DXOMARK is a French firm that has been testing smartphone cameras for a considerable amount of time and has earned a reliable reputation. While camera performance plays a crucial role in influencing the decision of smartphone buyer, the company feels that with the surge in audio and video content consumption, the importance of audio quality has greatly increased in recent years.
DXOMARK Audio
Therefore, in order to provide an equally reliable source that rates smartphones based upon their audio performance, the company has now introduced DXOMARK Audio. The company had developed a set of protocols which replicate the manner consumers use their handset to capature and consume audio content. Besides, the benchmarking methodology is design in such a manner that it is easy to repeat and provides a reliable result every time.
Initially, the company has tested 7 different smartphones from 5 brands which include Apple iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy Note 10+, Galaxy S10+, Honor 20 Pro, Huawei Mate 20X and Sony Xperia One. Out of all these handsets, the highest score of 75 points is achieved by the Mate 20 X which is Huawei’s yesteryear’s phablet.
Interestingly, the second spot is held by the iPhone XS Max which is Apple’s flagship from last year while the latest iPhone 11 Pro Max secures number three position. These two handsets have scored 74 and 71 points in respective order. The iPhone duo is followed by Samsung devices, with the Galaxy Note 10+ coming in at number four with 66 points and the Galaxy S10+ coming in at number five with 65 points.
The fifth and sixth postion are held by Honor 20 Pro which scored 53 points while the Sony Xperia 1 only managed to score just 45 points which is significantly lower than the highest scoring device in this list.
The scores shared above were and average of two factors which include Playback and Recording. Their individual scores have been shared below.
With the iPhone 11 Pro Max, Apple has introduced spatial audio and Dolby Atmos, therefore, users might have expected it to outperform its predecessors in the audio department which, as we learned above, is not the case. However, if DXOMARK decides to share a detailed report in the future, we might be able to learn what allowed last year’s iPhone XS Max to outperform is successor in the domain. For now, we know that recording capability of both the handsets is alike with just 1 point differnce but playback is slightly better on the last gen device.
Lastly, if you have been planning to buy the iPhone 11 Pro Max, your decision should remain unaffected even after going through this rating. As difference between the scores is negligible and in terms of real world usage, most users won’t even notice the difference.
At August end, Redmi had launched the Redmi Note 8 series of smartphones in China. Xiaomi fans in India have been eagerly waiting for the arrival of Redmi Note 8 series. At the recent unveiling of Redmi 8 phone in India, the Chinese manufacturer confirmed that the Redmi Note 8 series will break cover in the country on Oct. 16 at 12 PM IST. Now a landing page has appeared on Amazon India which indicates that the e-commerce giant could be the online retailer partner for sales of Redmi Note 8 lineup.
Amazon India will be running the Great Indian Festival between Oct. 13 and Oct. 17. It remains to be seen whether the Redmi Note 8 series will be readily made available for purchase during the upcoming festive sales on the retailer site. Hopefully, the Redmi Note 8 and Note 8 Pro smartphones will both go official in India on Oct. 16.
The landing page of the Redmi Note 8 has a ‘Notify Me’ for registrations. The page reveals that the Redmi Note 8 Pro will offer user with 64-megapixel quad cameras, tall aspect ratio display with selfie notch, large-sized battery and faster performance with gaming capabilities.
Xiaomi India recently sold 3.8 million smartphones during the recent Diwali With Mi sale. With the Redmi Note 8 series arriving just ahead of Diwali festival in the country, it appears that the Redmi Note 8 duo may end up with record breaking sales. Apart from launching the Note 8 series, the Chinese manufacturer will be also unveiling the MIUI 11 UI in India at the same event.
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Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 8 Pro Specifications
The Redmi Note 8v and Note 8 Pro respectively feature IPS LCD panels of 6.3 inches and 6.53 inches. Both waterdrop notch enabled screens offer full HD+ resolution. The front and rear sides of the Redmi Note 8 duo have Gorilla Glass 5 panels. The Android 9 Pie OS runs on both devices. It remains to be seen whether the latest MIUI 11 UI is made available on the Indian editions of Redmi Note 8 and Note 8 Pro.
The Redmi Note 8 is fueled by Snapdragon 665 chipset, up 6 GB of RAM and 4,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging through USB-C. The Redmi Note 8 Pro has gaming centric Helio G90T processor, up to 8 GB of RAM and 4,500mAh battery. Both smartphones come with up to 128 GB of storage and microSD card slot. The Note 8 Pro offers users with UFS 2.1 storage.
The Redmi Note 8 has a 48-megapixel Sony IMX586 quad camera system whereas the Pro phone has 64-megapixel Samsung GW1 quad camera setup. The Note 8 has a 13-megapixel selfie snapper while the Note 8 Pro features a 20-megapixel selfie shooter. The Redmi Note 8 duo are equipped with rear-mounted fingerprint scanners.
In China, the Redmi Note 8 is priced between 999 Yuan (~$140; Rs. 9,999) and 1,399 Yuan (~$197; Rs. 13,999) The Redmi Note 8 Pro is available in the home market between 1,399 Yuan (~$197; Rs. 13,999) and 1,799 Yuan (~$253; Rs. 17,999). These phones may carry similar pricing in India.
