Recently, an OPPO phone with model number CPH2065 was approved by the Bluetooth SIG and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorities. While the Bluetooth certification revealed the key specs of the phone, the FCC listing revealed its rear schematic. The FCC appearance also confirmed that it will be arriving in the market as OPPO Reno4 Z 5G. Today, the smartphone approval from the Global Certification Forum (GCF). The listing again confirmed that the CPH2065 will debut as Reno4 Z 5G. The GCF certification is yet another hint that its launch could be closed at hand.
The Bluetooth SIG listing of the phone had revealed that it has a 6.57-inch HD+ display, a 4,000mAh battery, and it is powered by a 2.0GHz octa-core processor by MediaTek. It also revealed that the device is loaded with ColorOS 7.1 and carries support for dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.1.
The FCC listing had revealed that the Reno4 Z 5G has a square-shaped camera module with four cameras and an LED flash unit inside it. The rear design of the phone is similar to the OPPO A92s 5G phone that debuted a few months ago in China. Hence, there is a possibility that the Reno4 Z 5G could be debuting as a rebranded version of the OPPO A92s 5G.
The OPPO A92s has a dual punch-hole IPS LCD panel of 6.57 inches. The FHD+ screen supports 120Hz refresh rate and houses a 16-megapixel + 2-megapixel dual selfie camera system. It has a rear-mounted quad-camera system featuring a 48-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens, a 2-megapixel macro shooter, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor.
OPPO A92s
The Dimensity 800 5G chipset powers the OPPO A92s with 8 GB of RAM. The phone comes with up to 256 GB of built-in storage. Its 4,000mAh battery supports 18W fast charging.
The Nokia 8.3 5G, which is HMD Global’s first 5G-capable is now being made available in Europe for purchase. It is speculated that the Nokia 9.3 PureView and Nokia 7.3 mid-ranger are the next 5G phones from the Finnish brand. The company is also reportedly working on Nokia 6.3 smartphone. Citing sources who are familiar with the developments of Nokia 6.3, Nokia 7.3 5G, and Nokia 9.3 PureView 5G, Nokia Power User has reported that these phones will break cover in Q4 2020.
The report reveals that the development work of the Nokia 6.3, Nokia 7.3, and Nokia 9.3 PureView is almost over. The Finnish firm may soon begin with their final testing and then begin their production in September or October. The report also states the company may launch the Nokia 2.4 and Nokia 3.4 smartphones in September.
The Nokia 7.3 5G could be a Snapdragon 690 powered smartphone. It could be coming with other specs such as 6.3-inch 20:9 Full HD+ display, 48-megapixel / 64-megapixel quad-camera setup, 24-megapixel front camera, and 4,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging support.
The Nokia 6.3 may come with Snapdragon 670 or Snapdragon 675 chipset. It may come with specs like a 6.2-inch display, quad camera setup, 16-megapixel front camera, and 4,000mAh battery with 18W rapid charging support.
Today, ZTE took to Weibo to confirm that it will be announcing the ZTE Axon 20 5G phone on Sept. 1 in China. As it is known, it will be introduced as the world’s first smartphone with under-display camera technology.
Last week, ZTE’s President for Mobile Devices Ni Fei first confirmed that ZTE will be the world’s first smartphone brand to announce a smartphone with under-display camera technology. The Weibo post through which Fei confirmed the smartphone revealed that it could be called ‘ZTE A20 5G.’
It is known through SRRC and TENAA certification that the model number of the device is ZTE A2121. Since the ZTE 2020 debuted as an Axon series phone called ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G, it appeared that the ZTE A2121 could be an Axon series handset. Today, the Chinese firm confirmed that the device will be breaking cover as ZTE Axon 20 5G on Sept. 1
The TENAA appearance of the ZTE Axon A20 5G revealed that its dimensions are 172.1 x 77.9 x 7.9mm. The handset is fitted with a 1080 x 2460 pixels Full HD+ resolution supporting screen of 6.92 inches. There is no selfie camera notch or punch-hole on the display. The 32-megapixel front-facing camera is embedded under the display. It is speculated that ZTE has incorporated China-based Visionox’s under-display camera technology.
An unidentified 2.4GHz octa-core smartphone powers the smartphone. The device may arrive in 6 GB, 8 GB, and 12 GB RAM variants and 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB storage models in China. The phone will come preinstalled with Android 10 OS.
