After HTC shut down its Elevate community program internationally last month, the Taiwanese smartphone maker has called it quits in China as well. In a community post earlier today, the company said that it will be shutting down its official Chinese community forum tomorrow. HTC has asked its customers to ask for support via its official service number on WeChat.
Today’s announcement doesn’t come as a surprise. Last year, HTC didn’t launch any of its smartphones in China. In fact, it closed down its flagship stores on two of China’s biggest online retailers, Jingdong and Tmall. Even in 2018, the company’s flagship U12+ model was suddenly pulled out from its official Chinese website and stores.
To recall, HTC’s Elevate community program which was shut down in January this year was a big blow to its fans and customers. It was an exclusive community featuring HTC enthusiasts who provided valuable feedback on its products. Notably, entry was on an invite-only basis.
Although the tagline ‘Quietly Brilliant’ was apt in its glory days, now the company seems to be ‘Quietly’ exiting markets
Google Play Store is the most popular app store for Android right now. But Chinese smartphone giants like Xiaomi, OPPO, & Vivo want to change this. They have formed an alliance that allows developers outside of China to upload their apps on all of their individual app stores simultaneously. This is a big move aimed at breaking Google’s dominance in the Android app store domain.
Global Developer Service Alliance (GDSA) logo
Together, OPPO, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Huawei made up for a total of 40% of smartphone shipments in Q4 2019. So if they can come up with a unified platform granting access to all of their individual apps stores, they could possibly lure in a lot of new developers. According to Statista, the Google Play Store had nearly 3 million apps here back in December 2019. So the app store is already pretty crowded, making it immensely hard for new apps to stand out.
They are calling it the Global Developer Service Alliance (GDSA). The official description of the alliance according to their website is as follows.
The Global Developer Service Alliance (GDSA) is committed to providing one-stop services including content distribution, development support, marketing operation, brand promotion and traffic monetization to global developers . These services help developers improve their brand awareness, and obtain a large number of high-quality users and traffic monetization. Our services have covered nine countries and regions such as India, Indonesia, Russia, and Malaysia. GDSA is looking forward to working with extraordinary developers to move forward together and achieve win-win cooperation.
Global Developer Service Alliance GDSA members list
The alliance will act as a support system for global developers across different stages of app development and monetizing. Currently, it covers nine regions such as India, Indonesia, Russia, and Malaysia. Interestingly, the official website only lists Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo as the official alliance members of the GDSA. However, the report from Reuters mentioned Huawei too as a member of the alliance. All four companies are yet to confirm their membership.
Google’s dominance in this market allows it to collect as much as 30% commission on sales made on its app store. So this alliance could lure in developers by offering better incentives and charging less commission. Also, their apps will be available across all the participating member app stores, significantly increasing its exposure across users in the nine regions covered by this service.
While we are yet to confirm Huawei’s membership in the GDSA alliance, we know the company is desperately trying to create an alternative to the Play store. The company lost access to Google Play services and hence access to the app store after the US banned Google from selling its software services to the company. So joining this alliance could be the fastest way to create a viable Play Store alternative for its international users.
It is not every day that the official Android Twitter account teases the launch event of a partner company. To be honest, we can’t even remember the last time this happened. But in the early hours of today, the Android Twitter account posted a tweet about the upcoming Samsung Unpacked event. This is highly unusual and the hints at a possible new product or new software features co-developed with Samsung.
There are speculations as to what the tweet may be hinting at and the one that has got most people excited is a possible resurrection of Google Play Edition Devices.
For those who don’t remember, Google Play Edition phones were flagship devices from other manufacturers that ran stock Android rather than the custom UI of the manufacturer. This allowed for users to be able to purchase a phone they liked with respect to hardware but with stock Android running on it. Google sold these devices unlocked and also released updates for them even before the manufacturers and carriers did. Google later ended the program but you can say it is now alive as the Android One program.
We most probably won’t be getting a Google Play Edition Galaxy S20 phone seeing as Google itself now makes its own phones under the Pixel line and they are fighting for the same market as Samsung’s own devices. So the tweet is more likely to be for software features or a new product category entirely.
