Toyota wants you to pay monthly fees to use smart features on your cars

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Dec 13, 2021

Toyota is making you pay to use features that are on your car. The company is moving to a paid monthly subscription pack, which starts with you paying to use the remote car start feature from the key fobs.

Toyota bZ4X electric SUV, — Toyota bZ4X electric SUV

The new subscription format is from the Japanese automobile maker’s new Connected Services (Via TheVerge). This would have the company offers its customers the option to buy one of these new services after buying a new Toyota car. The service includes Remote Connect, which lets users remotely start their cars directly from the key fob. In other words, we might be seeing a shift in the automobile industry as ‘smart features’ could new be offered under new monthly subscription plans.

At the moment, the company is offering free trials of Remote Control, although, the length of that trial depends on the audio package that is included with the vehicle. To make matters more complicated, only a few Toyota models currently support the Audio Plus or Premium Audio packages that lets you access the free trial. But regardless, we can confirm that the subscription model is official with $8/month or $80/year plans. Notably, Tesla also offers a similar subscription offering with its paid OTA (Over the Air) upgrades allowing users to activate certain features that are already built into the car, but are locked behind a paywall.

This includes paying to enable “Rear Heated Seats.” Although, Tesla usually takes a one time payment for these features rather than having you pay monthly. So while this might not be common with vehicles right now, the future of smart cars with paid DLCs (Downloadable Content) might not be far off. Meaning, one day you’ll be paying the car company every month for small smart features that are already built into your cars. With automobile giant Toyota adopting this business model, we can soon expect other brands to also launch similar models with their upcoming smart cars as well.

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Epic Games Store to give away 15 games for free this Christmas season

By

Zohaib Ahmed

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Dec 13, 2021

Epic Games Store will reportedly be giving away 15 games for free later this month, with one title being offered from December 16th every day until December 30th.

The info comes from Dealabs user Billbill-Kun (via Video Games Chronicle), who correctly leaked titles included in December’s Xbox Live Games with Gold along with PS Plus lineups for September, October, November, and December.

The user claims that the promotion will commence with a free copy of Shenmue 3 on December 16. An end-of-year sale will also be kicked off on the same day, running all the way until January 6, 2022. The first 14 games will reportedly be available for just one day each while the final 15th title will be available for an entire week.

Epic Games gave away 15 games last year and 12 free games in 2019 during the same period, meaning that this year’s giveaway will again be following the same format.

Currently, Godfall Challenger Edition and Prison Architect are available for free download and will be until the 16th of December.

According to a document released as part of the Epic and Apple legal battle, the former spend nearly $12 million securing free games between December 2018 and September 2019 for its regular giveaways. A total of 38 games were distributed during the nine-month period, each of which involved paying their developers a different ‘buyout price’.

While games like Subnautica, Mutant Year Zero, and the Batman Arkham Collection cost between $1 million to $1.5 million, there were also titles like Super Meat Boy that cost Epic lesser than $50,000.

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Vivaldi calls Microsoft ‘desperate’ over Windows 11 Edge browser’s anti-competitive actions

By

Sean

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Dec 13, 2021

Microsoft had recently launched its latest versions of Windows OS. But while the latest version saw mostly praises, its Edge browser saw many changes that made it even more anti-competitive than before, which has now led to Vivaldi‘s co-founder taking a jab at the Windows 11 Edge browser in his latest blog post.

For those unaware, the Microsoft Edge browser brought about new changes with the arrival of the new Windows 11 operating system. This included making it harder for users to switch the default browser on their PCs from Edge to any other third party browser. While Mozilla managed to beat this difficult browser switching game, it seems that other browser based firms are also annoyed by these new changes.

As per a recent Vivaldi blog (Via WindowsLatest), “Microsoft’s moves seem desperate. And familiar. It is clear they don’t want you to use other browsers.” Recently, we had even reported on the American tech giant adding new prompts that seeks to prevent users from switching the default browser. These prompts include calling Google Chrome outdated and from 2008, while also stating that its Edge browser is built on the same technology as Chrome.

Thus, Jon von Tetzchner, the Co-Founder of Vivaldi, took jabs at Microsoft and called out its anti-competitive practices, saying that its ‘back to its old tricks to get an edge on the competition.” He further urged users to “Most of all, don’t let Microsoft win at this stacked game. Persist until you can use your browser of choice on Windows – and help your friends or colleagues to do the same.”

