LG K52 leaked renders appear; Reveals punch-hole display and quad cameras

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Sep 4, 2020

OPPO is part of Android 11 Beta program. The Find X2 and Find X2 Pro are the only devices from the company eligible for this initiative. But now, the company announces a new Android 11 Beta recruitment, which also includes Reno3 4G and Reno3 Pro 4G. The registrations for the same will open on September 7 from 4:00 (GMT).

The Chinese smartphone maker announced a new Android 11 Beta recruitment for four of its devices on ColorOS Community (via PiunikaWeb). What’s more interesting is that the company has included a blank space for the version number of ColorOS in the teaser image.

This suggests that OPPO may soon announce ColorOS 8. In fact, this beta recruitment could be for the latest version of its Android skin. Also, the company mentions that only limited quota will be available for this program. The exact number of spots and regions will be revealed on September 7.

Since realme UI was unveiled after the release of ColorOS 7 last year, we may also witness the debut of realme UI 2 in the coming days. Most importantly, this suggests that Google may indeed launch Android 11 officially on September 8 as reported in July.

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE leaks in its entirety: Specs and Renders

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Sep 4, 2020

Samsung has launched all of its important products for the second half of the year except for the Galaxy S20 FE. This smartphone has been in leaks for months now. We know almost everything about it including its design. Now, a new leak exposes this device entirely leaving nothing except for its price.

Galaxy S20 FE Lavender Camera Close Up Leak — Galaxy S20 FE Lavender Camera

The new leak regarding Samsung Galaxy S20 FE comes from Roland Quandt of WinFuture. According to him, the phone will come in Snapdragon 865 and Exynos 990 versions. The former will be marketed as Galaxy S20 FE 5G in regions like Europe and the latter with LTE will be sold as simply Galaxy S20 FE. The branding of the two models was first confirmed last week.

On the front, the handset will sport a 6.5-inch FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) Super AMOLED display with 407ppi, 120Hz refresh rate, 20:9 aspect ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 3, in-screen fingerprint sensor, and a centred punch-hole for 32MP selfie camera.

It may only come in a single 6GB RAM + 128GB UFS 3.1 storage configuration without microSD card slot. However, buyers will be able to get it in any of the 6 colors such as white, blue, orange, lavender, green and red depending on region and variant. For instance, the “Navy Blue” version could be limited to the 5G variant.

The material used on the device’s back is unknown but the handset will support wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. Anyway, it should be mostly plastic like the regular Galaxy Note20. But since the leakster mentions it to feature a metal frame, the rear panel could be glass after all.

The back of the phone will house a triple camera setup consisting of a 12MP primary sensor with OIS, another 12MP sensor with 123° ultra-wide lens, and an 8MP with 3x telephoto lens and OIS. Further, the handset will include all the important sensors like accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetic sensor, hall sensor, light sensor, and proximity sensor.

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As for software, it will run either One UI 2.1 or 2.5 based on Android 10 backed by a 4,500mAh battery with support for 15W fast charging via USB Type-C. Other features of the device include WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC for contactless payments, stereo speakers tuned by AKG and IP68 dust & water-resistant.

Last but not least, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE will measure 74.5 x 159.8 x 8.4 mm in dimensions and will weigh 190g.

Xiaomi’s patent related to “Method and Device for Blocking Calls” approved

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Sep 4, 2020

Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd. has published an invention patent called “Method and Device for Blocking Calls”. The company actually filed an application for this patent on October 29, 2014, according to the document. The application number is CN201410594119.6 while the publication number is CN105635414B, showing it has been authorized.

According to the description, this is about a method and device for blocking incoming calls, involving the field of communications. The patent “solves the problem that when a marked unfamiliar phone calls in, the mobile phone still reminds the user that the user needs to hang up or answer, which still causes interference to the user.”

The method includes: receiving an incoming call and obtaining the phone identification of the incoming call; judging whether the incoming call is a malicious incoming call according to the incoming call’s phone identification. When it is determined that the incoming call is a malicious incoming call, the feature alerts the user and blocks phones marked as malicious phone identifiers.

