Yesterday, Meizu teased the arrival of Android 11 for its smartphones. Today, the company has officially confirmed the date on which it will start recruiting closed beta testers. Unsurprisingly, the brand’s flagship smartphones – Meizu 17 and Meizu 17 Pro will be the first in line to receive the update.
According to a post by the official Flyme Weibo account, Meizu will open registrations for the Meizu 17 series Android 11 Closed Beta program on December 23. Although the company did not mention when the beta builds will start arriving, it did reveal that the stable release will happen in Spring 2021.
In other words, owners of Meizu 17 and Meizu 17 Pro will have to wait until either the end of Q1 2021 or early Q2 2021 to experience Android 11 on their smartphones. Though the wait seems too long, it is much better than the Android 10 rollout, which only began in late May 2020.
That said, the brand is yet to disclose the list of eligible devices for Android 11. Hence, we are not sure which Meizu phones will be getting the update. Given the firm’s market share, we think only certain handsets such as Meizu 16S, Meizu 16S Pro, and Meizu 16T will make it to the list.
Meizu was once known for its Flyme Android skin. But with diminishing market share, it is sad to see the firm’s software support to degrade over the years.
Last month, Nokia 6300 4G smartphone was announced, adding another device to the expanding portfolio of revived classic Nokia phones. As the name indicates, it is an upgraded version of the Nokia 6300 which was first launched in 2007.
Now, the feature phone with 4G connectivity support has been listed online for pre-sale in China for a price of 399 yuan which roughly converts to $61. It is likely to be available for purchase in the Chinese market from 30th December.
The Nokia 6300 4G features a 2.4-inch display, which is slightly bigger than the original model. Under the hood, it is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor, along with 512MB of RAM.
As for the internal storage, the device comes with 4GB of inbuilt storage and also has a microSD card slot, allowing users to further expand the storage capacity up to 32GB.
In the software department, it is running KaiOS and comes with a bunch of pre-installed apps, including Facebook, WhatsApp, and YouTube. There’s also a VGA camera on the back with an LED flash that doubles as a flashlight.
Along with 4G, the phone also supports GPS and Bluetooth. The device is powered by an 860mAh removable battery, which can be charged through the MicroUSB port. The company has promised 27 days of usage on a single charge.
Honor, which was started as a sub-brand of Huawei, recently became an independent company after it was sold off to Zhixin New Information Technology Co. Ltd. Going forward, the company has some ambitious plans.
As per the report from Nikkei Asia, Honor has planned to produce about 100 million smartphone units and the company has already contacted its suppliers in the United States informing the same.
But it remains to be seen if the company manages to produce the required quantity of components as it will likely need to go through the approval process of the United States because of Huawei being put on Entity List.
The company is also working on strengthening its supply chain. Soon after the company became independent, it started talks with Qualcomm for chipsets and both of these companies are in advanced talks and could soon reach a deal. MediaTek is also evaluating legal options to supply chipsets to Honor.
So far, most of the devices from Honor were powered by the company’s own Kirin chipsets. But that is not possible now as the recent sanctions on Huawei have made it impossible for Kirin to manufacture chipsets.
Whether Honor manages to achieve its goal of making 100 million units in 2021 will be dependent on its ability to procure components. On the other hand, Huawei is expecting to make 60 million units next year.
So, in total, both these companies plan to make 160 million units of smartphones, which is about 20 percent less than what Huawei managed to produce in 2019. Although Huawei was the leading smartphone company globally earlier this year, its market share is declining rapidly because of the sanctions.
The launch of the new console generation is expected to lead to the increase in shipments of TVs next year. Sony’s Play Station 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X were recently launched within a close time frame of each other and are now expected to bump TV sales globally.
According to TheElecreport, market research from Omdia has projected that the TV industry will see a rise in shipments in 2021. Notably, the launch of the game consoles from Sony and Microsoft marks the second time both companies have launched a console within the same year. Back when the previous generation was released, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were both launched in November 2013. Their launch led to a 32 percent rise in console shipment in the following year and a 5 percent increase in TV shipments as well, as per Omdia.
Hence, the market research assumes that a similar rise can be expected in 2021. Furthermore, TV manufacturers (eg: Samsung and LG) that take advantage of the newer console generation’s improved hardware like offering 8K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate would likely see increased sales as well. Before the 2013 launch of both consoles, TV shipments were falling. So, Omdia expects a positive outlook for 2021’s shipments. The market research report expects that both consoles will see a rise in shipments of more than 31 percent next year, in comparison to this year.
