Back in 2019, Qualcomm‘s policy of “no-license, no-chips” was deemed as anti competitive by a US judge. But now, the Ninth Circuit has overruled the verdict entirely, handing Qualcomm a huge win.
For those unaware, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) had argued that the chipmaker was pushing out competitors within the field by adding a tax whenever OEMs bought chips from rival companies. This forced companies to pay royalties for Qualcomm’s standards-essential patents, even if they weren’t using the company’s products. In other words, it essentially made the products of the rival companies more expensive than the chip and patents bundle Qualcomm was offering.
The antitrust lawsuit faced by Qualcomm has had it face anti competitive charges in multiple countries. This includes $975 million to China, $854 million to South Korea and $1.2 billion to the European Union. The company had also settled a lawsuit by paying a fine of $774 million in Taiwan back in 2018. At the moment, it is still possible that Qualcomm can be charged for violating the concept of fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms.
These terms are in place to keep companies from unfairly exploiting patents and provide every company a fair chance. However, Judge Callahan has suggested that this matter is for a different court. Unless the matter reaches the Supreme Court, Qualcomm would basically be granted the green light for its alleged anti competitive practices. Furthermore, it might even be bolder from here on out. According to FTC’s Bureau of Competition, “The court’s ruling is disappointing and we will be considering our options.”
The Chinese government is backing two chip projects and has hired more than 100 veteran engineers and managers from TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), the world’s largest contract chipmaker.
According to a report from Nikkei Asia Review, the recent hirings are aimed at helping Beijing achieve its goals of growing its domestic chip industry. The further development of its native semiconductors will lead to reduced reliance on foreign chip suppliers, according to a source. Quanxin Integrated Circuit Manufacturing or QXIC, and Wuhan Hongxin Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (HSMC) alongside their affiliates are the two government backed firms.
These names aren’t particularly well known within the global semiconductor industry, but that might change soon. Over 50 former TSMC employees have been enlisted by each firm, which is also being led by former TSMC executives as well. The officials have already established their reputation in the chip field and the new two new projects aim at developing 14nm and 12nm chip processes, which, at the moment, is still two or three generations behind industry giant, TSMC.
Despite being founded quite recently, both firms are benefiting from the recent boom of development and investment in the Chinese semiconductor industry. The government is actively pushing for self dependence and backing local projects to reduce its reliance on foreign technology, especially from the west. According to certain reports, Taiwan has already lost over 3,000 chip engineers to China, who is pushing for chip dominance in the coming future.
In June, HTC unveiled the HTC U20 5G as the company’s first 5G phone in Taiwan. Alongside it, the Taiwanese brand also announced the Desire 20 Pro mid-range phone. Today, the phone has stepped out of the home market as the company has introduced it in Europe with a price tag of 279 euros.
HTC Desire 20 Pro specifications
The HTC Desire 20 Pro has 162 x 77 x 9.4mm and it weighs 201 grams. The phone is equipped with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio supporting display of 6.53 inches. The punch-hole screen offers a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. The phone runs on Android 10 OS.
The mid-range Desire 20 Pro is driven by the Snapdragon 665 mobile platform and 6 GB of RAM. The handset has 128 GB of native storage and a microSD card slot for more storage.
At the front, the Desire 20 Pro features a 25-megapixel selfie camera that comes with features like auto-HDR, beauty mode, and Full HD video recording. A vertically positioned quad-camera setup along with dual-LED flash can be seen on the rear shell of the phone. It comprises of a 48-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens, a 2-megapixel macro lens, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. The phone offers photography features like face detection, auto-HDR, real-time portrait mode, and up to 4K video recording.
The HTC Desire 20 Pro is backed by a 5,000mAh battery that supports 15W fast charging. The handset has usual connectivity features like dual SIM slot, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, and USB-C port. Lastly, it has a rear-positioned fingerprint reader.
HTC Desire 20 Pro pricing
The Desire 20 Pro is now for pre-orders across Europe. The phone is priced at 279 euros and is available in markets like the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, and the Netherlands. The shipments of the Desire 20 Pro will start on Aug. 24.
ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is apparently looking into gaining investment for its short video sharing platform from Indian giant, Reliance. The move is likely to save the popular social media app from losing its biggest market in terms of users.
For those unaware, the Indian government had previously banned TikTok and 59 other applications a few weeks prior. This was done due to security and privacy concerns and arrived during increased tensions between India and China after certain military clashes in the Indo-China border regions. India has the largest userbase for TikTok outside of China, with over 200 million users.
