DxOMark, the popular smartphone tester, has just published its scores regarding the Nokia 7.2‘s audio capabilities. The mid-range smartphone received 41 points which is relatively very low and has seen its place at the bottom.
DxOMark initially focused on reviewing digital/professional grade cameras but has since diversified to include smartphone photography as well, and through its extension even audio testing. The tests for the Nokia 7.2 were done in two different categories and included aspects such as the smartphone’s single speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack, Qualcomm aptX audio and two microphones with spacial surround capture.
Nokia 7.2
According to DxOMark, the tests were done from trained officials that perform various tests which are undertaken over 20 hours. The Nokia 7.2 received a score of 33 from playback and 66 points for recording. For the former, DxOMark tests revealed a terrible playback in the spacial category. While its artifacts received a positive score, the timbre volume range, dynamics are relatively low, placing it at the very bottom of the list.
For the recording, the Nokia 7.2 fared a lot better here with positive scoring across most areas. Its volume range, timbre, and artifacts were again one of the top performers. However, its background recording saw one of the lowest scores ever. Furthermore, its dynamics and spatial during recording was only average in comparison.
The lack of its stereo speakers saw it take a hit on playback while its average recording capabilities aren’t enough to raise the score on itself, something expected of smartphones from this category. Notably, the Nokia 7.2 scored lower than even some of its lowest rated devices like Sony Xperia 1, Black Shark 2 Pro and LG G8 ThinQ.
People are now focusing more on leading a healthier lifestyle, and willing to spend a lot of money on fitness gadgets such as smartwatches, smart wristbands, fitness bracelet, etc.
Sports and fitness enthusiasts who are on a tight budget, on the other hand, have to settle for inexpensive alternatives that are no great shakes as far as performance is concerned. Bent on making a feature-laden smartwatch available to cost-conscious buyers, Gearbest is now doling out a noteworthy discount on the Gocomma A6 Sports Smart Watch.
Touted as one of the most cost-effective fitness trainers available on the market today, the Gocomma A6 would normally set you back $13.84. Much to the relief of those who aren’t willing to spend that kind of money on a fitness gadget, Gearbest is now offering the Gocomma A6 for a lowered price of just $11.99.
This 13 percent discount is currently valid for the black-tinted (Single) variant. Alternatively, you can avail of a 14 percent off on the black color option (SET) that usually retails for $16.32. Thanks to the aforesaid discount, you can now purchase it for an unbeatable price of just $13.99. Likewise, you can grab a nine percent off on the blue, as well as orange color options.
With HS6620D chip under the hood, the Gocomma A6 Sports Smart Watch features a heart rate monitor, blood oxygen and blood pressure measurement, sedentary reminder, sleep monitor and pedometer. It offers multi-sports mode which is ideal for those love outdoor activities such as running, cycling, trekking, etc.
Furthermore, the Gocomma A6 provides a real-time reminder of call, SMS, notifications so that you do not end up missing an important message while working out. The smartwatch is certified IP64 waterproof, which means, it can withstand rain or water splashes from all sides.
The A6 draws its juices from a 180mAh high-capacity LiPo battery that lasts ten days. It sports an easy-to-read 1.3-inch screen with 240 x 240 pixels resolution. The smartwatch ships with 128KB of RAM and offers 1MB of onboard storage space.
To know more about the Gocomma A6 Sports Smart Watch and to take advantage of the discount, all you need to do is to follow this link without wasting time. Note that the promo is slated to end soon.
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.
Chinese giant Alibaba‘s global e-commerce platform AliExpress has warned its customers that there could be delay in delivering orders because of the coronavirus outbreak, adding that some shipping and logistics are experiencing longer waiting times for processing orders.
Customers have started complaining that orders were not only taking a long time to arrive but were being automatically renewed, instead of being canceled and refunded. AliExpress said that it was constantly monitoring the situation.
In a statement to NYTimes, the company said that “some deliveries may be affected but we are working hard to support our sellers in this difficult time while minimizing any inconvenience to our customers.”
AliExpress is one of the most downloaded shopping apps globally. This is partly helped by the trends of consumers worldwide buying products directly from manufacturers. However, unlike Alibaba’s Tmall or Taobao, AliExpress primarily caters to international buyers.
Alibaba Group had warned in February of a drop in revenue at its key e-commerce businesses as the coronavirus sweeping China has hit the company’s supply chains as well as product deliveries.
Launched in 2010, AliExpress is particularly popular in Russia, the United States, Brazil, Spain and France. The company had more than 79 million annual active consumers in the year ending Aug. 31, 2019.
Sellers of Amazon in the United States are also bracing for product shortages due to idled factories in China and canceled cargo flights from the country. As per the report, more than a million Amazon sellers source their products from Chinese merchants.
