SK Group, the third-largest conglomerate from South Korea, has announced that the company has agreed to acquire a 16.3 percent stake in VinCommerce for $410 million, reports Reuters. For those who are unaware, VinCommerce is one of the biggest retailers in Vietnam and is a part of Masan Group.
The transaction values the retailer at $2.5 billion. Along with SK Inc (formerly known as SK Holdings Co Ltd), battery maker SK Innovation, SK Telecom, SK Hynix, and SK E&S are also participating in this deal through an investment unit focused in Southeast Asia.
VinCommerce is operating about 2,300 convenience stores and supermarkets in Vietnam and holds about 50 percent of the market share in the country’s consumer retailer sector. With the new investment, the company plans to accelerate online and offline distribution, logistics, and online payments.
Woncheol Park, representative director of SK South East Asia Investment, the SK Group arm that made the investment, said in a statement: “Our investment in VinCommerce is part of SK’s broader strategy of investing in Vietnam’s fast-growing sectors.”
VinCommerce achieved an EBITDA breakeven in the fourth quarter of 2020 and delivered positive EBITDA in the first quarter of 2021. The management is now expected to achieve positive EBIT in the second half of this year.
The SK Group had earlier invested about $1 billion in Vingroup and $470 million in the diversified company Masan Group.
Xiaomi has released a new product that different from all home products that the company has released in the past. That is because the product is the brand’s first electric drill. Dubbed MIJIA Brushless Smart Home Electric Drill, the product is on crowdfunding on Xiaomi Mall for 449 yuan (~$68). In the future, it will retail for 499 yuan (~$76).
You would think this is one of Xiaomi’s electric screwdrivers as it adopts the same minimalist design. The body has smooth lines and no visible screws on the surface. The grip design is more suitable for those with hands, making the grip operation more comfortable and reliable. The body is coated using the two surface processes of metal baking paint and UV top coat, giving it a high-grade matte metal texture. The texture is scratch and stain-resistant.
The entire body of the electric drill is manufactured using PC+ABS high-strength engineering plastics, which are sturdy and durable. The back half of the handle is covered with matte TPU soft rubber, which feels comfortable and non-slip, and won’t get discolored and sticky easily.
The MIJIA Brushless Smart Electric Drill adopts a mechatronics design, which is safe and doesn’t produce any spark. With the brushless motor mechanics, there won’t any need to replace the carbon brush, thus giving the machine a longer service life. The drill has a maximum torque of 30Nm, while the maximum speed is 1400rpm. It can be used seamlessly on soft pine, hard beech, and other wood types as well as aluminum alloy pipe, steel plate, and other metal and plastic water pipe. The drill can also penetrate acrylic, and other plastic materials easily.
The electric drill features three operational modes; manual, smart, and pulse gears. The user can switch gears at any time by pressing the button at the bottom of the display. The three modes are designed to provide different speeds and operating methods depending on whether the user is a novice or an expert in the handling of electric drills.
Furthermore, it is equipped with a high-definition display, which can display the current operating mode and manual gear numbers in real-time.
In terms of battery life, the innovative battery layout design eliminates the need for additional bulky battery packs. The drill packs a built-in 2000mAh high-quality lithium battery that can drive over 550 self-tapping screws, or continuously drill through a 6mm steel plate over 22 times. It can also continuously drill 4cm deep holes in a wooden board over 280 times.
A few more countries may soon join the United States as countries where the Google Assistant Driving Mode is functional. The Driving Mode feature was launched in 2020 in the United States, and feelers indicate that it is already operational in the United Kingdom, while several others are lined up for the rollout.
Previously, the official support page for the feature indicated that it was only available in English in the US. That has been updated to read that some features “aren’t available in all languages or countries.” This is suggestive of an imminent global rollout for the feature even though that wasn’t stated. Android Police also reports that one of its readers in the U.K has reportedly got the feature on his Pixel 5.
