Realme confirms the Realme 6 & 6 Pro are coming soon, camera sample shared

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Feb 25, 2020

It is no news that Lenovo is entering the gaming smartphone segment. The announcement was made a few weeks ago and it was revealed the phone will launch under Lenovo’s Legion gaming brand. Today, a new poster has been released and it teases the phone’s fast charging technology.

A rough translation of the words on the poster asks “Is 55W (fast charging) really enough?”. It seems that Lenovo is taking a shot at the iQOO 3 5G that launched today and which has support for 55W fast charging support.

Based on the above, one can deduce the Legion Gaming Smartphone will have support for fast charging that exceeds 55W.

The other text on the poster asks fans to guess what the battery level will be after charging for 15 minutes and also how long it will take to reach 100%.

So far, 65W is the highest power rating we have seen on a commercially available smartphone, and since the poster doesn’t ask if 65W is enough, we are sure the power rating for the Legion phone will not surpass that.

It has been confirmed that the Legion Gaming Smartphone will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor. We expect it will have the Snapdragon X55 modem for 5G too.

The phone will launch first in China and there is a possibility of a global release since the Legion brand is not limited to China.

(Via)

Chinese smartphone market records 369 million shipments in 2019 (7% YoY decline)

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Feb 25, 2020

Available data shows that the Chinese smartphone market experienced a decline in shipments to peak at an estimated 369 million units in 2019. The figure is said to represent a 7% Year-on-Year decline when compared to the 2018’s figure. There are projections that the figure will drop even further to 330 million units this year.

Despite the projected decline in phone shipments for this year, China Unicom is optimistic about its performance for this year. At an event held yesterday in China, the telecoms giant says it expects its channel sales will double to 110 million units, accounting for one-quarter of the phone that’ll be shipped in China this year.

China Unicom equally announced at the event that it will take the promotion of independent sales capabilities as one of the measures to boost the industrial chain. It revealed that out of the expected 330 million phone shipments this year, 100-180 million units will be 5G-enabled models. On its part, China Unicom plans to sell between 33-60 million units of 5G mobile phones.

China Unicom, which happens to be the world’s fourth-largest mobile service provider by subscriber base, is said to have teamed up with 32 partners from the fields of chips, module terminals, application content, and chain channels to establish a 5G terminal innovation joint laboratory as well as a 5G terminal innovation joint R & D centre, and a 5G terminal application cooperative innovation centre in China. There are already projections that most of the world’s 5G phones sold in 2020 will be shipped in China.

(source)

Black Shark 3 Pro 5G scores over 620K on AnTuTu, best score till date

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Feb 25, 2020

Xiaomi gaming phone brand Black Shark is getting set to launch the next-gen model of its extremely popular gaming smartphone – the Black Shark 3 series. The model is expected to come with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 865 chipset and will bring 5G connectivity to the lineup for the first time. The Black Shark models have always been known to be powerful models and the upcoming model won’t be any different. If there is any doubt about that, the AnTuTu benchmark score of the Black Shark 3 Pro has been shared online to put such doubts to rest.

A screenshot of the total score of the gaming phone was shared by Black Shark’s CEO on his official Weibo page. The device is identified as blackshark SHARK MBU-A0 and going by its GeekBench appearance and 3C certification listing, the device is the high-end Black Shark 3 Pro 5G which will launch alongside the Black Shark 3. The device scored 620952 points which is undoubtedly the highest score recorded so far by any smartphone on the platform. Before now, the iQOO 3 was reputed to have the highest AnTuTu score at 597,583 points with the ASUS ROG Phone 2 trailing at second place with a score of 507,051 points.

It is interesting to note that all three models with such monstrous AnTuTu scores are gaming smartphones. Even though the iQOO 3 and Black Shark 3 series are powered by the same Snapdragon 865 chipset onboard other flagship models like the Galaxy S20, Mi 10 etc, the clocking speed may be considerably higher on the gaming phones. Even at that, the Black Shark 3 Pro’s score is just super amazing.

