Skullcandy Dime TWS launched in India with ₹2,249 price tag and 12-hour battery life

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Apr 1, 2021

Just last week, Skullcandy launched the Indy ANC truly wireless earphones in India. And now, the American audio brand has released another TWS in the country called Skullcandy Dime. Unlike the last one, this one’s an affordable model targeted at first-time earbuds buyers.

Skullcandy Dime Specifications and Features

The newly launched Skullcandy Dime TWS features a unique design. These earbuds along with their case are shorter than a regular car key fob. The case measures only 2.45-inch long and 1.53-inch wide. As far as colors are concerned, buyers can pick them up in either True Black, Dark Blue/Green, or Chill Grey.

Talking about tech specs, these earbuds sport 6mm drivers and connect with devices via Bluetooth 5.0. Each earbud can be used separately for both listening to music and calls. Also, they have a physical button on each for volume control, changing tracks, and accepting/declining calls.

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The only major con of this TWS is its battery life. Because Skullcandy only claims 3.5 hours on a single charge (20mAh battery in each bud) and an additional 8.5 hours from the charging case (150mAh battery) that charges via MicroUSB and has a lanyard. Hence, as per the company, users can only get up to 12-hour battery life.

Last but not least, the buds are IPX4 water-resistant and ship with S, M, and L-shaped ear tips and a MicroUSB cable.

Skullcandy Dime Price and Availability

The Skullcandy Dime truly wireless earphones are priced at ₹2,249 ($31) in India. The earbuds are already up for pre-order on the brand’s official website. They will start shipping from April 4.

OPPO A74 4G spotted at Geekbench, Likely to debut as rebranded OPPO F19

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Apr 1, 2021

Recent reports have revealed that OPPO is working on 4G and 5G editions of the OPPO A74 smartphone. Its 5G edition was seen at Geekbench in the previous week. Now the 4G version of the phone has surfaced in the database of the Geekbench benchmarking site.

According to My Smart Price, the OPPO A74 4G with model number CPH2219 was recently spotted at the Google Play Console. Now the same handset has appeared at the Geekbench benchmarking site to corroborate some of its key specs.

The Geekbench listing has revealed that the OPPO A74 4G is powered by a ‘bengal’ codenamed Qualcomm chipset that offers a base frequency of 1.80GHz. Details like the maximum clocking speeds of 2.02GHz and Adeno 610 graphics that can be found in the source code of the listing confirms that it is powered by the Snapdragon 662 chipset. The listing further reveals that it has 6 GB of RAM and Android 11 OS.

The OPPO F19 smartphone is slated to go official in India on April 6. However, it is already listed on OPPO Nepal’s site with full specifications. The listing also mentions OPPO F19’s model number as CPH2219. Hence, it appears that the OPPO F19 and OPPO A74 4G are one and the same phones for different markets.

The OPPO A74 4G is expected to arrive with other specs like a 16-megapixel front camera, a 48-megapixel + 2-megapixel + 2-megapixel triple camera system, a 6.43-inch FHD+ OLED panel with a punch-hole design, 128 GB of UFS 2.0 storage, and a 5,000mAh battery. The A74 4G is expected to arrive in two colors like Prism Black and Midnight Blue.

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Sony confirms new Xperia product launch on April 14, Xperia 1 III and 10 III expected

By

Balaji S

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Apr 1, 2021

Sony has finally come up with an announcement about its new Xperia product launch. The Japanese giant is hosting a launch event on April 14 and Xperia 1 III, 10 III are some of the expected ones.

Sony Mobile, via a Facebook post, confirmed that the event will start from 16:30 JST /09:30 AM CEST /13:00 IST/3:30 PM Beijing Time on April 14, 2021. Considering the situation, it’s most likely a virtual event and be streamed across its social media channels.

Sony hasn’t given any other hints about the stars of the show but a Weibo tipster @ZACKBUKS says that we can expect the Xperia 1 III, Xperia 10 III at the event. However, the Sony Xperia 5 III should launch sometime towards the end of the year.

Talking about the Xperia 1 III and 10 III, both aren’t new to us. The CAD Renders of both the devices have given us an idea of what to expect in the 2021 iteration. Among these, the Sony Xperia 1 III design leak reveals a similar design to the predecessor.

It is said to have a 6.5-inch 4K CinemaWide 4K HDR OLED display with thin bezels and chin. As for design, it is expected to have a metal frame on the edges and a glass panel on the rear. In terms of camera, the Xperia 1 III is said to get the ZEISS with a ZEISS T coating.

