Vivo iQOO Pro 5G reservation crosses 600,000 even before official launch

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Aug 21, 2019

The countdown to the August 22 launch of Vivo‘s iQOO Pro 5G flagship phone is already on. Ahead of the official launch, the company had opened reservations for the phone on its official website. The Vivo iQOO Pro 5G is turning out to be a very popular smartphone as the reservations have surpassed 600,000 persons as at the time of filing this report.

Although not all reservations will translate to actual sales, the surge is an indication that a lot of persons find the device interesting. This could be as a result of the sleek design and powerful hardware, including the 5G modem. In another light, it is possible the iQOO Pro 5G is courting attention because of expectations that it could be the cheapest 5G phone when launched.

The Vivo iQOO Pro 5G packs 6.41-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display with an on-screen fingerprint scanner. It will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset having a Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 modem for 5G connectivity. The smartphone will come with 8GB and 12GB RAM. There will also be three storage options to choose from – 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. In terms of photography, the Vivo iQOO Pro 5G will adopt a 12MP selfie shooter for selfies upfront. While at the rear aspect, there will be a triple camera setup comprising of 48MP+ 13MP+12MP sensors.

The device will get its power from a 4500mAH battery and has 44W ultra-fast flash charge support. You won’t have to bother about the phone heating up when charging as it uses two charging ICs, which not only achieves better control of the temperature increase but also extends the peak charging time to 2-3 times. The iQOO Pro is said to have a peak charging time of just about 15 minutes. Can you bestie beat that? We just hope they’re not making an explosive device, I mean literally.

UP NEXT: Oppo shares specifications of Oppo Reno 2 ahead of its launch

(source)

Supreme teams up with BLU to launch the Supreme/Blu Burner phone

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Aug 21, 2019

Supreme, not the “legal fake” Supreme Italia, has launched its fall/winter 2019 catalogue with products such as Voodoo Dolls and table tennis sets. The catalogue also included a Supreme-branded feature phone dubbed Supreme/Blu Burner phone. The phone is actually manufactured by Blu and will join the other products to go on sale on August 22nd in Supreme’s New York, Los Angeles, London, and Paris stores.

The phone is a budget device that appears to be a BLU Zoey 2.4 by another name. That means the feature phone packs a 2.4-inch display with 128MB of internal memory. The company did include a 16GB memory card, though, which is impressive. It offers just 3G connectivity but you get a built-in camera at the rear. The device is available in a sleek red and black colour options. The phone also comes with Blu and Supreme logos.

EDITOR’S PICK: Nokia 3.2 lands on Verizon Wireless as Nokia 3V

There is no word yet on the pricing but we don’t expect it to be too expensive considering that it is just a feature phone with Supreme’s badge. The company had earlier teamed up with Mophie a few different times on a range of Supreme-branded battery packs. The power banks weren’t too expensive but were difficult to get since they sold out pretty much instantly.

UP NEXT: Honor GamePad unveiled at gamescom 2019

(source)

The Xiaomi Mi A3 killer, Umidigi X going official for $179.99 on August 26

By

Simranpal Singh

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Aug 21, 2019

UMIDIGI always stuns the users by launching outstanding devices at a quite competitive price. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer today unfolded the pricing details of the recently launched UMIDIGI X smartphone. The interested users can buy it for the price of $179.99 starting August 26 from UMIDIGI Official Store on Aliexpress. It is the world’s most affordable smartphone with an in-screen fingerprint sensor.

Umidigi will host a Global Sale from 7 AM GMT on August 26 on Aliexpress. The first 1000 buyers will receive free Umidigi’s new true wireless earbuds – Upods. The company is also offering a hefty discount of $10 to the first 10000 Upod buyers.

Umidigi X specifications and features

Umidigi X comes packed with a 6.35 inch AMOLED waterdrop Full-Screen display. It easily competes against the Xiaomi Mi A3 with 4GB LPDDR4X RAM + 128 GB Internal storage with Helio P60 on board. The Umidigi X features a triple-camera setup consisting of a 48-megapixel primary lens, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a 5-megapixel depth lens. On the front, it has a 16MP selfie camera.

It has a 4000 mAh battery intact with 18W fast charging support. Notably, the Umidigi X supports NFC and fully support Google Pay, whereas the Xiaomi Mi A3 misses on this metric. The user can enjoy the pure stock experience with Umidigi X as it runs on Stock Android, and the Xiaomi Mi A3 comes with Android One.

As compared above, both the smartphones fare well against each other with the difference of a tiny drop in the bucket. However, there’s a huge price difference between both the devices. The Umidigi X is available for $179.99 for 4GB + 128GB internal storage while the Mi A3 is retailing at the $279 for 4GB + 64GB version. The users can also get a super surprise between 26-31 August if you add Umidigi X to cart now. Similarly, grab UMIDIGI Upods for $9.9 until first 10000 orders.

