HMD Global which presently controls the Nokia brand name may have filed a new trademark application for an e-SIM feature known as SIMLEY. The application was filed at the European Union Office for Intellectual Property (EUOIP) and was first spotted by LetsGoDigital.
The application was submitted by intermediary Gilbey Legal from Paris, France and is categorized as Class 9/36/38. The description shows the tech will serve a multitude of functions ranging from telecommunication services to an e-wallet and banking service tool as well as an extended warranty service.
What we can draw from the application is that HMD Global is working towards the introduction of eSIM compatible Nokia phones in the near future. It won’t be the first to do so as Apple and Google already offered this type of service on their devices for a while now. The service is still not very common but is rather catching steam on smartwatches. Xiaomi’s latest model came with e-SIM features.
Apart from its function as a SIM card for mobile service, HMD’s SIMLEY is also described to work as an electronic mobile payment service with added protection for user data but the details of how this will pan out are still sketchy.
Xiaomi‘s smartphone is again caught up in a messy controversy. This time, it is the Redmi Note 6 Pro which was reported to have exploded at a service center in India. The video of the incident was published by 91Mobiles on its Facebook page. From the video, we could grab that the device was apparently brought in for repairs by the owner. While the repairman was trying to open up the smartphone, it suddenly went up flames.
We can’t verify if the service centre located at Gujarat is a Xiaomi certified service centre but the report carried by regional publication Khabar Gujarat, states that Kishan – a technician at Dhriti Mobiles – was repairing the Redmi Note 6 Pro when smoke started coming out of the handset’s back panel. The unit then caught fire, and the technician had to throw it off the counter to prevent the fire from engulfing other flammable items around. Thankfully, no one was hurt by the incident but the Redmi Note 6 Pro was completely damaged. We doubt if the device is covered by any warranty since the Note 6 Pro was released in 2018 as a successor to the Redmi Note 5. However, we expect Xiaomi to investigate the cause of the fire incident.
As at the time of filing this report, there has been no response from Xiaomi. We’ll keep you updated if Xiaomi responds. Meanwhile, you can check out the video of the incident from the source link below.
A new Counterpoint report has revealed that OnePlus, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, has grabbed the top spot in the Indian smartphone market in the premium segments.
In recent years, OnePlus has grown significantly to become one of the most recognized smartphone brands in the Indian subcontinent. According to the Counterpoint report, the company led the premium smartphone segment with a 33 percent market share. This marks the first time the company took the top spot while also surpassing 2 million smartphone shipments in India, within 2019.
Red represents OnePlus while Blue and Gray represent Samsung and Apple respectively (Image via Counterpoint)
On the other hand, the previous market leader, Samsung, arrives second with a market share of just 26 percent in the same market segment. Apple follows close behind the South Korean tech giant with a 25 percent market share and was touted to be the fastest growing premium smartphone brand in 2019; marking a 41 percent year on year bump over 2019. The success of the Cupertino based giant has been accredited to its popular and relatively affordable offering, the iPhone XR.
The premium segment in India includes smartphones sold above which are priced at 30,000 INR (or roughly 421 US Dollars) or above. Notably, this segment also saw remarkable growth with an overall market rise of 29 percent over 2018, reaching record breaking smartphone shipments as well.
Pete Lau, Founder and CEO of OnePlus, stated that “2019 has been a remarkable year for us at OnePlus. Every milestone we have achieved strengthened our pursuit for excellence in technology. We will remain dedicated towards creating burden-less and best-in-class user experience.”
OnePlus 7T
Notably, the company’s OnePlus 7 series of smartphones has emerged as the most popular premium segment smartphone in the Southeast Asian country in 2019. The device’s popularity is said to have been boosted. Furthermore, even the ultra-premium segment which includes devices over 45,000 INR also saw impressive growth of 63 percent over 2018, with OnePlus also offerings more handsets in this segment as well.
The coronavirus outbreak in China is serious. And the Chinese government is desperately trying to control its spread in the country. A lot of retail stores and offices are closed throughout China and those who are open are taking precautionary measures to ensure the safety of their employees and customers. After we reported how Xiaomi had employed temperature checks and compulsory masks for its offices in the country, Asus announced today that it’s launching contact-less after sales service to its customers in the market.
