Vivo Y53s 5G packing a Snapdragon 480 SoC, 8GB RAM launched for ¥1,699 (~$265)

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Jun 8, 2021

After series of teasers and pre-launch listings, Chinese tech giant Vivo has now launched the Vivo Y53s 5G in China. The Y53s is the latest offering in the highly popular and best-selling Y series. Its major highlight is the 5G connectivity it brings to the affordable smartphone.

Talking of the specifications, the Vivo Y53s 5G is equipped with a 6.58-inch LCD screen with a waterdrop notch at the top which houses the front camera. The display comes with support for a 90Hz refresh rate.

The Y53s 5G is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 processor paired with 8GB of RAM. There is a sole 128GB storage option. The Snapdragon 480 was announced in January this year as the successor of the Snapdragon 460. It is an 8nm octa-core processor equipped with a Kryo 460 CPU and Adreno 619 GPU which bring improvements in efficiency and power management over its predecessor. The Snapdragon X51 5G modem integrated with the chip brings SA and NSA dual-mode 5G support as well as support for sub-6Ghz and mmWave networks.

In terms of the camera setup, the Vivo Y53s features a dual-camera setup at the rear comprised of a 64MP main shooter. At the front, there is an 8MP shooter under the waterdrop notch for selfies. The phone supports face recognition and equally packs a side-mounted fingerprint sensor embedded with the power button.

The phone is kept on by a massive 5000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging over a USB-C port. The phone also arrives with the good old 3.4mm audio jack.

As for the price the Vivo Y53s 5G is priced at 1,699 yuan (~$265). For a premium 5G smartphone with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, this is a decent price. The device is presently up for pre-orders in China via Jingdong (JD.com). It is available in three colors: iridescent, sea salt, and starry night.

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June 2021 Google Pixel Feature Drop brings Astrophotography Videos, Locked Folder, Call Actions on Google Assistant, and more

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Jun 8, 2021

Google is rolling out a new Pixel Feature Drop update for its Pixel range of smartphones. For those unaware, the search giant is known for introducing new features for its phones every three months via Pixel Feature Drop releases. The latest update for June brings some interesting additions.

The June 2021 Pixel Feature Drop update is being seeded out for the following Google Pixel smartphones.

Although the entire Pixel range (except the end of support devices) is receiving the update, some features on not available on certain devices. That said, let’s take a look at these new features one by one.

Astrophotography Videos

As the name suggests, users of Pixel 4 and later devices will be now able to record videos while clicking pictures in astrophotography mode. Users can try waiting longer (longer exposure) to click a shot to get more stars in their video.

Heads-up

This feature is part of the Digital Wellbeing app. It will periodically alert users to look up from their handset’s screen while walking. It was previously only available for a select few users.

Locked Folder

This feature was first announced at Google I/O 2021. It will let users save their select photos and videos in Google Photos to a different called ‘Locked Folder’. These media files are hidden locally on the user’s phone and are protected by biometrics. They don’t show up in any other part of the Google Photos app.

Car Crash Detection

Car Crash Detection is part of the Personal Safety app and is not available on Pixel 3a/3a XL. It automatically alerts emergency services when a car crash is detected. This feature was previously only available in the US, the UK, and Australia, But now, it’s rolling out to users in Spain, Ireland, and Singapore.

Call Screen

Call Screen helps users in avoiding spam calls. This feature is now being rolled out in Japan. It was previously only available in the US and Canada.

Recorder

The Google Recorder app is one of the best recorder applications on any platform. The new update brings support for transcription in more English dialects, namely Singaporean, Australian, Irish and British English.

Pride Wallpapers and Sounds

Since June is Pride month, Google is celebrating by adding new Pride-themed wallpapers and sounds.

Call Actions on Google Assistant

Users of Pixel 4 and above can now ask Google Assistant to accept or reject calls.

Gboard Smart Replies

Gboard can now smartly suggest phone number, email address, and URL in clipboard for replies.

All the above-mentioned new features will be rolled out to eligible Google Pixel smartphones via respective app updates from the Google Play Store in the coming weeks.

