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realme Buds Q2 appears on FCC and India’s BIS Certification websites; launch imminent

A month ago, a realme device with model number RMA2008 got listed on FCC as the realme Buds Q2. Now, the TWS with another model number appears on both FCC and India’s BIS certifications suggesting an imminent launch.

realme-Buds-Q2

Spotted by Mukul Sharma, a realme device with model number RMA2010 appears on the BIS database. This model number also appears on America’s FCC certification website. The model number has a ‘realme Buds Q2‘ moniker attached to it. The images also show a Pale Green and Black color variants.

Interestingly, the Pale Green color earbuds also have the Black silicone ear-tips. Talking about the design, the charging case is oval and similar to the realme Buds Q. However, the earbuds with angled ear tips, have a flat base on the other sides suggesting that touch controls will have more area of operation.

If you recall, the original realme Buds Q, which launched in June 2020, didn’t get appreciated much for the pebble-shaped earbud’s touch controls. Hence, the company could have modified the area to improve the response. As for specs, the FCC listing shows a 40mAh battery on each earbuds and 400mAh on the charging case.

Sadly, the FCC listing also reveals that the charging port on the realme Buds Q2 will be a micro-USB. This is disappointing considering it’s 2021 and I feel brands should fix at least the Type-C port as minimum standard.

As for the launch date, Mukul Sharma claims that the Buds Q2 will launch “very soon” in India which might be as soon as next month. As for Global launch, we can expect it to launch in other Asian markets like Indonesia too. Let’s wait for the official confirmation to know about price and other specs.

RELATED:

realme Watch 2 leaks in its entirety via FCC

Chinese smartphone maker realme launched its first smartwatch called realme Watch in the first half of 2020. In the second half, the brand released two more wearables in the form of realme Watch S and realme Watch S Pro. Last week, the successors to the original watch, dubbed as realme Watch 2 and realme Watch 2 Pro were spotted in the realme Link app. Now, the vanilla realme Watch 2 has leaked in detail, thanks to its FCC certification.

realme Watch 2 Render FCC

According to FCC, the upcoming realme Watch 2 with model number RMW2008 and FCC ID: 2AUYFRMW2008 will be similar to its predecessor in most cases. 

It will come with a single hardware key (power button) and a 1.4-inch square-shaped TFT LCD panel with a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels. Going by live pictures and renders, the wearable will feature a plastic build and a silicon strap with the brand’s slogan – ‘DARE TO LEAP’.

Further, the smartwatch will support 24-hour heart-rate monitoring (using PPG heart rate sensor), blood oxygen level monitoring (using Sp02 sensor), multiple workout modes, sleep tracking, meditation mode, app notifications, and music controls.

Last but not least, this IP68-certified realme smartwatch, backed by a 305mAh battery, will connect with smartphones running Android 5.0 and above via Bluetooth 5.0 LE and measures 257.6×35.7×12.2mm in dimensions.

That said, realme is yet to tease the launch of this product, let alone announce the launch date.

 

(Via)

POCO X2 gets the Android 11 update

At the very beginning of this year, Xiaomi surprised the Redmi K30 4G users in China with Android 11 update. A couple of weeks later, the device’s Indian Version, POCO X2 is getting the latest OS update.

Poco X2 Review 40

POCO X2 users in India will get a new MIUI 12.1 version update with firmware version 12.1.2.0.RGHINXM. This update not only bundles a few bug fixes, security patches but also includes stable Android 11. It reportedly weighs 2.6GB and is currently rolling out to the device via OTA(Over-The-Air) update.

As mentioned above, the update also brings the latest January 2021 security patch along with it. You can take a look at the changelog below:

Optimizations:

  • Noise could be heard when the screen was turned off in some cases
  • Updated Android Security Patch to January 2021. Increased system security.
  • Stable MIUI based on Android 11

With this, POCO X2 becomes the first POCO in India to get the Android 11 update. As for the Global tally, we already have the POCO F2 Pro running on a stable version. This is not the only first for the X2 in India. Back in August, it became the first smartphone in India to get the MIUI 12 update.

