Advertisement

Xiaomi crowdfunds the OneCup Multifunctional Beverage Machine

Capsule coffee machines have become increasingly popular in Europe and the United States, even surpassing the original Italian coffee machines in terms of popularity. Compared to semi-automatic and fully-automatic coffee machines, the operation of capsule coffee machines is greatly simplified, often with just one button. Xiaomi Youpin has launched one of such products for crowdfunding. The OneCup Multifunctional Beverage Machine comes with an affordable price is 499 yuan (~$70).OneCup Multifunctional Beverage Machine

The OneCup Multifunctional Beverage Machine is less than 12cm in size, and its simple and stylish appearance can be easily integrated into various home decoration styles. The machine can make a drink in 15 seconds at the fastest, and breakfast can be done in 2 minutes.OneCup Multifunctional Beverage Machine

On the technical level, the OneCup Multifunctional Beverage Machine is upgraded from 5bar to 15bar high-pressure extraction which can more fully extract the nutrient and aromatic ingredients in the food and enhance the taste of the drink.OneCup Multifunctional Beverage Machine

Slightly different from European and American consumers, Chinese diners’ interest in beverages is more diversified: soy milk, coffee, milk tea, tea, etc. are in great demand. In addition to coffee making, it can also be used to extract soy milk, tea and several other beverage flavours.

 

(source)

 

Buy Sboly Single Serve Coffee Maker for Just $33.23 from Amazon [50% Off Coupon]

A single-serve coffee maker comes in handy when you’re looking to quickly fill your mug with regular coffee, and also when you want to make specialty brews, froth your milk for lattes and cappuccinos.

Sboly Single Serve Coffee Maker

On the downside, a top-end single-serve coffee maker doesn’t come cheap, which is why a lot of cost-conscious coffee lovers resort to buying inexpensive alternatives. If you aren’t willing to compromise on quality, nor spend a lot of money on a top-branded single-serve coffee maker, we got your back!

The Sboly Single Serve Coffee Maker is now available for $66.45 on Amazon. Much to the relief of those on a tight budget, the e-commerce giant is currently doling out a noteworthy discount on the feature-laden single-serve coffee maker.

Sboly Single Serve Coffee Maker

While you’d normally end up shelling out over $65 on a high-end single-cup coffeemaker, the Sboly Single Serve Coffee Maker can now be yours for a considerably lowered price. To avail of the aforesaid discount, all you need to do is to apply coupon code 62T4SKPA at the time of checking out.

The coupon helps you bring the original asking price of the Sboly Single Serve Coffee Maker down to just $33.23, which translates to a 50 percent discount. An absolute steal at this price, this coffee maker has a vacuum insulated tumbler, which keeps coffee hot for about 6 hours and can hold cold drinks for 12 hours.

This coffee tumbler allows you to carry your home-made coffee wherever you go. Moreover, the Sboly Single Serve Coffee Maker is housed in a compact and lightweight body, which occupies minimal space in your kitchen. You can even carry it for travel.

It adopts a self-cleaning technology. All you need to do is to add water to the tank and simultaneously press two buttons for a hands-free coffee machine cleaning experience. Even if you forget to plug it off after brewing a cup of coffee, the Sboly Single Serve Coffee Maker will shut off automatically.

You can follow this link to check out more details about this amazing single cup coffee maker from Sboly and place your order. To take advantage of the discount, make sure to place your order without wasting time. Note that the coupon is slated to expire at 11:59 PM (PDT) on May 10.

The Gizmochina Coupons is a community that finds, reports and evaluates deals and coupons of Chinese products from online shops. Please visit it here to find more coupons to save money on mobiles and smart gadgets.

OPPO Reno3 A mid-range phone with SD665 coming to India

OPPO is bringing a new mid-range 4G phone to India according to a new report. The new phone is said to be called the Reno3 A and will have quad rear cameras.

The info comes from Ishan Agarwal in partnership with Pricebaba. According to him, the Reno3 A will have a 6.44-inch AMOLED display with an FHD+ resolution. Sadly, there is no info on the design of the display. However, there is a high chance this is an already announced phone just getting a new name and slight changes in specifications.

Oppo Reno3 Vitality

The Reno3 A will be powered by a Snapdragon 665 processor and will have 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. There should be support for storage expansion even though it wasn’t mentioned.

