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Four upcoming Apple SoCs leaked, new chips in development

A new leak has revealed that Apple is apparently working on new SoCs (system on chip). If this news is true, then the company is working on four new chips that could be featured in its products soon.

According to known leakster, Longhorm, the Cupertino based giant is currently developing new and upcoming chips. Notably, these processors will be from two different families of SoCs, namely the T6000x series and the T811x series. Within the former, the T6000 and the T6001 chips will be launched while the latter will have the T6110 and T8112 chips. Unfortunately, the source did not mention what purpose these chips serve and which products will they power.

Although, the Apple smartphones and tablet based chips have recently carried the internal 8000 series model numbers, so we can make an educated guess in saying that the T811x lineup could be designed for future iPhone series, iPads, or even smaller Mac computers. However, this also means that the purpose of the T6000 series chips are unknown at the moment. The company might be designing these chips for more powerful computers like the iMacs, MacBook Pros, or maybe even the rumored Mac Pro Mini, as per a TomsHardware report.

Apple

Keep in mind that this is still an unconfirmed report, so take this news with a pinch of salt for now. We would have to wait for additional reports or an official company announcement to know more about these chips since we have very little to go on at the moment. So stay tuned for more updates as well.

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Every realme phone launching above ₹20,000($275) will support 5G in India in 2021

5G hasn’t really gained momentum in India and recent reports by the country’s parliamentary panel on IT suggests it is nowhere near nation-wide deployment. However, this hasn’t stopped smartphone manufacturers from launching 5G-enabled handsets. Last year, realme brought the realme X50 Pro as a 5G flagship to India. Cut back to 2021, it has recently launched realme X7 series in the country. Now, the company’s head Madhav Sheth says that all the devices launching above ₹20,000(~$275) in 2021 will have 5G support.

Realme Logo Featured

In an interview with Indian Express, realme India and Europe CEO Madhav Sheth says 50% of realme products launching in 2021 will support 5G connectivity. And as mentioned above, the company seems to target users with 5G-enabled devices above ₹20k segment but with democratized prices and price-performance value.

As for the 5G rollout, although giants like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are ready with the latter conducting Advanced Tests, the Govt. is yet to conduct the auctions for the 5G spectrum. realme recently brought the realme X7 5G as low as ₹19,999 in India. This region of 5G devices was unexplored until Moto broke the market with Moto G 5G.

Later, Xiaomi brought its Mi 10i, and several other companies like Motorola and Nokia are now planning to go even deeper. As such, the race for bombarding 5G devices is catching the heat in 2021.

Madhav also adds that technology like 5G will help trigger faster connectivity in areas like education and healthcare and smart homes. He says that the next-gen network will play a pivotal role in building a smart lifestyle for the people. Speaking of which, the company has said that it will launch over 100 Smart AIoT products this year.

Some of the contenders include realme Laptops, the successor of realme Buds Q, the realme Buds Q2, Smart Trimmers, Motion-Activated lights, and more.

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Xiaomi patents a design for 3D smartphone

There have been multiple 3D smartphones in the past, however, none of them took off. Hence, major companies did not try investing in it. But now, out of the blue, Xiaomi has patented a design for such a handset.

Xiaomi 3D Smartphone Design Patent Renders

According to LetsGoDigital, Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software applied for this design patent with The Hague International Design Bulletin, part of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) last month (January 2021). But surprisingly, the application for this patent was approved within a month and its documentation was published on February 5, 2021.

The design showcases a smartphone with no notch, punch-hole, or pop-up module. Hence, it could feature an under-display camera. Further, on the back, the device houses a total of four cameras, one on each corner.

Whereas, the right side includes a power key along with a volume rocker and the left side features a SIM card slot. Lastly, the bottom of the handset houses a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and holes for a speaker as well as a microphone.

Xiaomi 3D Smartphone Design Patent Sketches

As far as those four cameras are concerned, they can be used for 3D photography and videography. Like we mentioned in the beginning, there were many phones in the past like HTC Evo 3D and LG Optimus 3D with similar functionalities. But they did not succeed. In fact, 3D has been now replaced by AR and VR in entertainment.

Therefore, we don’t see Xiaomi launching a 3D smartphone in the near future.