The flagship gaming phone will be announced on March 3. Already, the Black Shark 3 has been listed for reservation on e-commerce platform Jingdong (JD.com) ahead of its unveiling.

Oppo Smartwatch available for Reservations on official app, Releases on 6th March

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Feb 25, 2020

Oppo recently announced the launch event of its flagship smartphone the Find X2 on March 6. Alongside the device, the company also started taking the reservations for its first Oppo Smartwatch through its official app.

OPPO Smartwatch Render — Teased render of the Oppo’s first Smart Watch

From what we know so far, Oppo’s first smartwatch is expected to arrive with a hyperboloid screen that is curved on both sides. This form of 3D curved glass is expensive and difficult to make and was also found in the original Oppo Find X. Additionally, teasers of the wearable also detail its color which appears to primarily be made of black hues.

Unfortunately, finer details regarding the smartwatch from the Chinese tech giant is still unknown, and we will have to wait for an official launch for more details. The gadget will also be a part of Oppo’s plan of a broad range of IoT (Internet of things) devices and ecosystem. For those interested, you will have to wait until the 6th of March 2020, when the device finally goes on sale.

So far, only the teaser image has been used on official channels so not a lot regarding its overall design and specifications are known. The same extends to the software side of things as it is unknown if it will arrive with Wear OS. Although from what has been teased, an OLED display panel under the 3D curved glass is a likely possibility, since the device features a black background on which an hour and minute hand can be seen under the Oppo logo.

UNISOC to unveil 5G SoC on February 26

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Feb 25, 2020

When it comes to mobile chip makers, most people are familiar with Qualcomm, MediaTek, Samsung, and Huawei. However, there are several others and one of them is UNISOC, formerly known as Spreadtrum. The Chinese company makes mobile chipsets too and they have appeared in phones from different manufacturers including Alcatel and Lava.

The semiconductor manufacturer has announced today that it will announce its new-generation 5G processor tomorrow, February 26. This will be its first 5G processor.

There is no info about the chipset but it seems to be the result of a collaboration between China UNICOM and UNISOC. We do not know what devices the 5G SoC will power as the manufacturer makes chipsets for not only phones but modems and IoT devices.

Since the launch is tomorrow, there is not much waiting to be done before we find out the details of the chipset.

Huawei AppGallery is now the 3rd Largest App Store after Google and Apple

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Feb 25, 2020

Huawei has recently released an online press release regarding its proprietary AppGallery (App Store). In the press release, the Chinese tech giant stated that the company’s App Store is now the third largest App Store after Google and Apple and also talked about its future.

For those unaware, Huawei had faced a ban from the US Government’s Commerce Department back in 2019. The ban had led to many complications in the company’s operations in the region but also banned it from using various technologies and more from its partner companies that were based in the country. One of these was Google, which had to stop providing Android support to Huawei. Since then, the company has launched the Huawei Mate 30 series with vanilla Android and its own HMS (Huawei Mobile Services).

Huawei had to attract various developers for its new HMS platform and through its extension, for the App Store dubbed AppGallery. Now, it has been announced that the company is seeing monthly users over 400 million, with more than 55,000 groups of apps being found in the platform. In other words, a notable feat for a newly launched service is already rivaling industry giants, like Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

As of right now, the Huawei Mobile Services are currently available in 170 different countries and regions and is collaborating with local developers from Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. The company has also announced that it will be launching a “Quick App” service in the AppGallery which will allow users to try out apps without the need of downloading and installing it first. This will help with storage constraints on smartphones with lesser storage capacities.

Red Magic 5G’ TENAA images show Nubia isn’t afraid to experiment with colors

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Feb 25, 2020

The Red Magic 5G was scheduled to launch at MWC 2020 but the event had to be postponed due to the GSMA’s decision to cancel MWC this year. Nubia is yet to announce a new launch date for the gaming phone. While we wait for that, TENAA has provided images of the device and they are unlike anything we have ever seen.

