Huawei could exit smartphone business if condition worsens: Kuo

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Sep 1, 2020

Ming-Chi Kuo has been a reliable analyst when it comes to Apple but he has now shared his opinion about Huawei, which is currently the world’s leading smartphone brand, overtaking Samsung in Q2 2020.

He claims that the Chinese giant Huawei could exit the smartphone market if the conditions for the company worsens. The sanctions put on the company by the United States has been severely affecting the company’s business.

It all started in May last year when the U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order putting Huawei on “Entity List”, effectively banning the Chinese giant from using American technologies.

This led to Huawei getting banned from using Google’s Android operating system on its Huawei as well as Honor-branded devices. Recently, the U.S. government tightened restrictions on Huawei as well as its subsidiaries.

With the new restrictions, Huawei has been banned from using American companies or technologies for semiconductors. This means that the company can’t manufacture its own Kirin-branded chipsets with the help of American companies or the companies that use American technologies.

EDITOR’S PICK: OnePlus CEO joins OPPO’s holding company as Senior VP and Chief Product Experience Officer

TSMC, the contact manufacturer of Huawei for the HiSilicon Kirin chipsets, stopped taking new orders from the company. Given that Qualcomm is based in the United States, it is also out of the question. MediaTek has already applied for a special license to do business with Huawei, but it’s unlikely to get it.

According to Kuo (via MyFixGuide), even if Huawei somehow manages to source components, the competitiveness and market share of the company is bound to suffer. He adds that in the best-case scenario, its market share declines, and in the worst-case scenarios, the company exits the smartphone market.

It is being reported that if the restrictions are not eased, then Huawei could be losing around 30 percent of the market share. With Huawei’s future on the line, companies like Apple, OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi are in a beneficial position in the local market.

Apple iPhone 12 models to reportedly come with LiDAR scanner

By

Jeet

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Sep 1, 2020

LiDAR technology, which stands for “light detection and ranging” is now making its way to consumer electronics devices, although the technology was primarily being used in the automotive industry.

Apple started using the LiDAR technology on this year’s iPad Pro with the ToF sensor and now a report from DigiTimes claims that the same will be included in some of the upcoming iPhone 12 models as well.

EDITOR’S PICK: IDC report claims that Global Smartphone Market will recover in 2022; 5G handsets will account for 50% in 2023

LiDAR can measure distances by illuminating the target with laser light and by measuring the reflection with a sensor. The data can then be used to make accurate 3D representations of an object or environment, significantly improving AR experiences.

Although the DigiTimes report does not claim that the iPhone 12 will come with the LiDAR scanner, there have been a few reports claiming that the upcoming iPhone 12 Pro smartphone could feature it.

The Pro models of the upcoming iPhone are expected to have this scanner while the less expensive models with 5.4-inch as well as the 6.1-inch display will not have support for the LiDAR scanner as it is being regarded as a premium feature.

Samsung to start manufacturing Galaxy Z Fold 2 smartphone in Brazil

By

Jeet

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Sep 1, 2020

Samsung, which teased its next-generation foldable smartphone named Galaxy Z Fold 2 last month along with the flagship Note20 series, has now added a new production base in Brazil for the Galaxy Z Fold 2.

However, it is being reported that the majority of the units will still be produced in the company’s factory in Gumi, South Korea. Additionally, about 20 percent of the units could be produced at the Samsung factory in Vietnam.

In an effort to diversify its production, Samsung is now adding Brazil to the mix, where it will start production of the device from next year. But the report adds that only a few thousand units will be manufactured in Brazil.

Overall, the South Korean giant is planning to manufacture around 700,000 to 800,000 units of the new foldable device by the end of this year. However, the numbers could get changed based on demand.

EDITOR’S PICK: OnePlus CEO joins OPPO’s holding company as Senior VP and Chief Product Experience Officer

Samsung is now all set to launch the Galaxy Z Fold 2 smartphone featuring a 7.6-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED display with 1768 x 2208 pixels screen resolution and a 6.23-inch Super AMOLED HD+ display with 816 x 2260 pixels when folded.