 

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Umidigi’s smartphones with temperature sensor facilitates the fight against COVID-19

Umidigi is mainly known for its powerful rugged smartphones. Apart from the high-end device, the company also provide affordable smartphones – Umidigi A9, A9 Pro and A7S featuring temperature sensors to keep you at bay from Covid-19. Such innovations are helping a lot to contain the further spread of Covid-19.

umidgi a9 pro

Must See: Umidigi A9 Max renders gives us a glimpse of powerful performance

Having high-fever is a primary indicator of getting the virus, and the new smartphone enables the users to measure the body-temperature conveniently. These entry-level smartphones are globally available featuring a temperature sensor. The company is even regarded as the “World’s No.1 Thermometer Smartphone Brand.

Umidigi did not stop by just launching an infrared thermometer based Umidigi A7S smartphone, however, they launching a couple of new entry-level smartphones including Umidigi A9, and A9 Pro. The thermometer sensor might not be fully accurate but the ability to scan multiple people at a time can be more helpful. The thermometer accuracy may deviate 0.2-degree Celcius.

The company demonstrates the temperature measurement from smartphones via a YouTube video below. Anyone can flawlessly measure the temperature by aiming at someone’s forehead.

The smartphones carrying infrared temperature measurement sensor have garnered massive sales for being a powerful yet affordable package. As an example, Umidigi A9 Pro feature a better camera, large display, and beautiful design for $129.99 throughout the globe. In specifications, the Umidigi A9 Pro offers a 48MP quad-rear camera, and a 24MP Sony selfies camera, 6GB RAM + 128 GB Storage, 6.3-inch FHD display, metallic and glass frame.

However, there are some cheaper options like Umidigi A9 and A7S which costs under $100. The company is further coming with a new temperature-sensor based smartphone -Umidigi A9 Max in the future.

Umidigi A9 Max

Umidigi A9 Max Render

It is an entry-level powerful smartphone featuring a temperature sensor. It will house 8GB RAM and be priced under $200. According to a teaser, the smartphone will feature a similar design as like of the Umidigi A9 Pro.

Meanwhile, you can grab the Umidigi A9 Pro, A9 and A7S at great discounts.

See More: [Deal] Grab Umidigi Bison Rugged Phone for a limited-time discount price of $145.00

Samsung Galaxy A12 goes official in South Korea for KRW 275,000($245)

Samsung introduced the Galaxy A12 back in November 2020. Later it brought it to various markets including Singapore, Malaysia. Ahead of a possible India launch next week, the company has brought it to its home country, South Korea.

Samsung Galaxy A12 South Korea- Price, Availability

Samsung Galaxy A12 is priced at KRW 275,000(~$245). Samsung’s official press release shows only 3GB RAM, 32GB variant on its spec sheet as of now. We aren’t sure if the company would bring other variants in the future.

Anyway, the device will be available in two colors- Black and White. Samsung says that it will start accepting pre-orders at Coupang, Gmarket, 11th Street, and the Samsung website. The pre-orders begin tomorrow(Feb. 9) and run for 8 days.

This means that the official release date is around Feb. 17. Samsung is giving offers like a 10% discount and a Two-month YouTube Premium Subscription for the users.

Samsung Galaxy A12 Specifications and Features

By now, you all you would know everything about the device as it has already launched in several markets. Plus, it is also tipped to launch in India next week. Either way, the device features a 6.5-inch HD+ Infinity-V TFT LCD display.

Under the hood, MediaTek Helio P35 chipset powers the device paired with 3GB RAM, 32GB storage as mentioned above. However, it is available in several other configs(4/6GB RAM, 64/128GB storage) in some markets. The device also has a MicroSD slot to expand storage up to 1TB.

For cameras, we get a Quad-Camera setup on the back with 48MP wide, 5MP ultra-wide, and two 2MP sensors. Upfront, there is an 8MP selfie shooter. The Galaxy A12 has a 5,000mAh battery with 15W charging support.

Other features include dual-SIM 4G, Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, GALILEO, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. It measures 164 x 75.8 x 8.9mm and weighs 205g.

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Hyundai and Kia confirm not being production partners for Apple Car

Recently, multiple reports had surfaced regarding the Apple Car and the company’s supposed production partners. We had previously covered news regarding Hyundai and its subsidiary Kia partnering with the iPhone maker for its electric car production, but it has now been confirmed that this is not the case.

