UK’s PM Boris Johnson throw shade at the US; asks Huawei’s critics to suggest alternatives

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Jan 16, 2020

Recently, the Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G smartphone was spotted on Geekbench with some of its key specifications. The handset has a model number of SM-G986U. Today, the Galaxy S20 5G smartphone that has a model number of SM-G981U has appeared on the same benchmarking platform.

The Galaxy S20 is the smallest or entry-level smartphone in the S20 series. It was previously referred to as Galaxy S11e by the rumor mill. The Geekbench 5 listing of the Galaxy S20 5G reveals that it has scored 561 and 2358, respectively in the single-core and multi-core benchmark tests.

The Galaxy S20 is preinstalled with Android 10 OS and it has 12 GB of RAM. The Android OS could be overlaid with the latest One UI 2.0. The motherboard field in the Geekbench listing has ‘kona’ mentioned in it. It is nothing but the codename of the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform. Certain markets are expected to receive the Exynos 9830 (Exynos 990) edition of the Galaxy S20 series.

Editor’s Pick: Samsung dethroned by Intel for Top Semiconductor Market Position

The Galaxy S20 CAD renders that were released by OnLeaks few weeks ago revealed that it is equipped with a punch-hole display and its rear shell has a rectangle-shaped camera setup. The latter is expected to house three cameras such as a 12-megapixel main lens, a 64-megapixel telephoto lens and a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor.

The smartphone could be housing a 6.2-inch display that may support 120Hz refresh rate. It is expected to continue to sport an ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint reader. The smartphone could be housing a 4,000mAh battery. The 3C listing of Galaxy S20 5G had revealed that it could be coming with a 25W fast charger.

So far, the rumor mill has revealed the Galaxy S20 lineup will include five devices such as Galaxy S20 5G, Galaxy S20 5G, Galaxy S20+ 5G, Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G. Samsung will be announcing the S-series flagship smartphones on Feb. 11. The South Korean company is also expected to unveil the Snapdragon 855 mobile platform powered Galaxy Z Flip foldable clamshell phone.

(source|via)

Huawei collaborates with Airtel and Vodafone to start 5G trials in India

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Jan 16, 2020

Huawei, the electronics giant, is well known for its consumer products like smartphones and other home appliances. However, the company is also a renowned telecommunications equipment provider, especially for the 5G network. Now, the Chinese company is partnering with local network providers like Airtel and even Vodafone to start 5G trials in India.

According to a new report, Huawei will team up with Bharti Airtel for the first 5G trials in Bangalore, alongside testing in Delhi with Vodafone. The telecom firms have already submitted the applications, as per an anonymous source. On 31st December 2019, the Indian Government had initiated the process of rolling out 5G network in India and had met various operators and vendors for the same. As per the road map, the early trials will take place during January and March of 2020.

Furthermore, the last date to submit an application for the trials was yesterday, 15th January 2020. These applications will be taken into consideration by the Government, which will distribute trial regions to the licensed telecom service providers. The reporting agency had also tried reaching Huawei for a statement but the company has yet to respond.

Currently, Huawei is facing scrutiny in various western regions like the US and other European countries. It has faced multiple allegations from foreign Governments regarding a possible link to China and the security of the data it handles through its telecommunications equipment and smartphones. The US is at the forefront of such accusations and believes the company has the capabilities of spying on other countries for the Chinese Government.

Huawei has frequently denied such claims but it still faces obstacles even in Australia, Japan, Canada, and New Zealand. On the other hand, nations like, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia are accepting of Huawei. 5G is the next major step in networking advancements and is also being seen as a hallmark of a developed nation. Thus, countries like China and South Korea which are leading in this regard are seeing an increase in 5G smartphones in their home markets.

In India, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has already approved the prices for the spectrum auction, which is scheduled to be held by April 2020. Out of the 8,300MHz of airwaves, 6,050MHz has been allocated to 5G network with a cost of INR 492 crore (roughly $69 million) per megahertz. The Government is also pushing for telecom firms to conduct experimental spectrum trials by providing incentives and lesses fees per trial.

