Global chip shortage has become a serious issue for everything related to technology. While the shortage was impacting automakers initially, it is now also making a dent in the business of consumer electronics makers.
As the global chip shortage is hitting the smartphone industry, Apple has said that it could affect iPhone production and the company has also forecasted slowing revenue growth. This will also impact the tech giant’s services business.
Apple executives said that the revenue for the current fiscal fourth quarter will grow by double-digits but be below the 36.4% growth rate in the just-ended third quarter. They added that while the impact of the chip shortage was less severe than feared in the third quarter, it will get worse in the fourth, extending to iPhone production.
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said that chips affected by the shortages are made using older technology but those are still vital as supporting parts for making iPhones. Analysts believed that Apple could be stockpiling chips for its next-generation iPhone models.
There are several reasons behind the global shortage of chips, including factory closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic and increased demand for consumer electronics products during the lock-down and Work from Home setups.
The situation is not as bad for Samsung and Apple as with smaller phone manufacturers. HMD Global, which makes Nokia-branded devices, has warned that the semiconductor shortage could prove challenging for smaller device makers.
Reports indicate that many players in the mobile phone industry are struggling to procure a variety of semiconductors, including the struggle for sourcing power-management chips, display drivers, application processors, in addition to 4G and 5G chipsets.
The Huawei P50 series was announced yesterday, and as Huawei is known to do with every launch of a flagship phone, it also unveiled multiple accessories for the new phones. While most of them are cases, one is the manufacturer’s first multi-coil wireless charging pad.
Huawei P50 and P50 Pro Art Theme Cases
Just like the Mate 40 series, Huawei has also announced Art Theme cases for the P50 series. The cases are available in four colorful options for both the P50 and P50 Pro. Apart from their eye-catching designs, the cases also have a built-in kickstand and offer extra protection at the corners. Huawei has also made matching themes that users can apply on their phones. You can grab the case on Vmall for ¥199 (~$30) a piece.
Huawei P50 Pro Ring Flash Case
The Huawei P50 Pro also gets an exclusive ring flash case that has a built-in ring flash for when you want to take a selfie or record a vlog. The case has a button for switching between three levels of brightness and three color temperatures (warm, cold, and mixed). It charges via reverse wireless charging which explains why it is exlcuive to the Huawei P50 Pro. The ring flash case is available in pink and white on Vmall for ¥299 (~$46).
Huawei P50 series Smart Window Case
If you want something more classy, there is the smart window flip case with a transparent part that allows you glimpse the time, date, weather, and your notifications. The case will also automatically wake-up the phone when flipped open and put it to sleep when shut. It is priced at ¥229 (~$35) and is available in black and gray.
Huawei P50 series silicone case and leather case
Huawei has also launched silicone cases for the new phones and they are available in five colors including black, light green, and orange for ¥99 (~$15). The leather case is more expensive at ¥199 (~$30), comes in Classic Black and Elephant Gray, and has a built-in kickstand.
Huawei multi-coil wireless charger
Huawei also announced a multi-coil wireless charger that can charge three items at the same time at up to 15W per device. The pad is shaped like a giant elongated pill and appears to have a fabric surface. It also has a USB-C port for connecting to a power adapter. The specs are unknown and so is the price. We hope Huawei will reveal these details soon.
Recently, it was reported that Apple had activated several in-house and external strategies to curtail the embarrassing leaks of its unreleased products. While the Cupertino-based company has secured convictions for some of its employees who accessed and divulged unauthorized information, it has also put several security protocols to cut to zero the leak of its trade secrets.
However, it seems Apple is getting more assertive in its efforts, gong by the recent legal cease and desist notice sent to yet another leaker in China. A Weibo user posted a letter from Apple China’s legal representative, Fangda Partners warning the tipster to desist from publishing and disseminating information about Apple iPhone prototypes. What makes this interesting is that Apple gave the alleged leaker 14 days to respond to the allegation of unauthorized release of Apple’s trade secrets. More surprising is that the US firm wants the leaker to disclose the sources of the leaked prototypes.
It is unclear what would be the next step for Apple whether the issue may escalate to a court case. However, the impact of the seemingly effective Apple strategy is being noticed, as some known tipsters are gradually cleaning their stables and going incommunicado on Twitter. This action could also lead to actions on Weibo. Apple, therefore, seems to be progressively winning the battle, as fewer tipsters have taken the risk to mention a product leak that will bring Apple’s legal representative to such a person.
Audio products manufacturer JBL prides itself on having a legacy of consistency in delivering excellent and innovative audio products for more than seven decades. It is a global player and trailblazer in the audio technology segment of the industry and continues to exemplify its ideals with the launch of its latest products in India.
