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Top 10 highest-selling smartphones globally in Q3 2019

Counterpoint Research has just released research data of the top 10 highest-selling phones globally in the third quarter (Q3) 2019. The data encompasses phones sold in all parts of the world and presents with some surprises.

First, Apple’s iPhone XR emerged as the highest-grossing model in the third quarter of 2019 even though Apple’s overall sales declined during the period.  Samsung and OPPO dominated the ranking with three top-selling models apiece. The Galaxy A10 is ranked as the second top-selling model while the Galaxy A50 came in as third. The OPPO A9 is ranked at the fourth spot while the iPhone 11 completes the top 5.

Other models in the list include the OPPO A5s at the sixth position, Galaxy A50 at number seven, OPPO A5 at the eighth position. Xiaomi’s budget Redmi 7A came in at the ninth position and finally, the Huawei P30 completes the top 10. The P30 may be a surprise inclusion considering the US sanctions but the model is very popular in China.

 

(via)

 

Mi Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones and Mi Wireless Charger Bluetooth Speaker get Bluetooth certifications

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has certified two new audio products from Xiaomi. The first is the Mi Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones that was certified yesterday and there is the Mi Wireless Charger Bluetooth Speaker that received its certification today.

Mi Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones

Mi Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones

Xiaomi already has a bunch of headphones but it is set to announce a new model that will arrive as the Mi Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones (probably different name in China). Unlike the Mi Superbass Wireless Headphones, this should have active noise cancelation.

The certificate reveals the headphones’ model number is TDLYEJ02WM and will connect via Bluetooth 5.0. It most likely should have the option to be used in wired mode too.

 

Mi Wireless Charger Bluetooth Speaker

The second product is the Mi Wireless Charger Bluetooth Speaker with the model number XMWXCLYYX01ZM. Depending on how you want to interpret it, this is a wireless charger that doubles as a Bluetooth speaker or a Bluetooth speaker that has a wireless charger built-in.

Mi Wireless Charger Bluetooth Speaker

Actually, the description on the certificate says “This is a Bluetooth speaker that can provide high-quality music and also provide wireless charging function conforming to the Qi (wireless charging) standard”.

This product will most likely not be officially sold outside China but when it launches, you should be able to order it from third-party retail sites.

The Mi Wireless Charger Bluetooth Speaker is not Xiaomi’s first wireless combo device. At the beginning of the year, it announced the Yeelight Wireless Charging Night Lamp that is a bedside lamp and wireless charger combined.

There is no info regarding the launch of both products as at the time of writing but once there is, we will make sure to inform you.

 

(Sources: 1, 2)

Ninebot E-series e-Bike now available to preorder on Jingdong (JD.com)

Xiaomi‘s ecological chain company Ninebot announced the Ninebot E-series and C-series electric motorbikes in China a couple of weeks back. The E-series made up of the Ninebot E80C, E90, E100, E125 and E200P is scheduled to be launched for the global market at CES 2020 bt the sales in China is about to roll. The E-series models are now available to pre-order in China. Only the E80C, E100 and E125 are available and it has a starting price of 4999 yuan ($715) for the base model. The E100 comes in at 7999 yuan ($1144) while the E125 adopts a 10,299 yuan ($14463) price tag.

All the models have several features which distinguish them from each other ranging from their maximum speed to battery range and others. The high-end variant is the NineBot E200P but isn’t available yet. The E200P has a maximum speed of 100km/h and a staggering range of 200km. The base version -Ninebot E80C comes with a range of 90km and a maximum speed of 51km/h. The E90 has a range of 100km and max. speed tops at 55km/h. Both the E80C and E90 pack a 1.2Kw battery but the E80C uses a Lead acid battery.

The Ninebot E-series e-bikes come with several smart features. The bike can recognize scenes such as riding, pushing, and getting off. The bike can automatically switch according to the scene, such as when it is pushed uphill, it will automatically assist. Through a variety of sensors and smart scene recognition, the bike can be driven at the touch of a button. When a rider gets onboard, the side stays retracts automatically and when they get out of the car, they can automatically put the side stays and lock the car automatically.

In addition, the Ninebot E-series supports positioning tracking (GPS) and remote control of the bike. In addition to GPS positioning, it can be remotely controlled to lock and trigger an alarm if lost. In terms of anti-theft, the e-bike has an active anti-theft system, and an anti-theft module is integrated into the entire body of the electric vehicle. Officials say thieves have no way to bypass the alarm device by destroying the module.NineBot E200P

The Ninebot E-series is equipped with Segway-Ninebot 5.0 car assistant, which can display real-time key information such as vehicle speed, battery status and mileage to ensure driving safety. Other features include a 2100 lumens smart headlights, floating full-screen control panel, a 22L of storage compartment under the seat, a built-in module that records information such as car habits which can be retrieved during repairs.

 

Chuwi HeroBox Mini PC will soon launch on Amazon for about $200

This is not the first time that Chuwi releases a Mini PC as there has been the GBox Pro in the past. The new model that goes by the name HeroBox and will soon launch on Amazon is the upgraded version of GBox Pro and will come with Intel’s Gemini Lake N4100 CPU backed by 8GB of RAM and 180GB SSD. Also, it sports a metal body and many expansion ports.

 

Sufficient configuration leads to great performance

The N4100 CPU can reach 2.4GHz function frequency and offers adequate performance and low power consumption. Also, it comes with the 9th Gen UHD Graphics 600 GPU  that is pretty much twice as fast as the previous generation. Having 18 processing units, it can decode 4K VP9 10bit videos smoothly.

Chuwi HeroBoxMeanwhile, the 8GB of LPDDR4 RAM is not only faster than DDR3 but also consumes less power. Combined with the Intel 180GB SSD, it allows the HeroBox to be 3x faster than the previous model in terms of read/write speeds. What’s more, there are many ports available like 2x USB Type-C, 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, microSD slot, HDMI, VGA, etc.

Chuwi HeroBoxLastly, it comes with Windows 10 preinstalled so all the familiar functions and applications are there whether you use it for work or entertainment. And even if you don’t want to use Windows, you can always install a Linux distribution as all hardware drivers are already available.

