A man traveling through Portland International Airport apparently had a layover long enough that he decided to play some video games. Playing games at the airport isn’t such a big deal if you’re using something like a Nintendo Switch, laptop, or smartphone. Where gaming at the airport can become a big deal is if your preferred gaming platform is a PlayStation 4.
An Apex Legends player made headlines after he decided to kill some time while waiting on a flight the old-fashioned way – by plugging his trusty PlayStation 4 into one of the airport’s many monitors and getting in some game time. Unfortunately, he discovered that one isn’t exactly allowed to do such things at an airport, to absolutely no one’s surprise.
When approached and asked “to unplug and cease using the monitors at the airport” by operations supervisors, he reportedly asked “very politely” if he could finish up his round first. That request was denied, and Port of Portland spokesperson Kama Simonds took the opportunity to use the incident as “a good reminder of what not to do at the airport.”
Simonds added that power outlets are fair game to travelers, but monitors are out of the question. She said this incident demonstrates the addictive nature of screens and urges travelers to keep their game systems in their luggage until they arrive at their final destination. She adds that it’s extremely important not to use airport information monitors to play them. “Don’t try to set them up and play them in the airport,” she says.
Xiaomi has had its eyes set on the consumer finance sector for a long time running. The sector has proven to be an important and lucrative one for the likes of Alibaba, Tencent etc. TheChina Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission announced on Friday that it has given Xiaomi the nod to set up a consumer finance company in Chongqing, a municipality in the southwest of the country. The regulatory body gave a six-month deadline from the January 10 approval date for the entity to be established.
The consumer finance outfit has as its key shareholders Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank (CRCB), and three other Chongqing-based companies. Proposed registered capital is set at RMB 1.5 billion ($218.6 million).
Chinese media reported in November that Xiaomi would become the 28th company in the country to acquire a consumer finance license, joining Baidu, Alibaba, and many others.
Xiaomi told Chinese media that setting up the new company will help it to gain a firmer foothold in Chongqing, and it expects to expand consumer finance across the country.
Shortly before the Chinese tech giant launched its 2018 initial public offering on the Hong Kong stock exchange, it disclosed that it planned to spin off its finance business into an independent entity. The move was seen by many as a way for the financial arm go public.
Consumer finance is seen as a veritable alternative for the company considering the slow growth witnessed by its smartphone business in recent times. Xiaomi’s financial product portfolio includes consumer loans, supply chain finance, financial technology, third-party payments, online insurance, and digital banking. The Chinese company is equally eyeing lucrative financial technology markets overseas. It acquired its digital banking license in Singapore earlier this month and was said to be in talks to expand its financial product offering in India late last year.
Earlier today (20th January 2020), Lu Qianho, the Director of Consumer Experience Department of ZTE reposted Oppo‘s Vice President Shen Yiren’s ost regarding the Oppo Find X2. The former is apparently a fan of the Oppo Find series and is excited about its upcoming latest entry.
In 2018, Oppo had officially unveiled the Oppo Find X in June. The smartphone was the Chinese company’s flagship device and boaster the highest screen to body ratio that was available at that time. The smartphone arrived with a number of notable features like 3D facial recognition and the, then rare, mechanized pop-up camera.
The launch of the smartphone went successfully and was well received in many regions. However, its popularity didn’t stop there as Lu Qianho also became a fan of the device calling it “really amazing.” Lu reshared Oppo Vice President’s post and also stated that the Oppo Find X2 could be regarded as “the representative of the domestic (China) flagship series” and that he hopes it still “maintains a delicate appearance and light feel.” It is rare for competitors in the stiff smartphone market to praise other OEM’s offerings, so this comes as a pleasant surprise.
Oppo’s Find X2 is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2020 this year and is also speculated to be unveiled at MWC 2020 which will take place in February. Reportedly, it will feature a high refresh rate of 120Hz on display with a 2K resolution. Shen Yiren has placed an emphasis on the device being one of the best smartphone displays of 2020 but we will have to wait and see regarding the tall claim.
Oppo Find X
Under the hood, Oppo Find X2 will most likely sport Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 SoC since it is a flagship smartphone and will support 5G networking. Reportedly, it also features super flash charging with rates up to at least 65W. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until the official announcement before providing any concrete statements, so stay tuned.
