The Galaxy Z Flip3 comes in as a more affordable choice when compared to the Galaxy Z Fold3, which costs almost double the amount of this offer. Other than providing a premium foldable phone experience, the Galaxy Z Flip3 packs a decent punch when it comes to specs.
The Galaxy Z Flip3 has a 6.7-inch main screen and a 1.9-inch cover screen. The inner screen has a 120Hz refresh rate, is 29% brighter, and there is Corning Gorilla Glass Victus for 4x better protection against scratches.
There is a Snapdragon 888 processor powering the phone along with 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage. The two rear cameras are a 12MP primary camera and a 12MP ultrawide angle camera and they are both protected by the new Gorilla Glass DX for camera lenses. The camera inside the centered punch hole of the inner display is a 10MP sensor. When taking selfies with the rear cameras, the Galaxy Z Flip3 will automatically switch to the ultrawide angle camera when it detects more people in the shot. The device has a 3300mAh battery and 15W fast charging support.
The iQOO U5 was recently announced in China as the successor for the iQOO U3 handset. Unlike the recently unveiled Neo5S and Neo5 SE smartphones that feature Snapdragon 8-series chipset, the iQOO U5 is a midrange phone powered by the Snapdragon 695 chipset. The handset has been listed on Vivo China’s since Dec. 21. As scheduled, it is now up for pre-orders in the home market. The company has also confirmed the pricing and release date of the iQOO U5.
The iQOO U5 is listed in three variants such as 4 GB, 6 GB, and 8 GB of RAM. They are priced at 1,299 Yuan (~$204), 1,399 Yuan (~$220), and 1,499 Yuan (~$235). All three RAM variants offer 128 GB of storage. The handset comes in three colors such as Magic Blue, Silver White, and Dark Black.
iQOO U5
The U5 pre-orders have started from today in China. Its first sale will be carried on Jan. 1.
iQOO U5 specifications
The iQOO U5 has a 6.58-inch AMOLED display with a waterdrop notch. It produces an FHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. It has a front camera of 8-megapixel, and its back panel has an LED-assisted 50-megapixel primary camera and a 2-megapixel macro snapper.
The U5 runs on Android 11 OS and iQOO UI 1.0. For security, it has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. The Snapdragon 695 and LPDDR4x RAM is at the helm of the U5. It comes with UFS 2.1 storage. It offers 18W charging support for its 5,000mAh battery.
A recent leak claimed that iQOO is gearing up to launch the iQOO U5x smartphone. It is expected to arrive with Snapdragon 480 Plus chipset. A 4G edition of the U5x with Helio G88 is also rumored to be in the works.
A few days ago, Honor had officially launched the Honor X30 premium mid-range smartphone in its home market in China, along with another mid-range smartphone dubbed Honor Play 30 Plus 5G.
Today, the Honor X30 officially goes on sale in the China. The base model with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage is priced at 1,499 yuan (~$235) while the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage model costs 1,699 yuan (~$267).
The 8GB RAM and 256GB model is priced at 1,999 yuan (~$314) while the top-end model with 12GB RAM and 256GB of internal storage costs 2,299 yuan which is about $361. It is offered in four colors — Dawn Gold, Titanium Silver, Meihai Blue, and Night Black.
Coming to the specifications, the Honor X30 features a 6.8-inch IPS LCD screen with a Full HD+ screen resolution of 1080 x 2388-pixel and a 120Hz refresh rate. It is claimed to offer an ultra-narrow 1.05mm bezel and a 94 percent screen-to-body ratio.
Under the hood, the device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 processor which is manufactured using the 6nm node and comes with support for 5G connectivity.
In the camera department, there’s a triple-camera setup on the back that consists of a 48-megapixel primary camera sensor, a 2-megapixel depth sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro lens. On the front side, it features a 16-megapixel snapper for selfies and video calls.
The phone runs the Magic UI 5.0 which is based on the Android 11 operating system and is powered by a 4,800mAh battery that supports 66W fast charging. It is said to be capable of delivering a charging progression of 0 to 80 percent in just 30 minutes.
Realme GT2 Pro front design has been revealed. Yesterday, the handset had appeared in the database of the TENAA certification site, but its images were not available. Now, the listing has been updated with the front and rear images of the phone. At the same time, tipster Digital Chat Station has shared a new image to give a good look at the front side of the GT2 Pro.
