Indian Telcos request Netflix, Prime Video, Hotstar, and others to limit streams to SD quality

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Mar 23, 2020

Indian telcos request OTT services like Netflix, Prime Video, Hotstar, YouTube, and others to reduce the burden on their infrastructure networks. They are appealing this so that they can offer stable services to healthcare, banking, education, businesses, and others amid lockdown across India due to coronavirus outbreak.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) which comprises of the country’s telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea has requested the popular video streaming services in the country to temporarily offer SD playback over HD and above quality for a certain period of time till the lockdown persists. The association has also asked them to avoid feeding high-bandwidth consuming advertisements and pop-ups to users.

Rajan Mathews, the director-general of the Association told Economic Times that they have appealed Department of Telecommunications (DoT) as well as Home Ministry to urge ‘video streaming service providers/broadcasters’ to manage their traffic distribution pattern in a way that they don’t stress the networks of telcos. By this, the network infrastructure can be used for other critical needs such as healthcare, online/digital education, digital banking transactions, and other important purposes.

Almost all the streaming services have already started taking steps to avoid using more bandwidth without compromising on the quality of the stream by using their proprietary software and algorithm. However, we are not sure whether or not they will limit playback to SD quality like the popular international services such as Netflix and Prime Video have done in other markets.

(Source)

Mijia F1 Air Purifier announced; Xiaomi-branded washing machine and refrigerator teased

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Mar 23, 2020

Today, Xiaomi’s Mijia brand announced a new air purifier. The new Mijia F1 Air Purifier is one of the few air purifiers in the market that can effectively remove H1N1 influenza viruses.

The Mijia F1 Air Purifier has a tower design with a circular AMOLED screen in front that displays info such as air quality. It supports voice control via the XiaoAI assistant, so you can control it from any of your other smart home devices such as phones, smart TVs, smart speakers, and smart displays that have XiaoAI built-in.

It has a clean air delivery rate (CADR) of 400m³/hr and delivers up to 6,660 liters of clean air per hour. Mijia says it has a high-quality DC motor that is quieter and more energy efficient compared to the previous generation. It also has a sleep mode which further reduces the sound of the motor to as low as 34.8dB

The filter has three layers that remove different sizes of impurities including hair, pollen, and PM 0.3 to PM2.5 particles. The replacement cycle for the filter is between 3 to 6 months.

The Mijia F1 Air Purifier is priced at ¥1199 (~$) and will go on sale on March 27 at 10 AM.

In related news, Xiaomi has created official Weibo accounts for its washing machines and refrigerators lines and both pages have shared posts that hint at first models coming soon.

While there are several washing machines and refrigerators made by companies under Xiaomi’s ecosystem, Xiaomi doesn’t have its own branded washing machines and refrigerators but that should change soon since it has created Weibo accounts for the two product lines.

(Sources: 1, 2, 3 | Via)

Redmi Note 9S launched for the Global Market; starts at $249

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Mar 23, 2020

Xiaomi has officially launched the Redmi Note 9S for the global market. The Redmi Note 9S recently popped up online after the launch of the Redmi Note 9 Pro and Redmi Note 9 Pro Max in India. The Note 9S takes after its predecessors with a similar design but just some minor differentials in the camera configuration. Basically, the device is the same as the Redmi Note 9 pro but with just some minor differences.

DESIGN & DISPLAY

The Redmi Note 9S features a 6.67-inch IPS LCD display with FullHD+ resolution of 2280×1080 pixels. The display is covered by a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection and that extends to the rear panel giving the entire body some ruggedness. As stated, the Note 9S has the same design as the Redmi Note 9 Pro and this includes a side-mounted fingerprint, USB-C port, 3.5mm audio jack and an IR blaster.

PROCESSOR AND MEMORY

For the internals, the Redmi Note 9S is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor. The SoC was recently released by Qualcomm and it is built on an 8nm processor. It offers several performance upgrades over the Snapdragon 730G released last year. The Note 9S shares the same processor with the Realme Redmi Note 9 Pro and Redmi Note 9 Pro Max. The processor is paired with 4GB/ 6GB of RAM as well as 64GB and 128GB of storage. The storage is expandable up to 256GB via microSD card.

