Google is working overtime to expedite the process of moving base from China to Vietnam. Last year, Google moved the Pixel 4 production line partially, resulting in massive leaks before the official unveiling. This year the company plans to manufacture the forthcoming Google Pixel 5 in Vietnam entirely. What started off as a precautionary step against the Sino-American trade war, just got a major priority boost due to the sudden Coronavirus outbreak.
According to Nikkei Asian Review, two well-placed sources within the industry have individually confirmed that Apple will manufacture the upcoming Google Pixel 4a and the Pixel 5 entirely out of Vietnam. This does not come as a surprise since Apple invested in one of its partner’s manufacturing units last year, prepping it for Pixel production. Although, the process was initiated due to the US putting a ban on direct trade relations with China. The gamble seems to have paid off this year due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak halting public life in China.
Although the coronavirus outbreak might still affect Pixel production as China faces a logistical barrier. Rumors suggest Google is contemplating the idea of moving base for some of its critical components that are still being manufactured in China. Google is not entirely dependent on China in terms of smartphone production, which is a luxury Apple cannot afford. Reports suggest that while Google sold around 7 million units last year, Apple sells over 200 million units manufactured at its Chinese plants. Hence, relocating to a different country is not as much of a headache as you would imagine.
Google’s projected timeframe for Pixel production at its Vietnamese facility is by April for the 4a and the second half of 2020 for the Pixel 5. The timeframe makes sense as Google’s usual calendar pins the Pixel 4a’s launch at mid-May. The delay in parts shipment from China might still hamper Google’s plans. According to an IDC spokesperson, “Even if production is moved outside China, critical component suppliers are still based in the country. Shipping out parts inevitably takes time, as the supply chain ecosystem takes time to rebuild”.
Realme will be launching the Realme 6 and Realme 6 Pro smartphones on March 5 in India. The landing page for the Realme 6 series is now active on the official site of Realme India through which some of its key details have been revealed. With few days remaining for the launch, The Unbiased Blog has shared a render that reveals the frontal design of the Realme 6 duo. The publication has also shared the pricing of both smartphones.
As it can be seen in the new render, the Realme 6 and Realme 6 Pro smartphones can be sporting punch-hole displays. The Pro model is placed front and it can be seen flaunting a pill-shaped punch-hole. It is said to house an ultrawide selfie camera along with a regular lens. The publication claims that the Realme 6 Pro will mimic the dual frontal cameras of the POCO X2. Also, the screen of the Realme 6 Pro will carry support for 90Hz refresh rate.
On the other side, the Realme 6 has a single punch-hole and is likely to arrive with support regular refresh rate of 60Hz. Both smartphones will be equipped with IPS LCD panels. Except for the thick chin, the other bezels of the Realme 6 and Realme 6 Pro are quite slim. The Realme 6 will be powered by the Helio G90 chipset from MediaTek.
Realme 6 Pro renders
The Realme 6 Pro is expected to debut as the world’s first smartphone with Snapdragon 720G processor onboard. The smartphone was spotted yesterday on Geekbench with 8 GB of RAM. The handset will be also sporting a side-facing fingerprint reader. The battery sizes of both smartphones are not known yet. The Pro model will be arriving with support for 30W rapid charging technology. The official landing page of the Realme 6 series revealed that the quad camera setup of the Realme 6 Prow will feature a 64-megapixel main lens, an ultrawide lens, a telephoto sensor and a macro lens.
The leak further reveals that the Realme 6 will arriving with a starting price of Rs. 9,999 (~$139). The Realme 6 Pro’s base model could be equipped with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. It may carry a price tag of Rs. 13,999 (~$195).
Nubia is expected to unveil the Red Magic 5G gaming smartphone in March. The handset has recently appeared on TENAA with few specs and images. The TENAA appearance indicates that the arrival of the smartphone is close at hand. Game Bench has shared a live shot of the Red Magic 5G phone today to reveal its design in real skin.
The Nubia Red Magic 5G phone has a X-shaped pattern on its metallic back panel. One half of the device is red color while the other half is in blue. While the red edge of the device isn’t visible in the image, the blue edge can be seen sporting a shoulder button, an air vent and a pogo connector. The image of the Red Magic 5G phone that surfaced on TENAA revealed that it has an air vent, a volume rocker and a power key on its red colored spine.