The interested users can even it for free as the company is running a big giveaway to recruit 20 trial users for UMIDIGI X and Upods. You can earn more details and join a huge giveaway by heading to the official website.

Up Next: UMIDIGI X’s optical in-screen fingerprint scanner beats the ultrasonic one of Galaxy Note 10

Lenovo Z6 Pro now available in Slovakia for €529

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Aug 21, 2019

It was a surprise when we first learned that the Lenovo Z6 Pro will be launching outside China. It has been nearly two weeks since it went on sale in Bulgaria. It has now made its way to Slovakia.

The Z6 Pro is sold on lenovoonlie.sk for €529 and it is available in Black and Blue.

That amount gets you a phone with a 6.39-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a waterdrop notch. It is powered by the Snapdragon 855 processor paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of eMMC storage. It is unfortunate Lenovo decided to not use UFS storage which is faster than eMMC for its flagship phone. The hybrid SIM slot means you can add a MicroSD card slot for up to an additional 1TB of storage.

You also get quad (technically five) rear cameras – a 48MP primary sensor paired with a 16MP ultrawide angle camera, an 8MP telephoto camera, and a 2MP dedicated video camera with OIS. The phone also has a ToF 3D sensor. The phone also has a 32MP selfie camera and an in-display fingerprint scanner.

While the phone skips on using a faster type of storage, it does have an audio jack which a lot of flagship phones are missing these days. There is also a 4000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging over USB-C. The Lenovo Z6 Pro runs Android 9 Pie out of the box with ZUI on top.

We expect the phone will make its way to more countries in the coming weeks.

(Sources: 1, 2)

UP NEXT: Lenovo A6 Note gets Thailand’s NBTC approval, launch imminent?

Xiaomi announces a Mijia LCD Blackboard, joins crowdfunding platform

By

Airyl Jaszly

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Aug 21, 2019

Xiaomi has just announced the Mijia LCD Blackboard as the latest product to join their crowdfunding platform. It’s essentially just a digital blackboard that’s meant be used as a learning tool or a drawing tool. Unlike your typical industry standard digital blackboard however, the Mijia LCD Blackboard is much smaller, and more of a digital writing pad to help people reduce their use of paper.

For all intents and purposes, the Mijia LCD Blackboard is fully usable as a writing pad replacement. It allows the user to write and erase content as they please, don’t there don’t seem to be any other features outside of that. Xiaomi’s especially proud that the device’s display doesn’t emit an blue light, reducing eye strain on prolonged use.

Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi Mi A3 officially launched in India

Although we don’t typically write about them, China has been heavily marketing these smaller digital blackboards recently. A quick search on Aliexpress reveals a lot of similar products at similar price ranges. According to Xiaomi however, what sets the Xiaomi’s effort apart from competitors are its high contrast text, the lack of blue light and the higher resolution.

The Mijia LDC Blackboard comes in two sizes, those being 10 inches and 13.5 inches two. The 10-inch model comes in at 49 yuan ($7) and 79 yuan ($12). The Mijia LCD small blackboard body is 7mm thick and has 10 inches and 13.5 inches. The 10-inch version weighs 195g and the 13.5-inch version weighs 345g.

UP NEXT: Redmi Note 8 series to be powered by Helio G90T, confirms MediaTek

(Source)

Redmi Note 8 series to be powered by Helio G90T, confirms MediaTek

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Aug 21, 2019

At July end, MediaTek had unleashed the gaming-centric Helio G90 and Helio G90T chipsets. After its announcement, Redmi as well as its General Manager Lu Weibing had revealed through Weibo that the company will be releasing Helio G90T powered Redmi phones in future. Since then the rumor mill has been speculating that the Redmi Note 8 or Note 8 Pro could be equipped with the Helio G90T. The official confirmation has come from MediaTek now. It has revealed through Weibo that Helio G90T powered Redmi Note 8 series will be debuting on Aug. 29.

The poster released by MediaTek states that the Redmi Note 8 and Note 8 Pro will be both powered by Helio G90T. However, there is a possibility that only the Redmi Note 8 Pro could be equipped with Helio G90T processor. The reason behind it that the Redmi Note 8 Pro is expected to come equipped with a 64-megapixel quad camera setup. Among the Helio G90 and Helio G90T processors, only the G90T carries support for 64-megapixel camera.

So, if the 64-megapixel camera sensor will remain exclusive to the Pro model, the Redmi Note 8 could be equipped with a different chipset. Since MediaTek is also endorsing the Redmi Note 8, probably it could be fueled by the Helio G90 that supports 48-megapixel primary lens. Before drawing conclusions, it is advisable to wait for further reports to know exact details on the camera configurations and processors for Redmi Note 8 and Note 8 Pro handsets.

Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi Mi A3 officially launched in India

In terms of performance, the Geekbench and AnTuTu appearance of the 12nm Helio G90 had revealed that its performance is no par with Kirin 810 and 8nm Snapdragon 730 chipset. The Helio G90 includes two Cortex-A76 cores working at 2 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores working at 2GHz. It includes ARM Mali G76 graphics that clocks at 700MHz and it carries support 21:9 aspect ratio display, 60Hz refresh rate, HDR10 standard, up to 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.1 storage.

The 12nm Helio G90T includes two Cortex-A76 cores working at 2.05 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores working at 2GHz. It includes ARM Mali G76 graphics that clocks at 800MHz and it carries support 21:9 aspect ratio display, 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10 standard, up to 10 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.1 storage.

The Helio G90 series of chipsets support HyperEngine for improved connectivity between a smartphone and a cellular network. There is Dual Wi-Fi connection support that allows the phone to connect to two Wi-Fi networks at the same time. Its other features include Call and Data Concurrency, Resource Management Engine and a Picture Quality Engine.

(source)

UP NEXT: Image of Redmi TV shared by the company showcases its design

Qualcomm and LG reach patent license agreement, paving the way for launch of LG’s 5G phone

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Aug 21, 2019

LG was expected to launch its 5G smartphone known as V50ThinQ5G back in May this year but that did not happen. It later emerged that some disagreement with Qualcomm over chipset contract was responsible for the delay. Qualcomm and LG have now reached an agreement that gives the South Korean tech giant access to the Qualcomm’s 3G, 4G, and 5G cellular modem technologies.

LG’s current contract with Qualcomm is said to have expired 2018 and LG was looking to negotiate a new contract with the chipset maker on terms based on a recent court ruling which classified Qualcomm as a monopoly. However, Qualcomm filed an appeal to the antitrust ruling and so would not want to negotiate on that basis. Qualcomm’s appeal could linger and thus, force LG to enter into an unfair agreement with Qualcomm. For this reason, LG instituted another lawsuit in the US, which opposes Qualcomm’s decision to set aside the antitrust ruling. Part of the court filing read “If Qualcomm does not participate in negotiations with LG Electronics in accordance with the court’s order, LGE will have no option but to conclude license and chipset supply agreements once again on Qualcomm’s terms.”

EDITOR’S PICK: Nokia 3.2 lands on Verizon Wireless as Nokia 3 V

Apparently, both companies are agreeing to terms based on anti-trust court ruling but we can’t say how this will affect negotiations between Qualcomm and other 5G device makers. It is also worthy of note that Qualcomm reached a similar modem supply and patent licensing deal with Apple, one of its key customers, which had instigated lawsuits and antitrust investigations regarding Qualcomm’s chip supply terms. Shortly after Qualcomm and Apple settled their dispute, a U.S. federal court ruled that Qualcomm had been illegally suppressing smartphone chip competition, and ordered the company to renegotiate licensing agreements with customers at reasonable prices without threatening to cut off their supplies. That seems to be what has just happened.

UP NEXT: Oppo shares specifications of Oppo Reno 2 ahead of its launch

(source)

iBasso DX160 Portable Music Player with Android 8.1 and 1080p display now on presale for $469

By

Simranpal Singh

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Aug 21, 2019

iBasso is popularly known for its high-quality Digital Audio Players based on the Android operating system. The company recently unveiled the iBasso DX160 featuring high-end specification in four different colors – White, Black, Red, and Blue. The iBasso DX160 Black is now put on presale for $469 and is expected to ship from September.

It carries some exceptional features like the dual CS43198 DAC implementation, Android 8.1 Oreo and a 5-inch HD+ display with 1080×1920 pixels resolution and 445 PPI. The Bluetooth 5.0 packed device carries impressive design and hi-end DAC chips for outstanding sound quality. iBasso DX160 is powered with an octa-core processor coupled with a 2G RAM. It produces optimal 125dB SNR for single-ended headphone while for the balanced headphone the SNR ranges to 130dB. It comes with a 2GB LPDDDR3 RAM and 32GB Internal Storage.

The DX160 uses the Dual CS43198 chipset which is capable of DSD over PCM (DSD DoP) up to DSD256 and PCM 32/384kHz. It even supports MQA decoding which is rare these days in Digital Audio Players.

The users can easily install apps on the Android Oreo Operating system.

Its dimensions measures at 113 x 69 x 15mm and weighs 178g with a design similar to FiiO M9. A glossy glass panel is present on the rear side along with the matte black anodized finish on tan aluminum chassis. The user need not to worry about the battery backup, as the device comes with a 3200 mAh battery supporting Quick Charge 3.0 support. It can easily withstand 13 hours of continuous playback upon single full charge.

