Realme X7 Pro begins its global journey with launch in Thailand

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Dec 20, 2020

Samsung has an interesting lineup of devices planned for 2021. It will kick off the year with the launch of the Galaxy S21 series on January 14. It also has a handful of foldable phones planned for next year including the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Flip 3, and possible lite versions of the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip. However, if a new report is true, then none of these devices are as exciting as two others Samsung has planned for next year.

According to the leaker Tron (@cozyplanes), Samsung has a triple foldable tablet, if you can call it that, planned for 2021. It also has a transparent display phone scheduled for next year too!

After seeing S21 leaks, you are probably disappointed.

Just wait a bit more, you will like foldables.
You won't? Samsung will make you do.

Samsung has great stuff planned for 2021.
Triple foldable "tablet", transparent display phone as well.

Scrollables and rollables in 2022.

— Tron (@cozyplanes) December 19, 2020

The triple foldable tablet is definitely a device that has its screen divided into three parts but has two hinges. This should be similar to what we have seen from Xiaomi and TCL but it remains to be seen which of the designs Samsung will adopt for its own foldable as both manufacturers use different designs.

EDITOR’S PICK: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 scores 109 points in DXOMARK camera test

Moving on to the transparent display phone, we want to believe this is a phone that has its components at the bottom rather than behind the screen and then projects content onto a display that appears to be transparent but actually isn’t. Think of it as Xiaomi’s Mi TV Lux OLED Transparent Edition but on a much smaller scale, one that fits into your pocket. This post explains how the technology works.

The leaker also mentions that Samsung is planning to launch “scrollables” and “rollables”. TCL already showed us a concept scrollable device earlier this year and a few months ago, it demoed a concept rollable device. LG will also unveil its first (sc)rollable smartphone in the first half of 2021. It appears Samsung doesn’t want to play catch up, so it is planning to announce its own too next year.

+ And a legendary product you have never thought to happen.

— Tron (@cozyplanes) December 19, 2020

Tron adds in a reply to the tweet that Samsung is also planning a legendary product that we “never thought to happen”. We hope more details of this device surfaces soon.

Which of these devices are you most excited about? Do Let us know in the comment box below.

Realme X7 Pro vs Redmi K30 Pro vs Oppo Reno5 Pro: Specs Comparison

By

Michele Ingelido

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Dec 19, 2020

Oppo released the Reno5 series in China with great specifications at great prices and it registered an incredibly high amount of sales. The huge success of this series is letting a lot of people to wonder whether or not the OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G is really the amazing flagship killer it looks like. Is it the best choice or it would be better to opt for other flagship killers in the Chinese market? In order to answer this question, we decided to compare it with the most interesting and best-selling flagships in the Chinese markets. We chose the Realme X7 Pro which just debuted even in the international market and the best-selling Redmi K30 Pro also known as the POCO F2 Pro in the global market.

Realme X7 Pro 5G vs Redmi K30 Pro 5G vs Oppo Reno5 Pro 5G

	Realme X7 Pro	Xiaomi Redmi K30 Pro	OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT	160.8 x 75.1 x 8.5 mm, 184 g	163.3 x 75.4 x 8.9 mm, 218 grams	159.7 x 73.2 x 7.6 mm, 173 g
DISPLAY	6.55 inches, 1080 x 2400p (Full HD+), Super AMOLED	6.67 inches, 1080 x 2400p (Full HD+), 395 ppi, AMOLED	6.55 inches, 1080 x 2400p (Full HD+), OLED
PROCESSOR	MediaTek Dimensity 1000+, octa-core 2.6 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, octa-core 2.84 GHz	MediaTek Dimensity 1000+, octa-core 2.6 GHz
MEMORY	6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB	6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB	8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 12 GB RAM, 256 GB
SOFTWARE	Android 10, Realme UI	Android 10, MIUI	Android 10, ColorOS
CONNECTIVITY	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, Bluetooth 5, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS
CAMERA	Quad 64 + 8 + 2 + 2 MP camera, f/1.8 + f/2.3 + f/2.4 + f/2.4 32 MP f/2.5 front camera	Quad 64 + 5 + 13 + 2 MP f/1.9, f/2.2, f/2.4 and f/2.4 20 MP front camera	Quad 64 + 8 + 2 + 2 MP camera, f/1.7 + f/2.2 + f/2.4 + f/2.4 32 MP f/2.4 front camera
BATTERY	4500 mAh, fast charging 65W	4700 mAh, fast charging 30W	4350 mAh, fast charging 65W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES	Dual SIM slot, 5G	Dual SIM slot, 5G	Dual SIM slot, 5G

