Qualcomm launches Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip; will power next-gen Android flagship smartphones

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Nov 30, 2021

As expected, Qualcomm has today announced its next-generation flagship smartphone processor at the Snapdragon Tech Summit. The new chipset is called Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and the company has also revealed details about the processor.

The chipset has been launched as a successor of the Snapdragon 888 but now the company has adopted a new naming scheme and this new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is the first chipset to bear a new naming scheme.

As you would typically expect, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is focused on improvements in six major areas — 5G connectivity, camera sensors, AI, gaming, audio, and security. It is also built using the 4nm process instead of the 5nm process on which its predecessor Snapdragon 888 was built.

It is the first chip from Qualcomm to feature the latest Armv9 architecture. The eight-core Kryo CPU has a single Cortex-X2 prime core at 3.0GHz, three Cortex-A710 performance cores at 2.5GHz, and four Cortex-A510 efficiency cores at 1.8GHz.

Overall, the company says that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 offers up to 20 percent better performance and is up to 30 percent more power-efficient than its predecessor. It has a new Adreno GPU that is promised to offer 30 percent faster graphics rendering, in addition to 25 percent better power efficiency.

It has a new imaging system that comes with an 18-bit ISP, with improved dynamic range, color, and speeds. It supports 8K HDR video along with a new Bokeh Engine that brings Portrait Mode-style shots to video. There’s also an Always-On ISP that delivers low power consumption to tasks like face unlock.

For connectivity, it comes packed with a Snapdragon X65 modem which is Qualcomm’s fourth-generation 5G modem and is built on the existing mmWave and sub-6GHz compatibility, with support for up to 10Gbps speeds and the latest 3GPP Release 16 specification. It is coupled with the FastConnect 6900 Mobile Connectivity System, which it claims to offer the best WiFi 6 speeds.

It supports Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, along with Bluetooth LE Audio, and the company’s Snapdragon Sound technology that enables AptX Lossless wireless audio. Taking care of the security is the new Trust Management Engine. It also supports the Android Ready SE standard, with support for digital car keys, driver’s licenses, IDs, and e-money wallets. There’s also built-in iSIM support for directly connecting to cellular networks.

For artificial intelligence, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 features Qualcomm’s latest Hexagon processor with the seventh-generation AI engine. It is claimed to be four times faster than its predecessor and up to 1.7 times more power-efficient.

Qualcomm has revealed that the first devices powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor are expected to launch by the end of this year. Currently, the list of the brands that have signed up to launch a device powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 includes Black Shark, Honor, iQOO, Motorola, Nubia, OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, Redmi, SHARP, Sony Corporation, Vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE.

Interestingly, companies like Samsung and Google are missing from the list as they are among the brands pushing for the in-house development of their own chips to reduce reliance on third-party vendors.

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Infinix INBook X1 & X1 Pro launching in India on December 8

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Nov 30, 2021

Transsion Holdings subsidiary Infinix is a popular brand in the Indian market. The brand has not only released various categories of smartphones but has also made inroads into the smart TV market. Infinix will be looking to catch in on its popularity as it plans to unveil its first laptop in India.

The laptop dubbed Infinix INBook X1 series will be launched on December 8, according to a teaser poster released by Flipkart. The InBook X1 was first announced in the Philippines back in October but the company won’t be launching a single model this time around. The series will debut with the Infinix INBook X1 and INBook X1 Pro.

The teaser poster shared some details of the notebook series to include a thin and light metal body, with an aircraft-grade aluminium finish. The laptops will also come with a big 55Wh battery that can support up to 13 hours of video playback. Perhaps, the most interesting aspect is that the laptops will run on the latest Windows 11 operating system out of the box. You’ll also get up to 512GB of NVMe storage and up to 16GB of RAM.

The teaser suggests the pricing will be around Rs 30,000 to Rs. 40,000 and considering the source, it will likely be sold exclusively on Flipkart.

The earlier launch in the Philippines shows the Inbook X1 will pack a 14-inch full-HHD display having 180-degree viewing angles and a maximum brightness of 300 nits. The device equally features support for 65W USB-PD charging over a Type-C port.

OPPO recruits ColorOS 12 Open Beta testers for Reno5 5G, Reno5 Pro+ 5G in China

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Nov 30, 2021

Earlier today, OPPO announced the ColorOS 12 update plan for the month of December 2021 in China. According to the schedule, the company is supposed to open ColorOS 12 Open Beta registrations for the OPPO Reno5 5G and the OPPO Reno5 Pro+ 5G on December 1. However, for some reason, the firm has already started recruiting testers a couple of days ahead of the stipulated timeline.