The Realme GT2 Pro front images show that it has a punch-hole display. The bezels are very thin and appear to be symmetrical, which indicates that the GT 2 Pro will offer an impressive screen-to-body ratio. It is speculated that the device is equipped with a Samsung AMOLED E5 display. As far as the rear design is concerned, it is not too different from the Realme GT Neo2 handset.
Realme GT2 Pro specifications (Rumored)
Reports have revealed that the Realme GT2 Pro is blessed with a 6.7-inch AMOLED QHD+ 120Hz display with an in-screen fingerprint scanner. It has a front camera of 32-megapixel and a 50-megapixel (main, with OIS) + 50-megapixel (ultrawide with 150-degree FOV), and a 2-megapixel macro camera.
Realme GT 2 Pro TENAA
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will power the GT2 Pro with up to 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM. It is likely to ship with up to 1TB of storage. The handset could be equipped with a 5,000mAh battery that supports 65W fast charging. It will come preinstalled with Android 12 OS, which will be customized with Realme UI 3.0.
Reports have claimed that the Realme GT2 featuring the Snapdragon 888 SoC will also debuted with the GT2 Pro. The latter is expected to come in three editions such as regular, Master Edition, and camera-focused version. The GT2 series is slated to launch on Jan. 4.
OnePlus is reportedly working on the OnePlus Nord 2 CE, which is codenamed as Ivan. Recently, the handset with model number IV2201 was spotted in the database of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The appearance of the BIS listing suggested that it may launch soon in India. However, tipster Yogesh Brar who had recently shared the key specs of the Nord 2 CE has claimed that it will take a couple of weeks for it to go official.
According to the tipster, the OnePlus Nord 2 CE will not launch anytime before February 2022. This indicates that the Chinese manufacturer may first launch the elusive OnePlus 9RT and Buds Z2 either by the end of this month or early in January and then unveil the Nord 2 CE by January end or in February.
OnePlus Nord 2 CE specifications (rumored)
The OnePlus Nord 2 CE is expected to feature a 6.4-inch AMOLED display that offers a Full HD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. It may feature a front camera of 16-megapixel and a 64-megapixel (main) + 8-megapixel (ultrawide) + 2-megapixel (macro) triple camera unit.
The Dimensity 900 chipset will power the Nord 2 CE with 6 GB to 12 GB of RAM. The handset may arrive in 128 GB and 256 GB storage editions. It may come preinstalled with OxygenOS 12 based Android 12 OS.
The Nord 2 CE may house a 4,500mAh battery that supports 65W fast charging. For security, it may feature an in-display fingerprint scanner. It is also expected to feature a 3.5mm audio jack. However, it is likely to feature an alert slider. It is speculated to be priced between Rs 24,000 and Rs 28,000 in India. It may come in colors like black and green.
The battle between the Motorola Edge X30 and the other flagships continues. Given that it is currently the only handset with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 inside, a lot of people are curious to know whether or not it offers a higher value for money than all the other flagships. That is the reason why we are comparing it to the other high-end phones from several manufacturers. A few days ago, we published the comparison between Motorola Edge S30, OnePlus 9 Pro, and Vivo X70 Pro+. Now, it is time to compare it to the Samsung Galaxy S21+ and the Xiaomi 11T Pro.
Motorola Edge X30 vs Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G vs Xiaomi 11T Pro
The most original design, the most beautiful look, and the best build quality belong to the Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G, at least in my opinion. It has a glass back protected by Gorilla Glass Victus, front glass with the same protection by Corning, and an aluminum frame. Further, it is waterproof with the IP68 certification. The silver medal goes to the Xiaomi 11T Pro which provides a glass back, an aluminum frame, and the IP53 certification making it dust resistant and splash resistant.
Display
On the paper, the most advanced display is the one of the Motorola Edge X30. It is an OLED panel showing up to one billion colors with a 144 Hz refresh rate and the HDR10+ certification. But the Xiaomi 11T Pro is not so far: it has one billion colors as well, but the refresh rate is lower (120 Hz). However, the refresh rate does not impact the image quality. The less impressive one is the Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G as it shows just 16 million colors, but it is the only one with an in-display fingerprint reader.
