Every year, hundreds of smartphones get released. These phones bring new features including sharper displays, better cameras, more powerful processors, bigger batteries, and faster and more efficient charging technologies.
And with manufacturers trying to outdo themselves with respect to pricing, it becomes tempting to purchase a new phone. There are also times a phone gets a huge slash in price making it more affordable and bringing it to a lower price bracket.
So for this week’s poll, we want to know how frequently you change your smartphone. Do you pick up a new phone every year or do you change your phone twice in the span of one year? Or do you hold on to your phone for as long as possible? Do take the poll below and also drop a comment in the comment box telling us more details.
Xiaomi is crowdfunding an affordable smartwatch on its Youpin platform called the Haylou Smart Watch. The highlighting features of the device include a heart rate monitor, sleep and activity tracker. On top of that, the device also features an excellent 14-day battery life, and very attractive price tag of just 99.9 yuan, or $14.
The Haylou LS01 smartwatch has a square watch face that accommodates a 1.3 inch coloured LCD display with a resolution of 240 x 240 pixels. The smartwatch measures 40.9 x 35.7 x 11.6 mm and it weighs 34 grams. The Haylou LS01 ships with a 26.3 mm wide silicone strap which can be easily swapped and with straps that can be bought separately.
The Smart Watch is powered by a 210 mAh battery which is claimed to provide a battery backup of 14 days which will vary based upon usage. The smartwatch is compatible with devices running both Android and iOS. However, the supported versions of the two OS’ include Android 4.4, iOS 8 or higher.
To Haylou Smart Watch is IP68 rated which makes it both dustproof and waterproof upto 1.5 metres for a maximum period of 30 minutes. It is capable of function normally with temperatures ranging as low as -20 degree C and as high as 45 degrees C. It also features a heart rate monitor sensor.
It also supports activity tracking, step counter, sleep tracking and 9 different sport modes. The Haylou Smart Watch is currently available for purchase only in China at a crowdfunding price of 99.9 Yuan ($ 14). All in all, it seems like an excellent value for money product that not only offers a wide variety of features but also looks good for its price.
2020 is an important year for Sony. The consumer electronics giant is set to release numerous products which include the much anticipated PlayStation 5 and its Xperia lineup of smartphones; one of which is the successor to Sony Xperia 5 that is now expected to arrive with a new punch hole selfie camera.
According to a new report, Sony Corporation has applied for a design patent back in its home country, Japan. The patent is for a new graphical user interface and was published in the WIPO Global Design Database on 19th December 2019. In the patent, two color renders are included for a smartphone on which the UI is showcased. It reveals a number of details regarding the smartphone like a chin on the bottom of the device. On the top, however, the bezels are so narrow that there will be no room for a selfie camera.
Renders of the User Interface of Sony’s 2020 Xperia flagship with Punch Hole Selfie Camera
Furthermore, the renders patented also illustrates the frame and borders of the upcoming Xperia smartphone. This leads to speculation of the device sporting a punch hole display selfie camera on the front. Notably, Sony could also opt for a pop up camera but that is unlikely for the OEM. The reason being that the company highly values its water-resistant handsets with IP ratings. Sony Xperia Z was the first waterproof smartphone and the company might not skip such an integral feature for a flagship device.
Additionally, when the renders are compared to existing Xperia smartphones, it is seen that the device’s aspect ratio and form factor is identical to Sony Xperia 1 which was the top model for 2019. The patent also reveals other key information like “Monday, February 25”, which was the announcement day of the previous flagship smartphone from the company. MWC 2020 kicks off on 24th February 2020, so we can expect to see more details regarding the device on the second day.
Xiaomi has gone to Weibo with their latest teaser hinting that the Mi MIX Alpha is going on sale soon after months of waiting. It’s been a long time coming, and the device was even originally slated to go on sale in December. It’s still one of the most interesting and unique devices around, even months after its original announcement.
The Xiaomi Mi MIX Alpha is the world’s first smartphone with a curved display that wraps around almost the entire device. Except for the tiny vertical strip that houses the camera at the back, the display surrounds the entire smartphone, including the sides and the back.
This is a single display panel of 7.92-inch that wraps around the entire body bringing the screen to body ratio to a staggering 180.6%! This is made possible also because of the extremely narrow 2.15mm bezels on the top and the bottom.
