How to enable Call Screen feature on all Pixel devices?

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Feb 12, 2020

Samsung has decided to borrow a leaf from Apple following the launch of the Galaxy S20 series. The manufacturer announced official price cuts for its Galaxy S10 lineup. The announcement shows that Samsung will continue manufacturing the phones which were released last year.

Based on the price cuts, the Galaxy S10e will now begin at $599 while the Galaxy S10 will have a starting price of $749. The Galaxy S10+, on the other hand, will have a starting price of $849.

When the three phones were launched last year, the Galaxy S10e had a starting price of $749, the Galaxy S10 sold for $899, and the Galaxy S10+ launched for $999.

Even with the new price, the Galaxy S10e is still more expensive than the Galaxy S10 Lite and the Galaxy Note10 Lite. The S10 Lite was announced last month in India for INR 39,999 (~$560) while the Galaxy Note10 Lite launched for INR38,999 (~$548).

The price cuts have not yet taken effect when we checked at the time of writing. So if you plan to purchase any of the models of the Galaxy S10 series, you may want to delay your purchase until the new prices come into effect.

Samsung Galaxy Buds+ with 2-way speakers and 11 hours battery life announced

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Feb 12, 2020

Through the Galaxy Unpacked 2020 event, Samsung unveiled the highly anticipated Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, Galaxy S20+ Ultra 5G-enabled premium flagship phones. The Galaxy Z Flip clamshell phone with flexible screen was unveiled alongside the S20 series. At the event, the South Korean company also unveiled Galaxy Buds+ wireless earphones. It has arrived as a successor for the Galaxy Buds earbuds that was made official along with the Galaxy S10 series last year.

Samsung Galaxy Buds+ specifications and features

The AKG tuned Galaxy Buds+ truly wireless earbuds comes with 2-way tweeter and woofer speakers that promise rich treble and bass. The earbuds are equipped with as many as three microphones for crisp and clear calls. With improved Ambient Sound technology onboard, users can choose from available options like Low, Medium, High and Extra High for adjusting the level of noise cancellation. Each earbud measures 17.5 x 19.2 x 22.5mm and weighs 6.3 grams. The charging case for the Galaxy Buds has 38.8 x 70 x 26.5mm dimensions and it weighs 39.6 grams. Appearance-wise, it looks similar to the predecessor model.

Editor’s Pick: Samsung Used the Galaxy S20 Ultra to Shoot and Live-Stream its Unpacked 2020 Event

The Galaxy Buds+ can be paired with devices running on iOS 7 or higher and Android devices with 1.5 GB RAM and Android 5.0 Lollipop or above. Samsung is offering a dedicated companion app for iOS users. The Galaxy Buds+ supports audio codecs like SBC, AAC and Scalable.

For connectivity, users can rely on Bluetooth 5.0. The touchpads on the Galaxy Buds+ can be used for different functions like play, pause, move to previous / next song, receive / end call and volume up or down. Spotify users can continue listening to their favorite songs with a single press. Spotify can play recommended songs based on users’ preferences through tap and hold function.

Each of the Galaxy Buds+ has an 85mAh battery. The wireless charging case contains a 270mAh battery. By charging it once, the Buds+ can last for up to 11 hours of battery life. By charging for only 3 minutes, it can last for 1 hour, claims the company. The Buds+ charging case doubles the battery life of the earbuds to 22 hours. The earbuds support Qi wireless charging. It can be also charged through USB-C.

Samsung Galaxy Buds+ price

The Galaxy Buds+ have arrived in the U.S. with a price tag of $149. It can be bought in colors like black, blue and white. It will be available for purchase starting from Feb. 14 in the U.S.

Xiaomi’s Wi-Fi 6 Router AX3600 with 7 antennas revealed in a New Poster

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Feb 12, 2020

Xiaomi’s hotly-anticipated Mi 10 series of smartphones will come with WiFi 6 connectivity support. To sustain this feature, the Chinese tech giant is prepping to launch a Wi-Fi 6 router dubbed the Xiaomi AIoT AX3600.

On February 12th, Xiaomi revealed an image of its impending WiFi 6 router, giving us a brief glimpse of its appearance. The router adopts a highly-appealing design that complements the seven antennas on it, as seen in the recently exhibited photo. The image was shared via a post on Xiaomi’s official Weibo account.

The aforesaid AX3600’s antennas comprise a dedicated AIoT antenna that packs an independent dual-band Wi-Fi chip. This chipset is capable of automatically detecting new devices and even configuring the network with a single click. Moreover, the AX3600 enables users to remotely complete the configuration process using a remote control.

Touted as the company’s first Wi-Fi 6 router, the AX3600’s configuration was officially announced by Xiaomi earlier this month. Integrated with 512MB of RAM, the router adopts OFDMA technology and can efficiently transmit data to various terminal devices simultaneously.