Now that POCO has checked the year-old X2 update mark, it’s next target should be the budget devices POCO M2 Pro, and its sibling POCO M2 in the country.

Anyway, the new update also fixes a critical creaking noise bug that occurred in certain screen-off scenarios. If you are living in India, you can try out the update by navigating to the update section in Settings. Consequently, if you are impatient to wait for the phased rollout to appear, you can download it here and install it manually.

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Apple working on an AR Headset, but faces hurdles in its development: Report

A new report has suggested that Apple is working on a new headset, which will also be the forerunner to the company’s eventual AR Glasses. Sources close to the matter have stated that the company is already working on this AR headset.

According to a Bloomberg report, the new headset will be an expensive and “niche” predecessor to the company’s more ambitious augmented reality products that will arrive in the future. While the Cupertino based giant has been rumored to be working on such a headset, the sources have claimed that the company is facing several hurdles in its development at the moment. This headset would also be the first new major product line since the Apple Watch.

Apple
Xiaomi VR Headset

As per the report, Apple is currently facing difficulties in development and only expects modest sales of its new product. The device will lean more towards virtual reality, for the purpose of gaming, watching videos, and even communication. So, we can expect it to only have limited augmented reality capabilities. For those unaware, VR is basically displaying 3D digitally rendered environments, while AR overlays images and information over a view of the real world.

Unfortunately, the report also mentions that this Apple product might be more expensive than most of the current market competitors. While a headset from is rival can cost between 300 to 900 US Dollars, the sources have claimed that the Apple product will be far more expensive and that the company only expects to sell one headset per day per retail store as its price could reach up to the 5,999 US Dollars Mac Pro desktop computer.

Apple AR Glasses

The headset is codenamed N301 and is currently in the late prototype stage in development. So, Apple has no finalized plans for a possible launch. Furthermore, the AR Glasses from the company is codenamed N421 and is in the early stage known as “architecture” at the moment. This implies that the company is working on ironing out the technology that will be used in the product. Thus, it is still too early to provide any concrete statements. So stay tuned for more updates.

 

Alleged Live image of Red Magic 6 ‘Tencent Games’ Edition appears online

Nubia’s Red Magic has already teased the  Red Magic 6 gaming smartphone. The device, as per the company’s statement at Snapdragon Summit, we can expect at least two devices in ‘Red Magic 6 Series’. Ahead of the imminent launch, an alleged live image of the device has appeared online.

First and foremost, is the ‘Tencent Games’ tagline on it suggesting a Tencent Games Edition of the Red Magic 6. To affirm this, Nubia GM Ni Fei has posted a picture of the Tencent building at Shenzhen teasing the collab more. Next, is the horizontally stacked cameras. We aren’t sure if it’s a quad-camera layout as only three sensors are visible in the image.

Besides, if you recall, the Red Magic 5S had a vertical Triple-camera arrangement. Anyway, looking at the rest of the image, we can see the device in Gray color having an X-shape in the middle with silver accents. The top of the layout has ‘AI Camera’ and Nubia branding beneath and a ‘Red Magic’ at the bottom.

 

The sides of the ‘X’ design has few grille on both sides. This suggests that the in-built cooling fan might be present there to vent out the air. The Red Magic 6 is already confirmed to debut with Snapdragon 888 chipset. The entire series will likely have a Red Magic 6, Red Magic 6 Pro but isn’t outrightly confirmed yet.

The company has also confirmed that the Red Magic 6 will boast a 4,500mAh battery which is the same as the predecessor. However, it will get amped up in charging tech with a 120W fast charging support compared to 55W on Red Magic 5S. We might see an edition with an electrochromic rear glass panel whereas other expected specs include 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Android 11, UFS 3.1, LPDDR5 RAM.

RELATED:

Intel has fixed its 7nm process, but still plans on outsourcing some parts

Intel has just reported on its fourth quarter earnings earlier today (22nd January 2021). In the report, the company noted a strong quarter and a record year, while also promising an update on its 7nm process.