OPPO will put a 48MP f/1.7 camera on the back of the phone along with an 8MP f/2.25 camera and two 2MP cameras with an f/2.4 aperture. For selfies, the phone will have a 16MP camera.

The source also mentions a 4025mAh battery capacity and Android 10 with Color OS 7.1 on top. The Reno3 A will weigh 175 grams and measure 161 x 74 x 8.2 millimeters.

There is no info on when OPPO will announce the phone and how much it will cost.

 

(Sources: 1, 2)

Amazfit X Concept smartwatch is finally listed on Indiegogo

Huami Technology unveiled its Amazfit X Concept smartwatch in August 2019 alongside standard products like Amazfit GTS and Amazfit Sports Watch 3. Although the latter devices were soon available for purchase, the former is only now set to go on sale as it has been finally listed on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo with a coming soon tag.

Amazfit X Concept Smartwatch Featured

The Huami Amazfit X Concept smartwatch is one of a kind concept product with futuristic vibes. The watch resembles a fitness tracker or smart band with a 2.07-inch flexible OLED screen inclined at 92°. This design is achieved by heating the metal body under 700°C along with 6-bend bending process.

The company claims the display to offer 244% more viewing area than any wearable of similar size. Further, the panel has 326ppi and has support for 100% NTSC color gamut with up to 430 nits of brightness. 

Since it is a smaller curved smartwatch, the company uses a 3-segment motherboard and a curved 220mAh battery which is rated to power the wearable for 7 days on a full charge.

Just like any other Amazfit wearable, it supports app notifications, various tracking modes, a proprietary heart-rate monitor called BioTracker™ PPG sensor, and hidden electronic buttons for controls.

Anyway, though the Amazfit X Concept smartwatch is listed on Indiegogo, the price for the same is yet to be declared.

 

IFA Berlin 2020 has been cancelled, event may be streamed online

Earlier this year, one of the biggest smartphone conferences, MWC 2020 (Mobile World Congress) got canceled due to fears regarding the Coronavirus. Now in a similar fashion, the IFA Berlin 2020 event has been canceled as well. However, the event may still be hosted, albeit through a live stream online.

The IFA Berlin 2020 was supposed to be held later this year in September 2020. But the local government has banned all events with more than 5,000 participants until the 24th of October 2020. Although, it may still be hosted online as the organizers suggest. In a Twitter thread by the official handle of the IFA Berlin, six tweets were shared, that talked about a “new innovative concept design” that they plan on adopting for these “unprecedented times.”

In the thread, IFA Berlin stated that the event is the world’s most significant trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances, but despite it, the event cannot be held this year due to the ongoing pandemic. However, they also tweeted out regarding organizers looking into other alternatives and that the planning is already in the advanced stages.

IFA Berlin
IFA Berlin (Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamescridland/233082614)

Events like the IFA Berlin 2020 are important for brands, manufacturers, and retailers. So, they plan to present the details of its updated concept for this year’s event in the near future. As it stands right now, the pandemic is still a cause for major concern, so an online stream would likely be the most obvious answer to the obstacle. However, we will have to wait for an official announcement before confirming anything.

 

Researchers warn against new Cybersecurity threats during Coronavirus pandemic

The world is gripped by the recent Coronavirus pandemic that has affected virtually every country. However, the threats from the virus may not be limited just there as researchers warn against increasing cybersecurity threats amidst the ongoing crisis.

As various governments are enforcing lockdowns, work is quickly shifting towards the digital and online realms. But with this increase in traffic online, apart from just pressures on ISPs and telecom operators, it seems that risk online has increased as well. At the moment, crucial fields like education are under transition, but researchers have warned against potential risks.

According to CNCERT (National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team and Coordination Center of China), “More businesses in traditional industries are accelerating their digital transformation by using remote-working technologies to ensure business continuity, resulting in a spike in cyber threats arising from data leakage, phishing scams, ransomware, and internet frauds.”

The firm is a Chinese government cybersecurity agency that believes that remote working apps, online medical consultations, and e-learning systems could potentially harbor various risks, like hackers that could exploit vulnerabilities. Examples of this occurring is already here as online educational platforms have been suffering from DDoS attacks (Distributed denial-of-service) ever since the COVID-19 lockdowns began. This even goes as far back in January 2020.

