As China is gearing up to become self-reliant in the chipset manufacturing sector and reduce its reliance on other countries, Chinese giant Huawei Technologies has reached a milestone in that direction.
A report reveals that Huawei’s first domestic chip manufacturing factory, called Wuhan Huawei Optical Factory Project (Phase II), has officially completed construction. The project is said to be spread across 208,900 sq. mt. and is located in Wuhan Optics Vallery Center.
This is also Huawei’s largest Research & Development base in China’s central region. It includes FAB Production Plant, CUB Power Station, PMD Software Factory, and some other supporting facilities. It will also sever as the company’s internal optical capability center, smart terminal R&D center, and some other cutting-edge technologies.
Once the project is completed, it will start the production work as Huawei’s first chip manufacturing factory in China. This will enable the Chinese giant to have a complete semiconductor industrial chain — from chip design to manufacturing, to testing and packaging, which is a rare feat.
But it seems that this won’t be the only such facility from Huawei. As per another report, the company is planning to have another chipset factory in Shanghai and will be managed by a Shanghai-based R&D company on behalf of Huawei.
Although the chipset factory is being set up, it won’t be able to compete with the current leaders. Huawei will start making 45nm chips next year and will progress to 28nm chipsets by 2022. This is nowhere near 5nm chipsets being launched nowadays that powers the premium flagship smartphones.
The development comes after the United States government imposed sanctions on Huawei and barred the company from procuring chipset or any technology that is made in the US. With the supply of necessary components halted, Huawei decided to focus on becoming self-reliant to keep the business afloat.
Demand for Smart TVs has been rising for the past few years. While more and more companies are entering this category, South Korean giant Samsung has managed to hold down its strong position in the market.
Most of the Smart TVs launching in the market are powered by Android TV with the company’s own custom interface on top, or they are using software like Roku or Amazon’s Fire TV. But Samsung is using its own Tizen OS, which is based on Linux.
Now, thanks to the strong sale of Samsung TVs, Tizen OS has been ranked as the world’s largest streaming TV platform. This is mostly due to the company’s TV sales in the third quarter of this year.
As per the report from Strategy Analytics, Tizen OS accounted for 12.5 percent of the connected TV devices in use, ahead of other platforms such as WebOS from LG, Sony PlayStation, Roku TV OS, Amazon Fire TV OS, and Google’s Android TV.
It also revealed that Samsung managed to sell 11.8 million Smart TVs worldwide in Q3 2020, which represents the best-ever quarter by Samsung so far and no other manufacturer has reached this level.
The numbers indicate that Samsung’s Tizen OS for Smart TVs is now being used in more than 155 million units, representing a rise of 23 percent when compared to last year.
Samsung has been trying to monetize its Tizen OS platform and with the rising number of users, it will be interesting to see how the South Korean giant manages to monetize the platform and keep the users happy.
Gizmochina along with Oukitel is conducting an Oukitel WP10 phone as a giveaway gift to a lucky reader. Like always, you just have to follow the steps mentioned on the Gleam widget to get a chance to win this amazing gift.
Oukitel WP10 is a rugged phone with 5G supported, and it’s available on the official shop for $399.99. This price tag is in the same ballpark as the price of CAT S52 which was released by CAT around the same time last year.
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HMD Global is expected to soon launch its budget smartphone named Nokia 5.4 in the market. Ahead of the launch, the phone has been leaked a few times and now its full specifications have surfaced online.
The leak reveals that the phone will feature a 6.39-inch HD+ IPS LCD display offering a screen resolution of 1520 x 720 pixels. An earlier leak related to the device had revealed that it will come with a punch-hole cutout for the front-facing camera.
It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 chipset, along with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. There’s also a microSD card slot, allowing users to further expand the storage capacity up to 256GB.
As for the camera configuration, it is said that the phone will be featuring a quad-camera setup on the back, consisting of a 48-megapixel primary sensor, a 5-megapixel ultra-wide lens, a 2-megapixel macro lens, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor.
