Xiaomi crowdfunds the Small Whale Wash-integrated Smart Toilet Zero

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Oct 24, 2019

The major aim of Xiaomi‘s smart home brand is to create a connected home where all the gadgets interact and can be controlled from a central hub. The company’s product catalogue already includes several smart home gadgets and each day, more gets added, some under the crowdfunding platform. The latest is the Small Whale Wash-integrated Smart Toilet Zero. Xiaomi has launched several smart toilet seat covers in the past but this is the complete package, not just the seat cover.

The Small Whale Wash-integrated Smart Toilet Zero uses an integrated ultra-thin design which includes a multi-mode hot flush system and access to MIJIA App. The toilet bowl is made from Dongpeng ceramic with a cylindrical shape. The toilet seat supports three-speed temperature adjustment and can be controlled via the Mijia App.

Apart from self-cleaning with water spray, the water sprays at a wide-angle after which it is air-dried to remove water drops. The spray bar is made of antibacterial ABS+PC material. The water nozzles spray water in all directions. In addition, the women’s wash uses a wide array of pore design with a shower-type water flow which the company sais is mild and doesn’t tingle.

The smart toilet is also equipped with a wireless full-touch remote control, and the flush button placed conveniently at the top.

The Small Whale Wash-integrated Smart Toilet Zero comes with a crowdfunding price of 2899 yuan (~$409). It is expected to start shipping on December 5.

(source)

Motorola announces entry-level Moto E6 Play

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Oct 24, 2019

Motorola had an event in Brazil today where it announced a couple of new phones. First on the list is the Moto E6 Play, a new entry-level phone.

The Moto E6 Play has a 5.5-inch HD+ Max Vision 18:9 display. There is no notch but you get a thick slab of bezel at the bottom of the screen and a less-thick one at the top. However, Motorola says the phone has been designed to be comfortable in the hand.

There is a MediaTek MT6739 processor paired with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The phone has a triple card tray which allows you to use 2 SIM cards and a MicroSD card (256GB max. ) at the same time.

The phone has a single 13MP camera on the back with a beauty mode. There is a 5MP camera in front for selfies. The Moto E6 Play has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner as well as face unlock.

There is a 3000mAh battery inside the phone but no support for fast charging. The phone also gets a MicroUSB port for charging and data transfer. There is no mention of the version of Android it is running.

Motorola Brazil didn’t reveal a price but the phone will be available in the UK in January 2020 for £99. The phone comes in blue and black color variants.

Huawei says the Mate X global launch plans still “under review”

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Oct 24, 2019

At the launch event for the Mate X 5G foldable smartphone yesterday, Huawei disclosed that the device will go on limited sales in China on November 15 with a staggering 16,999 yuan ($2,403) price tag. The company did not divulge any information regarding the global launch during the event. However, a statement credited to a Huawei’s spokesperson reveals that the company is still considering if the Mate X should be launched outside China, according to CNBC.

The Mate X was first unveiled at the MWC 2019 earlier in February in Barcelona and was originally scheduled to launch this summer. The Galaxy Fold debacle forced Huawei to postpone the launch scheduled for June in order to ensure the device doesn’t experience such issues.

The company’s position has now changed with the disclosure that the Mate X global launch remains “under review.” The spokesperson stated specifically that; “Our strategy is based on carriers’ 5G roll out in different regions. So far, Huawei is making the Huawei Mate X available in the China market from November 15th. A global launch plan is under review.”

While the delay is hinged on 5G rollout, the US trade embargo which has made it difficult to instal Google Play services on its latest phones may have also played a role. However, we expect the company to release the 5G foldable phone is selected markets soon.

(source)

LG display posts a loss of $ 437 million in Q3 of 2019 , “Company’s survival is at risk.” says new CEO

By

Sahil

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Oct 24, 2019

Due to cheaper LCD panels originating from China, LG which is currently the world’s largest manufacturer of this type of display panels has reported a loss in the third quarter of 2019. On the 23rd of October, LG announced an operating loss of 437 billion won ($372 million) for the July-September period. Besides, overall sales dipped by 4.6 % in comparison to the Q3 of 2018.

Noteworthy, this is LG’s first operating loss in Q3 in the last eight years. This quarter has usually been a silver lining for the company as it coincides with increased panel supplies to Apple ahead of the release of new iPhones. To paint a picture of how bad things could be, the new CEO Jeong Ho-young warned in his first message to employees that the “company’s survival is at risk.”

