Samsung and Xiaomi lead EMEA smartphone market in Q1 2021: Report

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Jun 2, 2021

The smartphone market in the EMEA region registered a record growth in the first quarter of this year. Shipments crossed more than 93 million units, with Samsung and Xiaomi leading the handset market.

For those unaware, the EMEA region includes Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. According to an IDC report, the EMEA smartphone market recorded a growth of 20.9 percent year on year in Q1 2021. During this time, the region brought in 31.676 billion US Dollars in smartphone sales, which marked a sizeable growth of 29 percent over the first quarter of last year. In Europe alone, the region saw an increase of almost 33 percent year on year.

The South Korean tech giant led the EMEA smartphone market followed by Xiaomi in the second spot. Samsung accounted for 32.8 percent market share during the first quarter, which marked a 34.7 percent growth year on year with shipments reaching 30.6 million units. On the other hand, the Chinese smartphone maker held a 15.4 percent market share, with shipments reaching 14.4 million units. Notably, Xiaomi even saw a jump in rankings, coming second in 2021, up from the fourth spot from a year prior by beating both Transsion and Apple.

Furthermore, the growth in EMEA arrives despite the region facing new lockdowns over the resurgence of the Coronavirus pandemic. Amid this, Samsung recorded a strong first quarter performance, accounting for nearly two fifths of all European smartphone shipments in this period. This also marked its largest quarterly market share in the last six years.

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Lenovo ThinkBook Plus 2 launched in China, with an E Ink Display and 11th Gen Intel CPU

By

Sean

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Jun 2, 2021

Lenovo has just launched new laptops within its ThinkBook series earlier today (2nd June 2021). In the lineup, the company announced the new ThinkBook 13x, ThinkBook 14p, ThinkBook 16p, and the ThinkBook Plus 2 along with related products as well.

ThinkBook Plus 2

While the ThinkBook lineup has traditionally been aimed towards office work, the series has since expanded to include content creators and others that require extra performance from their notebooks. The ThinkBook Plus 2 is a thin and light laptop that is built for individuals in the creative field. The new notebook features a 12 inch E Ink display panel, which offers a viewing experience close to paper that makes it suitable for long hours of use.

This laptop offers touch and stylus support, and can even be flipped to be used as a tablet as well. The device offers wireless charging support and weighs just 1.16kgs and is only 13.9mm thick. This laptop also features an Intel chip ranging from an i5 to an i7 processor depending on the configuration one chooses, paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. The laptop runs on Windows 10 OS and offers Intel Iris integrated graphics as well.

Pricing and Availability

The Lenovo ThinkBook laptop will be available for purchase in China in the arriving days and will be priced between 8,999 Yuan to 10,999 Yuan (roughly 1410 to 1722 US Dollars) depending on the configuration one opts for.

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Samsung Galaxy S21 Olympic Games Edition launched for ¥112,464 ($1,024)

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Jun 2, 2021

Last year, the Samsung Galaxy S20+ Olympic Games Edition was canceled as the 2020 Summer Olympics Tokyo was postponed to 2021. Hence, the South Korean tech giant announced a Galaxy S21 Olympic Games Edition a couple of weeks back. This special edition smartphone has now officially launched in Japan.

The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics could get postponed once again due to the rising COVID-19 cases in Japan and other parts of the world. However, Samsung is not canceling its Galaxy S21 Olympic Games Edition this time around.

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The limited-edition smartphone to commemorate the games is now up for pre-order in Japan (via SamMobile). The device is sold by NTT DoCoMo for ¥112,464 ($1,024) in the country. It will start shipping to customers as soon as two days from their pre-order.

Talking about features, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Olympic Games Edition has the exact same set of specs as the vanilla Galaxy S21 model. It comes with 256GB internal storage and sports a Phantom Blue paint job with ‘Galaxy’ as well as ‘Olympic Games Worldwide Partner’ logos. This color can be termed as a darker version of Phantom Violet.

Apart from a different color, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Olympic Games Edition also comes with a customized theme, icons, wallpapers, and an AOD clock style designed after the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Last but not least, it ships in a different package but that also does not include a charger.