The Google Assistant Driving Mode is a feature that helps users who are on the wheels to listen to audio notifications on their compatible Android smartphone, make or receive calls, as well as send messages using their voices.
The feature is a replacement for the Auto mode which was on Android smartphones previously. It was developed to ensure safety while driving, as the user can perform a lot of activities just through a voice prompt. The feature is compatible on smartphones with Android 9.0 operating system or higher, together with a minimum of 4.0GB of RAM. Unfortunately, the driving mode feature will not work in landscape mode. Therefore, the user will need to ensure that their smartphone is in portrait mode before activating the Google Assistant Driving Mode.
It is known that making calls while driving has caused hundreds of accidents with sometimes massive fatalities. Therefore, the Google Assistant Driving Mode will help a motorist receive or make calls and perform a few other activities without interfering with his driving.
Lenovo will be announcing the Legion 2 Pro gaming smartphone on April 8 in China. Ahead of the launch, a couple of live shots of the handset has appeared live shots to reveal its design.
The Legion 2 Pro gaming smartphone has a symmetrical design on the back. A bulge can be seen at the center of the back panel, which includes the cameras, a fan, and the Legion logo with RGB lighting. A cooling vent can be seen towards the edge of the device. Lenovo has revealed that the Legion 2 Pro features a 64-megapixel OmniVision sensor with a lens size of 1/1.32-inch. It is capable of shooting 30fps 8K videos and 120fps 4K videos.
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Legion 2 Pro live shots
Legion 2 Pro live shots
Legion 2 Pro live shots
The Legion 2 Pro sports a full-screen design on the front as there is no punch-hole or a notch on its display. Like the predecessor model, it features a side-mounted selfie camera. The Legion 2 Pro features a massive 6.92-inch AMOLED display that supports a 144Jz refresh rate and a 720Hz touch sampling rate, and a 3.8ms touch response rate. As far as the front camera is concerned, the company has already confirmed that it will be flaunting a 44-megapixel selfie camera.
The Snapdragon 888 mobile platform is present under the hood of the Legion 2 Pro smartphone. The handset is expected to arrive in multiple variants like 12 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage, and 16 GB RAM and 512 GB of storage. For heat dissipation, the handset is equipped with a dual-turbo cooling fan.
The Legion 2 Pro will draw power from a massive 5,500mAh battery. With dual USB-C ports, the handset will carry support for up to 90W fast charging. There is no word on the pricing of the device.
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in various applications has increased in recent years. Companies and individuals are deploying drones in growing numbers for drone shows and several other activities, deploying thousands of drones for product publicity or showcase of one thing or the other.
Carmaker Genesis chose a drone show to mark its entrance into the Chinese auto market while also smashing the Guinness World Record for the most unmanned aerial vehicles in the sky at the same time. The Genesis brand, owned by Hyundai, entered the China market with a bang, as it used a total of 3,281 drones to make a visual display of its logo over the Shanghai skyline on March 29, 2021. Genesis broke a six-month-old record by Shenzhen Damoda Intelligent Control Technology, who had set the record with 3,051 drones in September 2020. Chipmaker Intel held the record with 2066 drones until 2020.
The beautiful display over Shanghai was a clear statement by Genesis that it intends to approach the Chinese market with energy, color, and innovation, as it moves to have a market share in the world’s biggest automobile market. Such publicity stunts are the outcomes of well-choreographed and synchronized drone systems deployed and controlled via choreography software that forms the shape without drones crashing into themselves.
Unmanned aerial vehicles, especially drones, are presently being used in several applications, including agriculture, security surveillance, photography, and the publicity angle is also growing with drone shows featuring thousands of drones. We expect to see more companies aiming for the current record of the most drones in the sky held by Genesis. The coming months will reveal the depth of the drone record by Genesis.
For those wondering where HMD Global’s former Chief Product Officer, Juho Sarvikas, is heading to, following his exit from the phone company last month, then we have an answer.