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Huawei Watch D real-life images exposed for the first time, blood pressure monitoring feature shown

By

Zohaib Ahmed

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Dec 13, 2021

The Huawei Watch D, set to be launched on December 23, has now nearly been completely exposed, firstly with images of its box and now images of it in action in real life. These images are in line with previous renders and showcase a few highlight features including blood pressure monitoring.

The images show Huawei Watch D with a squarish dial and a large screen that’s slightly curved on the edges. There are a couple of buttons on the right side of the smartwatch’s body for “Health” and “Home” functions.

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The watch supports a number of new and highly advanced tracking features like blood pressure monitoring and ECG (electrocardiogram) measurement. A blogger recently revealed that the watch allegedly comes with a pressurized bag inside to simulate the actual blood pressure measurement process and provide extremely accurate data. The feature has already obtained a Class II medical device registration certificate from the National Medical Products Administration of China.

Other than this, the Huawei Watch D will run the company’s self-developed HarmonyOS system. It will also likely support the Huawei Health app, which would provide users with various fitness features like step tracking, calorie measurement, sleep cycle tracking, weight tracking, and much more.

He Gang, president of Huawei’s mobile business, earlier this year announced that Huawei had made a breakthrough in the research of wearable blood pressure measurement technology on the wrist. The Huawei Watch D seems to be a product of that.

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Infinix Note 11, Infinix Note 11S launched in India: Price, Specs, Sale Date

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Dec 13, 2021

Infinix has finally debuted the Infinix Note 11 series in India after teasing it for days. Though the lineup includes multiple devices, the company has only brought two models to the country, namely Infinix Note 11 and Infinix Note 11S. We believe more phones will make their way to the region in the near future. Until then, let’s take a look at what this duo has to offer.

Infinix Note 11 Featured A — Infinix Note 11

Infinix Note 11, Infinix Note 11S Specifications and Features

The Infinix Note 11 flaunts a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels (FHD+), 60Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, 100000:1 contrast ratio, 650 nits peak brightness, 91% screen-to-body ratio, and a dewdrop notch.

On the other hand, the Infinix Note 11S sports a 6.78-inch IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 2460 x 1080 pixels (FHD+), 90Hz refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate, and a centered punch-hole.

The Note 11 is powered by a MediaTek Helio G88 chipset, while the Note 11S with a MediaTek Helio G96 SoC. Both house a 50MP triple rear camera setup and a 16MP selfie camera. The former has a 2MP depth sensor and an AI sensor as auxiliary cameras, whereas the latter comes with a 2MP macro snapper and a 2MP depth sensor.

Infinix Note 11S Featured A — Infinix Note 11S

Common features between the two smartphones include a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, 3.5mm headphone jack, stereo speakers, MicroSD card slot, Android 11, 5000mAh battery, and 33W fast charging.

Infinix Note 11, Infinix Note 11S Price and Availability in India

The Inifnix Note 11 series will retail at the following price tags in India.

Infinix Note 11
- 4GB + 64GB – ₹11,999 ($159)
Infinix Note 11S
- 6GB + 64GB – ₹12,999 ($172)
- 8GB + 128GB – ₹14,999 ($198)

Both will be sold via Flipkart. The Note 11S will go on sale first at 12 PM on December 20, followed by Note 11 on December 23 at the same time.

iQOO India gets vivo’s Nipun Marya as new CEO, aims to double growth

By

Zohaib Ahmed

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Dec 13, 2021

iQOO India announced on Monday that Nipun Marya, who served as Director of vivo India for five years, has now been appointed as the company’s new CEO. Under him, iQOO aims to double its online market share in the mid-premium space from 5% to 10% in the country by next year.

iQOO was launched in 2019 as an online-exclusive brand under vivo and mostly sells mid-range devices with a key focus on performance. The company made its way into India in early 2020 and was being led by Gagan Arora, director of marketing of iQOO India, who will continue to be a part of it.

Marya, who is now CEO effective immediately says that he would strive to create “a robust brand awareness among the millennial and Gen Z smartphone lovers in the country.”

“iQOO’s target audience is tech-savvy young Indians who go into the details before purchasing smartphones. The ‘make in India’ brand will offer cutting-edge, top-of-the-line specifications for users who want premium experiences from their devices,” he told IANS.

vivo, under Marya’s leadership, stood third in Q3 2021 with a market share of 15 percent and became the top 5G smartphone brand for the first time in the same period. iQOO, on the other hand, saw a massive growth of 671% in Q3.