The Red Magic 5G was first seen on TENAA last week and the listing revealed a few details such as the model number which is N659J, the display which measures 6.65-inches, and the battery capacity that is revealed to be 4400mAh.

[envira-gallery id=”306960″]

The photos show the Red Magic 5G coated in a mix of pink/red and blue. Each color covers one half of the device including the frame. Running through the middle, from the top where the triple rear cameras are down to the Red Magic logo is a strip of black paint.

The images show the left side of the frame is coated blue with a red button at the top while the right side of the frame is painted red. The trigger buttons on the right are black. There are also black antenna lines around the phone.

We want to believe this is a limited edition model since there is “05” written on the right side of the phone.

The Nubia Red Magic 5G will have a 6.65-inch OLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate. It will have a Snapdragon 865 processor with up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of storage. Its primary rear camera is a 64MP sensor and it will have support for 55W Super Fast Charging. It will also have an audio jack.

Xiaomi Youpin launched the Elite Keyboard and Mouse, with Voice Input support

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Feb 25, 2020

Earlier today (25th February 2020), the Xiaomi Youpin platform launched a new product called the Miyu Elite Keyboard and Mouse. It is a pair of wireless computer components and has recently been made available on the popular website.

Elite Mouse

The Elite Mouse from Miyu uses a special button design that reduces the sound made during use. It also supports a double clicking “transfrom” feature which makes it more portable. For dimensions, the thickness of the mouse is 28.3mm in its normal state while the in the professional mode, the thickness can be raised by up to 10mm to improve grip.

The mouse also supports 2.4GHz wireless connection and Bluetooth wireless dual mode technology as well. In other words, users can click once on the front function button to choose between the different connection modes and double click on the same to switch between the different modes of the Elite Mouse. It is powered by a 510mAh battery and the company has officially claimed that it can be used for about 15 days in a single full charge.

Elite Keyboard

Similar to the Elite Mouse, The Miyu Elite Keyboard also supports 2.4 GHz wireless connection and Bluetooth technology as well. The design features electroplated high gloss function keys and a metal base plate. 85 keys can be found on the keyboard and they follow a scissor mechanism. It also features a built in lihtium battery which can be charged via a USB Type C port. According to official notes, the keyboard can last up to 2 weeks in a single full charge.

Notably, one of the highlighting features regarding the Miyu Elite Keyboard is its voice command support. A voice key has been added to the right of the space bar in the keyboard and enables the built in HKUST Xunfei Voice Pack. This allows one to long press the voice key to input text and voicing out the words. Double clicking on the same key is a quick weather update and officials say the speech recognition speeds reach up to 180 words per minute, with a response time less than 200ms.

Price and Availability

The price of both the Miyu Elite Mouse and Elite Keyboard is 199 Yuan, which roughly translates to about 28 US Dollars. However, both individual products can be purchased together as well for a special price of 378 Yuan (or roughly 53 US Dollars). Both gadgets are currently available and being crowdfunded in the Xiaomi Youpin platform from Xiaomi.

Motorola Edge+, Motorola One Mid, and Moto G8 Power Lite specs leaked

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Feb 25, 2020

After a nearly two-year hiatus, Motorola will announce a new flagship phone this year. Leaks have revealed the phone is called the Edge +. Today, more details of the device have surfaced alongside that of two other mid-range phones – the Motorola One Mid and the Moto G8 Power Lite.

Motorola Edge+

The source of the info is Mishaal Rahman of XDA-Developers. Based on the tweets, the Motorola Edge+ will have a 6.67-inch 2340 x 1080 90Hz display. This will be Motorola’s first phone with a high refresh rate, a feature that has become popular since last year.