OPPO Reno5 Pro+ poster — OPPO Reno5 Pro+

According to two separate official announcement posts on OPPO Community China, the company has begun to accept Android 12-based ColorOS 12 Open Beta registrations for the following devices running the mentioned firmware version.

OPPO Reno5 Pro+ Artist Limited Edition 5G – A.26
OPPO Reno5 Pro+ 5G – A.27
OPPO Reno5 5G – A.33

The smartphone maker has been recruiting testers for these handsets since November 29. The registrations are scheduled to close at 3 PM (local time) on December 1.

To enroll in the program, users will have to go through Settings > Software Update > Gear Icon > Apply for Beta Version > Update Beta Version and follow on-screen instructions. Selected applicants will receive the beta update via OTA within three working days.

Candidates have an option to take part in a questionnaire to increase their chance of selection. Further, they can also apply for the next batch if they don’t get selected now.

As far as the stable update for these phones is concerned, OPPO is yet to make an announcement regarding it. Anyway, the smartphones could get access to stable builds in January at the earliest.

Alleged Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 PPT slides reveal key details, Snapdragon G3x handheld dev kit

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Nov 30, 2021

US fabless chip manufacturer Qualcomm will be holding the annual Snapdragon Technology Summit in some hours’ time in Hawaii. The event is expected to see the company announce the new generation of Snapdragon mobile platform.

Ahead of the event, VideoCardZ claims to have obtained the PPT slides of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 flagship processor. The purported slides show the highlights of the features and specifications of the flagship processor. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is seen to be manufactured using a 4nm process. This brings about a 20% increase in the CPU performance while the power consumption is reduced by 30%.

The chipset is also equipped with the 4th generation Adreno GPU of which the GPU performance is increased by 30%. Also, the new GPU brings about a reduction in the power consumption by 25% while the Vulkan performance is increased by 60%.

The slides also show the Snapdragon processor is equipped with the seventh-generation Qualcomm AI engine and the third-generation Qualcomm Sensing Hub. It is also equipped with Snapdragon sight bringing an improvement in the image output. It also brings support 5G Modem-RF, WiFi 6/6E.

In addition, the PPT slides show that Qualcomm will cooperate with Razer to launch a developer kit for handheld gaming devices equipped with the Snapdragon G3x chip. The device provides a 120Hz HDR OLED display and is equipped with a 6000mAh large battery.

We’ll have to wait until the launch event to find out more details.

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Tecno Camon 18T launched in Pakistan with Helio G85 and 48MP Selfie camera

By

Pranav Sawant

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Nov 30, 2021

Tecno has recently launched an entry-level smartphone in Pakistan dubbed Tecno Pop 5 LTE. Today, the company has launched another budget-centric phone called the Tecno Camon 18T. It adds to the Camon 18 lineup by bringing Helio G85, triple cameras, and a big battery to the table.

The Tecno Camon 18T is priced at PKR 28,999(~$165) for the 4GB RAM and 128GB storage variant. It comes in Purple, Ceramic White, and Dusk Gray colour variants. The smartphone can be purchased from all the authorised stores in the country.

1 of 3

The Camon 18T comes with a similar design as the other Camon 18 sibling. It has a 6.8-inch punch-hole display with a Full-HD+ resolution. The device has an IPS LCD panel with thin bezels. It holds a 48MP selfie camera which happens to be one of its highlights.

Moving to the rear, the smartphone has a triple camera system with a 48MP main sensor, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth-sensing camera. It comes powered by a MediaTek Helio G85 SoC paired with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. It houses a 5,000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging technology. The smartphone comes with a side-facing fingerprint scanner which also doubles up as a power button. The 4G phone runs on Android 11 out of the box with HiOS on top of it.

As of now, there’s no word on its global availability but we may soon see it in other Asian markets.

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Tata Motors to reportedly launch 10 new EVs by 2026 in India

By

Pranav Sawant

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Nov 30, 2021

Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company Tata Motors seems to have big plans for the Indian EV a.k.a Electric vehicle market. The company already accounts for a major market share in the EV sector with its Nexon EV and now, the company is all set to expand its portfolio by launching over 10 more EVs in India.