Gizmochina along with Banggood is conducting 1 unit Xiaomi Deerma DEM-F628 5L Air Humidifier as giveaway gift to a lucky reader. Like always, you just have to follow the steps mentioned on the Gleam widget to get a chance to win this amazing gift.
The Xiaomi Deerma DEM-F682 5L Air Humidifier has wide and flat venting port sending the water mist to the high places in the room, which can avoid wetting the table. The curved mist exit is very beautiful, and the water mist is transported outward. It is very convenient to adjust the amount of mist in the humidifier with a single twist. The humidifier that delivers even and far fog is suitable for 25-30m2 space. The turbine air supply unit is equipped with a straight mist outlet. The humidification range is expanded to evenly moisturize the corner of the home. With 5L large capacity, the Deerma DEM-F682 Air Humidifier can continue to humidify for a whole day, and no need to add water frequently.
You can click here to get more information about the Xiaomi Deerma DEM-F682 5L Air Humidifier.
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Just follow the steps mentioned in the Gleam widget to participate in the giveaway.
We have heard plenty of reports that Samsung is working on a new design for a folding smartphone. We’ve seen patents and renders in the past, and now we’re seeing leaked posters pop-up online. The poster is for the a device called the Samsung Galaxy W20 5G for the carrier China Telecom and, as the name suggests, will be 5G capable.
The poster, revealing the new name, appeared at an expo in China and is interesting for several reasons. First off, the Galaxy W-series is usually launched in the fall, with the W2019 arriving in November with Snapdragon 845 chipset. Although we don’t know the specs of the device, logically we can expect a Snapdragon 855+ here.
What we’re more interested in seeing however is how much exactly the device will cost. The Galaxy Fold was already expensive, and the W-series devices have also always held a premiun price tag. The W2019 was launched at CNY8,999, which is above $1,200, and that’s the base price without any golden ornaments. It’s fully capable for the Galaxy W20 5G to go above CNY9,999, especially considering its 5G connectivity capabilities.
Samsung said when the Galaxy Fold released that the future of their foldable phone division depended on the sales of the Galaxy Fold devices. If it sells well, Samsung would continue down its foldable phone path.However, the existence of the poster at a renowned Chinese conference suggests that the company has already made up its mind.
Chinese conglomerate, Xiaomi has an ever-expanding portfolio of products that ranges from smartphones, to personal mobility vehicles, to home appliances. Earlier today the company has launched four new refrigerators under its Mijia brand in its home country, China. As seen with other offerings from Xiaomi in the past, the newly launched refrigerators carry an aggressive price tag. In terms of storage capacity, the smallest model has a capacity of 160 litres while the largest model has a capacity of 486 litres.
Out of 4 models, the two most affordable models have a traditional design with 2 doors and 3 doors, and are designed for people who live alone or have a family of two members. On the other hand, the two high-end models have a side-by-side design and are designed for large families. Out of these models, one has 2 large doors that resemble and almirah whereas the other model with 486 litres of storage with four doors.
The price for different variants based upon their storage capacity is listed below:
All four refrigerators from Xiaomi Mijia have tempered glass shelves and LED lights for illuminating the storage area when the door is in open position. Besides, they are capable of working under a varied range of power which will safeguard their crucial components in the event of voltage fluctuation.
The two high-end models also have a display panel mounted on the door front which can be used to monitor the temperature of different sections or regulate settings. Moreover, these variants also support Xiao AI voice-guided commands.
To lure in customers, Xiaomi will offer a warranty of 3 years/36 months to buyers who order these refrigerators in the first sale which is scheduled for 10 PM on the 15th of October.
Users interested in checking out Xiaomi’s product page for these refrigerators can do so by clicking here.
HMD Global, the Finnish company behind the Nokia-branded smartphones, had launched the Nokia 6.2 and Nokia 7.2 smartphones at IFA 2019 last month. While the Nokia 7.2 made its way to India soon after its official debut, the company has today launched the Nokia 6.2 in the Indian market.
The smartphone comes with a 6.3-inch Full HD+ PureDisplay which packs a dedicated PixelWorks display processor that converts SDR to HDR. The display has a waterdrop notch on top and the panel is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass 3.
Under the hood, the device is powered by Snapdragon 636 octa-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz. While the phone was launched in two variants — 3GB RAM and 4GB RAM, only 4GB RAM model has been launched in India. It packs 64GB of internal storage and comes with a microSD card slot for expanding the storage capacity up to 512 GB.
In the camera department, the smartphone comes with a triple-camera setup where the sensors are housing inside a circular housing. It is equipped with a 16MP primary sensor which is paired with a 5MP depth sensor and an 8MP ultrawide angle lens. There’s also an 8 MP camera in front for taking selfies and video calling.
The smartphone runs Android 9 Pie out-of-the-box and the company has promised to roll out the latest Android 10 operating system by the end of this year. There’s also a dedicated Google Assistant button and support for aptX audio.
Connectivity options on the device include Dual 4G VoLTE, Dual-Band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS + GLONASS, and USB Type-C 2.0 port. The phone is powered by a 3,500mAh battery with 10W charging support.
In India, the Nokia 6.2 comes in only in Ceramic Black color, carrying a price tag of ₹15,999 (roughly $225) and is now available for purchase exclusive through Amazon.
Along with launching the OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro smartphones, the company also revealed the roadmap for the OxyegenOS 10 update roadmap, which is based on the latest Android 10 operating system.