Motorola Edge+ logo shared by Mishaal Rahman

We already know the phone will be powered by a Snapdragon 865 processor and a Geekbench listing from last month revealed it will have 12GB of RAM and run Android 10 out of the box.

Mishaal adds that the phone will have a battery capacity of over 5000mAh. It should also have fast charging support and one that is much faster than the 15W TurboPower that it currently bundles with its phones.

The Motorola Edge+ will be available via Verizon in the US and also be launched globally.

Motorola One Mid

Motorola’s One series will also get new members this year and one of them will launch as the Motorola One Mid.

The phone will have a 6.53-inch 2340 x 1080 display but it is not known what design it will have. Motorola has adopted the pop-up selfie camera design, the punch-hole design, and waterdrop notch design for the One series; so this new device may have any of the above.

The Motorola One Mid will have a Snapdragon 675 processor just like the Motorola One Hyper that launched in December 2019. The RAM and storage capacity are not known but the battery capacity is stated as 4000mAh.

Moto G8 Power Lite

The Motorola Moto G Power was announced early this month. It has a punch-hole display, a Snapdragon 665 processor, four rear cameras, and a 5000mAh battery capacity. It has been reported that there will be a less-powerful model and it will launch as the Moto G8 Power Lite.

Mishaal says the phone swaps the Snapdragon 665 for MediaTek’s Helio P35 processor but it keeps the 5000mAh battery capacity. That is all that is known about the phone at the moment. However, we want to believe that this model may launch in Latin America but will not be sold in the US.

(Source)

Huawei Mate Xs reservations to begin in China on February 26

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Feb 25, 2020

Yesterday, Huawei Consumer Business CEO Yu Richard unveiled the company’s new folding phone named as Mate Xs, the successor phone to Mate X. A product page of the Mate Xs has appeared on Jingdong Mall (JD.com). The device is now up for reservations on China’s retailer site. The listing states that the phone will be available for purchase from March 5.

Huawei had introduced its first phone with a folding screen, the Huawei Mate X at 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC) tech exhibition. The successor phone i.e. the Mate Xs has debuted with a more powerful chipset and improved design. JD.com seems to have bagged the first online test right for Mate Xs this time.

Though the release date for the phone in the Chinese market hasn’t been officially announced, the JD listing states that the phone will go on sale in China on March 5 10:08am (local time). The pricing of Huawei’s new foldable phone for Chinese markets is currently under the wraps.

Editor’s Pick: iQOO 3 5G launched with SD865, 55W fast charging & powerful gaming features

Huawei Mate Xs specifications and features

The Huawei Mate Xs that is priced at 2,499 euros comes with 8 GB of RAM and 512 GB of onboard storage. The processor has been upgraded from a Kirin 980 to Kirin 990 that confers it an integrated 5G modem. It runs on EMUI 10 based on the open-source version of Android 10 but would use its own ecosystem called HMS (Huawei Mobile services). The device lacks support for GMS (Google Mobile Services).

The Mate Xs arrives with a quad-layer construction for its screen, a more robust design over its predecessor Mate X. This includes two opposed layers of polyamide film above a flexible OLED display. A softer polymer layer below this would offer a cushioning effect and a final layer below this will connect to the main body of the phone. Huawei has also worked on the design of the hinge to make it more smoother and durable as compared to Mate X. The Mate Xs promises to allow use of three apps at once, one on the left side of the display, one on the right, and a third in a floating window. Additionally, it will allow for simultaneously opening two instances of the same app.

With an 8-inch screen that folds from the outside and a main display that measures 6.6 inches, other features of the phone seem to match that of the original Mate X. Like its predecessor, the camera hardware includes a main 40-megapixel f/1.8 camera, an 8-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto camera, a 16-megapixel f/2.2 ultrawide camera, and a 3D depth-sensing camera. The battery life too hasn’t been upgraded from 4,500mAh that Mate X had arrived with.