At the center, there is a vertical camera strip that houses three cameras followed by the “REDMAGIC” logo that can seems to light up in different colors. The top and bottom edges of the phone are not clearly visible. The phone is expected to come with a 3.5mm audio jack.
The Nubia Red Magic 5G smartphone has a big OLED display of 6.65 inches. It will be the first smartphone to arrive with support for 144Hz refresh rate. The screen will be equipped with an in-display fingerprint reader.The Snapdragon 865 mobile platform drives the smartphone. It will carry support for dual-mode 5G networks. The phone may ship with up to 16 GB of LDDR5 RAM.
Vivo has officially unveiled the Vivo Z6 5G smartphone in China. It is the first Snapdragon 765G powered phone from the Chinese manufacturer. The handset sports a punch-hole screen that offers an impressive screen-to-body ratio. The phone comes with a massive battery that carries support for rapid charging technology. The Vivo Z6 5G has arrived with a starting price of 2,298 Yuan (~$327).
Vivo Z6 specifications and features
The Vivo Z6 5G measures 163.99 x 75.71 x 9.16mm and it weighs 201 grams. On the front, it features a 6.57-inch IPS LCD display with a punch-hole at its top-right corner. The screen delivers full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and a tall aspect ratio of 20:9. It offers a screen space of 90.74 percent.
The display punch-hole features a 16-megapixel selfie camera with f/2.48 aperture. The rear side of the smartphone has a rectangle-shaped camera module. It houses a 48-megapixel main shooter with f/1.79 aperture and 6P lens, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens with 112-degree field-of-view and f/2.2 aperture, a 2-megapixel macro lens with f/2.4 aperture and a 2-megapixel depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture. The quad cameras offer features like Super Night Scene 2.0, Hyper HDR, RAW format output, video stabilization and 4K video shooting.
The Snapdragon 765G mobile platform brings support for dual-mode 5G connectivity on the Vivo Z6 5G. The smartphone comes with up to 8 GB of LPDDR4x RAM and internal storage of up to 128 GB of UFS 2.1 storage. There is no microSD card slot on the device.
The Vivo Z6 5G houses massive battery of 5,000mAh capacity. The phone comes with support for 44W SuperFlash Charge technology. Vivo claims that the rapid charging technology can charge the phone up to 70 percent in only 35 minutes and 100 percent in 65 minutes. The device is equipped with PC grade liquid cooling technology.
The Android 10 OS along with FunTouch OS 10 comes preloaded on the Vivo Z6 5G. Multi-Turbo 3.0 promises AI driven enhanced performance. For gamers, the phone offers users with features like Game Space 3.0 and Game Box. The phone supports dual Wi-Fi connectivity. The Vivo Z6 5G has a rear-facing fingerprint reader, face unlock, dual SIM support, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, USB-C and a 3.5mm audio jack.
Vivo Z6 price and release date
Here is the pricing of the different variants of the Vivo Z6 5G smartphone:
6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage – 2,298 Yuan (~$327)
8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage – 2,598 Yuan (~$370)
Color variants: Ice Age, Interstellar Silver and Aurora Black
The Vivo Z6 5G will be available for pre-sale from Feb. 29 (tomorrow) in China. Those who participate in the pre-sale brings a 100 Yuan discount. Customers who participate in the pre-orders will be provided with a 599 Yuan (~$85) priced XE900 earphones for free. The shipments of the phone will begin on March 8. There is no word on the availability of the smartphone outside of China.
In July, Samsung had launched the Galaxy Tab S6 tablet with flagship specifications. The company is expected to announce the 5G version of the Galaxy Tab S6 in South Korean in this quarter. A recent finding had revealed that a new tablet named Galaxy Tab S6 Lite has received approval from Bluetooth SIG authority. A new report on Android Headlines carries a render of the unannounced Tab S6 Lite through which some of its key features have been revealed.
The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite’s Bluetooth certification has revealed that it has a model number of SM-P615. The same model number was also spotted at Geekbench benchmarks in the recent past. Devices are known for getting announced within a month after appearing on the database of Bluetooth SIG. Hence, it appears that the arrival of the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite may not be far away.
The leaked render of the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite resembles with the flagship Galaxy Tab S6 in terms of appearance. The image reveals that the tablet could be arriving with a redesigned S Pen stylus. The publication claims that the tablet is likely to support wireless charging for the S Pen. It has further stated that the S Pen for the Tab S6 Lite appears thicker than the one that comes with Galaxy Note series which indicates that it can’t fit inside the body of the device. Hence, it should support wireless charging, states the publication.