JBL has unveiled two earbuds in India. The products are the Live Pro+ TWS earbuds and the Live 660NC wireless headphones. Both devices come with several features and functionality that place them on a solid pedestal for massive acceptance by the Indian market. These devices come with some of the properties of past products, including Adaptive Noise Cancellation, Ambient mode, and several other features. The two products are ergonomically designed for maximum comfort when used for extended periods.
The JBL Live Pro+ TWS earbuds will sell at Rs. 16,999 ($229), while the Live 660NC wireless headphones are priced at Rs. 12,999 ($175). Both products are available via JBL’s online store, as well as several outlets across the subcontinent.
JBL’s long years of production of audio products puts it in a vantage position to develop technologically advanced products. Some of these JBL technologies are present in the JBL Live Pro+. These include Signature Sound, Smart Ambient mode, and Echo-Cancelling technology which guarantees crisp and clear voices during calls. The battery of the Live Pro+ can give up to 7 hours on a full charge without ANC, and 6 hours with ANC activated. However, with the charging case, the device could offer up to 28 hours of continuous listening activity.
The Live 660NC wireless headphone has some similar features to the Live Pro+. It also supports a multi-point connection and Voice Assistant Hands-free support. Its battery can offer up to 50 hours of playback on a full charge without ANC, and 40 hours, with ANC.
Early this month, Qualcomm announced its first smartphone, the ASUS-made Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders, with a promise that it will be available in August. Ahead of the release date, interested buyers can now pre-order the smartphone.
Priced at $1499, the Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders can be pre-ordered on ASUS’ US website. The estimated shipping date is 27th of August which is practically a month away. Pre-orders are not live yet in the UK, Europe, and India.
The Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders has a 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 1200 nits. There is no bezel or notch or punch hole for the front-facing camera, instead there is a slim bezel that houses the 24MP selfie camera and other sensors.
Qualcomm’s phone is powered by the Snapdragon 888 processor and packs 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. It has a 64MP main camera on the back that drags along with it a 12MP ultrawide angle camera that doubles as a macro camera and an 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom.
There is a fingerprint scanner on the back as well as a Snapdragon logo that has an LED underneath. The Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders has stereo speakers with a smart amplifier. It is also the first phone to come with Snapdragon Sound technology.
The Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders has a 4000mAh battery and support for 65W fast charging. It will come with a 65W Quick Charge 5 adapter in the US and Europe while India gets a 30W power adapter. Qualcomm also ships the package with a pair of premium TWS earbuds, two charging cables, and a case.
Huawei continues its resurgence in the extended tech market by releasing two smart wearable devices that offer some wonderful upgrades from their predecessors. Today, the Chinese tech giant has released the Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro ECG and the Band 6 Pro smartwatches today. The launch is coming on the heels of several releases, including its new generation smart speaker and smart screen and the P50 series.
The Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro ECG and the Huawei Band 6 Pro are improved versions of their predecessors, the Watch GT 2 and the Band 6. The Watch GT 2 Pro ECG comes with a sensor that takes electrocardiogram measurements, and the Band 6 Pro has a body temperature sensor. In addition to the ECG heart measurements, the Watch GT 2 Pro ECG also retained the sensors present in its predecessor like blood oxygen monitoring, heart rate tracking, sleep, and stress levels indicators. It features a 1.39-inch AMOLED display, 100 workout modes and comes with Huawei’s Lite OS. The Watch GT 2 Pro ECG has Sapphite crystal-infused glass protection and a titanium frame.
The Huawei Band 6 Pro sports a bigger 1.47-inch AMOLED display and the same sensors as the Watch GT 2 Pro, except that the ECG sensor is absent in the Band 6 Pro, replaced by a body temperature sensor. The Band 6 Pro has up to 96 workout modes. It also has a 14-day battery life on a full charge and moderate usage.
Pricing and local availability information have also been made public. The Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro ECG will be available from August 12, and it will sell at CNY 3,088 ($478), while the Band 6 Pro will sell at CNY 449 ($70) when sales begin on August 20. The pricier Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro comes in a single color variant – black.
Global pricing and availability details could follow subsequently.
Compact phones are not a trend, but Apple is still releasing several compact phones in the last years. In 2020, the Cupertino giant came up with the iPhone SE 2020, the second model ever from the SE lineup. Right after, the company launched the iPhone 12 Mini alongside the other variant from the iPhone 12 series, which is the first Mini variant of an iPhone. A lot of people are wondering whether they should go for the affordable iPhone SE 2020 or spend more on the iPhone 12 Mini in order to get the best compact phone out there. If you are one of them, you are in the right place: this specs comparison will highlight the differences.