These DDoS attacks essentially crash the server since it bombards the system with a massive number of requests. Similarly, phishing attacks are another attempt through which hackers try and gain access to sensitive data. These may be in the form of usernames, passwords, or even credit card details and can be made through communications online like fraud emails.

An example of an organized hacker group is DarkHotel. This East Asia based group has already attempted to break into to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) internal system. Furthermore, they are also responsible for coordinated cyber espionage campaigns against various Chinese agencies and their diplomatic mission through VPNs (virtual private network).

 

(Via)

iQOO India announces iQOO 3 will get a price cut tomorrow

The iQOO 3 was one of the first Snapdragon 865 phones to launch in India. The phone is also the brand’s first device sold in India. Today, iQOO has revealed it will announce a price cut for the flagship tomorrow.

According to the tweet shared on the manufacturer’s official Twitter account, the phone is set to get a new and lower price tag tomorrow. Based on the image, the price cut seems to be for the 8GB RAM + 128GB version with 4G as its current price of INR 38,990 is shown in the image.

The iQOO 3 actually had a starting launch price of INR 36,990 but the manufacturer was forced to raise the price to INR 38,990 when the tax on mobile phones was raised in India. The manufacturer is now asking fans to guess the new price tag for the phone.

It makes sense as to why iQOO is announcing a price cut now. The new OnePlus 8 start at INR 41,999 and is definitely on the radar of a number of people looking to get a new phone. The manufacturer has also slashed the price of the OnePlus 7T series, making them even more appealing to anyone whose budget is below INR 40,999. These developments pose a threat to the sale of the iQOO 3, so a price cut is the best decision to take.

Do you think the iQOO 3 will sell for lower than its original launch price or do you think the price cut is a return to the launch price? Let us know in the comment box below.

 

(Source)

Huawei smartphones sold over 450,000 units in China in March, the P40 series arrives with HMS: CEO

Earlier today, Huawei had revealed its financial report for the first quarter of 2020. The figures showcased a low revenue growth and net profit margin but were still in line with expectations. However, the company still managed to sell over 450,000 smartphones in the Chinese market alone in March 2020.

Huawei

According to the CEO and Founder of Huawei, Ren Zhegfei, the Chinese market is seeing growth, while the international market is facing a decline. This is probably due to the Chinese tech giant’s smartphone offerings being shipped without Google services due to the US trade ban back in 2019. Thus, the Huawei flagship P40 series will ship with Huawei’s own mobile services, HMS.

While the Huawei Mobile Services are certainly a bit behind industry staples like Google and Apple, the company is still determined to enter the market and improve upon it. Ren Zhengfei even went on the state about the difficulties the Coronavirus has caused the company’s supply chain and also talked about its international management and remote working/conferences that they are heavily relying on.

Huawei logo Mate featured 07

In the interview, the senior executive revealed that the ongoing pandemic has made shipments and production difficult, but the company has also been seeing an increase in demand for tablets, computers and more, which ship with HMS pre-installed. Despite seeing meager growth in Q1, Huawei founder is confident that the annual financial report wouldn’t be impacted severely by the rocky start of the year and that the company is confident of its success in 2020.

 

Realme’s new 5G phone to be announced tomorrow

At the beginning of this year, Realme unveiled the Realme X50 5G smartphone in China as its first 5G-ready device. In February, the Realme X50 Pro 5G was made official. Since two new Realme devices have received approval from the 3C authority of China in the recent past, the rumor mill has been speculating that a new Realme phone may soon debut in the home market. Today, the Chinese firm took to Weibo to reveal that a new member will be added in its 5G family soon. Hence, it appears that the company is gearing up to launch its third 5G phone.

Tomorrow, it will be confirming on the launch date of the new device. It is likely that the name of the device will be also confirmed tomorrow. The device will be endorsed by Chinese actress named Yang Zi.

Realme to launch new 5G phone

Some netizens have been speculating that Realme’s upcoming 5G phone could be Realme X50 Youth Edition 5G whereas others have claimed that it could be Realme X3 phone. A Realme phone that has a model number of RMX2142 was approved by TENAA certification body of China. The phone has also received 3C certification. The RMX2052 Realme phone has also received 3C approval, but it is yet to appear on TENAA. The 3C listings of both 5G phones suggest that they may arrive with 30W fast charging.