This is why Samsung is bringing back the Galaxy Note series in 2022

By

Sean

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Jun 2, 2021

Samsung had previously been rumored to discontinue its Galaxy Note series of smartphones. But since the launch of the Galaxy S21 lineup, it was officially revealed that the company will not end its Note series device. Now, we have the reason why the firm is aiming on continuing one of its most popular Android handset lineup.

According to a new tweet from tipster @FrontTron, the South Korean tech giant will be bringing back its Note models due to the lackluster market response to its high end flagship Galaxy S21 Ultra with the S Pen. The sales of this model were lower than what the company had expected. Thus, the brand is reportedly “discussing” launching the Galaxy Note series again next year. Although, this isn’t exactly news as Samsung had already announced its plans to launch new Galaxy Note devices in 2022.

For those unaware, the Galaxy S21 Ultra has failed to meet the expectations of the company’s Note series userbase. While the Galaxy Note devices offer a port to house the S Pen, this basic feature is missing on the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Furthermore, the high end model even lacks Bluetooth support for the S Pen as well. In other words, it doesn’t offer the same gesture based feature that the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra offers.

It will come back. Yes. You heard it right.
They are discussing about it since the S21 Ultra with S-Pen's market response and sales record hasn't met their expectations. https://t.co/ZfgILVfg9I

— Tron ❂ (@FrontTron) May 31, 2021

Unfortunately, if this reasoning is true, Samsung is even rumored to follow a similar design philosophy for its upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 3. This upcoming foldable model may not incluse a built in port for the S Pen either. But, this is still an unconfirmed report so take it with a pinch of salt, and stay tuned for more updates as we will be covering the Unpacked event that is expected to reveal additional details regarding this device.

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Apple iPhone 13 series rumor reveals larger battery capacities

By

Sean

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Jun 2, 2021

A new rumor regarding the Apple iPhone 13 series has just surfaced online and also unveiled the battery capacities of the upcoming lineup. This new rumor has also revealed that the iPhone 13 models will feature larger battery capacities.

The news arrives from a known tipster on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging website. As per this rumor, the upcoming iPhone 13 lineup will be powered by battery capacities that are larger than the previous generation. The social media post claims that the high end iPhone 13 Pro Max will feature a 4352mAh battery, which is a notable jump from the current iPhone 12 Pro Max’s 3687mAh battery.

Similarly, the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro will house an identical 3095mAh battery, which is higher than the 2815mAh battery from the previous generation. The smallest lineup of the model, the iPhone 13 mini, will also feature a larger 2406mAh battery capacity compared to the iPhone 12 mini’s 2227mAh battery pack. Keep in mind, that even if this rumor was true, battery sizes do not paint a clear story regarding smartphone’s battery life.

The Cupertino based giant’s new A15 chipset is likely to also bring improvements in performance along with power efficiency as well. So, the larger batteries paired with a more efficient chipset could noticeably improve battery life throughout the entire iPhone 13 series. Unfortunately, this is still an unconfirmed report so take it with a pinch of salt and stay tuned for more, as we will be providing updates when additional information is available regarding the upcoming smartphones.

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Redmi 9 aka Redmi 9 Prime gets Android 11 update in China

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Jun 2, 2021

The Redmi 9 made its global debut in early June 2020. The budegt smartphone made its way to China later that month. The handset released with MIUI 11 based on Android 10. It was updated to MIUI 12 at the end of September. Now, nearly a year after its launch, the device has started receiving the Android 11 update.

The Redmi 9 was one of the best budget smartphones released last year. This phone is also known as Redmi 9 Prime in India. The POCO M2 is a clone of this handset. The POCO version was so popular that the brand relaunched it recently as POCO M2 Reloaded.

Anyway, despite being well-known, the device is receiving the Android 11 update only now. Currently, the update is live in China with build number V12.0.1.0.RJCCNXM.

Like any other newly released public MIUI build, this one is also in the Stable Beta phase. Hence, it is only avaialble for a select few users. However, it should be rolled out to all the units in China in the coming days.

Similarly, the Redmi 9 (Redmi 9 Prime) Android 11 update should reach other regional variants of this phone as well as the POCO M2 very soon. Last but not least, these smartphones are also eligible for the MIUI 12.5 update.