As for the lenses on the triple-camera, Sony is said to include a Periscope lens, 3D iTOF sensor. The Xperia 10, III, on the other hand, would be a mid-range 5G smartphone. Back in November 2020, a report said that Sony canceled the Xperia 10 II Plus and is going forward with including 5G on all Xperia devices in the future.

Sony Xperia 1 III (Left), 10 III(Right)

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Accordingly, the Xperia 10 III that has appeared on Geekbench listings seems to have the Snapdragon 690 5G chipset. The CAD renders of the device suggest that it could have a 6-inch screen, measure 8.4mm in thickness, triple-camera with 12MP main lens, 8MP selfie shooter.

Let’s wait and see how Sony prices these devices in the respective markets where it launches.

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Get Xiaomi Multi-Coil Wireless Charging pad for $129 at Giztop.

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Daily Deals

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Apr 1, 2021

Attention all Xiaomi fans! The official Xiaomi Multi-coil wireless charging pad is now available at Giztop for $129 only.

WHERE TO BUY

Xiaomi Multi-coil wireless charging pad at $129 @Giztop

Xiaomi multi-coil wireless charging pad supports simultaneous charging of 3 different devices. The charging pad features a minimalistic white design and comes with 19 in-built charging coils. A single device can be charged up to 20W max speed. Thus 3 devices charging simultaneously bring the total power rating of the Mi Wireless Charging Pad to 60W.

Xiaomi wireless charging pad comes with multiple safety features like overvoltage protection, overcurrent protection, overtemperature protection, under-voltage protection, foreign object detection, electrostatic protection, etc.

Made with high-quality aluminum alloy, silicone, and PC this charging pad is compatible with almost all devices that support wireless charging. Xiaomi Multi-coil wireless charging pad is now available for all our global customers at Giztop for $129 only. So get your charging pad asap.

For more information on such exciting deals and offers check out our deals hub.

* Please Note: When you buy something using the links in our articles, we may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Deal: Get Cubot C30 for $154.99 (Original Price $200)

By

Daily Deals

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Apr 1, 2021

AliExpress Anniversary Sale 2021 is now live. One of the biggest online sales of 2021, here you can find smartphones and other gadgets at never-before-seen prices. The 11th Anniversary Sale starts on 29 March 2021 and ends on 2 April 2021.

Cubot C30 which generally retails at $200 is now available at a discounted price of $154.99 only on AliExpress 11th Anniversary Sale.

WHERE TO BUY

Cubot C30 at $154.99 (after discount)@AliExpress

Cubot C30 is powered by a MediaTek Helio P60 Octa-core processor and comes in two memory variants viz: 8GB + 128GB and 8GB + 256GB. The 6.4” full view screen smartphone is fueled by a 4200mAh battery and comes with a quad AI camera setup with a 48MP main camera and 6MP+5MP +0.3MP secondary cameras. It features a 32MP high-resolution AI selfie camera and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

Generally retailing at $200 Cubot C30 is available for just $154.99 at AliExpress 11th Anniversary Sale. Please note that this super deal is only valid till tomorrow i.e 2 April 2021. So go get your Cubot C30 asap before the deal expires.

Please note that the above-mentioned price is for the base variant. The final price may vary depending upon the variant and shipping warehouse.

For the best deals from the 2021 Aliexpress Anniversary Sale click here.

For more information on such exciting deals and offers check out our deals hub.

* Please Note: When you buy something using the links in our articles, we may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Meizu trolls other Android skins with ads and bloatware in its April Fool’s day prank

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Apr 1, 2021

In early March, Meizu launched its 2021 flagship smartphones – Meizu 18 and Meizu 18 Pro. Apart from new hardware, these devices also come with the new version of the company’s mobile software – Flyme 9 based on Android 11. Today, as part of its April Fool’s day prank, Meizu trolled competitors by implying the strong points of the latest version of its Android skin.

These days, phones from all OEMs have identical hardware. They only differ in terms of their design and software. Each Android handset maker has its own UI to differentiate itself from the competition. In fact, software plays a key role in purchase decisions.

But unfortunately, despite improving their UIs, some companies have been lately ruining the UX (user experience) by introducing ads, bloatware, push notifications, and whatnot. The most popular OEMs known for this are Xiaomi (MIUI) and Samsung (One UI).

Taking a dig at such companies, Meizu posted an April Fool’s day prank on Weibo. In this post, the Chinese smartphone maker trolled companies with ads in their UI by announcing a new version of its latest flagship phones called Meizu 18 Ad Edition and Meizu 18 Pro Ad Edition respectively.