 

Multiple-use scenes

Chuwi HeroBox

As said before, the HeroBox is an all-around Mini PC that you can use as a home cinema thanks to its powerful video decoding capabilities. It supports VESA so that you can attach it at the back of your TV or PC monitor and forget that it’s there. Also, thanks to its low power consumption, you can use it as a NAS storage server that will be working 24/7 with minimal power cost. It consumes less than 10W and you can expand the 180GB SSD up to 2TB.

 

Compared with similar mini PCs

Chuwi HeroBox

Just as a reference, if you compare it with other similarly priced mini PCs like the Intel NUC6CAYH that comes without RAM and SSD and you’d have to buy them extra, it really has no opponent. Apart from the fact that HeroBox comes with RAM and SSD, the NUC6CAYH features an older CPU-GPU combination as it sports the Intel J3455 CPU and HD Graphics 500 GPU. Also, it supports the slower DDR3 protocol. As you can see, no matter the hardware configuration or the cost/performance ratio, the NUC6CAYH can’t reach the HeroBox.

Chuwi HeroBox

To sum up, the Chuwi HeroBox is a perfect all-around mini PC with great build quality thanks to the metal chassis and fanless design. The device will hit the Japanese market first costing about $200 and will soon expand to the rest of the world. To learn more information, visit the official product page.

OPPO gives us a glimpse of its phone production process with factory media tour

As it stands, OPPO is basically a smartphone manufacturing company even though it is planning to shift its focus to internet-based business next year. The brand’s smartphone has seen a tremendous change since the OPPO Find 7 bestrode the tech scene donning as its biggest feature a VOOC fast charge technology. Since then, several models including flagships like the OPPO Reno, Find X2 and others have been released.Drop test

OPPO recently took some media personnel on a tour of one of its nine factories in Shenzhen where it manufactures most of its models including the Reno 2, the upcoming Reno 3 5G, and the Find X2, which have proved popular in Europe and India.

charging
Charging port test

The factory is adorned with reels of resistors, transistors, and capacitors fed through expensive machinery that automates the manufacture of motherboards. Robotic arms, like those you’d find on any assembly line, put newly minted phones through dual-camera, antenna, and GPS tests.

Drop test

The smartphones are put into two rooms at the end of the manufacturing process, the phones. One of the rooms is made out of metal and it reflects radio waves and tests the average power of the device. The second room is completely dark and mimics the phone being used in an infinite space without any invisible interference. Before the phones are finally packaged for shipment they go through several rigorous testing such as drop tests. The charging ports, cables, power/volume buttons are also subjected to rigorous tests to ensure they’ll stand the stress of daily usage.

Wet Test

We recall Xiaomi also took the media on a tour of its Foxconn factory showing a similar routine. So this all seems to be a standard routine.  Check out pictures from the factory.

 

(source)

Twist test
Power button test
Battery charging test
Data Cable Test

Samsung teases the mysterious NEON, set for CES release

The Samsung Technology & Advanced Research Labs (Star Labs) teased a product called NEON this week. They’ve suggested that they’ll be revealing the details on this mysterious product at CES 2020 – that’s just a few short weeks away. We’ve gleaned just a little bit of information on what NEON could be based on what’s already out there so far.

NEON exists on the internet right now on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and has a domain of its own at NEON.life – originally registered on October 9, 2019. The website suggests that it’ll be “COMING JAN 2020” – which aligns with the social networking messaging which says they’ll appear at CES 2020.

From what we already know, Neon appears to be like some kind of mysterious artificial intelligence (AI) project. According to a tweet by Bo Moon, Head of Strategy at STAR Labs, he’s “Been working late nights and weekends and totally feeling that start-up life again. Looking forward to unveiling the new company with the team at #CES2020 in January. You won’t want to miss this…”

Then later on December 16th, President and CEO of STAR Labs, Pranav Mistry, went and tweeted that “for past few years, I have been working on something exciting. FOLLOW @neondotlife to learn more. Please SHARE and ask your friends to join, too. http://neon.life”. The mystery only seems to thicken the more we know.

Samsung has teased that NEON will be a “human-level AI,” but it may heavily depend upon access to a working 5G network. The aim of developing the AI is to offer human beings a unique experience with their electronic assistant. If it’s anywhere near as good as the team claims, then Alexa and Siri should probably be worried about NEON. NEON’s site doesn’t divulge anything, but we’re definitely looking forward to how it turns out.

(Source)

Xiaomi redesigns Ambient display clock, will come to MIUI 11 stable soon

Jin Fan, product director of Xiaomi and head of MIUI user experience, revealed that the company has redesigned the MIUI Ambient Display clock. Jin Fan revealed that this feature has just entered the development version of the testing period, and if there are no problems, it will be pushed to the stable version soon.

Ambient Display is what Xiaomi is calling their living display feature. It’s a bit different from other company’s implementation in that Xiaomi’s version has a bigger focus on customisability. The problem was, even though the designs were customisable, they were limited to analog clocks looks. Now, we’ve got a much nicer digital clock look with text.

Users can also make their own customizable message that appears on the Ambient Display. On top of this, the animations on the Ambient display even serve as a notification indicator, with interchangeable breathing lights being used to show when messages or notifications have appeared. It’s not the most important of features, but it’s a big focus of MIUI 11.

This same design language has been applied to almost every section of MIUI 11, resulting in a clean and modern look. It’s not all that surprising to see. All the old clutter from MIUI 10 has been removed from the UI, and it’s clearly much better than before. There’s a lot more white space and bold colours, which is the current trend in the smartphone market.

(Source)

Best Video Streaming Apps to enjoy this year!

The days of VCRs, CDs, DVDs have faded away with the invent of video streaming apps. The old means of video content is dying a slow death, and video streaming is replacing them with the increasing accessibility of the internet across the globe. Gone are the days when the users need to stick to a timeline to watch their favorite television program or a movie. The users can now easily stream their favorite show, series online without worrying about the time. We have concluded a list of some best video streaming apps for Android and iOS.

