Google officially unveils the Pixel 5A 5G with IP67 rating, bigger battery for $449

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Aug 17, 2021

US tech giant Google has finally taken the wraps off the Pixel 5A 5G smartphone which has been in the news for several months. The device was apparently first announced in April but that was just to quell rumors that it had been discontinued. Nothing official has been said of the 5G smartphone until now.

The Google Pixel 5A 5G arrives with a few upgrades over the Pixel 4A 5G which it takes over from. Some of the improvements include a slightly bigger screen, a juicier battery, and an IP67 water resistance rating. Despite the improvements, the 5A 5G will retail at $50 less than the Pixel 4A 5G’s starting price. The 5A 5G is priced at $449 and will be on sale in the US and Japan from August 26.

Now a closer look at the specifications. The Pixel 5A sports a massive 6.34-inch OLED screen with FHD+ resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate support. There isn’t support for a 90Hz refresh rate despite rumors of one. The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset which brings support for sub-6GHz 5G. The processor is paired with 6GB of RAM and there is 128GB of storage onboard.

The back panel houses a dual-camera setup comprising a 12.2-megapixel main shooter and a 16-megapixel ultrawide rear camera. For selfies, there is an 8-megapixel front camera tucked under a punch-hole located at the top left corner of the display. The rear panel also houses a physical fingerprint scanner to unlock the phone.

The Pixel 5A 5G runs on the latest Android 11 and is guaranteed three years of OS upgrades and security patch support. Keeping the lights on is a 4,680mAh battery which Google claims can last up to a full day of typical use and if the Extreme Battery Saver mode is turned on, can go up to two days on a single charge. The 5A supports wired charging only and ships with an 18W charger in the box. Google says it will be the last Pixel phone that will ship with a charger in the box, apparently for environmental conservation reasons just like Apple and Samsung did.

As stated earlier, the Pixel 5A 5G is priced at $449 and will be on sale in the US and Japan from August 26. The phone will be offered in a sole “mostly black” color option but there will be four colorful cases sold separately to tweak things up. It will be sold exclusively on Google Store and through Google Fi.

RELATED:

10 Interesting Smartwatches under $50 from AliExpress

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Daily Deals

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Key Features:

1.28” Full touch screen
Retina HD large screen
Ultra-thin body
IP67 waterproof
Heart rate monitor
Blood pressure monitor
Blood oxygen monitor
7-day battery life
Multiple watch faces
Automatic motion recognition
Multiple Sports mode
Colors: Black, Pink, Blue, Yellow

7. Colmi P8 Plus

Price: $28.71

BUY NOW

Key Features:

1.69” IPS HD Full-color display
All-day activity tracking
Multiple Movement Patterns
8 dedicated exercise mode
Sports Data report
24*7 Heart rate monitor
Blood Pressure Monitor
Sleep Tracker
IP67 Waterproof
Music control and notifications
7 day Battery life – 20 days standby
Colors: Black, Blue, Gold, Pink

8. Cubot W03 Smartwatch

Price: $34.86

BUY NOW

Key Features:

1.3” Full-color touch display
40g lightweight design
7 days battery life
9 sports mode
24 x 7 heart rate monitor
Remote music control
IP68 waterproof
Colors: Black, Pink, Blue

9. Honor Band 6, Global Version

Price: $42.84

BUY NOW

Key Features:

1.47” AMOLED display
14 days battery life
Blood oxygen monitor
24 x 7 heart rate monitor
10 sports mode
Watch face customization
Sleep tracker
Female cycle tracker
Colors: Black, Grey, Pink

10. Xiaomi Mi Band 6

Price: $40.28

BUY NOW

Key Features:

1.56” AMOLED display
SpO2 monitor
24 x 7 Heart rate monitor
30 sports mode
5ATM waterproof
14-day battery life
Magnetic charging

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.

Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G lands in the UK with a Snapdragon 778G chip and quad cameras for £409

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Aug 17, 2021

After launching the Galaxy A52 5G in March, Samsung has followed it up with a slight refresh in form of the Galaxy A52s 5G. The new phone has most of the specs of its sibling but a more powerful processor.

Galaxy A52s 5G Design

The design has remained unchanged, so you get a flat Infinity-O AMOLED display with a hole in the center for the selfie camera. There are still four cameras on the back and they sit in a rectangular housing that is slightly raised. Buyers will be able to pick up the phone in four colors – Awesome Black, Awesome Mint, Awesome Violet, and Awesome White.

Galaxy A52s 5G Specifications

The Galaxy A52s 5G has a 6/5-inch FHD Super AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. There is a 32MP camera inside the hole in the display. Under the hood is the Snapdragon 778G processor and it is paired with 6GB or 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage.