The company goes on to say that this new variant of the Meizu 18 series will prompt users throughout the day by pushing notifications. Further, it will ship with 999 apps pre-installed.

The last and best feature of the new Meizu 18 series is that the full-page ad on these phones can be closed after 999 seconds. The company claims that this can help youngsters who are addicted to smartphones.

One might be wondering why Meizu is focussing on these three points specifically. Because with Flyme 9, the company has cut down ads, push notifications, and pre-installed applications to offer a ‘pure OS experience’.

That said, if you are interested in the Meizu 18 series, you can now buy it from the company’s official global store on AliExpress.

Apple to unveil its AR/VR headset in ‘next several months’: Report

By

Sean

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Apr 1, 2021

The long rumored Apple AR/VR Headset is apparently arriving within the “next several months.” The news arrives from a new report that believes that the company might not announce the new product at its online WWDC 2021 in June.

According to an Bloomberg report, the Cupertino based giant is planning on launching a mixed reality headset sometime within the next several months. Although, the report further added that the iPhone maker would likely not want to make the announcement for a new range of product at an online event and that it would want to its employees, the media, its partners, and the developers to be present in the room.

Furthermore, the report also says that the WWDC 2021 event will be the company’s last event in the digital format as it would return to in person media event by early next year. Bloomberg believes that the company ‘makes hardware’ and it wants attendees, along with its employees as well, to bring back the in person use, test, and development of these products. Earlier this week, Apple had announced that it would host its WWDC 2021 event online and on June 11.

During this event, the consumer electronics maker will be talking about the future of softwares like iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. For those unaware, Apple has been rumored to be working on an AR/VR headset, which is said to be a lightweight device that costs anywhere between 1,000 to 3,000 US Dollars. Unfortunately, while various patents have surfaced online, there are no finer details and specifications known at the moment. So stay tuned.

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Realme RMX3142 TENAA listing reveals images, key specifications

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Apr 1, 2021

Earlier this week, Realme announced the Realme GT Neo and Realme V13 5Gv in China. A new mid-range phone with RMX3142 model number and 5G capabilities has received approval from the TENAA telecom authority of China. While the TENAA appearance has revealed its specifications and images, its final marketing name is under wraps.

The RMX3142 Realme phone does not feature a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner or a side-facing fingerprint sensor. Hence, it appears that it could be arriving with an OLED panel and in-display fingerprint reader. The listing reveals that is equipped with a 6.43-inch screen that has a selfie camera cutout at the upper-left corner.

The buttons for controlling volume can be seen on the left spine of the Realme RMX3142. A power button is available on its right edge. The top-left corner of the phone’s back has a rectangle-shaped camera housing. It has a triple camera system and an LED flash.

The Realme RMX3142 is preloaded with Android 11 OS. The device is packed with a 4,400mAh rated battery, which indicates that its typical value could be 4,500mAh. The handset has not received 3C certification yet. Hence, there is no word on the supported charging speeds of the RMX3142. Lastly, it measures 159.1 x 73.4 x 8.1mm.

Since the Realme RMX3142 has received TENAA’s approval, the handset may debut later this month. Hopefully, newer reports will reveal more information on the device in the coming days.

In related news, Realme has confirmed that it will be launching C-series smartphones such as Realme C20, Realme C21, and Realme C25 in India on April 8. The key features of these phones have already been through their landing pages on the Flipkart retailer site.

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Lenovo YOGA Tab 13 gets the FCC certification, could launch soon

By

Balaji S

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Apr 1, 2021

Early in March, we saw that Lenovo is working on a premium tablet under the Yoga lineup and could launch one soon nearly after one and a half years. Now, the same YOGA Tab 13 tablet has appeared on FCC certification.

A Lenovo device categorized as “Portable Tablet Computer” with model number YT-K606F appears on the FCC database. This model number has already appeared on the Google Play Console listing and it revealed the name as YOGA Tab 13. Anyway, the listing shows that the device will have support for Wi-Fi 6 5GHz, Bluetooth LE connectivity.

Additionally, a label inside the FCC report shows that the device is manufactured for Lenovo in China. Also, one of the sketch diagrams shows that the Power button, volume buttons are on the right. Lenovo launched its last YOGA tablet, the Lenovo YOGA Smart Tab back in September 2019. It had an entry-level Snapdragon 439 chipset.

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However, the newly certified YOGA Tab 13 seems to sport a Snapdragon 855 flagship chipset. A Geekbench listing also says that the chipset would be paired up to 8GB of RAM. The YOGA tablet is also said to run the latest Android 11 OS.

