How Chinese Tech Companies Are Coming Forward to Fight The China Virus!

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Jan 24, 2020

At the end of the previous year, a South Korean publication had revealed that LG will be launching a new 5G smartphone and LG V60 ThinQ 5G at the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020 tech trade show in February. Since the LG G8 series did not arrive with 5G support last year, it is speculated that the rumored 5G phone arriving along with V60 ThinQ 5G could be the LG G9 series. Renders of the LG G9 had surfaced at the beginning of the year. Fresh information coming from David Ruddock of Android Police reveals that the South Korean company is planning to overhaul its smartphone strategy. It may result in the axing of G-series and arrival of a new series later this year.

According to Ruddock, LG’s V-series phone arriving in 2021 will be bundled with a large display of 10 inches or higher so that it can be used as a tablet or laptop. It is not clear whether the phone will connect to the larger display through a dock or wirelessly. The device could be accompanied by a keyboard accessory.

He added that starting from this year, the V-series will be rivaling with the Galaxy S series lineup from Samsung. The G series may be effectively phased out and the South Korean company will have a new series arriving later this year. The new series could be aimed to rival with Samsung Galaxy Note series, 2020 iPhones and the next generation Pixel series smartphones. The company be also prepping some foldable phones to take on Samsung’s foldable smartphones.

Editor’s Pick: LG patents a new smartphone design with wrap-around display

As far as upcoming LG flagship phones are concerned, the leaked CAD renders of the LG G9 revealed that it will be arriving with a waterdrop notch display and horizontal quad cameras on its back. It seems that the LG G9 won’t carry support for palm recognition and hand gestures that were added on the LG G8 series. It will be equipped with the good old 3.5mm audio jack. The upcoming LG V60 ThinQ is expected to arrive with an improved Dual Screen accessory. The latter could be coming with “free stop hinge” technology that will make it possible to stop and hold the second screen at desired angle.

Galaxy Fold successor may sport 8-inch display, SD865, 108MP camera and S Pen

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Jan 24, 2020

Samsung aims to sell 6 million foldable phones in 2020. In order to achieve it, the company will begin with the sales of Galaxy Z Flip clamshell foldable phone. The handset is expected to debut on Feb. 11, and it could be arriving as the first Snapdragon 855+ phone from Samsung. In order to achieve its goal of selling 6 million foldable smartphones, it should be launching a new foldable phone with flagship specs. Probably, this device could be arriving as the successor of the Galaxy Fold that debuted last year. Max Weinbach from XDA Developers has shared speculated specs of the true successor for the Galaxy Fold that is likely to launch in Q2 this year.

Plenty of details of the upcoming Galaxy S20 series and Galaxy Z Flip are known. A good share of leaked information was shared by Weinbach. Based on the information that have appeared on South Korean sites and Bloomberg, he has shared key specs of the next generation Galaxy Fold tablet.

The successor of the Galaxy Fold could be a 5G device powered by the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform. The device could be equipped with an 8-inch display with ultra-thin glass which will be first seen on the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip foldable phone. The alleged Galaxy Fold 2 could be coming with a 108-megapixel main lens. It could be accompanied by a S Pen stylus. It remains to be seen whether it ends up as a non-Note series phone to arrive with S Pen.

Editor’s Pick: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip to feature SD855+, dual 12MP cameras, wireless charging support

In related news, Samsung is said to be working on a tri-folding Z series phone. The design of the device was recently seen in a leak photo that surfaced on Weibo. The leaked image revealed that it could be equipped with dual hinges so that it can be folded and unfolded in zigzag manner. If the device truly exists, Samsung may pack it with premium specs. The South Korean firm is currently focused on the Galaxy S20 series and Galaxy Z Flip. Hence, it is likely that more details on the next foldable phone could be revealed after the market release of the S20 and Z Flip. Until then, readers are advised to digest the specs leak of the Galaxy Fold’s successor with a grain of salt.

Huawei ranked among the Top 10 Most-Valuable Global brands; Amazon tops!

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jan 24, 2020

British brand financial consulting company BrandFinance has released its 2020 500 Most Valuable Global Brands. The list contains what the company says is the most valuable brands in the world as of January 2020. As expected, US companies dominate the first six spots while Chinese firms occupy the next 3 spots. The top 10 is completed by a South Korean company which is Samsung.

US e-commerce giant Amazon emerged as the most valuable brand globally with a brand value exceeding US $220.7 billion. This is said to be an increase of 17.5% over last year. These increases are due to Amazon’s expansion in cloud computing, streaming media, consumer electronics and logistics.