Huawei Mate 30 Pro was released late last year and became the first Huawei model to be launched without google apps preinstalled. The Mate 30 Pro presented with EMUI 10 based on Android 10. Huawei has now started rolling out a new update for the model. The latest version EMUI 10.0.0.195 system update brings the virtual camera key to support flexible drag on the left and right sides, Bluetooth connection stability and optimization of the screen operations.
The update which is available to users in China only has a file size of 590MB. Here are the Mate 30 Pro EMUI 10.0.0.195 update changelogs:
Camera:
The position of the virtual camera key can be adjusted according to the shoots, and flexible dragging on the left and right sides is supported.
Bluetooth:
Optimize the Bluetooth connection experience in some scenarios and enhance the connection stability between Bluetooth and the device.
Optimize the touch screen operation experience of some game scenes to make your touch screen operation smoother.
To download the EMUI 10.0.0.195 update, just tap on Settings > System > Software update > Check for Updates > Download. Or, You can also get this update via the Hicare app: HiCare > Update > Check for updates. Alteratively, open the HiCare app > Log in > Select country/region > Agree to the User Agreement and Privacy Notice > Update > Request update > Apply > Checking for new system update > Download and install.
OnePlus is looking to expand its offline channels for sales of its electronic products like smartphones and more. As of right now, the company has already opened up about 200 physical stores in China.
Back in November 2015, the Chinese company had issued an announcement that it was closing down its 45 OnePlus experience stores across the country. The move was made to further grow its online channel and reserve its limited finances at the time. Back then the company had only offered 3 smartphone models with which it could not sustain due to it cutting into the OEMs profits.
OnePlus Experience store that lets customers use the company’s smartphone offerings before checking out
Jumping forward to now, the company has seen great success with its e-commerce approach. A notable example is the Indian market where its handsets were well received and even became a top runner in the premium segment in recent times.
Earlier today (20th January 2020), Pete Lau, the CEO and Co-Founder of OnePlus, stated that the company has over 200 offline stores, which include its experience stores and even authorized sellers, with more expected to arrive soon after. These stores will include, and are not limited to, smartphones alongside the peripheral accessories like earphones and more.
The senior executive shared this news on Weibo, the Chinese microblogging website, through his official account. It is indicative of the company’s success and its plans on expanding the physical distribution of its electronic products. The expansion primarily focuses on the home country, China, but will also include overseas expansion soon after.
Major OEMs are continuously launching new smartphones with evolved specifications and features. In today’s competitive environment, chipset plays a pivotal role in the smartphone making. It hosts processor for general computing, Graphics processor for rendering graphics and Accelerated Processing Unit for taking care of Artificial Intelligence. It’s a powerhouse of the smartphone. Qualcomm and MediaTek are some primary players manufacturing chipsets for smartphones. However, Qualcomm generally caters to a wider market. Today, we have concluded a list of smartphones running Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ processor.
Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 855+ chipset was launched in the second half of last year with some advancements over the predecessor. The Snapdragon 855+ generally features a 2.36 GHz processor core rather than the 2.84 on Snapdragon 855. A better GPU with an improved clocking speed of 675 MHz is present. The new chipset scores better on different benchmark websites. It is a great fit for the 90Hz displays to work without an issue.
Due to these increments, several smartphone manufacturers used it on their smartphones late last year. It’s the favourite chipset for gaming as well as flagship smartphones.
List of all Snapdragon 855 Plus Phones
OnePlus 7T & 7T Pro
Following every plan, the Chinese manufacturer announced the OnePlus 7T series – OnePlus 7T and OnePlus 7T Pro last year featuring Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset. The OnePlus 7T features a 6.55-inch FLuid AMOLED Display having a 90Hz refresh rate. THe smartphone is well received by the users around the globe.
Oppo’s sub-brand – Realme recently announced its maiden flagship device – Realme X2 Pro with Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+. The smartphone is launched by the company to compete against the OnePlus, and Xiaomi’s high-end premium smartphones. The device features high-end specifications at super competitive prices. It is well-received by the users in India.
Other Specification of Realme X2 Pro
The Realme X2 comes with a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display having the resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels with an aspect ratio of 20:9. The display gives 402 ppi pixel density, 1000 nits brightness, HDR10+ support, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection mirror.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset powers the device. it is coupled with the Octa-Core processor and Adreno 640 GPU.
A quad-camera module featuring a 64-MP primary camera, 12-MP telephoto lens, an 8-MP ultrawide sensor, and a 2-MP depth sensor.
There’s a 16-MP front camera with HDR and gyro-EIS support.