Design

There are definitely no doubts: the OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G has the best design. It is thinner, it is lighter, and it is more compact than Redmi K30 Pro and Realme X7 Pro. Further, it has a curved display, fluorescent parts, and a more beautiful look for the camera module. You even get a higher screen-to-body ratio. The Redmi K30 Pro offers an interesting advantage: it has a full-screen display without holes. But it is thicker and heavier than its two opponents, and it has bigger dimensions. That is why we do not consider it as the best design choice.

Display

The most impressive display is the one found on the Realme X7 Pro because it sports a higher refresh rate. The AMOLED panel of the OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G stops at 90 Hz while the Redmi K30 Pro is 90 Hz. The Realme X7 Pro has 120 Hz and it offers a smoother viewing experience. The Redmi K30 Pro has the HDR10+ certification, but given the standard refresh rate, it is a less interesting option. The OPPO Reno 5 Pro 5G sits right in the middle with its 90 Hz refresh rate and high 1100 nits peak brightness.

Specs & Software

The best hardware department belongs to the Redmi K30 Pro: first of all, it has a stronger chipset. The Snapdragon 865 platform is actually more powerful than the Dimensity 1000+ found on its two rivals. Further, the Redmi K30 Pro packs UFS 3.1 internal storage instead of UFS 2.1. The OPPO Reno 5 Pro 5G packs a higher amount of RAM in its most expensive configuration (12 GB), but it has UFS 2.1 storage and Dimensity 1000+. But you should note that OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G runs Android 11 out of the box, so it is supposed to receive longer software support.

Camera

In each case, you get midrange cameras. The OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G is more interesting as a camera phone because it has a brighter focal aperture for the main sensor. But there are no huge differences between the camera departments of these handsets. All pack a 64 MP rear camera, but for those who love ultrawide photos, Redmi K30 Pro is slightly better with its 13 MP ultrawide sensor. Further, the Redmi K30 Pro supports 8K video recording. But its front camera is disappointing compared to Realme X7 Pro and OPPO Reno 5 Pro 5G.

Battery

The Redmi K30 Pro has a bigger 4700 mAh battery and a longer battery life thanks to its higher capacity and standard refresh rate. On the other hand, Realme X7 Pro and OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G offers way shorter charging times thanks to 65W fast charging.

Price

OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G is priced at about €337/$413, Realme X7 Pro costs about €312/$382, and Redmi K30 Pro costs €184/$225 (6/64 GB). The winner of the comparison is the OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G due to its better design and great cameras, but Realme X7 Pro offers a higher refresh rate and a bigger battery, which is why someone may prefer it. I would discard the Redmi K30 Pro due to the lack of high refresh rates, but it remains a very good option for those who want to save money.

Read More: Redmi K30 Ultra 100,000 units sold out within a minute in its first sale in China

Realme X7 Pro 5G vs Redmi K30 Pro 5G vs Oppo Reno5 Pro 5G: PRO and CONS

Realme X7 Pro

PROS

120 Hz AMOLED display
Stereo speakers
Very fast charging

CONS

Nothing particular

OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G

PROS

Best design
Thinner, lighter, more compact
Very fast charging
Great main camera
Stereo speakers

CONS

Very limited availability (at the moment)

Xiaomi Redmi K30 Pro

PROS

Best chipset
Bigger battery
Full-screen display
8K video recording

CONS

Standard refresh rate

Lenovo K12 is getting a global release but as a rebadged Moto E7

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Dec 19, 2020

It is no news that Lenovo owns Motorola, and the manufacturer does not hide the fact as it frequently rebadges phones launched under the Motorola brand as Lenovo phones. The recently-announced Lenovo Lemon K12 Pro and Lemon K12 are rebadged versions of the Moto G9 Power and Moto E7 Plus respectively. Now a leak has revealed that the Lenovo K12 will be getting a global version but as a rebadged Moto E7.

