The Honor Play4 series that includes at least two devices such as Honor Play4 5G and Play4 Pro 5G are scheduled to go official this week on Wednesday. The TNNH-AN00 5G phone that surfaced at the database of China’s TENAA certification platform revealed that it could be debuting as Honor Play4 5G. It can be said on the basis of past reports that the Honor Play4 Pro 5G’s model number is OXP-AN00. The same phone has popped up on TENAA’s database, but its specifications are yet not accessible for viewing. Meanwhile, a Chinese tipster has shared the key specifications of the Honor Play4 Pro 5G.
Honor Play4 Pro 5G specifications
The Honor Play4 Pro features a pill-shaped cutout for its two front-facing cameras on its 6.57-inch IPS LCD panel. The big-screen supports an aspect ratio of 20:9 and a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. The cutout houses a 32-megapixel main selfie camera and an 8-megapixel lens.
The Kirin 990 5G chipset is present under the hood of the Play4 Pro 5G. The smartphone receives power from a 4,200mAh battery. The 3C certification of the OXP-AN00 phone had revealed that it will be coming with a 40W fast charger. The image shown above had first surfaced on the phone’s Vmall listing.
The leak has no information on the RAM variants and storage choices of the Honor Play4 Pro 5G. The right edge of the phone has a side-facing fingerprint sensor. So, users can make use of its USB-C port for connecting earphones. The handset has 162.7 x 75.8 x 8.9mm dimensions and it weighs 213 grams. The handset lacks a 3.5mm audio jack. Rumors surrounding it claim that the Honor Play4 Pro could be priced around 3,000 Yuan (~$420).
After some speculation in the tech industry, Sony has officially confirmed that the PlayStation 5 event will be hosted next week on Thursday, 4th June. The event is scheduled to start at 4:00 PM ET and the company is promising to give us a “look at the future of gaming on PlayStation 5.”
Sony has also revealed that the event will last for more than an hour and will give us a look at “the games you’ll be playing after PlayStation 5 launches this holiday”. So, it’s confirmed that at this event, the company will showcase some of the games coming to the PS5.
As per the reports, Sony is not expected to reveal details about the next-generation gaming console. However, the company is expected to hold a few more such events in the coming weeks and months, leading up to the official launch of the PlayStation 5.
Jim Ryan, President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment said: “The games coming to PS5 represent the best in the industry from innovative studios that span the globe. Studios, both larger and smaller, those newer and those more established, all have been hard at work developing games that will showcase the potential of the hardware. This digital showcase will run for a bit more than an hour and, for the first time, we will all be together virtually experiencing the excitement together.”
So far, the Japanese company has unveiled the logo of the PS5, some of its specifications, and a new wireless controller that will be bundled with the console. But the company is yet to showcase the gaming console itself and it remains to be seen if that changes with the upcoming event next week.
The company has confirmed that the PS5 includes AMD hardware with Zen 2 CPU and Navi GPU, along with super-fast PCIe 4.0 SSD and new data-transfer architecture. The DualSense gamepad has motorized triggers that can provide variable resistance depending on the in-game context and has modern haptics for players to “feel” the games.
Vivo’s sub-brand iQOO had debuted the iQOO 3 smartphone in 4G and 5G variants in February in India. The 5G-enabled performance-centric phone is fueled by Snapdragon 865 mobile platform. In April, the Chinese firm introduced a big price cut of Rs. 4,000 (~$53) for its 4G variants and a Rs. 2,000 (~$26) discount for its 5G edition. Customers with ICICI bank cards in India can take advantage of an additional price cut of Rs. 3,000 (~$40) on the existing pricing of the iQOO 3.
The iQOO 3 4G variants such as 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage were introduced with respective price tags of Rs. 36,990 (~$489) and Rs. 39,990 (~$529). Due to a hike in GST rates, their costs increased to Rs. 38,990 (~$516) and Rs. 41,990 (~$556). In April, their prices were reduced to Rs, 34,990 (~$463), and Rs. 37,990 (~$503), respectively. On Flipkart, ICICI Bank Credit Card, Credit Card EMI, or Debit Card EMI transactions can bring an additional discount of Rs. 3,000 (~$40). The offer effectively reduces the pricing of both models to Rs. 31,990 (~$424) and Rs. 34,990 (~$463).
iQOO 3 5G
The iQOO 3 5G that has 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage had debuted with Rs. 44,990 (~$598) price tag in India. The GST hike in the country increased the cost of this variant to Rs. 46,990 (~$622). However, in April, it was brought back to Rs. 44,990. The new offer on Flipkart makes it possible to avail the 5G variant with a pricing of Rs. 41,990 (~$556).