Furthermore, it supports dual-frequency concurrency, MU-MIMO technology, delivers up to 2976Mbps theoretical rate, and the antennas can serve multiple types of equipment at the same time. The AX3600 Wi-Fi 6 router is powered by Qualcomm‘s 4-core A53 1GHz chip and is equipped with 6 high performing external signal amplifiers, including the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands that feature 2 and 4 external high performing signal amplifiers, respectively.

The online-only Mi 10 launch kicks off at 14:00 on February 13th. The existence of the Xiaomi AIoT AX3600 was originally confirmed by Digital Chat Station. According to Xiaomi, the AX3600 is the first-of-its-kind router to employ an enterprise-grade platform for the consumer market. More shreds of details are likely to surface online ahead of the new router’s launch. Xiaomi will be taking the covers off the Mi 10 series, as well as the AX3600 Wi-Fi 6 router at an online event, which will take place on Thursday in China.

Huawei confirms MWC 2020 event on Feb. 23, teases a foldable too

By

Joel Joseph

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Feb 12, 2020

While companies like LG, Sony are backing out of MWC 2020, Huawei has officially confirmed its presence at the event in Barcelona, Spain. The company released a teaser on its Weibo account earlier today, hinting at some of the products expected to be showcased at the event, including a foldable smartphone.

In the teaser image, Huawei is stressing on its 1+8+N strategy. Huawei revealed this strategy last year wherein, “1” is the device that has all control — a smartphone that is small, portable, and easy to use. The larger devices or access points represent “8”, which includes tablets and wearables to enhance your smartphone experience. And finally, “N” is the layer where everything comes together — the network as well as the company’s IoT devices.

And the image shows off eight categories including laptops, tablets, TV, headphones, watches, VR glasses, automobiles, and speakers. So, we might see products from some of these categories from the company at the event. According to the image shared by Huawei last year, the smartphone is at the central part of this strategy. And in the above image, we can see a bar-shaped object at the center is split into two halves, likely hinting at a foldable smartphone. While some say Huawei might show off its new Mate XS foldable, it’s likely that the company displays last year’s Mate X at this event. The successor to the device, powered by Kirin 990 5G, is expected to launch only by March 2020. The recent coronavirus outbreak might have affected its launch plans, but so far we haven’t got any update from the company.

Despite this confirmation from Huawei, it remains to be seen whether MWC will take place this year. The association is currently discussing the fate of the event and will announce a final decision on Friday, February 14. Meanwhile, companies like TCL, Vivo, LG, AT&T and others have already announced their withdrawal from MWC this year.

Xiaomi Mi 10 has a 4,500mAh battery with 50W fast charging and 30W wireless charging

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Feb 12, 2020

A few hours ago, Xiaomi revealed that the display parameters of the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 10 seriesv. Now, the Chinese manufacturer and its executives are busy teasing about the battery capabilities of the smartphone. The Mi 10 will come equipped with a 4,500mAh battery that will carry support for 50W fast flash charging.

With 50W rapid charging, the 4,500mAh battery of the Mi 10 can be fully charged in just 45 minutes. Apart from fast wired charging, the Mi 10 will support 30W wireless fast flash charging which is comparable to mainstream wired charging. The phone will also come with support for 10W reverse wireless charging enabling other devices like headphones and smartwatches to be charged.

The company is yet to share the battery and charging details of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro smartphone. The handset is rumored to come equipped with a 66W fast charging support. Its evidence was found in the MIUI 11 code in the previous month. Even a leaked photo of the fast charger had appeared in the recent past.

Xiaomi’s Vice President Chang Cheng has said that Xiaomi considered a lot of combinations of charging speed and battery capacity which includes 4,850mAh battery with 18W fast charging, 4,700mAh battery with 30W rapid charging, 4,500mAh battery with 50W fast charging and 4,050mAh battery with 65W fast charging.

Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi will attend MWC 2020; releases precautions that would be adhered to

Finally, the company came to the conclusion that 4,500mAh battery with 50W rapid charging is the best choice for the Xiaomi Mi 10 considering various factors like the thickness of the device and how a higher wattage (65W) would have forced the company to offer a battery with reduced capacity. This reminds us of the OPPO Reno Ace that came with a faster 65W rapid charging capabilities for its 4,000mh battery.

Xiaomi’s Wang Teng Thomas said the higher the charging power, the greater will be the impact on the battery capacity. He said that whether it is wired or wireless or reverse charging, the Mi 10 is faster than other fast charging features offered by competitor brands.

Xiaomi will be announcing the Snapdragon 865 powered Xiaomi Mi 10 series tomorrow through an online launch conference at 2 PM (local time). Until then, the company is expected to reveal some more information on the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro phones.