Apple

Back in January 2021, Hyundai revealed that it was in talks with the Cupertino based giant regarding a potential partnership for Apple Car. But then, the automobile maker then revised the statement to working with various car brands on self driving technology and shared no specifics regarding the matter. After which, multiple reports surfaced that suggested that both Hyundai and Apple are working on a possible deal. Furthermore, it was also revealed that Hyundai’s subsidiary Kia Motors was also in the picture.

The reason for the partnership is over the automotive manufacturer’s US based firms and reports even had a supposed 3.6 billion US Dollar investment in the ‘talks.’ But now, Hyundai and Kia have confirmed that the companies are not in talks with Apple regarding its Apple Car production. Both firms stated that they “have been talking with multiple companies about autonomous electric car development,” but have not made any confirmations so far.

Apple car Kia

In other words, the Apple Car project’s future is currently unclear, at least in terms of a potential partner for its first all electric self driving car. While the news might put the project in the backseat, it is still indicative of the smartphone maker’s growing interest in its electric vehicle offering. So stay tuned for more, as we will be providing updates when additional information is available.

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Infinix Note 10 Pro’s FCC certification leaks design and key details

Last year in October, Infinix announced the Infinix Note 8 and Infinix Note 8i smartphones in Kenya. Fresh information reveals that the company could be working on the launch of the Infinix Note 10 series as the successor model. Its arrival could be drawing near as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved the Infinix Note 10 Pro smartphone.

It has been found through IMEI listing that the newly spotted Infinix phone with model number X695 could be arriving in the market as the Infinix Note 10 Pro. It seems that the company may have decided to skip the Note 9 branding for its next series of smartphones.

The Infinix Note 10 Pro’s FCC certification reveals that it carries support for dual-band Wi-Fi, and it may ship with a charger that offers 33W fast charging. The listing also suggests that the device may arrive with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of built-in storage.

A schematic of the phone’s rear shell is also available in the FCC documents of the Infinix Note 10 Pro. It reveals that the back panel has a large-sized camera array that includes four cameras and an LED flash. The handset also seems to feature a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. Its other details are currently under wraps. The FCC certification suggests that it may not long for the Note 10 Pro to go official.

The Infinix Note 8 came with specs like a 6.95-inch HD+ display, Helio G80 chipset, 64-megapixel quad cameras, a 16-megapixel dual-camera setup, and a 5,200mAh battery with 18W fast charging. It remains to be seen whether the Note 10 Pro offers users a large-sized screen, a huge battery, and a dual selfie camera setup.

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realme Race may launch in India as it has been certified by BIS

As soon as Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 went official in early December 2020, multiple OEMs confirmed that they will be releasing phones with this chipset. One of those companies was realme, which even shared its device’s codename (Race). Now, this handset has been certified by BIS, and hence, it could launch in India as well.

realme Race Prototype Image
realme Race Prototype

Earlier today, the realme Race with model number RMX2202 was spotted on TENAA with its images, which differ from the picture shared by GSMArena but matches with another one (pictured above).

This very phone is now listed on India’s BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certification bureau as well. Hence, the realme Race may go official in India after its China launch, which has been confirmed to take place after the Chinese New Year.

 

According to previous reports, the realme Race will come with Snapdragon 888 SoC, 12GB RAM, 256GB internal storage, 64MP primary camera, and realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11. These specs suggest this handset to be a successor to last year’s realme X50 Pro, which launched as India’s as well as the brand’s first 5G smartphone.

Additionally, last month, a well-known tipster revealed that a Pro model will accompany the upcoming realme Race smartphone. However, the so-called realme Race Pro’s model number is still unknown though its specs have been tipped.

Realme Race RMX2202
Realme Race (RMX2202) TENAA

Also, this device is yet to be certified by TENAA, let alone BIS. Hence, currently, we can only say that India has a chance of getting the standard Race model and not the Pro. But the possibility could change in the coming days.

That said, the official branding of realme Race is also a mystery. It should probably retail as a realme X series phone or something new as realme is reported to offer new devices as a replacement to the OPPO ACE series.