The device will reportedly be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus SoC, along with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. It will be running the Android 10 operating system out-of-the-box along with One UI on top.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 is priced at 1,799 Pounds (~$2,387), a bit lower than the original price of the first Galaxy Fold, which started at 1,900 Pounds (~$2,522). The device is currently listed for pre-orders, with shipping starting from 17th September 2020.

Get Oukitel C21 for the discount price of $89.99 – Hurry up, offer expiring soon!

By

Simranpal Singh

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Sep 1, 2020

Oukitel C21 has received an overwhelming response from the buyers since its launch a couple of weeks ago via AliExpress. Many Oukitel fans and the users were excited about the new smartphone due to its affordability and value-for-money aspect. It is available for the exciting price of $89.99 packing an Helio P60 chipset, a 6.4-inch HD+ display, and a 20MP AI camera. However, the actual price of the smartphone is $119.99, but due to the introductory limited-time discount, users can grab it at a much lower price.

Must See: Global sales of Oukitel C21 budget smartphone to commence from August 24 at a price of $89.99

The interested users can head over to the Oukitel official store and can enjoy a hefty discount via the Oukitel C21 until September 6.

Oukitel C21 arrives with a lot more consisting of a 6.4-inch LTPS Full HD+ punch-hole display with narrow bezels and a 93% screen-to-body ratio. The display is effective and efficient in providing a wider viewing experience.

The smartphone is coupled with a 12nm based Helio P60 chipset featuring an octa-core processor and a powerful GPU for smooth graphics.

In the camera department, Ouktiel C21 offers a 20-megapixel selfie camera for quality selfies and video calling. Being a budget smartphone, Oukitel manages to provide the best gaming experience.

Different Bands Variants

In order to bring exquisite experience while using the smartphone, the company has launched two different bands print for the European region, and North + South American region. The users can choose the respective variant while checking out.

It is available in three different colors of Ocean Blue, Neon Purple and Midnight Black. It is available for a mere $89.99 via the Oukitel’s official AliExpress store. You will get a free silicon case and pre-pasted screen protector along with the package. The sale will start from September 1st and ends on September 6th.

The users can even partake in an ongoing Phone Case Survey to get some phone cases for free.

Related: Specs comparison between Oukitel C21 and Samsung Galaxy M01s

Visionox partners with Huawei for next-gen foldable smartphones

By

Jeet

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Sep 1, 2020

Visionox, a China-based display maker has been in the news for quite some time for its innovative technologies. Now, the company has partnered with Huawei for the next-generation of foldable smartphones.

The report, citing people aware of the matter, says that Visionox will now be the screen supplier for the next-generation of foldable smartphones coming from Huawei. Apart from this, both companies also seem to have partnered up for under-display camera technology.

Currently, Huawei is sourcing display panels for the foldable smartphones from Samsung Display. It is said that the Huawei Mate X2 uses panels from Samsung but going forward, it will switch to Visionox, in line with the company’s move to align itself to domestic vendors to reduce its reliance on other companies outside of China.

As per the report, Visionox’s orders for Huawei this year is expected to reach 2.5 billion yuan. The semi-annual report reveals that Visionox achieved an operating income of 1.165 billion yuan in H1 2020, representing an increase of 4.44 percent.

EDITOR’S PICK: OnePlus CEO joins OPPO’s holding company as Senior VP and Chief Product Experience Officer

However, the net profit for the company declined significantly to 92 million yuan, which is about 47.30 percent. So, to cover up, the company is now focusing more on newer technologies like foldable displays.

A couple of months ago, Visionox had confirmed that the company’s under-screen camera technology is ready for mass-production and has achieved one of the best display results. It has used transparent OLED panels on devices, resulting in a balanced offering of display quality and photographic performance.

OPPO PDVM00 full specifications leaked through TENAA certification

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Sep 1, 2020

A mysterious smartphone by OPPO with model number PDVM00 has surfaced in the database of China’s TENAA authority. The Chinese firm has been launching many 5G-ready phones in the homeland, but the PDVM00 is a 4G LTE device. While the images and specifications have appeared through its TENAA certification, its marketing name is under wraps.

