A few days ago, it was confirmed that Hyundai Motor is in talks with Apple for the production of the tech giant’s ambitious project of making its own autonomous driving vehicle, which is currently being referred to as Apple Car.
Now, a new report claims that both the companies — Hyundai Motor and Apple could reach an agreement for the production of the Apple Car by March this year. It also adds that the production could start as soon as 2024.
Both the companies are hoping to produce around 100,000 vehicles in 2024, claims the report coming via Reuters. Eventually, the plan is to reach the production goal of 400,000 vehicles annually.
Further, it claims that the “beta version” of the Apple Car could go into testing as soon as next year. It’s noteworthy that currently there’s no information available about the specification and features of the Apple Car.
But, it is being reported that the company is planning to use a new special battery technology for the upcoming Smart Car. It was also reported earlier that a part of the development of components for the car will take place at Hyundai Motors’ facilities in the United States.
The timeline of making commercial cars by 2024 seems aggressive and has already been questioned by many, including notable Apple Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Some reports indicate that it will take around 5-7 years for the Apple Car to go into production.
Coming on the heels of the expected launch of three flagship smartphones, tech giant Samsung is set for another important announcement of the release of an upgraded pair of TWS earbuds in its first big showcase event of 2021.
The earbuds called Galaxy Buds Pro had been the subject of speculations amid a number of leaks revealing its features from the design to the color options, and other eye-catching features, as well as the projected price of Samsung’s top-notch response to the next-gen AirPods by its competitor.
It would seem that Canada-based retailer, Staples has jumped the gun by preempting Samsung with their release of the full details of the “Samsung Galaxy Attic” on its website, several days ahead of the official launch slated for January 14.
It is yet unclear how Staples got such details about a yet-to-be-launched product from its producer. Staples also confirms three color variants each expected to cost a princely $210 when converted from the Canadian Dollar to the US Dollar, which is a bit lower than the cost of Apple’s flagship AirPods Pro by up to $50, which has been having rave reviews in recent weeks.
The new truly wireless earbuds, like their predecessor, the Galaxy Buds Live, support state-of-the-art active noise cancellation technology, with a sleek design reflecting Samsung’s high preference for producing works of art that are a marvel to behold. The audio quality is also expected to be vastly improved because of an 11mm woofer and 6.5mm tweeter masterfully built into each earbud, yielding excellent sounds. However, an important drawback may be that the battery life of both the Galaxy Buds+ and Buds Live is put at a maximum of 5 hours on a single full charge, which seems a downgrading from the battery capacity of earlier models.
A note of caution is however apposite so as to temper your expectations with reality. Staples had stated that the yet-to-be-released “Samsung Galaxy Attic” was both out of stock for delivery and unavailable in physical stores presently till possibly Thursday 14 January. keep an eye on Staples and don’t be shocked if they suddenly pull down the listing.
Teclast is a prominent player in the affordable laptop market. Teclast F7 and F7 Plus compete against the Xiaomi Air and other prominent laptop manufacturers. The company unveiled a new ultra-thin laptop – Teclast F7 Air featuring some compelling specifications. It carries Intel N4120 processor, a 14-inch HD display, 8GB LPDDR4 RAM and 356GB SSD at the price of $399. The beautifully crafted laptop is fully laminated and houses a 4.2mm small bezels.
The highly-portable laptop measures 11.8mm in body thickness and weighs only 1.18KG in size. It is carved out of high-quality 5000 series magnesium aluminium alloy which makes it strong and tough. However, the advanced anodizing colouring technique gives it a beautiful golden brown finish and further adds to its premium design.
Teclast F7 Air is crafted to provide a seamless viewing experience with its bezel-less design. However, the laptop support 180-degree hinge movement for improved usability.
Display
The device carries a 14-inch ultra-thin IPS display which offers 1920 x 1080 full HD resolution and a wide 72% NTSC color gamut. The display provides an impressive viewing experience which is a perfect fit for office and other designing work. It can also be your entertainment box considering the display specifications.
Performance
Teclast A7 Air laptop comes with an Intel Gemini Lake Refresh N4120 processor which is built with 14nm process. The onboard UHD Graphics 600 aids in 4K 10-bit video playback and four-channel video decoding. It can effectively handle graphic-intensive tasks.