Samsung will announce the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, Galaxy S20 Ultra, and Galaxy Flip Z at its unpacked event scheduled for February 11. It will also announce the Galaxy Buds+ wireless earbuds too.
The OPPO Find X was one of the defining smartphones of the last decade. Released in 2018, the phone had a slider design that allowed the front-facing and rear cameras to stay hidden. Eighteen months later, OPPO is set to announce a successor that will arrive as the Find X2.
OPPO has sent out invites for the launch of the Find X2 and it reveals the phone will be unveiled in Barcelona on February 22, 2020. The venue is Auditori Fòrum CCIB and the event will begin at 2:00 PM (CET).
Leaks have revealed the OPPO Find X2 will have a 6.5-inch QHD+ (3168 x 1440) curved AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It has also been reported that users will be able to switch between FHD+ and QHD+ at will to save battery. The display will have a punch hole at the top left corner for a single selfie camera and not an under-display camera as fans expect.
There will be a Snapdragon 865 processor under the hood paired with the Snapdragon X55 5G modem. There are also reports it will have an LPDDR5 RAM. The phone will also have a special chip called the OPPO M1 that is designed to reduce power consumption due to the high resolution and high refresh rate of the display.
With respect to cameras, the Find X2 will have a custom 48MP sensor called the Sony IMX689 with omnidirectional focusing and a 1/1.3 inch sensor size. It will also have a Sony IMX708 secondary sensor and a 13MP telephoto camera for optical zoom. Up in front, OPPO will put a 32MP selfie camera.
The OPPO Find X2 will also have 65W SuperVOOC fast charge and wireless fast charging. It will run Android 10 out of the box with OPPO’s ColorOS on top.
Other than the Find X2, OPPO is also expected to launch a Find X2 Pro. The pro version was certified by Thailand’s NBTC last month and also certified in Malaysia a few days ago but its specs remain unknown. We also look forward to the launch of an upper mid-range 5G phone powered by the Snapdragon 765G processor for the global markets
HMD Global is expected to hold a launch event on February 23 and already, invites are out for the event which will hold at MWC 2020. The tech giant is expected to go official with the Nokia 1.3 during the event.
Before then, the key specs of the Nokia 1.3 has appeared online. The device is said to feature a 4000mAh battery and come in two colour variants – Charcoal and Cyan colour options. In addition, the budget phone is expected to come with microSD card support for storage expansion up to 128GB.
Further details have emerged that the Nokia 1.3 will feature a 6-inch display with a design similar to the Nokia 2.3 which was launched in India in December last year. If that turns out to be true, it means the device will sport a waterdrop notch and a slight chin at the bottom. The device is also said to feature a MediaTek process paired with 1GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage which can be expanded up to 128GB. The phone will run on Android Go.
For photography, the phone will have a single 8MP rear camera, and a 5MP front camera for selfies and video calling. The entry-level Nokia 1.3 is tipped to carry a price tag of EUR 79 (roughly Rs. 6,200).
Huawei Singapore has announced new color variants for the FreeBuds 3 wireless earbuds and the Nova 5T smartphone. The Freebuds 3 will now be available in Red while the Nova 5T will now be available in Crush Green.
The Red Huawei FreeBuds 3 can be purchased for SG$238 (~$172) while the Crush Green Nova 5T will be priced at SG$498 (~$360). Both products will be available across the island at Huawei Concept Stores, select electronic stores, Lazada, and Shopee from February 10. There will also be a roadshow at VivoCity on that day.
New colorways are not the only thing Huawei has announced. There are also discounts on other products as well as free gifts when you purchase these items.
For example, If you purchase a Nova 5T, you get a free pair of Huawei FreeLace wireless earphones (read our review) worth SG$128 (~$92) while all purchases of the Freebuds 3 gets you a 15W wireless charger and silicone case worth SG$96 (~$70). Huawei says buyers will get free gifts while stocks last.