For photography, the Redmi Note 9S packs a quad-camera setup headlined by a48MP Sony sensor with 1.6um 4-in-1 Super Pixels and f/1.79 aperture. There is also a 119-degree ultra-wide-angle 8MP lens with f2.2 aperture. The phone also packs a 5MP Macro lens with auto-focus and finally, a 2MP depth sensor. At the front, there is a 16MP selfie shooter house in the display punch-hole. The selfie shooter comes with features such as AI portraits, Panorama selfie, palm shutter and AI scene detection. Do note that the Redmi Note 9 Pro packs a 32MP selfie shooter housed in a similar punch-hole.

Keeping the lights on is a massive 5020mAh battery with 18W fast charging support.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

The Redmi Note 9S 4GB+64GB version comes in at RM 799 in Malaysia while the 6GB + 128GB version will retail for RM 899. The 4GB version will be sold exclusively on Lazada and Shopee while the 6GB version will be available on all channels in the country.

In Singapore, the Redmi Note 9S 4GB+64GB version will retail for SGD 299 ($204) while the 6GB + 128GB version will retail for SGD 349 ($239).

As for the Thai market, the 4GB + 64GB variant will sell for 6,499 THB (~$197) while the 6GB + 128GB version will adopt a retail price of 7,999 THB ($243).

For the global market, the Redmi Note 9S will be available on AliExpress for $249 USD for the 4GB +64GB variant while the 6GB+128GB version will be available for $279. The models will be available for the first time for the global market on April 7 at 00.00 AM PT.

Huawei’s Nova 7 Pro and Nova 7 visit TENAA

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Mar 23, 2020

The Nova 7 series launch is drawing closer. Two of the phones in the series – the Nova 7 Pro and Nova 7 – have been spotted at TENAA. While the full spec sheet remains unknown, TENAA does reveal that the two devices have 5G support.

According to the agency, the Nova 7 has model number JEF-AN00 while the Nova 7 Pro’s model number is JER-AN10. The two phones support NSA and SA 5G networks. The two phones are expected to come with the Kirin 990 5G chipset powering them based on a leak from last month.

[envira-gallery id=”312136″]

The Nova 7 phones will also support 40W fast charging according to a 3C certification page. We expect the complete specifications of the two phones will be published in a few days by TENAA.

Huawei is also expected to announce a Nova 7 SE which may come with the new Kirin 820 5G chipset. The chipset has been confirmed to power the soon-to-be-announced Honor 30S.

There is no specific launch date for the phones yet but April seems like the best bet.

(Source, Via)

LG G9 ThinQ reported to be a mid-range phone with a Snapdragon 765G SoC

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Mar 23, 2020

LG’s G-series of smartphones are known to be flagships but that might change according to a new report. It is said that LG has revamped its mobile phone line and will launch the LG G9 ThinQ as a mid-range phone rather than a flagship.

The source says the LG G9 ThinQ will launch with a Snapdragon 765G 5G processor under the hood rather than the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform.

LG is said to have made this decision after reviewing the market and the success of its phones. If the company launched the phone with a Snapdragon 865 processor, it will cross the $1000 mark and at that price range, folks will rather purchase an iPhone or a Samsung phone. With the Snapdragon 765G inside and probably some other tradeoffs, the LG G9 ThinQ can be more affordable.

The phone is expected to arrive this month which means it may be announced before the end of the week. We have no idea what it will cost but we will advise you brace up for similar pricing to that of the recently-announced Nokia 8.3 5G which starts at €599.

Leaked renders of the phone from early January show it has a waterdrop notch in its OLED display, an in-display fingerprint scanner, and four rear cameras. It will also have a dedicated Google Assistant button and an audio jack.

(Via)

Huawei EMUI 10 update based on Android 10 crosses over 100 million users

By

Sean

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Mar 23, 2020

Huawei has just announced that its global update for its Android 10 OS based EMUI 10 custom skin, has officially crossed over 100 million users. The update brought the new generation of Android OS and is now fairly distributed amongst the company’s smartphone offerings.