Buy Now

Up Next: FiiO M11 Pro high-end portable audio player launched with Android-based OS

Honor GamePad unveiled at gamescom 2019

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Aug 21, 2019

Gamescom (stylized as gamescom) is an annual trade fair for games held in Germany. This year’s edition began yesterday, August 20, and will run until Saturday, August 24. Chinese smartphone maker, Honor, was at the fair yesterday where it unveiled the Honor GamePad.

The Honor GamePad is a controller that attaches to your phone via USB-C but actually works over Bluetooth. The USB-C connection is to supply and or draw power from your phone. Yes, the 400mAh built-in battery can supply power o your phone during intense gaming when needed. It can also draw power from the phone too.

The Honor GamePad comes in black with bright yellow buttons. There is a trigger button at the top along with a joystick and a D-pad. There is also a black button below the D-pad. XDA-Developers reports that the buttons are customizable but dependent on the game’s own settings.

Honor didn’t reveal the price of the gamepad or when it will be available. However, they did say it will be sold in Western Europe later this year. While the controller is designed for Honor phones, the adjustable clamp should make it work for most devices (with USB-C).

(Source)

UP NEXT: Is the Flydigi Wasp 2 the best gamepad for Android? Watch our video review to find out

Oppo shares specifications of Oppo Reno 2 ahead of its launch

By

Jeet

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Aug 21, 2019

Oppo has already confirmed that it will be launching the Oppo Reno 2 series smartphones in the Indian market on 28th August. Now, ahead of the phone’s launch, the company has shared some specs of this upcoming smartphone.

In a media statement, the company said that the Oppo Reno 2 will feature a 6.55-inch Full HD+ AMOLED Panoramic display with a 20:9 aspect ratio and 93.1 percent screen-to-body ratio. It will also come with an under-display fingerprint sensor for added security.

While the phone’s front panel will be protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass 6, the back panel will be protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Under the hood, the device will be powered by the Snapdragon 730G octa-core processor.

The phone will pack 8GB of RAM and will come with 256GB of internal storage. Focusing on the gaming side, the company will be offering anti-cheat extensions, 25 percent better graphic processing, HDR10 Gaming support, and Game Assistant, among others.

The company has also revealed that the device will be powered by a 4,000mAh battery which will come with 20W VOOC 3.0 fast-charging support and USB Type-C port for connectivity. Other features announced by the company include Frame Boost 2.0, Touch Boost 2.0, and Link Boost.

Editor’s Pick: Samsung Galaxy Note10 series is crushing the pre-order record of its predecessor in South Korea

Oppo has not shared details about the smartphone’s camera configuration, which seems to be the highlight of the device. In a teaser image shared by the company, it shows that the smartphone will have quad-camera setup on the back and on the front side, it will continue to offer shark-fin design for the pop-up mechanism.

As per the leaks, the Reno 2 will feature Samsung‘s 48MP primary sensor paired with a 13MP telephoto sensor with 2x optical zoom, an 8MP ultrawide sensor, and a 2MP depth sensor. A 16MP sensor will be present on the front for taking selfies and video calling.

A recent leak related to the Oppo Reno 2 series claimed that the company will launch three smartphones in this series — Reno 2, Reno 2Z and Reno 2F. The leaks also claim that the Reno 2F will be the cheapest offering while the Reno 2 will be the most expensive smartphone in the series. The Reno 2Z will sit in the middle of the other two phones.

The Oppo Reno 2 smartphone will be launched in two color options in the Indian market — Ocean Blue and Luminous Black. To know for sure which devices are up the company’s sleeves, as well as their pricing and availability details, we’ll have to wait for the official launch event.

(Via)

Up Next: Vivo’s new Z-series mid-range smartphone tipped to launch in September in the Indian market

Nokia 3.2 lands on Verizon Wireless as Nokia 3 V

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Aug 21, 2019

HMD Global has followed up its Nokia 2 V Android smartphone available on Verizon Wireless in the US with the new Nokia 3 V. The phone is HMD Global’s first post-paid device on the network and will be exclusive to Verizon.

The Nokia 3 V is actually a rebranded Nokia 3.2 just as the Nokia 2 V is a rebranded Nokia 2.1. The phone will sell for $168, much more than its $139 launch price back in February.

The phone packs a massive 6.2-inch HD+ display with a waterdrop notch. It is powered by the Snapdragon 429 processor which is paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. A 4000mAh battery provides up to 2 days of battery life.

There is a 13MP f/2.2 camera on the back of the phone along with a fingerprint scanner (not shown in the promotional image). It also has a 5MP selfie camera with support for Face Unlock. The phone also has a dedicated Google Assistant button.

HMD Global says the Nokia 3 V will receive two OS upgrades and will receive security updates for 18 months. It runs Android 9 Pie out of the box, so it should get Android Q and Android R, however, the updates will most likely not arrive in time.

