Vivo S7e 5G goes on sale in China finally for 2,398 Yuan (~$447)

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Nov 20, 2020

On Nov. 4, Vivo announced the Vivo S7e smartphone in China. It is the weaker sibling of the Vivo S7 5G that went official a few months back in China. It was reported earlier this week that the Vivo S7e 5G will officially go on sale sixteen days after the announcement. The day has arrived, and the device is now up for purchase in the home market.

Vivo S7e 5G specifications and features

The Vivo S7e 5G has a 6.44-inch AMOLED display with a teardrop notch. The 60Hz screen produces a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. The phone offers a screen-to-body ratio of 90.1 percent. The Vivo S7e 5G has an in-screen fingerprint reader and it also supports face unlock.

The Dimensity 720 5G chipset by MediaTek is present under the hood of the device. The phone ships with LPPDR4x RAM and UFS 2.1 storage. It has a dedicated microSD card slot for additional storage. The phone is preinstalled with FunTouch OS 10.5 based Android 10 OS. The handset will be treated with the latest OriginOS upgrade in the coming year.

Editor’s Pick: [Update Roadmap Revealed] Vivo officially unveils OriginOS; it is a complete system overhaul from FuntouchOS

The Vivo S7e 5G has a selfie camera of 32-megapixel and its rear-facing triple camera system has a 64-megapixel main shooter, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens with 120-degree FOV, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. It houses a 4,100mAh battery that supports 33W fast charging.

Vivo S7e 5G pricing and availability

The Vivo S7e 5G comes in a sole version of 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage. It is priced at 2,398 Yuan (~$447) and it comes in colors like Phantom Blue, Mirror Black, and Silver Moon. It is unclear whether Vivo will release the Vivo S7e 5G in other markets.

Redmi Note series offers 80% flagship experience at 20% cost: Lu Weibing

By

Jeet

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Nov 20, 2020

Xiaomi-backed Redmi today officially announced that the company’s upcoming Redmi Note 9 series smartphones will be launched in China on 26th November. Soon after that, Lu Weibing, General Manager of the Redmi brand the President of Xiaomi Group China took to Weibo to reveal more details about the phones.

He added that the company’s Redmi Note lineup offers flagship-grade smartphones at an affordable price point and thus, it has been effective in popularizing some of the high-end technologies used in smartphones.

Explaining the philosophy behind this successful product lineup, Lu Weibing adds that the company aims to offer an 80% flagship experience to the users, for a cost of 20%, and this is the strategy that has worked for Redmi.

EDITOR’S PICK: Huawei levels Samsung in Counterpoint’s September 2020 list of Top-selling 5G Smartphones Globally

The company also has impressive numbers to back its claims. The company has managed to sell more than 140 million units of its Redmi smartphones in the market, confirming that its products are well-received by the users and the company’s strategy is working.

Redmi is expected to launch at least two devices on 26th November in China — Redmi Note 9 5G and Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G. As for the specifications, the Pro variant is expected to feature a 6.67-inch 120Hz display and come powered by a 4,820mAh battery that supports 33W fast charging technology.

On the other hand, the Redmi Note 9 5G is said to feature a 6.53-inch display and be powered by MediaTek Dimensity 800U chipset, along with a bigger 5,000mAh battery with 22.5W fast charging support. It is fitted with 48-megapixel triple rear cameras and a 13-megapixel front camera. To know for sure, we will have to wait a few more days.

Realme Watch S with 1.3-inch circular display launched in Europe for €79.99

By

Jeet

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Nov 20, 2020

After launching the Realme Watch S in Pakistan earlier this month, the company has now launched the same product in Europe, along with the Realme 7 5G smartphone. This is the second smartwatch from Realme after it debuted in this category in June this year.

The Realme Watch S features a 1.3-inch LCD touchscreen display that offers 360 x 360 pixels screen resolution and comes with an auto-brightness sensor. The display panel is protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top.

The company is offering 12 watch faces onboard and has said that over 100 watch faces will be available in the near future. Key features on the device include Sleep Monitoring, Call Rejection, Smart Notifications, and Music and Camera Control.

It comes with an optical heart rate sensor as well as a blood oxygen level monitoring sensor (SpO2). There are 16 sports modes, which include the likes of Walk, Indoor Run, Outdoor Run, among others.

EDITOR’S PICK: Changes to expect from new Honor as the company forges a new path without Huawei

In the software department, the wearable device is running a proprietary operating system which is similar to the one found on the original Realme Watch. As it is a forked version of the FreeRT OS, there are several major functionalities missing.

The smartwatch also comes with IP68 ratings, making it waterproof for up to 1.5m of water depth. The company has warned users not to take the device along when taking shower or going for a swim. It is powered by a 390mAh battery that the company says can last up to 15 days on a single charge.

The Realme Watch S is priced at €79.99 in Europe and will be available for purchase through the company’s official website Realme.com in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Portugal regions.

Amazfit Smart Scale2 is on the way; first gen now available for $49.99

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Nov 20, 2020

Huami had a silent launch for the Amazfit Smart Scale last month. We were surprised it didn’t have an event launch since this is the manufacturer’s first smart scale. While details about price and availability were not mentioned then, we have discovered that the smart scale is now available for purchase in the US while those in Europe can pre-order it. We have also found out that a second-gen model called the Amazfit Smart Scale2 is in development.