The Axon 20 5G will be flaunting a 64-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 2-megapixel + 2-megapixel quad-camera system. It is backed by a rated battery of 4,120mAh and it supports rapid charging.
A lot of us know Mobvoi as the brand behind the TicWatch line of smartwatches and TicPods TWS earbuds. Last month they announced the TicKasa ANC Headphones, and back in June, they announced the TicPods ANC. Yesterday, Mobvoi issued a statement on Twitter saying the two products will now go by new names.
According to the tweet, the headphones will now be known as the Mobvoi Headphones ANC while the earbuds will be called the Mobvoi Earbuds ANC. If you are wondering why the change of name, the manufacturer said the new names “are more compatible with our business strategy and brand identity”.
The name change shows that Mobvoi has dropped the TicKasa and TicPods name. We are actually more concerned about the latter as it is like a household name for its earbuds. We want to believe future products will also not have TicPods in their names.
Mobvoi says the change in name will not affect or delay current orders of these two products. At the moment, both products still go by their old names on Mobvoi’s website. We also want to believe the current stock of the two products that will be shipping to buyers will have the old name.
The Surface Earbuds launched last year but didn’t go on sale until more than six months later. The earbuds is currently available in a single colorway called Glacier. If you don’t like this light gray variant, Microsoft has announced that a new color variant called Graphite (Dark Gray) will soon be available.
The landing page for the Surface Earbuds says it is coming soon in Graphite. However, Windows Central has reported that it will be available on September 10, the same date the Surface Duo will be available for purchase.
The Surface Earbuds boasts an 8 hour battery life that goes up to 24 hours with the charging case. Each earbud houses a 13.6mm driver unit and two microphones. There is support for touch and voice controls. You can even use them to type documents if you have a Microsoft 365 subscription. The earbuds are compatible with devices running Windows 10, Android 9 and up, and iOS 12 and up.
The earbuds are priced at $199.99 but there are special offers for students, parents, teachers, and those in the military that brings the price tag down to $179.99.
Last year, Huawei announced the FreeLace Bluetooth Headset. The pair of wireless earphones received positive reviews with most users praising its battery life and sound quality. Now, it appears Huawei is about to launch a pro version.
A Weibo user that goes by @看山的叔叔, the same person that leaked the Huawei TalkBand B6 before it launched, has shared photos of the retail box of the Huawei FreeLace Pro Bluetooth Headset.
The images show the headset has redesigned earbuds with ear hooks that should help them stay in place better than the standard version. They also show that Huawei is keeping the HiPair Plug and Connect and Charge feature that allows users to easily pair the headset to their (supported) phone by simply plugging its USB-C end into their device. The feature also allows users to charge the headset easily using their phones.
The retail box says the Freelace Pro Bluetooth Headset will have a battery life of 24 hours. That is a significant upgrade compared to last year’s model that has an already impressive battery life of 18 hours. The Pro model should support fast charging too.
The box also reveals the drivers of the FreeLace Pro are now larger at 14.2mm (the FreeLace has 9.2mm driver units). It also has dual microphones for noise reduction, an in-line remote, and HD call support. The box also shows the earbuds have a sort of control built-in though we are not sure if it is touch or a push button.
Huawei should announce the FreeLace Pro Bluetooth Headset soon. The source says it should be priced at around ¥799 (~$115) which is not far off from the €99 (~$117) launch price of the standard edition, though it is currently sold for ¥399 (~57) on Vmall, so you may want to check it out.
There has been a rise in cases of gaming addiction especially among teenager and that is a cause for concern. In India, a 16-year-old boy has reportedly lost his life after continuously playing PUBG for several days, skipping meals and did not even drink water.
The report carried by IndiaTV stated that the boy who resides in Andhra Pradesh developed severe dehydration due to the fact that he wasn’t taking food and water. When the family got to know after he fell sick, he was rushed to a private hospital in the city of Eluru. The boy further developed severe diarrhoea and had to undergo a surgical operation. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it through the surgery.
PUBG or PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is one of the most popular Battle Royale games around the globe. The game is available for mobile phones, Xbox console as well as for Windows PC. The game, just like any other game can be addictive if caution isn’t exercised. The addiction is common among teenage players.
