Indians spend 2,400 INR ($32) on average on fixing out of warranty Smartphones

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Dec 2, 2020

Honor is currently working on strengthening its offline layout and offline distribution channels after becoming independent from Huawei. The company is expanding the number of its physical retails stores and has already raised the number since September.

According to a TechSina report, Honor has already opened multiple new stores across its home country, China. The new retail stores are available in regions like Chengdu, Lanzhou, Wuhan, and Xiamen, and will soon also include other regions as well. Furthermore, it is also reported that the Chinese budget smartphone maker has even been working on two new Honor experience stores, which will open sometime in December 2020.

One of the experience stores will be in Chengdu Vientiane City while the other will be in the Nanjing Gemdale Plaza. A third Honor experience store is also slated to open in January 2021 and will be in Taiyuan. This showcases the company’s accelerated focus on offline channels that began back in 2015, and as of the end of 2019, there are more than 2,300 offline Honor stores in China.

Back in July 2020, Zhao Ming, Honor President stated in an interview that the the company’s offline sales had surpassed its online sales for the first time in the previous six months. For those unaware, Huawei sold Honor to Zhixin New Information Technology Co. Ltd. in November. Now, it seems that Huawei’s ex-subsidiary might become its rival in the Chinese smartphone market, with its recent aggressive push towards offline sales.

Huawei pushes for Southeast Asia with its 5G deal in Indonesia

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Dec 2, 2020

Huawei Technologies have faced increasing pressures in the west and having already faced multiple bans in regions like the UK and the US. However, the company is also focusing on the Southeast Asian region, as it landed the 5G deal in Indonesia.

The Chinese tech giant is a known leader in the telecommunication equipment and has entered into an agreement with Indonesia to develop talent in 5G technology and its related fields in the region. The company is set to train 100,000 people to become proficient in digital technology, especially in sectors regarding cloud and 5G networking. Huawei will even set up its internal employee training in the country based on the memorandum of understanding.

According to a NikkeiAsia report, the memorandum is the first of its kind for the government. According to as source close to the matter, “With Huawei’s help, we expect to bring the level of our human resources up to international standards.” The Chinese telecommunications giant will also be collaborating with a government agency to push the development of artificial intelligence and 5G networking. Notably, Huawei’s contribution doesn’t end there as the company will also be providing technological cooperation to Indosat Ooredoo, which is the second largest telecom carrier in Indonesia, for the installation of 5G infrastructure in the country’s Jakarta capital region.

Another source close to Telekomunikasi Indonesia stated that “Huawei equipment are 20-30% less costly, and the quality is advancing,” when compared to equipment from Nokia and Ericsson. The company’s push in the region showcases its efforts for the Southeast Asian region. Huawei is also established a 5G research center in Thailand and is spending to support local startups and is already investing in the third data center in the country, which should be completed by next year.

OPPO patents a smartphone design with 15x hybrid zoom camera

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Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Dec 2, 2020

With Huawei’s smartphone market share dropping, Xiaomi and OPPO came out as the beneficiaries in the third quarter of 2020 in Western Europe, as per IDC. The former has had a presence in these regions for a while now. But the latter has now begun to take advantage of Huawei’s situation. In order to excel, OPPO has also been filing various patents in the past few months. One such new smartphone design patent with a 15x zoom camera has emerged.

Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications filed this new smartphone design patent in July 2020. It got approved and published last month on November 6. As usual, LetsGoDigital was the first to find it and the publication even teamed up with Concept Creator (Jermaine Smit) for 3D renders.

According to the patent documents, this OPPO smartphone design includes a curved display on the front with a centered punch-hole. In case you do not know, for some unknown reason, only Samsung has released OLED smartphones with centered punch-hole so far.

But recently, Fujitsu Arrows NX9 F-52A became the first non-Samsung with such a display. However, this device will be limited to Japan and will only go on sale in late January. Hence, we think that this exclusivity has now ended and we may see more consumer-ready handsets as well as design patents with centered punch-hole OLED display in the future.