A recent leak had revealed that the Realme X50 Youth Edition would be coming with a main lens of 48-megapixel that will be coupled with an 8-megapixel sensor and a pair of 2-megapixel lenses in its quad camera setup. At front, it will have an 8-megapixel (ultrawide) + 2-megapixel (depth) dual camera setup.

Realme RMX2142’s TENAA certification revealed that it has a full HD+ 6.57-inch dual punch-hole display with 16-megapixel + 2-megapixel dual camera setup. He phone is powered by 2.4GHz octa-core processor and up to 12 GB of RAM. It has up to 256 GB of native storage. It houses a 4,200mAh battery and has 48-megapixel + 8-mgeapixel + 2-megapixel + 2-megapixel quad camera setup on its back.

 

Bootloader Unlocking does not Void Warranty of Xiaomi and Redmi Devices

Xiaomi smartphones are popular in the developer community, thanks to the company’s policy regarding warranty against unlocking of bootloader. But the brand has now updated its policy. Thankfully, bootloader unlocks still does not void warranty of Xiaomi and Redmi devices but with some caveats.

Recently, a tweet from Redmi India Support account mentioned that bootloader unlock will void the warranty confusing a whole lot of users. It all started when a YouTube video described the customer support team to make a similar statement.

Xiaomi

As always, XDA Developers came to the rescue by contacting the company directly on this matter. To this, a Xiaomi India spokesperson gave the below statement.

“Unlocking of the bootloader is made available to make sure that MIUI developer ROMs can be tested by users and will be covered under warranty. Bootloader unlocking does not inherently void your hardware warranty. But a case where the unlocking results in a brick which cannot be fixed via software, the warranty will be void.”

According to the statement, bootloader unlock is made available for users to try MIUI developer ROMs. And thus, it will not void the warranty of any Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone. But if the device bricks after unlocking and could not be fixed via software, then the warranty will be void.

That means if a user installs some custom ROM or mod, which results in hard bricking of their smartphone which could be only fixed either via EDL pin-shorting or motherboard replacement, then they can bid adieu to their device’s warranty.

In such a case, the user will have to pay the whole amount required for any hardware replacement or EDL flashing service. Whereas, under warranty, the user has to just pay a nominal fee of ₹150 + taxes to fix their device in India.

Lastly, it is worth noting that this new policy is only applicable for Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones since POCO operates independently.

 

(Source)

Xiaomi Mi 10 Youth Edition new posters released to reveal four marvelous color variants

Xiaomi will be launching the Xiaomi Mi 10 Youth Edition 5G smartphone on April 27 in China. Initial speculations suggested that it could be the very same Mi 10 Lite 5G phone that at March end in Europe. However, the poster of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Youth Edition 5Gthat confirmed its launch date also revealed that it is equipped with a periscope 50x zoom lens which is not available on the European model. Hence, the Mi 10 Youth Edition for China is expected to arrive with some differing features. With few days remaining for the launch, the Chinese firm share new posters of the phone to reveal the beauty of the phone’s four color variants.

As it can be seen in the fresh images, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Youth Edition 5G will arrive in color schemes such as Pink Peach, Orange Storm, Green Tea and Blue Berry. The company confirmed that it is a very slim device with a thickness of 8mm. Also, the device weighs 200 grams.

The exact specifications of the Mi 10 Youth Edition are currently under the wraps. The smartphone is now up for reservations in China ahead of the April 27 launch. The Chinese firm will be also introducing the refreshed MIUI 12 custom skin at the same event.

The European Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G smartphone carries a starting price of 349 euros. The Mi 10 Youth Edition 5G for China is expected to break cover as the most affordable Mi branded 5G smartphone. It will join the Mi 10 family that includes Xiaomi Mi 10 5G and Mi 10 Pro 5G phones that were announced in February. It is believed that a 5G-capable Xiaomi phone with model number M2002J9E that was recently approved by China’s 3C authority could be the upcoming Mi 10 Youth Edition 5G smartphone. The 3C approval suggested that the phone may ship with a 22.5W rapid charger.