The device is confirmed to be powered by the Snapdragon 855+ processor with 5G dual SIM support. There will be at least one version with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS 3.0 storage. The battery isn’t very large at 4,050mAh but it does support 40W fast charging just like the Mi 9 Pro 5G.
With features like wraparound display, the 108MP primary camera sensor and the monstrously powerful specs, the smartphone was always going to carry a higher price tag. The Mi MIX 4 has been announced for a price of 19,999 Yuan, which roughly converts to $2,814. The question is, will there be a market for an experimental device like this?
In a recent interview, CEO of OnePlus Pete Lau talked about the development of OnePlus as a brand, their product vision and how they design their devices. We get some pretty interesting insight into the CEO’s views on his own company, as well as their principles and philosophies when it comes to their future products.
According to Pete Lau, OnePlus carries over all their best features to their next devices because they add value. “A lot of the differences between high-end mobile phones and ordinary mobile phones are in the details. If you use 90Hz, you can’t go back to 60Hz.” He said that when you buy a $1,000,000 car, the main concern isn’t how powerful the engine is, but rather the details and workmanship.
When asked why OnePlus doesn’t push ads in their OS like other manufacturers, Pete claims that the company makes decisions based on user experience. If an addition doesn’t add anything to the user experience, then the company won’t add it to the device. They also decided to remove the headphone jack from the OnePlus 7T Pro however, so yeah.
The interviewer goes on to ask if this would seriously effect their revenue, Pete Lau claims otherwise. He believes that if a product is well-made, it will naturally make money. “I have no ads, but I can make money by selling my devices a little more expensive.” He also addresses the increasing OnePlus prices, claiming that the company doesn’t strive towards making cheaper devices, but rather devices that represent a good value for money.
Finally, Pete Lau also tells us that the OnePlus TV is set for a China release sometime next year. He had earlier hinted that the company was working hard to launch OnePlus TV in North America, Europe and China regions as soon as partnerships are established with most of the local and regional content providers.
Realme has given Xiaomi a run for their money, matching Redmi’s every move this year. However, the company has bolder plans next year, right from launching a 108MP smartphone to rival the Mi Note 10 Pro and to disrupting the IoT segment.
The brand’s CEO, Madhav Sheth, revealed in an interview with the Mobile Indian that Realme plans to disrupt every segment in the market, just like it did with the Rs. 10000 – Rs. 20000 price segment in India. He added that Realme wants to be a tech lifestyle brand, rather than just a smartphone brand.
“There are a lot of IoT products which we are planning to bring in India. Realme will not be a mobile brand, it will become a tech lifestyle brand,” said Madhav Sheth. “Our philosophy is quite simple. We will introduce IoT products not just for the sake of it, but we will bring such products that help and benefit the users.”
This is exactly what most smartphone companies have been trying to achieve in the past couple of years. Xiaomi, Huawei are the best examples of brands that have expanded into multiple product lineups. Even OPPO and Vivo have diversified their product portfolio this year.
He also added that Realme will be doubling down on its offline strategy, expanding the number of offline stores from around 10,000 right now to 30,000 to 35,000 retail stores by the end of December 2020. Madhav said that Realme has a clear vision with respect to its offline strategy and will not differentiate between offline and online partners.
“We don’t give high margins to retailers as compared to other brands. We give around one-fourth of what other brands are giving but we make sure they get the product on time so that they don’t feel left out,” added Madhav when commenting about the company’s offline strategy.
Realme recently launched its first TWS earbuds in India
Realme is a relatively young brand, starting off its operations just two years back. And, it looks like the company wants a bigger piece of the market in 2020. But the competition is tough, especially in a market like India and it remains to be seen if Realme can continue growing at the same rate as it did in 2019.
The Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020 tech exhibition will be held between Feb. 24 and Feb. 27 in Barcelona, Spain. Many smartphone brands are expected to unleash new flagship phones at the upcoming MWC 2020 event. One of the first companies to confirm its presence at the MWC 2020 is Vivo. The Chinese manufacturer has confirmed that it will be holding its event at the tech trade show on Feb. 23.
The below poster reveals that the Vivo’s event will be held at 5:00 PM CET on Feb. 23 at Nautic Center, Barcelona. The poster has no information on the name of the device(s) that will be unveiled by Vivo at MWC 2020. The big V letter in the background seems to be a hint that it could be unveiling a V-series phone at the event.