As of right now, Huawei has secured more than 50 commercial contracts for 5G networking in various countries. In comparison, India is behind on the adoption curve of the newer and faster bandwidth. However, the local Government is placing an increased emphasis on network advancement alongside education, agriculture, waste management, and healthcare.

(Via)

Mi True Wireless Earphones Lite certified by Bluetooth SIG

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jan 16, 2020

A recent report by Strategy Analytics revealed Xiaomi has the second largest share of the TWS earbuds market. The Chinese manufacturer trails after Apple but leads Samsung, JBL, and Huawei. Xiaomi is able to achieve this thanks to its lineup of affordable TWS headsets which include the Mi Bluetooth Earphones Air (Mi True Wireless Earphones), the Mi AirDots Youth Edition (Mi True Wireless Basic), and the Mi True Wireless Bluetooth Headset Air2.

Over the past few months, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group has certified a couple of new TWS headsets from Xiaomi but they are yet to launch. There is the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 that was certified back in July 2019 and that we think is the international version of the Mi True Wireless Bluetooth Headset Air2. There is also the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2S that was certified in December 2019. Now a new one called the Mi True Wireless Earphones Lite has been spotted on the certification site.

The Mi True Wireless Earphones Lite has the model number TWSEJ03WM and was certified on January 14, 2020. The certificate reveals the wireless earbuds will connect via Bluetooth 5.0.

Other than the aforementioned, there are not any more details about the upcoming TWS earbuds. At the moment, we have not heard any report of the launch of new pair of wireless earbuds from Xiaomi. However, if we were to take a wild guess, we will say the Mi True Wireless Earphones Lite may be a lite version of the Air2.

Xiaomi will want to maintain its grip of having the second largest share of the TWS markets and to do that, it needs to announce new models that bring new features while keeping the price tag affordable.

It has not announced any new phone launches outside China but when it does, we expect it to announce at least one new pair of TWS earbuds.

Amazfit X crowdfunding page goes live on Indiegogo – launching soon

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jan 16, 2020

In August 2019, Huami Technology held a press conference where three products were unveiled. One of them is the Amazfit X Concept Watch with a flexible curved display. The smartwatch maker during its annual strategic media conference for 2019 held in December last year disclosed that the Amazfit X mass production would commence in 2020.

Turns out Huami isn’t planning to sell the concept smartwatch in China alone. The tech giant has the intention of bringing the product to the global market. To this end, a crowdfunding campaign page for the Amazfit X concept watch has gone live on Indiegogo. The page lists the features of the smartwatch but the campaign is yet to open to backers. However, you can register your email to get alerted when the campaign commences.

As a reminder, the Amazfit X adopts an all-metal integrated design with hidden electronic buttons that replace the traditional buttons. The watch features a proprietary 2.07-inch flexible curved screen with a super-arc curvature of 92°. The curvature is said to have been achieved by heating the metal body through an ultra-high temperature of 700°C with a 6-bend bending process.

The Amazfit X is shaped like a new moon and has a larger display area of up to 244% compared to the display area of wearable devices with similar size. The screen also has 326ppi, 100% NTSC high color saturation and up to 430nits screen brightness. The watch uses a 220mAh curved lithium battery which is said to have support for up to 7 days battery life. Since the motherboard can’t be curved, the Amazfit X uses a 3-segment motherboard in order to adapt to the curvature.

(source)

Apple products may get Smarter as the company buys an Edge Computing Startup for $200 million

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Jan 16, 2020

Apple, the known smartphone maker, has bought an Edge computing based startup for a massive sum of 200 million US Dollars. A new report had surfaced after a close source to the smartphone OEM shared the information to a reporting agency called GeekWire.

Xnor.ai is an Edge computing based startup that had branched out from the nonprofit Allen Institure for AI back in 2017. Apple has confirmed the transaction of the large sum to acquire the firm. The Cupertino based giant also mentioned that it acquires smaller businesses every now and then but generally doesn’t incline in sharing the purpose or plans of the buyout.