Due to oversupply from China, the average price per TV panel has fallen 20 to 30% in the last year alone, which has driven Japanese and Taiwanese suppliers out of the race and they do not want to scale production. An industry source said “This is the worst supply glut in history,” and “Nobody will be able to secure a profit.”.

Prominent Chinese suppliers which include BOE and China Star Optoelectronics Technology, with government backing have built new factories in the last four years that have surpassed South Korean, Taiwanese and Japanese companies which were previously the heavyweights in this industry.

Reports suggest that it typically takes investments worth $ 4 billion to set up a display plant and companies like LG and the previously mentioned heavyweights, who already are struggling to survive, cannot expend this much money. Therefore, it is hard for them to match the production capacities these Chinese suppliers are capable of delivering.

A single display plant typically requires over $4 billion in investments. Japan Display, the world’s largest smartphone LCD maker that is struggling to secure a bailout, and Taiwan’s AU Optronics, a major supplier of TV panels, have already bowed out of the race to increase production.

The only other company who is capable of taking on the newly shroomed Chinese suppliers of LCD displays is, Samsung. The world’s number one smartphone manufacturer reported an operating profit of $ 44 billion last year. Out of which, it is investing $ 11 billion in premium-grade quantum-dot displays, which is based on OLED technology.

While LG also manufactures OLED displays that are still profitable, the combined sale of this type of display last year was just 2.5 million which is insignificant in comparison to LCD panels that accounted to 200 million units.

Due to its massive investment which was previously mentioned, Samsung is presumed to soon commence of mass production of OLED TV panels. Besides, Chinese suppliers are also reportedly gearing to enter this race as well. Following which, LG’s survival in this division seems short-lived. Conclusively, only time will tell, what the future holds for the company.

(via)

iQOO Neo 855 launches with a faster processor and faster storage

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Oct 24, 2019

In the first quarter of this year, Vivo announced a new smartphone line called iQOO. The first phone under the new line launched as the iQOO, and three more phones have been released afterwards in the span of seven months. Today, the iQOO line is getting a new member called the iQOO Neo 855.

The iQOO Neo 855 in simple terms is a Snapdragon 855 version of the iQOO Neo which launched with a Snapdragon 845 processor. The iQOO Neo launched for ¥1798 (~$254) and is available in four variants with the highest configuration having a ¥2298 (~$325) price tag.

iQOO Neo 855 Design

The new phone doesn’t look different in terms of design when compared to its Snapdragon 845 version. You get the same AMOLED screen with a waterdrop notch and the same rear camera design. However, the iQOO Neo 855 comes in a new Icelandic Aurora color with a color gradient frame. It is also available in Neon Purple and Carbon Black.

iQOO Neo 855 Features and Specs

With the more powerful Snapdragon 855 processor and faster UFS 3.0 storage replacing the SD845 and UFS 2.1 storage of the standard version, there is a significant improvement in the performance of the iQOO Neo 855. iQOO even brags about the device’s 477,016 AnTuTu score.

The iQOO Neo 855 is focused on speed and it is not just limited to the processor and storage. The phone comes with a dual-WiFi acceleration technology that enhances connection and ensures that online gameplay is stable and webpages load faster. iQOO says lab tests reveal latency reduces by up to 90% with the feature active.

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The phone also comes with faster fast-charging technology than its predecessor. Rather than 22.5W fast charge, the iQOO Neo 855 comes with Vivo’s 33W FlashCharge 2.0 which charges the phone up to 25% in just 10 minutes. The iQOO Neo 855 keeps the in-display fingerprint scanner of the standard version but it is now 10% faster.

The phone also comes with Monster Mode UI based on FunTouchOS 9 with features such as MultiTurbo 2.0. iQOO says lab tests show response time has increased by 30% with MultiTurbo 2.0 compared to the Snapdragon 845 version. There is also super-liquid cooling which can reduce the CPU’s temperature by up to 10 degrees and the surface temperature by up to 3 degrees.

Below are the full specs of the phone:

6.38-inch 1080 x 2340 AMOLED display with DC Dimming and HDR10
Snapdragon 855
6GB/8GB RAM
64GB/128GB/256GB
12MP f/1.79 Sony IMX363 primary rear camera + 8MP f/2.2 120° ultrawide-angle camera + 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor
16+MP f/2.0 S5K3P9 selfie camera
4500mAh battery
Audio Jack
USB Type-C port
In-display fingerprint scanner

[envira-gallery id=”285187″]

Price and Availability

The price tags for all four variants of the iQOO Neo 855 are:

6GB RAM + 64GB (UFS 2.1) = ¥1998 (~$283)
6GB RAM + 128GB = ¥2298 (~$325)
8GB RAM + 128GB = ¥2498 (~$353)
8GB RAM + 256GB = ¥2698 (~$382)

The phone will be available for pre-order starting today up until October 31 when it will be available for purchase. For a limited time, all variants, save for the 64GB base model, will be sold for ¥100 less. Buyers will also be able to get up to ¥200 coupons to further reduce the price.

