Vivo U20 hands-on images and official promo videos released

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Nov 18, 2019

Recently, a design sketch for the upcoming Honor Magic 2 smartwatch was leaked online having a 46mm diameter for the circular dial. Now, the real life image of the smartwatch in question has been leaked online.

On seeing the leaked image of the Honor Magic Watch 2, the design of the smartwatch seems very similar to its predecessor. The letters on the upper-right corner of the dial have been changed from Red to White and the boot logo on the device seems to have been replaced by the Honor brand logo.

So, in terms of design, nothing major seems to be in store. As per the reports, along with the support for touchscreen display, the company is expected to come with a new control system for the smartwatch but details about that remains unknown.

We expect the Honor Magic Watch 2 to come powered by Kirin A1 processor which should help the company offer better performance and more stable Bluetooth connection. Currently, nothing is known about the specifications of this smartwatch.

While the launch date of this device is not yet known, we expect the Honor Magic 2 smartwatch to get launched in China along with the Honor V30 and V30 Pro flagship smartphone later this month.

The original Honor Watch Magic comes with a 1.2-inch HD AMOLED display with 390 x 390 pixels screen resolution which offers 326ppi pixel density. Under the hood, the device is powered by ARM M4 chipset, coupled with 16MB RAM and 128GB internal storage.

It supports GPS, GLONASS, and GALILEO for precise positioning and also comes with Bluetooth 4.2, 5ATM Water-resistant up to 50 meters, NFC for Huawei Pay and a 178mAh battery which is claimed to offer up to 7 days worth of battery life.

As for the features, it comes with Huawei’s TruSeen 3.0 technology for continuous heart rate monitoring. Also, with Huawei’s TruRelax technology and support from the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the watch provides 24-hour blood pressure monitoring and will suggest breathing exercises with real-time feedback.

(Via)

US govt. may announce 90-day trade relief for Huawei

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Nov 18, 2019

The US plans to issue a 90-day trade license extension to Chinese electronics giant Huawei today (Nov. 18), allowing it to continue operating its business with American companies. Reuters’ report on Friday said an initial two-week extension was expected since a longer allowance was getting delayed due to regulatory hurdles. However, a new report by the New York Times, anonymous sources said the confirmation for the 90-day extension reportedly came over the weekend.

The US Government added Huawei to its economic blacklist back in May, citing concerns for a breach in national security. However, the US Department of Commerce allowed Huawei to continue purchasing American-made goods back in August, and the deadline ends on Nov. 18. The extension is yet to be officially announced while Huawei and the US Commerce Department declined to comment on the rumors.

The official statement for allowing Huawei to continue running its business with American companies is to help rural carriers stay in business. Most smaller companies use equipment from Huawei and ZTE to keep the costs down. The government does not want to put pressure on these smaller operators that are already struggling to offer seamless connectivity in rural areas. Wilbur Ross, the Commerce Secretary released a statement to Fox Business Network on Friday claiming some rural carriers rely on Huawei for 3G and 4G connectivity. Putting a permanent ban on Huawei will disrupt telephone services in rural America.

Editor’s Pick: Huawei’s Razr-style flip foldable patent design is Fresh & Minimalistic

The development comes at a time when the trade war between America and China is nearing its first anniversary. It is no secret that the US Government plans to prolong Huawei’s ordeal as it is a huge bargaining chip in its trade war with China. Although Huawei is not an official part of the negotiations, The US Government is expected to keep its clutches on the company, at least till Phase 1 of the negotiations is through.

US Attorney General William Barr in a statement last week said, “ZTE and Huawei cannot be trusted” as he backed a proposal barring US wireless operators from using an $8.5 billion government fund to purchase services or equipment from the Chinese duo. President Donald Trump had signed an executive order back in May, barring US companies from purchasing telecommunications equipment from companies that pose a threat to its national security. The US Department of Commerce was instructed to come up with an enforcement plan by mid-October, but that is yet to be published.

The Commerce Department is also considering over 200 requests to grant individual licenses to US companies allowing them to sell components to Huawei. No action on that regard is expected on Monday.