(source)

Realme 5i goes global via Aliexpress for $129.99

By

Joel Joseph

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Feb 25, 2020

Realme had announced the Realme 5i in India and Vietnam back in January as the watered-down version of the popular Realme 5 model. Today, the global variant of the Realme 5i goes on sale via Aliexpress. This particular variant will be shipping out globally to regions such as UAE and Europe for a starting price of $129.99 for its 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant. The seller is also offering a premium bundle with the realme buds earphone for $144.99.

It looks like the $129.99 price is only applicable for the promotional period (Feb 25-26). One of the images (added above) reveals that the original $162.99 has been marked down to $129.99 for the time being. So the price may go back to $162.99 after the promotion expires.

As for the specs, the Realme 5i comes with a 6.5-inch HD+ display with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 chipset inside and a large 5000mAh battery inside. The phone features a quad-camera setup at the back that houses a 12MP primary shooter, an 8MP wide-angle shooter, a 2MP depth sensor, and another 2MP macro sensor. There’s an 8MP single front camera on the front. As for software, the phone runs on Android Pie based Color OS 6.

The Realme 5i is available on Aliexpress in two colors, Aqua Blue and Forest Green for $129.99. You can check out the Aliexpress listing here.

Mi Dual Driver In-ear Earphones launches in India

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Feb 25, 2020

Yesterday, CEO of Xiaomi India, Manu Kumar Jain, teased that a new audio product would be announced today. The tweet already confirmed the product is a pair of headphones with dual drivers, and now the manufacturer has announced the Mi Dual Driver In-ear Earphones.

The Mi Dual Driver In-ear Earphones’ selling point is its dual dynamic drivers. They provide an immersive audio experience. Xiaomi says the two drivers (10mm and 8mm in size) deliver rich bass and crisp treble. They also focus on all the frequencies and ensure there is low distortion. Another key feature is passive noise cancelation.

The earphones have an anodized aluminum cavity that is scratchproof, fingerprint resistant, and lightweight. It also has a magnetic suction design that allows you to easily store the earphones. Other features are tangle-free braided cables, a three-button in-line remote with support for voice assistants, and a 90° plug. It also comes with two extra pairs of anti-slip earplugs (different sizes). The product page says the Mi Dual Driver In-ear Earphones is a recipient of the 2020 iF Gold Award.

[envira-gallery id=”306923″]

The new pair of earphones has a price tag of INR 799 (~$11). Xiaomi (read Redmi) still sells several phones with an audio jack, so if you own one, you can grab its latest pair of earphones. You can purchase the new earphones on Mi.com right away. It is available in Blue and Black color variants.

Samsung Galaxy M31 debuts with 32MP front camera, 64P quad cameras and 6,000mAh battery

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Feb 25, 2020

Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy M31 smartphone in India. The handset borrows couple of features from the Galaxy M30s smartphone that was announced in the country in September last year. However, the Galaxy M31 is flanked with improved front and rear cameras. Instead of a triple camera setup, the Galaxy M31 houses a 64-megapixel quad camera system. Also, the 16-megapixel selfie camera has been replaced by a 32-megapixel front camera on the Galaxy M31.

Samsung Galaxy M31 specifications and features

The Galaxy M31 smartphone has a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with Infinity-U notch design. It seems to be the very same full HD+ resolution supporting screen that is available on the Galaxy M30s phone. It offers an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The screen of the phone is protected by Gorilla Glass 3.

The Exynos 9611 that fueled the predecessor phone powers the Galaxy M31 with its 2.3GHz octa-core processor. The SoC is coupled with LPDD4x RAM and UFS 2.1 storage. A dedicated microSD card slot is available on the Galaxy M31 for more storage. The handset that has a thickness of only 8.9mm is backed by a massive 6,000mAh battery that promises up to 119 hours of music play time, up to 48 hours of talk time, up to 26 hours of video play time and up to 21 hours of Wi-Fi internet usage. The phone carries support for 15W rapid charging. Despite housing a behemoth battery, it weighs only 191 grams.