The Moto E7 was announced in late November in Europe with a promise to launch in Latin America, the Middle East, and other parts of Asia later. Now, it will be heading to markets outside China as the Lenovo K12 according to the leaker, Sudhanshu Ambhore.

Exclusive info provided to MySmartPrice by the leaker reveals the Lenovo K12 will be launching soon. The leaker provided an image of the phone which will arrive in (Aqua) Blue and (Mineral) Gray, though we expect Lenovo to give the colors a different name. There are two cameras on the back, arranged in a squircle with an LED flash. There is also a fingerprint scanner and an opening for a speaker on the back of the phone.

EDITOR’S PICK: Lenovo TB-7306F spotted on Geekbench with MediaTek Helio A22 and Android 11

Since the Lenovo K12 Global Version will be a rebadged Moto E7, the phone should have a 6.5-inch 1600 x 720 LCD display with a waterdrop notch, a 48MP primary rear camera paired with a 2MP depth sensor. The processor inside should be the MediaTek Helio G25 processor, but unlike the Moto E7 which has just 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, Lenovo may decide to give the K12 more RAM and a larger storage capacity.

The Moto E7 has a 5MP selfie camera and a dedicated Google Assistant button. It packs a 4000mAh battery with support for 10W charging via USB-C and runs Android 10 out of the box. These are the features we expect the Lenovo K12 Global Version to also have when it is announced.

Lenovo is yet to announce a release date but we can’t say if it will arrive before the end of the year or not.

Next Week in Tech: A new realme smartwatch, an e-reader with 5G, Nova 8, and a new Huawei smart screen

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Dec 19, 2020

The year is almost over but Chinese manufacturers are not done announcing new products. Next week, a few products will be launching, some of which we expect to get to the hands of buyers before the month ends.

On Monday, Huawei kicks off the stream of launches with a smart screen. The new smart screen is practically a smart TV with more advanced features, most of which work with other Huawei devices. It is expected to be the first to run Harmony OS 2.0 out of the box with new features such as multi-tasking.

Huawei will also announce the Watch GT 2 Pro ECG version in China on that day. The smartwatch is already available for pre-order in China

On Tuesday, Hisense will announce the first e-reader smartphone with support for 5G. If you want a phone with an e-ink display, then you don’t want to miss the launch of this new device.

On the 23rd of December, Huawei will return for the launch of new smartphones – the Nova 8 and Nova 8 Pro. The new smartphones will expand the Nova 8 series which began with the Nova 8 SE that was launched in early November. The new phones will come with a new design, Kirin processors, and displays with a hole punch. Huawei is also expected to announce another phone, the Enjoy 20 SE, but it has not yet confirmed the launch.

EDITOR’S PICK: Vivo X60 series may get announced on December 28

On the same day but in India, realme will announce three new products. The highlight of the launch is the realme Watch S Pro, a smartwatch with a round AMOLED display, support for 15 sports modes, and GPS. The standard realme Watch S which already launched in other markets will also be announced on that day.

The other product that will be unveiled is the realme Buds Air Pro Master Edition. This is a version of the Buds Air Pro announced back at IFA 2020 but with a new color and premium finish.

iQOO 7 Officially confirmed; First look suggests a possible BMW Special Edition

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Dec 19, 2020

At the Snapdragon Summit, Vivo officially confirmed that it would bring mobile products with Snapdragon 888 SoC next year. However, there’s wasn’t much known about it until today. The Chinese giant has finally confirmed that the next flagship will be iQOO 7 and has revealed the first look of the device.

iQOO, in a Weibo Post, shared the first official look of the upcoming flagship. It says the iQOO 7 is the official KPL game machine during the Autumn Finals 2020. In case you don’t know, KPL aka King Pro League is one of the biggest eSports events in China. It occurs during the Autumn/Fall and Spring seasons every year.