On the front side, there will be a 16-megapixel selfie snapper. It is expected to be running the Android 10 operating system out-of-the-box and powered by a 4,000mAh battery. As of now, the phone’s fast-charging capacity is unknown but it’s likely to be 10W or 18W.
There will be a fingerprint sensor on the phone, likely mounted on the back panel, as a security feature. The report also notes that the device will be made available in two color options — Blue and Purple.
Recently, the phone was certified by FCC, along with a couple of other models, indicating that the official launch shouldn’t be far away. While the company has not yet confirmed this, we expect the phone to go official in the coming weeks.
A couple of months ago, China-based smartphone maker Smartisan had launched its flagship smartphone in its home country, dubbed Smartisan Nut R2. While the Black and Green color models were made available for purchase soon after the official launch, the company is now finally all set to sell the White color variant.
At the time of launch, the company had said that it plans to produce only 2,000 limited editions of White color. It comes packed with 16GB RAM and 512GB of internal storage, for a price of 6,499 yuan which roughly converts to $995.
The Smartisan Nut R2 features a 6.67-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a screen resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels, along with a 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch latency. Under the hood, the device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC.
As said, it comes packed with up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage, making it one of the few phones to have such high memory configuration. The phone is running Smartisan OS 8.0 which is based on the Android operating system.
Coming to the camera department, it sports a quad-camera setup on the back that includes a 108-megapixel primary sensor, an 8-megapixel telephoto lens, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a 5-megapixel macro lens.
The camera configuration offers support for 3x optical zoom and 30x hybrid zoom, and 8K time-lapse photography. On the front side, it features a 20-megapixel snapper, taking care of the selfie and video calling needs.
It also has support for dual-mode 5G connectivity, along with Wi-Fi 6 and NFC. It comes with stereo speakers and DTS audio. There’s also a new slider button on the side that can quickly put the phone in silent mode. The smartphone is powered by a 4,510mAh battery that supports 55W fast charging technology.
This year in February, Xiaomi announced the Xiaomi Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro smartphones in China. Rumors are rife that the Xiaomi Mi 11 series will be earlier than its predecessor. Last week, Qualcomm unleashed the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform. Soon after it was unveiled, it was claimed that the Chinese brand will reportedly take off the covers from the Xiaomi Mi 11 series later this month. Today, the alleged batteries of the Mi 11 lineup were found listed in the database of the 3C platform.
In the screenshot shown below, two batteries for forthcoming Xiaomi phones have bagged 3C certifications. The rated value of the first battery is 2,845mAh and the rated capacity of the second one is 2,390mAh.
The Xiaomi Mi 10 series debuted with 30W fast charging technology. The tipster has claimed that the Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro will be powered by dual-cell batteries to carry support, which will bring faster-charging capabilities on both phones. The total rated value of the Mi 11’s battery could be 4,780mAh and the total rated size could be 4,970mAh. This suggests that the typical battery capacities of both phones could be around 5,000mAh.
The tipster has speculated that the Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro will carry support for 55W rapid charging. If this turns out to be true, the Mi 11 duo may charge completely in around 35 minutes.
Xiaomi Mi 11 render by Benjamin Geskin
The Xiaomi Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro could be debuting as the world’s first flagship phones powered by the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform. Also, the Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro could be the first flagship smartphones from Xiaomi to arrive with support for Quad HD+ resolution as well as a 120Hz refresh rate. Recent reports have revealed that the Mi 11 duo will have a horizontal camera.
The OPPO Reno3 4G and Reno3 Pro 4G loth launched in March of this year with ColorOS 7 based on Android 10. The two phones are powered by MediaTek’s Helio P90 and Helio P95 processors respectively and are sold in several countries. According to the official ColorOS global account, these two phones will receive the ColorOS 11 update which is based on Android 11 this week.
The updates will begin to roll out from Saturday, December 12 in the following countries: Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Nigeria, Egypt, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Algeria, Tunisia, Kenya, and Singapore. Owners of the Reno3 4G in Russia and Kazakhstan will have to wait until December 30 before they get the update.
The poster also reveals that the ColorOS 11 update will be available for the Reno4 5G in Australia starting December 16 while the OPPO A72 will get the update on the same day in Kazakhstan.
