Apple is working on AirPods Pro ‘Lite’, arrives without noise cancellation

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Dec 16, 2020

Over the last couple of months, various rumors and reports had surfaced regarding Samsung discontinuing its Galaxy Note series of flagship smartphones. However, a company official has stated otherwise, saying that the company is not planning on killing off the series anytime soon.

According to a SamMobile report based on a Yonhap News article, a Samsung official revealed that the company is “preparing to release the next Galaxy Note series next year.” In other words, we can expect a Galaxy Note 21 lineup along with the Galaxy S21 series. For those unaware, the rumors behind the discontinuation of the Galaxy Note series were strengthened after TM Roh, Samsung’s mobile business chief, hinted that the Galaxy S21 will arrive with S Pen support.

But the source from within the company stated that “Roh’s message does not mean that the Galaxy Note series will be discontinued.” At the moment, there are various conflicting reports regarding the future of the Galaxy Note series, with reports stating that the company might completely shut down the lineup, or launch one last generation before merging it with the flagship Galaxy S series.

Unfortunately, we still have no way of confirming any of these reports, and will have to wait for an official company announcement to know for sure. Furthermore, Samsung could possibly decide to end its Note lineup in favor of the new Galaxy Z series of fordable handsets in the near future, but this is again speculation so take it with a pinch of salt for now. So stay tuned for more, as we will be providing more updates when additional information is available.

Xiaomi Mi QLED TV 4K 55 launched in India: Android TV 10, Dolby Vision, and 30W speakers

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Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Dec 16, 2020

Xiaomi India has entered the premium smart TV category with the launch of Mi QLED TV 4K 55. The newly unveiled Mi TV is the company’s first QLED television for the country. Initially, it was thought to be the Mi TV 5 Pro that the brand introduced in China last year. But then, the company itself confirmed that the model launching in India will be different. Let us take a look at the specs, features, and price of this new television.

Xiaomi Mi QLED TV 4K 55 Specifications and Features

As the name suggests, the new Xiaomi television flaunts a 55-inch QLED panel with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels (4K), 100% NTSC color gamut, 95% DCI-P3 color gamut, and 96% screen-to-body ratio. The panel supports all the popular HDR standards such as Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG. But unfortunately, the display does not come with the local-dimming feature.

Further, the TV also supports RealityFlow (MEMC) and Vivid Picture Engine (proprietary display profile tweak). As an added bonus, the television comes with a metal frame, carbon fiber back, and metal stands. However, the wall mount is sold separately. The regular variant costs ₹499, whereas the swivel version is priced at ₹1,199.

Under the hood, it features the MediaTek MT9611 chipset with the Mali-G52 MP2 GPU. This silicon is paired with 2GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. The television’s chassis also includes a 30W 6-speaker system consisting of 4 x full-range speakers and 2 x tweeters. They operate at around 50-20KHz frequency range and support Dolby Audio and DTS-HD.

The TV runs Android TV 10 and therefore, it comes with Google Play Store, Chromecast Built-in, and Google Assistant. Like any other Mi TV, it also ships with PatchWall launcher, a content aggregation service that is currently at v3.4. The minimal Mi TV remote is also included as part of the package.

Talking about connectivity and I/O, the television comes with dual-band WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, 3 x HDMI 2.1 (eARC, 5ms input lag – 4K@60fps, ALLM – Auto Low Latency Mode), 2 x USB 2.0 (Type-A), Ethernet (RJ45), 1 x optical, AV, and 3.5mm headphone jack.

Other features include Mi Quick Wake (faster boot time – under 5 seconds), Mi Quick Mute (double press volume down to mute), and Mi Quick Settings (long press Mi button to access settings).

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Last but not least, being a smart TV, it supports all the streaming platforms in India and Xiaomi has even announced that Discovery+ and Lionsgate Play will be coming soon to PatchWall.

Xiaomi Mi QLED TV 4K 55 Pricing and Availability

The Mi QLED TV 4K 55 is priced at ₹54,999 ($748). It can be purchased from Mi.com, Flipkart, Mi Home, Vijay Sales, and other leading retail stores starting December 21.

Customers buying from Flipkart can avail a 10% discount via SBI Credit Card or EMI transaction for a limited time.

SK Hynix begins operations in its foundry factory in China

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Dec 16, 2020

SK Hynix is beginning operations from its foundry factory in China. The South Korean chipmaker held a factory production ceremony earlier this week and is now starting operations from the Chinese unit.

