HUAWEI releases Chinese New Year 2021 Limited Edition case for the Mate40 series

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Jan 19, 2021

Ahead of the Chinese New Year 2021, Apple announced Limited Edition AirPods Pro in China earlier this month. Now, a few days later, HUAWEI is selling a special case for the HUAWEI Mate40 series for the same occasion.

The new case for the HUAWEI Mate40 series is called ‘New Year 2021 Bull Turns the World Limited Edition Protective Case’. It is available for HUAWEI Mate40 and HUAWEI Mate40 Pro. Interested owners of these smartphones can buy this special case for ¥99 ($15) from JD (Jingdong).

For those unaware, Chinese culture associates each year with one of the 12 animals included in the Chinese Zodiac, which is based on a lunar calendar derived from the orbital period of Jupiter. Since the upcoming Chinese New Year is called the ‘Year of the Bull’, HUAWEI has released a case with the art of two bulls circling around.

This red-colored case with golden engravings is made of PU material. It not only includes an opening for the rear camera setup but also comes with openings on the sides for a better user experience on the device’s waterfall display.

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Last but not least, the company also claims a 0.35mm raised structure for the camera and 0.55 raised lips on the four sides of the front to offer protection.

Honor Smart Screen X1 75” with Harmony OS to go on sale tomorrow

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jan 19, 2021

Honor’s line of smart screens has a new model and it will be available for purchase starting tomorrow. The Honor Smart Screen X1 75” was announced at the end of 2020 and is its biggest model yet.

The Honor Smart Screen series already has 50”, 55”, and 65” models. The new 75” version is for those who want something even bigger. It will go on sale tomorrow for ¥5499 (~$849) for a limited time before returning to its original price of ¥5999 (~$926).

The Honor Smart Screen X1 75” has a 75-inch 4K display with a 60Hz refresh rate, 94% screen-to-body ratio, MEMC, and a 92% DCI-P3 color gamut. Under the hood is the Honghu 818 chip, a quad-core processor with two Cortex-A73 cores and two Cortex-A53 cores. It also has a four-core Mali-G51 GPU. Honor has paired the chipset with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. Unfortunately, only 8GB is available to the user.

For connectivity, the smart screen has three HDMI 2.0 ports, a single USB 3.0 port, an ethernet port, AV input ports, and a DTMB connector. The smart screen also has four 10W speakers (two full-range speakers and two tweeters), Huawei Histen audio technology, and six far-field microphones for picking up your voice commands.

Honor is shipping the TV with Harmony OS/Hongmeng OS and it also has the YOYO voice assistant. This smart screen was developed while Honor was still a part of Huawei which explains why it is running Harmony OS. The next model, if there is one, will most likely run a different operating system. The Honor Smart Screen X1 75” supports 8K playback at 30 FPS and it also supports the AVS2/H2.65/VP9 codecs.

The smart screen can be purchased on JD.com as the Honor Mall site is still down.

Acer launches three new TWS earbuds starting at ₹2,499($34) in India

By

Balaji S

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Jan 19, 2021

How often do we see PC Hardware MNCs launching Audio products? Well, we have got one for you as Acer has announced its new Truly Wireless(TWS) Bluetooth Earbuds in India. These earbuds start as low as ₹2,499($34.16) and are already on sale in the country.

Acer’s audio product portfolio comes after the company launched a wide range of products including monitors, Chromebooks, at CES 2021.

The newly launched Wireless Earbuds consists of Two- GAHR010 and GAHR011 budget ones under Acer. And a slightly premium GAHR012 TWS under the Gateway brand. For those who don’t know, Gateway Inc. is an American Hardware company producing Computer hardware and accessories. Acer brought it in 2007.

Acer TWS Price, Availability

Acer GAHR010, GAHR011 TWS come in a Single Black color option whereas the Gateway GAHR012 TWS comes in White color. You can take a look at the price below:

Acer True Wireless Stereo Earbuds- GAHR010 – ₹2,499(~~₹2,999~~)($34.16)
Acer True Wireless Stereo Earbuds- GAHR011 – ₹2,499(~~₹2,999~~)($34.16)
Gateway True Wireless Earbuds – GAHR012 – ₹3,499($47.8)

The Acer GAHR010, GAHR011 earbuds are available on Flipkart, Amazon, and Acer India website. However, the Gateway GAHR012 earbuds are on sale on Flipkart and Amazon only.