Huawei is also offering a special offer on the Mate 30. From now till March 1, 2020, buyers will be able to purchase the flagship at SG$798 (~$576) instead of SG$948 (~$685). They will also get a free phone case and a 27W SuperCharge Wireless Car Charger worth SG$146 (~$105) along with every purchase. You can grab this deal at the aforementioned stores and online platforms.
Statistics firm Statcounter has released a report which shows the global browser usage both for mobile devices and desktop. The statistical data shows that the Google Chrome browser is the undisputed champion when it comes to the choice of browser for many.
According to the report, the Chrome browser commands a staggering 69.89% market share of the global desktop market share. Thee Chrome is closely followed by the Mozilla Firefox browser with 9.53%, Safari browser at number 3 with an 8.64% market share. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) and Edge browsers complete the top 5 with 4.71% and 3.7% respectively. The Opera desktop browser also joins the list as the 6th most popular desktop browser, courting a 2.49% market share.
For mobile browsers, Google’s Chrome mobile browser still leads the market with 60.26%. Apple’s Safari browser is ranked second with a 20.9% share of the market. At the third place is Samsung’s native browser which has a 6.83% market share. The UC browser is the fourth most popular mobile browser with 4.07% share while the Opera mobile browser completes the top 5 with 2.14%. Android’s native browser sees a 0.94% market share to rank at the sixth position. Other browsers on the list include the KaOS browser -0.65%, Mozilla Firefox mobile browser, QQ browser and others.
Huawei has discreetly unveiled a new phone called Huawei Y7p in Thailand. The phone impresses with its punch-hole screen and it features an AI powered 48-megapixel triple camera system on its back. Also, it is backed by a large-sized battery.
Huawei Y7p specifications and features
The Huawei Y7p measures 159.81 x 76.13 x 8.13mm and it weighs 176 grams with the battery. The handset has a 6.39-inch punch-hole IPS LCD display that offers HD+ resolution of 720 x 1560 pixels. Huawei claims that the Y7p offers a screen space of 90.15 percent. The Kirin 710F octa-core processor is present under the hood of the device. The SoC is coupled with 4 GB of RAM.
Huawei Y7p
The Huawei Y7p offer users with an internal storage of 64 GB. There is a microSD card slot onboard for more storage. The EMUI 9.1 based Android 9 Pie OS runs on the device. The handset draws power from a 4,000mAh battery. The big battery has no support for fast charging.
The Huawei Y7p features a triple camera setup on its back. It has a main lens of 48-megapixel with f/1.8 aperture, an ultrawide lens of 8-megapixel with f/2.4 aperture and a 2-megapixel depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture. The triple cameras are equipped with LED flash, handheld night mode and AI scene optimization. The phone sports a front camera of 8-megapixel with f/2.0 aperture. A fingerprint sensor is placed on the backside of the Huawei Y7p. The other features of the phone include dual SIM support, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0, microUSB and 3.5mm audio jack.
Huawei Y7p price and release date
The official listing the Huawei Y7p has no details its pricing and availability. The handset comes in two color options in Thailand such as Aurora Blue and Midnight Black. It is speculated that the handset could be coming to some market as Huawei P40 Lite E.
Samsung’s Unpacked event is right around the corner as the anticipation for its 2020 flagship series, the Galaxy S20 lineup grows. The smartphone will succeed the popular Galaxy S10 series and reportedly may see sales figures surpassing 40 million units.
According to Counterpoint, a research and analytics agency, Samsung’s Galaxy S20 series may surpass 40 million units in total shipments. The firm believes that the improvements to the South Korean giant’s upcoming flagship will make it highly attractive to potential buyers. The flagship series will arrive with various performance improvements alongside photography as a major area apart from other aspects as well.
Samsung Galaxy S20 series (Reported)
The large sum of Galaxy S20 series unit shipments is also reflective of the recovering and growing global smartphone market. In recent years, Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S series smartphone offerings have been popular in many regions. The latest iteration’s improvements in the photography side will seek to continue this pattern too.