Greetings from @verizon HQ here in Basking Ridge, NJ! Super excited to expand our portfolio in Verizon with the new Nokia 3 V! View more & do more with large screen and 2-day battery life. #nokiamobile pic.twitter.com/Gu3hqKQcgf

— Juho Sarvikas (@sarvikas) August 20, 2019

The official press statement recommends the phone for professionals too as it is on the Android Enterprise Recommended Devices list.

The Nokia 3 V will be available in blue (no gray and black) when it goes on sale on August 23 for $7 a month for 24 months. If you are interested, you can pick up a uni at Verizon storer or on VerizonWireless.com.

(Sources: 1, 2)

UP NEXT: HMD Global extends support for 1st gen Nokia phones by 1 year

Huawei Nova 5T to debut on August 25

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Aug 21, 2019

The Huawei Nova 5 series of smartphones that are available in China include Nova 5, Nova 5 Pro, Nova 5i and Nova 5i Pro. The Chinese manufacturer is now gearing up to launch another Nova phone in Malaysia. It has confirmed that it will be holding an unveil event on Aug. 25 at 10:30AM (local time) to announce Nova 5T smartphone.

Recent reports have revealed conflicting information on the Nova 5T. Last week, an Android Enterprise listing of a smartphone called Huawei Nova 5T was spotted. The image of the phone on Android Enterprise listing had revealed that it features a display with a punch-hole at its top-left corner.

On the specs front, it was revealed through that Nova 5T has a 5.5-inch display and it runs on Android 9 Pie OS. The smartphone is equipped with 8 GB of RAM and it has 128 GB and 256 GB storage choices. The image of the phone had further revealed that there is indentation on the right side of the phone. It could for the side-mounted fingerprint reader. A volume rocker can be seen above it.

Editor’s Pick: Chinese brands gains market share in Southeast Asia despite concerns over Huawei

Huawei Nova 5T Could be Rebranded Honor 20

At the end of the previous month, Thailand’s NBTC regulatory had certified that YAL-L21 Huawei phone as Nova 5T. The YAL-L21 model number actually belongs to the Honor 20 phone that had gone official in China in May this year. Hence, it appears that the Honor 20 could be rebranded as Nova 5T for Malaysia.

The Honor 20 has a 6.26-inch IPS LCD panel that supports full HD+ resolution. However, the Android Enterprise listing of the Nova 5T had shown that it features a 5.5-inch display. It appears that there could be an error with the display size of the Nova 5T in its Android Enterprise listing.

The Honor 20 features Kirin 980 chipset and its loaded with Magic 2.1 based Android 9 Pie OS. Its 3,750mAh battery supports 22.5W fast charging. It has a front-facing camera of 32-megapixel. The rear side of the phone features a quad camera setup that includes a 48-megapixel primary lens, an ultrawide 16-megapixel lens, a 2-megapixel macro camera and a 2-megapixel depth sensor.

(source)

UP NEXT: Alleged Huawei Enjoy 10 Plus smartphone passes through TENAA

Samsung officially announces Note 10 & Note 10+ 5G in China, Reveals Pricing & Availability

By

Joel Joseph

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Aug 21, 2019

Samsung has officially taken the wraps off its new Galaxy Note 10 lineup in China today. The Note 10 series is the company’s flagship lineup for the second half of the year and features top of the line specifications catering to the high-end market. Since we already know everything about the phone, let’s focus on the pricing of Note 10 and Note 10+ in China first.

Galaxy Note 10 China Pricing & Availability

Samsung is offering two models in the new lineup, the Galaxy Note 10 and the Galaxy Note 10+. Both the models have just one memory variant. The Galaxy Note 10 comes in an 8GB + 256GB variant while the Note 10+ 5G model comes in a 12GB +256GB variant in China. The Note 10 model is priced at 6599 yuan ($934) while the Note 10+ 5G will sell for 7999 yuan ($1132).

As for Note 10’s China availability, both the models start selling from September 12. The company is promising delivery in 7 working days. There are three colors available for both the models: Aura Glow, Aura White, and Aura Black.

Galaxy Note 10 Features

To recap, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 comes in two sizes, a 6.3-inch FHD+ dynamic AMOLED Note 10 model and a larger 6.8-inch WQHD+ dynamic AMOLED Galaxy Note 10+ model. The Plus variant comes with 5G support. There are no pop-ups or sliders as both the models use a cut out front-facing camera.

Note10_Auraglow1 — Note10 comes in Aura Glow in China

The models launched in China feature the Snapdragon 855 processor with the Note 10+ getting the additional SDX50 5G modem. While these two models offer powerful performance, the camera is their big highlight. In fact, Note 10+ 5G’s quad-cameras is currently rated as the best smartphone camera in the market. The smaller sibling features a triple camera setup featuring a 16MP ultrawide-angle lens, 12MP wide-angle lens, and another 12MP telephoto lens. Note that the setup remains the same for the Note 10+ 5G too, except for an additional TOF 3D camera.