Coming back to the patent, the back of the handset houses a horizontally aligned triple camera setup. The original sketches do not have any text, but the 3D renders by Jermaine include ‘15X ZOOM’ lettering below the LED flash since this phone supports up to 15x hybrid zoom, as per documents.

If this sounds similar, then you aren’t alone. That’s because OPPO filed a similar smartphone design patent but with a circular pop-up camera module instead of a punch-hole. In other words, the placement of the selfie camera is the only major difference between these two designs.

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Last but not least, the handset has a power key on the right side, volume buttons on the left side, and a USB Type-C port at the bottom along with a speaker grille and a primary microphone. Concept Creator has included a 3.5mm headphone jack for fun, but do note that the original sketches do not have it.

Having said, unlike the design patent with a circular pop-up camera module, this one can be easily implemented without much complexity. Hence, OPPO can bring this design to the market if the company wants to.

France to seek help from EU if US retaliates against its digital tax

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Dec 2, 2020

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said earlier this week that France will retaliate with the European Union if the US decides to implement its trade sanctions in January over recent French tax on digital services.

For those unaware, the Trump administration announced back in July that it would levy additional duties of 25 percent on French cosmetics, handbags, and other imports. These are valued around 1.3 billion US Dollars. The changes in customs arrived after France announced its digital services tax, with its implementation being on hold till January 2021. According to Le Maire, “If there are American sanctions against the French decision, which … is the application of French law, we will immediately seek a riposte at the European level.”

The French Finance Minister said this in a meeting with the European Union regarding the digital services taxation. Notably, France had suspended collection of its digital services tax till January, as international negotiations were under way to rewrite the rules of cross border digital taxation, as per a Reuters report. At the moment, about 140 countries are involved in these talks, with negotiations to last till mid 2021. The discussions were stalled as the US was reluctant to sign on a multilateral deal ahead of its presidential elections.

Furthermore, France has already sent out notices to companies that are liable to pay the December installment of the tax. It is expected that the taxes will raise over 400 million euros (roughly 482 US Dollars) in 2020 alone. The French Finance Minister also pledged that the country will revoke the French tax as soon as international agreement was reached. Meanwhile, trade partners of the US are also waiting to see what stance the next6 president Joe Biden will take on the matter.

Vivo V20 Pro 5G with 44MP dual selfie cameras, 64MP triple cameras and Snapdragon 765G launched for Rs 29,990 (~$407)

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Dec 2, 2020

In August, Vivo launched the Vivo S7 5Gv in China. The same was rebadged as the Vivo V20 Pro 5G in Southeast Asian markets. Today, the Chinese brand announced the Vivo V20 Pro 5G phone in India. It has arrived as the second 5G-ready handset after the Vivo X50 Pro from the brand in the country.

Vivo V20 Pro 5G price in India

The Vivo V20 Pro 5G for India comes in a sole version of 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and it priced at Rs 29,990 (~$407). The phone is now available for purchase in Sunset Melody and Midnight Jazz colors through online and offline platforms. Customers buying the phone online can take advantage of offers like Rs 2,000 instant cashback on ICICI Bank credit and debit cards, up to 12 months no-cost EMI, and Rs 2,500 additional discount on exchange. Offline purchasers can avail of offers like 10 percent cashback through ICIICI Bank cards, Bank of Baroda credit card, and Zest Money. Some of the other offers available offline include Rs 101 Bajaj FinServ offer, one-time screen replacement, Vivo Upgrade program, and more.

Editor’s Pick: Vivo Y51 to reportedly launch in India later this month

Vivo V20 Pro 5G specifications and features

The Vivo V20 Pro 5G houses a 6.44-inch AMOLED screen with an in-display fingerprint scanner. The screen that features a wide notch produces a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. The Snapdragon 765G chipset powers the phone with LPPDR4x RAM and UFS 2.1 storage. It has a microSD card slot for additional storage.