 

Huawei sees low Revenue Growth in first quarter, Coronavirus and US Sanctions hit hard

It seems that Huawei is still unable to get a hold of stable footings. Since 2019, the Chinese tech giant has been facing various complications including a US trade ban and accusations from other governments as well. Now, the company reported on its low revenue growth, which points at the toll the ongoing Coronavirus and US sanctions have had on its operations.

Earlier today (22nd April 2020), the company revealed its revenue for the first quarter of 2020. Huawei saw revenue of 182.2 billion Yuan or roughly 25.7 billion US Dollars. In other words, a meager growth of just 1.4 percent over the same quarter in 2019. Last year the company saw a sizeable growth of 39 percent, which is clearly indicative of the hindrances it has faced in recent times.

Huawei logo Mate featured 07

According to Huawei, the results were “in line with expectations.” The company had refrained from revealing its bottom line/profits, the revenue in Q1 2020 has reportedly brought in a net profit margin income of just 13.4 billion Yuan (roughly 1.9 billion US dollars). Similarly, Huawei also didn’t reveal the number of handsets it shipped in the three month period either, but one can assume that the figures do not bump the numbers much higher than last year.

For those unaware, Huawei was blacklisted by the US Commerce Department in early 2019, which banned the company from buying or selling with US based companies. This saw the electronics brand to lose out on Google services for its popular Android smartphones. Recently, the US government under Trump’s administration has been planning on dealing with a decisive blow again by limiting its chip supply from TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker.

Huawei

In response to this, Huawei has already started moving some of its chip designs to a China based chipmaker named SMIC. Although, SMIC is currently several nodes behind TSMC, which is already readying 5nm processes and is developing and on track with its future 3nm process. The ongoing pandemic is another matter that has greatly affected production and operations. So at the moment, it seems the figures being reflected might carry over to the second quarter as well.

 

(Via)

Huawei’s Cheapest 5G Smartphone could be the upcoming Honor 10X

OEMs started launching 5G smartphones from early 2019. Huawei (including Honor) itself will have released 17 5G-enabled handsets by the end of this month. The current cheapest 5G phone from the company is Honor 30S retailing at 2399 Yuan ($339). However, the firm has plans to launch an even cheaper 5G device in the 1000 Yuan ($141) segment, which is believed to be the forthcoming Honor 10X series.

Huawei store logo official

Huawei and Honor together have launched 14 5G smartphones so far and they are as listed below.

Huawei 5G Smartphones

  • Huawei P40
  • Huawei P40 Pro
  • Huawei P40 Pro Plus
  • Huawei Mate 30 5G
  • Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G
  • Huawei Mate 30 Porsche Design
  • Huawei Nova 6 5G
  • Hauwei Mate Xs

Honor 5G Smartphones

  • Honor 30S
  • Honor 30
  • Honor 30 Pro
  • Honor 30 Pro Plus
  • Honor V30
  • Honor V30 Pro

In addition to the above-mentioned devices, Huawei will be soon launching Nova 7 series on April 23 consisting of Huawei Nova 7, Huawei Nova 7 Pro, and Nova 7 SE increasing the total count to 17.

But that’s not all, as the sub-brand Honor is expected to launch Honor 10 X series sometime later this year whose alleged render leaked a few day days back. Like any other Honor X series phones before, the new generation will likely debut in the 1000 Yuan ($141) range.

Honor 10X Pro

It is rumoured to feature Kirin 820 SoC with 5G connectivity in order to bring the technology to the masses as this price bracket is the hottest in China. Thus, it is assumed to be the cheapest 5G smartphone from the house of Huawei for the year 2020.

Unfortunately, it may not beat the pricing of 999 Yuan 5G smartphone that Xiaomi has planned to release in November. For comparison, the Honor 9X series which currently has sold over 10 million units in China debuted for 1,399 Yuan ($197). Hence, we expect the Honor 10X series to start at a similar price.