Some companies have been trying to expand their production capacity and diversity it. In line with that, China-based OPPO and South Koren giant Samsung will start manufacturing smartphones in Turkey.
OPPO entered the Turkish market sometime back and now the company is all set to start production in two facilities, one in Istanbul and another in Northwestern Kocaeli province. It is expected to start operations next month.
It’s noteworthy that the company will be carrying out the entire production process in these two locations and not just the assembly work. As per the report, the necessary procedures have been completed and the company has invested $50 million to start with.
With devices getting manufactured in Turkey, the company will be exporting some of its smartphone models to other regions. The European market seems to be the main focus for this as the company already has a few facilities in Asia.
On the other hand, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics also plans to start production in Turkey but unlike OPPO, the company won’t set up its own facilities but has hired a sub-contractor in Istanbul.
Just like other major companies, Samsung is also trying to expand its production facilities in other countries as the company focuses on reducing its reliance on Chinese companies. It recently started building a new display factory in India. The company already owns and operates the world’s largest smartphone production plant in Inda.
Xiaomi will be launching the Xiaomi Mi 11 series in China on Dec. 28. With the launch event drawing near, the rumor mill is expected to reveal new information on the Mi 11 series in the coming days. A fresh leak (via) that has appeared on Weibo has revealed the different variants of the Xiaomi Mi 11.
According to the leak, the Xiaomi Mi 11 will be arriving in two variants such as 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage. It further states that the 8 GB RAM variant will be available in Smoked Purple (leather) and White colors. The 12 GB RAM edition will come in Blue, Smoke Purple (leather), and a special version.
The authenticity of this leak could not be confirmed. Hence, it is recommended to gulp down this information with a pinch of salt.
It is speculated that the Xiaomi M2011K2C that has appeared at different places like the 3C certification platform, CMIIT’s database, and Geekbench could be the Xiaomi Mi 11 handset. The Mi 11 series will be the world’s first phones to debut with the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform.
Xiaomi Vice President and Managing Director, Manu Kumar Jain, has recently surprised a fan by gifting him a Mi 10T Pro for free. This arrived after the man had an unusual demand, which had him refuse marriage until he gets the new smartphone.
haha! I think you are now ready to get married 😂😂
On a serious note, #Mi10TPro is probably the best flagship phone in India right now. I hope you like it. 🙏 Please do try out the #108MP camera and share your feedback with us.
The Mi Fan Kamal Ahamad probably didn’t expect a direct reply to his request, as the senior executive from the Chinese tech giant personally replied to his tweet on Twitter. Kamal wrote that “I will not get marry until I get the #Mi10TPro,” to which the Xiaomi India official responded with “haha! I think you are now ready to get married. On a serious note, #Mi10TPro is probably the best flagship phone in India right now. I hope you like it. Please do try out the #108MP camera and share your feedback with us.”
For those unaware, the Mi 10T Pro 5G is the company’s flagship that was launched back in September 2020. It sports a 6.67 inch display and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC paired with 8GB of RAM. The device runs Android 10 OS and is run by a large 5,000mAh battery pack. One of its most notable features is its 108 megapixel primary camera on the rear.
Finally received this monster. 🤩 The Mi 10T Pro display is indeed impressive. Most gorgeous phone. The amazing #108MP flagship #Mi10TPro. So many features. Under 40K, #Mi10T Pro is pretty good value for a phone. 👌 🥰 Thank you so much @manukumarjain@XiaomiIndia 🙏🙏
Kamal Ahamad even tweeted again after receiving the Mi 10T Pro stating that he “Finally received this monster. The Mi 10T Pro display is indeed impressive. Most gorgeous phone. The amazing #108MP flagship #Mi10TPro. So many features. Under 40K, #Mi10T Pro is pretty good value for a phone.” All in all, this was a bizarre yet wholesome sequence of events.
Qualcomm unleashed the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform at the beginning of December. Realme was one of the smartphone brands to confirm that the Realme Race will be its first Snapdragon 888 SoC powered flagship phone in 2021. Realme’s Vice President and President for China wing, Xu Qi had claimed that the Realme Race will be sporting a fashionable and eye-catching design. Today, the Realme executive revealed that the Realme Race will be part of a new series.