The Chinese company has confirmed that it will be rolling out Android 10-based OxygenOS update for the smartphones going back as far as OnePlus 5. However, do note that the company has also rolled out the latest Android 10 update for the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro smartphones.
Carl Pei of OnePlus has confirmed that the OnePlus 6 and 6T series smartphones will get the beta update later this month while the stable update will be rolled out from next month, i.e. November 2019.
On the other hand, OnePlus 5 and 5T users will be getting the update sometime in Q2 2020. The company has not mentioned anything about the beta program for the OP5 smartphone but we expect to hear something about it in the coming days. The timeline is similar to the one revealed earlier for the Chinese market.
OnePlus 6/6T series:
Beta – October 2019
Stable – November 2019
OnePlus 5/5T series: Q2 2020
When it comes to the latest software updates, OnePlus holds a good track record compared to its competitors. The newly launched OnePlus 7T and the 7T Pro are the first smartphones to come with Android 10 operating system out-of-the-box even though the update was released just a couple of months ago.
OxygenOS 10 based on the latest Android 10 will come with several exciting new features for the OnePlus users, which includes a new interface design, full-screen gestures, new app called Game Space, and spam blocker, among others.
OnePlus’ OxygenOS is one of the best custom Android skins from the smartphone makers. It is almost same as the stock Android but the company has introduced several other useful features in its interface such as the App locker, Parallel Apps, etc.
In a related news, OnePlus recently launched a new post-purchase program for its users in the Indian market, dubbed as OnePlus Care. Along with the after-sales service, it also offers free 1-year extended warranty, or up to 50% off on battery replacement and extra discounts of up to ₹3,000 on upgrade plans.
More and more 5G devices from different manufacturers are coming to the market in parallel with the rollout of 5G networks, and it seems Nokia wants in. We’ve already heard rumors that the company was working on a 5G device, and now we’re getting more confirmation from NokiaPowerUser and their inside sources on the upcoming Nokia 8.2 5G.
According to them, HMD’s new 5G smartphone, which was teased as recently as last month, is indeed the Nokia 8.2 5G. It’ll reportedly feature an impressive quadruple-camera setup on the rear in addition to an all-new pop-out camera system up front much like its 4G LTE sibling. Yep, that means no notches or hole punch cameras here.
There’s going to be an interesting caveat to the device though. While HMD Global are calling the new device a value flagship, chances are it won’t actually feature flagship specs to help keep prices low. If this is true, then we’ll probably see a real 5G Nokia flagship with all the bells and whistles later, with the Nokia 8.2 5G here to cover more ground.
In an earlier interview, HMD Global’s CEO claimed the value flagship would cost half of your typical 5G device. Currently, most of the available 5G capable smartphones are priced around $1000, so it’s not unreasonable to expect the Nokia 8.2 5G to be priced around $500 at the time of launch. We look forward to seeing the device make its official appearance at MWC2020, since it would be a shame not to unveil there.
The Blade A7s is the latest entry-level ZTE phone to go official in China. The smartphone is an upgraded version of the Blade A7 phone that was made official in the country in May this year. The major selling features of the Blade A7s are tall aspect ratio display, triple rear cameras and big battery.
ZTE Blade A7s Specifications
The ZTE Blade A7s sports a polycarbonate body with glossy appeal. It measures 155 x 72.7 x 8.95mm and weighs 164 grams. The right edge of the phone has volume up and down buttons and a red colored power key. On the screen side, it comes with a 6.088-inch display with waterdrop notch. It supports 19.5:9 aspect ratio and HD+ resolution of 720 x 1560 pixels. ZTE claims that the phone offers a screen-to-body ratio of 89 percent.
The MediaTek Helio P22 chipset is the driving force of the Blade A7s. The budget-friendly phone comes with 4 GB of RAM and a big native storage of 64 GB. It receives power to perform from a 4,000mAh battery which lacks support for rapid charging. The large-sized battery that can last for 2 days on single charge promises 29 hours of local music playback, 15 hours of web browsing and 10 hours of online video playback.
The rear side of the smartphone sports a triple camera system with an LED flash. It comprises of a 16-megapixel main lens with f/2.0 aperture, a 120-degree 8-megapixel superwide lens and a 2-megapixel lens for adding depth effects. The front notch houses a 5-megapixel selfie camera with AI beautification features.
The ZTE Blade A7s lacks a fingerprint scanner. Hence, its users can only make use of the face recognition feature for unlocking. The handset runs on MiFavor 9.1 based Android 9 Pie OS.
ZTE Blade A7s Price and Availability
The ZTE Blade A7s is now up for pre-orders in China with a price tag of 799 Yuan (~$112). The smartphone will go on sale on Oct. 18. It can be availed in two colors such as Blue and Black.
In August this year, during Huawei Developers Conference in China, the company unveiled its much-anticipated Honor Vision Smart TVs which are running the company’s own HarmonyOS, touted as the replacement for Android.
Now, just a couple of months after its official launch, the Chinese giant is all set to launch the Honor Vision and Honor Vision Pro Smart TVs in the Indian market. The company has sent out media invites for a launch event in New Delhi on 14th October.
In the launch invite, the company mentions “Join us at the India Mobile Congress, as we unveil world’s first pop-up camera smart TV Honor Vision.” While the company doesn’t explicitly mention Pro variant, addition of words “pop-up camera” confirms that given that the Vision Pro is the only model to have a camera sensor.