Initially, Xnor.ai focused on machine learning with efficient algorithms being developed that could run on various low tier hardware, or IoT devices (Internet of Things). This includes electronics like a security camera which consumer low amount of power to function and had a one-track streamlined function. However, with Xnor.ai’s algorithms, these gadgets could accomplish complex tasks like object recognition; which is a task that generally requires powerful processing from cloud based computer via an internet connection.

According to the source, the amount of 200 million US Dollars for the acquisition is just an estimate so the numbers are not concrete. Although, the numbers and investment are still ranging in tens of million which surpass any of its previous investments raised by a large margin. Xnor.ai is also expected to move to the Seattle offices of Apple which, as stated by the report.

The acquisition for an Edge computing based firm by Apple is forward thinking move from the company. Other industry giants like Google, Microsoft, and even Amazon are heavily investing in this field. With Xnor.ai, Apple plans on making its products work more independently from its cloud computing services to possibly include functions like facial recognition, natural language processing and augmented reality as well.

The implications of the field also extend towards security and privacy, since edge computing places an emphasis on local processing. Thus, Apple can make its devices more secure and even improve its imaging algorithms with machine learning. Notably, iPhones are a loose example of edge computing with local storage of biometric data (facial recognition or fingerprint scanners) and its processing.

(Source,Via)

Mysterious Huawei phones appear on TENAA with key specs

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Jan 16, 2020

A mysterious Huawei phone with two variants MED-AL00/TL00 and MOA-AL00/TL00 with identical specs have appeared on TENAA. The images of the phone haven’t surfaced yet o the database of China’s telecom regulatory body. Also, the TENAA listings of the aforementioned phones currently carry only minimum details.

The MED-AL00/TL00 and MOA-AL00/TL00 phones are equipped with 6.3-inch displays. Since the images of the phone are not available yet, there is no confirmation on whether they are equipped with waterdrop notch or punch-hole displays. These handsets have identical measurements of 159.07 x 74.06 x 9.04mm. The MEA-AL00/TL00 and MOA-AL00/TL00 are quite thick because they are packed with big batteries of 4,900mAh capacity. The typical capacity of the battery could be 5,000mAh.

Both phones were certified by the 3C authority of China in December last year. Their 3C listings revealed that these devices will possibly carry support for 10W fast charging. Hopefully, the mystery behind MED-AL00/TL00 and MOA-AL00/TL00 phones will end with the appearance of its full specs and images on TENAA.

As it can be seen in the preliminary listings of MED-AL00/TL00 and MOA-AL00/TL00 phones, these phones have identical dimensions, display size and batteries. Hence, there is a possibility that these phones may differ in departments like camera, RAM and storage. The MED-AL00/TL00 and MOA-AL00/TL00 smartphones are expected to break cover as the first Huawei phones o the year 2020.

Editor’s Pick: Huawei P40 Pro color variants confirmed through leaked poster

In related news, an Honor phone with model number HLK-AL00a was spotted at TENAA with full specifications and images. It seems to be a variant of the Honor 9X smartphone from last year that carried a model number of HLK-AL00. The Honor 9X and the newly spotted Honor HLK-AL00a smartphones have identical specs. The only difference between the two devices is that a 2.27GHz octa-core processor is present under the hood of the Honor 9X whereas the HLK-AL00a is equipped with a 2.0GHz octa-core processor. It is advisable to wait for further reports to know the exact identity of the HLK-AL00a smartphone.

How to use Substratum custom themes on Samsung One UI 2.0

By

Simranpal Singh

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Jan 16, 2020

Samsung’s custom skin OneUI features various new improvements and enhancements over its predecessor – TouchWiz. The new custom skin is light, more productive and offers better customisation features. However, despite the compatibility of custom themes, Samsung has blocked the custom overlays for OneUI. As like last time, the Projekt team has found a workaround to run custom skins on OneUI 2.0 using Synergy.

The team Projekt announced took to Twitter to announce the compatibility of Synergy v0.6.3 with One UI 2 devices. It is more refined and stable rather than the Custom Theme Installer for OneUI. The Custom Theme Installer is quite a useful app but gives a miss on core features that make a theme more stable. On the other hand, Synergy lets user import themes directly from Substratum Lite repository. Both the apps – Synergy and Custom Theme Installer offer OneUI customisation but follows a different way to make it work.