Xu Qi claimed that the Race is just a codenamed of the device, which means it will be arriving with a different moniker. OPPO unveiled the Ace2 flagship phone earlier this year. It was expected to release the Ace3 phone in the second half of the year, but it did not come true. The probable reason behind it could be that OPPO reportedly transferred the Ace line to Realme at some point after the launch of the Ace2.
Hence, it is likely that the Realme Race could be arriving in the market as an Ace series phone. While Xu Qi said that the device will be launching next year, he did not reveal a specific timeframe. A couple of Snapdragon 888 powered phones are expected to go official before China’s Spring Festival that will fall on Feb. 12. It is unclear whether the Realme Ace flagship phone will debut before the said date. In all likelihood, the Realme Ace Snapdragon 888 powered phone may debut within Q1 2021.
realme Race leaked shot by GSMArena
GSMArena had shared a leaked shot of the phone earlier this month along with a screenshot of its “About phone” page. The leak revealed that the Realme Race has a glass rear with curved edges and a circular camera module with an elongated LED flash unit it alongside it. The phone was found to be equipped with specs like SD888, 12 GB of RAM, 256 GB of storage, and Realme UI 2.0 based Android 11 OS. It was also revealed that the smartphone’s model number is RMX2022.
A new render of a mysterious Realme phone has appeared on Weibo. It seems to feature a leather back and a triple camera system led by a 64-megapixel lens. It is unclear whether it is an upcoming Realme Race series phone or some other phone from the brand.
At the beginning of this month, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 888 5G mobile platform that will power most of the flagship Android phones in 2021. Soon after its launch, Xiaomi took to Weibo to tell the world that it will be the first brand to launch the Snapdragon 888 powered smartphone. We exclusively revealed that the company was likely to announce the Xiaomi Mi 11 flagship series by the end of this month. And today, the company has released an official confirmation that the Mi 11 series will break cover on Dec. 28.
As the poster reveals, the Xiaomi Mi 11 series will launch at 7:30 PM (local time) on Dec. 28. The company did not share any information on the specs of the Mi 11 lineup. With around a week remaining for the launch, it appears that the company may soon rollout official renders or confirm some features in the next few days.
It is believed that the Xiaomi M2011K2C phone that has been previously spotted at places like CMIIT, 3C, and Geekbench could be the Xiaomi Mi 11 series phone. Like the Mi 10 series, the Mi 11 lineup may include two flagship phones such as the Xiaomi Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro. The M2011K2C model number may belong to the vanilla model that is codenamed, Venus.
The Geekbench listing revealed that the Snapdragon 888 powered handset is equipped with 12 GB of RAM and Android 11 OS. Its 3C appearance revealed that it may ship with a 55W fast charger. Both Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro are expected to debut as the first Xiaomi phones with support for quad HD+ resolution. Both phones are also expected to arrive with 120Hz refresh rate support.
The rear side of the Xiaomi Mi 11 duo could be fitted with a square-shaped camera module with a 108-megapixel main camera. It was speculated based on 3C listings that the Mi 11 has a 4,780mAh rated battery, whereas the Mi 11 Pro has a 4,970mAh rated battery.
Smartphones have evolved in the past couple of years in different areas including the camera department. One feature that has become a sort of constant in modern smartphones is Night Mode or Night Sight or whatever the manufacturer has decided to call it which allows users to capture better photos in low-light without the need for the camera flash.
With this new feature, the way we take photos in low-light conditions has changed such that certain hardware – the flash – now gets less use, which brings us to this week’s poll.
Do you still use the flash on your phone when taking photos or do you just switch to Night Mode when taking photos in low light? So, please take the poll below and also share how new camera features have changed how you take photos.
The Chinese market recently welcomed the new Redmi Note 9 5G: the first 5G phone from the Redmi Note series. But several other 5G mid-rangers hitten the Chinese market in the last period, that is why the Redmi Note 9 5G is not necessarily the best choice in its price range. With our comparison, we usually give our readers the chance to understand the differences between handsets released in the same price range. We believe the best actual rivals of the Redmi Note 9 5G are the iQOO U3 and the Realme X7. Through this specs comparison, we will try to tell you which one is the best for your needs.