Gateway GAHR012 TWS Earbuds Features

Anyway, all the TWS earbuds have an in-ear design with silicone ear tips, touch controls, Type-C charging port(on the case). However, the Gateway GAHR012 has a stem below and resembles a lot like the Apple AirPods Pro. The earbuds and case are White in color with a button

Talking about specs, the most premium GAHR012 TWS has a 9mm audio driver unit. It has Bluetooth 5.0 for connectivity with support for HSP/HFP/A2DP/AVRCP profiles. It supports 20Hz to 20KHz frequency range and has a latency of 220ms.

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For battery, you can enjoy the playback time of 4hrs on the earbuds in a single charge. Acer says that the TWS can charge fully in 1.5hrs and has a standby time of 24hrs(with case). Othe features include IPX4 water resistance, touch controls for Music, Hands-free calling, Activating voice assistant, and more.

Acer GAHR010, GAHR011 TWS Earbuds Features

As mentioned above, the GAHR010, GAHR011 TWS earbuds have a earbuds design without a stem. These come with an 8mm Audio driver unit which is a bit smaller than GAHR012. However, they surprisingly support upgraded Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity with profiles as above.

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As for design, the only difference between them is a digital LED indicator(GAHR010) a physical indicator(GAHR011). Also, you get a single USB-A connector attached for charging on the GAHR010 but a USB-A and USB-C connector on the GAHR011. Also, you can detach the case of the earbuds from the charging point as it is magnetically attached.

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Other similar features include 4.5hrs battery life(earbuds), 24hrs standby time(with case), 1.5hrs charging time, Touch controls for media/calls, Voice assistant support.

(via)

READ THIS before you Buy the Xiaomi Mi 11

By

Paco Zheng

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Jan 19, 2021

The Xiaomi Mi 11 debuted as the first Snapdragon 888 flagship in the market last month. The phone offers tremendous value for your money bringing in a top-notch 2K display with the fastest Snapdragon chip in the market right now. You even get two different material options on the device, one with a leather back and another one with a traditional glass one.

However, being the first Snapdragon 888 smartphone in the market, there was bound to be some small bugs and issues with the device. Surprisingly, these bugs turned out to be more than what we had imagined which is why we decided to make a quick video giving you a complete picture of the Mi 11.

Note that most of these bugs can be resolved via a software update. So while it does hinder your user experience right out of the box, in the next couple of months, we can expect the phone to be more refined. That said, if you are buying the phone right now (before the software update), you’ll have to live with a few glitches and we have noted them down below.

Mi 11 bugs and issues we discovered

The Mi 11 randomly shuts down during usage.
The camera app crashes occasionally while shooting photos.
Some games don’t load properly and you may see a noisy pixelated screen.
Snapdragon 888 heats up quickly and the Mi 11 isn’t able to take full advantage of the chip’s processing power as it throttles down the clock speed to manage the heat.
Camera Performance is Average
The leather Mi 11 rattles when playing via the loudspeaker.

So these were some of the issues that we found on the Mi 11. Given that its a flagship device, you would expect it to have a flawless performance right out of the box. But that isn’t the case here.

However, we want to stress that most of these issues can be solved via a future software update. And in a month or two, the Mi 11 will likely be as refined as any other flagship in the market. So if you are okay with these bugs, you can go ahead and get the Xiaomi Mi 11. As we mentioned in our review, the phone has a lot to offer for its price tag.

Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra Review Cameras Featured — Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra

But personally, I am shifting back to the Mi 10 Ultra for the time being. Hopefully, when the Mi 11 Pro or the Ultra makes it to the market after the Chinese Spring Festival, I’ll try getting back to the Mi 11 series.