Starting 24th of December, Reno4 4G and Reno4 Pro 4G users in Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan, and India will get the update while Reno4 Pro 4G users in Kazakhstan will begin to receive the update on December 29.
With the new update, users get more customization options that cover icons, wallpapers, ringtones, and Always-on Display styles (AOD). ColorOS 11 also brings new features such as optimized night charging which reduces the charging speed at night to reduce overcharging; three-finger translate which allows you to translate just a part of the screen; FlexDrop – a feature that allows you use to use an app in a floating window for better multitasking.
OPPO also plans to release the stable version of the update for users of the Find X2 Pro series, the Find X2, the Reno 4 Lite, and the Reno3 in Europe this month.
OPPO’s Reno5 series launches this week in China. All models that will be unveiled in the country will have support for 5G, but there will be a 4G version of the Reno5 for global markets. This 4G version has received its certification in a number of countries already, and now some of its key specs have been revealed.
According to a tweet by TheLeaks, the Reno5 4G will have a 6.43-inch FHD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate. OPPO will ship it with a Snapdragon 720G processor just like the Reno4 4G that launched in July. We expect it to come with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
The leak says the phone will have four rear cameras – a 64MP primary camera, an 8MP camera which should have an ultrawide angle lens, and two 2MP sensors. The front camera is a single 44MP sensor. Those who didn’t find the 2MP depth sensor that accompanied the 32MP main selfie camera of the Reno4 4G should be pleased.
The Reno5 4G will pack a 4310mAh battery with support for 50W fast charging, a significant bump from the 30W fast charging of its predecessor. The phone will have a plastic frame and also have a plastic back.
realme 7 Pro with 1st gen SuperVOOC 50W, 90Hz refresh rate, different color and 44MP selfie cam https://t.co/JsnkNsB77e
Vietnamese leaker, Chun, corroborates the leak and even adds his own info. His tweet says the Reno5 4G is practically a realme 7 Pro with OPPO’s first gen SuperVOOC (50W) fast charging technology with a different color and a 44MP camera. Based on this info, the Reno5 4G should have a punch hole at the top left of its screen for the selfie camera.
OPPO is yet to announce a launch date for the Reno5 4G but there is a chance it will launch before the year runs out.
Gionee has a new smartphone coming and it has appeared on TENAA. The phone has a modern design but packs an outdated version of Android which may make it unappealing to buyers.
The Gionee GSE1020 has a 6.53-inch 1560 x 720 HD+ display with a waterdrop notch at the top of the screen for the front-facing camera. An unnamed 2.0GHz octa-core processor powers it along with 6GB or 8GB of RAM. The phone will be available in two storage configurations – a 128GB storage option and another with 256GB of storage. You also get a MicroSD card slot for adding up to an extra 256GB of storage space.
The cookie-shaped camera housing on the back of the phone is home to three cameras and an LED flash but the listing says there are only two cameras. The spec sheet mentions a fingerprint scanner which can be seen on the left side of the phone.
The Gionee GSE1020 runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat which is really outdated considering the latest version is Android 11. There is a 4000mAh battery inside the phone but there is no mention of fast charging support.
TENAA says the phone will be available for Rose Gold, Amber Gold, Magic Night Black, Starry Sky Blue, and Black Stone Green. The phone weighs 204.2 grams and measures 164.3 x 77.7 x 9.7 millimeters.
When it comes to the mid-range segment, one of the most popular devices in the Asian market is the OPPO F17 Pro. There are several reasons for its success and they include the fact that it is one of the thinnest and lightweight devices of the year. But a lot of people do not know that there could be better choices for their needs. Given the huge success it had, we decided to compare the F17 Pro to its main competitor from BBK Electronics in the same price segment. For this comparison, we chose the Vivo V20 and the Realme 7 because they offer very interesting specifications at a similar price.