Specs & Software
The king of the hardware is the Motorola Edge X30: as already said above, it is the world’s first phone with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform, paired with up to 12 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G and Xiaomi 11T Pro are at the same level with a Snapdragon 888 chipset, but the Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G stops at 8 GB of RAM, while the Xiaomi 11T Pro has a configuration with 12 GB of RAM. All the phones run Android 11.
Camera
On the camera side, it is a hard fight between Motorola Edge X30 and Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G. The former is a bit more interesting because of its outstanding 50 MP main sensor and a 50 MP ultrawide lens, as well as an amazing 60 MP front camera that supports 4K video recording. But the Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G has an amazing 64 MP telephoto sensor, unlike its two rivals. Xiaomi 11T Pro is inferior with its 108 MP triple camera.
The Motorola Edge X30 should provide the longest battery life because it has the same big battery capacity as the Xiaomi 11T Pro, but with a more efficient processor. On the other hand, the Xiaomi flagship has the fastest charging technology out there, with a power of 120W.
Price
The Motorola Edge X30 debuted in China with a €420/$475 starting price, Xiaomi 11T Pro costs €600/$680 in the EU, and it is currently easy to find the Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G for €800/$906. There is not a definitive winner of this comparison, but the Motorola Edge X30 looks a bit more interesting due to its better chipset, great cameras, amazing display, and a big battery.
Motorola Edge X30 vs Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G vs Xiaomi 11T Pro: PRO and CONS
The challenges of providing sufficient insurance cover and maintaining electric vehicles were again brought to the fore by an incident that happened in Finland. It is reported that the owner of a 2013 Tesla Model S opted for the destruction of the EV when told that repairs of the vehicle could cost up to €20,000 ($22,668).
The incident happened in Jaala in the south of Finland. The owner of the vehicle did not have insurance cover for repairs of the vehicle and could not afford the huge repair cost, hence he opted for a controlled explosion of the vehicle using 30kg of dynamite. A YouTube video has surfaced online detailing the explosion process of the Model S, although it is unclear when this incident happened. The vehicle was blown up at an abandoned factory in the idyllic and ice-covered Jaala village. The well-scripted video had a voice narrating how the Model S got to be demolished.
According to the owner of the Tesla Model S, when he bought the vehicle, the first 1,500 km were nice and enjoyable. However, he started to encounter one problem after the other thereafter. The first issue he had to grapple with was the different error codes that were being displayed. This led to the car being towed to the service station where it spent about a month without a resolution of the problems. The service station determined that the only option available for the owner was to change the entire battery cell at a cost of about €20,000 ($22,668).
The owner then opted to destroy the vehicle instead as he could not fork out the huge sum for the battery in the absence of a guarantee or insurance for such repairs. It is unclear whether Tesla was aware of the possible malfunction of the vehicle, but the well-choreographed video included the dropping of an Elon Musk effigy into the vehicle before it was exploded. Check out the video from above.
Lately, the Xiaomi 12 series has been subject to many leaks, whether it be their specs or their back panel design. Earlier today, a poster featuring the Xiaomi 12 appeared on the internet, revealing its design, pricing, and specifications. And now, renders of the upcoming device have surfaced on Twitter.
The popular tipster @evleaks took to Twitter to reveal renders of the upcoming Xiaomi 12.
The renders revealed by the tipster showcase a similar design as the earlier reveals by OnLeaks, featuring smooth curves on the corner and edges, A curved 6.28-inch display with a center punch-hole camera, and Xiaomi branding in the lower-left corner of the rear panel.
The triple camera module is the same as early case renders with an enormous primary 50MP lens and two lenses beneath it in a vertical arrangement. However, one difference from the previous leaks is the texture and colors of the back panel. The renders reveal three colors of the device: green, blue, and white.
While the white and blue colored renders have a normal back panel, the green color variant showcases a textured back, almost like leather, giving it an aesthetically pleasing vibe.
With Realme’s recent reveal of their upcoming GT 2 Pro‘s look, it could be that Xiaomi might be planning on going the same route of introducing flagship phones with textured backs rather than just a plain glass-coated rear.
Earlier leaks have revealed that the Xiaomi 12 will carry a 6.28-inch AMOLED display that offers a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels, a 120Hz refresh rate, 10-bit colors, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and 16000-level brightness. The device is all but confirmed to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC paired with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. The device is also expected to have a 4,500mA lithium cobalt oxide battery that supports 67W fast charging and 30W wireless charging.