Last year, Vivo had unleashed the Vivo APEX concept phone. The said phone was made official with some modifications in June 2018 as Vivo NEX. In January this year, the Chinese manufacturer had announced the Vivo APEX 2019 with all-glass unibody design. Apart from flagship specs, the APEX 2019 did neither featured any buttons nor it had any ports. The original APEX concept phone was never released in the market. Vivo did the same with APEX 2019 concept phone. The device was expected to release as a NEX series device.
The Vivo NEX 3 5G that had debuted as Vivo’s first 5G phone that had gone official in September sported a different front and rear design than the APEX 2019 concept phone. Since the Chinese didn’t release APEX 2019 inspired flagship smartphone with portless design this year, there is a possibility that the Chinese firm may launch a new premium flagship phone at MWC 2020 with a design similar to the APEX 2019.
The big V in the above shown poster suggests that there could be a V-series flagship phone. It remains to be seen whether Vivo announces a NEX-series or a V-series flagship phone. It could be arriving as the first 5G-ready Vivo phone for Europe.
It is too early to comment on what Vivo will be announcing at MWC 2020. There is a possibility that it may unleash a different technology at the event. Hence, it is advisable to wait for further reports to know more about Vivo’s offering at next year’s MWC.
Realme’s first 5G phone was confirmed to meet in January 2020. And tomorrow, we’ll finally get the date for its launch event. However, the teaser has already given us a hint when it could be announced in China.
Realme teaser gives us a glimpse of the date, likely to be January 5. Another reason why we think it’s January 5 is because of the hint given by the Realme CMO Xu Qi Chase a few days back. Back then, his Weibo post had hinted that the Realme X50 launch is 20 days away and the date came to, unsurprisingly, January 5. However, it’s also possible that the date is January 15, which comes on a Tuesday, rather than a Sunday (Jan 5). It’s common for Chinese companies to announce products on Tuesdays, so January 15 is also a possibility.
The Realme X50 will come with dual punch-hole cameras like the Redmi K30 5G. The phone will be the first 5G smartphone from the brand and will be powered by the Snapdragon 765G processor, the same one powering the K30 5G model.
Realme X50 Leaked Render
Realme confirmed recently that the X50 will use an 8mm ultra-large diameter liquid-cooled copper tube, 410 cubic millimeters of ultra-large volume and with the liquid-cooled copper tube heat dissipation 3.0, offering five-dimensional ice-cooled heat dissipation which covers 100 percent of the core heat source. The phone will support dual-channel Wi-Fi and 5G simultaneously, to improve data speeds. Also, the X50 will support NSA and SA dual-mode networks and a wide range of frequency bands for 5G like n1, n41, n78, n79.
Xiaomi had launched the Poco F1 as its first Pocophone smartphone brand last year with the launch of Snapdragon 845 mobile platform powered Poco F2 smartphone. It was one of the most popular phones of 2018 as it arrived with an astonishingly affordable price tag along with flagship specs. Poco fans have been endlessly waiting for the arrival of the Poco F2. Some reports had claimed that the China’s Redmi K20 Pro could be rebranded as Poco F2 in India. However, that did not happen. Other rumors had claimed that Xiaomi may kill the Poco brand and continue to sell cheaper flagship phones under Redmi branding. A fresh tweet from Pocophone Global Head Alvin Tse reveals that the company has no plans to desert the brand and it may launch a new Poco phone in 2020. The tweet has since been taken down.
The above shown tweet sates, “You will hear more from POCO in 2020.” This seems to be a good hint that the Poco F2 will be made official in 2020. Tse did not share any information on the specs of the Poco F2. The tweet does not really tell that the Poco F2 is next year. Xiaomi’s sub-brand will announce something new next year. It could be the much-awaited Poco F2 or some other Poco product.
This year, the Redmi entered the upper mid-range and flagship segment with the launch of Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro smartphones. Since the Redmi K20 series carried pricing that were similar to the launch price of Poco F1, it was difficult to guess how Xiaomi could be pricing the Poco F2. It appears that the Chinese manufacturer decided to postpone the launch of Poco F2 to year 2020.
Redmi has recently launched the Redmi K30 in China. The Dimensity 1000 or Snapdragon 865 powered Redmi K30 Promay break cover by March 2020. The Redmi K20 series had arrived with a notch-less display and a pop-up selfie camera. The Redmi K30 that has gone official in China features a dual punch-hole display. The Redmi K30 Pro may also arrive with a similar design. As far as Poco F2 is concerned, it may sport a notch-less display and a pop-up selfie snapper like the Redmi K20 series. Case renders of the alleged Poco F2 that had appeared few months had suggested that it may appear like the Redmi K20 Pro.