A case of PUBG related addiction death was recorded in India in January this year. The deceased was a 25-year-old man named Harshal Memane who died after suffering a brain stroke due to prolonged PUBG mobile gameplay. The Pune based man complained about not being able to move his right arm and leg while playing the game. It was diagnosed at a nearby hospital where he was rushed to that he suffered from intracerebral haemorrhage. Sadly, he didn’t recover from it and died moments later.
In China, gaming addiction and its attendant health challenges have made the government institute several restrictions, especially for online gaming. Measures such as facial recognition, real name verification to detect underage gamers and game time restrictions have been put in place. That may happen in India soon if such an alarming trend continues.
Qualcomm has for several years enjoyed dominance of the flagship and midrange mobile chip segments but in recent times, MediaTek has staged a comeback with several impressive products including 5G chipsets. In its bid to continue to maintain its market leadership, Qualcomm has been releasing several mobile processors in quick succession. The US company is now rumoured to be planning to launch a new mid-range SoC known a Snapdragon 732G in September.
According to a Twitter tipster, the chipset utilises two Kyro 430 Gold and six Kyro 470 Silver cores clocked at 2.3GHz and 1.8 GHz, respectively. The processor will also have an Adreno 618 GPU. The leaker also adds that the Snapdragon 732G will be a 4G-only chip. The non-inclusion of a 5G modem may be to save cost. The source also added that the new SoC will be released alongside an under-$300 smartphone in Vietnam this September.
Snapdragon 732G 2 Kryo 470 Gold cores 2.3Ghz instead 2.2 and 6 Kryo 470 Sliver cores 1.8GHz 8nm Adreno 618 Better AI comparability 4G only Release very soon and a phone with Snapdragon 732G will on sale in Vietnam in September, priced under $300
The rumoured Snapdragon 732G will likely be an upgraded version of the Snapdragon 730G. The SD730 comes with a similar architecture, that is 2x Kryo 470 Gold (based on Cortex-A76) cores clocked at 2.2GHz and 6x Kryo 470 Silver (based on Cortex-A55) clocked at 1.8GHz. The difference is the higher clocking speed of the large cores on the unannounced chipset. The chip will also reportedly come with better AI comparability.
We can’t say for sure if this rumour has any credibility but we expect the slight improvement t translate to better performance in gaming and everyday use for smartphones that would utilise the chip.
The Huawei Mate 40 series is highly anticipated. The series is known for bringing cutting-edge technology and this year will be no different. A leaker has revealed some key specs of the upcoming phones and it reveals that Huawei’s liquid lens camera technology will finally be commercially available.
The source of the leak is Teme (@RODENT950) who is known for his Huawei-related leaks. In a tweet posted a few days ago, he revealed the key specs of two of the phones in the series with the codenames “Ocean” and “Noah”.
According to him, “Ocean” which we believe is the standard Mate 40, will have a 6.67-inch curved display supplied by LG Display. The screen is said to have a 90Hz refresh rate. For its cameras, there is a 50MP main sensor paired with a 20MP ultrawide angle camera and an 8MP telephoto camera. The phone also has a laser autofocus module.
The other device which is codenamed “Noah” should be the Mate 40 Pro/Mate 40 Pro+. It is said to have a waterfall display that will be supplied by both LG Display and BOE. Just like the standard version, it will also have a 90Hz refresh rate, and under the hood is a Kirin 9000 processor.
Ocean: 6.67" curved lg display 90hz 50+20 UW+8 tele+L-AF Noah: Waterfall lg/boe display 90hz Kirin9000 50 w liquid lens tech+80 UW Cine+periscope+tof Battery capacities 4300, 4600 & 5000 mAh Pill hole w 3D face id 🧂
For its cameras, the phone will also have a 50MP sensor with liquid lens technology. The liquid lens technology was patented by Huawei a few months ago. The technology allows for faster autofocus and better stabilization. Earlier reports thought that the feature will not appear in a phone until next year when the Huawei P50 launches but it appears Huawei already had it ready for the Mate 40 series before it was granted the patent. The leaker does say he doesn’t think the technology is ready for mass production, so we advise you to take the leak with a pinch of salt.
Alongside the 50MP sensor is an 80MP ultrawide angle Cine camera, a periscope lens, and a ToF sensor. The battery capacities for the Mate 40 series are also revealed as 4300mAh, 4600mAh, and 5000mAh. These should be for the Mate 40, Mate 40 Pro, and the Mate 40 Pro Plus respectively. The leak also mentions that the phone(s) has a pill-shaped hole in the display with (3D) Face ID.