Both the models of Honor Vision comes with 55-inch 4K HDR displays with NTSC 85% wide color gamut, 360nit brightness and wide viewing angles. There are 8 interchangeable display configs, including standard, soft, cinema, sports, children, games, pictures and bright, which should make things simpler for the average consumer.
On top of that, the display also has German TUV Rheinland low blue eye protection. The display is contained within a three-sided, borderless frame, with an impressive screen-to-body ratio of 94 percent.
The chassis is also nice and thin at 6.9mm, with a diamond textured “beauty back” and colourful breathing lights for aesthetic. Honor also touts their seamless 3D arc full metal bent middle frame, which should allegedly improve stability and durability.
Honor claims that its newly launched HarmonyOS will enable users to integrate their devices better, and the company plans to do this through a feature called Magic Link and their own AI assistant, YOYO. However, we don’t expect to see the company’s own voice assistant in the Indian market.
In terms of specs, it is powered by the new Honghu 818 SoC which features a quad-core CPU, with two A53 cores and two A73 cores, paired with a 4-core Mali-G51 GPU. It supports 8K@30fps and 4K@120fps super video decoding. In graphics decoding, the chip supports 64MP image decoding ahead of time.
The Huawei Vision has eight speakers, one subwoofer and one refractor to make for an intelligent sound system that provides a professional 5.1 sound effect. It also has intelligent sound field modelling and beam control.
It comes with several useful features such as One-Hop projection which allows users to project what is on their phone on to the display with a single touch to the remote. There is also Intelligent Live Control which allows you to control the device with your smartphone while Huawei Share allows you to easily send files like pictures to the TV.
The touch remote controller connects via Bluetooth 5.0 and comes with USB Type-C port at the bottom for charging. The company says that you only have to charge it once in 3 months. The remote has a power button, a smart key, and volume control keys. There’s a circular touchpad at the top and a dedicated microphone button flanked on the left by the Return key and on the right by the Menu key.
Redmi K20 Pro flagship smartphone from the Xiaomi’s sub-brand went through the DxOMark test for the camera benchmark. The overall camera score of the smartphone is 102, however it scored 108 points and 89 points for photography and videography respectively.
While the score of the Redmi K20 Pro isn’t something that places it in the top rankings, it is respectable considering the device’s price segment. The DxOMark report says that the Photo score of 108 is based on a solid performance across all test categories, without any glaring weaknesses.
In general, the camera is capable of producing images with good exposure and a good texture/noise balance in most situations. However, limited dynamic range and visible color casts in some conditions slightly negate the overall positive picture.
It goes on to add that the phone usually delivers consistently accurate target exposure in most situations and points that the phone’s main limitation in terms of exposure comes in the form of dynamic range.
Coming to the conclusion of the test, DxOMark mentions that there is room for improvement in some areas—for example, dynamic range, white balance and video detail—but from a photography point of view, the Redmi is a great value for the money overall and worth a close look from any mobile photographer on a limited budget.
The Redmi K20 Pro comes with a triple camera setup on the back that consisits of a 48MP 1/2″ Quad-Bayer sensor, f/1.75-aperture lens, PDAF and laser AF. It is coupled with a 13MP ultra-wide sensor with f/2.4-aperture lens and an 8 MP telephoto sensor with f/2.4 aperture lens. On the front, there’s a 20-megapixel snapper with f/2.0 aperture.
Rest of the specifications of the smartphone includes a 6.39-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ screen resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, Gorilla Glass protection, and seventh-generation in-display fingerprint sensor. Under the hood, the device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage.
The phone is running Android 9 Pie operating system out-of-the-box with MIUI 10 on top but the company has now started rolling out the latest Android 10 version for the smartphone in China and India. The device is powered by a 4,000mAh battery which comes with support for 27W rapid charging.
OPPO Reno Ace smartphone that went official in China yesterday comes with the world’s fastest 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 charging technology for mobile devices. The Realme X2 Pro that is launching on Oct. 15 has many exciting features. Among them is the 50W SuperVOOC Flash Charge technology that can fully charge its 4,000mAh battery in just 35 minutes.
The 65W SuperVOOC available on the Reno Ace can charge its 4,000mAh battery in only 30 minutes. Realme X2 Pro’s 50W SuperVOOC is slower by just few minutes only. The Chinese firm claims that the 4,000mAh battery takes only 35 minutes to reach 100 percent through the new 50W SuperVOOC technology. By charging for 10 minutes, the Realme X2 Pro can 40 percent battery juice. The company added that the smartphone will also support USB-PD and 18W rapid charging technology from Qualcomm.
Realme has also revealed that the X2 Pro is equipped with vapour chamber liquid cooling, superconducting carbon fiber multi-layer scheme, multi-layer graphite sheet and other heat-dissipating materials. The advanced heat dissipation system ensures that the smartphone always in a high-performance state.
The company has also revealed that Frame Boost 2.0 increases stability by 41.1 percent while playing games by accelerating the frame rate. Touch Boost 2.0 increases the touch performance by 22.2 percent on the smartphone. For interrupted signal strength, the handset adopts 4×4 MIMO technology. The smartphone is also equipped with dual Wi-fi network acceleration technology that can connect to two Wi-Fi in different frequency bands of 2.4GHz and 5GHz simultaneously for faster and stable connectivity.