Asus Store Source: Wiki
Asus sells a wide variety of computer peripherals, PCs, laptops, and even smartphones like the ROG Phone 2 in China. The brand operates a number of service centers across the country and recently it launched a special contact-less service facility to its customers. In addition to disinfecting its service center locations and ensuring its engineers wear masks and disposable gloves, the brand is offering contact-less service to both on-site repairs and products sent in for repairs from customers.
Asus has said that it will disinfect all products after repair, before sending it back to the customers. As for on-site repairs, instead of going to the customer’s location for fixing the device, the company’s engineers will contact them for a pre-determined time and location. After the product is picked up for repairs, it will be delivered to the customer at a place and time of their choosing. This way, repairs can be availed without any contact, ensuring the customer as well as the engineer’s safety. Asus is also encouraging customers to use its remote assistance feature for support, whenever possible.
Asus service center in China Source: CnBeta
Finally, Asus announced that if a device warranty is ending between January 20 and February 9, 2020, it will get extended due to the extraordinary circumstances created by the coronavirus outbreak.
A new leak has revealed the renders of the upcoming Meizu 17, offering us a first look at the handset. The device is a flagship smartphone from the known Chinese smartphone company.
Meizu has recently been keeping a low level of public appearance and activities and has seemingly been preparing for new launches. The new render shared from a known leakster on Weibo reveals the design of the company’s upcoming Meizu 17. The images shared revealed both the front and rear of the smartphone.
According to the images, the smartphone arrives with a bezel-less screen which almost completely covers the front area. However, a notable inclusion on the front is the presence of a punch hole selfie camera. Notably, it can also be observed that the sides of the Meizu 17 curves into the back panel.
Meizu 17 Renders (Reported)
Moving on to the rear, the upcoming flagship smartphone has a circular camera module positioned in the top center of the back panel. From the images, a quad camera setup is seen which is surrounded by a ring, which presumably also acts as an LED flash since no separate LED flash port is present.
Under the hood, the Meizu 17 series is speculated to be equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 5G SoC, which would also allow for a dual mode 5G capabilities. Unfortunately, other finer details are still at large and we would have to wait for an official company announcement before providing any concrete statements.
Meizu 17 rear reveals a quad camera setup with a ring flash module
It is also worth noting that the company recently opened a 5G research and development center in China and screenshots of its networking capabilities with the newer and faster bandwidth have already been making round on the internet. The images also reveal possible color variants with a basic black Meizu 17 model or one with a lemon-yellow sort of tint at the rear.
Ni Fei, the President of Nubia, went on Weibo to share his thoughts on the upcoming Red Magic 5G smartphone. The senior executive took to the popular Chinese microblogging website to comment on the smartphone’s capabilities.
Ni Fei, President of Nubia, shared this post on his official Weibo account (Translated)
Currently, there are plenty of smartphones that are slated to receive the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G SoC. However, many are skeptical about the battery life of a 5G smartphone which also features a display with a 144Hz refresh rate. Thus, Ni Fei took to the social media platform to put such worries to rest by stating that the upcoming Red Magic 5G smartphone will have an excellent battery performance.
From what we know so far, the Nubia Red Magic 5G smartphone will feature a 144Hz display and will arrive with the Snapdragon 865 SoC. Unfortunately, other finer details of the device are yet to be revealed, but previously the President had also suggested that the smartphone could possibly feature 80W fast charging capabilities. Although, further down the Weibo post, Ni Fei shared three different battery and charging rates configurations: 100W + 4000mAh, 55W + 4500mAh, 30W + 5000mAh.
Nubia’s President had previously revealed specifications that imply of a smartphone with upwards of 80W fast charging
The 55W + 4500mAh configuration seems the most likely, as it one is within the range of the previous reveal from the President and a recent leak which also stated that a 55W fast charging can be expected. Unfortunately, we can not offer any concrete statements and these are just educated guesses for now. So stay tuned for more updates regarding the upcoming Red Magic 5G smartphone.
The Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G launched last year with a pretty curved display called Horizon Display. As part of the design changes made because of the screen, Huawei let go of the physical volume buttons and replaced them with a virtual volume rocker that can be controlled from any side of the screen. However, some users have reported issues when using this virtual volume buttons. Huawei has now begun rolling out an update that improves the functionality.
The update is rolling out to users in China and comes as version 10.0.0.196 (C00E190R5P3). It weighs in at 110MB and a rough translation of the changelog says it fixes the issue of the virtual volume control not working in some scenarios.