The iQOO 3 has a Full HD+ 6.44-inch S-AMOLED punch-hole screen. It has Gorilla Glass 6 protection on the front and rear. The punch-hole display supports only a 60Hz refresh rate and a 20:9 aspect ratio. The iQOO UI 1.0 based Android 10 OS runs on the device. The SD865 phone has LPPDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage.
The 4,500mAh battery of the iQOO 3 supports 55W fast charging. It has a front camera of 16-megapixel. The back panel has a 48-megapixel + 13-megapixel + 13-megapixel + 2-megapixel quad camera setup. Lastly, it features an in-screen fingerprint reader and 3.5mm audio jack.
Honor announced Honor Play4T and Honor Play4T Pro smartphones in April. Now, the company is gearing up to launch more powerful Honor Play4 5G and Honor Play4 Pro 5G phones on June 3. The images of the Play4 Pro have appeared in multiple leaks and it is believed that the TNNH-AN00 5G phone that was recently spotted at TENAA could be Play4 handset. Yesterday, Honor Play series Product Manager Wei Xiaolong Raul took to Weibo to share the renders of Play4 smartphones. The rear images of the Play4 matches with the photos of TNNH-AN00 5G phone. Hence, it appears that the TNNH-AN00 phone will indeed arrive as Honor Play4 5G.
In the images shared by Raul, the Honor Play4 5G can be seen in three colors like black, blue, and white. He didn’t share any details on the specs of the phone. A closer look at the top-left positioned camera module shows that it has a 64-megapixel main lens in its quad-camera setup. It also features a side-facing fingerprint reader.
The Honor Play4 5G has a massive 6.81-inch IPS LCD display that produces a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. Its display punch-hole houses a 16-megapixel selfie camera. The quad-camera system of the Play4 5G has an 8-megapixel lens and a pair of 2-megapixel sensors apart from the 64-megapixel main shooter.
It is unclear as to which 5G-ready 2.0GHz octa-core processor powers the Honor Play4 5G. The phone is likely to arrive in 4 GB, 6 GB, and 8 GB RAM editions and storage options like 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB in China.
The phone is equipped with a 4,200mAh battery with fast charging support. The Android 10 OS with the latest version of Magic UI will be available on the device. The handset will come with a NM card slot for more storage.
The specifications of the OPPO Reno4 and Reno4 Pro smartphones are already known thanks to their TENAA certification in China. Both phones that are slated to debut on June 5v. The renders of the Reno4 Pro have already appeared. Now, a tipster from China has shared a render of the Reno4 along with its key specifications.
The OPPO Reno4 has a punch-hole at the upper-left corner of its screen. It houses a single selfie camera of 32-megapixel. The size of its Full HD+ resolution supporting screen is 6.5 inches. The vanilla model shown in the poster below can be seen sporting a pill-shaped cutout. The handset is equipped with 6.43 inches and it has a 32-megapixel main selfie camera and a 2-megapixel depth assist lens. The Pro model’s display is expected to come with support for the 90Hz refresh rate.
The left edge of the OPPO Reno4 has volume up and down buttons. There is a power button on the right edge of the smartphone. The device measures 159.3 x 74 x 7.8mm and weighs 183 grams. The larger OPPO Reno4 Pro has 159.6 x 72.5 x 7.6mm dimensions and weighs 172 grams.
The Reno4 and Reno4 Pro phones are equipped with Snapdragon 765G mobile platform. They have 4,000mAh batteries with 65W fast charging support.
Both smartphones have triple cameras on their rear. The Reno4 has a 48-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel sensor, and a 2-megapixel lens. On the other side, the Pro variant gets a 48-megapixel primary lens with OIS support along with a 12-megapixel sensor and a 13-megapixel shooter.
Huawei launched a revisited version of its 2019 flagship for the global market: Huawei P30 Pro New Edition. A pretty nice trick to avoid the limitations of the U.S. ban and bring a flagship with Google services and apps on the shelves. Yes, because in case you do not know, Huawei can not install Google services on its new devices anymore since it lost the Android license due to the U.S. ban. But besides having Google services out of the box, is the New Edition of the Huawei P30 Pro worth the money asked in 2020 or it is still better to go for other Huawei flagships? You can discover it with us in this specs comparison in which we included the vanilla Huawei P40 and Huawei Mate 30, two devices sold in the same price range.