Galaxy M31 Ocean Blue and Space Black- — Galaxy M31 in Ocean Blue and Space Black colors

Editor’s Pick: iQOO 3 5G launched with SD865, 55W fast charging & powerful gaming features

For capturing selfies, the Galaxy M31 possesses an f/2.0 aperture 32-megapixel selfie camera. It offers users with features like Front Slo Mo video shooting, 4K video recording, AR Doodle and AR Emoji. There is a rectangle-shaped camera setup on the backside of the smartphone. It includes a 5-megapixel depth sensor, a 5-megapixel macro camera, a Samsung GW1 64-megapixel main lens, a 123-degree 8-megapixel ultrawide shooter and an LED flash. The rear cameras offer exciting features like Live Focus, Macro Shot, Night Mode, Super Steady mode, Super Slo Mo, Hyperlapse and 4K video recording.

The Android 10 OS comes pre-installed on the Galaxy M31 along with Samsung’s One UI 2.0. The phone offer users with other features like rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, face unlock, Widevine L1 certification, Dolby Atmos 360 surround sound, dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, USB-C and 3.5mm headphone slot.

Samsung Galaxy M31 price and availability

The Galaxy M31 can be exclusively brough through Samsung’s online store and Amazon India. The first sale of the phone will be held on March 5 at 12 PM. The 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage edition of the Galaxy M31 is priced at Rs. 14,999 (~$208). Its higher variant with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage costs Rs. 15,999 (~$222). The color editions of the M31 phone are Ocean Blue and Space Black.

Samsung kicks off mass production of 16GB LPDDR5 RAM, Expect Premium Flagships to feature it soon

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Feb 25, 2020

Samsung Electronics is a renowned brand that is popular for its consumer grade electronic products like home appliances and smartphones. However, most are unaware that the South Korean tech giant is also a world leader in advanced memory technology as well. And now, the company has finally started the mass production of 16GB of LPDDR5 memory, meaning we can expect to see 16GB of RAM on premium flagships soon.

Following the 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM being mass produced back in July 2019, Samsung has now kicked off production for the world’s first 16GB memory. The additional memory is made to serve many purposes in the coming future and will seek to supplement other technologies such as 5G networking, Artificial Intelligence, intensive smartphone gaming titles, and even more powerful photography.

According to official notes, the company is introducing its latest lineup that will be featured on next generation technology, which is expected to arrive later this year. This also implies that the high end Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series is also likely to feature the massive memory offering. Furthermore, the company also reported on certain performance figures as well.

The 16GB LPDDR5 is capable of data transfer speed up to 5,500 megabits per second, which is approximately 1.3 times faster than the previous LPDDR4X memory. In terms of energy efficiency, the latest generation is even capable of an additional 20 percent of energy savings over past iterations while offering up to twice the capacity.

Notably, Samsung’s new 16GB LPDDR5 DRAM package consists of eight 12 gigabit chips and four 8 gigabit chips. This basically translates to premium smartphones featuring DRAM capacity which is double if not higher than what is offered in most higher end laptops and even gaming PCs, according to Samsung. The company claims that the improvements in data transfer speeds will also open doors for high graphical fidelity games being played in higher resolution, offering stable framerate as well.

Samsung isn’t just stopping here. With the mass production of the 16GB LPDDR5 memory, the company has also begun work on releasing the third generation of 10nm DRAM chips which will be seen later this year. This will be in line with its 6,400Mb/s DRAM chips which are also currently in development. All in all, this cements Samsung’s position in the memory market where it is constantly updating and innovating to stay competitive.