The Android 11 OS that is customized with FunTouch OS 11 comes preinstalled on the Vivo V20 Pro 5G. It is backed by a 4,000mAh battery that is coupled with 33W rapid charging technology. The back panel of the V20 Pro 5G has a triple camera system that comprises of an f/1.89 aperture 64-megapixel primary camera, a multifunctional 8-megapixel camera that can not only shoot superwide shots, but also macro images, and a 2-megapixel mono lens. The rear cameras support Super Night Mode and 4K video shooting.

The V20 Pro 5G is blessed with a dual selfie camera system that includes eye autofocus enabled 44-megapixel main camera and a 108-degree 8-megapixel ultrawide lens. The front camera can capture stunning shots in low-light conditions and it comes with impressive vide shooting capabilities such as 4K selfie video, slow-motion selfie video recording, and Dual View function that can shoot footages through the front and rear cameras at the same time.

Apple iPhone 12 users are facing drops in LTE and 5G services when traveling

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Dec 2, 2020

The Apple iPhone 12 series launched over a month ago and was the first lineup from the company to feature 5G network support. Although, it seems that certain users are facing a major problem as their new iPhone units are unexpectedly dropping both 5G and LTE services.

Apple iPhone 12 Featured — Apple iPhone 12

According to a 9To5Mac report, iPhone 12 users have been facing this issue especially when they are traveling or driving. At the moment, it is unclear just how widespread the issue is, but a couple of hundred posts have surfaced on online forums. Apparently, users have been claiming that the issue might be with the way the iPhone 12 handles switching between towers. An iPhone 12 user affected by this issue even managed to recreate the issue when traveling. Notably, he did not face the issue of losing service on his older iPhone 11 Pro.

Similarly, many other users have also come forward complaining about the issue. Reportedly, Verizon and AT&T service users are the worst affected by the issue but the issue also extends to T-Mobile users as well. People that are facing this issue have been sharing their grievances on sites like Reddit and other official channels like Apple support, but so far, no fix has been made available.

Unfortunately, it is still unknown what is actually causing the issue, but we can expect Apple to soon respond to the issue as the number of people facing the problem has been seemingly growing. So stay tuned for more updates and let us know in the comments section down below if you have been facing the issue with your iPhone 12 handset.

Samsung aims to make foldable smartphones thinner and lighter

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Dec 2, 2020

Samsung is one of the few major smartphone makers that has launched a foldable smartphone. While it debuted its first such device last year, it is now working on a third-generation foldable smartphone. This shows that the company is quite serious about this category of products and has a plan for the future.

In line with that, during the Samsung 2020 Investor Forum, Li Zhongmin, Executive Officer at Samsung Mobile states that the company will now promote the smartphone market from “stock competition” to “incremental competition.”

Talking about the foldable smartphone, he says that they are not expansion phones but a whole new lineup in itself. He has also revealed the South Korean giant’s future plans for foldable smartphones.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G Mystic Bronze — Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G

EDITOR’S PICK: Qualcomm announces its flagship Snapdragon 888 Mobile Platform with an integrated 5G modem

The company is now planning to make the foldable phones thinner and lighter in the future. Currently, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 weighs 282 grams and measures about 16.9 in thickness when folded. He adds that while customers are currently buying such phones because of the novelty, the company is now planning to focus more on portability, design, and productivity.

Samsung is already working towards that goal. The company’s foldable device launched this year comes with Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) that offers better picture optimization as well as more durability. It also made design changes, especially with the hinge part that now prevents dust from entering.

The foldable smartphone market is in the very early stage of development and in the future, we expect to see some amazing design and form-factor. A primary example of that is the recently showcased OPPO X 2021 Concept Smartphone that features a rollable extending display.

Apple VR headset may use Fluid filled lenses that can help users with bad eyesight

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Dec 2, 2020

While there have been multiple rumors regarding an Apple AR/VR headset and its features, a recent report states that it might sport fluid filled lenses that will allow it to also work for users with bad eyesight.