The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is the successor of the Galaxy Fold that was partially unveiled at the Galaxy Unpacked event on August 5. With a planned launch for September, the device has now passed China’s TENAA.
It has been reported that the Galaxy Z Fold 2 was reviewed by the agency on August 11. While the agency is yet to publish the full spec sheet, some key details have been revealed such as its model number which is SM-F9160. It has also been revealed that it has support for dual-mode 5G and that it was manufactured in Vietnam.
Samsung revealed at the launch of the Galaxy Note 20 series in China that the Galaxy Z Fold 2 will be officially unveiled in the country on September 9. In the US, pre-orders will be open for the device on September 2 and open sales will begin on September 18.
The new foldable will have a 6.2-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch main display with a punch hole on the right side of the screen. It will be powered by the Snapdragon 865 Plus processor. There is a triple camera setup on the rear whose design is similar to that of the Galaxy Note 20.
Samsung will launch the phone in two color variants – Mystic Black and Mystic Bronze. There will be a Thom Browne Edition too that will come with the Galaxy Buds Live Thom Browne Edition and the Galaxy Watch3 Thom Browne Edition included in the package.
OnePlus is rolling out the August 2020 security patch update to its current flagship smartphones – OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. Unlike the last month’s build, this one does not bring any features like new Clock Styles, instead it only fixes a couple of bugs and optimizes the front camera.
The OxygenOS build number for both OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro vary based on regions. Here are the builds that are being seeded out to these handsets worldwide.
Region
OnePlus 8
OnePlus 8 Pro
India
OxygenOS 10.5.11.IN21DA
OxygenOS 10.5.13.IN11DA
Europe
OxygenOS 10.5.10.IN21BA
OxygenOS 10.5.12.IN11BA
North America
OxygenOS 10.5.12.IN21AA
OxygenOS 10.5.13.IN11AA
Though the build number for the update is different for these phones depending upon the region they are sold, they are basically the same update with common changelog.
Apart from bumping up the security patch level to August 2020, it also fixes the overlapping character display issue with ambient display and other known issues. Additionally, it even optimizes shooting effect with the front camera.
Having said that, the OTA update is being rolled out in batches and thus, may take time to reach your device. Also, if you are interested in trying out Android 11, you do it by installing OxygenOS 11 based on Android 11 Beta 3 that was released earlier this week.
OnePlus 8/8 Pro OxygenOS 10.5.10/10.5.11/10.5.12/10.5.13 Official Changelog
System
Fixed the overlapping character display issue with Ambient display
The Amazfit Smart Scale certification page was published on August 5 which is almost two weeks ago. The page says the scale has the model number A2003 and connects via Bluetooth 5.0. Another certification page related to it reveals that it uses a Bluetooth module supplied by Broadcom-owned Beken Corp.
We also found out that (not entirely sure if it has always been there) that the Amazfit app now has the option for adding a smart scale even though the product is yet to launch. If you select the option, it displays the interface on the left and tells you to step on it to pair.
[envira-gallery id=”337247″]
We are pretty excited that Amazfit is planning to add a smart scale to its lineup even though it is a little late compared to Xiaomi, Huawei, and Honor who all have smart scales already. However, as they say, better late than never.
Until we have more details, we can’t say if the Amazfit Smart Scale will track just weight and BMI or will be able to measure other features too such as muscle mass, body fat, visceral fat, bone density, etc.
The Galaxy S20 FE 5G is a new smartphone in development from Samsung that is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of the year. High resolution renders of the phone, which will be a more affordable version of the Galaxy S20, have leaked along with some key details. These renders give us a first look at the smartphone.
You should already know by now that the source is from none other than Steve Hemmerstoffer a.k.a. OnLeaks, and he has partnered with Pricebaba for this one.
The Galaxy S20 FE 5G will have a flat display just as the standard edition Galaxy S20. It is an AMOLED panel with a centered punch hole but not the slimmest bezels. It has been reported that the phone has a metal frame that has a chrome-like finish as seen in the images.
For the back, Samsung is going for plastic with a matte/frosted finish which should mean fingerprint smudges won’t be visible. We are not sure if this mint green/light cyan color is one of the colorways that will be available but it does look really good.
There are three rear cameras on the phone and they are housed together with the LED flash. Popular leaker, Ice Universe revealed last month that the main camera is a 12MP Sony IMX555 sensor and not the ISOCELL GN1. The other sensors are likely to be a 12MP ultrawide angle camera and an 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom.