Purported OPPO Find X2 real image emerge to reveal triple rear cameras

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Feb 12, 2020

The OPPO Find X2 launch event will be held at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020 on Feb. 22. A render of the phone had surfaced earlier this week to reveal its front and rear design. It was found that the phone supports a punch-hole screen with curved edges and triple rear cameras.

A leaked photo of what appears to belong to the real OPPO Find X2 was leaked by designer Ben Geskin a couple of days back. As renders had revealed previously, the image shows off three cameras on its rear.

Since the purported OPPO Find X2 is in a protective case, its complete rear design cannot be seen. However, the image reveals that there is a vertical camera setup at the top-left corner of the rear shell of the device. It appears to be equipped with three cameras and an LED flash.

The camera design seems to resemble what was seen in the leaked render of the OPPO Find X2. The render had revealed that the top lens of the phone has a squarish appearance. It could be a periscope telephoto lens. The render had revealed a small strip between the second the third lens which could be a color temperature sensor. Its presence assists the cameras to capture photos with accurate colors.

Oppo Find X2 Image leaked by Ben Geskin on Twitter

Editor’s Pick: Oppo Confirms Rumors about Employing Workers and Technicians for Production of Masks

Rumors have it that the OPPO Find X2 has a periscope telephoto lens of 13-megapixel. Its main Sony IMX689 48-megapixel lens is said to be a custom sensor co-developed by Sony and OPPO. The Sony IMX708 superwide lens with widest photography capabilities is expected to make its debut on the Find X2.

The OPPO Find X2 may come with a 6.5-inch display with a punch-hole that features a Sony IMX616 32-megapixel selfie snapper. The display is expected to support quad HD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate along with a touch sampling rate of 240Hz. The other features that will be offered by the phone’s screen include 100 percent DCI-P3 color gamut support, HDR up to 1200nits brightness and SDR to HDR conversion.

The Snapdragon 865 mobile platform will be powering the device. The phone may come with a charger that supports 65W fast charging capabilities. The device will be equipped with other features like LPDDR5 RAM, USB 3.0 storage and Wi-Fi 6. There is no word on the pricing of the device.

(Source)

Samsung Used the Galaxy S20 Ultra to Shoot and Live-Stream its Unpacked 2020 Event

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Feb 12, 2020

The Galaxy S20 series of phones comprising the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, Galaxy S20 Ultra was unveiled today alongside Samsung‘s hotly-anticipated Galaxy Z Flip during a press event. Interestingly, the South Korean tech behemoth used the Galaxy S20 to shoot and live stream the entire Unpacked 2020 event, which took place in San Francisco.

The camera crew that was assigned the task of shooting the aforesaid unveiling event of the company’s latest flagship smartphones were given the Galaxy S20 Ultra. To facilitate the process of shooting and handling, Samsung placed the devices into specially-designed mounts that also offered more stability.

The press-conference was shot and live-streamed in Full HD resolution of 1080p on YouTube. Despite been shot using a smartphone, the video turned out to be clear and bright.

The impressive video output shows the phone’s capability of shooting near-flawless videos. Samsung also announced its latest-generation truly wireless earphones dubbed the Galaxy Buds+ at the press conference.

(Via)

iQOO 3 launch event to be held on February 25 in China

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Feb 12, 2020

iQOO is gearing up to launch its first smartphone in China and India. Yesterday, the company confirmed that its first phone for China will be dubbed as iQOO 3. A poster released by the company revealed that it will be sporting a punch-hole screen and a 48-megapixel quad camera setup. Today, the company confirmed that it will be holding an unveil event for announcing the iQOO 3 in China on Feb. 25.

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, smartphone OEMs in China have decided to hold online-only launch event to announce their new devices. The iQOO 3 flagship phone will be announced through a livestream launch event on Feb.25 starting at 2:30 PM (local time). iQOO is reportedly planning to launch an unveil event in India on the same date. While the iQOO brand has been existing since last year in China, it will be launching its first smartphone on the said date in India. Hence, it remains to be seen whether iQOO first phone for India arrives with iQOO 3 moniker or some other name.

It is believed that the alleged iQOO 3 phone for India will be priced under Rs. 40,000 (~$561). It is expected to debut as the India’s first 5G smartphone and released in the market the first phone to be driven by Snapdragon 865 mobile platform. Interestingly, 5G networks haven’t commercialized in India.

Editor’s Pick: Samsung’s second foldable device arrives as the $1380 Galaxy Z Flip

iQOO 3 Specifications

The iQOO 3 will be sporting an S-AMOLED display of 6.44 inches. It will be a punch-hole screen that will offer full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2,400 pixels, an aspect ratio of 20:9 and a regular refresh rate of 60Hz. Like all the predecessor iQOO phones, the iQOO 3 is said to be equipped with an in-display fingerprint reader.

