Google hardware products are known for bugs. But the search giant is also known for fixing those with software updates. Hence, the company has released a new firmware update for Google Chromecast With Google TV with an important fix and some new features.
The Google Chromecast with Google TV is the latest streaming device from the company. It was announced in late September along with Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5. Since its release, it has had some issues and the firm responded to them with software updates.
Currently, the product is receiving a new firmware update with build number 200918.033. This update brings a much-awaited fix for the recovery screen issue reported by many users. Hence, if you own the device, then make sure to update it as soon as possible. However, do note that the build is being rolled out in batches and therefore, it may take time to reach your unit
Further, as per the changelog, the latest update improves 4K support for TVs/AVRs and Dolby Audio for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital Plus passthrough content. That’s not all, it also bumps up the security patch level to December 2020 and brings general stability, performance, and security improvements.
Google Chromecast with Google TV 200918.033 Update Official Changelog
Improved 4K support for TVs and AVRs
Dolby Audio improvements for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital Plus passthrough content
Android recovery screen improvements and fixes
Reduced the occurrence of users seeing the Android recovery screen
Improved instructions when the Android recovery screen is shown
Security update: security patch level increased to December 5, 2020
General security, stability, and performance improvements
Amidst facing a lot of hiccups, Twitter never fails to update the features of its App. Today, it has started expanding the testing of one such ‘Twitter Spaces’ including a few users in India. This feature looks like a Clubhouse alternative and should give a tough fight to the invitation-only app soon.
Twitter has expanded the testing of the “Spaces” feature. For the unaware, this was first rolled out to Beta Testers back in December. It is a virtual audio chat room. Just like the currently popular Clubhouse, it enables users to join a voice chat or host one on the App.
It is actually powered by the Periscope, which is again a video streaming platform acquired by Twitter in 2015. Initially, the “Spaces” feature was available for a very limited number of users as a part of Beta testing. However, Twitter has confirmed to Techradarthat it is expanding the testing phase including a few users in India for feedback before wider rollout.
Besides, Alpha Exploration Co.’s Clubhouse is based on an invite system and is currently limited to iOS. Although its Android version is coming this year, Twitter Spaces could swoop in before and capture the user base. That is, it is working for both Android, iOS users simultaneously and has now increased the user base to 3,000 more people after an initial count of 1,000.
Basically, every Beta Tester would start a Public/Private Voice Room. Any Twitter user, following him, can listen to the audio inside the room. Inside the App, at the Twitter Fleet section, the Host icon with a Violet color ring and Voice icon will appear. Clicking on it shows two options- Listener, and Speaker.
It also shows the members inside the room and their designations. After clicking the option, you can either turn your mic on/off, send stickers, view transcriptions inside the space, and more.
Qualcomm‘s latest 5G modem is the Snapdragon X65 which replaces the Snapdragon X60 that was launched last year. The X60 was bundled on the Snapdragon 888 processor. The new Snapdragon X65 promises to bring superior speed and support for up to 10Gbps speeds on both standalone and non-standalone 5G networks.
In terms of the upgrades that this new modem brings, the Snapdragon X65 offers a maximum download speed of 10Gbps which is an upgrade over the 7.5Gbps maximum download speed offered by the SD X60 from last year. This speed is merely theoretical, though, as there is yet to be a 5G network that is capable of providing such a level of throughput. However, with the upgrade in 5G connectivity, the modem is battle-ready for whenever the 5G throughput will get to that level.
Further, the Snapdragon X65 comes with support for the upcoming 3GPP Release 16 specification and Qualcomm claims it is the first modem to have such support. Release 16 which is also called “5G phase 2” is designed to bring such improvements as power consumption, massive MIMO connectivity, and more. Release 16 comes with improved support for unlicensed spectrum and non-public networks designed to facilitate 5G network expansion from consumer to more commercial uses.
Qualcomm touts the modem to arrive with an upgradable architecture thus making room for the addition of new features which will, in turn, make the device it runs on to remain relevant and current for a long time, more so as 3GPP Release 16 continues to roll out, allowing devices to stay relevant and up to date for longer.
Qualcomm also announced the Qualcomm 545 mmWave antenna. The antenna is a 4th-generation model been though it retains the size of the third-gen model. However, the new antenna sees improvement in the transmission power and now supports the full range of global mmWave frequencies.