Huawei P30 Pro New Edition vs Huawei P40 vs Huawei Mate 30
Despite it has a 2019 design and a classic waterdrop notch instead of a dual punch-hole like the Huawei P40, the Huawei P30 Pro New Edition has a wonderful design. I love it not only because of its high screen-to-body ratio and its curved screen but also because of its elegant and clean glass back. The camera modules of the Huawei P40 and Huawei Mate 30 are big and, just like a lot of people, I am not a fan of big camera modules. Further, Huawei P30 Pro New Edition is the only one to offer the IP68 certification making it waterproof and dustproof, while Huawei P40 and Huawei Mate 30 have just an IP53 certification making them dust resistant and splash resistant. Due to its bigger notch, Huawei Mate 30 looks uglier, but unlike the P30 Pro New Edition, it has a 3D facial recognition system (Huawei P40 has one too). Huawei P40 is way more compact thanks to its much smaller display.
Display
Huawei P30 Pro New Edition, Huawei P40, and Huawei Mate 30 are equipped with OLED display which offers a similar quality. Huawei P30 Pro New Edition and Mate 30 are slightly more interesting because they support the HDR10 technology. The Huawei Mate 30 has the widest panel (6.62 inches), so it is better for productivity users. As we mentioned above, Huawei P40 is a lot more compact because its display has a diagonal of just 6.1 inches. Huawei P30 Pro New Edition sits in the middle with a 6.47-inch diagonal.
Hardware/Software
Huawei P40 and Huawei Mate 30 are powered by the Kirin 990 mobile platform, they support 5G connectivity and they pack up to 8 GB of RAM. In its high-end version, Huawei P40 has a higher amount of internal storage than Huawei Mate 30: up to 256 GB. Huawei P30 Pro New Edition is still fueled by the 2019 Kirin 980 chipset, it has inferior performances compared to its two internal rivals and it does not support 5G. On the other hand, it is the only with Google apps and services out of the box.
Camera
Huawei P40 has the best main sensor included in the rear camera department, but Huawei P30 Pro New Edition has better secondary sensors, including a periscope lens with up to 5x optical zoom, a 20 MP ultrawide sensor and a TOF 3D sensor which is not present on its two opponents. Huawei P40 also offers a better video recording experience and a better front camera department including an IR TOF 3D sensor for 3D facial recognition.
Battery
Despite it has the same capacity as the Huawei Mate 30, the 4200 mAh battery found on the Huawei P30 Pro New Edition provides a generally longer battery life than the Mate 30 because the handset comes with a smaller display and no 5G. Note that Huawei P30 Pro New Edition and Huawei Mate 30 support wireless charging (with faster speeds on the Mate 30) and reverse wireless charging, while Huawei P40 only supports wired charging, and it also packs a smaller battery.
Price
Huawei P30 Pro New Edition is actually priced €800/$888 globally, just like the Huawei P40. You can actually find the Huawei Mate 30 for less than €700/$777 thanks to street prices. Unless cameras are your priority, it makes sense to save some money and get a Huawei Mate 30 since it offers almost the same hardware as the Huawei P40. It is actually worth going for the P30 Pro New Edition only if you care about having Google services installed. Huawei P40 is the compact alternative for those who need an amazing cameras, but if we exclude the cameras, Huawei Mate 30 is better.
Oppo will be unveiling the Reno 4 series officially on June 5 in China. Ahead of it, the brand has been teasing the design of the duo on Weibo. On the other, their specs got leaked, thanks to tipsters and TENAA listings. Now, Reno 4 Pro, the premium of the two devices has been listed on Jingdong (JD.com) for pre-order.
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The Oppo Reno 4 Pro listing on JD neither mentions the specs of the handset nor price. But it does give us a glimpse of the design in the form of renders. Anyway, the company itself has been officially boasting the phone’s design in multiple teasers for a week now.
According to leaks, the forthcoming Reno 4 Pro will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset with support for dual-mode 5G connectivity. It will be available in 8GB + 128GB and 12GB + 256GB storage configurations.
