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Red Magic and Tencent Games partners to improve performance of upcoming gaming smartphones

Gaming smartphones are becoming more and more powerful and the companies making those phones are also doing everything they can to make their device rank among the leading ones in the market.

In line with that, Nubia’s Red Magic has today confirmed that the company has entered into a strategic partnership with Tencent Games and the purpose of this cooperation is to offer a better gaming experience to the users of Red Magic Gaming Smartphones.

Red Magic Tencent Games Partnership

There were reports about this partnership even before the company made it official. Recently, an alleged image of the upcoming Red Magic 6 Gaming Smartphone had leaked online, which features the Red Magic logo as well as Tencent Games logo.

The Tencent Logo is placed on an X-shaped structure that seems to have been used to act as a heat sink. On the sides of that, there’s a grille on both sides, which indicates that there may be a cooling fan present the grille is present to vent out the air.

So far, it has been confirmed that the Red Magic 6 gaming smartphone will come powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, which is the flagship SoC available in the market right now. It will be packed with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage.

For connectivity, it seems to have packed 5G support as well as Wi-Fi 6. It will be running the latest Android 11 operating system with the company’s own custom user interface. The smartphone will feature a 4,5000mAh battery — the same as its predecessor — but will come with a faster-charging technology. It is confirmed to have support for 120W charging compared to 55W on its predecessor.

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Samsung Galaxy M62 and Galaxy F62 bag Bluetooth certifications, launching next month?

Samsung has a couple of new phones lined up for India. Recent reports have revealed that the company may announce new smartphones such as Galaxy M62/F62, Galaxy M12, and Galaxy M12 in India in the coming weeks. Fresh information reveals that the Galaxy M62/F62 has bagged approval from the Bluetooth SIG authority. The Bluetooth approval suggests that the device may break cover as early as next month.

The Bluetooth SIG agency has approved the SM-E625F_DS Samsung phone with the Galaxy F62 moniker. The Galaxy M62 is also listed on the certification platform with its SM-M625F_DS model number. The listings only confirm that these handsets carry support for Bluetooth 5.0. Both models have also received certification from Wi-Fi Alliance in the recent past. Speculations are rife that both phones may arrive with almost identical specs.

Samsung Galaxy F62 and Galaxy M62 Bluetooth SIG certified

The support page of the Galaxy F62 was recently found listed on Samsung India’s website. The Bluetooth and Wi-Fi certifications of the Galaxy F62 as well as its appearance on the official website are a good hint that it may launch at some point in February.

Unfortunately, not much is known about the specifications of the Galaxy M62 / F62. Last month, the Galaxy F62 was spotted at the Geekbench benchmarking platform with the Exynos 9825 chipset, which also fueled that the Galaxy Note 10 series that debuted back in 2019. The F62 was found to be equipped with 6 GB of RAM and Android 11 OS.

Other reports have revealed that the Galaxy F62 could be sporting an FHD+ AMOLED display and a quad-camera system. The handset is also expected to arrive with an in-screen fingerprint reader. The Galaxy F62 will be the second F-series phone from the brand to land in India after the Galaxy F41 handset that debuted in October last year.

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Apple patents a foldable device with multiple integrated cameras for improved panoramic shots

Earlier today (26th January 2021), an Apple patent application was published by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The patent is for future foldable devices from the company, which would sport multiple integrated cameras.

Apple

According to a PatentlyApple report, the new patent is related to future foldable devices from Apple. These devices may arrive with multiple cameras that are integrated into the flexible housing that could greatly improve the panoramic imaging capabilities of the foldable smartphone. The cameras in question are housed in different locations on the frame that provides various different angles of view to the sensors as well.

In the patent, the Cupertino based giant notes that it can be difficult to capture panoramic shots with a traditional wide angle camera on an iPhone. Due to slight movements of the users’ hands, the resulting image might come out as blurry. Other factors like a partially changing or moving scene/subject can also lead to the feature being impractical as well. Thus, Apple has aimed to work on the issue on devices with a “flexible housing formed from flexible fabric, flexible polymer, or other flexible materials.”

Apple

In other words, these devices could potentially sport multiple cameras that are mounted at different locations across the flexible housing. These cameras might be able to capture multiple images of a single. Similarly, the sensors could also be panned outward to capture overlapping images of a scene that are then stitched together to form a composite panoramic image. At the moment, it is currently unknown if Apple is actually working on such a device or just covering all bases. So stay tuned for more updates.