Tata Motor’s current EV lineup includes the popular Tata Nexon compact SUV and the Tata Tiago hatchback. Now, the company is expected to launch multiple EV models by 2026. These models include the EV variants of the existing Petrol/Diesel cars such as the Tata Safari and Tata Harrier.

For starters, the Tata Safari and Harrier are two popular choices when it comes to Petrol/Diesel cars. Now, that these popular choices are slated to get EV version would make up for a great lineup for EV buyers. Some of the other models expected to launch as EVs are Tata Altroz EV, Tata Punch EV, of course, Next-Gen Tata Nexon and Tiago models.

The Tata Altroz Ev was shown at the last year’s Auto Expo 2020. The Altroz EV is touted to come with the same electric powertrain as the existing Nexon EV. It is expected to offer a 250-300 km range on a single charge. Furthermore, the Altroz will be able to get an 80% charge in just 60 minutes of fast charging.

Moreover, Tata has made an agreement with the investment firm TPG Rise Climate for employing the new EV support company. The company will invest a whopping Rs. 7,500 crore for an 11-15 per cent stake in the upcoming EV company. As for now, the new EV support company is called EVCo, but it could soon get a new name publically.

“We have a phased plan to move from generation one to subsequent generations of EVs and in that journey, some of our modern architectures will be adapted to make them more electric ready, specifically to accommodate more battery packs,” said Shailesh Chandra, the President of Passenger Vehicles at Tata Motors.

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vivo Y55 5G spotted on Geekbench, sports MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC, 8GB RAM

By

Sudhanshu

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Nov 30, 2021

Last week, specifications and possible release date of the upcoming vivo Y55s leaked through an online listing. Now, another upcoming device by the Chinese smartphone maker has been discovered through a Geekbench listing.

According to a report by mysmartprice, vivo is reportedly working on a new smartphone called the vivo Y55 5G. The code name vivo V2127 was confirmed to be the vivo Y55 5G through the IMEI database. The alleged phone has appeared on the Geekbench benchmarking site with some of its key specs.

The Geekbench listing states that the vivo V2127 is powered by the ARM MT6833V/ZA, which is essentially the MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC. The listing reveals that the chipset is equipped with six CPU cores working at 2.00GHz and the other two cores clocking at 2.20GHz.

The listing further reveals that the device has 8 GB of RAM and runs on Android 12 out of the box. If the device is heading to the Chinese market, it will come with OriginOS UI, and if it is heading to global markets, it will arrive with FunTouchOS UI. The device scored 430 points in Geekbench single-core test and 1438 points in the multi-core test.

The vivo V55 5G has been spotted for the first time, so information on it is scarce, but we expect to see more leaks about the device revealing further specification details, so stay tuned.

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YHE’s BP Doctor MED emerges as the first smartwatch with medical-grade BP monitor

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Nov 30, 2021

Just a few days back, the media was awash with news that Huawei was poised to nick the record as the maker of the world’s first smartwatch with a blood pressure monitor, with its Watch D impending launch. However, the strides made by YHE on the development of the BP Doctor MED were not taken into consideration. It has now emerged that the BP Doctor MED is the first-ever smartwatch that has blood pressure monitoring capability.

The YHE BP Doctor MED is the successor to the YHE BP Doctor and sports a larger 1.63-inch AMOLED display together with multiple certifications as a medical-grade health and fitness monitoring device. The BP Doctor was released in 2020 and funding was via Indiegogo (up to $500,000 was raised). The subscribers to the Indiegogo Campaign had started receiving their BP Doctor smartwatches from May 2021. The new smartwatch, according to YHE has high blood pressure monitoring accuracy in line with its CE and FDA certifications. The BP Doctor MED is the first consumer-grade smartwatch to have medical-grade accuracy.

One of the important features of the BP Doctor MED is its dual inflatable cuff, which enables more accurate blood pressure readings even with fluctuations present. Sleep tracking and push notifications are also present in the innovative BP Doctor MED. The 220mAh battery of the BP Doctor MED can last up to 7 days on a full charge, and the battery can be charged fully within two hours.

There are some soft areas for the BP Doctor MED like not having waterproof capability but its overall rating strongly supports its $189 price tag via Indiegogo, although its actual price is $359. Shipping begins by January 2022 and the smartwatch will be available globally.

