In late August, Bloombergbroke out the news that Apple will be launching its online store in India before Diwali. Now, almost a month later, the American tech giant has made an official announcement regarding the same. In a press release, the company has revealed that its online store will go live in India on September 23.
Apple has been operating in India for more than 20 years but its official online store will only open in the country next week. With its launch, customers will have access to a number of perks, some of which were previously unavailable when buying Apple products in the region.
For instance, customers in India will now able to trade-in their old eligible phones for iPhones. Students can avail special discounts while buying macs and iPads. That’s not all, customers can build custom macs and also order AirPods with a personalized engraving of emoji or text in English, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu. Even iPads and Apple Pencils can be bought with engravings but the text for them is limited to English.
Further, Apple Specialists will be available for customers to help them make purchases through advice and guidance in English and Hindi languages. Customers can also buy Apple Care+ plan for their new products to extend their warranty, technical support and accidental damage cover to up to two years.
In October, customers will be also able to attend free online Today at Apple sessions led by local Creative Pros. These sessions are said to be focussed on photography and music. Last but not least, customers in India will be able to enjoy special offers, EMIs, multiple transaction options including UPI, and contactless delivery.
Apple is expected to make a move to Mini-LED displays for its high-end iPad as well as MacBook models. As per the reports, Apple could start adopting this new display technology sometime later this year.
Now, the tech giant has been granted a new patent for Micro-LED display (via Patently Apple) which the company is planning to use for future MacBook, iPads, and a Fitness Band. Earlier this year, Apple was granted a patent for Fitness Band but there’s no confirmation if the company is actually planning to enter that segment.
It seems that the company will first adopt the Mini-LED display and will gradually move towards using Micro-LED display panels on its products. Currently, it is facing some issues and thus, its adoption in the near future seems unlikely.
Recently, it was reported that Apple could be using the MicroLED Display panel for the seventh-generation Apple Watch. Cupertino-based Apple is reportedly investing around $330 million in a Taiwan-based company for Micro LED factory that will manufacture displays for future iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and other devices.
Manufacturers are trying to now adopt Micro LED screens instead of LCD or OLED panels as the new technology promises to be more energy-efficient and the panel is also thinner. It is said that the power consumption of the Micro LED screen is one-tenth compared to LCD.
Micro LED also supports a higher brightness, higher dynamic range, and wider color gamut. It also offers a faster update rate and a wider viewing angle. Given that the technology is still in the development phase, we could see devices with Mini LED display first, which falls between traditional LED and Micro LED technology.
TSMC, the world’s largest chipset manufacturer, had started mass-production of 5nm chips for the past few months. Now, it is being reported that the company’s facility for the production of 5nm chips has been fully booked by Apple.
According to the latest report coming from China, the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will be making chips for the iPhone 12, iPad Air, 5G iPad Pro, and the upcoming MacBook.
It seems like TSMC is giving preferential treatment to Apple given that almost one-fifth of the company’s total revenue comes from the Cupertino-based tech giant. The company reportedly started mass-production of 5nm chipset from March this year and will continue making chipsets for only for Apple this year.
As per the reports, Apple had ordered components for up to 80 million iPhone 12 units but the actual number manufactured this year may end up being 74 million at most. The remaining units would be deferred to next year.
This move from TSMC could be the reason behind Samsung having started mass-production of Qualcomm Snapdragon 875 flagship chipset. If Qualcomm wants to stick to its usual schedule of launching new Snapdragon-series flagship SoC in December, then it has to start mass-production and Samsung is the only other manufacturer having technology for making chips on 5nm node.
Apart from SD875, Samsung is also reportedly working on the production of its own Exynos 992 SoC, which could power the company’s upcoming flagship smartphones. It is also reportedly designing custom chipset for Google.
Huawei is also expected to soon launch its Kirin 9000 SoC, which is based on a 5nm chipset. The company had reportedly ordered 15 million units to TSMC but only 8.8 million units are available and now with the new sanctions, the Chinese giant won’t be able to procure more units of this chipset.