RELATED:

Xiaomi Mi 11 global launch could be nearing as it bags another certification

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jan 19, 2021

Xiaomi began the year by teasing the global launch of the Xiaomi Mi 11 flagship phone that went official in China in December 2020. The model number of the global version of the Xiaomi Mi 11 is M2011K2G. This phone has been recently spotted at certification platforms like the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) in the U.S, the Infocom Media Development Authority (IMDA) agency of Singapore, and Russia’s Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC). Earlier today, the handset was spotted in the database of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) authority of Thailand.

The NBTC certification is yet another proof that the global launch of the Xiaomi Mi 11 is drawing near. Probably, the company will globally announce the handset at some point in the coming month.

GizmoChina had revealed last week that the Xiaomi Mi 11’s global launch will also see the arrival of a new upper-midrange phone called the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite. The handset has also received certifications from multiple agencies including the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

Coming back to the Xiaomi Mi 11, its FCC certification had revealed that it will be hitting the global markets in three variants such as 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, and 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage.

Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi Mi 11 Review: The Best Value Snapdragon 888 flagship to beat in 2021

Xiaomi Mi 11 5G specifications

The Snapdragon 888 SoC powered Xiaomi Mi 11 5G features a 6.81-inch Quad HD+ resolution supporting AMOLED display. The screen supports a 120Hz refresh rate and a 480Hz touch sampling rate. It has a 20-emgapixel front camera and 108-megapixel + 13-megapixel (superwide) + 5-megapixel (telephoto macro) triple camera system. The 4,600mAh battery carries support for 55W rapid charging, 50W wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging.

(via)

Redmi K40 to come with upcoming sub-flagship chipset

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jan 19, 2021

Redmi is expected to take off covers from the Redmi K40 series in the coming month. Today, a tipster from China revealed that the lineup will include two models such as Redmi K40 and Redmi K40 Pro.

Last week, Redmi revealed that its forthcoming Snapdragon 888 SoC powered smartphone will be priced at 2,999 Yuan (~$463). The new leak claims that this device will be debuting as the Redmi K40 Pro.

The tipster further claimed that the other handset will be called the Redmi K40 and it will be featuring an unreleased sub-flagship chipset. The pricing of this model is under wraps.

Editor’s Pick: RedmiBook Pro 15 is debuting in February, Launching with Redmi K40 Series?

The predecessor RedmI K30 5G and Redmi K30 Pro 5G phones were powered by Snapdragon 765G and Snapdragon 865 chipsets, respectively. It is unclear whether the Redmi K40 will be equipped with the upcoming Snapdragon 7-series or the new Dimensity chipset that is scheduled to go official tomorrow.

The unannounced Snapdragon chipset with part number SM7350 was recently found mentioned in the kernel source code of Xiaomi Mi 11. It is speculated this part number may belong to the upcoming Snapdragon 7-series chip. Probably, this chip will break cover as the Snapdragon 775G.

As far as the new MediaTek chips are concerned, it is speculated that the rumored MT6893 SoC will launch as the Dimensity 1200 chip tomorrow. It is also speculated that a lower variant of the chip will be also announced tomorrow with Dimensity 1100 moniker.

Vu Cinema TV Action Series launched in India with 4K, MEMC, 100W Speakers, & more

By

Balaji S

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Jan 19, 2021

Vu Technologies has launched the Cinema TV Action Series Smart Televisions in India. These 4K TVs come in two sizes (55-inch, 65-inch) and boast features like MEMC, 100W Speakers, Dolby Vision, and more.

Vu Cinema TV – Action Series- 55-inch, 65-inch 4K TV- Price, Availability

The new Vu Cinema TV Action series Televisions are already up for grabs on Amazon and retail partners across the country. However, Vu has reportedly said that the TVs will also be available on Flipkart but we could find any listing on the e-commerce site.

You can take a look at the prices of the 55-inch and 65-inch 4K TV below:

Vu Cinema TV Action Series 55LX(55-inch)- ₹49,999($683.66)
Vu Cinema TV Action Series 65LX(65-inch)- ₹69,999($957.13)

Vu Cinema TV Action Series- Specifications and Features

The model numbers of the Vu Cinema TV Action Series SKUs are – 55LX(55-inch) and 65LX(65-inch). The TVs have a bezel-less design with a Titanium Gray finish and Fabric-Clad for the soundbars.