The EMUI 10 first arrived back in September 2019. It was first launched with the Huawei Mate 30 series before being more widely rolled out. Over the past couple of months, developers from the Chinese tech giant have worked to include a total of 33 different smartphone models for the EMUI 10 update. For those unaware, EMUI 10 is a proprietary custom skin from Huawei and brings the latest Android 10 major updates as well.

Since it is a custom skin, it arrives with various unique functions, features and other newly developed technologies from Huawei. This includes the company’s latest GPU Turbo, EROFS file system, Ark compiler, and an AI assistant amongst many other new inclusions. It also featured many system wide improvements for the user interface that made for a more comfortable and smoother user experience and also added the highly appreciated dark mode.

Unlike the monotonous black and white displays on most OLED screens, Huawei’s update brought support for colored always on displays with bright backgrounds and patterns. One of the notable features that made it in the major update included the better cross connection between the Huawei ecosystem. In other words, it was more seamless to bring files and data over from one’s smartphone to the company’s Matebook series of Windows laptops. This is again just a few examples of the various upgrades, and it is a great moment for Huawei that has achieved a great new milestone even amidst the Coronavirus outbreak.

Xiaomi’s Youpin & Seconds Smart Health Calendar now on sale for 299 yuan ($41)

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Mar 23, 2020

In January this year, Xiaomi crowdfunded a health calendar dubbed Youpin & Seconds Smart Health Calendar. The smart health calendar has now been launched for open sale on the Youpin website. The device comes in at 299 yuan ($41), higher than the 199 yuan ($28) price tag it adopted during the crowdfunding exercise.

The smart health calendar is made of ABS + PC material, with ceramic fire pattern. The material is healthy and environmentally friendly while delivering an aesthetic appearance. The gadget features a large 5.83-inch e-ink screen with dot-matrix display to make the display more similar to the printed text texture. The display also retains a high quality of visibility from different angles. It also comes with WiFi connectivity, bringing internet connectivity to the mix.

The Youpin & Seconds Smart Health Calendar has the functions of displaying weather information, air quality, famous quotes, calendar and so on. The smart calendar is embedded with a variety of China-popular online calendar channels such as one-way calendar, Zhihu calendar, Weiyi health calendar, workplace black box calendar, black chicken calendar, traditional yellow calendar, etc. With such a wide array of calendar channels, users can switch as often as they like. There are also regular functions such as reminders including one for medications, birthdays/anniversary, alarm, countdown etc.

As for the power supply, the smart calendar is powered by four replaceable No. 7 batteries. There is a low battery icon which reminds you when the battery is too low. The product comes in white only.

(source)

Samsung, Oppo, Vivo temporarily shutdown production in India amidst Coronavirus outbreak

By

Sean

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Mar 23, 2020

The new strand of Coronavirus has recently been classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). The outbreak began from the Wuhan province in China and has since spread and has confirmed cases in upwards of 170 countries. Now, amidst the various government implemented lockdowns, smartphone brands like Samsung, Oppo and Vivo are now temporarily suspending production in India.

As of right now, the production lines will remain closed at least till the 25th of March 2020. For those unaware, the Coronavirus outbreak has been adversely affecting the Indian subcontinent, with the country’s capital city of Delhi being on a strict lockdown till the 31st of March 2020. During this time and growing fears, the major smartphone brands including Samsung, Oppo, and Vivo have taken the outbreak into consideration have closed its production lines for now.

The viral outbreak has already majorly affected various factories and manufacturing sites for any and every industry, especially those present in China. But now, it seems the shutdowns are becoming more rampant with South Korean sites temporarily shutting down previously this month and now India seeing a rising number of confirmed infected cases as well.

According to Samsung’s Greater Noida factory, the largest manufacturing facility from the South Korean tech giant in the world, “following the Indian government’s policy, we will temporarily halt operations of our Noida factory until the 25th. We will work hard to make sure there is no setback in supplying our products.” This production site is also known to produce home appliance products like air conditioners, refrigerations and washing machines and more, so more than just the smartphone industry is in dire straits.