The Geekbench appearance of the LTE variant of the tablet had revealed that it scored 346 in the single-core test and 1259 in the multi-core test of Geekbench 5. The tablet was found to be fueled by Exynos 9611 chipset and 4 GB of RAM. The device will come loaded with Android 10 OS. The Wi-Fi only edition of the tablet has SM-P610 model number. On the other side, the LTE variant’s model number is SM-P615. Both variants are rumored to arrive with 64 GB and 128 GB storage choices. The rest of the specs of the device are currently under the wraps.
It is believed that the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite may debut soon. Probably, the company may announce at some time in the coming month.
If you need the highest performance or you are a gamer and you need a new phone, the newly-announced iQOO 3 is among the best options actually available. It is one of the first handsets meant for gamers and power users launched in this 2020, alongside the Realme X50 Pro 5G. But is it worth upgrading to this device? Or 2019 flagship phones are still able to offer more at affordable prices? That is the question we will try to answer through this comparison between iQOO 3, OnePlus 7T and Asus ROG Phone II: the first gaming-centric 2020 flagship against one of the best 2019 deals in the affordable flagships segment and the best gaming-centric device launched last year.
Dual SIM slot, support to external accessories, RGB light
Dual SIM slot, optional 5G
Design
We are going to exclude the Asus ROG Phone II from the design comparison since it has a gaming-centric design. If you are a gamer and you want everyone to know it with an aggressive design including RGB lights, you know what to choose. Also, note that Asus ROG Phone II is compatible with interesting external accessories for gaming such as a desktop dock and more. But if you want a “normal” phone, then you should undoubtedly go for the iQOO 3 or the OnePlus 7T. Both come with premium materials (glass sandwich + aluminum frame): the first is slightly more compact, while the latter is thinner and it has narrower bezels around the display.
Display
The best display for gamers belongs to the Asus ROG Phone II. With a high 120 Hz refresh rate and a 240 Hz touch sampling rate, it is one of the smoothest and most reactive panels ever seen on a mobile phone. If you care more about having the best image quality while streaming content, then OnePlus 7T is an amazing option with its HDR10+ certification. But overall, we would pick the display of the Asus ROG Phone II. Unfortunately, Vivo iQOO 3 lacks a high refresh rate, but it still offers a great screen with a 180 Hz touch sampling rate and HDR10+.
Hardware/Software
The presence of Snapdragon 865 makes the iQOO 3 superior to its two rivals. The iQOO 3 is also the only phone of this trio to support 5G connectivity, but only in the most expensive configuration with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of native storage. Further, iQOO 3 is the only with the new UFS 3.1 internal storage, while OnePlus 7T and Asus ROG Phone II come with a slower UFS 3.0 storage. Android 10 is out of the box on the OnePlus 7T and iQOO 3, while Asus ROG Phone II had it through a software update. Asus ROG Phone II actually allows you to switch between a customized user interface and stock Android.
Camera
The presence of an amazing 48 MP sensor with a bright f/1.6 focal aperture and OIS makes OnePlus 7T the best camera phone of this comparison. The handset also sports a telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom and a 16 MP ultrawide sensor. Further, it has a great 16 MP front camera. Right after, we got the iQOO 3 with a 48 MP quad camera including a telephoto lens as well. But despite its four sensors, we believe OnePlus 7T will be more convincing. Asus ROG Phone II is all but a camera phone, it comes with just a dual camera, but this does not mean it is bad at taking photos. It has good autofocus and captures a high detail, but not at the same level as its rivals.
Battery
Asus ROG Phone II is the king of battery life and it is one of the flagships with the longest lasting battery, so it wins the battery comparison. It sports a huge 6000 mAh battery with the support to reverse charging. iQOO 3 has the fastest charging technology and still a great battery with a 4400 mAh capacity, while OnePlus 7T has just an average 3800 mAh unit. Until today, we did not see any last-generation flagship offering a superior battery life to the Asus ROG Phone II.