Oppo celebrates its 16 years anniversary today and at present, the company operates in more than 40 countries and regions. Looks like the company is showing no signs of slowing down as it is gearing up for the launch of new smartphones in South Africa. The list of devices likely to launch includes two A series of smartphones and Enco W11 earbuds.
A report (via MyBroadband) redirects us to the official South African website of Oppo. While the exact list of devices that are launching is not officially known yet, the report says the two smartphones could be Oppo A53 and Oppo A72. If we recall, Oppo launched the A72 back in April and the budget A53 smartphone was recently unveiled in India.
Apart from this, the website has also listed Oppo’s budget Enco W11 Truly Wireless Earbuds suggesting an imminent launch. In fact, the earbuds launched at just $33 recently in India. However, it is not known if the Enco W11 will launch alongside the smartphones or at a later date, yet. The earbuds feature 8mm drivers with AAC format support, Bluetooth 5.0, touch controls, IP55-rating, and up to 20hrs battery life.
Being a budget device, the Oppo A53 features a 6.5-inch HD+ 90Hz display and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 SoC. Further, it has a rectangular layout with 13MP main, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth sensors on the back.
There is a 16MP selfie shooter up front. Paired up to 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, the device is backed up by a 5,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging support.
Oppo A72 Specifications
Oppo A72 has slightly bumped up specs with a 6.5-inch FHD+ display with a resolution of 2400×1080 pixels. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SoC, paired with 4GB RAM and up to 128GB storage.
The rear rectangular setup has quad-cameras with a 48MP main lens, an 8MP ultra-wide, and two 2MP sensors while the selfie shooter is a 16MP sensor. Other features include 4G LTE, 3.5mm audio jack, WiFi, Bluetooth, 5,000mAh battery and runs Android 10 out of the box.
The pricing is not known yet, but it could be around the same $200-$250 as the other regions.
After launching the Red Cable Prive, OnePlus is back with the ‘OnePlus Fridays’ initiative. In addition to rewards, OnePlus says this initiative will exclusively allow users to purchase products like OnePlus Nord and Buds starting today (Friday).
OnePlus’s Red Cable Club exceeded two million members recently. Following this, the brand has been announcing a lot of exciting offers for the users. On the occasion of Red Cable Day, the company announces the new ‘OnePlus Fridays’ initiative.
Starting today, the initiative will run every Friday and users can avail a host of offers on flagships like OnePlus 7T. Further, Red Cable users can exclusively purchase OnePlus Nord and OnePlus Buds including the Blue and Grey colors.
OnePlus Fridays offers
OnePlus says it will run a special sale for this which will also include bank offers. The offers for OnePlus Fridays Initiative are listed below:
Rs.8,000 instant cashback for ICICI Credit card and ICICI Credit/Debit cards for EMI transactions.
Complimentary OnePlus 8 André limited edition protective case on purchase of OnePlus 8 5G.
Complimentary protective case on purchase of OnePlus 7T Pro.
Special lucky draw wherein five lucky winners stand a chance to win the OnePlus Buds.
Additionally, there are exciting offers for the Red Cable Club day which includes:
50% discount on the OnePlus 8 André limited edition protective case for the OnePlus 8 5G on Red Cable Privé.
5% discount on all OnePlus accessories at the OnePlus Experience Stores.
Free service and up to 15% discount on spares at any OnePlus Exclusive Service Centre.
However, as mentioned above, the offers are exclusive to Red Cable Club members. Hence, you will have to signup/login to the OnePlus’ website to know more.
Apple officially announced the cancellation of the much-anticipated AirPower wireless charger early last year. 18 months after the cancellation, there are feelers that the company is yet to fully collapse all prospect of Apple-branded wireless charging solutions. The US company is reportedly working on a couple of updated wireless chargers and one of them has allegedly been spotted on video for the first time.
According to 9to5Mac, a short video was sent in purported to be the Apple Wireless charger. The charger is noticeably smaller than existing wireless charging solutions from rival companies.