We can’t say if Xiaomi will be releasing this feature soon but it will be interesting to see this in the near future.

Xiaomi crowdfunds the MIJIA Projector Youth Edition 2 with FHD+ res, XiaoAI support

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Sep 4, 2020

Xiaomi recently teased the launch of a new MIJIA projector with the launch set for September 2. Indeed, the Chinese tech giant has unveiled the MIJIA Projector Youth Edition 2 under crowdfunding. The projector will retail for 2599 yuan (~$380) but under crowdfunding, it is priced at 2199 yuan ($321).

The MIJIA Projector Youth Edition 2 arrives with a 1920×1080 screen resolution, supports HDR10 decoding, and has a maximum brightness of 460 ANSI lumens. It also comes with a far-field voice and an extremely low working noise of 28dB. The projector is equipped with two highly sensitive microphones, supporting anti-noise recognition technology and wake-up technology. It also features customized special voices for projection scenes.

The MIJIA Projector Youth Edition 2 can be deeply linked with MIJIA loT. When the projector is turned on, it can automatically turn off the lights/curtains. It can also be linked to the video doorbell. When someone presses the doorbell, the doorbell video will be automatically played on the projection.

In addition, the projector supports side projection function, with ±45° trapezoidal calibration for left and right, up and down, and is equipped with a high-sensitivity camera which effectively improves the focusing speed. The real-time auto-focus system prevents thermal defocus.

Realme 7 vs Realme 7 Pro vs Realme X7: Specs Comparison

By

Michele Ingelido

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Sep 4, 2020

Realme renewed its midrange lineup with three new smartphones: one of them is the Realme X7 and it went official a few days ago alongside the Realme X7 Pro. The remaining ones are the Realme 7 series, composed of the Realme 7 and 7 Pro. According to the official info provided, Realme listened to the users’ feedbacks in order to realize the Realme 7 series. But did it listen well? And which of the new mid-rangers by the company actually offers the highest value for money. While waiting for the global launch of these three handsets, we will try to give an answer to the above questions through a dedicated specs comparison.

Realme 7 vs Realme 7 Pro vs Realme X7

	Realme 7	Realme 7 Pro	Realme X7
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT	160.9 x 74.4 x 8.1 mm, 175 g	160.9 x 74.3 x 8.7 mm, 182 g	160.9 x 74.4 x 8.1 mm, 175 g
DISPLAY	6.4 inches, 1080 x 2400p (Full HD+), IPS LCD	6.4 inches, 1080 x 2400p (Full HD+), Super AMOLED	6.4 inches, 1080 x 2400p (Full HD+), Super AMOLED
PROCESSOR	Mediatek Helio G95, octa-core 2.05 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G, octa-core 2.3 GHz	MediaTek Dimensity 800U, octa-core 2.4 GHz
MEMORY	6 GB RAM, 64 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – micro SD dedicated slot	6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – micro SD dedicated slot	6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB
SOFTWARE	Android 10, Realme UI	Android 10, Realme UI	Android 10, Realme UI
CONNECTIVITY	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS
CAMERA	Quad 64 + 8 + 2 + 2 MP, f/1.8 + f/2.3 + f/2.4 + f/2.4 16 MP f/2.1 front camera	Quad 64 + 8 + 2 + 2 MP, f/1.8 + f/2.3 + f/2.4 + f/2.4 32 MP f/2.5 front camera	Quad 64 + 8 + 2 + 2 MP f/1.8, f/2.3, f/2.4 and f/2.4 32 MP f/2.5 front camera
BATTERY	5000 mAh, fast charging 30W	4500 mAh, fast charging 65W	4300 mAh, fast charging 65W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES	Dual SIM slot	Dual SIM slot	Dual SIM slot, 5G

Design

Realme 7, Realme 7 Pro, and Realme X7 do not differ too much when it comes to aesthetics. They all feature a punch-hole display and a rectangle-shaped camera module on the rear side. I actually prefer the Realme X7 for a simple reason: it is thinner and lighter than Realme 7 and 7 Pro. At the same time, it is even more compact. And its Rainbow color variant with the big company slogan on the rear side is very original.