The Amazfit Smart Scale is priced at $49.99 on the US site and can be purchased right away. In Europe, Huami is charging €59.90 for the smart scale and it is only on pre-order with no info stating when it will begin shipping.

We found evidence of the second-gen smart scale in the Zepp app. Listed under the Enjoy tab is a feature called “Slimming Plan” and the description under the feature read “Amazfit Smart Scale2 Personalized Slimming Plan”, confirming that this is a feature of the yet-to-be-announced 2nd-gen Amazfit smart scale.

This is the only feature we have found of the Amazfit Smart Scale2 but we expect more details will surface in the future, though a lot of them will be similar to that of the 1st-gen model.

Huami has also announced its Early Black Friday deals which are limited to just two products and the US. There is the Amazfit Band 5 which has been discounted to $34.99 from its regular price of $49.99 and can be purchased in Black, Olive, and Orange. The second is the Amazfit GTR 47mm, and it has gotten a price cut from $139.99 to $109.99 for the stainless steel and aluminum alloy versions while the titanium version which normally sells for $179.99 can be gotten for $139.99.

Redmi Note 9T 5G and POCO M3 passes through certification in Malaysia

By

Jeet

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Nov 20, 2020

Redmi has confirmed that the company is all set to launch its new Redmi Note 9 series smartphones in the Chinese market on 26th November. Now, ahead of the launch, the Redmi Note 9T 5G smartphone has appeared on a certification website.

Along with that, another smartphone from Xiaomi — POCO M3 has also passed through the same certification process in Malaysia. It confirms that the Redmi Note 9T has model number M2007J22G while the POCO M3 has model number M2020J19CG.

The certification has revealed that the Redmi Note 9T will come with support for NFC as well as the 5G connectivity. On the other hand, the connectivity options on the POCO M3 will be limited to just 4G.

From the leaks so far, it seems that the POCO M3 will feature a 6.53-inch Full HD+ display and will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 SoC. It is said to have a 48MP triple-camera setup and will be packing a 6,000mAh battery with 18W charging support.

EDITOR’S PICK: Huawei levels Samsung in Counterpoint’s September 2020 list of Top-selling 5G Smartphones Globally

On the other hand, the Redmi Note 9T 5G is expected to have a 6.53-inch display with Full HD+ screen resolution and be powered by MediaTek Dimensity 800U chipset. It is also said to feature a 48MP triple-camera configuration and powered by a 5,000mAh battery along with support for 22.5W charging.

Both these smartphones are expected to run the Android 10 operating system out-of-the-box along with a custom user interface on top. The POCO M3 render leak reveals that the phone will come in Yellow, Blue, and Gray color options.

As per the reports, the Redmi Note 9T 5G will be a global variant of one of the devices getting launched on 26th November in China. Similarly, the POCO M3 is also expected to be a rebranded model of either the Mi or Redmi series smartphone.

Future devices with NFC will be able to wirelessly charge active styluses

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Nov 20, 2020

Future devices with NFC may gain the ability to wirelessly charge active styluses following the announcement of a partnership between the NFC Forum and the Universal Stylus Initiative (USI).

The new feature will be possible as a result of the integration of the NFC Forum’s Wireless Charging Specification (WLC) into devices that meet USI standards. The charging specification, which was announced back in May, brings support for 1W wireless charging of small devices. It doesn’t require the smartphone or tablet with NFC to have a charging coil as the NFC antenna doubles as a charging coil.

While 1W is definitely low when it comes to wireless charging devices such as earbuds or smartwatches (though the NFC Forum does mention them as devices that will take advantage of the new feature), it should suffice for smaller devices like styluses as they have much smaller batteries.

According to XDA Developers, the NFC communication link will control power transfer and the charging specification will use the 13.56 MHz base frequency. Devices will also be able to charge using two modes: a static mode that uses standard radio frequency and provides fixed power output and a negotiated mode that uses a higher radio frequency but can cycle the power output from 0.25W to 0.5 to 0.75W to 1W.

There is no info yet on when we can expect the feature to begin appearing in devices but we expect to see phones launched next year have it. However, we won’t be surprised if most manufacturers prefer to use the current NFC chips which do not support wireless charging if they believe it is not an important feature to add to their device.

Official: Redmi Note 9 5G series to launch on November 26

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Nov 20, 2020

A screenshot had surfaced yesterday that Redmi will be announcing the Redmi Note 9 5G series on Nov. 26 in China. Today, the company officially confirmed that the Note 9 lineup will be made official at 8 PM on Nov. 26. The Chinese brand also shared a poster through Weibo to reveal that the design of what appears to be the Note 9 Pro 5G. The machine-translated text on the Weibo post suggests that the company will announce Note 9 series phone.

In the launch poster, the Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G can be seen in two colors such as purple and aqua. The circular camera housing has four cameras inside it. An LED flash unit is placed on the left side of the camera module. Previous reports have revealed that it has a 108-megapixel primary shooter. The handset appeared at Geekbench yesterday to reveal that it is driven by the Snapdragon 750G chipset and 8 GB of RAM. This confirms that the Note 9 Pro 5G has a tweaked version of the Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite.

The front side of the Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G is not visible in the poster. However, it is already known that its screen has a top-center positioned punch-hole. It has a 6.67-inch 120Hz IPS LCD panel with FHD+ resolution support. For capturing selfies, it has a 16-megapixel selfie camera. The device flaunts a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. It is backed by a 4,820mAh battery that supports 33W rapid charging.