At the moment, ByteDance employs over 2,000 people in the country, who are also in the gray regarding the situation surrounding their company. Either the company manages to convince the government and allow its operations or sells itself. But a new report from TechCrunchhas suggested that the company is currently in talks with Reliance to strike a deal regarding investment into TikTok.
Two sources revealed a conversation between both companies last month which has yet to reach a deal. TikTok’s operations in India have been valued at more than 3 billion US Dollars, according to one of the sources. Unfortunately, both ByteDance and Reliance have declined from commenting on the matter. Although, an investment in TikTok could be highly beneficial for one of India’s largest firms.
The Infinix Smart 5 mid-range phone has gone official in Nigeria and India. The handset is the newest Smart series phone from the brand after the Smart 4 Plus that debuted in India last month with a price tag of Rs. 7,999. The Smart 5 comes with a tall aspect ratio, a large-sized battery, and triple rear cameras as some of its main highlights.
Infinix Smart 5 specifications
The Infinix Smart 5 measures 165.4 x 73.4 x 8.75mm and it houses a 6.6-inch LCD display that offers 720 x 1600 pixels resolution and 20:9 aspect ratio. The handset is fueled by a 1.8GHz processor. A recent report had revealed that the phone features Helio P22 chipset.
The Smart 5 for Nigeria comes with 2 GB / 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB / 64 GB of internal storage. The India model has 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. However, the pricing of the India variant is not known yet. There is a microSD card slot onboard for additional storage.
The Infinix Smart 5 runs on Android 10 Go Edition and it has massive battery of 5,000mAh. However, the device supports only 10W charging. The company claims that the device can last for up to 4 days once charged. The device has an 8-megapixel selfie snapper with dual flash. The backside of the phone has a rectangle-shaped camera module that includes a 13-megapixel main camera, and a pair of QVGA lenses. The handset supports DTS audio processing.
Infninx Smart 5
The Smart 5 comes with connectivity features such as dual SIM support, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth, GPS, microUSB, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The phone comes with security features like face recognition and a rear-facing fingerprint reader.
Infinix Smart 5 pricing and availability
The Infinix Smart 5 comes in three colors like black, blue, and green. The base model of the phone costs NGN 39,500 (~$102) in Nigeria.
A survey conducted by Nikkei Asia Review has revealed that Huawei surpassed Apple and grabbed the second largest market share for smartphones across the globe, for the first time in 2019.
The report stated that Chinese companies are continuing to expand their presence in the race for dominance in global high-technology markets with a boost from robust domestic demand.” Furthermore, the survey also revealed that out of 74 high tech sectors, China boasts the largest market share in 12 of them, which is up from 10 from the previous year. This arrives despite increasing pressures from the US, which also dominates the largest market in 25 of such sectors.
Despite the US-China trade disputes and the export ban on Huawei, the Chinese smartphone vendor still managed to pass Apple for the first time. The company an additional 2.9 percentage points, making its market share rise to 17.6 percent, surpassing Apple. Just 5 years prior, Apple and Samsung combined held 39 percent market share, with Huawei only having 5 percent. Huawei is still a major player in the market with its more recent quarter market share being 20 percent.
After months of delays, Google finally launched the Pixel 4a mid-range smartphone a couple of weeks ago. As if multiple delays for the launch wasn’t enough, the company is creating another issue for the buyers.
In Canada, the company has started sending out trade-in kits to those who have pre-ordered the Pixel 4a smartphone on the launch date. The kit expires a month from when it was dispatched. Those who pre-ordered the phone have an expiration date in the first week of September, after which the old phone loses trade-in value.
However, the issue with this is that the company will start shipping the Pixel 4a smartphone to the buyers from 10th September, which means that it will reach customers somewhere around mid-September.
So essentially, Google is expecting Pixel 4a buyers to send in their older device even before they receive their newly ordered smartphone. It seems that Google has messed up again with the logistics department given that the trade-in kit has an instruction document that shows how to transfer data from the older device to the new phone.
This seems limited to the Canadian market only because there have not been any such reports from other regions. Ideally, the trade-in kit should be received after the customers have got their hands on the new phone.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Samsung has halted its Original Design Manufacturing (ODM) operations. With the situation now getting normal, the company has resumed ODM operations for its business.