 

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Founder: Xiaomi has spent $1.5 billion on R&D in 2020, aims to raise this by 30-40% in 2021

Earlier this week, Lei Jun, the Founder of Xiaomi Corp, stated that the company has invested over 10 billion yuan (roughly 1.55 billion US Dollars) on research and development last year. The senior official also said that the brand is now planning on raising the investment by 30 to 40 percent for this year.

Xiaomi

According to an ITHome report, the Founder made the statement after being asked about the investment the Chinese tech giant plans on making for research and development this year. Lei Jun said that the company will continue to maintain its high investment into technology research and development for this year. Furthermore, Xiaomi will be further raising the investment by up to 30 to 40 percent in 2021.

This would have investment reach somewhere between 13 billion to 14 billion Yuan (roughly over 2 billion Yuan). Additionally, Lei Jun also added that the company will also be focusing on recruiting engineers this year. As per the official statement, Xiaomi will be hiring around 5,000 employees in 2021. The senior executive was also asked by the Mi MIX 4 as well. However, the he refrained from providing any details regarding the device.

Xiaomi

Although, Lei Jun state that the device is currently in the works and is one of the tasks being handled by its research and center department. Previously, the smartphone maker had confirmed the launch of the Mi MIX 4 later this year along with a tablet as well. Unfortunately, we do not have any finer details regarding this at the moment. So stay tuned for more, as we will be providing more updates when additional information is available.

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Samsung Galaxy S21 iFixit Teardown reveals repairing is easier than the Galaxy S20

iFixit has recently took apart a new device. It was the Samsung Galaxy S21, which received a repairability rating of 4 out of 10. Despite such a modest result, the flagship was still better than its predecessor the Galaxy S20.

While iFixit never officially posted an official rating for the Galaxy S20, the South Korean tech giant’s latest flagship is clearly more easier to repair, as per a GSMArena report. Looking at the video, it can be observed that the plastic back is easier to remove than a glass panel. Furthermore, the flat display is also easier to remove as well, which is also now made to be detachable. The reasons for the relatively low score is the difficulty in removing the battery and the display.

Samsung also glues the batteries in the Galaxy S21, rather than having a pull tab that makes it easier. The tear down also offers interesting side by side shots of the new fingerprint scanner as well. We can observe that the Galaxy S20 Ultra featured a much larger a sensor that covered more surface area under the hood.

Samsung

In recent times, premium grade handsets have been seen having complex internal configurations that have made it harder for the device to be repaired. Although, not great, Samsung has still made a few improvements in this regard. You can check out the video above to see the tear down from iFixit.

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realme wants you to pick narzo 30’s retail box

Last year, realme introduced a new series of smartphones called ‘narzo’. These devices offer better specs than the realme number series at a cheaper price. The last devices in the series were unveiled at the end of Q3 2020. In December, the brand was tipped to launch the realme narzo 30 series in January. But that never happened, however, the company has now begun to tease these upcoming phones officially.

realme narzo 30 Retail Box

On its official forum, the realme community, the Chinese smartphone maker has shared a post with a picture showcasing six different possible retail boxes of realme narzo 30. The brand has also provided a Google Form link to let people vote for their favorite.

This is not the first time realme is revealing the retail box of its yet to release phone. Earlier last month, the brand did something similar for the realme X7 series. However, the company did not run a poll because the launch was only a few days away.

But this time around, the situation is different as the company is asking the public to vote. If this polling is legit and not some random survey for marketing purposes, the realme narzo 30 may go official only in March at the earliest.

Anyway, nothing is known about this handset as of now. But it is certain that there will be at least three devices in the series, namely narzo 30, narzo 30 Pro, and narzo 30A.

 

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Meizu appoints Huang Zhipan as the new CEO replacing Huang Zhang

Meizu, the China-based smartphone maker has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer. The company recently sent a letter to all of its employees at the signature at the bottom indicates Huang Zhipan as the new CEO, reports Sohu.

Huang Zhipan is the younger brother of Huang Zhang, who was the company’s CEO. Surprisingly, the company has not made any official announcement related to this development and it is not known when this move was made.

Meizu Executive

Nonetheless, the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer at Meizu confirms that the company is looking for a new direction as it struggles to maintain its position in the highly-competitive smartphone market.

The company had recently issued a press statement which claims that it achieved sustained profitability with the two phones it launched last year — Meizu 17 and Meizu 17 Pro. This indicates that Meizu is planning to stick to its current strategy of launching premium flagship-grade smartphones in the market.