Editor’s Pick: Redmi Note 9 Series tipped to start around 1000 yuan ($151) in China

The Redmi Note 9 5G has a 6.53-inch IPS LCD FHD+ display. It is also expected to support a high refresh rate. It is fueled by a Dimensity 800U chipset and a bigger 5,000mAh battery with 22.5W fast charging support. It is fitted with 48-megapixel triple rear cameras and a 13-megapixel front camera.

The Redmi Note 9 5G is expected to arrive in other markets as the Redmi Note 9T. A 4G-ready Redmi phone (M2010J19SC) was recently approved by China’s TENAA authority. It seems that this device could end up as a Note 9 series phone.

Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G Geekbench listing reveals Snapdragon 750G and 8GB RAM

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Nov 20, 2020

Redmi is expected to confirm the launch date of the Redmi Note 9 5G series for China today. Multiple reports including the TENAA listing of the Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G have revealed that it will be a rebadged version of the Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite. However, the only major difference between the two devices will be that the Note 9 Pro 5G will have a 108-megapixel primary shooter. Ahead of the rumored Nov. 26 launch date, the Note 9 Pro 5G has appeared on the Geekbench benchmarking platform.

The Geekbench listing (via) mentions the Note 9 Pro 5G with its M2007J17C model number. The “gauguinpro” text in the motherboard field is the codename of the phone. The listing reveals that it is powered by an octa-core processor by Qualcomm. The SoC has a base frequency of 1.80GHz.

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The source code of the Geekbench listing shows that the SoC tags along with Adreno 619 graphics. This reveals that the Note 9 Pro 5G is driven by the Snapdragon 750G chipset. The SoC is coupled with 8 GB of RAM and the device is loaded with Android 10 OS. In the single-core test, the Note 9 Pro 5G has 645 and it recorded a score of 1963 in the multi-core test.

Editor’s Pick: Redmi Note series global sales exceed 140 million units

Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G specifications (Rumored)

The Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G has a 6.67-inch punch-hole display. The IPS LCD panel supports a Full HD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. It has a 16-megapixel front-facing camera and a 108-mgeapixel quad-camera setup on its back.

The SD750G powered phone is expected to arrive with up to 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of storage. It has a 4,820mAh battery with 33W fast charging support. It also features a side-facing fingerprint reader.

Samsung Galaxy A12 5G case renders appear to reveal front and rear design

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Nov 20, 2020

Since August, the rumor mill has been spilling information about the upcoming Galaxy A12 smartphone. All the recent leaks have that it will be a 4G device. However, it appears that Samsung is also preparing a 5G variant of the device. SlashLeaks has listed the case renders of the upcoming Galaxy A12 5G to reveal its design. Its rear design is similar to the upcoming Galaxy M12, which in turn resembles the Galaxy A42 5G.

The Galaxy A12 5G case renders show that its rear design will be similar to the Galaxy M12. The 3D CAD renders of the M12 that were shared by the popular tipster Steve Hemmerstoffer earlier this week had revealed that it will be sporting a dual-tone rear design. The Galaxy A12 5G case renders reveal that it does not have a dual-tone rear shell, but it appears like a fancier version of the M12.

A square-shaped camera module can be seen at the top-left corner of A12’s rear panel. The camera housing suggests that it could be equipped with three rear-facing cameras. An LED flash is present below the camera unit.

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Editor’s Pick: Samsung to pioneer its own UD Camera tech on the Galaxy Z Fold 3

The handset is equipped with a side-facing fingerprint scanner. Its bottom edge has a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB-C port, and a loudspeaker grille. At the front, it features a teardrop notch display. There is a possibility that the 4G edition of the Galaxy A12 could be sporting the same design as its 5G sibling.

So far, the rumor mill has revealed that the Galaxy A12 (SM-A125F model number) will be equipped with an LCD panel and it will be arriving in 32 GB and 64 GB storage models. It was recently spotted with an Helio P35 chipset, 3 GB of RAM, and Android 10 OS at the Geekbench benchmarking platform. It is speculated to launch soon as its support page was found listed on the Samsung Russia website recently.

Changes to expect from Honor as it forges a new path without Huawei

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Nov 19, 2020

The sale of Honor to new owners is going to bring big changes to the brand’s business. Up until before the sale, Huawei and Honor have shared technologies just the way Xiaomi and Redmi does. Now that they have cut the ties between them, a necessary move to ensure the survival of Honor, there are expected changes to the way Honor’s business operates.

The joint statement announcing the sale says that Huawei will not own any share in the new company, and it has been reported that operations and after-sales services will not be impacted. However, Honor will have to make new changes to show that it is no longer a Huawei-owned business.

We know these changes will come as Honor released a statement assuring users that it will continue to provide security updates and after-sales service for its existing products. These products are those that it launched during its existence as a Huawei-owned company, some of which launched with Huawei Mobile Services. Below are some of the changes we expect to see:

A return to Google Mobile Services

Huawei phones released in the past year have launched with Huawei Mobile Services. While Huawei’s answer to Google Mobile Services (GMS) is gaining new features rapidly, lots of folks are not keen to pick up a phone that doesn’t have support for Google services right out of the box.

Now that Honor is now an independent company not related to Huawei, we expect new Honor-branded phones made for the international market will come with GMS.