Intel

The known chip maker stated that it has apparently fixed its 7nm process but still plans on outsourcing some plans, as per a TomsHardware report. Intel is planning to contract out the production of some of its leading edge products. Previously, we had reported on team blue outsourcing the production of its Core i3 processors to TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker. Furthermore, Intel’s upcoming CEO Pat Gelsinger added that he has personally reviewed the progress of the updated 7nm process.

The senior executive said that he was pleased with the “health and recovery of the 7nm program.” He further added that Intel will be using external foundries for some of its products. The upcoming CEO is also confident that the majority of the company’s 2023 CPU products will mostly be from its own factories. Further plans regarding production will be unveiled at a later date, after Gelsinger takes the lead in February 2021.

Intel
11th Gen Intel Processors

Notably, Intel has also noted great performance in its mobile chips that are found in laptops. Thanks to affordable notebooks, the company’s PC business saw a significant rise of 33 percent year on year in the fourth quarter of last year. During this time, the average price of notebooks dropped by 15 percent, which further helped boost the sales of laptops with Intel chips, as per an Engadget report. The bump in sales was also backed by the pandemic that made remote working and online education the new norm as well.

 

HONOR Watch GS Pro Mysterious Starry Sky Edition launched in China

The HONOR Watch GS Pro is the brand’s first rugged smartwatch. It was first unveiled at IFA 2020 in early September. In the same month, it went on sale in multiple regions, including China. Now, four months later, the company has launched a special version of this watch called ‘HONOR Watch GS Pro Mysterious Starry Sky Edition’ in its home country alongside HONOR V40 5G and HONOR MagicBook 14/15 2021.

HONOR Watch GS Pro Mysterious Starry Sky Edition 01

There’s nothing new about the HONOR Watch GS Pro Mysterious Starry Sky Edition, except for design and special watch faces. This variant of the watch is co-designed with Discovery, Inc., a well-known media company known for infotainment TV channels.

Unlike the regular version, the special edition of this smartwatch features copper-accented keys and stainless steel bezels with additional etches, such as ‘DISCOVERY’ and ‘HONOR WATCH GS PRO’ at the top. Whereas, the polycarbonate part of the wearable’s chassis and the strap are black in color.

You might be wondering why copper color although the watch is called Mysterious Starry Sky. That’s because this special edition smartwatch’s design is inspired by the planet Venus, which is shown clearly in the custom watch faces with the Discovery logo.

HONOR Watch GS Pro Mysterious Starry Sky Edition 02

That said, despite being a limited edition product, HONOR has priced this watch at only ¥1,399 ($216), the current selling price of the regular variant. For those unaware, this wearable initially debuted for ¥1,599 ($247) in China.

 

Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite bags another important certification

GizmoChina reported last week that the Xiaomi Mi 11 and a new handset called the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite will be debuting together in the global market. The Chinese brand is yet to confirm the existence of the Mi 11 Lite, but recent reports have suggested that it has been busy bagging important certifications. In the recent past, the device was seen at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S., the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) in Russia, and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in India. Today, the smartphone received approval from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) authority of Thailand (via).

The NBTC listing corroborates that the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite’s model number is M2101K9AG and it is a 4G phone. The BIS certification mentioned the model number of the Mi 11 Lite as M2101K9AI. Except for FCC, the other certifications have not revealed any vital information on the specs of the Mi 11 Lite.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite NBTC

The FCC listing revealed that the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite is loaded with MIUI 12 and it has a battery of 4,250mAh (typical value). It is also revealed other specs such as 6 GB of RAM, 128 GB / 256 GB of storage, Bluetooth 5.1, dual-band Wi-Fi, and 33W rapid charging support.

A report that appeared earlier this week revealed that the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite will be coming to India in options like 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage, 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, and 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage. It could be arriving in colors like black, blue, and pink.

Xiaomi MI 11 Lite 4G render
Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite render that appeared in The Pixel’s YouTube video

Rumors are rife that the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite will come with a 120Hz LCD panel and Snapdragon 732G chipset. It could be sporting a 64-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 5-megapixel triple camera system. Speculations are rife that it may go official in March with a pricing of around $325.