SK Hynix System IC’s factory can handle with 8 inch wafers, which is notable since Chine has numerous fabless companies, as per TheElec report. At the moment, China’s fabless market is estimated to have a value of 25.5 billion US Dollars, which is expected to more than double by next year reaching 68.6 billion US Dollars. This news also arrives after China’s largest chipmaker, SMIC, being added to the entity list by the US government, which should benefit the South Korean company.

Back in 2018, SK Hynix entered into a joint venture with the Wuxi government and has since completed its factory in 2019. Since then, the company had been working on shifting some of its equipment at its M8 fab in its South Korea to the newly opened one in China. Other necessary equipment are expected to be transferred by the end of 2021, and will have fab produced in China while research and development will be undertaken in South Korea.

Notably, the news also arrives as SMIC shares fell after one of its top executive resigned. The surprising resignation of the co-CEO Liang Mong Song was shared via online media outlets and stated that the reason for his departure was the appointment of a vice chairman without his approval. The Chinese semiconductor based firm has since seen a drop in shares between 7.2 percent to as much as 9.8 percent lower, which is the most in a day since the past three months, as per a Fortune report.

Honor to soon launch a new product, the company’s first after going independent

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Dec 16, 2020

About a month ago, Chinese giant Huawei officially confirmed selling off its sub-brand Honor to Zhixin New Information Technology Co. Ltd. Since then, the company has gone through a lot of structural change, and now Honor is set to launch its first product.

Zhao Ming, CEO of the new Honor band, shared a letter on Weibo, signed as Honor Management Team. In that, he has confirmed that the company will soon launch its first product after going independent from Huawei.

However, he has not revealed much about what the product is and what is the timeline for the launch. There have been reports claiming that the company could launch the Honor V40-series smartphones sometime in early 2021.

Coming back to the letter shared on Weibo, which was written to celebrate the seven-year anniversary of the Honor band, Zhao Ming thanked the company’s users, distributors, retail partners, suppliers, and manufacturers.

EDITOR’S PICK: Apple’s new patents hint at Touch ID and under-display Camera support for Apple Watch

It has also been confirmed that the company will be hosting an annual fan meet next month where the future of the Honor brand will be discussed. We expect the company to make an announcement about upcoming products at that event.

Zhao Ming has said that the company’s aim is to become the leading smartphone brand in China, surpassing its former parent company and the current market leader, Huawei. He has also set an ambitious sales target of 100 million units for the upcoming year.

The company has already started working towards that goal. It is currently in the process of getting its supply chain in order and is also expanding the Honor brand’s presence in the offline space. It has already opened stores in cities like Chengdu, Lanzhou, Wuhan, and Xiamen, and plans to keep launching new stores.

Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite pre order starts on December 17 in Malaysia for RM199 ($49)

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Dec 16, 2020

Xiaomi has officially announced the Mi Watch Lite, which is their most affordable smartwatch, that will be available for pre orders in Malaysia on 17th December 2020 for a price of just RM199 (roughly 49 US Dollars).

Despite carrying such an affordable price tag, the Mi Watch Lite from the Chinese tech giant arrives with built in GPS, a heart rate sensor and even sleep monitoring. Its battery can have the wearable last till a week and powers its 1.4 inch TFT LCD touch display that features a 320x320px resolution. Additional sensors include accelerometer, gyro, light sensor, e-compass, and barometer. Xiaomi is also offering up to 11 sports modes to its users that can track different types of physical activities.

The Mi Watch Lite also arrives with water resistance and is rated for 5ATM, which means it can be submerged up to 50 meters deep under water. In terms of design, the smartwatch features a single physical button and arrives with 5 different color variants, ranging from Black, Navy Blue, Pink, Olive and Ivory. Notably, the straps are also replaceable and can be swapped as well.

The official price of the Mi Watch Lite is actually RM249 (roughly 61 US Dollars) and it will be available for purchase from the company’s official Xiaomi online store, Lazada, and other authorized Mi Stores and retailers as well, starting from 20th December 2020. But for those interested, you can check out the one day only pre order promotional offer that is offering the affordable smartwatch from just RM199, via the Xiaomi online store or Lazada on 17th December 2020.