Other notable features of the Note 10 duo include S-Pen, stereo speakers, wireless charging, Samsung DeX, under-display camera, AR features, and even Bixby.

Vivo to launch 6 new phones and online-exclusive U-series in India, claims report

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Aug 21, 2019

Chinese electronics giant Vivo is gearing up to launch six new smartphones in India ahead of the festive season. The smartphones will be sold via both online and offline channels. Vivo also plans to launch the mid-range U-series devices in the country exclusively via online retailers. The U-series will join the latest Z-series in Vivo’s lineup. According to a statement to Economic Times, Vivo India Director of Brand Strategies, Nipun Marya said, “Keeping in mind the excitement of the upcoming festive season, we are going to expand our portfolio. Heading into the festive season, we will easily have six new products in our lineup”.

Close to 80 percent of the market competition is in the price range of Rs. 8,000 (~$112) to Rs, 20,000 (~$280). With the U-series, Vivo plans to target the price-sensitive Indian market. The devices are expected to be priced between Rs. 10,000 (~$140) and Rs. 20,000 (~$280).

Editor’s Pick: Vivo NEX 3 real image showcases the phone’s Waterfall Screen design

Vivo had recently launched the S-series starting at Rs. 15,000 (~$210), and offers the V-series between the Rs. 20,000 (~$280) and Rs. 30,000 (~$420) mark. “We are putting out best foot forward. The results are bound to improve” Marya added on company’s plans to launch new devices in the near future

Citing GFK figures, Marya claimed that Vivo’s year-on-year growth stands at 40 percent, while the market share increased by 52 percent between April and June. According to the Counterpoint data, Vivo’s volume market share went down by 1 percent in the second quarter of this year. Its current market share stands at 11 percent. There have been no significant changes to Vivo’s shipment, and the graph is almost flat year-on-year. The performance, however, has been promising in the sub-Rs. 10,000 segment.

(source)

UP NEXT: Vivo’s new Z-series phone tipped to launch in September in India

Samsung Galaxy Note10 series is crushing the pre-order record of its predecessor in Korea

By

Jeet

-

Aug 21, 2019

It’s been a couple of weeks since Samsung launched its next-generation Note-series flagship smartphones — Samsung Galaxy Note10 and Galaxy Note10+. The Note10 and Note10+ have been available for pre-order for more than 11 days now, from August 9th.

Now, numbers are in for the pre-order of the Galaxy Note10 series smartphones and it indicates that these next-gen Note series smartphones have shattered the pre-order numbers of its predecessor.

According to a report from The Korea Herald, the pre-orders have surpassed the 1.3 million units mark in the company’s home country, South Korea. Notably, the numbers are double the number of Galaxy Note 9 pre-orders last year.

The report also notes that the carrier subsidies may have played a huge role, with carriers offering anywhere from 280,000 won (!$232) to $450,000 (!$372) subsidies to buyers. Before the carriers set subsidy limits, some agencies illegally offered up to 700,000 won (~$579) for Note 10 purchases, which accounts for more than half of the phone’s price.

Interestingly, the most popular Note10 model wasn’t the cheapest and the smallest variant. Instead, the most popular variant is the one which ships with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage out-of-the-box. The company said that Aura Glow 256GB Note 10+ model is the best-selling variant in the region.

The Samsung Galaxy Note10 series smartphones are all set to be available for purchase in all markets from 23rd August. The pricing of the Note10 starts at $949.99 in the US and ₹69,999 in India while the pricing of Note10+ starts at $1,099.99 in the US and ₹79,999 in India.

Editor’s Pick: Redmi Note 8 Pro smartphone featuring 64 MP camera sensor is launching in China on August 29

As for the specifications, the Samsung Galaxy Note10 features a 6.3-inch display while the bigger variant comes with a 6.8-inch display. Both the smartphones carry Dynamic AMOLED HDR+ screen with Full HD+ screen resolution. The devices are powered by Snapdragon 855 SoC or Exynos 9825 chipset, depending on the region.

In the camera department, the Note10 features a 12MP main sensor with optical image stabilization (OIS) and a dual aperture (f/1.5 and f/2.4). There’s also a telephoto camera with a 12MP sensor and OIS, plus a 123° ultra-wide-angle 16MP camera. The Note10+ has the same camera setup but also features an additional 3D ToF sensor. On the front side, both phones come equipped with a 10MP snapper.

Both phones run Android 9 Pie OS out-of-the-box with the company’s own Samsung One UI custom skin on top. The standard model is powered by a 3,500mAh battery with 25W fast charging support while the Plus variant is powered by a 4,300mAh battery with 45W fast charging support.