Nubia will be announcing the Red Magic 5G smartphone on March 12 through an online launch event. The smartphone is now up for reservations on China’s JD.com. Ahead of the launch, the company is now teasing on the different features of the Red Magic 5G phone. The smartphone will come equipped with 64-megapixel triple cameras. The company has shared some photos that were snapped using the handset. Also, it has also confirmed some of the other features of the device.
Nubia has confirmed that the primary lens of the Red Magic 5G phone’s triple camera system has Sony IMX686 as the primary shooter. The predecessor Red Magic phones weren’t that good at photography. However, the upcoming Red Magic 5G will not only offer immersive gaming experience, but also it will be good at capturing photos.
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Shown above are the camera samples of the Red Magic 5G phone shared by Nubia CEO Ni Fei. The company has also shared a footage that shows the video stabilization capabilities of the device.
Nubia also confirmed today that the Red Magic 5G phone will come equipped with a 55W fast charger. Previous reports have claimed that the phone could be shipping with a 4,500mAh battery. The smartphone will be arriving with air-cool liquid cooling technology and it will be powered by the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform. The handset was recently spotted on AnTuTu benchmarks with an impressive score of over 633K.
The Nubia Red Magic 5G will come preloaded with Android 10 and the latest version of the Red Magic UI. The Red Magic 5G will be debuting as the world’s smartphone with a 144Hz refresh rate display. The handset is expected to ship with up to 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM. It will also support low latency wireless casting. The handset will be rivaling with the Black Shark 3 and Black Shark 3 Pro smartphones that went official yesterday in China.
Oppo launched the Oppo Reno Ace with 65W fast charging support in China back in October last year. Aside from the flagship smartphone, the Chinese handset maker lifted covers off its C1 Gamepad with a customized Gundam theme.
Available in black, as well as white color options, the Oppo C1 Gamepad has gone up for sale bearing a lowered price tag through Giztop, one of China’s most popular e-tailers. The C1 Gamepad would normally set you back $59.99, but you can get your hands on it for a lowered price of just $55.99 if you place your order through Giztop.
In other words, Giztop is offering you a chance to save $4 on both the aforesaid color options. At the time of launch, the Oppo C1 Gamepad was only compatible with the Oppo Reno Ace, but you can pair it with iPhones running iOS 10 and above system.
The controller will be compatible with more Oppo devices in the future and more Android devices except for Oppo will be added soon. It has a length of 120mm-166mm and adopts the latest Bluetooth 5.0 technology for faster and more stable wireless connectivity. Furthermore, the C1 Gamepad employs Free-mapping technology, which adjusts to the intensity of the ColorOS system. It is backed by an ALPS compound vibration linear motor that powers mainframe handle, giving mobile gamers a true to life and delicate sense of vibration.
As soon as you open the Oppo C1 Gamepad handle, the red backlight will automatically light up. In addition to the Reno Ace and iPhones running iOS 10 and above system, the controller can be paired with OPPO K5, OPPO Reno3, OPPO Reno3 Pro, OPPO Reno 2, OPPO Reno, and OPPO Reno 10x Zoom.
You can head straight to this link to check out more details about the Oppo C1 Gamepad and place your order. 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.
According to the latest report from TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will be launching six new products in 2020 and 2021 which will be using mini-LED displays, which includes iPads and Macs.
The company is reportedly set to launch the iPad Mini with mini-LED displays in the market later this year. The mini-LED technology shrinks the size of the individual LED backlights and thus, offers better contrast, better brightness, and better black levels.
Apple will be using the same technology for its 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a 10.2-inch iPad, and a 7.9-inch iPad Mini. While Kuo says that the iPad Mini will be launched sometime later this year, the specific launch timeline of other products is not yet revealed.
In his note, Ming-Chi Kuo says that “the product research and development for mini LED remain unaffected by the COVID-19. The visibility for commercialisation has even exceeded the expectations in our previous report.”
The same report also reveals for the first time that the company is planning to launch a 14.1-inch MacBook Pro. It says that the 14.1-inch MacBook Pro will be sold alongside a refreshed 16-inch MacBook Pro.
Kuo also mentions a 27-inch iMac Pro in his note, which is interesting given that Apple has not refreshed its iMac Pro since it was launched in 2017. There’s a possibility that the mini-LED version of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro could launch in the fall of 2020.
Apple is also rumored to unveil two new iPad Pro models — one with 11-inch and another with 12.9-inch display — at the end of this month. However, these models won’t feature mini-LED displays but will have upgraded camera specifications.
Mini-LED seems like a transitional technology for the upcoming micro-LED on which the Cupertino-based giant has been working for a few years now. Apple reportedly started working on it back in 2018 at a manufacturing facility in California. However, it is said that we won’t see micro-LED displays on a smartphone until 2023 at the earliest. Before micro-LED, mini-LED displays will be used on some of Apple’s devices.
While charging your mobile device using a cable ensures a fast charge, it can prove to be cumbersome if a charging outlet isn’t nearby. If you continuously need to pick your phone even when charging, or aren’t willing to deal with cables, you might want to consider buying a wireless charging pad.