(Source)

iQOO 3 5G launched with SD865, 55W fast charging & powerful gaming features

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Feb 25, 2020

Vivo had launched its iQOO (which stands for I Quest On and On) sub-brand in China last year April. The brand sells performance driven smartphones with impressive price tags. At the beginning of this year, iQOO confirmed that it will be arriving in India by launching its first phone in February. Today, the company took off covers from the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform powered iQOO 3 smartphone. After the Realme X50 Pro 5G that debuted yesterday, it is the second smartphone to arrive with 5G support in India even though 5G connections haven’t started in the country. The iQOO 3 phone that is packed with some exciting features like punch-hole display, 48-megapixel triple cameras and 55W fast charging for its large-sized battery can be bought in 4G and 5G flavors.

iQOO 3 specifications and features

The iQOO 3 smartphone measures 158.51 x 74.88 x 9.16mm and it weighs 214.5 grams. The smartphone flaunts an HDR10+ complaint S-AMOLED display of 6.44 inches that features a punch-hole at the top-right corner. The 20:9 aspect ratio supporting display produces full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels, 800nits of full screen brightness and 100 percent P3 color gamut. The screen of the iQOO 3 is integrated with an in-display fingerprint reader that unlock in just 0.31 seconds. The glass rear of the phone curves towards the edges.

iQOO 3 Volcano Orange — iQOO 3 5G Volcano Orange

The Snapdragon 865 mobile platform which is a 5G-ready SoC is present at the helm of the iQOO 3. The chipset of the iQOO 3 is coupled with up to 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM. It is the world’s first smartphone to ship with UFS 3.1 storage that promises transfer speeds of 1.2Gbps. It can be bought in 128 GB and 256 GB storage versions. The iQOO 3 smartphone is fueled by a 4,400mAh battery that supports 55W Super FlashCharge technology. It takes only 15 minutes the phone to reach 50 percent battery juice from scratch.

For gamers, there are shoulder buttons dubbed as Monster Touch buttons on the left edge of the device. These buttons can be used to map gaming functions such as shoot, jump, fly, etc. It also offers other gaming friendly features such as 180Hz touch response rate, 4D in-game vibrations and Ultra Game Mode. There is carbon fiber VC liquid cooling technology onboard that can effectively reduce surface temperature by 3.5-degree Celsius and CPU temperature by 12-degree Celsius.

iQOO 3 Quantum Silver — iQOO 3 5G Quantum Silver

iQOO offers an L-shape capsule data cable for conveniently charging the iQOO 3 while playing games. The Android 10 OS is preloaded on the device along with iQOO UI 1.0 custom skin. There is Multi-Turbo technology for boosting the phone’s performance while gaming. According to the company, the iQOO 3 recorded an impressive AnTuTu score of 610,576.

The punch-hole on the iQOO 3 has a 16-megapixel selfie camera. The rear side of the device has a rectangular camera module at the upper-left corner. It consists of an f/1.79 aperture 48-megapixel main shooter, an f/2.2 aperture 13-megapixel ultrawide lens, an f/2.46 aperture 13-megapixel telephoto sensor with 20x digital zoom and an f/2.4 aperture 2-megapixel portrait lens. The quad cameras are blessed with features like 2.5cm Super Macro Mode, Super Night Mode, Super Anti-Shake and 4K video recording at 30fps. For enhanced audio experience, the iQOO 3 is equipped with AK4377A Hi-Fi audio chipset. The device comes with Hi-Res audio certification.

iQOO 3 Tornado Black — iQOO 3 5G Tornado Black

iQOO 3 5G price and release date

The iQOO 3 will be exclusively available through Flipkart in India starting from March 4 at 12 PM. The smartphone will be also available for purchase through iQOO India website. The iQOO 3 with 4G connectivity comes in two models such as 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage. They are priced at Rs. 36,990 (~$515) and Rs. 39,990 (~$557). The 5G edition of the iQOO 3 comes with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB storage and it costs Rs. 44,990 (~$626).

Buyers of the iQOO 3 in India with ICICI credit cards can take advantage of flat Rs. 3,000 (~$42) discount. The phone can be availed in color variants such as Volcano Orange, Quantum Silver and Tornado Black. Other launch offers include no cost EMI options of up to 12 months and Rs. 12,000 (~$167) benefits from Jio.