It is hosted by Tencent Games that brings several professional teams of Honor of Kings to compete for the title crown. Previously, iQOO had collaborated with KPL during iQOO 3, which is also a KPL-certified gaming phone. Coming back, the iQOO 7 rear look shows triple-cameras and looks to be a BMW special edition.

What is interesting here is the camera layout. If you look closely, the cameras are arranged like the vertices of a triangle. Also, they resemble a lot like the Vivo X50 and the upcoming X60 series of smartphones. There is an LED flashlight beneath the housing and has iQOO branding beside it. Additionally, the White rear panel has vertical BMW stripes on the right side. Although Vivo hasn’t explicitly mentioned it, the possibility is quite high now.

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If you recall, Vivo collaborated with BMW Motorsport to launch a special edition of the iQOO 5 Pro. The new iQOO 7’s rear panel has similar shades of the BMW M logo with “Fascination meets Innovation” slogan, White background, and Blue, Black, Red stripes. However, we aren’t sure if it will get the Leather finish like the iQOO 5 Pro. You can compare the looks of both the devices above.

Anyway, it’s just a teaser for the device and we will have to wait for a bit to know the launch date let alone its price and availability. So far, iQOO 7 is speculated to feature an AMOLED flat display, Snapdragon 888 SoC, 120W fast charging, triple-camera with 50MP sensor, 16MP selfie-shooter, and iQOO UI inspired by OriginOS based on Android 11.

Hisense A7 5G e-Ink smartphone/e-reader to launch on December 22

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Dec 19, 2020

Hisense is practically the only manufacturer that still makes phones that double as e-readers. This year it changed its strategy from launching phones with dual displays – a standard screen + e-ink – to a single screen which is an e-ink display. Now it is set to announce its very first 5G phone with an e-ink screen that will launch as the Hisense A7.

The Hisense A7 5G will get a global unveiling on December 22. However, it appears the 5G e-reader that doubles as a smartphone will not be getting a color e-ink screen like its siblings, the Hisense A5 Pro, Hisense A5 Pro CC, and Hisense A5C which launched this year.

EDITOR’S PICK: Tencent partners with TCL, Hisense, and others to bring its START Cloud gaming service to TVs

A teaser video released for the phone shows that it will come in two color variants – white and black. It will have a single camera on the back along with an LED flash and a fingerprint scanner.

While details such as screen size, processor, RAM, and storage are unavailable, we believe the phone will be powered by a UNISOC 5G processor, probably the Tiger T7510 that powers the Hisense T50 5G. The poster above shows the phone has an audio jack at the bottom along with a USB-C port and a four-hole speaker grille.

Hisense says the launch is a global debut which means the device should be sold in other countries other than China. We don’t know which countries will get it yet but availability details should be available by Tuesday.

Apple lists Wistron under Probation after violence at its facility in India

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Dec 19, 2020

Apple has been hitting headlines in India lately but not for good reasons. Its supplier Wistron’s facility near Bengaluru, India, recently got attacked by workers demanding unpaid wages. Now, as Reuters says the company has put Wistron on notice.

According to the report, an early audit by Apple reveals that Wistron has violated the “Supplier Code of Conduct”. Apparently, it didn’t manage the working hours properly and this led to delay in payment wages. Precisely, as Wistron admits it didn’t pay some workers during October and November on time. In case you don’t know, Wistron assembles Apple’s iPhones like iPhone 7 and iPhone SE 2020.

The report says that Wistron planned to expand operations by hiring 20,000 workers in a year. However, it couldn’t cope up with the scale of manpower, violated several laws which led to the outrage. Also, the inspection result by Karnataka Govt reveals Wistron had 5,500 workers more than the allowed number.

Some of the other violations include improper HR management, underpayment of wages for contract workers, housekeeping staff. The company has also made female staff work overtime without proper authorization.

As a result of this, the report says Wistron will face delays in production due to Apple’s probationary action. This will take dent over its earlier ₹13 billion($177 million) commitment for the next five years to leverage the PLI scheme. If you recall, the Indian Govt recently approved cash incentives of 4-6% of the Sale of goods locally made in next 5yrs from 2019-2020.