Also announced, is an “AI antenna tuning technology,” that is touted to enable huge improvements in performance due to the deployment of AI-powered tuning. To put it in perspective, Qualcomm explained that the new system has up to 30 percent more accuracy in the manner it detects the way users grip their phones in order to bump up the connection efficiency, faster data speeds, and better battery life.
We don’t expect the Snapdragon X65 to be available anytime soon going by precedence. We expect it to be unveiled in the next-generation flagship Snapdragon chipset that is expected to be announced in December.
In mid-January, Samsung officially announced the Galaxy S21 series consisting of three models. However, these smartphones hit the shelves only later that month. Now, within a few days, the trio has been already discounted in the US by up to $200 along with the Galaxy Z Flip 5G and Galaxy Z Fold2.
For those unaware, Samsung debuted the Galaxy S21 series starting at $799.99 for Galaxy S21, $999.99 for Galaxy S21+, and $1,199.99 for Galaxy S21 Ultra respectively.
The Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ come in two storage configurations and hence, customers opting for the higher storage variant have to spend an extra $50. On the other hand, the Galaxy S21 Ultra comes in three variants. Its mid-variant costs an additional $50 extra but the top-most variant is $130 costlier than the previous version.
However, if you want to buy a Galaxy S21 series device right now, you don’t have to spend the handset’s MSRP. That’s because all three phones have been discounted by popular retailers in the US.
All the storage variants of Galaxy S21 now costs $100 cheaper, whereas those of Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 Ultra are discounted by $200.
With the new discount, the Galaxy Z Flip 5G is now more affordable than ever
Model
Storage Variant
MSRP
Discount
New Price
Galaxy Z Flip 5G
8GB + 256GB
$1,199.99
$200
$999.99
Galaxy Z Fold2
12GB + 256GB
$1,999.99
$200
$1,799.99
That said, there’s no telling when these promotions will end. Hence, if you were planning to get any of the above-mentioned phones, then make sure to not miss this deal.
Xiaomi launched its first Smartwatch, the Mi Watch Revolve in India back in September 2020. The company has officially announced a price cut that will make the wearable available ₹3,000 less than the launch price.
Xiaomi Mi Watch Revolve
Xiaomi’s Mi Watch Revolve is now priced at ₹7,999($110) in India. The smartwatch comes in two color options- Chrome Silver, Midnight Black. If you recall, the company brought it for a price of ₹10,990($151). However, it sold for a ₹1,000 less during the Diwali sale.
That said, the company mentions that the new offer is a Limited Period one which could be on the occasion of Valentine’s day arriving in five days. Either way, the new Price of the Smartwatch has already reflected on the official channels. Speaking of which, you can grab the Mi Watch Revolve on mi.com and Amazon India.
Lowest price ever! 😍#MiWatchRevolve is available at an unbelievable price.
The Mi Watch Revolve features a 1.39-inch round-shaped AMOLED touchscreen housed inside a 46mm Watch dial. The strap width is about 22mm. The display has a 454×454 pixel resolution, 326ppi PPI, and a max brightness of 450nits. It is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 as well.
It also has features like always-on functionality, close to 112 Watch faces. Further, the device has 10 sport modes, media control, notifications, find my phone, weather, and more. It is compatible with Android 4.4 or iOS 10 and above.
Other features include a 420mAh battery, Heart rate monitoring(PPG), GPS, Bluetooth 5.0 BLE, 5ATM water resistance, Ambient light functionality, and more. Finally, the watch measures 4.62 cm x 5.33 cm x 1.14 cm and weighs just 40 grams.
A few days ago, a Lenovo phone with a “K13” moniker got certified by Bluetooth SIG leaving everyone surprised. Today, 91Mobiles have partnered with tipster Sudhanshu to reveal the renders along with key specifications.
According to the report, Lenovo K13 will have 4G LTE connectivity support, run Android 10 OS just like its predecessor. If you recall, Lenovo resurrected the Lemon series in China with budget Lenovo Lemon K12 Pro and Lemon K12 smartphones. These were rebadged versions of Moto G9 Power and Moto E7 Plus respectively.
These devices also had the 4G LTE connectivity and ran Android 10 OS out of the box. If this isn’t enough, the Bluetooth SIG also suggested that the Lenovo K13 could just be a rebrand of Moto E7i Power as model numbers were similar(XT2097).