The base Samsung Galaxy S20 model will be equipped with a 12 megapixel primary camera alongside a 64 megapixel telephoto lens, 12 megapixel ultra wide lens and a ToF sensor as well. On the other hand, the Galaxy S20 Ultra model is stated to arrive with a massive 108 megapixel sensor along with a 48 megapixel telephoto lens for 10x zoom and 100x digital zoom. Furthermore, it is being speculated that the RAM offerings will be sizeable too, with up to 16GB being configurations being available.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra with 100x Hybrid Zoom
Unfortunately, we will have to wait for the Samsung Unpacked event for the official announcement to know for sure if the Galaxy S20 series is worth such a high market expectation. The event takes place on the 11th of February 2020, so stay tuned for launch updates and more.
Samsung India had yesterday released the first teaser for the upcoming Galaxy M31 smartphone. It revealed that the phone will be sporting a 64-megapixel main lens on its back. Based on information sourced from retailers, 91mobiles has shared some vital information on the upcoming Galaxy M31 smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy M31 specifications (Rumored)
The new leak reveals that the Galaxy M31 will be housing a 6.4-inch S-AMOLED display with Infinity-U notch. It is likely to support full HD+ resolution. It is speculated that the Galaxy M31 will be sporting a 6,000mAh battery and it will be driven by the Exynos 9611. These specs are also available on the Galaxy M30s smartphone that was unveiled in the second half of 2019.
In terms of software, the Galaxy M31 is expected to come preinstalled with Android 10 OS and the latest One UI 2.0. The leak further states that the M31 will be arriving in two models such as 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage. A microSD card slot will be available onboard for more storage.
The backside of the Galaxy M31 is expected to sport a rectangular camera module that will house four cameras in L-shaped arrangement along with an LED flash. As Samsung has confirmed, the Galaxy M31 will be coming with a main lens of 64-megapixel. It is most likely the Samsung GW1 sensor. The camera setup is expected to include an ultrawide shooter, a depth sensor and a macro lens. There is no word on the front camera of the Galaxy M31. Hopefully, the phone will come with at least 15W fast charging for its humungous battery.
Samsung is yet to confirm on the launch date of the Galaxy M31. Now that the company has started teasing on its arrival, it may launch soon in this month. The handset will be available for purchase through Amazon India.
Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy M30s is now selling with reduced price tags in India. The 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage editions of the Galaxy M30s were made official in September for Rs. 16,999 (~$239) and Rs. 13,999 (~$196). These models are now selling for Rs. 14,999 (~$210) and Rs. 12,999 (~$182). There is no word on the pricing of the Galaxy M31.
In recent years, Apple has been focusing its efforts in diversifying its electronics product offerings. One of its most popular endeavors is its Apple Watch series, which is a successful wearable lineup. Now, a report suggests that it has outsold Swiss branded watches in 2019.
According to Strategy Analytics, a researching agency, Apple’s sales estimates indicate that the Cupertino based giant has sold more watched in 2019 than all of the popular Swiss watchmakers. The figures reveal that the smartphone OEM sold 30.7 million Apple Watches last year. This figure marks a significant bump of 36 percent year on year growth over 2018.
Apple Watch
In comparison, Swiss watch brands, altogether, sold over 21.1 million units in 2019, a notable fall of 13 percent in total sales over 2018. It indicates the still growing wearables market with Apple’s smartwatch offerings being a big hit in the market. Unfortunately, since Apple doesn’t publicize exact sales numbers, the figure above has been compiled after collecting data by various vendors by Strategy Analytics.
Neil Mawston, Executive Director of Strategy Analytics, stated that “Analogue wristwatches remain popular among older consumers, but younger buyers are tipping toward smartwatches and computerized wristwear.” This implies that the youth are more likely to buy a smartwatch over a traditional wristwatch, showcasing a change in generational preference in recent years.