Vivo iQOO U3 vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 5G vs Realme X7
Dual 48 + 2 MP, f/1.8 + f/2.4
20 MP f/2.0 front camera
Triple 48 + 8 + 2 MP f/1.8, f/2.2 and f/2.4
13 MP f/2.3 front camera
Quad 64 + 8 + 2 + 2 MP f/1.8, f/2.3, f/2.4 and f/2.4
32 MP f/2.5 front camera
BATTERY
5000 mAh, fast charging 18W
5000 mAh
Fast charging 18W
4300 mAh, Fast charging 65W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
Dual SIM slot, 5G
Dual SIM slot, 5G
Dual SIM slot, 5G
Design
The design award goes to the Realme X7. It is thinner, it is lighter and it is even more compact than Redmi Note 9 5G and Vivo iQOO U3. Further, it has an in-display fingerprint reader making the overall design cleaner and an amazing look. iQOO U3 and Redmi Note 9 5G are bigger and thicker due to their bigger displays and batteries. The interesting pro of the Redmi Note 9 5G is its water-repellent coating. Further, note that the Redmi Note 9 5G has a punch-hole display, while iQOO U3 has a classic waterdrop notch.
Display
If you want the best display, you should go for the Realme X7 without thinking twice. Thanks to its AMOLED panel, the Realme X7 is able to provide more brilliant colors and deeper blacks. Further, as mentioned above, it sports an under-display fingerprint scanner. Unfortunately, both iQOO U3 and Redmi Note 9 5G feature an IPS panel. The iQOO U3 is more interesting because it supports a 90 Hz refresh rate, while Redmi Note 9 5G has a 60 Hz display. In both cases, you get a side-mounted fingerprint reader.
Hardware/Software
Vivo iQOO U3, Redmi Note 9 5G, and Realme X7 all pack an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 800U chipset which supports 5G connectivity. It is a mid-range chipset more or less at the same level as the Snapdragon 765G. With the iQOO U3 and the Redmi Note 9 5G, you actually get a slightly faster internal storage thanks to the UFS 2.2 technology. But the Redmi Note 9 5G offers more space: up to 256 GB. Further, Redmi Note 9 5G features expandable storage, while its rivals do not. All the phones run Android 10 with heavy customizations.
Camera
The Realme X7 packs the most advanced camera department. On the rear side, it sports a 64 MP main camera, an ultrawide 8 MP sensor, and a pair of 2 MP sensors for macros and depth calculation. Further, the handset features a better 32 MP front camera. The second place goes to the Redmi Note 9 5G featuring a 48 MP triple camera. Unfortunately, iQOO U3 lacks an ultrawide sensor and it offers a 48 MP dual camera: a disappointing thing for a phone released in 2020.
Battery
Redmi Note 9 5G is the battery champion with its 5000 mAh capacity. The iQOO U3 has a 5000 mAh battery as well, but it should provide an inferior battery life due to its higher refresh rate. The Realme X7 has a smaller 4300 mAh battery, but thanks to 65W fast charging it reaches 100% in less than 35 minutes.
Price
Vivo iQOO U3 is priced at about €200/$245 in its base variant, just like the Redmi Note 9 5G. For the Realme X7, you need at least €220/$270. The Realme X7 is the winner of this comparison thanks to its AMOLED display and better camera department. Right after, we got the Redmi Note 9 5G offering a micro SD slot and slightly better cameras. The iQOO U3 is like a Redmi Note 9 5G with a higher refresh rate and inferior camera department.
Xiaomi is expected to launch the flagship Mi 11 on December 29 according to rumors. The flagship is expected to debut as the first Snapdragon 888-powered smartphone. Before now, a couple of leaks have emerged giving some hint of what to expect. The Mi 11 has now appeared on the GeekBench database.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 GeekBench listing shows the device will run on Android 11 which will definitely be based on MIUI 12. The device will also be powered by a processor codenamed ARM venus which is the Snapdragon 888. The Adreno 660 GPU will fire up the graphics. The device is also listed with 12GB of RAM which should be the topmost variant in terms of memory configuration.
Although not listed, the high-end variant will likely have 512GB storage onboard. Rumour also has it that the high-end variant will feature a Samsung 2K AMOLED screen and have support for 120Hz refresh rate. The high-end version is also expected to support 120W ultra-fast flash charging.