A 6.5-inch AMOLED full HD+ display with support for 90Hz refresh rate will be available on the Realme X2 Pro. It will be fueled by the latest Snapdragon 855+ chipsetv that works at 2.96GHz. The highest configuration of the X2 Pro will feature 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of inbuilt storage.
The ColorOS 6.1 based Android 9 Pie OS may come preloaded on the device. For capturing selfies, it will be featuring a 16-megapixel front camera. The rear shell of the phone has a quad camera system that includes a 64-megapixel Samsung GW1 sensor, a 115-degree 13-megapixel ultrawide lens, an 8-megapixel telephoto lens and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. It is also equipped with an improved in-display fingerprint reader. The pricing of the smartphone is currently under the wraps.
Looking for an inexpensive desktop mini PC that doesn’t disappoint in terms of performance? The HYSTOU H4 might just fill the bill.
With an Intel i5-8250U processor under the hood, the HYSTOU H4 is designed to offer a seamless video watching and game playing experience. Moreover, this highly configured machine delivers advance image processing and computing performance. It packs a highly competent Intel HD Graphics 620 GPU.
The HYSTOU H4 ships with 16GB of DDR4 RAM and offers a hearty 512GB of SSD storage space for you to save your favorite multimedia content, download and run useful applications without experiencing any sort of interruption. Furthermore, it runs the super fast Windows 10 operating system, which offers steady and fast configuration for work, playing games or even watching TV.
The desktop mini PC supports a three-screen display for minimum loading time and higher work efficiency without the system freezing and buffering. In terms of connectivity, it features HDMI, RJ45, DP, EDP, LPT, USB, and COM.
The feature-laden HYSTOU H4 would normally set you back $599.99 on both online, as well as offline stores. If you aren’t willing to spend that kind of money on a desktop mini PC, all you need to do is to apply coupon code GBCN16G512SSD before placing your order.
The coupon helps you save $40 more at checkout. In other words, you can bring the original asking price of the HYSTOU H4 desktop mini PC down to just $559.99 with the help of the aforesaid coupon. It is worth mentioning here that the coupon will be valid for the first 50 pieces only.
Moreover, you can redeem one item of your choice for spending over $20. To take full advantage of the coupon, which is likely to expire soon, simply follow this link without wasting time.
Consumer electronics (or home electronics) alludes to electronic appliances that come in handy in day to day life. These devices are usually used for entertainment, communication, and various other home-office activities.
While consumer electronics are ideal for everyday use, they aren’t necessarily easy on the pocketbook. Some home appliances cost a bomb, much to the chagrin of those who aren’t willing to spend a lot of money on these devices.
To make these highly useful electronic devices available to cost-conscious buyers, Gearbest has launched the Consumer Electronics Flash Sale. Touted as one of China’s best online stores for electronic items, Gearbest is offering a whopping 50% off on a wide range of consumer electronics.
To expedite and simplify the search process, products available for lowered prices as part of Gearbest’s latest promo have been split into specific categories. The first category called Hot Sale features the Alfawise HQB-Q32 TWS earbuds carrying a reduced price of $17.99. Note that it normally sells for $23.17.
You can even extend this 22 percent discount by applying coupon code GB0621Q3280 at checkout. The coupon helps you bring the already reduced asking price of the earbuds further down to just $16.99.
The following section dubbed Get 50% OFF Deal is loaded with amazing electronic items including wireless earphones, smart bracelets, etc from leading brands such as Bilikay, Gocomma, and Alfawise. More importantly, each product available under this section carries a noteworthy discount.
For instance, there’s a 53 percent off on the Bilikay KW19 Smart Bracelet, which usually retails for $35.99. Thanks to the aforesaid discount, the smart wearables can now be yours for just $16.99. Aside from that, you can get an add-on item for $8.99 if your cart value is $20 or more.
A slew of simply unmissable deals has been added to the next category dubbed Hot Deals. Loaded with well-received products from popular manufacturers, this category is a must-checkout for those who have restlessly been waiting to get their hands on top-end electronic items without emptying their pockets.
Music lovers can head straight to the TWS Earphones section, wherein they can avail great discounts on top-end music accessories that normally carry steep price tags. Fitness and sports enthusiasts have been offered a lot to cheer about in the Smart Watches section.
While smart wearables are garnering huge popularity among those who fancy keeping a track of their fitness, these devices are highly likely to burn a hole in your pocket. Thankfully, Gearbest is giving its loyal users a chance to buy their favorite smart wearables at lowered prices.
Aside from that, the Chinese online store is offering significant discounts on home security products under the IP Cameras section. The Earbud Headphones is another section dedicated to music lovers who do not want to spend tens of thousands of dollars on music accessories but don’t want to compromise on quality as well.
A myriad of newly arrived electronic products has been included under the concluding category called New Arrival. The section is crammed with all sorts of devices ranging from wireless earphones, smartwatches, home CCTV systems and lots more. It is worth mentioning here that all products available in this category carry big discounts which will be valid for a limited duration.
To ensure you do not end up missing these amazing discounts and great deals, all you need to do is to follow this link without wasting time. During the activity period, Gearbest will be offering 1/2 Price Coupon daily.