There are several benefits of using video streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu. Live Streaming is an active mode of streaming video and audio content anywhere around the world using an Internet Connection. It extends from live streaming online tutorials, movies, events, wildlife broadcasting, and services promotions.

best video streaming apps

Advantages of Video Streaming

High-Quality Video Content – The users can enjoy content in different qualities like 720p, 1080p, 2K, or 4K.

Broader Audience Potential – Irrespective of time, device, and display size, Online video streaming can reach a wider audience.

Subtitle and Multi-Language Audio – The availability of subtitles and Multi-Language Audio makes Online Video Streaming more powerful.

Ease and Convenience – Due to cross-platform availability and easy internet accessibility, Online Video Streaming service is easy and convenient to use.

Online Video streaming services have gained huge popularity over-time leading to massive competition. The services like Netflix, Hulu, and others are offering original content with support for HDR, 4K, Subtitles, and Multi-Audio channels along with attractive pricing.

Here’s the whole list of best video streaming services available for watching movies and shows. We have sorted salient features of each app to ease comparing against each to other.

Best Video Streaming Apps

Netflix

netflix

Netflix is the world’s largest online streaming service with massive content availability. It has a diverse range of titles with availability in different languages and qualities. It is available in most of the countries with native content availability.

The content on Netflix supports HDR, Dolby Vision, 4K resolution, and subtitles. The streaming service can be streamed on Micracast, Chromecast, Smart TVs, and Game Consoles. It also comes with parental support to filter unsuitable content for children. It also offers the ability to download and watch TV episodes or movies without streaming.

Netflix plans vary country wise and offer attractive plans.

  • Basic Plan – $8.99 per month
  • Standard plan – $7.99 per month
  • Netflix Premium Plan – $15.99 per month

Key Features

  • High-Quality Content – 4K, HDR
  • Subtitles and Multi Audio
  • Parental Controls
  • Regular Content Updates
  • 30-Day free trial
  • High-Quality movies

Download for Android

Download for iOS

Amazon Prime Video

amazon prime

Amazon Prime Video is among the leading video streaming services around the globe. It offers a lot of content, including thrillers, drama, action, romance, and other genres. Amazon Prime comes with Originals like Inside Edge, Made in heaven, and others.

There’s a great selection of local content too. It offers movies for every mood, genre, and language. The watch later features of the Amazon Prime make it easy for the users to watch their favorite content even if the internet connection is not available. There’s also a feature to add suggested titles to watchlist. It is available in almost every popular OS environment.

The users will get free access to movies, music, and other premium services of Amazon with the Amazon Prime membership. The subtitles, multiple audio tracks, and 4K content are some pros of Amazon Prime Video.

Amazon Prime Membership is available in different attractive pricing.

  • Yearly – $119 US / Rs 999 India
  • Monthly – $12.99 US / Rs 129 India

Key Features:

  • Availability of regional content
  • Latest Blockbuster movies
  • Subtitles and Multi Audio Tracks
  • Amazon Originals

Download for Android

Download for iOS

Hulu

hulu

Hulu is widely used in the US due to its ability to stream Live TV and the availability of other streaming content, including old TV shows, movies, anime, and others. The service also offers over 50 channels with an option to expand for money.  The user can also watch episodes and browse shows under the same roof.

Hulu offers six personalized profiles for everyone in the family who wants to brose shows, movies, and networks. The users can also personalize the content by adding shows to favorites for quick access. The app is available for TVs, smartphones, and tablets.

It also offers premium discover networks feature to search shows from popular streaming services like HBO, SHOWTIME, CINEMAX, and others.

Hulu is available in three different personalized plans, including – Hulu, Hulu (No Ads), and Hulu + Live TV. The free plan offers to stream content from over 85000 episodes of the shows with advertisements. There’s aNo Ads plan also that gives you everything without any ads. However, the Hulu + Live TV brings to access to the entire Hulu streaming library with 60+ top channels of on-demand live TV.

The price of Hulu + Live TV is $39.999 per month.

Key Features:

  • Support for Live TV
  • Free Plan for Users
  • Chromecast Support

Download for Android

Download for iOS

HBO Now

It is solely for the US readers, who love to watch big premieres on TV or other devices as they air. It’s the only way to catch up with your favorite shows aired on HBO Now.  The app brings unlimited access to all the HBO content across EPIX Now, STARZ, and other channels having individual streaming apps.

The HBO New brings new movies, talk shows, comedy specials, news, documentaries, and other special events every week. The user can use the account on Phone, tablet, TV, or Laptop. It is home to the biggest movie hits of the year.

The users can also try the HBO Now under a free trial. The user need not to undergo any documentation or cable connectivity; it just airs without any wired connectivity across phones, tablets, and other devices. There’s also an ability to cancel anytime. It supports the casting option.

The pricing of the device is a bit expensive at $14.99 per month. It is available only in the territories of the United States.

Key Features:

  • Weekly New Content
  • Biggest Hits availability
  • Support Casting

Download for Android

Download for iOS

YouTube TV

YouTube offers plenty of features and is home to most of the video content. Over the past some time, a lot of entertainment channel has propped up offering quality content to users for free or at some subscription fees. However, YouTube TV provides a selection of excellent live sports, news channels, and infotainment sops. There’s also compatibility with NBA League Pass, Showtime, and Starz for your subscription.

On the lines of Amazon Originals, YouTube also got some Original episodes for some people. Apart from Prime content, YouTube is home to tutorials, music, and movies too. The content is compatible upto 8K resolution with some other features. There are native apps for phones, tablets, and smart TVs on different Operating Systems.

There are some companion apps such as YouTube Gaming and YouTube Kids. The support for Chromecast and Google Assistant makes it more compatible with smart devices. Most of the content is available for free, but to get ads-free experience, the users can get a subscription of $12-$40 per month.

Key Features:

  • Cross Compatibility
  • Support for smart devices
  • Seamless Videos
  • Vast Content

Download for Android

Download for iOS

Twitch

twitch logo

It is a den for the gamers, as it is the best service for gaming video streaming. Twitch allows people to watch online video gaming, live e-sports, and other news. It is easy to set up and user-friendly with flexible options to use the service.