It comes in different storage options of 6GB RAM + 64 GB IFS 2.1 Storage, 8GB RAM + 128GB UFS 3.0 Inernal Storage, 12 GB RAM + 256 GB Internal Storage.
In Connectivity, the phone comes with a WiFI, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, FM Radio, USB 2.0.
The Sensors include under-display fingerprint, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, and compass.
A 4000 mAh battery with 50W fast charging technology is present.
Realme XT Pro is available in Neptune Blue, Red Master Edition, Gray Master Edition, and Lunar White.
Asus launched the next-generation gaming smartphone in September 2019. The smartphone is packed with Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset, Adreno 640 GPU, and an Octa-Core processor. Asus has added the best possible hardware of that time and even optimized it with the efficient software system.
Other Specifications of Asus Rog Phone 2
The smartphone carries a 6.59-inch AMOLED display with the 1080 x 2340 pixels resolution having Corning Gorilla Glass 6. The display further hosts Corning Gorilla Glass 6, HDR10, 120Hz and packs 240Hz touch-sensing.
It is powered by Snapdragon 855+ processor.
In optics, there’s a dual rear camera featuring a 48-megapixel primary camera and a 13-megapixel ultrawide camera.
A 24-megapixel selfie sensor with Panorama and HDR.
There’s support for WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, FM Radio and USB 3.1 Type-C Reversible.
A huge 6000 mAh battery with 30W fast battery charging.
Available in Matte Black and Glossy Black colours.
It is another gaming smartphone featuring Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset with 8GB RAM. Nubia Red Magic 3S flaunts a 6.65-inch full-HD+ Super AMOLED display sporting 90Hz refresh rate. The display sports a 90 Hz refresh rate, DC diming and 2340 x 1090 pixel resolution. After the initial launch in China, the gaming smartphone surfaced in India.
Other Key Specs of Nubia Red Magic 3S
Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset, octa-core processor and Adreno 640 Graphics Processing Unit.
Nubia Red Magic 3S is available in 8GB RAM + 128GB and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage with UFS 3.0.
The primary camera features a single 48-megapixel sensor and a 16-megapixel selfie camera.
In Connectivity, the smartphone offers WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, Radio, USB 3.1 Type-C.
There is a fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, and compass.
The device features a 5000 mAh Non-Removable Battery, 18W fast charging and Quick Charge 4+ support.
IT is available in Mecha Silver, Cyber Shade, Eclipse Black.
It is another affordable yet premium smartphone from Xiaomi. The Xiaomi Mi 9 is powered with Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset featuring an octa-core processor, and Adreno 640 GPU. There’s a triple camera module featuring a 48-megapixel primary, 12-megapixel telephoto, and 16-megapixel ultrawide cameras.
Other features of Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro
A 6.39-inch Super AMOLED display features a 1080 x 2340 pixels resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio and support HDR 10.
The smartphone runs on Android 10 based MIUI 11.
A single 20-MP camera iss present on the front for selfies along with support for HDR.
In connectivity, the smartphone packs a Wifi, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, Infrared port, and USB 2.0 Type-C reversible connector.
A huge 4000 mAh Li-Po non-removable battery sits inside the phone with 40W battery charging and 30W wireless fast charging.
Xiaomi MI 9 Pro comes in Dream White and Titanium Black colours.
Redmi K20 was launched black in September 2019 with Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ on board. The smartphone comes packed with a 6.39-inch Super AMOLED display. There are slight changes in the Redmi K20 Pro Premium over the Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro.
Other Features of the Redmi K20 Pro Premium:
The smartphone features a triple rear-camera module featuring a 48-megapixel primary sensor, an 8-megapixel telephoto lens, and a 13-megapixel ultrawide lens. The rear camera is accompanied by a Dual-LED flash and HDR.
There’s a motorized 20-megapixel pop-up camera featuring HDR for selfies and video calling.
A 6.39-inch Super AMOLED display featuring 1080 x 2340 pixels is present with a Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
Non-removable Li-Po 4000 mAh battery with 27W quick charging.
The dimensions measures as 156.7 x 74.3 x 8.8 mm (6.17 x 2.93 x 0.35 in) with 196 grams weight.
It is available in different colours like Carbon black, Flame Red, Glacier Blue, Summer Honey, and Pearl White.
It is another powerful gaming device from Black Shark featuring SNapdragon 855+ chipset. It is a successor to Black Shark 2 which carries Snapdragon 855 chipset. The device carries a 6.39-inch AMOLED display featuring 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, Always-on display and 240 Hz touch-sensing.