Music lovers who fancy listening to their favorite songs on the go spend a lot of money on music accessories such as Bluetooth speakers, and wireless earphones. Those who go for inexpensive alternatives, on the other hand, usually are disappointed with the inferior performance of the device.
If you are in the market for a low-priced, yet high-end earphone that offers a superior listening experience, we got good news for you. Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi is offering its well-received Xiaomi Air 2 Bluetooth 5.0 TWS Earphone for a considerably lowered price in collaboration with GeekBuying.
The irresistible Xiaomi Air 2 would normally set you back a pretty penny on both online, as well as offline stores, but you can buy it for just $ 78.99 from GeekBuying. This is a noteworthy 37 percent reduction in the earphone’s original asking price of $124.99.
On top of that, you can apply coupon code 3UROFICG for an extra $14 off. In other words, you can bring the already reduced selling price of the Xiaomi Air 2 earphone further down to just $64.99 simply by applying the above-mentioned coupon after you proceed to checkout.
An absolute steal at this price, the Xiaomi Air 2 Bluetooth 5.0 TWS Earphone comes with a Bluetooth 5.0 chip that delivers a stable and faster wireless connection. Moreover, it adopts a split-type true wireless design for flexible switching between single and binaural ears.
It uses dual-microphone array environment noise reduction technology to effectively minimize the environmental noise during calls, delivering superior call quality even in noisy environments. Furthermore, the Xiaomi Air 2 uses L HDC Bluetooth HD decoding technology for a lossless sound.
You can head straight to this link to check out more details about the Xiaomi Air 2 Bluetooth 5.0 TWS Earphone and place your order. New users can take advantage of the 2% Off New User Coupon and save more money. Note that the promo is slated to end soon.
The Honor 9X Pro Icelandic White variant has officially gone on sale in China. The device comes with a starting price of 2,199 yuan ($309). The offer is also bundled with other gadgets like a free 10,000mAH power bank, data cable, half-ear headphones and other gifts.
Huawei’s subsidiary Honor first unveiled the Honor 9X Pro Icelandic White variant in China last month. The device was originally scheduled to go on sale from October 1 but got slightly delayed. The device looks like a white coloured phone but upon viewing under a light source, different colourful hues appear. This gives the device a premium, attractive look.
Apart from the colour variant, the Icelandic White variant is similar to other versions. That is a 6.59-inch IPS LCD display, along with 19.5:9 aspect ratio and Full HD+ screen resolution. Under the hood, the smartphones are powered by the company’s own Kirin 810 octa-core chipset. While the Pro comes with up to 8GB RAM and maximum storage of 256GB (UFS 2.1), the standard model has up to 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. The smartphone packs an impressive 4,000mAh battery.
Banggood continues to live up to its reputation for offering the best bang for your buck by coming up with amazing promotions from time to time. Dubbed as Banggood 2019 Brand Sale, the latest promotion from the Chinese online store is simply unmissable. Let us see why.
It is no secret that products manufactured by leading brands such as Xiaomi, OnePlus, etc, don’t come cheap. To make top-branded electronics devices that usually cost a bomb available to brand-conscious buyers living on a tight budget, Banggood is doling out great discounts on products available on the promotion page.
Aside from taking advantage of the discounts available on high-end products, Banggood users also stand a chance of unlocking $100 Bonuses. To participate, all you need to do is to follow specific pages that lead to other Banggood promotions.
Products carrying heavily discounted price tags have carefully been added to dedicated categories to facilitate the search process. The first section dubbed, Brand Selected Products includes devices from OnePlus, Sonoff, Xiaomi, BlitzWolf and other well-known brands.
More importantly, these products are available for considerably lowered prices. For the sake of an instance, the Blitzwolf BW-FYE7 TWS Bluetooth 5.0 Earphone, which normally carries a $50.01 price tag, can now be pre-ordered for just $33.99.
To avail the discount, all you need to do is to apply coupon code BGFYYE7 at the time of checking out. The aforesaid coupon helps you reduce the already economical price of the earphone.
The Brand Special Offer category features products from partner brands. You can get your hands on these items without emptying your pocket. Note that the promo is valid for a specific period only.
The next section called Super Official Store features official online stores of popular brands including Xiaomi, BlitzWolf and more. Each official store offers a specific discount or a coupon code that can be used at checkout for a noteworthy discount.
For instance, the Xiaomi official online store offers an 18% Off Brand Coupon, BlitzWolf official online store gives you a chance to get 15% off by using a New User Coupon, Eachine online store on Banggood has a 9% Off Brand Coupon that can be applied for an additional discount during the checkout process. Likewise, you can get $126 Bonuses on the DIGOO official online store.
The promotion page features a Category Hot Trend List section, wherein Banggood users can get discounts on products from Drillpro, Geekcreit, Doniu, and Mustool. Other brands featured under the above-mentioned category include FrSky, Urijav, JRC, iMars, and 70mai.
The concluding section on the promotion page is called Brand New Products. Each product included under this section has been assigned a great discount that will be valid for a specific period. For example, the BlitzWolf BW-ES3 3.5mm In-ear Earphone has gone up for pre-order carrying a reduced price tag of $8.53.
This is a 66 percent reduction in the earphone’s original selling price of $24.99. Aside from that, you get free shipping on orders over $19.99. To grab this, and the rest of the time-limited offers, you need to head straight to the promotion page by clicking here.