Just like the Galaxy S20, the Galaxy S20 FE 5G will not have an audio jack. The bottom is home to a USB-C flanked on one side by the speaker grille while the top of the phone is where the SIM tray sits. On the right side of the phone are the power button and volume rocker.
Other unconfirmed specs include a 120Hz refresh rate, a Snapdragon 865 processor (an Exynos variant was seen on Geekbench a few days ago), an IP68 water-resistant rating, and a 4500mAh battery capacity with support for fast charging.
It has also been reported that the phone will sell for as high as $750 with a release in October. There is also news of a 4G version with a lower price tag.
Motorola is expected to announce the Moto Razr 5G foldable smartphone on September 9. As a way of promoting the product, the tech company has teamed up with an inflatable pool designer to unveil an inflatable chair.
The product is manufactured by Minnidip and is known as Minnidip x Razr Ch(air). It looks like an inflatable blush gold sofa. The company says it will give users the “illusion of floating on (air).”
The product is manufactured using BLUSH GOLD metallic vinyl with a printed cream gradient. It features a cutout on the armrest which is a phone case designed to protect your phone during times when you want to sit near a pool, but not actually go for a swim. Also, despite Minnidip being a designer inflatable pool brand, the Razr chair’s listing features an explicit disclaimer that the chair isn’t a pool float and should only be set up on solid ground, “never in water.”
Motorola’s Minnidip x Razr Ch(air) is priced at $70 which is quite pricy for an inflatable chair. However, it also comes with a promo code for a coupon that takes $200 off the yet to be announced price of the Razr 5G.
Oppo initially launched the Reno4 Pro alongside Reno4 in early June in China. Powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G as its predecessor, it focuses more on design and photography. Now, after two months from its debut, the company teases an Artist Limited Editon of this handset in collaboration with James Jean.
Chinese smartphone makers are known for launching special editions of their certain handsets. Only recently, Oppo launched Ace2 EVA Limited Edition with a number of other accessories themed after Neon Genesis Evangelion anime.
And now, just within a few months, the company is back again with another collaboration device called OPPO Reno4 Pro Artist Limited Edition. This time the brand has partnered with world-renowned artist James Jean.
Mr Jean is known for winning multiple awards for his cover arts for DC Comics and Marvel Comics in the early 2000s. In recent years, he even created poster arts for blockbuster Hollywood movies like mother!, The Shape of Water, and Blade Runner 2049.
He has even worked with Prada, an Italian luxury fashion house on multiple occasions. As for Oppo, we are not sure how this limited edition Reno4 Pro will look like. But going by the teaser poster, the phone may feature art inspired by Chinese tradition.
Anyway, we will get to know the design of OPPO Reno4 Pro Artist Limited Edition on August 17 when this device will be unveiled.
Microsoft Surface Duo and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 brought two different concepts of foldable phones to the market. The latter is better on the paper, but the former looks much more interesting for productivity and business users. Both are foldable phones but in different ways. That is exactly the reason why we decided to put them in a specs comparison. Here, we hope to let you understand which one is better for your actual needs and which is the most advanced device in terms of specifications and user experience. This will be a comparison between innovative phones, so we would like to hear your opinion about these foldable phones: if you have one, you can tell us by using the comment box below the post.
Microsoft Surface Duo vs Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 5G
Microsoft Surface Duo
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT
Unfolded: 186.9 x 145.2 x 4.8 mm
Folded: 145.2 x 93.3 x 9.9 mm
250 g
Unfolded: 159.2 x 128.2 x 6.9 mm
Folded: 159.2 x 68 x 16.8 mm
279 g
7.6 inches, 1768 x 2208p (Quad HD+), Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X
External display: 6.23 inches, 816 x 2260 pixels (HD+), Super AMOLED
PROCESSOR
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 octa-core 2.84 GHz
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ octa-core 3.1 GHz
MEMORY
6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 6 GB RAM, 256 GB
12 GB RAM, 256 GB
SOFTWARE
Android 10
Android 10, One UI
CONNECTIVITY
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS
CAMERA
Single 11 MP f/2.0
Triple 12 + 12 + 12 MP f/1.8, f/2.4, and f/2.2
10 MP f/2.2 front camera
10 MP f/2.2 cover camera
BATTERY
3577 mAh, fast charging 18W
4500 mAh, Fast Charging 25W, fast wireless charging 11W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
Surface Pen
Reverse wireless charging, 5G
Design
Here it is all about tastes. With its thinner bezels around the displays, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 offers more impressive panel designs. But the Microsoft Surface Duo does not leave any space between its two display while it is folded, it can be rotated by 360 degrees and it is a lot thinner than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2. On the other hand, it has very thick bezels around the displays, due to their 4:3 aspect ratio. This makes it look like an outdated phone. It is a very hard choice, but overall, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 has the most innovative and futuristic design.