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Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra to feature a low powered OLED display

Earlier this week, Samsung Electronics announced a new low powered OLED display for smartphones. This new display will make its first appearance in the Galaxy S21 Ultra, with the company claiming lowered power consumption of about 16 percent.

Samsung

According to a CNET report, that the new display technology achieves a lower power draw by speeding up electron flows in the screen’s organic layer. For those unaware, the display is one of the major power drawing components of a smartphone. Jeeho Baek, head of the Mobile Display Sales, Marketing & Product Planning Office of Samsung Display stated that The constant progression of display technologies has increased demand for lower power consumption to enable features such as larger screens, faster display driving, and greater resolution.”

To put things simply, pixels in OLED panels are made out of organic materials that glow when a current is passed through them. So, the acceleration of the flow of electrons through the display’s layers would increase the brightness of the light produced whilst consuming less power, which raises battery life, as per official Samsung notes.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Phantom Black S Pen Featured

The Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G was unveiled along with the South Korean tech giant’s Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus earlier this month, and are positioned as the company’s latest premium grade flagship handsets. These devices sport top notch specs and supports the newer and faster bandwidth, 5G, as well. At the moment, the pre orders for these smartphone series is open right now, with the official launch to begin on 29th January 2021.

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Samsung Galaxy XCover 5 visits Geekbench with Exynos 850 and Android 11

Back in November 2020, it was reported that Samsung was working on its next-gen rugged smartphone called Galaxy XCover 5. Now, two months later, this handset has popped up on Geekbench but with a twist.

Samsung-Galaxy-Xcover-4s
Samsung Galaxy XCover 4s

The previous report on the Galaxy XCover 5 by GalaxyClub said it to come with model number SM-G501B. But now, the same publication reveals that it will be not the case.

According to this device’s Geekbench listing, it will bear the model number SM-G525F. Above all, it will come with 4G and not 5G as expected earlier. As of now, it is not sure if there is a 5G variant. If it exists, we can expect it to sport the model number SM-G526B.

That said, the new rugged smartphone from Samsung will be powered by the company’s own Exynos 850 SoC paired with 4GB RAM. This chipset has scored 182 points and 1148 points in Geekbench’s single-core and multi-core tests respectively. Whereas, for software, the phone will run Android 11.

Nothing else is known about this handset apart from the above-mentioned parameters. But we expect to learn more about it before it goes official sometime in the near future.

Lastly, as far as the device with model number SM-G501B is concerned, GalaxyClub suggests that it could be the Galaxy S21. Because Samsung is known for faking the Galaxy S series phones with different model numbers while benchmarking them.

 

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Germany seeks Taiwan’s help for its automobile chip shortages

Germany has been facing a shortage of auto chip supply and has asked Taiwan to urge its local manufacturers to help in easing this issue. Apparently, the shortage of semiconductor chips has affected the former’s automobile industry.

Germany

According to a Reuters report, the shortage has hampered the economic recovery of Germany after the Coronavirus pandemic. At the moment, automobile manufacturers across the globe have been shutting down their assembly lines due to issues with the delivery of semiconductors. A few of the cases seem to have stemmed from the actions of the former US President Donald Trump’s administration, and their efforts against the Chinese chip factories.

As per the report, the shortages have affected automobile giants like Volkswagen, Ford Motors, Toyota Motor Corp, Nissan Motor, Fiat Chrysler, and even other car manufacturers as well. In a letter, the German Economy Minister, Peter Altmaier asked his Taiwanese counterpart Wang Mei-hua regarding this issue. The letter was to address the current issue that also included the Taiwan Semiconductor Company (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, in the talks.

Germany

For those unaware, TSMC is also one of Germany’s largest chip supplier. Altmaier stated that “I would be pleased if you could take on this matter and underline the importance of additional semiconductor capacities for the German automotive industry to TSMC.” The letter aims at getting additional capacities at TSMC to deliver semiconductors in both the short and medium terms. Furthermore, the German automobile is already in talks with TSMC about raising deliveries, which have been “very constructive” so far.

