Xiaomi‘s ecological chain company MIIW Technology today held a product launch conference earlier today where it took the wraps off a couple of gadgets. The product consists of two mechanical keyboards and a wireless mouse.
The MIIW Elite keyboard uses an 85-key design with scissor keys. The keycap is round, the corners are rounded, the thickness is 7.8 mm, and the frameless design is very compact. The keyboard supports dual-mode connection, that is it can be connected via Bluetooth and also via a dedicated USB wireless receiver. Also, the keyboard has support for Windows and MacOS.
In addition, there is a voice prompt key between the “Alt” and “Ctrl” keys, to the right of the space bar. The key activates the HKUST Xunfei Voice Pack, which can not only input text by long-pressing the voice key but also double-clicking activates a series of smart operations on the PC such as querying weather and opening tables.
The MIIW Elite Mouse also supports dual-mode connection of Bluetooth and USB wireless receivers. In terms of the design, the wireless mouse presents with a symmetrical design, non-slip texture on the back, and a magnetic back shell design that supports height elevation to achieve different grip feelings.
Finally, the MIIW dual-mode keyboard 85 also has an 85-key layout, and the appearance design is basically the same as the MIIW Elite keyboard with richer colors. However, the voice key isn’t included on this model instead a Function (Fn) key takes its place.
All three products will be available on Xiaomi Youpin for crowdfunding from February next year. Specifically, the MIIW Elite keyboard and MIIW Elite mouse are priced at 299 yuan ($42) each and be launched on Xiaomi Youpin on February 25. The crowdfunding price will be lower, though – 199 yuan ($28). On the other hand, the MIIW dual-mode keyboard 85 comes with a 179 yuan ($25) price tag and will be available on Xiaomi Youpin on March 11.
Fast charging got a big boost this year both in the wired and wireless categories. We now have commercially available phones that can charge at 65W (Reno Ace) and those that can charge wirelessly at 30W (Mi 9 Pro 5G). Samsung also boosted its fast charging game too; replacing its old 15W Adaptive Fast Charging with faster ones such as 25W (Galaxy Note10) and 45W (Galaxy Note10+) fast charging technologies.
With its phones now supporting faster charging technologies, Samsung is also following up with accessories that support these new fast-charging speeds. It has been reported that the FCC has certified a new power bank with model number EB-U3300. The power bank has support for wireless charging and 25W fast wired charging.
An image of the power bank shows that it doesn’t have a full-sized USB-A port but two USB Type-C ports instead. There are also five LEDs to indicate the battery level as well as the power button to the right of the ports. The top of the power bank is where the charging coil is.
There is no info at the power rating for wireless charging but it should remain 15W as previous models since that is what Samsung still uses.
The new power bank may launch before or alongside the Galaxy S20 series.
HMD Global’s Nokia seems to focus more on the mid-range and budget segments as we have only seen a few flagship models from the company this year. The release spree of budget phones continued recently with the launch of the Nokia 2.3 which is the company’s latest budget Android One smartphone and the successor of Nokia 2.2. The company seems to have got another budget model in the works. The model appeared recently with the model number TA-1213 on the Bluetooth SIG website where it received Bluetooth certification.
The Nokia TA-1213 appears to be a low-end smartphone similar to the Nokia C1 Android Go Edition and Nokia 2.3. It may likely launch as Nokia 1.3 and could be the successor of the Nokia 1 Plus. The device is listed to feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 2xx series chipset which is expected to be the Snapdragon 215 SoC. The smartphone also brings support for Bluetooth 4.2.
As of now, other details of the purported Nokia 1.3 are still unknown but being a budget or low-end smartphone, don’t expect anything eye-popping. We expect the phone to go official soon.
Touted as one of the world’s largest wearables companies, Huami recently announced the Amazfit GTR Lite 47mm smartwatch.
The company describes the Amazfit GTR Lite 47mm as one of its most stylish and fashionable smartwatches, which went on sale via one of China’s most popular e-tailers, Gearbest on December 23rd.
Amazfit GTR Lite 47mm Edition Overview
The Amazfit GTR Lite 47mm Edition is a revolutionary smartwatch as far as elegance and craftsmanship are concerned. Representing the crowning point of smartwatch fashion, the Amazfit GTR 47mm Lite Edition features an exercise-friendly black silicon strap that can efficiently resist sweat when you are working out.
Moreover, it gives you freedom from frequent charging as it offers up to a whopping 24 days long life on just a single charge. Huami deems long battery life as one of the most important factors when it comes to offering a ‘next-level’ smartwatch as long battery life is more essential than ever, given that the electric implements executed by users continue to increase. Taking that into consideration, the Amazfit GTR Lite 47mm provides a battery life that meets every individual’s needs.