OPPO PDVM00 specifications

The OPPO PDVM00 has a 6.5-inch LCD panel with a punch-hole design. The screen carries support for HD+ resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels. The phone is driven by an octa-core processor that ticks at 1.80GHz. The exact name of the processor that fuels the device is not known yet.

In China, the smartphone may arrive in RAM options like 4 GB, 6 GB, and 8 GB. It could be available in storage editions such as 64 GB and 128 GB. For additional storage, users can make use of the microSD card slot on the device.

Editor’s Pick: OnePlus CEO joins OPPO’s holding company as Senior VP and Chief Product Experience Officer

The OPPO PDVM00 smartphone has a front-facing camera of 8-megapixel. The rear-facing rectangle-shaped camera module has a 13-megapixel main camera and a pair of 2-megapixel sensors. The device is backed by a battery that has a rated value of 4,980mAh. Its typical value seems to be 5,000mAh.

The Android 10 OS is preinstalled on the OPPO PDVM00 smartphone. The phone has 163.9 x 75.1 x 8.4mm dimensions and it weighs 186 grams. The phone could be coming to China in color variants like black, gradient blue, green, and gray.

POCO X3 NFC with Snapdragon 732G appears on Geekbench

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Sep 1, 2020

POCO will be officially launching the POCO X3 smartphone on Sept. 7. It will be equipped with all the new Snapdragon 732G chipset that went official yesterday. Ahead of the launch, the POCO X3 that has a model number of M2007J20CG has appeared on the Geekbench benchmarking platform. At the same time, the device also received certification from the Bluetooth SIG authority.

The Geekbench 5 appearance shows that the POCO X3 is powered by a Qualcomm processor that is codenamed as ‘Surya.’ Hence, it appears that the codename belongs to the Snapdragon 732G processor which is officially confirmed to power the POCO X3.

The POCO X3 scored 571 in the single-core test and 1766 in the multi-core test. As can be seen, the SoC is coupled with 6 GB of RAM and the device is loaded with Android 10 OS. The Bluetooth SIG listing mentions the name of the device as “POCO X3 NFC” and it only confirms the support for Bluetooth 5.1 on the device.

Editor’s Pick: Redmi K30 5G variants revealed ahead of rumored India launch

POCO X3 specifications (Rumored)

Rumors have it that the POCO X3 is equipped with a 6.67-inch display that supports Full HD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and 240Hz touch latency. It will come with a massive battery of 5,160mAh capacity that will support 33W fast charging.

The punch-hole cutout on the display will house a 20-megapixel front camera. The rear side of the phone will feature a Sony IMX686 64-megapixel quad-camera system. Lastly, it has a side-facing fingerprint reader

(via)

LG reportedly invests in display technology startup OTI Lumionics

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Sep 1, 2020

Toronto-based startup OTI Lumionics has announced that it has received a strategic investment from LG Technology Ventures – the venture capital investment arm of LG Group.

According to OTI, the investment will be used to help accelerate the adoption of the firm’s materials in mass production, including its ConducTorrTM CPM solution for under-display cameras.

Earlier this month, OTI announced its latest version of ConducTorrTM Cathode Patterning Material (CPM) is ready for mass production and will start shipping in Q4 2020 for use in next-generation mobile devices and other displays.

“We are thrilled to have LG Technology Ventures as a valuable partner for the development of our materials as we gear up for mass production,” said Michael Helander, Co-Founder and CEO of OTI Lumionics. “It is great validation to have a leading brand like LG partner in our efforts to create the most advanced display solutions in the industry.”

Manufacturers are looking for innovative solutions to speed the development of transparent displays. OTI focuses on cathode patterning to enable new display applications for OLEDs, including transparent displays, under-display cameras and sensors, foldable displays, and automotive displays.

A statement by Michael Falcon, investment director for LG Technology Ventures reads; “LG Technology Ventures has been closely monitoring the progress of OTI and is excited to now become an investor. We look forward to working with OTI to help commercialize its technology in multiple display applications.”