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Samsung Galaxy A02 and Galaxy M02 launch nears as they bag NBTC certification

Earlier this week, the upcoming Samsung Galaxy A02 and Galaxy M02 phones were certified by the Bluetooth SIG authority. Now, both handsets have bagged approval from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) regulatory body of Thailand. These certifications are a good hint that Samsung may announce the Galaxy M02 and Galaxy A02 phones in the next few weeks.

The NBTC certification mentions the Galaxy A02 smartphone with SM-A022F/DS model number and the Galaxy M02 with SM-M022F/DS model number. The listings only reveal that these handsets carry support for 4G connectivity.

The Galaxy M02 could be launching soon in India as its support page has appeared on Samsung India’s website. The Galaxy M02 is rumored to b powered by a Snapdragon 450 chipset and 3 GB of RAM. The device is likely to arrive with 64 GB of storage.

The handset could be equipped with an HD+ resolution supporting display and it may house a 5,000mAh battery. The rear side of the phone could be sporting a 13-megpaixel + 2-megapixel dual-camera system. The Galaxy A02 is expected to arrive with specs like the Galaxy M02 phone.

The Samsung Galaxy M62/F62 and Galaxy M12 are the other M-series phones that are expected to debut soon in India. The Galaxy M62/F62 is rumored to be equipped with specs lik Exynos 9825 chipset, 6 GB of RAM, Android 11 OS, an AMOLED display, an ins-screen fingerprint reader, a quad-camera system, a USB-C slot, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

The Galaxy M12 is expected to arrive with specs like a 6.5-inch TFT LCD HD+ display, Exynos 850 chipset, up to 6 GB of LPDDR4 RAM, up to 128 of eMMC 5.1 storage, Android 11 OS, and a 6,000mAh battery. A variant of the phone could be also arriving in the country as Galaxy F12.

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ZTE Blade X1 offers 5G, 48MP camera, and a punch-hole display for only $384

Visible, an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) that uses Verizon’s network has launched ZTE Blade X1 in the US. This budget smartphone offers 5G connectivity for just $384 or $16 per month if you opt for the 24-month plan. However, it is worth noting that this phone does not support mmWave 5G.

ZTE Blade X1 Midnight Featured

The newly released ZTE Blade X1 features a plastic build and flaunts a 6.5-inch FHD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels) IPS LCD panel on the front with a single punch-hole at the top left corner. This display has the standard 60Hz refresh rate and 19.5:9 aspect ratio

The handset is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G SoC paired with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. If needed, the storage can be further expanded up to 2TB using a microSD card.

As for cameras, this device comes with a quad-camera setup on the back, which includes a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide unit, a 2MP macro shooter, and a 2MP depth sensor. Whereas, for selfies, the smartphone uses a 16MP snapper that resides in the punch-hole on the front.

 

On the connectivity front, apart from sub-6GHz 5G, the phone also supports 4G LTE, VoLTE, 3G, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, and NFC. As far as ports are concerned, the handset comes with USB Type-C and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Lastly, this smartphone sports a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, runs Android 10 backed by a 4,000mAh battery, comes in a single ‘Midnight’ color option, measures 164 x 76 x 9.2mm in dimensions, and weighs around 190g.

In a nutshell, the ZTE Blade X1 is similar to the ZTE Axon 11 SE 5G and ZTE Blade V2020 5G but with a different chipset and the LED flash sits right to the camera module.

 

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(Via)

 

Redmi Note 10 bags FCC certification ahead of rumored February launch

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had recently certified a Xiaomi smartphone with M2101K6G. It was found that this device will be arriving in the market with Redmi Note 10 Pro 5G moniker. The FCC authority (via) has now approved another device with the M2101K7AG model number. It is now known that this model number belongs to the Redmi Note 10 handset.

The M2101K7AG has been previously spotted at certification platforms like the Eurasian Economic Commission (ECC) of Europe and the TKDN authority of Indonesia. The FCC listing has revealed a few details of the Redmi Note 10.

The FCC listing states that the M2101K7AG model number belongs to the 4G version of the Redmi Note 10. It runs on MIUI 12 and it carries support 4G LTE and dual-band Wi-Fi. According to a recent leak, the Redmi Note 10 will be launching in February in India in colors like Gray, White, and Green.

