Amazfit X Concept smartwatch is finally listed on Indiegogo

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Apr 22, 2020

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.

#IFA20: Set for an innovative concept designed for unprecedented times.

IFA Berlin is set to go ahead in 2020, but with an innovative new concept, following the decision by the Berlin government to ban all events with more than 5,000 participants until 24 October 2020.
1/6 pic.twitter.com/MLDvamLXzf

— IFA Berlin (@IFA_Berlin) April 21, 2020

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.

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

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Apr 22, 2020

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

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Apr 22, 2020

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.

Hey #iQOO #SuperFans, Can you guess the new price for #iQOO3? #IndiasFastestSmartphone is going to give you even more reasons to love!

Stay Tuned till tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/V4bo0h5OvN

— iQOO India (@IqooInd) April 22, 2020

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.

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

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Apr 22, 2020

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.

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.

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

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Apr 22, 2020

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.

Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Sony and Realme smartphones with MediaTek chips delisted from UL Benchmarks over “Suspect” scores

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

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Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Apr 22, 2020

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.

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.

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

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Apr 22, 2020

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.

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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.

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Editor’s Pick: Redmi Pad 5G leaked poster emerge to reveal key details

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

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Apr 22, 2020

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.

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.

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

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Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Apr 22, 2020

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 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.

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

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Apr 22, 2020

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.

Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi Mi Band 4C to soon launch in Europe as a rebranded Redmi Band

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

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Apr 22, 2020

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.

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

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Apr 22, 2020

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.

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.

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

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Apr 22, 2020

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.

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

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Apr 22, 2020

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.

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.

Editor’s Pick: Motorola Edge live shot emerge to reveal its rear appearance

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.

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

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Apr 22, 2020

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.

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.

MIUI 12 will have 1000+ custom animated AOD styles

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Apr 22, 2020

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.

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.

MIUI 12 AOD Mi Bunny — Mi Bunny AOD Styles

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.

Meizu 17 series to launch on May 8

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Apr 22, 2020

Meizu has been teasing on the arrival of the Meizu 17 smartphone since the past few days. Yesterday, the company hinted on Weibo that it will be revealing the Meizu 17 launch date today. The official confirmation has finally arrived as the company revealed that the Meizu 17 series will be announced on May 8.

The poster released by the company shows a box with a horizontal cutout which is reminiscent with the horizontal camera setup that is expected to arrive on the Meizu 17. The other thing that can be noticed in the poster is that the company has mentioned “Meizu 17 series” which indicates that it may announce Meizu 17 Pro smartphone along with a vanilla model. The company stated on Weibo that it will work overtime prepare sufficient stocks to meet the expectations.

At present, there are no concrete information on the differing features that will be available on the Meizu 17 and Meizu 17 Pro phones. It is speculated that the Meizu 17 has a model number is M081Q whereas the Pro model has a model number of M091Q. Both phones have appeared on the database of 3C certification platform of China. Their 3C certifications have revealed that both are 5G-ready smartphones. The M081Q phone may ship with a 30W fast charger whereas the M091Q may arrive with a 40W rapid charger.

Editor’s Pick: Meizu discontinues the 16S Pro with a Commemorative Edition, makes way for Meizu 17

A recent teaser released by the company revealed that the Meizu 17 could be the only 5G-ready flagship phone with thin-sized white borders around the display. The AMOLED screen of the phone has a tiny round-shaped cutout for the front-facing camera at the top-left corner.

Reports have revealed that the Meizu 17 may arrive in China with a starting price of 3,999 Yuan. It may house a 6.5-inch full HD+ display with in-screen fingerprint reader. The Flyme 8 UI based Android 10 OS will run on the device. The phone will be equipped with Snapdragon 865 mobile platform, LPDDR5 RAM, and UFS 3.0 storage. The 4,500mAh battery of the phone will be accompanied with mSmart charging technology. It is also rumored to arrive with support for NFC, Wi-Fi 6 and stereo speakers. It remains to be seen whether the Chinese firm will also launch the rumored Meizu 17 Audi Special Edition on May 8.

Xiaomi Mi Band 4C to soon launch in Europe as a rebranded Redmi Band

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Apr 22, 2020

After the launch of Mi Band 4 fitness tracker from Xiaomi, people are expecting the Mi Band 5 to be the next fitness band from the company. However, it seems that we’ll see the Mi Band 4C before we get the Mi Band 5.

Xiaomi’s sub-brand Redmi recently launched its first fitness tracker in the market, dubbed as Redmi Band. Now, the same product is reportedly set to launch in the Europen market, but under a new name and branding.

Redmi Band aka Mi Band 4C — Redmi Band Fitness Tracker

As per the reports, the Redmi Band will be launched in Europe as Xiaomi Mi Band 4C which carries model number HMSH01GE. While it is expected to soon go on sale in Europe, there’s no exact date or timing known because of the COVID-19 issues.

To remind you, the Redmi Band comes with a square-shaped 1.08-inch AMOLED Color Touch Screen with 2.5D scratch-resistant tempered glass on the top for added protection. It also comes with support for Bluetooth 5.0 BLE to connect with smartphones.

The fitness tracker can efficiently monitor wearer’s heart rate and delivers accurate pedometer algorithm and daily heart rate changes. It also vibrates every time someone calls or sends a message to ensure you do not end up missing an important call or SMS.

It comes with 5 professional sports modes and supports an intelligent alarm function that wakes you up every morning, and also offers idle alert. It is powered by a battery that offers a 14-day battery life.

In China, the Redmi Band is priced at 99 yuan which is approximately $14 but because of the taxes and market differences, the pricing for the European market is expected to be higher than this. Nonetheless, we expect the price to be aggressive, keeping up with Xiaomi‘s strategy.

Huawei India gets new CEO as Jay Chen moves up to leadership role in Asia Pacific region

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