BBK subsidiary OnePlus today officially unveiled the OnePlus 7T series in Europe. Just as we had thought, the OnePlus 7T Pro joined the fray after getting skipped during the Indian launch. During the launch event, OnePlus took guests through the features that come with the latest version of its Oxygen OS which is based on Android 10.
Among the software features showcased is a special feature that the coming is still working on called “Instant Translate”. The feature is borne out of the realisation that the OnePlus community cuts across different languages all over the world. Thus, the feature makes it easy for different persons who don’t speak one language to communicate with each other. If they are on a live video call, for instance, the software translates the speech of the caller and interprets on the screen in text format. Pete Lau referenced video call to work with the new feature but we expect it to be available on other aspects.
The feature seems to have drawn inspiration from Google’s Live Caption for Android 10, but instead of just captions, it instantly translates speeches. No doubt this is a useful feature but quite complex. We expect the company to officially unveil it soon but don’t expect to see too many supported languages up there at the start.
OnePlus didn’t say specifically when the new feature will roll out but says it is “coming soon”.
In just a couple of months, we’ll enter the year 2020. For some reason, 2020 has always been a significant benchmark for a lot of people, including tech enthusiasts. If you try to recall what you imagined 2020 to be, around 10 years back, I’m sure it would involve a lot of fancy things like flying cars, widescale commercial electric vehicles, the cure for cancer and whatnot.
But the past few years have more or less been about a bunch of trending apps and fancy software features. As for phones, I personally would have imagined most of us to have a foldable smartphone by now. After all, Samsung demoed its first flexible ‘Youm’ display 6 years back! And what about modular phones? That could have been the future of smartphones, right?
The fanciest smartphone that we have today is the Galaxy Fold which isn’t exactly durable. But the Fold could have had an even fancier competitor today – a modular smartphone – if only Google had managed to bring Project Ara to life.
Before we take a look at what happened to Project Ara, let’s first see why it’s worth remembering?
Project Ara was not a fancy idea from a startup. It came from Google, one of the world’s most resourceful tech companies.
Project Ara would have enabled smartphone users to upgrade their smartphones just by replacing a module. Imagine adding 5G to your phone by replacing the 4G module! No need to spend hundreds of dollars buying a new model.
Project Ara smartphone would have facilitated extremely easy repairs. It would have been as simple as sliding out a component like a display and replacing it with a brand new module.
A modular smartphone would have also helped reduce the growing e-waste problem.
Also, imagine the countless fancy modules that would have been available for our smartphones. Right from a projector module to one with a microscope, a regular smartphone could have been a lot more distinctive than what it is today.
So what happened to Project Ara?
Project Ara was probably too good to be true.
Google’s first real interest in a modular smartphone was revealed back in 2011 after it made a special purchase. The search engine giant acquired a bunch of patents from the struggling Israeli modular phone company, Modu, for $4.9 million. We knew something was in the cards back then but the first real announcement from the company came in October 2013, more than two years after this purchase.
Google officially revealed the Project Ara on October 29, 2013, further adding that it was working with Phonebloks to develop a modular smartphone. This was a really big deal back then, mainly because it was Google behind the project and modular smartphone as a concept was still in its nascent stages. After all, with Google on board, a modular smartphone concept didn’t look far fetched.
Things started moving quickly after this announcement. Next year, at Google I/O 2014, Google nearly showed off the first working modular smartphone prototype dubbed ‘Spiral 1’. In fact, we can actually see the phone booting up Android and working in a subsequent video shared by the Project Ara team.
The Spiral 2 prototype was revealed by the company in January 2015. The phone came with eleven different prototype modules that would act as a reference design for third party manufacturers. The Spiral 2 had Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth, and other basic smartphone modules. The best part of the prototype was that the modules were hot-swappable, which means you could replace a module while the phone was in use.
Things looked really promising at this point. In fact, Google also revealed that it would test out a better version of this prototype in Puerto Rico later in 2015.
But in August 2015, Google suddenly announced that it had suspended its plan to test the phone in Puerto Rico indefinitely. But it wasn’t all bad since Google revealed that it would test these prototypes in a few locations in the U.S. in 2016.
Then in May 2016, at Google I/O came some good news. The company announced the first ‘Developer Edition’ of Project Ara and promised to ship them by the end of the year. Notably, these ‘Developer Editions’ were very different than the initial prototypes shown off by the company.
This edition came with a few fixed components like the antenna, battery, display, sensors, and system-on-chip, with an option to swap or add in modules such as a secondary display or a speaker. The design was a lot more limiting than what was conceptualized initially, but it was at least a working model. Google also announced that it was looking forward to the consumer launch of this model in 2017.
However, all of a sudden, in September 2016, Google officially announced that Project Ara was dead or rather suspended.
Well, killing off Project Ara was probably a result of the insurmountable challenges that the team had to face along with leadership changes and Google’s change in policy towards experimental ventures.
As I mentioned before, the Project Ara concept was simply too hard to implement back in 2016. It was probably way ahead of its time. And with smartphones becoming slimmer, lighter, and smarter, it would have taken years for the prototypes to be good enough to compete with the existing smartphones of 2016.
Do you remember what happened to modular phones like the LG G5 or the Moto Z3 Play? Did they get the reception they deserved? I mean these phones offered something experimental to its users (they weren’t perfect though) and the reception it received wasn’t exactly phenomenal. Heck, it wasn’t even close to what a Nexus or a Samsung flagship got back in its time.