The highly-appealing, interface adopts a classic design and has been optimized with a larger display so that the icon and notifications are easily readable and visible at first glance. The smartwatch features the Biotracker sensor for monitoring various aspects of bodily health.
Among a slew of other important functions, the Amazfit GTR 47mm Lite boasts 24-hour heart-rate monitoring and sleep monitoring. The highly advantageous heart monitor enables the user to keep a track of the stresses on their heart without interrupting their daily activities in any way.
The user-friendly interface comes in handy for conducting analysis and checking beats-per-minute data. Moreover, the app can be customized to inform the wearer via a notification alarm when their heart-rate reaches an irregular level. The app stores historic data that can be used to make a more detailed analysis.
An ideal smartwatch for fitness and sports enthusiasts, the Amazfit GTR 47mm Lite features a 6-axis acceleration sensor. It is a perfect companion for sports and exercise as it comes with 8 different sports modes including several varieties of running, cycling, swimming, and other popular sports and exercise routines.
Once the activity is over, the smartwatch will show the relevant data such as distance covered, pace, heart beats-per-minute, range, laps completed, time per lap and many other functions that it collected during the activity.
Availability
The Amazfit GTR 47mm Lite was firstly made available on December 23rd through Gearbest in the overseas market for an unbeatable price of $109.99.
About Amazfit
Amazfit is a registered brand owned by Huami (NYSE: HMI), which is a biometric and activity data-driven company that has a considerable amount of experience and expertise as far as smart wearable technology is concerned. Huami also provides wearable technology to Xiaomi and is the sole manufacturer of the company’s popular Mi Band.
Huami has been using the Amazfit brand to market smart wearable products for the middle to high-end market since September 2015. Note that these products are neither designed nor manufactured for Xiaomi. Frost & Sullivan Report revealed that Huami sold 11.6 million units of smart wearable devices in the first nine months of 2017, which is relatively more than any other company across the globe.
Since Huami’s inception in 2013, 56.5 million devices were sold. A staggering 18.1 million units of smart wearable devices were sold in the entirety of 2017.
Huami, Mi Fit, and Amazfit mobile apps are designed to work together with smart wearable devices, offering users a comprehensive view and analysis of their biometric and activity data. As of December 31st, 2017, there were 56 million registered Huami’s mobile app users.
By radically improving smart wearable technology and data-driven innovations, Huami continues to transform how individuals connect with the internet and each other. The company’s mission is to make the world more connected. Huami was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on February 8th, 2018. You can visit this link for more details.
2019 was a fabulous year for smartphones. Companies were bolder and aggressive with their devices this year, so much so, that we have four to five different types of front camera solutions in the market right now. Smartphones, in general, offer more value for money than ever before and we have brands like Xiaomi and Realme almost always exceeding our expectations in the budget price segment.
After hours of discussions and elimination rounds, we have finally compiled the list of the Best Budget Smartphones of 2019. Believe me, picking the best phones in this highly competitive segment wasn’t easy at all, but the smartphones that have finally made it to this list offer exceptional value to its buyers.
A Xiaomi phone dominating the budget segment? Not all surprising, right?
Xiaomi knows how to give you the best value for your money and competitors have a hard time matching Redmi’s budget offerings. The Redmi Note 8 comes with Snapdragon 665, a large 4000mAh battery with an 18W charger out of the box, GG5 protected 6.3-inch 1080p display and a beautiful design that’s as good as any premium device. Plus, it comes with a camera setup that features a 48MP primary, 8MP wide-angle sensor, and 2MP depth and macro cameras, giving users a wide variety of camera options at a budget price tag.
Starting at Rs. 9999 and 179.90 Euros for the 4GB + 64GB RAM variant in India and Europe respectively, the Redmi Note 8 offers value like no other device in this segment. You simply can’t go wrong with this well-packaged best seller.
Vivo smartphones are good, but they have never really been famous for offering incredible value for money. Xiaomi and Realme have traditionally dominated that club. But with the new Vivo U20, the brand is giving the Redmi Note 8 a run for its money. And in some ways, the U20 is even better than the Redmi Note 8!
For example, the Vivo U20 offers up to 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage at Rs. 11,990. In comparison, the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant of the Note 8 costs Rs. 13,000 in India. And did I mention the U20 features UFS 2.1 instead of the slower eMMC storage standard used in the RN8? It also features the Snapdragon 675 processor with a large 5000mAh battery with 18W fast charging.