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Samsung Galaxy A13 4G back panel live images reveal a Quad camera setup

By

Sudhanshu

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Nov 30, 2021

Last week, we reported on Samsung‘s upcoming Galaxy A13 4G variant, which allegedly entered production in a factory located in Greater Noida, India. Now, live images of the phone’s rear panel have surfaced, giving some finer insight into the upcoming device.

According to the images obtained by 91mobiles, the rear panel has a branding of ‘A13 LTE’ on its underside. The image all but confirms that the phone will come in a Grey color option with a glossy finish. The camera cutout on the back indicates a quad-camera setup along with an LED flash. The volume rocker is present on the phone’s right spine while the speaker grille, 3.5mm audio jack, and a USB Type-C port can be observed at the bottom.

Suppose this leak turns out to be accurate. In that case, the upcoming Galaxy A13 lineup may be available in 5 colors, including previous leaks about the handset coming in four color variants, namely, black, blue, white, and orange. Although no specs of the Galaxy A13 4G have been revealed just yet, we expect it to have similar specifications to its 5G counterpart, except for a 4G SoC and an additional camera.

Samsung Galaxy A13 5G Specifications(Expected)

In related news, the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G is slated to launch soon in select markets. Recently the smartphone passed multiple certifications, which revealed that it would be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC paired with 4GB or 6GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of onboard storage.

The device is expected to feature a 6.48-inch IPS display with an FHD+ resolution. It will come equipped with a triple camera system with a 50MP primary lens, a 5MP ultra-wide sensor, and a 2MP depth sensor. It will house a 5,000mAh battery with support for 25W fast charging technology.

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AMD Radeon RX 6000 GPU prices are set to rise by 10%

By

Sudhanshu

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Nov 30, 2021

Graphic cards are scarce in the market due to the global chip shortage and the crypto-mining boom. And the available cards are selling at twice or thrice the MSRP thanks to scalpers creating an artificial shortage. Amid all this, AMD might bring more bad news for gamers looking to get their hands on a GPU this holiday season.

According to a new report by the Boardchannels form (via), AMD has notified AIB partners and all brands around the world that the entire RX6000 series GPUs will receive a price increase of 10%. The report claims that pricing is set to increase by $20 to $40, depending on the chip in question. The new pricing is likely to take effect with the next shipment of GPUs to AMD’s partners.

The recent TSMC wafer cost increase is said to be the reason behind AMD’s decision. AMD has not commented on the potential price increase, and while the market price has risen 9 percent recently, the further price increase as reported here has yet to take place.

An interesting thing worth noting is that no increase in the CPU prices has been announced by AMD, although the company uses TSMC’s wafers to produce them. However, this might also change in the future.

For now, we advise PC gamers to try their hands-on consoles like the PS5 or the Xbox series X, as the ongoing chip shortage is predicted to go on for the better part of next year.

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ColorOS 12 PC Connect minimum requirements, availability officially revealed

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Nov 30, 2021

ColorOS 12 brings a number of new features. One of them is PC Connect, which is also known as Cross Screen Interconnection (translated) in China. This feature is yet to make its debut on any smartphone in international markets. Weeks later, we now know when it will be available for the public.

During our brief interaction with the ColorOS team, the representatives revealed that PC Connect will be made available in 2022 for select devices. Now, OPPO has officially confirmed that the feature will be available in February 2022 at the earliest.

The company has even disclosed the following options of PC Connect.

Drag and drop files
Sync screenshots and photos
Screen sharing
Clipboard sharing
Notification synchronization

Another tweet by the same account says that PC Connect will be part of ColorOS 12.1. In order to use it, the PC must have at least Windows 10 18362 or later, Intel Core i3 2.4GHz or above, Wi-Fi Direct from October 2018 or later, and Bluetooth 4.1 or higher.

This means the feature should work on almost all modern computers. However, it will be limited to select smartphones.

At present, Huawei’s Multi Screen Collaboration is probably the best implementation of interconnection between phones and computers. Only time will tell whether OPPO’s PC Connect will be able to stand against it.

Samsung converts two LCD lines to produce OLEDs, set to halt LCD production in 2022

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Nov 30, 2021

Samsung Display had planned to withdraw entirely from the LCD panel market last year but the company shifted its withdrawal date due to a surge in LCD panel demands. The company later set March 2021 to shut down the LCD business but that also didn’t materialize, perhaps due to demands. The company is now looking to totally shut down LCD panel production in 2022 and has commenced steps to actualize the plan.