 

CEO: Honor has over 8000 employees and aims on launching high end phones soon

During the Honor V40 launch conference that took place earlier today (22nd January 2021), the company’s CEO, George Zhao stated that the company still has more than 8,000 employees after separating from Huawei, and it aims at soon launching on mid to high end devices while also evaluating on using HarmonyOS in the future.

Honor V40 5G
Honor V40 5G

According to an ITHome report, the known Chinese budget smartphone maker still retains over 8,000 employees despite being separated from its former parent company, Huawei. Furthermore, more than half of these employees are working in the company’s research and development department. This department includes over five R&D sites, with more than 100 laboratories across the globe and over 3000 service centers, and 43 call centers in more than 82 countries and regions.

George Zhao also added that Honor will be dedicated to maintaining its standard of service experience and that each of its products undergoes more than 400 rigorous tests and arrive with over 20 global certification standards as well. Notably, the senior executive also stated that Honor would be working on launching mid to high end smartphones in the future, to grow its presence in its home country and overseas market, along with an expansion of its IoT portfolio as well.

Honor

Interestingly, the company’s CEO also talked about HarmonyOS and its future with its devices. After its separation from Huawei to avoid the US sanctions, the recently launched Honor V40 arrives with Google support and services. Thus, Zhao stated that the company is currently evaluating HarmonyOS, and would make the decision of using the new OS depending on its open source progress.

RELATED: 

Vivo V2045 with Snapdragon 870 receives Bluetooth approval

Earlier this week, Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon 870 chipset for flagship devices. The SoC is slotted between the Snapdragon 888 and the older Snapdragon 865 SoC. The SD870 also offers faster performance than the Snapdragon 865+, which is an overclocked version of the SD865 chip. While Motorola Edge S debuting on Jan. 26 will break cover as the world’s first SD870 powered handset, companies like Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, and OnePlus are also expected to announce SD870 powered smartphones. Last week, a Vivo phone with a V2045 model number was spotted at the Geekbench benchmarking platform with the new chip. The same device has now received approval from the Bluetooth SIG authority.

The Bluetooth SIG authority has approved two Vivo phones such as V2045 and V2047 (via). The latter has already gone official as the Vivo X60 Pro in China. The Bluetooth SIG listing could be a hint that its global launch is drawing near.

Vivo V2045 Bluetooth SIG

Coming to the mysterious V2045 phone, the Bluetooth SIG listing only confirms support for Bluetooth 5.1. It has no information on its other specifications. At present, it is unclear whether the V2045 will be arriving in the market with Vivo or iQOO branding.

The Geekbench appearance suggests that the Chinese brand could be internally testing the performance of the Vivo V2045 before making it official. Apart from hinting at the presence of the Snapdragon 870 chip, the listing also revealed that it has 12 GB of RAM and Android 11 OS. However, the other specs of the Vivo V2045 are under the wraps.

Phones that appear at the Bluetooth SIG’s database are known to go official within a month. Hence, the Vivo V2045 could be heading for a Q1 launch.

 

 

Xiaomi to launch a Mi 10 model with Snapdragon 870 SoC: Report

Earlier today (22nd January 2021), a known leakster revealed that Xiaomi is apparently working on a new Mi 10 series smartphone model, which will sport Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 870 SoC.

Xiaomi

According to an ITHome report, known Weibo blogger (a Chinese microblogging website) @数码闲聊站 shared the information. The tipster stated that the Chinese tech giant is currently working on a new Mi 10 model with the newly launched Snapdragon 870 processor. Reportedly, Xiaomi is testing a prototype variant that is currently running on the new chipset. For those unaware, the Snapdragon 870 was first announced to launch with the Motorola Edge S.

It is a new chipset from Qualcomm, which arrives between the Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 870 processors. The chipset uses an enhanced version of the Kyro 585 CPU cores that can reach clock speeds up to 3.2 GHz. This is the highest clock speed ever achieved on the A77 architecture. At the moment, many other companies are expected to launch their devices with the new chip as well including brands like OPPO, OnePlus, iQOO, and more.