Apple is reportedly in talks with China’s BYD to supply batteries for its electric car

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 8, 2021

Inside sources have indicated that US tech powerhouse Apple may be planning on a partnership with Chinese firms CATL and BYD to supply batteries for its planned electric vehicle. The sources say that talks have already begun between the three companies, although it is believed that no concrete agreements have been reached yet. The news further shows that Apple is indeed moving ahead in its plans for an Apple-produced electric vehicle.

Apple will likely settle for lithium iron phosphate batteries, which are cheaper to produce due to their composition. Apple has put in some prerequisites for potential battery supplies for its vehicle. The companies must have manufacturing capacity in the United States, although CATL is yet to have any manufacturing plant in the US. It is a major supplier to some heavy hitters in the industry, including Tesla. Amidst the growing tensions between Washington and Beijing, CATL is reluctant to set up shop in the US, as it fears it may be caught in the political crossfire. In addition, the inside source also indicated that cost considerations might also prevent CATL from manufacturing from the US.

CATL is a global leader in automotive battery production, while BYD is the world’s fourth-largest automotive battery maker. Apple may also discuss with other battery manufacturers before it decides on the preferred supplier of batteries for its EV.

Apple hopes to meet its target date of producing its self-driving passenger vehicle, and the company may also have its designs for a battery for its vehicles. This could mean that a potential partnership with any battery maker is for the possible production of an Apple-designed battery.

The global auto market is fast evolving with a major shift towards electric vehicles even by many traditional automakers. The demand for important components like automotive batteries is fast-growing and current manufacturers like CATL and BYD are expanding their capacity to meet this demand.

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RedMagic 6 series to launch in Indonesia in July 2021

By

Sean

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Jun 8, 2021

The Red Magic 6 series is set to launch in Indonesia next month. The company has just announced that its latest flagship lineup will be available in the region starting in July 2021.

Talking about the upcoming lineup, the Red Magic 6 and 6 Pro will sport a 6.8 inch AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution. The screen also offers a 165Hz high refresh rate as well along with a 500Hz single finger touch sampling rate and a 360Hz multi touch sampling rate. On the front, the display offers a 91.28 percent screen to body ratio and full DCI-P3 color gamut. Under the hood, the series is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset. This is paired with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage.

Other notable features include the 300Hz Dual Pro Shoulder Triggers on both devices alongside the Game Boost Switch button and Game Space 3.01. Both devices will be powered by a large 5,050mAh battery pack that supports 66W fast charging. One of the primary differences between the base and Pro variant is the rear panel design, with the latter featuring an aero grade heat dissipation ice blade design, built with high thermal conductive aviation aluminum alloy materials.

Unfortunately, the company has yet to officially reveal the pricing of both smartphones as of right now. Although, it has been revealed both devices will arrive in a single configuration, namely 12GB of RAM paired with 128GB of storage for the base variant and 16GB of RAM + 256GB storage variant for the Pro version. The former will arrive in a single Elipse Black color, while the latter will be available in a Moon Silver color. The company will launch the devices through offline and online channels.

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Flagship killer Realme GT likely to be priced at €499 ($607) in Europe

By

Sean

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Jun 8, 2021

Earlier today (8th June 2021), a retail listing revealed the pricing of the 12GB variant of the Realme GT. Now, we have received some information regarding the European pricing of the various configurations of the company’s latest flagship killer.

Looking at the spec sheet above, we can observe that the upcoming high-end device from Realme will likely start from 499 Euros (or roughly 607 US Dollars). This is for the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage version. The higher-end 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant will apparently be priced for 549 Euros (roughly 670 US Dollars), which is in line with the listing that had surfaced. On the other hand, the top-end 16GB RAM + 512GB storage variant will reportedly go for 649 Euros (roughly 790 US Dollars).

Notably, the listing also offered us a look at the specs of the European version of Realme GT, which features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC. This would also make the device the cheapest smartphone with the flagship Snapdragon processor in the region. Other notable features include a large 4,500mAh battery pack that supports up to 65W fast charging and a 64-megapixel triple camera module on the rear.