The Snapdragon 865 mobile platform driven iQOO 3 is expected to hit the Chinese markets in RAM choices like 6 GB, 8 GB and 12 GB of RAM. It could be first smartphone in the world to arrive with the latest UFS 3.1 storage technology. The smartphone will be preloaded with Android 10 OS.

The iQOO 3 could be drawing power from a 4,410mAh battery. The 3C listing of the phone had revealed that the phone could be shipping with a 55W fast charger. It could be coming with a front camera of 16-megapixel. The rear shell of the device has a 48-megapixel quad camera system.

iQOO India is expected to introduce a 4G phone too in India. The handset that may not launch with the iQOO 5G phone in the country on Feb. 25. It is expected to come with flagship-grade specs and could be priced under Rs. 35,000 (~$491).

Xiaomi Mi 10 to sport pro-grade 90Hz punch-hole display with curved edges

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Feb 12, 2020

On Feb. 13, Xiaomi will be holding a livestream event in China to unleash the Xiaomi Mi 10 series which includes the Xiaomi Mi 10 and Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro. Both phones are expected to come equipped with an identical front design. The rear appearance of both phones could be same and the only major difference between the regular and Pro model will be that the latter will have an additional camera. Ahead of the launch, the Chinese manufacturer has been sharing the key details of the smartphone. It has already revealed information on the camera capabilities and vapor chamber liquid cooling system. Today, Xiaomi shared a new poster which contains plenty of information on the display of the Mi 10 series.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 is equipped with a 6.67-inch display. It is a custom-made AMOLED screen with curved edges that offers a contrast ratio of 5000000:1. There is a punch-hole at the top-left corner of the screen. It promises a peak brightness of 1120nits and it can reach 4,096 levels of automatic brightness adjustment.

Xiaomi claims JNCD (Just Noticeable Color Difference) and Delta E values of the custom screen have reached industry-leading levels. In other words, the Mi 10 display will offer professional-grade color accuracy. The JNCD <0.55 value confirms that the display of the Xiaomi Mi 10 is better than iPhone 11 Pro Max’s screen that has a JNCD <0.9 value. The Delta E value of the Mi 10’s screen is 1.11 which is significantly better than other flagship phones. The company states that each display is calibrated one by one before leaving the factory.

Editor’s Pick: Samsung Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20 Plus launch with significant upgrades

The display of the Xiaomi Mi 10 will carry support for 90Hz refresh rate along with 180Hz high frame rate sampling. The HDR10+ complaint display supports DCI-P3 color gamut and offers good viewing experience under bright sunlight. It supports full DC dimming. Lastly, the TUV Rheinland approved screen of the Mi 10 effectively filters the harmful blue rays. While it is not mentioned, the screen of the Mi 10 will be embedded with an in-screen fingerprint scanner. The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is likely to sport the same screen that is available on the Mi 10 phone.

The Xiaomi Mi 9 that was unveiled in February last year and the Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro 5G that had debuted in September were both equipped with waterdrop notch screens. The Mi 10 series will be the first flagship phones from the company to come equipped with punch-hole displays that promise high screen-to-body ratio.

Samsung Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20 Plus launch with significant upgrades

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Feb 12, 2020

Samsung has jumped from 10 to 20 with the naming of its new flagship phones. But that is not the only change it has done with the name. There is no Galaxy S20e that succeeds the Galaxy S10e. What you have is just the Galaxy S20. There is a Galaxy S20 Plus but we also get a Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Galaxy S20 Series Design

The Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20 Plus have undergone a makeover when compared to their predecessors, the Galaxy S10 series, but it is a design change we have already seen on some recent Samsung phones.

There is a new type of Infinity-O display with the hole for the camera in the middle and quite smaller too. The displays are also less curved.

On the back, Samsung has ditched the horizontal camera layout for a rectangular camera housing that stacks the sensors vertically.

Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20 Plus Specs

The Galaxy S20 is the smaller of the two with a 6.2-inch screen while the Plus model has a 6.7-inch screen. Both are Dynamic AMOLED displays with a 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate.

Both phones have a single 10MP selfie camera. Those who loved the Galaxy S10 Plus’s extra selfie camera may be disappointed to see that there is only one camera on this year’s Plus model.

The two phones are powered by the Snapdragon 865 processor or Samsung’s own Exynos 990 chipset. The processor is dependent on the market with countries like the US getting the Snapdragon variant while Europe, Africa, and the Middle East will get the Exynos variant.

Below are the configurations available for the two phones:

Galaxy S20

8GB RAM + 128GB
12GB RAM + 128GB

Galaxy S20 Plus

8GB RAM + 128GB
12GB RAM + 512GB

The Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20 Plus will keep the MicroSD card slot, allowing users to add up to an extra 1TB of space.