Faraday Future partners with Phillips to develop and showcase health and wellness features

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Dec 16, 2020

Faraday Future, a startup working on an electric vehicle, has announced that the company has partnered with Philips Intellectual Property & Standards for showcasing vehicle features that use a select set of Philips technologies.

In this joint development agreement, Philips will provide its expertise in user wellness monitoring and together with Faraday Future, they will integrate the technologies accordingly in FF’s vehicles.

The company adds that Philips’ health technology and software add significant differentiators to Faraday Future’s product vision and its planned upcoming FF 91 and FF 81 luxury electric vehicles.

EDITOR’S PICK: China to reportedly raise antitrust scrutiny on tech giants

Faraday Future has also added that the company plans to kick-off production for FF 91 in about nine months after it successfully closes its funding round. This will then be followed by the FF 81 EV and development preparation of future models.

The company, founded in 2014, has been through a messy situation a few years ago. It has been facing financial issues since 2017 as LeEco, the company it was tied to, started having financial problems, which have been linked to the founder and CEO of both the companies — Jia Yueting, who filed personal bankruptcy earlier this year.

A couple of months ago, it was reported that Faraday Future is planning to go public through a special purchase acquisition company (SPAC) deal. But so far, there has been no announcement from the company regarding the same.

China to raise anti trust scrutiny on tech giants: Report

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Dec 16, 2020

China is expected to tighten its anti trust reins around its technology giants, with its heavy fines being just the beginning. This arrives just after regulators also announced a probe into deals with major brands like Alibaba and Tencent.

Earlier this week, China’s market regulator announced that it would be raising its scrutiny on notable transactions, especially ones backed by internet giants. As per a Reuters report, the regulator is also looking into making “an example” of a 3.5 billion US Dollars plan for search engine Sogou Inc to be taken private by shareholder, Tencent Holdings. The information arrives from two sources close to the matter.

A third source added that the regulator is also targeting a bid by private-equity firm MBK Partners to buy China’s top online car rental firm. The source believes that the move arrives to address the concern of competition as MBK already owns the industry’s second car rental brand. The State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) is planning a a thorough review of the Sogou Tencent transaction, which could even translate to the deal missing its July 2021 completion deadline.

According to one of the sources, “The deal now faces big uncertainty and there’s a big chance that it may not close as planned.” Notably, Internet search is a sensitive issue in China, with SAMR taking special consideration that Tencent is already one of the market leaders in various online sectors and fields that it operates its business in. As per Jiaming Zhang, a senior associate at law firm Allen & Overy, “all these recent developments seem to suggest that SAMR is ready to open a new chapter for its enforcement actions in the internet sector.”

Vivo X60 confirmed to be powered by Samsung Exynos 1080 chipset

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Dec 16, 2020

Vivo X60 and X60 Pro smartphones have been leaked for quite some time now and the phones are now expected to go official in China on 29th December. Ahead of the official launch, the company has now started sharing details about the devices.

The company has now confirmed that the Vivo X60 smartphone will come powered by the Samsung Exynos 1080 chipset, which is manufactured using the 5nm EUV FinFET process.

As per the company, the Exynos 1080 SoC from Samsung offers a 14 percent improvement in performance and about 30 percent in power consumption when compared to a chipset manufactured using an 8nm LPP process.

It uses the latest generation of ARM‘s Cortex-A78 core and comes packed with a Mali-G78 graphics processor, which is claimed to improve performance by 25 percent when compared to the Mali-G77 GPU.

EDITOR’S PICK: Apple’s new patents hint at Touch ID and under-display Camera support for Apple Watch

The company has also confirmed that the Vivo X60 series features a brand-new ultra-stable micro-pan-tilt technology 2.0, which can obtain a larger anti-shake angle than the ordinary OIS technology and offers better night mode shooting.

A recent leak reveals that the Vivo X60 features a triple camera system that includes a 48-megapixel primary camera sensor with an f/1.6 aperture. It will be accompanied by a 13-megapixel super-wide lens, and a 13-megapixel portrait camera. It also features second-generation micro-gimbal stabilization powered by ZEISS optics.

Vivo is expected to launch three smartphones under the lineup — Vivo X60, X60 Pro, and X60 Pro+, all three of which are expected to have a 120Hz refresh rate display, Android 11 operating system with OriginOS, and 33W fast charging technology support.