There is no info on when the fix will be available for models outside China as well as the 4G model, but if you own a unit and you have gotten the update, do let us know.
The Mate 30 Pro 5G has a 6.53-inch OLED display with a 2400 x 1176 resolution and a wide notch at the top. It is powered by the Kirin 990 5G processor and comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of expandable storage. It has a 32MP selfie camera paired with a 3D ToF camera. On the back are two 40MP sensors (main and ultrawide) paired with an 8MP telephoto camera and a 3D ToF camera for a quad camera setup.
The phone has Face ID and also has an in-display fingerprint scanner. There is NFC, IR blaster, and Bluetooth 5.1. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have an audio jack. There is a 4500mAh battery inside with support for 40W wired charging, 27W wireless charging, and also reverse wired and wireless charging. The phone ships with EMUI 10 based on Android 10 out of the box.
iQOO 3 smartphone’s launch drawing near. Recent leaks have revealed the key specifications of the smartphone. It will be a Snapdragon 865 mobile platform powered smartphone in this month. Some reports have claimed that it may go official first in India. A reliable tipster from China has shared an image that reveals the iQOO 3 in real skin.
In the two images shown in the post, the iQOO 3 that has a punch-hole at the top-right corner of its display is placed alongside an OPPO phone that features a punch-hole at the upper-left corner of its screen. It is not clear where the device placed besides the iQOO 3 is the already unveiled OPPO Reno3 Pro or the upcoming Find X2.
Allegegd iQOO 3
The leakster who shared the new images had revealed in the recent past that the iQOO 3 will be sporting a display that Vivo has already used on other phones. The 6.44-inch S-AMOLED display with full HD+ resolution and 20:9 aspect ratio support that is available on phones like Vivo X30, Vivo X30 Pro, Vivo S5 and Indian version of the Vivo V17 will be also made available on the iQOO 3. While the phone may arrive with some gaming capabilities, it won’t be a full-fledged gaming phone. Moreover, its display will only support an aspect ratio of 20:9. The screen of the iQOO 3 will be integrated with a fingerprint sensor.
The edges of the iQOO 3 is surrounded by four buttons which include volume up, volume down, power key and a dedicated button for accessing the Jovi AI assistant. It remains to be seen whether it arrives preloaded the latest Android 10 OS.
The iQOO 3 is expected to feature a 4,4100mAh battery. The 3C appearance of the phone had revealed that it could be equipped with a 55W fast charger. There is no information on the front camera of the iQOO 3. It is speculated that the top-left corner of the rear shell of the device will have a vertical quad camera setup. It is expected to sport a 48-megapixel main lens.
Huawei had announced the 2020 MateBook D 14 and the D 15 in Shanghai back in November 2019. Both devices have just launched in the United Kingdom. Contrary to the Chinese launch, the laptops will be available in a single configuration and color choice in the UK.
According to Huawei, the MateBook D 14 and D 15 offer greater performance, robust build quality, and a chic design. The laptops are also considerably lighter than the predecessor. The D14 is priced significantly higher than the MateBook D15, due to its ultra-portability and the fact that it packs a larger battery and more internal storage.
2020 Huawei MateBook D Series Specifications and Features
Huawei MateBook D15
Both the Huawei MateBook D 14 and the D 15 flaunt Full HD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 16:9. While the D 14 sports a 14-inch display, the D 15 flaunts a 15.6-inch screen. The laptops sport a screen-to-body ratio of 84 percent and 87 percent respectively. The laptops are designed to open up to 178-degree.
Both the MateBook D14 and D 15 draw power from a 12nm AMD Ryzen 5 3500U processor with AMD Radeon Vega 8 graphics. Both devices sport 8GB of DDR4 dual-channel RAM and flaunt 512 GB and 256 GB of storage respectively. Huawei has introduced its new Shark Fin 2.0 cooling setup that offers better performance than its predecessor.
While the MateBook D 14 is powered by a 56Wh battery the D 15 draws power from a 42Wh unit. Both laptops support 65W charging and come with a USB Type-C charger. Connectivity options include an HDMI port, a USB Type-C port, two full-sized USB 2.0 ports, a USB 3.0 port, and a 3.5mm headphone port.