Wireless chargers are designed to casually charge your phone while you are working, cooking, or simply hanging around your house. Much to the relief of those using devices that require recharging, the market is teeming with all sorts of charging electronics.
When it comes to purchasing reliable charging electronics, you must ensure it is from a good brand such as NANAMI and that it doesn’t cost a bomb, particularly if you are on a tight budget. Popular wireless charger manufacturer has teamed up with Amazon to offer the NANAMI Upgraded Fast Wireless Charger, Wireless Charging Stand for a lowered price, giving you a chance to purchase a good wireless charger without emptying your pocket.
Designed to provide wireless convenience and freedom from the hassle of wires, NANAMI’s fast wireless charger is 10W quick charging compatible with a wide range of Qi-enabled devices including the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, Galaxy S7, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge. It adopts a sleep-friendly design by eliminating LED indicators, beep sound, and annoying lights, allowing you to sleep without any distraction.
Furthermore, the NANAMI Upgraded Fast Wireless Charger, Wireless Charging Stand allows you to charge your phone vertically, as well as horizontally for an ideal view and support while watching videos, playing games and more. It comes with internal safeguards that guard against overcharge, overcurrent, overvoltage, and overheat.
The feature-laden NANAMI Upgraded Fast Wireless Charger, Wireless Charging Stand would normally set you back $16.99, but you can purchase it for just $14.44 through Amazon. Thanks to this 15 percent off, you save $2.55 during the activity period. You can visit this link to place your order without wasting time.
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.
On Feb. 25, iQOO had launched the iQOO 3 as its first smartphone in India. While 5G networks are yet to commercialize in India, iQOO became the first brand to launch a 5G-ready phone in the country with the unveil of iQOO 3 5G. The smartphone also comes in 4G version. The first sale of the iQOO 3 will be carried out today on Flipkart and iQOO.com at 12 PM (local time) in India. Here is all the information on its price, offers and specifications.
iQOO 3 price in India
The iQOO 3 4G comes in two models such as 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage priced at Rs. 36,990 (~$506) and 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage that costs Rs. 39,990 (~$547). The iQOO 3 5G version with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage has a price tag of Rs. 44,990 (~$616). The phone comes in three colors like Tornado Black, Quantum Silver and Volcano Orange.
On Flipkart, ICICI credit card users can enjoy up to Rs. 3,000 off and EMI transactions. Also, the retailer site is offering up to Rs. 3,000 off on exchange of old smartphones. Buyers can also take advantage of the no cost EMI plans for up to 12 months.
The iQOO 3 comes with a 6.4-inch S-AMOLED punch-hole display that offers full HD+ resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio and 60Hz refresh rate. The screen is embedded with a fingerprint reader. The Snapdragon 865 mobile platform powers the device with up to 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM. It is the world’s smartphone to arrive in the market with UFS 3.1 storage. The phone offers users with up to 256 GB of UFS 31. storage. There is no microSD card slot on the device.
The 4,400mAh battery of the iQOO 3 supports 55W fast charging. The device is equipped with a carbon fiber VC liquid cooling technology. It has a quad camera setup that includes a 48-megapixel main lens, 13-megapixel ultrawide lens, a 13-megapixel telephoto sensor and 2-megapixel depth sensor. It has a selfie camera of 16-megapixel.
After launching the next-generation Pixel flagship lineup — Pixel 4 and 4 XL, tech giant Google is now gearing up to launch a budget variant of the same, dubbed as Pixel 4a and will be the successor to the Pixel 3a.
The Google Pixel 4a was expected to get officially announced at Google I/O 2020 conference in May this year. However, the company has now cancelled the planned I/O 2020 this year, so it remains to be seen when the phone gets launched.
Ahead of the launch, real-life images of the upcoming Pixel 4a budget smartphone has surfaced online, revealing the design of the device from the front as well as back.
From the first look at the leaked images, its clear that the Google Pixel 4a is small in size and the company is also offering rounded corners on the device. It has has narrow bezels around the display and the screen has a punch-hole cutout in the top-left corner.
On the back side, the device has a single camera sensor along with an LED flash which are placed on a square-shaped camera module to ensure that the design language of the phone seems similar to that of Pixel 4 series. There’s also a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor for added protection.
Previous reports have confirmed that the Pixel 4a is codenamed “sunfish” and will come powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 chipset. As for the display, the phone could feature a 5.7-inch or 5.8-inch screen. The device will reportedly have around 3.5mm headphone jack and USB Type-C port.
Google’s Pixel 3a series was successful and if the company plays its cards right, the upcoming Pixel 4a could also be a huge success. It has more potential in markets like India where the Pixel 4 and 4 XL haven’t launched.
Coronavirus outbreak has become a global epidemic and with that, several planned conferences have been cancelled to ensure safety of every stakeholder. Now, Google has also joined the list.