In terms of core configuration, in addition to the Snapdragon 888 flagship processor, the Mi 11 is also expected to get an 8GB RAM variant and will equally have support for 55W fast charging.
In terms of the camera, the device will have a triple camera setup on the back along with an LED flashlight. This is horizontally stacked inside a squircle housing. As per the concept renders, the layout will also have a Blue Gradient color with a chamfered bump. The triple-camera array will likely have a 108MP main camera, 13MP ultra-wide, and a 5MP macro sensor.
At Huawei‘s new product launch conference where the Smart Screen S and Smart Screen S Pro were unveiled, Huawei also announced the Huawei Smart Selection Car Smart Screen. The smart screen carries a price tag of 1699 yuan (~$259).
Huawei Smart Selection Car Smart Screen adopts an 8.9-inch ultra-clear touchscreen with a brightness of up to 700nit and a resolution of 1920×720 pixels. There is no fear of reflections, and it supports the cross-screen transfer of mobile applications. The device is pre-installed with over 30 supported apps including Baidu maps, Gaode maps, and other mainstream navigation apps as well as NetEase Cloud, Kugou, Himalaya, and other music applications.
Huawei’s smart car smart screen is equipped with interactive front and rear pop-up cameras., The rear camera is a wide-angle camera for driving records. It also has a 360-degree adjustable base and supports full-interface voice control and air gesture control. It can be connected to the original car audio system. To realize cross-screen mobile phone applications, it can be paired with a smartphone via WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. It also supports smart home linkage, cockpit games, etc.
During the launch, Huawei’s Consumer Business head Yu Chengdong introduced that Huawei’s HiCar solution has currently cooperated with over 20 car manufacturers, and is compatible with over 150 models, as well as supports over 30 mainstream applications. The company plans to have the solution pre-installed in over 5 million cars by 2021. He also claims that the HiCar solution surpasses the in-vehicle systems of Apple and Android in application richness and experience.
The Huawei Smart Car Smart Screen is priced at 1,699 yuan (~$259) and will be officially launched for sale on January 8, 2021. The product will be open for pre-orders on December 30.
The OnePlus 7T may be over a year old already but it is still a great phone to pick up. OnePlus still has available units of the phone in some markets including the U.S.A. where it is running a promo that allows you to pick it up for just $99.
The manufacturer is offering those who purchase the OnePlus 8T the chance to pick up the OnePlus 7T for an extra $99. This means that you pay $848 ($749 for the 8T and $99 for the 7T) in total for both phones.
The promo runs from today till the last day of the year, so if you are yet to pick up a holiday gift for a friend and also need a new phone yourself, you should grab this deal. Do note that while the OnePlus 8T is unlocked, the OnePlus 7T available is the T-Mobile version. Nevertheless, there are ways to get the device unlocked.
The OnePlus 7T sold in the US has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and is available in Frosted Silver. The phone has a 6.55-inch FHD+ AMOLED with a 90Hz refresh rate and a 2400 x 1080 resolution.
There is a Snapdragon 855+ processor under the hood along with a 3800mAh battery with support for 30W wired fast charging (Warp charge 30T). On the back of the phone is a 48MP+12MP+16MP triple camera setup while the selfie camera is a 16MP sensor that sits inside the waterdrop notch. The device also has stereo speakers, an in-display fingerprint scanner, and runs Android 10. OnePlus has confirmed that it will be updated to Android 11.
If you don’t want to grab a phone, OnePlus has another interesting deal. If you purchase the OnePlus Buds Z which costs $49.99, you can grab a Bullets Wireless Z for just $9.90 too. This is a limited-time deal that expires on December 31.
Huawei today held a press conference in China where the Huawei Smart Screen S and Smart Screen S Pro were both unveiled alongside a smart car screen. The new Smart Screen S series is the latest addition to the smart screen family. The two smart TV models are available in three screen sizes of 55 inches, 65 inches, and 75 inches.
The Huawei Smart Screen S series breaks through the limitations of traditional TV hardware and software upgrades and is committed to achieving smart interactions, cross-screen experience, and IoT.