For photography, its rear-facing triple camera unit has an OIS-enabled 50-megapixel 1/1.28-inch main camera with an f/1.9 aperture, a 13-megapixel ultrawide camera with a 123-degree FOV, and a third camera that supports OIS, 3x optical zoom, 10x hybrid zoom, and 30x digital zoom.
Xiaomi has scheduled to launch the Xiaomi 12 series on December 28 in China. Although the series will have multiple phones only the Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro will debut at the event. Yesterday, the company kept open reservations for the device on JD.com, Tmall, and other shopping portals. Today, it revealed that the series has exceeded 200,000 reservations.
As per Xiaomi, there were 18,000+ and 80,000 reservations for the Xiaomi 12 on the Tmall and JD portal respectively. The Xiaomi 12 Pro received 21,000 and 92,000 reservations on the same portals. It shows the hype around the upcoming flagship smartphones from Xiaomi.
In the past, the series passed multiple certifications which revealed the key specs of the Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro. The Xiaomi 12 will come with a 6.28-inch punch-hole AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, while the 12 Pro will have a 2K LTPO display with a 120Hz variable refresh rate. It means that the phone will be automatically able to switch between 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz depending on the content displayed.
As for cameras, the vanilla phone will have an OIS supported 50MP triple camera system. The other lenses will be a 13MP ultra-wide lens and a tertiary lens. On the other hand, the Pro’s camera specs are still unknown.
Under the hood, the series will come powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC and will be paired with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 onboard storage. The series is expected to run on the MIUI 13 out of the box.
Back in October, Xiaomi’s Redmi launched the Redmi Note 11 5G series in China comprising of the Redmi Note 11, Note 11 Pro, and Note 11 Pro+. Later, the company launched the vanilla Note 11 in India as the Redmi Note 11T 5G. The same handset was made available in the global market with the moniker Poco M4 Pro 5G. Now, the company is all set to launch the top of the line Redmi Note 11 Pro+ in more markets outside China. The device is already in the pipeline as the Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge for India. The same phone has now arrived on the Federal Communications Commission(FCC) confirming its global presence.
According to FCC, the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ for the global market has the model number – 20191116UG. Unfortunately, it does not reveal anything apart from confirming its European existence. But, there’s no need to worry as rumours suggest that the European unit may come with the same specs as the original Note 11 Pro+.
Redmi Note 11 Pro+ Specifications
The Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G has a 6.67-inch Samsung AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It boasts a 360Hz touch sampling rate and a Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection. It features a triple camera system at the rear with a 108MP Samsung HM2 primary lens, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, and a 2MP tele-macro lens. Upfront, the device has a 16MP selfie sensor.
It is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 920 octa-core SoC paired with up to 8GB of Ram and 256GB of onboard storage. It packs a 4,500mAh battery with a 120W fast charging support. The device runs on Android 11 out of the box with MIUI on top of it.
Lately, Chinese tech company Lenovo has been teasing multiple devices like laptops and tablets, expected to arrive early next year. One of these devices is Lenovo’s next-gen Legion Y9000P gaming laptop which the brand has now unveiled.
According to a report by ITHome, Lenovo has officially teased the Legion Y9000P laptop which is expected to officially be launched at CES 2022.
The teaser reveals that the upcoming Lenovo Legion Y9000P gaming laptop will have a rectangular design with 90-degree edges. The device appears to have a moderate thickness when it comes to gaming laptops and features a backlit keyboard.
Coming to the hardware of this design, the unveil dropped information about the device’s screen, which is a QHD+ panel with a 92.3% screen-to-body ratio, 165Hz refresh rate, and 3ms response time. It is capable of brightness up to 500 nits, 100% sRGB color gamut, and 10bit color depth. The screen has also passed HDR400 certification, Rheinland anti-blue light certification, and supports Dolby Vision.
Although the company has not revealed information on the display type of the Legion Y9000P, with the 3ms response time, it is like an IPS panel. However, rumors also suggest that it might house a high-spec mini LED screen.
The device is expected to come with high-performance latest-gen Intel and AMD CPUs accompanied with a high-end Nvidia RTX series GPU, possibly an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080.