For the rear cameras, Samsung is keeping them at four – a 64MP f/1.8 main camera with OIS, a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide angle camera, a 5MP f/2.4 macro camera, and a 5MP f2.4 depth sensor.

The Galaxy A52s 5G has an in-display fingerprint scanner. It also has IP67 water and dust resistance. There is a 4500mAh battery under the hood along with support for 25W fast charging. Samsung says users should be able to get 2 days of use from a full charge but that will depend on your usage pattern.

Other features include an audio jack, stereo speakers, a MicroSD card slot, Samsung Pay, and One UI 3 based on Android 11 with features such as RAM Plus for memory expansion and Samsung Knox for security. There is also Easy Share in Galaxy Eco-System which is an enhanced Quick Share for sharing files.

Galaxy A52s 5G Price and Availability

The Galaxy A52s will be available in three configurations – 6+128GB, 8+128GB, and 8+256GB. The starting price is £409 (~$562) in the U.K. The phone will be available for pre-order starting August 24 and will begin shipping on September 3.

RELATED:

Mi Notebook Features and Images Revealed, Launching on August 26

By

Abhinav

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Aug 17, 2021

Xiaomi is set to unveil its new Mi Notebook series in India on August 26 at its Smarter Living 2022 event. The company has been teasing it for quite a while but we’ve got some new information regarding these new notebooks courtesy of Xiaomi.

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According to the official Amazon page, one of the Mi Notebook models will be coming 16:10 display. The display will feature a 100% SRGB colour gamut. Xiaomi is also teasing that the notebook would be coming with a higher refresh rate display. It is expected to have a resolution of 3020×2000 which translates to 6.4 million pixels.

As teased, the new Mi Notebook would be featuring a backlit keyboard with a fingerprint sensor embedded in the power button. It will also be having a Thunderbolt port for charging and data transfer. Further, it is expected to have a slim profile.

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We also got a first glimpse at the new notebook, and it has a Macbook-inspired design. From the pictures, we can see that the upcoming notebook would be coming with a large trackpad. On the one edge, it would be having a USB port, HDMI port, a USB Type C port, and a Thunderbolt port, while on the other edge, we can see a 3.5mm audio jack with a USB port.

According to a recent report, Xiaomi will launch two new notebooks at its Smarter Living 2022 event, Mi Notebook Pro 14 and Mi Notebook Ultra 14. These notebooks are said to be rebranded RedmiBook Pro 14 and RedmiBook Pro 15 that debuted in China a few months back. Both the notebooks are rumored to come with Intel XE graphics.

Xiaomi will be unveiling a bunch of IoT products alongside the new notebooks on August 26. The company is expected to launch Mi Band 6, a new Wi-Fi router and a smart camera.

DHgate Anniversary Sale brings massive discounts and offers on electronics items

By

Simranpal Singh

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Aug 17, 2021

After a couple of months wait, DHgate Anniversary discounts extravaganza is yet to begin from August 24 with several offers on electronics items. Celebrating its 17th Anniversary, DHGate will deliver an immersive shopping experience with different activities such as pop-up bazaars, promotional live-streaming sessions, etc. You can check the DHGate shopping guide for the Anniversary sale here.

Must See: Get Great Discounts on Various Products from DHgate [Coupons]

DHGate is offering around 10 million worth of coupons, discounts, exclusive VIP discounts, special gifts, etc to celebrate the 17th anniversary starting from August 24. There will be different offers and discounts for VIP and non-VIP users as follows:

Multi-tiered discounts across stories
VIP discounts for Insiders Day, a total of 25% discount along with coins which you can convert for cash.
Free lucky draw to win an iPhone 12 Pro, DH Coins, etc.
Separate store coupons up to $500 from different stores.
Dedicated discount for bulk purchasers.

Business Buyers

Wholesale buyers can grab special discounts under a pop-up bazaar where users can buy a variety of auto parts, home and garden, lighting, festive and party supplies, etc. Business Owners can profit after buying items in bulk from DHGate.

There will be several other perks for business users including free delivery, no customs duty, etc. DHgate will ship the items from their 10 different warehouses across the globe to eliminate any additional costs and provide fast shipping.

Shop with Influencers

DHgate has partnered with several prominent brands like Xiaomi, Roborock, Chuwi, Ipason, Yeelight, and Oclean to let more and more users enjoy the discounts. Along with a top-notch shopping experience, the company is also exploring new ways to bring an intuitive buying experience for shoppers.