File transfer between Huawei smartphones is made easy with the OneHop interface that connects to brand smartphones at a single tap and starts file transfer instantly. Users can also control their Huawei smartphones from the new MateBook D, or share clipboards using OneHop.
The Huawei MateBook D 14 measures 322.5 x 214.8 x 15.9 mm and flaunts a 4.8 mm display. The MateBook D 15 measures 357.8 x 229.9 x 16.9 mm and sports a 5.3 mm display.
2020 Huawei MateBook D Series price and availability
Huawei launched the MateBook D 14 at £649. While the MateBook D 15 is priced at £599. Both laptops run on Windows 10 and are scheduled to arrive in the UK on February 21. Huawei is yet to announce the prices and a tentative launch date globally.
South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics is shutting down its flagship Samsung Experience store temporarily in Shanghai, China amid rising concerns regarding the spread of the deadly Coronavirus. The report was first published by the South Korean media network Yonhap News Agency. The 800-square meter Samsung Experience store in Shanghai was inaugurated in October 2019 and is an effort to reinvent smartphone sales and aftersales services
According to the publication, this is a precautionary step by Samsung. The company intends to resume operations starting Feb. 9, although the date might be postponed depending on the situation in China. With the outbreak of the Wuhan Coronavirus, numerous OEMs and ODM suppliers in China have shut operations either partially or entirely. The manufacturing schedule was partially delayed by the Chinese New Year celebrations, and the outbreak did not help. According to Yonhap, various third-party Galaxy S20 case manufacturers have informed retailers of their inability to meet previous deadlines.
The problem is likely to extend beyond smartphone accessory suppliers soon, with Yonhap estimating global supplies to fall by 2 percent this year. The only positive news for fans of the Samsung brand is that the company is not solely reliant on China for manufacturing smartphones. Certain ODM models like the Galaxy A01 are still manufactured solely in the country, resulting in shorter supply once the ODMs fail to meet production deadlines. In terms of availability, most of Samsung’s flagship products are safe.
Samsung is not the only electronics manufacturer to feel the heat, as China accounts for over 70 percent of global smartphone production. An outbreak of this scale is sure to impact other global electronics brands based in the country, including Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, and OnePlus to name a few.
Back in September 2019, HMD Global owned Nokia had unveiled multiple products during the IFA event like smartphones and other hearbles, including the Nokia Power Earbuds (BH-605) true wireless earphones, which is now finally being launched in China as well.
Design and Features
The Nokia Power Earbuds arrive in two colors, including black and light gray. Although, only the back version is currently available. A single earbud measures 25 x 23 x 23.8mm while the charging case measures 79 x 48.5 x 31mm. The truly wireless earphones also support Bluetooth 5.0 and are waterproof with an IPX7 rating, allowing for submersion up to 1 meter for about 30 minutes.
Nokia Power Earbuds True Wireless Earphones arrive in two colors, Charcoal Black and Light Gray, and offer up to 150 hours of battery life
One of its highlighting features is its impressive battery life. Along with the charging case, the Nokia Power Earbuds can last up to 150 hours, according to the company’s official notes. The earbuds, on their own, offer music playback up to 5 hours on a single full charge (total capacity being 50mAh) and can be charged multiple times via the charging case’s 3,000mAh battery capacity. Notably, the charging case can be charged via a USB Type-C port compatible cable, which is a welcomed addition.
The Nokia Power Earbuds are equipped with a 6mm graphene driver unit for audio output and even supports Google’s voice assistant that can be accessed by a touch of a button. This also allows for hands-free voice commands.
Price and Availability
The Nokia Power Earbuds true wireless earphones are currently available in China through multiple online portals. The long lasting earbuds are priced at 699 Yuan which roughly translates to about 100 US Dollars.
A new report suggests that Apple, the known smartphone brand, might see a notable impact on its iPhone supply. This arrives after Foxconn, a major supplier of Apple is speculated to suffer from a “big” production hit after the halt of operations on its factory continues further due to the recent Coronavirus outbreak in China.
Foxconn, a primary supplier of Apple, has shutdown its iPhone production line in China till 10th February 2020 due to the viral outbreak
So far, Foxconn has seen a factory shutdown for a whole week which might get extended to the second one, causing disruption in Apple’s shipments of iPhone to its customers across the globe. As of right now, Foxconn’s operations have been completely shut down until the 10th of February 2020, in accordance with the Chinese Government’s recent rules for combating the virus outbreak.
