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Huawei Mate X2 with 66W fast charger bags 3C certification

Recent reports have revealed that the upcoming Huawei Mate X2 foldable phone is codenamed as “Teton.” In September, its TET-AN00 model number was spotted at the database of China’s TENAA authority. Today, the TET-AN00 model number along with its network variant with model number TET-AN10 received approval from the 3C authority of China. The 3C certification is a good hint that the arrival of the Mate X2 may not be far away.

The 3C certification of the Huawei TET-AN00 / AN10 smartphone reveals that it supports 5G connectivity and it may ship with a 66W charger. It is the same charger that is available with the Mate 40 series of flagship phones. No other information on the specs of the Mate X2 can be found in its 3C listing.

Huawei Mate X2 3C

At the end of September, the Wi-Fi Alliance authority certified one of the global editions of the Mate X2 that has a TET-NX9 model number. The Wi-Fi certification revealed that the device supports Wi-Fi 6 and it is loaded with EMU 11.

Speculations surrounding the Mate X2 have revealed that it will be sporting an inward folding design like the Galaxy Z Fold 2. In other words, it won’t be equipped with an outward folding design like the predecessor Mate X and Mate Xs.

The Mate X2 is expected to feature an 8-inch foldable screen that will offer a resolution of 2248 x 2220 pixels. It is likely to draw power from the Kirin 9000 5G chipset. There is no word on the launch date of the device. Hopefully, the rumor mill will spill some information on the Mate X2 in the coming days.

 

OnePlus Nord N10 spotted on Singapore’s IMDA Certification suggesting an Asia launch

OnePlus recently announced the budget Nord N10 5G, and N100 in the US, and EU. And, a report by Android Central claimed that the devices won’t make the cut to countries like India. Now, one of the devices has hit Singapore’s IMDA certification suggesting an imminent launch.

OnePlus Nord N10 5G Featured

The new tip comes from Mukul Sharma who posted the information on his Twitter account. We personally verified Singapore’s IMDA database and found that the device has a model number “BE2029” and marketing name “N10”. Now, if you recall, a similar device hit the Geekbench listing back in July. It had the model number “BE2028” and Snapdragon 690 5G which is present on the Nord N10 5G.

Nord N10 IMDA Asia launch

This further confirms that the device with model number BE2029 is indeed the Nord N10.  And it could just be another model number for Singapore. That said, this also strongly hints that the OnePlus might launch it in some countries of Asia although we won’t place our bet on the Indian launch just yet.

OnePlus Nord N10 5G Specifications

OnePlus Nord N10 5G features a 6.49-inch FHD+ LCD display with a 90Hz refresh rate. Under the hood, it is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 5G SoC and is paired with 6GB RAM, 128GB storage.

At the back, it has four cameras. The primary lens is a 64MP sensor, while other sensors include an 8MP ultra-wide and two 2MP sensors. Upfront, we have a 16MP sensor tucked under punch-hole for selfies. Other features include MicroSD slot, 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, rear fingerprint sensor, 3.5mm headphone jack.

The device has a 4,300mAh  battery with support for Warp Charge 30T via USB-C port. Sadly, it runs OxygenOS 10.5 based on Android 10 and not Android 11 out of the box. The device retails for £329/€329 (~$429) and comes in single Midnight Ice Blue color. We will have to wait and see how OnePlus markets these devices in Asia.

Timex Fitness Band launched in India with stainless steel mesh strap

Timex is one of the popular wristwatch brands in the world. The Indian subsidiary of the company called Timex Group India Ltd has launched a new product called Timex Fitness Band. Unlike most fitness trackers in the market, this one is targeted at fashionable customers just like the OPPO Band Fashion.

Timex Fitness Band TWTXB100T Rose Gold Edition

Timex Fitness Band Features & Specifications

The newly launched Timex Fitness Band sports an alloy casing and ships with a stainless steel mesh strap. However, interested customers can opt for an optional black-colored silicon band if required.

The fitness band comes in two colors namely Rose Gold and Black with model numbers TWTXB100T and TWTXB101T respectively.

Timex Fitness Band TWTXB101T Black Edition Silicon Strap

The tracker comes equipped with a 0.96-inch color display with a resolution of 160 x 80 pixels and support for touch input. The type of the panel is not known but going by the 5-day battery life claim, it must be featuring an LCD panel.