Big game development companies make announcements on Twitch. It even organizes gaming events like E3 for the development of the community. The hefty amount of prizes are awarded to winners. It is a great competitor to YouTube Gaming Hub.

It is best suitable for professional and regular gamers. The Twitch services are free to use with some unskippable in-video ads. However, it is not available for mobile users.

Key Features:

  • Free to Use
  • Online Video Streaming
  • Live e-sports

Download for Android

Download for iOS

Sling TV

sling-tv

Sling TV is one of the first services that was launched to watch live television. It is quite an affordable service at $20-$25 per month. It features all the local sports channel, popular news channels, and other entertainment sops as well. The support for Chromecast is another major feature of Sling TV.

The users can choose between different channel bundles and can select the TV channels on the a la carte style. It also offers live sports like the NFL and college football, hit TV shows and 65,000+ hours of on-demand TV shows and movies.

Sling TV can be streamed anywhere and anytime on TVs, tablets, phones, computers, gaming consoles, and other devices.

The Sling service offers Sling Orange package with 30+ channels, and Sling Blue service with 40+ channels. Sling TV offers live international TV service in the US with support of over 18 languages, including Hindi, Spanish, Arabic.

Key Features:

  • Cross-Platform Support
  • International TV service
  • Reasonable Price

Download for Android

Download for iOS

Movies Anywhere

movies anywhere

It is a new era video streaming app that consolidates several services under a single roof. Movies Anywhere is a host to iTunes, Vudu, Amazon Video, and Google Play Movies. The service allows the users to purchase the video content from anywhere and brings all them up in a single app.

It moves all the movie libraries that are connected with the app. It helps to eliminate the demerits or the restrictions applied from the other platforms while watching the content. Movies Anywhere help the user to cast the content on the favorite device.

Movie Anywhere features 4K UHD, HDR, and Dolby Vision feature along with 5.1 Surround sound and Dolby ATMOS support. The apps is available for free on both iOS and Android device.

Key Features:

  • Support for HDR, UHD and Dolby Vision
  • Advanced Sound Experience with Dolby ATMOS and 5.1 Surround SOund
  • Support for popular streaming services

Download for Android

Download for iOS

These are some best video streaming services available for both Android and iOS devices. The can easily use these apps for free or with a subscription. If you have any recommendations, then do let us know via the comments below.

 

Huawei MateBook D to get Windows Edition; pre-orders begin today

Huawei announced new MateBook D computers last month. The manufacturer did say the computers ship with Windows 10 out of the box but it appears the Windows edition has not been available for purchase.

Huawei took to Weibo this morning to announce that the Windows edition of the MateBook D is coming soon and also revealed details about availability.

Huawei MateBook D Windows Edition

According to the details on the poster, the Windows edition of the MateBook D will be available in both AMD (Ryzen) and Intel options.

The Ryzen variant is already available for pre-order starting today and will be available for purchase on January 1, 2020. The Intel version will not be up for pre-order until 10 AM on January 3, 2020, and will then go on sale at midnight on January 9, 2020. The pre-order and sales apply to both the MateBook D 15 and the MateBook D 14.

Below are the available configurations for the Ryzen Edition and their respective prices:

MateBook D 15 Ryzen 5 3500U 8GB RAM + 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD = ¥3999 (~$573)

MateBook D 15 Ryzen 5 3500U 16GB RAM + 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD = ¥4299 (~$615)

MateBook D 14 Ryzen 5 3500U 8GB RAM + 512GB SSD = ¥3999 (~$573)

MateBook D 14 Ryzen 5 3500U 16GB RAM + 512GB SSD = ¥4299 (~$615)

The MateBook D has a Full HD display with thin bezels and a screen-to-body-ratio of 87%. It has a fingerprint scanner buried underneath the power button while the webcam is hidden between the function keys.

For connectivity, it has 2 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x USB 3.0 ports, 1 x HDMI port, 1 audio + microphone combo port, and 1 x USB Type-C port that serves as the charging port. It has a 42Wh (56Wh for the MateBook D 14) battery with support for 65W fast charge, so it can charge from 0 to 70% in 1 hour. It also has Bluetooth 5.0 but no NFC.

 

Huawei Nova 6 SE goes on sale in China

Huawei had unveiled the Huawei Nova 6 SE smartphone along with the Huawei Nova 6 flagship phone at the beginning of this month. As it was announced at the unveil event, the Nova 6 SE was made available for pre-orders in the home market. Starting from today, the smartphone is available for purchase with a price tag of 2,199 Yuan. Customers who had pre-ordered the device will be receiving the phone at a discounted price tag of 2,149 Yuan.

Huawei Nova 6 SE Specifications and Features

Huawei nova 6 SE

The Huawei Nova 6 SE smartphone comes with a 6.4-inch IPS LCD display that produces full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2310 pixels. There is a punch-hole on the screen at the top-left corner. The 7nm Kirin 810 chipset fuels the smartphone. The SoC is coupled with 8 GB of RAM. It has an internal storage of 128 GB. There is a shared SIM slot to add a nanoSD card to the device.

The Nova 6 SE is fitted with a front-facing camera of 16-megapixel.  The backside of the device has a triple camera setup with a 48-megapixel main lens with PDAF and f/1.8 aperture. It is assisted by an f/2.4 aperture 8-megapixel ultrawide lens, a 2-megapixel dedicated macro lens with f/2.4 aperture and a 2-megapixel depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture.

A 4,200mAh battery powers the Huawei Nova 6 SE and it carries support for 40W fast charging. The connectivity features that are available on the device include dual SIM support, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS and USB-C. A fingerprint scanner is available on the right side of the device. The Android 10 OS customized with EMUI 10 runs on the device. Phantom Black, Sakura Snow Clear Sky and QJing Forest are the four color editions of the smartphone.

Huawei will be announcing the Huawei P40 and P40 Pro flagship smartphones by the end of the first quarter of 2020. The series will also include a Lite model that may go official before the P40 and P40 Pro phones. Rumors have it that the Nova 6 SE smartphone could be rebadged as Huawei P40 Lite in certain markets. It is advisable to wait for further reports to confirm on it.