LG’s investment is said to be part of a larger strategic funding round, which including participation from another leading consumer electronics brand as well as existing investors Anzu Partners and Draper Dragon.

OnePlus provides reasons for some key UI changes in OxygenOS 11

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 1, 2020

When OnePlus released OxygenOS 11 Beta, the new UI received mixed reviews. There were some who praised the changes and there were others who expressed their displeasure. If you have not seen the new user interface, you can read our hands-on to bring yourself up to speed. OnePlus has now released an official post explaining some of the design changes.

Bigger screens require changes to the UI

Phones are bigger now and manufacturers have to find a way to use the additional space while making the device easier to use. One of the changes OxygenOS 11 brings is the use of headlines in a fashion similar to Samsung’s One UI.

OnePlus says it conducted A/B testing to determine the best size of the headline. A/B testing or split testing involves using two different interfaces at the same time and choosing the one with the best engagement. The result shows 65% of users preferred slightly smaller headlines and 80% of users prefer titles with subtitles. OnePlus says the result is a new headline-body hierarchy that streamlines information delivery in OxygenOS 11.

One-Handed Efficiency

OnePlus reiterates that its aim is to make stock Android better and one of the ways it is doing so with OxygenOS 11 is by optimizing one-handed usage on large displays. The image above is how people use their phones based on the hand they use. The goal is to provide a UI that makes it comfortable to use the device with one hand.

OnePlus says it has done this by moving the touch controls closer to the thumb for easier access as soon as you open a menu. They have also added more features such as a new Quick Share button in the camera app. All you have to do is long-press the thumbnail of the last image you took so you can share the image quickly.

These are some of the reasons behind the design change we have seen in OxygenOS 11. Hopefully, more details will surface when the stable version is launched.

Xiaomi’s record 3000th Mi Store in India opened

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Sep 1, 2020

Xiaomi‘s journey from a tech startup in 2010 to present won’t be complete without talking about the roles played by its iconic Mi Stores. At first, the company adopted the online-only sales pattern but that didn’t prove to be a successful model. Later on, the company started opening up brick and mortar stores known as Mi Store. This model is replicated in new markets where the company chose to open shop, including India

That of India has been sort of a record-breaking exercise. We recall how the company set a Guinness World Record when it opened a staggering 500 Mi Stores at a go in November 2018. By August last year, the company opened store number 2000. Right now, the Chinese tech giant has created another record as it opens its 3000th Mi Store in India. That means the company opened 1000 stores within the last year.

Xiaomi first entered India in 2014 and is presently the number one smartphone brand in the Asian country. The opening of more Mi Stores will surely bring the company’s products closer to the buyers.

Commenting on the milestone, Muralikrishnan B, COO, Mi India, said:

“We are delighted and humbled to receive continuous support from our Mi Fans and Partners that has enabled us to launch our 3000th Mi Store and strengthen our position as the largest exclusive single-brand retail network in the country in such a short span of time. As a brand, we have always worked towards bringing innovation for everyone and fostering entrepreneurship. Our exclusive retail network has made it possible for thousands of individuals to become entrepreneurs through their association with Mi India. We are determined to scale bigger heights together with our partners and Mi Fans”.

OnePlus: first look at the OnePlus 8T; MicroSD card support coming to future models

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Aug 31, 2020

We are now officially in September. While some brands have already announced their flagships for the second half of the year, there are lots more that are yet to do so. OnePlus belongs to the latter group, and is expected to announce the OnePlus 8T series. Now, a new finding has brought up what may be our very first look at the Oneplus 8T.

A teardown of Beta 4 of OxygenOS 11 by a member of XDA-Developers for OxygenUpdater has resulted in some interesting findings, chief of them being an image of what is believed to be the OnePlus 8T.

The image is actually a file found in the OnePlus Settings app with the name “oneplus 8t.webp”. The image is likely the one that will be displayed if you were to go to the About Phone section under settings. However, there is no confirmation this is indeed the OnePlus 8T as there is a possibility it might be a placeholder.

As seen above, the device has a single punch hole at the top left corner of the screen just like the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro but it ditches the curved display for a flat one. The bezels at the top and bottom are also thinner.