Xiaomi Mi 10i 5G
Xiaomi Mi 10i 5G

Notably, even the Redmi K40 series is rumored to sport the Snapdragon 870 SoC. Unfortunately, these are just unconfirmed reports right now and we would have to wait for an official company announcement. So, take this report with a pinch of salt for now and stay tuned for more, as we will be providing more updates when additional information is available.

RELATED: 

 

realme C20 launched in Vietnam with Helio G35, 5,000mAh battery, and Android 10

Chinese smartphone brand realme is known for releasing a handful of phones in a short period of time. For some unknown reasons, we did not see any handset launch from the brand for a longer period of time for the first time. But now, we think the brand will continue its momentum again as it has announced a new device called realme C20 in Vietnam just after two weeks from the realme V15 5G China launch.

realme C20 Featured 01

realme C20 Specifications and Features

The realme C20 was leaked extensively earlier this week revealing everything about it. Turns out that retailer listing was legit and those were really the renders, specs, and price of this handset.

Anyway, coming to the specifications, the phone flaunts a 6.5-inch IPS LCD panel on the front with a resolution of 1600 x 720 pixels (HD+), 20:9 aspect ratio, 270 ppi, 89% screen-to-body ratio, and 1500: 1 contrast ratio. This screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and includes a dew-drop notch and a larger chin.

 

Under the hood, the new realme budget smartphone features a MediaTek Helio G35 chipset paired with 2GB LPDDR4X RAM and 32GB eMMC storage. Whereas for connectivity and ports, it comes with dual-SIM, 4G, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.1, GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BDS), MicroUSB port, microSD card slot  (up to 256GB), and 3.5mm headphone jack.

Talking about cameras, the device sports a single 8MP primary camera accompanied by an LED flash and a 5MP selfie shooter. It also comes with limited sensors, such as proximity, ambient light sensor, and accelerometer.

Another major disappointment is the presence of realme UI based on Android 10 in a budget phone releasing in 2021 that has a less chance of getting Android 11. Hence, the only standout feature of this phone apart from its chipset is a huge 5,000mAh battery that supports 10W charging and reverse charging.

Last but not least, the realme C20 is available in two colors (Gray, Blue), measures 165.2 x 76.4 x 8.9mm in dimensions, and weighs 190g.

realme C20 Pricing and Availability

The realme C20 is priced at VND 2,690,000 ($117) in Vietnam. It is already up for sale and is being sold at a discounted price tag of VND 2,490,000 ($108) up until February 11.

That said, like any other realme smartphones, this one should also make its way to other Asian markets in the coming days.

 

(Via)

Sony Xperia Pro could be available for purchase soon

Last year, Sony unveiled the Sony Xperia 1 II, Xperia 10 II, and Xperia Pro smartphones in February. While the other two devices were made available for purchase in different markets a few months later, but the company did not begin the sales of the Xperia Pro. Fresh information shared by Xperia Blog reveals that the Japanese tech giant could now be gearing up to release the Xperia Pro in the market.

While the Xperia Pro carried specs similar to the Xperia I II, it boasted topnotch videography and photography features for professionals. The handset was intended to arrive only in the US, but the company has been silent on its availability. However, it appears that the device will be heading to the US soon as its firmware has emerged on Sony’s public servers.

Xperia-PRO-firmware-58.0.A.9.116-768x106

The Xperia Pro’s (XQ-AQ62) firmware with build number 58.0.A.9.116 has been spotted. It is based on Android 10 OS and includes Android security patches for September 2020. Now that the firmware has appeared, it is likely that Sony will begin with the pre-orders of the Xperia Pro in the coming weeks.

Sony Xperia Pro specifications

The Sony Xperia Pro has a 6.5-inch 4K HDR OLD display that offers a 21:9 aspect ratio. It comes with Gorilla Glass 6 protection and IP68 certification. It has a front camera of 8-megapixel with f/2.0 aperture.

The rear camera of the Xperia Pro has a 12-megapixel with f/1.7 aperture, a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens with 124-degree FOV, and a 12-megapixel telephoto sensor with 70mm focal length, 3x optical zoom, and OIS support.  The device boots to Android 10 OS.