As per the report, Samsung is planning to produce around 24 million to 26 million units of smartphones through ODM partners this year. The numbers represent about 10 percent of the company’s total annual smartphone production.
It adds that the South Korean giant has planned for ODM to account for 20 percent of the total production but has now lowered the expectations because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the period of two months — February and March, Samsung’s ODM partners Wingtech and Huaqin saw a drop of 50 percent in their production.
Last year, ODM partners had produced around 30 million units of smartphones for Samsung, which were well received in the targeted market. The company could have sold more units but the partners couldn’t handle the jump in orders.
Currently, China-based Wingtech is making the Samsung Galaxy M01s smartphone for the company, which was launched last month, targeted towards the Asian market. As the name indicates, the phone is a variant of Galaxy M01.
When Xiaomi had announced the Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G phone in April. At the same event, the company also took off covers from the MIUI 12 Android skin. In May, the company confirmed its arrival in global markets. Through a press release, the company has now confirmed the names of the first phones that will be treated with the MIUI 12 update this month.
The Redmi Note 9, Redmi Note 9 Pro, Redmi Note 8, Redmi Note 8 Pro, Redmi Note 7, and Redmi Note 7 Pro are the Redmi phones that are included in the first wave that will be treated with MIUI 12 this month. The Xiaomi Mi 10 is the only Mi series phone that will receive the update this month. The Chinese firm has revealed that the MIUI 12 for Mi 10 will come with an exclusive Magic Clone feature. It will let users to make virtual doppelgangers images or videos by capturing the same subject up to four times at different intervals.
The Redmi Note 9 users in India have already started receiving the MIUI 12. As far as other phones in the first wave are concerned, the company will update on the MIUI 12’s arrival through its social platforms.
The MIUI 12 comes with many improvements such as new animations, icons, and font across the UI. There is native support for the Dark Mode feature, which means even third-party apps will support it. The App Drawer that is included in the new update can automatically categories apps.
The MIUI 12 is packed with live wallpapers of the outer space. It comes with floating windows feature minimizing and maximizing apps. The updated Weather app shows UI effects by mimicking the current climatic conditions. The improved ultra-battery saving mode will let the phone last for an extra 5 hours even when the battery juice is 5 percent.
Motorola’s upcoming budget Moto E7 and E7 Plus models have been in the news for quite a while now, an indication that their launch is closeby. Ahead of that, the Moto E7 has been certified by the FCC.
The FCC certification gives us a look at the rear design of the device as well as a few of its key specifications. The design includes a square-shaped module at the rear which has three openings. The openings are likely for three camera sensors or two sensors and an LED flash but we’ll go with three sensors considering the sizes of the openings. The device also packs a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor just below the camera module. The fingerprint scanner is embedded in the Moto logo dimple.
In terms of the specs, the FCC listing only reveals the Moto E7 will pack a 5,000 mAh battery. Earlier on, the device had been certified by TUV Rheinland showing the presence of a 10W charger inside the box.
In a related development, the Moto E7 has been listed by a Spanish retailer clutching a retail price of €148.07. Although the model is listed as Out of Stock, the listing could be a pointer to the price in Europe.
Back in July, the vanilla E7 was listed by a Canadian carrier giving us a clue of the specs of the device. The E7 is expected to feature a waterdrop notch on the front. The device will pack a 6.2-inch display with HD+ resolution of 720×1520 pixels. It will likely be powered by either a Snapdragon 460 or SD 632 chipset. The phone will also be available in 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage option but the base model could have 2GB of RAM and 32GB storage. The Canadian retailer’s listing shows the device will pack a 3,550 mAh battery which conflicts with this one. So there is a possibility that this model could emerge as E7 Power which is consistent with the company’s branding style.
IGB Electronica, a Brazilian consumer electronics company has been in a trademark battle for the name “iPhone” for years. Now, the Brazilian Supreme Court is set to determine is Apple can use the iPhone trademark in Brazil.
There has been a continuous back and forth court battle related to the use of the iPhone trademark in Brazil. Both the companies — Apple and IGB Electronica were given rights to use the name in the country but both of them keeps attempting to gain exclusive rights.
In 2018, the court upheld a 2013 ruling that provided permission to both the brands to use the iPhone trademark. Earlier this year, Justice Dias Toffoli accepted a request to analyze the case and is now set to determine the trademark’s usage.
IGB Electronica, an electronics company, which is doing business as Gradiente, registered the iPhone trademark in Brazil in 2000. The company produced a line of IPHONE branded Android smartphones in 2012 and it even had exclusive rights to the trademark.