This has been made possible through offerings like the iQOO Z5, which brings a range of compelling specifications like a 120Hz display, Snapdragon 778G chipset, 64MP camera, and more, for just ₹23,990.

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Xiaomi’s Air Purifier Brand, SmartMi now plans to build Smart Cars

By

Sean

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Dec 13, 2021

While we already know that Xiaomi has been dedicating its resources towards its smart car project, a new report has revealed that one of the company’s subsidiary is also aiming on entering the automobile market as well.

According to a 36kr report, the Chinese tech giant’s Air Purifier maker, SmartMi has plans on makings its own smart cars. Notably, SmartMi is also known as Zhimi Technology in China and is known to making a number of smart home products/appliances. Now, 36kr has reported that Zhimi is planning on expanding its expertise outside of consumer electronic products and into the automobile industry.

Reportedly, Zhimi is also seeking to build a new passenger car as well, with its first model being an SUV, as per sources close to the matter. These sources further added that the new project fro Zhimi will be completely independent from Xiaomi Motors, which is its parent company’s automobile unit. Furthermore, it also appears that the new car project’s management will also be separate from its parent company as well, although, it won’t be surprising to see some form of support from the tech giant. As of right now, its plans seem quite far fetched considering the brand is best known for making air purifiers, air conditioners, and more products along this line.

But it seems that the company is taking this initiative quite seriously as the source added that it is already in contact with a number of car designing based firms for the design of its first vehicle. It would also likely have to partner up with a known automobile brand, since the car market is quite a difficult segment to enter successfully without even mentioning the troubles and vast investment needed for mass production. Unfortunately, Zhimi has yet to respond to offer any official statements regarding this news at the moment. So stick with us for more updates.

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Samsung high-end Galaxy device owners complain about audio issues while gaming

By

Zohaib Ahmed

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Dec 13, 2021

Some Samsung Galaxy device owners have been complaining about audio issues on their devices while gaming. While some say that it began with the latest One UI 4 update, some have also stated that it has been present since forever. Affected phones are mostly high-end models including the Galaxy S10, Galaxy S20, Galaxy S21, Galaxy Z Flip 3, Galaxy Z Fold 2, Galaxy Z Fold 3, and the Galaxy A52 5G.

samsung galaxy s21 featured — Samsung Galaxy S21’s successor reported to pack a smaller battery

Users say that audio when gaming sounds rather flat and sometimes even distorted, despite it being totally fine in all other scenarios like with music streaming apps and the like (via SamMobile). It was initially thought that it’s Dolby Atmos that’s to be blamed but turning it off resulted in little to no difference.

The issue seemingly affects low and mid-range audio frequencies the most and is most noticeable on phones with high-quality loudspeakers. Wired or wireless earphones are not as affected.

Oddly, turning on screen recording seems to fix the problem. But that’s obviously not the ideal solution since not only is it quite heavy on resources but also eats up a lot of storage. And on top of that, it also reportedly disables 120 FPS on supported games.

A good demonstration of the problem has been given in the video embedded below.

But despite the growing number of complaints, Samsung is yet to acknowledge the gaming audio issues on any of its Galaxy devices. There is hence no fix in sight. Most official responses on the Samsung Members forum suggest resetting the affected phone as a possible solution but that doesn’t help at all.

We thus suggest Galaxy device owners to take their issue to the community forums and even Twitter to pull Samsung’s attention to it.

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Honor X30 to offer impressive battery life, fast charging support

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Dec 13, 2021

Honor X30 will be unveiled on Dec. 16 in China. Ahead of the launch, the Chinese manufacturer is gradually spilling a few details of the X30. It has been confirmed through a recent Weibo post that the handset will offer a long-last performance and it will carry support for fast charging.

Unfortunately, there is no accurate information on the exact battery size of the Honor X30. It is speculated that the device may come equipped with 66W fast charging.

The Honor X30 is expected to arrive as the first-ever phone powered by the Snapdragon 695 mobile platform. The handset is expected to feature a punch-hole display, which may support a 90Hz refresh rate.

The rear panel of the phone will sport a round-shaped camera module, which may include a 48-megapixel primary camera. It is likely to be accompanied by a 2-megapixel depth sensor and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The other details of the smartphone are under the wraps.