Similar to Samsung, LG has also reportedly shut down the production of its home appliances plant in Greater Noida and Pune, Maharashtra. On the other hand, Vivo has instructed all non-factory workers to work from home, which is an increasingly popular alternative these days. This shut down has occurred due to confirmed COVID-19 infected cases being found in the various production sites.

There have been a few exceptions, including Ericsson and Nokia, the two largest telecom equipment providers in India, that still have their factories running. Although, production has been scaled down by 50 percent while both companies have received this exception from proper authoritative bodies. However, these are just special cases and you can expect more smartphone brands with production lines in India to follow suit with temporary closures.

(Source,Via)

Is MIUI 12 coming soon? Xiaomi will stop MIUI 11 developer ROM updates from next week

By

Sean

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Mar 23, 2020

Xiaomi MIUI’s official development team has made an important new announcement earlier today (23rd March 2020). In a beta update patch for the MIUI 20.3.23 build, the team shared a message informing users that this week is the last week of updates for the MIUI 11 custom skin, which may be indicative of development starting on the MIUI 12.

For those unaware, MIUI is a custom skin based on the Android OS platform. Its latest versions are based on Android 10 while the news may signify a new generation being announced or showcased soon. Previously, the MIUI development team had delayed the MIUI 11 release for the Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro, Mi 10, and even Mi 10 Pro due to incomplete testings, and has also caused the delay for the Redmi Note 8.

This delay may largely have been affected by the recent Coronavirus pandemic that has affected the world, especially China. So we will have to wait and see what the break in development may actually signify. For those unaware, China recently suffered from a viral outbreak which quickly turned into a global epidemic. It is one of the major reasons for alarm across the globe and readers are advised to be cautious and be informed regarding the subject.

Interestingly, a few people had also caught on certain official MIUI websites featuring signs of the MIUI 12. When users attempted to access the relevant data or opt in for closed beta testing, they were met with a prompt informing them of how they did not meet the required conditions. This clearly showcases that the new custom skin generation from the Chinese tech giant is in development. Although we will have to wait for an official announcement to confirm it.

(Via)

Rumor: Xiaomi might re-launch the Mi 6 with new specs and some design changes

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Mar 23, 2020

The Mi 6 is one of Xiaomi’s most iconic phones. It is also one of its most popular flagships. Today, unconfirmed reports going round say the manufacturer is planning to re-launch the phone but with new specs and probably some changes in the design. The phone is expected to cater to those who require a small but powerful device.

According to Digital Chat Station, Xiaomi is working on a device with a small display but which is yet to be greenlit. In a separate post, he adds that for it to be a success, the demand must be high to be worth it.

The leaker mentions that most display manufacturers have already adjusted their production lines to churn out large screens for phones, so if they are going to make a small display for Xiaomi, it will be a custom line that will be expensive. Xiaomi will need to carry out extensive market research to determine if it will be profitable to make such a device.

In related news, Xiaomi’s director of new media posted a question on Weibo asking how much folks will be willing to pay for a new version of the Mi 6 with the following specs – same size and shape as the Mi 6; a notch or punch hole; a single rear camera or dual rear cameras; a battery capacity that lasts up to one day; a Snapdragon 700 series chipset (or Snapdragon 800 series chipset if it will not affect the weight and size of the phone); and NFC.

Xiaomi Mi 6 2020 — Mi 6 2020 render created by Weibo user @YJayyy

This is surely a market survey for the upcoming device and the result will influence Xiaomi’s final decision on whether it should go ahead with the project or cancel it.

Let us know in the comment box what you think about the Mi 6 2020. Yay or Nay?

(Sources: 1, 2, 3 | Via)

Honor Play 9A to be announced on 30th March, will launch alongside Honor 30S

By

Sean

-

Mar 23, 2020

Officials from Huawei‘s subsidiary, Honor, have announced that the new Honor Play 9A will be revealed on 30th March 2020. This means that it will be launched on the same day alongside the Honor 30S.

According to the Honor officials Weibo post, the Honor Play 9A will be targetted to the younger demographic and will feature a good battery performance, reportedly running the device up to 3 days on a single charge. The announcement regarding the device arrives was a bit unexpected, considering not a lot of information was teased or found online.