A report from South Korea indicates that the tech giant has already switched multiple production lines to OLED panels, and currently only one LCD panel production line is still running. The report indicates that the company discontinued its L7-1 production line in 2016, converting it to a 6th-generation OLED production line that was then renamed the A4-1 production line.

This year, the company is said to have discontinued the L7-2 LCD production line in the first quarter of this year. The line is also being converted to the 6th generation OLED production line, which will be renamed the A4E production line. Also discontinued is the L8-1 production line which stopped LCD production in the first quarter of the year. The company is also shopping for buyers for the LCD production equipment that is lying unused inside the factories.

The report also indicates that the South Korean company only operates the L8-2 LCD panel production line located in Asan, South Korea. However, this production line that produces LCD panels for TV and IT products is not expected to run for a long time. Samsung has set a total exit timeline for 2022.

Recall that Samsung Display operates an LCD panel factory in Suzhou but that factory was sold to TCL’s China Star Optoelectronics in August 2020.

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realme confirms the GT 2 Pro will come with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC

By

Sudhanshu

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Nov 30, 2021

Earlier today, realme announced that they would be among one of the first manufacturers to launch a smartphone powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC.

At the Qualcomm Snapdragon Tech Summit Digital 2021, realme VP Chase xu confirmed that realme has been working on the upcoming GT 2 Pro for a few months now, and the device will be the first Pro product of the realme GT series and their most premium flagship to date.

He stated that “with powerful performance and top 5G capabilities, Snapdragon® 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform, has expanded new possibilities for the development of realme’s new flagship realme GT 2 Pro, especially in terms of gaming, AI capability, and 5G, pushing user experience to a new level and becoming the powerful engine for realme’s first premium flagship.”

Other than this announcement, realme did not provide any finer details about the upcoming device. Still, with the render leaks of the GT 2 Pro, we have room to speculate about the specifications of the upcoming flagship.

At the moment, the GT 2 Pro is expected to feature a rear camera setup with dual 50 MP sensors and an 8MP camera. The device is also likely to have a GR lens that should deliver the best shooting performance by reducing ghosting, multi-coating on all surfaces, and providing resistance against backlighting. The device is also expected to feature a 32MP front camera and a 5000mAh battery with 125W UltraDart charging.

The realme GT 2 Pro is expected to pack a 6.8-inch 120Hz WQHD+ OLED display. The device is confirmed to feature a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (SM8450) processor that may be backed by 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, 256GB UFS 2.1 storage, 120Hz refresh rate screen, and Android 12.

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BYD to ship 100 electric buses to Israel by the end of 2022

By

Sean

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Nov 30, 2021

BYD is gearing up to deliver 100 electric buses to Israel by the end of next year. The company is shipping the large number of electric buses to the region to fulfill an order from a local firm.

According to electrive, the buses are being sent to Egged, the largest bus company in Israel. The company has ordered 100 fully electric 12 meter long buses that are made by the known Chinese automobile maker. These buses are scheduled to ship by the end of 2022 and will be used in Haifa, which is the third largest city of the country. Notably, this order marks the largest ever electric bus shipment till date to Israel. Furthermore, the order is also a part of a larger Israeli tender that is for a total of 200 buses. The company had even previously received an order from Nobina in Finland.

This is even supported by the national transport authority of the nation. Egged, which operates in the public transport sector has chosen BYD as its supplier and has been the Chinese brands customer since 2017. In the past, Egged had even placed an order for 24 electric buses in its fleet, which are currently operating in Haifa and Jerusalem as well. This order will further strengthen the electric transport fleet in the city, with the upcoming buses featuring an iron phosphate batteries that can offer a longer service life and increased energy density for a longer range over the previous generation.

Its battery has a 422 kWh of energy content and is expected to offer a total range of up to 400 kilometers. Egged’s official stated that “This is an important moment for the people of Israel and public transportation in our country. It is a clear signal of our commitment to transitioning to zero emission transportation for a better environment for Israeli residents. We have great confidence in BYD’s pure electric eBuses for providing our passengers with reliable, safe and comfortable transportation.”

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OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro get Android 12 in the form of Paranoid Android Sapphire Alpha

By

Zohaib Ahmed

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Nov 30, 2021

Android 12 finally hit stable on October 4th and its source code was uploaded to AOSP on the very same day. Not long after, the Paranoid Android team announced that they had begun working on making the version available through custom ROMs on a bunch of devices – something that has finally been realized now.