Tech giant Google has officially cancelled its Google I/O 2020 developers conference that was scheduled to take place from May 12th to May 14th. The company said that it is canceling the in-person portion but is still exploring ways to connect with developers.
In a statement, Google’s spokesperson said: “Due to concerns around the coronavirus (COVID-19), and in accordance with health guidance from the CDC, WHO, and other health authorities, we have decided to cancel the physical Google I/O event at Shoreline Amphitheatre.”
The company has also said that it will refund those who bought tickets to Google I/O, and it also confirmed that Google has banned international employee travel. The development comes just a week after Facebook canceled its annual F8 developer conference.
Usually, during I/O conference, the company introduces new changes to Android, Google-powered hardware, and even updates to services like Google Maps. The company was expected to launch its Pixel 4a smartphone at the event, which is also reportedly being delayed as Google is shifting production outside China.
The search engine giant had announced the I/O 2020 conference in January this year but the process for the ticket application and ticket draw just last month. It was to be held at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California which is situated right next to the Googleplex. This would have marked the fifth year for the company to host its annual developer conference at the Shoreline Amphitheater.
As per the data from Johns Hopkins University, coronavirus has been spread to more than 50 countries around the globe, with roughly 91,300 confirmed cases and at least 3,110 deaths so far.
Nokia did hint earlier today that it has some surprises line out for its product launch event scheduled to hold in London on March 19. We are not too sure but the Nokia 9.2 PureView may be one of the surprises. Even if it isn’t, Nokia is expected to unveil a next-generation model of the Nokia 9 PureView that was launched last year packing a spectacular Penta-camera design.
Popular concept creator Ben Geskin has dished out a cool concept design said to be that of the Nokia 9.2 PureView, a successor to the Nokia 9 PureView. The design is basically a product of Geskin’s imagination and isn’t based on leaks or anything of that sort. However, the design draws inspiration from the Nokia 9 PureView.
The moniker falls in line with rumours that Nokia will skip calling the next model Nokia 9.1 PureView for some unknown reasons. Such rumors have been popping up online for quite some time now. The Nokia 9 PureView was announced back in February last year, but its successor still has not arrived.
Talking of the design, the concept envisions a device with a full-screen design with perfect symmetry. That means there will be no notch and there is no sign of a hole-punch either. The 9.2 PureView is envisioned to feature an under-display selfie shooter, something that is yet to find its way into any smartphone. A Xiaomi exec recently said that under-display cameras are not yet ready for primetime. On the bright side, Vivo utilised the under-display camera design on the APEX 2020 Concept phone that was unveiled last week. So, the display design may go commercial this year. We’ll see what happens.
All the physical keys are located on the right-hand side of this concept smartphone. The backside of the device reminds us of the Nokia 9 PureView but there are only four camera sensors housed in a round module. The camera module protrudes on the back, and below it, you’ll notice an LED flash. Nokia’s logo is also placed on the back and the panel also has curved edges.
The concept creator didn’t reveal any details of the specs but the Nokia 9.2 PureView should pack a Snapdragon 865 processor. The phone will also include a large RAM and ZEISS optics as well as Android 10 OS.
Xiaomi has filed a design patent application before China Intellectual Property Association (CNIPA). The patent which was first uncovered by Indian blog 91Mobiles shows the company may be working on something spectacular and interesting. The patent points to a new design for an accessory that would charge your true wireless earbuds using a smartphone. The solution will utilise the reverse charging feature of smartphones but this time around, it will be entirely wireless.
The patent description reads, “This appearance design product is a mobile phone accessory, which can be installed on the mobile phone, used to store the earphone, and charge the headset.” From the description, we can grab that the device will be a phone case with a holding bay at the back which could serve as a storage case for the pair of earbuds. The case can also be used to charge the earbuds while inside. The only way this can happen is via reverse wireless charging.
At present, there is no Xiaomi phone that supports such a function. So, it is unlikely that this peripheral device will be released for the current models of Xiaomi AirDots earbuds and smartphones. The likely scenario is that the company will release a smartphone with reverse charging support as well as earbuds which support wireless charging.
Of course, if we are to comment on the schematic design, we think the phone case will lose its ergonomic appeal if there is a hump at the back where the earbuds would be housed. It’ll be difficult to move around with the phone with such a protrusion. But then, it is likely a removable pouch that you can take off and put back on when there is need to charge the earbuds which are always in the ears of those who use it as their daily drivers. In another light, this is just a patent and may never see the light of day.
With the Galaxy S20 series out of the way, Samsung has turned its attention towards new models for the Galaxy A and Galaxy M Series. The world’s number one phone company is expected to announce some new mid-range phones soon and one of them is the Galaxy M21.
The phone already received its Bluetooth certification and was also spotted on Geekbench recently. Now, more details have surfaced about its specs; and according to 91Mobiles, the M21 will have the same specs as last year’s Galaxy M30s.