The two phones share nearly the same rear camera configuration. There is a 12MP primary camera on both phones with a 1/1.76” sensor size. Samsung says the sensor is about 1.65x bigger than that of the Galaxy S10 and is able to capture more light. There is a 12MP ultrawide angle camera too and a 64MP telephoto camera that has 3x hybrid optical zoom and up to 30x space zoom. The Galaxy S20 Plus has an extra sensor, a DepthVision camera, for a quad camera setup. Just like the Galaxy S20 Ultra, they can also record 8K videos and you can capture 33MP stills from your video recording.

[envira-gallery id=”305025″]

The Galaxy S20 has a 4000mh battery with support for 25W fast wired charging while the Galaxy S20 Plus has a 4500mAh battery with support for 25W wired charging. Both phones support reverse wired and wireless charging.

Just like last year’s flagships, there is an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner under the hood. Both phones also have an IP68 rating making them safe to use even if it is wet. However, it is important to remember that the warranty doesn’t cover damage caused by liquids.

The two phones have NFC support, eSIM support, dual-SIM support WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, and a USB-C 3.2 port.

Samsung says the Galaxy S20 series will come with support for Live Caption, making them the first non-Pixel Android phones to have the feature. They have also partnered with Google to have Duo built-in with the phone app. Samsung has also signed a partnership with Microsoft to bring Forza Street to the Galaxy S20 series.

Galaxy S20+ 5G Olympic Games Athlete Edition

Samsung also announced that there will be a special Galaxy S20+ 5G Olympic Games Athlete Edition that will be made available for athletes at this year’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. This special edition comes in Gold, a colorway not available for any of the standard edition. You also won’t be able to officially buy one since it will be gifted to all athletes.

Price and Availability

The Galaxy S20 is priced at $999 in the US for the 5G version with 12GB RAM and 128GB of storage. The 8GB RAM + 128GB version (4G) is not sold in the US. The phone is available in Cosmic Gray, Cloud Blue, and Cloud Pink.

The Galaxy S20 Plus is priced at $1199 for the 8+128GB version while the 12+512GB version is $1349. It is available in Cosmic Gray, Cloud Blue, and Cosmic Black.

In Europe, the Galaxy S20 is €899 for the base model (4G) with 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage. The 5G version which has 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is €999.

The Galaxy S20 Plus in Europe is €999 if you want the 4G model with 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage while the 5G version with 12GB RAM and 128GB of storage is €1099. There is no 512GB version of the Galaxy S20 Plus in Europe.

Pre-orders begin February 13 and ship with a free pair of Galaxy Buds+. You also get a pair of wired AKG USB-C earphones in the box.

Samsung’s Galaxy S20 Ultra is a camera beast and more

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Feb 12, 2020

The Galaxy S20 series was unveiled at the Samsung Unpacked event yesterday. Samsung’s new series includes the Galaxy S20 which replaces the Galaxy S10e and the Galaxy S20+ that takes over from the Galaxy S10 Plus. However, the highlight of the series is none other than the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra pushes Samsung’s flagship phones beyond a level that the Plus models of the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note10 ever did. It maxes out at everything, from the main camera which is a 108MP sensor to its zoom that gets you closer to your subject by 100x, to the RAM which goes up to 16GB, and its battery capacity that is 5000mAh. The Galaxy S20 Ultra is definitely in a different class of its own but will likely not be for long when other flagships arrive.

Specs and Features

The Galaxy S20 Ultra has the same curved QHD+ Infinity-O display with a centered hole punch as its siblings. However, it is larger at 6.9-inches, making it even bigger than the 6.8-inch Galaxy Note10+. Just like the other S20 models, this also has a 120Hz refresh rate and a 240Hz touch sampling rate. Samsung says the device automatically switches between 60Hz and 120Hz refresh rate.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra has a 108MP primary sensor with a 1/1.33” large sensor which uses 9-in-1 pixel binning. It also has a 12MP f/2.2 120° ultrawide angle camera, a 48MP telephoto camera with a periscope lens, and a DepthVision (depth of field) camera. The front-facing camera jumps from 10MP in its siblings to a 40MP f/2.2 camera.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra has 10x hybrid optical zoom while its Super Res Zoom or digital zoom goes up to 100x. If you own an 8K TV, you can record in 8K with the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

The phone has an in-display fingerprint scanner for security. It packs a massive 5000mAh battery with support for 45W fast charging and ships with a 45W adapter. It also supports 15W wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging. Samsung ships it with Android 10 with One UI 2.0 on top.

Price and Availability

The Galaxy S20 Ultra is available in 4G and 5G variants but the prices we got our hands on are for the 5G version. The base model with 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is priced at $1399 but you can grab the 16GB version with 512GB of storage for $1599. The phone is available in Cosmic Black and Cosmic Grey and all pre-orders ship with a free pair of Galaxy Buds+.