The laptop is available with 8GB LPDDR4 RAM and 256GB SSD storage. However, the user can further expand the storage using the microSD slot or Expandable SSD slot.
Teclast’s F7 Air design further enhance the immersive sound of the laptop. There are 4x independent speakers on top and bottom sides of the laptop. Moreover, it features a dual-band WiFi and Bluetooth 4.3 along with WiFi Display support.
The splendid Windows 10 enhances the overall experience by providing excellent features. It comes with a large 4250 mAh battery which can withstand hours upon a single full charge. There are multiple interfaces including a 3.5headphone jack, a card-reader port, DC jack, 1x HDMI mini slot, TF card slot, 2x USB ports, 1x Type c- port.
Pricing
Teclast F7 Air ultra-thin laptop is available for the price of $399 from AliExpress.
If you are grabbing any of LG’s new 2021 TVs, then you may not need to purchase a gaming console as the manufacturer will be bringing two of the biggest streaming services to the TVs this year.
According to LG, its TVs will get support for Google Stadia soon after they begin to ship in spring. This means users will be able to connect a gamepad to their TV and play the latest games on Google Stadia. If you prefer NVIDIA’s GeForce Now game streaming service, that too will be coming to the TVs but at a later date.
It is not yet known if older TVs will get the game streaming services but even if they do, it will be select models. If your TV is not getting it, don’t fret as Stadia will be available on Google TV later this year according to Google, so you can pick up the Google Chromecast with Google TV for just $49.
Google Stadia is currently available on Android, iOS via a web app, and on computers via the Chrome browser. The service costs $9.99 per month but users can also purchase individual games.
GeForce Now is available on Windows PC, Mac OS, NVIDIA Shield, Chromebook, Android, and on iPads and iPhones in beta via the safari web browser. The service costs $4.99 a month. Users can also sync their library of games from Steam.
LG is not the only one getting Stadia on its TVs, The Verge reports that Sony’s new line of TVs will also be getting the service.
Last week, Xiaomi officially unveiled the Redmi Note 9T alongside the Redmi 9T for the European market. The company equally unveiled the Mi Smart Clock, a new smart alarm clock having support for Google Assistant.
The Mi Smart Clock packs a decent 3.97-inch color display having a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. The clock also has a 1.5-inch full frequency speaker with two far-field microphones design to help users interact with the Google Assistant.
Since it is equipped with the features found in a smart speaker, the Mi Smart Clock offers pretty much all of the features that you’d get with the Mi Smart Speaker. However, the display adds several features to the clock that you won’t get in a smart speaker. For example, you can use the Mi Smart Clock to connect with compatible security cameras and access their live feed on the display.
Further, you can also use the Mi Smart Clock as a smart hub to control all of your other smart home devices or as a photo frame to display your cherished memories. In addition, the sleek smart clock comes with a Sunrise alarm feature that gradually increases the display brightness and the alarm sound, which ensures that waking up each morning isn’t a jarring experience.
Mi Smart Clock
The Mi Smart Clock also lets users stream music from the phone to the alarm clock with ease, thanks to the built-in Chromecast. For connectivity, the smart alarm clock supports 2.4GHz b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0 BLE. The Mi Smart Clock packs 1GB of RAM to ensure snappy performance, and it even features 4GB of onboard storage. It’s compatible with Android devices running Android 4.4 or above and iOS devices running iOS 9.0 or above.
As for the pricing and availability details, the Mi Smart Clock is priced at €49.99 (~$61)and will be available in a single colorway with a white shell. There is no word yet on the availability.
Lenovo’s list of launches at the CES 2021 seems to be never-ending. The company has now refreshed the Yoga Slim 7i Pro with an OLED display at CES 2021.
Back in Q3 last year, Lenovo announced the LCD version of the Yoga Slim 7i Pro. It had the 11th-gen Tiger Lake CPUs that Intel unveiled back in September. This OLED version aims to amp up the contrast, and vibrant colors compared to the LCD variant. Lenovo says that the OLED(Organic LED) display is produced by Samsung Display.