The Galaxy M21 is reported to have the same specs as the Galaxy M30s pictured above
The Indian tech blog says their source is Ishan Agarwal, the teenage leaker. Ishan revealed to them that the upcoming Galaxy M21 will share similar specifications to the Galaxy M30s. These specs include its Exynos 9611 processor, 6000mAh battery capacity, and 48MP triple rear cameras.
The Galaxy M30s was announced six months ago. We are not sure how Samsung wants to convince folks to buy the Galaxy M21 since it is practically just a renamed Galaxy M30s. The only thing we can think of is if the M21 is available in different configurations from the M30s. The M30s comes in two variants – 4GB + 64GB and 6GB + 128GB. Samsung may decide to launch the M21 with 4GB of RAM + 32GB of storage and also add a 3GB RAM + 32GB version.
The Galaxy M21 will run Android 10 out of the box with One UI 2.0 on top. There is no info on a release date yet.
Ishan also revealed that Samsung is working on two new Galaxy M -series phones called the Galaxy M01 and Galaxy M01s. These two phones should be entry-level devices like the Galaxy A01.
After the Galaxy Z Flip was announced in Europe, Samsung took the wraps off the device alongside the Galaxy S20 series in China on February 27. The Z Flip went on sale the same day and was sold out instantly. Samsung again made the Galaxy Z Flip foldable phone available in China again and reports indicate that the model was sold out in just 30 minutes.
If Samsung was told the Z Flip would receive such wild patronage, the company may have had doubts. The flip design seems to have received approval from most fans as the foldable design they prefer. The Galaxy Z Flip comes with a staggering 11,999 Yuan (~$1,712) price but that has not dissuaded many people. The phone is sold via Samsung’s official website and major e-commerce platforms in China. The device is presently available for reservations on several e-tailer channels including Jingdong and would go on sale yet again on March 6.
As a reminder, the Galaxy Z Flip is a 4G device with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. The clamshell phone packs a 6.7-inch flexible OLED panel with 22:9 aspect ratio, Full HD+ resolution of 2636×1080 pixels and 425ppi. It has an outer 1.1-inch secondary display which can be used for checking notifications.
The flip phone is powered by a Snapdragon 855+ and keeping the lights on is a 3,300mAh battery. The phone packs a 10-megapixel selfie camera housed in a hole-punch on the screen. At the rear,m there is a 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel dual camera setup. It comes in colors like Pandora Purple, Cyber Black and Sahara Gold.
AnTuTu also published its ranking of the top 10 most-powerful midrange smartphones for February 2020. Unlike the ranking for the month of January that saw a rich blend of mid-range SoCs slugging it out on the models that make up the top 10, this time around only five mid-range processors is contenders. The Redmi K30 4G and OPPO Reno2, both powered by a Snapdragon 730G SoC were edged out.
The OPPO Reno3 5G powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 1000L processor maintained its lead of this category with an average score of 409380 points. The second spot is retained by the Exynos 980-powered Vivo X30 5G ut the distance between the first and second-ranked model is more than 80,000 points, showing the prowess of the Dimensity 1000L. The Dimensity 1000L is built with a 7nm process and uses the Cortex-A77 architecture in an octa-core arrangement. The GPU uses the G77 architecture and the SoC also comes with built-in 5G baseband. The chipset equally supports NSA / SA dual-mode 5G.
At the third spot is the Redmi K30 5G packing a Snapdragon 765G processor. OPPO’s latest Reno3 Pro 5G enters at the fourth spot and as the last 5G model in the midrange category.
Huawei’s Hisilicon Kirin 810 chipset propelled five different Huawei and Honor models into the list. The phones include the Honor 9X Pro, Huawei Nova 6 SE, Honor 20S, Honor 9X and the Huawei Nova 5, all occupying the fifth to ninth spots respectively.
Another MediaTek chipset, the Helio G90T makes the cut onboard the Redmi Note 8 Pro and with an average score of 289936 points.
The top 10 ranking only has four different 5G smartphones onboard. With the rising number of 5G mid-range phones that are being released including some late last month like the Vivo Z6, we expect the list to be dominated by only 5G phones pretty soon.
You must have come across Wi-Fi 6 a number of times in the past couple of months. Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11 AX) is the new wireless standard just as 5G is the new network standard. This post will try to explain all you need to know about the new wireless standard in the simplest way possible.
What is Wi-Fi 6?
Wi-Fi 6 is the latest wireless technology that brings significant improvements to the wireless standard. It was created as a solution to our increasing needs for data connectivity and bandwidth requirement as there are now more devices that need to be connected to the internet.
How fast is Wi-Fi 6?
Wi-Fi 6 is way faster than Wi-Fi 5. Its speeds can reach up to 9.6Gbps compared to Wi-Fi 5’s 3.5 Gbps. These speeds are the maximum for both wireless standards but you most likely will never reach those speeds in real-world usage.
How is Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 AX) different from Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 AC)?