There will be several fan live-streaming shopping sessions where users can get discount coupons while shopping in lifestyle, cosmetics, fashion, home and garden, etc. Shop with popular digital influencers like D&Z FAMILY, RAISING KREW, Princess Kooch, Stella Rae, Happy Aujla, Veronica LaVery, JessChic, and GABBI & GABBE.

DHgate’s Users Appreciation

DHGate accounts for more than 2.3 million sellers and 25 million buyers. The company serves them from 10 local warehouses housing 25 million items.

“DHgate has great service, unbeatable prices, fast and secure check out. All have peace of mind
knowing that customer service handles any situation and I will continue doing business with
them,” said Khalid.

Items on Hot Sale

So don’t forget to check DHgate for extensive discounts from 24 August.

Related: Grab massive discounts on the eve of DHgate’s 17th Anniversary sale extravaganza

[Update: Clarification] Xiaomi disqualifies multiple MIUI Beta testers in China

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Aug 17, 2021

Update:

Xiaomi reveals why it disqualified certain MIUI Beta testers in China. In an official announcement post on Mi Community, the company confirms that it was due to the new changes in Mi Community 3.0.

For those who don’t know, recently Xiaomi unveiled Mi Community 3.0 in China. The latest version of the company’s forum requires MIUI Beta testers to complete weekly tasks (includes feedback, polls, and others). If not fulfilled, these testers are kicked out of the beta program.

The first round of disqualification happened on August 16. Due to a loud outcry from testers, Xiaomi has now extended the time to complete tasks by two weeks. Additionally, the company is also allowing the kicked-out testers to once again join the beta program from next week.

Xiaomi also confirms that the new changes in the MIUI Beta program are meant to limit the number of testers. For the last 10 years, a huge number of users have been running MIUI Beta software. However, a very few set of users actively gave feedback. The company is aiming to fix this.

Original Story:

Xiaomi limited its MIUI Beta program to China in mid-2019. Since then, it has become difficult to enroll in the project in the company’s home country. Amidst this, out of nowhere, the firm disqualified multiple testers from the initiative yesterday (August 16).

According to a report by ITHome, Xiaomi kicked out a number of MIUI Beta testers in China without informing prior. As a result, these users are permanently stuck on the last week’s MIUI Beta release. They will be not receiving the upcoming beta builds and could not revert back to the stable channel without losing the data.

The only solution for them is to flash MIUI Stable Fastboot ROM after unlocking their device’s bootloader. However, this process will wipe their phone’s internal storage.

As of now, Xiaomi is yet to issue an official statement regarding this mishap. On the other hand, users are furious over the situation. Many testers took to Weibo to criticize Xiaomi for this action. They expressed dissatisfaction saying that the company could have informed the users beforehand.

Xiaomi is probably the only Android OEM known for releasing weekly beta builds of its mobile software. International fans felt dejected when the Chinese tech giant halted the MIUI Global Beta program. Unfortunately, the company has now also jeopardized its relationship with fans in its home country with the latest setback.

Honor promotes Magic3 series with an Impressive Ad on the Burj Khalifa

By

Sean

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Aug 17, 2021

Earlier this month, Honor had launched its much awaited Magic3 series. The lineup was the latest flagship grade smartphones from the brand, and now, the company has put up a massive advertisement for the Magic3 series on the Burj Khalifa to promote the new devices.

The world’s tallest tower celebrated the #HONORMagic3Series launch on 12 Aug. Did you? Retweet to show others this #BeyondEpic light show. pic.twitter.com/i7ffYdelD4

— HONOR (@Honorglobal) August 16, 2021

The former budget sub brand shared a video of this major promotional ad on its official Honor Global Twitter handle as well. In the video, we can see the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, in Dubai being light up with an advertisement for the Magic3 series. The ad starts with a countdown that stops at ‘3’ and goes on to showcase the new smartphones. This was quite impressive as the massive promotional light show even illuminated the night sky around the building.

For those unaware, the Honor Magic3 series was officially announced back on 12th August 2021 and is set to go on sale starting from 20th August 2021. Talking a bit about their specifications, the base model features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC while the two Pro models sport the Snapdragon 888+ chipset. Similarly, memory options for the Magic3 includes 8GB RAM and 128GB/256GB storage while the Pro variants offer 8GB/12GB RAM and 128GB/256GB/512GB storage.

HONOR Magic 3 Pro Black — Magic3 Pro Black

All three smartphones sport a 6.76 inch 10-bit 89°curved OLED display with a resolution of 2772×1344 pixels (FHD+), 1.07 billion colors, 100% DCI P3 color gamut, 120Hz refresh rate, and a pill shaped cutout for front facing cameras. The series is also the world’s first IMAX Enhanced certified handsets as well.