A redesigned Magic UI or a New UX Skin entirely

Honor phones come with an Android skin called Magic UI. Now in its fourth iteration, Magic UI is closely related to Huawei’s own EMUI but with a few additions. If Honor intends to continue with the Magic UI skin, its next version will have to be very different from EMUI and not just a rebadge. We speculate that Honor may eventually ditch Magic UI and launch a new skin entirely just as Vivo did recently by dropping Funtouch OS and announcing OriginOS.

Snapdragon-powered Honor Phones

It has been a while since we saw a Honor smartphone powered by a Snapdragon processor. The ones that come to mind are the Honor 8C which has a Snapdragon 632 processor and the Honor 8X Max which is powered by the Snapdragon 660. Both phones were launched in 2018.

Most Honor phones released since 2019 have come with Huawei’s Kirin processors, and this year, we have seen Honor also launch phones with MediaTek 5G processors.

Now that it is no longer a Huawei-owned company, it should have access to Qualcomm processors and not limited to 4G chipsets like its former owner. This means we should see Honor phones powered by new Snapdragon 4G and 5G processors such as the Snapdragon 720G and the Snapdragon 765G.

We expect this to be good news for markets where Honor has continued to release phones with the already old Kirin 710 processor.

Conclusion

These are the changes we expect to see in the near future from Honor. However, these changes may take a while to arrive and not be immediate. Nevertheless, we look forward to seeing what the future holds for Honor as it forges a new path.

Sony Alpha 7C launched in India as the smallest full-frame camera

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Nov 19, 2020

Global leader Sony has launched its latest camera, the Alpha 7C into the Indian market. It has a full-frame 24.2MP CMOS sensor housed in a sleek and compact body. The camera is headlined by Sony’s advanced autofocus technology system, 4K video capabilities and several other exciting features.

The compact and lightweight body is the result of Sony’s innovative technology embedded in several new components like the shutter and optical stabilization unit, whose sizes have been greatly optimized from previous models. The full-frame sensor and several other features provide top-notch image processing which substantially enhances the performance of the camera in scarcely illuminated settings. The camera also comes with 15-stops of dynamic range and greater image depth.

The camera supports high dynamic range capabilities, as well as HLG and S-Log/S-Gamut options, thereby providing a wide array of shooting options.. It uses Sony’s E-mount technology for the lenses while the kit lens is a FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 zoom lens. The side-opening 3-inch LCD screen is capable of articulating and the camera has many AF tracking options such as Real-time Eye AF for Humans and Animals, among a few others.

The Sony Alpha 7C camera will cost interested buyers Rs. 1,67,990 for the camera alone and Rs. 1,96,990 along with the SEL2860 lens kit. It will be available at all accredited Sony Centers, Alpha Flagship stores, ShopatSC.com, and major electronic stores across the country from today.

In his remarks on the launch, Sony India’s Digital Imaging Head, Mukesh Srivastava stated that the FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 zoom lens is the fallout from advanced imaging technologies used in the phone to make it the smallest and lightest full-frame camera and lens system in the world. While stressing new possibilities with the launch in the Indian market, he noted that Sony has delivered on its promise to provide excellent solutions to users via a great camera on their hands.

UP NEXT: Oppo X 2021 unveiled as the world’s first smartphone concept with an extending display

Samsung to pioneer its own UD Camera tech on the Galaxy Z Fold 3

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Nov 19, 2020

The under-display camera has been showcased by several brands in the past couple of years. However, ZTE is currently the only manufacturer that offers a smartphone featuring the technology. Feelers from the grapevine, however, point in the direction of Xiaomi who are in the process of mass-producing the third-generation under-display camera for its smartphone models from 2021. Another OEM likely to join ZTE and Xiaomi is Samsung. The tech giant is working on an under-display camera likely to come on board early 2021 with the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 3. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 will be the first Samsung device to feature this emerging technology in its camera.

The first Galaxy Fold was released in 2019 and there were modifications in the main display for the selfie camera. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 was released in September 2020 and showed marked improvement from the first model and featured a circular hole-punch cutout. A news flash from ETNews showed that Samsung is planning to move a step further by introducing its under-display camera solutions with the release of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 smartphone. It has been projected that the latest Z Fold smartphone could be launched in the second half of next year. This tech innovation is expected to improve the ratings of the device among its peers and position it for greater patronage.

It is reported that the phone will have a special display from Samsung Display, while the image sensor will be gotten from the LSI division of Samsung Electronics, together with specialized hardware. Samsung will also display an image correction algorithm to enhance the camera’s overall performance.

Inside sources said that the display is designed in such a way that only the part where the camera is placed is enlarged to get an aperture for taking photos seamlessly.

UP NEXT: Oppo X 2021 unveiled as the world’s first smartphone concept with an extending display

ZTE Blade 20 Pro 5G powered by a Snapdragon 765G chipset launched

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Nov 19, 2020

ZTE today at the China Mobile Global Partner Conference launched the Axon20 5G Extreme Edition. The company also took the wraps off the Blade 20 Pro 5G mobile phone. The model is a high-end version of Blade 20 5G which was launched earlier this month.

In terms of configuration, the Blade 20 Pro 5G mobile phone uses the Snapdragon 765G chip, which is built using Samsung’s 7nm EUV process, and integrates an eight-core kryo 475 CPU with a clock speed of up to 2.3GHz. The processor integrates the Adreno 620 GPU. The chip can run current mainstream games smoothly.