(Source)

Up Next: OnePlus CEO Pete Lau reveals that its upcoming OnePlus TV has Quantum Dot screen, launch set for next month

Chuwi will unveil MiniBook, LapBook Plus and few other devices at IFA 2019

By

Simranpal Singh

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Aug 21, 2019

A famous digital Chinese brand – Chuwi is launching a few new devices at the upcoming IFA 2019 event in Berlin, Germany. The company is primarily known for its tablet devices, smart robot cleaners, and other smart digital electronic products. Chuwi is going to launch new tablets, laptops, and Mini PCs at IFA 2019 to expand its product portfolio. Along with the latest products launch and promoting them at the international level, the company is aiming to showcase its developments and achievements of the past year

The company is going to launch a pocket laptop – Chuwi MiniBook laptop with an 8-inch display. It will come packed with Intel 8100Y processor coupled with 16GB RAM and 512 GB SSD internal storage. It is the most potent Ultra-mobile PC which will be launched at affordable pricing. The device supports a fully-functional Type-C port with PD support and an M.2 slot based on NVMe protocol and PCI-E channel with read/write speeds exceeding 2000MB/s.

The next is the Chuwi LapBook Plus with a 4K 15.6-inch display supporting HDR, 340-nits of brightness and 100% sRGB color gamut. The affordable LapBook Plus won’t compensate on any hardware specifications as it carries industrial-grade Intel X7 processor. It can perform exceptionally with its 8GB LPDDR3 RAM and 256 GB SSD storage. There’s an HD Graphics 505 GPU with support for 4K hard-decoding. The LapBook Plus is aimed for video/audio enthusiasts. Moreover, LapBook Plus will carry a standard numeric backlit keyboard.

Chuwi will further showcase various new devices at Hall 161, Hall 11-1, Berline Exhibition Centre from September 6-11.

Up Next: Chuwi MiniBook will soon support Active Stylus!

(source)

Confirmed: Meizu UR is just another accessory lineup, not a customization service

By

Joel Joseph

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Aug 21, 2019

Yesterday, we reported that Meizu had trademarked a new name ‘Meizu UR’. The application was filed early in August and was initially expected to be a high-end smartphone series. There were also reports that Meizu UR was actually a special smartphone customization service that was going to be launched by the company. However, Meizu’s VP, Huahai Liang dismissed all rumors earlier today clarifying the real identity of the new lineup.

Turns out, the ‘Meizu UR‘ is just another accessory lineup from the smartphone maker. So, its nothing fancy as we had initially expected. The first product in the lineup is confirmed to meet us on August 28 at the Meizu 16S Pro launch conference. Unfortunately, we still don’t know what kind of accessory will be announced in the UR lineup. It could be a pair of new headphones or even something totally different such a backpack or some other lifestyle accessory.

The star of the event will be none other than the Meizu 16S Pro flagship which is expected to come equipped with Snapdragon 855+ processor. There are even rumors about a 90Hz display similar to the OnePlus 7 Pro but we aren’t sure of that. Anyway, with the launch coming near, expect more details to be revealed pretty soon.

UP NEXT: Xiaomi Mi A3 officially launched in India, Priced Aggressively!

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Buy Lenovo E1 Smartwatch for Just $39.99 from Gearbest [Free Wristband]

By

Vinay Patel

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Aug 21, 2019

It is no secret that we must lead a healthier lifestyle in today’s fast-paced society wherein neglecting health for success is a normal practice.

While the market is teeming with smartwatches, smart bracelets and all sorts of other fitness gadgets that help you keep a track of your physical fitness and monitor most of your activities, these devices aren’t easy on the pocketbook. If you are in the market for an inexpensive smartwatch that offers amazing features, we got good news for you.

Known for offering China’s best electronic items at unbeatable prices, Gearbest has launched the Lenovo E1 Smart Watch Flash Sale, offering the coveted smartwatch from the Chinese technology company for a lowered price. Aside from doling out a noteworthy discount on the Lenovo E1, Banggood is giving its users a chance to win a gift with their orders.

Sporting a 1.33-inch screen, the global version of the Lenovo E1 would normally set you back a pretty penny on both online, as well as offline stores. Much to the relief of those on a tight budget, the feature-rich smartwatch, which usually carries a $49.99 price tag is now available for just $39.99 on Gearbest.

This noteworthy 20 percent discount will be valid for the black, as well as the green color options of the Lenovo E1 smartwatch. Moreover, first 500 lucky buyers will get a wristband free on their orders. Note that the gift will not be listed in the shopping cart, but it will be shipped directly to qualified buyers.

Designed exclusively for sports enthusiasts, the Lenovo E1 smartwatch adopts a single-hand control design for more convenient use when exercising. It features a soft silicone strap to offer a comfortable wearing experience even for a longer duration.

The Lenovo E1 can efficiently monitor your heart rate and sleep to generate an accurate health status report of the wearer. Lenovo uses 7H hardness 2.5D glass mirror treatment technology to protect the screen from accidental scratches.