Anyway, it’s really disappointing to see devices debuting with Android 10 at a time when Android 12’s arrival is imminent. Coming back, the report also shows renders of the Lenovo K13. The device is said to come in two colors- Red and Blue. The design is a bit different as this one has vertically-aligned dual-cameras on the back.
Surprisingly, it seems to have a speaker grille located on the back alongside the Lenovo branding. There is also a fingerprint sensor at the center of the rear. Apart from this, the device has Power, Volume, Google Assistant keys to the right side.
Lenovo K13 Specifications(Expected)
As for Specs, the device is likely to get a 6.5-inch HD+ display with a 1600x720p resolution and mostly a waterdrop notch. It will be powered by an Octa-core chipset clocked at 1.6GHz paired with 2GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. The device could also get a microSD expansion up to 32GB.
For cameras, the rear setup will have a 13MP main and a 2MP sensor, and a 5MP sensor up front for selfies according to the report. Weighing 200g, other features of it include dual-SIM and a Type-C port for charging. I guess we will have just have to wait for the official launch date and price now.
Samsung, the world’s biggest phone manufacturer has just updated its 2021 flagship lineup with the brand-new Galaxy S21 series, which includes the Galaxy S21, the Galaxy S21 +, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra. And as promised before, we got a unit of the Galaxy S21 and have been testing the device for the past few days. Since you can find plenty of unboxing and hands-on videos of the S21 on youtube, we instead focused on how the Mi 11 fares in comparison to the new Samsung model. So today we are going to bring you a deep gaming comparison between the S21 and the Xiaomi Mi 11 and briefly talk about their UIs.
As an early flagship model in 2021, the S21 is much more recognizable in appearance. Since you may have already learned much about these two models’ design, we are not going to go through it again and waste your time. So let’s just focus on their gaming experience.
Samsung is one of the first few brands that started the trend of curved display on their flagship models. Since the S6 Edge, the edge-curved display has become one of the series’ most distinctive features. But this time around the S21 comes with a traditional flat display, while other brands including Xiaomi just started their journey with curved displays.
However, we are really happy to see the flat display come back because personally I feel, having a flat-screen for gaming and videos is absolutely a better option. What’s very interesting here is that the Mi 11 utilizes Samsung’s latest 2K 120Hz panel, while Samsung has downgraded the s21’s resolution to 1080p. Here, Samsung is telling you that if you want a better display with a higher resolution, just pay more money and get the S21 Ultra. Both the Mi 11 and the S21 have an excellent color presentation, but if we just focus on gaming, you can’t really pick one as the one with a better display, no matter for the colors or for resolution.
Mi 11 top / S21 bottom
Although the light and thin design of the Mi 11 offers comfortable holding when gaming for a long time, the S21 has an even lighter design. Therefore, even though the Mi 11 has a bigger display, we still strongly feel that the whole visual experience on the S21 is better in our gaming test.
Actually, we don’t think these two phones are the ideal models for gaming. In our comparison between the Mi 11 and the iQOO 7, you can see how additional buttons improve gaming operation. If we had to pick one who’s better at gaming, we would give our credit to the Mi 11 which has a slightly bigger display for a less crowded button-layout. And the Mi 11’s sampling rate is a bit higher than the S21, although it’s not easy to perceive this difference.
Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Xiaomi Mi 11: Benchmark & Gaming Performance
Now let’s focus on their performance. The S21 series released in Europe features Samsung’s own flagship chipset, the Exynos 2100, while the model in our hands is powered by the Snapdragon 888. From what we got on these benchmarks, the result shows a tiny gap between these two models within 8 percent, except for the Antutu benchmark results, which showed a 12% lead for Mi 11. So theoretically the S21 should have a close performance to what we have on the Mi 11. However, the real difference is higher than what we expected.
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PUBG
PUBG
But it doesn’t mean that the S21 is worthless over gaming. For example, in shooting games like PUBG Mobile which is well-optimized, the S21 has almost the same performance as the Mi 11. The consistent high framerate shows that the PUBG Mobile now is not a problem at all for these high-end models.
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NBA 2K
NBA 2K highest graphics
And then we turned to the NBA 2K20, the game that is able to support higher-framerate gaming. So in this game, both of them can reach up to a maximum 120fps, but both of them throttled down performance several times in our 20mins gaming test.