The FCC listing of the Pro model revealed that it could be arriving in three options such as 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage, 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, and 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage. Apart from FCC, the Pro variant has also received approval from other certification platforms like BIS (India), IMDA (Singapore), EEC (Europe), and MCMC (Malaysia). It is speculated that the Redmi Note 10 Pro could be equipped with a 108-megapixel primary camera.

Redmi is also expected to announce the Redmi K40 series of smartphones in China in the coming month. While the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform is expected to fuel the Redmi K40 Pro, it is unclear which processor will be present under the hood of the vanilla K40 handset. The company is also working on a Dimensity 1200 chipset powered gaming smartphone. The identity of this model is yet to be revealed.

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Xiaomi teases the RedmiBook Pro, which features a webcam again

Earlier today (26th January 2021), Xiaomi released a new promotional image poster for its upcoming RedmiBook Pro laptop. The teaser image shared offered us a small glimpse of the notebook, which is confirmed to feature a webcam on the front.

Xiaomi

For those unaware, back in 2020, the Chinese tech giant had launched the RedmiBook 14 and RedmiBook 16 laptops. These notebooks did not feature a front facing camera, which had led to quite a number of its prospective buyers being disappointed. While buying an external camera might offer better clarity, but it does incur an additional cost to the user. But now, it seems like Xiaomi has listened to its customers and has included the webcam again in its laptop offering.

Looking at the promotional image, we can observe that the front camera will be housed on the top, as is the case with most laptops. So, we can expect to see it on the top bezel region. Talking about the specifications of the laptop itself, the company’s previous teases had pointed at the laptop featuring an Intel 11th Gen Tiger Lake series processor, with a display that features 2K resolution.

Xiaomi
RedmiBook 16

For storage, Xiaomi is said to offer an NVMe solid state hard drive, along with a Type C port, which supports PD protocol charging as well. Furthermore, other features include fingerprint scanning for biometric security, backlight keyboards, and a new metallic body. Unfortunately, that is all we have to go on at the moment, so stay tuned for more as we will be providing updates when additional information is available.

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Samsung Galaxy S21 does not support the seamless update feature

Back in 2020, “seamless” updates were first revealed to be a part of smartphones that are launching with the latest Android 11 OS. The feature would allow devices to install system updates while it’s running and even reboot into the new build without user input. However, it seems that Google has apparently rolled this requirement as it has been confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy S21 doesn’t support this feature.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Phantom Gray White Pink Violet Featured

According to an AndroidPolice report, the Android 11 Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) has apparently rolled back the requirement that stated that smartphones launching with the new OS will feature seamless updates. Google has been working on this feature since 2016. To put it simply, the seamless update enables the device to get updated in the background while it is being used. While it was expected to be a feature for devices that launch with Android 11, this has since been confirmed to not be the case.

Furthermore, the Samsung Galaxy S21 series is also confirmed to not feature seamless updates. The idea behind this new feature was to reduce the wait times behind the updates, namely the bootloader bar, which makes the device unusable for a short duration of time. While various OEMs like Google, Motorola, OnePlus, and even LG support it, Samsung still doesn’t support seamless updates on its devices despite the feature being announced almost half a decade ago.

Samsung

Last year’s Samsung Galaxy S20 series also did not support this feature despite the South Korean tech giant being one of the few manufacturers that offers timely updates. In other words, Samsung devices spend quite a bit of time in their bootloader screens due to the frequent updates. Thus, while the updates are a plus point, the constant downtime is a con to their otherwise great update cycles.

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Huawei pushes health care focused wearables as part of its growth in new areas

Huawei Technologies is planning on pushing forward its research and development of its wearables offerings that would focus on health care. The move arrives as part of its efforts to expand into new areas amid the US sanctions.

According to an SCMP report, the Chinese tech giant’s push towards this line could have it catch up with its rival Xiaomi, which is the world’s second largest wearables maker after the Cupertino based firm, Apple. At the moment, Huawei is working on three health research programmes on hypertension management, body temperature, and coronary heart disease. The company announced these initiatives earlier this month in an online event.

Huawei Watch GT 2 Porsche Design
Huawei Watch GT 2 Porsche Design

While it has announced that it is working on health care related wearables, it has yet to announce when we might see the integration of these new features in its offerings of smartwatches, smart bands, or even eyewear. However, the company did state that it is building a “strong barrier” to entry for other competitors in the industry. Unfortunately, a Huawei spokesperson said that the company has no further comments regarding this matter for now.