Sharp is working on a tablet like game console that features detachable physical controllers

By

Sahil

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Oct 24, 2019

Sharp which was once pushed to the brink of bankruptcy in the year 2016, after investments from Foxconn has been reviving gradually. The company is already indulged in manufacturing of TVs and OLED display panels, it may soon dip its toes in the gaming hardware industry suggests two patents that the company has recently filed with JPO (Japan Patent Office).

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While mobile gaming has advanced to a level where it could compete with gaming consoles, users still tend to complain about the lack of physical controls that conventional game controllers offer. This is exactly what Sharp is aiming to solve with the devices whose patents have recently been filed.

Going by the illustration, Sharp is conceptualising a tablet-like handheld game console that features an edge-to-edge display. Besides, it supports modular physical controls like a d-pad which can be attached via magnet. The patents show two different design that the company could possibly implement, out of which, the first one has a rectangular game controller while the second design has a curved game controlled.

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The benefit of having a curved edge cannot be divulged from the patent itself, however, it might have something to do with improved position retention when attached to the main body of the gaming console. Unlike the Nintendo Switch, Sharp’s console lacks any slots for installing a game cartridge. Therefore, it is possible that the device runs on Android allowing users to choose from a wide library of apps the platform offers. Or it could be the company’s take on cloud gaming which is rapidly gaining popularity.

Whether or not Sharp plans to launch a real-life device based on these patents, it is hard to tell. Therefore, we would recommend taking this concept with a grain of salt until more details are revealed either via official or unofficial channels.

Readers interested in check the official patent filing can do so by clicking here (1, 2).

(via)

Early listing reveals Moto G8 Play has Helio P70 processor, priced at $199

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Oct 24, 2019

The Moto G8 series launches today in Brazil but hours before the launch, the Moto G8 Play has begun appearing in online stores. The phone has appeared on MobileHut Chile and has also been spotted on eBay.

The new Moto G8 Play will have a 6.2-inch IPS display with a waterdrop notch for the selfie camera. The MobileHut listing says the phone is powered by a MediaTek Helio P70 processor paired with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage.

There are three cameras on the back of the phone – a 13MP primary rear camera paired with two 2MP sensors. We believe the camera specs are inaccurate. The live photos that leaked last week revealed the phone has an ultrawide angle camera. Since the listing says there are two 2MP sensors, it means one of the two sensors is an ultrawide angle camera and a 2MP 117° ultrawide camera doesn’t make any sense. The listing says there is an 8MP selfie camera and the images show that Motorola has ditched the LED flash of its predecessor.

The Motorola G8 Play also has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and packs a 4000mAh battery. The description provided by the store says there is a USB Type-C port which isn’t surprising since the Moto G7 Play also launched with a USB Type-C port. The phone runs Android 9 Pie out of the box.

MobileHut says the phone is currently not available but you can drop your email address and you will be notified when it is in stock.

The eBay listing has a different processor and camera specs. The processor is said to be the Helio P60 and the triple rear cameras are a 48MP primary sensor paired with a 16MP camera and a 5MP depth sensor. The selfie camera is also stated as a 25MP sensor. Other than these three, the rest of the specs are the same.

The specs for the eBay listing should be taken with a pinch of salt as they were lifted from GSMArena which has listed the same specs for the Moto G8 and Moto G8 Play as placeholders.

The eBay listing says the phone is priced at $199.99 and if you order today, you should get it by Monday, October 28.

(Via: 1, 2)

Xiaomi HiFi Hybrid Earphones presale now live on JD.com for ¥699 (~$98)

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Oct 24, 2019

Xiaomi launched a new pair of earphones in China a couple of days back. The earphones are said to be of flagship-grade and adopt the moniker Mi HiFi Hybrid Earphones. The new product is now available to pre-order from China’s top e-tailer Jingdong (JD.com). The powerful pair of earphones comes with a price tag of ¥699 yuan ($98).