That said, Apple says it will continue to monitor how Wistron manages to mitigate the violent attack which made it lose millions of dollars of property, Gears, and iPhones. Apart from Wistron, Apple’s other suppliers Foxconn, Pegatron are also expanding production in Vietnam, India.

Apple releases support document showcasing the AirPods Max low power mode

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Dec 19, 2020

Apple has just updated the support page that outlines the key performance metrics including charging and battery-related aspects of the just-released AirPods Max. The support document provides insights into how wireless headphones behave when it is not in active use.

The support page specifies that when the headphones are in an idle position for 5 minutes, in order to substantially conserve battery energy, the low power mode is automatically activated. The low power mode ensures that some battery-draining activities are scaled down to reflect the idleness. The next milestone is achieved after the headphones have been without any activity for 72 hours (three days).

At this instant, they go into an even lower power mode that turns off Bluetooth and several power-draining activities.

Editor’s Pick: Redmi 9 Power launched in India with 6,000mAh battery, Snapdragon 662, and 48MP quad-camera

When using the supplied case of the AirPods Max wireless headphones, the device will instantly switch to the low power mode. The ultra low power mode is activated after 18 hours of using the case. When the ultra-low mode is active, then Bluetooth and Find My feature is turned off in this very low power mode.

The tech giant specifically used the word ultra-low to denote the lowest power saving option while using the case but it is yet to be seen how this so-called ultra-low power mode differs from the lowest power mode when not using the case.

As could be seen in other wireless headphones without these new power mode functionalities, the major difference is that while those AirPods come fitted with a power button to switch off power when not in use, the AirPods Max does not have one, but uses a different technology that has incorporated a sort of smart and energy-conserving behavior into the workings of the device.

UP NEXT: realme Watch S Pro Specifications and Features revealed ahead of December 23 launch

China’s display makers expect to grab 55% of global LCD panel shipments this year

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Dec 19, 2020

The U.S currently holds the upper hand when it comes to semiconductor technology. That is why the ban on some Chinese companies from using US technology was hard felt. A few years back, most of the LCD panels in use by Chinese manufacturers in TVs, monitors, and other large-screen products were procured from Japan and South Korea.

But in recent times, domestic companies like BOE have been able to overtake manufacturers from Japan and Korea to ship the highest volume globally. China’s display manufacturers have predicted that this year’s domestic panel production capacity will historically account for around 55% of the global panel shipments.

This was made known at the 2020 Chongqing Micro-LED Industry Innovation Forum and Konka Semiconductor Display Technology and Product Launch Conference was held yesterday in China. The statement is credited to Liang Xinqing LCD Branch Secretary of the China Optics and Optoelectronics Manufacturers Association.

Editor’s Pick: Redmi 9 Power launched in India with 6,000mAh battery, Snapdragon 662, and 48MP quad-camera

Liang Xinqing also disclosed that the global display device output value in the first three quarters of 2020 was US$82.723 billion, an increase of 8.6% year-on-year. The shipment area was 178 million square meters, an increase of 5.7% year-on-year.

The data for the first three quarters of 2020 in Mainland China shows that the TFT-LCD shipment area is 97.01 million square meters, which accounts for 54.5% of the global market and the output value is $26.685 billion US dollars.

However, in terms of AMOLED panels, lots of efforts are still needed to gain more market shares. In the first three quarters, the AMOLED shipment area was 1.09 million square meters, accounting for 0.6% of the global market, and the output value was US$2.709 billion.

At the same time, Liang Xinqing also mentioned domestic shortcomings. Currently, Japan has mastered the upstream core technology, South Korea’s OLED is the world leader. He added that China was currently gaining an advantage in terms of production capacity, but the technology structure is single and the entire industry chain is still to make significant headway.

UP NEXT: realme Watch S Pro Specifications and Features revealed ahead of December 23 launch

(via)

US Govt adds DJI to Entity List; DJI says users can continue to buy its products

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Dec 19, 2020

The US Government recently banned China’s partially state-owned Semiconductor company SMIC from using American tech. Now, it has added a dozen of companies including China’s technology and drone maker DJI to the economic blacklist.