Both the TVs support display resolution up to 4K meaning you get a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels. However, you are limited to a 60-hertz refresh rate. Vu’s new 4K TVs have a DLED(Direct-LED) panel that can light up to 400 nits(55-inch) and 500 nits(65-inch).

The company says that it uses a Pixelium technology to enhance the brightness of a typical panel up to 40%. This also has a 10-bit color depth and supports features like HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, MEMC(Motion Estimation & Motion Compensation).

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Under the hood, the TVs sport a 1.4GHz Quad-Core CPU and ARM’s Mali 470MP GPU for improving the picture quality. You also get a 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage paired with this. For Audio, Vu has included an array of 6 JBL speakers(100W output) with 4xMasters and 2xTweeters.

They support Dolby Audio features like MS12(Multi-Stream Decoding AC-4 audio streams), Dolby Digital. You also get DTS Virtual – X Surround sound tech and software features like Theatre, Sports, Late night modes, etc.

Other features include Android 9.0 Pie OS with Google Assistant support, Major Streaming Apps pre-loaded(Hotkeys for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, YouTube, Google Play on Remote), Vu Action Voice Control.

For connectivity, you get Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 5GHz, 3xHDMI with HDMI Arc support(4k@60fps HDCP 2.2), 2xUSB-A, 1×3.5mm audio jack, 1xRj45, AV and Optical out ports. All these show similarities with the HiSense Tornado TVs powered by JBL that’s already selling in India.

(via)

vivo Y20G launched in India with Helio G80, 5,000mAh battery, Android 11, and more

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Jan 19, 2021

Chinese smartphone maker vivo has launched vivo Y20G as the sixth phone in the vivo Y series lineup of devices, which consists of vivo Y20, vivo Y20i, vivo Y20s, vivo Y20 2021, and vivo Y20A respectively. Unlike the previous models, the new handset sports a much powerful SoC but the design and other specs remain the same.

vivo Y20G Specifications and Features

The newly launched vivo Y20G flaunts a 6.51-inch IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 1600 x 720 pixels (HD+), 20:9 aspect ratio, and a dew-drop notch. It features a plastic body with a glossy finish and weighs 192.3g. As far as dimensions are concerned, the handset measures 164.41 × 76.32 × 8.41mm.

Further, the smartphone is powered by MediaTek Helio G80 chipset paired with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. However, if required, the storage can be further expanded up to 1TB via a MicroSD card (dedicated slot).

Talking about cameras, the phones houses a vertically aligned triple camera setup consisting of a 13MP primary snapper, a 2MP macro shooter, and a 2MP depth sensor. Whereas, on the front, the device includes an 8MP selfie camera nested in the notch.

As for connecting and I/O, it comes with dual-SIM, 4G, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, GNSS (GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, Galileo), 3.5mm headphone jack, and MicroUSB port. Other features include a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, compass, and gyroscope.

Last but not least, the vivo Y20G comes in two color options ( Obsidian Black, Purist Blue), runs Funtouch OS 11 based on Android 11, and is backed by a 5,000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging.

vivo Y20G Pricing and Availability

As mentioned above, the vivo Y20G comes in a single 6GB + 128GB storage configuration priced at ₹14,990 ($205) in India. It can be bought starting today (January 19) from Amazon India, Flipkart, vivo India e-store, Paytm, Tata Cliq, and leading offline retail stores across the country.

(Via)

ASUS ROG Phone 5 with secondary screen appears in a leaked video

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jan 19, 2021

A live shot of the upcoming ASUS ROG Phone 4/5 phone had emerged on Weibo yesterday. The image revealed that its back panel does not feature the traditional RGB-lit ROG logo. Instead, it seemed to sport a glass-like panel. Today, a reliable tipster Digital Chat Station shared a video of the ROG Phone 5. The video suggests that its rear shell is fitted with a secondary display.

The rear view of the ROG Phone 5 reveals that it has a horizontally aligned triple camera system along with an LED flash. Towards the center is the secondary display that probably shows gaming info and notifications like an incoming call. Also, the presence of the “05” number next to the secondary screen suggests that the next ROG phone could be called ROG Phone 5, and not ROG Phone 4.