The smartphone maker is expected to officially announce the device in Europe on June 15, so stay tuned for more as we will be covering the launch event.

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Microsoft patents Logo shaped under display camera tech for Surface devices

By

Sean

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Jun 8, 2021

A new patent from Microsoft has revealed a new Surface device that will feature four under display camera sensors, with the company’s logo being displayed when these cameras are not in use thanks to their alignment.

According to a LetsGoDigital report, the American tech giant had opened a vacancy for a ‘Principal Android Camera System Architect / Engineer for Surface Development’ back in October 2021. This is indicative of the company’s aim of improving the camera capabilities of its devices. In the same month, the brand had also filed a patent with the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) regarding this ‘Logo Camera’ design for a Surface device. The four cameras in question will be positioned similar to the logo design with each camera having its own color filter.

These four sensors will be placed under the display of the device and are intended for “mobile computing device, such as a Microsoft Surface device.” Furthermore, the cameras can display a color icon when the sensor is not in use to display the company’s logo on the front. So, the device will display the logo by default and switch to the camera when the shutter is activated. This quad camera module is set up in a 2 x 2 array and will enable Microsoft to make the product slimmer since multiple sensors would be comprised of thinner modules.

The camera will be capable of offering high resolution shots and high pixel density by optimizing each sensor for one particular color. In other words, one sensor will be solely for Blue, while another will be used for Green, Red, and Yellow. Unfortunately, the patent doesn’t reveal what kind of device the logo camera will be housed in, but the Surface lineup includes laptops, 2 in 1 PCs, and even Android tablets. For those interested, LetsGoDigital’s in house designed Giuseppe Spinelli has even offered a number of product renders that feature this unique camera system.

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Oppo applies for OCAR trademark, amid rumors of its car project

By

Sean

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Jun 8, 2021

Oppo has just applied for a new trademark registration for “OCAR”. This application recently surfaced and arrives amid rumors of the company planning on building its own cars.

According to an ITHome report, the Chinese tech giant recently applied for the registration of the “OCAR” trademark, which is classified under a scientific instrument by the international classification, and the current trademark status is awaiting examination. While the trademark application itself doesn’t reveal any information or offer any finer details, we had previously reported on the company apparently aiming at building and launching its own cars in the future.

This would have the company’s CEO and Founder, Tony Chen, apparently leading the project. The company has also been rumored to be investigating resources, hiring talents from within the industry, and has overall been testing the viability of the project. So, this registration for the OCAR trademark might be in some manner related to the brand’s automobile related project.

Keep in mind, this is just speculation as of right now so take it with a pinch of salt. It is also unknown if the company is actually planning on building its own cars or just offer self driving related technologies and other such products. Although, if the news is true, Oppo would join the likes of Huawei, Xiaomi, and other smartphone brands that have recently shown interest in the automobile industry.

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Xiaomi celebrates the opening of over 1000 Mi Stores globally

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 8, 2021

Xiaomi has rolled out the drums to celebrate the opening of over 1000 Xiaomi Stores in the global turf. This is coming despite the challenge posed by COVID 19 on brick and mortar stores and the growing competition in the smartphone market.

For the avoidance of doubt, these stats don’t include Mi Stores in India and China. In September last year, Xiaomi announced the opening of a record 3000th Mi Store in India alone. While in China, it announced in April this year, that 5000 Mi Home stores have been opened so far in its home country.

The opening of 1000 Xiaomi Stores in the global market is a milestone that is a reflection of the brand’s global expansion strategy. This feat took the company five years to achieve, as it opened the first store in Singapore in 2016. A good number of these new stores are located in Western and Central Europe where Xiaomi is pushing to attract Huawei’s customers since the Chinese tech leader has been crippled by the US ban and to expand the brand to new frontiers. The quality of its products as well as their affordability have played well in Xiaomi’s favor.

Xiaomi is also holding a 1000 Xiaomi Store event both offline and online to mark the momentous occasion. The event will see fans of the brand receive exclusive gifts and get discounts on several products. The Chinese brand will kick off the celebrations with a promotional event online as well as offline sales on Xiaomi Stores in the different regions that make up its global market. Some of the exclusive gifts on offer during these events will be branded with the new Xiaomi logo and a “Thank You” inscription in different languages.