There are speculations that the leaked product could be a development unit meant for third-party accessory makers or a prototype of the commercial version. If it is a prototype, then that means the AirPower Mini will have a small build. Rumours also have it that Apple was planning to equip the next-gen iPhone 12 lineup which should launch in October with an internal ring of magnets beneath the rear panel.
The rumours also revealed that the design will also be put into consideration on the iPhone 12 cases in order to perfectly align the flagship devices with the upcoming wireless charger.
While Apple is yet to reveal anything bout the wireless charger, noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had hinted in the early part of this year that Apple was working on a “smaller wireless charging mat” tentatively dubbed AirPower Mini. We can’t say for sure if the product will be unveiled alongside the iPhone 12 series. However, we won’t wait for too long as the flagships are expected to go official in October.
ASUS’ Republic of Gamers (ROM) brand recently announced that it has cooperated with the world’s top fashion brand ACRONYM to launch the ROG Magic 14-ACRNM Limited Edition gamebook. The product has now gone on pre-sale across different channels with a hefty price tag of 19,999 yuan (~$2956).
ACRONYM was founded in 1994 by Errolson Hugh and Michaela Sachenbacher as an independent design agency, with a focus on the fusing of style and technology in functional apparel. The Munich-based brand is known for its highly-innovative and versatile designs that often utilize a monochromatic palette
The ROG Magic 14-ACRNM limited edition brings a different feeling to ROG gaming computers, giving the ROG Magic 14 a new design language and injecting trendy cultural symbols
The gaming PC is equipped with ROG’s first and exclusive cherry blossom pink light display matrix screen (AniMe Matrix™). The A-side is made by CNC milling process, adding 6536 precise perforations and 1215 mini LEDs to reproduce the classic 8 bit in players’ minds. Pixel wind provides gamers and creators with a brand new platform to display custom animations, text and even rhythm with music becoming synonymous with retro and individual technology products.
In addition, ROG Magic 14-ACRNM Limited Edition challenges the design limit, strengthens some unique visual features, innovates in custom materials, etching, mechanical processing, and specially developed spray paint and two completely original fonts, and Upgrade the light display matrix screen to unique cherry pink.
Of course, this kind of extreme pursuit is not only in the body of ROG Magic 14-ACRNM limited edition, but every link the user touches has been re-customized.
For example, the exclusively designed corrugated paper box, the air column bag packaging that can be reused as a computer bag, the special design of the adapter and manual. Even the USB flash drive that comes with it meets the premise of “multi-function” and can be hung on your body as an accessory.
In terms of hardware, ROG Magic 14-ACRNM Limited Edition is equipped with AMD’s latest Ryzen 9 4900HS processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q ray-tracing graphics card, which has the most powerful performance among 14-inch notebooks.
Currently, the ROG Magic 14-ACRNM limited edition is on pre-sale simultaneously on ROG official flagship store on Jingdong, Tmall flagship store and ASUS Mall.
The iPad is the most popular tablet right now. With new models in form of the iPad Air 2020 and 8th-gen iPad announced a few days ago, Apple should cement its lead and maybe even grow its share of the tablet market.
Apple has sold half a billion iPads since 2010
At the Apple event on Tuesday, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, revealed that they have sold 500 million iPads since the first model was released in 2010. Why is this news important? It is because Apple announced back in 2018 that it will no longer reveal the unit sales for its devices anymore. Prior to the announcement, Apple used to disclose the number of sales in its quarterly earnings report.
Apple’s current iPad lineup includes the 8th gen iPad which starts at $329, the iPad mini with a starting price of $399, the new iPad Air that starts at $599, and the top of the line iPad Pro with a starting price of $799.
Last year, Apple announced iPadOS, a mobile operating system designed for its tablets. Before the announcement, the iPad lineup ran iOS just like the iPhones. The new operating system takes advantage of the large screen of the iPads with new multitasking features, a desktop version of Safari, and also allows the tablet to double as a second display for Apple’s iMacs and MacBooks.