However, an image released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in China depicts a device with a triple camera setup. On the front, a single punch hole camera can be observed while the rear features three vertically stacked camera sensors and an LED flash right under the module. The back panel also features the AI branding for its camera technology and houses the rear mounted fingerprint scanner as well for biometric security, with the Honor brand name being on the bottom.

The model number for the smartphone seems to be “AKA-AL10,” since it was found online, in the Ministry’s database. Unfortunately, finer details regarding the device are currently unknown, but it is likely to be a budget friendly handset and will feature 4G networking over the newer and faster 5G bandwidth. So stay tuned for 30th March 2020 as we will be covering the launch of both the Honor 30S and Play 9A.

Moto G8 Power Lite specifications, pricing listed on Amazon Italy

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Mar 23, 2020

The Motorola Moto G8 Power Lite has appeared in multiple leaks in the recent reports. It is a lighter version of the Moto G8 Power phone that debuted in February. The Lite edition is now almost official as it appeared with its entire specifications on Amazon Italy. The listing suggests that the smartphone will go official in the next few days.

The new G-series phones such as Moto G8, Moto G8 Power and Moto G8 Plus are listed on Motorola Italy website. The G8 Power Lite that has surfaced on Amazon Italy is yet to appear on the official site. The listing shows the phone in Royal Blue color only. There is a possibility that the Lenovo-owned phone could be selling the phone in multiple color choices.

Moto G8 Power Lite specifications and pricing

The Moto G8 Power Lite has a waterdrop notch screen that features 6.5 inches. It produces HD+ resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels and a tall aspect ratio of 20:9.

Editor’s Pick: Motorola Moto E6s debuts with 6.1-inch display, 13MP dual cameras and 3,000mAh battery

The Helio P35 chipset is present under the hood of the device along with 4 GB of RAM. The native storage of the device is mentioned as 64 GB on the retailer site. A dedicated microSD card slot is available on the device. The Android 10 OS comes preinstalled on the smartphone.

The phone features a rear-facing fingerprint reader. The back panel of the device has a 16-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 2-megapixel triple camera system. The phone has a frontal snapper of 16-megapixel. A 5,000mAh battery with 10W TurboCharge technology is at the helm of the device.

The smartphone is listed with a price tag of 189 euros on Amazon ltaly. The listing further reveals that it will be available for purchase from April 15.

(source|via)

Redmi Note 9S Specs and AnTuTu score appear ahead of launch

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Mar 23, 2020

Redmi is expected to launch the Redmi Note 9S in Malaysia later today (March 23). The model is a trimmed down version of the Redmi Note 9 Pro and Redmi Note 9 Pro Max that were announced in India a couple of weeks back. Ahead of the launch, the Redmi Note 9s key specifications and ANTuTu benchmark score have appeared online.

The specs sheet shows that the Redmi Note 9S will come with a 6.67-inch IPS LCD display with FullHD+ resolution. The device will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor paired with 6GB of RAM. There will be 128GB of internal storage onboard. The storage is expandable up to 256GB via microSD card. Keeping the lights on is a massive 5020mAh battery with fast charging support.

For photography, the Note 9s is listed to pack a Quad-camera setup with a 48MP main shooter. There is equally an 8MP, 5MP and 2MP sensors. At the front, there is a 16MP selfie shooter.

The AnTuTu score of the Redmi Note 9S equally confirms the presence of a Snapdragon 720G which is the same chipset onboard the Redmi Note 9 Pro and Note 9 Pro Max. The screenshot shows the device scored a total of 280529 points on AnTuTu benchmark. For the CPU test, it scored 102620 points and 71921 points on the GPU test while the memory test had a score of 53410 points. Finally, the Redmi Note 9S’ user interface (UX) scored 53410 points. The scores are consistent with those of other Snapdragon 720G models like the Realme 6 Pro, Redmi Note 9 Pro, and Redmi Note 9 Pro Max.

We’ll have to wait until it is officially unveiled to find out the retail price.