Apple Watch Series 5
Furthermore, another analyst from the research firm also stated that brands like Swatch, TAG Huer, and Tissot need to hurry if they wish to jump onto the smartwatch bandwagon. Again implying that the younger generations prefer digital watches over conventional analog watches. Notably, Apple’s Q1 2020 earnings for wearables and other IoT devices (internet of things) are expected to bring in 10 Billion US Dollars, a number that is higher than the revenue generated by its Mac computers.
Recently, China has been devastated by a new breed of Coronavirus outbreak in the country. The virus originated from the Wuhan district and is known to cause Pneumonia. So far, thousands are infected while the death toll measure in the hundreds. This has led to many multinational corporations to shut factories and production lines in the region after the local government enforced the regulation.
Now, Japanese companies Nintendo and Sharp have also come forward with the issues that the recent outbreak has caused in their productions. Nintendo, the popular gaming studio and console maker, has stated that its Switch portable gaming console production and supply has taken a hit causing delays while Sharp is considering moving its production line entirely if the situation doesn’t resolve soon in the region.
Nintendo’s supply chain has been disrupted after the recent Coronavirus outbreak and according to an official tweet on Twitter, the “Production and Shipping of Nintendo Switch has been delayed.” The company has apologized for the occurrence and are seeking to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
Sharp, on the other hand, is considering to move its production line entirely. The consumer electronics manufacturer recently publicized its financial report for the final quarter of 2019. In the report, the company saw a fall in revenue by 1.2 percent over 2018, which is also lower than the revenue generated back in the same quarter in 2015.
However, Sharp said that the impacts of the virus outbreak are going to be more prominent but also stated that exact losses are difficult to compile at the moment. Katsumi Nomura, Sharp’s Vice President, mentioned that the company will consider moving out of the region if the epidemic shows no sign of recovery in the near future. This will mark opportunities opening up for other regions, although the exact location of the alternative has yet to be announced.
It is still not clear whether Samsung or Xiaomi will become the first company to launch the world’s first smartphone powered Snapdragon 865 mobile platform. Chinese brand ZTE has an official listing for the ZTE Axon 10s Pro. The phone is now almost official. The listing reveals that it is fueled by the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform. ZTE has recently confirmed that it will be showcasing new products including Axon and Blade branded devices at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) tech exhibition between Feb. 24 and Feb. 27. The Axon 10s Pro is expected to get demonstrated at the MWC 2020 event.
The ZTE Axon 10s Pro has an AMOLED display of 6.47 inches. It offers full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels and a tall aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The waterdrop notch display promises a screen space of 92 percent. The screen is integrated with a fingerprint reader.
The 7nm Snapdragon 865 mobile platform which is currently the most powerful SoC for smartphones fuels the Axon 10s Pro. The SoC is coupled with 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM. The smartphone offers a UFS 3.0 storage of 256 GB. The MiFavor 10 OS overlaid on the Android 9 Pie OS runs on the smartphone. There is no microSD card slot on the device.
There is a 4,000mAh battery packed inside the ZTE Axon 10s Pro. It carries support for Quick Charge 4+ fast charging technology. The phone sports a front-facing camera of 20-megapixel selfie camera. The rear side of the smartphone is fitted with a triple camera setup. It has a 48-megapixel main lens with f/1.7 aperture, a 20-megapixel ultrawide lens with 125-degree field-of-view and f/2.2 aperture and an 8-megapixel telephoto lens with f/2.4 aperture. The selfie notch on the device has a 20-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture.
The Axon 10s Pro is equipped with features like stereo ultra-linear dual speakers along with DTX X Ultra support, face recognition, Wi-Fi 6v, Bluetooth 5.0 and GPS. It lacks a 3.5mm audio jack. Lastly, the handset measures 159.2 x 73.4 x 7.9mm. Previously the company had confirmed that the phone will come in color editions like White, Black and Ochre. The pricing of the Axon 10s Pro is still a mystery.