Synergy v0.6.3 syncs perfectly with most of the themes, but few of them are having some issues. To install the custom Substratum themes on OneUI 2.0 devices, follow the process below carefully.

Steps to install Substratum on OneUI 2.0

Download Synergy and Substratum Lite from the Play Store.
Download the desired theme that is compatible.
Now, open Synergy app and then click on “Add Overlays”.
Select Substratum Lite
Now, select the theme of your choice from the list.
Before clicking install in the bottom right corner, select each app about the theme.
Tap build at the bottom of Synergy.
(Note: Synergy will ask you to install a theme from Samsung Theme Store to replace OneUI theme files.)
Now, go to Synergy and uninstall and install apps as required.
Reboot the smartphone, and then goto Settings > Wallpapers and Themes > Themes and click the Synergy icon and apply themes.
Once again reboot the device.
Open Synergy app and tap three lines in the bottom left corner and select Night Mode settings.
Install the required app.
Enable night mode.

It is th only way to enjoy Substratum themes on your One UI 2.0 based devices. If you get any issue while installing the theme, then make comment below.

(source)

TSMC 10nm chip shipments contributed to just 1% of wafer revenue, 7nm at 35% in Q4 2019

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Jan 16, 2020

TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) has shared its financial report for the fourth quarter of 2019. The quarter saw the company having a growth in both revenue and profits alongside an increase in shipments of 7nm chips.

The company is a major player in the semiconductor market and is a key supplier of chipsets across smartphones and even desktop grade processors. According to the financial report, TSMC generated a revenue of 10.5 billion US Dollars out of which profits amounted to 3.8 billion US Dollars in Q4 2019. This marks a 10.6 percent of growth over Q3 2019. The figures have also slightly surpassed expectations from analysts that had predicted income of 3.7 billion US Dollars.

Notably, one of the main contributing areas where the company generated its revenue from was the 7nm chipset category. The size is currently used in various high end smartphone processors while even being the next step in advancement in computer CPUs as well. 7nm chips contributed 35 percent of total wafer revenue, in comparison, the 10nm only garnered 1 percent of the same in Q4 2019.

As mentioned earlier, the 7nm chips are booming after AMD, a known chipmaker in the desktop PC market, ordered 20 percent of TSMC’s 7nm processing capacity. Recently, AMD‘s third generation of Ryzen processors and Radeon graphic cards have shifted towards 7nm processing, unlike Intel that is still struggling to reach 10nm after its 14nm processors. Hence, TSMC is currently seeing gross margins that have surpassed the other three quarters of 2019.

Furthermore, TSMC saw a yearly revenue of 35.7 billion US Dollars and expects to see a notable growth of 15-20 percent in revenue; thanks to the new 5nm processing nodes being planned for mass production. The smartphone market has seen stagnation recently but is still expected to see a global shipment of around 1.4 billion units in 2020, an increase of 1.5 percent over 2019 due to an increase in demand for 5G networking.

(Via)

ZTE raises 11.8 billion yuan via private offering to fund 5G R&D

By

Airyl Jaszly

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Jan 16, 2020

ZTE has not been able to fully recover since after their US ban was lifted. Despite all problems and obstacles however, the company has managed to push forward, even making a break for the 5G smartphone race with the Axon 5G last year. Now, the company is once again looking up to 5G R&D to mount a serious push for a slice of the market, but they’re going to need funding to achieve that.

ZTE said it was looking to raise 11.51 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) from a private placement of A shares, and that it plans to use the proceeds for research and development of 5G networks and working capital. ZTE claims it will issue about 381 million A shares, which are denominated in RMB and traded on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges to ten independent institutional investors in China at CNY30.21 a share.

In a statement, ZTE said the fundraising will enable it to maintain its “high level of investment in research and development, ensure its technological competitive edge and develop its main products and businesses with core advantages”. The investors buying the shares will be subject to a 12-month lock-up period. ZTE already has approval from shareholders to proceed with the offering.