Since Timex is a traditional watch brand, the company does go detail into the hardware specs and features of its fitness tracker. As per its website (via Mr. Phone), the tracker supports heart-rate monitoring, activity tracking, call/SMS notifications, and music control.

Timex Fitness Band TWTXB101T Black Edition

In a nutshell, the Timex Fitness Band is a basic fitness tracker with a classic design like no other in the category.

Timex Fitness Band Pricing & Availability

The Timex Fitness Band is priced at ₹4,495 and is available starting today from authorized retailers across the country. It can be also bought online from the company’s official website but the product is listed “Coming Soon” as of publishing this article.

 

DXOMARK Audio Review: iPhone 12 is just three points short of topping the charts

Last year, DXOMARK, primarily known for camera reviews, published benchmarks for its audio performance of smartphones. It includes many testing parameters like Timbre, Spatial,  maximum volume, and its artifacts. The company has now published the audio performance of the recently launched iPhone 12. And it almost matches the top-scoring device in their list.

iPhone 12 DXOMARK AUDIO
Credit: DXOMARK

The iPhone 12 has obtained an overall audio score of 73 in the DXOMARK Audio test. This is a very slight improvement if we look at the 72 score of the iPhone 11. However, it manages to sneak into the top 10 list of DXOMARK smartphone audio rankings. Accordingly, it sits currently in sixth place just above the yesteryear Apple flagship, iPhone 11 Pro Max.

However, it surprisingly fails to secure a rank above the iPhone Xs Max and misses out just by a score of one. Xiaomi’s Mi 10 Pro currently tops the list with a score of 76. Talking about the audio performance of the iPhone 12, DXOMARK says it offers an overall good performance albeit not bringing that big of a change from iPhone 11. You can take a look at the audio hardware(specifications), features of iPhone 12 below:

  • 2xSpeakers(1-Bottom, 1-Top)
  • 2xMicrophones(1-Primary,1-Secondary) with NC(Noise Cancellation)
  • Audio Zoom
  • Dolby Atmos Surround Sound

That said, the iPhone 12 scores 73 in both the audio and playback sections. As per the report, it performs well in subcategories like Timbre, and spatial rendering. It also seems to have a good and satisfying maximum volume.

Audio: Pros and Cons

The highlight of the speakers is reportedly seen in Gaming mode with a little help from the proper placement of speakers. Similarly, in recording tests, it shows good character with frequency response, punchy sounds with good attributes, and loudness. The recordings also have natural effects.

However, its drawbacks are few distortions while playing audio in the low spectrum. Plus, the device’s microphone placement is a bit obstructive at times. And recordings have modest distortion at times in loud volumes. The device also performs badly in Artifacts(sudden unwanted sound) and DXOMARK says it’s due to the heavy compression of the iPhone 12.

To sum up, if you look at the pros, it has excellent timbre, a wider sound stage, good loudness. But has Cons like high-volume distortion(Playback & recording), inverted channels in landscape mode, and obstructing microphone placements.

Here’s the list of most-shipped smartphones in Q3 2020

In late October, Canalys published a report on Global Smartphone Market Q3 2020. According to that, Xiaomi beat Apple to become the world’s third-largest smartphone brand for the first time. Now, more than a week later, the research firm has revealed the most-shipped devices in the same period.

Apple iPhone 11 All Colors Featured

As per Canalys, Samsung was the world’s largest smartphone brand in the third quarter of 2020 with a 23% market share by shipping 80.2 million units. Then, came Huawei at the second spot with a 14.9% share and 51.7 million shipments, followed by Xiaomi in the third place with 47.1 million shipments and 13.5% market share.

Lastly, the fourth and fifth positions were captured by Apple and vivo respectively. The American tech giant shipped 43.2 million units with a 12.4% market share, whereas the Chinese smartphone maker gained 9.1% share with 31.8 million units in shipments.

Talking about the most shipped smartphones, five of them were Samsung, three devices were by Xioami, and two from Apple.

The iPhone 11 and iPhone SE 2020 acquired the first two positions. Whereas, the Samsung Galaxy A21s, Galaxy A11, Galaxy A51, Galaxy A31, and Galaxy A01 Core captured third, fourth, fifth, eighth, and tenth places respectively.

On the other hand, Xiaomi obtained sixth, seventh, and ninth positions with Redmi Note 9/Redmi 10X 4G, Redmi 9, and Redmi 9A respectively.