Sadly, there is no image of the back of the device but we can see the button placements have not changed and the phone will likely launch in the same Glacial Green colorway of the OnePlus 8.

Other details found include support for 8K video recording for a future Oneplus phone(s) and also support for SD card for new models (most probably mid-range devices). The latter will be a big deal seeing as no OnePlus save for the OnePlus X has a MicroSD card slot.

The OnePlus 8T should launch this month going by the launch of the OnePlus 7T last year. It is expected to come with a 64MP primary camera and run OxygenOS 11 based on Android 11 out of the box. OnePlus is also expected to announce new mid-range phones soon including a model codenamed “clover”.

The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro has a 2K OLED display, Snapdragon 730G, and JBL speakers

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Aug 31, 2020

Lenovo announced a couple of new tablets today but the Tab P11 Pro is the one the Chinese giant has dubbed the flagship. The new tablet has a premium design, an OLED display, and even packs a punch when it comes to its speakers.

The Lenovo Tab P11 Pro has an 11.5-inch 2K (2560 x 1600) OLED display with HDR10 and Dolby Vision. The bezels around the screen are pretty slim at 6.9 millimeters and are even on all sides. The screen itself is housed in an aluminum unibody chassis with speaker grilles on two of its sides for four JBL speakers. Lenovo boasts the tablet measures 5.8 millimeters at its thinnest point and 7.7 millimeters at its thickest point.

Powering the new tablet is the Snapdragon 730G and it draws power from an 8600mAh battery that should last up to 15 hours on a single charge. There are two variants – a 4GB RAM version and a 6GB RAM version. However, both come with 128GB of storage.

The Android 10-powered tablet has dual cameras on the back – a 13MP main camera paired with a 5MP ultrawide angle camera. The front is also home to two 8MP cameras and a ToF camera for Face ID that unlocks your device once it detects your face without the need to touch any button or the screen. There is also an automatic background blur when making video calls.

Lenovo is advertising the Tab P11 Pro as a productive device. With an optional keyboard dock that connects to pogo pins at the bottom of the tablet, you can use the tablet to write documents, create slides, and more. There is even a desktop-like interface with support for resizable windows. For the artists, the tablet also has support for the Lenovo Precision Pen 2.

Lenovo says the tablet will cost €699 (including VAT) when it goes on sale in November. We are not sure if this is the price of the LTE version or the Wi-Fi only version.

Lenovo Smart Clock Essential is a cheaper smart clock with Google Assistant

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Aug 31, 2020

Lenovo announced a couple of products today and one of them is the Smart Clock Essential. The new product is a smaller and more affordable version of the Lenovo Smart Clock that was announced last year.

To make it more affordable, Lenovo has swapped the color display of the larger model for a LED-like panel that displays real-time information including the date, time, temperature, and weather. Since this is not a color display, you do not need to worry about bezels. The rest of the design doesn’t deviate from that of the Lenovo Smart Clock.

The speaker is wrapped in fabric with 3D buttons at the top. You can use the buttons to control playback and also to set the time. The back is where the power jack is in addition to the mute button and a USB-A output port for charging your devices. The white plastic around the ports is actually a night light that allows you to see in the dark so you don’t have to turn on the lights in the room.

With Google Assistant built-in, you can use the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential as you would any smart speaker. From setting alarms to asking questions to creating shopping lists and controlling other smart home devices, the far-field microphones on the speaker will take your commands. You can also listen to your favorite podcast thanks to its 3W speaker. Lenovo says you can also group it with your other compatible smart speakers.

The Lenovo Smart Clock Essential will sell for €59.99 in Europe when it goes on sale later this month. In the US, it will sell for $49. It will also be sold in China, Latin America, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.

You can officially watch these Netflix original movies and series for free without an account

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Aug 31, 2020

OTT (over-the-top) platforms are taking over the world of entertainment. The COVID-19 global pandemic further helped them to prosper. Netflix continued to lead the market with a huge catalogue and popularity. But it still lags behind in developing nations. Hence, the streaming giant has been offering special plans in those regions. As part of that campaign, the company is now offering a number of its original movies and series for free even without an account.