Sony Xperia Pro
Sony Xperia Pro

The Snapdragon 865 powered Xperia Pro smartphone has 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of UFS storage. It is equipped with a microSD card slot for additional storage. The 4,000mAh battery of the device supports USB-PD charging. Other features of the phone include a reconfigurable hardware shortcut key, mmWave 5G support, a 360-degree antenna design, and an HDMI micro connector. There is no word on the pricing of the Xperia Pro.

 

Honor partners with key suppliers like Intel, Qualcomm, and more after separating from Huawei

Honor has apparently signed partnership deals with key chip suppliers after its separation from its former parent company, Huawei. The brand has now partnered with Intel and Qualcomm.

Honor logo

According to a Reuters report, the Chinese budget smartphone maker is only able to partner with these major chip suppliers due to its separation from Huawei. The latter is suffering from the impacts of US sanctions, which have crippled its smartphone business and also disrupted its supply chain. For those unaware, Huawei sold off Honor last year, to a consortium of 30 of its subsidiary’s agents and dealers in an effort to save its budget smartphone sub brand.

Earlier today (22nd January 2021), the company launched the Honor V40, which was sold out in just over 3 minutes. This marks the first device that the brand has launched after the split, and it seems like the company is off to a positive start. Now, it is even partnering with key suppliers from across the globe, including AMD, MediaTek, Micron Technology, Microsoft, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Sony.

Qualcomm logo

According to George Zhao, “the last five months have been an extremely difficult but meaningful time for Honor. We feel the weight of expectation from industry partners and consumers.” After its independence from Huawei, Honor is expected to also launch mid to high end smartphones in the near future while also focusing on expanding its presence in the overseas market. It would also make efforts in launching IoT (internet of things) products and other smart connected products as well.

 

Honor V40 sold out in just over 3 minutes during its first sale

Earlier today (22nd January 2021), the Honor V40 was launched and was made available for purchase as well. However, during its first ever sale, the device managed to get sold in just 3 minutes and 46 seconds.

Honor V40 5G
Honor V40 5G

The Chinese tech giant shared this achievement on its official Weibo account, a Chinese microblogging website. The device went on sale through multiple online websites, which included the Honor Mall, JD.com, Tmall, and other major platforms as well. All of these channels now have the device listed as out of stock, as per an ITHome report. In other words, the newly launched smartphone is currently unavailable for purchase in China.

For those unaware, the Honor V40 is the company’s latest launch, which features MediaTek’s Dimensity 1000+ chipset along with a 50 megapixel primary rear camera. It has a 6.72-inch screen with a dual punch-hole design and is also the first V-series phone from Honor to feature an OLED panel. The device supports 5G + 5G dual SIM connectivity and offers 8 GB of LPDDR4x RAM and UFS 2.1 storage of 128 GB / 256 GB.

Honor V40 5G

While the device is unavailable at the moment, the company has announced that the next sale will go live on the 26th of January 2021. The starting price of the Honor V40 is 3599 Yuan (roughly 556 US Dollars) and is available in two different storage configurations and multiple color variants including Magic Night Black, Titanium Silver, and Rose Gold. Notably, the new smartphone also arrives with Google apps and services as well.

 

Motorola Edge S with Snapdragon 870 is now available for reservations in China

Earlier today (22nd January 2021), the Motorola Edge S went live for reservation. The device is the first smartphone to feature the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset and can be reserved through JD.com.

Motorola

On the popular Chinese e retail website, the new device has been opened for reservations. For those unaware, the Motorola Edge S is the latest smartphone launched by the company and features a 6.7 inch FHD+ display that has a 16 megapixel dual punch hole selfie camera shooter on the front. On the rear, a 64 megapixel primary camera is housed while the device is powered by a large 5,000mAh battery pack.

Under the hood, the Motorola Edge S feature Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 870 SoC. It is the first device to sport the new chipset, which is based on the 7nm process from TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip maker. The new chip is 5G enabled, meaning it is compatible with the newer and faster bandwidth thanks to the X55 5G modem that is also paired with the Adreno 650 GPU for mobile gaming.