Display

AMOLED with a 60 Hz refresh rate or IPS at 90 Hz? Most people prefer the first option, that is why Realme decided to equip the Realme 7 Pro with an AMOLED panel which sports a standard refresh rate in order to keep the price affordable. You get the same with the Realme X7, while Realme 7 has a 90 Hz IPS display. If you want a better image quality, you should go either for the Realme 7 Pro or the X7: choose the 7 only if you do not care about having the best image quality and you need a smoother viewing experience (e.g. if you are a gamer).

Hardware/Software

The winner of the hardware comparison is the Realme X7. The Dimensity 800U by MediaTek is actually a more powerful chipset, but that is not all: the Realme X7 is also the only one to support 5G networks. But you should note that despite packing max 128 GB of internal storage, the X7 does not have a micro SD slot, while Realme 7 and 7 Pro do. Each of these devices runs Android 10 out of the box, customized by Realme UI just like all the other Realme phones launched in the last period.

Camera

Realme X7 and 7 Pro have exactly the same camera department including a 64 MP quad camera on the rear side and a 32 MP front camera. Realme 7 has the same rear cameras as well, but its front camera is an inferior 16 MP sensor. You should not focus so much on the cameras since you will get similar photo quality with these devices. They are all midrange camera phones, nothing special, but they can record 4K videos with their main camera and 1080p videos at 120 fps from the front camera.

Battery

Realme 7 packs a bigger 5000 mAh battery, but this does not necessarily mean that its battery life will be longer. It has a bigger battery, but its IPS display running at 90 Hz is more energy-demanding. Further, its processor is built with a less efficient production process (12 nm), while the Dimensity 800U found on the Realme x7 is built at 7 nm and the Snapdragon 720G of the Realme 7 Pro is built at 8 nm.

Price

Unfortunately, these three phones are yet to go global. Realme X7 starts from €220/$260 in China, Realme 7 costs €170/$200 in India, and Realme 7 Pro begins at €230/$272. While Realme 7 loses the fight from the beginning, it is not easy to pick a winner between Realme 7 Pro and Realme X7. On the paper, the Realme X7 looks more attractive due to 5G support (and I would probably pick the X7 for this reason) and a sleeker design, but it has a smaller battery.

Read More: Realme X7 Pro Ultra design, specs leak reveals 125W fast charging, 120Hz display and more

Realme 7 vs Realme 7 Pro vs Realme X7: PRO and CONS

Realme 7

PROS

90 Hz
More affordable
Biggest battery
Micro SD slot

CONS

IPS display

Realme 7 Pro

PROS

AMOLED display
Good hardware
65W fast charging
Micro SD slot
Good front camera

CONS

Nothing particular

Realme X7

PROS

5G
AMOLED display
65W fast charging
Good front camera

CONS

Smaller battery

HONOR Pad 6 and HONOR Pad X6 announced for Europe at IFA 2020

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Sep 4, 2020

At IFA 2020, apart from launching HONOR Watch GS Pro, HONOR Watch ES, HONOR MagicBook Pro 2020 Ryzen Edition, and HONOR MagicBook 14/15 2020 Ryzen Edition, the brand also announced HONOR Pad 6 and HONOR Pad X6 for Europe. Unlike the other products, the company did not reveal the pricing and availability of its new tablets for the market.

HONOR Pad 6 and HONOR Pad X6

The newly announced Honor tablets for European countries are identical to each other. They initially launched in China in the month of July alongside the above-mentioned AMD Ryzen-powered laptops that debuted today for Europe at IFA 2020.

The only major differences between these tablets are their screen size, memory configuration, LTE support, and color. Apart from these two parameters, both of them feature an exact same chassis as well as features.