According to an AppleInsider report, the Cupertino based giant’s augmented reality/virtual reality headset might feature fluids that can deform to the shape of lens to help improve the eyesight of the user. In either an AR or VR headset, the integral aspect is the ability to see the virtual content. However, since a headset will generally have the display at a close proximity of the users’ eye, which might cause discomfort overtime. Generally, a VR headset uses optical lenses positioned between the eyes and the screen, so being able to adjust the perceived focal distance for the user might make it more comfortable to use.

At the moment, the technology used generally would have the lenses shift distances from the user to change the perceived focal length. Furthermore, this still creates an issue if the user has bad eyesight, which may require a change in lenses to completely remove the issue. This would cause users to remove their glasses before using the VR headsets since changing the lenses isn’t practical. But Apple might be able to working on a fix for the issue with a recent patent titled, “Electronic device with a tunable lens.”

In the patent, the company suggests that the problem of lens selection and switching could be eliminated by using a single lens system. The iPhone maker proposes taking advantage of fluid and pressure to make adjustments through a malleable lens that would require little input from the user. To sum things up, Apple might be working on creating a series of lens components around a central fluid chamber, which can be adjusted by inflating or emptying to change their optical properties.

Infinix Smart HD 2021 smartphone and Smart TV to launch in India this month

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Dec 2, 2020

Infinix is gearing up to launch its new smartphone dubbed Infinix Zero 8i on 3rd December in the Indian market. Now, it seems that the company is also gearing up to launch another device in India later this month — Infinix Smart HD 2021.

Anish Kapoor, Infinix India CEO revealed in an interview that the company had originally planned to launch Smart HD 2021 smartphone in January next year but ended up deciding to launch it in December 2020.

Apart from the smartphone, he has also revealed that the company is also all set to launch its Smart TV as well as a Sound Bar in the Indian market later this month. However, details about these products are not yet known.

It has also been confirmed that the company is also working on a smartwatch, which features a circular design. However, nothing is known about this wearable device at this time, nor the possible launch timeline.

EDITOR’S PICK: Lenovo announces China-exclusive Legion R9000X/Y9000X 2021 thin and light gaming laptops

The upcoming Infinix Smart HD 2021 smartphone has already been listed on the company’s website, revealing some of its key features. It will feature a 6.1-inch IPS HD+ display with 500nits brightness.

While the chipset powering the device is not yet known, it has been revealed that the processor has a clock speed of 1.3GHz. It packs 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage and also has a microSD card slot with support for up to 256GB.

In the camera department, there will be a square camera module on the left with a single 8-megapixel sensor. On the front side too there will be an 8-megapixel selfie snapper. The phone is said to be powered by a 5,000mAh battery.

Honor to have 2% smartphone market share in 2021, claims TrendForce report

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Dec 2, 2020

Honor, the newly independent smartphone company after being sold-off by Huawei, will hold around just 2 percent market share globally in the year 2021, reveals a new report coming from research firm TrendForce.

On the other hand, the offloading of the Honor brand is set to significantly hit Huawei. The Chinese giant’s market share next year is expected to be around just 4 percent, a massive decline from 14 percent this year.

EDITOR’S PICK: Qualcomm to cooperate with Honor, possibly for the Snapdragon 888 chipset-powered flagship smartphone

Huawei is also under several sanctions by the United States that restrict the company from procuring necessary components, impacting the company’s ability to manufacture and launch new smartphones in the market. The sanctions are the reason Huawei decided to sell its Honor brand.

Xiaomi, another Chinese brand, is set to gain market share next year. The report adds that the market share of Xiaomi is expected to grow from 12 percent to 14 percent. As we reported, the company is aiming to ship 240 million smartphones next year in an ambitious attempt to overtake Apple and Huawei.