Realme’s Dizo Star 500 and Star 300 feature phones receive FCC certification

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 2, 2021

Realme recently announced the expansion of its TechLife ecosystem with the addition of a new partnering brand named DIZO. The India-based brand will apparently be promoted as a sub-brand of the Realme brand to leverage its popularity.

Some of the products that would be unveiled under the DIZO sub-brand have now appeared online. The company will delve into the phone market with the planned release of two feature phones. The phones dubbed DIZO Star 500 and Star 300 have now appeared in real skin via their listing at FCC.

The images show that the Star 500 will have a slightly larger screen even though the two models will each have a physical keyboard under the screen. The phone will come with support for 2G connectivity only as well as dual-SIM support. It equally packs a single camera with an LED flash underneath which we believe will also function as a flashlight. The phone will be powered by a 1,830mAH battery. There will also be a microSD slot onboard.

On its part, the DIZO Star 300 packs a bigger 2500mAh removable battery. It also has dual-SIM card slots as well as a single camera and flash at the back. One notable feature is the prominent loudspeaker fused with the camera module at the back. The phone has a microSD slot too.

Recently, two TWS earbuds and a smartwatch that would be released under the DIZO brand were listed by online retailer Shopee Vietnam. The listing shows the products were basically rebadged Realme products. We also expect the brand to release a Bluetooth speaker and a robot vacuum cleaner, going by a previous teaser.

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Xiaomi smartphone shipments grew 1000% in Chile in Q1 2021

By

Jeet

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Jun 2, 2021

Xiaomi, which is now the world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer, continues to grow its footprints. As per a new report from Strategy Analytics, Xiaomi smartphone shipments in Chile grew by over 1000 percent.

The report adds that shipments of Xiaomi from near-zero in Q1 2020 to a record 0.5 million units during Q1 2021. The company surged from 2 percent to 16 percent market share during the past year.

Xiaomi Logo

The rise is mostly due to the strong presence of the Redmi smartphone models, which helped Xiaomi secure third place in the Chile smartphone market share. Also the pullout of Huawei helped Xiaomi grow in the market.

The report adds that if Xiaomi’s growth continues, then the brand will soon become the second-largest smartphone brand in Chile before the end of this year, overtaking the Lenovo-Motorola brand.

Smartphone shipments in Chile jumped 71 percent Year-on-Year from 1.7 million units during Q1 2020 to a record 2.9 million in Q1 2021, despite COVID-19 and political uncertainty. This is being attributed to a buoyant economy, strong exports, and a perceived high vaccination rate. Chile is the third-largest smartphone market in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico.

Samsung’s market share in Chile grew 63 percent YoY from 0.8 million in Q1 2020 to 1.2 million units in Q1 2021. Samsung’s smartphone market share in Chile remains relatively stable for now, around 42 percent. Lenovo-Motorola holds second place and grew its smartphone market share from 12 percent during Q1 2020 to 17 percent in Q1 2021.

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TSMC to start 4nm trial production ahead of schedule, 5nm US chip factory begins construction

By

Sean

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Jun 2, 2021

TSMC has recently announced that it is expecting to start the trial production for its 4nm process ahead of schedule. This news also arrives as the firm begins construction of a new 5nm process based chip factory in the US.

According to an iFeng report, the world’s largest contract chipmaker will be starting the trial production for the 4nm process in the third quarter of this year. In other words, the company will be beginning the trial production one quarter earlier than what was previously planned. Meanwhile, the 3nm process will be completed in the year 2022, as per schedule, with mass production starting within half a year.

In a recent tech forum, TSMC announced the latest technological developments in advanced logic technology, specialty technologies, and the additions of its 3DFabric advanced packaging and chip stacking technologies as well. Furthermore, the firm is also projected to lead the industry in mass production of 5nm technology in 2020, while its yield rate is said to increase faster than 7nm technology. The company’s CEO further added that 3nm process development is progressing as planned, with mass production to start from Fab 18 wafers in the second half of 2022.

Interestingly, the company also announced new technologies like the N5A for automotive applications, N6RF for next-generation 5G smartphones and WiFi 6/6e performance, and enhancements across the range of 3DFabric technologies. For those interested, you can read more about these technologies by following this link here.