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MIUI 13 is coming soon, suggests latest MIUI Cleaner beta

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Jun 8, 2021

Xiaomi unveiled MIUI 12 in late April. It has been over a year, however, the company is yet to announce the next major iteration of its mobile operating system. Instead, the Chinese tech giant has been delivering the MIUI 12.5 incremental update for eligible devices worldwide. But now, it looks like Xiaomi may finally unveil MIUI 13 in the coming days.

On May 26, Xiaomi released a beta version (V21.05.26.beta) of the MIUI Cleaner app (via PiunikaWeb). The changelog for this version of the application is rather strange.

Although the latest version of MIUI is currently MIUI 12.5, the changelog mentions that the company has added support for MIUI 13 floating windows. This clearly suggests that MIUI 13 is indeed in development.

As Xiaomi has now started updating its system apps for MIUI 13 compatibility, there’s a high chance for the next-gen MIUI to go official very soon. A rumor from early May tipped that MIUI 13 could be announced in June. The same report also revealed certain popular older devices which won’t be getting the update.

Even if Xiaomi unveils MIUI 13 by the end of this month, don’t expect your device to be updated right away. As usual, we expect the company to release weekly beta builds, followed by stable builds in China and other regions.

As of now, there’s no information regarding the new features in MIUI 13. Above all, Xiaomi is yet to officially confirm the release of the next major MIUI release.

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Samsung develops OLED ‘skin’ display wearable device with fitness tracking

By

Sean

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Jun 8, 2021

Samsung has just developed a futuristic flexible display technology that can be used as a wearable. This device can act as a fitness tracker, replacing the bulky smartwatches and other smart bands.

According to the company’s official Newsroom, researchers at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) have just developed a stretchable OLED display that users can put on their wrists. This device would offer fitness tracking features to the user. It even features an integrated PPG heart rate sensor, which the South Korean tech giant calls the “stretchable electronic skin form factor.” The SAIT researchers have tested the device by having it attached to the inner wrist near the radial artery.

In the tests, it was found that the movement of the wrists did not deteriorate the display. Furthermore, it was also found that the stretchable display remained reliable with skin elongation of up to 30 percent during the tests. The sensors and the OLED panel were also durable enough to continue working stably even after 1,000 stretches. SAIT researchers managed to “modify the composition and structure of elastomer, a polymer compound with high elasticity and resilience and used existing semiconductor manufacturing processes to apply it to the substrates of stretchable OLED displays and optical blood-flow sensors.”

The smartphone maker claims that this is a first for the industry and added that the patch will feel like a part of the user’s skin. Additionally, it would even measure biometric data while sleeping or exercising. Principal researcher Youngjun Yun added that “The technology can also be expanded to use in wearable healthcare products for adults, children, and infants, as well as patients with certain diseases.” Unfortunately, this futuristic device is still in the early stages of development and the company has yet to announce when it might launch commercially.

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OPPO A16 Geekbench listing reveals Helio G35 and more

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jun 8, 2021

Recent reports have that OPPO is working on an affordable A-series phone called the OPPO A16, which is expected to replace the OPPO A15 from last year. The company could be internally testing the performance of the A16 as it has appeared on the Geekbench benchmarking site.

The OPPO phone with CPH2269 model number has been previously spotted at certification platforms like BIS (India), IMDA (Singapore), EE (Europe), TKDN (Indonesia), SIRIM (Malaysia), NBTC (Thailand), and the FCC (U.S.). Among these, only the FCC listing revealed some of its key specs, whereas some of the other certifications confirmed that it will be launching with the OPPO A16 moniker.

The Geekbench listing (via) of the OPPO A16 revealed that it is powered by the MediaTek Helio G35 chip, which is mentioned as MT6765G. The listing further states that it has 4 GB of RAM, and it boots to Android 11 OS. It scored 177 and 950 points in the single-core and multi-core tests of Geekbench, respectively.