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro OLED Display
Talking about the display, the Yoga Slim 7i Pro version gets a 14-inch OLED display. And, just like the LCD counterpart, this one also gets a 2.8K(2880 x 1800) resolution and 90Hz refresh rate. However, it has a Chrominance(Chroma) value amped up by a factor of 1.25. This reportedly means you get higher color frequency and deeper Blacks.
Other features of the OLED display includes a 667 times amplified contrast ratio, 100% DCI-P3, and 125% sRGB color gamut coverage. Additionally, the display also supports HDR, Dolby Vision. If this isn’t enough, Lenovo claims that you can work with this laptop in Direct Sunlight which will also reduce the blue-light emission by 70% compared to LCD.
Talking about the design, the laptop measures 12.3x 8.7x 0.7(in) and weighs 1.45kg. It comes in a Single Slate Gray Color option. As for the I/O, you get 2xUSB Type-C™ with Intel’s Thunderbolt 4 support, 1xUSB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1×3.5mm audio/mic jack.
For Specs, you can configure it up to Intel’s 11 Gen i7 CPU which also comes with Intel’s Iris Xe built-in. If you want more, you can always add the external graphics up to NVIDIA GeForce MX450.
Other features include RAM up to 16GB, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 6 certified, IR Camera, Harman Speakers with Dolby Atmos, 61WHr battery, and Intel’s Evo Certification(verification by Q2 2021).
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro (OLED) Pricing, Availability
Lenovo hasn’t precisely shared a launch date or Price for the Yoga Slim 7i Pro OLED yet. However, it says the laptop will be available in AP(Asia-Pacific), Europe, Middle East, and Africa later in 2021.
If we recall, the LCD version debuted at around €799, and hence, we can expect something around the same for the OLED if not lesser. It’s worth noting that Lenovo says the OLED version isn’t available in North America.
After a lot of hype, the Vivo-X60 inspired iQOO 7 is finally here. The device that has launched in China starting at 3798 yuan($586) has the latest Snapdragon 888 SoC, 120Hz AMOLED display, Gaming-focused features, and more.
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iQOO 7 Latent Blue
BMW Edition iQOO 7
iQOO 7 Price, Availability
The iQOO 7 comes in three colors- Black, Latent Blue, and Legendary BMW Edition. It’s price is as follows:
8GB + 128GB – 3,798 yuan($586)
12GB + 256GB- 4,198 yuan($648)
The device is already up for pre-orders from today( January 11 at 20:30 China time). It will go on sale from January 15 at 0:00. However, only the Black land and Legendary BMW Edition will be available for the first sale.
The Blue variant goes on sale only on January 19 at 10:00. Either way, the iQOO 7 will be available on major e-commerce sites like Jingdong, T-Mall, Vivo Shop, and more. Those who pre-book the device will enjoy benefits like free-screen replacement, EMI up to 24-months, half a year extended warranty, and more.
iQOO 7 Design, Display
iQOO says that the iQOO 7 has the same rigid construction for the fuselage and display as its predecessors. In fact, the latest flagship uses a Marine Aluminum as a mid-frame which is both stronger and lighter. It is also covered by a 0.6mm AG(Anti-Glare) glass. Upfront, there is a centered punch-hole display.
Measuring 162.2×75.8×8.7mm, the iQOO 7 weighs about 209.5 grams. Talking about the display, it has a 6.62-inch AMOLED FHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate. iQOO says that the display also has 6000000:1 contrast, supports HDR 10+ content, 1000Hz instant touch sample rate, and 300Hz touch report rate.
The display also has 1300 nits brightness, 4096 levels of brightness adjustment, SGS-certification for low-smear, 20:9 aspect ratio, and 91.4% screen-body ratio.
‘Monster Engine’-powered Dual-Linear Motors with 3D vibration
For Audio, it even has a dedicated HIFI-DAC CS43131 Audio Chip for an interactive Hi-Res and Super Audio experience. As said in the previous reports, the Monster Engine helps the screen behave like a GamePad in feedback vibrations. The Monster Touch is complemented by a Touch Acceleration which helps boost the response during gaming.
Additionally, the device supports features like Multi-Turbo 5.0, One-Touch Game Space, GVoice optimization technology, and a Game Box loaded with a bucket load of essential features.