After the latest update, the Mi 11 finally fixed the issue of the lazy big core and the performance mode of the CPU lasted for much longer than before. Its first performance down throttling happened at the 9-minute mark. While the Samsung S21 was more disappointing with it throttling down the CPU in just 2 minutes. And it eventually limited the frame rate down to 60fps most of the time. So when you look back to their frame rate results, not so surprisingly, the average frame rate for the S21 running the NBA 2k is only 70.74fps, while the average figure for the Mi 11 is 105.15fps.
But these figures are not even close to the results that we tested on the 2020’s flagship models running the Snapdragon 865. And the S21’s result once again proves the optimization issue of the Snapdragon 888. But, of course, this aggressive down throttling reduced the surface temperature and the power output of the S21.
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Genshin Impact
And then let’s move on to the results of the Genshin Impact. Well, this game is an absolute nightmare for the snapdragon 888. All we can say is that the result for the S21 is worse. Even though the average framerate of 28.72fps was gathered from a mid-range phone, it would be still terrible, not to say that it’s tested from a giant brand’s flagship model. Then we ran the game on Mi 11 to see whether its performance improved after the latest update. Well as you can see, a different issue just occurred — higher frame rate fluctuation. Although it seemed that the big core was working well, it didn’t reflect in better gaming fluency. Still the result of 47.3fps is still much better than what we got on the S21.
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Nimian legends
The last game we tested was Nimian Legends. The situation for the S21 didn’t change. The gap is still huge between these two models. The Mi 11 ran at 52.09fps on average, while the S21 only ran at 32.57fps.
So from all the tests we did, we have to admit that the S21 didn’t take full advantage of the latest flagship chipset. And it’s probably the most conservative model among all the Snapdragon 888 flagships in the market right now. And it seems that the Mi 11 also got the better performance over its GPU dispatch.
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But at the same time, the S21 did perform better in terms of the cooling effect and power consumption. In the test of Nimian Legends, the S21 didn’t over-heat and was able to control the perceivable temperature under 47℃, and it only consumed 15% of power, while the Mi 11 easily heated up to 53℃ and it consumed 20% of power as we mentioned in the last video.
Xiaomi Mi 11 vs Galaxy S21: UIs
Galaxy S21 OneUI
In addition to their performance, we think it’s necessary to briefly talk about their UIs too. The S21 is running the One UI, which is one of the most customizable UIs in the Android ecosystem. When you get the phone, your first impression might be that the UI is boring without any features. Indeed there is not much you can do with its default settings. However, Samsung has officially offered customizable UI features via an App called Good Look, and you need to download the app from the Samsung Appstore. In the App, you will see the basic UI get a number of customizable UI features, such as Navigation bar, operating gesture, dynamic wallpaper elements, and so on. And even some basic settings were hidden inside the app collection of the Good Look family, such as the adjustment of edge touch for avoiding mis-touches.
On the contrary, on the Mi 11, the highly integrated MIUI feels a bit bloated with so many features. Some are creative and useful, and some will never be used in their lifetime. And it has pretty comfortable animations too, if it’s running fluently. But unfortunately, the Mi 11 still lagged sometimes. And make sure that you can live with its ads if you are going to buy the Chinese version.
So that’s it. We have covered all the important information that we want to share with you, mainly about the S21’s disappointing gaming performance and its UI details when directly compared to the popular Mi 11. As for the camera performance of the S21 series, we will bring the S21 Ultra to our labs soon and compare it with other top camera phones of 2021.
The reason why we didn’t compare the S21’s cameras with the Mi 11’s is very simple: after we checked their camera samples, the Mi 11 lost the competition in almost all rounds. And the S21 is even not the best model of the series.
But you can check out our comparison of the Galaxy S21 with the Vivo X60 Pro+ down below.
AnTuTu has just released a new list of top Android smartphones for the month of January 2021. This list is based on user ratings of Android handsets, and is led by the Meizu 17 Pro, followed closely by the Huawei Mate 40 and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G.
The rankings from the known benchmarking based platform arrives based on user ratings of Android smartphones. In other words, the rankings are also based on customer satisfaction of a handset. This implies that the devices on the list are present due to the high ratings received from numerous users. These phones also meet customers needs in most scenarios as well and are basically the ones that have been very positively received by the Chinese market.