The phone will sport a 6.5-inch FHD+ (2400 × 1080 pixels) curved AMOLED display. The handset will come equipped with triple camera setup consisting of a 48MP primary sensor with OIS, a 12MP dedicated low-light video camera and a 13MP telephoto shooter. For selfies, the device will house a 32MP snapper in the punch hole located at the top left corner of the screen.
The Reno 4 Pro will measure 159.6×72.5×7.6mm in dimensions and will weigh 172g. As for software, it is expected to run ColorOS 7.1 based on Android 10. Last but not least, the phone will be backed by a 4,000 mAh battery with support for 65W fast charging.
Elephone si baking a lot of new devices to make customer’s life comfortable. They recently started focusing on other smart devices including hearables and wearables. We already had specs insight for Elephone E10 Pro, and now it is the time for Elephone PX Pro. Both the new smartphones are slated for launch next week with hefty discounts and exceptional offers.
Some specification of the ElePhone PX Pro is already out via previous leaks and rumors. Some unknown specifications have also been revealed by the company today. The new smartphone features a beautiful pop-up selfie housing a front camera for selfies.
The smartphone will feature a beautiful 6.34-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels. The full-view display will offer a vivid and immersive viewing experience. There’s an octa-core processor coupled with 4GB RAM and 128GB Internal Storage.
On the rear side, a dual-camera module featuring a 48-megapixel primary and one secondary camera is present. Elephone offers wireless charging for its 3300 mAh battery with a 2Amp fast charger.
The company offers Multi-function NFC features for wireless payments via Google Pay. It runs on Android 10 OS with near-stock OS experience.
Elephone PX Pro is already available for reservation till June 5. Moreover, the company will offer ElePods valued $15.99 for $5.99 to the buyers who will buy it from June 5th to June 15th. ElePhone PX Pro’s actual price is $179.99 but the reserved price will be somewhat lower than the price mentioned above.
A giveaway for ElePhone is also going on for the interested users. You can enter the campaign by heading to the official website and grab the Elephone PX Pro for free.
Elephone is raining discounts these days. After offering the Elephone at jaw-dropping prices, the company is now offering a 25% discount on the Elephone W6 smartwatch. It is currently retailing at $29.99. The users can grab the super slim and ultra-stylish smartwatch from Elephone’s official online store.
The Elephone W8 smartwatch brings a full package of useful features including real heart-rate monitor, activity tracker, sleep monitor, and much more. A 1.54-inch color display with the availability of different dials improves the overall productivity by giving enough space for notifications along with other utilities. The beautiful and simple User Interface offers colorful and different styles to show important utilities.
Elephone W8 offers Blood Pressure and Oxygen monitoring with VC31 True Heart Rate Monitor Sensor. It will automatically remind the user if the heart rate exceeds the maximum value while exercising or doing any physical activity. It can distinguish between different physical activities like outdoor running, cycling, swimming, skipping, table tennis, badminton, etc.
It houses a full metal body with an ultra-stylish square dial having 8.9mm thinness. It is coupled with a Rubber Strap for comfortable use in different environments. A 7H tempered glass on the display protects it from unusual falls, scratches, and other environmental anomalies.
Apart from the basic Utilities and Health monitoring features, the smartwatch is efficient enough to notify users with call reminders, rejection, and message reminders. The Sleep Monitoring facility will help you analyze your sleep quality each night. Other features like sedentary reminders, weather forecasts are also part of the smartwatch’s extensive features.
The remote camera allows users to remotely control the camera by swiftly shaking your hand. Elephone W8 smartwatch easily works for 15 days after a full charge, and can even sustain for 30 days if on standby.
Elephone W8 Technical Specification
1.54-inch color screen
7H tempered glass lens
8.9mm + Full metal body
Bluetooth 5.0 Advanced
Bluetooth 5.0
It is available in six different colors of Silver White, Silver Green, Obsidian Black, navy Blue, Light Blue, and Dark Blue. The Elephone W8 smartwatch is available for a limited time discounted price of $29.99.
Elephone is also offering a special discount for ElePod and ElePods 2. The company is offering True Wireless Stereo experience for the starting price of $9.99 with ElePods. However, you can even buy more premium ElePods 2 for the discount price of $19.
Foldables are thought to be the next big thing in the world of smartphones. Samsung is the leading player set to launch its third commercially available product later this year. But there are other companies who have been patenting designs for years. ZTE is one of them and its new trifold foldable design patent has been recently unearthed by PriceBaba.