Top 5 smartphone brands in Indonesia conquer 84% market share during Q3 2019

By

Airyl Jaszly

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Nov 18, 2019

Indonesia is a highly competitive market for smartphones right now. Thanks to the popularity of e-commerce sites like JD and Lazada, companies have been able to expand their reach throughout the country. This has led to Chinese brands growing rapidly, outpacing local companies and quickly closing in on Samsung‘s number 1 spot.

According to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service, Indonesia’s smartphone shipments grew 7% annually during in Q3 2019. Research Analyst Parv Sharma says “Chinese brands hold four out of the top five positions with 65% market share by volume. This is the highest ever share by Chinese brands in Indonesia, pushing local brands to mere single digit share.”

They continue, “in terms of brands, Xiaomi is maintaining the second position in the market and is reducing the gap to Samsung’s first position. Xiaomi has locally produced 10 million smartphones with a focus on both the online and offline channels. It has invested in creating 40 authorized Mi stores. Indonesia is one of the key markets responsible for Xiaomi’s global growth.”

Adding further Sharma said, “Realme has also shown impressive growth since its launch. Aggressive online channel marketing with competitive product pricing and features is the key reason for its success.” It’s really quite the impressive feat, especially considering that Realme had no presence within the country until recently.

Whether one of these companies will manage to dethrone Samsung remains to be seen, but it’s not unlikely. Indonesia, like many other South East Asian countries, places a big emphasis on high value devices. We’ll have to wait for Q4 2019 to find out.

Vivo S1 Pro launch dates for Philippines and Indonesia confirmed

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Nov 18, 2019

Vivo has been aggressively teasing on the arrival of the Vivo S1 Pro in the Southeast Asian markets. Its key specs have been already revealed by Vivo Indonesia were revealed over the weekend. Vivo Philippines has confirmed that the Vivo S1 Pro will be debuting in the country on Nov. 20. Vivo Indonesia has also revealed that it will be announcing the smartphone on Nov. 25.

IT'S A GOOD NEWS! 📢#vivoS1Pro will arrive on November 25, 2019! Keep watching and see what a #ClearlyYourStyle is. Visit https://t.co/JOPRZ7606x for more updates. pic.twitter.com/hjgZ8jQiAo

— vivo Indonesia (@vivo_indonesia) November 18, 2019

While Vivo Philippines and Indonesia have confirmed the launch dates for Vivo S1 Pro. Thailand and Malaysia are also expected to receive the S1 Pro before the end of the month. The same phone is poised to debut as Vivo V17 in Russia and India. The smartphone is also coming to China, albeit with a different moniker.

Editor’s Pick: Vivo Y19 debuts in India for Rs. 13,990 (~$195); Specifications, features and price

Vivo S1 Pro Specification and Features

Vivo S1 Pro features a 6.38-inch waterdrop notch enabled S-AMOLED display that delivers full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. It offers 19.5:9 aspect ratio and is integrated with an in-display fingerprint reader. The smartphone offers a screen space of 90 percent.

The Snapdragon 665 mobile platform is present under the hood of the Vivo S1 Pro. The SoC is coupled with 8 GB of RAM. The device includes a native storage of 128 GB and it is equipped with a microSD card slot for more storage. The 4,500mAh battery of the phone has support for 18W dual-engine fast charging through USB-C.

The front notch of the phone features a 32-megapixel selfie camera. On its rear side is a diamond-shaped camera module which is reminiscent of the Vivo S5 smartphone that has recently gone official in China. The arrangement of the camera sensors on the Vivo S1 Pro is different from that of Vivo S5. The S1 Pro’s camera module has an AI quad camera system with a 48-megapixel Samsung GM1 sensor and a 120-degree wide-angle lens. Glowing Black and Crystal Blue are the two color editions.

Vivo Indonesia has started blind pre-orders of the Vivo S1 Pro smartphone that will continue until Nov. 24. On Nov. 25, the smartphone will go official in the country. The device will be arriving as the advanced edition of the Helio P65 powered Vivo S1 phone that was unveiled earlier in the Southeast Asian markets. As of this writing, there is no word on the pricing of the S1 Pro for these markets.

Xiaomi eBook Reader goes on crowdfunding from November 20 for 579 yuan ($83)

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Nov 18, 2019

Xiaomi, which has expanded its presence far beyond the smartphone category, is now coming up with yet another new category of product — eBook reader. The company has confirmed that it will be launching Xiaomi eBook Reader on 20th November, taking on the popular Amazon Kindle.