For cooling, iQOO says the device has a 4096 sq. mm head spreader inside. It has an L-shaped VC cooling plate. You don’t have to worry about the connectivity during gaming too as the device supports SA/NSA 5G. It also has an array of antennas spread around and supports Wi-Fi 6 standards with a 100% theoretical bump up in download/upload speeds.
iQOO 7 Other Features
For Cameras, you get a square-shaped vertical camera layout on the back with iQOO branding and LED flash lying beneath. It has a 48MP f/1.79 main with OIS and dual 13MP sensors. One is an f/2.2 120-degree ultra-wide-angle lens whereas the other one is a f/2.46 Portrait camera with a 50mm focal length. The camera supports features 20x digital Zoom, OIS anti-shake, Night scene 2.0, Panorama, Raw HDR 2.0, and more.
Upfront, you get a 16MP f/2.0 sensor for selfies. Just like the predecessor, the iQOO 7 also packs in a 4,000mAh(2*2,000mAh) battery with 120W FlashCharge support. iQOO says that the device can be charged fully in just 15 minutes. Although it lacks wireless charging, the company says that the device supports back Compatibility like 65W PD charging, and comes with a standard 120W charger and longer 1.5m cable in box.
Other features include in-display fingerprint sensor, face unlock, OriginOS based on Android 11, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, Type-C port, Beidou/GPS/GLONASS/Galileo for navigation, dual-SIM.
Huami has taken to CES 2021 to announce its new smartwatches, the Amazfit GTS 2e and Amazfit GTR 2e. The two smartwatches were first announced in China last month and are now available for purchase, at least in the US, starting today.
Amazfit GTS 2e
The Amazfit GTS 2e has a 1.65-inch AMOLED screen with a 341 ppi pixel density while the Amazfit GTR 2e has a 1.39-inch AMOLED screen with a 326 ppi pixel density. Both have 2.5D scratch-resistant glass covering their screens, unlike their more expensive siblings that have a 3D glass covering. There is a plethora of watch faces users can choose from and there is even the option to use your own pictures as a watch face. Huami also says that the displays can be rotated 180° to cater to both left-handed and right-handed users.
The two watches support up to 90 sports modes with auto-detection for six of them. There is also support for Blood-oxygen level measurement, sleep quality monitoring, stress detection, and all-day heart rate monitoring. There is GPS, an offline assistant, and customizable notification alerts. Users can also lock the screen with a password to prevent anyone from accessing the watch. The two smartwatches have a 5 ATM waterproof rating.
The Amazfit GTS 2e’s battery life will last up to 14 days on a single charge (24 days in basic watch mode) while that of the Amazfit GTR 2e will last up to 24 days (45 days in basic watch mode).
The GTS 2e comes in Lilac Purple, Moss Green, and Obsidian Black while the GTR 2e can be purchased in Obsidian Black, Matcha Green, and Slate Grey. Both watches have the same $139.99 price tag and can be purchased on the Amazfit US store starting today. The watches will be unveiled in India next week and should also be available in Europe later.
Amazfit GTR 2 and GTS 2 family
Amazfit GTR 2 LTE
Huami also announced that it will unveil an LTE version of the Amazfit GTR 2 The watch will arrive later this year as the Amazfit GTR 2 LTE with support for 4G, so users can make and receive calls on their watch without tethering to a phone.
Earlier today, vivo unveiled the world’s first Snapdragon 480 smartphone in the form of vivo Y31s in China. Whereas, at around the same time, the brand also launched vivo Y51A, a toned-down version of vivo Y51 in India. Let us take a look at the specs, features, and price of this handset in this post.
Apart from the above-mentioned dissimilarity, the new handset has the exact same specs as the old model. Hence, it also comes in a single 8GB + 128GB storage configuration with an indistinguishable design and colors (Crystal Symphony, Titanium Sapphire).
The smartphone flaunts a 6.58-inch IPS LCD panel on the front with a resolution of 2408 × 1080 pixels (FHD+) and a dewdrop notch housing a 16MP selfie camera. On the other hand, the back of the device sports a triple camera setup consisting of a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide unit, and a 2MP macro shooter.
On the connectivity front, the phone supports 4G (dual-SIM), dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, GNSS (GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, Galileo), 3.5mm headphone jack, and USB Type-C port. Other features include a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, compass, gyroscope, MicroSD card slot, Funtouch OS 11 based on Android 11, and a 5000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging.