As Reuters reports, the US Department of Commerce has added China’s SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd to the entity list. The company has a trade name DJI which is currently the World’s largest drone maker. According to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, DJI has involved in “ubiquitous surveillance to repress its citizens in Xinjiang and elsewhere.”

Some of the companies added to the entity list are as follows:

SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd
AGCU Scientech
China National Scientific Instruments and Materials
Kuang-Chi Group

Specifically, the ban of the above companies is because they led to wide-scale human rights abuses within China. Precisely, the companies reportedly involved in abusive genetic collection and analysis or high-technology surveillance. In case you don’t know, the Entity list is a trade blacklist published by the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security.

Generally, it is the Govt’s prerogative to make its companies seek license to export, re-export, or transfer technology to the parties concerned. However, the entity list means that it bans US companies from exporting their technology to the blacklisted members. If we recall, US Govt confirmed that it has added SMIC, CNOOC to the list two weeks ago.

Coming back, DJI has responded to The Verge saying that it is disappointed with the Dept. of Commerce decision. Although it didn’t comment on the result of this action, it says People can still buy its DJI products as usual. Apart from Drones, DJI’s portfolio of hand-held products includes Gimbals, Action Cameras, Flight patrol and propulsion systems etc.

Hence, it will be interesting to see how this affects the enterprise businesses let alone individual consumers. Besides, these are not the only companies that the US Govt has banned. It is targeting Huawei and its subsidiaries like Honor citing National Security and Privacy concerns.

In fact, it is also preaching to other countries to avoid using Chinese technologies including 5G-equipments saying that they might be used for surveillance by the Chinese govt.

Huawei Mate40 Pro+ future sales in China comes with a twist

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Dec 19, 2020

Huawei unveiled the Mate40 series of smartphones back in October. It’s already been two months but many of the models are in short supply in China. In fact, the Mate40 was opened up for pre-orders just a couple of days back. Now, it looks like the Mate40 Pro+ will also be available for sale but with a twist.

Huawei’s official Vmall has listed the Huawei Mate40 Pro+ for sale from December 21 in China. The top-of-the-line flagship from the Chinese giant will be available for purchase at 07:38 AM Beijing time(GMT+08:00). However, after this, the website says it will go on sale only on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday of a week at 10:08 AM.

This suggests(via ITHome) that the device is still in short supply and the stocks will be limited even during the sales. The situation is similar for the Mate40 RS Porsche Design as well. If we recall, these devices, after a short sale were often out of stock during the last two months. In fact, a previous report said Pro+ and RS Porsche Design’s inventories on offline stories were also in short supply.

It’s a no-brainer that Huawei is facing these issues due to the US Govt’s restrictions on procuring the company’s Kirin SoCs. In fact, the Mate40 series could be the last flagships to feature the in-house chipsets. And this could also be a factor in driving the demand for the upcoming sales of Mate40 flagships. The series has already received great reception with Mate40 getting sold out in under a minute recently.

Mate40 Pro+ Specifications

Anyway, the Mate40 Pro+ features a 6.76-inch flexible OLED 90Hz display with 2772x1344p resolution, 456 PPI. Under the hood, it is powered by HiSilicon Kirin 9000 chipset paired with a single 12GB RAM, 256GB UFS 3.1 storage.

For cameras, we have a 50MP f/1.9, RYYB primary, 20MP f/2.4 ultra-wide, 12MP f/2.4 Telephoto with 3x zoom, 8MP f/4.4 periscope with 10x optical, and a ToF sensor. Upfront, there is a 13MP f/2.4 wide-angle lens and a 3D ToF sensor.

Other specs include 5G, Wi-Fi 6, NFC, Bluetooth 5.2, 4,400mAh battery with 66W wired, 50W wireless charging. The device also has IP68 certification, 3D face unlock, in-display fingerprint scanner, reverse wireless charging, Dual stereo speakers, and came with EMUI 11 based on Android 10 with HMS at launch.