The Xiaomi eBook Reader will be up for crowdfunding in the Chinese market from 20th November and can be pre-booked for a price of 579 Yuan, which roughly converts to $83. However, when the device goes on sale, it will be priced at 599 Yuan, roughly $85.

The device comes with an ink-screen which the company claims can offer a pixel density of 212 PPI. Thanks to the display type used in this product, it will offer an anti-glare experience, so you can comfortable read your book even under direct sunlight without facing any issues.

It also has built-in LED reading light which supports 24 stages of dimming, making sure that you have a suitable brightness while reading your books regardless of where you are — indoor or outdoor.

Internally, the Xiaomi eBook Reader comes powered by an Allwinner quad-core processor which is clocked at 1.8GHz, which is coupled with 1GB of RAM and comes with 16GB of internal storage.

The device runs Android 8.1 Oreo operating system and supports variety of content, including books, web-based works, as well as high-quality comics. It also supports txt files, EPUB, and PDF among other file extensions.

Coming to the battery, the eBook reader is powered by an 1,800mAh battery which the company claims can offer standby time of several weeks on a single charge. Xiaomi has included USB Type-C port to make sure that the charging remains easy and convenient. At 178 grams, the device is easy to carry around.

LG patents an expanding phone with a folding display

By

Airyl Jaszly

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Nov 18, 2019

This year we’ve been seeing a lot of foldable phone concepts get thrown around. Samsung and Huawei are leading the pack, with Motorola close behind. LG had a novel concept earlier this year with the LG G8X ThinQ, a device that used a second display simulate a folding phone. Now however it seems like LG wants to join the race proper.

LG’s patent takes a markedly different approach to the whole folding phone concept in that the phone itself doesn’t seem to fold. Instead the company has made what is essentially a phone with an expandable display. The phone looks generally like a standard smartphone, but the display can be extended to both sides, making the display wider. The aspect ratio makes it seem a lot more like an e-reader than a smartphone.

While it’s a very interesting concept, it’s clearly still very early in development. We can assume the extra display tucks into the sides of the housing, but it’s not clear where the cameras, sensors or other essential parts of the smartphone would go on the device. On top of that, we’ve no idea where they would supply parts for such a device.

It’s really quite exciting to see all the possibilities that come with the arrival of flexible displays. We’ve already seen three completely different takes with the Galaxy Fold, Huawei Mate X and Motorola Razr. Now it seems even LG has a completely different take, and it’ll be quite exciting to see how it turns out. We’re hoping to see a prototype at CES, especially considering how the device has allegedly been in the works for quite a while now.

Samsung will outsource a fifth of its smartphone production to Chinese ODMs in 2020: Reuters

By

Joel Joseph

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Nov 18, 2019

Samsung will reportedly outsource nearly a fifth of its smartphone production, coming to around 60 million units, to Chinese ODMs like Wingtech in 2020. This move comes at a time when Samsung is changing its low-end smartphone strategy to compete with existing segment leaders like Xiaomi and Huawei (Honor).

Samsung Galaxy A10s — Galaxy A10s is one of the few ODM smartphones launched by Samsung in 2019

Samsung has traditionally designed and manufactured most of its smartphones in huge factories based in Vietnam. In fact, the company closed its last factory in China this October, giving lucrative severance packages to its employees which included Galaxy S10+ and other models as gifts.

Only around 8% of the total smartphone production was outsourced to ODM companies like Wingtech in 2019. But according to the new Reuters report, this figure is all set to jump to 20% or around 60 million units in 2020. The company has been in talks with ODM makers like Wingtech since last year to shift some of its production to their factories. And it looks like we could see a majority of Samsung’s low-end and mid-range models coming from these ODM makers in the coming months.

Why are Smartphone makers outsourcing their production to ODMs?

ODMs or Original Design Manufacturer designs and makes smartphones (usually budget and mid-range ones) that are then rebranded and sold by other smartphone companies. Samsung’s new production strategy to outsource some of the budget manufacturing to ODMs make sense because of the savings in the cost of production.