Apple iPhone SE vs Apple iPhone 12 Mini
Apple iPhone SE 2020
Apple iPhone 12 Mini
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT
138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm,
148 g
131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4 mm,
135 g
DISPLAY
4.7 inches, 750 x 1334 pixels (HD+), Retina IPS LCD
5.4 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), Super Retina XDR OLED
The iPhone SE 2020 has a very old design: it is the design of the iPhone 8 series which makes it the only last-generation iPhone with the Touch ID. The iPhone SE 2020 has thick bezels around the display and a 16:9 aspect ratio: very outdated. But it still comes with a great build quality: it has a glass back, an aluminum frame, and the IP67 certification making it dustproof and water resistant. The iPhone 12 Mini has the most modern design ever made by Apple: it is the same design as the other devices from the 12 series, but with smaller dimensions. Despite it has a wider display than iPhone SE 2020, it is more compact thanks to its bezel-less front panel. Further, it is very thin and lightweight. It also comes with the IP68 certification: it is dustproof and waterproof up to 6 meters deep. The iPhone 12 Mini does not have Touch ID but it relies on Face ID for the authentication.
Display
With the iPhone 12 Mini, you can actually get a way better display. Instead of the IPS panel of the iPhone SE 2020, you get an amazing Super Retina XDR OLED panel with HDR10 and Dolby Vision, as well as a higher Full HD resolution providing a higher level of detail. The color accuracy is better, colors are more brilliant and blacks are deeper. The panel is also wider with 5.4 inches and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The iPhone SE 2020 still comes with a good display, but it is inferior. It has an HD+ panel with a diagonal of 4.7 inches and True-tone technology.
Specs & Software
Besides offering a better design and display, the iPhone 12 Mini also packs better hardware components. It is powered by the Apple A14 Bionic chipset which is much better than Apple A13 Bionic and, unlike the A13, it supports 5G. The iPhone 12 Mini also comes with more RAM (4 GB vs 3 GB) which allows for a better multi-tasking experience. The internal storage is the same for each device: you get a version with 64 GB of storage, a 128 GB configuration, and a 256 GB one. Note that iPhone SE 2020 runs iOS 13 out of the box, while iPhone 12 Mini is based on iOS 14. This means the Mini will get longer software support.
Camera
The iPhone 12 Mini wins the camera comparison too, thanks to a superior camera setup. It has a 12 MP main camera with a bright f/1.6 aperture, alongside a 12 MP ultrawide sensor and OIS support. The iPhone SE 2020 has just a single camera on the rear side which has a 12 MP resolution and an f/1.8 aperture. The iPhone 12 Mini is also a better selfie phone with its 12 MP front camera (iPhone SE 2020 has a 7 MP sensor).
Last but not least, the iPhone 12 Mini has longer battery life. The reasons are pretty simple: first of all, it has a bigger battery capacity. Further, its display has a lower energy consumption, and its processor is built with a production process making it more efficient. Both the phones support fast charging and wireless charging, but the Mini has the MagSafe technology which is not present in its rival.
Price
You can actually find the iPhone SE 2020 for less than €400/$400, while iPhone 12 Mini starts from €550/$550 thanks to online street prices (note that prices vary depending on the market). The iPhone 12 Mini is a much better option due to its great design, superior display, more powerful chipset, longer battery life, and better cameras. You should go for SE 2020 only if your main intention is to save as much money as possible.
After a formal announcement a few weeks ago, Chuwi Hipad Pro tablet is inching closer. It is slated for global debut via AliExpress on August 2, 2021, for the special price of $199.99. Some special goodies aka magnetic keyboards are bundled for the first 300 buyers. It is an exceptional deal for buyers who are looking to grab a Qualcomm tablet at an affordable price.
There are several other outstanding features including a 10.8-inch large display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 SoC and support for Widevine L1 digital rights management certification. Let’s talk about each prominent aspect of the Chuwi HiPad Pro tablet below –
Massive 10.8-inch Display
Chuwi HiPad Pro comes with a large 10.8-inch full-view display which offers the highest 90% screen-to-body ratio. Its Full HD resolution display comes with 280 PPI of pixel density and offers 600 nits of maximum brightness. It offers a golden screen ratio of 16:10 for an optimal viewing experience.
Moreover, the tablet houses 4 matrix surround sound speakers to offer an immersive experience while watching the digital content via the prominent OTT apps. The tablet houses Google’s official Widevine L1 digital certification which enables to enjoy the premium content from Netflix, Amazon and other OTT apps without compromising don’t eh quality.
Powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 Onboard
Chuwi HiPad Pro tablet is powered with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 SoC coupled with an octa-core processor and Adreno 610 GPU. The chipset offers a fast 4G LTE connectivity with blazing fast download and upload speeds. The new tablet debuts with a 128GB UFS 2.1 high-speed storage while offering speeds of up to 800MBp/s.
There’s a 7000mAh battery coupled with a Qualcomm QC 3.0 fast charging support. It is sufficient enough to offer a decent battery backup time of up to a couple of days.
The Chuwi HiPad offers support for wireless accessories such as Bluetooth keyboard and H6/H7 calligraphy and painting stylus.
It is a powerful tablet that comes with Snapdragon 662 SoC while having an affordable price tag of $199. However, the device offers up to a 90% screen share ratio while maintaining cost-effectivity. The tablet will be on sale from August 3-5 for the initial retail price of $199.99. There will be free magnetic keyboards for the first 300 buyers. You can know more about the device by heading to the official Chuwi store.
Ever since Huawei kicked off its proprietary OS, the HarmonyOS for its phones in 2019, the OS has continued to develop. Back in June, the second iteration of the OS, the HarmonyOS 2 was pushed for many Huawei devices. Today, Huawei has officially confirmed that the Harmony OS 2 is installed on over 40 million devices.
If you are unaware, the software was booting on over 10 million devices within a week of its launch. News broke out that within a month it was booting on over 25 million Huawei phones. Now, with the 40 million milestone, Huawei’s HarmonyOS has accomplished a higher position across phone operating systems.
At this pace, the OS seems to compete head-to-head with other operating systems. Huawei has also been adding open source components to the OS and it had recently added 400+ open source components.
OPPO has been updating its devices to ColorOS 11 based on Android 11 since September 2020. As per the update plan for July 2021, only a single device in India will get the beta update this month. That device is OPPO K3 and beta registrations for it are already live for the past few days and should have probably ended by the time you will be reading this.
OPPO K3
According to the ColorOS 11 update plan for the month of July 2021, OPPO was supposed to open beta registrations for the OPPO K3 in India from July 28 (yesterday). However, that did not happen.
As per an official announcement post on ColorOS Community, the company opened registrations days earlier on July 22. Hence, the registrations are scheduled to end by July 29 (today). Thankfully, there will be more batches for interested users.
In order to participate, users need to be on the firmware version C.16. To enroll, they will have to head over to Settings > Software Update > Gear Icon > Apply for Beta Version > Update Beta Version and follow the on-screen instructions. The beta build will be rolled out to applicants via OTA if they get selected.
The OPPO K3 debuted with ColorOS 6.x based on Android 9.0 Pie. The smartphone was updated to Android 10-based ColorOS 7.x last year. Going by OPPO’s update track record, ColorOS 11 (Android 11) should be its second and last major update.
Huawei announced new phones today but rather than abandon its older devices, it has announced a program that will allow users to hold on to them for longer. The Chinese manufacturer has launched a storage upgrade program for more than 30 phones.
Huawei says that starting this month, owners of the phone below will be able to take their device to an after-sales service center to have the storage capacity increased. The manufacturer is offering three storage upgrade options – 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. The bigger storage combined with the update to HarmonyOS is expected to breathe new life into these devices. The service will have a starting price of ¥369 (~$57).
Below are the eligible devices for the upgrade program. The list has been divided into two, those that will be available to be upgraded starting this month and those that will be eligible for an upgrade between August and December:
After launching Realme 8, 8 5G, and 8 Pro, the Chinese phone manufacturer is preparing to add two more phones to the series. The series will include Realme 8s and Realme 8i. While the details of the Realme 8i are already available, the specifications of the Realme 8s are still unknown. Now, a new piece of information reveals the upcoming Realme 8s’ design and specs.
According to the renders shared by91Mobiles, the Realme 8s will feature a slightly different design at the rear. It will have a rectangular camera island placed vertically. The island holds a quad-camera setup and also has a tiny pill-shaped LED flash.
1 of 3
Rumors have it that it will feature a 64MP primary lens at the rear and a 16MP single camera lens at the front. We can expect other sensors to be an ultra-wide lens, and macro or depth units.
Additionally, the phone has a Realme branding at the bottom and flaunts a purple shade. Unfortunately, the renders didn’t give the front exposure of the smartphone but we do get to see the sides. The smartphone seems to have a side-facing fingerprint scanner at the right and a SIM tray at the left.
It has a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a speaker grille at the bottom. And, the secondary microphone is present at the top.