Price
In India, you can currently grab a unit of the ROG Phone II for about Rs. 37,999 in the base variant. OnePlus 7T costs about Rs. 34,090, while iQOO 3 is coming soon in India with a starting price of about Rs. 36,990. OnePlus 7T and Asus ROG Phone II can be found globally with street prices inferior to €500/$550, while iQOO 3 is not available in the global market. If cameras are not your priority and you do not care about 5G, we believe Asus ROG Phone II is still able to offer something more compared to its opponents. But OnePlus 7T comes with a really good camera and a very affordable price, while iQOO 3 has definitely the best hardware. The choice mostly depends on the kind of user you are, that is why we will not pick a definitive winner for this comparison.
Motorola announced the Moto Razr 2019 flip foldable phone late last year and changed the perceptions of many concerning foldable phones. May fans soon realised that the foldable phone they needed wasn’t one that transforms into a tablet size when unfolded but one that becomes more portable like the Razr. The design tyle was featured by Samsung on the Galaxy Z flip that was launched just about two weeks back.
Popular Youtuber Zack from the channel JerryRigEverything has got his hands on the Razr 2019 and earlier on carried out a durability test on the device. The Youtuber has now published a teardown video of the Moto Razr 2019 showing the entire internals. He also did a comparison with the Galaxy Z Flip internals especially the hinge mechanism.
One thing that we can make out from the video is that the Motorola Razr 2019 adopts a different approach in its hinge design from that of the Galaxy Z Flip. Motorola’s adopted a simplistic mechanism with two inserts on the side acting as pivots. The hinge also has two gears on each half of the phone and springs on the side to help open and close the handset. The two halves are connected by a ribbon cable which Motorola was careful not to put too much strain by ensuring the fold at the middle of the screen bends as gentle as possible.
The hinge is pretty durable as shown n a separate durability test where it caved in after 27,000 folds even though Motorola touts durability of 200,000 folds. Another interesting thing is that the screen is pretty cheap to replace at around $200.
Also, Zack shows a better shot of the bristles that Samsung relies on to keep the dust out of the hinge in the course of the video. On the Razr, Motorola used sticky goop over important connections inside the Razr meant to catch dust and keep water away from the exposed electrical contacts.
Overall, the Motorola Razr 2019 internal layout is quite complicated as the foldable form factor made routing the cables tricky. The reviewers who tagged the Razr “impossible to repair” may just be right after all.
US watchmaker Timex began manufacturing watches in 1854 and has over the decades built a reputation for itself. In a bit to keep up with the trend, the company has just launched its first smartwatch dubbed Ironman R300. The wearable industry is growing and smart products hold sway in this aspect with Apple’s Watch series at the helm.
Timex’s Ironman R300 smartwatch is a GPS-packing smartwatch that offers all the key features you’ll find in a typical fitness tracker. It packs a touchscreen display and offers features such as an always-on display, GPS, speed and distance tracking, phone calls, and the ability to upload workout data – in the past. The watch also comes with a heart rate sensor, sleep tracker and uses digital watch faces.
In addition, Timex says the smartwatch provides guided workouts from “top athletes and coaches”. The battery life is another incredible aspect as it offers up to a lengthy 25 days of battery life, most likely on standby. The battery life reduces to 20 hours if the GPS is turned on. The watch also comes with water-resistance up to 30 meters, meaning you can take it for a swim and use under wet conditions.
As for the pricing and availability, the Timex Ironman R300 GPS is available now on Timex’s website for $120. The watch uses soft silicone rubber strap and is available in Black and Grey straps.
Samsung today held a launch event in China where it took the wraps off its 2020 flagship products including the Galaxy S20 series, Galaxy Z Flip. Both products were first unveiled a fortnight ago in New York. However, the company took the veil off a product that wasn’t announced in New York and that is a notebook PC dubbed Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 2020.
The Galaxy Book Ion isn’t a relatively unknown laptop model, though, as it was first launched alongside the Galaxy book Flex Alpha in October 2019. The model is hitting China for the first time.
The notebook PC adopts an ultra-thin, portable and lightweight build encased in a metal fuselage. The laptop is only 12.9 mm thick, weighing in at just 970g. The laptop features a 13.3-inch display with an HD resolution of 1080p. Even though the screen resolution doesn’t pan out at 2K, it is said to utilise QLED technology. The screen has a brightness of 600nit as well as German VDE certified 100% color rendering volume.
It equally packs a tenth-generation Intel Core processor, available in both Core i5-10210U and Core i7-10510U versions. The laptop is also equipped with up to 16GB LPDDR4X memory, and 512GB NVMe hard drive. In terms of battery, the Galaxy Book Ion is equipped with a large 69.7Wh battery, which achieves 22 hours of battery life, and supports wireless charging. All you need do is to press the Fn + F11 key to wirelessly charge the phone.