It runs DIY 3D UI, allowing you to set the wallpaper and the position of the clock by yourself. Furthermore, the Lenovo E1 comes with seven sports modes including walking, running, cycling, skipping, etc. It is backed by a built-in 180mAh battery that delivers 10 days of battery life, and 25 days standby time.

You can visit the activity page to avail the discount and stand a chance of winning a gift by following this link. With 121 pieces already sold, the Flash Sale is slated to end in 29 days.

Lenovo E1 Smart Watch Flash Sale $39.99 With Free Gift on Gearbest

Xiaomi Mi A3 officially launched in India

By

Airyl Jaszly

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Aug 21, 2019

Xiaomi India has just launched the Mi A3 in India, the latest in the line of Xiaomi’s uber popular Android One series of devices. It’s the successor to the Mi A2 that was launched earlier last year, and as a Mi A-series device, it comes running fully stock Android as well.

The Mi A3 features a 6.08-inch Super AMOLED Dot Drop Display, which comes with an aspect ratio of 19.5:9 and has an HD+ resolution (1560×720). This display is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5, which should leave it more resistant to scratching and the like. The display also comes integrated with an in-screen fingerprint sensor for authentication.

The Mi A3 is powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 665 SoC, which features 8 Kryo 260 CPU cores and an Adreno 610 GPU. In terms of storage, the Mi A3 comes in two different configurations, a 4GB + 64GB variant and a 6GB + 128GB variant. These options can both be expanded via microSD to upto 256GB.

Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro has gone official in Europe

In the camera department, the Mi A3 can be considered as a notable upgrade from its predecessor, as it features AI-powered Triple rear cameras setup comprising of a 48MP primary camera sensor. The Sony IMX 586 sensor comes with an aperture of f/1.79. It is further paired with an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera with f/2.2 aperture and a 2MP depth-sensing camera as well.

On the front, the Mi A3 features a 32MP AI-powered selfie shooter that sits comfortably in the notch of the phone. On top of snapping photos, the selfie shooter also does double duty as the authenticator for the AI Face Unlock feature as well. The video recording capabilities of the rear cameras include – 4K video capture at 30fps, EIS, Slow-mo recording and they also feature AI scene detection for upto 27 different scenes as well.

Powering everything is a 4030mAh battery that supports 18W Fast Charging via Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0. There’s no fast charger in the box unfortunately, so you’ll need to get that somewhere else. On top of that, you can expect the usual slew of stock Android features like Google Assistant integration, as well as timely updates.

So, what about the pricing? The Mi A3 starts at Rs 12,999 for 4GB + 64GB storage variant, while the 6GB + 128GB variant is priced at Rs 15,999. It’ll be available for purchase from Amazon, as well as Xiaomi’s own website. It comes in three different colours, those being Not Just Blue, More Than White and Kind of Grey. The first sale of the new Android One-powered Mi A3 is scheduled for August 23.

UP NEXT: Xiaomi has sold 20 million Redmi Note 7 models in just 7 months!

Buy BMAX MaxBook Y11 Laptop for Just $299.99 from Banggood [Coupon]

By

Vinay Patel

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Aug 21, 2019

The tiny, splendid, yet omnipotent BMAX MaxBook Y11 is a 360-degree convertible touchscreen laptop that sets its possessor apart from other laptop users.

While you’d normally associate a steep price tag with a laptop that offers an impressive array of features and top-end specs, the feature-laden BMAX MaxBook Y11 has gone up for sale bearing a lowered price on Banggood. There’s a specific coupon code that you can use at checkout for an extra discount.

As part of its latest promotion, the Chinese online store known for offering the best bang for your buck is offering the BMAX Y11 laptop for a lowered price of just $460.79. This is a significant 23 percent drop in the device’s original asking price of $599.99.

In addition to taking advantage of the aforesaid discount, you can use coupon code BGBMAXY11 and save $160.80 more before placing your order. In other words, you can bring the already lowered retail price of the BMAX MaxBook Y11 laptop further down to just $299.99 simply by applying the aforesaid coupon at checkout.

If you spend more than $19.99, you’d be eligible for free shipping. It is worth mentioning here that the coupon will be valid only for the first hundred pieces. The remaining 101-300 pieces will set you back $339.99.

An absolute steal at this price, the BMAX Y11 laptop offers the following features:

11.6 inch IPS (10-Point Multi-touch) display with 1920 x 1080 (FHD) resolution
Intel Gemini Lake N4100 processor
Intel UHD Graphics 600 GPU
8GB LPDDR4 RAM / 256GB SSD
2MP single camera
Windows 10 OS
7000mAh Lithium-ion Polymer battery
115g weight

You can follow this link to visit the activity page and check out more details about the BMAX Y11 laptop. Note that the First Launch Discount will be valid for a limited number of pieces only.

BMAX MaxBook Y11 First Launch Discount on Banggood