RELATED:

iQOO 8 series launch with next-gen E5 displays, SD888+, photochromic version, and custom OriginOS

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Aug 17, 2021

The iQOO 8 and iQOO 8 Pro are official. Both phones which were announced today in China boast the best displays in the industry, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888+ processor, and a design that will surely turn heads or even make jaws drop.

iQOO 8 series Design

The iQOO 8 series have gotten a design refresh while still keeping some features of its predecessors. There are now two devices – a standard model and a pro model. The former has a flat display while the latter has a curved display. However, both have a centered punch hole and triple rear cameras that are arranged in the shape of an L.

iQOO has kept the orange-colored power button from the iQOO 7 and even retained the partnership with BMW for the Legend Edition. There is also a new racing edition with a black carbon fiber finish on the back. However, it is only the iQOO 8 that gets the jaw-dropping electrochromic version that can switch from white to bright orange.

iQOO 8 Specs

The iQOO 8 has a 6.56-inch FHD+ flat display with a centered punch hole that can display up to 1 billion colors. It has a 120Hz refresh rate, a 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, a contrast ratio of 6,000,000:1, and a peak brightness of 1200 nits. iQOO says there is an independent display chip that improves the frame rate while lowering power consumption. It also upscales SD content into HDR.

The phone has a Snapdragon 888+ chipset, LPDRR5 RAM, and UFS 3.1 storage. There is a 48MP f/1.79 Sony IMX598 gimbal camera on the back along with a 13MP f/2.2 120° ultrawide angle camera and a 13MP f/2.46 portrait camera. A 16MP camera is in front for selfies and video calls.

The iQOO 8 has a 4350mAh battery capacity. Even though it’s bigger than that of the iQOO 7, iQOO has been able to make the phone lighter by 9.6 grams. There is support for 120W fast wired charging that can fully charge the phone from empty to full in 18 minutes. There is also VC Liquid Cooling for keeping the temperature down when needed.

The new flagship also comes with a dual X-axis motor, an upgraded 4D vibration, and dual pressure-sensitive buttons under the display that allows four-finger operations to be done with just two. There are also improved three-dimensional stereo speakers for a better audio experience.

The iQOO 8 and iQOO 8 Pro both run OriginOS for iQOO, a custom-made version of Vivo’s China-exclusive Android fork. OriginOS for iQOO brings a similar widget-based homescreen interface available on Vivo phones. There is also an AI subtitle feature that should be similar to Live Caption and a feature called Smart Privacy Protection that prevents third-party apps from accessing private information from the clipboard and SMS app

iQOO 8 Pro Specs

The iQOO 8 Pro is the first phone to feature the new Samsung E5 AMOLED display. The 6.78-inch 120Hz LTPO curved panel has a 3200 x 1440 resolution, 10-bit color temperature, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and a contrast ratio of up to 8,000,000:1. iQOO boasts that it has also received 14 DisplayMate A+ certifications. It also features the independent display chip found in the standard model which can convert low-quality SDR content into high-quality HDR.

Just like the standard model, this too comes with a Snapdragon 888+ processor and it is paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

The iQOO 8 Pro has three cameras -a 50MP Sony IMX766V f/1.75 1.0µm PTZ camera with a 7P lens, PDAF, and 23mm focal length; a 48MP f/2.2 114° ultrawide angle camera with 6P lens; and a 16MP telephoto camera. The front-facing camera is a 16MP sensor.

The iQOO 8 Pro also boasts an ultrasonic 3D fingerprint scanner with a wider sensing area. iQOO says the sensor is super fast and unlocks the device in just 0.2 seconds.

Inside the iQOO 8 Pro is a dual-cell 4500mAh battery. While it has support for 120W fast wired charging like the standard model, it also adds support for 50W wireless fast charging and 10W reverse wireless charging. This makes it the first iQOO phone with support for wireless charging. It is no surprise that iQOO took the chance to announce its own wireless charger which has a vertical design and a built-in cooling fan.

iQOO 8 series price and availability

The iQOO 8 will be available in two configurations and three colors (Racing, Legend, and Flame) when it becomes available for purchase on August 24:

8+128GB = ¥3799 (~$586)
12+256GB = ¥4199 (~$648)

The iQOO 8 Pro will be available in three configurations and two color variants (Racing and Legend) and will be available for purchase starting on August 26:

8+256GB = 4999 (~$771)
12+256GB = 5499 (~$848)
12+512GB = ¥5999 (~$925)

Pre-orders for both phones start today. Interested buyers will be able to grab the phone on Vivo’s online shop and physical stores, Tmall, Suning, JD.com, and more.