Other specs of Black Shark 2 Pro
A dual rear camera module featuring a 48-megapixel primary camera, a 12-megapixel telephoto lens and an LED flash.
A 20-megapixel selfie camera is present with features like HDR.
In Connectivity smartphone packs a WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, USB 2.0 Type-C.
The smartphone features a Fingerprint, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, and compass.
There’s a 4000 mAh Li-Ion battery with 27W fast charger.
The smartphone features Shadow Black, Iceberg Grey, Gulf Blue, Streamer Purple.
According to a new report by IDC (International Data Corporation), the global shipment of used smartphones crossed over 206 million units in 2019 alone. This sizable number includes used smartphones and also officially refurbished one.
The number is also a notable growth of 17.6 percent from 2018, which had seen 175.8 million smartphone units being shipped worldwide. Similarly, IDC has predicted that the number will grow even more in the near future, with a predicted forecast of 332.9 million units in 2023 going by an annual growth rate of 13.6 percent starting from 2018.
The used smartphone market is seeing rapid growth and growing market prospects despite its declining market popularity over the past. Furthermore, a research manager with IDC stated that “the used market for smartphone shows no signs of slowing down across all parts of the globe” while the shipment for new smartphones is predicted to see “minimal growth over the next few years.”
IDC has credited the major contributing factor of the growth of used smartphones to financial factors. Generally, used and refurbished handsets are more cost-effective and a viable alternative to both consumers and businesses over recently released offerings. This even extends to OEMs not maintaining a balance of features to pricing.
In recent times, no big breakthroughs in processing and features have been achieved. In other words, the price of the newer smartphones has been on the rise while the number of worthwhile features and notable performance improvements have been fewer. For example, an in-display fingerprint scanner and a punch-hole camera are quite convenient in providing a more content friendly viewing experience but offer no new functionality over conventional rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and a teardrop notch.
Samsung Galaxy S10 5G
Lastly, IDC mentioned that the wider adoption of 5G network across different regions is expected to impact the used smartphones as well. Meaning, People would seek out refurbished 5G handsets over their older 4G devices to gain access to the newer and faster bandwidth.
According to a recent report by Nikkei, Japan has begun planning a comprehensive strategy for “post-5G” (6G) technology that achieves communication speeds that are 10 times faster than 5G by 2030. The report claims that China, South Korea, and Finland have also started research and development and investment this segment, but Japan have been surprisingly slow with the adoption of 5G technology, and are hoping to make up with an early push toward 6G.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan will set up a government-civilian research society in January, under the chairmanship of the University of Tokyo Goshinjin, and under the direct supervision of the general affairs minister Takao Sanae. Relevant people from NTT and Toshiba will also be invited to discuss 6G performance goals and policy support by June.
Japan claims that through using “post-5G” (6G) high-speed communication technology, it is possible to depict a future society in which individual stereoscopic images emerge from conference rooms or classrooms far away, and robots take care of people.
The country will invest $2.03 billion in the research and development of 6G. It’s expected to provide a speed 10 times faster than what the world will witness in terms of 5G technology, which sounds frankly ridiculous. Unused high-frequency waves will be used in the 6G network.
Other countries have begun to take action as well. The Chinese government announced in November 2019 that it will establish two 6G R & D institutions. Finnish universities and government-affiliated institutions have also launched 6G R & D projects. In South Korea, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics each set up research centers in 2019.
Huawei is working on alternatives to Google Mobile Services. It already has its suite of apps called Huawei Mobile Services which includes AppGallery (its version of the Play Store), Huawei Video (its replacement for YouTube), Huawei Themes, Huawei Wallet, and Huawei Browser etc,. It also has Huawei Quick Apps which is its alternative to Google’s Instant Apps.
Huawei also included Location Kit and Map Kit in HMS Core (its collection of tools for app developers) to provide location and mapping services but there was no mapping data to use. A report by Reuters says the Chinese mobile giant has partnered with TomTom, the Dutch company known for its mapping services.
The info was revealed by Remco Meerstra, the spokesman for TomTom. Apparently, the deal was finalized a while ago but they decided to keep a tight lid on it until now. The deal will result in Huawei’s use of TomTom’s mapping services, traffic information, and navigation software in its apps, and thus serving as an alternative to Google Maps.