Huawei Smart Screen S series is equipped with a pop-up AI camera which supports 1920×1080 pixel resolution video call. It also supports large display screen call to other large screen TV as well as smart TV to mobile phone calls, mobile phone calls to smart TV calls. The transfer function can quickly transfer the smooth communication on the mobile phone to the smart screen under the same LAN, making it more comfortable to chat and communicate
At the same time, support for smart screen and Huawei children’s watch to communicate smoothly (currently supported model: Huawei smart children’s watch 4X), and support for voice calls, so that the elderly and children can also chat without barriers. And it supports super-resolution processing of the video images returned by the children’s watch, and the SD second becomes HD, and the video call is clearer.
It is worth mentioning that the Huawei Smart Screen S series also supports free 4-party 45-minute video calls. After 45 minutes, you can choose to call again an unlimited number of times. Users can join multi-party video calls through smart screens, mobile phones, PCs, and other series of terminals, which is convenient and fast, and the whole family can chat freely anytime, anywhere.
In addition, the Huawei Smart Screen S series has also added a remote housekeeping function. When the screen is off or on, the mobile phone can remotely call the smart screen camera to view the situation at home, so that family care is always online.
The upgrade of audio-visual entertainment functions is a highlight of Huawei’s smart screen S series. It is not only equipped with a 120Hz high refresh rate screen that is rarely configured for products in the same price range. It has a 92% DCI-P3 wide color gamut, dual eye protection with TUV Rheinland low blue light, and no flicker certification.
In terms of audio, the Huawei Smart Screen S series breaks through the traditional industry standard. It adopts a 4*10W speaker unit solution, equipped with 1L independent large sound cavity, including two 10W full-range speakers and two 10W tweeters, and two high-frequency speakers. Using a unique patented technology, high frequency, and human voice can be enhanced by 8dB so that when watching a movie, the dialogue between the characters will be heard more clearly.
At the same time, the virtual sound field expansion technology patent can break through the physical limitations of the speakers, virtualize left and right surround channels on the left and right sides, and broaden the sound field, which greatly enhances the immersion of watching movies.
It is worth mentioning that, unlike traditional TVs that always apply a set of standard video and audio output effects, Huawei Smart Screen S series can intelligently judge the content currently being broadcast, and automatically adjust the audio and image quality to the optimal level according to the needs of the scene.
In addition to the optimization and upgrading of audio and image quality, Huawei’s smart screen S series also opened up a new field of smart screen entertainment, equipped with distributed games and smart screen K song functions.
Among them, distributed games support the use of mobile phones to replace gamepads. When playing racing games, users can control by calling the phone’s touch screen and gravity sensor or gyroscope. The game runs on a smart screen and the screen is clearer and smoother. Bring an immersive game experience.
At the same time, Huawei Smart Screen S series cooperated with National K Song to develop new functions of Smart Screen K Song, which supports scanning code, song search, double chorus, intelligent scoring, singing mode, teaching mode, song recording, etc. and also supports Mobile phone sharing, you can exchange K song records and other information with the mobile phone’s Quanmin K song app.
Huawei Smart Screen S series also supports distributed connections with other devices, bringing a new upgrade of the multi-screen experience. For example, after connecting with the camera of Huawei Smart Selection, it can realize the ability of cry detection and automatic window reminder (the first-market version is not supported, and the subsequent OTA upgrade is supported);
After connecting the video doorbell, users can observe the situation outside the door through the smart screen even if they are sitting in the living room, and at the same time carry out voice conversations (the first release version is not supported, and the subsequent OTA upgrade is supported).
Huawei Smart Screen S series can also form a distributed sound system with more stereo surround effect with Huawei Sound, giving full play to the hardware capabilities of both to achieve sound effects comparable to home theater
Huawei Smart Screen S 55″ 60Hz starts at 3,299 yuan ($503), and will be available for pre-sale on December 21, 2020, on Huawei Mall and major e-commerce authorized platforms. It will be officially launched on December 26.
Huawei Smart Screen S 65″ is priced at 4999 yuan (~$763) while the Smart Screen S Pro 65″ is priced at 5699 yuan (~$870). Finally, the Smart Screen S 75″ is priced at 6999 yuan (~$1068) and the Smart Screen S Pro 75″ carries a price tag of 7999 yuan (~$1221). The large-size versions will officially go on sale for the first time on January 8, 2021.