Tech giant Google came in second with an estimated brand value of more than US $159.7 billion. This represents a year-on-year increase of 11.9%. In third place is yet another tech company Apple with a brand value of more than US $140.5 billion. However, Apple’s value saw a year-on-year decline of 8.5%.

At the 4th to 10th places are Microsoft (US $117 billion), Samsung (US $94.4 billion), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China [ICBC] (US $80.7 billion), Facebook (US $77.9 billion), Wal-Mart (US $ 77.5 billion), China Ping An (US $69 billion) and finally, Huawei with an estimated brand value of $ 65 billion.

Also worthy of note is that in terms of industry classification, technology companies have the highest value in the top 500 with a total of 46 companies with a value of more than US $986.5 billion. By region, U.S. companies have the highest value with 205 companies valued at more than US $320.4 billion. China comes second with 70 companies in the top 500 and a cumulative share of 18.9% and total brand value of US $133.4 billion.

Rakuten Mini is a cheap Palm phone-like compact smartphone

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jan 24, 2020

In this era of large-screen mobile phones, it is pretty difficult to see smartphones with a small display screen. When a reference is made to small screen phones, the TCL-backed Palm phone readily comes to mind. What you may not know is that the Palm phone has got a companion in Japan dubbed Rakuten Mini.

As the name implies, the phone is manufactured by Japanese telecommunications giant Rakuten. The Mini features a portable build consisting of a 3.6-inch screen with an HD resolution of 720 × 1280 pixels. The display size is slightly larger than that of the Palm phone but then, you get the traditional bezels which means the display area may even be smaller. The phone has a dimension of 53.4 × 106.2 × 8.6mm, weighing in at just 79g.

On the specs table, the phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 processor paired with 3GB of RAM. There is 32GB of storage onboard but no indication if it is expandable. The phone gets its power from a 1,250mAh battery.

On the camera aspect, the Rakuten Mini features a single 16MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera for selfies. It is worth mentioning that Rakuten Mini does not have a SIM card slot, but is equipped with eSIM.

As for the price, the phone is on sale in Japan for 21,800 yen (about 1,300 yuan, $187). It comes in white, red and black colour options.

Xiaomi Mi A3 and Redmi Note 8 Pro officially receives TWRP support

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Jan 24, 2020

TWRP is now officially available for Xiaomi Mi A3 and Redmi Note 8 Pro. This is great news for enthusiasts and individuals that like to flash custom ROMs on their smartphones.

For those unaware, TWRP, enables one to replace the stock recovery for a custom recovery to allow smartphone enthusiasts to use custom ROMs and skins on their smartphones. Needless to say, an official support for the same makes it a bit easier and accessible for people looking forward to completely customize their handsets. The reason TWRP is so popular is due to the massive library of smartphones it supports which now also includes Xiaomi Mi A3 and Redmi Note 8 Pro.

Xiaomi Mi A3

The mid range Android One smartphone from the Chinese smartphone maker has had an unofficial port TWRP for a while now. However, official builds are always safer and much more reliable, so it comes as great news for those who waited. Notably, since Xiaomi Mi A3 uses the A/B partition system which doesn’t work well with standard flashing methods, users interested in flashing their devices are advised to read the instructions carefully.

Unlike a regular method of flashing recovery with fastboot flash recovery twrp.img command, one has to use the fastboot boot twrp.img command line. After this, navigate to the Advanced>Install Recovery Ramdisk option, and then select the TWRP recovery image stored on your device’s storage to manually flash it.

Click here to download the official TWRP for Xiaomi Mi A3

Redmi Note 8 Pro

Xiaomi’s subsidiary Redmi has also received the official TWRP support; but it is known to be a bit more difficult to flash and mod, unlike other Snapdragon powered Redmi smartphones. This device is prone to hard brick on users so user caution is advised when flashing the Redmi Note 8 Pro. Users must follow the the exact instructions properly to avoid any complications in the process. Go ahead with the process only if you are sure you can handle it and, or are well versed with the method.

Click here to download the official TWRP for Redmi Note 8 Pro

(Via)

OPPO Find X2 juicy leak reveals Sony IMX689, IMX708 sensors, topnotch display and M1 co-processor

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Jan 24, 2020

The OPPO Find X2 flagship phone will be made official in the first quarter of 2020. In December, OPPO had claimed that the Find X2 will be equipped with the latest image sensor from Sony. Today, a tipster from China shared some more information on the camera capabilities of the OPPO Find X2. Some details on the display and processor of the device have been also revealed.