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OnePlus 9T display specs tipped months ahead of launch

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Jun 2, 2021

OnePlus just launched the OnePlus 9 series consisting of the OnePlus 9, the OnePlus 9 Pro, and the OnePlus 9R. However, details about the OnePlus 9T have already started appearing months ahead of its release.

OnePlus 9 Pro featured 13 — OnePlus 9 Pro

OnePlus is known for launching two flagship smartphone series every year. The number lineup goes official in the first half of the year, followed by the T series in the second half.

Usually, the OnePlus T series smartphones are termed value for money (VFM) devices. Looks like the trend will continue this year as well.

According to a tipster called 搞机阿森 on Weibo (via @techdroider), the upcoming OnePlus 9T will sport an LTPO Samsung E4 flexible AMOLED display with a resolution of FHD+ and 120Hz variable refresh rate (VRR). In other words, the panel on this phone will be able to refresh as low as 1Hz like the screen on the OnePlus 9 Pro, the Galaxy S21 Ultra, and the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Further, the leaker says that there won’t be a OnePlus 9T Pro this year. Hence, the OnePlus 9 Pro should continue as the brand’s main flagship smartphone until the release of the OnePlus 10 Pro or whatever it will be called.

Unfortunately, there’s no more information on the OnePlus 9T. But we expect to learn more about this handset before its official launch later this year.

OnePlus 9 Pro Flash Silver Edition to go on sale in China on June 9

By

Jeet

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Jun 2, 2021

OnePlus has launched the flagship OnePlus 9 series smartphones and today, the company has officially announced that a new variant of the device — OnePlus 9 Pro Flash Silver Limited Gift Edition will be on sale on 9th June.

The device is priced at 5,499 yuan which roughly converts to $861 and the brand will be selling on 1,500 units of the device. The sale will being at 10:00 AM local time in China.

The OnePlus 9 Pro empty mountain-based flash silver gift edition comes packed with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The package also includes a limited-edition T-shirt and a mobile phone case, both following the phone’s design language.

The specifications on the device remain the same as the standard OnePlus 9 Pro, featuring a 6.7-inch QHD+ LTPO AMOLED display with a 3216 X 1440 pixel screen resolution and 525PPI pixel density. It offers a 120Hz refresh rate panel, that is covered under Corning Gorilla Glass protection.

Under the hood, the device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset which is built on the 5nm process and has Adreno 660 GPU. As for the camera, there’s a quad-rear camera setup with Hasselblad branding.

The primary sensor on the handset is a 48MP Sony IMX789 sensor, coupled with a 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor. While the other two lenses include an 8MP telephoto sensor and a 2MP monochrome sensor. On the front, there’s a 16MP Sony IMX471 sensor for selfies.

Features on the device include a dual stereo speaker setup, a Type-C charging port, and an optical in-display fingerprint sensor. The smartphone runs Android 11-based OxygenOS 11 and is powered by a 4,500mAh battery that supports 65W Warp Charge 65T. It also supports 50W wireless charging.

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Qualcomm “Snapdragon” branded gaming smartphone from ASUS spotted on TENAA

By

Sean

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Jun 2, 2021

A mysterious new gaming smartphone from ASUS has just surfaced online. This new device is unique from the company’s own ROG gaming series, as it sports the Qualcomm “Snapdragon” branding on the rear.

The gaming smartphone was spotted on TENAA, the Chinese certification site, which revealed the images of the device along with certain key specifications and details as well. Looking at these images, the design of the handset is in clear view. On the rear, the bottom sports the ASUS logo while the middle sports the Snapdragon branding. Just above this is the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and a horizontally configured rear camera module as well.

The device carries the model number ASUS_I007D, which also matches the device codenamed VODKA that was recently spotted in the kernel source code of the ROG Phone 5. In other words, this device might be the rumored Qualcomm branded gaming smartphone. Furthermore, the TENNA listing also reveals certain key information regarding the device. It will sport a 6.78 inch OLED display and will house the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor.

Under the hood, a 3840mAh battery will power the device while its rear cameras will include 64 megapixel and 12-megapixel sensors. This device will also run Android 11 OS and will offer 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage as well. Unfortunately, this is all the information that is available as of right now, so stay tuned for more as we will be providing updates when additional news surfaces regarding this device.