Samsung Galaxy S21 to ship to early adopters in some markets

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Dec 16, 2020

The Samsung Galaxy S21 is set to be given away in Indonesia, with a new dedicated registration page offering customers a chance to win the upcoming premium grade flagship handset.

Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G render by Letsgodigital

Recently, Samsung Indonesia made the announcement through Twitter that “Something Epic is on its way.” While the company didn’t outright state that it would be giving away the Galaxy S21, a video in the same tweet referred to “The Next Galaxy.” In other words, this more or less confirms the South Korean tech giant’s plans with the new registration page that just went live. This promotional move from the company offers its Indonesian customers a chance to win a free Galaxy S21, while also sharing exclusive updates, and other promotional offers, as per a SamMobile report.

At the moment, it is unknown how exactly the company will be announcing its winners or how they would be picked either. Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S21 series on 14th January 2020. This launch arrives a bit earlier than its usual release cycle, and in certain markets like India, the company is already taking pre orders for a fee of 2,000 INR (roughly 27 US Dollars).

Something EPIC is on its way.

Be the first to know by registering on https://t.co/cMDEOIEsna & get a shot to win #TheNextGalaxy !

— Samsung Indonesia (@samsungID) December 15, 2020

However, the pre orders are not available everywhere, nor has the registration page going live globally. Furthermore, the company is expected to start launching such registration pages in other regions as well soon, giving many early adopters a chance to win various prizes. So stay tuned for more, as we will be providing more updates when additional information regarding this is available.

Apple’s new patents hint at Touch ID and under-display Camera support for Apple Watch

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Dec 16, 2020

Apple Watch lineup is arguably one of the best smartwatches in the world. Recently, the company added two more models to the lineup — Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE. The company has been adding more and more features to the smartwatches, ensuring they remain the market leader.

In line with that, it seems that Apple is now exploring the idea of adding Touch ID to the Apple Watch, along with an under-display camera sensor. The company has filed a patent for the same, titled “Electronic device having sealed button biometric sensing system.” This was spotted by Patently Apple.

The patent says that the Touch ID, which is basically Apple’s terms for the fingerprint sensor, can be embedded into the side button on the Watch, allowing users to have biometric authentication for unlocking the device as well as for making purchases.

There’s another patent filed by Apple titled “Electronic devices with two-stage display,” reports Apple Insider. It reveals how the company is planning to layer the display panels to include a camera and a flash, which are visible only when needed.

EDITOR’S PICK: Huawei releases HarmonyOS 2.0 Developer Beta version for smartphones with support for Android apps

It showcases that one layer will have a pixel array for displaying images while the outer layer will have an array of light modulator cells that can become transparent or block out light when needed to allow the camera to function.

The technology proposed by Apple for the under-display camera should also be working for other devices, including iPhones and iPad, but interestingly, the patent is only focusing on the Apple Watch.

Do note that these are patent filing by Apple and it doesn’t necessarily mean that the company actually has such devices under development. However, this does reveal that Apple is interested in exploring these technologies and there’s a high probability that the features could actually be available in Apple Watch in the coming years.

Russian woman dies after her iPhone fell into the bathtub while plugged into an outlet

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Dec 16, 2020

Smartphones have come to be a favorite companion for many people. It is quite common to see persons using their mobile phones in several places, including odd places like the toilet or bathroom. A Russian woman, however, ran out of luck while using her iPhone in the bathroom. The 24-year-old identified as Olesya Semenova was reportedly electrocuted when her iPhone fell into the water inside the bathtub she was sitting.

Miss Semenova’s lifeless body was discovered by her roommate in their apartment in Arkhangelsk, according to a report on East2West News.

“I screamed, shook her, but she was pale, did not breathe, and showed no signs of life,” her roommate Daria told the emergency operator. “I was really scared. When I touched her, I got an electric shock.”

She added that she found Semenova’s iPhone 8 in the water and it was still charging.

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Paramedics who arrived on the scene after the incident confirmed that the clothing store worker had died when the phone fell into the tub while plugged into an outlet.

The Russian emergencies ministry said in a warning after the incident; “The tragedy once again reminds us that water and an electrical appliance connected to the mains are incompatible.”

“The same applies to any mobile device. If you drown a smartphone, the worst thing is its failure,” it added. “But when it is connected to the network, we see what the consequences are,” the agency added.