The 2019 YOGA Smart Tab had a 10.1-inch display with a 1920x1080p resolution but the 2021 edition is said to take it up a notch. According to the Google Play Console listings, the tablet will have a 2K display.

This display is likely to have a resolution of 1350 x 2160 pixels and a 240 DPI. Also, going by the name, we can expect a humongous 13-inch display but this isn’t confirmed yet. Lets’ wait for more info in the coming days.

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Lenovo Legion 2 Pro variants and key specs revealed through Master Lu benchmarks

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Apr 1, 2021

Lenovo entered the gaming smartphone market last year by announcing the Lenovo Legion Pro handset. The handset was branded as the Legion Duel in China. On April 8, the company will be replacing it with the successor edition, which is dubbed as the Legion 2 Pro. Yesterday, the upcoming gaming phone by Lenovo emerged at Master Lu benchmarks with some vital information.

The Lenovo Legion 2 Pro appeared at Geekbench and 3C platforms in the recent past with the L70081 model number. The below-shown screenshot of the Master Lu benchmarks of the Lenovo L70081 reveals that it has managed to score 344,384 in the CPU test, 353,510 in the GPU test, 121,136 in the memory test, and 143,125 in the storage test. Hence, it managed to achieve a total score of 962,155 at Master Lu.

Past reports have claimed that the Snapdragon 888 chipset will be fueling the Legion 2 Pro with up to 16GB of RAM. Apart from corroborating these details, the Master Lu listing of the Legion 2 Pro reveals that the phone will carry support for 1080 x 2460 pixels and a 20.5:9 aspect ratio. The handset is expected to offer 144Hz or a higher refresh rate, but there is no accurate information available on it yet.

According to Master Lu, the Legion 2 Pro’s 16 GB RAM variant will offer users with massive storage of 512 GB. It further revealed that the phone will come in two other variants like 12 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage in China.

Past reports have revealed that the Legion 2 Pro will have a side-positioned selfie camera like the Legion Pro handset from last year. Also, it is expected to carry support for up to 110W rapid charging through dual USB-C ports. It will also come with dual turbo cooling system for heat dissipation.

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TSMC plans to invest $100 billion over 3 years to meet high chip demand

By

Sean

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Apr 1, 2021

TSMC announced earlier today (1st April 2021) that it is planning on investing 100 billion US Dollars over the course of the next three years. This investment will enable the company to expand its capacity at its plants.

According to a Reuters report, the world’s largest contract chip maker made the announcement just days after Intel also announced that it would be spending 20 billion US Dollars to also expand the production of its advanced chips. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd’s customers include major brands like Apple and Qualcomm. The company had previously stated that it planned to invest between 25 to 28 billion US Dollars within this year to develop and produce advanced chips.

Notably, the move from the chip maker arrives as the world suffers from a major semiconductor shortage that has affected various industries across the globe. This includes markets like smartphones, laptops, and even home appliances due to the coronavirus pandemic. TSMC offered a statement to Reuters saying that “We are entering a period of higher growth as the multiyear megatrends of 5G and high-performance computing are expected to fuel strong demand for our semiconductor technologies in the next several years.”

The company further added that “In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic also accelerates digitalization in every aspect.” TSMC’s shares also rose by nearly 2 percent in the late morning trades as well. The firm is one of the semiconductor based companies that benefited from the pandemic induced lockdowns that drove up demand for electronics for online education and work from home trends.

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Infinix Hot 10 Play to launch in India on April 19

By

Balaji S

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Apr 1, 2021

Infinix Hot 10 Play, even before getting launched officially elsewhere, got certified in India back in December. Now, the company is said to finally bring it to India on April 19.

Infinix has already started teasing the Smartphone’s launch in India on Twitter and a report by MySmartPrice says that Infinix Hot 10 Play will launch in the country on April 19 at 12 PM IST(UTC+ 05:30).

Before anything, we can expect the Transsion brand to bring in all the same four colors as it did in Pakistan and the Philippines. That is, the device would launch in Aegean Blue, Morandi Green, Obsidian Black, and 7° Purple options out of which the green variant is already teased by Infinix.

Since the device is already out in the open in other regions, we aren’t new to its specs and features. The Infinix Hot 10 Play in Pakistan and the Philippines has a huge 6.82-inch HD+ display with a water-drop notch.

Under the hood, the device is powered by MediaTek Helio G25 chipset and this is paired with 2GB RAM, 32 GB storage. There is a possibility that it would get a 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant too but let’s wait for the official word.