The FCC listing of the phone revealed that the handset could be housing a 4,980mAh rated battery and it will come with ColorOS 11.1 UI. On the connectivity front, it will offer features like 4G, dual-band Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. It is also expected to feature a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.

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Ever improving Smartphone cameras force Nikon to shift its production out of Japan

By

Sean

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Jun 8, 2021

Nikon Corp is set to end the production of camera bodies in Japan by the end of this year, as per officials. The news arrives as the company is seeing a decline in sales caused by the improving capabilities of smartphones in photography.

The camera making giant will be transferring production from its plant in Miyagi Prefecture, which is a part of its new structural reform. Its camera body production will then shift from its sole domestic camera production site to a major factory in Thailand. As per a company official, “The quality level of our products can be sustained even if they are made overseas.”

For those unaware, Nikon has been leading the camera industry since the launch of its first camera back in 1948. But since then, the company has been struggling due to intensifying competition in recent years. Especially with the entry of smartphones that have played a major role in the decline of the digital camera market, with improvements in smartphone camera technology shortening the gap in performance with digital cameras.

The company added that it will maintain employment at the factory by continuing the production of certain camera components and distributing the works to growth sectors such as health care and sensors. Similarly, the camera maker is also planning on shutting down two factories in Yamagata and Fukushima prefectures as well, which are responsible for the processing of removable lens parts for digital cameras.

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Realme GT 5G launch date for Europe confirmed

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jun 8, 2021

The Realme GT 5G, which debuted in China in March is Realme’s first and only flagship phone to feature the Snapdragon 888 chip so far. For the past few days, the company has been teasing the global launch of the phone. Now, it has officially confirmed that the Realme GT 5G will break cover on June 15 at UTC+1 1 PM in Europe.

The global launch of the Realme GT 5G will be live-streamed across Realme’s social channels like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. It was reported earlier today that the Realme GT 5G was found listed accidentally on the company’s official website. The listing revealed that the 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage version of the phone in Racing Yellow color is priced at 549 euros (~$670) in Europe.

While the listing is no longer accessible now, it had mentioned that the Realme GT 5G will be shipping to markets like Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Portugal. Hence, it is not clear which other European countries will be receiving the handset.

Realme GT 5G specifications

The Realme GT 5G has a 6.43-inch AMOLED FHD+ 120Hz screen with an in-display fingerprint sensor. The handset is powered by the Snapdragon 888 chip, LPDDR5 RAM, UFS 3.1 storage, and a 4,500mAh battery that supports 65W charging. It has a 16-megapixel front camera and its rear panel has a 64-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens, and a 2-megapixel macro camera.

The Realme GT 5G is also expected to launch at some point this month in India. In addition, the company is also planning to launch a camera-focused Realme GT series phone in July.

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Here’s the official list of Apple devices eligible for iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, and macOS Monterey

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Jun 8, 2021

Yesterday, Apple kickstarted its annual developer conference called WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) for the year 2021. At the opening keynote, the Cupertino-based tech giant unveiled the latest version of its operating systems, namely iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, and macOS Monterey. Here, in this article, let’s take a look at the list of devices that are eligible for the new update.

iOS 15 Eligible/Supported Devices

The list of supported devices for iOS 15 remains identical to last year. This means the 6-year-old iPhone 6S series and the 5-year-old iPhone SE are also eligible for the update. That said, here’s the entire list of supported iPhones and iPods.

iPhones

iPod Touch

iPod Touch 7th Generation

iPadOS 15 Eligible/Supported Devices

Just like the iPhones, all the iPads that are currently running iPadOS 14 are eligible for iPadOS 15. That means even the 7-year-old iPad Air 2nd Generation will be getting the update. With that being said, take a look at the full list of iPadOS 15 supported iPads.

iPad Pro Series

iPad Air Series

iPad Air 10.9-inch 4th Generation (2020)
iPad Air 10.5-inch 3rd Generation (2019)
iPad Air 9.7-inch 2nd Generation (2014)

iPad Mini Series

iPad Mini 7.9-inch 5th Generation (2019)
iPad Mini 7.9-inch 4th Generation (2015)

Base iPad Series

watchOS 8 Eligible/Supported Devices

Just like iPhones and iPadOS, all the Apple Watches running the current-gen watchOS 7 are eligible for watchOS 8. Hence, the 4-year-old Apple Watch Series 3 will also be receiving the update. Here’s the complete list of Apple Watches that will be updated to watchOS 8.