This is yet another chilling story that should make us more cautious in the way we handle our smartphones and electrical appliances in general. It is the latest of a number of such fatalities that have been reported in Russia. Back in August, a 15-year-old schoolgirl identified as Anna K died in Moscow after suffering an electric shock in her bath. Also, renowned poker star Liliya Novikova was electrocuted last year in her bathroom while using an hairdryer.

UP NEXT: Exclusive: Xiaomi Mi 11 scheduled for December 29 launch

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G Snapdragon version scores lower than Exynos variant in DxOMark test

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Dec 16, 2020

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G has just been reviewed again by known camera reviewing brand DxOMark. The tests have revealed that the company’s flagship Snapdragon version has scored lower than its Exynos variant.

Looking at the scores, the Snapdragon version that got reviewed recently scored 117 points in the DxOMark camera test while the Exynos variant scored 120 points when put through the same tests. The score had the handset receive 119 points for its photography, 75 for its zoom, and 103 points for its video recording. DxOMark noted that while the device offered “competent” performance with good “photographic versatility,” it is still not as impressive as the smartphones on the top of its rankings.

Talking about score, the firm found that it offered vivid colors in most images, with good details in both indoor and outdoor shots. It even praised the device’s bokeh mode and depth estimation, while its long range zoom pictures also retained high levels of details. The stabilization on videos was also quite effective and the white balance was neutral for both indoor and outdoor videos as well. Unfortunately, the flagship suffered from various instances of instability in autofocus both during videos and photos.

Night scenes or other low light scenarios had the device struggle, with noise being noticeable in most images. Furthermore, DxOMark also found a number of inconsistencies in performance while capturing videos, especially in terms of sharpness in between frames while walking. While the Exynos and Snapdragon variants offer comparable performance, the firm still preferred the the former over the latter, due to its more erratic autofocus performance and higher levels of noise.

Samsung Galaxy S21 press render leaks online showcasing the front panel

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Dec 16, 2020

Samsung is gearing up to launch its next-generation Galaxy S-series flagship smartphones — Galaxy S21. This time, the company is expected to launch the devices a couple of months earlier, most likely around 14th January.

Now, ahead of the official launch of the Galaxy S21 lineup, Evan Blass has shared the render of the upcoming Galaxy S21 5G smartphone, showcasing the device’s front panel.

Just looking at the front side, there is nothing that differentiates the smartphone from its predecessor, Galaxy S20. It features a punch-hole cutout on top of the screen, right in the middle, housing the front-facing snapper.

Evan Blass says that the real design changes are on the back panel of the smartphone. He has promised more leaks related to the Samsung Galaxy S21 lineup ahead of the official launch, which should reveal more information about the phone’s design.

EDITOR’S PICK: Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 678 SoC; CPU gets a minor boost over Snapdragon 675

Recently, M Roh, the President and Head of Samsung’s mobile division, almost confirmed that the Galaxy S21 lineup will be the first non-Galaxy Note series from the South Korean giant to have S-Pen support. However, it is likely to be limited to Galaxy S21 Ultra.

The upcoming flagship smartphones will come powered by either Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset or the company’s own Samsung Exynos 2100 SoC. Recently, the Galaxy S21 Ultra powered by the Exynos 2100, which is set for India and Europe region, was spotted on Geekbench with 12GB RAM and Android 11 operating system.

Huawei releases HarmonyOS 2.0 Developer Beta version for smartphones

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Dec 16, 2020

Huawei first unveiled the HarmonyOS 2.0 (also known as Hongmeng OS 2.0) at the Huawei Developer Conference 2020. The tech giant has today officially announced the release of the developer beta version of the new ROM targeted at app developers.

According to Wang Chenglu, president of Huawei’s consumer BG software department, this year, Midea, Joyoung, Boss Electronics, and Puffin Technology have all released products that run on Hongmeng OS. The tech giant’s goal in 2021 is to cover more than 100 million devices from 40+ mainstream brands.

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HarmonyOS was conceived originally for the Internet of Everything, with a better experience and more adaptations. For instance, with HarmonyOS, JD’s app can run on TVs, even refrigerators, and other screen-equipped devices. Thus, hundreds of millions of devices including cars equipped with a smart screen can run the JD app or any other app. This opens up several possibilities like allowing payment portals such as UnionPay to be accessed using multi-devices like PC, TV, etc.

At present, the beta version public test recruitment activities have been rolled out and developers and partners can apply to participate for free. However, it is open to just the Mate 40 series and Huawei P40 series as well as the MatePad Pro tablet.