Samsung Galaxy Xcover Pro receives Bluetooth Certification

Samsung may soon announce a new phone under its Xcover series. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has certified two phones with model numbers SM-G715FN and SM-G715FN_DS, and the product name on the certificate reads Galaxy Xcover Pro.

The Xcover Pro was certified by the WiFi Alliance earlier a few weeks ago, and now that it has also received its Bluetooth certification, its launch should be close.

Galaxy Xcover Pro Bluetooth Certification

According to Mishaal Rahman of XDA-Developers, the phone will launch in Europe and will run Android 10 out of the box.

The XCover Pro will be powered by the Exynos 9611 chipset, the same processor inside the Galaxy M30s, and have 4GB of RAM according to a Geekbench benchmark result from earlier this month. It will have support for dual-band WiFi as well as Bluetooth 5.0.

Galaxy Xcover Pro Geekbench

Based on the configuration above, it means the Xcover Pro will arrive as a mid-range rugged smartphone. However, its price tag will definitely be higher than that of a similarly configured device. Also, since Samsung has not released a Galaxy S Active smartphone in a while, this should suffice.

The Galaxy Xcover Pro should have a waterproof and dustproof IP-rating and also a MIL-STD-810G rating.

(Sources: 1, 2)

Apple iPhone XR outsells every other smartphone in 2019

For as compelling as Apple’s flagship iPhone models are, consumers still seem to be flocking towards the company’s more budget-oriented devices. According to a new report from Counterpoint Research, the iPhone XR isn’t just the top-selling iPhone, but also generally the best selling device in every single quarter throughout 2019.

The report published by 9to5Mac says that with the exception of its launch quarter of September 2018, the iPhone XR has been the best-selling model worldwide in every single quarter since Q4 2018. This, of course, includes Q3 2019 too, which means even the availability of the new models hasn’t affected the popularity of the iPhone XR.

Samsung had three models in the top 10, all from the A series. The new devices came with competitive specs and design features, affordable price tags and Samsung’s strong brand perception, especially in the mid-range segment, which provided an excellent value proposition. However, there were no flagships from Samsung in the top 10 list.

OPPO also had three devices as its A series continued to do well in China and other regions. We’ve got the OPPO A9, A5s, and A5 became the top models from the companys’s portfolio. Xiaomi only had Redmi 7A in the top 10. This was driven by India, which contributed to over half of the total sales of the model during the quarter,” the report adds.

The final outlier of the list is the Huawei P30. Overall, it seems like consumers are more attracted to reasonably priced phones with respectable specifications, and for that very reason, Samsung is said to be readying the stripped-down variants of the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10, so that they can compete with the iPhone XR and iPhone 11.

(Source)

Samsung Galaxy M31 (SM-M315F) Geekbench listing appears to reveal key specs

Recent reports have revealed that Samsung is working on a successor handset for Galaxy M30 / Galaxy M30s. The rumored Galaxy M31 that has a model number of SM-M315 may break cover in the beginning months of 2020. Only few details of the phone have surfaced in the news so far. The said phone has paid visit to Geekbench through some of its key details have been revealed.

According to the listing of SM-M315F Samsung phone on Geekbench 5, it is fueled by Exynos 9611 chipset that has a base frequency of 1.74GHz. The SoC is coupled with 6 GB of RAM. The phone is loaded with Android 10 OS. In the single-core test, it has scored 348 and it has recorded a score 1214 in the multi-core test.

A recent report had revealed that the Samsung India has started working on Galaxy M31 and Galaxy M11 (SM-M115F) smartphones. The Galaxy M31 could be coming with a built-in storage of 64 GB whereas the M11 is expected to come with a native storage of 32 GB. The M11 has also received certification from Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The Galaxy M30s excelled in the battery department as it came with a behemoth battery of 6,000mAh capacity. There is a possibility that the South Korean company may retain the large battery of the Galaxy M31. The M31 is also expected to arrive with triple rear cameras with a 48-megapixel primary lens.

Apart from M11, other Samsung phones such as Galaxy A1 (SM-A115F), Galaxy Fold 2 (SM-F700F) and an unknown SM-A465F smartphones have been approved by India’s BIS agency. The rumor mill has also revealed some details on the Galaxy M21 and Galaxy M41 smartphones. The M21 is expected to be fueled by Exynos 9609 chipset and 4 GB of RAM. It could be equipped with a 24-megapixel + 5-megapixel (depth) dual camera setup on its back. The Galaxy M41 is rumored to equipped with a 64-megapixel triple camera system on its back. Hopefully, more details on the specs of the new Galaxy M-series will appear at the beginning of the coming year.

 

 

 

 

(via 1, 2)

Oppo Enco Free true wireless buds hands-on images leak online ahead of launch tomorrow

Oppo has already teased the launch of Oppo Enco Free true wireless earbuds in its home market China for 26th December, along with the company’s Reno3 and Reno3 Pro 5G smartphones.

Now, ahead of the launch, hands-on images of the Oppo Enco Free earbuds have been leaked online, giving us details about the product’s design. It shows how the device is similar or different compared to other products in the market.

Oppo Enco Free

Oppo Enco Free

The design of the earbuds and its carrying case is quite similar to the Apple AirPods. Most other manufacturers, including Huawei and Realme have continued with the same design for their FreeBuds 3 and Air Buds respectively. You can check out our review of the Huawei FreeBuds 3 here.

As for the Enco Free, there’s a strip area on the frosted case at the front with radium carving. It carries OPPO branding, continuing the design trend that the company adopted with the Reno series of smartphones.

On the grey strip of the charging/carrying case, there’s an LED status indicator. Function keys are located on the right side while there’s a USB Type-C charging port at the bottom of the case. It is said that the company will ship the earbuds with three silicone tips of different sizes, so users can switch to the one that provides the best fit.

Coming to the earbuds itself, the body and make seems similar to that of its charging case which gives matte finish and feel. It looks like there’s a pressure relief hole inside the earphone and there’s a noise reduction microphones at the outside. It also carries the iconic grey-colored strip at the back of the earbuds.