Realme 8s Specifications(Expected)
Apart front this, it is touted to come with a 6.5-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate. We can expect an FHD+ panel with thin bezels. As said above, the phone will boast a 64MP quad-camera system and a single 16MP selfie shooter.
At the helm, it is expected to come powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 810 chipset paired with 6GB, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB, 256GB of internal storage. Just like other newly launched BBK phones, the Realme 8s is said to have virtual RAM support of up to 5GB. For software, it will boot on Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11. It will be backed up by a 5,000mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging.
You’d expect a phone with Edge in its name to have a curved display, but Motorola told us that isn’t a standard rule when it announced the Motorola Edge S announced in January. In case the lesson didn’t stick, it has now announced three new Edge phones and none of them has a curved screen. However, the Motorola Edge 20 Pro, Edge 20, and Edge 20 Lite do have some pretty interesting specs including a 108MP camera on all three models.
Motorola Edge 20 Pro and Motorola Edge 20
The Edge 20 Pro is the leader of the pack and it gets all of the best features. It has a 6.67-inch 10-bit OLED display with DCI-P3 color gamut, HDR10+, Amazon HDR, and an impressive 144Hz refresh rate. It also has a centered punch hole for the front-facing camera. The Edge 20 has the same display size, type, and features, save for the lack of support for Amazon HDR.
Powering the Motorola Edge 20 Pro is the Snapdragon 870 processor, the same one that made its global debut in the Edge S a.k.a. Moto G100. There is 12GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. It also has two features called Turbo Write and Host-Aware Performance Booster.
The Motorola Edge 20 comes with the less-powerful Snapdragon 778G processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. It also misses out on the fast writing speed and performance booster of the pro model.
There is a primary 108MP rear camera on both phones. In addition, the Edge 20 Pro has an 8MP periscope camera with 5x optical zoom and 50x superzoom and a 16MP ultrawide angle camera that can shoot macro photographs. The Pro model can also shoot in 8K.
The Edge 20 also has an 8MP camera but with 3x optical zoom and 30x superzoom and a 16MP ultrawide angle camera that doubles as a macro camera. Both phones have a 32MP front-facing camera.
The Edge 20 Pro has a 4500mAh battery while the Edge 20 has a smaller 4000mAh battery but both phones support 30W TurboPower fast charging. The two phones run Android 11 with My UX on top. They also come with the Ready For PC feature that allows the phone to be connected to an external display to use in desktop mode, serve as a webcam, or as a gaming console.
Motorola Edge 20 Lite
The Motorola Edge 20 Lite also has a 6.67-inch 10-bit OLED display with DCI-P3 color gamut and HDR10+. Its refresh rate is lower at 90Hz and it also misses out on Amazon HDR support.
Powering the phone is MediaTek’s Dimensity 720 processor and it is paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The 108MP primary rear camera comes along with an 8MP ultrawide angle camera that can also take macro photos and a 2MP depth camera. Its front-facing camera is a 32MP sensor too.
Unlike its siblings which have an in-display fingerprint scanner, the Edge 20 Lite has a side-mounted scanner. However, it does have a water-repellent design, ThinkShield Security for mobile, support for Ready For albeit with fewer features, and Wi-Fi 6.
Motorola gives the Edge 20 Lite a bigger 5000mAh battery and adds support for 30W TurboPower fast charging. It runs My UX based on Android 11 out of the box.
According to Nils Ahrensmeier of Techniknews, Motorola has revealed that all three phones will receive OS upgrades and security updates for two years. So we should see them receive Android 12 and Android 13 updates.
Pricing and Availability
TThe Edge 20 Pro will sell for €699, the Edge 20 will retail for €499, and the Edge 20 Lite will be sold for €349.99. All three phones will go on sale in August and you will be able to buy the Motorola Edge 20 Pro is available in Dark Blue, White, and Indigo Vegan Leather. The Motorola Edge 20 will be available in Frosted Onyx and Frosted Pearl and the Edge 20 Lite will be available in Electric Graphite and Lagoon Green.
New numbers from Kantar are showing a growing number of consumers are interested in buying 5G smartphones within six months. The data were drawn from a survey of offline stores and online shoppers across several countries with an appreciable 5G infrastructure. More than two-thirds of the persons surveyed overall were planning to buy a 5G smartphone.
Smartphones with 5G connectivity are currently the gold standard in the smartphone segment, and the data has shown a growing appetite for a faster and more advanced technology. However, several countries are yet to get the necessary 5G network infrastructure in place, which could require a substantial quantum of resources.