Most Shipped Smartphones in Q3 2020 – Canalys

  1. iPhone 11
  2. iPhone SE 2020
  3. Galaxy A21s
  4. Galaxy A11
  5. Galaxy A51
  6. Redmi Note 9 / Redmi 10X 4G
  7. Redmi 9
  8. Galaxy A31
  9. Redmi 9A
  10. Galaxy A01 Core

What are your thoughts on this list? Did you expect any of these devices? Do let us know in the comment section below.

 

MIUI Health app can now track four sports activities without fitness tracker or smartwatch

At the MIUI 12 launch event earlier this year, Xiaomi announced a number of features for the MIUI Health app that would normally require a fitness tracker or a smartwatch. These features are now finally available for users in China seven months after the announcement.

MIUI Health App Track Running Walking Cycling Treadmill Featured

Xiaomi has recently updated the MIUI Health app to v2.9.12 in China. This latest version of the app can be installed on supported Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones from the first-party app store.

The new update for the MIUI Health app finally brings the sports modes that the company showcased at the MIUI 12 launch conference back in late April. Interested users can now use the app to track the following four activities.

  • Outdoor Running
  • Walking
  • Cycling
  • Treadmill

In addition to tracking, users can also set goals and share their results with friends and family.

Having said that, we are not sure how accurate the readings from the app is. However, it is worth noting that the same app added a function to measure heart rate using the phone’s camera and LED flash in September. In our testing, we found it to be on par with Xiaomi’s own Mi Band 4.

Therefore, we expect the app to provide similar readings for the sports modes as well. Anyway, we would not recommend it for daily usage as fitness trackers and smartwatches also provide other stats like heart rate and blood oxygen levels while working out, which is not possible using the MIUI health app.

 

OnePlus 8 Pro offers a “Solid” Selfie camera performance: DxOMark

The OnePlus 8 Pro was recently reviewed again by DxOMark. This time, the known testing firm reviewed the selfie camera of the 2020 OnePlus flagship, offering praises for its “solid performance.”

OnePlus

The OnePlus 8 Pro achieved a high score of 93 points on the selfie camera testing. This gives the device a ranking of 12th in the DxOMark rankings, just below the Huawei Mate 30 Pro, which scored a similar 93 points and above the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max that scored 92 points. For photography, the premium grade handset scored 97 points while in the video the device received 87 points.

It received praise for its accurate color reproduction and good exposure when taking pictures. However, the OnePlus 8 Pro tended to overexpose or blow the highlights out of proportion during certain well lit scenarios. Furthermore, noise being visible during the day was another major weak point of the 16 megapixel selfie shooter that sports an F/2.5 aperture.

OnePlus

On the video front, DxOMark tested the selfie shooter in its highest resolution and framerate, which is 1080p at 30 frames per second. Here, the negative aspects of the camera became more apparent, with it facing noticeable difficulty in adapting to certain scenes or changes in conditions. Despite this, the color was generally bright and vivid, with accurate white balance and well controlled noise levels as well. All in all, the device offered a solid performance on both stills and videos, which should satisfy most users.

 

Lenovo to launch Lemon branded entry-level phones soon in China

Few years ago, Lenovo used to sell Lemon-branded budget phones to target the youth in China. Soon, other brands like Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo flourished in the home market while Lemon phones started disappearing from the market. There is good news for people who have missing Lemon branded phones. Last evening while interacting with netizens, Lenovo’s General Manager for Mobile Business Department Chen Jin said in an interview that the company will once again sell Lemon branded phones.

Last year, Lenovo actively launched phones like Lenovo Z6 Pro, Z6 Pro 5G, Z6 Youth, K10 Note, and a few more. This year, the brand has only launched the Legion Pro gaming phone in China. Motorola has been under the wing of Lenovo since the time it was acquired in 2014. In 2019, it launched the Motorola P50 phone, and this year, it unveiled the Motorola Razr 5G.

So, in the past two years, China has received only two Motorola phones.  It appears that there has been some confusion in the company on how to manage the two brands for selling phones in the home market.

Lemon brand coming back

Jin said Lenovo’s mobile phone product line for China has been sorted out clearly. Lenovo and Motorola now have different focuses in terms of positioning their products. Motorola will cater to the mid-to-high-end audience, while Lenovo’s Legion line will focus on selling performance-driven phones. The Lemon phones will be aimed at the entry-level market.