Since ODMs are involved in manufacturing smartphones for a lot of brands, they have huge economies of scale advantage. They are able to procure components nearly 10% to 15% cheaper than traditional means, translating into a lower production cost per unit. It should come as no surprise that companies like Huawei, OPPO, and Xiaomi rely on ODMs for their smartphone production.

Is there a Potential downside?

While ODMs provide tremendous cost advantage, there have been questions about quality. Samsung’s low-end and mid-range smartphones, manufactured by these ODMs, wouldn’t directly be controlled for quality by Samsung, unlike in its own factories in Vietnam.

The Reuters report adds that Samsung’s increased orders could give these ODM makers additional experience and knowledge to further improve their competitiveness in the market and lower costs for its other clients like Huawei and Xiaomi.

Samsung Galaxy A6s — Galaxy A6S was Samsung’s first ODM smartphones

Nevertheless, shifting some of the low-end model production to ODMs seems like a necessary move. Even LG is moving its low-end and mid-range smartphone production to ODMs to improve its pricing strategy.

WhatsApp’s critical security bug poses threat from malicious MP4 Files

By

Simranpal Singh

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Nov 18, 2019

From the past few years, WhatsApp has remained the favorite target for hackers and social intruders. The popular messaging service has recorded various data theft issues in the past. It has remained in headlines since recent weeks over the vulnerabilities and data thefts by Israeli spyware firm NSO. The messaging app is once again in the talks as Facebook has issued an official advisory regarding a critical bug posing threat from malicious MP4 files.

Must See: WhatsApp Business gets “Catalogs” feature; WhatsApp Pay may not launch in India

In detail, the MP4 can trigger tag by sending a specially crafted MP4 file. The potential hacker can inject code by parsing the elementary stream metadata of an MP4 file that could result in DoS (Denial-of-service attack) or can even initiate Remote Code Execution. It does not need any authentication to perform the attack remotely. The company has classified the vulnerability as ‘Critical’ due to the severe consequences if someone misuses the loophole.

The critical bug is found on the WhatsApp versions before 2.19.274 on the Android and iOS versions prior to 2.19.100. Similarly, the issue is present on the Enterprise client versions 2.25.3 and older; Windows versions including and prior to 2.18.368; Business for Android version 2.19.104 and older; Business for iOS versions before 2.19.100.

The hackers can inject malware or any explicit code which could have compromised data and essential information of several users. It can even become a backdoor for surveillance purposes. However, the issue was found by the internal team and was not disclosed by any eternal researcher or analyst. But no one knows that someone could have used it to intercept the data. We expect the company to release an immediate update patching the bug. The issue can be tacked under the CVE-2019-11931 code.

Additionally, WhatsApp recently issued grave concerns over Pegasus, a spyware tool to intercept messages developed by Isreal based cyber intelligence company NSO Group. The spyware was used to snoop 1400 individuals throughout the world, especially in India. The targeted accounts were of some journalists and human rights activists. However, Whatsapp replied to the Indian government when they sought an explanation over the issue by saying that “We agree with the government of India’s strong statement about the need to safeguard the privacy of all Indian citizens. That is why we’ve taken this strong action to hold cyber attackers accountable and why WhatsApp is so committed to the protection of all user messages through the product we provide,” a WhatsApp spokesperson had said in a statement.

Related: How to smartly Read/Reply WhatsApp, Telegram messages with Google Assistant

(via)

Honor V30 Pro registrations begin in China

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Nov 18, 2019

On Nov. 26, Honor will be launching the Honor V30 series of flagship phones in China. Ahead of the launch, the Chinese manufacturer has started with the reservations of the Honor V30 series. The official Vmall online store along with other e-commerce sites like Jingdong Mall and Tmall are now receiving the registrations of the Honor V30.

In the past few weeks, plenty of details on the Honor V30 series have appeared, but none of them seem to be very accurate. The series is expected to include Honor V30 and Honor V30 Pro smartphones. It is speculated that there could be a special Honor V30 Aston Martin edition in China. In the Europe, the series could be called Honor Vera 30.

Editor’s Pick: Huawei Mate X being resold at up to 60,000 yuan via third party websites due to lack of supply

The Honor V30 could be a non-5G phone fueled by Kirin 990 chipset whereas the Honor V30 Pro could be the company’s first 5G phone driven by the Kirin 990 5G chipset. The handset will be supporting both standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) 5G modes. The Honor V30 may include a 4,000mAh battery with 40W fast charging. The Pro model may house a 4,200Ah battery along with 40W rapid charging and it also carry support for wireless charging.