When countries around the world announced lockdowns earlier this year, Netflix published some of its documentaries on YouTube for anyone to watch for free. Similarly, the company has now made available some of its original movies and series free to watch on a dedicated page on its website.

This page can be only accessed through browsers on computers and Android devices. Unfortunately, iPhone users cannot make use of this offer as iOS browsers are not supported. But iPad users can as Safari for iPadOS loads webpages as on macOS.

The page to watch free Netflix content is available in all the regions and it even does not require an account, let along subscription. But there’s a caveat as only movies can be watched fully in all the available languages with subtitles. On the other hand, viewers can only watch the first episode from Season 1 of the series’.

When Gadgets360 enquired Netflix regarding this offer, the streaming giant issued the following statement – “We’re looking at different marketing promotions to attract new members and give them a great Netflix experience.”

That said, here’s the entire list of Netflix original movies and series that are free to watch.

Stranger Things
Murder Mystery
Elite
The Boss Baby: Back in Business
Bird Box
When they See Us
Love is Blind
The Two Popes
Our Planet
Grace and Frankie

Ulefone Note 8 and Armor 9e goes official for the price of $69.99 and $469.99, respectively

By

Simranpal Singh

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Aug 31, 2020

Ulefone is a prominent rugged smartphone manufacturer. The company’s Armor series is quite popular among the users and has made the company outshine other competitors. Ulefone always keeps evolving the tech behind its smartphones. Similarly, the company has launched two new rugged smartphones – Ulefone Note 8 and Armor 9e for the price of $69.99 and $469.99. Both smartphones possess different specifications and serve different purposes.

See More: Ulefone Armor 8 5G smartphone teased in a video as the world’s first 5G rugged smartphone

Ulefone Armor 9e is a high-end smartphone featuring Helio P90 SoC with 8 GB RAM and 128GB storage. While the Uelfone Note 8 comes with MT6580 SoC coupled with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage.

Ulefone Armor 9e specifications

The smartphone carries high-end specifications starting with a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display sporting 1080 x 2340 pixels resolution and a waterdrop notch. The smartphone measures 168.2 * 82 * 15mm in size and weighs over 325 grams.

It is powered with a MediaTek Helio P90 SoC coupled with an octa-core chipset and IMG 9XM-HP8 GPU. It is available only in 8GB RAM and 128GB storage with the availability of 2TB microSD card expandable storage. The smartphone runs on stock-Android 10 OS with features like improved dark mode and enhanced privacy controls.

In the camera department, it houses a 64-megapixel primary camera + 8-megapixel ultrawide sensors and another 2x 2-megapixel sensors for enhanced photography. Ulefone Armor 9e even houses a 4x LED flash for abundant light during the night-time. The rear cameras are capable to record video in 4k resolution. There’s an 8-megapixel selfies shooter on the front.

In connectivity, the smartphone packs support for WiFi, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0 , GPS + Glonass + Beidou + Galileo. There are Accelerometer, G-sensor, P-Sensrom L-sensor, E-compass and Gyroscope, and pedometer sensors. A massive 6600 mAh battery is present on the board with 42 hours of Talktime. The users can enjoy audio with a 3.5mm audio jack and feature a USB Type-C for charging and data transfer.

The smartphone is fully IP68, IP69K, and MIL-STD-810G certified.

Ulefone Note 8 Pro Specifications

It is an affordable device featuring a MediaTek MT6580 chipset with a Quad-Core processor and ARM Mali 400 MP2 GPU. The smartphone houses a 5.5-inch display with 442 x 960 pixels resolution.

There’s a dual rear camera of 5-megapixel and 2-megapixel on the rear side and a 2-megapixel single camera on the front for selfies. Ulefone Note 8 Pro comes with a 2700 mAh battery with 5-7 hours of Talktime.

In connectivity, the smartphone carries a 2/3G support, WiFi, GPS, HiFi, BL 4.2, and dual SIM support.