Samsung’s second foldable device arrives as the $1380 Galaxy Z Flip

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Feb 11, 2020

Samsung kicked off the galaxy Unpacked Event with the launch of the Galaxy Z Flip. The Galaxy Z Flip Z is its second foldable smartphone, following the launch of the Galaxy Fold last year. While the Galaxy Z Flip has a design different from the Galaxy Fold, what has not changed is its expensive price.

The Galaxy Z Flip has a price tag of $1380 and is available in Mirror Purple and Mirror Black. However, some select markets will get a third color variant called Mirror Gold.

That amount gets you a phone that has a 6.7-inch flexible hole-punch display covered with Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG). Samsung has designed the phone to be used in three ways – closed mode where the phone is shut and the user operates it by using the small 1.1” Super AMOLED cover display on the back; in open mode where the phone is opened up flat to be used as a regular smartphone; and finally, Flex Mode, where the display can be stopped at any angle much like the way you can adjust the screen of your laptop.

In Flex Mode, certain apps have been designed to make the best use of this position. For example, the upper part of the phone can play a YouTube video while the lower part can display the chat or comment section associated with the video.

The Galaxy Z Flip has a Snapdragon 855+ processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage. It has a 12MP f/1.8 1.4um primary rear camera paired with another 12MP camera but with an f2.2 aperture. It also has a 10MP f/2.4 selfie camera. There is a fingerprint scanner on the right-side frame of the upper part of the device.

There is a 3300mAh battery inside the device with support for 15W fast charge and it ships with One UI 2 based on Android 10.

The Galaxy Z Flip will be available starting this Friday, February 14. There will also be a Thom Browne Edition Limited Edition that will be unveiled in New York tomorrow (February 12) at the New York Fashion Week. The Galaxy Flip Z will come with a free YouTube Premium subscription and will include a pair of AKG USB Type-C earphones and a case inside the box.

Latest Mi 10 teasers reveal camera specs, battery capacity, and more; will come in white too

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Feb 11, 2020

The launch of the Mi 10 series is just two days away but Xiaomi has no problem revealing more features of the phone. Today, it has unveiled a bunch of new posters that confirm certain features of the upcoming phones.

Mi 10 Camera Specs

The Mi 10 will have four rear cameras, one of which is a 108MP sensor with 1/33” sensor size. One of the posters released today reveals more details about the cameras.

[envira-gallery id=”304981″]

Apart from having a 108MP sensor, Xiaomi says the Mi 10 will be able to record in 8K. It will also have 10X hybrid optical zoom, 50x digital zoom, and have both OIS and EIS. That sure are big improvements when compared to the Mi 9 from last year but that is not all.

The Mi 10 will be able to shoot in HEIF format. This is an image format based on the HEVC encoder but uses less space compared to JPEG. The poster below compares an image saved in JPEG and HEIF. As you can see, the HEIF format is more than 50% smaller in size.

Xiaomi says the Mi 10 will have support for slow-mo selfie and be able to record in a 2.35:1 movie format. The phone is also expected to set a new DXOMARK record.

Mi 10 Audio

Xiaomi has stubbornly stuck to mono speakers for years but that changes with the Mi 10. The upcoming flagship will have stereo speakers according to two new teaser posters released today.

One of the images shows a cross-section of the phone’s internals and we see there is a 1216 linear speaker at each end of the phone. The accompanying post says the sound cavity for the speaker is equivalent to 1.2cc and the gain difference between the two speakers is close to zero. In a separate post, CEO of Xiaomi, Lei Jun, said the one-way amplitude has been increased from 0.4mm to 0.65mm and the number of magnets has been increased from 3 to 7.

The second image shows the Mi 10 will have a 6-hole speaker grille at the bottom and another 6-hole speaker grille at the top. The top grille is unusual as most phones with stereo speakers use the cut-out for the earpiece as the outlet for the top speaker.

Mi 10 Battery Capacity

Xiaomi has not released a poster yet for the battery capacity but fans with a keen eye have spotted the battery capacity in the first poster above for the stereo speakers.

If you zoom in on the battery in the image, it reads that the Mi 10 packs a 4400mAh battery (~4500mAh). That is a huge bump in capacity when compared to that of the Mi 9 which launched with a 3300mAh battery. However, a big battery is the standard now that phones are launching with 5G support.

Xiaomi Mi 10 will come in White

Xiaomi shared a poster of the Mi 10 this week that shows the phone in cyan and peach. Vice President of Xiaomi, Chang Cheng, revealed today on Weibo that the phone will also be able in white.

The Mi 10 series launches on Thursday, February 13, in China and will be announced at a global event in Spain on February 23.

(Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4)

POCO X2 camera samples are pretty impressive!

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Feb 11, 2020

POCO announced its first phone since the brand went solo last week. The POCO X2 went on sale for the first time today and we expect the device to be a hot-selling one. For folks that are still not convinced about making the X2 their next smartphone, the camera samples that have been obtained from early reviews may just turn out to be the deal sealer.