HONOR Pad 6 Featured — HONOR Pad 6 Space Gray

Talking about the dissimilarities first, the HONOR Pad 6 sports a 10.1-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, 224ppi, 70% NTSC color gamut, and 80.6% screen-to-body ratio. As a bonus, this panel is certified by TÜV Rheinland for low blue light emission. Further, it will be available in two memory variants – 3GB + 32GB and 4GB + 64GB respectively. Although it will only come in Space Gray color, users can opt for either WiFi-only or WiFi + LTE edition.

On the other hand, the HONOR Pad X6 comes equipped with a 9.7-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, 156ppi, 60% color gamut, and 75% screen-to-body ratio. Unlike the other model, it will be only available in a single WiFi-only 3GB + 32GB variant in Neo Mint pain job.

As for common features, they are powered by HiSilicon Kirin 710A SoC manufactured by SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation). For optics, they come with a 5MP rear camera and a 2MP front-facing camera. Also, both of them use IPS LCD panel with 16.7 million colors and 10-point multi-touch.

HONOR Pad X6 Featured — HONOR Pad X6 Neo Mint

Surprisingly, they don’t feature 3.5mm headphone jack and hence, the brand will include a USB Type-C to 3.5mm adaptor in the box. But they don’t miss on the essentials like dual-band WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, dual-speaker with HUAWEI Histen 6.1 surround sound technology, and microSD card slot (up to 512GB).

Last but not least, they run Magic UI 3.1 based on Android 10 with HMS (Huawei Mobile Services) backed by a 5,100mAh battery with support for 10W charging.

Tecno Camon 16, 16 Pro and Camon 16 Premier unveiled

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Sep 4, 2020

A couple of days back, Transsion group brand Tecno sent out a press release that it would be launching the Camon 16 series soon. The Camon 16 series is made up of three different models – the Camon 16, Camon 16 Pro and Camon 16 Premier. The three models share a number specs including a Quad-camera setup at the rear and a dual selfie camera setup. However, only details of the Camon 16 Premier has been revealed.

The Camon 16 Premier features a 6.9-inch LCD FullHD+ display with 90Hz refresh rate and a pill-shaped punch-hole design. The punch-hole-housed selfie camera includes a 48MPmain camera and 8MP Ultrawide sensor.

At the rear, there is a 64 MP Sony IMX686 main sensor which teams up with an 8 MP ultrawide-angle camera, and two 2MP units to assist night photos, and Portraits. The device also adopts the side-mounted fingerprint design located under the power button.

Keeping the lights on is a 4500mAh battery and the phone supports 33W fast-charging.

The Camon 16 Premier with 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage is on sale on Kenya for KES28,999 (about $275). The phone comes bundled with a free TWS Hipods in the retail package.

Tecno is yet to reveal the full specs of the Camon 16 Pro and Camon 16. We expect those to be outed later this month close to their launch.

Realme reportedly planning to launch ANC Bluetooth earbuds in India soon

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Sep 4, 2020

The hearable market in India continues to be one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. including true wireless stereo devices or TWS. Chinese phone maker Realme is reportedly planning to launch Bluetooth wireless buds in India which would be equipped with active noise cancellation.

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) uses a noise-cancelling system to reduce unwanted background noise. The system is based on microphones that “listen” to the sounds outside and inside of the earphone, an ANC chipset inverting the soundwaves and a speaker inside the earphone cancelling the outside sound by the neutralising soundwaves. Bringing genuine ANC to earbuds is a challenge due to the in-ear design. Qualcomm just announced a tech that is dubbed Active ANC which will deliver ANC to earbuds. We can’t say for sure if the tech will feature on the upcoming Realme ANC earbuds. The source hints that the product will launch in a few months.

Realme already has a number of earbuds to its name in India. The company launched the Buds Air TWS buds in India market. A recent report by Counterpoint shows Realme is the fifth largest hearable manufacturers globally.

A render and entire specs of Mi TV Horizon Edition leak ahead of official launch

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Sep 4, 2020

Last week, Xiaomi announced to launch Mi TV Horizon Edition in India on September 7. Since then, the company has been teasing this television on social media. But now, a render as well as entire specs of this upcoming Mi TV leak revealing every important aspect of it except for the price.