Earlier this month, the list went live with the Meizu 17 Pro leading the rankings. Since its release, the device has received various OTA updates that have added various new features, which is likely what led to its high user ratings overall, which reached 97.93 percent. Under the hood, the device sports last year’s flagship Snapdragon 865 SoC, with LPPDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. The device has been built with design in mind rather than performance, although, its hardware is still quite capable.
The other top three rankings had the Huawei Mate 40 arrive in second, with a 97.89 percent user rating. This device features the company’s Kirin 9000E chipset and is the company’s latest flagship handset. On the third spot, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G can be found, with a 97.75 percent user rating. It features top notch specs and has recently seen price slashes as well making it more affordable.
First, there was a smartphone wave, which was followed by TWS aka true wireless earphones. Now, we see smartwatches everywhere. Almost all companies, whether new or old, sell wearables. Hence, we are not surprised to learn that a gaming brand like RedMagic will be soon releasing its own smartwatch.
RedMagic, the gaming sub-brand of nubia Technology is known for gaming smartphones, related accessories, and even a gaming TWS called Cyberpods. Now, according to FCC, the brand may launch its first-ever smartwatch called RedMagic Watch with model number SW2102.
The upcoming RedMagic Watch will sport a 1.39-inch circular AMOLED display with a resolution of 454 x 454 pixels. The live images and the sketches in the manual show that this smartwatch will come with two physical buttons on the right side.
Further, the entire casing of the watch seems to be made of plastic but the bezel could be metal. Whereas, the replaceable strap looks like cheap silicon material, going by its appearance. Also, the live images only showcase a black-colored model, however, there could be other variants as well.
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Red Magic Watch
Talking about sensors, this wearable will come with all the essential ones, such as a heart rate sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and ambient light sensor. That’s not all, the watch will also feature in-built GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, QZSS).
Unfortunately, the manual does not list the sports modes and other features of this wearable. But it does mention that this 5ATM water-resistant smartwatch will be backed by a 420mAh battery that charges via an included magnetic charger at the rate of 2.5W.
Last but not least, the RedMagic Watch will use Bluetooth 5.0 LE to connect with smartphones running Android 4.4 and above via a companion app called RedMagic Sports.
As far as launch is concerned, we can expect RedMagic Watch to debut alongside the RedMagic 6 gaming smartphone powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888.
OnePlus’ co-founder Carl Pei left the company and founded his own venture called ‘Nothing’. As teased before, in an interview with Bloomberg, he says that the company will start its portfolio with Wireless Earbuds.
Carl Pei, the founder of ‘Nothing‘, plans to make not just audio products but create an ecosystem where devices can talk to each other. Precisely, it is already working on Smart, Connected consumer electronics. However, the company will begin with Simpler products i.,e a Wireless Earbuds.
Speaking of which, the earbuds are coming this summer but we don’t have a specific date yet. This announcement comes along with details about investment from venture capitalists. Carl Pei said that GV(Formerly: Google Ventures) has invested $15 million in the London-based Consumer Technology company.
In case you don’t know, GV is a Captial Investment arm of Alphabet Inc. Apart from GV, Nothing has attracted investments from biggies like Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, Reddit co-founder & CEO Steve Huffman, iPod inventor Tony Fadell, and YouTuber Casey Neistat.
Wireless earbuds have stormed the consumer electronics market in 2020. In fact, they, along with wristwear, led the entire wearable segment‘s shipments with a whopping 93% of the total share. The list includes giants like Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, and even realme making it inside the top-10.
Hence, it would be a bang of a start for Carl Pei to compete with companies( including his ex-company OnePlus) in a segment that’s already blooming entering into 2021. That said, we will have to wait and see if the company manages to pull the audience towards it with its first product.
Recently, LG has on multiple occasions teased its rollable smartphone that has been under development. And now, a new patent has just surfaced that reveals that the company could possibly working on another rollable smartphone with a secondary display on the back.
According to a LetsGoDigitalreport, the South Korean tech giant filed a new design patent with the CNIPA (China National Intellectual Property Administration). The patent was for a rollable smartphone and featured 26 patent sketches as well, showcasing the device from different angles. The dual display smartphone features a large flexible display on the front, which can be extended from one side. This raises its overall size by about 40 percent compared to its compact form. On the rear, a smaller secondary display can be found below the camera module.
In other words, the user can pull the primary display to extend it from one side, while the smaller secondary screen might offer functions related to photography, since there is no front camera visible on the front. Notably, the device is also devoid of any ports, seams or even buttons. So it could also be a button less handset. Furthermore, it is unclear if the company is actually working on such a device.