At CES 2020, OnePlus announced a concept phone based on the OnePlus 7T Pro. The phone, which is officially known as the OnePlus Concept One, was made in collaboration with McLaren. The highlight of the phone is its “invisible” rear cameras which become visible when an electric current is passed through the piece of electrochromic glass covering the sensors. It is a pretty neat trick that gives the phone a very unique look. Now OnePlus is back with another concept smartphone called the OnePlus 8T Concept and it too has a really cool design trick too.
Just as the name says, this is a concept phone based on the latest OnePlus flagship, the OnePlus 8T. However, the rear panel of the OnePlus 8T Concept distinguishes it from the regular model and even the Cyberpunk 2077 Limited Edition.
The back of the phone is covered in a slab of glass but has a metal oxide film underneath that changes color when the voltage applied to it is varied. Yes, this is also electrochromic glass technology. The pattern of the color-changing film looks like globules of oil in water but OnePlus says that the inspiration for the design came from the hot springs of Pamukkale in Turkey. and OnePlus says the shift in color can be as a result of a new notification or incoming call. But that isn’t all it can do.
The OnePlus 8T is an amazing overall smartphone, but we’re always exploring cool new technologies—not necessarily to bring to market, but just to see what else is possible. Check out our latest experiment: the Concept 8T. pic.twitter.com/jmJMVcyBMT
The functions increase when paired with a radar module that is placed in the camera housing. The module is based on mmWave technology and according to OnePlus, it is “borrowed from 5G” but doesn’t have communication functions. The radar module transmits and receives electromagnetic waves. When it receives electromagnetic waves, “the DSP (digital signal processing) works with the CPU to perform signal and information processing, allowing the device to perceive, locate, and track objects” explains OnePlus. This means that it responds to gestures, so a user can pass their hand over it to reject a call when the back of the phone changes color to show that a call is coming in.
OnePlus says the radar can also sense your breathing and send the information back to the film so it switches between colors that sync with your breathing thus serving as a “biofeedback device”.
The film switches between just two colors – dark blue to light silver but it will be nice if there were more. Red will definitely be nice and we can already imagine the square OnePlus logo glowing red when you have a missed call or glowing green when you receive a WhatsApp message.
Just like the OnePlus Concept One, the OnePlus 8T Concept is not going to be available for purchase as revealed to The Verge but we hope OnePlus can integrate the technology even if it is on a much smaller level such as for the OnePlus logo example we cited above in future devices.
Samsung is knocking every due date regarding the One UI 3.0 stable update out of the park. The company has already jumped its gun on the Galaxy S20 FE Android 11 update. Now, it’s doing the same for the foldable device Galaxy Z Flip 5G.
If we recall, Samsung’s timeline for the Galaxy Z Flip 5G, which launched in July, suggested that it would get the One UI 3.0 based on Android 11 update only next year. Precisely, the One UI 3.0 stable update timeline for Europe and India indicated at a January 2021 rollout.
However, as per a Sammobile report, the device has already started getting the stable update in Switzerland. Accordingly, the update with firmware F707BXXU1CTL6 is rolling out to the users of Galaxy Z Flip 5G. In addition to the Android 11 features, this update also seems to bring December 2020 Security patch along with it.
That said, as mentioned, the update currently seems to be limited to Switzerland. However, with only a few days remaining in 2020, we should start seeing it appear in other regions as well. In any case, if you are someone from Switzerland, you can check the OTA update by navigating to Settings->Software Update->Download and Install.
Well before the Android 11’s official launch, Samsung announced it’s One UI 3.0 beta(Android 11) back in August. After the initial developer build, it expanded the beta to a lot of devices. Recently, it has started the One UI 3.0 stable update with the Galaxy S20 series in early December.
The long rumored Apple Glass has been spotted in yet another patent application. This time we see the company’s AR smart glasses arrive with lenses that are able to adjust to the ambient lighting.
According to a PhoneArenareport, the Cupertino based giant has filed a new patent application USPTO (US Patent and Trademark Office). The patent is titled “Display System With Localized Optical Adjustments,” which is suggestive of the Apple Glass’ feature. Furthermore, the application also talks about “Localized Optical Adjustments,” which refers to the changes in the lenses in the Apple Glass. In simpler terms, the lens will automatically adjust based on the ambient lighting in the real world around the user.