In related news, Honor is reportedly working on the Honor Magic Fold foldable smartphone. Rumors have it that the foldable device will feature an 8-inch display that offers 2200 x 2480 pixels, 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB of storage, 108-megapixel triple cameras, a 16-megapixel front camera, and so on. It is likely to go official in Q1 2022 in China. At present, there is information on the pricing of the device.

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Unexpected DJI Mavic 3 update adds multiple new shooting modes and more

By

Zohaib Ahmed

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Dec 13, 2021

A surprise DJI Mavic 3 firmware update has added a bunch of new features to the flagship drone – features that should’ve always been there. Grabbing the spotlight among these are multiple new shooting modes like FocusTrack, MasterShots, and Timelapse, all of which are already available on DJI’s more affordable drones.

A raw-only photo mode has also been added, along with reduced noise when shooting ProRes on the Mavic 3 Cine version and reduced vibration of the aircraft arms “in some scenarios”, although it’s unclear how the latter has been achieved through software (via TechRadar).

Other improvements include post-launch fixes, including improvements to the Return-to-Home (RTH) performance, obstacle avoidance, and hovering stability. The issue where abnormal colors appear in some situations has also been fixed along with several other stuff.

DJI has also promised that it will continue to refine intelligent flight modes like MasterShots in future firmware updates. Another update will also be rolled out in January 2022 to add other missing features like QuickTransfer, QuickShots, and Panorama mode.

The update carrying version number v01.00.0400 comes as a surprise since DJI had earlier announced that it won’t be arriving until January 22. It is joined by update v1.5.4 to the DJI Fly App that also landed recently.

To try out the latest firmware update on your DJI Mavic 3, you need to download the v1.5.4 version of the DJI Fly app from the DJI website and install Aircraft Firmware v01.00.0400. Alternatively, the DJI Assistant 2 app for Mac/Windows can also be used.

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Huawei to launch Watch D, Mate V Flip Phone, & more on Dec 23: Report

By

Sean

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Dec 13, 2021

Over the last couple of weeks, several sources and reports have suggested that Huawei will be holding its latest 2021 product launch conference on December 23. Now, a new report has revealed the list of a few of these new products that we can expect to be announced later this month.

According to tipster @菊厂影业Fans on Weibo (a Chinese microblogging website), the company is gearing up to launch a number of new smart products in China during its product conference that is just 10 days away. In the event, he added that the CHinese tech giant will be launching foldable phones, smartwatches, ink screens, PCs, speakers, and more on December 23.

As of right now, we have already reported on the brand working on certain products like the Mate V flip phone, which is a clamshell foldable smartphone. Other notable gadgets include, the Watch D smartwatch that can monitor users’ blood pressure, an E-reader tablet, Sound Joy Speaker, Watch Fit mini, and others. Previously, Huawei had already announced the Sound Joy speakers globally, while the Watch Fit mini has also been released in certain markets in Europe as well.

With the Mate V being the latest foldable handset from the brand, we are excited to what the latest entry in the high end Mate series brings to the foldable phone market, with its Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 like design. Keep in mind that the company has yet to officially confirm this upcoming December 23 launch event. So take this report with a pinch of salt for now and stay tuned for more updates.

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OxygenOS 12 blocks access to auxiliary cameras in third-party camera apps

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Dec 13, 2021

Recently, OnePlus rolled out the Android 12-based OxygenOS 12 stable update for the OnePlus 9 and the OnePlus 9 Pro. Though the release was called stable, it was riddled with bugs. Hence, the brand had to halt the rollout. At around the same time, an interesting detail about the software also emerged. Let’s take a look at what it’s all about.

OnePlus 9 Pro camera featured 03 — OnePlus 9 Pro

According to the Google Camera Port Updates Telegram channel (via Android Police), OxygenOS 12 blocks access to auxiliary cameras in third-party camera apps on OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro.

For the unaware, auxiliary cameras on smartphones include additional sensors other than the primary wide-angle snapper. This means the OnePlus 9 series users on OxygenOS 12 cannot use the ultra-wide camera or the telephoto shooter in any other camera application other than the stock camera app.

The aforementioned limitation is part of ColorOS. Since the OnePlus 9 series now basically runs OPPO’s operating system with the latest iteration of OxygenOS, it has inherited all the qualities.