Apple claims that it was inappropriate for the National Institute of Industrial Property to grant the trademark to Gradiente in 2008 even though it was filed in 2000 because, at that point, the iPhone existed.
While the Brazilian Supreme Court has taken up the case, it is not yet clear when it will hear the case and come to a decision. Given that IGB has been struggling for years, it may not be surprising that it could end up taking payout from Apple.
Nubia announced the Nubia Play 5G smartphone in China in April. The 5G-ready drange phone powered by the Snapdragon 765G came with a large-sized battery and a 144Hz refresh rate screen. It was introduced with a pricing of 2,399 Yuan. Today, the company took to Weibo to confirm that the Nubia Play 5G will be available in China from Aug. 15 with a discount of 400 Yuan.
Nubia Play 5G revised pricing
The Nubia Play 5G came in three options such as 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, and 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage. They were priced at 2,399 Yuan (~$345), 2,699 Yuan (~$388), and 2,999 (~$432). From Aug. 15, these models will be priced at 1,999 Yuan (~$288), 2,299 Yuan (~$331), and 2,599 Yuan (~$374). The handset will continue to sell in color editions such as black, blue, and white.
The Nubia Play 5G has a 6.65-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution. The 144Hz refresh supporting screen is integrated with an in-screen fingerprint reader.
The Snapdragon 765G SoC powers the device and it is fueled by a 5,1000mAh battery that comes with 30W PD fast charging support. Since the phone offers gaming capabilities, it comes with a combination of 61mm liquid cooling pipe, thermal gel, opper foil, and graphite sheet. The handset is equipped with touch-sensitive shoulder buttons for gaming.
It has a 48-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 2-megapixel + 2-megapixel quad-camera system. It has a selfie camera of 12-megapixel. The nubia UI 8.0 based Android 10 OS comes preinstalled on the smartphone. In related news, the handset is expected to sell as Red Magic 5G Lite in markets outside of China. However, there is no update on it yet.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the launch timeline for many companies this year. Recently, Apple also confirmed that the iPhone 12 models launching this year will be “available a few weeks later.”
Now, leaker Jon Prosser claims that the launch event for this year’s iPhone 12 series will take place in October, which definitely falls under “a few weeks later” timeframe. But he says that the company has something else lined up for September.
As per the report, Apple will be launching the new Apple Watch as well as the iPad in September. Jon Prosser says that the Apple Watch Series 6 and the unspecified iPad model will be announced without any launch event.
This is an interesting development because Apple has traditionally launched the new Apple Watch along with the iPhone. If the report turns out to be true, then this will be the first time that Apple Watch will get launched ahead of the new iPhone models.
New, adjusted Apple dates!
Apple Watch & iPad – Via press release – Week 37 w/c Sep 7
iPhone 12 event – Week 42 w/c Oct 12
iPhone 12 devices – Preorders week 42 w/c Oct 12 – Shipping week 43 w/c Oct 19
iPhone 12 Pro devices – Preorder and shipping in Nov (no exact date yet)
As for the iPhone 12, it is being reported that the launch event could take place on 12th October, with pre-booking starting the same week and shipments of the base model beginning a week after that.
However, not all the models will go on sale together. It is being reported that while iPhone 12 will be available for purchase in October itself, other models in the lineup, including the iPhone 12 Pro, will go on sale in November.
John Prosser says that there’s a chance that the dates could slip or change, so we would advise you to take this information with a pinch of salt. This year’s iPhone models, which will have 5G connectivity, are said to come without the charger and earphones in the box.
Shanghai-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) last year secured a partnership with Huawei to manufacture some of its chipsets. It later emerged that the Kirin 710A was manufactured at SMIC foundry using the 14nm Finfet process. The chipset was used on the Honor Play 4T and Huawei Enjoy Tablet 2 meaning a level of mass production has been achieved.
Huawei’s Kirin chipsets were previously manufactured solely by TSMC
SMIC has now announced during an interactive platform held on Tuesday (August 11) that it has now been able to improve the yield rate of its 14nm manufacturing node. Apparently, the company was yet to finish fine-tuning the process but had to test run it with supplies for the Kirin 710A to Huawei who is under pressure to source for an alternative after the USgoovernment tended the ban on the use of US technology on Huawei to foreign companies such as TSMC which usesUS tech for their manufacturing processes.