Previously we had reported on the company possible selling its mobile division, due to poor performance in recent times. Its latest launches including the LG Velvet and Wing had also sold poorly with demand that was below company expectations. So, a rollable handset with two displays might be rather expensive to build and even more difficult to sell.
An early leak had claimed that OPPO will be launching the OPPO F19 series in India in February. However, it was recently revealed that the OPPO F19 lineup will debut in early March. Fresh information reveals that the series may include a third device named the OPPO F19 Pro+.
According to a recent report by My Smart Price, three monikers of upcoming OPPO phones have appeared in the Google ARCore supported devices list. As can be seen in the screengrab shared by the publication, the Find X3, Find X3 Pro, and F19 Pro+ are the monikers of three upcoming OPPO smartphones.
The F19 lineup is expected to debut in early March in India. However, it is unclear whether the company will be announcing the F19, F19 Pro, and F19 Pro+ smartphones at the same event. Unfortunately, there is no information available on the specifications of the next-generation F-series phones from OPPO.
The F19 series is rumored to arrive with a sleeker design as compared to the existing F17 models. Hopefully, the rumor mill will spill more information on the F19 lineup before its official announcement.
Recent reports have revealed that the Find X3 Pro will debut along with Find X3 Neo and Find X3 Lite phones in global markets in March. Leaks have not revealed specification information on the Find X3. Hence, it was not clear whether the company has plans to launch the Find X3. The appearance of the vanilla X3 at Google ARCore is a good hint that it may also go official in the near future. In related news, the company is also expected to launch the F21 lineup in the second half of the year.
Vietnam has recently awarded a license to LG Display that would enable it to raise the investment for the factory that it has set up in the nation’s northern port city of Haiphong. The company aims on raising investment from 750 million US Dollars to 3.25 billion US Dollars.
According to a Reutersreport, local media outlets reported on this news and even added that the additional investment will help the South Korean tech giant in expanding its production capacity. This would help bump production units in the city, with the plans of expansion slated to be completed by May 2021. Furthermore, the rise in investment will also allow for the creation of 5,000 new jobs, as per Vietnam Finance.
This sizeable expenditure will allow LG Display to boost its project in the Vietnamese port city, allowing it to set up more OLED production facilities in the region by the next month at the earliest. The company had began its Vietnamese OLED module plant in 2016, so it expanding on its prior investment understandable, especially considering it is the world’s largest OLED TV panel maker.
At the moment, LG has yet to respond or comment on the matter. Unfortunately, this is all the information we have to go for now. So stay tuned for more, as we will be providing updates when additional information is available.
Last year, POCO announced the POCO X3 NFC for global markets and it unveiled the POCO X3 in India. Both smartphones differed in departments like NFC connectivity and battery size. A recent report revealed the existence of a handset named POCO X3 Pro. Fresh information reveals that the phone has approval from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) authority of India (via) and the Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) regulatory body of Malaysia.
A POCO smartphone with model number M2102J20SG was recently approved by the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) in Russia, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) of Singapore, and TUV Rheinland authorities. The letter ‘G’ at the end of the model number indicates that it is a global edition. It was revealed through the IMEI database that the M2102J20SG model number belongs to the upcoming POCO X3 Pro handset.
The M2102J20SG model has also passed SIRIM certification. The FCC certification revealed that the phone will come with MIUI 12, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LTE, and NFC. The other certifications have anything concrete about the smartphone. The variant of the POCO X3 Pro that received BIS certification has revealed that its model number is M2102J20SI, where I refer to the Indian edition.
A recent report by XDA Developers revealed that ‘vayu’ and ‘bhima’ codenames belong to the different variants of the same base model of POCO X3 Pro. The publication claimed that the device could be equipped with an sm8150 chip and it could be featuring a 48-megapixel main camera. The quad-camera setup of the phone may include a main wide-angle lens, an ultrawide lens, a macro shooter, and a depth sensor.
The sm8150 chip belongs to the Snapdragon 855 family, which includes Snapdragon 855, Snapdragon 855+, and the rumored Snapdragon 860. Nothing else is known about the specifications of the POCO X3 Pro.
Apple is set to launch its new ad tracking transparency feature some time in early spring. But before its official launch, it has already faced backlash for the new privacy changes, especially from social media giant Facebook. Now, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager has also warned the company to play fair.