As per Jason Low, a Canalys analyst, “The whole industry is expecting [wearable] products which can really help consumers better manage their health [concerns], especially chronic diseases that both young and old people are likely to get. But there is still a long way to go because this requires a lot of R&D investment, as well as cooperation between smart hardware and technology companies.” Back in Q3 of 2020, Huawei was the world’s 3rd largest wearables maker, although, the US trade restrictions have hampered its ability to supply hardware and software components for its core smartphone and networking business operations.

Huawei

The company’s CEO and Founder, Ren Zhengfei previously stated that the company must stay committed to its research and development, focus on profits and even called for decentralization for survival during this time. Currently, Huawei has over 13 research centers across the globe that work on its smart wearable designs, development of software and hardware, and are even working on health care as well.

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MediaTek’s new budget 5G chipsets reported to use 10/12nm process

MediaTek’s latest chipsets, the Dimensity 1200 and Dimensity 1100, are both 6nm chipsets but its upcoming budget 5G chipsets under the Dimensity 700 and Dimensity 800 series may be built on larger node size.

Latest news says that the Taiwanese semiconductor company is planning to announce a new Dimensity 700 processor in the second quarter of the year while a new Dimensity 800 processor will be announced later at MWC 2021 which is scheduled for late June.

Dimensity 700 Featured

News of new chipsets should definitely sound exciting but that may not be the case for these new SoCs as it has been reported by Digitimes that they may be built using TSMC’s more mature 10nm or 12nm process. That sure sounds like the manufacturer is regressing seeing as the Dimensity 700 and Dimensity 800 chipsets are fabbed on TSMC’s 7nm node.

Sources have said that the focus for these new chips will be power-efficiency, sub-6GHz support, and multimedia and gaming performance. Our guess is that the chipsets will feature a CPU configuration with four Cortex-A55 cores and two Cortex-A76 cores. Differences between the chipsets should include CPU clock speed, maximum resolution display support, and number of GPU cores and clock speed.

These chipsets will go head-to-head against Qualcomm’s own Snapdragon 480 5G processor which has been released for entry-level and budget 5G smartphones.

 

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TSMC reportedly planning to increase automotive chips pricing by 15%

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the supply chain for several technology companies and has created a shortage of key components. With the production impacted, manufacturers are looking to raise pricing.

TSMC, the world’s leading contract manufacturer for chipsets, is expected to do the same for its new automotive chips unit, for which the company is likely to cite the global shortage of components as the reason.

TSMC Logo

As per the report, Advanced Integrated Circuits (VIS), the automotive chipset unit or subsidiary of TSMC is considering increasing pricing by up to 15 percent while other foundries are also looking to do the same.

If the companies decide to increase the pricing, it will be the second round of price increase since last fall. Reports indicate that the price rise could take effect sometime at the end of February or early March.

With the increase in pricing for key components such as chipsets, the overall price of the Smart Car could also get increased, which can slow down the pace of adoption of electric vehicles, which is now gaining momentum globally.

Meanwhile, Samsung has partnered with Telsa to work on developing a new 5nm EUV chip for autonomous driving, which is currently said to be in the Research & Development stage but we should know more about it in the coming months.

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Samsung and Tesla partners to make 5nm chip for autonomous driving

Samsung has been trying to become a leader in the chipset market and seems to be slowly progressing towards that. With Huawei out of the market, at least for the time being, the South Korean company has an opportunity to make its mark and it seems to be doing that.

As per the latest report coming from Korea, Samsung and Tesla are joining hands to make chips using the 5nm manufacturing process for autonomous driving. With the ongoing expansion and increased adoption of electric vehicles and the shortage of chipsets in the market because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korean giant saw the opportunity and has expanded its semiconductor business into automobiles.

Samsung

The chipset is being reported to be in Research & Development (R&D) stage at the Samsung Foundry Division and it will be mounted on Tesla’s autonomous vehicles. As said, it is being made using a 5nm Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) process, which only a couple of companies can do — Samsung and TSMC.

Samsung is already a partner of Tesla for producing the company’s current self-driving chips for hardware 3.0 computer. But the chip currently being used is manufactured using a bit older 14nm technology.