The Honor V30 Pro could be coming with dual front-facing cameras housed inside a pill-shaped camera module. On the other side, the Honor V30 could be also featuring a punch-hole display with a single front camera. It remains to be seen whether both phones are equipped with side-mounted fingerprint scanners. The predecessor Honor 20 and 20 Pro phones had featured side-facing fingerprint readers.

As far photography is concerned, the Honor V30 and V30 Pro may feature a rectangle-shaped camera module. The V30 could be fitted three rear-mounted cameras whereas the V30 Pro could be decked with four rear-mounted cameras. Both phones are rumored to be equipped with 60-megapixel main cameras on their rear. The Honor V30 series will come with new “Camera Matrix” algorithm that will make it possible to capture better photography experience.

Hopefully, the Honor V30 and V30 Pro phones will soon appear on TENAA with their full specifications. On Nov. 26, the Chinese is also expected to unleash other products including Kirin 810 powered Honor Tab 6 alongside the V30 series of phones.

Meizu 17th render hides the Front Camera in the status bar

By

Joel Joseph

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Nov 18, 2019

Meizu’s obsession with symmetry has given rise to beautiful smartphone designs like the Meizu 16S Pro featuring slim bezels. However, the company’s pursuit of zero bezels might have reached a new breakthrough. According to a Meizu 17th render shared on Weibo, the phone could have a tiny front camera on the display that hides in plain sight.

The Meizu 16S Pro came with a front-facing camera in the top bezel, making it slightly thick. However, the front camera is placed among the icons in the status bar in this new Meizu 17th render. It looks like a non-intrusive design with the tiny front camera stacking up alongside the network and battery icons on the status bar.

We saw the Vivo S1 feature a very tiny front camera sensor on its display. So, Meizu could use a similar strategy to bring this render to life. Thanks to the new placement of the camera, the bezels on the top as well as the bottom are extremely thin, thereby increasing the screen to body ratio. The render also shows a screen fingerprint solution on the front. There are three cameras at the back with a ring flash below the setup.

I should add that this is most likely a fan-made render of the Meizu 17th. We have already seen another render with a totally different design (it had a curved display).

Also, if you remember, we had seen ZTE patent a very similar design for a smartphone. The punch hole camera was hidden between the network icons. You can read more about it here.

(Source: Weibo, Via)

Huawei Mate X being resold at up to 60,000 yuan via third party websites due to lack of supply

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Nov 18, 2019

After months of delays, Chinese tech giant Huawei finally started selling its much-anticipated Huawei Mate X foldable smartphone in its home market last week. It was reported that all the units of the device were sold out in less than a minute.

Now, it has been confirmed that the next sale of the smartphone will take place on 22nd November. However, the smartphone is already available for purchase in the Chinese market, but not through official channels.

As per the report, the Huawei Mate X 5G is available for purchase in China through third-party websites. However, the cost of the device through these channels is substantially high. While the official pricing starts at 16,999 Yuan (~$2,420), the third-party sellers are charging as much as 60,000 Yuan (~$8,557) for the same device. The reason for such high pricing is being attributed to the lack of supply of the smartphone from the company.

The Huawei Mate X foldable smartphone was first showcased by the company during Mobile World Congress 2019 in February this year. According to Yan Zhanmeng, Research Director of Counterpoint Research, the company will manage to sell more than 100,000 units of the Huawei Mate X smartphone.

The smartphone features a large 8-inch screen with a 2480 x 2200 pixels screen resolution and an 8:7.1 aspect ratio when unfolded with pretty thin bezels. When folded, it transforms into a dual-display phone – one side is a 6.6-inch (2480 x 1148 pixels) 19.5:9 display while the other is a 6.38-inch (2480 x 892 pixels) 25:9 display.

It comes packed with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. It has dual SIM support (nano only) but only SIM 1 supports 5G. You can also swap out the second SIM card for Huawei’s NM card up to 256GB. The device also comes with the 7nm Balong 5000 modem which brings 5G support to the device.