Other expected specs include a dual-Camera setup on the back with a 13MP main, and an AI lens(depth), an 8MP selfie camera, a 6,000mAh battery with 10W charging, micro-USB port, 3.5mm audio jack, microSD(up to 512GB), and XOS 7.0 based on Android 10 Go Edition.

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Huawei Freebuds 4i Earbuds Review: Huawei’s cheaper ANC option

By

Paco Zheng

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Apr 1, 2021

You may remember Huawei’s flagship wireless earbuds with active noise canceling, the Freebuds Pro, which was one of the best noise-canceling earbuds that we ever reviewed. If you never read the review article before, please feel free to check out the Freebuds Pro review from here.

But today we bring you guys another latest product in Huawei’s Freebuds series, the Freebuds 4i, and now without further ado, let’s get right to the earbuds.

I’m quite fond of the styling of the Freebuds 4i. It has a very round shape, like a pebble. The back of the charging case looks like it was cut down to reduce the area. Although it looks like a surface that supports wireless charging, it doesn’t.

It just a design that allows you to stably place the case on the desk. But considering the cheaper price tag than the Freebuds Pro, the lack of wireless charging is somewhat acceptable with equally excellent performance in other departments.

freebuds 4i Review 04 — Freebuds 4i doesn’t feature Wireless Charging

On the side, there is a pairing button and at the bottom, it has a Type-C charging port. One thing I really appreciate is that the charging case is as small as the AirPods Pro’s, which is much smaller than the FreeBuds 3i and FreeBuds Pro’s cases. And also its rounded shape is very comfortable to hold in your hand or to put in your pocket.

freebuds 4i Review vs freebuds pro 06 — freebuds 4i vs freebuds pro

Open the case, we can see that the earbud’s design is consistent with the case, which looks like a combination of the Freebuds 3i and Freebuds pro. Compared to the Freebuds Pro, the overall design is rounded with no corners visible. And the 4i comes with a new red-color variant. No doubt the design could be much more popular with female users.

As for ear fit, it’s pretty comfortable to wear and does not fall off easily. Even for someone who has small ears, the proper cavity design of the earbuds causes no obvious discomfort even when wearing for a long time.

The earbuds are very easy to use, double click on either one of the earbuds to play or pause the music. A long press on the left or right stick to switch noise-canceling modes. Other than that, you can also go to the official app to reset the earbuds operation you want.

The Biggest surprise is that the Freebuds 4i’s noise canceling is not compromised by its price. With active noise cancellation on, it still isolates noise well and is not a lot weaker than other expensive noise-canceling earbuds.

The sound quality is also not bad. Like most high-end earbuds, it supports up to AAC Bluetooth decoding. Specifically, the FreeBuds 4i is outstanding at the delivery of high-frequencies, while the bass is relatively less impressive.

The latency performance of the 4i is pretty good on most android devices, but as an earbud product developed by Huawei, it’s naturally better when connected to a Huawei device. Rather than my verbal description, it’s better to hear for yourself how much of a difference in latency there is when connecting to a Huawei model and another phone. Please check our video at the top to see the latency of the earbuds.

The official app for setup the 4i is AI Life, which has all the usual functions, so we won’t dwell on them. If you are interested, you can refer to our Freebuds Pro video. One point I have to compliment Huawei on is that the 4i also features seamless switching between devices which works similar to the feature I mentioned in the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro review. It’s a feature that will make it easy for people who have to work with two devices. And now you don’t need to pay a premium price for flagship earbuds for this great feature as you can enjoy it on the cheaper Freebuds 4i.

So that’s all the important details that we want to share with you about the latest Freebuds 4i. It’s well worth your money.

For only half the price of the Freebuds Pro, you can have 90% of the features with a more portable design. If you’re looking for less expensive wireless earbuds but don’t want to miss out on too many features, it could definitely be one of your options. Due to its elegant and compact design, we strongly recommend it to female users.

And if you’re a Huawei phone owner, this is an even better choice for you.

Huawei to launch new Smart TV and more on April 8

By

Sean

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Apr 1, 2021

Earlier today (1st April 2021), Huawei officially announced that it is planning on launching a variety of smart home products including a new smart TV. These devices will be be unveiled on 8th April 2021.

Previously, leaks had revealed that the Chinese tech giant is planning on launching a new smart TV dubbed the V65 series. The leak also stated that the company’s new smart TV will feature 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Its dimensions was also defined as 1640 x 190 x 1005mm along with support for high refresh rate of up to 120Hz and built in Divale audio.