A tweet by Jim Cathey, a Senior Vice President and President of Global Business at Qualcomm has announced that the former HMD Global senior executive will be joining the San Diego-based tech company. In the tweet, it is revealed that Mr. Sarvikas will join Qualcomm as VP and President of North America.
I'm excited to share with you that on April 12th I am joining @Qualcomm, the world's leading wireless technology innovator, as VP & President of North America. I can't wait to work with our partners and the amazing #teamqualcomm at the epicenter of the 5G revolution https://t.co/Gvzet342zE
Juho Sarvikas also confirmed the news in a quoted tweet and added that he will resume at Qualcomm on April 12. He has also changed his Twitter bio to reflect his new role.
A little over a week ago, Juho Sarvikas announced on Twitter that he was leaving Nokia and HMD after 15 years. Under his leadership as Chief Product Officer, HMD Global announced several Nokia-branded Android smartphones and feature phones. It also released modern versions of classic Nokia phones such as the Nokia 3310, Nokia 8110 4G, and Nokia 5310. Before his resignation from the company, he was also the VP of HMD Global North America.
Sony is holding a new Xperia Product launch event on April 14 and it is expected to unveil Xperia 1 III, 10 III, and a compact phone. Now, accessory maker Olixar has listed the cases of Xperia 1 III and 10 III along with their design renders.
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Sony Xperia 1 III
*CAD Renders of Xperia 1 III, 10 III, Credits: Steve(@Onleaks)
The case maker has put up listings of the Xperia 1 III and 10 III clear cases on its official website for $8.99. Along with that, we also see the designs of the new smartphones. These resemble the CAD renders of Steve(@Onleaks).
The design not only reveals the rear finish but also the change in the new camera setup. As you can see below, the renders on the Xperia 1 III case listing shows the new Periscope Telephoto lens and a ZEISS T* logo on the camera setup. Apart from this, we have similar I/O placements including the 3.5mm headphone jack.
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Xperia 1 III case
Xperia 1 III case
Xperia 1 III case
Xperia 1 III case
Xperia 10 III case
Xperia 10 III case
Xperia 10 III case
Xperia 10 III case
As mentioned above, the Olixar website also shows the design of Xperia 10 III which is again similar to the CAD renders that leaked in January. That being said, the website has already listed few Genuine leather wallet stand cases for $25.99. Do note that the prices could just be placeholders so let’s wait for the official launch.
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Leaks so far say that Xperia 1 III will feature a 6.5-inch 4K HDR OLED display, Snapdragon 888 chipset paired with 12/16GB RAM, and storage up to 512GB, Triple-cameras with 64MP main, 12MP periscope telephoto lens capable of 60x lossless zoom, ZEISS T coating, 5,000mAh battery with 65W charging, and $1,370 price tag.
The mid-range Xperia 10 III, on the other hand, could have a 6-inch screen, Snapdragon 690 chipset, sleek 8.4mm in thickness, triple-camera with 12MP main lens, 8MP selfie shooter.
The OPPO A74 and OPPO A74 5G smartphones have been quietly unveiled in various markets across Asia. The two phones join the trend of smartphones that come in 4G and 5G versions.
OPPO A74 4G
The OPPO A74 4G is a Snapdragon 662-powered phone with a 6.43-inch AMOLED display that boasts an FHD+ resolution but skips a high refresh rate. There is a punch hole at the top left corner of the screen that is home to a 16MP sensor.
You get 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. On the back are three cameras – a 48MP main sensor, a 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro camera.
Under the rear plate is a 5000mAh battery that supports 33W fast wired charging. You get a USB-C port and audio jack but no NFC. There is also an in-display fingerprint scanner. OPPO ships it with ColorOS 11.1 based on Android 11 out of the box and there is a Game Mode that increases the touch sampling rate from 135Hz to 180Hz.
The phone is already listed for purchase in two stores in The Philippines and is also listed on the OPPO Cambodia official website. In The Philippines, the OPPO A74 is priced at PHP 12,000 (~$248) and is available in Prism Black and Midnight Blue. It can be pre-ordered on Lazada and Shopee.