 

(Via)

Redmi Pad 5G leaked poster emerge to reveal key details

Xiaomi’s Redmi sub-brand not only sells Redmi phones in China, but also other products like Redmi TV, Redmi Band and RedmiBook notebooks. A leaked poster that has surfaced on Weibo reveals that a Redmi branded tablet called Redmi Pad 5G may arrive as a new addition to the company’s product portfolio. While the authenticity of the poster and the existence of the Redmi Pad 5G could not be confirmed, it has revealed its key features along with the pricing. The leaked poster could be a fan-made render. Hence, it is advisable to digest the report with a grain of salt.

The Redmi Pad 5G leaked poster reveals that it will be powered by Snapdragon 765 chipset. The inclusion of the SoC will bring support for dual-mode 5G connectivity. The size of the battery is not mentioned in the poster. However, it states that device supports 30W fast charging.

The Redmi Pad 5G tablet is equipped with super linear quad speakers. The screen size of the Redmi slate is not known. The poster states its display supports a refresh rate of 90Hz. For photography, the device is equipped with a 48-megapixel Sony camera on its rear. The device will boot to a customized version of MIUI for tablets.

Redmi Pad 5G specifications

The rear design of the Redmi Pad 5G is not shown in the image. The front of the tablet is flanked with slim bezels on left and right. The upper bezel has a selfie shooter. The image reveals that the Redmi Pad 5G will come in white and black color editions. The poster also states that the device will be priced at 1,999 Yuan (~$282) in China.

Xiaomi will be holding a launch event for announcing MIUI 12 and Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G smartphone on April 27. It is speculated that the Redmi Pad 5G may also go official at the same event.

 

(source|via)

Huawei Nova 7 Pro dual front focusing cameras confirmed in a new teaser

Huawei is scheduled to launch its next-generation Nova series smartphones — Huawei Nova 7, Nova 7 Pro, and Nova SE in China tomorrow. Now, just a day before the official announcement, the company has shared that the Nova 7 Pro will come with dual front-focusing cameras.

From the teasers being shared by the company on social media platform, its pretty evident that Huawei is focusing on the camera technology for the upcoming phones. While the phone is getting launched tomorrow, most of its specifications have already leaked.

Huawei Nova 7 Pro Front Camera Specs

The Huawei Nova 7 Pro will come with a quad-camera setup on the back, consisting of a 64-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultra wide-angle lens, an 8-megapixel periscope lens, and 2-megapixel depth sensor. On the front side, it features a 32-megapixel primary snapper and an 8-megapixel secondary camera.

The phone features a 6.57-inch Full HD+ display with 2340 x 1080 pixels screen resolution and dual punch-hole cutout for front-facing cameras. The device is powered by Kirin 985 5G chipset with 8GB RAM and either 128GB or 256GB internal storage.

The company will also be launching Nova 7 and Nova 7 SE, which will be powered by the Kirin 820 and Kirin 985 chipsets, respectively. While Nova 7 features a quad-camera setup on the back, the SE variant will have a triple-camera setup.

All three smartphones run Android 10 operating system with the company’s own EMUI 10.1 custom user interface and will have Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) instead of Google’s apps and services. The devices will be powered by a 4,000mAh battery with support for 40W fast charging technology.

To know more about these smartphones, along with their full specifications, memory variants, color options as well as pricing and availability details, we’ll have to wait for a few more hours for the official launch event to take place.

 

Huawei and Chinese telecom operators bring 5G network to Mount Everest

Huawei Telecommunications, the electronics giant, has partnered up with telecom operators from China, to brings the newer and faster bandwidth, 5G network, to Mount Everest.

The Chinese tech giant is working with China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom to roll out the advanced 5G infrastructure on the world’s tallest mountain above sea level. Bringing 5G networking on an elevation of 8,848 meters is an achievement of its own and is a hallmark advancement in networking fields. The news was announced by Huawei earlier this week and was later confirmed by a spokesperson as well.

Huawei

For those unaware, Huawei is a pioneering figure in 5G infrastructure, tools, and even equipment. Thus, it collaboration with telecom experts from its home country ensures that the next generation of networking sees a broader reach. As it stands right now, 5G communications act as the “connective tissue” that links IoT (internet of things), autonomous cars, smart homes, and various other smart products.

According to China Mobile, the world’s largest wireless network operator, the new 5G project undertaken by the group marks “not only another extreme challenge in a human life exclusion zone but also laid a solid foundation for the later development of 5G smart tourism and 5G communications for scientific research.” In other words, it’s not just an impressive feat but lays the base for the future in the tourism industry as well.