In other aspects, the Samsung Galaxy Book Ion is also equipped with AKG stereo speakers, dual-array microphones, a 720p HD web camera. The laptop has support for WiFi 6+, Bluetooth 5.0 and fingerprint recognition. In terms of interfaces, the Galaxy Book Ion is equipped with an HDMI port, a Thunderbolt 3 port, two USB 3.0, and so on. The laptop also has a card reader slot and supports UFS and MicroSD cards.
As for the price and listing date, Samsung did not mention the details during the press conference but the laptop is already on reservation at Jingdong (JD.com). As par the prices, the Core i5 version costs 10,599 yuan ($1,513) while the Core i7 version is on offer for 11,599 yuan ($1,655). The laptop comes in silver only.
Huawei‘s ambition to become the world’s leading provider of 5G infrastructure has received yet another boost. This time around from Oman where the country hass given Huawei the nod for he use of Huawei’s gear in their 5G rollout.
Oman
The Chinese telecoms giant is already a major provider of 4G network equipment in Oman but presently, two of the Middle East country’s three operators (Omantel and Ooredoo) now have decided to use Huawei gear in their 5G rollouts.
This is a major boost to Huawei which has faced extreme pressure from the US, urging its allies not to utilise Huawei’s 5G equipment, citing security concerns. Already, some countries like New Zealand and Australia have announced that they won’t use Huawei’s 5G equipment. In stark contrast, countries like the UK, France, Canada, Germany have indicated interest to allow Huawei provide 5G hardware in a limited capacity.
Oman has now joined the list of countries that don’t see any major threat posed by deploying Huawei gear for 5G. Sulayem Alhakmani, the Omani Shura Council’s Head of the Economy Committee, said: “We don’t see any problem at all. We are an independent country and we will decide for ourselves what will serve us best.”
Omantel’s vice president of Enterprise Baha Al Lawati noted that: “there has not been any concrete evidence against Huawei. A lot of European operators have already chosen Huawei for their 5G rollout programmes. A lot of these operators around the world have Huawei active in their 4G networks.”
It has been confirmed that the Realme 6 series will be announced on Thursday, March 5. Realme is expected to announce the Realme 6 and the Realme 6 Pro. There will also be a Realme 6i but that may launch later.
Ahead of the launch, the Realme 6 Pro has been spotted on Geekbench and the benchmark result reveals some key details.
The Realme 6 Pro was benchmarked today and appears as the realme RMX2061 on the database. The device runs Android 10 and it should ship with Realme UI out of the box. It has been reported that the phone will have the new Snapdragon 720G processor powering it and the Geekbench result does confirm that it has a Qualcomm chipset. The result also shows the phone has 8GB of RAM.
Realme has confirmed some features of the phone. We already know it will have a display with a 90Hz refresh rate and a punch-hole at the top left corner for two front-facing cameras. It will also have a 64MP primary rear camera paired with an ultrawide camera, a telephoto camera, and a macro camera for a quad-camera setup.
It has been reported that the standard version (Realme 6) will have an Helio G90 processor and a punch hole for a single selfie camera.
The launch event is scheduled to begin at 12:30 PM (IST). Realme will also announce its first fitness tracker, the Realme Band, at the event.
Earlier this week, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy M31 smartphone in India. It had arrived to replace the Galaxy M30s phone from last year. The handset will be available for purchase through Amazon India and Samsung’s online storage from March 5 with a starting price of Rs. 14,999 (~$209). A fresh report on 91mobiles has revealed the offline pricing of the Galaxy M31 for India along with its release date.
Citing information acquired from retail sources, the publication has claimed that the offline sales of the Galaxy M31 will commence on March 6 in India. The 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage variants of the Galaxy M31 will be costing Rs. 1,000 more than their respective online prices. The publication has revealed that the 64 GB edition of the M31 will cost Rs. 15,999 (~$223) in the offline markets and its 128 GB variant will be priced at Rs. 16,999 (~$237).
The Galaxy M31 comes with a 6.4-inch S-AMOLED display with Infinity-U notch. It produces 1080 x 2340 pixels. The Exynos 9611 chipset powers the device. It houses a massive battery of 6,000mAh capacity which can be charged using a 18W fast charger.