OPPO A74 5G
The OPPO A75 5G also has a punch hole at the left corner of the screen. It is 6.5-inches in size and has a 90Hz refresh rate. We are not sure if it is AMOLED or LCD but the phone has its fingerprint scanner on the side where it doubles as the power button.
For the processor, you get the Snapdragon 480 5G chipset and it is paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. There are four cameras on the back – a 48MP main sensor, an 8MP ultrawide angle camera, and two 2MP cameras. The selfie camera is a 16MP sensor, the same as that of the 4G version.
You also get a 5000mAh battery but slower charging at 18W. The OPPO A74 5G runs ColorOS 11.1 based on Android 11 out of the box. It is available in Fluid Black and Space Silver.
The phone is available for ฿8,999 (~$288) on Shopee and you get a free throw pillow and a portable rechargeable fan.
Smartphone accessories maker iGear has unveiled the iGear RazorBeat wireless soundbar for the Indian market. The RazorBeat wireless speaker was first available in February 2021 and is now on sale via Amazon India and Flipkart for about Rs. 2000 (~$27).
The affordable and versatile RazorBeat soundbar features a sleek and lightweight design, 10W sound output, an in-built subwoofer system, and a 1,500 mAh rechargeable battery which can provide up to five hours of non-stop entertainment on a full charge. The wireless speaker comes with multiple input channels (Bluetooth, USB, AUX, SD card, and FM), thus providing a high level of versatility for the device, whose design and lightweight properties make it a great addition to the sitting room.
iGear chief executive Kamlesh Sharma says the RazorBeat soundbar could boost the audio performance of an array of smart gadgets to a whole new level when interfaced with the RazorBeat soundbar. Sharma stressed that the iGear RazorBeat smart wireless speaker produces razor-sharp sound and superior bass, bringing a theatre-like sound experience for users with the subwoofer system. The iGear RazorBeat wireless soundbar can also operate as a standalone portable audio system and an easy interface for other systems.
The iGear RazorBeat soundbar can operate within a wireless range of 10 meters, and it will blend into your house stylishly. The iGear RazorBeat soundbar may not withstand contact with water and could mainly be used indoors or in situations where it can not come in contact with water while being used outdoors.
Interested customers can get a 33% discount when purchasing the iGear RazorBeat soundbar from Amazon India or Flipkart within this week. The original price of the iGear RazorBeat wireless speaker with 10W power output is Rs. 3000, so any buyer of the smart speaker this week will have an Rs. 1000 saving.
Chinese tech giant ZTE is expected to officially unveil its first flagship phone of 2021 later this month. The Axon 30 is tipped to go official in China on April 30. Ahead of the launch, a product page for the smartphone has appeared on ZTE’s Jingdong (JD.com) official flagship store.
The product page is devoid of any specs of the smartphone and even the pricing details. Instead, a placeholder image of a smartphone covered by a veil. We’ll still have to wait until the official launch to find out some of the details and retail price of the smartphone.
Since the start of this month, ZTE has consistently been releasing teasers of the Axon 30 series. However, we still have to piece the details of the series from leaks and the teasers. The Axon 30 series is expected to include the Axon 30, Axon 30 Pro, and Axon 30 Pro+.
It is expected to pack Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 888 chip and will also feature an improved under-screen front camera with the display panel manufactured by Visionox. Since it is a flagship device, the display will have a refresh rate of 120Hz and a touch sampling rate of 360Hz. The Axon 30 series will come with a powerful triple camera setup which the company dubbed Trinity Triple camera system. The setup is made up of three 64MP sensors and a fourth “auxiliary sensor”.
Infinix is one of Transsion Holdings Ltd.‘s brand that emphasizes more on markets like India. Apart from entry-level and budget smartphones, it is also looking to bring 5G devices to India as CEO Anish Kapoor has revealed to Gizbot that two 5G smartphones are coming after June to India.