(via)

Oppo Reno Ace 2 case leak confirms the previously leaked design

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

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Mar 23, 2020

Oppo launched a new series of flagship smartphones called ‘Reno Ace’ last year. Now, after five months from its release, an alleged live image of its successor called ‘Reno Ace 2’ surfaced on Weibo a few days back, courtesy of popular leaker Digital Chat Station. Followed by that, a picture of the purported phone’s soft transparent TPU case leaks today with the same design.

Last year, Oppo released two flagship smartphones namely Reno 10x Zoom and Reno Ace. Although both launched under the company’s new series, they featured different naming from each other. But now as per the new live image leaks of the device and its case, the next Reno flagship will be indeed called Reno Ace 2, confirming it to a direct successor to the last high-end phone in the Reno series.

But what is more interesting is that this handset features the exact same design and colour scheme as the OnePlus 7T as per the leaks. The image of the case that was posted online today reiterates the same design as the previous leak and somewhat confirms the Reno Ace 2 to certainly feature the 7T design. But there are some dissimilarities for sure. For instance, the volume buttons are two separate keys on Reno Ace 2 compared to OnePlus 7T’s single large key. Also, the 7T has a single speaker grille at the bottom since the other side of the USB Type-C port is accommodated by the SIM card slot. Whereas, the Reno Ace 2 seems to have dual speaker grille from the leaked live image.

Further, the Reno Ace 2 looks to have a quad-camera setup, unlike triple cameras on the OnePlus 7T but they both have the same circular camera bump popularly known as ‘Oreo’ design. With all that being said, there is one thing that makes the Oppo phone different from OnePlus in look and feel is the shiny glass back rather than the frosted matte panel.

Unfortunately, there is nothing else known about the upcoming Reno Ace 2 except for its primary camera sensor, which could be the same tried and tested 48 MP Sony IMX586.

(Via)

Huawei Mate 40 Pro seen in a Fan made Concept Render

By

Sean

-

Mar 23, 2020

Although the launch of a new Huawei Mate device is still far off, an early render of the device has been shared online. Earlier today (23rd March 2020), a new concept design for the Mate 40 Pro was found online which was made by a fan. In other words, it isn’t official but is still interesting and offers a lot of insight as well.

Despite being a fan made render, it is still based on official Huawei patents and schemes that have previously been found on the internet. So keep in mind, while there is a possibility of the design being actually used, it is still unconfirmed. Thus, take the render with a grain of salt. Looking at the render, it follows the notch less design, meaning the front is almost completely covered by a curved display with negligible bezels at the top and bottom.

The designs follow the same philosophy of the Mate 30 Pro, which also used the curved display to eliminate the need for physical volume rockers but still keeping the power button. According to the render, a true full screen body has been adopted while the front camera and 3D face recognition module is placed above the screen in a slightly raised and angular portion.

Arriving at the back, the quad camera module can be found which includes the Leica branding for the lenses. Unlike traditional vertically stacked or circular setup, the Huawei Mate 40 Pro features a different triangular shaped setup, which also resembles an inverted pyramid scheme. The concept render could be an exaggeration of all the patents that have surfaced online but does make the launch of the flagship device, more interesting. So stay tuned for more updates.

(Source)

Oppo Find X2 Pro is now Available for Pre-Order for $1,199 from Giztop

By

Vinay Patel

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Mar 23, 2020

Oppo unveiled the long-awaited Find X2 series comprising the Find X2 and the Find X2 Pro earlier this month. The 12GB RAM+256GB ROM Find X2 Pro model has gone up for pre-order for $1,199 through Giztop.

Available in Black (Ceramic) and Orange (Leather), the Find X2 Pro sports an extra-large 6.7-inch OLED 120Hz QHD+ display with a high 120Hz refresh rate. The IP54 splash-proof phone packs a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Octa-Core processor, and an Adreno 650 GPU under the hood.

In the photography department, the phone houses a 48MP, a 12MP and a 13MP camera at the back. Upfront, there’s a 32MP camera that helps to capture self-portraits and comes in handy for video calling. Integrated with dual 5G Mode, the Find X2 Pro runs ColorOS 7.1 based on Android 10 OS, while drawing its juices from a 4260mAh battery that supports 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 Flash Charge.