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ZTE is yet to launch a commercial foldable smartphone like Samsung and Huawei. But it has been patenting designs like any other smartphone company out there.
The Chinese telecom company has now patented a design for a trifold foldable smartphone. There’s not a single device with such design int he market now. All the foldable handsets available in the market fold in one direction either inward or outward.
TCL showcased a prototype with a similar trifold design last October. But this handset is yet to hit the market. Also, since the patent by ZTE is an unfinished design without proper details, we don’t expect the company to soon deliver a finished product anytime soon.
Companies patent a lot of things but not everything comes into fruition. Xiaomi too showcased its foldable smartphone in a video more than a year ago. But we haven’t heard anything about that product since then. Instead, we got to see the Mi Mix Alpha concept smartphone, which is still yet to go on limited sale in China as the company announced at the launch.
The COVID-19 global pandemic has changed the way we shop for things offline. In India, a public-private initiative called ‘Suraksha’ has been introduced. The staff of stores registering for the program will be trained for attending customers following social distancing norms.
On completion of the process, these shops will be issued a certificate to denote them safe for the public. Since most of the stores are eligible for the initiative, Samsung and Xiaomi have become the first smartphone makers to have their retail stores Suraksha certified.
Samsung revealed 100% of its exclusive stores in India are Suraksha certified in a press release. Whereas, Xiaomi posted a video on YouTube explaining what customers need to take care of while visiting its stores. We have attached this video above for better understanding.
While entering any Suraksha certified or any store for matter, customers should wear a mask and need to follow social distancing by standing in boxes or circles drawn on the surface. At the entrance, the security or staff will first check the body temperature and if found normal, the person will be provided hand sanitizer. Only then, they can step their foot into the store.
Further, visitors are not allowed to touch any product or surfaces. They can experience the product only if they are going to buy by requesting a pair of gloves from the staff. Also, the whole store is sanitized more times than before to avoid any possible infection.
Last but not least, customers are advised to make digital payments instead of cash.
Samsung is one of the few smartphone makers capable of designing its own chipsets. Earlier this week, the company announced Exynos 880 with an integrated 5G modem for mid-range handsets. Now, it has quietly listed a chip called Exynos 850 on its website for budget handsets. The first smartphone to use this SoC is Galaxy A21s which has been already announced a few days back.
The new Exynos 850 is an 8nm chip consisting of an octa-core CPU made of ARM Cortex-A55 cores that are clocked up to at 2.0GHz. Whereas, the graphic duties are handled by the ARM Mali-G52 GPU.
As for hardware compatibility, this chip can support up to FHD+ (2520×1080 pixels) display, LPDDR4x RAM, and eMMC 5.1 storage. Talking about cameras, it can support up to 16MP + 5MP dual-camera setup or 21.7MP single camera (same for the front as well), 60fps FHD video recording, and video codecs like HEVC(H.265), H.264, and VP8.
Lastly, for connectivity, the chipset supports Cat.7 LTE DL (downlink), Cat.13 UL (uplink), WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, FM Radio, and GNSS such as GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, and Galileo.
The Exynos 850 nm chipset is currently being mass manufactured and thus we can expect it to power more budget more Samsung Galaxy A and M series of phones.
Xiaomi India has once again increased the price of Redmi 8A Dual, Redmi 8, and Redmi Note 8 in the country. This is the third price hike for these handsets and second in a month. Last time, the price of these devices were hiked/increased by ₹500 and the same has happened again.
Redmi Note 8
The Redmi 8A Dual, the cheapest of the lot launched at ₹6,499 for the 2GB + 32GB variant. The price of this handset was later increased to ₹6,999 when the new GST came into effect in April.
This was followed by an unexplained price hike in early May making the phone retail for ₹7,299. Now, once again, the company increases its price by ₹200 and hence it now retails for ₹7,499. It is worth noting that higher 3GB + 32GB did not see any change in price this time and still retails for ₹7,999.
A similar pattern can be seen for the next two phones as well. The Redmi 8 4GB + 64GB launched at ₹7,999. But the GST hike increased its price to ₹8,999, followed by another hike earlier this month (₹9,299) and now it costs ₹9,499 after the latest ₹200 hike.
The Redmi Note 8 was crowned with the best smartphone title for ₹9,999 when it launched. But now after months from its release, the base 4GB + 64GB variant’s price has been increased by ₹2,000, whereas the 6GB + 128GB has received a price hike of ₹1,500. The phone now costs ₹11,999 and ₹14,499 respectively for the two available storage configurations.