Earlier this year Realme launched a new smartphone lineup in India targeted to young people: the Narzo series. A few months after, the Chinese giant is already going to announce the second generation of the lineup (as confirmed earlier this month): it will be called the Narzo 20 series. Just a few days are separating us from the official launch of the new phones, but we do not have to wait for the launch date in order to have a satisfying idea about the new smartphones. Thanks to several leaks surfaced in the last period, we are able to provide a rumor roundup with the most important specs and features of the Realme Narzo 20 series.
Realme Narzo 20 Series Rumor Roundup
Design
The Realme Narzo 20 series will be composed of three phones: Narzo 20, Narzo 20 Pro, and Narzo 20A. Realme invited a number of its fans to get an early look at the upcoming lineup. Madhav Sheth, the CEO of the company posted photos of the lucky fans getting a hands-on experience of the phones: one of the photos published shows the Narzo 20 Pro. The photo shows the blue color variant with light streaks shaped like a “V” on the rear side.
Something similar to what we have seen with the Realme 6 Pro, but with a different shape. It looks like the back is made of glass, but we had no chance to verify it. On the upper left corner, there is a rectangular camera module containing a quad rear camera and a LED flash. At the bottom of the device, the Narzo 20 Pro has “Narzo designed by Realme” written on it. The photo also shows the rear side of another handset from the Narzo 20 series: the device comes with a traditional semaphore-shaped camera module including a triple camera; we suppose it is the Narzo 20A.
Near the cameras, you can also see a rear-mounted fingerprint reader, which is not present on the Narzo 20 Pro. According to a teaser image, the third and last variant of the Narzo 20 series (it should be the vanilla Narzo 20) will have a square-shaped camera module and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. Realme Narzo 20 Pro is tipped to measure 162.3 x 75.4 x 9.4mm and it is expected to weigh 191 grams. Narzo 20 and 20A will come in the color variants Victory Blue and Glory Silver, while Narzo 20 Pro will have Black Ninja and White Knight color variants.
According to the latest rumors, the Realme Narzo 20 will have a 6.5-inch display with an HD+ resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels, an 88.7% screen to body ratio, and the Gorilla Glass protection. The Realme Narzo 20A is supposed to come with a 6.5-inch HD+ display sporting an HD+ resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels, an 89.8% screen to body ratio, and Corning Gorilla Glass. Realme Narzo 20 Pro will naturally be the most interesting handset, with a 6.5-inch display supporting a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and a refresh rate of 90 Hz. The smartphone promises a screen to body ratio of 90.5 percent.
Specs & Software
The Realme Narzo 20A is expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 665 mobile platform paired with 3 or 4 GB of RAM and a 32 or 64 GB of internal storage depending on the variant, with the support for storage expansion via a micro SD card slot. There will be a 3/32 GB configuration and a 4/64 GB configuration. Realme Narzo 20 should come with the MediaTek Helio G85 SoC paired with 4 GB of RAM and 64 or 128 GB of native storage. As per the Realme Narzo 20 Pro, it should have a MediaTek Helio G95 chipset paired with 6 or 8 GB of RAM and 64 or 128 GB of internal UFS 2.1 storage depending on the chosen configuration. All the phones will run Android 10 out of the box, customized by Realme UI.
The camera departments of the Realme Narzo 20 series will not go beyond the midrange segment. The Realme Narzo 20A is rumored to sport a triple camera setup including a 12 MP f/1.8 main camera with HDR and Chroma Boost, a 2 MP f/2.4 monochromatic lens, and a 2 MP f/2.4 retro lens. On the front panel, there should be an 8 MP snapper for selfies. The Realme Narzo 20 is supposed to have a triple camera as well, including a 48 MP main sensor with an f/1.8 aperture and 6P lens, an 8 MP ultrawide angle camera with a 119° field of view, and a 2 MP macro camera. The rear side of the Realme Narzo 20 Pro should feature a quad-camera system including the main camera with a 48 MP resolution and f/1.8 aperture, an 8 MP ultrawide camera with f/2.3 aperture, and a pair of 2 MP sensors for macro and monochromatic shots with f/2.4 focal apertures. The Realme Narzo 20 Pro will come with a single punch hole in the display housing a 16 MP front camera with f/2.1 aperture.