The new earphones use a design different from Xiaomi’s previous HiFi earphones. It adopts a four drivers design consisting of two dynamic driver units and two balanced armature units. The two balanced armature units are placed before the dynamic driver units for richer details. For the bass, there is a silicon layer while the treble sound production employs a titanium composite inside the diaphragm. This arrangement ensures the earphones outputs a better mid and bass ranges. It equally packs a Zirconia sound chamber which is highly durable.

Also, the earphones feature gold-plated MMCX connectors with thicker coatings which are expected to improve wired connection and last longer. They are also expected to withstand four times the insertions of standard MMCX connectors. The connectors are also easy to replace in case they get damaged.

Apart from the powerful sound output, the Mi Hybrid earphones are designed to work in wireless or wired mode. For wireless connectivity, it comes with a portable Bluetooth DAC amplifier that supports Hi-Res SBC, AAC, and LDAC. On the other hand, there is a 3.5mm audio jack or USB-C cable made of silver-plated oxygen-free copper with crammed a DAC chip.

(source)

Chinese student who scammed Apple of nearly $ 1 million sentenced to 3 years in federal prison

By

Sahil

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Oct 24, 2019

Earlier this year, a Chinese student named Quan Jiang, who was enrolled at a college in Oregon, was found guilty of scamming Apple for nearly $ 1 million. Due to which, he has now been sentenced to three years and one month in federal prison by a U.S district judge. Following which he will reportedly be deported back to his home country.

According to court documents, Quan Jiang and his partner, Yangyang Zhou imported thousands of fake iPhones from China and then filled warranty complaints with Apple, claiming the units were non-functional as they would not turn on. The company would then replace these counterfeit units with genuine ones which the duo would ship back to their country to be sold at a profit, out of which he would receive a small cut. Reportedly, he earned $20 to $30 for each new iPhone he then sent back and made about $40,000 in total.

Fake iPhone shipments received from China

Apple told investigators that 1,493 iPhone units in total have been issued to offenders, each of which incurred Apple a loss $ 600. Moreover, it was revealed that the company had rejected replacement of 1576 other such devices, on the grounds of tampering which were then returned to the sender.

Surprisingly, Apple did not identify these units as counterfeit, revealed the documents submitted to the court. While it was mandatory for these units to have a valid IMEI number that had remaining warranty, it is still unknown where or how did Jiang and his partner got hold of crucial detail for these many units. Having said that, Apple discontinued printing serial numbers on devices after the iPhone 6 Plus model.

The offender has already paid Apple $ 200,000 which he obtained after his parents sold their home in China. He has also been ordered to forfeit his 2015 Mercedes-Benz. The offender will stay on GPS monitoring until his surrender to prison on December 5.

Huawei VR Glass officially launched in China for 2,999 Yuan ($424)

By

Jeet

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Oct 24, 2019

Huawei has now officially launched its much-awaited VR product in its home market — Huawei VR Glass, which as the name itself suggests, is a virtual reality headset. Priced at 2,999 Yuan (~$424), it will be available for purchase in China from December.

The newly launched Huawei VR Glass has lens barrel thickness of 26.6mm which is almost one-third of that of Oculus Quest and HTC Vivo Pro. It weighs around 166 grams and the temples come with a foldable design and it has a distance adaptation of 55 to 71 mm.

The company says that the glasses can be adjusted in the range of 0-degree to 700-degree myopia, 55mm to 71mm distance adaptive, has a breathable sunshade mask and is comfortable while wearing.

As for the specifications, it offers screen resolution of 3200 x 1600 pixels with up to 1058PPI pixel desnity, 90-degree field-of-view, 70/90Hz refresh rate. It comes with 3D sound effects and provides IMAX giant screen-like experience.

The company says that it will have access to 30,000 hours of VR video from the content resources, along with three major VR live broadcast platform and more than 100 virtual reality games.

The mirror leg of Huawei VR Glass comes with dual speakers that offer a wide sound field, built-in dual SmartPA, and supports 3D sound stereo. It can also be connected with Bluetooth headphones.

Huawei says that the device is ergonomically designed to fit the face. It uses protein leather material which is soft and comfortable, the elastic mask magnetic suction is removable and the myopic groups do not need to wear additional glasses.

Sharp announces WG-PN1 electronic notebook with 6 inch e-ink display

By

Sahil

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Oct 24, 2019

While most people nowadays use their smartphones to take notes or create a “to-do list”, a small niche of users like business professionals still exist who need to write down even the smallest of details, who cannot rely on smartphones. In order to cater to this group of customers, Sharp has announced an electronic notebook with an e-ink display. Dubbed the Sharp WG-PN1, it will be available for purchase starting next month in its country of origin, Japan.