Oppo Enco Free

During a recent event in Malaysia, Oppo revealed that the Enco Free uses AI uplink noise cancellation. It also features wear detection, so it pauses and resumes playback when you take it out or put it back in your ear. As for the battery life, it offers a 5-hour battery life and goes up to 25 hours with the charging case.

As for the pricing, the Oppo Enco Free will be sold for 499 Malaysian Ringgit (approx. $120) in the Malaysian market when it goes on sale from January 2020. As said, the earbuds are scheduled to launch in China tomorrow.

 

MediaTek Dimensity 800 chipset announced for mid-range devices; launching in Q1 2020

Today, at MediaTek’s Product Communication Conference, the company has announced a new chipset — MediaTek Dimensity 800. This new processor from the company seems to be positioned for the mid-range and upper mid-range smartphones.

It has also been revealed that smartphones powered by this MediaTek Dimensity 800 processor will be making their way to the market in the second quarter of next year, i.e. Q2 2020 and the chipset will be officially launched in Q1 2020.

MediaTek Dimensity 800

While the company has unveiled the chipset and teased a timeline for its availability in the market, MediaTek has not yet revealed anything related to the chipset’s technical specifications and features.

The announcement of this new chipset comes week after MediaTek announced its Dimensity 1000 5G chipset, marking the company’s comeback in the high-end segment that will take on the likes of Snapdragon 865 and Kirin 990.

The processor features four high-end Cortex-A77 based BIG cores clocked at 2.6GHz and four Cortex-A55 power-efficient cores clocked at 2.2GHz. It comes with a dual cluster arrangement instead of the tri-cluster arrangements that we’ve been seeing on high-end processors like Kirin 990, Snapdragon 855 and even Exynos 990.

MTK Dimensity 1000
MediaTek Dimensity 1000

The new MediaTek chip comes with the new Mali-G77 MP9 GPU, which is the same one found on the Exynos 990 with a couple of cores less. It comes with an integrated Helio M70 5G modem that saves space and is efficient at the same time and is the world’s fastest throughput SoC with 4.7Gbps downlink and 2.5Gbps uplink speeds and supports both standalone and non-standalone networks (Sa/NSA).

The upcoming Oppo Reno3 smartphone is confirmed to come powered by MediaTek Dimensity 1000L 5G processor, which is also known as MediaTek MT6885. The benchmark result showed the processor has a Mali-G77 GPU. We presume it also has Cortex-A77 CPU cores like the Dimensity 1000 but at a lower clock speed.

The first smartphones with Dimensity 1000 5G chipset will launch in Q1 2020 in markets like China and other Asian countries while USA and EU will get the new chip powered devices in the second half of 2020.

(Via)

Huawei MatePad Pro leather variants are now available for purchase in China

Last month, Chinese tech giant Huawei launched its high-end tablet in the market — Huawei MatePad Pro. It was announced in four color options — Danxia Orange, Castle Peak, Fritillaria White, and Night Ash.

The device went on sale in China earlier this month but only White and Ash variants have been available for purchase. However, from today, Danxia Orange and Castle Peak color variants, which comes with a leather finish, will be available for purchase in China.

Huawei MatePad Pro Sale China

Unlike the other two color variants, the orange and green leather variants are limited to two configurations only and they are the WiFi-only 8GB + 256GB version and the 8GB + 512GB LTE version.

Both of them are priced at ¥4999 (~$713) and ¥5999 (~$856) respectively on Vmall. These models are more expensive than the other variants of the same configuration because they ship with the M-Pencil and the keyboard included.

Coming to the specifications, the Huawei MatePad Pro comes with a 10.8-inch display with rounded corners. The IPS LCD display features a punch-hole for the front camera and supports quad HD+ resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels and DCI-P3 color gamut, and also offers a screen-to-body ratio of 90 percent.

Under the hood, the device is powered by the company’s own Kirin 990 chipset. There is a nanoSD card slot onboard for expanding its storage. The tablet is equipped with a huge 7,250mAh battery that support 40W rapid charging. However, the device ships with 20W fast charger. There is also support for 15W wireless charging and 7.5W reverse wireless charging on the MatePad Pro.

It has a 13-megapixel main camera with f/1.8 aperture and comes with features like phase detection autofocus and LED flash. On the front, there’s an 8-megapixel camera with f/20 aperture. The device comes with support for M-Pencil stylus that 4096-level pressure sensitivity nib. The stylus can be charged wirelessly by simply attaching to the device.

Huawei MatePad Pro
Huawei MatePad Pro

The tablet runs Android 10 operating system-based EMUI 10 user interface. There is a multi-screen collaborative feature on the MatePad Pro that allow users to clone the phone’s interface on its screen. By connecting the optional keyboard, the tablet’s interface will switch to computer mode to offers users with a friendly desktop PC experience.

Huawei has also announced that it will be launching the MatePad Pro 5G edition in the first quarter of 2020. The device is expected to be powered by the Kirin 990 5G chipset and could get announced at the launch event of the Huawei P40 and P40 Pro flagship phones.

 

Xiaomi Mi Surface 34-inch Gaming Display review: The true 2k 144Hz monitor

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ9zKrU3WpY[/embedyt]

Xiaomi Mi Surface

Since Xiaomi started producing digital devices beyond smartphones, we’ve seen how they enhanced their product variety and boosted the market share of different product types. One of its greatest advantages is pricing. This time the Mi surface display is only sold in China. As usual, Xiaomi attached its minimalistic design to the Mi Surface with relatively reliable manufacturing.

Mi surface display

Design&Specs

The Mi surface display comes with 2K, 3440×1440 ultra-clear resolution. And it is 34 inches in diagonal length and has a cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio. It can display 16.7 million colors with a typical 3000:1 contrast ratio and up to 300nit brightness, and Xiaomi claims that it covers 121% of the sRGB and 85% of the NTSC color gamut. Meanwhile, it features a 144Hz refresh rate and AMD’S FreeSync synchronization technology and 1500R curvature design. According to unofficial sources, the LCD seems to use a VA panel from SAMSUNG Display.