Speed isn’t the only difference between Wi-Fi 6 and WiFi 5. Its greatest strength is its capacity to support more devices while keeping the speeds up. Wi-Fi 6 supports 4x the bandwidth than Wi-Fi 5, so all the additional devices that are now connected to your network do not slow down your network speeds.
One pretty straightforward way the benefits of Wi-Fi 6 is explained is by using trucks and highways. Think of Wi-Fi 5 as a road with one lane for vehicles going in one direction and another lane for vehicles going in another direction. For Wi-Fi 6, you have more lanes for each direction. This means even with more cars on the road (read more devices on the network), the fact that there are more lanes, means speeds are not reduced.
Wi-Fi 6 is able to achieve this thanks to two new technologies – MU-MIMO (Multi-User, Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output) and OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access).
MU-MIMO (8 x 8) is explained by using delivery trucks. MU-MIMO on Wi-Fi 5 allows routers to connect to 4 devices at a time (even if there are more) but with Wi-Fi 6, the number of devices is increased to 8. So it is like having more trucks going to deliver goods to your customers.
OFDMA even takes it further. Bringing back the analogy of the trucks, OFDMA allows a truck to carry goods (data packets) to multiple locations (devices) at the same time. The image below should help you understand better.
While discussing how Wi-Fi 6 differs from Wi-Fi 5, we have mentioned some of its advantages such as speed, support for more devices without sacrificing speeds, as well as efficiency but there are more.
Security: Wi-Fi 6 brings a new security protocol called WPA3 (Wi-Fi Protected Access version 3) which replaces WPA2. WPA3 encrypts the connection between your device and the access point it is connected to. It also protects against brute-force attacks even if your Wi-Fi password is weak. WPA3 is not new as some current non-WiFi 6 devices and routers support it but with Wi-Fi 6, it is now a requirement.
More Data with 1024-QAM: Wi-Fi 6 connections are able to carry more data thanks to 1024-QAM which is also 25% faster than Wi-Fi 5’s 256-QAM.
No more Wi-Fi conflicts thanks to BSS Color: You know how there can be interference from neighboring connections, Wi-Fi 6 solves that with what is called BSS (Sase Service Station) Color. What it does is it marks other networks and causes the router to ignore them.
Image source: TP-Link
Improved battery life: With Wi-Fi 6, battery consumption is reduced thanks to a feature called Target Wake Time. What this does is it creates a schedule when devices check-in with a router. That way, a device doesn’t have to be awake all the time if there is no need to.
How Do I get Wi-Fi 6?
To get Wi-Fi 6, you need to get a device that is Wi-Fi 6 certified. Devices that are certified will have the logo below.
It is important that you know that you need both a Wi-Fi 6 device and a Wi-Fi 6 router to enjoy the benefits Wi-Fi 6 brings. This is the same way one will have to purchase a pair of headphones that connect via Bluetooth 5.0 and having a phone that has Bluetooth 5.0 for you to be able to enjoy the benefits of Bluetooth 5.0.
It is important that you remember that you will also need to get a Wi-Fi 6 router such as Xiaomi’s Mi AIoT Router AX3600.
As more devices launch, Wi-Fi 6 should become more popular but do not expect all phones to come with the new wireless standard. That said, most flagships should have it.
OnePlus released a teaser for an announcement a few days ago. Prior to the release of the teaser, the official OnePlus UK twitter account had stated they were working on a project that is neither a phone nor a commercial product. Fast forward to today and OnePlus has announced “Snowbots” which are actually snowball-firing robots that are controlled by 5G phones. Doesn’t sound exciting? There is more.
OnePlus didn’t just make robots that fire snowballs. It has actually organized a snowball fight, one that you can partake in from the comfort of your home, or if you are lucky, you can be one of 18 people chosen to fly to Lapland, Finland, to witness the battle in person.
The snowbots are actually powered by OnePlus 5G phones. To partake in the Snowbot Battle, all you need is a phone with a good Wi-Fi connection or 5G network. You will get one chance to control one of four snowbots in Lapland in a team battle. The snowbots actually fire at over 120mph according to OnePlus.
The battle begins at 2PM (Finnish time) on March 9 and runs till midnight on March 12. The battle will go on 24 hours a day, so everyone gets a chance to play.
There is a queue system, so the earlier you register, the better. You will also need to be ready as it may be your turn to play at any time.
If you do not mind a trip to Finland with a friend, all you have to do is post your response to the questions below in the official thread created for the competition:
Why I want to experience Snowbots in Lapland:
Who my friend is:
Which European country we’re from:
To be selected, you must meet the following conditions too:
You must live in Europe
You must be available to travel to Finland from March 8 to March 10
OnePlus says you only have 24 hours to enter. The deadline is 11 AM GMT, so hurry.