The phone runs the EMUI 9.1.1 custom interface, which is based on Android 9 Pie operating system out-of-the-box. As for the connectivity options, the device supports NFC, dual-frequency GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, and USB Type-C port.

The device has two built-in batteries, which offers a total capacity of 4,500mAh. Huawei has also debuted its new SupercCharge fast charging technology which supports up to 55W. The company claims that the new SuperCharge allows users to charge the device from empty to 85 percent in just 30 minutes.

Redmi Note 8 Pro Snapdragon 730G edition does not exist, reveals Lu Weibing

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Nov 18, 2019

Recently, a Xiaomi phone with model numbers M1912G7GBE/C was certified by the 3C authority of China. A leakster had claimed that it is an upgraded version of the Redmi Note 8 Pro featuring the Snapdragon 730G chipset. Redmi General Manager Lu Weibing has debunked the rumors by giving a negative response on its existence.

As it can be seen in the below shown screenshot, a Weibo user asked whether an advanced version of the Redmi Note 8 Pro featuring Snapdragon 730G, 27W fast charging and in-display fingerprint reader exist. Lu Weibing replied by saying no.

So, the identity of the M1912G7GBE/C remains a mystery. It seems to be a high-end phone since the 3C certification revealed that it could be shipped with a 27W fast charger. In addition, there is another upcoming 5G phone that has a model number of M1911U2E. The device has only bagged approval from the National Radio Authority in China through which it was confirmed that it is a 5G device. It is yet to receive 3C certification. Since it is a 5G phone, it is being speculated that it could be the upcoming Redmi K30 5G phone. However, it is advisable to wait for newer reports before confirming on it.

Editor’s Pick: Lenovo Z6 Pro 5G on sale for 3,299 Yuan ($471), making it the cheapest 5G model in China

Speaking of Redmi K30 series, many reports have claimed that it may debut before the end of 2019. However, Weibing confirmed last week that the Redmi K30 series will break cover next year. The series is expected to arrive with 5G support.

Qualcomm and MediaTek are both going to announce flagship and mid-range 5G chipsets in the coming weeks. The US based chip maker is reportedly working on SM7250 that is believed to be the Snapdragon 735 5G SoC and Snapdragon 865 flagship chipset. On the other side, the MT6885 MediaTek SoC could be for flagship chipset whereas the MT6873 could be its mid-range 5G SoC. MediaTek is expected to unveil both at its upcoming Nov. 26 event whereas the SD865 is expected to go official at the Snapdragon Tech Summit at the beginning of the coming month. The Redmi K30 and K30 Pro smartphones are expected to feature any of these chipsets. The lineup is expected to support dual-mode 5G and come with a pill-shaped display with two front-facing cameras.

Lenovo Z6 Pro 5G on sale for 3,299 Yuan ($471), making it the cheapest 5G model in China

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Nov 18, 2019

Today, Lenovo has started taking pre-orders for the Lenovo Z6 Pro 5G smartphone on its official website and has revealed that the shipping of the smartphone will being next month, from 12th December.

The smartphone is priced at 3,299 Yuan, roughly $471 for the 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage model. Apart from aggressive pricing, it is also the cheapest 5G smartphone model in the Chinese market.

Lenovo Z6 Pro 5G smartphone supports full 5G Netcom from three major network operators in China and supports 5G./4G dual SIM dual standby. The smartphone features a 6.39-inch Full HD+ screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels.

The notched screen offers an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The display is integrated with a sixth-generation in-display fingerprint reader which even works with wet fingers. Lenovo Z6 Pro’s display is equipped with features like DCI-P3 wide color gamut, HDR10, blue light filter and full-range DC dimming.

Under the hood, the device is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 octa-core chipset, which is coupled with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. On the front side, the device comes with a 32-megapixel AI powered selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture.

There’s AI Hyper Video quad camera setup on the back that consists of a 48-megapixel primary sensor with f/1.8 aperture, a 16-megapixel super wide-angle lens with 125-degree field-of-view, an 8-megapixel telephoto lens with f/2.4 aperture and a 2-megapixel super video camera with f/1.8 aperture, 2.9micron pixel size and 6-axis OIS.