Mi surface

The Mi surface display was released in October with a pre-order price at 286USD, but right now it sells at around 357USD. Even though, it’s still one of the best budgets at such pricing.

From these specs, it’s no doubt that the Mi Surface is a competitive new entrant in its Market. The Mi surface was designed primarily for gamers and multimedia enthusiasts, which is why it has a 4ms GtG response time as well as a refresh rate of 144Hz strengthened by AMD’s FreeSync technology.

Mi surface video playing

Appearance

At first glance, the narrow bezels on three of its sides are very impressive. About the Mi surface appearance, it features a minimalistic design, which is much smarter than most traditional gaming display manufacturers. It makes it look much lighter and more integrated. And the horizontal wide aspect ratio definitely gave me an incredible vision and gaming experience. Talking about its connectors, the Mi Surface display has 2 HDMI inputs, 2 DP inputs and an audio output, which could have great compatibility for gamers or general users to connect multiple devices.

Mi surface interface

Similar to many other displays, the buttons are placed on the back of the indicators, and we can see the Xiaomi LOGO on the back as well. the adjustable bracket of the display supports lifting, rotating and tilting. And it can be replaced with a wall-mounted bracket. The input voltage is from 100V to 240V, which means that it supports almost all voltage standards on this planet. Another great feature is that the bracket also supports cable management. You can open the cover and view the installation instructions.

cable Management-Mi surface

Color coverage

To learn how exactly the display performance, we did some quality tests. Start from color coverage. The results showed that it reached a value of 100%sRGB and 82% AdobeRGB. Though the NTSC gamut was not marked, it should be close to the color gamut of AdobeRGB. 100% sRGB coverage is good enough to cover the most widely used color space on the internet. As a gaming display, it’s already better than most rivals.

color coverage-Mi surface

Contrast

As for its brightness and contrast performance, under high brightness, the contrast stably remained at about 1550:1, which is quite a good result. And the brightness changes were also pretty stable and uniform without significant distinction when having brightness adjustment.

Contrast-Mi surface

Color uniformity

And then we tested its color uniformity. At 100% brightness, the colors across the screen performed pretty well with a delta E under 2.4. At 50% brightness, the delta E is at a range from 0 to 3.2. Combined with other results, the panel was able to maintain pretty good color uniformity. We should know that it was not positioned as a professional display for image processing.

Color accuracy

About its color accuracy, the average delta E is 1.66, and the maximum is 2.83, which is very impressive as a gaming display.

OSD MENU

In addition to the quality of the screen, Xiaomi brought a practical OSD menu for the Mi surface. Through software optimization, users can slightly improve the gaming experience. It provides a variety of setting options, not just the common brightness, contrast, color gamma and so on, but also including multiple image-presets, multi-window modes, response speed settings, and LowBlue mode.

Mi-surface OSD

The 144Hz refresh rate is a great option for first-person shooting games. the high refresh rate can provide a smoother experience. Especially you can turn on the high response speed mode to get a better competitive state when you’re playing FPS games.

fps gaming-Mi surface

Streaking is one of the disadvantages of VA panels. Mi Surface display is no exception. But users can open the high response speed settings to reduce the streaking problem.

144Hz Mi surface

As I used it for a while, I found that the Multi-window modes are the most useful feature in the OSD menu. The 34-inch size plus a 21:9 aspect ratio is suitable for multitasking operation. Not just under win10 system, you can also use the option of split-screen setting to display two signal sources, and can be set to left-and-right-split mode and in-picture mode.

multi-inputs-OSD mi surface

Multi-input mode-Mi surface

It’s really hard to believe that the Mi surface display is the first monitor product of this brand. A very competitive price plus relatively high performance. there is no doubt that it will become one of the best gaming displays at such a price level.

 

 

Oppo Reno3 series reservation crosses 500,000 mark; launching tomorrow

Oppo is all set to launch its all-new Oppo Reno3 series smartphones in its home market China tomorrow, i.e. 26th December. Last week, the company had started taking reservations for the upcoming smartphone series.

Now, the total reservations for the Oppo Reno3 series smartphones have crossed the 500,000 mark. This is when the company has only revealed color options and memory variants of the phone and not the actual price.

Reno3 Pro 5G header

So far, the company has revealed that the Oppo Reno3 will be available in two variants — 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 12GB RAM + 128GB storage and will be offered in four colors — Moonlight Black, Moonlight White, Sunrise Impression, and Blue Starry Night.

On the other hand, the Reno3 Pro is revealed to come in 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage models and will be offered in three color variants — Fog Moon White, Sunrise Impression, and Blue Starry Night.

As per the leaks, the Reno3 5G has a full HD+ 6.4-inch AMOLED display with waterdrop notch. On the other side, the Reno3 Pro 5G has a full HD+ curved AMOLED punch-hole display with 90Hz refresh rate support. Both phones feature in-display fingerprint scanner. The MediaTek Dimensity 1000L chipset powers the Reno3 5G while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G SoC is fuelling the Reno3 Pro 5G.

As for the camera configuration, both devices have 32-megapixel selfie cameras. The Reno3 5G is fitted with a 48-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 2-megapixel + 2-megapixel quad camera setup whereas the Reno3 Pro 5G features a 64-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 2-megapixel + 2-megapixel quad camera system.

Both phones have 4,025mAh battery and they carry support for the enhanced version of 30W VOOC 4.0 Flash Charge technology. The Android 10 operating system with ColorOS 7 custom user interface will come loaded on the Reno3 series.

According to the leaks, the base model of the Reno3 Pro 5G will be priced at 3,699 Yuan (~$529) and its higher model will cost 4,199 Yuan (~$601). However, we advise you to take the pricing leak with a grain of salt as there is no concrete evidence to prove if the reports are authentic.

 

Huawei FreeBuds 3 gets special handmade antique box

The FreeBuds 3 is Huawei’s latest wireless earbuds. It launched back in September with a custom Kirin A1 chipset and Bluetooth 5.1. Early this month, Huawei announced a new color variant called Honey Red. Today, it has announced a special antique case for the Freebuds 3.