“It is because of the lock up period which give investors confidence of a stable stock price during the period, and that support the shares from advancing despite the discount,” said Steven Leung, a sales director at UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong. “Its a vote of confidence to the prospect of 5G and related companies,” Leung added.

ZTE’s Shenzhen-listed shares rose as much as 4% to 38.10 yuan in early trade. Hong Kong-listed stock briefly rose 3.7% to HK$28.05, the highest since March 2018.

TikTok dethrones Facebook, becomes most downloaded app after WhatsApp

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Jan 16, 2020

2019 was a boon for Chinese short-video content platform TikTok and its Chinese equivalent Douyin. Despite being banned by the US Navy and Army on grounds of causing security breach, the social media platform was downloaded over 700 million times around the globe, overtaking giants like Facebook and Messenger to take on the #2 spot, right behind WhatsApp. As other platforms take note of TikTok’s business strategy and launch rival products, 2020 will be a test for parent firm Bytedance.

The global leader WhatsApp is at 850 million downloads, followed by TikTok. Both platforms rely heavily on the young Indian audience for sustenance. According to a survey conducted by Sensor Tower, 45% of the first-time downloads were from India. While WhatsApp’s growth for Q4 2019 was up by 39%, primarily due to the Indian audience.

Likee, a product of Singapore-based Bigo, is a smaller rival with close to 330 million downloads, half of which are from India. The survey conducted by Sensor Tower takes data from the Google Play Store, and App Store. However, the figures are likely to be higher since Google Play is blocked in China.

Editor’s Pick: Major TikTok vulnerability could have allowed hackers access users’ private information

TikTok has revolutionized the Short video format for sure. Some of the bigger names like Facebook and Instagram are taking note and plan on acting on them shortly” revealed Meenakshi Tiwari, an analyst at technology market research firm Forrester. The assessment comes shortly at the heels of Reels, Instagram’s short video platform designed to counter TikTok, which launched in Brazil two months back.

WhatsApp poses an imminent threat to TokTok as the former has not yet monetized its user base. TikTok is under serious cash crunch at the moment, since most of its revenue is generated in China despite its rapid global expansion. Beijing-based Chenjin Culture operates individual accounts for TikTok and Douyin. While the Douyin account earns between 50,000 yuan (~7,268$) and 100,000 yuan (~$14,536) with 5 million users, TikTok has failed to generate profits despite its 1.6 million-strong userbases.

TikTok is now looking at an advert strategy by luring advertisers with a news feed with content curated from its users and professional creators. Hence, mimicking rival Snap’s strategy. TikTok’s efforts may be in vain as most advertisers are afraid their content will run alongside distressing or even illegal content.

In response to news of TIkTok’s monetization plan, a US spokesperson for the company said it was exciting to see the diverse range of creativity coming from the community and TikTok’s steady popularity with the creators. Besides competition, TikTok is also facing flak from US lawmakers over the potential security breaches. In response, TikTok has made numerous changes to its policy to refrain from posting political content, which is termed misleading in its Terms of Service (ToS).

Can Redmi Note 8 survive the harsh sub-zero temperatures in Antarctica? We’ll find out soon!

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Jan 16, 2020

Smartphone brands compete in a market filled with tough competition. To stay relevant, the OEMs must resort to various ad campaigns and even quirky challenges to stand out. This holds true for Redmi as well since its Vice President and General Manager, Lu Weibing, plans to challenge the Redmi Note 8 in the harsh environment in Antarctica.

According to the senior official, the Redmi Note 8 will face the sub-zero temperatures in the most barren continent in the world on 17th January 2020. The announcement of the Herculean challenge was issued on Weibo, the Chinese microblogging website, on Lu Weibing’s official account.

In the post shared, a poster was attached alongside a message. The image was of the southernmost continent while the message mentioned the challenge. Lu Weibing said that Antarctica is colder than Beijing and that is where the Redmi Note 8 will persevere. From the poster, it can be surmised that the smartphone is going to be sent to Antarctica to be tested in extreme conditions.