Thus, Google Camera ports, which enable users to click Pixel-esque pictures can now only access the primary sensor on the current-gen OnePlus flagships. The older OnePlus devices slated to receive OxygenOS 12 should also be plagued with this limitation.

In a nutshell, unless OPPO or OnePlus makes changes to the unified codebase of ColorOS and OxygenOS, all devices running software builds based on this codebase will continue to have this limitation.

As mentioned earlier, the issue applies to all third-party camera applications, not only Google Camera ports.

Nokia smartphone sales reached almost 3 million units in Q3 2021

By

Zohaib Ahmed

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Dec 13, 2021

The figures for the smartphone market during the third quarter of this year are in, and they show that the market grew 6% compared to Q2 2021 but also declined 6% when compared to the same period in 2020.

Samsung remained the biggest individual brand with a market share of 20%, followed by Apple with a share of 14% and Xiaomi with a share of 13% (via Counterpoint Research). However, BBK Electronics grabs the top spot when the market shares of all of its brands (OPPO, vivo, OnePlus, realme) are combined – holding 25% of the shipments.

HMD-Nokia-Smartphone-sales-Q3-2021 — Image: Nokiamob

Counterpoint further revealed to Nokiamob that Nokia shipped almost 3 million smartphones in Q3 2021, representing a growth of 12% compared to Q2 2021. But it gets even more impressive when the shipments are compared to Q3 2020 as the growth then sharply rises to 37%.

The rise has been driven by the Middle East, Africa, and North America where the exit of LG has left quite some shoes to be filled. Still, in terms of global smartphone makers ranking, Nokia Mobile retained the 14th spot.

As for feature phones, Nokia Mobile remained the 2nd largest vendor, shipping around 10 million units in Q3 2021. This, combined with smartphone sales, churns out a 13 million figure in total, making Nokia the 11th biggest phone vendor on the planet. But even with the growth, the company has actually slipped two places compared to the previous quarter.

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OnePlus Nord 2 CE specifications leak online; expected to launch soon in India

By

Jeet

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Dec 13, 2021

Earlier this year, OnePlus had launched the Nord Core Edition smartphone, which is a watered-down model of the original OnePlus Nord that was launched last year. Now, the company is working on another such model.

A new leak reveals that the OnePlus Nord 2 CE with model number IV2201 and codename Ivan is in the works and some key details about the device, including specifications, have been leaked online. The phone was recently spotted on the BIS certification website.

OnePlus Nord CE featured — OnePlus Nord CE 5G

It has been revealed that the OnePlus Nord 2 CE could come with a 6.4-inch AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. Under the hood, the phone will be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 900 5G processor with anywhere between 6GB to 12GB of RAM.

As for the internal storage capacity, there will be two options — 128GB and 256GB. It will have a triple-camera setup on the back, consisting of a 64-megapixel primary OmniVision lens, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a 2-megapixel macro lens. On the front side, the device will have a 16-megapixel snapper for taking selfies and video calling.

The phone will come pre-installed with the latest Android 12 operating system with the company’s own OxygenOS 12 on top which is a unified OS from OnePlus and OPPO. It will pack a 4,500mAh battery with support for 65W fast charging.

Coming to the pricing and availability, it is said that the OnePlus Nord 2 CE will get launched in early 2022, most probably by the end of January or mid-February. It could be priced somewhere between ₹24,000 (~$317) to ₹28,000 (~$370) in India.

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TCL temporarily pulls back Google TV models from stores due to performance issues

By

Jeet

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Dec 13, 2021

TCL is one of the well-known companies when it comes to TVs and most of the models from the brand come running the Roku operating system. However, the company has been expanding the options for its users and has added models with Android TV as well.

In line with that, earlier this year, the company announced its plan of selling TVs running the Google TV operating system. The devices were recently made available for purchase through Best Buy but now they are being pulled out.

TCL has now pulled all the four models — 50-inch (50S546), 55-inch (55S546), 65-inch (65S546), and 75inch (75S546) from the stores because of the performance and software related issues on the devices.

In a statement, the company said: “TCL is committed to delivering premium products with world-class experiences and the new product featuring Google TV is certainly no different. However, it has come to our attention that some are facing challenges with the stability of the user interface featured on TCL sets with Google TV. Our high-performance TVs are constantly evolving and recent software updates have allowed us to make significant progress, but we are continuing to refine our products featuring Google TV. Our customers will see marked improvements in the weeks to come and their patience is appreciated.”