However, U20’s cameras aren’t as strong as the Redmi Note 8. It comes with a 16MP(f/1.78)+8MP(f/2.2)+2MP(f/2.4) setup that’s decent in real life but nothing to boast about. Also, for some reason, Vivo is still using MicroUSB on the U20. But if you are okay with MicroUSB and with the brand’s bloated FunTouch OS, the Vivo U20 offers incredible value for your money in 2019!
Even if your budget is extremely low, as low as Rs. 7,999 in India (4GB+64GB) or €149/ €179.90 (3GB+32GB/ 4GB+64GB) in Europe, the Redmi 8 will ensure you have a solid smartphone in your hands. The phone is powered by the octa-core Cortex A53 powered Snapdragon 439. There’s an HD 6.22inch IPS LCD display with Gorilla Glass 5 protection and a fingerprint sensor at the back. There are multiple color options available including a fancy green color shade like the Redmi Note 8 Pro.
In terms of features, the Redmi 8 beats almost all phones in its price segment. And with MIUI on board, you are promised timely updates. So, it’s no surprise the phone makes it to our Best Budget Phones of 2019 list!
Yet another Xiaomi phone makes it here! But it’s not exactly a pure Xiaomi smartphone since it comes with Android One instead of MIUI. And that’s why the A3 gets a unique status in the budget segment.
The Xiaomi Mi A3 comes with Snapdragon 665 with 4GB RAM as standard and 6GB as optional. The highlight of the device is its 6.09-inch Super AMOLED display, which despite its HD+ resolution, looks pretty good. The phone features the seventh-gen. screen fingerprint solution under its display and is the only device in this list with this technology. A 48 MP, f/1.8 primary camera with an 8 MP, f/2.2 ultrawide lens and a 2 MP depth sensor ensures you have a very capable camera unit on board. Plus, there’s a huge 32MP sensor up front for selfies.
Realme 5 was the first smartphone to bring a quad-camera setup in the budget segment. The phone featured a 12MP f/1.8 main camera, an 8MP ultra wide-angle sensor, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor. Before the Realme 5, nobody would have even imagined such a power-packed camera setup on a budget smartphone. So the phone definitely deserves a place on this list.
The cameras on the Realme 5 are capable, especially in daylight, and the wide-angle and portrait cameras are definitely usable. With Snapdragon 665 and a large 5000mAh battery, the Realme 5 offers incredible value to buyers in 2019. It does cut down on a couple of useful features to keep its price low, like display resolution (HD+) and charging speeds (10W). But if you can look past these minor drawbacks, the phone offers more value than most other devices in its price segment.
So that was it, the Best Budget Smartphones of 2019.
Do you think any other device deserves a mention in this list? Let us know in the comments below.
Since Xiaomi took the wraps off the latest MIUI 11 in September this year, the Chinese tech giant has been testing several new features. The company has previously tested an app drawer and app shortcuts and new categories for the stock MIUI 11 launcher. There have also been tests for HEIC support for the MIUI Camera app. Just recently, the latest nightly MIUI 11 build was spotted with new advanced display calibration controls. Yet another new feature for MIUI 11 has been spotted and it is an equalizer for the Mi Music app on MIUI 11.
An MIUI user recently discovered code for an equalizer in the Mi Music app on the latest MIUI 11 nightly (v9.12.19). The equalizer was enabled manually by LineageOS contributor and XDA Senior Member abhishek987 who also shared screenshots of the feature.
As seen in the screenshots, the new equalizer can be found within the Earphones option inside advanced settings on the settings menu of the custom music app. On present versions of MIUI 11, the equalizer option is disabled and can’t be operated. However, the leak shows the option allows you to completely adjust the sound profile as per your preference.
Apart from the new equalizer, the update will also bring access to a new Volume adjustment feature that will let you adjust the earphone volume depending on your age group. There are three group options to choose from — Up to 30 years old, 30-60 years old, and More than 60 years old — along with a custom preset option that allows you to make your own volume adjustments.
Selecting an age group gives you access to even more granular adjustments for the left and right ear volume levels, along with options to test the original sound profile and the adjusted sound profile. On top of all that, the app also lets you select the type of earphone/headphone you’re using for more accurate sound profiles.
Since the equalizer function has been disabled for a long while, even on earlier MIUI versions, we expect this feature to become available soon. However, there is no indication as to when that would happen.
The Huawei MatePad Pro comes in four color variants – Danxia Orange, Castle Peak, Fritillaria White, and Night Ash. Since it went on sale nearly two weeks ago, only the White and Ash variants have been available for purchase. However, starting tomorrow the Danxia Orange and Castle Peak colorways which have a different material finish, actually leather, will become available for purchase.