The smartphone is available in Black, Midnight Green, and Amber Sunrise colors. The smartphone measures 141.7 * 66.5 * 12mm in size and weighs 153 grams. It runs on Android 10 Go for blazing-fast performance.

Pricing

Ulefone Armor 9e pro is available for $469.99 with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, while Note 8 Pro is retailing for a mere $69.99 from the Ulefone official store.

Leaked video ad of Samsung Galaxy Book Flex 5G reveals primary features

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Aug 31, 2020

Last year, Samsung introduced Galaxy Book Flex and Galaxy Book Ion as the world’s first laptops with QLED display. This year, the company is expected to launch a 5G variant of the former as the company filed a trademark for the same early this month. Now, this notebook’s video ad leaks giving us the first glimpse of its design and certain features.

The leaked video advertisement of Galaxy Book Flex 5G was shared by user @h0x0d (WalkingCat) on Twitter (via SamMobile). In this particular video, Samsung mocks Apple laptops with a tagline “Leave the old behind”.

Most importantly, the South Korean tech giant confirms four of the primary features of its upcoming notebook. And they are 5G connectivity, S Pen, QLED Display, and Intel chipset.

For those unaware, the last three was already present in the previous generation. So the only new thing the company incorporated this year is support for 5G and probably updated Intel processors.

Samsung is yet to officially announce the launch date for the second-gen Galaxy Book. Anyway, it is expected to debut at the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) 2020. Before that, the company will be launching the Galaxy Z Fold2 in the next few hours, which is more interesting than the firm’s new laptop.

Oukitel WP8 Pro first renders leak flaunting its rear design and triple camera module

By

Simranpal Singh

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Aug 31, 2020

Oukitel is on a launching spree as the company is actively unveiling new smartphones under different pricing segments. After launching Oukitel C21, WP6, the company is readying the WP8 Pro rugged smartphone. The upcoming smartphone’s first render has propped on the web featuring rear design along with its triple camera module. Here’s the first glimpse of the smartphone featuring some exemplary durable design.

A couple of renders have appeared bringing forth the smartphone’s design aspects. We can see a triple rear camera circular module that sits on the rear side of the smartphone. The rubber and metal material gives it an overall solid design. The toughened corners of the device provides an extra layer of protection which reduces the impact during any usual fall.

Moreover, the fingerprint sensors are present on the right side of the device providing easy accessibility. Overall, the holistic design gives it a durable and sporty look. It is a bit slimmer than normal rugged smartphones and even feels lighter.

To know more about the device, you can add the smartphone to the cart on Alixpress’s Oukitel official store.

TicWatch Pro 3 with Wear 4100 SoC goes official on Amazon UK

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Aug 31, 2020

When Qualcomm first announced the Snapdragon Wear 4100 and Wear 4100+, there were rumours that the processor will be utilised by the TicWatch Pro 3. Indeed, the TicWatch Pro 3 has now gone official on Amazon UK store. The smartwatch is up for pre-order with a price tag of £399.99.

The product page contains renders of the smartwatch giving us an idea of the design as well as a few of the features. However, if ou are interested i getting one, you’ll have to wait until November 30, 2020 when it will be released.

1 of 2

Design-wise, the TicWatch Pro 3 adopts a similar design style as its predecessor. It has the rugged look for which Mobvoi’s smartwatches are known. In addition, the watch has a dimension of 45.1 x 45.1 x 12.6mm.

In terms of core configuration, TicWatch Pro 3 will use the Wear 4100 processor as stated earlier. The new Snapdragon Wear 4100 utilises a more efficient and smaller 12nm processor compared to 28nm used by its predecessor. Qualcomm says this makes for a “significantly faster new processor.” It also brings 25% improvement in the battery life and there is equally a faster LPDDR3 memory. The processor features quad-core A53 processors clocked at 1.7GHz for 85% faster performance and the graphics is powered by the Adreno 504 GPU which is 2.5x faster. There is support for up to 16-megapixel cameras while a lower-power 4G LTE modem is also onboard.