The front notch of the Galaxy M31 houses a 32-megapixel selfie camera. The rear shell of the device has a quad camera system. It consists of a 64-megapixel Samsung GW1 main lens, an 8-megapixel ultrawide shooter, a 5-megapixel depth assist lens and a 5-megapixel macro sensor. The back panel of the Galaxy M31 has a fingerprint reader. Ocean Blue and Space Black are the two color variants of the smartphone. The smartphone is expected to be available in a red color option later on.
Last year, HTC had brought back its Wildfire series from the past by announcing the budget-friendly Wildfire X smartphone in India. Today, the Taiwanese company unveiled a new Wildfire phone called Wildfire R70 in the country. Some of its major highlights include large-sized display with waterdrop notch, triple rear cameras and a big battery.
HTC Wildfire R70 specifications
HTC Wildfire R70
The Wildfire R70 comes with a 6.53-inch IPS LCD display that produces 720 x 1560 pixels and a tall aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The 16nm Helio P23 chipset from 2017 powers the device with 2 GB of RAM. The phone offers a native storage of 32 GB. Users can expand the storage by adding a microSD to the device.
The Android 9 Pie OS that is customized with HTC Sense UI comes loaded on the HTC Wildfire R70. The rear shell of the smartphone has a triple camera system. It comprises of an f/1.75 aperture 16-megapixel primary shooter, a 2-megapixel macro lens with f/2.4 apertures and a 2-megapixel depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture. The AI driven triple cameras offer features like Pro mode, Macro mode, HDR, Beauty mode, Portrait mode and AR stickers. The front notch is the home for the phone’s f/2.0 aperture 8-megapixel selfie camera. It supports Beauty mode, Portrait mode, AR stickers and full HD video recording.
The Wildfire R70 has a 4,000mAh battery that supports 10W charging. The usual connectivity features like dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, microUSB and 3.5mm audio jack are available on the Wildfire R70. The rear shell of the smartphone features a fingerprint reader. The phone measures 163.2 x 77.8 x 8.9mm and it weighs 189 grams.
HTC is yet confirm the pricing and availability of the Wildfire R70 smartphone. When available, it can be purchased in color editions like Aurora Blue and Nigh Black.
Xiaomi announced two smartwatches last year. There is the Mi Watch with a square/rectangle dial and there is the Xiaomi Watch Color with a round dial. While the former is the more expensive watch, there is an even more expensive model called the Mi Watch Exclusive Edition that is made of more premium materials.
The Mi Watch Exclusive Edition is yet to go on sale since it was announced last November. It was originally scheduled for a December 2019 release but was delayed and Xiaomi had to issue an apology.
Today, the General Manager of Xiaomi’s Ecological Chain, Qu Heng_Xiaomi, announced on Weibo that the watch will now be available for pre-order starting tomorrow. The Mi Watch Exclusive Edition will have a price tag of ¥1999 (~$285) and will be available for pre-order on Mi.com. All pre-orders will include a free pair of Xiaomi wireless Bluetooth headphones worth ¥169 (~$24).
The exclusive edition watch has a curved sapphire glass over its display. It also features a polished stainless steel frame and a stainless steel strap, unlike the standard version that has an aluminum alloy frame and fluoro rubber strap. It also has a bigger battery capacity than the standard. Save for those differences, it shares the same specs as the standard variant.
The watch has a 1.78-inch AMOLED display. It has a crown that can be used to navigate the UI alongside a multi-purpose button. There is a Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor powering the watch paired with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage.
The Xiaomi Watch Exclusive Edition runs MIUI for Watch which is based on WearOS. It has a heart rate sensor, a barometer, GPS, and a geomagnetic sensor. Xiaomi says it can track activities such as indoor and outdoor running, indoor and outdoor cycling, pool and open water swimming, mountain climbing, and free exercise.
The watch connects via Bluetooth 4.2 and 2.4GHz WiFi. It also has NFC and an eSIM. There is a 590mAh battery inside the watch and Xiaomi says it will last up to 36 hours on a single charge.
Earlier this month, Samsung had held a global launch event to announce the Galaxy S20 series. Alongside the Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra 5G phones, the South Korean company had also unleashed the Galaxy Z Flip clamshell phone with flexible screen. Today, the company unleashed the Galaxy S20 series and Galaxy Z Flip in China.