A couple of years ago, Li Nan, co-founder and Vice President of Meizu had resigned from the company, saying he would focus on the consumer market and developing new brands. Last year, in August, he officially launched his new company named Numiao Technology aka Angry Miao Technology.

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Redmi K40 confirmed to feature dual stereo speakers

Xiaomi’s sub-brand Redmi has confirmed to launch the Redmi K40 series this month. The company has been teasing its flagship smartphone for the past few days, in addition to leaks and certifications. Hence, we know some of the key specs of this handset. Now, over the weekend, the brand’s general manager had revealed another highlight of this upcoming phone.

Redmi K40 Series Teaser Poster

On Saturday, Lu Weibing, the GM of the Redmi brand shared a post on Weibo saying that Redmi K40 will offer powerful performance, a flat display, and good battery life. A user commented on this post to not forget dual speakers. To this, the executive jokingly replied that he forgot to mention it in his post.

This confirms that the forthcoming Redmi K40 will feature dual stereo speakers as well. In fact, Redmi GM shared this Weibo post from the said phone. However, it is not sure what kind of speaker system it will come with.

 

The recently launched Mi 11, Redmi Note 9 4G (Redmi 9 Power, Redmi 9T), and POCO M3 have a dedicated secondary speaker at the top. But normally, most handsets use the earpiece as the second speaker, like on POCO F1.

Hence, it is a mystery whether the forthcoming Redmi K40 will have a standalone secondary speaker or earpiece for stereo effect. Also, Lu Weibing only talks about ‘Redmi K40’ and therefore, we cannot tell for sure if all the models in the series will come with dual speakers.

Redmi K40 Retail Box Leak
Redmi K40 Retail Box

According to previous reports, the Redmi K40 series is expected to come with three different chipsets, namely Snapdragon 888, Snapdragon 870, and Dimensity 1200. All the models are expected to sport flat displays and at least one of them (or maybe all) will have the smallest punch-hole till date.

Lastly, the Pro model is reported to house a 1/1.5 inch camera sensor and all of them will support 33W fast charging but will ship without a charger.

 

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Xiaomi India sees lowest sales growth in 2020, but still clocks in profit

Xiaomi has recorded its lowest sales growth in India last year. Although, the company still managed to clock in profit in 2020, despite the overall decline in the world’s second largest smartphone market.

Xiaomi

According to an EconomicTimes report, the Chinese tech giant saw a sales growth of just 7 percent year on year over 2019, reaching 38,196 crore INR (roughly 5.2 billion US Dollars). However, despite its modest growth the company still registered a profit of 401 crore INR (roughly 55 million US Dollars) last year after sustaining a 148 crore INR (roughly 20 million US Dollars) a year prior. At the moment, the company has yet to reveal the exact reason behind its slowed sales growth.

Although, industry experts have stated that the company has been trying to strengthen its presence in the mid to high end smartphone segments. Furthermore, its is also working on expanding within the Smart TVs segments. For those unaware, the premium segments also offer higher profit margins. While Xiaomi did see growth slowing last year, it is still India’s largest smartphone maker in terms of units sold, with its total market share being 26 percent.

Xiaomi

Samsung and Vivo arrived second and third respectively in that market, with a 21 percent and 16 percent market share. But in terms of revenue, Xiaomi now ranks third, behind Samsung and BBK Group, which is the parent company of Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme. The Chinese smartphone maker also added that “All efforts shall continue to be made to increase the revenue and retained earnings in the upcoming years.”

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Xiaomi confirmed to launch Mi MIX 4 smartphone and a tablet this year

Recently, Xiaomi CEO had teased the launch of a new smartphone under the Mi MIX lineup and now he has confirmed that the Mi MIX smartphone is indeed getting launched this year. This will be the fourth-generation model in the lineup.

Several Xiaomi executives have also taken to Weibo to reveal that the company is also set to launch a new tablet later this year. It remains to be seen if the upcoming tablet will be launching along with the Mi MIX 4 smartphone.