The Sharp WG-PN1 measures 157 x 114 x 10.4 mm and it tips the scale at 210 g. The electronic notebook features a 6-inch e-ink display that has a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. Its body is made out of grey coloured plastic which falls in line with other business oriented electronics like Lenovo’s Thinkpad laptops.

Sharp ships the device with a notebook style cover which will protect its display while travelling. The cover also has a loop which is used to hold the touch stylus when it is not in use. The device is powered by a lithium-ion battery which can be replenished via the bottom mounted USB C port. The in-built battery is claimed to provide a battery backup of upto 10 days which will naturally vary depending upon usage.

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The device is capable of storing upto 7,000 pages of handwritten data that can be stored for as long as 9 years. Besides, users can even transfer these notes to a computer in image format. Additionally, it has the option to make several “to-do” lists and create schedules which will help the user with better time management. Another highlighting feature is the option to make sticky notes which float over other content.

As previously mentioned, the Sharp WG-PN1 will only be offered in Japan, starting next month. It carries a price tag of 23,000 yen, about 1495 yuan.

Readers interested in checking about the official webpage of the device can do so by clicking here.

Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 is getting MIUI 11 beta update based on Android 10

By

Jeet

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Oct 24, 2019

Late last month, Xiaomi announced its latest version of the MIUI custom Android interface, called MIUI 11. After rolling out the beta version of the update to several of its smartphones, the company has confirmed that the Mi MIX 3 is getting the update.

The MIUI 11 beta update based on Android 10 operating system is now being rolled out to the Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 smartphone in China. The version being pushed to the users is MIUI 11 9.10.23 beta and the installation package size is 2.3GB.

The company has advised users to take backup of their smartphone before they start installing this new update. Also, it has warned users that some of the third-party apps may not be compatible with Android 10 and could face issues.

Xiaomi’s MIUI 11 is a big update that changes up a lot of things for the popular Android skin. Starting with the visual aspects, you get slightly softer icons, a system-wide dark mode, new Mi Lan Pro system font and improved always-on display functionality. There are also new animations, themes, wallpapers and improved notification system.

Another big new addition in MIUI 11 is the enhanced audio experience with all-new dynamic natural sound effects and alarms. Xiaomi also announced the new Mi Go Travel suite which will help you with booking tickets for a broad range of transport ranging from airplane to rail and bus alongside currency conversion and an extreme power-saving mode.

If you want to know everything about the MIUI — its features and tools that the company is offering in this newer version, click here.

Honor 9X, 9X Pro prices slashed by 200 Yuan in China

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Oct 24, 2019

In July, Honor had launched the Honor 9X and Honor 9X Pro smartphones in China. The Honor 9X series is now gradually making its way outside of China. In the home market, Honor has announced a price cut of 200 Yuan on Honor 9X Pro and a discount of 100 Yuan on Honor 9X.

The Honor 9X variants such as 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage respectively costed 1,899 Yuan (~$269) and 2,099 Yuan (~$297). With the 100 Yuan (~$14) price cut, these variants can be availed respective revised costs of 1,799 Yuan (~$255) and 1,999 Yuan (~$283).

The other variants of the Honor 9X such as 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage are respectively priced at 1,399 Yuan (~$198) and 1,599 Yuan (~$226). These models haven’t received a price cut.

The Honor 9X Pro with 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage that was priced at 2,399 Yuan (~$339) at launch is now available for 2,199 Yuan (~$311) after a discount of 200 Yuan (~$28).. The 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage which is the other variant continues to sell at 2,199 Yuan. Hence, both of the Honor 9X Pro are now available at same pricing in China. The new price cut could be a limited period offer.

Editor’s Pick: Honor 20 Lite (China) Hands on pictures and camera samples

Honor 9X and Honor 9X Pro Specifications

The Honor 9X and 9X Pro are both equipped with 6.59-inch IPS LCD displays with notch-less design. Both support full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels and tall aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The Kirin 810 chipset is at the helm of both devices. Both models are packed with 4,000mAh batteries and they carry support for 10W charging through USB-C. The EMUI 9.1.1 based Android 9 Pie OS runs on both devices.

The Honor 9X duo have 16-megapixel pop-up selfie cameras. The rear side of the Honor 9X has a dual camera setup with a 48-megapixel main lens and 2-megapixel depth senor. The Honor 9X Pro has a triple camera system on its back. It has a 48-megapixel primary shooter, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens and a 2-megeapixel depth sensor. These devices are equipped with side-mounted fingerprint scanners.