While the pricing for the TV is unknown, it is expected to be around 10,000 Yuan (roughly 1520 US Dollars). Similar to the 65 inch variant, the company is also reportedly planning on unveiled a new 85 inch smart TV as well. Furthermore, the the new smart TVs are also expected to support touch support and will arrive with color gamut enhancement technology. The 65 inch variant will feature 4K (3840x2160px) resolution with up to 20 screen control point touch support.

Additionally, the display would also support anti reflective, anti glare and blue light filtering technology. The company will make the new Smart TV available for pre orders on the day of the smart house conference event, which is on 8th April 2021. Unfortunately, finer details and pricing of the new smart TVs are still unknown, so stay tuned for more updates as we will be covering the upcoming launch event.

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Pre-Order Realme GT Neo 5G with Dimensity 1200 SoC for $349 via Giztop

By

Simranpal Singh

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Apr 1, 2021

After several leaks and rumours, Realme GT Neo 5G is launched yesterday carrying MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chipset. The smartphone is launched in three storage variants including 6GB + 128GB, 8GB + 128GB and 12GB + 256GB and is now up for pre-orders for $349, $399 and $499, respectively. It will start retailing from April 7 for the price of $349, but pre-orders are now live on Giztop. The interested users can grab it anywhere around the globe by mid-April.

Must See: Realme Buds Air2 earbuds with ANC launched in China for ¥299 (~$45)

Realme GT Neo 5G is available in three different colours of Black, Silver and Aurora. Giztop is offering the smartphone in three different storage options.

Buy Now

Realme GT Neo 5G is a new variant for the Realme GT which was launched last month with Snapdragon 888 SoC. However, the Realme GT Neo 5G has debuted with the MediaTek Dimensity 1200. It further houses a 6.443-inch AMOLED display, a 4400 mAh battery with 65W fast-charging support and much more. It further adds a GT Mode and VC cooling technology for flawless gaming performance.

In the camera department, Realme GT Neo houses a triple-rear camera module consisting of a 64MP primary sensor, an 8MP wide-angle lens, and a 2MP camera. In the connectivity, the smartphone offers 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.1, dual-band WiFi, GPS and USB Type-C port.

Realme GT Neo 5G weighs 179 grams in size. The users who can’t wait for the global launch and want to get hands-on the device, can pre-order it via Giztop at the same starting price of $349.

Related: realme GT Neo launched with Dimensity 1200 SoC and 120Hz AMOLED display for $274

Redmi executive teases a launch event, Could be for the gaming smartphone

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Apr 1, 2021

Redmi is reported to launch its first-ever gaming smartphone very soon. This device has been confirmed to feature MediaTek Dimensity 1200 SoC. There’s no much information available about this phone but we expect to learn more about it in the coming days since the brand has started teasing its release.

According to a report by ITHome, Redmi will be holding a launch conference this month (April) in China. This information was revealed by none other than Wang Teng, the Product Director of Redmi while replying to a netizen on Weibo.

Earlier last month, the same executive asked the people interested in gaming smartphones to wait a bit further. Hence, there is a high chance that the upcoming launch event could be for the Redmi gaming smartphone that was officially confirmed way back in January.

As per popular Chinese leakster Digital Chat Station, this unreleased phone is codenamed Ares and will come with model number M2104K10C. The same handset with model number M2104K10I was spotted on the Indian IMEI database yesterday as a POCO smartphone.

Hence, we can expect this phone to launch with POCO branding in India after its debut in China sometime later this month.

That said, as of now, the newly launched realme GT Neo is the only handset powered by MediaTek Dimensity 1200 SoC. Above all, it is way more affordable than any Qualcomm Snapdragon 870-equipped device. For those unaware, the D1200 chip is equivalent to SD870.

Realme targets 20 million smartphone sales in China in 2021: Exec

By

Sean

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Apr 1, 2021

Realme CMO and Vice President, Xu Qi, revealed during the launch of the company’s new GT Neo smartphone that it aims to reach 20 million handset shipments this year. It was previously estimated by the brand that it would reach 10 million units in shipments in China, but that figure has now grown.

As per the senior official, even the 10 million shipment figure was actually ‘conservative’ and that the Chinese tech giant is expecting at least 20 million units in sales in 2021. Furthermore, the goal to reach this high figure will be supplemented by the company’s efforts to boost its offline sales. This would be made possible as the smartphone vendor aims to expand the number of its physical stores in its home market of China to expand its coverage.

During the event, Xu Qi also announced that the company’s sales of smartphone in the first quarter of this year is nearly the same as its overall smartphone sales from last year. This marks an year on year increase of 463 percent in Q1 2021. Meaning, Realme has seen an explosive growth, especially in the Chinese market. The executive also added that the brand is aiming to triple its offline sales figure this year.