Like the other two devices mentioned above, this is the third overall price hike for the Redmi Note 8 too. The new prices of these handsets are applicable to both online and offline channels.
Earlier last month, Samsung rolled out April 2020 security patch for Galaxy M31. Unfortunately, the update bricked some of the units and the company rolled back the OTA. Now, at the end of May, the South Korean smartphone maker re-releases the April security patch with a new build.
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Last time, our unit installed the update without any hiccup but sadly not all users could say the same. Today, we received the same April 2020 security patch but with a different build number and lower size. Fortunately, this one too got downloaded and installed without any issue.
The new update for Galaxy M31 weighs 395.40 MB and comes with build number M315FXXU1ATD5. Whereas, the older one was of 541.26 MB and the build number was M315FXXU1ATD1.
As of now, we are not sure if the same OTA is being rolled out to users who did not update it earlier or never received the first one. Nevertheless, we can confirm that the new build is available for units, which successfully installed the previous April 2020 security patch update.
If you are our regular reader, you might be aware of Mi A3 and Mi A2 Lite update fiasco. Hence, we request you to be cautious of installing the update until positive feedback from more users.
Samsung launched the Galaxy Book S model for the first time last year. The laptop is a super-slim, fanless device backed by the Snapdragon 8cx mobile platform and it runs on Windows 10. The Koren tech giant has now announced an upgrade – the Galaxy Book S 2020.
The Samsung Galaxy Book S 2020 retains the 13.3-inch Full HD touch display on its predecessor. However, Samsung decided to replace the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx compute platform with a new Intel Core processor. Thus, the laptop becomes the first device to offer the processor with Intel’s Foveros 3D stacking technology and a hybrid CPU architecture. It intelligently balances multiple high-performing processes during use while conserving battery when not in use, says the company. The laptop comes with 8GB (LPDDR4X) RAM, 256/512GB eUFS storage and a MicroSD slot for expansion up to 1TB).
The Galaxy Book S 2020 comes with 4G LTE, support as well as support for Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+). It weighs just 950g and only 11.8mm at its thickest point. It lets you boost the brightness up to 600 nits using a two-key shortcut. Samsung also partners Microsoft to allow users to enjoy the Android operating system on your Windows PC for a seamless and continuous device-to-device experience. With Microsoft’s Your Phone feature, you can sync your mobile device to receive notifications, messages, cross-device copy & paste and photo transfer, all on the Galaxy Book S.
The Samsung Galaxy Book S (2020) comes in Earthy Gold and Mercury Gray colors and is priced at 1,129 Euros (~$ 1256) for the 256GB storage version in Europe and the 512GB storage version costs £999 (~$ 1,230) in the UK.
Recently, there were speculations that OnePlus’ partnership with McLaren might be at its endpoint as the premium smartphone manufacturer was noticed to have been delisted as a 2020 F1 partner on the McLaren website. Android Authority has now received an official confirmation from the British sports car manufacturer that it is no longer in partnership with OnePlus.
OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition
Android Authority quotes a McLaren spokesperson to have hinted in an email statement that both company’s partnership came to its scheduled conclusion recently. This clearly indicates that there wasn’t any acrimony but the partnership has run its full course.
The McLaren special editions released by OnePlus were known for their souped-up specs and exclusive designs. While fans were expecting a McLaren edition for the OnePlus 8 series, that may never happen except both companies enter into a fresh partnership.
The worldwide smartphone market has evolved over the years. The rise of ultra-premium handsets with the launch of iPhone X has changed the whole landscape. People are now turning towards so-called ‘affordable premium’ devices, at whose price the flagships were sold earlier. The latest report by Counterpoint Research on South Korean smartphone market explains this new trend clearly.
Samsung Galaxy A90 5G
For years, Samsung’s Galaxy S series and Galaxy Note series have been the top-selling smartphone models in South Korea. But it has now changed and the effect can be clearly seen in the Q1 2020 Counterpoint Research smartphone sales tracker for South Korea.
The top-selling Samsung handset in this period was Galaxy A90 5G whose ASP (Average Selling Price) was $453 compared to $806 Galaxy Note 9 in Q1 2019. That does not mean ultra-premium devices did not make the top 5.