In China, the iQOO 3 comes in four variants such as 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, 12 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage. These models are priced at 3,598 Yuan (~$515), 3,798 Yuan (~$539), 3,998 Yuan (~$568) and 4,398 Yuan (~$625). The pre-sales of the phone begin today in China through online retailer sites. The first sale of the iQOO 3 5G will be held in the home market through online and offline stores from March 2.

Huawei takes on Apple in yet another category globally with the Sound X speakers

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Feb 25, 2020

Huawei has just announced a new consumer grade electronic product which will take on Apple in another category in the global market. The newly unveiled speakers are dubbed the Sound X and will rival Apple’s HomePods.

Sound X

Huawei co-engineered the Sound X speakers with a French audio firm named Devialet. The latter is well known for its innovative and high end speaker systems. Thus, the Sound X arrives with a few of the features and technology behind Devialet’s other products. The Huawei Sound X has been designed with a 60W dual woofer system, which utilizes Devialet’s signature “Push-Push” technology that is capable of canceling out vibrations, while still offering powerful bass when music is being played.

Interestingly, Huawei has claimed that one can put a glass of water on top of the speakers and will remain perfectly still, even if you can see the woofers vibrate when music is being played. However, if at all it is possible remains to be actually seen, but buyers are advised against trying it out. The mesh grille surrounds the sides of the Sound X speakers are are “stain and splash resistant” according to official notes, although an official IPX rating has not been confirmed by Huawei.

Design

In terms of design, the Huawei Sound X resembles the Apple HomePod to a certain degree. It features a colorful LED display at the top and has a black circular/ovoid body with that is covered by the wraparound speaker grille. Furthermore, one can connect to the speaker with NFC OneHop audio sharing, which allows for pairing with a smartphone in just a single touch. Similarly, another notable feature is the gesture controls, enabling muting of the speaker by just holding your hand on top of the Sound X.

Huawei has stated that the new smart speaker is capable of delivering audio at 360 degree plane, meaning it delivers sound in every angle and is capable of adjusting the profile according to the position where it is placed. In other words, it can fine tune audio based on whether it is situated in the middle of the room or up against a wall and with a frequency range of up to 40kHz.

Vivo Z6 to feature professional gaming mode, with PC level liquid cooling system

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Feb 25, 2020

Vivo is set to launch the Vivo Z6 later this week, on 29th February 2020. The smartphone is the latest entry in the Vivo Z series of smartphones and will arrive with improvements across the board, especially gaming. To supplement this, the handset will also arrive with a special professional gaming mode and brings PC level liquid cooling technology on the inside.

According to a teaser shared by Vivo, the Z6 will arrive with the latest Multi Turbo 3.0 acceleration engine which combines with the desktop level liquid cooling system to provide an even cooler gaming experience. Generally, smartphones run hotter than normal when playing intensive video games, so the addition of this specialized cooling technology is a great addition that will help keep the device temperature at lower levels.

Furthermore, the device also arrives with an upgraded system acceleration engine that is optimized for gaming and managing temperatures as well. As for the liquid cooling system, the Vivo Z6 features an 85mm long liquid cooling tube and a multi layer graphite heat sink that covers a total area of more than 10,000 square millimeters. This translates to the temperature of the smartphone being dropped by about 10 degrees Celsius. The system is managed by a built in Cooling Turbo system, that intelligently manages the thermals while gaming.

Alongside such hardware enhancing technology, the Vivo Z6 also brings gaming experience to the forefront with software optimizations as well. The smartphone is equipped with Game Space 3.0 and adds features like an eSports mode, that provides an immersive gaming experience for hardcore mobile gamers. Stay tuned for the upcoming 29th February launch and more details regarding other Vivo launches.

Nokia 9 PureView receives Rs. 15,000 (~$208) price cut in India

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