According to the tipster, the OPPO has jointly developed the Sony IMX689 for the OPPO Find X2. The IMX689 is said to be the world’s first all-pixel omnidirectional focusing technology. It is a 48-megapixel lens with a sensor size of 1/1.3 inches. It is larger than the 1/1.75 sensor size of the Huawei Mate 30 Pro’s Sony IMX600 lens.

The Sony IMX689 48-megapixel is expected to serve as the main lens in the triple camera setup of the Find X2. It will be accompanied by a Sony IMX708 and a 13-megapixel telephoto sensor with 5x hybrid optical zooms support. The Sony IMX708 that will premiere on the Find X2 is the said to be the strongest superwide lens. At the front, the Find X2 will be fitted with a Sony IMX616 32-megapixel selfie camera.

Editor’s Pick: Future OPPO Reno phone likely to feature selfie camera in narrow top bezel, reveals patent filing

The OPPO Find X2 will be coming with an ultra-clear scree with support for quad HD+ resolution of 1440 x 3168 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz. Previous reports have claimed that the Find X2 will be fitted with a 6.5-inch display. The curvature of the phone’s screen will be 80 degrees which is somewhat les than the 88-degree waterfall screen.

The leak further reveals that the Find X2 will be integrated with a MEMC chip that are found on high-end TVs. The iPhone 11 Pro Max offers an absolute color accuracy of 0.9 JNCD (Just Noticeable Color Difference). The upcoming find X2 is expected to offer an absolute color accuracy of 0.8. The display of the Find X2 will offer a color depth of 10bits and a color reproduction of 1.07 billion colors. Also, the automatic brightness adjustment on Find X2 can reach 4,096 levels.

The Find X2 will be the world premiere of the self-developed OPPO M1 co-processor which is power consumption controlling chip. It can effectively reduce power consumed by high refresh rate and resolution supporting screen and Snapdragon 865 mobile platform which drives the phone.

Past reports have revealed that the Find X2 will be equipped with dual-mode 5G support, LPDDR5 RAM and USB 3.0 storage. The device could be coming with 50W wireless charging.

Apple says that EU regulations for common smartphone charger will harm consumers

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Jan 24, 2020

Earlier this month, the European Union announced that it wished to create a new law that could force smartphone manufacturers to adopt a single common smartphone charging standard. The EU believes it will benefit the consumers and environment but Apple has taken a stance against it.

According to the Cupertino based giant, the move to standardize smartphone chargers will stunt innovation in the industry and could leave to force conformity and also create a lot of e-waste and ultimately harm consumers. Notably, this move from Apple is clearly to protect its best interest as the company stands to suffer the most losses if the law is passed.

A large part of Apple’s revenue is generated from its accessories that the company sells from various online and offline assets. These accessories, especially chargers, arrive with the proprietary lightning port, which means that it belongs to Apple. This means that the company can even charge third party manufacturers that make accessories for Apple products.

One of the main arguments Apple stated was the “forced conformity” which could affect industry innovation. The tech giant also claimed that the move could also potentially harm the European economy. A study showed results in Apple’s favor as the law would cost consumers 1.5 billion Euros over a mere 13 million Euros in the form of environmental benefits.

The study also claims that nearly 49 percent of EU households utilize different types of chargers out of which only 0.4 percent ever face any significant issues. Apple stated that the law is obsolete as the industry is already shifting towards USB Type C ports via chargers or cable connectors. For example, the iPhone 11 Pro uses USB C but still requires a lightning cable adapter.

(Via)

Realme X2 Pro to get WiFi Calling support, roadmap for other phones revealed

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Jan 24, 2020

Madhav Sheth, CEO of Realme, revealed the roadmap for the highly anticipated new update which will bring the Wi-Fi calling feature for Realme smartphones starting with Realme X2 Pro. The information was revealed on YouTube under the AskMadhav’s latest episode on Realme India’s official channel.

According to the senior executive, Realme X2 Pro will be the first smartphone to receive the new VoWiFi feature and will receive it later this month. The video talks about the feature and also reveals about the roadmap for the inclusion of the feature in other smartphones as well. A few old phones like the Realme U1 and Realme 1 will also be receiving the new update before the end of the first quarter of 2020.

Furthermore, the rollout of the new update begins this month and in will first include the Realme X2 Pro. Following this, Reame X2, Realme XT, Realme X, Realme 5 Pro, Realme 3 Pro, Realme 5, Realme 5s, and Realme 5i will also receive the update with the new feature in February 2020. In March 2020, the rest of the company’s smartphone offerings will receive the same update, includes the Realme 3, Realme 3i, Realme 2 Pro, Realme U1, Realme 1, Realme C2, Realme 2, and Realme C1.