Anish says that Infinix is planning to bring two 5G smartphones to India after June. This suggests that the devices could launch as soon as H2 kicks in. He also says that the devices will be powered by MediaTek chipsets.
Infinix has been a long-time partner of the Taiwanese giant and devices like gaming-focussed Infinix Zero 8, and8i and recent budget Smart 5 speak of their partnership.
Anyway, Anish has neither confirmed the naming or the name of the chipsets but it could very well be the Dimensity 800U chipset. This is because, he has said that the devices should be above ₹15,000 price bracket, and recently, the above-mentioned 5G chipset is dominating the segment.
That’s not all as Infinix is also said to launch 4-5 devices in the Note and Hote series in addition to diving deep into the Smart TVs segment(40, 55-inch TVs incoming). Out of this, if you ask us whose launch is closer, it has already scheduled a launch event on April 19 and is unveiling the Hot 10 Play in India.
Infinix has also partnered with e-commerce giant Flipkart before and we can expect these products to continue to sell on it. Either way, let’s wish the company good luck and grab a big bite of the market share in 2021.
HMD Global is holding a not-so-regular launch event on April 8. As per various reports, it is going to revamp the Nokia smartphone naming scheme and bring new ones like Nokia G10, G20, X10, X20. Alongside these devices, it is also expected to bring a Nokia C20 and now, the device has appeared on Bluetooth SIG certification.
Representative image: Nokia C3
As reported by MySmartPrice, four models of HMD Global Oy smartphones TA-1339, TA-1348, TA-1352, TA-1356 appear on the Bluetooth SIG website. All of them are certified as Nokia C20.
If you recall, an exclusive report by nokiapoweruser said that Nokia C20 might accompany the April 8 event of HMD Global. The specs leaked by the report suggested that the device could be another entry-level offering like the Nokia 1.xx series.
Coming back, the listing further shows the required QDID design is from the Unisoc (Shanghai) Technologies Co Ltd., but it doesn’t explicitly confirm anything about the processor inside.
Previously, Nokia has used the Chinese semiconductor maker UNISOC chipsets on Nokia C3 so it shouldn’t come as a surprise if the Nokia C20 indeed has one. Speaking of which, the Nokia C20 is expected to arrive with 1GB RAM and 16GB internal storage variant.
Amidst reports of it running the Android 11 Go edition, it has been spotted on HTML5 test page shows running Android 11 OS. Apart from this, you can expect the Nokia C20 to launch in two colors – Blue and Sand options.
Last but not the least, Nokia C20 is said to retail somewhere around 89 euros(~$106). This is almost closer to the price of the Nokia C3 which launched for a price of 669 yuan($101) in China.
Almost all Google apps and services are popular among the masses. The primary reason is that they are free to use. But above all, they are also the best in the segment, in addition to not being premium. Hence, Google Translate has been the undefeated translation service since its inception. Now, more than a decade after its introduction, the Google Translate Android app has hit a huge milestone.
The Google Translate Android application was released in January 2010. Over the years, the app was updated with new features and UI like any other popular app that has survived a decade.
Now, 11 years and 3 months after its release, the Google Translate app has reached over 1 billion downloads on the Google Play Store. These installs come from users and not OEMs as this application is not part of the mandatory GMS (Google Mobile Services) core apps package.
Anyway, it is not surprising since it has been over a decade since the Google Translate Android app was introduced. Most importantly, there aren’t any better applications out there whether free or paid.
As of now, the Google Translated Android application supports 109 languages, transcription, pronunciation, offline translation, camera translation, dark mode, and more.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite launched in the global market in two variants: Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite and Mi 11 Lite 5G. The latter is the first phone ever with the all-new Snapdragon 780G: the best Qualcomm’s offering for the mid-range segment. But the chipset is not everything on a phone and having such a great SoC does not necessarily make the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G the best midrange out there. For this comparison, we chose two of the best mid-rangers sold in the global market in order to establish if the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G is able to compete for the title of best mid-ranger of 2021: POCO X3 Pro and OPPO Find X3 Lite. Let’s discover who is better on the paper through a specs comparison.
Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G vs Xiaomi POCO X3 Pro vs OPPO Find X3 Lite
The design of the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G is very attractive because it has one of the thinnest and most lightweight bodies in the whole smartphone market. The OPPO Find X3 Lite is another incredibly thin phone and it is even more compact than Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G, but the Xiaomi’s mid-ranger is thinner and lighter. However, I personally prefer the OPPO Find X3 Lite due to its premium materials. The POCO X3 Pro is bigger, uglier, and thicker than both its rivals, so it loses the design comparison.
Display
With the Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite, you get the most advanced display on paper. The AMOLED panel of this phone is able to show up to one billion colors, it supports the HDR10+ certification and it has a 90 Hz refresh rate. The OPPO Find X3 Lite comes right after with an AMOLED panel providing a very nice color reproduction, high brightness, and 90 Hz refresh rate. Unfortunately, with the POCO X3 Pro, you get an inferior IPS display with less brilliant colors, but you have a 120 Hz refresh rate. However, an IPS panel like this can not compete with the AMOLED displays of the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G and the OPPO Find X3 Lite.
Hardware/Software
The most powerful hardware setup belongs to the POCO X3 Pro which packs the high-end Snapdragon 860 processor paired with up to 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of internal UFS 3.1 storage. However, the POCO X3 Pro is the only one of the trio to lack 5G connectivity. If you want the most powerful phone with 5G, then you should go for the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G powered by the Snapdragon 780G paired with up to 8 GB of RAM and UFS 2.2 internal storage. It has less impressive performance than a flagship killer like the POCO X3 Pro, but at least you get 5G. All the phones are based on Android 11.
Camera
The best camera phone of this trio is the OPPO Find X3 Lite. On the rear side, it has a quad camera including a 64 MP main sensor with bright f/1.7 focal aperture, an 8 MP ultrawide camera, and a pair of 2 MP sensors for macros and depth. Even the front camera is better with its 32 MP resolution. The silver medal goes to Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G sporting a 64 MP triple camera with the best macro sensor, as well as a 20 MP front camera.
Battery
The POCO X3 Pro packs the biggest battery (the capacity is 5160 mAh) and it provides the longest battery life. But with the OPPO Find X3 Lite, you get a faster charging technology with 65W power and the support of reverse charging.
Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G vs Xiaomi POCO X3 Pro vs OPPO Find X3 Lite: Price
The price of the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G for the global market is €369/$435, OPPO Find X3 Lite costs €499/$589, and POCO X3 Pro costs €279/$329. The winner of the comparison for most of the users should be Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite due to its impressive display, good value for money, great chipset. But if the price of the OPPO Find X3 Lite drops, it may represent a better choice thanks to its faster charging technology, better cameras. Despite its huge battery and amazing hardware, the POCO X3 Pro loses due to the lack of an AMOLED display and a 5G modem. But its price is a lot more affordable.
Last month, Realme announced the Realme 8 and Realme 8 Pro smartphones in India. It was recently confirmed by Realme CEO Madhav Sheth that India will be soon treated with new phones like Realme 8 5G and Realme 8i. Fresh information reveals that the company is also planning to launch the Realme 8 Pro 5G in India.
Hey, we have expanded for our 4G masses with the realme 8 series. Although, realme being the democratizer of 5G smartphones we have already planned realme 8 5G and 8 Pro 5G coming soon. Stay tuned to our social media handles to know more about the same. Thanks!🙂
— realme India Support (@realmecareIN) April 2, 2021
As it can be seen above, in a response to a Twitter user, Realme India’s support team revealed that the company has already planned to launch Realme 8 and 8 Pro 5G soon in India. The Realme 8 5G is the Realme RMX3241 smartphone that was recently certification by regulatory bodies like India’s BIS, Thailand’s NTBC, and the FCC in the U.S. recently.