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Samsung’s premium Soundbars HW-Q950A and HW-Q900A unveiled in Korea

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 2, 2021

Samsung Electronics is a global leader in the soundbar segment of the home appliances market. According to global market research firm Future Source, Samsung had accounted for almost a quarter of global sales for seven consecutive years. In its domestic market of South Korea, Samsung’s soundbars heavily dominate that segment of the market, and this is set to continue with a new set of soundbar offerings.

In what looks like its flagship offering so far in 2021, Samsung has unveiled two new high-end soundbar models for its domestic market. The two models are the HW-Q950A and the HW-Q900A, both from the Q series of 2021. They both are expected to go on sale in the last week of June 2021.

Both the Samsung Soundbar HW-Q950A and the HW-Q900A offer a superior sound output with a clutch of additional features and functionality and several stunning and vivid sound effects. The improved SpaceFit Sound+ feature with an Auto Equalizer provides a richer sound experience for users.

The Q-Symphony function enables a seamless synergy between the TV and the soundbar so that there is no lag in the audio output from the device. At the same time, the TV’s internal sound output also can be maintained. With the incorporation of the Q-Symphony function to a broader array of TVs, consumers who purchase even the products on the lower end are guaranteed to enjoy high-level three-dimensional surround sound. Both devices could make their entry into the global market soon.

Samsung Soundbars HW-Q950A will retail for 1.89 million won (about $1,700) in Korea while the HW-Q900A model is priced at 1.39 million won (about $1,250). The company is yet to release the launch itinerary for the global market.

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AMD, MediaTek, and Qualcomm drove up demand for TSMC’s 7nm process in Q1 2021

By

Sean

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Jun 2, 2021

Despite the world suffering from a global shortage of semiconductors, the demand for various end devices has seen a sizeable surge in recent times. This has caused various tech giants to increase their component procurement efforts, which has led to foundries seeing record high revenues, with TSMC seeing a steady rise in revenue thanks to high demand for its 7nm process from AMD, Qualcomm, and MediaTek.

According to a TrendForce report (via BusinessWire), the top 10 foundries across the globe registered record high revenue in the first quarter of this year. This was enabled by the price hike for semiconductors since foundries are facing tight production capacities for semiconductors at the moment. These top 10 foundries accounted for 22.75 billion US Dollars in revenue in Q1 2021, with TSMC taking the lead.

The world’s largest contract chipmaker alone recorded 12.9 billion US Dollars in revenue in the first quarter alone. This was enabled due to high demand for its 7nm, 12nm, and even 16nm process node. Fabless chipmakers like AMD, Qualcomm, and MediaTek were a major part of the record high revenue as their orders remained consistent despite the price hike. TSMC saw a 23 percent rise quarter on quarter in revenue from the 7nm process in Q1 2021.

This is indicative of the high demand for chips built on the advanced processes as well. But due to the foundry capacity shortages that are expected to continue through the second quarter of this year, the prices of wafers will continue to rise. In other words, the revenue of top foundries is expected to continue to rise. Meanwhile, various governments and chipmakers are looking to invest in expanding chip production sites across the globe to help alleviate the semiconductor shortage issue.

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Here’s your first look at the realme GT 5G global variant

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Jun 2, 2021

Chinese handset maker realme launched the realme GT 5G as its flagship smartphone for the first half of 2021. As of now, the device is only available in China. However, the brand recently confirmed to debut this phone in Europe in June. Ahead of the handset’s official release outside mainland China, here’s your first look at the realme GT 5G European/global variant.

We have got access to a couple of images of the realme GT 5G European/global variant. This version of the smartphone has the exact same set of specs as the Chinese model.

The only difference is that the model, which will be sold in Europe has a CE (Conformité Européenne) marking, a WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling) label, and the manufacturer’s address on its back. As a result, the phone loses its clean rear finish.

The realme GT 5G with model number RMX2202 will be priced competitively in Europe. The device’s price is said to be close to the Chinese retail price. In other words, this handset will go official as a flagship killer.