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 are priced at ¥4999 (~$713) and ¥5999 (~$856) respectively on Vmall. They are more expensive than the other variants of the same configuration because they ship with the M-Pencil and the keyboard included.
The MatePad Pro is the first tablet in the world with a punch-hole display. The screen measures 10.8-inches in size and has a 2560 x 1600 QHD resolution. There is a Kirin 990 processor under the hood and along with the aforementioned configurations, there are also 6GB + 128GB WiFi-only and LTE variants. Irrespective of the version you purchase, there is support for storage expansion.
The MatePad Pro has a single 13MP f/1.8 camera on the rear while an 8MP f/2.0 camera sits inside the punch-hole. It has quad speakers but no audio jack, Bluetooth 5.1, and a USB Type-C port. It packs a 7250mAh battery with support for 40W SuperCharge wired charging and 15W wireless charging. It also supports 7.5W reverse wireless charging. The M-Pencil charges wirelessly when placed at the top (in landscape mode) of the tablet.
South Korean giant Samsung had recently launched the Galaxy Watch Active2 and Galaxy Watch 4G in India but the Watch Active2 didn’t feature 4G LTE connectivity. However, today, Samsung India launched the Galaxy Watch Active2 4G, expanding its smartwatch portfolio in the country.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 features a stainless-steel case and comes with a 1.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a screen resolution of 360 x 360 pixels. The full-color Always-On display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass DX+ on top.
Under the hood, the device is powered by a Samsung’s Exynos 9110 dual-core processor clocked at 1.15GHz and is paired with 1.5GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. The device is running Tizen-based Wearable OS, making the device compatible with Android 5.0 or above with more than 1.5GB RAM (Samsung/Non-Samsung), and iPhone 5 and above running iOS 9.0 or above.
The smartwatch has a rotating touch bezel that turns both clockwise and counter-clockwise to advance screens so you can easily select favorite apps. It can manually track more than 39 workouts with seven of them automatically activated, including running, walking, cycling, swimming, rowing machine, elliptical machine, and dynamic workouts.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 also has new health sensors on the back, which take in readings faster and the watch also helps you track real-time stress levels through Samsung Health, provides access to guided meditation programs through integration with Calm.
The smartwatch also comes with Heart Rate Monitoring (with 8 Photodiodes), Electrocardiogram (ECG), Accelerometer (measure up to 32g of force), Gyroscope, Barometer, and Ambient Light sensor.
It is also rated 5ATM as well as IP68, making the Galaxy Watch Active2 water and dust resistant and the device is also MIL-STD-810G certified for durability. The device comes with connectivity features like Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi b/g/n, NFC, A-GPS/ GLONASS/ Beidou.
It supports e-SIM, 4G LTE B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B7, B8, B12, B13, B20, and B66. The device measures 44 x 44 x 10.9 mm and is powered by a 340mAh battery which also comes with support for WPC-based wireless charging.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 4G comes with a 44mm steel dial in Silver, Black and Gold color options for a price of ₹35,990 (~$505). It is now available in Samsung e-store, Samsung Opera House, e-commerce websites, and offline stores.
Two recent patents by unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) manufacturer DJI were recently revealed showing what the company may have in the works presently. DJI is known for its range of drones and camera gimbals but these new patents show the company is planning to expand the capabilities of its products.
The first patent comes with the patent number CN209756678U_ vehicle and its lifting device. It is an unmanned vehicle similar to an RC car that can be equipped with a universal bracket. According to the patent description, this is a motorized rover with a camera on top. The camera car has four 360-degree rotating wheels. The large and sturdy wheels suggest that its design can be adapted for off-road use. The wheels are separated from the camera by a rod that can be moved up and down. The camera is placed on the top of the car while there is a damper below it. There is also a shock absorber on the bracket to better eliminate the shake. The camera can also be replaced. In addition, the vehicle’s chassis can be raised according to the driving speed and road conditions or lowered to adapt to various driving situations.
The second patent is a handheld gimbal that looks like a smaller version of DJI Ronin 2 with a patent number – CN110573786A_ Stabilizing device and handheld gimbal device.
These patents were applied for in December 2019 so, there is a high probability that in 2020 DJI may launch the two new products.