The render and information about Mi TV Horizon Edition come from well-known tipster Ishan Agarwal. He has partnered with 91Mobiles for this exclusive leak.

According to him, the forthcoming Xioami smart television will come equipped with a regular 43-inch 1080p (FHD) LED-backlit LCD panel but with slimmer bezels. Since the company teases it with words like “quintessential”, it was thought to be a high-end TV with QLED panel. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

Further, the new Xiaomi Mi TV will be powered by a Cortex-A53 processor (probably an Amlogic chip) paired with 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage. As for ports, it will come with 3 x HDMI (one of them should be ARC compatible), 2 x USB Type-A, Ethernet, and 3.5mm headphone jack.

The television will run Android TV Pie with PatchWall launcher, Chromecast Built-in, Google Assistant, and Google Data Saver. However, its 20W speakers only support DTS-HD and no Dolby Audio like other TVs from the company as well as competitors.

Having said that, we will have to wait until the official launch on September 7 to know about its price and availability.

Realme announces Smart TV 55, Buds Air Pro and Buds Wireless P at IFA 2020

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Sep 4, 2020

At the IFA 2020 event, Realme announced a bunch of new products. The company will soon be launching the Smart TV 55 inch along with new audio products in the truly wireless earbuds category and wireless neckband earphones that feature active noise cancellation technology.

The products that were announced today (4th September 2020) will be available in the market, over the course of the next few months. Furthermore, the new products are also the company’s attempt to expand its IoT portfolio in its key markets, including India. Realme Smart TV 55 inch, Buds Air Pro, and Buds Wireless P are the latest announcements, all of which expand on the company’s existing product ranges.

The Smart TV 55 inch is the larger variant of the company’s smart TV lineup that previously arrived in only 32 inch and 43 inch versions. It arrives with a wide color gamut rating of 108 percent NTSC and will feature Ultra HD or 4K resolution, with support for HDR as well. Finer details regarding specifications are likely to be similar to the existing models, with the TV running on Android TV 9 Pie.

Moving forward to the company’s latest premium hearables products, the Realme Buds Air Pro and Buds Wireless P have also been unveiled. Both earphones are said to support active noise cancellation technology, although, the company has yet to divulge any finer details or specifications regarding both audio products. However, looking at the company’s track record, we can assume that it will likely arrive in its key market of India and will be priced competitively as well.

A leak reveals the price and color variants of Google Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5

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Sep 4, 2020

Back in August, while launching the Pixel 4a, Google also announced Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5G. However, the company did not reveal anything about their specifications and pricing. But it did say that they will be launching in fall. Since then, these two handsets have leaked multiple times exposing almost everything about them. Now, a new leak also tips their color variants and price.

The new information about Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 come from Nils Ahrensmeier on Twitter. According to him, the upcoming Pixels will be priced under €700 and will come in two paint jobs each.

The exact price and colors of Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 tipped by the leakster are as listed below.

Pixel 4a 5G – €499
- Black
- White
Pixel 5 – €629
- Black
- Green

As per previous leaks, both of them will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G and will sport AMOLED displays. But the panel on the Pixel 4a will measure 6.24-inch compared to 6.01-inch 90Hz panel on the Pixel 5.

As for the build, they are said to be made of plastic (Pixel 5 may have a glass back), however, only the costlier model with come with 8GB RAM and support for wireless charging. On the other hand, the affordable 5G Google phone with 6GB RAM will retain the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Surprisingly, the optics on these phones will be identical – 12.2MP (wide) + 12.2MP (ultra-wide) dual camera setup and 8MP punch-hole selfie camera just like their rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. But the Pixel 4a 5G will be backed by a 3,800mAh battery as opposed to 400mAh unit in Pixel 5.

HONOR Watch GS Pro and HONOR Watch ES launched in Europe for €249.99 and €99.99 respectively

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Sep 4, 2020

At IFA 2020, HONOR launched a number of new products for Europe. Here, in this post, we will look at the brand’s first rugged smartwatch – HONOR Watch GS Pro and its first rectangular smartwatch – HONOR Watch ES. The latter is exactly the same as the recently launched HUAWEI Watch Fit.