Xiaomi Quad-Curved Concept Display
Xiaomi Quad-Curved Concept Display

When the upcoming Mi MIX phone was teased by Lei Jun a few days ago, it was touted to be the most expensive phone from the Chinese company. While not much is known about the upcoming Mi MIX smartphone at this time, reports say that the company could be opting for a foldable design that can be opened and closed like a book. In that case, it will be the first foldable smartphone from Xiaomi.

Another possibility is that the company may adopt the new four-side waterfall display with 88-degree curves on all sides. The display was unveiled a few days ago with a concept smartphone and it could end up being used in the Mi MIX 4.

Although Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun has confirmed to launch the company’s new Mi MIX smartphone later this year, there is no timeline available for this. It’s noteworthy that the Mi MIX device will be launching after a gap of two years.

As for the tablet, there is no information available about this at this time, not even its name. But it will be interesting to see what the company has planned given that the last tablet device launched by Xiaomi was Mi Tab 4 in 2018.

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iQOO Neo5 image and key specifications leaked, launch expected in mid-March

Last month, iQOO announced the Snapdragon 888 SoC powered iQOO 7 smartphone in China. It is speculated that the Chinese brand could be working on a new featuring the recently unveiled Snapdragon 870 SoC. New leaks have revealed that the SD870 powered device will be debuting in the market as the iQOO Neo5. A real-life image of the alleged of the Neo5 surfaced on Weibo (via) recently to reveal its design and key specifications.

The leakster shared an image of the engineering prototype of a Vivo phone powered by the Snapdragon 870 SoC. He believes that this handset could be the Neo5. The image reveals that it has a punch-hole screen, 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage, and Android 11 OS.

Another tipster claimed that the iQOO Neo5 has an S-AMOLED display that produces a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and a 120Hz refresh rate. He further mentioned that the device has a plastic frame, and it will come with 88W fast charging. The handset is speculated to debut by mid-March in China.

So far, recent reports have revealed two Vivo phones that could be featuring the Snapdragon 870 mobile platform. The first one is the V2045A phone which was spotted at Geekbench and Bluetooth SIG in January. The other one is the Vivo V2055A phone that was recently spotted at the Google Play Console.

Apart from the presence of the SD870 chip, the Google Play Console listing revealed that the V2055A phone features a 1080 x 2400 pixels FHD+ display, 12 GB of RAM, and Android 11 OS. The image of the phone that was found in the listing revealed that it features a punch-hole screen.

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Apple to discontinue the iPhone 12 mini in Q2 2021: Report

Apple is apparently considering to stop the production of its iPhone 12 mini. The news arrives after reports pointed at its lackluster sales, which might push the brand to halt its production in the second half of this year.

Apple

According to a BusinessInsider report, the Cupertino based giant is reportedly planning on discontinuing its most affordable handset within the iPhone 12 series in Q2 2021. The report is based on a recent forecast note by JP Morgan Chase, with its analyst William Yang stating that the adjusted forecast is for both the iPhone 12 series and the new generation iPhone series launch that is expected to arrive in the second half of this year. Previously, we had reported on Apple lowering production capacity for the iPhone 12 mini in favor of higher end models.

In other words, the company lowered iPhone 12 mini production from 11 million units to 9 million units. The analyst added that “given that demand for the iPhone 12 mini seems to be weak, the supply chain may stop production of the phone in the second quarter of 2021.” He further stated that the sales projection for the iPhone 12 Pro Max has risen by 11 million units, 2 million units for the iPhone 12 Pro, and by 8 million for the iPhone 11.

Apple iPhone 12 Mini
The iPhone 12 Mini has a 5.4-inch screen, making it way smaller than all flagship Android phones released this year

Yang also predicts that Apple aims to produce 80 million to 90 million units of the upcoming iPhone 13 series. This marks an increase from 76 million units that was scheduled for the current iPhone 12 lineup, which was launched in the second half of last year. The analyst also believes that there might not be an iPhone SE model launching this year as well. The iPhone 12 mini’s less than expected demand is likely the primary reason for the company discontinuing the device, although, this is still an unconfirmed report so take it with a pinch of salt and stay tuned for more updates.

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Realme Race images leaked through TENAA listing

Leaked information that surfaced in December revealed that the RMX2202 model number belongs to the forthcoming Realme flagship phone. The RMX2202 smartphone appeared in the database of the TENAA certification platform of China today. The listing has revealed the design of the smartphone.