Xiaomi Mi 10, along with the Galaxy S20 series are the two important flagships launching in February this year. The Galaxy S20 will officially launch on February 11 in the US and the Xiaomi Mi 10 is expected to launch soon after that. While initial reports said that the Xiaomi flagship could be announced just before the S20’s launch, it looks like February 13 is a more probable launch date for the device in China.
Mi 10 concept render
After confirming that the Xiaomi Mi 10 will come with the LPDDR5, Micron also announced that it would select 5 fans and give them a 100 yuan JD.com coupon to help purchase the new Xiaomi flagship. While it’s common to send out gifts to fans on Weibo, what’s interesting here is that they have given a date. Micron said it would give out the coupon to selected users on February 13 to purchase the Mi 10, which could be when the phone goes on sale.
Micron’s post hints Mi 10’s release date
This is not the first time we are hearing this launch date for the device. A couple of days ago, a leak suggested that the Xiaomi Mi 10 would be launched on Feb. 13 in an online-only event. The reservations are expected to kick-off three days before the official launch, on Feb. 10. The Xiaomi Mi 10 could go on sale on Feb. 14. The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro could be available a few days later, on Feb. 18.
Considering the earlier leak and today’s post by Micron, there’s a very strong possibility that the Xiaomi Mi 10 is announced on Feb. 13. And if the leak is to be believed, the company will confirm the online launch event tomorrow.
Smartphone companies have been experimenting with the design of displays and the current trends seems to be the curved screens, which makes it possible for the company to offer higher screen-to-body ratios.
While the curved screens looks good and is visually appealing, there are some practical issues with the design such as false touch. Keeping that in mind and the users’ reaction, Redmi seems to have decided to drop the curved screen design from its upcoming phone.
As per the report, Redmi K30 Pro flagship smartphone won’t feature a curved screen as the company has adopted the traditional flat screen which it believes is more practical. Along with the full-screen design, the device will come powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset. The phone is also said to feature a pop-up front-facing camera, similar to its predecessor Redmi K20 Pro.
Coming to the camera department, the phone will come with a quad-camera setup on the back where the primary sensor will be Sony IMX686 64-megapixel, same as the one on the recently launched Redmi K30.
The phone will be running Android 10 operating system out-of-the-box with the company’s own MIUI 11 on top. A new leak claims that the phone could come powered by a 4,700mAh battery and is equipped with a 33W fast charging support.
How could Google bring a new Android version without an Easter Egg? Continuing its ritual, Google has added a puzzle game on Android 10. The users were quick to find the hidden Easter Egg after Google rebranded the Android Q as Android 10. Along with several new features such as a system-wide dark mode, enhanced privacy controls, and a lot of other changes, the latest version also added a new Easter Egg as like on the previous versions.
The Easter Egg started from a zombie painting in the Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and then it progressed to a honeybee inspired by Tron: Legacy Movie in Android 3.0, and the Android 4.0 welcomed Nyandroid character. Google added Red Jelly Bean game in Android 4.1 and 4.3, and a spinning K on Android 4.4 KitKat. The exciting Flappy Bird game came into existence in Android 5.0 Lollipop and advanced to Android 6.0 marshmallow. A cat collecting game, “Android Neko” gets introduced with Android 7.0 Nougat. The next version came with floating Octopus and Android 9 Pie with color animation.
Enable hidden game on Android 10
The Android 10 hosts a Nonogram logic puzzle game. The user has to fill the cell to find the hidden picture. It is exactly like a picture puzzle game with Android-related images. The user can see the legends on either side after rotating the display.
It’s an intuitive brain-teasing game that users would love to play in their leisure time.
Steps to enable Android 10 Easter Egg
Open Settings panel on your Android 10 based smartphone.
Tap About Phone in your settings menu.
Now, Tap Android Version and a pop-up will open.
Again, Tap Android 10 multiple times.
Once again, double-tap ‘1’ on the Android 10 logo.
After rotating, the ‘1’ icon will become draggable, place the icon through the ‘O’ to make a Q.
Press the Android logo, and a Nonogram game will launch.
Enjoy!