Huawei has kept the Kirin 710 series chipset alive for a long while now. The Kirin 710 is the first chipset in the series followed by the Kirin 710F. They are both manufactured using TSMC’s 12nm node and integrates four A73 and four A53 CPU cores, with a maximum frequency of 2.2GHz. However, the Kirin 710A features the same architecture but since it uses SMIC’s 14nm process, the maximum frequency has dropped to 2.0GHz.
The patronage by Huawei has impacted positively on SMIC’s financial standing going by its report for the second quarter of the year. The financial report shows that as of June 30, 2020, the company’s revenue reached US$938 million, an increase of 4% month-on-month and 19% year-on-year. Gross profit was US$249 million, an increase of 6.4% month-on-month, and a year-on-year increase of 64.5%.
The 14nm/28nm advanced process revenue accounted for a new high, reaching 9.1%, compared with only 7.8% in the previous quarter.
Several smartphone makers are working on an under-display camera technology but it seems that China-based ZTE will be the first to commercially launch a smartphone featuring an under-screen camera.
ZTE’s President for Mobile Business, Ni Fei, has today confirmed that the company will be launching the first smartphone with an under-display camera technology — ZTE A20 5G. As per the report, he has also claimed that the camera result is also good.
The report adds that a blind camera test was carried out with the participation of a few people, which revealed no issues in terms of camera output with this new technology.
So far, the smartphone has also passed through the network access license process, which reveals that it carries model number ZTE A2021. However, it’s likely that the smartphone will get launched as ZTE Axon 20 5G.
Currently, information about the phone’s design is not known but it will come with a true full-screen display given that the camera sensor is now placed underneath the display. Till now, for a full-screen experience, the phone manufacturers had relied on a pop-up front-facing camera. However, it increases the overall weight of the device because of the presence of a mechanical structure.
While not yet confirmed, it is being speculated that the company could be using the under-display camera technology developed by Visionox. It is said to have been optimized through a special pixel arrangement to eliminate the difference in brightness, color gamut, and viewing angle. Visionox has also started mass-producing this technology.
The upcoming phone will serve as a successor to the ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G which went official earlier this year, which carries model number A2020. We expect more details about the Axon 20 5G smartphone to start surfacing online in the coming weeks.
Although the company has not yet revealed the launch date, we expect the smartphone to go official in China in a few weeks or months. Apart from ZTE, brands like OPPO and Samsung are also working on similar technology for their smartphones.
Motorola is one of the few manufacturers that has a foldable device available for purchase. Now the manufacturer is set to announce a successor to the 2019 Moto RAZR.
It has been reported that invites have been sent out for a September 9 event which is for the launch of the next-gen Moto RAZR foldable phone that will be sold as the Moto RAZR 5G. While the invite does not specifically say that the launch is for the phone, it does hint at it. The tech website DroidLife, reports that it has a description that says “getting ready to flip the smartphone experience once again.”
The Moto RAZR 5G smartphone is expected to come with support for 5G thanks to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G processor. It has also been reported to have 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, a 48MP rear camera, a 20MP selfie camera, and a 2845mAh battery capacity with support for 18W fast charging.
Images of the upcoming smartphone leaked earlier this month and they showed some design changes. For starters, the outer display is now bigger. The rear camera has a new design and the front-facing fingerprint scanner is gone. It has also been reported that it has a nano-SIM (and an eSIM), unlike last year’s model that only works with an eSIM.
The launch will be done online as is the trend now. However, Motorola is yet to reveal the time the event will begin. Once they do, we will make sure to inform you.
A lot of people would not expect it from Xiaomi, but the Chinese giant just launched the best camera phone on the paper. The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra offers a fantastic camera department and it is also the best Xiaomi phone to date. Unfortunately, it will not hit the global market and it will probably remain a China-exclusive. But should Chinese customers look for a top-tier flagship chose the Mi 10 Ultra or there are better choices in the market? In order to establish this, we compared it with the other best camera phones on the paper: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Huawei P40 Pro+. Let’s see who’s better.
Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Huawei P40 Pro+
Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G
Huawei P40 Pro+
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT
162.4 x 75.1 x 9.5 mm, 221 g
164.8 x 77.2 x 8.1 mm, 208 g
158.2 x 72.6 x 9 mm, 226 g
DISPLAY
6.67 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), OLED
6.9 inches, 1440 x 3088p (Quad HD+), Dynamic AMOLED 2X
Dual SIM slot, fast reverse wireless charging 27W, 5G, eSIM
Design
Xiaomi just does not want to release a waterproof phone. All the smartphones released by the company are not waterproof, including the Mi 10 Ultra, despite it is its most powerful flagship. With the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and the Huawei P40 Pro+, you get the IP68 certification. Further, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra offers a stainless frame and the new Gorilla Glass Victus protection for the front and rear glass. It is definitely the best device in terms of build quality, and it even comes with a more beautiful design, at least according to my tastes. But the Huawei P40 Pro+ is still very nice with its ceramic body, and it is even the most compact phone of the trio.
Display
Huawei P40 Pro+ has the most disappointing display. In a world in which the most expensive flagships offer a 120 Hz refresh rate, Huawei P40 Pro+ is still 90 Hz. On the other hand, Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has one of the most stunning displays out there, with a Quad HD+ resolution, a high brightness, outstanding colors, and a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra still comes with a great panel including a 120 Hz refresh rate and HDR10+, but it can not compete with the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra in any way. Last but not least, note that the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra supports the S Pen with a 9 ms response time.
Hardware/Software
The U.S. version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has the most advanced hardware department because it is fueled by the new Snapdragon 865+ mobile platform. But if we consider the EU version, with its Exynos 990 it falls behind the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra, powered by the Snapdragon 865 paired with up to 16 GB of RAM and UFS 3.1 internal storage. All the phones run Android 10 out of the box, but the Huawei P40 Pro+ does not have Google services out of the box.
Camera
It will be a tough fight between Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. But on the paper, Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra looks more impressive. It has two 48 MP sensors including a periscope one with 120x zoom, dual OIS, a 12 MP telephoto sensor with 2x optical zoom, and a 20 MP ultrawide sensor. The most amazing camera setup ever. But Huawei P40 Pro+ is still one of the best camera phones out there and it may outperform its rivals in some scenarios. In each case, you get an amazing camera phone, so you should not worry so much.
Battery
Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra has a 4500 mAh battery just like the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, but it has to manage a smaller display with a lower resolution. That is why we believe it will last more on a single charge. Further, it has the fastest charging technology ever seen on a phone (up to 120W) as well as the fastest wireless charging technology (up to 50W). With the Huawei P40 Pro+, you get a smaller battery but also the fastest reverse wireless charging technology (27W).
Price
Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra carries a starting price of just €650/$766 in China, Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Huawei P40 Pro+ start from more than €1300 globally and about €1000 and €1175 in China, respectively. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is a more complete device due to the S Pen support, waterproof design, amazing build quality, better display. But it lacks very fast charging speeds. Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra is an amazing camera phone and it has the highest value for money, while Huawei P40 Pro+ sits in the middle
This isn’t definitely good times for US-China trade relationships with the US government clamping down on several Chinese companies including tech giants Huawei, ZTE and of late, TikTok (ByteDance). Out of this turbulent water comes a report bothering on the US smartphone market performance in the second quarter of the year.
The report published by Canalys stands out in several ways but the major reason why we find this surprising is the disclosure that 70% of smartphones that were shipped in the US in Q2 2020 were manufactured by Chinese OEMs. This is noted to be 10% higher than the estimate for Q1 2020 which was estimated to be 60%.
The report equally shows that the COVID 19 pandemic was responsible for the spike in demand for cheap phones most of which were manufactured in China. This is due to consumers adopting a cost-conscious approach towards spending as a result of job loss and a slowed-down economy. The average price of a phone sold in the US dropped to $503, or 10% less than a year earlier. Also, more people signing up for Lifeline, an assistance program that offers subsidized phone service for low-income families contributed to the jump in the sales of low-end Android devices.
As expected, Apple is still the brand to beat in the US with a 10% jump in shipment compared to last year. The iPhone SE 2020 which was launched for $399 is one of the company’s top-selling model in Q2 2020 which is a reflection of a reduction in consumer’s spending power.
Other brands that also saw a rise in their shipments include Lenovo-owned Motorola with an 8% rise in shipment Year-on-Year. Also, low-cost brands such as Unimax and Wiko also recorded improved shipments.
Samsung’s shipments were flat year-over-year as sales of budget phones like the Galaxy A10e and A20 mitigated the shortfalls recorded from uninspiring sales of flagships like the S20. LG’s numbers dipped 19% over the same period, but it was considered relatively stable. And Chinese connections weren’t a guarantee of success — TCL saw its shipments plunge 43% despite
Canalys also opined that the volatile US-China tensions were creating a “perpetual state of uncertainty” for virtually every phone maker beyond Samsung and LG. Thus, the market may not rebound for phone makers even after the pandemic unless the political climate settles down.