OPPO F17 Pro vs Vivo V20 vs Realme 7
OPPO F17 Pro
Vivo V20
Realme 7
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT
160.1 x 73.8 x 7.5 mm, 164 g
161.3 x 74.2 x 7.4 mm, 171 g
160.9 x 74.4 x 8.1 mm, 175 g
DISPLAY
6.43 inches, 1080 x 2400p (Full HD+), Super AMOLED
As mentioned above, the OPPO F17 Pro is one of the thinnest and most lightweight devices of the year. But there is another device with similar specifications which is as thin as the OPPO F17 Pro and it even has a similar weight: the Vivo V20. At first glance, the F17 Pro may look slightly more attractive thanks to its punch-hole display and great color variants, but the Vivo V20 has better materials, including a glass back. With polycarbonate, you get more resistance, but a glass back is definitely more elegant. The Realme 7 is thick and heavier, so it loses the design comparison. Further, it has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, while on the Vivo V20 and the F17 Pro, you get an in-display fingerprint reader.
Display
The OPPO F17 Pro and the Vivo V20 offer superior displays if compared to the Realme 7. We are talking about AMOLED panels, and not a simple IPS display. The OPPO F17 Pro has the best panel, offering a higher brightness and Super AMOLED technology. But the Vivo V20 remains a great handset in terms of the display if we consider its affordable price. The Realme 7 lacks an AMOLED display, but it has a 90 Hz refresh rate. As mentioned above, the F17 Pro and Vivo V20 sport an in-display biometric sensor for more comfortable authentication.
Hardware/Software
The Vivo V20 provides the best hardware department. It is fueled by the Snapdragon 720G mobile platform built at 8 nm and paired with 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of internal storage. We give the silver medal to the Realme 7 packing a Mediatek Helio G95 processor and 8 GB of RAM. OPPO F17 Pro is weaker with its Helio P95 and 8 GB RAM. The max amount of native storage you can get with Realme 7 and OPPO F17 Pro is 128 GB. Realme 7 and OPPO F17 Pro run Android 10 out of the box, while Vivo V20 is based on Android 11.
Camera
Despite it comes with a lower amount of sensors, the Vivo V20 has the best main camera on the rear side, with a 64 MP resolution. Further, it has a better selfie camera with an awesome 44 MP resolution. The Vivo V20 wins the camera phone comparison. OPPO F17 Pro comes right after with the same 48 MP quad camera as the Realme 7, but it has a better front camera department including a dual 16 + 2 MP front camera. If we only consider the rear side, with Realme 7 and the OPPO F17 Pro you get exactly the same camera specifications, so the shots should not be so different. Even the software is similar, so whatever you choose, you get a decent and similar camera quality.
Battery
The battery life champion of this trio is the Realme 7 simply because it packs a bigger battery. Its components are less efficient compared to the Vivo V20, but it still lasts more because it packs a big 5000 mAh battery. You get only 4000 mAh with the Vivo V20 and the OPPO F17 Pro, but you can charge the Vivo V20 faster thanks to the 33W fast charging technology.
Price
Realme 7 is priced at Rs. 14,999 ($200) in India in its base configuration with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of native storage, OPPO F17 Pro has a listing price of Rs. 25,990 ($352) in the configuration with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage and Vivo V20 costs Rs. 24,990 ($338) in the same memory configuration. If you are looking for the longest battery life, then Realme 7 is a better phone for you. But the OPPO F17 Pro and the Vivo V20 offer an AMOLED display! Vivo V20 has a better hardware department and better cameras than OPPO F17 Pro. Further, it offers Android 11 out of the box. Despite the huge popularity of the OPPO F17 Pro, my personal choice would be Vivo V20 because its value for money is slightly higher and it has slightly better specifications. I would not choose the Realme 7 due to its IPS display, but it can let you save a lot of money.
If you want a foldable phone that folds vertically, you have only two options – the Galaxy Z Flip line from Samsung or the Razr line from Motorola. We have seen other manufacturers patent phones with a similar design, but none other than the aforementioned two brands have one that you can buy right away. Now, an OPPO patent has surfaced that shows the Chinese manufacturer’s take on a vertically folding phone.
The patent was filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and was approved and published on September 3. According to the documents, the foldable phone uses a rotating hinge with gears that allows the phone to be fixed at up to four different angles.