Battery
The Realme Narzo 20 series will be composed of battery phones. The vanilla Narzo 20 is tipped to pack a huge 6000 mAh battery with the support of 18W fast charging. The Realme Narzo 20 Pro is backed by a 4500 mAh battery, and it carries support for 65W fast charging. There is still no info about the battery of the Narzo 20A, but we expect it to be at least 5000 mAh. So, you will get either a huge battery or one of the fastest charging technologies out there.
Realme Narzo 20 series: Launch, price, and availability
The Realme Narzo 20 series is expected to be a series of smartphones exclusive for the Indian market. Realme Narzo 20, 20A, and 20 Pro will be officially unveiled on September 21 at 12:30 pm IST in India, as officially confirmed by the company. There is no word on the pricing of the Realme Narzo 20 series yet. On the official event which will be held on September 21, we also expect new official info about the Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11 which is actually in beta testing on the X50 Pro 5G.
It is quite unusual for us to covers cars on this site. However, you should find this car, the 2021 Cadillac XT4, pretty interesting, as it has a feature that is usually found in smartphones than in automobiles.
Car manufacturers are always playing with new ways for users to unlock their cars but Cadillac takes things to another level with its 2021 XT4 SUV. Just like several phones including the iPhone X and Mate 30 Pro, the Cadillac SUV supports face unlock. Yes, you read that right.
Cadillac has built cameras into the frame of the driver’s door. There are three cameras in total – 2 infrared cameras and an RGB camera. The carmaker says the system identifies up to 106 different facial features and will unlock the vehicle in 2 seconds.
The Cadillac XT4 can store up to 8 different users, one of which is the administrator that can add and delete users. The face unlock system will also work in the dark which is no surprise since it has infrared cameras. Cadillac is assuring users it will work both indoors and outdoors too.
Don’t want to use face unlock? No problem. The XT4 also has a fingerprint scanner or you can decide to unlock the vehicle with a PIN.
The Face Unlock feature seems to be exclusive to the Chinese model of the vehicle as there is no mention of it on the American page.
The Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro was announced in Europe last week. The new smartwatch has a revamped design and boasts new features including support for wireless charging. Huawei is expected to launch the watch in its home country soon, however, it has been reported that it will differ from the international variant in a major way.
Huawei’s smartwatches run a custom operating system called LiteOS. This is the same operating system on the Watch GT 2 Pro. Zhang Wei, the president of Huawei’s smart wear and sports health product line has revealed that the Chinese version of the watch will not run LiteOS but Hongmeng OS, making it the first wearable to run the operating system.
The info was revealed at the just concluded Huawei Developer Conference 2020 by the company executive. Based on this info, the Chinese variant of the Watch GT 2 Pro should offer a different user experience but the specs should remain the same.
The Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro has a 1.39-inch 454 x 454 AMOLED display with sapphire glass protection, a titanium body, and a ceramic case. It has 4GB of storage and a battery life that should last up to 2 weeks.
The watch has a 24-hour heart rate monitor, sleep tracking, and can detect oxygen saturation. There is automatic workout detection for up to six workout modes including rowing, indoor and outdoor running, and walking. The total number of workout modes is over 100 with up to 17 professional modes such as golf, skiing, and snowboarding modes.
The Huawei Watch GT 2 is priced at €329 for the Sport Edition while the Classic Edition is €349. We expect it to have cheaper price tags in its home country.
A hula hoop used to be toy hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck for fun. They have been used by children and adults since at least 500 BCE but that has changed in recent times. According to the results of a small 2015 study, those looking to lose inches around your waist and hips, hooping may be the right type of exercise for you — especially if you use a weighted hula hoop.
Xiaomi has launched the Move It Smart Thin Waist Hula Hoop on the Youpin crowdfunding platform. The product carries an original price of 199 yuan (~$29) and a crowdfunding price of only 129 yuan (~$19).
The Move It Smart Thin Waist Hula Hoop uses a soft and highly elastic rubber foam outer layer. The inner structure is hard and not soft, and the natural orchid fragrance is added to make the circle more pleasant at the same time. It features a removable loop design with free splicing and adjustable diameter to suit the size of the user.