The world’s first modular robot for pets – Pumpkii has finally arrived on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo. As teased by the company a few weeks ago, the Pumpkii modular robot is now available at an affordable starting price of $149. It houses several advanced features that enable the owners to take care of pets even when they’re away.
The interested users can head over to the Indiegogo listing page to check more details about the robot for your beloved pets.
Pumpkii is a multi-function modular robot that entertains your pet, treats them with rewards, and can even arrange live video feed any time. The dedicated app for robot assists users to easily access the features with just a few taps.
Pumpkii robot can move in any direction and can even capture moments of your pet. It is designed to assist both cats and dogs in the absence of their owners. It is an excellent companion for both pets.
Pumpkii Features
Keep Pets Entertained
The advanced Pumkii robot houses support for voice and video interaction. It can even treat pets on the accomplishment of any given task. However, the modular robotic arm allows disposing-off the waste.
Moreover, the treat dispenser enables the owners to feed their pets with 11 different types of treats. The multi-functional snack bucket holds 100 different sized snacks. The owner can even treat the pet remotely using the app.
Live Video
Pumpkii offers an option to watch your pet live in a 720p video stream over a WiFi connection. You can have a voice and video communication with your pet from anywhere in the world. The 110-degree ultra-wide lens brings a clear and wider look of your loved pet.
Advanced Design
The advanced robot has beautiful design along with an omnidirectional Mecanum wheel which enables the robot to move back and forth and in any direction easily. It can move 360-degrees without any major issue on any surface. The flexible Robotic-arm further extends its list of features.
It is carved out of industrial ABS material which can withstand 30 pounds of pressure.
Intuitive Pumpkii App
Pumpkii app improves the functionality of the robot. It packs a beautiful and easy to use interface. The app primarily enables the user to capture photos, control robots, and see live video.
Pumpkii robot houses a 2600 mAh built-in battery which provides 8 hours to 3 days of standby time upon a single full charge. It automatically charges hen the power is less than 40%.
Technical Specifications
CPU: ARM Cortex A9
RAM: 512MB
Storage: 8GB
Camera: 2.0MP with a 110-degree wide-angle.
Connectivity: WiFi, BT 4.1
Video Call Format: QVGA< VGA 720P
Speaker: 1x
Battery Capacity: 2200 mAh
Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.69 x 2.0 inch
Pricing
The interested user can take different perks or pledge and every pledge have different offering. Pumpkii Robot Basic offers a 1x Pumkii robot for $149. In order to get Pumkii and Treat DIspenser then it costs $199 and Pumkii + Robotic Arm costs $249.
Xiaomi has launched a new product under the MIJIA smart home brand. The product is called MIJIA Fresh Air Blower C1 and is a portable wall-mounted fan which doubles as an air purifier.
The new product has an ultra-thin body and occupies only 0.16 square meters of wall area. The air bower can filter the air in an area of 28.6 square meters. The air blower can remove common allergens, second-hand smoke, sand and dust and other pollutants from the air, creating a clean living environment with air permeability and clean air.
The device has a thickness of only 13cm and considering the 0.16 square metres of wall space needed for it to be installed, it won’t occupy too much space.
Further, the MIJIA Fresh Air Blower C1 features a built-in composite filter element which uses HEPA13 high-efficiency filter material. The filter can take out common catkins, pollen, second-hand smoke, hair, sand, dust, fine dust and other pollutants layer by layer. It also effectively filters PM2.5 particles. The machine has built-in double centrifugal fans, which can deliver 80m³ of pure fresh air to the room per hour, with a maximum applicable area of 28.6 square meters.
In terms of noise, the dual-channel flow path design of the MIJIA C1 has smooth ventilation. The fan runs smoothly and has low noise making it suitable for use at night without any disturbance to your sleep. In addition, the installation aperture of the device is only 75mm, and only four screws are required for installation. This design isn’t just convenient, it also makes it easy to install without much damage to the wall.
As for the price, the MIJIA Fresh Air Blower C1 carries a price tag of 1,299 yuan. The device will go on pre-sale from August 12 in China on Xiaomi Mall. Xiaomi is also offering free installation in over 300 cities in China.
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