Source: Counterpoint Research
The second most-selling Samsung phone was Galaxy Note 10 5G for $941 and the fifth position was held by Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G. When we look at last years sales around the same time, the first three were ultra-premium handsets followed by an entry-level model and a yesteryear flagship.
This trend can be noticed since 2018 as Galaxy S and Note series have been giving up their shares to entry-level and mid-range devices. Also, although the average selling price (ASP) of smartphones sold in South Korea increased steadily till last year, it has declined in Q1 2020 for the first time indicating the changes to come.
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Source: Counterpoint Research
Source: Counterpoint Research
The price of high-end smartphones has rocketed high in the past couple of years. But not all OEMs are winners and hence LG revamped its mobile strategy this year by ditching premium G and V series with new Velvet series priced around $730.
Also, Apple who initiated the craze for ultra-premium smartphones introduced iPhone SE 2020 retailing at $450, its cheapest smartphone in years. The trend of affordable premium handsets is expected to continue in not only South Korea but worldwide, thanks to the ongoing pandemic.
There isn’t any doubt now that Gionee has made a comeback to the tech scene. The company has chosen to play safe by focusing on the Chinese and Indian market. Recently, we reported the launch of the Gionee K6 in China. The phone comes powered by an Helio P60 chipset with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage but having a starting price of just 799 yuan (~$112).
The Chinese brand has now unveiled a new power bank in India. The product dubbed Gionee GBuddy True Wireless Power Bank stuffs a 10000mAh battery under the hood. The product is also the firm’s first wireless charging power bank to be sold in India, joining the existing Gbuddy lineup of standard power banks that were unveiled last year.
The GBuddy True Wireless Power Bank adopts a design which looks like a regular power bank but on one side of the flat surfaces is a 5V wireless charging pad along with a digital power meter that displays the charging level.
The Gbuddy wireless power bank adopts an all-metal body. It features a single USB-A port that can be used to charge other devices. The port has a 5V/2.4A rating. In addition, there is a micro USB input port rated 5V/2A and a USB Type-C input with the same 5V/2A rating. It can simultaneously charge devices through the wireless charging pad and the USB-A port.
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The wireless power pack isn’t bulky as it weighs 245 grams, having a dimension of 1.5 x 6.8 x 13.8 cm. Gionee says that it can charge a device with a 3000mAh battery 2.2 times and a device with a 4000mAh battery 1.7 times.
Pricing and Availability
Gionee GBuddy True Wireless Power Bank with a 10,000mAh cell comes with a decent Rs. 1299 (~$17) price tag and is presently available on Amazon.in. It is available in a single Black colour option.
Nokia seems to have reduced steam in terms of product release compared to the early days of HMD Global’s revival of the brand. That has no stopped the company from giving a thought to the idea of a foldable pie. Earlier this year it was rumoured that the company was working on a foldable smartphone which would be released later this year.
A reliable source has now hinted that the foldable Nokia phone project is still in the works. The source, Nokia Anew, has a reputation for accurate news concerning Nokia phones. is short tweet only reaffirmed the existence of the project but did not reveal further details as it concerns release.
We can’t be certain if the tweet is referencing a smartphone or the clamshell-like Nokia 2720 Fold which has a similar design like the Moto Razr. The Razr and Galaxy Z Flip are not truly foldable phones but flip phone using a flexible display as they can’t be used in the folded state unlike the Galaxy Fold and Mate X.
Regardless of the design of Nokia’s own foldable phone, we’ll have to wait until next year at earliest to see it launched. The company unveil the device at MWC 2021, that is if the COVID 19 pandemic has abated to an extent that would allow such social gathering. Nokia may even decide against continuing with the project and focus more on 5G which seems to be the future of the smartphone industry.
HiBy is popularly known for its high-end audio player like HiBy R6, R6 Pro, R3 Pro. The audiophiles often look for HiBy audio players due to the consistent performance and premium sound output and build quality. It is a praiseworthy brand with highly-competitive products used by professionals. As an addition to its product catalog, Hiby has taken the route of virtual launch to announce the world’s first 4G flagship R8 Music players.
The new Music is offered in two versions – one carved with Aluminium alloy version while the other uses a stainless steel version.
The HiBy R8 Music Player features a 5.5-inch-full HD display with 1080p resolution support. It is powered with Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset with support for 4G network and Adreno 512 GPU for handling graphics. It is the maiden DAP coupled with such a powerful chipset.