Priced at around 1,000 Yuan, the Lemon K3 from 2014 was a well-received phone. It was rivaled by Redmi 2. Later, Lenovo released the Lenovo K3 Note to rival take on the Redmi Note series. Motorola has launched plenty of phones this year in the global markets. It is likely one of the cheaper Motorola phones could be rebranded as a Lemon named device soon.

In related news, Motorola XT2091 was approved by the FCC in October. The handset recently debuted as the Moto G 5G upper midrange phone. Interestingly, the FCC listing also revealed that it could be coming to some market as with Lenovo branding.

 

(via)

Coolpad withdraws patent infringement lawsuits against Xiaomi

Earlier today (10th November 2020), Coolpad released an official statement through its Weibo account, a Chinese microblogging website, saying that it would actively be withdrawing its series of patent infringement lawsuits against Xiaomi.

Coolpad Logo

For those unaware, Coolpad had filed for a series of patent infringement lawsuits against Xiaomi back in 2018. The company’s CEO had alleged that Xiaomi had infringed on over 200 of its patents and sought to ban the latter from selling any device, which infringed on its patents as well. The former had filed a lawsuit and took Xiaomi to court, which lasted till this date.

According to Coolpad’s official statement, “We deeply feel that the country’s development is still in a period of important strategic opportunities, and the domestic and international environment is undergoing profound and complex changes. Breaking through technological bottlenecks and promoting the industry’s better and faster development is the top priority for industry Coolpad and Xiaomi.”

Coolpad

Thus, the company has decided to voluntarily terminate all patent infringement lawsuit against Xiaomi and cancel any related cases as well. Coolpad also added that it would carry out “various forms of technical exchanges and cooperation with excellent companies inside and outside the industry.” Furthermore, it would respect technological innovation and intellectual property rights, following the principle of “technological self-reliance and self-reliance.”

 

Huawei Mate 40 clone called ivvi Mate 40 listed online, features SD865 for just 898 Yuan ($135)

Clones and imitations of popular smartphones from major brands are not uncommon. The Apple iPhones are usual targets, and now, a Huawei Mate 40 clone called ivvi Mate 40 has been spotted on an online listing as well.

Huawei

Huawei had launched its 2020 flagship Mate 40 series just last month. But now, a copycat version of the device has launched, which also features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC but is priced at only a fraction of the cost of the actual Mate 40 series. The device was listed online for a price of just 898 Yuan (roughly 135 US Dollars).

The online listing also states that the device sports a 50 megapixel penta camera setup. Furthermore, it houses 10GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The handset also sports dual mode 5G and features a design that is quite similar to the original Huawei Mate 40. Notably, the “LEICA” branding for the circular camera lenses has been replaced by “AICAMERA” on the rear along with a different position for the LED flash as well.

Huawei

On the front, a water drop styled notch can be found on the display, which has minimal bezels on every side. Unfortunately, while this deal seems too good to be true, it probably is as well. These copies of smartphone models from big name companies always try and take advantage of the popularity and brand name of established OEMs.

 

OnePlus Nord N10 5G gets its first-ever system update before hitting the shelves

A few days back, OnePlus announced the OnePlus Nord N10 5G as its most-affordable 5G handset alongside OnePlus Nord N100, which is the brand’s cheapest smartphone of 2020.  Both of them are yet to go on sale but the company has already pushed the first-ever system update to the former device.

OnePlus Nord N10 5G Featured

In case you do not know, the OnePlus Nord N10 5G and OnPlus Nord N100 are limited to Europe and the US only. However, the company has only announced the pricing and availability for Europe. No one knows how much these devices will cost and when will they go on sale in the US.

Therefore, the first-ever system update for OnePlus Nord N10 5G has only been released (via PiunikaWeb) for the European variant with build number OxygenOS 10.5.5. As per the changelog, the new build bumps up the security patch level to October 2020, optimizes power consumption, and optimizes camera shooting experience.

Hence, if you are going to going to get this handset, make sure to update the phone to the latest available software on booting up.

OnePlus Nord N10 5G OxygenOS 10.5.5 Official Changelog

  • System
    • Optimized power consumption of the system
    • Updated Android Security Patch to 2020.10
  • Camera
    • Optimized the camera’s shooting experience

 

Alleged Apple AirTag accessory made with Saddle Brown leather leaks online

Apple has been rumored to be working on a new product named AirTag that will allow users to track any object the device is attached to using the company’s Find My system. Now, the upcoming Apple AirTag accessory has been leaked online.