Starting from today (December 16), Huawei will provide developers with two ways to get the beta version on the selected devices. Developers can use the remote simulator in Huawei DevEco Studio by downloading the DevEco Studio 2.0 Beta3 version from the HarmonyOS official website to get it. Alternatively, they can use the exclusive OTA to upgrade their device. First, you have to register and when approved, you will then receive the official Huawei public beta invitation email. According to the email content guidelines, you can get OTA push.

Here are the complete mobile phones and tablet models that the HarmonyOS mobile phone beta supports in China.

For mobile phones, there is the Huawei P40 full Netcom (5G dual card), as well as the P40 Pro Full Netcom version. Others include the Huawei Mate 30, Mate 30(5G), Mate 30 Pro, Mate 30 Pro(5G), the model list is ANA-AN00, ELS-AN00, TAS-AL00, TAS- AN00, LIO-AL00, LIO-AN00.
Tablet: Huawei MatePad Pro Full Netcom version, Full Netcom version (5G), WIFI version. The model list is MRX-AL19, MRX-W09, MRX-AN19.

The company adds that we can expect smartphones running on HarmonyOS in 2021. You can get more details about the schedule on the Huawei developer’s website.

UP NEXT: The Galaxy S21 is coming in January with S Pen support, Samsung confirms

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra with Exynos 2100 and 12GB RAM for India and European markets spotted

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Dec 16, 2020

The Samsung Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra are now officially confirmed to debut in January. The Galaxy S21 Ultra is expected to debut as the first S-series smartphone with S Pen support. Ahead of the rumored Jan. 14 launch, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has appeared on Geekbench (via) with the Exynos 2100 chipset.

Recent reports have revealed that the Samsung Galaxy S21 trio heading to markets like the U.S. and South Korea will be driven by the Snapdragon 888 chipset. India and European markets are expected to get the Exynos 2100 powered S21 editions. At Geekbench 5, the Galaxy S21 Ultra (mentioned with SM-G998B model number) has been spotted with the Exynos 2100 SoC, 12 GB of RAM, and Android 11 OS. The listing states that the yet to be announced chipset has a base frequency of 2.21GHz.

Editor’s Pick: Samsung’s big announcement wasn’t the Exynos 2100 but a short film

While the performance of the Exynos 2100 powered device appears to be better than the Snapdragon 888 powered S21, readers should know that the S21 models benchmarked at Geekbench are unfinished prototypes. Recent reports have revealed that the Exynos 2100 is equipped with a Cortex-X1 core clocking at 2.91GHz, a 3 x Cortex-A78 cores ticking at 2.81GHz, and 4-Cortex-A55 efficiency cores working at 2.21GHz. The SoC is also said to include a Mali-G78 GPU.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G render by Letsgodigital

Last week, a tipster had claimed that the Exynos 2100 will consume far less power than the Exynos 990 predecessor chip. The Cortex-A78 and Cortex-A55 cores offer faster performance than their counterparts found in the Snapdragon 888 SoC. This may allow the Exynos 2100 to offer marginally better performance than the SD888. Samsung is expected to unleash the Exynos 2100 before the end of this month. It is only then a good comparison can be done between the two chipsets.

Vivo X60, X60 Pro camera specs emerge in a new leak

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Dec 16, 2020

Vivo is likely to announce the Vivo X60, X60 Pro, and X60 Pro+ smartphones on Dec. 28 in China. Like the predecessor Vivo X50 series, the Vivo X60 models are expected to deliver a stellar photography experience. Ahead of the official announcement, a reliable tipster from China has shared the camera configurations of the Vivo X60 trio.

According to the tipster, the Vivo X60 will have a triple camera system led by a 48-megapixel main camera with an f/1.6 aperture. It will be accompanied by a 13-megapixel superwide lens, and a 13-megapixel portrait camera.

The Vivo X60 Pro has a quad-camera setup featuring a 48-megapixel main camera, a 13-megapixel superwide lens, a 13-megapixel portrait sensor, and an additional 8-megapixel periscope zoom lens that will bring support for 5x optical zoom and up to 60x digital zoom.

Also, the Vivo X60 Pro’s main camera gets an f/1.48 aperture for the main camera. The Vivo X60 and X60 Pro will feature the second-generation micro-gimbal stabilization powered by ZEISS optics.