According to a 9To5Macreport, the EU antitrust chief said that the new ad tracking feature does fall in with some of the proposed legislation in Europe. She even added that she has yet to receive any official complaints regarding these upcoming ad tracking transparency changes, which will essentially notify iPad and iPhone users when the apps and websites are tracking them and even offer an easy opt out option. Vestager said that the feature is actually in line with the recently proposed EU Digital Services/Markets Act legislation.
She added that “It is a very good thing to have a clear opt-out option. If you look at the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, these are some of the solutions we are looking at there.” However, the EU antitrust chief still warned that the feature could go beyond privacy focus and might border on anticompetitive practices as well. In an interview earlier this week, Vestager stated that ‘It can be competition if it is shown that Apple is not treating its own apps in the same way.”
As mentioned prior, Facebook is one of the biggest critic of this and is filing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple over ATT feature. Notably, Apple has also claimed that this feature would also be applicable on itself along with third party developers. So it remains to be seen how the lawsuit plays out regarding the ad tracking feature.
Chinese smartphone maker realme is expected to release a plethora of new products in global markets in the coming days. Some of these devices have been now certified by SIRIM. Hence, they could launch in Malaysia like most realme products.
The devices that have received certifications from the Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) include two handsets and two pairs of wireless earphones. These products are as listed below.
The certifications do not reveal anything about these devices except for their product category. The phones are listed with support for 4G connectivity, while the two models of realme Buds TWS are certified as wireless earphones.
Talking about the smartphones first, there’s nothing much known about the realme C21 and realme narzo 30A although both of them have bagged multiple certifications. However, realme India has begun to promote the vanilla realme narzo 30 in India. This phone is also a mystery.
On the other hand, some details of the realme Buds Q2 are out, thanks to FCC. It is expected to feature a similar design as the original model, MicroUSB port, 40mAh battery for buds, 400mAh battery for the charging case, and at least two colors (Black, Green).
Lastly, just like the handsets, nothing is known about the realme Buds Air 2.
Redmi is riding high with the success of selling 200 million Note Series devices Globally. As guessed before, the company has now officially started teasing its next Redmi Note 10 series launch in India.
Representative image: Redmi Note 9S
Global VP of Xiaomi and MD, Xiaomi India, Manu Kumar Jain, and a lot of other Redmi employees have posted teasing the launch of Redmi Note 10 in India. Every video of them includes a #SM10THChallenge. In the video, he says the company will make an announcement on February 10 at 10:00 AM IST.
He also says in a tweet that a Smoothest Smartphone from Redmi India is coming. All this clearly hints that he is talking about the Redmi Note 10 launch in India. Earlier, tipster Ishan Agarwal had tipped that Xiaomi will bring the Redmi Note 10 series to the country this month.
Further, the “smoothest” keyword in every teaser suggests that the Note 10 series will finally bring displays having a high refresh rate. If you recall, all the POCO mid-range(POCO X2, X3) and Xiaomi’s newly launched Mi 10i support 120Hz displays.
Got the moves to be as smooth as the smoothest @RedmiIndia smartphone yet? 😎
𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙱𝙸𝙶𝙶𝙴𝚂𝚃 𝙉𝙊𝙏𝙀-𝙁𝙄𝘾𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚈𝙴𝙰𝚁 𝙸𝚂 𝙰𝙻𝙼𝙾𝚂𝚃 𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙴! Unlock it with Me! ⚡️
Upload your dance move with #SM10THChallenge. 10 fans to win BIG!
However, the yesteryear Redmi Note 9 series that launched in India back in March 2020, came with a 60Hz LCD. Although high refresh rate wasn’t really a trend back then, competitors like realme brought the realme 6 Pro with 90Hz panels. Still, Xiaomi managed to sell a good amount of Note 9 series in the country.
That said, we aren’t sure if the devices would have LCD or AMOLED but it’s most likely the former with a 120Hz panel. Anyway, Xiaomi is expected to launch two devices inside the Redmi Note 10 series- Redmi Note 10 (M2101K7AG) and a Redmi Note 10 Pro (M2101K6AG). The former will come in White, Green, or Grey colors while the latter will be available in Bronze, Blue, and Grey variants.
As for Specs, nothing concrete is known yet but the devices have already received India’s BIS certification. The ‘Pro’ variant might sport POCO X3’s design and a Snapdragon 732G chipset inside but it’s just a guess right now.