On the retailer’s website, the release information and other crucial details regarding its launch have not been disclosed. Apparently, “the shipment will be synchronized with the official website.” In other words, the Mi Mix Alpha Concept 5G smartphone will be available when Xiaomi officially starts the sale of the handset. Additionally, the price of the concept device is also listed online with the Mi Mix Alpha priced at 19,999 Yuan (Or roughly 2,854 US Dollars)
Notably, there already appears to be two buyer reviews on the Mi Mix Alpha booking already, although that is likely a bug. As a concept smartphone, the launch of the handset is being highly anticipated by many enthusiasts; and one of the device’s key distinct characteristics is its lack of any form of physical buttons.
Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha without physical buttons and the unique flexible screen
The Mi Mix Alpha achieves this unique design philosophy by including an innovative flexible display that rounds the corners of the device. Thus, users end up with one of the highest screens to body ratio of all time, especially considering it even covers most of the rear as well.
What is the next number after 10? 11, right? Wrong! For some phone manufacturers, the next number after 10 is 20, not 11. We saw this with the Honor 10‘s successor launching as the Honor 20 instead of the Honor 11 and the Huawei P10‘s successor launching as the Huawei P20. Now, Samsung may be joining the bandwagon too with its upcoming Galaxy S series flagship phone.
Next year, Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy S11 as the successor to this year’s Galaxy S10 series but a couple of tweets from two known leakers say otherwise.
According to Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) and @MMDDJ_, the successor to the Galaxy S10 is the Galaxy S20 and not the Galaxy S11.
Based on this new development, the Galaxy S10 series’ successors should arrive as the Galaxy S20e, Galaxy S20, and the Galaxy S20 Plus.
It is also safe to assume that next year’s Galaxy Note series will launch as the Galaxy Note20 and not the Galaxy Note11 series since Samsung now uses the same naming scheme for both lines.
The change in naming makes sense since the coming year is 2020, so everything syncs. However, we believe the 2021 models may not be called the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy Note21 but the Galaxy S30 and Galaxy Note30 series respectively.
Lei Jun, the founder and CEO of Xiaomi Group, has announced earlier today (24th December) that its smart TV shipments have crossed 10 million units in 2019; this breaks previous records in the history of Chinese television sales in just one year.
Lei Jun’s post on his Official Weibo account
According to a new report, other leading TV brands within China have yet to achieve this milestone that the smartphone manufacturer just reached. The Chinese tech giant has set an unprecedented record in the Southeast Asian country for the number of units sold in a single year.
The senior executive stated that the reason for Xiaomi’s Smart TVs’ high sales numbers is due to the company constantly innovating. In other words, quick adaptation and inclusion of newer technology have helped them obtain this achievement. Prior to this, Lu Weibing, President of Xiaomi Group, had stated that Smart TVs are not Smartphones and that reaching 10 million units in sales is “too difficult as no one had done it.” Although, now it seems that Xiaomi was the one to achieve this massive breakthrough.
Xiaomi Smart Mi TV 4A with 32 inch LED display and AI features
Notably, Xiaomi’s Mi TV series has also won the top “Color TV Innovation Product” award previously at the China Intelligent Display and Innovation Application Industry Conference. The company even arrived first in the “Top Ten TV Awards 2019” and “High-end Smart Product Awards.” This essentially cements the OEMs place in the TV industry in the country and as a viable option in global markets.
The first time we heard about the Helio G70 was in an exclusive leak from last week about the upcoming Redmi 9 phone. The leak revealed the phone will be powered by the yet-to-be-announced chipset. Now, details about the processor have been leaked.
According to a Weibo post made by Digital Chat Station yesterday, the Helio G70 is an “entry-level-ish” processor. That is not surprising since the Redmi 9 is expected to be an entry-level/lower mid-range device.
He goes further to reveal the chipset will have 8 cores in a 2 + 6 configuration. It will have 2 x Cortex-A75 cores clocked at 2.0GHz and 6 x Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.7GHz or 1.8GHz. The leakster also mentioned Mediatek will use a Mali-G52 MC2 GPU inside the chipset.
Based on the above configuration, the Helio G70 should sit below the Helio P65, which has 4 x Cortex-A75 + 4 x Cortex-A55 cores, with respect to performance.
Redmi’s decision to use a MediaTek processor for the Redmi 8’s successor marks the manufacturer’s return to MediaTek processors since 2018’s Redmi 6. At the moment, we do not know if the Redmi 9A will use the same processor as its sibling since the Redmi 8A and Redmi 8 use the same processor.
MediaTek is yet to announce the processor but going by its recent “exclusive” partnerships with Redmi, the Redmi 9 may be the first phone to be powered by the processor.