Honor is expected to launch the Honor 9X smartphone in November in India. Rumors have it that the company may not launch the Honor 9X Pro alongside it.

Huawei Mate 30 is expected to ship 10 million units in the next few months

By

Jeet

-

Oct 24, 2019

Huawei recently launched its flagship smartphones in the form of Huawei Mate 30 series, which has been very popular in its home market China. The phone went on sale last month, i.e. September and earlier this month, it was reported that the company managed to sell over a million units of the same.

Now, He Gang, President of Huawei’s Consumer Business and Mobile Product Line has said that the sale of flagship Huawei Mate 30 series is expected to reach 10 million units by the end of this year, before the Spring Festival.

Additionally, he has also revealed that the company’s total smartphone shipments are expected to be around 240-250 million for the current year. The 4G version of the Mate 30 series went on sale last month while the 5G variants are set to go on sale next month.

This seems like a major achievement for the company which has been hit by a ban by the United States, barring the company from using any technology from the US-based firms. That’s the reason Mate 30 series comes without support for Google apps and services.

While the lack of support isn’t a big deal for the Chinese market given that most Android phones in the region comes without support for Google Play services, access to Google apps and services is vital in other regions.

Despite the lack of access to Google, the company has started the international expansion of the Huawei Mate 30 series smartphones and is now being sold in some regions of Europe and in Malaysia.

He Gang has not revealed anything related to the sales forecast of the Huawei Mate X smartphone. He said that at this stage, the company is hoping to learn and understand the customer experience with the foldable smartphones.

For those who are unaware, Huawei has finally released its much-awaited Mate X foldable smartphone in China which will go on sale from 15th November. The Kirin 990 SoC powered variant of the Mate X will be launched in March next year.

[UPDATE: Pre-sales Begin] Palm confirms that its coming to China

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

-

Oct 24, 2019

UPDATE: The Palm Phone is up for pre-sales on JD.com with a price tag of 1,999 Yuan (~$283). The shipments of the phone will begin on Nov. 1 and it will be available for buying in Xuanwu Ash and Elegant Gold color editions.

Original story follows…

Palm Phone was made official in the U.S. through Verizon with a price tag of $199 last year. The unlock edition of the phone had arrived with a price tag of $349. Recently, the same phone was spotted on TENAA with all its specifications recently. It suggested that the TCL powered Palm may soon debut the Palm Phone in China. The official Weibo account of Palm China states that it will be soon launching a phone in the country.

The below shown poster carries the image of the Palm Phone. It indicates that the company is likely to launch the same phone in China in the coming days. The details of the phone are known through its U.S. launch and TENAA listing.

Palm Phone Specifications

The Palm Phone that can easily fit in the palm of the user measures 96.6 x 50.6mm and it weighs only 62.5 grams. The handset runs on Android 8.1 Oreo OS and serves a companion for the main smartphone of the user. It can synch all the notifications and messages from the main phone. The interface of the phone is similar to WatchOS.

The IP68 rated dustproof and water-resistant device is equipped with a 3.3-inch IPS LCD display that supports 720 x 1280 pixels HD resolution. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass. The front side of the phone features an 8-megapixel selfie shooter and it has a rear camera of 12-mgeapixel with LED flash.

Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi to boost its business in Africa in partnership with Jumia

The Snapdragon 435 chipset is present under the hood of the Palm Phone along with 3 GB of RAM. It has an internal storage of 32 GB and it has a microSD card slot for more storage. The 800mAh battery of the Palm Phone offers 3 days of standby time. It comes with connectivity features like 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS and USB-C.

Palm may not be a familiar for consumers in China. It used to a popular mobile phone manufacturer and was known for handheld devices featuring Palm OS, webOS, Windows CE and other operating systems. However, its popularity declined due to the rise of the global smartphone era. In 2018, the Palm Phone was announced by a San Francisco based startup named Palm that was backed by China-based TCL and famous NBA star Stephen Curry.

Realme smartphones will be getting exclusively customized ColorOS 7

By

Jeet

-

Oct 24, 2019

Realme started off as a sub-brand of OPPO but soon after its formation, the company split from the parent company to operate independently. Starting operations from India, Realme has now established presence in several regions.

Although it is an independent brand, Realme is using a lot of resources from OPPO to keep its operations going. One of them is ColorOS, a custom Android skin from Chinese smartphone maker OPPO, which is also being used by Realme.