Separately, Lenovo also teased the upcoming Legion Y700 Gaming tablet which has been revealed to feature an 8.8-inch 2560 × 1600p display. The device is revealed to have a 120Hz refresh rate screen with a 240Hz touch sampling rate and supporting 100% DCI-P3 color gamut.
Both these devices are expected to be launched around CES 2022 which will kick off on January 5th, 2022. So stay tuned for more.
Renders of the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro Max leaked earlier this year, showcasing a punch-hole camera design. Shortly after the leaks, renowned Apple analyst, Kuo, revealed that Apple has plans to replace the current outdated notch design introduced with iPhone X with a “punch-hole display design”, starting with iPhone 14 Pro models. Now, new reports have surfaced that LG and Samsung will supply the punch-hole display for the iPhone 14 series.
According to a report by The Elec, the South-Korean tech giant Samsung, which is Apple’s dominant OLED panel supplier, will supply all of the hole-punched panels for the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro while sharing orders for the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max with LG Display for the first time. However, the base model iPhone 14 is expected to still carry a notch style display along with the Mini variant.
iPhone 14 Pro concept renders by Waqar Khan
The report brings good news to LG who was previously unable to secure any orders for the displays of the iPhone 13 series from apple. Additionally, this move also benefits Apple as it reduced their dependency on Samsung for the display panels of their flagship smartphones.
iPhone 13 notch
Now, the only question that remains is how the Face-ID feature will work with the punch-hole front camera. As we know, Apple uses a multi-sensor setup to power its Face-ID unlock feature. These sensors, namely, the Flood Illuminator, the Dot projector, and the IR camera are neatly tucked away by Apple in the notch of all their devices from iPhone X onwards. With the notch gone, Apple analysts and industry insiders have speculated that the upcoming devices might use an under-display set up to house these sensors.
Back in October, vivo introduced the premium mid-range T-series smartphones in China. These included the vivo T1 5G and the vivo T1x 5G. Now, reports have surfaced that this premium midrange series could come to the Indian markets.
Vivo T1
According to a report by 91mobiles, industry sources have revealed that vivo is planning to bring the China-exclusive T series to India. Additionally, the sources even stated that vivo plans to replace its current Y series with the T series in India.
As per the report, vivo might launch the vivo T-series smartphones in India sometime in the first quarter of 2021. However, it remains unclear if the company will introduce the current T series phones namely the T1 and T1x in India or will release completely new models under the T series moniker.
The introduction of the T series in India will most certainly mark the discontinuation of the Y series as vivo would want to avoid the T series competing against the brand’s current premium midrange offering in the market being the Y series.
For those unaware, vivo launched the T1 alongside the T1x model on October 20, 2021. The vivo T1 5G features a 6.67-inch LCD screen and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G processor. The processor is backed by 8GB or 12GB RAM on the T1 5G while for storage, you get a 128GB option and a 256GB option.
For Photography, it packs a triple camera setup with a 64MP main sensor supported by an 8MP ultra-wide-angle and a 2MP macro lens. The cameras are housed within a rectangular module located on the top left corner of the back panel. The device also crams a 5000mAh battery under the hood to guarantee a long battery life.
There have been some rumors surrounding the soon-to-be-released vivo V23 series and the launch date for the Indian market. Earlier rumors had put a December date for the unveiling of the V23 series, which was later reviewed to January 2022. The rumors surrounded the V23 5G and the V23 Pro. There is now some form of confirmation that indeed, Indian customers should expect the V23 series berthing in the subcontinent in January.
Vivo V23 series poster
One of the signature features that have been confirmed in the vivo V23 series is the 50MP Eye Autofocus Dual Selfie Camera that will be available in the models for the Indian market. The 50MP dual selfie camera is expressly absent in both the V23e and V23e 5G. The vivo V23 Pro is rumored to be India’s slimmest 3D curve display smartphone at 7.36 mm. There is no word yet on the number of models in the Indian lineup of the vivo V23 series but it is believed to include both the V23 and V23 Pro, as shown from an official vivo teaser in India indicate.
As per the official video teaser, a gold-colored smartphone with a curved screen and three cameras on the rear could be seen. There is no clear indication yet whether the models for the Indian market will be the same with the global models but there will be some changes from the China-only version. We expect the hype to go some notches higher as we inch to the expected January unveiling of the vivo V23 series in India.
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