For photography, there is a 20-megapixel selfie camera that supports AI beauty. At the rear, there is a Quad camera setup made up of a 64-megapixel main camera.

The Blade 20 Pro 5G is an upgrade of the Blade 20 5G which was launched not too long ago. To recall, the Blade 20 5G sports a 6.52-inch IPS LCD waterdrop screen with an HD+ resolution of 720X1600 pixels.

The Blade 20 5G is equipped with a Dimensity 720 chip, which is based on the ARM architecture and has two Cortex-A76 cores clocked at 2.0GHz and six energy-efficient cores clocked at 2.0GHz. The phone is backed by a 4,000mAh battery, which lacks support for fast charging. The Blade 20 5G comes with other features like a built-in FM radio antenna and a rear-facing fingerprint sensor. While the Pro version packs a Quad camera setup, the Blade 20 5G has three rear cameras, a 16-megapixel main camera and an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera, and a 2-megapixel depth-of-field lens.

Finally, the ZTE Blade 20 Pro 5G comes with 6G RAM and 128GB storage. It packs a similar 4000mAh battery as its predecessor but does not support fast charging.

ZTE is yet to release the pricing details but the model is expected to go on sale on November alongside the Axon20 5G Extreme Edition.

UP NEXT: Oppo X 2021 unveiled as the world’s first smartphone concept with an extending display

Huawei MateStation B515 is a desktop PC that may be powered by a Kirin ARM-based CPU

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Nov 19, 2020

A few months ago, in July to be precise, we reported that Huawei had applied for a trademark for “Huawei MateStation”. We guessed the trademark was related to a dock for the Mate 40 series, something similar to Samsung’s Dex Station. Turns out our guess was far from correct. The Huawei MateStation is a desktop PC and the first model is the MateStation B515 which has just leaked.

Huawei made its entry into the PC business a few years ago but it has kept the category limited to notebooks. With the Huawei MateStation B515, it has officially announced its entry into the desktop category.

The new computer is going to be a big deal as it will most likely not be powered by a CPU from Intel or AMD but a Kirin processor that is based on ARM architecture, just like Apple’s M1 silicon. That processor is the Kunpeng 920.

Kunpeng 920 Desktop Board

The 7nm Kunpeng 920 processor is the name of the CPU and it comes in 4-core and 8-core configurations with a clock speed of 2.6GHz. Images posted by the Chinese leaker, Changan Digital King, show a desktop board based on the processor. He speculates that this may be the board that will be found in the MateStation B515.

The specs of the board mention that it has 4 DDR4-2400 UDIMM slots with a maximum capacity of 64GB. It also has 6 SATA 3.0 hard drive interfaces, 2 M.2 SSD slots; 1 PCIe 3.0 x 16, 1 PCIe 3.0 x4, and 1 PCIe 3.0 x1 slots; 4 USB 3. ports, 4 USB 2.0 ports, and 2 LOM NIC supporting GE network ports or optical ports.

The MateStation B515 is said to come bundled with a 23.8-inch monitor with narrow bezels that measure 5.72 mm, a 1920 x 1080 resolution, a 178° field of view, and a 72% NTSC color gamut.

The MateStation B515 will most likely be marketed towards use in offices and professional spaces, allowing it to compete with workstations from Lenovo, Dell, and HP.

iPhone 12 Mini vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G vs Sony Xperia 5 II: Specs Comparison

By

Michele Ingelido

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Nov 19, 2020

Compact phones became very rare, yet Apple launched two compact devices this year. The latest one is the iPhone 12 Mini, already considered the king of compact phones by a lot of people. But is it really so or there is something at the same level in the Android world? This is a specs comparison between compact phones including the iPhone 12 Mini, the Sony Xperia 5 II, and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G. The Samsung device is not among the most compact ones, but it is a clamshell phone with a foldable display and it becomes incredibly small while folded: that is why we included it in this comparison despite it may look like an atypical choice.

Apple iPhone 12 Mini vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G vs Sony Xperia 5 II

	Apple iPhone 12 Mini	Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G	Sony Xperia 5 II
THICKNESS	131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4 mm, 135 grams	167.3 x 73.6 x 7.2 mm (unfolded) 87.4 x 73.6 x 17.3 mm (folded) 183 grams	158 x 68 x 8 mm, 163 grams
DISPLAY	6.2 inches, Super Retina XDR OLED 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 476 ppi	6.7 inches, 1080 x 2636p (Full HD+), Foldable Dynamic AMOLED External display: 1.1 inches, Super AMOLED, 112 x 300 pixels	6.1 inches, 1080 x 2520p (Full HD+), OLED
PROCESSOR	Apple A14 Bionic, octa-core 3.1 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+, octa-core 3.09 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, octa-core 2.84 GHz
MEMORY	4 GB RAM, 64 GB – 4 GB RAM, 128 GB – 4 GB RAM, 256 GB	8 GB RAM, 256 GB	8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB – micro SD slot
SOFTWARE	iOS 14	Android 10, One UI	Android 10
CONNECTIVITY	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Bluetooth 5, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS
CAMERA	Dual 12 + 12 MP f/1.6 + f/2.4 Dual 12 MP + SL 3D f/2.2 front camera	Dual 12 + 12 MP, f/1.8 and f/2.2 10 MP f/2.4 selfie camera	Triple 12 + 12 + 12 MP, f/1.7, f/2.4 and f/2.2 8 MP f/2.0 selfie camera
BATTERY	2227 mAh Fast charging 20W and fast wireless charging 12W	3300 mAh, Fast Charging 15W, and fast wireless charging 9W	4000 mAh, Fast Charging 21W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES	5G, waterproof IP68, optional eSIM, Face ID	5G, eSIM	5G, optional dual SIM, IP65/68 waterproof