Last but not least, the vivo Y51A measures 163.86 × 75.32 × 8.38mm in dimensions and weighs around 188g.
vivo Y51A Pricing and Availability
The vivo Y51A is priced at ₹17,990 ($245) in India. Weirdly, this is the same price for which the vivo Y51 debuted in India in early December. Anyway, the phone can be purchased from vivo e-store, Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm, TataCliq, and other popular online as well as offline retailers across the country.
As part of launch offers, interested customers can avail ₹1,000 cashback using HDFC Bank cards, zero downpayment schemes from Bajaj Finserv, Home Credit, IDFC First Bank, HDB Credit, and ICICI Bank. Additionally, VI (Vodafone Idea) customers can get some recharge benefits.
Earlier today, Black Shark revealed some key specs of its upcoming smartphone, the Black Shark 4. Now, Nubia’s Red Magic has followed suit with a tease of some of the specs of the Red Magic 6, and from the details revealed, both phones will share similar specifications.
According to a poster shared by the official Red Magic Weibo account, the Red Magic 6 will have support for 120W fast charging and also have a 4500mAh battery capacity. This is the same battery capacity and charging speed as the Black Shark 4, which means folks will have to look at other features before choosing which of the two phones they want.
The Red Magic 6 is expected to have a 1080p display, most likely AMOLED, with a refresh rate of 144Hz or above. It will also have a Snapdragon 888 processor, 5G support, an in-display fingerprint scanner, stereo speakers, and an audio jack. Just like its predecessors, the Red Magic 6 will not have support for wireless charging. We expect it to run Android 11 out of the box considering that older phones such as the Red Magic 3 have been updated to Android 11.
With respect to design, we don’t know what Nubia has planned. A video surfaced last month that showed a Red Magic phone with an electrochromic glass back panel. The phone has a switch on the side which when turned on or off changes the glass from see-through to opaque. There are speculations that the device may be the Red Magic 6.
The Red Magic 5G didn’t join the punch hole bandwagon and we do not think Nubia will do so now. To be honest, I believe gaming phones are better with an “uninterrupted” display. There is no launch date for the Red Magic 6 yet but its launch should not be far off.
Kospet is primarily known for its high-end smartwatches as it gained good sales with the Kospet Prime. The successive performance of the maiden smartwatch led Kospet to launch the Kospet Prime 2 4g smartwatch late last year. The new smartwatch features several advancements including a 2.1-inch fully round retina display, a 13MP rotatable camera, a 1600 mAh battery. Kospet Prime 2 usually retails for $209.99, but you can grab it for $194.99 until January 27 2021, via Kospet official store. A discount of $15 is applicable after using a Coupon Code – 01PRIME2.
Kospet official store supports international shipping and the buyers will get the product as soon as possible.
Kospet Prime 2 4G smartwatch is more than just a wearable. It does not require smartphone connectivity to work. Here are the full feature details of the smartwatch:
Display
Kospet Prime 2 comes with a 2.1-inch TFT IPS display with 480 x 480 pixels resolution. The colour display produces 16.7 million colours at 323PPI pixel density. The colourful dials and enticing User Interface makes the display worth every cent spent.
Performance
It is powered with Helio P22 Octa-Core SoC carrying 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. There’s a dedicated Power IMG GE8320 GPU which handles the graphics of the smartphone and further aids in running 3D applications. Moreover, it can run large videos smoothly and the power-hungry apps without stuttering and freezing.
Camera
A rotatable 13MP Sony IMX214 AF camera sits on the smartwatch for video calling and other use-cases. The device supports G-Sensor, Heart Rate, and Face ID. It is capable to capture HDR video at 1080p 20fps. Prime 2 utilizes the camera to unlock the device using face recognition services.
Software
The smartwatch runs on Android 10 carrying all the features and security enhancements. However, the company has fully optimized the Android 10 to fit inside the smartwatch. It features a redesigned interface and UI icons to match the exact size.
4G Support + Connectivity
It also supports Vo-LTE HD voice calls for seamless connectivity across the globe. Majority of the TDD LTE and FDD LTE bands are compatible extending support for connectivity across, Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Oceania.