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The iQOO 50W Vertical Wireless Charger will be available on August 26 too for ¥279 (~$43) before reverting back to its original price of ¥329 (~$50).

RELATED:

Xiaomi Xiao AI registers over 100 million active monthly users

By

Sean

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Aug 17, 2021

Earlier today (17th August 2021), Xiao AI, the official smart voice assistant from Xiaomi, announced that it had achieved a new milestone. Its active monthly user base had crossed over 100 million users.

The announcement was shared on Xiao AI’s official Weibo account, a Chinese microblogging website and arrived along with a promotional image poster. For those unaware, the Xiao AI system is an artificial intelligence based voice interaction engine that is owned by the Chinese tech giant and is also its virtual AI that is compatible with its various smart IoT products as well. On the social media post, the company also added that the voice assistant went through 4 years of development with over 5 major upgrades an 91.7 billion voice interactions as well.

Notably, the AI also acts as a link between the various smart products from Xiaomi. This system is also pre installed in various speakers from the company, which includes Mi TVs, its various smart IoT devices, along with its popular smartphones as well. As of right now, its most commonly found in categories related to fitness, smart home, smart wear, smart office, children’s entertainment based products, smart travel, smart learning, and others.

Back in November 2020, the company officially announced the Xiao AI 5.0 at the Xiaomi Developers Conference event in China. This version arrived with an upgraded voice assistant functionality to assist the users in day to day life, along with various AI optimizations for all scenarios as well.

RELATED:

Xiaomi Mi Pad 5 can run Mi MIX Fold’s Pocket PC App: Report

By

Sean

-

Aug 17, 2021

Back in May 2021, Xiaomi had rolled out a new update for its first foldable smartphone, the Mi MIX Fold, which turned it into a pocket PC. This was mobile PC feature was enabled through a new Pocket PC app, which is also apparently compatible with the Mi Pad 5 tablet.

According to known tipster @数码闲聊站 (aka DigitalChatStation), the latest tablet from the Chinese tech giant is also capable of running the Pocket PC app from the Mi MIX Fold smartphone. For those unaware, the pocket PC feature allowed users to turn their foldable handset into a portable PC. The feature offered users a new UI that resembled a PC, with a start menu, taskbar, and control center as well.

Two notable features included a ‘Parallel Window’ and ‘Free Window Fingertip Dragging’ along with ‘Pocket PC’ allowed users to use multiple apps in windows form and drag and drop content from one window to another, which is similar to what a computer offers. Now, this has reportedly been transferred to the Mi Pad 5 as well. The tipster even added screenshots on his Weibo post, a Chinese microblogging website, to showcase the app on the tablet.

As per DigitalChatStation, the Mi Pad 5 Pro can be used in a PC mode after installing the Pocket PC app ported from the Mi MIX Fold. He further added that the port didn’t suffer from any bugs either and hopes that an upcoming MIUI update would bring this feature along with multi screen functionality to the tablet as well.

RELATED:

Nothing Ear (1) sold out in 2 minutes, but only 4.8K units were up for sale

By

Sean

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Aug 17, 2021

The highly anticipated Nothing Ear (1) TWS earbuds had just been launched in India. But in just two minutes, the new true wireless earbuds from the former OnePlus Co Founder had been sold out.

In a recent tweet from Carl Pei, CEO and Founder of Nothing, the official revealed that the Nothing Ear (1) earbuds had been sold out in India. Although, this only included around 4.8K units of the new wireless earphones. Carl Pei also thanked the community in India for its support and added that it is working “around the clock to make more.” In other words, despite the limited stock being sold out in the region, the firm is working on bringing in more units since the earbuds has been quite successful in the region.

For those unaware, the Ear (1) is the first product ever from the company and sports a unique transparent design that sets it apart from various other TWS earbuds in the market. The earbuds each weigh 4.7 grams and feature 11.6mm drivers from Teenage Engineering. It also offers IPX4 rating for water resistance. The earbuds also sport in-ear detection and allows users to adjust active noise cancellation, activate transparency mode, and change the equalizer settings through the companion app.

4.8k ear (1) sold out in less than 2 minutes on @Flipkart. Thanks for the support from our community in India! Hang tight, we're working around the clock to make more…

— Carl Pei (@getpeid) August 17, 2021

The earbuds retailed in India for a price of 5,999 INR (roughly 80 US Dollars). This made it quite competitive in the region as it offers specifications that rival earbuds that cost twice or even three times more.