OPPO is also expected to get a 14 percent market share next year, an increase from 12 percent while Vivo could see its market share grow from 9 percent to 11 percent. While companies like Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo have tightened their supply chain, Honor is likely to have its supply chain issues sorted by the second half of 2021.

Xiaomi aims to overtake Huawei and Apple next year with 240 million smartphone shipments

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Dec 2, 2020

Xiaomi, the China-based smartphone maker that has now expanded its offering to almost every category, is aiming to grab a significant portion of the global smartphone market share in the coming year, i.e. 2021.

The company is reportedly ramping up its factory orders for smartphones and is also in talks to suppliers for booking components for up to 240 million phones. The numbers revealed in a new report from Nikkei far exceeds the company’s shipment this year.

Xiaomi Logo

With such an ambitious plan, Xiaomi is clearly trying to overtake Apple and Huawei in terms of smartphone shipments. For those who are unaware, Xiaomi is currently the fourth-largest company in the world in terms of smartphone shipments.

The report adds that Xiaomi has told some of its suppliers that the internal target is of shipping 300 million smartphone units next year, but that doesn’t seem achievable. Companies like Qualcomm and MediaTek can’t commit to such a volume of components for a single company, especially at a time when the supply chain has been hit by COVID-19.

EDITOR’S PICK: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888-powered Realme “Race” officially confirmed; specs and image leaked too

Even with the shipments of 240 million units, Xiaomi would be able to surpass Apple which usually ships around 200 million units of iPhones. Given that Huawei is under sanctions by the United States, Xiaomi is likely to benefit. Also, Honor no longer being a part of Huawei will significantly impact the company’s market share.

At its peak, Huawei managed to ship 240.6 million smartphones in 2019 — the highest ever for the Chinese company. Xiaomi managed to become the fourth-largest smartphone maker in the year 2018 and the following year, it shipped 125.6 million units.

IDC report claims that in the first nine months of this year, the company’s shipments grew by 16 percent year-on-year to 104.5 million units. This growth seems to be the fuel for Xiaomi’s ambitious shipment goals for the next year. It will be interesting to see how the company tries to achieve its goal.

Vivo Y51 to reportedly launch in India later this month

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Dec 2, 2020

A couple of months ago, in September this year, Chinese smartphone maker Vivo had launched its Vivo Y51 smartphone. Earlier this month, the device passed through the necessary certification process.

Now, a new report claims that the Vivo Y51 will officially get launched in the Indian market later this month. It is being said that the phone will replace the Vivo S1 Pro which was launched in January this year.

While the phone’s exact launch date for the Indian market is not yet known, the report claims that the device will be priced under ₹20,000 which is about $272. The phone has already got BIS Certificate in India and so the official launch should be just days away.

The Vivo Y51 features a 6.38-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor. It packs 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. It also comes with support for a microSD card that allows users to expand the storage capacity up to 256GB.

EDITOR’S PICK: Qualcomm to cooperate with Honor, hinting at a flagship smartphone powered by Snapdragon 888 SoC

In the camera department, the device has a quad-camera setup of the back that consists of a 48-megapixel primary camera sensor with f/1.8 aperture, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, a 2-megapixel macro lens, and a 2-megapixel portrait sensor.

On the front side, the phone features a 16-megapixel snapper with an f/2.0 aperture for taking selfies and video calling. It supports dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 as connectivity options, along with a USB Type-C port.

The smartphone runs the Android 10 operating system along with the company’s own FunTouch OS 10 on top. It is powered by a 4,500mAh battery that has support for 18W fast charging technology.

OPPO hints Reno5 launching on December 10

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Dec 2, 2020

Reports that have surfaced in the recent past have revealed that the Reno5 series may break cover on Dec. 10. It is speculated that the lineup includes three devices such as the Reno5, Reno5 Pro, and Reno5 Pro+. The Weibo post released by the OPPO today hints that the Reno5 series will be announced on Dec. 10.