The Poco F2 could be sporting a polycarbonate chassis like the predecessor to keep the cost low. However, it may arrive with some attractive design. It could be featuring an IPS LCD notch-less display and its rear could be equipped with triple cameras. India did not receive the Snapdragon 855+ edition of the Redmi K20 Pro that was unveiled as Redmi K20 Pro Exclusive Edition earlier in China. The Poco F1 had launched as the cheapest SD845 SoC powered phone last year in India Hence, there is a possibility that the Poco F2 could be arriving as the cheapest smartphone driven by the SD855+ SoC. All these are just speculations. It is advisable to wait for further leaks to know more about the Poco F2.
Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy Note 10 Lite smartphone in January 2020. Recent reports have revealed that it has a model number of SM-N770F and it will be equipped with an S Pen stylus. The inclusion of ‘Lite’ in its moniker is a clear hint that it will be arriving as an affordable edition of the original Galaxy Note 10 Lite. Winfuture.de had recently shared the leaked press render of the phablet. A fresh report by the same publication has revealed the entire specifications and new renders of the Note 10 Lite.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite Specifications (Rumored)
The Galaxy Note 10 Lite will be arriving with a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display that offers full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. As it can be seen in the renders, the Lite edition retains the Infinity-O display design like the original Note 10 phone. The display of the phablet that supports HDR produces a pixel density of 391 ppi. The screen of the device is embedded with a fingerprint scanner.
The Exynos 9810 chipset powered the Galaxy S9 series and Galaxy Note 9 smartphones in the year 2018. The same SoC will be fueling the Note 10 Lite that is expected to go official in January 2020. The 10nm SoC offers maximum clocking speeds of 2.7GHz. The Note 10 Lite is expected to arrive with a cheaper price tag than the upcoming Galaxy S10 Lite. One of the major reasons behind it is the inclusion of the Exynos 9810 SoC. The S10 Lite will be arriving with Snapdragon 855 mobile platform.
The Exynos 9810 chipset will be coupled with 6 GB of RAM. The device will offer users with a built-in storage of 128 GB. A microSD card slot will be available onboard for expanding its storage. The One UI 2.0 based Android 10 OS will come preloaded on the device. The phablet will be equipped with a big battery of 4,500mAh capacity. It will arrive with 25W fast charging technology.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite will be equipped with triple cameras housed inside a squarish module along with an LED flash. It will have an f/1.7 aperture 12-megapixel man lens with dual pixel autofocus. It will be coupled with an f/2.4 aperture 12-megapixel telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom support. The third lens will be an f/2.2 aperture 12-megapixel wide-angle lens. The Note 10 Lite will allow users to capture UHD videos at 60fps and it will also arrive with support for super slow-motion video recording. There is no confirmation on whether the smartphone will arrive with OIS. For shooting selfies, the Note 10 Lite will possess a 32-megapixel front camera with f/2.0 aperture.
It was previously believed that the Note 10 Lite will arrive with a Bluetooth 5.1 enabled S Pen. However, the new leak reveals the smartphone will feature S Pen with Bluetooth 5.0 support. NFC, dual-band Wi-Fi and a 3.5mm audio jack will be also available on the phablet. The thickness of the device is 8.7mm and it weighs 198 grams.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite Price and Availability (Rumored)
The Galaxy Note 10 Lite is expected to arrive in Western Europe with a pricing of 609 euros. It is rumored hit the market by Jan. 10. As renders reveal, the Note 10 Lite may arrive in colors like Aura Black, Aura Red and Aura Glowpress.
The Vivo S1 Pro launched more than 7 months ago in China, now it has been reported that the phone will be making its way to India next month.
An exclusive report by 91Mobiles said the phone will be launching in India by mid-January. The info is said to have originated from retail sources.
The Vivo S1 Pro has a 6.39-inch FHD+ display that is devoid of a notch or punch hole thanks to its pop-up selfie camera design. It is powered by the Snapdragon 675 processor and comes with 6GB of RAM and up to 256GB of expandable storage.
The phone has a triple camera setup made up of a 48MP f/1.8 camera, an 8MP ultrawide angle camera, and a 5MP f/2.4 depth sensor. There is a 32MP camera that slides out from the right side of the top frame.