RELATED:

5-year-old HUAWEI P9 is receiving a new system update

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Aug 17, 2021

HUAWEI P9 launched in 2016 as the company’s flagship smartphone for the most part of that year. It debuted with EMUI 4.0 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and was updated to Android 7.0 Nougat-based EMUI 5.0 and EMUI 8.0 based on Android 8.0 Oreo throughout its lifetime. Over five years after its release, this smartphone is now receiving a new system update.

According to ITHome, Huawei is rolling out a new software update for the HUAWEI P9. The latest system update arrives with firmware version EVA-TL00 8.0.0.558 (C01) in China. It weighs around 318MB.

As per the official changelog, the new software build arrives with updated security patches. Further, it optimizes the smart search function, which can be accessed by swiping down on the home screen to quickly search for offline and online content. It also optimizes system stability.

Then, the latest update adds an app recommendation folder on the home screen. It also brings quick download icons for Education Center and Link Now apps. Lastly, the new build removes the pre-installed apps like AutoNavi and WPS Office. Anyway, users can download these applications from the app store.

Unfortunately, it’s not known whether the international variants of the HUAWEI P9 will be receiving this update. However, since the device got the smart charging feature in all the markets last year, the new software build will likely make its way to the other regional variants as well.

OPPO Wireless Charger 15W launched for ¥99 ($15)

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

-

Aug 17, 2021

OPPO has quietly launched a new wireless charger in China called ‘OPPO Wireless Charger 15W’. It is the company’s slowest wireless charger yet. Let’s take a look at what this new product has to offer.

OPPO Wireless Charger 15W Specifications and Features

The newly launched OPPO wireless charger is circular in shape and comes in a single white color option. As its name suggests, its maximum output rate is 15W, and therefore, it is the slowest wireless charger from the company yet. The other models sold by the firm are OPPO 45W AirVOOC Wireless Charger and OPPO 40W AirVOOC Wireless Charger.

That said, the new product bears model number OAWV03 and supports Qi wireless charging protocol. Hence, it can be used to charge almost every device with support for wireless charging. But it requires at least a USB PD 2.0-compatible power adapter to get 15W output.

As far as design is concerned, the charger is not only compact in size but also lightweight. Further, it features a leather finish on the surface to hold the slippery glass-equipped smartphones in place. It also has an LED indicator.

Like any other charging product, it comes with six layers of protection, namely over-current protection, over-voltage protection, over-temperature protection, under-voltage protection, electrostatic protection, and foreign object detection.

Last but not least, the charger features a USB Type-C port and ships with a USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable.

OPPO Wireless Charger 15W Price and Availability

The OPPO Wireless Charger 15W is priced at ¥99 ($15) in China. It is already up for sale in the company’s home country.

As of now, it’s not known if this product will ever make its way to the global markets.

Huawei Nova 9 series may first launch in a 4G version: Tipster

By

Sean

-

Aug 17, 2021

Earlier today (17th August 2021), we had reported on the Huawei Nova 9, which a tipster had suggested would launch sometime in the middle of September 2021. Now, the same person has revealed some additional information regarding the upcoming mid range smartphone.

According to @菊厂影业Fans on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging website, the company might be planning on launching the Nova 9 series in two variants. This includes a 4G variant and a 5G variant. For those unaware, the Chinese tech giant has been struggling with chip supply due to US sanctions, which even caused it to ship its latest Huawei P50 series of flagship smartphones without the support for 5G networking.

While the tipster had earlier stated that this device will support 5G, he further added that the brand will first launch the Nova 9 lineup in a 4G version. Reportedly, the Nova 9 will have the same marketing and distribution as the flagship P50 series, so it might arrive in a 4G variant before its 5G enabled version is launched. Furthermore, he had also previously stated that the design of the smartphone will be better than the Honor 50 series, although, the processor won’t be as powerful as the Qualcomm Snapragon 778 SoC.

A recent TENAA listing has offered us a first glimpse of the device, but finer details likes its specifications and pricing are unknown as of right now. This is all the information we have at the moment, so stay tuned for more as we will be providing updates when additional details are available regarding the upcoming Nova series of smartphones.

RELATED:

Samsung Galaxy M52 5G gets certified by India’s BIS

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

-

Aug 17, 2021

Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy M52 5G as the successor of the Galaxy M51 in the coming days. A little information about this device has already emerged in the past few weeks. Now, the handset has been also spotted at BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards). Hence, it might launch in India.

Samsung Galaxy M51 Rear Featured — Samsung Galaxy M51

The upcoming Samsung Galaxy M52 5G has been certified by BIS with model number SM-M526B/DS. The firmware development for this Indian variant of the handset started last week only. Unfortunately, it’s not known when it will be releasing in the country.