Notably, the OEM is also planning on following a dual flagship strategy. This implies that the firm will launch two flagship grade smartphones this year. The same strategy will also be adopted for its mid range segments. For the high end devices, the company will launch one smartphone with Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 series processor while the second one would sport a MediaTek Dimensity series 5G chipset.

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Huawei supply chain issues to ease as it might receive new Arm chip tech license: Report

By

Sean

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Apr 1, 2021

Arm has just announced that its latest A9 architecture could potentially be licensed to Huawei Technologies. This could ease the latter’s supply chain issues and is possible since the new chip technology is of British origin.

According to a SCMP report, the British chip maker will be able to supply the Chinese tech giant with its latest chips since it is not subject to the US trade regulations. This would undoubtedly be great news for Huawei, as its advanced chip designer unit HiSilicon has lost access to advanced chip technology that originated from America due to US sanctions.

Ian Smythe, vice-president of solutions marketing at the Arm stated during a media event in Beijing earlier this week that “Following a comprehensive review, Arm has determined that its Arm v9 architecture is not subject to the US Export Administration Regulations.” He further added that the company has also shared its review to the appropriate US government agencies as well.

For those unaware, ARM sells processor designs and licenses its instruction set to various companies including, Apple, Samsung Electronics, and even Qualcomm. In other words, the company’s technology has a big impact on the smartphone industry, which is now also gaining a foothold in other markets such as personal computers and servers.

Its new V9 architecture that was launched by Arm earlier this week in the UK can be licensed to HiSilicon as it is not covered by US restrictions, as per a company spokesperson. Although, it is unknown if Huawei has moved to license the chip maker’s new V9 architecture and has also yet to comment on the matter. So, stay tuned for more updates.

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Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Fold 2: Specs Comparison

By

Michele Ingelido

-

Apr 1, 2021

Xiaomi just released its first foldable phone and it is under the Mi Mix series which made a wonderful comeback. We are talking about the Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold, which adopts the same form factor as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2. That is exactly the reason why we decided to publish a comparison between these two foldable phones. Did Xiaomi release a foldable superior to the king of foldable phones or the Galaxy Z Fold 2 is still the best choice? This specs comparison will help you find out.

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Fold 2

	Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2
THICKNESS	17.2 mm when folded, 7.6 mm when unfolded	16.8 mm when folded, 6.9 mm when unfolded
DISPLAY	Main display: 8.01 inches, 1860 x 2480p (Quad HD+), 387 ppi, Foldable AMOLED External display: 6.52 inches HD+ (840 x 2520p), 27:9 ratio, AMOLED	7.6 inches, 1768 x 2208p (Quad HD+), Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X External display: 6.23 inches, Super AMOLED, 816 x 2260 pixels (HD+)
PROCESSOR	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, octa-core 2.84 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+, octa-core 3.09 GHz
MEMORY	12 GB RAM, 256 GB – 12 GB RAM, 512 GB – 16 GB RAM, 512 GB	12 GB RAM, 256 GB
SOFTWARE	Android 10, MIUI	Android 10, One UI
CONNECTIVITY	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS
CAMERA	Triple 108 + 8 MP + 13 MP f/1.8 and f/2.4 20 MP front camera	Triple 12 + 12 + 12 MP, f/1.8, f/2.4 and f/2.2 10 MP f/2.2 selfie camera 10 MP f/2.2 cover camera
BATTERY	5020 mAh Fast charging 67W	4500 mAh, Fast Charging 25W and wireless charging 11W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES	Foldable display, secondary external display, 5G	Foldable display, secondary external display, 5G

Design

As mentioned in the intro, the Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 share the same form factor: unlike the recent Huawei Mate X2, they come with a foldable display placed internally and a secondary traditional and non-foldable display placed externally, in case you want to use them as normal phones. I personally prefer the design of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 due to its more elegant camera module. Further, it has a more compact and thinner body. It is even a lighter phone. On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold offers bigger displays: both the foldable screen and the external display have wider diagonals. Further, the Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold comes in an additional ceramic version built with better materials.

Display

Talking about the displays, these devices come with similar specifications and both feature excellent AMOLED panels. Despite it is a Xiaomi phone, the display of the Mi Mix Fold is made by Samsung. In both cases, you get foldable AMOLED panels with 2K resolutions, HDR10+ certification. But on the paper, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 is superior thanks to its 120 Hz refresh rate, while Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold has a standard 60 Hz refresh rate. If we talk about the external non-foldable displays, then Mi Mix Fold wins: it has a 6.52-inch external panel which, unlike the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2, features a 90 Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, and the HDR10+ certification.