Download Galaxy S21 series official wallpapers from here

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Dec 19, 2020

The Samsung Galaxy S21 series is yet to go official. It is expected to be announced in mid-January. Ahead of it, all three devices in the series have leaked extensively revealing almost everything about them, including price. Now, even their wallpapers are available for everyone to download.

Almost all OEMs introduce a new set of wallpapers with the release of their popular smartphones, especially flagships. Samsung is also no different in this regard. The South Korean tech giant is even known for releasing new variants of its ‘Over the Horizon’ ringtone every year.

Normally, these wallpapers are soon extracted by modders after the release of the phone’s firmware after its official announcement. Sometimes, they even make it to the internet before the release of the actual phones. The latter has happened in the case of the Galaxy S21 series.

The official wallpapers of the Galaxy S21 series were shared by a well-known leakster known as ‘Jimmy is Promo’. The collection includes a total of 22 still and live wallpapers.

Out of which, 4 are DeX Mode wallpapers, 12 are normal device wallpapers, and lastly, 5 of them are live wallpapers. You can download all of them from the link provided at the end of the post.

Having said that, the Galaxy S21 series will consist of three smartphones and you can learn everything about them by clicking/tapping on their names listed below.

Download Galaxy S21 Series Official Wallpapers

Entire specs of Galaxy S21 Ultra leak ahead of official launch

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Dec 19, 2020

Samsung is reported to announce the Galaxy S21 series on January 14. Ahead of it, the three devices in the series have leaked extensively in the past few days. Now, a new leak has emerged revealing the entire specs of the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

The specifications sheet of the upcoming Galaxy S21 Ultra comes from Roland Quandt of WinFuture. The same tipster is also responsible for the press renders of all the three handsets in the series – Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra.

According to him, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra will feature a glass and metal sandwich design like any other premium smartphone. The glass used on it will be Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, which made its debut on the Galaxy Note20 Ultra.

The handset will flaunt a 6.8-inch Infinity-O-Edge Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a resolution of 3200 x 1440 pixels (WQHD+), 515 ppi, 1600 nits peak brightness, and 1-120Hz refresh rate (LTPO). In simpler words, it will sport a 3K curved screen with a centered punch-hole. Additionally, the panel will also support S Pen stylus.

Further, the device will be powered by Exynos 2100 chipset paired with 12GB RAM and 128GB/256GB/512GB internal storage. It is worth noting that the US variant will come equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 instead.

As for photography and videography, the phone will feature the following camera setup.

Rear (Quad-camera)

108 MP (wide-angle lens, f / 1.8, 79 °, 24mm, 1 / 1.33 “, 0.8 µm, OIS, AF)
12 MP (ultra-wide-angle lens, f / 2.2, 120 °, 13mm, 1 / 2.55″, 1.4 µm, AF)
10 MP (telephoto lens, f / 2.4, 35 °, 72mm, 1 / 3.24 “, 1.22 µm, OIS, AF, 3x optical zoom)
10 MP (telephoto lens, f / 4.9, 10 °, 240mm, 1 / 3.24″, 1.22 µm, OIS, AF, 10x optical zoom)
PDAF, Laser AF, and LED Flash

Front (Single-camera)

40 MP (f / 2.2, 80 °, 1 / 2.8 “, 0.7 µm, 25mm, AF)

The smartphone will be capable of shooting 8K (30 fps), 4K (30/60 fps), 1080p (30/60/240 fps), and 720p ( up to 960 fps) videos respectively.

On the connectivity front, the Galaxy S21 Ulta will include dual-SIM + eSIM (varies by region), 5G, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, GNSS, NFC, and USB Type-C port. Talking about sensors, it will be equipped with accelerometer, ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, proximity sensor, gyroscope, compass, hall sensor, ambient light sensor, and UWB.

Other features include One UI 3.1 operating system based on Android 11, 5,000mAh battery, 45W wired fast charging, fast wireless charging (Qi), Wireless PowerShare (reverse wireless charging), stereo speakers, IP68 dust and water-resistant, Samsung Knox, ANT+, DeX, and two colors – Phantom Black & Phantom Silver.

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Last but not least, the Galaxy S21 Ulta will measure 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9mm in dimensions, weigh 228g, and it will start from €1,399 in Europe.