Editor’s Pick: ASUS announces three Chromebooks for Enterprises, General Consumers, and Gamers respectively

In the previous week, the Taiwan-based firm had shared the first teaser of the next-generation ROG phone. It suggested that the phone will offer a better display design with slim bezels. However, the leaked video shows that there is no significant change in the display design of the ROG Phone 5. However, the phone appears to be slightly curved towards the left and right edges from the front.

ASUS ROG Phone 5 specifications (Rumored)

So far, reports have revealed that the ROG Phone 5 could be sporting an OLED panel of 6.6 inches that will carry support for a high refresh rate. The Snapdragon 888 SoC could be fueling the device. It could be coming with a 6,000mAh dual-cell battery to keep the lights on.

The 3C listing of the phone revealed that it could be carrying support for 65W rapid charging technology. For photography, it is expected to arrive with a 64-megapixel main camera.

Windows 10X leak reveals support for Win32 apps

By

Sean

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Jan 19, 2021

Back in 2019, the Windows 10X platform was announced as a modular and lightweight version of the Windows 10 operating system. Since its announcement, Microsoft had stated that the OS will support Win32 apps as well, although, reports had indicated that this might not be the case with the first version of the new OS.

Now, a new leaked build of Windows 10X has revealed that the new operating system could still launch with development tools for Win32 applications as well. According to a WindowsPhoneInfo report, the latest build of the Windows 10X features a new developer setting that will allow users to load “unsigned apps,” including desktop apps. Looking at a screenshot of this new setting, Microsoft has apparently built a dedicated settings page for this feature as well.

The settings option reveals a page for the container technology and the developer only toggle, which includes the Win32 app’s testing. At the moment, the feature does not work, although, that might only be the case for the leaked build of the OS. As per the setting’s description, “Enabling this setting will allow unassigned apps to run. Allowing all apps to run on your device could be harmful to your device or data.” Keep in mind, that simply enabling the setting will not allow users to install and run regular desktop (.exe) apps on Windows 10X, which is expected to be released later in the year.

However, what it does imply is that Microsoft is planning on adding Win32 app support sometime in the future. Meaning, developers would soon be able to test their apps on the lightweight OS soon. But, most would likely have to run UEP apps from the Microsoft Store and Progressive Web Apps till then. So stay tuned for more updates regarding the upcoming Windows 10X OS.

Unannounced Galaxy S21+ Phantom Green appears on Samsung’s Australian website

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Jan 19, 2021

Last week, Samsung officially unveiled the Galaxy S21 series, Galaxy Buds Pro, and Galaxy SmartTag/SmartTag+ at the first-ever Unpacked event of 2021. These phones, in particular, come in a wide variety of colors. Samsung even announced certain custom colors for the Plus and Ultra models. Now, out of nowhere, an unannounced special color of the Galaxy S21+ emerges on Samsung Australia’s official website.

Samsung has begun to take pre-orders for the newly announced Galaxy S21 series worldwide. Interestingly, on the company’s Australian website (FAQ section), it has listed an exclusive color called Phantom Green. This variant of the handset has the following SKU IDs.

SM-G996BZGAXSA – Galaxy S21+ Phantom Green (8GB + 128GB)
SM-G996BZGEXSA – Galaxy S21+ Phantom Green (8GB + 256GB)

For those unaware, the custom color variants of Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 Ultra are exclusive to Samsung eStore. At the launch event, the South Korean tech giant only revealed two custom colors for the Galaxy S21+, namely Phantom Red and Phantom Gold, in addition to the standard colors – Phantom Silver, Phantom Violet, and Phantom Black.

Hence, it is surprising to know the existence of third custom color. But unfortunately, there are no renders of this version. And therefore, LetsGoDigital has published renders of Galaxy S21+ Phantom Green based on Galaxy S20 FE Cloud Mint, in partnership with designer Giuseppe Spinelli.

That said, we expect Samsung to extend the availability of this custom color to more markets in the near future.

Samsung Galaxy S21 and Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite are now a part of Google’s Android Enterprise Recommended program

By

Sean

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Jan 19, 2021

The Android Enterprise Recommended (AER) program from Google is an initiative that certifies Android handsets for use in enterprise or business sectors. Now, the Samsung Galaxy S21 and the Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite have also joined the list of certified devices.