The South Korean giant recently reorganized its organizational structure and relocated some manpower in the Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) which is focusing on autonomous driving technology. If this new development of Samsung and Tesla works out, then Samsung could post a great threat to TSMC, which also entered into this sector last year with a 7nm chip.

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Samsung targets shipping 26 million units of Galaxy S21 series smartphones

Samsung Galaxy S20 5G, the company’s last year’s flagship smartphone didn’t perform well in the market in terms of sales. That is said to be one of the reasons why the South Korean giant launched its successor, Samsung Galaxy S21 5G, a few weeks earlier.

However, it seems that the company is keeping its hopes in check and its estimates for the sales of the Galaxy S21 5G lingers on the conservative side. As per the report, Samsung is estimating to ship around 26 million units of the Galaxy S21 series for the year, which is the same as the Galaxy S20 5G.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Phantom Black S Pen Featured

Based on these expected numbers from Samsung for the flagship lineup, it could be the least popular Galaxy S-series lineup ever. The company is estimating sales of 10 million units for the S21, while the S21 Plus and S21 Ultra are expected at eight million each.

It looks like the company is estimating the sales of this new flagship lineup based on the performance of its predecessor in the market. For the Galaxy S20 lineup, Samsung had originally targeted sales of 35 million units but managed to sell 26 million units.

Samsung may adjust the estimated shipping numbers for the Galaxy S21 series smartphones as the first quarter ends, which should provide a more clear picture of where the company stands as far the demand for its flagship devices is concerned. For what it’s worth, the company is likely to surpass the currently estimated shipment of 26 million as several analysts hinting a realistic target of over 30 million units.

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Xiaomi Mi 10’s new variant with Snapdragon 870 rumored to be in works

The Xiaomi Mi 10 series includes a couple of smartphones such as Xiaomi Mi 10, Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G, Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra 5G, Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G, Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G, Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G, and Xiaomi Mi 10i 5G. While the Chinese manufacturer has recently launched the Xiaomi Mi 11 5G flagship smartphone, a new leak claims that the company is working on a new Mi 10 series handset for China. This handset is likely to be driven by the recently announced Snapdragon 870 mobile platform.

Unfortunately, the moniker of the Snapdragon 870 powered Mi 10 series phone is under wraps. Apart from the inclusion of the SD870 chip, its other specs could be identical to the original Mi 10 handset. The leak also states that the handset could be priced around 3,500 Yuan (~$541). It is unclear whether the device will be heading to markets outside China.

Except for the Mi 10T Lite and Mi 10i, all the other Mi 10 models are powered by the Snapdragon 865 that offers clocking speeds of up to 2.84GHz. The Snapdragon 865+ went official as its overclocked version delivered up to 3.1GHz clocking speeds. The recently unveiled Snapdragon 870 mobile platform promises up to 3.2GHz processing speeds.

Xiaomi Mi 10
Xiaomi Mi 10

The Motorola Edge S launching today in China will be the world’s first phone featuring the SD870 chip. Rumors are rife brands like OPPO, Vivo, and OnePlus are also gearing up to launch SD870 powered phones in the coming days.

Xiaomi Mi 10 5G specifications

The Xiaomi Mi 10 5G has a 6.67-inch S-AMOLED display that supports a 90Hz refresh rate and a Full HD+ resolution. The SD865 powered phone has LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.0 storage. It has a 20-megapixel front camera and 108-megapixel + 13-megapixel (ultrawide) + 2-megapixel (macro) + 2-megapixel (depth) quad-camera system. The phone carries support for 30W fast charging and 30W wireless charging for its 4,780mAh battery.

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Motorola Edge S could be called Moto G100 outside China

Rumors have revealed a lot of information on an upcoming Motorola phone that is codenamed as Nio. It is being said that the device will be launching as the Motorola Edge S this evening in China. Recent reports have claimed that it will be breaking cover as a G-series smartphone in markets outside of China. Reliable tipsters have now revealed the moniker that the handset will be carrying in the global markets.

It is now known that the Motorola Nio phone will be heading to markets outside of China as Motorola Moto G100. The Capri and Capri Plus phones that have been in the rumors are expected to hit the markets as Moto G10 and Moto G30, respectively.

Coming back to the Moto G100, it will be a flagship-grade device powered by the newly introduced Snapdragon 870 mobile platform. In an image shared by reliable tipster Evan Blass, the Moto G100 can be seen docked in an HMDI cradle, which allows it to offer users with desktop PC experience like Samsung DeX. The said feature was recently teased by Motorola China recently for the Edge S as Multi-Screen Collaboration mode.