According to reports, the Hula Hoop has a built-in six-axis smart sensor module. When used in conjunction with video teaching courses on the Move It app, it can sense movements in real-time and give feedback to the movement standard during the user’s jump operation, and can also calculate calories. The product supports functions such as smart counting, somatosensory recognition, and Bluetooth connection.
What’s interesting is that when this smart hula hoop is connected to a mobile phone, it can be used as a sports game whereby the player score points when he follows the direction on the phone while using the hoop.
Just like the reports stated, instead of unveiling iPhone 12 series, Apple launched iPad 8th Generation, iPad Air 4th Generation, Apple Watch Series 6, and Apple Watch SE at the Time Flies event on September 15. Anyway, the iPhone 12 devices will certainly launch in the coming days, mostly next month but the availability of the 4 models in the series will be different. Ahead of it, the higher-end iPhone 12 Pro Max passes through AnTuTu Benchmark revealing storage configuration and performance.
The AnTuTu Benchmark score of Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max was shared by AnTuTu itself on Weibo. The variant that was tested has 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. Since the amount of RAM remains the same on all the storage variants of any particular iPhone model, the only question is how many storage options will it be available in.
As per AnTuTu, 128GB could be the base variant for iPhone 12 Pro Max compared to 64GB on its predecessor. Above all, it will be the first iPhone with 6GB RAM as the model that came before it only has 4GB RAM.
Interestingly, although A14 Bionic powering it is the world’s first 5nm processor, there’s no major performance difference between A13 Bionic. Its overall score is 5,72,333 points, which is even less than Android smartphones equipped with 7nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 865/865+.
AnTuTu even shared an image comparing the test results of both iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The latter scored 5,24,436 points, which is only fewer by 47,897points. In other words, the upcoming iPhone will be merely ~9% more powerful than its forerunner despite a bump from 7nm to 5nm. That’s bizarre considering the performance claims by Apple.
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Also, for some reason, the UX score of the iPhone 12 Pro Max running iOS 14.1 is lower than the iPhone 11 Pro Max. This suggests the device that was tested could be a prototype and not a production unit.
Anyway, benchmark scores don’t matter in everyday usage as good as the device performs well. The biggest takeaway from this is the presence of 6GB RAM as iPhones have always had a small amount of RAM (compared to Android smartphones) since the beginning. The extra 2GB could really come handy in multitasking.
With the recent advancements in smartphone camera technology, the popularity of digital cameras have continued to decline. However, the sales of portable sports cameras and special cameras have soared in recent years. Just recently in Japan Canon unveiled a telescopice camera dubbed the Powershot Zoom. The camera went on sale immediately after the launch through crowdfunding. The camera must have been an impressive one as the crowdfunding target was accomplished within 13 hours after it was launched.
The Canon Powershot Zoom mini telescope camera is a little lighter than a cell phone weighing 145g and can be held in one hand due to its small size. It looks similar to the traditional monocular telescope. The eyepiece is an electronic viewfinder. On top and at the bottom of the camera are physical buttons to adjust the focus and start shooting. In Canon’s official promotional video, a scene of a football match is depicted. People in the audience can easily see the movements of the legs of distant players through Powershot Zoom.
It also supports real-time focus adjustment and taking of pictures while recording a video. It supports two optical focal lengths equivalent to 100mm and 400mm, and a digital focal length equivalent to 800mm. From the promotional video, it seems that Smooth zoom is not supported.
The camera has a built-in 12.1 megapixel 1/3 inch sensor. This sensor is very small compared to the current mobile phone lens. The lens size should be related to the size and cost of the body. In terms of shooting specifications, Powershot Zoom supports continuous shooting at 10 frames per second and video recording up to 1080p/30fps, as well as facial recognition.
The camera also comes with a waterproof, dustproof and drop-proof build making it suitable for use during outdoor sports.
At present, the price of this camera on the crowdfunding platform is 31460 yen (about 2030 yuan, ~$300). It is currently only available in the Japanese market.