According to a new report, a source close to Apple claimed that the halt would affect the Cupertino based giant in a “big” manner. The smartphone OEM is exposed to the Coronavirus on both its demand and supply sides. Foxconn production being stopped for another week could make it harder for Apple to maintain its normal rate of worldwide shipments of its popular iPhones.
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Notably, Apple has closed all of it retails store operations in China. This, in turn, implies a further fall in iPhone sales in China as well. Furthermore, Apple has reported a wide guidance revenue range for its quarterly earnings call. According to Luca Maestri, the Chief Financial Officer of Apple, the range of uncertainty between $62 billion and $67 billion is due to the ongoing epidemic in China concerning the Coronavirus outbreak.
Xiaomi is expected to anounce the Xiaomi Mi 10 series in the coming week in China. The lineup includes Xiaomi Mi 10 and Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro smartphones. These 5G ready devices will be powered by Snapdragon 865 mobile platform. Past reports have claimed that Xiaomi Mi 10 series may sport 108-megapixel cameras. A new report on XDA Developers states that are some reasons that indicate that the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro will be sporting 108-megapixel cameras.
Xiaomi had launched Mi CC9 Pro with penta-lens setup in China in November. International markets received the same phone as Xiaomi Mi Note 10 / Note 10 Prov. It is the first phone to feature 108-mgeapixel ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor from Samsung. Before the launch of these devices, the publication had claimed that four Xiaomi devices with codenames such as Tucana, Draco, Umi and Cmi will be sporting 108-megapixel cameras. These codenames were revealed by scouring through the stock Mi Gallery app of MIUI.
It was found that the Tucana was the codename of the Mi Note 10 Pro. The Draco phone launched in the market as Mi MIX Alpha concept phone. The identities of the Umi and Cmi phones remained under the wraps. The publication claims that the Umi phone is the Xiaomi Mi 10 whereas the Cmi handset is Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro. This has been confirmed through the build.prop files for the two devices. These files have also revealed that they are equipped with Snapdragon 865 mobile platform and MIU1 11 flavored Android 10 OS. A new report states that Xiaomi CEO
The Xiaomi President Lin Bin has confirmed that Xioami will be the first brand to launch Snapdragon 865 powered phones. Samsung will be announcing the Galaxy S20 series fueled by SD865 on Feb. 11. Even if Xiaomi announces Mi 10 series on Feb. 12, it may technically end up launching the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro earlier than S20 series because of the time zone differences. It is speculated that after the unveiling, the Xiaomi Mi 10 may go on sale from Feb. 13. The advanced Mi 10 Pro could be available for purchase from Feb. 18. The Mi 10 series could be priced between 3,500 Yuan (~$500) and 5,000 Yuan (~$715).
DxOMark is a renowned benchmarking and testing company that tests a varied range of gadget that includes professional grade cameras, digital cameras, and even smartphone cameras. In the tests, the company also tests the audio performance of the device and with its latest tests on the Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro Premium Edition, the results were slightly lacking.
Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro Premium Edition receives an Audio test score of just 54 points out of 100. In comparison to other devices within the same segment, the score is relatively low. While the audio output from the single speaker found in the Mi CC9 Pro performed well overall, its sound field was less than desirable. The audio output turned out to be narrow, unbalanced and the bass was negligible.
Furthermore, the audio output gets extremely distorted and muddled at higher or maximum volume range. However, the same is not the case if the volume levels are at lower levels. According to DxOMark, Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro Premium Edition’s main downfall in the audio tests was its single speaker. The configuration made sound quality unnatural, especially when enjoying media entertainment like movies, music and even during mobile gaming.
On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro Premium Edition did receive praise in certain cases. Its playback was very accurate and clear. The device had good positioning ability and distance presentation which is positive for listening and recording non-music content.
Summing things up, the Mi CC9 Pro Premium Edition did not have a balanced speaker and suffered from terrible distortions, lack of bass, and muddled sounds in certain cases. However, it did manage to be more appealing with its audio recording capabilities with its playback specifically receiving praise.
Xiaomi loves being the first to launch a new product or feature. For example, Xiaomi was the first in the market to launch a 108MP smartphone and even the first one to launch a super fast 30W wireless charger. Now, the company aims to be the first brand to launch the Snapdragon 865 powered smartphone.