Motorola Moto Edge S + Snapdragon 870

At the moment, the device is only open for reservations, which means that it has yet to be launched or be available for purchase. But the Motorola Edge S is confirmed to launch on 26th January 2021. So stay tuned for more, as we will be providing more updates and provide additional details after the new smartphone is launched.

 

HONOR MagicBook 14/15 2021 launched with 11th Gen Intel CPUs and MX450 GPU

At the HONOR V40 5G launch event, the brand also unveiled two new Windows laptops in the form of HONOR MagicBook 14 2021 and HONOR MagicBook 15 2021 respectively. Both of them share similar specs as well as price and only differ by size. Let us take a look at these notebooks in this article.

HONOR MagicBook 14 2021

HONOR MagicBook 14/15 2021 Specifications and Features

The newly launched HONOR MagicBooks are powered by up to 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor paired with NVIDIA GeForce MX450 GPU. But interestingly, all the variants come with 16GB DDR4 dual-channel RAM and 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD as a standard.

Further, as their name suggests, the MagicBook 14 2021 sports a 14-inch panel, whereas the MagicBook 15 2021 flaunts a 15.6-inch panel. However, both the IPS LCD screens have the same resolution of 1920×1080 pixels (FHD), 16:9 aspect ratio, 100% sRGB color gamut, 300 nits peak brightness, DC Dimming, and TÜV Rheinland low blue light emission certification.

 

As for connectivity and ports, these laptops feature WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, a single USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port, an HDMI port, 2 x USB 2.0 Type-A ports, and a 3.5mm combo audio jack.

Other features include a pop-up webcam in the full-size keyboard (without numpad), a fingerprint sensor, a metal build, Microsoft Windows 10 operating system, Multi-Screen Collaboration support, 56Wh (14-inch)/42Wh (15.6-inch) battery, and 65W fast charging.

HONOR MagicBook 14/15 2021 Pricing and Availability

The new MagicBook notebooks are already up for pre-order in China and will go on sale for the following prices from January 27.

  • i5-1135G7, 16GB + 512GB – ¥4,899 ($757) [First Sale Special Price: ¥4,699 ($726)]
  • i5-1135G7, 16GB + 512GB, MX450 – ¥5,499 ($849)
  • i7-1165G7, 16GB + 512GB, MX450 – ¥6,399 ($988)

Lastly, although HONOR did not confirm, these laptops may release in global markets like the previous models.

 

Honor V40 5G with 6.72-inch OLED screen, Dimensity 1000+, and 50MP triple cameras launched; specifications and price

Honor has announced the Honor V40 5G smartphone in China. It is the first handset after its separation from Huawei in November. The Honor V40 5G carries support for 5G connectivity as it features a powerful Dimensity chip. It featured a large-sized OLED display with 80-degree curvature at its left and right edges. The phone is flanked by a 50-megapixel triple camera system and a 16-megapixel dual selfie camera setup. It also comes with support for fast wireless charging technology.

Honor V40 5G specifications and features

The Honor V40 5G has a 6.72-inch screen with a dual punch-hole design. It is the first V-series phone from Honor to feature an OLED panel. The screen offers a Full HD+ resolution of 1236 x 2676 pixels resolution, a 10.7-bit color depth, a 120HZ refresh rate, a 300Hz touch sampling rate, and a DCI-P3 color gamut. The display is integrated with a fingerprint sensor. It appears to be fitted with the same display which can be found on the Huawei Nova 8 Pro that went official in December. According to Honor, the V40 5G delivers a screen-to-body ratio of 92.3 percent. As far as the rear design is concerned, the Honor V40 5G has a glass back, which does not attract fingerprint marks. It weighs 186 grams and has a slim profile of 8.04mm only.

Honor V40 5G
Honor V40 5G

The MediaTek Dimensity 1000+v 5G chipset is present at the helm of the Honor V40 5G, which brings support for 5G + 5G dual SIM connectivity. The phone features 8 GB of LPDDR4x RAM and UFS 2.1 storage of 128 GB / 256 GB. The smartphone runs on Magic UI 4.0 based Android 11 OS. It comes with support for GPU Turbo X graphic acceleration engine and Hunter Boost for a better gaming experience.