Renders made by LetsGoDigital based on the patent images show that OPPO’s foldable phone doesn’t have a cover display. This means when you fold the phone, you can’t see who is calling or what notification you just received until you unfold it. This is a striking difference from other foldable phones in the market which have a smaller display on the outside. On the other hand, the main display is more conventional, as it has a centered punch hole.
1 of 4
OPPO Flip Phone Patent
OPPO Flip Phone Patent
OPPO Flip Phone Patent
OPPO Flip Phone Patent
The renders show the OPPO device with three rear cameras even though the patent diagrams don’t reveal the number of cameras it has. However, OPPO is not one to shy away from loading its phones with cameras, so the chance of its first foldable phone having a single rear camera is pretty slim. The cameras are more than that of the Galaxy Z Flip and Motorola Razr which have two and one rear camera respectively. The sensors are also arranged in a fashion that reminds us of the Galaxy S10 Plus.
A patent doesn’t mean that a phone is on the way as we have heard no news of OPPO’s plan to launch a foldable smartphone next year. Nevertheless, it is time for a Chinese brand to make its entry into the vertically folding smartphone category.
Update: Evan Blass has also shared photos of the Phantom Silver color variant of the Galaxy Buds Pro. The images have been added to the post below.
Beginning last year, Samsung‘s new tradition is to launch its TWS earbuds alongside its new flagship phones. The Galaxy Buds were announced alongside the Galaxy S10 series; the Galaxy Buds+ made its debut with the Galaxy S20 series, and the Galaxy Buds Live launched on the same day as the Galaxy Note20 series. Next year’s Galaxy S21 series will also come with a new pair of TWS earbuds that will launch as the Galaxy Buds Pro.
Ahead of its launch, the popular leaker, Evan Blass (@evleaks) has given us a first look at the new Samsung earphones. The images show the earbuds in violet and Phantom Silver along with a matching case.
With respect to design, Samsung has slightly deviated from the design of the Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds+. The Galaxy Buds Pro still has silicone tips to keep the sounds in but the body is now more rounded. There is a microphone at the top and a grille at the bottom of each earbud.
It has been reported that the new earbuds will feature active noise cancellation, so there is a possibility that the grille is housing more microphones. Samsung has also ditched the pill-shaped case of the previous models for a case similar to that of the bean-shaped Galaxy Buds Live. There is an LED in front of the case which should light up when charging it. Just like the case of the Buds Live, this too should support USB-C and wireless charging.
An FCC listing has revealed that the case of the new earbuds packs a 500mAh battery capacity which is significantly larger than the 270mAh battery capacity of the Galaxy Buds+’ case. This means users should be able to get a significant increase in total playback time/talk time.
The Galaxy Buds Pro will launch alongside the Galaxy S21 series which has been reported to arrive in January by some leaks while another report said the phones will not launch until February.
The year 2020 lived up to expectations as the year of 5G with 5G phones proliferating beyond flagship models into the affordable mid-range segment. Also, most of the processors released this year by the major chip makers were integrated with a 5G modem. However foldable phones did not experience the same level of proliferation, mainly due to the fact that it is still an expensive venture and the durability is still not awesome. However, OEMs seem to be progressing to another foldable form factor – Rollable displays.
Looks like we’ll be seeing more rollable display packing phones in 2021 even though we can’t say if they will progress beyond concept phones. An LG rollable phone has reportedly been listed on the database of South Korea’s carrier Intranet. According to the Twitter leaker @Cozyplanes, the device is currently registered in the Korean operator’s internal database. The model of the device is LM-RN910N, while the unlocked model carries the model number OMD-LM-R910N.
Earlier rumors reveal that the specifications of LG’s rollable phone include a 7.4-inch expandable screen with a resolution of 2428×1080 pixels (20:9), a video mode of 2428×1366 pixels (16:9), and a productivity mode of 2428×1600 pixels (3: 2).
EXCLUSIVE#LG#Rollable has been registered in South Korea's carrier intranet (database)
Further, the LG Rollable is rumored to pack a 4200mAh battery and will be powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 888 processor paired with 16GB of RAM. So don’t expect it to be a cheap phone.