Earlier this month, three 5G base stations, which connect smartphones to the broader telecommunications network, were set up in two camps sits. These were on different altitudes including 5,300 meters and 5,800 meters, while also providing an online download speed of about 1 gigabit per second. This is quite impressive considering that the area was previously considered as an extremely harsh environment.

Huawei

Future plans will have two more base stations being setup later on by China Mobile before 25th April 2020. These will be set up in altitudes which are even higher, coming in at 6,500 meters. Notably, this particular base station would even alow 5G networking to reach the summit of Mount Everest, which is also the border between China and Nepal.

 

(Via)

Facebook invests $5.7 billion in Reliance Jio for around 10% stake

Social media giant Facebook is investing $5.7 billion in India’s telecom operator Reliance Jio to get 9.99 percent stake in the company. The deal underlines the commitment of Facebook to expand its business to promising markets. It is also the biggest deal from Facebook after the company’s acquisition of WhatsApp in the year 2014.

The development comes just weeks after it was reported that both the companies were in advanced talks about the investment but the announcement was delayed because of the coronavirus outbreak in India.

With this investment and around 10 percent stake, Facebook will become the largest minority stakeholder in Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio. The deal values Jio Platforms at a pre-money enterprise value of about $66 billion, said the company in a statement.

Reliance Jio

Jio Platforms is a wholly owned unit of Reliance Industries which brings together Jio’s digital apps, ecosystems and the wireless platform offered by telecommunications carrier, Reliance Jio, under one umbrella.

Facebook has said that the deal would bring together JioMart, a newly announced e-commerce venture from Reliance Jio and the company’s WhatsApp messaging platform to enable people to connect with businesses.

This also marks Facebook’s entry into the Indian internet market. The company had tried doing so earlier in India with its Free Basics program but was later banned for violating net neutrality norms.

It seems that the companies are planning to use their technologies to create a “super app” in the market with WhatsApp. Reliance Jio, which has become the largest telecom operator in India in just four years of its launch, reportedly has more than 388 million users. On the other hand, WhatsApp from Facebook has about 400 million users in India.

WhatsApp is reportedly set to rollout a peer-to-peer payments service but has not yet received approvals from the government and thus, the service is limited to beta mode as of now.  With JioMart, which connects local shops to customers, the upcoming payment service from WhatsApp has found a new use case.

This deal will also help Reliance cut debt that has piled up because of its aggressive expansion tactics, especially when the company has promised to bring down the net debt to zero by March 20201. As of September 2019, the company’s debt is around $40 billion.

 

Motorola Edge+, Edge leaked promo videos appear with key specifications

Motorola will be announcing the Motorola Edge+ flagship phone and the Motorola Edge upper mid-ranger phone with 5G capabilities at 11 AM CDT today. While the rumors surrounding the Motorola Edge series have revealed plenty of information on both devices, the company has remained mum on their specifications. However, hours ahead of the launch event, popular tipster Evan Blass released two promo videos for the Edge and Edge+ smartphones to reveal their key specs and features. Readers can visit the “via” link at the bottom for viewing the commercials. Also, a report on Droid Life has carried the entire specs of the Motorola Edge+ phone along with its pricing for Verizon users in the U.S.

Motorola Edge+ specifications

Here is all information on the Motorola Edge+ based on the commercial and Droid Life’s report. It has a 6.7-inch OLED screen with punch-hole and extremely curved edges. It has an in-screen fingerprint reader.  It supports full HD+ resolution and 90Hz refresh rate. The Snapdragon 865 mobile platform powers the device. The phone comes with a massive 5,000mAh battery that supports 18W wired charging, 15W wireless charging and 5W reverse wireless charging. Once charge, the device can last for up to 2 days.

Motorola Edge+

The triple camera setup of the Motorola Edge+ has a 108-megapixel main lens, a 16-megapixel ultrawide shooter and an 8-megapixel telephoto lens. It comes with photography features like high-res optical zoom and macro vision. It has a front camera of 25-megapixel and the device is flanked with stereo speakers. The 5G support on the Edge+ promises over 4Gbps of download speeds.