HONOR Watch GS Pro

As the brand’s first rugged smartwatch, the HONOR Watch GS Pro is MIL-STD-810G certified and features a massive 790mAh battery. The company claims it to offer a maximum of 25-day battery life. Also, it supports over 100 workout modes including skiing, snowboarding, hiking, and others.

As for the build, the casing of the watch is made of stainless steel and reinforced polycarbonate. It comes in three colors namely Charcoal Black, Marl White, and Camo Blue. The circular AMOLED display on it measures 1.39-inch with a resolution of 454 x 454 pixels and 326ppi.

The wearable includes all the necessary sensors such as optical heart rate sensor, SpO2 sensor, accelerometer, gyro, barometer, compass, and ambient light sensor. It also features built-in GPS with a feature called Route Back to help users navigate to their starting point.

HONOR Watch GS Pro Colors Charcoal Black Marl White and Camo Blue — HONOR Watch GS Pro in Marl White (left), Charcoal Black(centre), and Camo Blue(right)

Like other Huawei and Honor wearables, it runs LiteOS powered by HiSilicon Kirin A1 chipset and even supports Bluetooth calling with the help of built-in speaker and mic. Last but not least, it can be paired with both Android and iOS devices.

The HONOR Watch GS Pro is priced at €249.99 for the EU nations and £249.99 for the UK. It will be available for pre-order starting Septemeber 7 in Germany and September 8 in most European countries. However, it will be made available in Ital only on September 14.

HONOR Watch ES

Unlike the previous smartwatch, the HONOR Wach ES is targeted at fashionable consumers. It sports a 1.64-inch rectangular AMOLED display with 456 x 280 pixels 326ppi, and 70% screen-to-body ratio.

It is too powered by HiSilicon Kirin A1 and runs Huawei’s in-house LiteOS with support for 95 workout modes and 12 animated workout courses. Further, it features an optical heart-rate sensor, SpO2 sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, and ambient light sensor.

The wearable is water-resistant up to 5ATM pressures and offers all the common functionalities of a smartwatch such as app notifications, alerts for calls & messages, sleep tracking, stress-level tracking, menstrual cycle tracking, and more.

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Lastly, it only provides a maximum of 10-day battery life and comes in three colorways – Meteorite Black, Coral Pink, and Icelandic White.

The HONOR Watch ES will be available in the UK starting tomorrow for £99.99. It will be also heading to France, Germany, Italy and Spain in the coming days for €99.99.

Lei Jun showcases Xiaomi Lab, where 1800 smartphones are being tested

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Sep 4, 2020

Xiaomi Founder and CEO, Lei Jun recently shared a video on social media. The video had the senior executive take a tour of the Xiaomi Lab, a place where 1,800 smartphones are undergoing continuous testing.

According to the video, Xiaomi Lab prepares and tests 200 smartphones for a continuous one month long test before the model is made available for the market. The smartphones undergo the long test to ensure stability and root out any issues that might surface in any device after longer periods of use. According to Lei Jun, innovation is productivity and quality is the lifeline.

In other words, while innovation is what brings the first round of success, quality assurance and management is just as important as a factor. This holds even more emphasis when considering the huge investments that the company makes, so there are no shortcuts. The senior official also added that the company plans on “conquering” the world with quality products.

One could look at the Redmi Note 7 as a great example of the company’s philosophy. It was one of the first smartphones launched after the subsidiary company’s independence. The device had arrived with an 18 month warranty, which was unheard of in the industry, and thanks to the company’s focus on quality, the device sold 20 million units in just seven months.

Huawei delays its 5nm chips, urges TSMC to deliver orders before deadline: Report

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Sep 4, 2020

Earlier today (4th September 2020), a report from Sohu revealed that Huawei has apparently decided to delay the launch of its 5nm Kirin mobile processors and are urging TSMC to deliver the orders as soon as possible.