There were reports making rounds about Realme working on its own operating system named RealmeOS based on Android, which will look very close to the stock Android. When the company announced a closed beta testing for the Realme 3 Pro users in India, it was assumed to be for the upcoming RealmeOS.

However, if the latest information coming from Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth is to be believed, then the RealmeOS is not coming. Instead, the company will get its own branch of ColorOS with the upcoming major release — ColorOS 7.

Madhav Sheth has confirmed that the company’s smartphones will have an execlusive customized version of the ColorOS 7 that will be similar to the stock Android in terms of user interface. However, he has not shared more information about the same.

In the same AskMadhav Q&A session, he also confirmed that the company’s smartphones with quad-camera setup — Realme 5, 5 Pro, and XT will be getting video recording support with the ultra wide camera lens. He also hinted about the Realme Fitness Tracker getting launched in India pretty soon.

Coming to the upcoming ColorOS 7, there’s noting known about this custom user interface at this time. However, OPPO Vice President recently confirmed that the OPPO Reno 10X Zoom will be getting the ColorOS 7, which was also the first official confirmation from the Chinese company about the existence of ColorOS 7.

(Source)

iQOO Neo SD855 Iceland Aurora color variant revealed hours before its official launch

By

Jeet

-

Oct 24, 2019

Vivo’s sub-brand for premium gaming smartphones — iQOO has been teasing the launch a new smartphone — iQOO Neo SD855 variant. The phone is all set to go official in its home country China today at 19:00 PM local time.

Now, hours before the phone’s official launch, the company has shared a render of the upcoming smartphone, revealing a new color variant — Iceland Aurora. It is a gradient color option with a combination of lighter shade of Blue and Purple colors.

From the previously shared information, it has already been known that the smartphone will come in two more color options — Purple and Black. Through company’s teasers and several leaks, the upcoming phone’s specifications are already known.

It has been already confirmed that the iQOO Neo SD855 will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 octa-core processor and will pack 4,500mAh battery that will come with support for 33W fast charging.

The specifications of the device, leaked through the TENAA listing, reveals that the phone will be featuring a 6.38-inch AMOLED display that supports Full HD+ screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. The renders of the phone in the listing reveals that the device will have a waterdrop notch on top of the display.

Along with the SD855 SoC clocked at 2.84GHz, the smartphone will also come with 6GB and 8GB RAM variants and three storage options to choose from — 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. The company has already confirmed that the device will come with UFS 3.0 storage. However, there won’t be microSD card slot for expanding the storage capacity on the device.

Coming to the camera setup, the device will have a triple-camera setup on the back, consisting of a 12-megapixel primary sensor, an 8-megapixel secondary wide-angle sensor, and a 2-megapixel tertiary depth sensor. On the front side, it is expected to come with a 12-megapixel snapper.

The smartphone will be offered in three colors — Carbon Black, Electro-optic Purple, and Icelandic Aurora. The iQOO Neo Snapdragon 855 Edition is now up for reservation in China and will be available for purchase from 1st November.

Huawei Nova 6 5G (WLZ-AN00) in works; December launch likely

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

-

Oct 24, 2019

Currently, the Kirin 990 chipset by Huawei is the only 5G flagship chipset in the market. The Exynos 990 that went official earlier today is Samsung’s 5G flagship SoC that will be possibly seen first on the Galaxy S11 series next year. The Kirin 990’s 5G major rival is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865. It is expected to go official by December. With few months of time in hand, Huawei is reportedly aiming to launch couple of 5G flagship phones before its competitors. The Honor V30 5G is expected to go official in the coming month. Fresh information reveals that the Huawei Nova 6 5G phone is also in works.

A new 5G phone from Huawei with model number WLZ-AN00 has been spotted on the database of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (CMIIT). It appears that the smartphone could be codenamed as Waltz. The listing has no information on the specs of the phone, but it does confirm that the Nova 6 is a 5G smartphone. Probably, it will be also powered by the Kirin 990 5G chipset.

Huawei is expected to announce the Honor V30 5G smartphone. Since the Nova 4 had gone official in December last year, the Nova 6 may arrive by the end of this year. Plenty of variants of the smartphone such as WLZ-TL10, WLZ-TL00, WLZ-AL10, WLZ-AL00, WLZ-L29, WLZ-LX2 and many more have already appeared on the database of Bluetooth SIG body. Again, no details on the specs of the phone have appeared through its Bluetooth certification. However, it appears that the Nova 6 will be also available in non-5G edition.