A leaked photo showcasing the rear design of the Reno5 is now doing rounds on Weibo. The gradient colored rear of the phone features a quad camera setup at the top-left corner and “RENO GLOW” branding towards the right. The overall rear design of the phone does not differ from the predecessor model.

The Reno4 5G series that debuted earlier this year in China sported an extremely attractive diamond-cut design. OPPO’s Weibo post could be hinting that the Reno5 5G series will also sport a similar design.

Editor’s Pick: OPPO Find X3, Nubia Red Magic 6, Nubia Z, and ZTE Axon 30 confirmed to arrive with Snapdragon 888

OPPO Reno5 series specifications (Rumored)

The Reno5 5G series phones are expected to arrive with 90Hz FHD+ OLED panels with a punch-hole design. The Reno5 5G may sport a flat display of 6.43 inches, whereas the Reno5 Pro 5G and Reno5 Pro+ 5G could be housing 6.55-inch displays with curved edges. The ColorOS 11 based Android 11 may come preloaded on the device.

The Reno5, Reno5 Pro, and Reno5 Pro+ could be powered by the Snapdragon 765G, Dimensity 1000+, and Snapdragon 865, respectively. The trio may feature 4,300mAh, 4,350mAh, and 4,500mAh batteries with 65W fast charging support.

The Reno5 5G trio may sport 32-megapixel selfie cameras. The Reno5 and Reno5 Pro 5G’s quad-camera setup may include a 64-megapixel Sony IMX686 main lens, an 8-megapixel superwide lens, a 2-megapixel depth sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro lens. The Reno5 Pro+ 5G’s quad-camera setup may comprise of a Sony IMX7XX main lens, a 16-megapixel superwide lens, a 12-megapixel telephoto lens, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor.

Qualcomm to cooperate with Honor, Snapdragon 888 flagship could be coming?

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Dec 2, 2020

On Dec. 1, Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform at the Snapdragon Tech Summit. All the major smartphone brands are expected to release SD888 powered flagship phones in 2021. It appears that Honor may also launch a Snapdragon 885 powered smartphone next year.

When Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon was asked about cooperation with Honor during a video interview, he responded by saying, “Qualcomm is very pleased with the emergence of a new participant in the market. It will bring more consumption potential to the market and consumers will like it. I like the vitality of the Chinese mobile phone market and hope that Honor can bring more good products. But now everything has just begun, and we will also have a dialogue.”

Honor was previously expected to announce the Honor V40 series in December. However, a fresh leak has revealed that it may go official in January 2021. Due to the U.S. trade ban, the Honor V40 series may not feature the new Kirin 9000 that fuels the Mate 40 series. Speculations are rife that the Dimensity 1000+ chipsets could be powering the V40 models.

Editor’s Pick: Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei hopes Honor to surpass its former parent company

Honor is also expected to announce the Honor 40 series of flagship phones around the Q2 of 2021. It is unclear whether it will be equipped with the Snapdragon 888 chipset.

Amon also spoke on the cooperation between Qualcomm and Huawei. He said that while the company applied for the licensing all its product lines to the U.S. government, it has been only allowed to provide 4G chips, computing, and Wi-Fi products to Huawei. Amon added, ” Of course we hope to have business dealings with Huawei on 5G flagship products, but this can only be done after approval.”

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Over 10 million users are on EMUI 11 within three months

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Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Dec 2, 2020

Huawei is going through tough times but that did not stop the company from unveiling EMUI 11, the latest version of its mobile software. The Chinese telecom giant announced it at the HUAWEI DEVELOPER CONFERENCE 2020 on September 10. Since then, it has been releasing beta as well as stable builds for eligible devices worldwide. Now, within three months from its announcement, the company has already hit a milestone.

According to the official Weibo account of EMUI, over 10 million users are on EMUI 11 in less than three months from the day of its unveiling. Since the company did not mention whether this count only includes those users who are on stable build, we believe this is the total count of stable, closed beta, and open beta users combined.