Moreover, the users will be delighted to enjoy 4G services on the watch. A 1600 mAh battery is enough to power the smartwatch for 3-5 days. In connectivity, the Kospet Prime 2 supports GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, and Pogo Magnetic data cable. The smartwatch comes with support for iOS 9.0 and Android 5.1. It weighs 120g.
It comes with Silicone Watch strap and carries a ceramic bezel and plastic housing.
Back on December 2, at the Qualcomm summit, Motorola confirmed that it will bring the devices powered by flagship SoC. In fact, a G-Series smartphone with an 800 series chipset is coming in 2021. Now, Lenovo China’s GM has teased a new Motorola smartphone and it could be called ‘Motorola Edge S’.
Chen Jin has teased the device via a Post on Weibo. The post also has an image of the Motorola logo on it. It shimmers with a yellow light falling on it having brushed textured patterns. That said, the image could just be a placeholder. The highlight is the post says a new flagship with Snapdragon 8xx is coming soon.
And if you look at the timestamp of the Weibo Post, it seems to be posted from a device with the ‘Motorola Edge S‘ moniker. Hence, there is a strong possibility that the next device could carry the above name. While he hasn’t confirmed it as the latest Snapdragon 888, don’t rule out the possibility of an older SoC like Snapdragon 865.
This is not the first time as he posted a retail packaging of a Motorola device last month suggesting an imminent launch. Also, a couple of more hints like the Geekbench of a Motorola ‘Nio’(Model: XT2125) which could be the upcoming phone suggests that it will run Snapdragon 865, 8GB RAM, and Android 11.
While we don’t know if the Edge S will sport a flat display with a dual-punch hole or a curved display with a centered punch hole yet, there is a possibility that the Edge S might continue the trend of earlier launched Motorola Edge+. However, we do know that Motorola is working on a smartphone having a display with 105Hz refresh-rate support and a 64MP camera.
And it could be the Edge S as well. Let’s wait for more concrete details in the coming days as the launch window doesn’t seem far now.
Chinese handset maker vivo has quietly launched vivo Y31s as the world’s first smartphone powered by the all-new Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 chipset. This device comes in a single 6GB + 128GB storage configuration priced at ¥1,698 ($262). It is already up for pre-order and will go on sale starting January 15 in China.
vivo Y31s Specifications and Features
The newly unveiled vivo Y31s resembles every other new device from the company with a camera array design that first debuted on the vivo X50 series. Apart from the new chip, the handset’s specs are identical to other vivo phones in the segment.
On the front, the smartphone sports a 6.58-inch IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 2408 × 1080 pixels (FHD+), 90Hz refresh rate, 20:7:9 aspect ratio, 90.61% screen-to-body ratio, and 1500:1 contrast ratio. There’s also a dewdrop notch housing an 8MP selfie camera.
Whereas, the rear side of the phone includes a dual-camera setup consisting of a 13MP primary sensor, a 2MP depth sensor, and an LED flash. The back of the handset device does not feature a fingerprint sensor since it is embedded in the power key.
Further, as mentioned in the beginning, the phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 SoC paired with 6GB LDDR4X RAM and 128GB UFS 2.1 internal storage. For connectivity, it comes with 5G, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.1, and GNSS (BeiDou, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo).
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Ruby Red
Monet Color
Titanium Empty Gray
Other features of this smartphone include a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, gyroscope, compass, Funtouch OS 10.5 based on Android 11, and a 5,000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging.
Last but not least, the vivo Y31s comes in three colors (Monot Color, Titanium Empty Gray, Ruby Red), measures 164.15 × 75.35 × 8.40mm in dimensions, and weighs about 185.5g.
With the Samsung Galaxy S21 series‘ launch being just around the corner, the high end Ultra variant is expected to feature an upgraded version of last year’s 108 megapixel sensor. Although, the company is apparently also working on a 200 megapixel sensor that might be seen in upcoming flagship launches soon.
Samsung ISOCELL will launch many innovative sensors in 2021. 200MP is coming soon.
As per a tweet from known leakster @IceUniverse, the South Korean tech giant is planning on launching a new innovative sensor this year. These new sensors will also be under the company’s ISOCELL family and will include a 200 megapixel image sensor as well. Previously, we had reported on Samsung apparently working on a 600 megapixel smartphone image sensor, although, the 200 megapixel leak seems a lot more likely at the moment and should launch earlier as well.