According to previous reports, the Galaxy M52 5G will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoC. For those unaware, the yet-to-be-announced Galaxy A52s 5G also features the same chipset.

Further, the device will arrive with a 32MP selfie camera. Whereas, on the back, it will include a 64MP Samsung ISOCELL GW3 primary sensor paired with a 12MP ultra-wide unit and a 5MP macro snapper.

It is said to come in three colors in Europe, namely black, white, and blue. There’s no word on its colors for India and other markets. However, we know that it will have a smaller 5,000mAh battery as compared to a huge 7,000mAh cell in its predecessor.

Nothing else is known about the Samsung Galaxy M52 5G, except for the above-mentioned factors. But we look forward to learning more about this smartphone before its official launch in the near future.

ASUS ROG Phone 5s series with Snapdragon 888+ to launch in China on August 18

By

Sean

-

Aug 17, 2021

The ASUS ROG Phone 5s series had just been officially launched in Taiwan. Now, the new flagship gaming smartphone lineup with top notch specs is arriving in China, along with a collaboration with Tencent.

Earlier today, the Taiwanese tech giant announced that it will be officially unveiling its ROG Phone 5s and ROG Phone 5s Pro in China on 18th August 2021. These models are expected to feature similar specifications to the ones that were launched earlier this week. Both the base and Pro model feature a 6.78 inch Full HD+ Samsung’s E4 AMOLED HDR display with a 144Hz refresh rate and 360Hz touch sampling rate.

The series is powered by a large 6,000mAh battery pack that supports 65W fast charging with dual front facing stereo speakers. Notably, it even includes a headphone jack. Under the hood, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ SoC runs both smartphones, along with up to a whopping 18GB of RAM. The lineup run on the latest Android 11 OS with ROG UI and offer an in-display fingerprint sensor, ultrasonic sensors for AirTrigger 5, and grip press detection. It also comes with support for Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, and NFC.

Unfortunately, the pricing for both smartphones for the Chinese market is currently unknown. But we do know that the devices are arriving with ASUS’ collaboration with Tencent. This collaboration will include certain popular Tencent games being preinstalled on the handsets. So stay tuned for more updates.

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Motorola Edge 20, Edge 20 Fusion with 108MP camera launched in India

By

Sean

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Aug 17, 2021

The Motorola Edge 20 series has just been launched in India. The series includes the base Edge 20 and the Edge 20 Fusion, with both devices featuring a 108 megapixel camera, and have been launched on Flipkart.

Edge 20

Motorola Edge 20 sports a 6.67 inch FHD+ OLED display that has a punch hole selfie shooter and offers 144Hz high refresh rate as well. It also supports 10 bit color, DCI P3 color gamut and HDR10+. Under the hood, the device houses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778 chip paired with the Adreno 642L GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of internal storage. The device runs Android 11 OS out of the box and has a side mounted fingerprint scanner. It is powered by a 4,000mAh battery pack that supports 33W fast charging.

The Edge 20 features a triple camera module on the rear, with a 108 megapixel primary camera, along with a 16 megapixel ultra wide angle lens and a telephoto sensor that offers up to 3x optical zoom and up to 30x digital zoom. On the front, the selfie shooter is a 32 megapixel camera while the device also supports the usual connectivity features like 5G, 4G LTE, dual-band WiFi, MIMO, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, and others.

Edge 20 Fusion

Alongside the Edge 20, the Edge 20 Fusion has also been launched in India. It is essentially a rebrand of the Edge 20 Lite that was previously launched globally but features a more robust MediaTek Dimensity 800U SoC. Similar to the Edge 20, it also sports a 6.67 inch FHD+ OLED display that has a single punch hole selfie camera on the front. Although, it only offers 90Hz refresh rate along with HDR10+, 10 bit color, and DCI P3 color gamut.

Furthermore, the device also offers up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. However, it is powered by a larger 5,000mAh battery pack that supports 30W fast charging. On the rear, it sports a triple camera setup similar to the Edge 20, with a 108 megapixel primary shooter, an 8 megapixel ultra wide angle lens, and a 2 megapixel depth sensor. The front has a 32 megapixel selfie shooter.

Price and Availability

The Motorola Edge 20 will have its first sale start from August 24 in India, while the Edge 20 Fusion will be available for purchase from August 27. While the Edge 20 will be available in a single variant, the Edge 20 Fusion arrives in two memory versions. Both smartphones will be available on Flipkart and through authorized retail stores as well.