Motorola Moto G100 desktop mode
Motorola Moto G100 can be seen in a dock for a desktop PC-like experience

Also, the HDMI cradle has a rotating/swiveling that makes it possible to use the rear-facing cameras for split-screen teleconferencing. The tipster claimed that the color variant of the G100 which can be seen in the image will be called Iridescent Ocean.

Past reports have revealed that the smartphone will be coming with a 6.7-inch FHD+ display, a 16-megapixel + 8-megapixel dual selfie camera setup, a 64-megapixel quad-camera system, a 5,000mAh battery, and Android 11 OS. It may arrive in RAM variants like 8 GB and 12 GB along with storage options such as 128 GB and 256 GB.

(source 1, 2)

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No periscope camera for the OnePlus 9 series says leaker

The periscope camera has become a common sight on a number of flagships lately. The lens allows you to capture close up objects from a much farther distance, as they offer a longer range of zoom than a typical telephoto camera. OnePlus is yet to announce a phone with a periscope camera, and now a leaker has revealed that the OnePlus 9 series will also be missing out on the future.

OnePlus’s sister company, OPPO, is one of the first manufacturers in the industry to launch a phone with a periscope camera. Actually, it was the first manufacturer to even show off the technology for mobile phones but Huawei launched the first commercially available phone with the feature. So you would think OnePlus will also be one of the early adopters but that has not been the case.

According to Max Jambor, OnePlus’s upcoming flagship phones, the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro do not have a periscope camera. That must be disappointing for fans of the brand that have hoped that the new flagships or at least the pro model will have a periscope camera.

Despite the missing periscope camera, the OnePlus 9 series is expected to have better cameras than its predecessor. The same leaker had said, albeit indirectly, in a tweet a few days ago that the OnePlus 9’s camera will be “worth the shot”.

The OnePlus 9 series will have three models – the OnePlus 9 Lite which should come with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 870 processor and the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro which will have the more powerful Snapdragon 888 processor.

Apart from the difference in processors, the three phones are expected to have different display sizes and resolutions It has been reported in a leak that the OnePlus 9 Pro will have a curved screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and a QHD+ resolution. The other two models should have flat displays with an FHD+ resolution and high refresh rates. Other areas where they will differ are cameras, battery capacity, and fast charging technology.

OnePlus is expected to announce the OnePlus 9 series in March alongside other products including its very first smartwatch which will launch as the OnePlus Watch.

 

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Apple issues warning about the iPhone 12 & Magsafe magnets interfering with pacemakers

Apple has consistently disclosed the possibility of the iPhone 12 to cause electromagnetic interference with medical devices such as the pacemaker and defibrillators right from when the models were launched in October last year. This warning applies to most electronic gadgets with radio properties but Apple is sending out an additional warning due to the release of the Magsafe charger.iPhone 12

Apple recently updated a support document on the subject matter, adding the following;

“Medical devices such as implanted pacemakers and defibrillators might contain sensors that respond to magnets and radios when in close contact. To avoid any potential interactions with these devices, keep your iPhone and MagSafe accessories a safe distance away from your device (more than 6 inches / 15 cm apart or more than 12 inches / 30 cm apart if wirelessly charging). But consult with your physician and your device manufacturer for specific guidelines.”

Apple also specifically warned about accessories like the MagSafe Charger and MagSafe Duo Charger, stating that it may also interfere with medical devices:

“All MagSafe accessories (each sold separately) also contain magnets—and MagSafe Charger and MagSafe Duo Charger contain radios. These magnets and electromagnetic fields might interfere with medical devices.”

Despite the warnings, Apple insists that even though all iPhone 12 models contain more magnets than prior iPhone models, they are “not expected to pose a greater risk of magnetic interference to medical devices than prior iPhone models.”

Independent research findings published earlier this month in the Heart Rhythm Journal (via) indicated that iPhone 12 models can “potentially inhibit lifesaving therapy in a patient” due to magnetic interference with implantable medical devices. Three Michigan-based doctors tested this interaction by holding an iPhone 12 near a patient’s implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. The article shows that the device immediately went into a “suspended” state for the duration of the test.