4G Connectivity
The dedicated SIM slot enables 4G connectivity for wireless streaming and downloading music from anywhere. Unlike the other Music player, the user need not rely on WiFi, which improves the portability of the device.
The HiBy R8 DAP uses HiBy OS based on Android 9.0 Pie. There won’t be any problem while downloading apps from Google Play Store due to GMS certification. Moreover, the impressive user interface offers a smooth and snappy experience to users.
Storage and Battery
HiBy R8 Music Player stainless steel version houses a 6GB RAM with 128GB internal storage, whereas the Aluminium Alloy brings 4GB RAM with 64GB storage. The users can even expand the storage using a MicroSD card up to 2TB.
Both the variants support the Type-C interface for speedy file transfers.
There’s a massive gargantuan 10000 mAh huge battery with current output of 38Wh. the company has customized the battery capacity for better standby time and high voltage output.
Better Sound on Hiby R8 DAP
HiBy R8 is building for the impressive yet detailed sound experience. In order to make the Music Player offer premium sound, the company has added Dual-DAC, ELNA Capacitors, better oscillators, and high power output with low impedance. The company has even added Turbo Mode, Line out port, volume control rotator, and a colling engine. There’s a lot of premium hardware packed along with HiBy R8 to offer precise, accurate, and enriching sound.
Turbo Mode:
HiBy R8 features a new “Turbo Mode” which is designed specifically for high impedance headphones requiring a lot of power and voltage. It can be turned on using a simple toggle button.
However, we suggest not to use the Turbo mode for highly sensitive IEMs.
Dual AK4497 AKM DACs and ELNA Capacitors:
HiBy R8 uses high-quality dual-DAC design consisting of Dual AKM4497 DAC chips. It is a high energy efficient chip with the ability to deliver the high current output and high SNR of 117dB.
The capacitors are from popular Japanese company ELNA. These are designed with high-quality Aluminium and silk fibers featuring 4x ELNA SILMICII capacitors.
Low Jitter and High Power Output
HiBy R8 uses two femtosecond ultra-low jitter crystal oscillators to reduce jitter levels. These oscillators are programmed by FPGA for an accurate clock.
It is capable of bringing record-breaking power output using custom-designed OPO2 op-amps. The R8 is capable of 5.9 Vrms 1088mW@32Ω with THD+N ≤ 0.00083% and 3.1 Vrms 300mW@32Ω with THD+N ≤ 0.00065%.
Low Noise with low Impedance
The new DAp is quite and offers impressive sound with a noise level of < 8.4uVrms for 4.4mm balanced output. It maintains noise level of ≤ 4.6uVrms. for single-ended output.
The new HiBy Music Player keeps impedance comfortably low with 0,4Ω for single-ended output, and 0.8Ω for the balanced output, It offers the best frequency response and damping factor for In-Ear Monitors and impedance headphones.
LineOut and Volume Control
There are multiple physical ports that can be used by professionals for their work. It has two line-out ports, one 3.5mm port supporting 10K impedance, 2Vrms output, and a THD+N < 0.0004%. The other is for 4.4mm output with 10K impedance with 4.1 Vrms and THD+N < 0.00046%.
A beautiful and quite useful pro-audio-grade Japanese ALPS Volume control button is present on the top. It accurately and precisely adjusts the volume.
Highly Efficient cooling ane MQA support
The new Hiby R8 player houses a graphene shield to dissipate the heat from the high-end components offering massive power output.
Moreover, it supports MQA for fully decoding up to 16x MQA files at the hardware level.
Connectivity
The new music player uses Bluetooth 5.0 with DLNA, AirPlay, WiFi music transfer, HiByLink to act as a convenient remote control.
Availability and Pricing of HiBy R8 DAP
The powerful Audio Player with Aluminum alloy is available with 64GB storage for 12988 Yuan which roughly translates to $1819. The Stainless steel version with 128GB ROM and 6GB RAM is available for 15988 Yuan (~$2240) in China. The shipping will start on June 22. You can check all the HiBy collection of exceptional audio devices.
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Editor’s Pick: Honor Play4 5G renders officially released
In the images shared by Raul, the Honor Play4 5G can be seen in three colors like black, blue, and white. He didn’t share any details on the specs of the phone. A closer look at the top-left positioned camera module shows that it has a 64-megapixel main lens in its quad-camera setup. It also features a side-facing fingerprint reader.