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Coming to the Vivo X60 Pro+, it is expected to sport an L-shaped camera setup. However, he did not share the configurations of the camera sensors. He added that the Vivo X60 Pro+ will have a centered punch-hole display like the X60 and X60 Pro. It will be driven by the Snapdragon 888v mobile platform, whereas the X60 and X60 Pro will be equipped with the Exynos 1080 chipset.

The Vivo X60 trio is likely to arrive with support for up to 120Hz refresh rate and 33W fast charging. The X60 series will be the first Vivo phones to arrive with OriginOS flavored Android 11 OS. It is speculated that the V2059A, V2047A, and V2046A Vivo phones that were recently approved by the 3C authority of China could be the upcoming X60 series smartphones.

Leaked render gives closer look at Nova 8 series rear cameras, details emerge

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Dec 16, 2020

Huawei will be announcing the Huawei Nova 8 series of smartphones on Dec. 23. The upcoming unveiling event could see the arrival of the Nova 8 and Nova 8 Pro smartphones. Leaked posters that surfaced yesterday revealed that the front and rear design of the Huawei Nova 8 Pro. The handset was seen with a unique quad-camera setup that is housed inside an oval-shaped module. A leaked render that gives a closer at the rear camera system of the Nova 8 series smartphone has surfaced on Twitter. The leakster who shared the render also revealed the camera configurations of the Nova 8 series phone.

As it can be seen in the image below, the camera module of the upcoming Nova 8 series smartphone features a main camera at the top. The other three cameras and an LED flash unit are placed below the main lens.

64+8+2+2 pic.twitter.com/ce7QxFlFhL

— Teme (特米)😷 (@RODENT950) December 15, 2020

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The new leak claims that the camera setup includes a 64-megapixel main camera, 8-megapixel lens, and a pair of 2-megapixel cameras, probably for macro shots and adding depth effects. The Huawei Nova 8 SE that debuted last month came with the same camera setup. A recent leak had revealed that the Nova 8 and Nova 8 Pro will have an identical camera setup.

The predecessor Huawei Nova 7 and Nova 7 Pro smartphones came with different cameras. The Nova 7 came with a quad-camera setup featuring a 48-megapixel main shooter, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens, a 2-megapixel macro camera, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. On the other side, the quad-camera setup of the Nova 7 Pro featured a 64-megapixel main shooter, an 8-megapixel periscope telephoto lens, an 8-megaipxel ultrawide lens, and a 2-megapixel macro lens. It can be assumed based on recent reports that all the phones in the Nova 8 series may carry identical camera setup.

Alleged iQOO 7 (V2049A) spotted with 120W charger at 3C

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Dec 16, 2020

A mysterious 5G phone has appeared in the database of the 3C authority of China with a 120W charger. A reliabe tipster has speculated that this device could be the alleged iQOO 7 flagship phone, which is expected to debut in early 2021.

The 3C listing reveals that the Vivo Mobile Communications Co. Ltd has a new 5G phone for the Chinese markets. The model number of the device is V2049A and it has been spotted with a charger that has a model number of V12060L0C0-CN. The new charger supports charging rates such as 9V/2A, 11V/2A, 11V/3A, 20V/5A, and 20V/6A Hence, the newly spotted V2049A smartphone is likely to support up to 120W fast charging.

While the listing does not directly carry the iQOO branding, a well-known Chinese tipster has speculated that this device could be the iQOO 7. It is not the first time that an iQOO phone has been spotted with the 120W V12060L0C0-CN charger. The iQOO 5 Pro that debuted in August came with support for 120W superfast charging. According to the company, the 120W charger can fully charge iQOO 5 Pro’s 4,000mAh battery in just 15 minutes.

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The tipster who spotted the 3C listing had recently shared a few details of the upcoming iQOO flagship. The tipster claimed that the next iQOO flagship will be equipped with the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform. The iQOO 5 Pro featured a curved edge display, but its successor is likely to arrive with a flat-screen. He revealed that it may come with a slightly larger battery as compared to the iQOO 5 Pro.

The other specs of the iQOO 7 could be the same as the iQOO 5 Pro. Hence, it is likely to arrive with a 50-megapixel triple camera system and a 16-megapixel selfie snapper. It may arrive preloaded with iQOO UI / Origin OS flavored Android 11 OS.

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