Inside the S1 Pro is a 3700mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging. Sadly, it charges via a MicroUSB port. When the device launched in China, it ran Funtouch OS 9 based on Android. We do not know if the Indian launch will come with the new FuntouchOS 10. Other features of the phone include an in-display fingerprint scanner, FM radio, Bluetooth 5.0, and an audio jack.
The Honor MagicBook 15 was announced last month at the Honor V30 series launch. Depending on the configuration, the 15.6-inch notebook ships with AMD’s Ryzen 5 3500U or Ryzen R7 3700U CPU. Today, Honor announced new variants that are powered by Intel’s 10th Gen CPUs and NVIDIA GPUs.
The Honor MagicBook 15 Intel 10th-Gen version is available in four configurations:
The computer has a 15.6-inch IPS screen with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, 87% screen-to-body ratio, and TUV Rheinland Display Certification. It ships with Windows 10 Home Edition, has NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, a fingerprint scanner buried in the power button, dual-band WiFi, 1 x USB 2.0 port, 1 x USB 3.0 port, 1 x HDMI port, and 1 x USB Type-C port for power. It also has an audio jack that doubles as a microphone jack and a webcam hidden between the function keys.
The Honor MagicBook 15 has a 42Wh lithium-polymer battery with support for 65W fast charging. Honor says the laptop will charge from empty to 70% in 1 hour while a full charge will take 2.5 hours. It will come with Huawei’s 65W USB-C power adapter inside the box.
The notebook is now available for pre-order. If you pay a deposit of between ¥100 to ¥200 (~$14 to ~$28), Honor will ship the computer with a free Honor Bluetooth mouse worth ¥129 (~$18) and a free Honor Minimalist Backpack that sells for ¥119 (~$17).
The Honor MagicBook 15 Intel Edition is expected to begin shipping in January 2020. You can pre-order one on Vmall.com.
It has been almost a month since the Honor V30 and Honor V30 Pro were announced in China and the two 5G phones are already on sale. Today, Honor announced a new color variant for the standard model at an event in China.
The Honor V30 was originally announced in three color variants – Gradient White, Black, and Blue. Starting on Tuesday, the 24th of December, buyers will be able to purchase the phone in a new color variant called Dawn Orange.
The new color variant is the same shade as the Huawei Mate 30 5G’ (and Mate 30 Pro 5G) Vegan Leather Orange but the Honor flagship keeps the glass body of the other colorways.
Honor says the new Dawn Orange variant will be available in two configurations – 6GB RAM + 128GB for ¥3299 (~$470) and 8GB RAM + 128GB for ¥3699 (~$528). It will go on sale on December 24 at 10:08 AM on Vmall, Jingdong (JD.com), Tmall, and Suning.
The Honor V30 has a 6.57-inch 1080 x 2400 LCD display with a punch hole at the top left corner for dual front-facing cameras. It is powered by the Kirin 990 processor and has a Balong 5000 modem for 5G.
The phone comes with a 40MP + 8MP telephoto + 8MP ultrawide triple rear cameras while the front is home to 32MP + 8MP ultrawide front-facing cameras. The telephoto rear cameras has 3x optical zoom and optical image stabilization.
The Honor V30 packs a 4200mAh battery with support for 40W fast charging technology. It has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, NFC, dual-frequency GPS, and dual SIM support. It runs Magic UI 3.0 based on Android 10 out of the box.
Smartphones are ubiquitous, and most of our work happens on these handheld devices, which we carry everywhere. These tiny devices are capable of doing multiple tasks that we don’t even require computers unless our tasks demand high-end hardware. The apps or applications on our smartphones make our life easier by helping as well as saving us more time while performing our work. The type of apps that fall in this category is commonly known as ‘Productivity Apps.’ But the thing is, there are several options, and thus we have compiled a list of ‘Best Productivity Apps’ to help you decide which one to use.
This list contains all sorts of productivity apps like notes, word processors, reminders, and such. So, you do not need to look further for separate apps on the web. Also, all the apps listed below are available for both iOS and Android operating systems. Thus, if you happen to use any of these devices, you do not need to worry.
If you are in the market for a note-taking app, Evernote should be your first choice. Being one of the oldest names in the industry, it has evolved, offering features that work well as intended. Additionally, it is available on all the leading platforms, including Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. However, although free tier is more than enough for lite users, it is recommended to opt for premium plans if you are a professional who depends on periodic notes.
Google Keep is another note app that is quietly different from Evernote. It does not offer the unique cool features that the former one does, but it does the basics right. And the best part, it is entirely free. If you want a simple cross-platform notes app, then Google Keep should be your first option.