The rear camera module has a 50-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens, a 2-megapixel macro lens, a laser autofocus unit, and an LED flash. The primary shooter has a 1/1.56-inch large sensor equipped with an RYYB filter array, which makes it possible to capture brighter shots in low-light conditions. The rear cameras offer features like front/rear dual scene photography, AI RAW super portrait engine, handheld super night scene mode, 4K HDR timelapse photography, and 1920fps super slow-motion video shooting. The pill-shaped camera cutout on the screen has a 16-megapixel main camera and a ToF (Time-of-Flight) lens for depth estimation.

Honor V40 5G
Honor V40 5G

The Honor V40 5G has a 4,200mAh battery that carries support for 66W superfast wired charging. The device also supports 50W fast wireless charging. The handset carries support for dual SIM slot, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, and USB-C. For an enhanced gaming experience, the V40 5G also features dual linear motors for in-game vibrations and stereo speakers.

Honor V40 5G pricing and availability

Here is the pricing and variants of the Honor V40 5G in China:

  • 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage – 3,599 Yuan (~$556)
  • 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage – 3,999 Yuan (~$618)

The Honor V40 5G comes in color editions such as Magic Night Black, Titanium Silver, and Rose Gold. The sales of the V40 5G have commenced in China. Recent reports have revealed that the phone could be debuting with Honor View 40 moniker in Q2 in international markets. Instead of Huawei’s AppGallery, the smartphone is expected to arrive with Google apps and services.

 

LG could sell its smartphone business to Vietnam-based VinGroup

We recently reported that the South Korea-based LG could soon exit the smartphone business. LG CEO has sent an internal memo to employees confirming that the company is looking for options and is open to all possibilities.

Now, it is being reported that the company is already in talks with potential buyers for its smartphone business unit. As per the latest information, Vietnamese conglomerate VinGroup is likely to be the buyer of the LG smartphone business.

LG Wing

The report mentions that VinGroup has put forward an attractive offer to acquire the smartphone business unit of LG. It is the third-largest phone maker in Vietnam after Samsung and OPPO. This is the same company that makes LG’s mobile phones as an Original Design Manufacturer (ODM).

LG tried several different things to revive its smartphone business but every effort from the company seems to be in vain. It has been suffering losses for 23 quarters straight, reporting over $4.2 billion in operating losses over that period.

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The company has now opted to differentiate itself by offering unique devices. It recently launched LG Wing, which comes with a secondary display that can be stacked horizontally on the primary display for easier multitasking. The company also has another unique device in the making — LG Rollable.

If the deal materializes, then LG will join the lists of fallen smartphone brands such as BlackBerry and HTC. Sony has also been struggling in this space for the past few years but new data reveals that the business has been stable in the last quarter and the Japanese company is expected to post a profit for the first time in four years.

 

Samsung stops rollout of Android 11-based One UI 3.0 for Galaxy S10 series

A couple of weeks ago, Samsung started rolling out the latest Android 11 update with its own One UI 3 custom user interface layered on top, to the users of the Galaxy S10 series smartphones, starting with Switzerland.

While it seemed everything was going smoothly, but that may not be the case as the company has now rolled back the update (via SamMobile). It’s noteworthy that Samsung has not yet confirmed why the update has been pulled. This means that as of right now, the Android 11 update with the One UI 3.0 is no longer available for the users of Samsung Galaxy S10, S10 Plus, and S10e.

Samsung Galaxy S10 series

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Reports indicate that the reason Samsung pulled the latest update is likely bugs in the firmware that needs to be sorted out. Some users are also complaining about camera blur and device heating up. There could also be more to the issues which are yet unreported and Samsung may have come across those issues and decided to roll back the update.

As of now, there’s no information about when Samsung is planning to start rolling out the update after fixing the issues. However, we expect to get more information about this from the South Korean giant in the coming days or weeks.

Android 11 is the second major update of the operating system for the Galaxy S10 series and going by Samsung’s promise to provide three years of updates for the phone, it is expected to get Android 12 too when it gets released.