HONOR V40 gets certified by 3C with 66W fast charging

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Dec 19, 2020

Last month, HUAWEI sold its HONOR sub-brand to a consortium of over 30 agents and dealers. The brand’s first flagship smartphones after the sale are expected to be the HONOR V40 series. Not much information is available about these handsets. But since one of the models has now received 3C certification, we expect them to get listed on TENAA soon.

According to the 3C certification, the upcoming HONOR V40 device with model number YOK-AN10 will support 66W fast charging. Going by the charger’s model number (HW-110600C00) and output rates, the charging protocol should be HUAWEI 66W SuperCharge, which debuted on the HUAWEI Mate40 series.

But since HUAWEI no longer owns HONOR, the latter company may use a different branding for this charging tech just like OPPO (SuperVOOC), OnePlus (Warp), and realme (SuperDart).

That’s not all, we also expect the HONOR V40 series to run Magic UI 4, which is a fork of EMUI 11 based on Android 10. In other words, despite parting ways with HUAWEI, we expect HONOR to use its former parent company’s tech for the time being. That’s because these upcoming devices should have been in development for months.

That said, apart from 3C, this particular HONOR V40 model has also been certified by MIIT. Also, we know its codename – YORK. We expect to learn more about this device along with other models in the series if any in the coming days.

Leak: The standard vivo X60 will come in flat and curved display variants

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Dec 19, 2020

Chinese smartphone maker vivo is expected to officially announce the vivo X60 series by the end of this month. The company is yet to reveal the exact date for the launch event, however, the devices in the series have already been listed on online retailers. Even some of their specs are out as well. Now, new interesting info regarding this series has emerged.

According to the well-known tipster Digital Chat Station, the standard vivo X60 smartphone will come in two different variants. One with a flat-screen and another with a curved display. What’s more interesting is that the type of panel is similar (flexible AMOLED) on the two and so are their price.

That’s not all, even they will feature the exact same specs, except for the battery. As per the tipster, the flat version will be backed by a 4,300mAh battery, whereas the curved variant will come with a slightly lower 4,200mAh battery.

Hence, it seems like vivo will be testing the consumer’s display design preference by directly releasing the same phone with two different display designs. If this tip happens to be true, then vivo will become the first OEM to do a such thing as normally companies depend on surveys.

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Having said that, which type of display design you prefer – flat or curved? Let us know in the comment section below.

Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+, S21 Ultra pricing for the European markets leaked

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Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Dec 19, 2020

The rumor mill is spilling all kinds of information about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S21 series. A new leak by 91mobiles that cites information shared by popular tipster Ishan Agarwal has revealed the pricing of the Galaxy S21 5G, Galaxy S21+ 5G, and Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G for the European markets.

According to the leak, the 128 GB variant of the Galaxy S21 5G will be priced at 849 euros. The 128 GB Galaxy S21+ 5G will be priced at 1,049 euros. This pricing is lower than the 128 GB edition of the Galaxy S20+ that was priced at 1,099 euros at launch.

The 256 GB variant of the Galaxy S21+ 5G will carry a price tag of 1,099 euros. The Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G with 128 GB storage will cost 1,399 euros. Shown below is the new render of the Galaxy S21+ shared by Agarwal. It shows the phone in its three color variants.

Samsung Galaxy S21 5G render- — Samsung Galaxy S21 5G render

Editor’s Pick: Official: Samsung’s new Exynos chipset will debut on January 12; could be Exynos 2100

Galaxy Club recently reported that the 128GB versions of the Galaxy S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra will be priced at 879 euros, 1,079 euros, and 1,399 euros. The differences in the pricing between the two leaks could be because of the taxes.

Shown above is another image shared by Agarwal. The image showcases the violet-colored Kvadrat case designed for the Galaxy S21 Plus. Recent reports have revealed that the Galaxy S21 series is already up for blind orders like India and China.

It is likely that the Galaxy S21 lineup may go official on Jan. 14 and it may release in different markets by the end of January. Samsung is expected to confirm the Galaxy S21 series launch date in the coming week.

Google Camera Go now allows users to click HDR pictures

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