According to an XDADevelopers report, the two smartphones are now a part of the AER program that features over 150 handsets from multiple major brands like Motorola, OnePlus, OPPO, LG, and more. To be certified, every smartphone must meet a certain set of requirements, like meeting a minimum hardware specification, receive regular Android security updates after 90 days of release with up to 3 years of patches from Google, and other criteria.

Back in 2020, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy S20, and Galaxy Tab S7 received the AER program certification, after receiving the Android 11 update. Now, the South Korea tech giant’s latest flagship has also joined their ranks for business use. Hiroshi Lockheimer, SVP of Platforms & Ecosystems at Google stated that “For those of you interested in using the S21 for work, you’ll be pleased to learn that it’s an Android Enterprise Recommended device.”

Notably, Google’s Enterprise Solutions Directory has yet to list any of the three Galaxy S21 series models, although, the same was seen for the previous year’s certified models. Alongside the Galaxy S21, the Xiaomi MI 10T Lite also received AER certification for enterprises. The smartphone was launch back in September 2020, and is now a part of the enterprise approved list from Google. It is the only second non Android One device from the Chinese company to receive the AER certification, following the Redmi Note 9 Pro from last year.

Samsung customers in South Korea can now rent Galaxy S21 and win free prizes

By

Sean

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Jan 19, 2021

Customers in South Korea can now rent a Samsung Galaxy S21. The Galaxy To Go service lets people rent the device for three days, to help give prospective buyers a chance to consider purchasing the new flagship device.

The new service is likely a promotional move from the South Korean tech giant to boost the sales of its latest premium grade flagship handset. Furthermore, after the three day trial period, customers are even given free gifts and an opportunity to win even bigger prizes through the company’s lottery system. While the Galaxy To Go isn’t exactly a new service in the company’s home market, it has become more available in terms of location with the launch of the Galaxy S21 series, as per a SamMobile report.

At the moment, Samsung has opened over 200 Samsung Digital Plazas across the county to allows its customers to rent the new flagship device. In comparison, the number of these locations was just a third in size in the recent past. The Galaxy S21 that are rented out are pre loaded with a few extra apps as well. This includes the popular mobile game title, League of Legends: Wild Rift.

Notably, customers are also given the option to offer their feedback regarding the new device and even ask questions about the smartphone through a one on one broadcast or direct messaging with a Samsung representative. Talking about the prices, renting a Galaxy S21 can have customers win accessories like the Wireless Charger Duo Pad, which typically costs around 60 US Dollars or even up to a Galaxy Book Flex 2, Galaxy Tab S7+, and even accommodation vouchers at The Shilla Seoul 5-star hotel. This service will be available to users until 14th March 2021.

The new Xiaomi MIJIA thermostat is also a smart switch

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Jan 19, 2021

Xiaomi has announced a new MIJIA thermostat in China, which also doubles as a smart switch. Interestingly, the company calls this product ‘Xiaomi MIJIA Screen Display Switch E-billing Control’ (translated). It will be up for crowdfunding at 10:00 AM on January 20 for ¥99 ($15) on Xiaomi Mall (Mi.com). Once this device reaches its crowdfunding goal, it will retail for ¥129 ($20).

This new product from Xiaomi is slightly larger than a regular smart thermostat. It sports a horizontal STN LCD panel at the top to show information like temperature as well as humidity of the room, time, and date. This screen should have a backlight like any other thermostat but we are not sure about it.

Unfortunately, we do not have much information about this device as it is yet to be listed on Xiaomi’s website. Anyway, according to the official Weibo account of Xiaomi Mall, it sports a temperature and humidity sensor, which helps to perceive the room condition and allows users to change the temperature and humidity as required.

Also, users can utilize this product to turn on/off lights or other electronic devices in their homes. Last but not least, since it supports Xiao AI, it can be controlled via voice and can be linked with other compatible Xiaomi smart products.