The Redmi 9 is expected to launch in early 2020. It will have a 6.6-inch display, a not so small bump when compared to the 6.2-inch screen of the Redmi 8. Along with the Helio G70 processor will be 4GB of RAM. However, there should be other RAM variants too.
It should also run MIUI 11 based on Android 10 out of the box, have a big battery capacity, a USB Type-C port, and support for fast charging.
On Dec. 16, Vivo had held a launch event in China to announce the Vivo X30 series of smartphones. These are the first non-flagship 5G phones from the company. The Vivo X30 is will go on sale on Dec. 28 in China. As scheduled, the advanced Vivo X30 Pro smartphone is available for purchase starting from today in the home market. The X30 Pro can be bought with a starting price of 3,998 Yuan (~$570).
Vivo X30 Pro Price
The Vivo X30 Pro is available in two models such as 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage for 3,998 Yuan (~$570) and 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage for 4,298 Yuan (~$613). The phone comes in gradient orange, gradient blue and black color editions. The base model is available in all three colors whereas the higher variant can be bought in black and blue colors only.
The Vivo X30 Pro has a 6.44-inch S-AMOLED display with punch-hole design. It offers 1080 x 2400 pixels full HD+ resolution and is integrated with a fingerprint sensor. The Exynos 980 chipset is present under the hood of the device along with 8 GB of RAM. It offers users with up to 256 GB of UFS 2.1 native storage. The latest FunTouchOS 10 based Android 9 Pie OS comes preloaded on the device. The device lacks support for external storage slot.
For shooting selfies, it possesses a frontal shooter of 32-megapixel with f/2.0 aperture. The rear side of the phone has a vertical strip featuring three cameras such as an OIS enabled 64-megapixel main lens with f/1.8 aperture, a 122-degree 8-megapixel ultrawide lens with f/2.2 aperture and an OIS assisted 32-megapixel portrait lens with f/2.0 aperture. Above the separately placed LED flash, there is a periscope lens of 13-megapixel that enables 5x optical zoom on the device. The Vivo X30 Pro can capture images with up to 60x digital zoom. The X30 Pro is backed by a 4,350mAh battery that supports 33W rapid charging through USB-C.
Honor had launched the Honor 9X and Honor 9X Pro smartphones in China in July. In November, it unveiled the Honor Magic Watch 2 in China with a price tag of 1,399 Yuan (~$199; ~Rs. 14,000). Soon after the Honor 9X series in the home market, the rumor mill speculated that the Honor 9X will be made available in India. However, its arrival seems to have been delayed. A fresh report on 91mobiles reveals that the Chinese manufacturer will unveil the Honor 9X in January 2020. It will be also announcing the Magic Watch 2 smartwatch alongside the smartphone.
Honor 9X and Honor Magic Watch 2 Specifications
The Honor 9X that will be arriving in India will not be the exact same Kirin 810 powered Honor 9X device that debuted in China. However, the country could be receiving the international edition of the smartphone. The Honor 9X for India will be featuring a 6.59-inch IPS LCD display with notch-less display. The screen supports full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels and 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The phone will draw power from the older Kirin 710F chipset. It could be coming with up to 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of native storage. A microSD card slot will be available onboard for more storage.
For shooting selfies, it will be equipped with a pop-up selfie camera of 16-megapixel. The triple camera system on its rear will feature a 48-megapixel main lens, an 8-megapixel superwide lens and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. The phone will draw power from a 4,000mAh battery that will only support 10W charging. A fingerprint scanner could be available on the backside of the device. The EMUI based Android 9 Pie OS runs on the device. The Honor 9X heading to India is expected to arrive with support for Google Mobile Services (GMS).
The Honor Magic Watch 2 had launched in two variants like 42mm model with 1.2-inch screen and 46mm model with 1.33-inch display in China. The Kirin A1 chipset fuels the device. The 5ATM water-resistant Magic Watch supports 15 fitness tracking modes. The device offers other features like Always-On Display, heart rate moniker and sleep tracking. At present, there is no word on the pricing of the Honor 9X and Honor Magic Watch 2 for India.
Earlier this year, Huawei had faced complications with the US Government regarding national data security reasons. Since then, the company had initially faced a ban in the country which had even led to Huawei losing its partners like Google (Android support) and ARM (chipsets). Thus, the company has been looking to become increasingly more independent and less reliant on western corporations.
This leads to now, as Huawei is set to finalize its replacement of Google Services on its Android devices.
Huawei Mobile Services
Reportedly, Huawei will be moving forward with its own services and replace Google’s services by 2020 for its smartphones. The new replacement is dubbed as Huawei Mobile Services and will be launched by the end of 2019. The Chinese tech giant has been working on the service for a while so the company could be functionally self-sufficient and less reliant.