Aside from that, the phone support Google Play, which means, you can browse and download apps, TV programs, movies, magazines, books, etc directly to your phone. On top of that, you can use the Find X2 Pro to share your 4G data connection with friends and family members using other compatible wireless devices.

As an optional accessory, the dual-SIM smartphone comes with the Oppo Enco Free Earbuds that will set you back an extra $85. You can follow this link to place your pre-order. The phone’s estimated delivery is set for the middle of this month.

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 Find X2 Pro

ZTE Axon 11 5G officially announced, features Snapdragon 765G and a hyperbolic curved display

By

Sean

-

Mar 23, 2020

Earlier today (23rd March 2020), ZTE officially announced the new Axon 11. The new smartphone features 5G networking and is a part of its plans to launch handsets with the newer and faster bandwidth.

Specs and Features

The ZTE Axon 11 5G features a 6.47 inch hyperbolic curved display. This is similar to the type of display found in the Oppo Find X series and is known to be more expensive than conventional displays. The smartphone carries the general rectangular shape but with rounded corners on every side. One of its highlighting aspects was that its launch placed emphasis on a powerful device that is both thin and light as well, which is true since the device is only 7.9mm thick, weighs 168g and is the world’s lightest 5G handset.

Under the hood, the ZTE Axon 11 5G sports Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G SoC and is powered by a large 4,000mAh battery pack. It even supports 18W fast charging, Quick Charge 4+, and AI facial recognition features. In terms of optics, the AXON 11 arrives with a 64-megapixel primary camera alongside an 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens, 2 megapixel Macro and another 2-megapixel depth of field sensor. On the front, a 20-megapixel camera is housed on a small waterdrop notch.

The primary sensor features an f/1.89 aperture and supports dual video image stabilization technology. In other words, both the primary camera and the ultra-wide-angle lens supports stabilization for capturing videos. Notably, the ZTE AXON 11 5G also offers a bunch of image and video editing software features including filters, stitching transition effect, tinkering with the video speeds, background music and much more.

The device also has a hybrid SIM slot (dual nano or Nano + MicroSD card up to 2TB), Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, DTS:X Ultra, Hi-Fi audio via earphones, and an in-display fingerprint scanner. It runs Android 10 with MiFavor 10 on top.

Price

The ZTE AXON 11 5G is available in three different variants, starting from a 6GB RAM + 128GB storage configuration priced at 2698 Yuan (roughly 380 US Dollars). Furthermore, the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant carries a price tag of 2998 Yuan (roughly 421 US Dollars) while the 8GB RAM + 256 GB of storage configuration is priced at 3398 Yuan (roughly 477 US Dollars).

Oukitel WP6 launched globally with cutting-edge specs for $199.99

By

Simranpal Singh

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Mar 23, 2020

As expected, Oukitel finally launched Oukitel WP6 for $199.99 with some competitive features. The interested users can finally grab the smartphone with cutting-edge specs at an affordable price of $199.99. Oukitel has claimed it to be the “Most affordable rugged phone with cutting-edge specs” and alledged it as the “World first rugged phone with 10000 mAh and 48 MP.” The smartphone was launched on March 20 at 7 AM GMT. There’s a lot more Oukitel has poured into the device to make it the best-rugged smartphone.

Must See: Buy OUKITEL K13 Pro Smartphone for Just $187.99 from Gearbest

Oukitel WP6 houses a beautiful 48MP camera, a massive 1000 mAh portable battery, and is IP69K certified for ruggedness. The company is offering a limited period discount of over 20% on the original price and is now retailing at $199.99 from Aliexpress.

Oukitel WP6 Features

Massive battery

The smartphone features a massive 10000 mAh battery to power the 12nm Helio P70 powered device. It can remain 32 days on standby and support 52 hours of continuous talking. Such a capability can make a difference if you’re stuck at a far-off location without any help.

Triple Camera

A powerful and enhanced camera featuring a 48-megapixel primary sensor is present on the Oukitel WP6. It takes detailed and optimized photos with the high-resolution primary camera sensor. However, there’s one aux and a depth camera apart from the primary camera.