Display
Microsoft Surface Duo comes with two displays close to each other which can be used together and rotated by 360 degrees, while Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 has a unique foldable display, as well as a secondary external display for those who want to use it as a phone. The foldable display of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 actually provides a better display quality thanks to its very high resolution, the HDR10+ certification, its 120 Hz refresh rate, and more. The Microsoft Surface Duo has an AMOLED display just like the Galaxy Z Fold 2, but it has no chances to compete against Samsung’s flagship in terms of display quality. So Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 wins.
Specs & Software
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 has much better hardware than Microsoft Surface Duo. It is fueled by the new Snapdragon 865+ mobile platform that is the best Qualcomm’s chipset of 2020, while Microsoft Surface Duo is powered by the Snapdragon 855 which was Qualcomm’s flagship chipset in the first half of 2019. Further, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 packs 12 gigs of RAM, while Microsoft Surface Duo has just 6 GB. But when it comes to the software, the Microsoft Surface Duo makes a lot more sense. It has software and apps optimized to take full advantage of its form factor for productivity users. You can open apps side by side and a lot of them are optimized for that, as Microsoft showed in its briefing video. Further, the Microsoft Surface Duo supports the Surface Pen, while Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 does not support a pen, unlike the Samsung Galaxy Note lineup. Both Samsung and Microsoft promised three years of major upgrades for their flagships.
Camera
Microsoft Surface Duo is all but a camera phone. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 takes the crown with its 12 MP triple camera: not the best camera department out there, but way better than the single 11 MP sensor found on the Surface Duo. With the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2, you get an additional telephoto sensor, an ultrawide sensor, and even OIS, as well as two 10 MP front cameras (including a cover camera for the external display.
The 4500 mAh battery found on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 will provide a longer battery life than the Microsoft Surface Duo simply because it has a bigger capacity. Especially if you only use the external display which comes with a lower resolution and a standard refresh rate. With the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2, you also get faster wired charging, wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging.
Price
Microsoft Surface Duo will be priced at €1181/$1399, while Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 will likely cost more than €2000. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 is a much better phone if we only consider the specifications. But if you need the best device for productivity, I believe that Surface Duo is a better choice for you due to its advanced software features and the Surface Pen.
Microsoft Surface Duo vs Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 5G: PRO and CONS
The FreeGO Portable Bluetooth Speaker was supposed to go on sale last month but is yet to be available. A leaker has revealed that the speaker will soon be available for purchase. The info comes from the Chinese blogger, Changan Digital King, and he said in a Weibo post that the new Bluetooth speaker is on its way.
There are lots of Bluetooth speakers on the market and one of the ways to stand out is with the design. Huawei nails the design of the FreeGO Portable Bluetooth Speaker. Huawei says the design inspiration comes from the vinyl player. To me, it looks more like a really fancy portable CD player. The speaker which comes in Obsidian Black and Silver is pretty compact, measuring 120mm in diameter and having a thickness of 31mm.
The FreeGO Portable Bluetooth Speaker has a knob on the side that not only works for volume control but can be pushed to accept, reject, and end calls. The knob can also be used to mute the microphone, pause and resume playback, and also call up the voice assistant.
The portable speaker has two driver units. There is one for high frequencies which has a high-end silk diaphragm and there is another for low frequencies whose diaphragm is made of aluminum alloy. Huawei says the speaker is professionally tuned, and with DRC dynamic compression algorithm and vocal EQ adjustment, it outputs loud and clear sounds.
The FreeGO Portable Bluetooth Speaker has NFC for one-touch pairing. It also has a 360° Omni-directional dual microphones with a range of 3 meters for picking up your voice during calls. It also uses an adaptive echo suppression algorithm to improve call quality.
The Bluetooth 5.0 speaker has an 11.25 Wh battery and supports 9V 2A and 5V 2A fast charging via USB-C. The spec sheet says a 15-minute charge will provide 2 hours of listening time. The speaker will ship with a USB-C to USB-A cable included in the box. There is still no info on the price of the speaker.