You have successfully unlocked the hidden puzzle game on Android 10. If you didn’t find it, then let us know via the comments below.
Earlier today (6th February 2020), the Vice President of Global Marketing of Realme, Xu Qi, revealed that the company will soon launch a 5G flagship smartphone that supports LPDDR5 memory. The news arrives after a Twitter post from the company that indicates a possible launch at MWC 2020.
The senior executive from Realme, a popular Chinese smartphone manufacturer, went on Weibo to share this information through his official account. The post on the Chinese microblogging website stated certain keywords. These were, “a 5G flagship smartphone and, or with, LPDDR5 memory arriving soon.”
Unfortunately, it is currently unclear where Realme is supplying the new LPDDR5 memory chips from for its upcoming 5G flagship smartphone. Recently, Micron Technology, a known memory chip manufacturer, announced that it is delivering the world’s first mass produced low powered DDR5 DRAM chips. So, it is likely that Realme is supplying its 5G smartphones with Micron’s new memory chipsets.
Previously, a Realme smartphone carrying the model name RMX2025 was certified by the Ministry of Industry and Information technology. It is speculated to be a flagship smartphone as it supports 5G networking in SA an NSA modes. Reportedly, this has been said to be the Realme X50 Pro 5G variant that is currently in development.
If there were a realme global launch event, where it would be?
Notably, Realme’s official Europe Twitter handle has also recently shared a post regarding a global launch event, so it is likely that the 5G LPDDR5 smartphone in question could be revealed at MWC 2020. This event will take place in Barcelona, Spain, from the 24th of February to 27th February 2020. Unfortunately, this is just an educated guess that is based on multiple official announcements within this week. So, we will have to wait for an official Realme statement or the reveal at MWC 2020, but stay tuned for any further developments.
The Xiaomi Youpin platform has just launched a new product this morning (6th February 2020). It is the Small Q Ruler, which is basically an electric ruler that is capable of providing high accuracy measurements to the user.
The Small Q electric ruler is capable of measuring straight lines, curves, cylinders, and even other uneven objects. It features 10 different kinds of modes which include all of the above mentioned capabilities like arc measurement, diameter measurement and more according to one’s need. In other words, the electric ruler found on Xiaomi Youpin is very practical for various different scenarios.
The Small Q Electric Ruler is currently available on the Xiaomi Youpin platform
The electric ruler supports a single practical ranging from 0 to 9.99 meters, with a maximum measuring distance of 99.99 meters, in terms of total measurement accumulation. The Small Q ruler stores data automatically and can also keep records of 10 unique measurement records that can be brought up when needed at a later date. This is convenient in storing certain universally required data.
Notably, the Small Q electric ruler can also measure sound levels, ambient light and supports unit switching as well. It is equipped with a 1.9 inch LCD screen in a 15mm compact body and weighs just 30 grams. In comparison to traditional measuring tapes used prominently, the device is about a third of its size and a quarter of its weight which makes it more portable and convenient to carry.
The sensors and measuring equipment in the electric ruler has been imported from overseas and includes various high precision encoder that is used in lieu of the inductors and capacitors inside a metal housing. The product is also built to last and reinforced for a longer total operational lifetime.
The Small Q electric ruler is equipped with a ultra low power consuming microprocessor that allows for a very long standby and great battery life. It is powered by a 200mAh battery and can measure up to 3,000 meters worth of measurement data on a single full charge. The device also supports USB Type C charging port and can be charged in just 5 minutes for about 2 hours of use. It is currently available on the Xiaomi Youpin platform and is priced at 99 Yuan or roughly 14.2 US dollars.
The attached image teases the product that will launch is a smartphone and it will have dual rear cameras, but that is not all. An event page set up by Redmi reveals more details about the device which we believe is the Redmi 9A.
The page confirms again that the phone will indeed have dual cameras for perfect portraits. The Redmi 8A that was announced in September 2019 has only one rear camera but its successor is getting an extra sensor which is definitely a depth sensor for better portraits. With this, the Redmi 9A should be able to go head-to-head with its closes competitor, the Realme C3 which launches today.