Xiaomi Mi 10 is said to launch via an online event
In a reply to one of his followers on Weibo, Lin Bin, Xiaomi’s co-founder and President, revealed that Xiaomi will be the first company to release a Snapdragon 865 powered flagship.
Lin Bin confirms Xiaomi will be the first to grab the SD865
This is an interesting statement given how the company is running out of time to achieve this goal. The Galaxy S20 series with Snapdragon 865 is confirmed to launch on February 11 in the U.S, which leaves Xiaomi only a handful of days to announce their own SD865-powered Mi 10 flagship. However, so far, we haven’t heard anything from the company regarding a launch event.
So how will Xiaomi be the World’s First Company to launch a Snapdragon 865 Phone?
Technically, it can beat Samsung to Snapdragon 865’s release in two ways. It can either announce the Xiaomi Mi 10 flagship with this Qualcomm chipset before February 11 (it’ll be Feb 12 in China due to the time zone differences). Or it can put up the Mi 10 for sale before the S20 is available (likely from March 6). This way, Xiaomi Mi 10 can be the first Snapdragon 865 phone to market, even if it’s announced a few days after the S20 series.
Galaxy S20 could be the first phone with SD865 if the Mi 10 is late to the party
However, there are reports that Xiaomi plans to announce the new flagship via an online conference on February 11, just before the Samsung Unpacked event. Rumors state that the company will start releasing warm up teasers for the event from February 7.
Xiaomi’s Work continues despite coronavirus epidemic
Despite the difficult situation in China right now, the company executives are back to work this week. Xiaomi has taken significant precautions for people working in the office right now. Everyone coming to the office have to register and subject themselves to body temperature checks. It looks like wearing masks is also compulsory in the office premises.
Redmi K30 4G has landed in India. It has arrived with the POCO X2 moniker. It is not the successor for the highly popular POCO F1 smartphone from 2018. The POCO F2 will be arriving sometime later in this year.
POCO has started the year 2020 with the mid-range POCO X2 smartphone. The handset has been introduced in India in three variants and it comes with a starting price of Rs. 15,999 (~$225). The POCO X2 is the first phone in India to sport the Sony IMX686 64-megapixel camera. It has an impressive large-sized display that offers a tall aspect ratio of 120Hz.
Poco X2 Special Edition
POCO X2 specifications and features
The POCO X2 measures 165.3 x 76.6 x 8.8mm and it weighs 208 grams. The front and rear sides of the phone are flanked Gorilla Glass 5 and it is equipped with an aluminum frame. It is a splash-proof device with P2i coating. The POCO X2 is fitted with a 6.67-inch IPS LCD display that offers a full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. The HDR10 compliant screen supports a refresh rate of 120Hz which offers an enriched and super smooth experience. The display has a pill-shaped at the top-right corner. It houses two front-facing cameras.
1 of 3
The 8nm Snapdragon 730G is at the helm of the POCO X2 with up to 8 GB of RAM. The MIUI 11 based Android 10 comes preloaded on the device. For gamers, the phone is equipped with GPU Turbo for an enhanced gaming experience. The phone is able to regulate its internal temperature while intensive gaming as it is equipped with liquid cooling technology. The POCO X2 receives power from a 4,500mAh battery and it comes with support for 17W fast charging. It can be fully charged in 68 minutes, just like the K30 4G.
Redmi K30 4G has been rebranded as POCO X2 in India
The POCO X2 comes with UFS 2.1 storage of up to 256 GB. A shared SIM slot is available onboard for more storage. The dual selfie camera system on the POCO X2 has a primary shooter of 20-megapixel. It is coupled with a 2-megapixel. There is a circular pattern on the rear shell of the POCO X2 which houses a dual-LED flash assisted quad-camera system. It is equipped with a Sony IMX686 64-megapixel main lens, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens with a field-of-view of 120 degrees, a 2-megapixel dedicated lens for macro shots and a 2-megapixel depth assist sensor. The POCO X2 offers plenty of camera features such as raw camera capture, 4K video shooting at 30fps, HD video shooting at 960fps, video blogging mode, ultrawide video recording. The front cameras support AI portrait mode, screen flash and full HD video recording at 30fps.