Samsung Galaxy S20 series
The Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G has landed in China in two models such as 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage and 16 GB RAM + 512 GB storage. They are priced at 9,999 Yuan (~$1,427) and 11,199 Yuan (~$1,598).
The Galaxy S20+ 5G with 12 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage costs 7,999 Yuan (~$1,141). The Galaxy S20 5Ga with 12 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage is priced at 6,999 Yuan (~$999). The online and offline pre-sales of the S20 series will start in China on March 6. The S20 series will be available for purchase starting from March 20 in the country.
The S20 Ultra, S20+ and S20 have 6.9-inch, 6.7-inch and 6.2-inch Infinity-O quad HD+ resolution AMOLED displays. They are equipped with 5,000mAh, 4,500mAh and 4,000mAh batteries. The Snapdragon 865 SoC powers the S20 series. The S20 and S20+ feature 10-megapixel selfie cameras whereas the Ultra edition has 40-megapixel front camera. The S20+ Ultra feature 108-megapixel quad cameras, the S20 has a 64-megapixel quad camera setup and the S20 has a 48-megapixel triple camera system.
The Galaxy Z Flip is a 4G device with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage has come to China with 11,999 Yuan (~$1,712). It comes in colors like Pandora Purple, Cyber Black and Sahara Gold.
The clamshell phone comes with a 6.7-inch flexible OLED panel with 22:9 aspect ratio and full HD+ resolution. It has an outer 1.1-inch secondary display which can be used for checking notifications. The Snapdragon 855+ and 3,300mAh battery powers the phone. It has a selfie camera of 10-megapixel and a 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel dual camera setup. The Galaxy Z Flip Thom Browne edition carries a whopping price tag of 19,999 Yuan (~$2,854).
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is the top-end variant among the three models Samsung announced recently. One area where the S20 Ultra excels over the Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus is the camera configuration. The Galaxy S20 Ultra’s camera system includes a huge 108-megapixel sensor and a periscope telephoto lens that Samsung claims can be used at up to 100x zoom. But early reviews of the S20 Ultra have shown that the camera isn’t all that impressive.
Reviews from publications such as PC Mag and Input have highlighted that the autofocus system is unreliable, often taking a long time to lock onto a subject and sometimes failing to do so. The Verge also confirms having similar issues on the unit. The camera also exhibits aggressive image processing in certain situations, with a tendency to excessively smooth out skin.
Samsung has now released a response, saying it’s working on an update to improve the camera, though it doesn’t acknowledge any specific problem or confirm when the fixes will be available. In a statement to the Verge, Samsung stated; “The Galaxy S20 features a groundbreaking, advanced camera system. We are constantly working to optimize performance to deliver the best experience for consumers. As part of this ongoing effort, we are working on a future update to improve the camera experience.”
The soon-to-be-announced Find X2 from OPPO may have one of the best displays in a smartphone this year. Tweets from the official OPPO account as well as the company’s Vice President, Brian Shen, have revealed the screen is capable of displaying up to 1 billion colors.
The screen is able to display so many colors because it is a 10bit OLED panel. The tweets include a video that shows the differences between the Find X2’s display and other 8-bit displays (LCD and OLED).
It has already been confirmed that the OPPO Find X2 has a 3K display with a 500,000:1 contrast ratio. The screen is curved and can be called a waterfall display but OPPO says they chose not to make the curves as pronounced as those of the Huawei Mate 30 Pro.
The display also has a 120Hz refresh rate that can be activated even when the display is at its highest resolution. Another feature of the screen is its 240Hz touch sampling rate and it has been reported that there is a dedicated display chip that upscales SDR content to HDR.
The OPPO Find X2 Pro that has a model number of CPH2025 was recently spotted on the database of the Bluetooth SIG through which its key configurations were revealed. It revealed that the Find X2 Pro will have a 48-megapixel + 48-megapixel + 13-megapixel triple camera system. Earlier today, a reliable tipster revealed the key information of these camera sensors.
The primary lens of the triple camera setup of the Find X2 Pro is Sony IMX689. It is a 1/1.4-inch sensor with a pixel size of 1.12μm. The same tipster had previously claimed that the Sony IMX689 is a custom lens co-developed by Sony and OPPO and it will be debuting first on the Find X2 series.