We are still a few days away from the launch of the Realme Narzo 20 series and there is little we do not know about the phones. The spec sheet for all three phones has already become public knowledge and now the Narzo 20 Pro has appeared in a photo ahead of the launch.
Realme invited a number of its fans to get an early look at the upcoming phones. Madhav Sheth, the CEO of the company posted photos of the lucky fans getting a hands-on experience of the phones and one of them shows the Realme Narzo 20 Pro.
The Narzo 20 Pro is shown in blue in the image. The back has light streaks shaped like a “V”. The back looks like it is made of glass but it might actually not be.
There are four cameras on the phone arranged vertically in a housing that is positioned on the left side of the phone. Unlike the Narzo 10 series that has Realme written at the bottom of the device, the Narzo 20 Pro has “Narzo designed by Realme” written on it.
The Realme Narzo 20 Pro in blue
The Narzo 20 Pro will have a 6.5-inch FHD+ display with a punch hole at the top left corner of the screen and a 90Hz refresh rate. The phone will be powered by the Helio G95 processor with 6GB or 8GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage.
There is a 16MP camera in front for selfies while the quad-camera setup on the back consists of a 48MP primary camera, an 8MP ultrawide angle camera, a 2MP macro camera, and a 2MP B&W portrait camera. There is also a 4500mAh battery under the hood with support for 65W fast charging.
Samsung is reportedly planning to expand its assembly of smartphone camera modules. If reports are true, the move will reduce the overall unit price but may escalate the tension among suppliers.
The latest report (source: TheElec) says that the company will expand the assembly of camera modules considerably next year by taking over most of the assembly process. As of 2020, the suppliers have apparently been assembling the triple/quad-camera modules entirely for Samsung.
Mixed reactions from suppliers
However, Samsung’s new move will help save the assembling cost shelled out to the supplier and improve sales from 2021 and beyond. That said, this plan seems to have triggered varied reactions among suppliers in South Korea. For instance, companies like Namuga and CoAsia, seem to focus more on front cameras and not multi-modules at the back. Hence, they see this as a great window of opportunity as it may result in increased camera orders from Samsung.
However, for Mcnex, this could be a big blow as it is at the risk of reduced profit. This is because the report says Mcnex has been assembling rear multi-camera modules for Samsung. Now that Samsung is planning to assemble them on its own, Mcnex could lose out on assembly orders and in-turn lose profit.
Further report adds that Samsung has been getting orders extensively from the above companies for its smartphones. The list only extends to Partron, Cammsys, Powerlogics for the upcoming Galaxy S20 FE.
What could be the motive behind this?
This move is however believed to be a strategy for increasing its overall sales. Companies like Mcnex and Powerlogics recorded 1 Trillion won in 2019 whereas Samsung’s own IT & Mobile division dropped to 9.3 Trillion won in 2019 compared to 10.2 Trillion won in 2018.
Samsung continues to diversify the camera module suppliers and look for alternative options to keep the price competitive. This corroborates with its own Electro-Mechanics division’s plans to enter the mid-range camera market a while ago.
That said, experts feel that Samsung may also run into issues like assembly defects, third-parties sending sub-par goods. Nevertheless, we will have to wait and see how this pans out in the future.
Microsoft is expected to announce new products next month but a recent report says we will only be getting two new products, one of which is just last year’s own with a new processor.
According to Windows Central, the Redmond-based tech giant will relaunch the Surface Pro X with a new Microsoft SQ2 processor. The new chipset is a more powerful and efficient processor than the Microsoft SQ1 inside last year’s model. The new 2-in-1 may also have support for 5G, though we will advise you not to get your hopes high.
The Surface Pro X will get a refresh with a new processor
It has also been reported that the new Surface Pro X will come in Platinum, a colorway that is available for the Surface Pro and Surface Pro 3.
Alongside the Surface Pro X, Microsoft will also announce the budget Surface Laptop we reported a little over a week ago. The 12.5-inch laptop is codenamed “Sparti” and is expected to sell for under $600.