Realme Race RMX2202
Realme Race’s TENAA images

The front image of the Realme RMX2202 shows that it has a punch-hole positioned at the top-left corner of the display. The flagship phone could be sporting an AMOLED screen with an in-screen fingerprint reader. The cameras of the Realme RMX2202 are not clearly visible in the rear image of the device. It seems to be housing an elongated flash unit and at least three or four cameras. What’s surprising about the TENAA images of the RMX2202 is that it differs dramatically from the leaked image that was leaked by GSMArena. 

realme Race
Leaked image of the Realme Race

The publication had revealed that the Snapdragon 888 powered Realme Race will come with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of built-in storage. It may feature a 64-megapixel main camera and it will boot to Android 11 OS and Realme UI 2.0. Speculations are rife that this device could be the vanilla variant and there could be a more powerful Pro variant.

A recent leak claimed that the Realme Race Pro has a 6.81-inch OLED screen that supports a 3K resolution and a 160Hz refresh rate. The device may come with a Snapdragon 888 chipset and 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM. It could be available in storage editions such as 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB in China. The handset may come with support for 125W rapid charging for its 5,000mAh battery.

Realme executives have revealed that the Realme Race will debut after the Chinese Spring Festival which falls on Feb. 12. As it is known, Race is just the codename of the device and its final product name is yet to be revealed.

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Apple to account for 53% of TSMC 5nm chips production in 2021

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest contract manufacturer for mobile chipsets, is expected to grow its business by 12-16 percent.

A report considers Apple being the top customer for the company when it comes to 5nm chipset manufacturing. It further goes on to add that the Cupertino-based giant could account for 53 percent of the overall 5nm chips production at TSMC.

TSMC 5nm Chips Chart 2021

Qualcomm is expected to account for 24 percent of TSMC’s 5nm chip manufacturing as Apple will reportedly be using Qualcomm‘s 5nm Snapdragon 5G X60 modem in the upcoming iPhone 13 smartphones. It is being reported that TSMC and Samsung have already booked 90 percent of their 5nm chipset manufacturing capacity for the year 2021.

As for the 7nm chipset manufacturing, the report claims that AMD will be the leading customer in this, accounting for 27 percent of the total orders. It will be closely followed by NVIDIA with 21 percent of total production.

A few months ago, it was reported that Apple had booked the full capacity of TSMC for 5nm chipset production. TSMC started giving preferential treatment to Apple as almost one-fifth of the company’s total revenue comes from the Cupertino-based tech giant.

The preferential treatment to Apple is being considered as the reason for Qualcomm giving its Snapdragon 888 chipset manufacturing contract to Samsung. The previous generation chipset — Snapdragon 865, was produced by TSMC.

TSMC is now rushing to develop its 3nm process and it seems that Apple will be the first to contract the initial production capacity. With Apple now making its own chips for smartphones and Mac laptops, it remains to be seen which will be the first to start adopting the new 3nm chips.

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China implements new anti-monopoly rules targeting tech giants

China has implemented new anti-monopoly rules in the country which aims to restrict the activities of the country’s major tech companies. The new rules are basically a formalized version of the ani-monology draft law published in November last year.

The guidelines are expected to put new pressure on the country’s leading internet services, including e-commerce sites such as Alibaba Group’s Taobao and Tmall marketplaces and JD.com. The law also covers payment services like Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent Holding’s WeChat Pay.

China Flag Close-up

The rules have been issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on its website, reports Reuters. It bars companies from a range of behavior, including forcing merchants to choose between top internet players, a long-time practice in the market.

It also prevents firms from forcing merchants to choose between supporting specific services and applications, as well as stopping actions that would fix prices, restrict technologies, and other market manipulation techniques.

Explaining the reason behind implementing these new rules, SAMR said reports of internet-related anti-monopoly behavior had been increasing, and that it was facing challenges regulating the industry. It added, “The behavior is more concealed, the use of data, algorithms, platform rules and so on make it more difficult to discover and determine what are monopoly agreements.”

SAMR has already launched an antitrust investigation into Alibaba Group in December following the suspended $37 billion IPO for payment affiliate Ant Group. Alibaba was warned by regulators against practices such as forcing merchants into exclusive cooperation pacts and agreements that would prevent their use of a competitor’s platforms.

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