Since we are done with notes, the next thing that comes into mind is tasks, and the best app for managing it is Any.do. Just like Evernote, the advanced features require subscription, which now even includes WhatsApp integration. Anyways, the free plan is just excellent for regular users. It is available on all the leading platforms, similar to the previous apps.
Google Tasks is an alternative to Any.do, which is entirely free and works well with Google Assistant on both phones and smart speakers. If you are a power Google services user, then this app must be your cup of tea as it integrates well with Gmail and Google Calendar for a seamless experience.
Microsoft Office suite of apps has been the de facto of productive software like a word processor – Word, spreadsheet – Excel, presentation – PowerPoint, and more since their introduction in the 90s. As time went by, they are now also available on our smartphones and all the basic things are free to use, unlike their Windows and macOS counterparts. But certain advanced features desired by professionals does require a subscription.
Slack is a replacement for an email in order to converse with your colleagues and teammates in a casual chat manner. It also supports the integration of various other popular productivity apps so that you can easily share those attachments without any hassle. Slack Subscription plans include three tiers – Standard, Plus, and Enterprise Grid. There is also a free tier with limited features.
Trello is simply a digital version of a bulletin board app that allows users to drag and drop tasks, to-do lists, reminders, documents, and similar things with support for integrations from other apps and services. These boards can be further shared with multiple other users working on the same project or likewise. It is free to use with limited features, but for all functionalities, you will have to opt for a subscription-based on your requirements.
IFTTT is a must-have app that helps you save lots of time by automating tasks by using appropriate ‘applets.’ It integrates with multiple services, apps, and devices, depending on tasks that are carried out by enabling available applets or creating one by yourself. It is free to use, but the app also offers two different subscription plans as Developer and Business, respectively.
These are some best apps that can save time and automate some tasks to enhance overall productivity. If you have any recommendations, then let us know about it via the comments below.
When the new year begins, Realme is expected to announce the Realme X50 in China, its first 5G smartphone which will come with a Snapdragon 765G processor. However, that may not be the only new device we will be getting.
It has been reported that Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has certified two new Realme phones. These two phones are the Realme C3 and Realme 5i.
The info was shared on Twitter by Sudhanshu Ambhore (@Sudhanshu1414). He included screenshots of the certificates and they reveal the Realme C3 has model number RMX1941 while the Realme 5i has model number RMX2030.
The Realme C3 will be the successor of the Realme C2 that was launched in May of this year. We don’t know what features it will bring but they might be slight changes to what the Realme C2 currently offers.
The Realme 5i, on the other hand, might be a version of the Realme 5 with fewer features since the Realme 5s is a slightly upgraded version of the Realme 5.
Both phones will likely still run ColorOS 6 based on Android Pie out of the box if they will be launching at the beginning of the coming year. However, an update to ColorOS 7 should come later.
The Realme X2 Pro is Realme’s first flagship phone. It already launched in China before launching in India last month. The phone is available in two configurations – 8GB RAM + 128GB and 12GB RAM + 256GB in the country. On Friday, Realme‘s CEO announced that a 6GB RAM + 64GB version will soon be available.
The 6GB RAM + 64GB version is actually sold in China but unlike the other two versions, its storage is UFS 2.1 and not UFS 3.0. We have no idea what the price will be in India but it sells for ¥2699 (~$385) on Realme’s online store in China. It is important to mention that there is also an 8GB RAM + 256GB version sold in China that is not sold in India.
Design is what #realme is always good at. Time to reveal the 'Master' surprises:
Introducing #realmeX2Pro: 🎁Concrete & Red Brick Master editions. 🎁6+64GB variant also coming soon.
Madhav Sheth also revealed in the tweet that the Realme X2 Pro Concrete and Red Brick Master Editions will go on sale on December 24 at 8:55 PM (local time) on Realme.com and Flipkart.
The Realme X2 Pro has a 6.5-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a notch and a 90Hz refresh rate. It is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855+ processor. There is a 16MP camera in front for selfies while the rear is home to a 64MP quad-camera setup. The other rear sensors are a 13MP telephoto camera with 20X hybrid zoom, an 8MP ultrawide angle camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. The phone has a Super Night Scene mode, EIS, and can record slow-motion videos at 960fps.