For those unaware, the VoWiFi feature lets users make calls over Wi-Fi, these are not internet data calls but regular ones. Notably, this feature does not require a separate app and can be used by any compatible smartphone; although it depends on whether the users’ telecom operator provides this service.

Airtel was the first to introduce this feature in December 2019 but was only available in the Delhi NCR region in India. However, the feature is now more widely available and includes numerous South Indian regions as well. Additionally, Jio is also launching the VoWiFi service nationwide and will support about 150 different smartphone models.

POCO’s first teaser contained a clue that the POCO X2 may be the brand’s first phone

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jan 24, 2020

POCO India released its first tweet of the year 2020 on January 21. The tweet comes at the same time Xiaomi announced POCO is now an independent brand. The tweet contained a teaser video which offers us a look into “Season 2”. There wasn’t any clear cut definition of what Season 2 entails but the video has been discovered to hold a clue as to the first smartphone which would likely be launched under the independent brand.

The opening frame contains the name POCO X2 among the binary-like text. You’ll have to look closely to be able to make that out because the characters of the name are scattered about. You can check out the tweet below and a screenshot above.

#POCOIsHere and it'll give chills to others. IYKWWM 😉
Season 2 is live now! Brace yourself for the impact. pic.twitter.com/wJPWgDgwCn

— POCO India (@IndiaPOCO) January 21, 2020

There were rumours recently that the brand will launch the Pocophone F2 and F2 Lite alongside a third unnamed device. The F2 is expected to be a successor of last year’s Poco F1. On its part, the Poco X2 has appeared on Geekbench revealing it will come with 8GB of RAM and ANdroid 10 OS. The device equally comes with a Qualcomm processor that has a base frequency of 1.80GHz. The GeekBenchlist also contains a clue that suggests the PocoX2 will be a rebadged Redmi K30.

#POCOIsHere #POCOX2 #PocoF2
Guys, many of you watched the official video of the second season of #POCO. But, did you pay attention to this easter egg?? 😉

POCO X2🤔 That sounds good, like Realme X2, or OPPO Find X2 pic.twitter.com/HpsRNzZX5G

— Xiaomishka (@xiaomishka) January 22, 2020

Poco has already hinted at a launch event next month and we expect the Poco X2 to be the product to make a debut.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip to feature SD855+, dual 12MP cameras, wireless charging support

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Jan 24, 2020

Leaked information on the Galaxy Z Flip foldable phone are surfacing in installments. It is expected debut as the first clamshell phone from Samsung with foldable display on Feb. 11. Max Weinbach from XDA Developers had recently shared the key specifications of the device and its pricing. Earlier today, he shared some more information on the specs of the Z Flip.

According to Wienbach, the Galaxy Z Flip will be equipped with a Dynamic AMOLED display with an ultra-thin glass cover. He added that the latter can develop crease in the middle which was seen in its leaked images that had appeared in December.

The rear shell of the device has a horizontal dual camera setup. The tipster has revealed that it has a wide-angle lens of 12-megapixel and an ultrawide sensor of 12-megapixel. Apart from the rumored 15W wired charging, the device is also expected to come with support for wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.

Editor’s Pick: Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite launched in India for Rs. 39,999 (~$560); Specifications and price

The secondary display that is placed alongside the dual camera setup can be used for checking charging speeds and battery information. The small screen can also serve as a viewfinder for using rear cameras for capturing better selfie shots. The size of the secondary screen could 1 inch. Lastly, the side of the device is fitted with a capacitive fingerprint reader.

Previous reports have revealed that the Galaxy Z Flip will have a 6.7-inch display with Infinity-O design. It will support full HD+ resolution and it may offer an aspect ratio of 21:9. It could be coming with a 10-megapixel front camera which is available on the Galaxy S10 series and Galaxy Note 10 lineup. Unlike previous leaks that claimed that the Galaxy Z Flip has a SD855 chip, fresh information reveals that Snapdragon 855+ mobile platform could be powering the device.

The Galaxy Z Flip may come with a battery of around 3,300mAh capacity. The One UI 2.0 based Android 10 OS will be preinstalled on the device. It could be coming with a native storage of 256 GB. A recent report from South Korea had claimed that it could be priced between $860 and $1300. In Europe, it could be costing around 1,400 euros.