The leak, coming from Fudge, showcases an alleged Apple AirTag carrying accessory. It looks like a small leather sleeve for the AirTag which can allow users to easily place them within the leather cover, which is attached to the stainless steel keyring.

EDITOR’S PICK: Huawei to reportedly sell Honor for $15 billion to Digital China and Shenzhen government

Further, it has the text “Designed by Apple in California” and “Assembled in China” written over the ring. The leather used for this product seems to the same Saddle Brown color that Apple introduced for the official iPhone 12 Leather Sleeve.

However, the leaker also cautioned to take this information with a pinch of salt as it may not be an official Apple product but a Chinese replica based on Apple’s schemes.

The Apple AirTags has been a bit of a mystery. The product was first reported in April 2019 and since then several reports have claimed different launch schedules. Even Apple itself had confirmed that the company is working on it. However, the product still remains unannounced and there’s no information available about its launch date.

Apple is holding a launch event today (10th November) but the company is unlikely to reveal anything about AirTags. It is expected to launch the highly anticipated MacBooks powered by the ARM-based Apple Silicon chipset.

 

Apple India sees 29% rise in revenue, bringing in almost $2 billion in FY20

Apple is seeing a sizeable jump in revenue in India. The Cupertino based giant saw a rise of 29 percent, bringing the revenue to 13,755.8 crore INR (roughly 1.85 billion US Dollars) in the financial year of 2020.

Apple Online Store India September 23 2020

According to a DeccanHerald report, the smartphone manufacturer also saw notable growth in net profits as per documents sourced by business intelligence platform Tofler. Apple had reported a revenue of 10,673.7 crore INR (roughly about 1.43 billion US Dollars) in India for the fiscal year that ended on 31st March 2019. Furthermore, the company recorded a net profit of 926.2 crores INR (roughly 124 million US Dollars) in FY20 in the Southeast Asian nation.

This is a sizeable jump from the 262.27 crores INR (roughly 35 million US Dollars) net profit that Apple recorded in the previous year. Unfortunately, the company has yet to respond to this report at the moment. Although, it does mark the iPhone maker’s growth in the premium smartphone segment in India, which has been dominated by companies like OnePlus and Samsung in recent times.

Apple

In other words, Apple is aggressively pushing for a better footing in the high end market. Tim Cook, Apple CEO had recently stated that the company had “set a September quarter record in India, thanks in part to a very strong reception to this quarter’s launch of our online store in the country.” Back in September, the company also finally launched its first online store in India, while also ramping up local production of its iPhones in the region. Its profits were backed by strong iPhone sales, which were supplemented by Mas and iPads due to strong demand for remote working or work from home in the nation amid the lockdown.

 

HUAWEI Mate30 Pro starts receiving EMUI 11 stable update in global markets

Chinese telecom giant Huawei announced EMUI 11 as the latest version of its mobile operating system in September. Since then, the company has been beta testing this software on a number of its devices. Last week, the firm even began to roll out stable builds to HUAWEI P40 & Mate30 series in China. Now, the stable update is also available for HUAWEI Mate30 Pro in global markets.

For those unaware, apart from running a beta program in its home country China, Huawei has also been running a similar initiative in select global markets for HUAWEI P40, HUAWEI P40 Pro, HUAWEI P40 Pro+, and HUAWEI Mate30 Pro. Now, weeks later, the last device in the list has become the first to get EMUI 11 stable in international markets.

The information regarding the availability of this update was shared by Twitter user @RODENT950 (via XDA Developers), who is known for his HUAWEI and HONOR-related leaks.

The latest system update for HUAWEI Mate30 Pro brings all the new features of EMUI 11 as it is a flagship smartphone. However, the update does not bump up the Android version to 11. That’s because EMUI 11 is based on Android 10 just like EMUI 10 and EMUI 10.1 before it.

Anyway, Huawei has promised to bring select Android 11 features to the EMUI 11 eligible devices before upgrading them to HarmonyOS next year.

 

Google faces antitrust investigation in India over its payment service

Google is facing an antitrust investigation in a couple of countries, including the United States and China, and now yet another country has joined the list — India, which is also one of the biggest markets for the company.