The temperature in the region can fall way below 0 degrees Celsius, even reaching -60 degrees Celsius. This is way beyond the optimal functioning parametres of any consumer-grade electronic product. In other words, it remains to be seen if the Redmi Note 8 can survive the freezing temperature in this challenge.

For those unaware, the Redmi Note 8 is a mid range smartphone that was launched back in September 2019. It features a quad camera setup and is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass protective layer. The handset is water and dust proof as well and the company must be really confident with its durability to put it through such a hard test. Notably, the challenge is also indicative of the company providing tough smartphones, as even the Redmi Note 7 series (Little King Kong) underwent a harsh test that put its glass protection to the test.

(Via)

Huawei P40 Pro color variants confirmed through leaked poster

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Jan 16, 2020

Yesterday, 91mobiles had shared a leaked render of the upcoming Huawei P40 smartphone. It gave a good view of the front and rear design of the smartphone. Today, the publication has shared a leaked poster of the Huawei P40 Pro. It reveals that the smartphone will be available in as many as 5 color variants. It has also claimed that the Huawei P40 will be also available in same hues.

Huawei-P40-Pro-leaked-render — Huawei P40 Pro

The Huawei P40 Pro image that was leaked through a reliable industry source shows that it will be arriving in color options such as Black, Blush Gold, Silver Frost, Deep Sea Blue, and Ice White with gradient finish. As mentioned above, the Huawei P40 will be also available in same color variants.

The Huawei P40 Pro and Huawei P40 are similarly designed smartphones. Yesterday’s leak had revealed that the Huawei P40 has a pill-shaped cutout at the upper-left corner of its display. The Huawei P40 Pro is also equipped with the same styled cutout on its screen. However, the only major visible difference between the display of the two phones is that the Huawei P40 has a flat screen whereas the P40 Pro is blessed with a curved screen. Both smartphones will be equipped with in-screen fingerprint sensors.

Editor’s Pick: Huawei Enjoy 10S custom New Year Gift Box edition launched in China

The Huawei P40 has a rectangle-shaped camera module at the top-left corner of its back. The same rear design is available on the P40 Pro. The camera housing of the P40 is packed with an LED flash and three cameras. On the other side, the P40 Pro’s camera setup include four cameras and an LED flash. The cameras on both phones are engineered by Lecia.

Huawei P40 and P40 specifications (Rumored)

The Huawei P40 could be coming with an AMOLED screen of around 6.2 inches. The Pro model could be featuring a 6.7-inch AMOLED display. A recent leak that the Huawei P40 Pro could be equipped with a 52-megapixel main lens in its quad camera setup. Its other camera sensors include an ultrawide lens, a periscope telephoto lens with 10x optical zoom and a 3D ToF sensor. The P40 could be featuring a main high-resolution lens, a ultrawide shooter a 3D ToF lens in its triple camera setup.

The Kirin 990 5G chipset will be driving both smartphones. The highest P40 Pro variant may offer users with 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of native storage. Huawei is expected to announce the P40 series through a launch event in March in Paris.

(source)

Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro (M2001J2E) appears on TENAA and EEC; Early February launch tipped

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Jan 16, 2020

In November 2019, two Xiaomi phones with model numbers M2001J2E/C and M2001J1E/C were approved by the 3C authority of China. Speculations are rife that they are the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro and Xiaomi Mi 10 smartphones. Now, the M2001J2E phone has appeared on the database of the China’s TENAA telecom authority. Also, a variant of the same phone has been spotted on the database of Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) in Russia. It indicates that the Mi 10 series will be also heading to European markets in the near future. A reliable tipster from China has claimed that the Mi 10 series will go official in early February.

The Xiaomi M2001J2E’s appearance on TENAA hasn’t revealed any details on its specs. However, its mere appearance is a good hint that the phone may debut in the coming month. The TENAA listing of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is expected to get updated with full specifications and images in the next few days.

A European variant of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro with model number M2001J2G has appeared on EEC. Again, the listing has no information on the specs of the phone.

Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi Youpin’s Uah Gene Test for Cats and Dogs checks your pet’s pedigree and health for 99 yuan ($15)

The 3C listing of the Xiaomi M2001J2E/C had revealed that it may come equipped with a 66W fast charger. On the other side, the M2001J1E/C’s 3C appearance revealed that it could be accompanied with a 30W rapid charger. The M2001J1E/C hasn’t yet appeared on TENAA yet.

A well-known tipster has claimed that the Xiaomi Mi 10 series will be announced early in February. Samsung has scheduled its Galaxy Unpacked 2020 event on Feb. 11. The event will serve as a platform to unleash the Galaxy S20 series of flagship smartphones and the Galaxy Z Flip foldable clamshell phone. There is a possibility that Xiaomi may unveil the Mi 10 series before the Galaxy S20 event. Recently, Xiaomi Product Manager Wang Teng Thomas had hinted the release date and pricing of the Xiaomi Mi 10 series. The Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro phones could be priced between 3,500 Yuan and 5,000 Yuan. He claimed that the Mi 10 phones will go official after the Spring Festival of China (Jan. 25.).

Microsoft launches Chromium-based Edge Browser on Windows and macOS

By

Simranpal Singh

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Jan 16, 2020

After working for over a year on Chromium-based Edge Browser, Microsoft has finally made it available for Windows and Mac. The new Edge Browser carries all the Chromium-based features with a refined touch from Microsoft. Microsoft parted ways from its browser engine back in December 2018 and switched to the Chromium codebase. The new browser provides better performance, more privacy, and enhanced productivity.

Microsoft is gradually rolling out the new browser for the users after rigorous testing. It supports all the Edge as well as the Google Chrome extensions. Microsoft Edge offers additional features like Collections to similar group content, and tracking prevention to safeguard your privacy. The users can choose from three different levels – Basic, Balanced, and Strict to avoid being tracked. It is ready for commercial users with enterprise-grade security.

In personalization and customization, the new Edge browser offers different page layouts to Focused, Inspirational, Informational, or can even customize it for a new tab. The users can also change language and can personalize the content feed.

The company has barred some features of the browser for remaining on the safer side from any bugs. The features like history and extension sync from Google Chrome is missing at the launch. However, the users can flawlessly sync favorites, passwords, settings, contact info/addresses, and payment details. Microsoft is also rewarding users for searching for browsing using Microsoft Edge and Bing.

The Chromium-based Microsoft Edge Browser is now available for Windows 10 and Apple macOS on MacBooks, whereas the iMacs users need to download the new Edge web browser manually. It will arrive soon for Linux in the coming days.

Apart from its availability across all Windows and macOS based systems, the new Edge browser will be bundled with the OEM based new PCs and laptop machines. Microsoft is also planning to push Windows Update to bring the Chromium-based Edge browser on Windows 10 by default. It will also become available for Windows 10X supporting foldable and dual-screen devices.

(Source | Via)

Bose to Shut Down all of its retail stores in the US, Australia, Japan, and Europe

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Jan 16, 2020

E-commerce and the process of buying products online or offline grown tremendously over the past couple of years. This has led many brands to focus more on own their websites or partner with major e-retail sites to sell online. Now, Bose is also following the same route as the company has issued a statement that it is closing down all of its retail stores in the US, Australia, Japan, and Europe.

Bose Active Noise Cancelling Headphones 700

The main reason for this as the company stated was due to the fact that most of its speakers, headphones and other audiophilic products were being bought online. This makes the point of physical stores rather obsolete and cumbersome. Notably, the first Bose physical retails store opened back in 1993 and has numerous locations in both shopping centers and malls across the globe.

According to Bose, a total of 119 stores will be shut down over the course of the next few months. However, approximately 130 physical stores will still remain open in various other countries like China, United Arab Emirates, South Korea and a few Southeast Asian regions like India. The company is even offering “outplacement assistance and severance to employees” that will lose their jobs when such physical stores close.

Currently, Bose sells its entire lineup online through Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Apple Stores and various other third party retailers. This includes its signature noise cancelling headphones and its renowned home audio systems to even portable Bluetooth speakers. The company with its stores aimed to deliver a way for customers to experience its products without purchasing first, but the booming growth of e-commerce has since made it outdated.