The upcoming Huawei P40 series should have the new mapping service pre-installed. Other models may get the feature via an update.
Amazon’s founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, arrived in India a few days ago to meet with government officials and also attend a company event. Yesterday, Mr. Bezos took to Twitter to announce the roll-out of a new fleet of fully-electric delivery auto-rickshaws.
The move is part of the retail giant’s Climate Pledge to reduce its carbon emission and also switch to renewable energy.
In a report today, The Economic Times reported that Amazon said its fleet of delivery vehicles in India will include 10,000 electric vehicles by 2025. These vehicles will include both three-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles. Amazon already began a pilot program in several cities and is now expanding it.
Some of the cities these electric vehicles will operate in include Delhi, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Ahmadabad, Pune, and Nagpur. So if you reside in any of these cities, you should keep your eyes peeled for these new vehicles.
India is not the only country where Amazon will be switching to electric vehicles. In the US, it has placed an order for 100,000 electric delivery trucks from automaker, Rivian. The vans are expected to be on roads by next year and should rise to 100,000 by 2030.
Amazon’s goal is to become carbon-neutral by 2040 which is a decade earlier than the target set by the United Nations Paris Agreement.
Flipkart, its rival in India, is also switching to electric vehicles. The retailer announced last June that it plans to replace 40% of its delivery vans with electric models by March 2020.
In October 2019, Huawei had confirmed that it will be launching a more powerful edition of the Huawei Mate X foldable in March this year. The Mate X was fueled by the Kirin 980 chipset. The forthcoming Huawei Mate Xs will be driven by the Kirin 990 5G chipset. In December, the Mate Xs that has a model number of TAH-AN00m had bagged 3C certification in China. With the launch drawing near, the new foldable phone has surfaced on the database of TENAA.
The screenshot reveals that the Huawei Mate Xs shows that it is a 5G device that carries support for NSA and SA 5G network in China. The TENAA listing of the phone is yet to populated with its full specs and images. Hopefully, the Huawei Mate Xs TENAA listing will be updated soon with its specs and images.
The 3C appearance of the phone in December had revealed that it could be with a 65W fast charger. Huawei Consumer Group CEO Yu Chengdong had recently in an interview that the Huawei Mate Xs will be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020 tech trade show that will be held in between Feb. 24 and Feb. 27.
The Huawei Mate X was priced at 16,999 Yuan (~$2,476). Rumors surrounding the upcoming Mate Xs have revealed that the Mate Xs could be a cheaper device despite coming with improvements in display and design. The device will be equipped with an upgraded hinge system and a newer Kirin 990 5G processor. Since the Mate Xs is less difficult to manufacture compared to its predecessor, it is likely that the Mate Xs could be coming with a cheaper price tag.
As far as the hinge of Huawei Mate Xs is concerned, it is more durable and fine tuned compared to the hinge on the Mate X. The display size will remain intact as the predecessor model. With design improvements, the Mate Xs will be slightly smaller than the previous model.
In related news, Huawei is reportedly working on another smartphone with foldable screen. It is likely to go official in the second half of 2020. It remains to be seen whether it arrives with clamshell form factor like the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip or it features a tri-fold design like the rumored Galaxy Z phone.
Earlier today (20th January 2020), Mitsubishi Electric Corp announced that it had been the target of a series of cyberattacks that has led to information regarding Government agencies and other business partners being compromised.
Mitsubishi Electric is an integral asset in Japan’s defense and infrastructure industries. Hence, the cyberattack implies a possible leak of information, such as email exchanges with the Defense Ministry and the Nuclear Regulation Authority. Furthermore, even documents related to projects with private organizations, railway operators, telecommunications and automakers are also at risk.
However, the company has also assured that no highly important data regarding infrastructure operations have been breached. Previously, Mitsubishi had conducted an internal investigation in June 2019 after an irregular activity was noticed on devices located in Japan. The investigation found unauthorized access to the management section at its head office and other departments.
According to reports, a Chinese hacker group is suspected of attacking Mitsubishi Electrics by gaining unauthorized access to personal computers and services. It is being said that the cyberattack had targetted information related to job applicants and employees of the month alongside sales and technologies as well. Although, it is still a call for caution as even cybersecurity experts in the field are susceptible to cyberterrorism.