According to a recent leak, the smartphone will cost around €400 and €450 for the 8GB + 128GB and the 12GB + 256GB variants respectively. It will be available in Blue (glass back) and Yellow (vegan leather) color options.

Unfortunately, there’s no information on the price of the 512GB variant, which is shown in the live pictures.

Samsung’s latest Bespoke Shoe Dresser can deodorize, dry and sterilize shoes

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 2, 2021

Samsung is taking its customers’ interest and hygienic wellbeing to another level with the recent unveiling, a few days back, of its Bespoke Shoe Dresser. The shoe management device, which is already available in South Korea, helps to keep shoes in perfect conditions through desiccation, deodorization, and even sterilization.

The shoe management device is the culmination of a recent survey carried out by the company among its customers on their biggest concerns in managing their footwear. The bulk of respondents to the survey stated that deodorization was their biggest concern. Samsung then went further to conceptualize, design, and produce a device to meet the desire of its customers in relation to shoe management.

With Samsung’s Bespoke Shoe Dresser in your room, you can easily get your shoes conveniently mounted using the Jet Shoe Tree device. The air wash mechanism ensures that every part of the shoe is reached and made odorless with the additional input of ultraviolet rays via the UV Odor Decomposition Filter.

The combination of features in the Bespoke Shoe Dresser helps the user get his shoes kept in excellent condition. The Xenon UVC lamp can remove all harmful viruses and bacteria from the shoe at a remarkable 99.9%. This keeps your shoes sterilized and free from harmful components.

The Bespoke Shoe Dresser and each unit cost 999,000 won – 1,099,000 won (around $900 – $990 USD) in Korea and are available in four color variants – cotta white, cotta charcoal, glam greenery, and glam sun yellow. The device comes with Samsung’s Lifetime Warranty Service for the critical parts of the device that may become faulty while in use. We would expect an extension of the Samsung Bespoke Shoe Dresser to Samsung’s overseas market after all Samsung recently unveiled the Bespoke brand for the global market.

Samsung’s executive director in the Home Appliances Division, Yang Hye-soon, commenting on the launch of the innovative Bespoke Shoe Dresser, said that the company introduced the product to alleviate consumer concerns about everyday shoes. He says the device can manage shoes hygienically.

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Foldable Google Pixel smartphone to feature an ultra-thin glass cover window

By

Jeet

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Jun 2, 2021

Samsung has been a leader in the foldable smartphone category having launched a few devices with the new form factor. Several other manufacturers are entering the category and one of them is Google with its new foldable Pixel smartphone.

Now, a new report coming from Korea claims that Samsung will be supplying its ultra-thin glass (UTG) to Google. So far, Samsung Display is supplying Ultra-Thin Glass exclusively to Samsung Electronics.

Google Pixel Foldable Smartphone Render — Image Credit: MacRumors

It is believed that the South Korean company decided to sell UTG to other companies as it plans to expand its foldable display business. Along with Google, the company could start shipping UTG to other companies in the second half of this year.

Ultra-Thin Glass was announced by Samsung in February last year and is manufactured using an intensifying process to achieve enhanced flexibility and durability compared to traditional polyimide cover window.

For those who are unaware, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip was the first phone to use the Ultra-Thin Glass as the cover window for its inner screen. The recently launched Galaxy Z Fold 2 also uses UTG.

As for the foldable Google Pixel smartphone, there’s no information about the phone’s design or features. But it is claimed that the device will be using Samsung Display’s foldable OLED panel. While the launch date is not known, it is believed that the phone will be unveiled at a hardware event in the fall along with Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.

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Realme C21Y bags NBTC and TUV certifications

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jun 2, 2021

A new Realme phone with RMX3261 model number has received certifications from Thailand’s National Broadcasting Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and TUV Rheinland (via). These certifications have revealed that this phone will be heading to Thailand and some markets with the Realme C21Y.

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Apart from revealing support for LTE connectivity, the NBTC listing of the Realme C21Y has no information on its other specs. Last week, the handset was spotted with a few key specs and schematics at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The Realme C21Y’s FCC certification revealed that it features a waterdrop notch display and its rear shell has a square-shaped camera module. The camera unit of the phone features three cameras and an LED flash.