We have just learned that Huawei will be able to provide security updates to older smartphones. Also, Google apps will still be updated on these devices.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t get more information on how this will work without the temporary general license, but we’ll hear more from the company very soon.
Meanwhile, this news should come as a relief to existing Huawei smartphone users who were worried about losing out on important updates in the future.
Original Story
Huawei was added to the US Commerce Department’s Entity List in May 2019. This made American companies to drop their businesses with Huawei. However, the US government granted Temporary General Licence (TGL) to the Chinese telecom giant so that it could work with Google to provide security updates and Google apps updates to its older smartphones and tablets released before the ban. But now, this license has expired on August 13.
According to The Washington Post (via XDA Developers), this temporary license by the US government was not only meant for Huawei to provide necessary updates to its older smartphones/tablets. But was also granted so that some US rural telecommunication companies using Huawei telecommunication equipment could replace them with alternatives.
Now, with the expiration of this license and unclear or no statements from the parties involved suggests older Huawei/Honor smartphones and tablets, which until now received security patches may not continue to do so.
The biggest problem with this issue is that these devices will may no longer pass SafetyNet Attestation. That means banking and payment apps, as well as certain games, will stop working for the users.
As of now, it is unclear if the Temporary General Licence (TGL) will be renewed. If it does not happen, users will have to sadly ditch their older Huawei/Honor smartphones for good.
The rumor mill has been leaking information on the upcoming Motorola Moto E7 Plus since last month. First, a publication had revealed the live shots of the devices and it then popped up in the Geekbench benchmarking platform. On scrutinizing the Geekbench listing, it was speculated that the Moto E7 Plus could be arriving with the Snapdragon 460. A new leak courtesy of reputed tipster Evan Blass has revealed the key specs of the phone. It also states that the phone is powered by SD460.
The Snapdragon 460 mobile platform was announced by Qualcomm alongside the Snapdragon 662 and Snapdragon 720G in January this year. Built for budget-friendly smartphones, the 11nm SD460 chipset has an octa-core processor with 1.8GHz base frequency and Adreno 610 graphics.
As can be seen in the leaked poster above, the SD460 SoC is accompanied by 4 GB of RAM. The handset will offer internal storage of 64 GB. It will draw power from a 5,000mAh battery. The rear shell of the phone will be equipped with a 48-megapixel dual-camera system with Night Vision support.
The Moto E7 Plus will be arriving as the successor for the Moto E6 Plus phone that debuted in September last year. The leaked shot of the phone that appeared last month revealed that it has a waterdrop notch display. The rear-facing dual-camera setup of the phone is assisted by laser autofocus and LED flash. A fingerprint scanner is also available on the backside of the smartphone. The phone was also found to be equipped with a USB-C port, a speaker grille, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
There is no word on the launch date of the Moto E7 Plus. Considering that the predecessor went official in September 2019, it is likely that the E7 Plus may go official at some point in this month or in September.
Google Duo is literally the Android equivalent of FaceTime. The video-calling app even ships with a lot of phones including those from Samsung out of the box, allowing users to talk and see their loved ones. Now, a new report says Google has plans to phase out the app in a few years in favor of Meet.
First reported by 9to5Google, the head of Google’s G Suites services, Javier Soltero, wants to merge both Duo and Meet under an initiative currently known as Duet (formed from the first two letters in Duo and the last two in Meet). The result will be an integration of some of Duo’s features into Meet including end-to-end encryption, 3D effects, and the ability to reach a contact via their phone number.
The aforementioned tech blog revealed that sources informed them that interest in Duo has waned while Meet has seen a significant increase in adoption which is not surprising seeing as schools and workplaces have adopted the latter for communication while Duo is more personal and unofficial. The plan to merge both means that Google will be able to focus on just one video-calling app.
The merger is not happening soon but has been reported to happen over the next few years. Google commented on the matter, saying it is fully invested in Duo and added that they have seen astonishing growth (with the app) during the pandemic. The statement said new features will continue to be built for the app. It also confirmed that Duo is now under the leadership of Javier Soltero, a move that was carried out in May, and that they are “looking at ways that their video calling apps can improve alongside one another.”
What do you think of Google’s plan to merge Duo and Meet? Share your thoughts with us in the comment box below.
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