The Twitter tipster @Cozyplanes also revealed details about how the device works. The device will expand on both sides, increasing the screen size by up to 100%. However, the top frame will not expand with the device. According to reports, LG will add a flexible frame that can be expanded to cover the exposed edge of the screen, and then retracted when the phone is closed. The phone will also have a locking device to prevent accidental deployment and prevent the screen from scrolling too fast, which can cause wrinkles on the screen.
LG is not the only company that is developing a mobile phone with a scrollable display. Samsung and TCL join OPPO on the list of OEMs that have applied for patents for smartphones with a scrolling display. Thus, we may certainly see a few more designs from others soon.
Nokia Mobile China has a launch event on Monday, December 7. Posters on its Weibo page show that the product launching on that day is the Nokia BH-405 earbuds. We know that name doesn’t sound familiar but it is actually the same earbuds as the Nokia Power Earbuds Lite. We are as surprised as you are as to why it is going by its model number in China and not its global product name.
The TWS earbuds were announced back in September alongside the Nokia 2.4 and Nokia 3.4 as a more affordable version of the 2019 Nokia Power Earbuds. They come in three color variants as seen in the poster above.
Each earbud of the Nokia BH-405 has a 6mm graphene driver. Combined with the case, they weigh 48.4 grams. They connect via Bluetooth 5.0, have an IPX7 rating – water-resistant for up to 30 minutes in 1m of water.
The Nokia BH-405 will last up to 5 hours on a single charge, but with the charging case, you get an additional 30 hours of battery life. This is a budget pair of TWS earbuds, so there is no wireless charging. Nevertheless, you get a USB-C port for charging
The earbuds support touch controls, so you can tap, long press, or double-tap to control playback, answer/reject calls, or call up the assistant on your phone. The earbuds will ship with three different sizes of ear tips.
The Nokia Power Earbuds have a price tag of €60 but we expect it to sell for less in China.
The Nokia 6300 4G and Nokia 8000 4G launched last month as HMD Global’s latest feature phones. The former is a remake of an old classic while the latter is a new model of a series from the old Nokia days. Now both devices are about to launch in China.
HMD Global is yet to announce a launch date for the two phones but it should not be far off seeing as they have both been spotted on the database of China’s TENAA. The phones are listed on TENAA as the Nokia TA-1311 and Nokia TA-1287 and they both run KaiOS (version 2.5.4.1, the operating system Nokia ships with its feature phones.
The Nokia 6300 4G has a 2.4-inch display that is powered by a 1500mAh removable battery. It has a Snapdragon 210 processor under the polycarbonate body, 512MB RAM, and 4GB of storage that can be expanded via a microSD card slot. The phone also has a VGA camera and a rear flashlight that doubles as the LED for the camera. Other features include FM radio, GPS, Bluetooth, dual SIM support, and an audio jack. The global version has Google Assistant on-board but we don’t expect the Chinese version to have that.
The Nokia 8000 4G, on the other hand, has a 2.8-inch 240 x 320 screen but the same Snapdragon 210 processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of storage. It has a 2MP rear camera and a flash. Its battery capacity is also 1500mAh and it is removable too. The TENAA listing says the phone will be available in China in Black, Blue, Gold, and White, the same colors the global version comes in.
The lower mid-range segment is actually one of the most interesting ones for those who want to get an excellent smartphone for daily use at a very affordable price. And since Xiaomi launched the POCO M3, the lower-midrange segment is even more interesting. As we always do, we found the best competitors of the POCO M3 in order to give you a specs comparison which could let you choose the best handset for your needs. And we believe the best rivals of the POCO M3 for most of the users are the OPPO F17 and the Realme 7i. Note that OPPO F17 is known as the OPPO A73 in select markets. Here is a comparison between their specifications.