Realme has included NFC, dual-frequency GPS, dual SIM support, and an audio jack. There is a 4000mAh battery under the hood with support for 50W SuperVOOC Flash Charge. It also supports USB Power Delivery and Qualcomm’s 18W fast charge technology.
We have seen a huge amount of revolutionary and amazing smartphones in 2019, but obviously not every amazing phone succeeded. 2019 was the year of foldable phones and 5G, but a lot of companies also launched awesome flagship killers and devices with an incredibly high value for money. Some of these devices are simply awesome and they deserved a lot of success, but it seems that just a small number of people realized their awesomeness and they turned out to be flops. Through this post, we tried to make some justice and we collected all the devices we consider the most underrated smartphones of 2019. If you are looking for a new device, we think you should definitely give a chance to one of the handsets in this list.
Top underrated smartphones of the year
Lenovo Z6
We think Lenovo Z6 is definitely the most underrated affordable smartphone of 2019. If you do not agree, tell us one single phone offering the power of the Snapdragon 730 chipset for less than 200 bucks. The Lenovo Z6 is also equipped with an amazing display: an OLED panel with a 120 Hz sampling rate (but 60Hz refresh rate) just like the iPhone Xs. Further, it has support for HDR10 and it even provides a high DCI P3 coverage.
Also, the Lenovo Z6 seems to be the most lightweight device packing a 4000 mAh battery: weighing just 159 grams! Last but not least, it features a triple camera with 2x optical zoom.
Asus Zenfone 6 is the world’s first smartphone with dual flip-up rear cameras allowing the special dual-camera setup found on this device to be used both as rear cameras and front cameras. But this is not the only revolution: you can actually regulate the position of the cameras so that you can set them at any angle between 0 and 180°. For example, by rotating it by 90 degrees, you can take a photo of the ceiling without moving your smartphone. Let’s not forget that Asus Zenfone 6 also comes with a huge 5000 mAh battery making it one of the best flagships in terms of battery life. The phone even supports reverse charging so that you can use it as a power bank. Other impressive features are its notch-less display, stereo speakers, Snapdragon 855 chipset, and revamped ZenUI which is now close to stock Android. ASUS also promised it will get updated to Android 11.
This year Meizu released an amazing flagship killer but no one seems to have noticed it. We are talking about the Meizu 16T. It comes with a powerful Snapdragon 855 chipset and UFS 3.0 internal storage, as well as a big 4500 mAh battery, but its listing price starts from less than $350 (and let’s not talk about street prices)! Usually, at that price, you can only find mid-rangers with Snapdragon 7xx series processors. You even get stereo speakers and a notch-less AMOLED display with very narrow bezels. Unfortunately, it is only sold in China.
The Xiaomi Mi 9T (also known as Redmi K20 in the Asian market) was literally overshadowed by its Pro version: Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro aka Redmi K20 Pro. That is why a lot of people ignored it. But it is very hard to find a so balanced mid-ranger at its price. First of all, it has a very nice hardware department (Snapdragon 730 and at least 6 GB of RAM) and a big 4000 mAh battery. It even packs pretty interesting cameras including a telephoto sensor. Further, it has an innovative design thanks to a notch-less display and a pop-up camera. And thanks to online street prices, it is even available for less than €250 globally.
Let’s go back to underrated flagship smartphones with the LG G8X ThinQ. It does not have any weak point and its price is also very interesting, yet it did not succeed. You can even get it with an accessory bringing an additional display, so it can be even considered an affordable alternative to foldable phones. Just like most of the LG phones, it has military certification and it is even waterproof. It offers top-notch performance thanks to the Snapdragon 855 chipset and UFS 2.1 storage. It has a big 4000 mAh battery with wireless charging and even a great rear camera with OIS. Yet there was never a lot of hype around it?
The U.S. ban changed a lot of things for Huawei. The company did not even launch the latest flagship series from its sub-brand in the European market. Huawei sales declined after the ban and the same happened to Honor. But the Honor 20 Pro is one of the most compact flagship smartphones and the best Android camera phone under 6.3-inch. It mounts a 48 MP quad camera with OIS, 3x optical zoom and a dedicated macro lens. Despite its small dimensions, it packs a 4000 mAh battery and it even has a flagship-class hardware department with the Kirin 980 chipset. The punch-hole display makes it even more attractive.