India’s antitrust watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has opened an investigation into allegations about Google using its dominant position as an app store to promote its payment service in the country.

Google

Now, CCI will be reviewing the claims of whether the tech giant prominently promotes its payment service named Google Pay during the setup of an Android smartphone and if Play Store’s billing system is designed “to the disadvantage of both i.e. apps facilitating payment through UPI, as well as users.”

The complaint against Google alleges that the Play Store’s billing system favors the Google Pay app and the in-app purchases for apps downloaded through Play Store are also mandated to support Google Pay service “if they want to be listed on the Play Store” and are required to pay a “high commission” for the same.

In response to this, the company has told CCI that Android is not dominant in the Indian market as it faces significant competition from feature phone operating systems as feature phones now come with functions and performance that attributes to a smartphone.

EDITOR’S PICK: Huawei to reportedly sell Honor for $15 billion to Digital China and Shenzhen government

The search engine giant also says that its 15 percent and 30 percent service fee is not arbitrary and is market-based, legitimate, and pro-competitive as it covers third party fees and supports investments in Play Store, including resources for developers.

For those who are unaware, Google Pay was launched in India around three years back but at that time, the service was called Google Tez. Currently, Google Pay is the second-largest online payment service in India, slightly behind Walmart’s PhonePe.

Apart from this investigation, the company is also facing two other antitrust inquiries in the Indian market which includes allegations about abusing its dominance of Android in the Smart TV market and another regarding its dominance of Android in the mobile market.

 

LG Display to increase its OLED supply to Apple for 2021 iPhones

LG Display is set to grow the production rate of its OLED (organic light emitting diode) panel factory lines. The primary reason for the expansion in capacity is to dedicate the expanded lines to Apple.

LG Display now apple secondary supplier

According to TheElec report, the company is going to expand its E6-1 and E6-2 factory lines in Paju, South Korea. Here, LG Display will set up low temperature polycrystalline oxide (LPTO) thin-film transistors (TFT) equipment that can add about 25,000 substrates per month within the monthly production rate into the lines by 2021.

This LPTO kit would also be able to add 5,000 substrates per month in the production rate, which is already being installed. So, by May next year, 10,000 substrates will be added and another 10,000 substrates in the following month. Suppliers of the equipment are currently standing by for the South Korean tech giant, waiting for the orders for the May deliveries.

LG Display

Reportedly, Apple is planning on using LTPO TFT panels for its high end iPhone models in 2021. The company has already used the low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) TFT process and is basically adding an oxide TFT process as well now. LG Display will be supplying these panels to Apple and is likely to have already gotten approval for its expansion plans, which will have it supply two out of the four iPhone models that are planned to launch next year.

 

Huawei to sell Honor for $15 billion to Digital China and Shenzhen government: Report

Huawei is planning on selling its budget smartphone brand unit Honor for a 100 billion Yuan (roughly 15.2 billion US Dollars) deal which will include the Digital China Group, and the local government of the brand’s home town, Shenzhen.

Previously, we had provided a closer look at the Digital China Group, which was just a potential buyer of the Chinese tech giant’s Honor subsidiary. Now, a new report from Reuters has arrived, which states that the company is planning on selling its subbrand for a large sum to the local government and others. For those unaware, Huawei had apparently been looking into selling its Honor unit as it has been facing various supply constraints due to US sanctions. It has lost its chip supply and having a budget oriented line would put further strain on its already dwindling chip inventory as well.

Honor logo

This report also arrives amid the US Presidency, which has had a change in leadership. Although, Huawei is clearly not hoping for any imminent changes in policy that would be favorable to its position. In other words, the security risk allegations might still persist despite Joe Biden taking over. The transaction is said to be “all cash” and will include almost every asset, branding, research and development capabilities, and even supply chain management as well.

While this hasn’t been officially been announced, sources believe that the company might unveil this news by Sunday (15th November 2020). As per sources, the Digital China Group will be among the top two shareholders of Honor with a near 15 percent stake in Honor Terminal Co Ltd, which was previously fully owned by Huawei. The transaction will have Digital China finance the bulk of the deal through bank loans, which will further be supplemented by at least three investment firms that are backed by the government of financial technology hub Shenzhen. These firms would each hold about 10 to 15 percent of the shares.