As per the official list of eligible devices, a total of 28 HUAWEI-branded smartphones and tablets will be receiving EMUI 11 update in China . For global markets, this number drops to 19. Some of these devices have already got the stable update.

Having said that, we are still puzzled if this 10 million+ count also includes HONOR devices running Magic UI 4.0, which is nothing but a fork of EMUI 11. That’s because EMUI’s Weibo post is vague without detailed information.

Normally, Huawei’s smartphone and tablet user base includes numbers from HONOR as well since it was a sub-brand of the company up until recently. But now, as the brand has been sold off to Zhixin New Information Technology Co. Ltd, the EMUI 11 user count shared by the Chinese tech giant could be devoid of HONOR devices.

Lenovo announces China-exclusive Legion R9000X/Y9000X 2021 thin & light gaming laptops

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Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Dec 2, 2020

Lenovo has launched two new thin and light gaming laptops in its home country China. These notebooks are called Legion R9000X 2021 and Legion Y9000X 2021 respectively. The only major differences between the two models are their processors, weight, and price. Let us take a closer look at these new computers from one of the largest PC makers in the world.

Lenovo Legion R9000X/Y9000X 2021 Specifications and Features

First and foremost, the Legion R9000X 2021 is powered by AMD Ryzen 7 4800H processor and weighs 1.92Kg. On the other hand, the Legion Y9000X 2021 features Intel Core i7-10875H processor and is slightly lighter at 1.86Kg.

Apart from the above two dissimilarities, these two laptops are identical in terms of specs as well as design. They sport a metal body design with 15.9mm thickness and their screen can be opened up to an angle of 180°.

Further, they come with 16GB DDR4 3200MHz dual-channel RAM and 512GB PCIe MVMe TLC SSD with support for expansion. And apart from integrated graphics, the computers also feature 6GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q GDDR6 dedicated GPU.

Both these gaming notebooks flaunt a 15.6-inch IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixel (FHD). It is an 8-bit display with up to 144Hz refresh rate, 100% sRGB color gamut, 300 nits brightness, and 5ms response time. As an added bonus, the screen also supports Dolby Vision, DC dimming, and is covered by a matte texture for an anti-glare experience.

Being gaming laptops, the two computers come with a full-size backlit keyboard with numpad and an AG (anti-glare) glass-plated touchpad. Lenovo calls this combination LEGION TrueStrike. Further, to keep the thermals down, they also come equipped with TSI Frost Blade Pro Cooling System 2.0 (translated), which includes 2 x fans, 3 x heat pipes, and 4 x outlets.

That’s not all, the notebooks support Fn + Q shortcut combo to switch between three performance modes namely Beast Mode, Balanced Mode, and Quiet Mode. It also has a feature called DDG dual-mode display switching (translated) that dynamically changes the refresh rate of the display based on content. Whereas, for aesthetics, they sport a Y-shaped RGB light inside the ‘O’ of ‘LEGION’ branding on the back.

For I/O, these devices come with 2 x USB Type-A (USB 3.2 Gen2), 2 x USB Type-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2, Display Port 1.4), 3.5mm headphone jack, SD card reader, and DC power in. Additionally, Y9000X 2021 also supports Thunderbolt 3 interface via the two USB Type-C ports.

Other features of these two laptops include WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, 720p webcam with a shutter for privacy, fingerprint sensor, dual Dolby Atmos speakers, and Microsoft Windows 10 Home Chinese Edition operating system.

Last but not least, the notebooks are backed by a 71Whr battery with support for 230W fast charging via DC power in using the included charger and up to 100 USB PD (Power Delivery) fast charging via the USB Type-C ports.

Lenovo Legion R9000X/Y9000X 2021 Pricing and Availability

The Legion R9000X is priced at ¥7,999 ($1,217), whereas the Legion Y9000X costs ¥9,299 ($1,415). The former is already up for pre-order and will go on sale starting December 12. On the other hand, Lenovo is yet to reveal the availability of the latter laptop.