The second lens in the setup is the Sony IMX586 48-megapixel shooter which has been used on various flagship and mid-range phones. There is a 13-megapixel S5K3M5 periscope telephoto lens. The Bluetooth SIG listing had revealed that the phone will be flaunting a Sony IMX616 32-megapixel selfie camera. The OPPO Find X2 has a model number of CPH2023. At present, there is no clear information on what sets the two devices apart.
The Find X2 Pro will be sporting a 6.7-inch punch-hole AMOLED display that will offer 3K resolution and a high refresh rate of 120Hz. The Snapdragon 865 mobile platform is the driving force of the device and it may come with up to 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM. The smartphone is expected to arrive with support for 65W wired charging support, but the size of its battery is not known yet. The tipster claims that the phone weighs 192 grams.
The Find X2 Pro will be arriving with Android 10 OS skinned with ColorOS 7.0. The other features of the smartphone include an in-display fingerprint reader, M1 co-processor, UFS 3.0 storage, Wi-Fi 6 and NFC. The handset is rumored to come with support for 30W wireless fast charging and 10W reverse charging. There is no word on the pricing of the Find X2 series.
A major flaw has just been discovered in the Wi-Fi chips of a couple of smartphone models that potentially affect over a billion people. Reportedly, attackers are now capable of decrypting data that was sent to these handset models, even if the messages were encrypted in the first place.
The flaw in question has been traced back to Wi-Fi chips that have been manufactured by a particular company called Cypress Semiconductor and Broadcom. As the name suggests, the company deals with Wi-Fi components and Cypress had initially acquired Broadcom’s Wi-Fi operations back in 2016. The recently uncovered Wi-Fi flaw affects both the WPA2-Personal and WPA2-Enterprise protocols on the affected smartphones.
Apple iPhone XR
The list of devices that are affected is found to be in both iPhones and Android smartphones. Furthermore, they are also found to be affecting certain models of iPad from Apple, Amazon Echo, Kindle readers, and Wi-Fi routers manufactured by Asus and Huawei. The vulnerability was first uncovered by a Slovakian security firm named Eset, which has also dubbed it as KrØØk when reporting it earlier today (27th February 2020).
As of right now, the manufacturers whose smartphones are affected have already started issuing patches to fix the issue, but it remains to be seen regarding the damage already done. Another difficulty being that the user might not read the crucial patch notes, so if your smartphones are one of the affected devices in the list down below, check for any pending software update and upgrade immediately.
Unfortunately, Eset stated that it has yet to test a lot of smartphones from other OEMs and there is a great chance of the vulnerability being more widespread. Many companies have yet to respond to the issue but so far, the above mentioned handset models are confirmed to have the issue. Similarly, the affected routers would also require the installation of the latest firmware with the required security patches to be secured.
In recent years, notches in a smartphone have become a thing of the past. Nowadays, it is much more common for most smartphones in any category, ranging from budget to premium flagship, to arrive with bezels, chins, and notches, which are a lot less apparent than what was previously the norm. However, this, in turn, has also led to the development of supplementing technologies like mechanised pop up cameras and in display fingerprint readers. Now, Oppo is seemingly taking the new developments to another level with 6 next designs of sliding smartphones.
(Images Via PriceBaba)
In the patent, multiple images can be found that detail the schematics of 6 different smartphones with a unique sliding mechanism. The design isn’t completely out of this world and new, and seems more like an extension of what we originally saw with the Oppo Find X. In other words, unlike the prominent curve on the top portion of the smartphones, various different patterns are found in place of it.
Examples of this include a zigzag pattern, a triangular pattern, a semi circle curve, a wavy structure and even a slanted straight line that highlights the portion that slides out. What unique functions these distinct designs hold are unknown and maybe more aesthetical in nature than in function. Meaning, it could possibly just be a variation of the Find X and not serve any purpose in and of themselves.
Notably, the patented designs each sport a dual camera setup with a third cutout for the LED flash. On the front, an additional four more cutouts, which is likely for crucial sensors and another dual camera setup for selfies. One particular smartphone that stood out in the Oppo patent revealed a very interesting design. Its pop up mechanism for the dual camera module for both the front and rear slid out from the side rather than the upper regions.
Apart from this, the only other discernable elements are the USB Type C charging port flanked by two speaker grills on the bottom of the device. Unfortunately, finer details and more information regarding these patents are currently unknown. The smartphones in the Oppo patent might just be an attempt to cover every base by the company rather than being actually seeing official development, meaning they might not ever be launched.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