Design

The verdict may change depending on your tastes, but the most impressive design belongs to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G. The reason why it is the most attractive is the fact that it is a foldable phone and it features a foldable display. Thanks to this solution, the phone is able to become extremely compact while folded, so that you can keep it in a small pocket. And while the phone is folded, you can use a small external display to check the notifications and shoot selfies with the rear cameras. The iPhone 12 Mini comes right after with its compact and symmetric borderless design, and it even features a sturdier build quality with Ceramic Shield and a waterproof body offering water resistance up to 6 meters deep.

Display

Maybe it does not offer the most realistic image quality, but the most interesting display belongs to the Sony Xperia 5 II for a simple reason: it has a 120 Hz refresh rate. But do not underestimate the foldable screen of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G with the HDR10+ certification. Despite being more compact, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G has the widest display with a 6.7-inch diagonal. The iPhone 12 Mini offers an astonishing image quality with HDR10, Dolby Vision, and a wide color gamut. And it is the device with the smallest display. iPhone 12 Mini relies on Face ID for authentication, while Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G and Sony Xperia 5 II feature a fingerprint scanner.

Specs & Software

The most advanced device in terms of performance is the iPhone 12 Mini thanks to the Apple A14 Bionic chipset built at 5 nm. No matter if it comes with less RAM because the iOS operating system knows how to manage it. The silver medal goes to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G powered by the Snapdragon 865+ mobile platform paired with 8 GB of RAM and UFS 3.0 native storage. But the Sony Xperia 5 II is still a top-tier flagship with its Snapdragon 865. iPhone 12 Mini runs iOS 14, while its rivals run Android 10.

Camera

The most complete camera department belongs to the Sony Xperia 5 II. Besides the classic 12 MP main sensor and an ultrawide lens, unlike its two rivals, it even comes with a telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom. You do not get that on the iPhone 12 Mini and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G. But the iPhone 12 Mini actually provides better photo quality, if we exclude zoom capabilities. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G is a very nice camera phone, but it is not among the best ones.

Read More: Samsung could be working on a ‘Lite’ version of Galaxy Z Flip clamshell phone

Battery

The battery award goes to the Sony Xperia 5 II featuring a satisfying 5000 mAh battery. But it is the only one to lack wireless charging. iPhone 12 Mini and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G have below-average batteries, but they are not disappointing in terms of battery life.

Price

The prices of the iPhone 12 Mini start from €800/$700, Sony Xperia 5 II is priced €800/$890, and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G costs about €1600/$1500 (prices vary depending on the market). At the end of the day, the iPhone 12 Mini is a better compact phone for several reasons. It is very compact thanks to its 5.4-inch display, it has a great chipset, very nice camera capabilities, and more interesting minor features. But the choice mostly depends on your needs: you may need an even more compact device like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G while folded, or you may prefer having a longer battery life with the Sony Xperia 5 II. In each case, you would get an awesome device.

Apple iPhone 12 Mini vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G vs Sony Xperia 5 II: PRO and CONS

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G

PRO

Foldable display
Extremely compact (when folded)
External display
Wireless charging

CONS

Price
No water resistance

Apple iPhone 12 Mini

PRO

Very compact
High performance
Face ID
Wireless charging and MagSafe
Stereo speakers

CONS

Nothing particular

Sony Xperia 5 II

PRO

Expandable storage
Bigger battery
Stereo speakers
120 Hz refresh rate

CONS

Inferior front camera

Samsung Galaxy A70 starts getting One UI 2.5 update in Europe

By

Balaji S

-

Nov 19, 2020

Recently, Samsung Galaxy A50s received the One UI 2.5 update. Following it, the Galaxy A70 is also getting the update along with November 2020 Security patch.

As reported by Tizenhelp(via Sammobile) Galaxy A70 is reportedly receiving One UI 2.5 update based on Android 10 in Europe. However, it looks like the update is only for Ukraine as of now. That said, Samsung might be initially testing the update before expanding to all regions where Galaxy A70 exists.

The update has a firmware version A705FNXXU5CTK4 and weighs 1421 MB. As mentioned earlier, it includes the latest security patch(November 1, 2020) along with improvements to the keyboard, Wi-Fi, keyboard features, and more. Additionally, Sammobile report says the Galaxy A70 update is only rolling out for Kyivstar mobile network carrier. This corroborates the above-mentioned theory which Samsung usually carries out for its update cycle.

Anyway, the new update seems to add a split keyboard support on landscape mode, YouTube search feature on Samsung Keyboard. Plus, users can now use Bitmoji stickers on Always On Display(AOD). For Messages, users get SOS messages, location sharing via SOS for every 30mins up to 24hrs.

Apart from the regular One UI 2.5 update, Galaxy A70 also gets a new Wi-Fi setting features. Users can now see the quality of a new connection, Wi-Fi password requesting feature. Samsung has recently been updating its mid-range Galaxy A and budget M series of devices with One UI 2.5, and One UI Core 2.5 updates respectively.