According to a recent report, the CEO of Huawei and Honor India, Charles Peng, spoke to news outlets regarding the upcoming services’ app ecosystem. In other words, the company is looking to attract developers of the top 150 apps in India to ensure the availability of the same apps in the company’s smartphones as well. This is done since the lack of Google Services means no Play Store. Thus, bringing various developers to its proprietary store is crucial to the Huawei Mobile Services’ success.
Huawei App Gallery
Furthermore, India is the second largest smartphone market in the world with social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and more being extremely popular. Currently, these apps are still not natively supported or included in the Huawei app store. So, to help in the transition from Google services to its own, Huawei needs to include popular apps and features to its services as well.
Google’s success in its services lies with its tight-knit ecosystem that includes apps like YouTube, Google Maps, Play Store and more. Huawei needs to find suitable and effective replacements for these few crucial apps to be better welcomed by the large userbase. So far, the company has confirmed alternatives to navigation, payments, gaming, and messages which will debut on its HMS platform by the end of 2019.
Huawei HMS Core Map Kit
It remains to be seen how well the new Huawei Mobile Services is implemented as it stands as the only viable mainstream alternative to Google right now. Historically, the search engine giant has had dominance in this field and has yet to be toppled off its throne.
Recently we reported that Huawei might be planning to use a graphene battery for their upcoming Huawei P40 Pro. It’d be an interesting change from the standard lithium-ion batteries all companies are already using, as well as a slightly smaller and more condensed package allowing for a smaller chassis. It made a lot of sense, but it’s unfortunately been completely debunked.
Huawei France’s official Twitter account recently posted about graphene batteries. The tweet explicitly claimed that Huawei’s next flagship, the P40, will come with a next-generation graphene battery. People were quick to point out that the technology involved in the post was basically impossible, and not too soon after the company themselves debunked the statement, claiming that the P40 Pro would not have a graphene battery.
In fact, the company even went ahead claiming we shouldn’t expect graphene anytime soon.
For those who don’t know, graphene is a revolutionary material that promises significantly faster charging times and very high battery endurance, which means you can charge your battery many times faster than conventional Lithium-ion batteries and the charge will remain for days together. Batteries made out of graphene will also take up less space in a smartphone.
However, the possibility of the upcoming Huawei P40 Pro, or any smartphone sporting a graphene battery is pretty low. Prominent leaker @IceUniverse, who is well known for his scoops in Samsung smartphones via his Twitter handle, has ridiculed the speculations by saying that the technology is currently “impossible.”
So why is this exactly? It’s mainly because they’re really hard to make right at the moment. We’ve only heard rumors about this technology until recently, and even Samsung, who have a head start compared to everyone else, aren’t expecting graphene batteries until 2021 or so. So chances, we really shouldn’t expect anything new soon.
Google recently fixed a Chrome 79 bug of data loss for some Android Apps last week. Since then, some Indian users are receiving pop-ups of immediately changing their passwords on affected websites. The users are receiving warnings on laptops, desktops, and mobile screens after getting the Chrome 79 bug fix.
The recent data breach has alarmed the big media houses and users that their passwords may have been compromised. The warning appears on the affected websites recently after the Google resumed Chrome 79 rollout with a bug fix this week. The exact notification reads as, “Change your password. A data breach on a site or app exposed your password. Chrome recommends changing your password for the site.”
It is advised to the users to change their password immediately if they receive such warning no website. The warning is appearing for the users living in India. A user reported having received the warning pop-up after trying to log into the Freshtohome website, which primarily deals with fresh and chemical-free seafood. Moreover, people from media received such warnings while logging into the portals.
A grave issue related to WebView popped up a couple of weeks ago after updating the Chrome to v79. In response, Google temporarily paused the update rollout until the problem was fixed.
However, the issue is now fixed, and the rollout of Chrome v79 resumed last week. According to the changelog, the latest version “resolves an issue in WebView where some users’ app data was not visible within those apps.” Google Developers forget to move the contents of local storage to the Chrome 79 directory that led to the dysfunction of the WebView feature.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020 is arriving soon. The Las Vegas tech exhibition event is scheduled to take place between Jan. 7 and Jan. 10. According to South Korean publication The Korea Herald, industry sources have revealed many smartphone companies such as Samsung, Apple, Huawei, OnePlus and more will be showcasing their new smartphones at the CES 2020. The report also reveals that Samsung might showcase the Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite at the event.