Apple Watch Series 6
Apple Watch SE
Apple Watch Series 5
Apple Watch Series 4
Apple Watch Series 3

macOS Monterey Eligible/Supported Devices

Unlike iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches, not all Macs running the current-gen macOS Big Sur will be upgraded to macOS Monterey. According to the official announcement, late 2013 MacBook Pro, 2013 MacBook Air, 2014 iMac, and 2015 MacBook are not eligible for the update.

This means only the following Macs will be updated to macOS Monterey.

Mac Pro (Late 2013 and later)
iMac Pro (2017 and later)
iMac (Late 2015 and later)
MacBook Pro (Early 2015 and later)
MacBook Air (Early 2015 and later)
MacBook (Early 2016 and later)
Mac Mini (Late 2014 and later).

The developer beta builds for all the above-mentioned Apple operating systems are already live. The public beta builds will be released in July. Last but not least, although many older devices are eligible for the new update, they may not get all the announced features due to hardware limitations.

RedMagic 6R pre-orders date and pricing confirmed for Europe, US

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jun 8, 2021

The RedMagic 6R debuted last month as an affordable offering as compared to the RedMaagic 6 and RedMagic 6 Pro gaming phones that debuted in March. The company has confirmed that the RedMagic 6R will be available for pre-orders starting from June 24 in Europe and the U.S. It has also confirmed the pricing of the phone for these markets.

The RedMagic 6R will be available in two trims such as 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage in global markets. In the U.S., these variants are priced at $499 and $599, respectively. The 6R will be also available in Canada.

It will be available in the following European regions: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Croatia, Luxembourg, the Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Estonia, Portugal, Finland, Romania, France, Slovakia, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Spain, Sweden, Ireland, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Malta, and the U.K. The 128 GB and 256 GB will be priced at £429 and £519 in the U.K., respectively. Both models will be priced at 499 euros and 599 euros in other European countries, respectively.

RedMagic 6R specifications

The RedMagic 6R houses a 6.67-inch AMOLED FHD+ display that offers a 144Hz refresh rate. The Snapdragon 888 mobile platform powers the device with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. It runs on RedMagic OS 4.0 based on Android 11 OS. For gamers, it features gaming trigger shoulder buttons that offer a 400Hz touch sampling rate

The 4,200mAh battery of RedMagic 6R supports 55W rapid charging and it comes with a 3D cooling heat dissipation system. It has a 16-megapixel front camera, and its rear camera unit has a Sony IMX682 64-megapixel primary camera, a 5-megapixel macro camera, and a 2-megapixel depth assist lens.

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POCO M3 Pro 5G powered by Dimensity 700 SoC goes official in India; pricing starts at ₹13,999

By

Jeet

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Jun 8, 2021

POCO, the sub-brand from Xiaomi seems to be on a roll as the company is actively launching new smartphones. After launching the POCO M3 Pro 5G last month, the brand has today launched the same in India.

The design of this M3 Pro 5G smartphone is similar to the POCO M3 that was launched in November last year. But internally, the device seems very similar to the Redmi Note 10 5G that was launched last month.

It features a 6.5-inch Full HD+ display that offers a 90Hz refresh rate and 91% screen-to-body ratio. POCO says that the phone has DynamicSwitch support for the display that automatically adjusts content to 30Hz, 50Hz, 60Hz, or 90Hz.

Underneath, the device packs MediaTek Dimensity 700 chipset coupled with up to 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.2. internal storage. There’s also a microSD card slot, allowing you to expand the storage capacity up to 1TB.

As for the camera department, you get a 48-megapixel primary sensor in the triple-camera setup, along with a 2-megapixel depth sensor and another 2-megapixel macro lens. Taking care of your selfie and video calling needs is an 8-megapixel snapper upfront.

The phone has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, embedded in the power button. There’s also an IR blaster and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Connectivity options on the device include 5G SA/NSA, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, GPS, and a USB Type-C port.