The Kantar research covered China, the US, Australia, Japan, the UK, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany. These countries have an established and expanding 5G network infrastructure, thus, budding markets for 5G smartphones. From the data, up to 91% of customers in China preferred or were planning on getting a 5G phone in the next six months. The corresponding percentage in Japan was 55%, and the United States, 74%. Japan was the only country with less than 60% of the surveyed respondents with a preference for buying a 5G smartphone.
A look at sales data from these countries also indicated a strong preference for 5G phones. The sales data for the top 10 smartphone sales in the listed countries were correlated with the responses from the Kantar survey. It showed that 70% of high-end smartphones sold in China had 5G connectivity, while the US, Japan, and Australia indicated a 50% sales threshold for 5G-rated smartphones. The lowest sales percentage came from the top 5 countries in Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, and Spain) with 40%.
The Kantar research also showed a growing preference of consumers to pick offline stores to purchase their smartphones compared to online stores. The use of offline stores is gradually picking up in some markets after the coronavirus pandemic led to the total shutdown of offline outlets’ operations last year. The growing preference could be possibly driven by increased vaccination rates across several countries, which means that public places could be open to the citizens, with safety protocols still being observed. Sales data for Q2 2021 has shown single-digit growth from the first quarter of the year. However, the data also indicated that shoppers in China, Australia, and Japan are still unwilling to return to offline shopping.
Global Android sales surpassed that of iPhones, although Apple continues to maintain its position as a top smartphone brand, while Samsung, Oppo, Sharp, and other brands are making inroads across the markets.
As earlier stated, the research only considered countries with some level of 5G network infrastructure and deployment. There are a lot of countries yet to have any 5G deployment.
Huawei had endured some turbulence for more than a year occasioned by the tough sanctions regime initiated by the US government. However, even though the company had to shed some businesses, it has continued to blossom in other areas. The release today of the Huawei Sound X smart speaker reflects the rapid expansion of the Chinese tech powerhouse. The speaker will be powered by Huawei’s HarmonyOS 2, the brand’s self-developed operating system.The Huawei Sound X has added a lighting design for the first time. The fuselage is surrounded by 48 full-color LED lights in 360 degrees. The light and shadow follow the rhythm of the music. A variety of mixed light and color modes are available for users to choose from.
The Sound X 2021 has four 5W midrange speakers, a 50W subwoofer, a 3W tweeter, and two passive radiators. In contrast, the previous-generation Sound X speaker only packs two woofers and six full-range speakers.
Apart from the upgraded smart lighting effects, the new Sound X features a one-touch sound transmission, sound field modeling, voice interaction, smart sleep assistance, and different interactive lighting effects in different scenarios. The anthropomorphic response greatly enhances the sense of human-computer interaction. For example, when you are talking to a speaker, the speaker will emit four coherent lighting effects of sound source location, breathing listening, smart thinking, and anthropomorphic response to enhance the sense of interaction.
Based on the design inspiration of the tube amplifier, the new generation of Huawei Sound X is designed as a crystal clear gradual translucent body, which forms a strong contrast between the sense of transparency and the shocking sound effect, and brings a more technological and smart audio-visual experience for user interaction.
The new-gen Sound X uses a 360° all-metal sound hole and a 3D surface seamless process with a thickness of only 0.8mm. Compared with the previous generation which fuses a plastic and mesh structure and has a thickness of 2.5mm, the key frequency band is 8-12kHz. The sound pressure level is increased by 3dB.
As Huawei’s first smart speaker equipped with HarmonyOS 2, smartphones, tablets, PCs, and smart screens can automatically be connected to the smart speaker.
Pricing information and global availability details are yet to be released by Huawei.
Huawei today held the P50 flagship launch event where a couple of other products were also unveiled. One such product is the Huawei Smart Screen V 75 Super smart TV. The major highlight of the smart TV is the self-developed MiniLED screen with backlight technology. The screen has a peak brightness of up to 3000nits, and up to 2880 physical backlight partitions.
The Huawei Smart Screen V 75 Super also has a 20-unit audio system jointly designed with Deware to provide users with powerful sound quality. It also provides a better smart home ecological experience as it runs on the latest HarmonyOS 2. This makes the TV Huawei’s first smart TV that runs on the self-developed multi-platform HarmonyOS 2.
At present, Huawei Smart Screen has been launched under three series of X, V, and S. The Smart Screen V 75 Super is the Super version of the second-generation V series product. Compared with Huawei Smart Screen V 75, it has improved design, optimum picture quality, sound quality, and a better operating system.