Having said that, like their predecessors (2020 edition), the new 2021 models should also be exclusive to China.

The Wyze Watch costs just $20; comes in two sizes and has a SpO2 sensor

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Dec 2, 2020

Wyze is known for its smart home products, most especially its security cameras. Now it has made its entry into the smartwatch market with the Wyze Watch and it offers a lot for a very small price.

The Wyze Watch looks like Amazfit’s Bip line of smartwatches but it comes with an even more affordable price tag. The smartwatch is available in two sizes – a 47mm version with a 1.75-inch screen and a 44mm version with a 1.4-inch screen. The bigger one has a 300mAh battery while the smaller one has a 260mAh battery. Both will provide up to 9 days of battery life.

The screen on both watches is a TFT 16-bit color LCD display with a resolution of 320 x 385 for the 47mm model and 320 x 320 for the 42mm model. They are encased in an aluminum alloy frame attached to black silicone straps. There are several watch faces to choose from with the option to even use your own photo as the wallpaper.

Save for the difference in screen size and of course battery capacity, the features are the same. For $20, yes $20, you get a PPG heart rate sensor and a blood oxygen sensor, sleep monitoring, step counter, and a menstrual health tracker. Wyze doesn’t say the activities the watch can track and it will be disappointing if it is just limited to just step counting.

Because this is a Wyze product, the manufacturer has added support for controlling your connected Wyze smart home products. So you can turn cameras and lights on and off from your wrist and also access your Wyze shortcuts from the watch.

The watch has an IP68 rating and is water-resistant up to 2 meters. It supports app notifications from multiple popular apps including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Gmail, and Twitter. It also has support for music and video player apps. The product video shows a YouTube icon, so we presume you will be able to control playback from your wrist. Users will also be able to reject phone calls using the watch.

The Wyze Watch is available for pre-order for $20 regardless of the size you choose. You can also purchase extra silicone straps in Cerulean Blue, Blush Pink, and Midnight Black for $3.99 a pair. There are leather straps too and they come in Classic Brown and Forest Green with a price tag of $9.99. The Wyze Watch begins shipping in February 2021.

Samsung Galaxy S21 series could be cheaper than S20, Galaxy Note line again speculated to bite dust

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Dec 2, 2020

Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy S21 series of smartphones in January 2021. A new leak first spotted by Android Headlines states that the Galaxy S21 could be priced lower than its predecessor. In addition, a new report by Reuters claims that Samsung is not planning to launch the Galaxy Note 21 next year.

Galaxy S21 series could be available with a hefty price cut

A new rumor from South Korea reveals that the Galaxy S21 could be priced between $849 and $899, the Galaxy S21+ could be costing between $1,049 and $1,1099, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra could be priced between $1,249 and $1,299. It seems that the Galaxy S21 series could be available with a hefty price cut since the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra were priced at $999, $1,199, and $1,399, respectively, at launch.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 3D CAD Render by OnLeaks

Samsung has been consistently increasing the prices of its flagship phones every year. There is a possibility that the Galaxy S21 series arriving with better specs than its predecessor could be priced higher. Hence, it is advisable to digest the pricing leak with a grain of salt.

Editor’s Pick: Samsung Smart Tag object tracker trademark filing spotted on EUIPO website

Samsung Galaxy Note line may get discontinued

Reuters reported that there has a sharp decline in the demand for high-end smartphones due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This could be one of the reasons why Samsung may not launch the Galaxy Note 2021 next year. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Samsung does not have plans to develop a Galaxy Note phone for the coming year.

Instead, the highest model of the S21 series (Galaxy S21 Ultra) will be equipped with S Pen support. The S Pen could be available as an optional accessory for S21 Ultra buyers. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 that is expected to debut next year is speculated to carry support for S Pen.

OPPO Find X3, Nubia Red Magic 6, Nubia Z, and ZTE Axon 30 confirmed to arrive with Snapdragon 888

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