While I agree Google could have better implemented the modular concept than these companies, the lack of enthusiasm for third party modules revealed that people were not ready for a modular phone yet.
Google probably made a HUGE mistake by promising deadlines too early. They should have worked on the project at their own pace and should have revealed more details about the project only when they had something close to commercial launch.
Making something revolutionary requires years of research, development, and testing. But even more than that, it requires companies to be persistent. Google could have brought a modular phone to life by now, but it would have had to pump in a lot more money as well as time for that to have happened.
As of today, Project Ara is dead. But maybe someday, either Google or some other company will bring this revolutionary idea to life.
So do you think modular smartphones have a future?
As it’s done over the past several years, OnePlus is updating its flagship smartphone partway through the year to add a more powerful processor to the phone. The new OnePlus 7T Pro features Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 855+ chipset alongside a slew of other new features and upgrades. It’s all set to be the flag bearer for OnePlus from now on.
What’s interesting however is how it seems to share a LOT of similarities with its smaller brother, the OnePlus 7T. Considering that they’ve got the same namesake, it’s not really all that surprising, but there’s a decent price gap between the two which makes us question, is the OnePlus 7T Pro really worth the cost of upgrade? Let’s take a closer look.
The OnePlus 7T has a 6.55-inch display which is slightly bigger than that of the OnePlus 7. It is a 90Hz Fluid AMOLED Display with HDR10+ (YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix), a 2400 x 1080 resolution, and 3D Corning Gorilla Glass on top.
There is a Snapdragon 855+ processor inside the phone and it is paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of UFS 3.0 2-lane storage. As expected, there is no support for storage expansion.
The OnePlus 7T has triple rear cameras – a 48MP f/1.6 Sony IMX586 with OIS and EIS and a 7P lens paired with a 12MP f/2.2 telephoto lens and a 117° 16MP f/2.2 ultrawide angle lens. There is 2x optical zoom, 4K video recording, and super-slow-motion recording (1080p@ 240fps and 720p@480fps). OnePlus says 720p @ 960fps slow-motion recording will be available via an OTA later.
The OnePlus 7T has an in-display fingerprint scanner, Face Unlock, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, a vibration motor with an advanced haptic engine, and stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos. It packs a 3800mAh battery and brings the new Warp Charge 30T. With Warp Charge 30T, you will be able to charge your phone from 0 to 70% in just 30 minutes.
The device also comes in two colour options, those being Glacier Blue and Frosted Silver. That’s not really a lot, but at least it’s more than the OnePlus 7T Pro’s single colour option.
OnePlus 7T Pro Rundown
The OnePlus 7T Pro has a 6.67-inch curved AMOLED display with a QHD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. It has a PPI of 516 and a contrast ratio of 10000:1. There is 3D Corning Gorilla Glass on the rear and front of the device. It also has an in-display fingerprint scanner.
The phone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855+ processor paired with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.0 2-Lane storage. Yes, there is only one configuration available, unlike with the smaller OnePlus 7T.
The OnePlus 7T Pro has triple rear cameras arranged in the same vertical fashion as the OnePlus 7 Pro. The primary sensor is a Sony IMX586 48MP f/1.6 camera with a 7P lens and OIS+EIS. It is paired with an 8MP telephoto lens with an f/2.4 aperture and 3x optical zoom. A 16MP f/2.2 ultrawide-angle camera completes the setup.
The OnePlus 7T Pro has NFC, dual-band GPS, stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos, and Bluetooth 5.0. It packs a 4085mAh battery with support for 30W Warp Charge 30T fast Charging via a USB 3.1 GEN 1 Type-C port. It also supports audio over USB Type-C. The new device comes running OxygenOS 10 based on Android 10 with lots of new features. The phone is available in a single color variant – Haze Blue.
OnePlus 7T VS. OnePlus 7T Pro Comparison
The differences between the OnePlus 7T and the OnePlus 7T Pro are almost shockingly small. They both have the exact same chipset, along with the same charging tech in Warp Charge 30T. They share very similar camera configurations, with the only difference being the 7T Pro’s 8MP telephoto lens over the 7T’s 12MP telephoto lens.
Where things deviate however is in device display, battery, and storage options. The OnePlus 7T Pro has a slightly larger display at 6.67-inches, as well as a higher QHD+ resolution. The 7T Pro’s 4085mAh battery is also larger than the 7T’s 3800mAh unit though not by much. Finally, the 7T Pro has no storage options, while the 7T does. Aesthetically, the 7T Pro has no notch while the 7T does.
The big difference between the two however is the pricing. The 7T is much more affordable than the 7T Pro. The OnePlus 7T begins at £549, which isn’t all that bad, but the Pro model however bumps up that price tag to £699, which is a much harder sell. If you really value having the larger display, you may be able to justify the 7T Pro’s price tag. To us however, the normal 7T seems to be the better deal.
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Out of 4 models, the two most affordable models have a traditional design with 2 doors and 3 doors, and are designed for people who live alone or have a family of two members. On the other hand, the two high-end models have a side-by-side design and are designed for large families. Out of these models, one has 2 large doors that resemble and almirah whereas the other model with 486 litres of storage with four doors.