Edge 20 – 29,999 INR (roughly 404 US Dollars)
Edge 20 Fusion (6GB/128GB) – 21,499 INR (roughly 290 US Dollars)
Edge 20 Fusion (8GB/128GB) – 22,999 INR (roughly 310 US Dollars)

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Samsung is using Artificial Intelligence to design its new Exynos chips

By

Jeet

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Aug 17, 2021

Samsung has confirmed that the company will be using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create its new chips and added that it will be using new software from Synopsys, a leading chip design software firm.

A spokesperson for Samsung has confirmed to Wired that the company is using Synopsys AI software to design its Exynos chips. However, the company did not confirm whether the AI-designed chips have gone into production yet, or what products they may appear in.

While Samsung is among the first companies to design its chips using artificial intelligence, other companies like Google and NVIDIA have talked about designing chips using AI. The tool from Synopsys, called DSO.ai, could have a larger footprint given that the company already works with dozens of other companies.

A couple of months ago, Google researchers described using AI to arrange the components on the Tensor chips that it uses to train and run AI programs in its data centers. Google’s next smartphone, the Pixel 6 series, will feature a custom chip manufactured by Samsung.

As noted, apart from Samsung and Google, other companies are also dabbling in AI-driven chip design, including NVIDIA and IBM. Then there’s Cadence, a competitor to Synopsys, which is also developing AI tools to aid with mapping blueprints for new chips.

The current artificial intelligence approach used by Synopsys and all the other companies use a machine-learning technique called reinforcement learning to work out the design of a chip. It involves training an algorithm to perform a task through reward or punishment.

The technology can automatically draw the basics of a design, including placement of components and wiring them together. This is achieved by trying different designs in simulation and learning which ones produce the best results.

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OPPO Enco Buds, Enco Air tipped to launch in India soon

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Aug 17, 2021

Earlier this year, OPPO introduced two new budget TWS models, namely OPPO Enco Air and OPPO Enco Buds is a select few markets. These two pairs of truly wireless earphones are now said to launch in India in the coming days.

OPPO Enco Buds Featured A — OPPO Enco Buds

According to reliable tipster Ishan Agarwal (via 91Mobiles), OPPO will be soon launching the OPPO Enco Air and OPPO Enco Buds in India very soon. Unfortunately, the leaker does not mention the launch date. He merely states that these TWS products will be debuting in the country in the next few weeks.

The OPPO Enco Buds are the cheapest of the two. They can be considered as a successor to last year’s OPPO Enco W11. On the other hand, the OPPO Enco Air aka W32 are the successor of the older OPPO Enco W31.

The OPPO Enco Buds are identical to the OPPO Enco W11 in terms of design. They bring upgrades like Bluetooth 5.2, 24-hour battery life, and a low-latency game mode.

OPPO Enco Air W32 Featured — OPPO Enco Air

Whereas, the OPPO Enco Air come with a revamped design when compared to their predecessor. They also arrive with improvements like Bluetooth 5.2, 12mm dynamic drivers, 24-hour battery life, and a low-latency game mode.

We can expect these wireless earbuds to cost the same as their predecessor’s launch price. In other words, the OPPO Enco Air and OPPO Enco Buds may cost around ₹4,000 and ₹2,000 respectively.

iQOO Z5 smartphone tipped to soon launch in the Indian market

By

Jeet

-

Aug 17, 2021

A couple of months ago, Vivo-backed iQOO had launched its iQOO Z3 5G smartphone in the Indian market. Now, it appears that the Chinese company is gearing up to launch its successor in India, dubbed iQOO Z5.

Tipster Mukul Sharma has revealed that the upcoming iQOO Z5 could soon get launched in the Indian market. It comes at a time when the device has been spotted in the IMEI database, revealing its model number and moniker.

However, not many details about the upcoming smartphone with model number I2018 have not been revealed. Given that the smartphone has already been certified by a couple of agencies so far, there’s a possibility that the iQOO Z5 could be officially launched in the coming days or weeks.

Ahead of its official launch, we expect the company to share teasers for its features. As the smartphone is slated to launch just a couple of months after the launch of its predecessor, it’s likely to come with minor upgrades. The current iQOO Z3 features a 120Hz LCD screen so the iQOO Z5 model could opt for an AMOLED display panel offering a 120Hz refresh rate.

Internally, the device could come powered by the faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G chipset instead of the Snapdragon 768G SoC found in its predecessor. We also expect a triple-camera setup on the back and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

However, these are just speculation at this time and we’ll have to wait a bit longer to get more details about the upcoming iQOO Z5 smartphone, including its specifications, features, memory variants, and pricing.

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