Apart from the Blackshark 3 and 3 Pro gaming smartphones that were the star products of the night during Blackshark‘s launch event today, the company equally announced a couple of accessories for its gaming smartphones. The accessories include a third-generation version of the Blackshark Gamepad, a Bluetooth gaming headset and a clip-on fan which is the same as the Xiaomi Clip-on external cooling fan for smartphones that was launched in mid-February but in black and look premium than the white version Lei Jun unveiled.
The gamepad is the third generation model after the Blackshark Gamepad 1.0 which was released alongside the Blackshark and the Gamepad 2.0 released with the Blackshark 2. The Gamepad 3.0 left side version features almost the same design as its predecessor. The design is upgraded to provide better grip feel and improve the ergonomics. The buttons are arranged in the same format as its predecessor. That is, it has a joystick at the top with 6-axis somatosensory game control. There are also four gameplay buttons that are mappable. You also get a function button at the bottom which is used to activate the Bluetooth. There is an indicator light on the button to show the Bluetooth is active.
The Bluetooth Gaming Headset is the first wireless headset from Blackshark. It offers a durable battery life with an amazing 14 hours of music playback. The headset equally comes with colourful RGB light effects that become active when it is in use. It brings Bluetooth 5.0 support.
The Blackshark Frozen Back Clip Pro is perhaps the most fascinating peripheral that was announced. The device uses a semiconductor cooling chip, an armoured body design, an RGB light effect and is compatible with Apple and mainstream Android models. It equally supports Bluetooth remote control and supports multiple gear adjustments.
The cooling power of the Frozen Back Clip Pro reaches 9W and the heat dissipation area is 11000mm2. Blackshark claims it can cool down a hot device to 14 degrees Celsius in 1 minute. In addition, a demonstration of the workability of the Clip Pro showed the cooling effect after 10 minutes brought the surface temperature to -13.9 degrees Celsius and a layer of frost was formed.
As for the prices, the Black Shark Frozen Back Clip Pro is priced at 179 yuan ($25) while the Black Shark Gamepad 3.0 comes in at 199 yuan ($28). Blackshark is yet to announce the price of the Bluetooth gaming headset.
Black Shark has never failed to surprise us with their gaming flagships. Traditionally, the company used to release a gaming device at the start of the year and then an updated version in the second half of the year. However, today, the company disrupted its release cycle by announcing a regular version as well as a Pro version in its Black Shark gaming lineup. So China gets two new Black Shark gaming phones: the Black Shark 3 and the Black Shark 3 Pro.
Let’s take a close look at both these devices.
Black Shark 3 Pro Design
Both the new models continue with the brand’s X themed design, with sharp geometrical curves and grooves on the back. The biggest change in the Black Shark 3 lineup is the redesigned triangle camera housing. The company continues to opt for a symmetrical design philosophy, so you get a matching triangle-shaped design at the bottom half of the back as well.
There are several important upgrades in the Black Shark 3 lineup’s design. First up, you have a new Tencent Games and 5G logos on the bottom half of the two devices. The company has partnered with Tencent games to optimize gameplay on both these devices. So the Black Shark 3 and 3 Pro models feature Tencent’s SolarCore Gaming Acceleration Engine in addition to Black Shark’s own Gaming Engine.
Black Shark magnetic 18W charging
There are three cameras at the back of the device, and in case you are wondering, the Black Shark 3 lineup gets rid of a telephoto sensor in favor of an ultra-wide-angle sensor. The third sensor is a dedicated depth of field shooter. Both the models get a dedicated 3.5mm headphone jack and feature special magnetic pins (capable of 18W charging).
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Black Shark 3 Pro tactile buttons
Black Shark 3 No buttons
The biggest difference between the two models in terms of design is the presence of two tactile physical buttons on the right side of the Pro variant which the standard variant lacks.
Black Shark 3 Pro Specs
The display gets a massive upgrade on both the models. Instead of the 6.39-inch AMOLED screen on the Black Shark 2 Pro, the new Black Shark 3 features a 6.67-inch AMOLED panel with the industry’s first 270Hz touch sampling rate. This combined with a 24ms touch response time and a 28ms multi-finger touch response time ensures that you face minimal touch lags during gameplay. The touch panel refreshes at 90Hz, ensuring smooth scrolling and animations.
The Black Shark 3 Pro model takes things to another level. It comes with a tablet-sized 7.1-inch AMOLED panel with a Quad HD+ 3120 x 1440p resolution display. It’s nearly the size of Mate 20 X’s massive screen but with a higher resolution! Clearly, the Black Shark 3 Pro has one of the best displays for mobile gaming.
As for the other specs, both the models feature the new Snapdragon 865 flagship processor with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 and 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage. Sadly, iQOO seems to be the only brand that has updated its top-end lineup to UFS 3.1. The rest of the brands, including Xiaomi’s Mi 10 Pro 5G continues to feature UFS 3.0 standard as last year.
Both the models feature 5G and Wi-Fi 6 and there’s a special mode that can combine both these connections to increase bandwidth.