The POCO X2 features a dual-LED flash assisted quad-camera system where the main camera is a Sony IMX686 64-megapixel main lens, teaming up with 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, bokeh, 4K video shooting at 30fps, HD video shooting at 960fps, video blogging mode, ultrawide video recording. The camera performs impressively both under low light and bright lighting conditions.

The selfie camera also performs well in capturing beautiful shots. As a reminder, the X2 is equipped with a 20MP+2MP dual camera setup at the front. The front cameras support AI portrait mode, screen flash and full HD video recording at 30fps.

We’ll still wait for more reviews, especially DXOMark’s to know where the POCO X2 stands in the ranking of premium midrange phone cameras. Find more camera samples shot by the POCO X2 from below.

(source 1, 2)

Redmi 8A Dual vs Realme C3: Specs Comparison

By

Michele Ingelido

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Feb 11, 2020

Redmi launched a new variant of its most affordable last-generation entry-level smartphone in India: the Redmi 8A Dual. The release came a few days after the launch of the Realme C3, which is the last-generation entry-level handset from Realme. I personally believe that Redmi 8A Dual and Realme C3 are the best last-generation smartphones you can get for less than €100. That is why we decided to make a specs comparison between them. We usually choose three devices for comparisons, but in this case, we do not believe there is a better choice than these ones in that price range on the paper, at least from mainstream brands. Now, let’s find out which is the best among these kings of entry-level phones.

Xiaomi Redmi 8A Dual vs Oppo Realme C3

	Oppo Realme C3	Xiaomi Redmi 8A
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT	164.4 x 75 x 9 mm, 195 grams	156.5 x 75.4 x 9.4 mm, 188 grams
DISPLAY	6.5 inches, 720 x 1560p (HD+), 270 ppi, IPS LCD	6.22 inches, 720 x 1520p (HD+), 270 ppi, IPS LCD
PROCESSOR	Mediatek Helio G70, octa-core 2 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 439, octa-core 1.95 GHz
MEMORY	2 GB RAM, 32 GB – 3 GB RAM, 32 GB – 4 GB RAM, 64 GB – micro SD dedicated slot	2 GB RAM, 32 GB – 3 GB RAM, 32 GB – 4 GB RAM, 64 GB – micro SD dedicated slot
SOFTWARE	Android 10, Realme UI	Android 9 Pie, MIUI
CONNECTIVITY	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS
CAMERA	Dual 12 + 2 MP f/1.8 and f/2.4 5 MP f/2.4 front camera	Single 12 MP f/1.8 8 MP f/2.0 front camera
BATTERY	5000 mAh, battery charging 10W	5000 mAh, fast charging 18W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES	Dual SIM slot, reverse charging	Dual SIM slot

Design

The Aura XGrip Design of the Redmi 8A is simply amazing not only for the look but also for the grip. Thanks to a mesh texture, you can get a firm grip and keep fingerprint marks out of the picture. Further, it is a very original design scheme. Last but not least, Redmi 8A Dual is way more compact and easy to use with one hand than Realme C5. Unfortunately, both the devices do not feature a fingerprint reader, but they are both splash resistant. The Redmi 8A Dual even comes with a P2i coating. You can choose among three color variants for Redmi 8A Dual (Sky White, Sea Blue and Midnight Grey) and two color variants for Realme C3 (Frozen Blue and Blazing Red).

Display

The only big difference between the displays of Realme C3 and Redmi 8A Dual is the size. In each case, you get a modest IPS panel with an HD+ resolution. Not a big deal, but a sufficient display for every task. What really changes is the size: Redmi 8A Dual has a compact 6.22-inch display, while Realme C3 offers a wide 6.5-inch panel. If you want a device easier to use with one hand and easier to keep in a pocket, go for the Redmi 8A Dual. But if you often use your device for advanced tasks such as reading, watching movies, playing games or so, then Realme C3 might be a better option due to its wide panel.

Specs & Software

Redmi 8A Dual and Realme C3 are fueled by different chipsets: the former has a Snapdragon 439 under the hood, while Realme C3 is powered by the MediaTek Helio G70. The new Helio G70 is a lot more powerful than Snapdragon 439 and benchmarks proved it several times. Further, Realme C3 comes in a higher-end memory configuration boasting 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage. Last but not least, Realme C3 has Android 10 out of the box (customized by Realme UI), while Redmi 8A Dual ships with Android 9 Pie.

Camera

As its name suggests, Redmi 8A Dual mainly differs from the vanilla Redmi 8A for its dual rear camera. But despite this big change, Realme C3 remains a better camera phone, at least on the paper. Its main 12 MP sensor boasts a brighter focal aperture and it should be able to shoot better photos. In both case, you get a secondary depth sensor and an 8 MP selfie camera, so the real big difference is the main sensor of the rear camera. Both are just sufficient camera phones, but it is impossible to find anything better at those prices.