It runs the Android 11 operating system out-of-the-box with Xiaomi’s MIUI 12 custom user interface on top. The phone is powered by a 5,000mAh battery and supports 18W charging.

Pricing and Availability in India

The POCO M3 Pro 5G comes in three color options in the Indian market — Power Black, Cool Blue, and POCO Yellow. The 4GB RAM + 64GB storage variant is priced at ₹13,999 (~$192) while the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage model costs ₹15,999 (~$220).

The device will be available for purchase through the online marketplace Flipkart from 14th June. As an introductory offer, the company is providing a ₹500 discount for the first sale, bringing down the phone’s cost to ₹13,499 and ₹15,499 respectively.

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Apple will not launch Privacy Relay in China due to local regulations

By

Sean

-

Jun 8, 2021

At WWDC 2021, Apple announced a new privacy feature that would better protect the users’ data when browsing on the internet. However, the Privacy Relay feature will not be available in China, which is a major market for the company.

For those unaware, the Cupertino based giant has just held its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday (7th June 2021) where it revealed “Privacy Relay.” This feature lets one browse the internet through Safari while their data being sent through two separate servers to better hide the users’ identity and prevent tracking of their online activity like which sites they are visiting. In other words, even the iPhone maker or the users’ network provider cannot see that data.

Essentially, this feature is a bit similar in function to a VPN (virtual private network), which is something used quite often in China to get around the Great Firewall in the region that lets the government block various websites from being accessed. But now, an Apple spokesperson told CNBC that the Private Relay feature will not be arriving in users in China. Furthermore, the feature will also skip certain other regions like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Belarus, and even Uganda.

The company stated that the reason it is not launching the feature in the aforementioned countries is due to local laws. At the moment, the use of VPN to access blocked websites in China is illegal. Since the new Privacy Relay feature works in a similar manner, the brand could face trouble with the local authorities. Back in 2017, Apple even removed a number of VPN apps from its App Store to comply with the laws in the region.

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Samsung Display to start supplying foldable OLED panels to Google, Xiaomi and Vivo from October

By

Jeet

-

Jun 8, 2021

Samsung Display, which has been exclusively shipping its foldable OLED panels to Samsung Electronics so far, is now gearing up to supply display panels for foldable smartphones to other brands as the firm is looking to expand its business.

Recently, it was reported that Samsung could start supplying in-fold design OLED panels to Google, Xiaomi, and OPPO among others. Now, a new report coming from Korean media The Elec confirms that foldable OLED screens will be shipped to Google, Xiaomi, and Vivo from October this year.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 Standing Featured — Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2

This means that the foldable smartphones from Google, Xiaomi, and Vivo could get launched by the end of this year, in the fourth quarter. It’s noteworthy that Xiaomi has already launched its first foldable smartphone as Mi MIX Fold.

Google is expected to launch its first foldable display device along with the Pixel 6 series smartphones, likely to be called Pixel Fold. On the other hand, Vivo will also launch its first such smartphone later this year with an 8-inch main screen and 6.5-inch foldable display.

The South Korean company was also said to supply foldable displays to OPPO but that isn’t happening this year, as per the report. It mentions that OPPO’s foldable smartphone, which is likely to have a clamshell folding design, has been pushed back to 2022.

OPPO has showcased a couple of prototypes for foldable phones and for that, the Chinese company collaborated with Samsung Display, BOE, and Visionox. But now, it seems that the Chinese firm is only working with Samsung Display for new phones.

Huawei was also reportedly in talks with Samsung for the foldable display panels but the report adds that the talks have been canceled. Previously, Huawei had used panels from BOE for its foldable smartphones.

Samsung has already launched a few foldable smartphones in the market and is now gearing up to launch two more such phones in the coming months — Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3. Now, it remains to be seen when Apple is jumping this bandwagon, which is likely to give a massive boost to Samsung Display.