According to industry sources close to the matter, the Chinese tech giant is making this move to keep a low profile while still receive their orders on time before the US deadline. For those unaware, TSMC has stopped taking orders from Huawei due to US sanctions and is currently only working on completing existing orders. Furthermore, the company was expected to announce its new generation of chips during the IFA event as well.

Sources claim that Huawei has determined internally that it would not be announcing its new 5nm Kirin chip at the IFA 2020 conference, and are waiting for the delivery of chip orders from TSMC. At the moment, the world’s largest contract chipmaker is working around the clock to deliver the large orders before the 14th September 2020 deadline, after which it cannot take any additional Huawei orders.

This entire situation is indicative of the dire impacts the recent US crackdown has had on Huawei. The Trump administration has not only cut off its chip supply but has also reformed certain regulations to cut off the company’s supply chains that involve American made technologies as well. So stay tuned, as we will be providing more updates when more information is available.

Honor announces new MagicBook laptops with AMD Ryzen 4000 series processors

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Sep 4, 2020

Honor, the Huawei subsidiary, has just unveiled its latest lineup of MagicBook laptops in the IFA 2020 event, earlier today (4th September 2020). These laptops are refreshes to the 14 and 15 inch models which were launched earlier this year and feature AMD’s new Ryzen 4000 series processors.

While all of the laptops feature a Ryzen 4000 series chip, only the MagicBook Pros arrive with an H series processor. For those unaware, the U series is generally for thin and light laptops with en emphasis on low power draw while the H series focuses on offering better performance. Taking a look into the MagicBook Pro series first:

MagicBook Pro

The Honor MagicBook Pro features the Ryzen 5 4600H, which is a six core 12 thread CPU with Radeon graphics integrated. For memory, the user is offered 16GB of dual channel RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. The laptop has a 16.1 inch Full HD display with a 90 percent screen to body ratio and with an sRGB cover of 100 percent. The Honor MagicBook pro weighs just 1.7 kilograms and is only 16.9mm thick, which is fairly light and thin for a laptop with an H series chip.

MagicBook 14 & 15

Alongside the specced up MagicBook Pro, the company has also launched the MagicBook 14 and 15. These are a direct refresh of the laptop which was unveiled earlier this year at MWC. The laptops now feature a Ryzen 5 4500U processor, with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. Although, the configuration and availability will vary between countries.

Between the 14 inch and 15 inch variant, the only real difference is the screen size.
Users get also get three USB 3.2 Gen1 Type A ports, one USB Type-C port for charging, an HDMI 2.0, and a 3.5mm audio jack as well. The laptop also supports Bluetooth 5.0 and has a camera hidden inside the keyboard along with a fingerprint sensor on the power button.

Both variants feature the same resolution and also feature identical ports including one USB Type C for charging, one USB 3.2 Gen1 Type A, an HDMI port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Apart from the display, another difference is the battery, with the smaller variant having a much larger battery for some unknown reason (56Wh versus 42Wh on the MagicBook 15).

Price and Availability

The Honor MagicBook Pro with the Ryzen 5 4600H will be available in Germany starting from 7th September 2020 and the UK from the 8th. It will be priced at €899.90/£859.99 (roughly 1,200 US Dollars) respectively. A promotional offer at launch offers a €100 off in Germany and France or a free Honor Magic Watch and Honor Router 3 in the UK. On the other hand, the MagicBook 14 will be available in all three regions from 21st September for €749.90 or £669.99 (roughly 890 US Dollars).

Smartphone makers hold back on UFS chip orders after market declines

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Sep 4, 2020

According to a new report from DigiTimes, android smartphone manufacturers are slowing down orders for UFS chips (universal flash storage) for their high end flagship offerings.

The reason for holding back on their demands is due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The report states various reasons like fall in consumer spending on non essential goods, along with an overall decline of the smartphone market. Industry sources claimed that the demand for UFS chips is not expected to pick up at least until the final quarter of 2020. This period is when OEMs will wor on launching their next iteration of flagship handsets for 2021.