For the existing users of these TV models, TCL says that the users can install the latest available updates and the process has been explained on the support page.

Apart from the software issues, the Google TV-powered models have been quite good and most of the reviews are also good, except for the software issues. We can just hope that TCL fixes the issues as soon as possible so that those who have already bought these models can start having a good experience when using them.

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The 2019 HUAWEI nova 5 Pro is back on sale

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Dec 13, 2021

Huawei launched the HUAWEI nova 5 Pro in late June 2019. Almost two and a half years after its debut, the company has once again started selling this old mid-ranger at discounted price tags. That’s because all these units are refurbished.

HUAWEI nova 5 Pro Featured A — HUAWEI nova 5 Pro

Last month, we reported on Huawei selling refurbished premium smartphones in China. A few weeks later, the company has now started adding mid-managers to the list.

The first mid-ranger to be sold by Huawei’s certified refurbished store online is HUAWEI nova 5 Pro. The device is fulfilled by the Shenzhen Recycling Company. They come with the original hardware (including new battery) but ship with the latest HarmonyOS 2 software pre-installed.

Their condition varies between 90% and 99%. This is reflected in their price tags.

According to ITHome, the following SKUs are listed for sale as of now.

90% New HUAWEI nova 5 Pro 8GB + 128GB – ¥1,499 ($236)
90% New HUAWEI nova 5 Pro 8GB + 256GB – ¥1,799 ($283)
99% New HUAWEI nova 5 Pro 8GB + 128GB – ¥1,699 ($267)
99% New HUAWEI nova 5 Pro 8GB + 256GB – ¥1,999 ($314)

The 2019 smartphone is still a good buy right now for its asking price. That’s because none of the HUAWEI-branded budget smartphones in this price segment offers any of these specs, except for 5G connectivity.

For the unaware, the HUAWEI nova 5 Pro comes with features like a 6.39-inch FHD+ OLED display, HiSilicon Kirin 980 SoC, 48MP (wide) + 16MP (ultra-wide) + 2MP (macro) + 2MP (depth) quad rear camera setup, 32MP selfie camera, in-screen fingerprint sensor, 3,500mAh battery, and 40W fast charging.

Tecno Spark 8T launch date confirmed for India

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

-

Dec 13, 2021

Tecno Spark 8T was recently teased by Tecno India. Fresh information reveals that the smartphone will be made official on Dec. 15 in the country. It will be made available for purchase through Amazon India.

The Spark 8T’s pre-orders will begin at 12 PM (local time) on Dec. 15 in India. The Amazon India landing page of the phone has confirmed its design and key specifications.

The Spark 8T will be sporting a waterdrop notch display on the front. It will be sporting a stylish rear design. The squarish camera module on the back panel of the device houses a dual-camera unit, a quad-LED flash unit, and a fingerprint scanner. The official images show that the device will be coming in attractive colors like Atlantic Blue, Turquoise Cyan, Cocoa Gold, and iris Purple.

Tecno Spark 8T specifications

The Tecno Spark 8T has a 6.6-inch display that offers a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2408 pixels, a 20:9 aspect ratio, 401ppi pixel density, 500nits of brightness, and 91.30 percent screen-to-body ratio. The Helio G35 chip will power the device.

The 5,000mAh battery of the Spark 8T is expected to offer 40 hours of calling time, 7 hours of gaming, 11 hours of video playback, 122 hours of music, and 38 days of standby time. It has an 8-megapixel front camera with dual flash and its back panel has a 50-megapixel primary camera, an AI lens, and a flash unit. It also carries support for DTS Sound.

RELATED:

Redmi K50 Gaming edition with high-performance gaming experience could be coming soon

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

-

Dec 13, 2021

Redmi is reportedly working on the K50 series of smartphones. While Xiaomi is expected to unveil the first Xiaomi 12 series of smartphones by the end of this month, it is speculated the Redmi K50 lineup will debut in Q1 2022. The latest Weibo post by tipster Digital Chat Station suggests that the Redmi K50 Gaming edition’s launch may not be far away.

According to the tipster, the Redmi K50 Gaming edition has a flat display with a centrally positioned punch-hole. Its right edge has lift-type mechanical shoulder buttons for gaming. He added that it will offer a high-performance gaming experience.