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iQOO Z3 5G with 120Hz display, Snapdragon 768G, 64MP triple cameras, 55W charging launched in India

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jun 8, 2021

The iQOO Z3 5G smartphone has launched in India. It is the company’s first Z-series handset as well as the first non-flagship phone to arrive in the country. The handset will be rivaling with 5G phones priced around Rs 20,000 (~$275) in India. Some of the major highlights of the iQOO Z3 5G include a 120Hz display, Snapdragon 768G, 64-megapixel triple cameras, and 55W fast charging.

iQOO Z3 5G specifications and features

The iQOO Z3 5G measures 163.95 x 75.30 x 8.5mm and weigh 185.5 grams. The device features a 6.58-inch IPS LCD panel with a teardrop notch that offers up to 120Hz refresh rate, a 180Hz touch sampling rate, a 20:9 aspect ratio, an FHD+ resolution, HDR10, DCI-P3 color gamut, and a 1500:1 contrast ratio. The power button available on the right edge of the device is integrated with a fingerprint sensor. For security, it also carries support for face unlock.

The iQOO Z3 5G is India’s first phone powered by the Snapdragon 768G, which is an overclocked version of the Snapdragon 765G that powered many upper mid-range 5G phones last year. The phone comes with 8 GB of RAM and 8 GB of Extended (virtual) RAM. It has arrived in India in UFS 2.2 storage options like 128 GB and 256 GB. There is a shared SIM slot for adding a microSD card.

The Z3 5G houses a 4,400mAh battery and it comes with 55W rapid charging like the iQOO 7 Legend 5G and iQOO 7 5G phones. The company claims that the phone can charge from 0 to 50 percent in just 19 minutes. It comes with a 5-layer liquid cooling system that can effectively reduce the core temperature of the device by 10 ℃.

The iQOO Z3 5G has a 16-megapixel camera for shooting selfies. Its rear camera system has a 64-megapixel primary camera with EFB autofocus support, an 8-megapixel superwide lens with a 120-degree FOV, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The rear cameras support photography features like night scene mode, time-lapse, slow-motion video shooting, and up to 60fps 4K recording. The other features available on the iQOO Z3 5G include FunTouch OS 11 UI-based Android 11 OS, dual SIM with 5G support, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS, USB-C, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

iQOO Z3 5G price in India

Here is the pricing of the different variants of the iQOO Z3 5G:

6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage – Rs 19,990 (~$275)
8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage – Rs 20,990 (~$288)
8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage – Rs 22,990 (~$316)
Color variants: Ace Black and Cyber Blue

The iQOO Z3 5G will be available for purchase through iQOO India’s online store and Flipkart starting from June 16. Buyers can take advantage of launch offers such as a Rs 1,500 discount through ICICI Bank credit and debit cards, flat Rs 1,000 off with Amazon coupons, and no-cost EMI up to 9 months.

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Honor 50 series official renders showcase the smartphone’s design

By

Jeet

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Jun 8, 2021

Honor, the company that became independent from Huawei earlier this year, has scheduled a launch event in China on 16th June to announce its flagship smartphone lineup in the form of the Honor 50 series.

The brand is expected to launch the Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro along with the Honor 50SE, Honor X20SE, and Honor Play 20. Now, ahead of the launch, the phones have been listed on JD.com, revealing the design.

Based on the renders surfaced online, the Honor 50 will come with a punch-hole cutout in the center of the screen to house the front-facing camera. On the other hand, the Honor 50 Pro features a pill-shaped cutout in the top-left corner of the screen that is likely to pack two camera sensors.

Recently, Honor shared an official render of the Honor 50 series, showcasing the back panel which confirms that the devices will come in four color options — Black, Green, Pink, and Silver. Along with that, the company also confirmed Chinese actor and model Gong Jun as the brand ambassador for the Honor 50 series in China.

Both the upcoming smartphones, the Honor 50 and the Pro variant will come powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G chipset. The standard model is likely to have a 50-megapixel primary camera and have 66W fast charging while the Pro model will pack a 100-megapixel primary snapper in the quad-camera configuration and come with support for 100W fast charging technology.

Honor is also expected to announce the Honor 50 Pro+ powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset and Honor 50SE but it is not yet confirmed if these phones will be launched at the event on 16th June or at a later date.

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