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S gets Android 10-based MIUI 11 Stable update

By

Jeet

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Jan 16, 2020

A few months ago, in October 2019, Xiaomi rolled out a stable MIUI 11 update for the Mi MIX 2S smartphone, however, the update was based on Android 9 Pie operating system. Later same month, the company rolled out another MIUI 11 update based on the latest Android 10 OS, in beta phase.

Now, the company has officially started rolling out stable MIUI 11 update for the Mi MIX 2S. The update version MIUI 11.0.1 is based on Android 10 operating system. The update log indicates that some third-party apps have not been pre-installed because of the compatibility issues.

MIUI 11 brings a host of new features to Xiaomi and Redmi devices like new sound effects and alarms, Mi Go travel suite, dark mode, and ambient display. If you want to know everything about the MIUI 11 OS, click here.

As for the specs, the Mi MIX 2S comes with a 5.99-inch Full HD+ IPS LCD Full-Screen display that offers a screen resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels with 18:9 aspect ratio. The device is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 AIE chipset.

It features a vertically aligned dual camera setup on the back, consisting of a 12-megapixel Sony IMX363 wide-angle lens and a 12-megapixel secondary telephoto lens. On the front side, there’s an 8-megapixel selfie camera that’s capable of snapping amazing bokeh effect shots through AI. It also includes support for facial recognition for unlocking the device.

The device comes with Xiao AI voice assistant that is claimed to be smart enough to take on the Apple’s Siri. Connectivity options on the device include Dual-SIM, USB Type-C, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, and NFC.

The device draws power from a 3,400mAh battery which comes with support for Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging. With 7.5W Qi wireless charging support, it is also the first smartphone from Xiaomi to come with support for wireless charging.

(Via)

Xiaomi Youpin’s Uah Gene Test for Cats and Dogs checks your pet’s pedigree and health for 99 yuan ($15)

By

Airyl Jaszly

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Jan 16, 2020

Xiaomi Youpin is back with one of their oddest products yet. The crowdfunding platform’s latest item is the Uah Gene Test for Cats and Dogs, starting at 99 yuan ($15). Genetic testing can allow owners to understand the pet’s pedigree, health risks, and genetic diseases, on top of knowing more about the pet’s personality, behavior, and intelligence. It’s certainly an interesting product.

It’s also very useful to check what allergens your pet cat or dog may have. As an example, many dogs are allergic to ivermectin in anthelmintics, and long-term use can cause poisoning. Pets will have different medication reactions, ranging from rashes and edema to shock poisoning. DNA can be used for scientific medicine and dose evaluation for pets to prevent misuse.

All of these features come bundled via a smartphone app, allowing you to check on your pet’s condition easily. The app is fairly simple to use, showing you relevant information regarding your pet based on the gene test done. It’s a good idea for a product, and one that can be endlessly useful for pet owners.

There are four different packages for the Uah Gene Test for Cats and Dogs, and each one comes with more features. For now the only available is the Early Adopter’s Edition for 99 yuan. The rest haven’t had any pricing details announced. They’re as follows:-

Early adopters Edition (2 genetic screening tests for typical genetic diseases)
Standard Edition (strain identification, corresponding to 3 genetic diseases of cat species, pedigree certificate)
Ultimate Edition (strain identification, 10 common genetic diseases, pedigree certificate, intelligence assessment, diet advice)
Exploratory Edition (strain identification, full set of 16 genetic diseases, pedigree certificate, intelligence assessment, diet advice, breeding advice, personality behavior, hair beauty, health certificate)

The method of use is also relatively simple. There is no need to collect blood or collect saliva, just hold the sampling swab on the pet’s oral buccal mucosa (The inside of the cheek and mouth) and take 8-10 samples. Uah will extract DNA from the samples, perform gene sequencing, and do multiple tests on cats and dogs based on genetic loci and biological genetic algorithms, resulting in a scientific report.

OPPO F15 launched with 6.4-inch display, in-screen fingerprint reader, VOOC 3.0 and 48MP quad cameras for Rs. 19,990 (~$282)

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