Another key feature of the upcoming phone revealed on the site is its battery capacity which is 5000mAh. This is the same battery capacity as that of the Redmi 8A, so there is nothing to be excited about. We believe the Redmi 9A will also have support for 18W fast charging.
The Redmi 9A will have a polycarbonate body but the event page reveals it has a textured finish that will provide a strong grip. If you look closely at the image, you should see the long strip on the back of the Redmi 8A has been kept. The image also hints at the phone coming in blue.
The head of Xiaomi India, Manu Kumar Jain, also posted a tweet about the launch but his tweet revealed an important detail.
Brace yourselves for the first #Redmi launch of 2020, launching on 11th Feb, 12 noon! 🤩 #MorePowerToRedmi
Not 1️⃣ but 2️⃣ amazing surprises are coming your way! 🙌
The launch will be for two products and not one. We are not sure what the second product is but the event page teases a new product category. What do you think this second product is? Another phone or something different entirely? Let us know what you think and also share your thoughts about the Redmi 9A launching just five months after its predecessor.
Realme C3 budget phone has gone official in India. It is first smartphone to feature the all new Helio G70 chipset that is designed to bring gaming capabilities on entry-level phones. Also, the phone comes preloaded with Realme UI. As compared to the predecessor Realme C2 phone, the Realme C3 comes with a bigger display and a larger battery. Dubbed as “Entertainment ka Superstar” which translates to superstar of entertainment, the handset has debuted with an enticing price tag of Rs. 6,999 (~$98).
Realme C3 specifications and features
The Realme C3 flaunts a 6.5-inch IPS LCD display with a mini-drop notch. It offers HD+ resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels and a tall aspect ratio of 20:9. The smartphone promises a screen-to-body ratio of 89.8 percent. The rear shell of the phone sports a new and attractive Sunrise design. The Android 10 OS coupled with the latest Realme UI which is nothing but a customized version of the ColorOS 7 comes preloaded on the phone. It brings along some new features like interesting system animations, Focus Mode, Smart Gestures, three-finger screenshot, Dual Mode Music Share and personal information protection.
Realme C3
The 2.0GHz Helio G70 chipset that comes with ARM G52 graphics powers the Realme C3. The 12nm SoC comes with network latency optimization. The SoC is coupled with up to 4 GB of LDDR4x RAM. The phone users with a maximum internal storage of 64 GB. There is a microSD card slot on the device for additional storage.
The rear side of the Realme C3 has an AI powered vertical dual camera setup. It has an f/1.8 aperture 12-megapixel primary shooter and an f/2.4 aperture 2-megapixel depth sensor. It is fitted with a5-megapixel an AI Beauty Selfie camera with 1.12micron pixel size. The Realme C3 is blessed with photography features like LED flash, fast PDAF focus, Chroma Boost, Panorama Selfie, HDR Mode, 1202slow-motion video shooting and 1080p video recording for the rear cameras. The front camera is equipped with features like AI Portrait, HDR Mode and Panoselfie.
The Realme C3 draws power from a 5,000mAh battery. There is no support for fast charging on the device. It carries support for reverse charging that it can be used to charge other devices. Also, the device lacks a fingerprint scanner. Hence, users will be only provided with face unlock biometric recognition feature on the Realme C3. The handset is equipped with other features like dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, microUSB 2.0 and 3.5mm audio jack.
Realme C3 pricing and availability
The Realme C3 has arrived in India in two variants such as GB RAM + 32 GB storage and 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage. These models are respectively priced at Rs. 6,999 (~$98) and Rs. 6,999 (~$112). The phone comes in color editions Blazing Red and Frozen Blue. Customers who are interested in purchasing the Realme C3 can buy it first on Feb. 14 at 12 PM through Flipkart and Realme India’s website. Launch offers include cash benefits worth Rs. 7,550 from Jio and first day sale offer on Flipkart that brings up to Rs. 1,000 on exchange. It will be also made available in retail stores in the near future.
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