Huawei to soon face stricter restrictions from the US Government

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Jan 24, 2020

Huawei, the smartphone manufacturer, has been facing complications with the US Government. It first started out as data security accusations that affected the Chinese tech giant’s operations in the western nation and soon even saw it being banned from accessing various US based technological components and software as well. The restrictions had seemed to ease up by a bit at the end of 2019 but are now expected to become even more strict in 2020

Ren Zhenfei, Co-Founder of Huawei group has previously stated that he expects US to take severe actions against the Chinese OEM in 2020, which has now turned out to be true. Since, US Commerce department’s Secretary, Wilbur Ross, revealed that plans are underway to step up the trade ban against Huawei. This will further prevent trade relations with more firms that are based in the US.

Reportedly, companies from the US can export products and components to Huawei only if 75 percent of the end product is sourced and made in foreign lands. However, the US Commerce Department is hinting that it would raise this number to 90 percent, which means Huawei can only source 10 percent of its product from US based corporations. The restrictions do not end there since more actions are expected to soon follow as reports suggest that the US Government is considering a separate regulation for the Chinese OEM altogether.

The founder of Huwaei has stated that the company is better equipped than last year to survive further attacks from the US Government. But we will have to wait and see how the situation pans out for the company and what impacts the US-China trade deals bring to the deteriorating trade relations between the East and West.

(Source,Via)

Samsung Galaxy M21 Geekbench appearance reveals Exynos 9611 and 4GB RAM

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Jan 24, 2020

The forthcoming Samsung Galaxy M21 has been spotted on Geekbench. It reveals that the device is powered by a more potent processor than the SoC that drove the Galaxy M20 back in January 2019. It appears that the phone may go official soon in India.

The Samsung Galaxy M21 scored a total of 348 points at the Geekbench single-core test. The device recorded 1265 points in the multi-core test. The M21 is powered by a 1.74Ghz Exynos 9611 SoC along with 4GB of RAM. Samsung currently uses the same chipset in the Galaxy M30s from last year and reportedly plans to use it to power the upcoming Galaxy M31. The predecessor Galaxy M20 was fueled by the Exynos 7904 chipset.

Judging by the Geekbench listing, it is possible that Samsung might be testing the M21’s performance internally. Since the M20 was launched around this time of the year back in 2019, it is quite possible that Samsung might try to unveil the M21 within a similar timeframe this year.

Editor’s Pick: Samsung Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra press renders and prices leak

Samsung Galaxy M21 Specifications (Rumored)

There is limited information on the Galaxy M21 as of this moment. Some of the basic specifications include a dual-camera setup, complete with a 24-megapixel primary sensor and a 5-megapixel depth sensor. This is a vast improvement over the Galaxy M20’s dual-camera setup featuring a 13-megapixel lens along with a 5-megapixel sensor.

According to an earlier report on Sammobile, the Galaxy M21 is likely to sport 64GB and 128GB of native storage, a major improvement over the 32GB and 64GB storage option on the M20. The device reportedly runs on Android 10 out-of-the-box. The Samsung Galaxy M21 might be available in a bunch of color options, including blue, green, and black.

(via)

How to install TWRP and Root Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite /Mi CC9?

By

Simranpal Singh

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Jan 24, 2020

Xiaomi’s affordability and competitive specifications are the prime reasons behind its accent in global markets. The Chinese giant has launched multiple variants of the same smartphone in different countries to match the local taste. The diversification of smartphones is making Xiaomi grab more sales. Similarly, Xiaomi launched the Mi CC9 as the Mi 9 Lite in the countries outside China. We have prepared a guide to install TWRP and root Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite and Mi CC9.

Must See: Realme X2 vs Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite vs Oppo Reno2 Z: Specs Comparison

Android’s ability to customize the features is due to its open-source nature. The third-party developers often love to play with devices that often get huge sales and the OEM supports the development by timely releasing Kernel source code.

Rooting Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite or installing TWRP is just the beginning to get additional features. There are a lot of other advantages of rooting a smartphone. The users can easily install the custom ROMs based on the latest Android version. There are different MODs, frameworks, and zips that can easily customize your smartphone.

Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite Specifications

The Xiaomi Mi 9 smartphone features a 6.39-inch Super AMOLED display featuring 1080 x 2340 pixels and 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The display presents 403 PPI of pixel density, 600 nits max brightness and envelops a Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The smartphone is powered with Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chipset packing an octa-core processor and Adreno 616 GPU.

Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite comes packed in two different versions of 6 GB + 64 GB and 128 GB + 6 GB. In optics, the smartphone embeds a triple rear camera module consisting of a 48-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide sensor, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. A single 32-megapixel shooter is present on the front for selfies and video calling.

Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite aka Mi CC9 features a Wifi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, Radio, USB 2.0, and Infrared Port. An under-display fingerprint is packed along with the device. There’s a 4030 mAh battery with 18W fast charging technology. Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite is available in Pearl White, Aurora Blue, and Onyx Grey. The pricing starts at $233.