The potentialities of a dual display are huge, but it seems most people do not think the same, given the small resonance of the Nubia Z20. The device is equipped with two displays: a traditional panel on the front and a smaller OLED panel on the back. Thanks to the secondary display it is easier to use the smartphone with one hand, you can save battery due to the lower resolution and you can even use the rear cameras as selfie cameras. Indeed, this device does not even pack a front camera in order to provide a truly full-screen experience. But it was incredibly nice rear cameras with a 48 MP main sensor (with OIS!), a telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom and a 16 MP ultrawide sensor. Its affordable price, the Snapdragon 855+ SoC and its big battery are contributing to making its value for money incredible, yet the public did not seem to appreciate it that much.
The Motorola Razr launched last month as the first smartphone with a vertically folding display but it is yet to go on sale. The $1499 phone was originally scheduled to be available for preorder on December 26 and begin shipping to users on January 9. Unfortunately, that will not be happening.
Motorola has put out a statement just a few days before the pre-order begins that it is adjusting the presale and launch timing. It cited the high demand for the device as the reason which it said: “has quickly outgrown supply predictions”.
Motorola Razr
No new date has been announced yet but Motorola said in the press statement that they “do not anticipate a significant shift from our original availability timeline”.
While we do not want to doubt the company’s reason for postponing the device, having enough stock so everyone can get a unit when they want to purchase one is important. For a high profile device, we certainly do not expect Motorola to run a flash sale as is the tradition of some manufacturers such as Xiaomi.
The Motorola Razr has a 6.2-inch Flex View P-OLED display with a 21:9 aspect ratio and a notch for a 5MP selfie camera. When folded, there is a smaller 2.69-inch 800 x 600display on the back that displays notifications and caller IDs.
Inside the Razr is a Snapdragon 710 processor with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Due to its design, the Razr packs a measly 2510mAh battery capacity but has support for 15W TurboPower fast charge. There is a 16MP camera on the back of the phone as well as a fingerprint scanner under the Motorola logo.
The Motorola Razr also has NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, and an eSIM. It runs Android 9 Pie though but we hope an Android 10 update is released shortly after it goes on sale because asking for $1499 for a device that doesn’t run the latest version of Android is a bit outrageous.
When it comes to smartphone design, the current trends are notches, punch holes or “full-screen”. For those who adopt the third type of design, they usually go with a slider design as is the case with the Mi MIX 3; pop-up selfie camera just like the OnePlus 7 Pro, or flip cameras like that of the ASUS Zenfone 6. Other than ASUS, another manufacturer that adopted the flip camera design this year is Samsung with its Galaxy A80, though the phone uses a combination of a slide mechanism and a flip mechanism. A recently published patent has revealed Huawei may also adopt the flip camera design for a future device.
According to a report by LetsGoDigital, Huawei filed a patent for a device with a flip camera design similar to that of the Zenfone 6 on January 9, 2019. The patent was then published by the World Intellectual Property Office on December 17, 2019.
While the design is similar to that of the Zenfone 6′, Huawei’s own has three cameras instead of two. The triple camera setup will be able to flip 180° to double as the front-facing cameras. If the setup includes an ultrawide angle camera, owners will be able to take wide-angle selfies.
Last month, it was reported that Huawei may adopt a flip camera design for the P Smart Z 2020. The P Smart Z that was announced this year has a pop-up selfie camera, so a switch to flip cameras for its successor makes sense.
If the P Smart Z 2020 launches next year with flip cameras, it won’t be Huawei’s first device to adopt the design. That record is held by the 2015 Huawei Shot X which is also known as the Honor 7i.
Samsung announced the Galaxy Buds this year along with the Galaxy S10 series. And those who pre-ordered any of the Galaxy S10 phones got a free pair of Galaxy Buds along with their order. It appears we will be getting a successor next year called the Galaxy Buds+ but it won’t look different from the original.
Images of the Galaxy Buds+ were found in the latest version of the Samsung SmartThings app by the folks at XDA Developers. The version number of the new app is 1.7.41-25 and a breakdown of the app revealed animations for a product called “budsplus”.
The animations show the earbuds in a white case identical to that of the Galaxy Buds, confirming that the design of the Galaxy Buds+ will remain unchanged. Other than the animations, no other info about the buds were revealed. Hopefully, more details will surface when it begins shipping to retailers.
Prior to this discovery, Evan Blass as well as the tech blog, SamMobile have reported there will be a new pair of wireless earbuds from Samsung. The Galaxy Buds+ should launch alongside the Galaxy S11 series next year but we can’t say if Samsung will once again include it as a free gift along with pre-orders.
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