Xiaomi POCO M3 vs OPPO F17 vs Realme 7i
Xiaomi POCO M3
OPPO F17
Realme 7i
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT
162.3 x 77.3 x 9.6 mm, 198 g
159.8 x 72.8 x 7.5 mm, 163 g
164.1 x 75.5 x 8.9 mm, 188 g
DISPLAY
6.53 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), IPS LCD
6.44 inches, 1080 x 2400p (Full HD+), Super AMOLED
Each of these devices comes with a cheap design consisting of a polycarbonate body instead of the glass back and aluminum frames you can get on premium phones. The winner of the design comparison is the OPPO F17 not exactly for its look, but for its dimensions. It is very thin, very lightweight, and compact. It is one of the thinnest devices out there and it is easier to use with one hand and to keep in a pocket. That is why I prefer it when it comes to aesthetics. Unlike its rivals, it has an in-display fingerprint reader making its design cleaner.
Display
Besides the best design, with the OPPO F17, you also get the best display. In case you do not know, the OPPO F17 alias A73 is one of the most affordable smartphones equipped with an AMOLED display. It shows brilliant colors, deep blacks, it supports the Always On mode and it has an in-display fingerprint scanner. If you just do not like the OPPO F17, you could go for the Realme 7i as it features a 90 Hz refresh rate, but you would get a lower HD+ resolution. The POCO M3 lacks a high refresh rate and it has an IPS display just like the Realme 7i, but its resolution is Full HD+.
Hardware/Software
The most powerful hardware departments belong to the OPPO F17 and Realme 7i offering the same components. All the phones are fueled by the Snapdragon 662 mobile platform, but the POCO M3 has just 4 GB of RAM. With the most expensive configurations of the Realme 7i and the OPPO F17, you get 8 GB of RAM. These phones run Android 10 out of the box and all of them will be updated to Android 11 as they hitten the shelves in the second half of 2020.
Camera
The camera is the strongest point of the Realme 7i. The handset packs a quad camera including a 64 MP main sensor like more expensive mid-rangers, an 8 MP ultrawide camera, and a pair of 2 MP sensors for macro and depth. The second place goes to the POCO M3 packing a 48 MP triple camera, but it has an inferior front camera to OPPO F17 and Realme 7i. The main sensor of OPPO F17 is not that good, but you get the best front camera.
Battery
The best battery phone of this trio is the POCO M3 because it packs a huge 6000 mAh battery. It is able to last up to three days with moderate usage. Right after, we got the Realme 7i with a 5000 mAh battery. Unfortunately, the battery of the OPPO F17 has a capacity of just 4015 mAh, but it is still a good battery phone due to its efficient components. Further, OPPO F17 supports the faster 30W charging technology.
Price
The price of the POCO M3 starts from less than €124/$150 (still not released in India), while Realme 7i begins at 150€/$182. You need about €190/$230 for the OPPO F17. I cannot pick a definitive winner of this comparison. OPPO F17 is the most interesting due to its thinner and lighter design, AMOLED display, faster charging, but not necessarily the best. POCO M3 has a way longer battery life, while Realme 7i has a way better camera and 90 Hz, but the display is HD+.
if the rumors are true, then the Galaxy S21 series should arrive next month. While folks are excited, their arrival may bring bad news for owners of certain Samsung wearables, as they won’t be compatible with the new phones.
Samsung Gear 2
The news which was first reported by GalaxyClub, says the info came via a notification in the Samsung Members app which said that older Gear wearables will not work with phones released in 2021. Below is the list of the wearables:
Gear1
Gear2
Gear2 Neo
Gear S
Gear Fit
The above-listed devices were launched between 2013 and 2014, which makes them at least 6 years old, so it is understandable why Samsung is ending their support next year.
These wearables will not only work with the Galaxy S21 series but other Samsung phones launching next year including the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip foldable as well as more affordable phones such as the Galaxy A32 and Galaxy A52.
However, they will continue to work with older devices including those that were announced this year.
Samsung no longer uses the Gear brand name for its wearables including earbuds. It switched to Galaxy a few years ago which is why we have the Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Fit, and Galaxy Buds line of wearables.
A report by Nokiapoweruser, quoting retail sources, claims that the Nokia 3.4 will arrive in India in mid-December. The report also reveals that the 3.4 will feature a base variant having 3GB of RAM and it will adopt a decent retail price of around INR12,000 (~$160). This variant will go on sale by December end.