A recent tip also says that Redmi Note 10 will come in 4/6GB RAM, 64GB storage while the Note 10 Pro will have 6/8GB RAM, 64/128GB option.
Electronic Arts has just announced that it is planning on acquiring another gaming studio. With a deal of 2.4 billion US Dollars, the company aims to acquire Glu Mobile by the second quarter of this year.
As per a VentureBeatreport, the new deal marks the second major acquisition from EA in recent weeks, with it previously buying out publisher Codemasters. For those unaware, Glu is best known for a Kim Kardashian Hollywood game, along with other mobile games like Tap Sports Baseball, Dine Dash Adventures, and Disney Sorcerer’s Arena. The publisher is a known for mobiles titles with big budget that often include full 3D visuals. Despite this, it still offers its games as free to play titles that run for years and generate revenue through in app microtransactions.
Notably, this business model is what Electronic Arts wishes to switch towards in the future, and has even repeatedly informed its investors as well. EA CEO Andrew Wilson said that “Our acquisition of Glu combines amazing teams and deeply-engaging products to create a mobile games leader with proven expertise across many fast-growing genres. Mobile continues to grow as the biggest gaming platform in the world, and with the addition of Glu’s games and talent, we’re doubling the size of our mobile business.”
Similarly, Nick early, Glu chief executive also added that “This transaction is the culmination of the tremendous work of the Glu team to deliver world-class interactive experiences for our players, while driving business momentum that has led to strong financial and operational results. It represents a terrific outcome for all of our stockholders and other key constituents. This transaction is the culmination of the tremendous work of the Glu team to deliver world-class interactive experiences for our players, while driving business momentum that has led to strong financial and operational results. It represents a terrific outcome for all of our stockholders and other key constituents.”
Huawei Technologies Founder, Ren Zhengfei, stated earlier today (9th February 2021) that it will be “extremely difficult” for the US to reverse its sanctions against the company, but he hopes the new Biden administration will bring a more “open policy.”
According to a Reutersreport, the senior executive of the Chinese tech giant said that he hoped the new US President, Joe Biden, would keep the US business interests in mind while making new policies. The founder believes that it is “conducive” to the financial performance of US based companies that supply to Chinese corporations. Despite its struggling smartphone operations, Huawei still managed to see positive growth last year for both revenue and net profit.
Ren further added that “We hope the new administration will harbor an open policy for the benefit of the American firms and also the economic development of the US.” Furthermore, he said that he would also welcome a call from Biden. For those unaware, the previous US President, Donald Trump, added Huawei to the US trade blacklist, over national security concerns. Additional sanctions thereafter effectively hampered the company’s smartphone unit as well.
Zhengfei Ren, Huawei founder and CEO
Due to the blacklist, the company could no longer procure goods or technology from US based firms. In other words, it now faced issues sourcing crucial components, especially after being cut off from its primary chip supplier TSMC. Ren believes it would still be “extremely difficult” for the brand to be taken off the entity list, but he continues to hope to buy “large volumes” of US made equipment and materials if the Biden administration allows it.
Although Xiaomi sells expensive smartphones, the company’s cheaper handsets are popular worldwide. In fact, in India. Xiaomi is known as Redmi among commoners, thanks to value for money phones like Redmi A series, Redmi number series, and Redmi Note series. The latter series has now achieved a huge milestone, as per Xiaomi.
Yesterday, ahead of the Mi 11 global launch event, Xiaomi India announced a brag-worthy achievement on its various social media handles.
The Chinese smartphone maker revealed that it has shipped over 200 million units of Redmi Note series phones globally to date. This data is sourced from the firm’s own ‘Xiaomi Data Center’.
It is not surprising to learn that the global shipments of the Redmi Note series have exceeded 200 million units since its inception. This series has been the heart of Xiaomi’s product lineup ever since it was introduced.
Redmi Notes have been unbeatable in their price segment for a very long time. However, that began to change when realme entered the scene. But being an established product lineup, they are still as popular as they were before.
That said, Xiaomi is known for announcing its milestones ahead of releasing new devices. Hence, we think the Redmi Note 10 series is just around the corner. The upcoming series is reported to include two models, namely Redmi Note 10 and Redmi Note 10 Pro. As of now, we are only aware of the storage configurations and color variants of these handsets.
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