Since the attack, Yoshihide Suga (Chief Cabinet Secretary) has mentioned that “no leak of sensitive information regarding defense equipment and electricity” has taken place and also sent outa public apology for the sudden unrest that was caused. Notably, Mitsubishi Electic is a major manufacturer in the field of defense and is accredited with the 3rd largest contract for major defense equipment at the Defense Ministry, according to a discal report of 2018.
Last year in October, TCL had showcased a prototype of a foldable phone with tri-folding display with dual hinges. When folded, it could be used a regular smartphone and when unfolded, it provided users with a large display of around 10 inches. There is no update on when the company will be mass producing it. A fresh leak reveals that Samsung could be working on a foldable phone with tri-folding design. A tipster from China has shared an image that showcases the three-fold design of an upcoming Galaxy Z foldable phone.
The exact name of the Galaxy Z phone with three-fold design is not known yet. The design that can be seen in the leaked image shows that the Galaxy Z tri-folding smartphone will appear quite similar to the TCL’s foldable prototype with tri-folding display. Hence, it appears that it could be fitted with two hinges that could be folding in opposite direction. Hence, the two hinges could assist the device appear like the letter Z that will make it possible to fold it in zigzag manner.
The TCL prototype was completely unfolded, it revealed that it featured a quad camera setup on the third part of the device. Also, when unfolded, the frontside provides users with a massive display area. However, when folded, it can be used a regular smartphone. One drawback of the tri-folding design is that the device becomes quite thick when folded as seen in the image below. It remains to be seen how thick Samsung’s forthcoming Galaxy Z tri-folding phone could be.
There is no word on the launch date of the Galaxy Z tri-fold device. It could be arriving in the latter half of the year. Currently, the company is gearing up to launch the Galaxy S20 series along with Galaxy Z Flip clamshell foldable phone on Feb. 11. The Galaxy Z Flip is powered by the Snapdragon 855. The said processor powered various Android flagship phones in the previous year. The rumored Galaxy Z tri-folding smartphone could be equipped with premium specs.
What’s your opinion on the three-fold design of the Galaxy Z foldable phone? Share us your views by posting your comments below.
BT and Vodafone are reportedly set to support Huawei’s involvement in the development of the UK’s 5G network. The companies are preparing a letter to be sent to the Prime Minister to lobby him to support the move, saying a ban on Huawei could stunt the growth of the UK’s digital economy. Britain is set to take a final decision on Huawei’s role in building new 5G networks this month.
The government is facing pressure from the US to prohibit Huawei from any involvement with the 5G communications network. British and American security staff reportedly met in London this week to discuss the issue, and the US’s view is that it would be “nothing short of madness” to allow the Chinese firm to work on the project. US security chiefs reportedly handed UK officials a dossier of evidence on Huawei’s alleged vulnerablities in an attempt to get Downing Street to block the company.
Telecoms industry sources said that Philip Jansen, BT chief executive, and Nick Read, who runs Vodafone, were contemplating writing to Mr Johnson during the early part of next week. One source familiar with its prospective content said it would emphasise the priority which both companies placed on the security of their networks, while arguing that they had seen no evidence that would justify an outright ban on Huawei.
Vodafone, which uses Huawei’s telecom equipment in its radio network, has previously said a blanket ban on the Chinese company would costs it millions of pounds and significantly slow down the roll-out of 5G networks. Vodafone has already paused the deployment of Huawei’s equipment in its data-heavy core networks, a year ago until Western governments give the company a full security clearance.
BT also uses Huawei’s equipment in networks, but it is not deployed in the intelligent core of its fixed-line network and it is removing Huawei from the core of its mobile network. In addition, BT has already excluded Huawei from the bidding process for its future 5G network.
A new year has just begun and a new version of Android is reportedly right around the corner. A benchmark test has been spotted on Geekbench which indicates that a Google Pixel 4 is running the upcoming Android “R” operating system (11th iteration of the Android OS).
Google Pixel 4 spotted with the Android R Developer Preview on Geekbench
The benchmark has yet to be confirmed officially so it might turn out to be fake. Furthermore, Google announced that it is dropping the customary desserts and alphabetic naming scheme for a more comprehensive numerical system, so Android R listing doesn’t make it seem like an official build. However, Android 10 was referred to as Android Q in the developer preview up until the rollout of the final build. Thus, the Android R developer preview is most likely an early designation to Android 11 OS.
Last year, Google had announced the Android Q developer preview in March 2019 with six beta versions being released before the Android 10 stable build was launched on 3rd September 2019. Following the same timeline, Android R could very likely be unveiled within the arriving 6 to 8 weeks. Pixel owners are most likely to receive the beta program first, while a number of different devices are expected to also be included soon after.