Specs & Software

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold is the most powerful foldable phone ever made: it is powered by the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform paired with up to 16 GB of RAM and up to 512 GB of native storage (UFS 3.1). The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 comes with the weaker (but still flagship-class) Snapdragon 865+, which sits in the middle between Snapdragon 865 and 870. It offers a max of 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal storage. Despite Mi Mix Fold just went official it is still based on Android 10, just like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2. But the latter has already been upgraded to Android 11.

Camera

It is still too early to establish which is the best camera phone here. The Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold comes with a 108 MP main camera, an 8 MP telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom, and a 13 MP ultrawide sensor, as well as a new Surge C1 proprietary image co-processor. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 has three 12 MP cameras with dual OIS (unlike the Mi Mix Fold), 2x optical zoom and an ultrawide sensor. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 is definitely better when it comes to the front cameras.

Read More: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 features ‘Anti-Erosion Waterproof Coating’ to protect internal components: Report

Battery

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold has a bigger battery and, with its standard refresh rate, it should last more than Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 in most scenarios. It also supports the fastest charging technology with a power of 67W. But you should consider that Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 supports wireless charging and reverse charging, while Mi Mix Fold does not.

Price

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold made its debut in China with a €1300/$1530 starting price, while Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 launched in the country with a €2200/$2585 listing price. Despite the Mi Mix Fold is a newly-announced foldable phone and Galaxy Z Fold 2 is not, it is not superior to Samsung’s offering in every aspect. It has better hardware and a bigger battery, but with the Galaxy Z Fold 2, you get wireless charging and a better internal display. Which one would you pick?

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2: PRO and CONS

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2

PRO

More compact
Wireless charging
Wider availability
eSIM support

CONS

Inferior hardware

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold

PRO

Better hardware
Bigger internal display
Better external display
Bigger battery
Faster charging

CONS

No wireless charging

OPPO F19 India launch date is April 6, Entire specs revealed beforehand

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

-

Apr 1, 2021

In early March, OPPO debuted the OPPO F19 series in India. But the company only introduced two models, namely OPPO F19 Pro and OPPO F19 Pro+ 5G. Now, weeks later, the brand has confirmed to launch the standard OPPO F19 in India on April 6.

OPPO F19 India Launch Date

Initially, there used to be a single OPPO F series device in a generation. But that number increased to two with the introduction of the Pro variant. This year, the company added the third model in the series with the moniker Pro+. The latest variant also brings 5G.

That said, for some reason, OPPO did not launch all three devices in the OPPO F19 series in India earlier last month. Instead, it only debuted the OPPO F19 Pro and OPPO F19 Pro+ first and has now scheduled another separate launch event for the OPPO F19 on April 6.

OPPO F19 Specifications and Features

OPPO India had already teased the launch of OPPO F19 before revealing the launch date. So we already knew how it will look. But now, thanks to OPPO Nepal, we have also learned the entire specs of this phone.

According to the handset’s listing on the OPPO Nepal website, the upcoming OPPO F19 will be the company’s first 33W fast charging smartphone. We came to know about the existence of this device (OPPO CPH2219) when it was certified by CQC in February.

Talking about specifications, this phone will flaunt a 6.43-inch FHD+ (2400×1080 pixels) AMOLED display with up to an 800 nits peak brightness level, 409PPI, 60Hz refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate, 1000000:1 contrast ratio, 92% DCI-P3 color gamut, 100% sRGB color gamut, 90.8% screen-to-body-ratio, a punch-hole at the top left corner, and an in-screen fingerprint sensor.

The smartphone will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 SoC paired with 6GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB internal storage. There could be other storage variants as well. On the connectivity front, the handset will support dual-SIM, 4G, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, and GNSS (GPS, A-GPS, Beidou, Glonass, Galileo).

The phone will come with all the essential sensors, such as an accelerometer, proximity sensor, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, and compass, It will also include a 3.5mm headphone jack, MicroSD card slot, and a USB Type-C port.

As far as cameras are concerned, the smartphone will sport a 48MP (wide) + 2MP (macro) + 2MP (depth) triple camera setup on the back and a single 16MP punch-hole selfie camera on the front. Further, the handset will run ColorOS 11.1 based on Android 11 and will be backed by a 5,000mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging.

Last but not least, the OPPO F19 will measure 160.3 x 73.8 x 7.95mm in dimensions, weigh 175g, and will be available in two colors (Black, Blue).