Surface Pro 8, Surface Laptop 4, and Surface Studio 3 are not coming this fall. I'm told they've been pushed back to 2021. This fall is new Surface Pro X, Surface 'Sparti', and accessories.
Sady, Microsoft will not be announcing the Surface Pro 8, Surface Laptop 4, and Surface Studio 3 according to Zac Bowden of Windows Central. The three devices are said to have been pushed to 2021.
The Singaporean Government and Apple Inc. have entered into a partnership that will see the former reward healthy citizens.
The partnership with the Singapore Health Promotion Board has resulted in the creation of a fitness app called LumiHealth. The app which was created with input from physicians and public health experts is part of a program called Smart Nation which was designed to use technology to benefit citizens and businesses.
The LumiHealth app works in conjunction with the Apple Watch, so if you don’t own an Apple Watch and iPhone, you miss out. There are tasks and weekly activity goals for exercises such as walking, swimming, and yoga that users can meet to earn rewards when completed. The rewards sum up to about S$380 (~US$280) over a two-year period. The app will also remind users to take health checks and also go for immunizations.
The press statement released by Apple says that the app was built with privacy at its core. While data from the watch will be shared with the LumiHealth app, Apple says the data will not be sold or used for marketing purposes. User data will be encrypted and they will be stored in a highly secure system that complies with Singapore’s data privacy and security laws.
The LumiHealth is said to be available for pre-order on the App Store already and the program will begin in late October.
South Korean tech giant LG has today unveiled a new smartphone in its home market. The model dubbed LG Q31 is similar to the K31 that was launched in the US recently in terms of the design and specs.
The Q31 is a budget smartphone which packs a 5.7-inch FullVision HD+ display. The screen has a waterdrop notch for the selfie shooter and a Panda King Glass screen protection. The phone is powered by a MediaTek Helio P22 octa-core processor backed by 2GB of RAM and there is 32GB of storage onboard.
For photography, you get a dual-camera setup at the rear made up of a 13MP f/1.8 PDAF main camera that is paired with a 5MP ultrawide angle camera that has a 120° field of view. For selfies, the waterdrop notch holds a 5MP camera with features such as Gesture Shot, Auto Shot, and Gesture Interval Shot.
The Q31 packs a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor just underneath the ear cameras. There is also a 3000mAh non-removable battery under the hood. It comes with a 3.5mm audio jack and a micro-USB port at the bottom.
other features onboard the smartphone includes a dedicated Google Assistant key, MicroSD card slot for expanding the storage by up to 2TB. The phone is also MIL-STD 810G certified and has an M3/TR hearing aid rating. It equally runs Android 10 out of the box with an overlay of LG UX 9.1.
The LG Q31 is priced at 2,09,000 won (~$178) and will go on sale in South Korea starting from September 25th. It comes in metallic silver colour only. We must point out that the phone is sold for a lower $149.99 price in the US.
OPPO debuted the Reno4 series back in June in China. International variants of Reno4 and Reno4 Pro that launched in late July are totally different from the original models. Thankfully, the company has now officially announced to launch the OG Reno4 Pro 5G alongside Enco W51 in the Middle East and select European countries in the coming days.
Chinese smartphone maker OPPO will unveil the original Reno4 Pro first in UAE on September 22, followed by a separate launch for Europe on October 1. The handset will be accompanied by Enco W51, an affordable pair of truly wireless earphones with ANC (Automatic Noise Cancellation).
In case, you have forgotten, the OPPO Reno4 Pro was unveiled as a camera-centric 5G smartphone emphasizing on design. The device comes with a 48MP IMX586 primary sensor paired with a 12MP Sony IMX708 sensor with a 120° ultra-wide lens, and a 13MP sensor with a 5x optical zoom lens.
Whereas, on the front, it flaunts a 32MP selfie camera nested in a punch-hole located a the top left side of its curved AMOLED display with 90Hz refresh rate.
Another highlight of this phone is support for 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 fast charging for its respectable 4,000mAh battery. Last not least, though it packs some flagship-level features, it is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G paired with 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage.
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