Note: GizmoChina.com is not responsible for any damage to data or devices. The users are proceeding on their own will.

We will move forward step-by-step:

Unlock Bootloader
Install TWRP
Root Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite

Unlock Mi 9 Lite Bootloader

It is a very simple and straightforward process to unlock the bootloader of the Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite. It is quite an easy process, the user needs to take care of these prerequisites before proceeding for the steps below.

Prerequisites:

Download and Extract ADB and Fastboot Tools on your PC.
Download Xiaomi USB Drivers on your PC.
Make a complete backup of your data on eternal media.
Ensure 60%+ battery to prevent a sudden shutdown.
Download Mi Unlock Tool.

Steps to Unlock Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite Bootloader

Enable Developer Option by heading to Settings > About Phone > and tap MIUI Version 7 times.
Enable USB Debugging and OEM Unlock by Heading to Settings > Developer Option > and Enable OEM Unlock and USB Debugging.
Now again go to Settings> Mi account > Mi Cloud and Enable Sync and Find Device.
Install and Open Mi Unlock Tool after downloading and extracting it.
Press ‘Agree’ on the disclaimer page that will appear.
Login in with the same Mi Account that you have used on your smartphones. Otherwise, you can sign up for a new account and use it on a smartphone and for the next steps here.
Connect your smartphone with a PC via a USB cable.
Open CMD or Power Shell in the extracted ADB and Fastboot Folder by pressing Shift+ Right Click.
Now, type the below command to boot into the bootloader mode:
```
adb reboot bootloader
```
The device will show Connected in Mi Unlock Tool.
Now, click on ‘Unlock’, and the process to unlock will start automatically. Once the process gets completed, the device will be rebooted.
Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite is unlocked!

You have successfully rooted your smartphone.

Install TWRP on Mi 9 Lite

TWRP – Team Win Recovery Project is a GUI based custom recovery used to root, and install custom MODs, ROMs, and Kernels.

Prerequisites:

Download TWRP Recovery for Xiaomi Mi CC9/Mi 9 Lite.
+
Additional Downloads like ADB and Fastboot, Xiaomi USB Drivers as listed above.

Steps to install TWRP on Mi 9 Lite

Upon successfully unlocking the bootloader of Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite, follow the steps below to install TWRP on Mi 9 Lite.

Make sure to set-up ADB and Fastboot tools after downloading from the links above on your PC.
Enable Developer Settings, USB Debugging and OEM Unlock (Follow Step 1 & 2 for enabling this in the above guide.)
Open CMD or ADB Terminal by pressing Shift + Right Click on ADB and Fastboot extracted folder.
```
adb reboot bootloader
```

Optional: Execute the following command to flash stock vbmeta.

fastboot --disable-verity --disable-verification flash vbmeta vbmeta.img

Place the download TWRP recovery into the same ADB and Fastboot Folder. Then, execute the following command to flash TWRP on Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite:
```
fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
```
After a successful flash, type the command to reboot the device:
```
fastboot reboot
```

Note: The device might not automatically replace the custom recovery during the first boot. The user needs to press the proper key combination to enter the TWRP Mode. After successfully executing ‘fastboot reboot’ command, press and hold the proper key combination to enter the TWRP Mode.

This way, you have successfully installed TWRP on Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite and Mi CC9. The users can now root the Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite by installing Magisk and SuperSU.

Root Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite

For most of the users, the ultimate goal is to root Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite. The users can download SuperSU or Magisk Manager to root the device. We are going with the Magisk manager to get root access.

Download Magisk manager File on your smartphone.
Boot into the recovery, after taking the recommended backup of your stock ROM.
Tap Install, and then browse ‘magisk.zip’ file you downloaded, and swipe to confirm the flash.
After a few seconds, you can successfully reboot the device from the TWRP manager.
Enjoy!

We hope you have successfully rooted Mi 9 Lite by following our guide. If you have any problems, then let us know via the comments below.

Related: Honor 20 Lite vs Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite vs Realme X2: Specs Comparison

Apple to be supplied with Broadcom components worth $15 Billion

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Jan 24, 2020

Earlier this week, Broadcom, a known chip manufacturer, announced that it has entered into a contract with Apple. The deal is to supply its wireless components in the smartphone giant’s products.

The new deal (2020 SOW) is an extension to previous agreements of supplying radio frequency components and modules to Apple and carries an estimated value of about 15 billion US Dollars. The two corporations have entered into a two multi-year agreement for the wireless components.