The POCO X2 comes with other features like dual SIM support, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, VoWiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, IR blaster, GPS, USB-C and 3.5mm audio jack. The phone is also equipped with Hi-Res Audio and 1217 super line speaker with Smart PA loudspeaker. Lastly, there is a side-mounted fingerprint sensor on the device.
POCO X2 price and availability
Here is the pricing of the different variants of the POCO X2:
6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage – Rs. 15,999 (~$225)
6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage – Rs. 16,999 (~$239)
8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage – Rs. 19,999 (~$281)
Color variants: Atlantis Blue, Matrix Purple, and Phoenix Red
The POCO X2 will be exclusively available for purchase through Flipkart starting from Feb. 11. Buyers with ICICI debit and credit cards with Rs. 1,000 cashback.
Throughout the launch event of the POCO X2, the company claimed that its device is better than the Realme X2 in many aspects.
What’s your opinion? Share your thoughts by posting your comments below.
Samsung had an early start for the year 2020. The Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S10 Lite phones were introduced right at the beginning of the year. The Galaxy S20 series and the clamshell Galaxy Z Flip foldable phone are slated to go official in the coming week. The South Korean company will be bringing the Galaxy A51 and Galaxy A71 to wider markets and it will be also releasing couple of A-series and M-series smartphones in the country. Recent reports have revealed that the South Korean company is also working on a second edition of the Galaxy Fold. Dutch based GalaxyClub.nl publication has shared some initial information on the Galaxy Fold 2.
Samsung is yet to confirm the name of the successor for its foldable display phone – the Galaxy Fold that was announced in 2019. The rumor mill is currently referring to as the Galaxy Fold 2. The aforementioned publication has revealed that the Galaxy Fold 2 is codenamed as Winner 2 or Win2. The original Galaxy Fold was codenamed as Winner.
With the similar codename as predecessor model, there is a possibility that the Galaxy Fold 2 may arrive with a design that is similar to the original Galaxy Fold. Hence, there may not be any major changes in terms of design. Rather, the Galaxy Fold 2 may for an enhanced experience than the predecessor model. It is yet to be confirmed whether the device will be accompanied with a stylus. It could be packed with more powerful specs than the original model.
There is a 5G variant of the device that is dubbed as Win2 5G. Hence, it appears that the Galaxy Fold 2 could be arriving in 4G LTE and 5G flavors. The model numbers of the Win2 and Win2 5G are yet to be known. The report further states that the Galaxy Fold 2 may arrive later this year. It is unclear whether the Galaxy Fold 2 debut alongside the Galaxy Note 20 arriving in the second half of the year.
A recent report had revealed that the Galaxy Fold 2 could be coming with an 8-inch foldable display with Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) and it could be drawing power from the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform. It could be sporting a primary shooter of 108-megapixel. The report had also claimed that it could be coming with an S-Pen stylus. Rumors also suggest that the company is also working on a Z series foldable phone with tri-folding design. Nothing is known on the specs of this mysterious foldable smartphone.
Last month, OPPO India had launched the OPPO F15 smartphone in India. It had arrived as a rebranded version of the OPPO A91 that went official in China in December 2019. A fresh report on 91mobiles state that OPPO is working another phone called OPPO F15s for India. The handset is expected to rival with Redmi Note 8 and Realme 5 in March this year.
Citing information that appeared through industry sources, the publication claims that the OPPO F15s that will go official next month will be a lower version of the OPPO F15. However, there is no information available on its specifications yet.
Oppo F15
The OPPO F15 is priced at Rs. 19,990 in India. There is a possibility that the OPPO F15s could be priced around Rs. 10,000 in the country since it is expected to compete with likes of Redmi Note 8 and Realme 5. Hopefully, more information on the device may surface in the coming weeks.
In December, OPPO had launched the inferior OPPO A8 smartphone alongside the OPPO A91 phone in China. The A91 was rebadged as F15 in India, but the OPPO A8 hasn’t launched in the country. It remains to be seen whether the OPPO A8 which carried weaker specs than the OPPO A91 could be landing in India as OPPO F15s or some other moniker.
The OPPO A8 smartphone features a 6.5-inch IPS LCD display with waterdrop notch. It offers 720 x 1600 pixels HD+ resolution and 20:9 aspect ratio. The modest Helio P35 chipset is present under the hood of the OPPO A8 along with 4 GB of RAM. The device offers users with an internal storage of 128 GB. A dedicated slot for microSD is available on the device.