The MiniLED is a self-developed Honghu SuperMiniLED precision matrix backlight solution. The area of the MiniLED chip used (0.075mm²) is only 1/120 of the area of the traditional LED lamp bead (9mm²). Thus, up to 46080 MiniLED chips can be placed under a 75-inch screen. The massive number of MiniLED chips provides an exaggerated picture performance: 2880 physical partitions, bringing up to tens of millions of contrasts, and supporting HDR peak brightness of up to 3000nit.
Further, Huawei Smart Screen V 75 Super also applies “zero” OD technology, which is all developed by Huawei. The self-developed CSP light mixing structure technology makes the light mixing effect in the lamp panel more uniform. The entire “zero” OD technology provides better partition control fineness and picture contrast, as well as better backlight uniformity.
In addition, the Smart Screen V 75 Super also has various algorithm optimizations such as Clear Light Control PRO+, Quick Clear Smooth Technology, Quick Clear Dynamic Technology, Dynamic Contrast Enhancement PRO, Clear Image Processing Technology, etc. These optimizations comprehensively improve the overall screen performance under different types of videos. The TV also has HDR Vivid and TUV Rheinland low blue light and no flicker certifications.
In addition to screen performance, sound quality performance is also a very important indicator of TV. Huawei’s smart screen V 75 Super is equipped with a 20-unit audio system jointly designed with Deware this time. It has two center channels, each speaker has 1 full-range unit and 1 high-frequency unit; there is a main channel on the left and right, and both are equipped with 2 full-range units and 1 high-frequency unit; surround sound and Sky channel, a total of 4 full-frequency units, providing horizontal and vertical sound field width; finally there is a subwoofer channel composed of 6 sounding units (2 active units, 2 pairs of infinite radiators), which are common Users provide an excellent surround sound experience with full frequency bands.
There is no word yet on the pricing and availability details.
The OPPO Reno6 5G was announced in India alongside the OPPO Reno6 Pro 5G a couple of weeks back. The smartphone was made available for pre-order last week. As scheduled, the handset finally goes on sale in the country starting today.
The newly launched OPPO Reno6 5G is India’s first MediaTek Dimensity 900 smartphone. It features the Reno Glow design as found on the OPPO Reno6 Pro 5G, in addition to flat metal sides like the Apple iPhone 12 series. Other highlights of this device are ‘Bokeh Flare Portrait Video’ feature and 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 fast charging.
The phone is priced at ₹29,990 ($404) in India for the single 8GB + 128GB storage configuration. It can be purchased from Flipkart and other leading offline retailers across the country. The sale offers for the handset remain the same as during the pre-order period. The only exception is the Flipkart SuperCoins deal, which is no longer valid.
Customers ordering the device are eligible for up to ₹3000 cashback on credit/debit card EMI transactions through HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Bank. They can also avail an instant 15% cashback through Paytm, ₹3000 cashback from Bajaj Finserv, and 1 EMI Cashback from IDFC First Bank.
Other launch offers for the phone include zero downpayment schemes, long tenure EMI schemes, up to ₹3000 exchange bonus, Complete Damage Protection for 180 days, and assured payback of 80% when returned within 12 months. All the mentioned offers are valid until July 31.
IP68 and IP69K – waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof
Dedicated underwater camera mode and night mode
Special Glove mode: to use the smartphone with gloves
Battery: 5000mAh with 18W Fast charging
Colors: Black and Grey
Generally retailing for $156, you can now buy UMIDIGI Bison Pro Global Version at a discounted price of $144.99 only at AliExpress. Please note that this world premiere deal ends tomorrow. So place your order asap.
For more information on such exciting deals and offers check out ourdeals hub.
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The Huawei P50 series should have been announced in the first quarter of the year but Huawei’s ongoing troubles forced the company to postpone the launch. Today, the Huawei P50 and Huawei P50 Pro have been finally announced in China and they boast a new design and the impressive photography performance the series is known for.
Huawei P50 series Design
The Huawei P50 duo drops the pill-shaped punch hole from last year’s P40 series for a centered hole that houses a single camera. However, the main change is on the back. Huawei has gone for a unique camera housing style that makes use of double rings to house the sensors. It takes up much more space but this design won’t have you confusing the Huawei P50 and P50 Pro for any other phone.
The P50 Pro is the more premium model of the two with its curved display, special Ripple Blue color variant, eye-catching pink variant, and a collector’s edition that is made of nano-crystalline glass which is stronger and has up to 5 times increased drop resistance.
Huawei P50 Specifications
The Huawei P50 has a 6.5-inch FHD+ (2700 x 1224) flat OLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. It can display up to 1.03 billion colors, has a P3 wide color gamut, 1440Hz high-frequency PWM dimming, and a 300Hz touch sampling rate.