A recent report revealed that the Xiaomi phone with 21121210C has been approved by the CMIIT authority of China. The shortened model number of this device is L10, and it is codenamed, Matisse. The model numbers 21121210G and 21121210I belong to its global and Indian editions. In China, it is likely to launch a Redmi K50 Gaming series of smartphones, while it is likely to arrive as a POCO branded device in other markets.

Redmi K40 Gaming Edition Inverse Scale and color variants — Redmi K40 Gaming Edition

It is expected to arrive with specs like a 120Hz or 144Hz OLED display, an in-screen fingerprint scanner, and Dimensity 9000 chipset. For photography, it may feature a 64-megapixel (Sony IMX686) + 13-megapixel (ultrawide) + 8-megapixel (telemacro) + 2-megapixel (depth) quad-camera unit. It is believed there is another variant of the phone that features a 108-megapixel Samsung HM2 primary camera.

There is a China-exclusive Redmi K50 Gaming series phone with a 22041211AC model number. Its shortened model number is L11A, and it is codenamed as Rubens. This one is said to be the standard model, while the above-mentioned 211121210C may end as a RedmI K50 Gaming Pro model in China.

The 22041211AC model is expected to arrive with specs like Dimensity 7000 chipset and a 64-megapixel Samsung GW3 triple camera unit. The rest of its specs are under the wraps.

RELATED:

iQOO 9, 9 Pro battery size, fast charging capabilities tipped

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Dec 13, 2021

iQOO is expected to unleash the iQOO 9 and iQOO 9 Pro flagship phones in January 2021 in China. Last week, tipster Panda is Bald shared the key specifications of the iQOO 9. Now, the tipster is back with some vital information on the battery size and charging capabilities of the iQOO 9 series of smartphones.

It is speculated that the iQOO 9 series that is expected to debut next month will include two models such as the iQOO 9 and iQOO 9 Pro. It appears that the iQOO 9 and 9 Pro could be equipped with the same sized battery of 4,700mAh. He added that both models will carry support for 120W fast charging.

The tipster previously revealed that the iQOO 9 will be equipped with a second-generation independent display chip for a better visual experience, dual speakers, dual x-axis linear motors, and dual pressure-sensitive shoulder buttons. The iQOO 9 is expected to feature an AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and support for the in-screen fingerprint scanner.

The iQOO 9 lineup is expected to arrive with an enhanced heat dissipation system. The micro-gimbal PTZ camera will be also available on the iQOO 9 series. However, it is unclear whether the vanilla also comes equipped with it. The two phones are likely to feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC.

In related news, iQOO is gearing up to launch the iQOO Neo5s smartphone driven by the Snapdragon 888 SoC on Dec. 20 in China. It is expected to arrive with a 120Hz AMOLED FHD+ display, a 16-megapixel front camera, an OIS-ready 48-megapixel triple rear cameras, a 4,500mAh battery, up to 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256 GB of UFS 3.1 storage, and OriginOS Ocean UI.

RELATED:

Samsung Galaxy A8 2021 prices leaked for Wi-Fi and LTE variants

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Dec 13, 2021

Samsung Galaxy A8 2021 is expected to launch soon. Several leaks have revealed the entire specifications and renders of the mid-range tablet. A new report by Appuals has revealed the prices of the different variants of the tablet.

Galaxy Tab A8 pricing (rumored)

According to the publication, the Galaxy Tab A8 2021 will be arriving in Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + LTE variants. The Wi-Fi-only editions with 32 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB storage will be priced at 270 euros, 270 euros, and 360 euros.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 2021 render by Winfuture.de

On the other side, the Wi-F + LTE version of the Galaxy Tab A8 2021 with 32 GB and 128 GB storage will be priced at 320 euros and 410 euros. Since it is a leak, readers are advised to digest the pricing information with a pinch of salt. Previous reports have revealed that the tablet will come in rose / pink, gray, and black colors.

Galaxy Tab A8 2021 specifications (rumored)

Galaxy Tab A8 2021 user manual image by Appuals

The publication has also shared screenshots of the Galaxy Tab A8 2021’s user manual. The images confirm the placement of different sensors and ports on the device.

The Tab A8 2021 has a 10.5-inch LCD display that offers a 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution and a 16:10 aspect ratio. The Unisoc T618 chip will power the device with 3 GB / 4 GB of RAM and up to 128 GB of storage.

The device will be backed by a 7,040mAh battery that supports 15W charging. For photography, it will feature a 5-megapixel front camera and an 8-megapixel rear camera.

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