Motorola teases launch of “something big”, could be the Moto Edge S

By

Sean

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Jan 19, 2021

Earlier this month, we had reported on Motorola planning on launching a new smartphone with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 series chip. Now, the company has officially teased “something big”, which could be for the upcoming Motorola Edge S.

Earlier today (19th January 2021), the company shared a new image poster, which teased the imminent launch of a new high end smartphone. At the moment, finer details regarding the upcoming device are currently unknown, although, previous reports have leaked certain specifications. The device is said to sport a new yet to be released Snapdragon 800 series chip, meaning it is not the Snapdragon 888 or 865 SoC.

Furthermore, it will house a 6.7 inch FHD+ display with a resolution of 2520 x 1080px, a high refresh rate of 105Hz, and a punch hole selfie camera on the front. Other leaked specifications include a 64 megapixel primary shooter paired with a 16 megapixel ultra wide angle lens, and a 2 megapixel depth sensor; while on the front, a 16 megapixel and 8 megapixel dual selfie camera setup will be featured. For storage, the device will reportedly offer 8 to 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage.

Unfortunately, these are still unconfirmed reports and we will have to wait for an official company announcement to know for sure. So stay tuned for more, as we will be providing more updates when additional information is available. Moto has teased a launch today, so we can expect to find out more then.

Broadcom is the supplier of the WiFi 6E chips for Galaxy S21 Ultra

By

Sean

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Jan 19, 2021

Broadcom is the supplier of the Wi-Fi 6E chips that is used by Samsung for its high end Galaxy S21 Ultra. The known chipmaker supplies the BCM4389 chips for the premium grade flagship handset.

For those unaware, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the first ever smartphones to support Wi-Fi 6E. As per TheElec report, Wi-Fi 6E adds a 6GHz spectrum to the existing Wi-Fi 6 standards (802.11ax), which allows the former to offer speeds that are up to twice as fast. In other words, Wi-Fi 6E can offer speeds reaching up to 2.4Gbps, which is double that of the 1.2Gbps speeds offered by Wi-Fi 6.

Furthermore, the Broadcom BCM4389 also combines Wi-Fi 6E with Bluetooth 5.0 architecture as well. The new chip also arrives with up to 1.2Ghz of new Wi-Fi spectrum that can be allocated in the 6GHz band that can support up to seven 160MHz channels, as officially stated by Broadcom. In simpler terms, this translates to faster speeds, which enables improved experience during remote working scenarios, or even online education, remote healthcare, and even during gaming.

Previously, Broadcom had stated that it had supplied the South Korean tech giant with Wi-Fi chips for the Galaxy S10, which was the world’s first smartphone to support Wi-Fi 6 back then. Since then, the company has supplied Wi-Fi 6 chips to over 500 million devices, according to the company. With Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 888 SoC also supporting Wi-Fi 6E, the company can now offer its new chips to other manufacturers as well.

Realme CEO reveals the company’s plan to grow business this year

By

Jeet

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Jan 19, 2021

Today, Realme Founder and CEO Li Bingzhong, shared an open letter on Weibo, which sheds light on the company’s development in the past year and also reveals some of the strategic plans for the band to keep growing this year.

He says that after two consecutive quarters of growth, Realme has become the fastest mobile phone brand in the world with over 50 million sales. He also says that the reports will rank the company seventh in terms of shipments for the year 2020.

The company, which started off a few years ago in India, has now entered around 61 markets worldwide. If the report from Counterpoint is to be believed, then Realme is among the Top 5 brands in 12 markets globally. It is ranked first in the Phillippines and fourth in major markets like India.

Going forward, Realme will focus more on AIoT products, which stands for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). It says that within one year, it has driven Smartphones + AIoT around the world with Smart Gaming feature on its phones and launched several new products.

EDITOR’S PICK: Vivo X60 Pro+ 5G to sport dual main cameras and Snapdragon 888, pre-bookings start in Chna

Another area of focus for the Chinese company is the 5G technology and it aims to bring that to more and more markets around the world. It wants to be the first to launch 5G smartphones in some markets, allowing users to experience 5G on its phones.

It is also planning to expand its footprints this year. Realme will launch its first Flagship Store this year and has planned to open thousands of stores globally. This will enable the company to reach more customers.