So, Apple Glass would be able to adjust the lenses as per bright light or night time scenarios. In the patent, Apple states that “An adjustable lens system may be adjusted dynamically to accommodate different users and/or different operating situations. Adjustable light modulators may be used to selectively darken parts of a user’s field of view.”
Further adding that “a head-mounted display system is being used to display computer-generated content that overlaps real-world objects, the brightness of the real-world objects can be selectively decreased to enhance the visibility of the computer-generated content. In particular, a spatially addressable adjustable light modulator may be used to generate a dark region that overlaps a bright real-world object that is overlapped by computer-generated content in the upper right corner of a user’s field of view.”
This basically implies that Apple is trying to adjust the brightness of the real world, so it can make the information being displayed to the user more visible through the glasses. In other words, the view of the object and its brightness through the glasses is adjusted to match the brightness of the real world, with adjustments for each lens being individual.
Vivo recently unveiled the Vivo V20 in countries like India and other Southeast Asian markets. However, it could get a sibling soon as a device with V20 2021 moniker appears on certification platforms and now Geekbench.
Vivo V20 in Starry Black and Gradient Blue colors
As 91mobile reports, a Vivo smartphone carrying model number V2040 appears on Geekbench benchmarking platform. The device scores 553 and 1765 single and multi-core scores respectively. Interestingly, the motherboard of the device in testing is ‘sm6150’ and is an Octa-Core processor with 1.8GHz frequency.
For the unaware, the port number of Snapdragon 675 SoC is ‘sm6150’. This suggests that the device is equipped with a chipset that launched two years ago. Anyway, the device in testing also runsAndroid 11 and has 8GB of RAM. While the Geekbench listing doesn’t shed any light on What could the device be, Indonesia’s SDPPI reveals the moniker.
Accordingly, the model number V2040 on SDPPI(Indonesia Telecom Certification) reveals that the device is “Vivo V20 2021“. Also, it has already got India’s BIS certification hinting that the device is coming to more than one market.
That said, nothing else is known about the device yet. However, considering it has a similar name to the Vivo V20, we can expect a few similarities in design, if not specs. And looking at the two-year-old Snapdragon 675, we feel that the device might be a watered-down variant of the already-selling V20.
The Vivo V20, which was the first device to get Android 11 pre-installed, came with a very slim body, triple cameras, and a display with water-drop notch. Hence, we can expect Vivo to retain it on the V20 2021. Additionally, the Android 11 listing suggests that the device might debut with Vivo’s recently launched OriginOS.
And since we are already at the end of 2020, Vivo should bring it somewhere in Q1 of next year. In any case, we are sure to get more leaks as the launch gets closer.
Earlier this month, ZTE’s first smartphone with an under-display camera, the Axon 20 5G was announced for the global market. However, details about the price and availability were not revealed but interested buyers in select countries could make their reservations. Today, the price has now been announced and it is available to purchase in a handful of regions.
The Axon 20 5G is available for purchase in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The specific countries are listed below. ZTE is offering the phone in a single configuration and just one color variant. In China, the phone comes in three configurations 6+128GB, 8+128GB, and 8+256GB but global buyers can only purchase the 8+128GB version for a price tag of $449/€449/£419. It is also only available in black.
Purchasing the ZTE phone is not straightforward as interested buyers have to get an invite code (seriously, ZTE?) before they can purchase. To get the code, you have to join ZTE’s New Vision Club and take a quiz. The quiz’ page says “if you pass the test with flying colors, you will receive an invite code within 72 hours”.
Our New Vision Club Event has just launched. For a limited time, you will have the chance to buy a limited edition Black ZTE Axon 20 5G that is only available if you get an invitation code in our event https://t.co/at7iuIMZHtpic.twitter.com/yLAiBh0xCL
These are the following countries where the Axon 20 5G is available for purchase:
Europe – Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and the UK.
Asia – Malaysia, Korea, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and UAE.
Africa – South Africa.
The Axon 20 5G has a 6.92-inch OLED display with a 2460 x 1080 resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. It is powered by a Snapdragon 765G processor that draws juice from a 4220mAh battery with support for 30W wired fast charging and Quick Charge 4+.
The phone has four rear cameras – a 64MP primary camera, an 8MP ultrawide angle camera, a 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro camera. The camera under the display is a 32MP sensor. The phone also has an in-display fingerprint scanner, an “under-screen speaker”, and runs Android 10 out of the box.
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