The Realme 8 5G is now listed on the Peruvian MTC certification platform. The listing includes a couple of render of the Realme 8 5G. The handset can be seen sporting a quad-camera setup. The “Dare to Leap” branding with a holographic background can be seen on the right side of the phone’s back. While the front design of the phone is not known yet, it is speculated that it could be featuring an OLED screen with an in-screen fingerprint reader.
The FCC listing of the phone revealed that it has 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.5mm dimensions and it weighs 185 grams. The phone runs on Realme UI 2.0 based Android 11 OS and it is backed by a 5,000mAh battery. It offers connectivity options like 5G, Wi-fi 802.11ac, GPS, GLONASS, BDS, NFC, and 5G. There is no information available on the specs of the Realme 8 Pro 5G.
Recently. Sheth said, “We will have a Realme 8 5G version soon (but not so early). We have to understand that adding 5G with these features will incur additional costs.” Hence, it appears that the Realme 8 5G may launch by the end of this month. It is unclear whether the Pro model will also go official alongside it.
It is no longer news that Redmi will be launching its first gaming smartphone this year. According to reports, it may even be announced this month. The smartphone which will have a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 processor under its hood will also have support for “ultra-fast charging”.
According to the Chinese blogger that goes by “Super Leo_” on Weibo, the Redmi gaming smartphone will support “65W ultra-fast flash charge”. This will be the first Redmi phone to support this charging protocol and also the fastest charging Redmi smartphone.
The post also included some other details we already know such as a Samsung E4 AMOLED screen with a centered punch hole and a 5000mAh battery capacity. He also adds that the Redmi gaming smartphone will likely have a ¥2000 (~$305) starting price. There is still a lot we do not know about the phone but more details should surface as its release date draws closer.
For those outside China who look forward to its global release, it has been reported that it may arrive under the POCO brand much like how the Redmi K40 is sold as the POCO F3 outside China.
It’s definitely not a good day for the LG smartphone fans and the company itself. It finally announced that it is exiting the smartphone business worldwide by July 31. However, it said that it will continue to provide software updates for the older ones and as spotted by @Kuma_Sleepy, it might just include the upcoming Android 12 too.
As spotted by the Twitter user(Via XDADevelopers), LG has detailed on what would happen to the software updates after the shutdown of the smartphone business. On a FAQ support page, it says that it will continue to roll out the Android 11 update as intended.
If you recall, the company shared a rollout plan for Europe recently. The list of devices getting it include LG Velvet 5G, LG G8X, LG G8S, LG Wing, and more. Among these, it has already rolled out the stable Android 11 update to V60 ThinQ, Velvet 5G devices.
Moving on, on the support page, the South Korean giant says that it will also push Android 12 OS for select models.
Now, it hasn’t really mentioned the list of devices on the page and the info on it shouldn’t come out at least until Google’s official announcement of Android 12. Speaking of which, Google has already released Developer Preview of Android 12 and the stable version could be coming this fall(could be September).
Besides, LG also puts out a disclaimer that the upgrade schedule, i.,e the timeline may vary by country and changes might occur to this policy in the future. This suggests that if the company hits a major roadblock in the development, it may also bring down the shutters on the entire rollout plan.
In the announcement of its exit from the Smartphone business, LG said that it will move forward and focus on areas like electric vehicle components, smart homes, robotics, AI, and others.
Let’s just hope that the company finds invests time in the software updates and delivers them as planned.
Chinese smartphone makers have been lately leading in bringing innovations to the masses. For instance, vivo is known for introducing pop-up cameras and in-display fingerprint sensors. Both of these features first debuted on vivo APEX concept smartphones and later, debuted on vivo NEX series commercial phones. Now, over a year after the last NEX series handset, rumors of its successor have begun to pop up on the internet.
vivo NEX 3S 5G
The last-ever vivo NEX series smartphone called vivo NEX 3S 5G was launched in March 2020. It was basically the vivo NEX 3 5G and vivo NEX 3 from 2020 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, UFS 3.1, WiFi 6, and Bluetooth 5.1. In other words, it wasn’t that interesting.