Read More: Realme C3 will have triple rear cameras in Indonesia

Battery

Redmi 8A Dual and Realme C3 are champions of battery life. They feature a huge 5000 mAh battery that is awesome for an entry-level smartphone. Due to its smaller display, we believe Redmi 8A Dual will feature a longer battery life than Realme C3. Expect the same amazing battery life as the vanilla Redmi 8A. Further, 8A Dual charges faster than Realme C3 thanks to an 18W fast charging technology. However, Realme C3 still remains one of the best battery phones, so you should not worry so much about batteries here.

Price

Realme C3 is available in India with a starting price tag of just Rs. 6,999 / $97 / €90 in its 3/32 GB memory configuration, while for the Redmi 8A Dual you need Rs. 6,499 / €84 / $90 to purchase the version with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage; for the 3/32 GB you need Rs. 6,999 just like the Realme C3. Given its great camera, wider display and better chipset, I would personally go for the Realme C3. But Redmi 8A Dual is a more compact device and it has a longer-lasting battery, so do not underestimate it.

Xiaomi Redmi 8A Dual vs Oppo Realme C3: PRO and CONS

Xiaomi Redmi 8A

PRO

More compact
Reverse charging
Fast charging
Splash resistant

CONS

No fingerprint scanner

Oppo Realme C3

PRO

Wider display
Better hardware
Android 10
Splash resistant
Reverse charging

CONS

Inferior cameras

Oppo Confirms Rumors about Employing Workers and Technicians for Production of Masks

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Feb 11, 2020

On February 9th, Oppo confirmed reports about it dispatching workers along with a group of technicians in an attempt to help similar businesses to manufacture masks.

Reports about Oppo and Vivo arranging workers and increasing production capacity to make masks have been doing the rounds online, claiming the companies plan to boost the mask production capacity. The Chinese smartphone maker admitted that it has assigned mask production duties to a group of workers and technicians, hoping to support similar enterprises in making masks.

Oppo plans to cash in on its vast experience and noteworthy capabilities to help prevent and control of the coronavirus outbreak. Keeping in line with that, the company recently donated RMB 30 million to the Wuhan Charity Federation for the restriction and prevention of pneumonia and the recently surfaced coronavirus epidemic.

Also, to make sure Oppo products that are currently under warranty in China can be repaired in time despite the severe epidemic situation, the company has decided to extend the warranty period of the users and may opt to continue updating it depending on the development of the epidemic. For more details, all you need to do is to follow Oppo’s official account and get notified about updates.

(Source)

Motorola Razr 2019 will launch in Blush Gold this Spring

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Feb 11, 2020

The Motorola Razr 2019 is already available for purchase. The foldable device is priced at $1500 and is available in a single color variant called Noir Black. However, if you prefer the Blush Gold variant that leaked last week, Motorola says it will be available this spring.

Renders of the Blush Gold variant were posted on the web by Evan Blass (@evleaks). This variant has the bottom half of the phone coated in gold paint. The chin where the fingerprint scanner is placed is also gold and there is a gold ring around the rear camera too.

There will be no difference with respect to the specs and price between this new colorway and the currently available Noir Black. So you get a 6.2-inch FHD+ foldable display with a notch, a 2.7-inch secondary display, a Snapdragon 710 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 2510mAh battery.

Motorola ships the Razr with Android 9 Pie out of the box. We hope an Android 10 update is available by the time the Blush gold variant is ready to ship.

(Source, Via)

Xiaomi releases more details of the upcoming Mi AIoT Router AX3600

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Jed John Ikoba

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Feb 11, 2020

Xiaomi recently announced that it would unveil a new wireless router that uses the WiFi 6 protocol alongside the Mi 10 series. The company has now released more details of the new router via a Weibo post.

The new router is revealed to go by the moniker “Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600” and as stated, it comes with WiFi 6 which will also be onboard the Mi 10 series. The new WiFi standard delivers a fast network with low latency. According to the details the device’s theoretical dual-frequency concurrent rate is up to 2976Mbps. It also uses OFDMA technology which allows users to send data for multiple terminal devices at the same time in one transmission. In this regard, the transmission is more efficient. The Mi AIoT Router also comes with MU-MIMO technology that allows multiple antennas of the router to serve multiple devices at the same time, making the Internet smoother.

These features are in addition to the latest WiFi 6 features which includes optimized power consumption and wider coverage capabilities. It also brings support for multi high-speed concurrent connections. In other words, the connection is stronger with a wider range and can better support multiple connections at the same time. Other benefits include lower latency overall, high rate of data transmission and more.

Realme Buds Air Yellow Version shipping delayed in China due to coronavirus outbreak

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