The first A series device to get it is the Galaxy A71, which was followed by Galaxy A51. For the M series, Galaxy M21 is the first to get One UI Core 2.5 update before M31. Earlier, the company rolled out the One UI 2.1 update last month with features like Single Take, Night Hyperlapse, My Filters, and more.

In any case, this is just an incremental update, and it should eventually get the bigger One UI 3.0 based on Android 11 soon. However, unfortunately Galaxy A70 isn’t present in the list of A series devices to get updates up to three years. If you are someone living in Ukraine currently, you can try updating the Galaxy A70 by navigating to Settings->Software Updates->Download and Install.

Kospet Smartwatch with Buy 1 Get 1 Free Offer at Gearbest’s Smartwatch Carnival

By

Greeva Agnihotri

-

Nov 19, 2020

A smartwatch is one of the most convenient pieces of technology that a person can carry at hand, or perhaps on the wrist, as they offer hands-free use while keeping one updated. To make this concept more exciting, Gearbest has introduced a Smartwatch Carnival where users can buy these versatile timepieces at a considerably discounted price. Participating in this fest are brands like Amazfit, Haylou, Kospet, and Elephone. However, the finest deal here is that of Kospet, where they have a ‘Buy 1, Get 1 Free’ offer along with massive discounts of up to 61% off on various products.

To make your life easy, we have compiled the list of best deals; keep reading to know about it.

Kospet Prime 2 Smartwatch

Kospet Prime 2 boasts a 2.1-inch full-round display with IPS wide viewing angle technology and 323ppi pixel density for enhanced readability. It features at least 9 sports modes that can be updated to 20 with a software update. This smartwatch also features a 1600mAh battery, octa-core processor, 4GB + 64GB memory, and a heart-rate sensor for all-round convenience.

Kospet Prime 2 smartwatch has a ‘Buy 1 Get 1 Free’ offer going on, where at the purchase of this unit, the consumer will also get Kospet V12 smartwatch absolutely free.

Kospet Prime 2 watch deal

Kospet Magic 2S Smartwatch

Kospet Magic 2S boasts as many as 40 sports modes and is waterproof for up to 3ATM. Its 1.3-inch HD display with 360 x 360p resolution and 2.5D high-transparent curved glass offers convenient readability. Other functions include blood oxygen, heart rate and sleep monitoring, stopwatch, push notifications, pedometer, and more.

Currently, Kospet Magic 2S is being sold with a massive discount, dropping its price to just $23.99.

Kospet Magic 2S Deal

Kospet Raptor Smartwatch

Kospet Raptor is a rugged smartwatch with an IP68 rating that can withstand collision, water, and dust. Featuring over 20 sports modes and 50+ creative UI watch faces, this timepiece offers complete versatility. Furthermore, it has a 1.3-inch HD screen and 230mAh battery and functions like heart rate and sleep monitor, music control, and pedometer.

Kospet Raptor Smartwatch is currently on flash sale with over 41% off, where its price drops down to just $32.99.

With huge discounts and deals, this seems like the ideal time to add a new accessory to your collection or upgrade the existing one, considering the huge savings one might end up with after buying these Kospet smartwatches. These exciting deals are up only for a limited time, so hurry and make the most of it.

Kospet Raptor Smartwatch Deal

To know more about the Smartwatches’ Carnival, click the link here.

Huawei levels Samsung in Counterpoint’s September 2020 list of Top-selling 5G Smartphones Globally

By

Balaji S

-

Nov 19, 2020

Counterpoint Research has released a report for the Top-selling 5G smartphones worldwide for the month of September 2020. And China’s Huawei has the same number of devices as Samsung in the top-10 despite facing pressure from all sides.

Huawei Mate 30 Pro featured 01 — Huawei Mate 30 Pro is one of the best smartphones in the market today but does not come with Google apps
because of the U.S. BAN

The report primarily talks about the Top-10 5G smartphones and their market share Globally in September. To begin with, the list has about seven devices from Chinese OEMs like Huawei, OPPO, Vivo, Honor. That’s a no-brainer considering the country’s 5G expansion is way ahead of the world. However, what is surprising is the presence of Huawei which has three devices in the list equalling rival Samsung.

Precisely, the Huawei P40 Pro, Nova 7, P40 occupy second, third, and fifth positions with 4.5%, 4.3%, and 3.8% market share respectively. This is a healthy trend for a company that is facing the heat elsewhere. In fact, the company recently led China where over 50% of 5G devices accounted for the total units sold in Q3. It’s ex-sister brand Honor also has an Honor 30S at the bottom with a 2.8% share.

Earlier this year, 5G was still available in only a few devices Globally and Hence, it didn’t penetrate deep into the markets. However, if you take China, it started the 5G rollout last October and is already pushing for 6G when other countries are struggling to adopt 5G better.

Besides, the report also shows budget smartphones like Oppo A72 5G, and Vivo Y70s 5G. This suggests that the 5G is entering into the affordable segment and breaking the notion of a “premium feature”. As the report says, this has become possible due to the mid-range 5G SoC of Qualcomm, MediaTek. That said, the report predicts that Apple will play a big role in commercializing 5G in North America, Europe after the iPhone 12 series.

Having said that, the list also has Samsung whose Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G sits at the top with a 5.0% market share. It has two more devices the Galaxy S20+ 5G, Note 20 5G with 4.0%, and 2.9% global share respectively.