Oppo A8
The Android 9 Pie OS that is flavored with ColorOS 6.1 runs on the OPPO A8. The smartphone is backed by a 4,230mAh battery. There is no support for fast charging on the device.
At the front, the OPPO A8 features an 8-megapixel selfie camera. The back panel of the phone has a triple camera system along with an LED flash. It consists a 12-megapixel primary shooter, a 2-megapixel macro lens and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. The back panel of the smartphone is fitted with a rear-facing fingerprint scanner. In China, the OPPO A8 carries a price tag of 1,199 Yuan (~$171). The OPPO A91 was made official with a price tag of 1,999 Yuan (~$285).
Xiaomi is most likely to announce the Xiaomi Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro flagship phones in this month. It is speculated that the Mi 10 series may go official in the coming week. Redmi too is reportedly working on the Redmi K30 Pro flagship phone. Like the Mi 10 series, the K30 Pro will also draw power from the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform. However, the K30 Pro may not be a premium flagship device like the Mi 10 series. Yesterday, a report on XDA Developers had revealed that the Redmi K30 Pro may not be arriving with 108-megapixel camera and it could be coming with Sony IMX686 64-megapixel main shooter. Today, a tipster from China has also claimed that the Redmi K30 Pro will be sporting a quad camera setup on its back with a 64-megapixel Sony IMX686 as primary lens.
The tipster did not share any information on the configurations of the four lenses that will be sitting on the backside of the Redmi K30 Pro. The Redmi K30 that was announced in December had a circular pattern in which it featured a vertical quad camera setup. The tipster has revealed that the camera arrangement on the Pro model will be different from Redmi K30. There is a possibility that the Redmi K30 Pro may flaunt a round-shaped camera module.
There are not many details available on the Redmi K30 Pro. It is speculated that the device is codenamed as “lmi.” This codename was seen in the Redmi K30 Pro Geekbench listing that had surfaced in the last month. It had revealed that SD865 driven smartphone recorded a score of 903 in the single-core test of Geekbench. In its multi-core test, it scored 3,362 points.
The Geekbench listing further revealed that the Redmi K30 Pro is equipped with 8 GB of RAM and it is loaded with Android 10 OS. The operating system on the K30 Pro could be overlaid with the latest MIUI 11 skin. The rest of the details of the phone are currently under the wraps.
Xiaomi is expected to announce the Xiaomi Mi 10 series in China in the coming week. The Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro phones could be priced between 3,500 Yuan (~$499) and 5,000 Yuan (~$713) whereas the Redmi K30 Pro could be costing under 3,500 Yuan. If the Redmi K30 Pro releases early in China, it may disturb the sales of the Mi 10 series. Hence, there is a possibility that the company may want to make it official by March end and make it available for purchase in April. It is advisable to wait for further reports to known on the arrival of the Redmi K30 Pro.
Last year, in December, almost 26 years after the death of the notorious drug lord, a smartphone dubbed Pablo Escobar Fold 1 was launched. The smartphone, claimed to have a durable design, launched as the cheapest foldable phone having starting price of $349.
Now, the company inspired by Pablo Escobar has released a new foldable smartphone that looks very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Fold — Escobar Fold 2. However, instead of $2,000 price tag of Galaxy Fold, the device is priced at just $399.
The smartphone comes with a 4.6-inch outer display that opens to become a 7.3-inch tablet screen. Similar to the Samsung‘s first foldable phone, this one too has the same type of cutout in the right corner for housing camera sensors.
Escobar Fold 2 has a triple-camera setup on the back panel that consists of a 12-megapixel wide-angle lens, a 12-megapixel telephoto lens and a 16-megapixel ultra-wide lens. On the front side, it features a dual-camera setup with an 8-megapixel sensor and a 10-megapixel camera on the unfolded tablet display.
Under the hood, the device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 octa-core processor and packs 4,380mAh battery. The device is also running the latest Android 10 operating system out-of-the-box.
It comes with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and has a USB Type-C port for charging. The smartphone is now available to order and the company says that it will keep the initial production run to 200,000 units.
As for the pricing, the Escobar Fold 2 smartphone starts at $399 for the base model with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. The higher variant with 12GB RAM and 512GB internal storage is priced at $549. It is expected to start shipping from next month.
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