Notably, shares of the chipmaker have already risen by 2 percent in extended trading following this news which arrived this Thursday (23rd January 2020). On the other hand, Apple has reportedly asked Wistron to ramp up the iPhone production in its facilities in India. The Cupertino based giant’s iPhone 11 series was exceptionally well received and has also become popular in China, which has historically been a large but uneven market for Apple.

Furthermore, the smartphone manufacturer has also approached TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) to raise its production for its proprietary Apple A13 chipset. This has also been undertaken due to the high demands of its 2019 iPhone lineup, which surpassed market expectations and analysts’ speculations.

Apple’s iPhone 2020 lineup will arrive in the latter half of this year and is expected to arrive with 5G networking capabilities. Thus, the new deal with Broadcom can also be looked at as Apple preparing for its upcoming lineup and even secure a deal in advance for its 2021 iPhone series.

(Via)

iQOO to debut two phones in February second week in India

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Jan 24, 2020

Vivo’s new brand iQOO is finally headed to India and it is going to function as a separate brand. The company recently confirmed that it will be launching an iQOO phone powered by the all new Snapdragon 865 mobile platform in India in February. According to the latest statement by iQOO’s Director of Marketing, Gagan Arora to The Mobile Indian, the company plans to launch two smartphones in the country in next month.

According to Mr. Arora, iQOO is gearing up for launch by the second week of February 2020. There is confirmation that one phone will support 5G connectivity while the other one will be a 4G phone. The two smartphones will feature similar hardware and design language but will be separated by a wide price margin. iQOO plans to take the Indian market by storm by pricing its products competitively, and the 4G variant will play a major role in meeting sales targets.

As revealed before, iQOO first phone will be fueled by Snapdragon 865 SoC. Initial reports claim that the device will be an India exclusive and sport numerous industry-first quirks and features. Mr. Arora further added that the smartphone will be an all-rounder with subtle inclinations towards the gaming community. Aiding the endeavor will be a large battery promising numerous hours of unhindered gaming experience.

Editor’s Pick: Purported Vivo iQOO 3 specifications leaked; Tipped to feature 60Hz display

Mr. Arora further claimed that iQOO will be a separate entity in India, and operate independently of Vivo. He said that the company’s headquarters is already setup in Bangalore, and smartphones will be manufactured here in India. Speaking on the sales network, he added that the upcoming phones will be available through every channel. Although it is relying heavily on online platforms for meeting its initial sales targets. It also plans to sell its smartphones offline.

iQOO currently has 80 members on its payroll in India, and claim to be future-ready for all possibilities that might arise in India. iQOO might try to replicate Xiaomi’s strategy in the country. Last year Xiaomi announced that sub-brands Redmi and POCO were separate entities from parent brand Mi. Other notable Chinese smartphone manufacturers to follow in the footstep include Oppo, whose sub-brand Realme was recently given a free hand in marketing and operations.

Both Redmi and Realme started as budget-friendly smartphone manufacturers but quickly moved on to offering flagship devices under their belt. iQOO was conceived as an exclusive gaming smartphone manufacturer to counter Xiaomi’s Black Shark platform. However, recent reports suggest that iQOO phones will be performance-centric phones with some gaming capabilities and affordable pricing. Vivo had recently trademarked monikers like iQOO Pro, iQOO Neo and iQOO Lite in India. Probably, upcoming iQOO phones in India may carry these monikers.

UN instructs officials to refrain from using WhatsApp for official communication

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Jan 24, 2020

The officials of the United Nations do not consider WhatsApp a secure communications platform ever since Amazon CEO and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos’ phone was hacked. UN experts accused Saudi Arabia of hacking into the billionaire’s smartphone. In an official statement on Thursday, a spokesperson said, “The UN does not consider WhatsApp a secure mechanism”.

The official further pointed at the possible involvement of the Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in the cyberattack on Bezos back in 2018. Based on forensic evidence provided by Washington-based FTI Consulting, the officials called for a joint investigation by the US and other law enforcement agencies. The report claims Bezos’ iPhone was hacked with a malicious video file sent from one of the crown prince’s WhatsApp accounts.

When Reuters asked whether the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had communicated with the Saudi Crown Prince or other heads of states over WhatsApp, Farhan Haq, a UN spokesperson said, “Every senior UN official has been instructed to refrain from using WhatsApp for official communication, since it is not a secure medium. So, I do not think the Secretary-General uses it”. Haq added that the official instruction not to use WhatsApp was given back in June 2019.