The other features of the Edge+ are 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, UFS 3.0 storage, 6K video shooting capabilities, Android 10 OS and Bluetooth 5.1. In the U.S., it will be exclusively available through Verizon for $1,000.

Motorola Edge specifications

The Motorola Edge has the same sized curved edge 90Hz display available on the Edge+ device. Reports have revealed that it is fueled by Snapdragon 765G which brings support for 5G on the device. The battery of the phone promises up to two day of endurance, but its exact size is not mentioned.

Motorola Edge poster

The primary lens of Motorola Edge’s triple camera setup has a 64-megapixel main lens and offers same photography features like the Edge+. It has a 25-megapixel front camera. Other features of the phone include stereo speakers and in-screen fingerprint reader.

 

(source 1, 2, 3|via)

Huawei rumored to launch a high-end Mate series phone next month

Huawei has two premium flagship smartphone lineups — P-series and Mate-series. While we have already seen P40 series smartphone getting launched recently, the next-generation Mate series phones will be launched in the second half of the year.

But with the advancement going on a rapid pace, Huawei is reportedly considering to make a strategic change and “resurrect” the Mate S product line. As per the report, the Chinese company is planning to launch a new Mate-series premium smartphone next month which will be different from the Mate 40 lineup.

 

huawei

While nothing much is known about the smartphone in question, it is said that the phone will be the successor of the Huawei Mate S. As said, the device is expected to get launched in China as soon as next month.

For the uninitiated, the Huawei Mate S flagship smartphone was launched in September 2015, featuring an all-metal body and top-of-the-line specifications at the time. As for its successor, the phone will reportedly come with several of the company’s own technology, but details about the same remains unknown.

Similar to other premium devices from the company, we expect the upcoming smartphone to be powered by Huawei’s own Kirin chipset. It could be powered by a new chipset which falls somewhere between Kirin 990 5G and upcoming Kirin 1020. However, this is just a speculation and there’s no information available at this point in time.

Given that the Chinese company has Huawei Mate40 series flagship smartphone in the pipeline to launch later this year, it remains to be seen how the company positions the upcoming Mate device. As per the reports, the Mate 40 will be powered by Kirin 1020 SoC and FreeFrom Lens technology.

Although there are two major flagship lineups of Huawei with P-series and Mate-series, the company recently launched foldable smartphone lineup under the Mate branding, dubbed as Huawei Mate X and Mate Xs. Apart from the Mate40 series, the company is also set to launch another foldable smartphone this year which will be the successor of the Mate X, likely to be called Huawei Mate X2.

(Source)

MIUI 12 will have 1000+ custom animated AOD styles

Xiaomi is all set to announce MIUI 12 alongside Mi 10 Youth Edition on April 27. Ahead of it, the company has already begun to tease the new features. Yesterday, the brand revealed ‘Dark Mode 2.0’, a revamped system-wide dark mode with major changes. Today, the official MIUI Weibo account details the new improved AOD (Always-on Display) functionality.

MIUI 12 AOD 03

The Chinese smartphone maker introduced AOD on its devices with OLED displays via an incremental update to MIUI 10. The feature was later baked into MIUI 11 late last year. Now, the company is taking it to the next level with MIUI 12.

AOD on MIUI 12 will support MAML format, which means designers can implement non-linear animations with time and weather. In addition to that, third-party styles will also have support for universal system switches to enable or disable battery indicator, app shortcuts, and more.

The current version of AOD on Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones is static for third-party styles and they neither support time nor weather. Instead, these parameters are provided by the system itself. But with the next iteration, as mentioned above, designers can fiddle with almost everything to offer better styles. The brand promises over 1000+ third-party animated AOD styles on launch.

Additionally, Xiaomi will be also releasing new animated first-party official AOD styles, which will feature the company’s official mascot Mi Bunny doing various things. Also, the company will be bringing AOD styles for Kino (Redmi K30 series mascot), Kings of Glory, PUBG Mobile, and more.

A few days back, MIUI Themes beta added a new section for AOD styles. We thought it will be available for users after MIUI 12 update. Surprisingly, Xiaomi announced today that all users can already experience them on their smartphones.

With the release of MIUI 11, the company made all the themes on the store free to download. Continuing the tradition, the brand announced AOD styles will also be free for all.