Paranoid Android Sapphire based on Android 12 is now available for the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro in the Alpha stage, and it packs most of the features Google introduced with the latest OS upgrade (via XDA Developers). On top of that, the ROM also includes a few special wallpapers from Hampus Olsson, some UI improvements, and some other enhancements.

If you’re interested in trying out the Paranoid Android Sapphire custom ROM on your OnePlus 8/8 Pro, then just head over to this link to its official thread. Do note beforehand though that the build is still in the Alpha stage and may thus have some unexpected bugs and issues. A couple of the known ones include issues with Wi-Fi Direct and 5G connectivity.

Also note that the ROM only supports the kernel that comes bundled with it and doesn’t support any custom kernels, unless they’re said to be supported by their developers.

To proceed with the installation, simply download the latest fastboot zip on your phone, reboot to bootloader, connect the device to a desktop, and run the fastboot script “fastboot update aospa-*-image.zip”. Once that’s done, reboot to recovery and format the device. For further details, head over to the forum link given above.

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ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650 leaked with AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX & NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti

By

Sean

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Nov 30, 2021

The upcoming ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650 gaming laptop has just been leaked, which revealed that it features an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card.

With its latest high end gaming laptops, the Taiwanese PC maker has been planning on offering their PCs with Ryzen 6000 series processor. This includes the previously leaked ROG Strix Scar 15, which also features a Ryzen 6000 series CPU as well. Now, the latest leak has revealed key specifications of the ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650 gaming laptop. as per MyLaptopGuide, the laptop will launch with an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HZ and NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti GPU to offer a top tier gaming experience.

The processor is a part of Team Red’s latest Ryzen 6000 series processor, which is a part of its Rembrandt architecture from its Zen 3+ technology. This CPU features 8 cores and 16 threads, with its power draw rating being between 35W to 45W TDP. For graphics, the gaming laptop features an RTX 3080 Ti, which offers real time ray tracing. On the front, it sports a 16 inch FHD anti glare display with an impressive 300Hz refresh rate.

Under the hood, the laptop is integrated with up to 8TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD of storage with up to 48GB of DDR5 RAM. Unfortunately, the leak did not reveal any other details apart from these specifications. In other words, the exact launch date and pricing details are still unknown. Although, we can expect a launch sometime next year alongside the ROG Strix Scar 15 and Scar 17 models.

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Redmi Note 11 Pro Indian Variant spotted on IMEI, may launch soon

By

Sudhanshu

-

Nov 30, 2021

After the Redmi Note 11T 5G launch in India, it looks like the Note 11 Pro variant, which has not launched anywhere outside China, might soon land in the Indian market.

Earlier today, the popular tipster Mukul Sharma spotted the Indian variant of the Note 11 Pro with model number 21091116I on the IMEI database and took to Twitter to share his findings.

Redmi Note 11 Pro Indian variant visits the IMEI database.#Xiaomi #Redmi #RedmiNote11Pro pic.twitter.com/paY33JhIaE

— Mukul Sharma (@stufflistings) November 30, 2021

Model number 21091116I represents the Redmi Note 11 Pro Indian variant as the Chinese variant of the Note 11 Pro carries the model number 21091116C (C representing China).

It is yet to be seen if the handset will be rebranded to Xiaomi 11i, as previously reported, or carry the same name as the Chinese variant. For now, the upcoming smartphone holds the moniker of the Redmi Note 11 Pro on the IMEI database.

Specs and features of the upcoming Redmi Note 11 Pro

Redmi Note 11 Pro features a 6.67-inch Samsung AMOLED display with front and rear dual ambient light sensors and is powered by the 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 920 chipset. The phone comes in three memory variants of 6GB + 128GB, 8GB + 128GB and 8GB + 256GB. Weighing just 207g, Redmi Note 11 Pro is fueled by a 5160mAh battery and supports 67W fast charging. This means you can charge your phone to 100% in just 43 mins.
Redmi Note 11 Pro comes with professionally tuned dual JBL speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack and supports Dolby Atmos. It features a triple rear camera setup with a 108MP primary camera, 8MP ultra-wide lens, and a 2MP macro sensor. For the selfie camera, you have a 16MP sensor in the front. The device boots Android 11 based MIUI 12.5 out of the box.

It is also worth noting that rumors of the Redmi Note 11 Pro series being internally tested in Europe surfaced last week. With this latest reveal, we might be looking at a global launch of the devices soon.