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When WhatsApp officials were questioned, the company said it provides industry-leading security to its 1.5 billion strong user-base. “Every private message is secured via end-to-end encryption to prevent WhatsApp or unwanted third-party sources from viewing messages. Our encryption technology, developed together with Signal remains the best to date and is highly regarded by security experts,” revealed Carl Woog, WhatsApp’s Director of Communications.

Hence, a ban specifically targeting WhatsApp, a subsidiary of Facebook, has left security experts in disbelief. “WhatsApp takes security seriously compared to the other social media messaging platforms.,” said Oded Vanunu, Researcher at Tel Aviv-based security consultancy Checkpoint that regularly points out security flaws in popular messaging apps. “Every application has vulnerabilities that can be exploited in some way” Oded added, before mentioning that WhatsApp offers security patches regularly to fix the loopholes. “Most run-off-the-mill messaging platforms can only dream of the kind of security measures taken by WhatsApp”.

Fingerprints dating technology helps in catching lying criminals

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Jan 24, 2020

Ever since the dawn of fingerprint sensing technology, the world had quickly evolved into a new era for law enforcement. Now, hard evidence and proof of one’s presence at a place can easily be determined with the new technology. However, it also posed a certain flaw, as a simple fingerprint could have potentially been left behind hours or days ago. But now, new technology makes it possible to determine the time when the fingerprint was initially made.

Although fingerprints can be hard proof, criminals often argue that it was left behind before the crime incident took place. This means that there always room to dodge evidence as well with false counter arguments. To combat this, a group of scientists from Iowa State University worked on a pre-existing theory which suggests that as a fingerprint age, ozone in the surrounding air reacts with unsaturated triacylglycerols deposited by the fingertip.

In simpler terms, measure the effects that the atmosphere had on the fingerprint. The team achieves this by studying multiple prints from three volunteers. The fingerprints were left on various surfaces over a period of seven days and used mass spectrometry imaging to measure when each of the fingerprints was left. The study was concluded based on the rate at which the triacylglycerols had degraded.

Notably, tests on fingerprints could also potentially damage the fingerprint in the past, destroying precious evidence; however, this technique preserves it so they can still be used to identify criminals. Furthermore, the technique could also date the prints even after it had been dusted by forensic powder.

An interesting phenomenon discovered by the tests was that the rate of degradation varied considerably from person to person. This is probably due to the different physical anatomical aspects of each individual and their fingerprints. Thus, it also leads to the new techniques one crucial flaw that it needed to first identify the person first and measure their unique triacylglycerol profile before the dating process began.

(Via)

POCO confirms launching phone in February; POCO X2 could be coming

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Jan 24, 2020

POCO fans are eagerly waiting for the arrival of the POCO F2 – the successor of the POCO F1. However, recent reports have revealed that the company has plans to launch a minimum of three smartphones this year. The names of the other rumored devise are POCO X2 and POCO F2 Lite. Recent reports have revealed a lot about the POCO X2 smartphone and it is expected to arrive in India as a rebadged version of the Redmi K30 4G. The arrival of the first POCO phone is drawing near as the company has took to Twitter to confirm that it will be launching its next phone in February.

POCO is yet to reveal the name of the POCO phone that will be coming to India in the coming month. However, now that the rumor mill is actively spilling information on the POCO X2, it is likely to be the first phone of 2020 from the POCO brand.

On the basis of recent leaks, it can be said that the POCO X2 could be a rebranded Redmi K30 4G that had gone official in China in December 2019. A leaked photo of the phone that appeared on a Polish site revealed that it has a dual punch-hole display.

Editor’s Pick: POCO GM sheds light on the company’s new plans

The smartphone is said to be fueled by Snapdragon 730G processor and 8 GB of RAM. The device could be coming with an internal storage of 256 GB. The Android 10 OS will come onboard with a modified version of MIUI for POCO.

The Polish site had reported that it could not confirm whether the POCO X2 has NFC support. The Redmi K30 4G has a 120Hz refresh rate display. The publication claimed that it could not find a toggle to change the refresh rate of the screen 120Hz. Hence, there is possibility that the POCO X2 may not support 120Hz refresh rate. However, it is advisable to know more on it since the phone was not running on the final build of OS. The other details of the phone are currently under the wraps. At present, there is no information on the pricing of the POCO X2. However, it should be costing well below the Rs. 20,9999 which was the starting price of POCO F1.

For those who are waiting for POCO F2, the company has confirmed that it won’t be the first phone of the year. Considering that competitor iQOO brand is soon launching an iQOO phone driven by Snapdragon 865, it is likely that the POCO F2 could be equipped with the same SoC.

OnePlus 6 and 6T receive OxygenOS 10.3.1 update, brings December patch and 5GHz WiFi fix

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