Google announces Kids Space: a new mode for Android tablets aimed at kids

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Aug 31, 2020

Google is a perpetual latecomer when it comes to adopting new features for Android. Several features that are available on custom UI skins usually get adopted natively much later. Today, Google has announced Kids Space a dedicated mode for kids on Android tablets. Samsung has had a similar feature for years now called Kids Mode and last year, Xiaomi announced that MIUI 11 will come with a dedicated space for kids called Children’s Space.

Kids Space is a special interface for kids and it comes at the right time seeing as families are spending more time together due to the pandemic and parents and guardians have to share their devices with kids.

Google says Kids Space is designed to nurture your kid’s curiosity and creativity. After choosing their interests (and building their avatar), Google will recommend quality content for your kids. The recommended content includes books, apps, games, and videos. These apps and games “have been approved by teachers and children’s education and media specialists” led by advisors from Havard University Graduate School of Education and Georgetown University. The tech giant also partnered with top publishers to make 400 books available to kids free of charge in the US.

The interface has five tabs including the Home tab with icons at the bottom of the screen to make it easy for kids to switch between them. There is the “Play” tab which has apps and games recommended by teachers. The “Read” tab contains your child’s own books and recommendations from experts. The “Watch” tab has creative and fun videos from YouTube Kids and the “Make” tab has videos that encourage kids to create and practice their skills.

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If you want to add specific apps, games, and books not recommended by Google, you will be able to do that through the parents’ menu. Also, you can still use the Family Link app to set parental controls.

Kids Space is currently only available (globally) on two tablets for now:

Lenovo Tab HD M10 (2nd Generation)
Lenovo SmartTab M10 HD (2nd Generation) with Google Assistant

Google says the feature will come to more android tablets soon. Do note that you need a Google Account for your child to use Kids Space and you can not use the Google Assistant when in the mode.

[UPDATED] OnePlus CEO joins OPPO’s holding company as Senior VP and Chief Product Experience Officer

By

Joel Joseph

-

Aug 31, 2020

UPDATE:

Realme has reached out to us to clarify that Pete Lau will play no role in the Realme, even though he is the SVP of OPlus, an investor in the brand. It further adds that it is operating independently in its full capacity and takes 100% ownership of its product portfolio and R&D.

Original story..

Pete Lau, the CEO and co-founder of OnePlus has taken up a very important role at OPPO as the senior vice president and head of the product experience team. The news was first reported by the Chinese publication, the paper.cn.

OPPO confirmed that Pete Lau will indeed be serving a role in its holding company. Mr. Lau will be acting as the senior vice president and head of product experience (chief experience officer) at Oujia holdings Ltd. (internationally called OPlus). Since Oujia (OPlus) is a majority shareholder of both OPPO and OnePlus, Pete Lau is likely going to be active in the product development of both the brands from now on.

OnePlus Co-Founder Pete Lau — Pete Lau, Co-founder & CEO of OnePlus (Image Source: OnePlus)

In fact, OnePlus has officially confirmed to Android Authority that Pete Lau will remain as the CEO of OnePlus in addition to his role as SVP at OPlus.

OPPO is wholly owned by Oujia holdings Ltd. (OPlus). The same Oujia holdings own a majority 74% stake in OnePlus and a majority stake in Realme too. In short, all three smartphone brands are owned by the same OPlus holdings. With Pete Lau as the SVP of the holding company, he will also be tasked with the responsibility of brand synergy between OPPO, OnePlus, ~~and Realme.~~

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The name Oujia is derived from OPPO and OnePlus. ‘Yi Jia’ (一加) is the official name of OnePlus in Chinese. Here, yi means one, and jia means plus. Hence the name Oujia (Ou is the O sound from OPPO). Consequently, in English, this becomes OPlus (OPPO+OnePlus).

At a time when brands are struggling to move shipments, Pete Lau’s direction could turn out to be helpful to avoid unnecessary friction between sister brands. But it remains to be seen if this would turn out to be a distraction for Mr. Lau from his usual role at OnePlus. The smartphone maker has expanded aggressively over the past few months, entering new product categories and segments. So this is a crucial time for OnePlus too.

We’ll have to wait and see if this move turns out to be fruitful for all the three brands in the coming months.

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