Huawei Logo MWC 2019

After the deal goes through, Honor still plans on retaining most of its management and over 7,000 employees and workforce. Furthermore, it plans on going public within the next three years as per a source. At the moment, Honor has declined from commenting on the matter, while Huawei, Digital China, and the Shenzhen government have yet to respond on the matter.

 

Apple Silicon could lead to low-cost Mac devices

Apple has quite a successful lineup of computing devices under its Mac lineup, which includes laptops as well as desktops. But, the company’s market share in this space is nowhere near to Windows computers because of the premium pricing.

However, that could change soon. Apple is now switching to Apple Silicon — it’s own chipset based on ARM processors. This means that the pricing for the Mac devices could go down, helping the company to increase its market share.

MacBook Apple Silicon

The Cupertino-based giant has confirmed the “One More Thing” event for today, i.e. 10th November where the company is expected to launch its highly anticipated MacBook devices powered by its own Apple Silicon chipset.

The usage of Apple’s own ARM-based processors for the MacBook is expected to offer better performance and more battery life compared to the existing Intel-powered laptops. At the same time, the pricing is also expected to get lower.

EDITOR’S PICK: Sweden halts 5G auctions after Huawei gets relief from court

To know how much the pricing is getting impacted because of this transition in the chipset, we will have to wait for the official launch announcement which will happen in a few hours. However, reports indicate that the pricing could go down by around $200.

According to Analyst Samik Chatterjee (via AppleInsider), Apple has a market opportunity of around $15 billion, which will “assure a multi-year growth in a lackluster PC market.” Further, it is said that Apple’s usage of its own chipset could lead to a reduction in BOM costs of about $75, offering a growth opportunity.

 

Sweden halts 5G auctions after Huawei gets relief from court

Ever since the United States imposed restrictions on Huawei, the Chinese giant has been struggling to get into the 5G communications market in several countries and the latest country to ban Huawei is Sweden.

After being excluded from the 5G networks, Huawei filed a lawsuit against the Swedish telecoms regulator PTS, and to the relief of the Chinese company, the court has now granted a stay order against the decision.

Huawei Logo MWC 2019

As per the report coming from Reuters, some parts of PTS’ decision prior to the upcoming 5G auction will not apply until further notice and it would allow Huawei’s involvement in the 5G spectrum auction in Sweden.

EDITOR’S PICK: China launches the world’s first 6G experimental satellite

After the court’s decision, the auctions have been halted by the authorities, which would have benefited Nokia and Ericsson. PTS is now planning to review the possibilities of starting the process as soon as possible while Huawei is trying to have a dialogue with them to become a certified vendor.

For those who are unaware, Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers — Huawei and ZTE were banned by Sweden from taking part in the upcoming 5G auction, citing security concerns. Also, PTS had asked companies that are taking part in the auction to remove Huawei and ZTE from existing in the central functions by 1st January 2025.

After the United States banned Huawei in the country for the telecom networks, it is also pressuring other nations to follow the suit with the ban. Several countries bowed down to the pressure, including the UK which banned the Chinese giant and ordered companies to replace all Huawei equipment from the country’s infrastructure by 2027.

 

AMD insists it shipped tons of Ryzen 5000 CPUs despite it being sold out everywhere

The new AMD Ryzen 5000 series of desktop processors had recently launched to a market that was eagerly awaiting its arrival. However, despite the company stating it shipping out “tons of units,” the new CPUs have already been out of stock across the globe.

AMD

The shortage of new chips arrives amid the stocking issues being faced by NVIDIA, which has also left many people frustrated. For those unaware, Team Green’s new RTX 3000 series GPUs have been struggling to keep up to supply the large demand for the new graphics cards. Notably, AMD had stated that it would be facing the same supply constraints as NVIDIA did for its new Radeon 6000 series of GPUs, but it seems that its CPUs are already being sold out everywhere.

According to a TechRadar report, it is being speculated that Team Red’s recent Ryzen CPUs might be a part of a “paper launch” strategy. Meaning that the new release arrived just as a PR stunt with very little inventory to begin with. Although, Frank Azor, AMD’s chief architect of gaming solutions and marketing have assured that this would not be the case and insists that a large demand is the cause of the problem.

AMD

Unfortunately, this does not seem very convincing as the infamously low stock from NVIDIA also prompted the company to blame the demand rather than its own supply issues. In other words, the statement from the official might frustrate its patient buyers that are looking forward to a CPU upgrade even further. So stay tuned for more as we will be providing updates when more information is available.