The smartphone comes with L1 + L5 dual-frequency GPS technology for accurate location tracking. Connectivity options on the device include dual-SIM support, 5G, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, and 3.5mm headphone jack.

It runs Android 9 Pie operating system out-of-the-box with the company’s own ZUI custom user interface on top. It is also optimized for better gaming experience and comes with features like Game Turbo game acceleration. There’s also Coldfront liquid cooling technology regulates the internal temperature of the device. The device is powered by a 4,000mAh battery with support for 27W fast charging through USB-C port.

ColorOS 7 teaser video showcases some of its key features

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Nov 18, 2019

Oppo has already revealed that the company will be hosting a press event on 20th November at the Minsheng Modern Art Museum in Beijing where it will launch the next-generation ColorOS 7 custom operating system.

Ahead of the official announcement, the company has released a couple of teaser videos which reveals some of the features of the upcoming ColorOS 7 Android skin.

The company will be introducing a Focus Mode which will help the user better their sleep pattern and make sure they are not disturbed during the sleep time. Previously, the company had hinted at video editing feature named “Soloop Recording” with an AI-based one-button video editing.

Further, the ColorOS 7 operating system will be better optimized for gaming as the company is all set to introduce new game acceleration features. It is said to offer great gaming experience without degrading the picture quality, frame rate and resolution.

The upcoming custom user interface from Oppo will also be designed in such a way that the UI will be more optimized and will offer comfort and efficiency to the users. To more about the features coming with the ColorOS 7, we’ll have to wait for the official launch event in China on 20th November.

We also expect the company reveal the roadmap for this new update as well as the list of compatible smartphones at the launch event. There will also be an exclusive customized edition of the ColorOS 7 for Realme smartphones, as confirmed by the Realme CEO Madhav Sheth. However, nothing much is known about it at this time, but it is expected to be closer to stock Android UI, similar to OxygenOS from OnePlus.

Poll of The Week: Dual Screens or Flexible Foldable Displays?

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Nov 17, 2019

This year, we have come full circle with foldable displays. Huawei’s Mate X is an example of an outward folding device while Samsung’s Galaxy Fold is the poster child for the inward foldable device. Motorola’s spanking new Razr (2019) is actually an inward folding phone but it stands out as the first with a vertical folding design.

New Galaxy FOld Featured — The New Galaxy Fold With Slight Design Changes

Next year will bring more foldable phones but it will also bring dual-display devices such as the Microsoft Surface Duo which is scheduled to be available in time for the holidays next year and possibly, another LG flagship with support for LG Dual Screen. We also expect more manufacturers including Samsung may jump on the dual-screen train too.

Both designs have the same goal – more screen estate in a smaller form factor but with different approaches. For this week’s poll, we want to know which one you prefer – phones with dual-screens or phones with a flexible foldable display?

[yop_poll id=13]

TCL WQ Gaming Tablet Display with 240Hz refresh rate and punch-hole leaks

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Nov 17, 2019

The Huawei MatePad Pro is scheduled to launch on November 25, and when it does, it should be the first tablet with a punch-hole display. However, it definitely won’t be the last as more manufacturers will surely adopt a similar design. A new leak has revealed we may not only be getting more tablets with a punch-hole display but even one with a super impressive 240Hz refresh rate.

Chinese blogger and leakster @Digital Chat Station shared photos on Weibo of a display made by TCL Display Technology. The display which is called the WQ Gaming Tablet Display is 10.8-inches in size and has a 2560 x 1600 resolution (280 PPI). The screen has a brightness level of 500 nits and a DCI-P3 color gamut.

The spec sheet also reveals the display is 1.5 millimeters thick while the punch hole, located at the top left corner, has a diameter of 3.5 millimeters and a border diameter of 0.6 millimeters. The spec sheet also mentions the display has a GTG (gray-to-gray) response time of 2ms.

The most exciting part of the spec sheet is the screen’s frame rate (refresh rate) of 240Hz. This refresh rate is usually found on gaming monitors but TCL has been able to bring it to a smaller display size and it may show up on a tablet in the near future.

While gaming phones have become popular in the past year, there are only a handful of tablets that qualify to be called gaming tablets, no thanks to tablets declining sales. TCL’s WQ Gaming Tablet Display may help spur the development of gaming tablets with the features it offers.