Back in July, a steep decline was observed in the Chinese 5G smartphone market. This was followed by a decrease in demand for UFS chips from vendors. In China, shipments dropped by 20.5 percent year on year falling to only 13.91 million units being shipped in July. Although, 5G smartphones accounted for 44.2 of the total sales since January.

During this period, only a total of nine 5G handsets were launched in China, which was all available for less than 2,000 Yuan (roughly 292 US Dollars) and targeted the mid to budget segments in the market. As an alternative to UFS chips, the Chinese market is now opting for eMMC chips for their mid range smartphones. Although, high end premium flagship from OEMs like Samsung, Xiaomi, others would still feature the UFS chips.

Huawei Nova 8 series could be powered by Dimensity chipsets

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Sep 4, 2020

At the beginning of this year, Huawei announced the Huawei Nova 7i smartphone and in April, it introduced Nova 7 SE, Nova 7, and Nova 7 Pro. In December last year, the company had announced Nova 6 series. Hence, it is speculated that after the Mate 40 series of flagship phones that may go official this month or in October, the Chinese firm may announce the Nova series by the end of the year. A tipster from China has shared speculated information on the Nova 8 series.

The tipster claimed that the Huawei Nova 8 series will have three models. The Nova 8 SE could be equipped with Dimensity 800 chipset. The Nova 8 SE and Nova 8 Pro could be featuring Dimensity 800U and Dimensity 1000+ chipset, respectively.

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The Huawei Nova 7 series was driven by chipsets like Kirin 810, Kirin 820, and Kirin 985. However, it appears that due to the recent revision in the trade ban, the upcoming Nova 8 series may not feature chipsets. This could be the reason why recently announced phones such as the Enjoy 20 5G and Enjoy 20 Plus 5G are fueled by the Dimensity 720 SoC.

The leakster has speculated on the pricing of the 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage versions of the Nova 8 SE, Nova 8, and Nova 8 Pro. These variants could be priced at 2,799 Yuan (~$409), 3,299 Yuan (~$482), and 3,999 Yuan (~$585). There is no official on the arrival of the Nova 8 series from Huawei since it currently focused on the launch of the Mate 40 series of flagship phones.

Vivo V20 SE to arrive with Snapdragon 665, 33W charging support

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Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Sep 4, 2020

An upcoming Vivo phone with model number V2022A model number has received approval from a couple of certification platforms like Indonesia’s TKDN, Singapore’s IMDA, Thailand’s NBTC, and China’s CQC. The NBTC certification confirmed that the V2022 model number belongs to the upcoming Vivo V20 SE smartphone. Now, the Vivo V20 SE has appeared on the Geekbench benchmarking platform to reveal some of its key specs.

The Vivo V20 SE has appeared on Geekbench 5 with 8 GB of RAM and an octa-core Qualcomm chipset that has 1.80GHz base frequency. The name of the processor is not mentioned in the Geekbench listing, but the ‘trinket’ codename is a giveaway that it is fueled by the Snapdragon 665 mobile platform.

In the single-core test of Geekbench 5, the Vivo V20 SE scored 316 points and it recorded a score of 1377 in the multi-core test. The China Quality Certification (CQC) certification of the device has revealed that it carries support for 33W fast charging.

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The other specs of the Vivo V20 SE are under wraps. The NBTC authority had also certified by another Vivo phone with V2018 model number. It revealed that the device will be launching in the market as Vivo V20 Pro. The rumor mill is yet to spill any information on the specs of the V20 Pro phone.

The Vivo V20 series will be replacing the Vivo V19 smartphone that debuted in April this year. The Vivo V19 came with a 6.44-inch S-AMOLED display with dual punch-hole cutout for its 32-megapixel + 8-megapixel dual selfie camera system. The rear shell of the phone sported a 48-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 2-mgeapixel + 2-megapixel quad camera system. It came preinstalled with Android 10 OS and FunTouch OS 10. The Snapdragon 712 chipset fueled the phone with 8 GB of RAM. It came in 128 GB and 256 GB storage editions. Its 4,500mAh battery carried support for 33W fast charging.

(via)

Oppo patents smartphone with a unique Honeycomb design

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