Huawei has adopted Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 processor with a 4G modem. It comes with 8GB of RAM and will be available in 128GB and 256GB storage variants with support for storage expansion via an NM memory card slot.
There are three cameras on the back of the phone – a 50MP f/1.8 RGB camera, a 13MP f/2.2 ultrawide angle camera, and a 12MP f/3.4 telephoto camera with OIS. A 13MP f/2.4 camera sits inside the punch hole in the display.
The Huawei P50 has 5x optical zoom and up to 50x digital zoom. It also has the new generation XD Fusion Pro graphics engine for image enhancements.
There is a 4100mAh battery under the hood along with support for 66W fast wired charging. Sadly, the standard model doesn’t get support for wireless charging. It has an IP68 rating, dual SIM support, stereo speakers, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and an in-display fingerprint sensor. It will run HarmonyOS 2 out of the box.
Huawei P50 Pro Specifications
The Huawei P50 Pro has a 6.6-inch curved OLED display with a 2700 x 1228 resolution. The screen has a 120Hz refresh rate, 1440Hz PWM dimming, and a 300Hz touch sampling rate. It can display up to 1.07 billion colors and has a P3 wide color gamut.
Huawei is offering the P50 Pro in two processor variants – its own Kirin 9000 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888. However, both variants have their modems limited to 4G connectivity, no thanks to a sanction by the U.S. government. The difference in the chipset will translate to a difference in the overall performance of the phone. We are particularly eager to see the camera differences since they have different ISPs.
The Huawei P50 Pro will be available in four configurations:
8GB RAM +128GB
8GB RAM + 256GB
8GB RAM + 512GB
12GB RAM + 512GB
There is support for storage expansion (256GB. max) via Huawei’s proprietary NM memory card slot.
The Huawei P series is known for its camera performance and Huawei goes all out with the P50 Pro. The phone has two primary cameras – a 50MP f/1.8 RGB sensor with OIS and a 40MP f/1.6 Black and White sensor. The phone also has a 13MP f/2.2 ultrawide angle camera and a 64MP f/3.5 telephoto camera with OIS. There is a 13MP f/2.4 front-facing camera too with support for autofocus and AIS anti-shake.
The P50 Pro has 3.5x optical zoom, 20x hybrid zoom, and 100x digital zoom. Huawei says the P50 Pro has an HDR Vivid mode and an XD Fusion Pro graphics engine that optimizes image quality and color reproduction.
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There is a 4360mAh battery under the hood with support for 66W fast wired charging and 50W wireless fast charging. It also has support for reverse wireless charging. Unfortunately, Huawei won’t be bundling the phone with a charger this year. Just like the P50, the pro model also has an IP68 rating. Other features are stereo speakers with a new Histen algorithm, NFC, Bluetooth 5.2, an in-display fingerprint scanner, and HarmonyOS 2 pre-installed.
Price and Availability
Huawei P50 – Available September 2021
8GB RAM + 128GB = ¥4488 (~$695)
8GB RAM + 256GB = ¥4988 (~$772)
Huawei P50 Pro 8GB RAM version – Pre-order begins July 30, available August 12
After a long delay, Chinese tech giant Huawei has finally unveiled its latest flagship smartphone lineup – the HUAWEI P50 series. Unlike other premium handsets in the market, these phones don’t support 5G connectivity. Here’s why they are limited to 4G LTE.
HUAWEI P50
The newly announced HUAWEI P50 series has almost everything you can expect from high-end Android smartphones, except for 5G. The new handsets come from the same company that has been releasing 5G-enabled phones in every price segment since the launch of HUAWEI Mate 20 X 5G in 2019.
So why has the firm limited its latest and greatest phones of 2021 to 4G LTE? Unsurprisingly, it’s due to the four rounds of sanctions imposed by the United States government. This piece of information comes directly from Richard Yu, the CEO of HUAWEI Consumer Business Group. The executive revealed it during the presentation of handsets.
Due to the ban, despite sporting 5G-capable HiSilcon Kirin 9000 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipsets, these phones don’t support 5G connectivity. Mr. Yu says that 4G and WiFi 6+ are enough for most use case scenarios. This statement is ironic for a telecom company like HUAWEI, which has been promoting 5G even before it was commercial.
The HUAWEI P50 series starts at ¥4,488 ($695) in China. The Kirin 9000 variant of the P50 Pro will be available in August, whereas the Snapdragon 888 version will go on sale in December. On the other hand, the vanilla P50 with Snapdragon 888 will hit the shelves in September.
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