Helio P70 Octa-Core

The smartphones come powered Helio P70 Octa-Core CPU with a 12nm process coupled with an Octa-Core processor. It also hosts an AI engine with powerful CPU and GPU upgrades for better Ariticifical Intelligence handling.

The power efficiency plays a pivotal role in enhancing the overall standby time and longer battery life.

Enhanced OS

The developers have tweaked the Android Operating System to receive the best outcomes on a rugged smartphone. The new patches have made the operating system more responsive and rapid to all the essential features. Primarily, the unlock speed is much better than smartphones like Huawei and Xiaomi.

Premium Metallic design

The Corning Gorilla Glass 6 is present to resist the usual falls. Moreover, the metallic design is present with a 70% metallic cover to maintain a suitable temperature. However, in a burning video from Oukitel, we can see the 70% metal covering remains undamaged.

The presence of FHD+ display, OTG function, and other surprising features make Oukitel WP6 as the bargain deal for now.

The ruggedness of the device is fully tested by professionals and you can see it in the video below. The device was rigorously tested by burning, drilling, and oil frying and so on. You can enjoy the video below:

The company had given away 10 units of Ouikitel WP6 for free via a giveaway. The results were announced and published on the Oukitel Facebook page.

OxygenOS may soon let users force dark mode on unsupported apps

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

-

Mar 23, 2020

OxygenOS is one of the most favored Android skins available in the market. In fact, OnePlus is built on the popularity of its custom skin, which resembles stock Android with extra added functionalities. With every iteration of the software, the brand brings new features to its users to try out. Just like any other smartphone manufacturer, OnePlus introduces new functionalities first in the beta releases. And that is what the company has done right now with a new ‘Forced Dark Mode’.

Recently, OnePlus released OxygenOS Open Beta 11 update for the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro. We are already aware of the new ‘Instant Translation’ feature, which the company quietly included in this release. Now, a new finding by an XDA Developers senior member suggests the update includes one more new addition, which will force dark mode on unsupported apps.

Toggling dark mode on unsupported apps is not new. This feature is already available on Android skins like ColorOS by Oppo. Also, it can be activated on rooted Android 10 running phones with an app called DarQ. Hence, OnePlus bringing this feature to its OxygenOS is a step in the right direction since there are still a number of popular apps that still lack dark mode.

However, it is not sure which apps will take advantage of this new feature in OxygenOS, which the company lamely calls ‘Enable dark tone in more apps’.

(Source)

Huawei P40 Pro PE could be officially called P40 Pro Plus 5G, Likely to Ship Later than Standard models

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

-

Mar 23, 2020

Huawei will be soon unveiling the P40 series officially on March 26 at an online-only launch event. The company is expected to announce three models in the series namely P40, P40 Pro, and P40 Pro Premium Edition respectively. But the latest leak suggests the latter beefed-up variant to launch with a different name and a separate report says it to ship later than the first two models.

The launch of Huawei P40 series has been already delayed by a month. Amidst this, new information from internal sources reveals the most expensive P40 series model, which has been up until known as P40 Pro Premium Editon will be made available later than the standard and Pro model of the series. This variant with model number ELP-AN10 will feature a ceramic body instead of glass and will come with five rear cameras, out of which, two will be telephoto. In case you are interested knowing the entire camera specs of this device, then do have a look at our coverage on the same.

Further, as per a tip by Ishan Agarwal, a well-known leakster with a credible history, the so-called P40 Pro Premium Edition will be actually called P40 Pro Plus 5G or P40 Pro+ 5G. It is interesting to see Huawei adopting the Plus moniker when its competitors Apple and Samsung have moved on to Max and Ultra respectively. This is not the first time we are seeing something like this. Previously, when Sony killed the ‘Z’ branding on its flagship smartphones, Motorola soon started using it for its own modular phone series – ‘Moto Z’.

(Source 1, Source 2)

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Price

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Oukitel WP6 Features

Massive battery

Triple Camera

Helio P70 Octa-Core

Enhanced OS

Premium Metallic design

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