In any case, this is a welcoming trend as there are more than 200 5G models currently compared to only 50 in Q1. Overall, the growth of the 5G models has increased by 300% in Q3 2020 compared to Q1. And as affordable 5G devices launch, and continue to grab attention, the contribution of top-10 devices in the total 5G sales has shrunk to 37% in September compared to 93% in Jan 2020.

ZTE unveils the Axon 20 4G powered by a Unisoc Tiger T618 SoC

By

Jed John Ikoba

-

Nov 19, 2020

Chinese tech giant ZTE launched the Axon 20 5G in September this year. The smartphone emerged as the world’s first under-display camera phone but the 5G connectivity onboard obviously stands out better than the selfie camera that was everything but impressive.

ZTE has got a trimmed down 4G version of the Axon 20 in the works. Available details show the device will bepowered by a UNISOC Tiger T618 chipset. The Tiger T618 SoC is an octa-core CPU that is equipped with two Cortex-A75 cores clocked at 2GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores with the same clock speed.

Although the entire specifications of the Axon 20 4G is unknown at this moment, the phone is expected to retain the under display selfie camera of its high-end version. The design and camera configuration are also retained from the 5G version.

As a reminder, the Axon 20 packs a 6.92-inch OLED screen that covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and supports 10-bit color depth. The display has an FHD+ resolution of 2460×1080 pixels. The back houses a Quad camera setup stacked at the upper left corner. The sensors include a 64MP Ultra-high pixel main camera. There is also an 8MP 120-degree ultra-wide-angle camera, a 2MP depth of field lens, and a 2MP macro lens.

UP NEXT: Oppo X 2021 unveiled as the world’s first smartphone concept with an extending display

Render shows the POCO M3 will come in yellow, blue, and gray

By

Habeeb Onawole

-

Nov 19, 2020

The POCO M3 is an upcoming mid-range phone from the Xiaomi subsidiary, POCO. With a planned launch for November 24, fans are excited and now, a leaked render will further increase their excitement.

The render which was shared by Ishan Agarwal via 91 Mobiles shows the phone will come in three colorways. There is the expected gray/black along with a bright yellow and a nice looking blue variant too.

The POCO M3 is shown to have a waterdrop notch while the design on the back reminds us of the OnePlus 8T Cyberpunk 2077 Edition. The upper part of the phone where the cameras are positioned is painted black, albeit a lighter shade than that of the camera housing. At the far right is the manufacturer’s name in white font. It is a nice design and one we expect more manufacturers will emulate.

The POCO M3 has three rear cameras arranged vertically. Unconfirmed specs say the primary camera is a 48MP sensor but there are no details about the other cameras. The photo also confirms that it has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.

Other reported specs of the POCO M3 phone are a 6.53-inch FHD+ display, a Snapdragon 662 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 6000mAh battery capacity, and support for 18W fast charging.

The new phone will be arriving less than three months after the POCO M2 was announced. The POCO M2 itself is a rebadged version of the Redmi 9. It has been reported that the POCO M3 will be sold as a Redmi phone in other markets. Back in July, the POCO M2 Pro was also announced which means we should expect a POCO M3 Pro to arrive later.

Which of the three colors is your favorite? Let us know in the comment box.

Vivo S7e 5G specifications and features

Editor’s Pick: [Update Roadmap Revealed] Vivo officially unveils OriginOS; it is a complete system overhaul from FuntouchOS

Vivo S7e 5G pricing and availability

UP NEXT: These vivo and iQOO smartphones will get OriginOS update

UP NEXT: Realme Watch S with 1.3-inch circular display launched in Europe for €79.99

UP NEXT: Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G Geekbench listing reveals Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chipset and 8GB RAM

UP NEXT: Huami announces Zepp Z flagship smartwatch with Amazon Alexa; ECG version to come later

UP NEXT: Huawei MateStation B515 is a desktop computer that may be powered by the company’s own Kirin ARM-based CPU

UP NEXT: Moto G Stylus 2021 specifications leaked; Launch may not be far away

Editor’s Pick: Redmi Note 9 Series tipped to start around 1000 yuan ($151) in China

UP NEXT: Redmi Note series global sales exceed 140 million units

Editor’s Pick: Redmi Note series global sales exceed 140 million units

Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G specifications (Rumored)

UP NEXT: Redmi Note 9T with Dimensity 800U clears SIRIM certification

Editor’s Pick: Samsung to pioneer its own UD Camera tech on the Galaxy Z Fold 3

UP NEXT: Samsung Galaxy A70 starts getting One UI 2.5 update in Europe

A return to Google Mobile Services

A redesigned Magic UI or a New UX Skin entirely

Snapdragon-powered Honor Phones

UP NEXT: Honor to face new challenges by competing against its ex-parent company Huawei

UP NEXT: Huawei sells Honor subsidiary to Zhixin New Information Technology Co. Ltd

Apple iPhone 12 Mini vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G vs Sony Xperia 5 II

Design

Display

Specs & Software

Camera

Battery

Price

Apple iPhone 12 Mini vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G vs Sony Xperia 5 II: PRO and CONS

UP NEXT: Galaxy Xcover 5 could be Samsung’s first 5G rugged smartphone

Kospet Prime 2 Smartwatch

Kospet Magic 2S Smartwatch

Kospet Raptor Smartwatch

UP NEXT: Redmi Note 9 5G series likely to debut on November 2

UP NEXT: Here’s how you can keep the POCO X3 refresh rate locked on 120Hz