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OPPO Enco Free 2, Enco Air Lite TWS earbuds spotted on HeyMelody app, India launch imminent

By

Zohaib Ahmed

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Nov 30, 2021

The OPPO Enco Free 2 and OPPO Enco Air Lite true wireless stereo earbuds have been spotted on OPPO’s HeyMelody app ahead of their launch in India. At least one of them is expected to be launched alongside the Oppo Reno 7, Oppo Reno 7 Pro, and Oppo Watch Free in India sometime in January (via 91mobiles).

oppo-enco-free-2-air-lite-app-screenshot — Image: 91mobiles

It was also reported that the next-gen TWS earphones will cost similar to the OPPO Enco X that currently retail for Rs. 9,990. Both the earbuds offerings are to be launched separately but within Q1 2022. A December launch seems a bit too difficult to be realized.

To recall, the OPPO Enco Free 2 TWS earbuds have already been launched back in May in China. Therefore, we already have its entire spec sheet. The earbuds offer a total playback time of 30 hours with the charging case and up to 4 hours with ANC turned on without the case. The 4 hours can be stretched to 6.5 hours if ANC is turned off. The charging case packs a 480mAh battery that’s used to fill up the 41mAh batteries in the earbuds. The case can be charged to 100% through a USB Type-C port.

Apart from this, the Oppo Enco Free 2 TWS earbuds support Bluetooth 5.2, automatic connection once paired, and wear detection. An IP54 rating is present for protection against the elements and the earbuds also double up as a remote shutter.

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OPPO Ace2 ColorOS 12 update closed beta recruitment is here!

By

Zohaib Ahmed

-

Nov 30, 2021

ColorOS 12 was launched last month and became the second time in a row that OPPO brought along a major UI overhaul with an update. The skin is based on Android 12 and OPPO has currently been testing it on a wide range of devices. Recently though, the company announced closed beta recruitment for the same for the OPPO Ace2, and here’s all you need to know.

The recruitment for the ColorOS 12 closed beta program will be carried out from November 29th to November 30th for both the OPPO Ace2 and the Ace2 EVA Limited Edition. 500 will be recruited following a review that will be conducted within 5 working days of recruitment. The new update will be pushed within 3 working days after the review is completed.

Do note here that builds pushed through the internal test channel would still be under the development stage and will hence not be as stable as regular updates. Prepare to run into bugs, abnormal power usage, and other issues. While issues aren’t exactly guaranteed to exist, if you do run into them then just be sure to report them to OPPO.

OPPO Ace2 Aurora Silver — OPPO Ace2 in Aurora Silver

If interested in signing up for beta Android 12-based ColorOS 12 builds for the OPPO Ace2, then just head over to “Settings > Software Update > Settings icon > Upgrade early adopters > Upgrade internal test.” If selected, you will be getting an SMS notification, so stay tuned.

Also note here that the internal beta testing program is currently still limited to China but a public beta program should also be kickstarted soon. For further details and a list of known bugs on ColorOS 12, head over to this official page.

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Lenovo unveils YOGA T500 Play projector, with a gigantic 22,500mAh battery

By

Sean

-

Nov 30, 2021

Lenovo has just officially announced a new product. The company is gearing up to launch a new YOGA T500 Play smart projector in China, which features a gigantic 22,500mAh battery pack.

While the Chinese consumer electronic maker has yet to officially reveal the launch date and pricing for the upcoming projector, it has revealed certain key details on social media. On its latest Weibo post (a Chinese microblogging website), the company shared an image poster that reveals that the YOGA T500 Play projector is powered by a massive 22,500mAh battery pack. Through this large battery, the smart projector is capable of offering a maximum viewing time of up to 5 hours.

In other words, it can run for around three movies as well. The model is the latest smart projector from the company and features 1080p resolution. It also offers 1400 ANSI lumens brightness and houses 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage as well. While the official pricing is unknown, the product will have a promotional price of 2,999 Yuan (roughly 470 US Dollars) during its initial launch. Back in September, the company had also launched the Smart Projector T500, which featured a more compact design for the same price tag.

This model also featured 1080p resolution but was compatible with 4K resolution as well. The compact T500 even supported HDR10, HLG dual high dynamic decoding, and a new generation of EEP image quality engines. This was launched in China via Lenovo’s official website, Lebei, JD.com, Tmall, and other platforms, so we can expect the T500 Play to launch on these sites as well.

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