But as per a Weibo user (@馬然熊猫), the upcoming vivo NEX series device, which could go official as vivo NEX 5 in H2 2021 will be impressive. It will not only sport all the ket specs of current-gen vivo flagships but will also include the most-awaited smartphone feature for the masses.
According to this person on the popular Chinese microblogging website, the next vivo NEX phone will come with an under-display camera. The in-screen camera will sit beneath the waterfall display supplied by LG Display.
Further, just like the vivo X60 series, the new vivo NEX will also flaunt Zeiss optics. Also, it will support the company’s 120W Super FlashCharge charging protocol and unannounced 60W wireless charging protocol. Last but not least, the upcoming vivo NEXT smartphone will be IP68-certified for dust and water resistance, as per the tipster.
Having said that, we urge you to consider this information with a pinch of salt. If this device indeed exists, then we expect to learn more about it in the coming days.
Nokia licensed its name to Hmd Global Oy for selling Nokia-branded smartphones. Since then, the latter has been launching devices across different price points but is struggling to gain a greater ground lately amidst heavy competition from Chinese brands. In spite of this, the company has managed to tie up with Google to provide a clean software experience under the ‘Android One Program’. That may change now as HMD Global is hiring a new UX designer for its Android phones.
As reported by XDA, HMD Globalseems to be looking for a new User Experience Designer. In a job listing posted on LinkedIn, the company is expecting the employee to focus on things like designing GUI elements like menus, tabs, and widgets, developing UI mockups and prototypes, creating original graphic designs, Identify and troubleshoot UX issues, etc.
Although there doesn’t explicitly say anything about a new UI development, citing a tipster, the XDA report says that this move a step in the direction of making their own custom UI.
As mentioned above, Nokia smartphones, under HMD Global, have mostly depended on Google’s Android One Program. Typically, they are intended to give a near-stock Android experience with no bloatware, faster and regular updates for up to two Generations of Android upgrades.
However, a lot has been going on in the camp of HMD Global lately. Before a scheduled April 8 launch event where it is expected to revamp the smartphone naming, its CPO and VP of the North America division, Juho Sarvikas announced his exit from the company.
Coming back, the job description of Nokia could also be for tinkering around a few of its first-party apps too. Nokia phones ship with their own Camera, My Phone apps just like Motorola have their own but a majority of the UI is clean with just Google Apps.
Either way, let’s wait for concrete info to find out if Nokia is indeed shifting from Android one in the future.
New images have recently surfaced online that are apparently the mockup for the next gen Apple iPhone 13. This mockup has revealed that the notch on the front would be smaller, and will also have new positions for its earpiece and front facing camera.
According to images shared by MacOtakara(Via MacRumors), the iPhone 13 Pro from the Cupertino based giant will feature a 6.1 inch display. Overall, the device would also arrive with minimal changes on the front, including the repositioned earpiece and selfie camera. Although, these changes are in line with previous leaks and reports that showcased a similar design. Furthermore, the alleged iPhone 13 Pro mockup is reportedly based on leaked design drawings that are circulated among case manufacturers.
For those unaware, case makers usually use mockups well ahead of the actual release of smartphones. Previous reports had also revealed that the glass cut out for the iPhone 13 will also have a camera positioned on the left side of the notch. MacOtaka also shared specific dimensions of the upcoming iPhone 13 Pro’s notch as well. In comparison to the iPhone 12 Pro, the mockup suggests that the newer variant will have a 5.35mm height over the 5.30mm of the 12 Pro, but will have a 26.8mm width on the 13 Pro over the 34.83mm in the predecessor.
Unfortunately, this is still an unconfirmed report so take it with a pinch of salt for now. We also have no way of confirming the news or the finer details regarding the Apple iPhone 13 lineup at the moment. However, the higher end variants are rumored to feature LTPO display panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and a faster A15 chipset along with other generational improvements as well. So stay tuned for more updates.
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