Notably, it is advised for those interested to only join the beta program for any upcoming OS update if one possesses a spare smartphone. Early iterations of a final build are highly unstable and filled with bugs. Waiting for a few of the zero-day bugs and glitches to be fixed and opting-in for the beta program for later builds is a safer bet. The new version of Android OS is expected to bring many quality of life improvements alongside performance enhancements as well, so stay tuned for related coverage.
Samsung Electronics is well known for its consumer grade products ranging from home appliances to smartphones. However, the company is also a world leader as a supplier in memory chips and even the top manufacturer of AMOLED displays in the world. Now, the company is planning on further expanding its latter department by investing $500 million to set up a display manufacturing plant in India.
The South Korean tech giant will set up the new plant on the outskirts of New Delhi, the capital of India. This arrives after Samsung officially disclosed the sizeable investment and plans in a filing with Indian regulatory bodies. The plant’s primary focus is to produce displays that will be fitted in a wide range of devices including smartphones, and other IoT gadgets.
Samsung Galaxy S10 with the company’s AMOLED display technology
According to the filing, Samsung is setting up a display manufacturing plant in Noida by allocating some of the lands for its existing plant. This plant was claimed to be the world’s largest smartphone manufacturing plant and was opened in 2018 with a $700 million investment. With the new plant, Samsung will be even less reliant on importing its own technologies from other countries and can source its own components locally, bypassing tariffs and customs duties.
The new display manufacturing plant also boosts the production capacity which will largely benefit from the Indian Government’s tax benefits and subsidies on manufacturing locally. India is currently the world’s second largest smartphone market which the Government recognizes and thus provides incentives to OEMs to set up their manufacturing and assembly plants locally.
Samsung logo at Samsung Customer Service Center in Krakow, Poland on 11 January, 2019. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Notably, Samsung is the second most popular brand in the Southeast Asian country. However, it is expected to be overtaken by Chinese brand Realme in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to analysts. Thus, the move might help Samsung price its Galaxy offerings more aggressively in the near future to stay more relevant in the current smartphone trends as Chinese tech giants like Xiaomi are becoming increasingly more popular in the nation.
Meizu has today announced that it has now started rolling out the latest Flyme 8 stable version update to the 2nd batch of compatible smartphones. The announcement from the company added that users can check for the update by going to System Updates app. This means that the rollout for Flyme 8 is now essentially complete, and all devices scheduled to get the update will be receiving it soon.
Meizu will now start rolling out the stable build for Meizu 16Xs , Meizu 15 Lite, PRO 7 Standard Edition, Meizu Note9 (M9 Note), Meizu Note8 (M8 Note), Meizu X8 , PRO 6 Plus, PRO 6s, PRO 6, PRO 5, MX6 , Meizu E3 (Blue Charm) , Meizu S6 (Blue Charm), Meizu M6 (Blue Charm), Meizu M5 Note (Blue Charm), Meizu M3 Max (Blue Charm), Meizu M3E (Blue Charm).
For those who are unaware, the Flyme 8 operating system was announced at the end of August last year alongside the Meizu 16S Pro flagship smartphone. The company had promised that this new version of the user interface will come to a total of 27 Meizu models by the end of last year, and now they’re finally delivering. We’ve made a detailed list of features that are available through this new update which you can check out here.
OnePlus recently shared a simulation video of its 120Hz Fluid Display. While some rumors have stated that the OnePlus 8 series will be equipped with the 120Hz refresh screen, there have been some contradictory that the next flagship phones from OnePlus won’t feature it. A fresh report on Tru Tech that carries an exclusive image of the OnePlus 8 Pro leaked by a OnePlus insider reveals that the phone has a 120Hz selection option in the Settings menu.
The publication claims that the OnePlus 8 Pro hands-on image that has surfaced could belong to a pre-production unit. The handset has a punch-hole display that is surrounded by slim bezels. The volume rocker can be seen on its left edge. The right spine of the device has an alert slider and a power key. The OLED display of the phone is integrated with an in-screen fingerprint reader. The appearance of the new image reveals that Chinese firm will be ditching the notch-less display and pop-up selfie camera design on the OnePlus 8 series.