Back in March 2020, it was rumored that the company would launch a new 150 megapixel sensor by the final quarter of last year. Although, this launch never happened and another report pointed at Samsung now working on a 250 megapixel sensor as well. Keep in mind that the performance of the camera on smartphones is not solely defined by the megapixel count. Software optimizations and machine learning also play a major role.
But the hardware is still just as important, with a higher megapixel sensor offering a wider degree of application to Samsung in fields like health, agriculture, IoT, drones, and automotive. Unfortunately, it is still too early to tell if the company is actually working on such a sensor, thus, we will have to wait for further reports and rumors or even an official announcement to know for sure. So stay tuned for more updates.
Samsung Electronics is apparently planning on adopting a new strategy to push forward the sales of its QLED and microLED TV technologies for this year. The news arrives to rival its known competitor LG Electronics, who is pushing its rollable OLED TVs.
According to a DigiTimesreport, the South Korean tech giant will employ a two pronged strategy to grow sales of its QLED and microLED TVs in 2021. For those unaware, Samsung QLED TVs arrive with integrate quantum dots (QD) and OLED technologies but the company aims at improving its performance in areas like power consumption and brightness. Furthermore, it aims on addressing the known screen burn in issues as well and plans to develop QNED technology within this year as well.
Notably, Samsung is also planning on launching its 110 inch microLED TVs globally in the first quarter of this year. This might also launch along with rollable microLED technology if the company aims at pushing related technology together. Interestingly, both Samsung and LG are expected to contract the manufacture of their QLED and rollable OLED TVs, respectively, to third party companies for cost control reasons, with the former expected to raise the outsourcing ratio to 20 percent in 2021.
Additionally, Samsung and LG are also slowly withdrawing their TV assembly business from China and shifting to Vietnam and Indonesia due to the rise of local TV brands in the region. This move would also have both companies try and expand their sales in the Southeast Asian market as a whole.
In early 2020, POCO became an independent brand under Xiaomi. Since then, the brand has launched five smartphones in India. Despite a few models, POCO managed to sell over a million units during the Flipkart Big Billion Days sale in October. Now, the brand reveals that it was India’s third-largest smartphone brand online in the month of November 2020.
POCO India announced its biggest achievement to date on social media. According to the post by the brand on Twitter, POCO beat OnePlus and realme to become India’s third-largest smartphone brand online in November 2020. The two companies ahead of POCO were none other than Samsung and Xiaomi.
Unlike the over 1 million units sold achievement in October, for which the data was sourced internally, the new one’s data come from Counterpoint Research’s India Smartphone Model Tracker November 2020.
That said, according to the data, 2 out of the top 3 smartphones sold online in the month were POCO M2 and POCO C3 respectively. It is worth noting that during this period, all the POCO handsets, as well as phones from other brands were discounted, in addition to bank offers. So this could have been one of the important reasons for POCO’s success.
The primary reason for POCO’s triumph could be the fact that the brand’s products are still online-exclusive in India. If it had an offline presence, we don’t think POCO could have managed to hit this milestone in a short period of time.
NIO has recently launched a mass production electric car with what appears to be the longest driving range in the EV market. This raises the competition in China, especially against the major EV maker Tesla.
According to an SCMPreport, the Standard Edition of NIO’s ET7 electric car offers a driving range of 500 kilometers through its 70 kilowatt hour battery pack. This car costs 448,000 Yuan (roughly 69,000 US Dollars) and offers about 7 percent farther range than Tesla’s Shanghai made Model 3 EV that costs 249,00 Yuan after subsidy (roughly 38,000 US Dollars).
Although, the real highlight of NIO is its Premiere Edition of the ET7 that can reach up to 700 kilometers from its 100kWH battery pack. This model costs 536,000 Yuan (roughly 82,000 US Dollars). Notably, the Tesla rival has also launched a Extended Edition, which offers a claimed range of 1,000 kilometers on a single charge from its 150kWH battery pack. Unfortunately, the exact price of the Extended Edition is unknown at the moment.