The special case is handmade and Huawei claims it took more than 700 hours from design to finish. It has an embroidery design done by hand as well as pearl inlays on the sides. It also has a lanyard with pearls. The case comes in different designs but Huawei is yet to reveal the price and details about availability.

The Freebuds 3 has a Dolphin Bionic design and is the first earbuds with open-fit noise cancellation. It has a 4-hour battery life that goes up to 20 hours with the charging case. Huawei claims it is great for gaming as it has a latency of 190ms. Connection is via Bluetooth 5.1 and it charges via a USB Type-C port and also supports wireless charging.

 

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro vs OnePlus 7T vs Huawei P30 Pro: Specs Comparison

Xiaomi just launched the Mi Note 10 Pro in Europe: it is now available in Spain. In case you missed it, the new device is a rebrand of the handset known as the Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro Premium Edition in China and it is an advanced variant of the Mi Note 10. It is definitely one of the best camera phones out there, that is why we decided to compare it with Huawei P30 Pro, a phone which reinvented the world of photography. Then, we decided to bring even the OnePlus 7T in the comparison since it is available at a not so different price and it offers way better performance. Let’s discover who is better together.

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro vs OnePlus 7T vs Huawei P30 Pro

Huawei P30 Pro Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro OnePlus 7T
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT 158 x 73.4 x 8.4 mm, 192 g 157.8 x 74.2 x 9.7 mm, 208 grams 160.9 x 74.4 x 8.1 mm, 190 g
DISPLAY  6.47 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), OLED 6.47 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), Super AMOLED 6.55 inches, 1080 x 2400p (Full HD+), Fluid AMOLED
PROCESSOR Huawei Hisilicon Kirin 980, octa-core 2.6 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G, octa-core 2.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+, octa-core 2.96 GHz
MEMORY 6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB – 8 GB RAM, 512 GB – Nano Memory card slot 8 GB RAM, 256 GB 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB
SOFTWARE  Android 9 Pie, EMUI Android 9 Pie, MIUI Android 10, Oxygen OS
CONNECTIVITY  Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS  Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS
CAMERA  Triple 40 + 8 + 20 + MP + TOF, f/1.6, f/3.4 and f/2.2 Penta 108 + 5 + 12 + 20 MP, f/1.7, f/2.0, f/2.2 and f/2.4
32 MP f/2.0 front camera
Triple 48 + 12 + 16 MP, f/1.6, f/2.2 and f/2.2
16 MP f/2.0 front camera
BATTERY  4200 mAh, fast charging 40W and fast wireless charging 5260 mAh, fast charging 30W 3800 mAh, fast charging 30W with Warp Charge 30T
ADDITIONAL FEATURES Hybrid Dual SIM slot, reverse wireless charging, IP68 waterproof Dual SIM slot Dual SIM slot

Design

The OnePlus 7T does not shine for its design, while Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro and Huawei P30 Pro look a lot more attractive with their curved edge-to-edge displays and high screen-to-body ratios. The Huawei P30 Pro is the most borderless phone and it even offers higher builds quality. In this comparison, it is the only device with the IP68 certification, which means it is dust resistant and waterproof up to 2 meters deep for max 30 minutes. That is why Huawei P30 Pro is my favorite phone here. It even comes in more color choices.

 

Display

OnePlus 7T packs the most advanced display. It is the only with a 90 Hz refresh rate for smoother user experience and even the one offering the HDR10+ certification for richer image quality. Further, it has full DCI P3 coverage and a wider display diagonal with 6.55 inches. The quality of the panels found on Huawei P30 Pro and Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro is not that different, both support HDR10, both have OLED panels and both have high DCI P3 coverage as well as a high brightness. But OnePlus 7T is the winner.

 

Hardware/Software

Besides having a better display, OnePlus 7T packs a better hardware department. The Snapdragon 855+ chipset found on the OnePlus 7T is way more powerful than Snapdragon 730G and Kirin 980, better for advanced users, modders and gamers. OnePlus 7T even offers UFS 3.0 internal storage for faster transfer speeds. Last but not least, it has a better optimized software which is close to Android stock. And unlike its rivals, it runs Android 10 out of the box. Do you need more?

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro is the only device of the trio with midrange-class hardware.

 

Camera

OnePlus 7T is a great phone when it comes to display and performance, but it can not compete with Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro and Huawei P30 Pro when it comes to cameras. The Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro is one of the best camera phones available in terms of photo quality, thanks to a Penta-camera including a 108 MP main sensor and 5x optical zoom. Right after, there is Huawei P30 Pro, still one of the best camera phones, but we think it is slightly inferior to the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro. There are a lot of better camera phones than OnePlus 7T.

 

Battery

With its huge 5260 mAh battery, Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro wins the battery comparison. But unlike the Huawei P30 Pro, it does not support wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.

 

Price

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro just launched with a €640/$710 listing price, OnePlus 7T starts from €599 (but you can get it for €450/$500 thanks to online street prices), and Huawei P30 Pro is actually available for less than €640/$710. Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro has a longer battery life and the best cameras, while OnePlus 7T has a better display and better performance. But the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro has just midrange hardware and OnePlus 7T has average cameras. That is why we think Huawei P30 Pro is the perfect compromise: it offers flagship-class hardware, amazing cameras, a big battery and (unlike its rivals) even very advanced features such as waterproof certification and reverse wireless charging. We think it is currently the most complete device of this trio, but keep in mind that its current street prices are a lot higher than OnePlus 7T.

 

 

 

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro vs OnePlus 7T vs Huawei P30 Pro: PRO and CONS

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro

PROS

  • Amazing cameras
  • Huge battery
  • Good quality-price ratio
  • Nice display

CONS

  • Lower-end chipset

 

Huawei P30 Pro

PROS

  • Good display
  • Reverse wireless charging
  • Waterproof
  • Great cameras

CONS

  • Nothing particular

 

OnePlus 7T

PROS

  • Amazing display
  • Higher performance
  • Affordable price
  • Nearly stock Android

CONS

  • Inferior cameras