The main thing to notice in the leaked image the “Screen refresh rate” menu in Settings has mode selection options for 120Hz, 90Hz and 60Hz. The handset is expected to carry support for quad HD+ resolution. The text below the 120Hz option reads “maximum smoothness but slightly reduce battery life.” It does not state whether selecting the 120Hz option will switch the display resolution to 1080p. Hence, there is a possibility that the display of the OnePlus 8 Pro will produce quad HD+ resolution along with 120Hz refresh rate. Since the image belongs to a pre-production unit, it remains to be seen whether the 120Hz option will be also available on the Final product.
The OnePlus 8 family includes the entry-level OnePlus 8 Lite, the regular OnePlus 8 and the advanced OnePlus 8 Pro. The OnePlus 8 Lite may feature a 90Hz refresh rate. It remains to be seen whether the OnePlus 8 which is also speculated to be equipped with a punch-hole screen arrives 120Hz refresh rate support.
Rumors surrounding the OnePlus 8 Pro has revealed that it will be fueled by Snapdragon 865 mobile platform. It could be coming with up to 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. It could be housing a 4,500mAh battery with fast charging support. For photography, the OnePlus 8 Pro may possess a 32-megapixel front camera and it may come with a rear camera system that consists of a Sony IMX686 64-megapixel main lens, a 20-megapixel ultrawide shooter, a 12-megapixel telephoto lens and a ToF sensor. Readers are advised to digest the specs leak with a grain of salt.
Apple often rolls out background software updates to its truly wireless earbuds like the AirPods Pro. Usually, these updates focus on minor bug fixes, but a recent AirPods Pro update appears to have made some notable changes to sound quality and noise cancellation. Following user reports on Reddit and other outlets, RTINGS decided to retest AirPods Pro after updating to firm 2C54. The testing revealed a few notable changes, for better and for worse.
RTINGS tests found the AirPods Pro’s noise canceling capabilities to be worse after firmware update 2C54. But affected customers say the trouble began even earlier with firmware version 2B588, which rolled out in November. According to the audio testing firm however, not everything is really bad. The update also brought some marked improvements to the performance of the AirPods Pro.
One of the biggest improvements, according to RTINGS testing, came to frequency response consistency. This describes the “variations in a headphones’ frequency response due to their fit on your head.” Prior to firmware 2C54, RTINGS described the frequency response consistency of AirPods Pro as “just okay.” The update, however, made things ”significantly better.”
Another significant improvement came to bass accuracy. While RTINGS had already described AirPods Pro bass accuracy as “excellent,” the 2C54 update makes another “fairly significant improvement.” Elsewhere, RTINGS says the update included a “very slight reduction in mid accuracy” as well as a slightly reduction in treble accuracy.
While Apple has not formally acknowledged these complaints from users, it has pulled the the 2C54 for AirPods Pro. This prevents additional users from installing the update, but it doesn’t do much for those users who had already installed it. The update was initially released on December 16 and was pulled shortly after that. Whether this is in acknowledgement of the worse noise cancelling or otherwise, we don’t really know.
Xiaomi-backed gaming smartphone market Black Shark has today announced that the company has partnered with Tencent Games in an effort to explore innovation in gaming both in terms of software as well as hardware.
Making this announcement, the company has said that it aims to provide users with a more diverse gaming experience. We expect to see this partnership getting materialised with the upcoming Black Shark 3 smartphone getting launched later this year.
Earlier, Tencent Games had partnered with ASUS for the company’s second-generation gaming smartphone — Asus ROG Phone 2. Under this partnership, the company had also launched Tencent customized Elite version of the smartphone at a cheaper rate in China.
While the company has not yet revealed anything about the upcoming gaming smartphone, leak shows that the Black Shark 3 will come with 2K resolution display and will be offering 120Hz refresh rate. Earlier, it was said that the phone will come powered by the newly announced Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC.
Previous reports indicate that the phone could come equipped with 16GB of RAM. The smartphone has been certified for radio transmission under model number KLE-A0. It shows that the device supports dual mode 5G connectivity.
If the reports are true, then the Black Shark 3 gaming smartphone will be the first to come with 16GB of RAM. So far, the highest memory configuration that any smartphone offers stands at 12GB.
The upcoming gaming phone from the company will be the successor to Black Shark 2 Pro which was announced back in July last year. It features a 6.39-inch FHD+ screen, a Snapdragon 855+ processor, and packs a 4000mAh battery with support for 27W fast charge. We don’t expect anything lesser from the Black Shark 3 and a recent leak says it will have a bigger 4700mh battery.
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