As per the founder and chief, William Li Bin, “We will continuously invest in products and technologies, and speed up the development of our service network, thereby bringing a better experience of smart electric vehicles to users.” This arrives as the competition in the Chinese electric vehicle market is rising with almost 200 carmakers, including start ups are racing to launch their offerings in the market. Reports state that one in every five cars will be a non fossil fuel powered vehicle by the year 2025 in China, which is one of the world’s largest EV market.
LG Display has just showcased its idea of the future at CES 2021, with its upcoming technology being seen in various scenarios. One of the more interesting implications has the company’s new 55 inch transparent OLED display being housed in a bed frame.
According to TheVerge, the CES 2021 gave the South Korean tech giant a stage to unveil the various applications of its new breed of OLED displays. These new transparent or see through screens offer 40 percent transparency, which is much higher than past iterations of the technology that only offered 10 percent transparency. During the major tech event, LG imagined the screen being house at the foot of a bed, which rises out from the bed’s frame.
This would basically have the display function as a TV that can display information or other forms of media entertainment like videos or movies. This transparent TV frame will also arrive with built in speakers, meaning you wouldn’t require external speakers along with it. Furthermore, LG also claims that this frame can also be moved and placed anywhere in the users’ home, offerings a degree of flexibility regarding its placement and use.
As per Jong-sun Park, LG Display’s senior vice president and head of commercial business, “Transparent OLED is a technology that maximizes the advantages of OLED and can be used in various places in our daily lives, from stores, shopping malls, and architectural interiors to autonomous vehicles, subway trains, and aircraft. It will grow into a next-generation display that can change the existing display paradigm.”
It’s been just a few days since the device went on sale in China. Xiaomi fans from around the globe are looking forward to its global launch. Surprisingly, some have even got their hands-on via the means of Giztop which internationally ships the device. However, the Xiaomi Mi 11 has got a price-cut on Giztop and it is now retailing for the starting price of $699. The users can choose from three different colour options of Black, Blue and White.
Xiaomi Mi 11 is available with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage for $699, the 8GB RAM + 256GB storage version is retailing for $749 and the 12GB RAM +256GB storage variant is available for $899.
Giztop offers international shipping, and even facilitate buyers in other ways.
Xiaomi Mi 11 comes with a 6.81-inch 2K AMOLED WQHD display with 3200 x 1440 pixel display. It further supports 120Hz refresh rate for the smooth gaming experience. The smartphone is powered with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC carrying Adreno 660 GPU and octa-core CPU. The smartphone features a triple rear camera module consisting of a 108MP primary sensor, a 13MP ultra-wide sensor and a 5mP macro lens. There’s also a 20MP front camera with HDR support for selfies.
In connectivity, the users will get Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, IR, USB Type-C 2.0 and WiFi support. It houses a 4600 mAh battery with 55W fast charging support, 50W fast wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging. Grab the Xiaomi Mi 11 at a reduced price of $699 by hitting the below button.
A new report has revealed that China will apparently fall short of its goal of achieving chip self sufficiency by the year 2025. The new market research has revealed that only 19.4 percent of the ICs in its market will have been produced locally.
According to TheElecreport, a market research report from IC Insights found that China will fall short of its chip self sufficiency goal by a large margin. As per the nation’s original plans, it aimed to have 70 percent of the ICs in its market produced locally, although, the figure arrives at just 19.4 percent as per current estimations. Back in 2020, locally produced ICs accounted for 15.9 percent of China’s total IC market that is worth 143.4 billion US Dollars, which is up from 10.2 percent from back in 2010.
Furthermore, out of these 22.7 billion US Dollars worth of locally manufactured ICs, companies with headquarters in China only produced 8.3 billion US Dollars worth of ICs. This accounted for only 5.9 percent of the total IC market in China. In other words, the rest of the ICs produced locally were from foreign companies such as TSMC, SK Hynix, Samsung, Intel, UMC, and others that had their IC wafer fabs located within the country.
The report also states that if China based IC production rises to 43.2 billion US Dollars in 2025, it would still only account for just 7.5 percent of the total expected global IC market of that year, which is projected to be around 577.9 billion US Dollars in value. The news arrives despite the local government’s efforts and investment into major firms like Huawei, ZTE, SMIC, and more. Although, US sanctions against these companies have made it difficult for them to secure core technology and produce chips on their own.
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