A fingerprint scanner is also available on the backside of the Realme C21Y. The right edge of the device features a volume rocker and a power button. A SIM card compartment with a dedicated microSD card slot and a pair of nano-SIM cards can be found on the left edge of the device.

The Realme C21Y has 173.9 x 75.96mm dimensions and it is backed by a 4,880mAh rated battery. The FCC listing revealed some other specs such as Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, and Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11 OS. With multiple certifications in tow, it appears that the Realme C21Y may go official in the next few days.

In related news, the Realme C25s smartphone, which recently went official in Malaysia, may launch in India this month. It may arrive in variants like 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 4 GB RAM + 128 GB storage. It is likely to sell in color options like Water Blue and Water Grey.

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iQOO Z3 5G confirmed to arrive with 55W charging in India

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jun 2, 2021

iQOO will be announcing the iQOO Z3 5G in India at 12 PM on June 8. Before the launch, the company has been gradually revealing the key features of the smartphone. It has now confirmed that the iQOO Z3 5G will carry support for 55W fast charging.

Yesterday, iQOO India Country Director Gagan Arora had revealed that the Snapdragon 768G powered Z3 5G will ship with FunTouchOS, 8 GB of RAM, and 55W fast charge support. The microsite of the phone available at Amazon India mentions that the 55W fast charging will allow it to gain 50 percent battery juice in just 19 minutes.

iQOO is yet to confirm the battery size of the iQOO Z3 5G. It appears that it could be arriving with a 4,400mAh battery like its Chinese variant, which debuted in March in China. Probably, it can fully charge the phone in under 50 minutes.

The iQOO 7 and iQOO 7 Legend flagship phones that went official in India in April came with support for 55W rapid charging. Hence, it is good to see that iQOO will be also offering flagship-grade charging capabilities on the iQOO Z3 5G.

The iQOO Z3 5G is expected to cost under Rs 25,000 (~$341) in India. The smartphone is expected to offer features like an FHD+ display of 6.58 inches, a 120Hz refresh rate, 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB / 256 GB of native storage, a shared SIM slot for microSD card, a 16-megapixel front camera, a 64-megapixel (main) + 8-megapixel (ultrawide) + 2-megapixel (macro) triple camera unit, and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.

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Huawei Watch 3, Watch 3 Pro specifications and renders leaked hours before the launch

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jun 2, 2021

Huawei will be announcing its first devices running on HarmonyOS 2.0 today in China. The launch event that will begin at 8 PM (local time) today will see the arrival of new products like MatePad tablets and the Huawei Watch 3. The live images of the smartwatch had appeared last week. Now, Twitter user Snoopy and reliable tipster Evan Blass has shared the leaked press renders of the Watch 3 and Watch 3 Pro.

Huawei Watch 3 leaked renders and specifications

The leaked renders show that the Huawei Watch 3 will be available in black and class brown leather strap options. The moniker of the device suggests that it will be arriving as a successor to the Watch 2 that debuted back in 2017. Like the older model, the Watch 3 can be seen flaunting a round-shaped dial. Blass claimed that the model that features a numbered dial will debut as the Huawei Watch 3 Pro.

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Leaked renders by Twitter/_snoopytech_

It is speculated that the Watch 3 features a 1.43-inch AMOLED screen that delivers a resolution of 466 x 466 pixels and a 326ppi pixel density. The right edge of the smartwatch features a round-shaped knob and a flat button. One of the leaked renders shows that owners of the Watch 3 will be able to use it as a standalone device to make voice calls.

The LTE-enabled Hi6262 chipset powers the Watch 3 along with HarmonyOS. Leaked information that appeared last month revealed that it will carry support for third-party apps. The wearable device will offer users 2 GB of RAM and a native storage of 16 GB. On the connectivity front, it will carry support e-SIM, LTE, Wi-Fi, and GPS. Lastly, it weighs 54 grams.

Huawei Watch 3 renders by Evan Blass

The text mentioned on the backside of the Watch 3 states it is a 46mm device with a stainless-steel chassis. It also mentions that the smartwatch will offer 5ATM water resistance. At present, there is no word on the pricing of the device.

It is unclear how the Watch 3 Pro differs from the Watch 3 in terms of specifications.

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