Black Shark 3 Pro Gaming Features
As mentioned above, the Black Shark 3 Pro features two mechanical gaming buttons on its right side. Black Shark explains that each of these buttons is 21mm long and features a 1.5mm keystroke. They are good for over 1 million clicks. Unfortunately, the standard variant skips on these buttons. The Pro variant also gets horizontal linear motors for better tactile feedback during gameplay.
The rest of the gaming-centric features are common to both the models. This includes a special liquid “Sandwich Cooling system”. Black Shark explained at the event that its new models employ a dual-battery design with a 116mm motherboard in between. The company has placed heating components like the CPU and 5G modems as far apart as possible. In fact, the company claims that the distance between the two units on the motherboard is nearly 39mm.
Blsck Shark 3 cooling
In addition to this, the Black Shark 3 models feature two 100mm liquid cooling units placed on the two sides of the motherboard. This creates a sandwich design and now you know how this cooling design gets its name. Further, there’s graphite coating on the two cooling units as well. If this wasn’t enough, Black Shark is also selling a clip-on ice-cooling external fan for the device, similar to what we saw for the Mi 10 series.
There’s also a special voice control feature that allows you to initiate actions during gameplay. For example, if you call out “grenade” while playing a game like Arena of Valor, the player will throw out grenades. We are not sure of how exactly this works but we expect limited games to support this.
Black Shark 3 Pro Cameras
Cameras were never the selling point of gaming smartphones but the new Black Shark 3 lineup adds a couple of upgrades in this department. Note that the setup is identical on both the models.
The primary camera gets upgraded from 48MP to 64MP. The two models ditch the telephoto shooter from the Black Shark 2 Pro and add two sensors: A 120-degree ultra-wide-angle shooter of 13MP and a dedicated 5MP depth of field sensor.
Black Shark 3 Pro Battery
The Black Shark 3 features a 4720mAh battery with 65W fast charging while the Pro version increases the battery size to 5000mAh with the same fast charging tech. Incredibly, despite featuring a larger battery, both models take the same time to charge to 100%. So you can charge the two models up to 100% in just 38 minutes!
Black Shark 3 5G dual batteries
Black Shark 3 Pro Pricing & Availability
The Black Shark 3 Pro pricing is as follows:
8GB RAM + 256GB ROM – 4699 yuan (~$674)
12GB RAM + 256GB ROM – 4999 yuan (~$717)
Black Shark 3 Pricing is as follows:
8GB RAM + 128GB ROM – 3499 yuan (~$502)
12GB RAM + 128GB ROM – 3799 yuan(~$545)
12GB RAM + 256GB ROM – 3999 yuan (~$573)
It is worth noting that the 12GB RAM + 128GB ROM variant of the Black Shark 2 Pro started at a much cheaper $430 price tag. So the new series definitely takes a big leap in its pricing.
The Black Shark 3 model goes on sale for the first time on March 6, while the Pro variant will go on sale much later on March 17 in China.
Update: The post was corrected to reflect that Moto G8 Power Lite looks like the Moto G Power and not the Moto G8 Power.
Last month, Motorola announced the Moto G power in the US and the Moto G8 Power in the UK. Both are mid-range phones with a Snapdragon 665 processor and a 5000mAh battery capacity. However, the former has three rear cameras while the latter has a quad-camera setup on the rear. Last week, it was revealed that Motorola was working on another version called the Moto G8 Power Lite.
The leak revealed this “Lite” version swaps the Snapdragon 665 processor for MediaTek’s Helio P35 chipset while keeping the 5000mAh battery capacity.
Press renders of the upcoming smartphone have now leaked and they show that Motorola will be retaining the design of the US’ Moto G Power.
The images of the Moto G8 Power Lite were posted on Twitter by Roland Quandt (@rquandt). The device has a hole in the top left corner of its display. It also has three rear cameras arranged vertically and a fingerprint scanner. The inscription beside the camera housing reveals the phone has an ultrawide camera and a macro camera paired with the primary sensor.
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The images also show the Moto G8 Power Lite has an audio jack at the bottom, to the left of the USB port. The textured power and volume control buttons are on the right while the SIM tray is on the left.
There is still a lot we do not know about the Moto G8 Power Lite but we presume it will come with less RAM and storage than the Moto G Power which has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. We also expect it to be slightly cheaper.
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This 13 percent discount is currently valid for the black-tinted (Single) variant. Alternatively, you can avail of a 14 percent off on the black color option (SET) that usually retails for $16.32. Thanks to the aforesaid discount, you can now purchase it for an unbeatable price of just $13.99. Likewise, you can grab a nine percent off on the blue, as well as orange color options.
Furthermore, the C1 Gamepad employs Free-mapping technology, which adjusts to the intensity of the ColorOS system. It is backed by an ALPS compound vibration linear motor that powers mainframe handle, giving mobile gamers a true to life and delicate sense of vibration.