Samsung is reportedly working on a clamshell foldable phone. Rumors have dubbed it as Galaxy Fold 2. The report claims that the company is unlikely to unveil it at the CES 2020. Rather, it may go official along with the Galaxy S11 series at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020 tech trade show in February. Speaking of Samsung, apart from presenting the Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite, it is also poised to reveal new mid-range smartphones. The publication has stated that the new Lite models will be coming to India in January. Past reports have revealed that European regions will be treated with Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite.
Samsung Galaxy Fold will be showcased at the CES 2020. Other foldable devices that will be exhibited at the event include the Huawei Mate X and Motorola Razr. Apple was last seen at the CES event in 1992. The report claims that Apple will be present at CES 2020. It won’t be running a booth, but the company will be sharing information on consumer security issues through a roundtable meeting. The discussion will be attended by executives from other major companies including Facebook.
OnePlus will be showcasing it OnePlus Concept One device. Lesser-known Chinese smartphone brands are expected to dominate the CES 2020’s mobile segment.
Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Specifications and Price (Rumored)
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 LIte (left) and Galaxy S10 LIte (right)
The Galaxy S10 Lite and Galaxy Note 10 Lite will be respectively equipped with Infinity-O Super AMOLED displays of 6.7 inches that will offer full HD+ resolution. The Snapdragon 855 will be powering the S10 Lite with 8 GB of RAM. The Note 10 Lite will Exynos 9810 and 6 GB of RAM as driving force. The S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite will be equipped with 128 GB of internal storage and 4,500mAh batteries. Both phones will respectively support 45W and 25W fast charging. These phones will be preloaded with Android 10 OS and One UI 2.0.
The Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite with both featuring a selfie camera of 32-megapixel. The S10 Lite will be arriving with tOIS enabled 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel (ultrawide) + 5-megapixel (macro) triple camera setup. A square-shaped module on the rear side of the Note 10 Lite will feature an LED equipped 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel (telephoto) + 12-megapixel (ultrawide) triple camera system. The Note 10 Lite will come with a S Pen stylus with Bluetooth 5.0 support and it will also feature a 3.5mm audio jack.
The Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite could be priced at 679 euros (~$752) and 609 euros (~$675), respectively in Europe. The S10 Lite may come in colors like Prism Black, Prism White and Prism Red while the Note 10 Lite may arrive in colors such as Aura Black, Aura Red and Aura Glowpress.
Earlier today (24th December 2019), Nokia 2720 and Nokia 800 were officially revealed by the company. The former is a nostalgic flip phone while the latter is a rugged device built for harsh environments.
Nokia 800
Nokia 800 is built with tough usage in harsh environments in mind. The device as passed military-grade MIL-STD-810G standard so it can be assumed it won’t be nearly as susceptible to daily wear and tear as an average mobile. The handset also supports IP68 waterproof and dustproof rating and can be submerged in water up to a depth of 1.5 meters for about 30 minutes.
Nokia 800
The mobile features a rugged body design and aesthetic that are mainly to protect it from an accidental drop from over 1.8 meters directly on to concrete. Additionally, since it has passed US military-grade electronic equipment tests, Nokia 800 can withstand extreme temperatures from a range of -20 to even 55 degree Celsius. This is also supplemented by the device being covered with a special rubber from all sides and corners and deep keystrokes.
Nokia 800 supports 4G networks of China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom. It supports VoLTE high definition voice call functions and WiFi hotspot features as well. The device will also have an app store and will receive OTA updates after its actual launch. For photography, the handset arrives with a 2 megapixel camera alongside an LED flash.
Nokia 2720 (White)
Nokia 2720
Nokia 2720 is a dual screen flip phone that is a new age version of devices from back in the feature phone days. It arrives with a 2.8 inch QVGA display which is the main display, while the secondary screen is a small 1.3 inch display on the outside. The handset features a T9 physical keyboard and supports GPS and GLONASS, includes Google Maps and also provides Kai App Store.
For connectivity, the Nokia 2720 supports WiFi and LTE connections, which even can be shared via WiFi hotspot. The device is available in two variants which is a single SIM version and a dual SIM version. It is equipped with a 2 megapixel camera with a flash. It is offered with 4GB of internal storage that can be expanded through a microSD card. Notably, it also support the 3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth 4.0.
Price and Availability
The rugged Nokia 800 is officially priced at 899 Yuan or roughly 128 US Dollars while the Nokia 2720 flip phone is offered for 599 Yuan or about 85 US Dollars. Both smartphones will be officially available for purchase from 30th December 2019. Notably, unlike the former, the latter arrives in multiple color options as well.
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