To recall, the Nokia 3.4 is the first in the series to have a punch-hole display. The hole-punch is located at the top left corner of the display. The device features a 6.39-inch HD+ panel with an 8MP camera housed in the punch-hole located in the top left corner.
The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 processor paired with 3GB of RAM. There is 64GB of internal storage that can be expanded via a microSD card slot. The phone also comes in a 4GB RAM variant as well as 32GB and 128GB storage options. At the rear aspect, there is a triple camera setup arranged in a cookie-shaped housing. The setup includes a 13MP primary sensor, a 5MP ultrawide angle camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. There is a fingerprint scanner under the cameras just like on the Nokia 2.4 and it also has a dedicated Google Assistant button.
The Nokia 3.4 packs a 4000mAh battery under the hood which should last up to 2 days according to the manufacturer. Thankfully, it charges via a USB-C port up to 10W. It also has an audio jack, an FM radio, and NFC.
At the beginning of the year, DxOMark reviewed the camera performance of the iPhone 11, giving it an overall score of 109 points. Fast forward to October when DxOMark announced it had made significant changes to its camera test protocol. The iPhone 11 has now had its review redone based on this updated test protocol and it has got a new overall score that is 10 points higher than the first one.
The overall score of 119 points is broken down into 129 points for photo, thus tying with the Pixel 5; 36 points for zoom; and 109 points for video.
The review says the iPhone 11 takes accurate photos with a wide dynamic range in most tested conditions. Color rendering is also one of its strengths as most of the images come out “vivid and pleasant”. However, the white balance is said to have a warm cast under low artificial lighting. Autofocus is another strong area where the iPhone 11 excels; DxOMark says it is “fast, accurate, and reliable”.
The phone falls short when it comes to zoom which is no surprise considering it doesn’t have a telephoto camera like the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Details drop when you take medium and long-range shots and the lack of that telephoto camera also means that portrait photos are not as good. The review says that night portraits also sometimes come out overexposed.
When it comes to videos, the iPhone 11 gets a huge compliment – “one of the best devices we’ve tested for moving images” says DxOMark. It nails exposure most of the time though there is slight white balance instability that can be noticed in indoor videos. Its autofocus is fast and stabilization does a good job too.
DxOMark recommends the iPhone 11 for anyone whose focus is on photos and videos. And now that it starts at $599, it is a more affordable option to the $829 iPhone 12.
Chinese e-commerce company Jingdong (JD.com) has become the country’s first virtual platform to accept China’s own virtual currency called Digital yuan as a payment option. This was contained in a statement released by the company today.
The company’s fintech unit, called JD Digits will now accept the digital yuan as payment for some products on its online mall, as part of a pilot experimental giveaway of digital yuan to citizens of Suzhou, near Shanghai, as monitored on the company’s official WeChat account today.
The development of China’s digital currency is seen in some quarters as a move to break the US dollar’s stranglehold on the global financial system and gain a greater foothold on consumers spending patterns.
China began the rollout of the digital yuan earlier this year. Pilot schemes have been undertaken in four Chinese cities, where transactions totaling more than 2 billion yuan ($300 million) have already taken place. If the program is expanded nationwide, as expected, China would become the most powerful economy to have a national digital currency.
It is believed that the Digital yuan has the potential to make transactions more convenient and secure. It could also help those who don’t have access to bank accounts and other traditional financial services to buy needed items.
China’s digital yuan is not a cryptocurrency like bitcoin. Instead, it is issued and controlled by the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank. The homegrown digital currency is among the most advanced “central bank digital currency” in the world, as proactive governments continually muster initiatives to globally respond to threats from private digital currencies like bitcoin and Facebook’s Libra.
Under the current pilot program, the municipal government in collaboration with the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will issue 200 digital yuan so-called “red envelopes” to 100,000 consumers to be selected via a transparent random selection scheme.
The Suzhou lottery initiative is coming on the heels of the second digital lottery undertaken by the PBOC after it issued a cumulative total of 10 million digital yuan to 50,000 randomly selected consumers in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.
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