Turkey enforces advertising ban on Twitter, Pinterest, and Periscope

By

Sean

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Jan 19, 2021

Turkey has just imposed a ban on advertising on certain popular social media platforms. This includes the likes of Twitter, Pinterest, and Periscope, which faced the ban by the country’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority.

According to a Reuters report, the advertising ban arrives after the government recently passed a new social media law. For those unaware, the new law requires social media tech giant firms to appoint a local representative in Turkey. At the moment, Facebook and a few other companies have stated that they would be complying with the local law and appoint such a representative. Although, critics have stated that this move will restrain dissent.

Similar to Facebook, other major platforms like YouTube have also decided to appoint a representative. The new decision adopted in the Official Gazette went into effect earlier today (19h January 2021). However, Twitter and its live streaming application Periscope have yet to comment on the matter, which is also true for the image sharing app Pinterest. The new law will allow the authorities to remove content from social media platforms rather than just block access to them, like in the past.

This has raised concerns for many regarding the government’s move of restricting content and tightening the grip around online platforms and mainstream media as well. Turkey has already fined companies like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter for not complying with local laws previously, with failure to comply now would have the firms face a bandwidth slash of 90 percent, which basically completely blocks access to their websites.

US President Donald Trump orders security risk assessment of Chinese drones

By

Jeet

-

Jan 19, 2021

In his final hours as the President of the United States, Donald Trump is trying to do whatever he can do to hurt the Chinese companies. In the latest move related to the US-China trade war, Donald Trump has signed an executive order.

As per the report from Reuters, the newly issued executive order signed by the President of the United States asks for agencies to assess security risks from Chinese-made drones in American government fleets and to prioritize removing them.

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Donald Trump has directed all agencies in the U.S. to outline the security risks posed to the existing government drone fleet from drones built by Chinese companies or by other countries deemed as foreign adversaries

A few weeks ago, the Commerce Department in the United States had blacklisted DJI Technologies, the world’s leading company in making drones. Last year, the Interior Department had grounded over 800 Chinese-made drones.

Prior to that, in May 2019, the Department of Homeland Security warned American firms of the risks to company data from Chinese-made drones. In a notice, DHS said U.S. officials have strong concerns about American data falling into the hands of an authoritarian state.

Xiaomi India launches new Mi Notebook 14, with integrated webcam and 10th Gen Intel i5 processor

By

Sean

-

Jan 19, 2021

Xiaomi has just launched a brand new notebook in India. The latest laptop is a new entry in the company’s existing Mi Notebook 14 lineup and features a 10th Gen Intel Core i5 processor along with an integrated 720p HD webcam.

The Mi Notebook 14 (IC) is the latest addition to the Chinese tech giant’s laptop offerings in the Indian market, with the most notable change being an integrated camera. For those unaware, the Mi Notebook 14 series that was launched back in 2020, featured minimal bezels and shipped with an external attachable webcam. However, with the new launch, Xiaomi has built the camera into the body of the laptop. The new laptop starts from 43,999 INR (roughly 600 US Dollars) and is available via the company’s official website, or major e-retailers like Amazon and Flipkart.

As per Radhu Reddy, Chief Business Officer of Mi India, “With an increasing number of work-from-home and laptop users seeking out uncompromised performance, we at Mi India are focused on making this desire more accessible.” He further added that “After taking considerable consumer feedback, we are now expanding our Mi Notebook 14 portfolio to include a more convenient integrated web camera above the display. We retain 10th generation Intel CometLake processors in the new devices as well, since they offer great productivity performance for thin and light laptops and offer day-long battery life.”

In other words, the internal specifications are mostly identical to the Mi Notebook 14 series that launched last year. Under the hood, an Intel Core i5-10210U Processor is offered, which is paired with either an integrated Intel UHD 620 graphics or NVIDIA’s GeForce MX250 mobile graphics card. The display is still a 14 inch anti glare FHD panel with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a wide 178 degree viewing angle. For memory, Xiaomi is offering 8GB of DDR4 RAM and up to 512GB of SSD storage. The laptop weighs just 1.5 kilograms and offers up to 10 hours of battery life with its 46WWH battery.

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