Editor’s Pick: Check out the Huawei Mate X 5G hands-on pictures

In related news, Honor President George Zhao has revealed that the upcoming Honor V30 will be equipped with support for Non-Stand Alone (NSA) and Stand Alone (SA) modes. Plenty of leaks have revealed many details of the phone. It is speculated that there will be two models such as Honor V30 and Honor V30 Pro.

Rumors have it that the Honor V30 Pro will have an OLED 90Hz display with an elliptical punch-hole for dual selfie snappers. It could be featuring a 60-megapixel quad camera. It may house a 4,200mAh battery that will carry support for 40W SuperCharge technology and it may also support 15W wireless charging. The Honor V30 may come with an IPS LCD display with a punch-hole for single selfie camera. The non-5G edition of Kirin 990 may power the device. It may house a60-megapixel triple camera system. The handset may come with a 4,000mAh battery with 22.5W SuperCharge technology. It may not feature wireless charging support. The Honor V30 and V30 Pro may not cost more than 3,000 Yuan (~$424) in China.

(source)

Samsung Galaxy S10 starts getting update to fix fingerprint recognition issue

By

Jed John Ikoba

-

Oct 24, 2019

A story emerged last week that the Galaxy S10 fingerprint can be unlocked by an unregistered fingerprint when a sub-standard screen protector was attached. The story rattled the headlines when it emerged last week. Apparently, the issue also affected the Galaxy Note 10 series.

Samsung promised to push a fix for the issue soon and that is already happening. The update is said to be hitting Galaxy S10 and Note 10 units in South Korea. We expect a global rollout to happen pretty soon.

The software flaw was first reported by a British woman whose Galaxy S10 unit was successfully unlocked by her husband’s thumbprint after fixing a cheap screen protector on the device. The lady had bought a £2.70 gel screen protector on eBay and then noticed her left thumbprint, which was not registered could also unlock the phone. Both of her husband’s thumbs could also unlock the phone. The same scenario played out when the screen protector was added to another relative’s phone which we believe is also a Galaxy S10.

The scanner sends ultrasounds to detect 3D ridges of fingerprints in order to recognise users. Samsung explained the problem by noting that the ultrasonic fingerprint was mistakenly “recognizing 3-dimensional patterns appearing on certain silicone screen protecting cases as users’ fingerprints.”

(via)

Moto G8 Plus Geekbench listing appears before launch

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

-

Oct 24, 2019

Motorola is expected to unleash the Moto G8 series of smartphones later today through an unveil event in Brazil. Ahead of the launch, the Moto G8 Plus has been spotted on Geekbench benchmarking platform. The listing confirms that the phone will be powered by Snapdragon 665 mobile platform.

In the below show screenshot of the Geekbench 5 benchmarks of Moto G8 Plus, it can be seen that the device is powered by a “trinket” chipset which refers to the Snapdragon 665 SoC. The chipset that has a base frequency of 1.80GHz is coupled with 4 GB of RAM. The handset runs on Android 9 Pie OS. In the single-core test, it has scored 314 points and it has recorded a score of 1264 points in the multi-core test.

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Moto G8 Plus Specifications (Rumored)

Reports that have surfaced in the recent weeks have revealed almost everything about the Moto G8 Plus smartphone. It is speculated that the smartphone is equipped with a 6.3-inch IPS LCD display with waterdrop notch that produces 1080 x 2280 pixels full HD+ resolution and 19:9 aspect ratio.

The front notch of the phone is expected to house a 25-megapixel selfie camera. The renders of the phone have revealed that it features a triple camera setup on its back. It comprises of a 48-megapixel primary lens, a 16-megapixel ultrawide lens with 117-degree field-of-view that is dubbed as Action Camera and a 5-megapixel depth assist lens. The rear-facing logo of the company is integrated with a fingerprint reader.

The Android 9 Pie OS with its near stock experience will be available on the Moto G8 Plus. The smartphone is expected to release in 64 GB and 128 GB storage editions. For more storage, it could be equipped with a microSD card slot. The G8 Plus is likely to draw power from a 4,000mAh capacity. Motorola’s TurboPower rapid charging technology could be available on the device. As far as connectivity is concerned, the G8 Plus will offer regular features like dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C and 3.5mm audio jack. Some regions may receive NFC-enabled variant of the phone.

The renders have suggested that the Moto G8 Plus will be housed in a polycarbonate chassis and it will come in color options such as Blue and Red. There is no word on the pricing and availability of the device.

(source)

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iQOO Neo 855 Design

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