Huawei banned from using Google services; Future phones to feature proprietary OS?

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May 20, 2019

On May 15, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce added Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd and its affiliates to the Entity List which includes companies and people that are considered a national security risk by the U.S. Government. Fresh information reveals that Google has suspended some of its business with Huawei in compliance with this new change. As a result, future phones from Huawei will continue to run on Android, but won’t feature proprietary apps and services by Google.

While Huawei has maintained that it is independent from the government of China, many countries have raised concerns that the company’s products could be used for surveillance by the Chinese government. Now that Huawei has been blacklisted in the U.S, it will not be able to use Google’s non-open source products and services. However, existing Huawei phones will continue to run on Android since it is publicly available.

According to a Google spokesperson, the search engine giant will not be releasing security updates and technical support for Android software running on Huawei devices. The existing phones from the company will continue to feature Google Play and its Play Protect security. However, newer phones from Huawei will lose access to some of the popular Google services like Play Store, Gmail, Chrome browser and YouTube.

Huawei has been aiming to become the number one smartphone brand in the world. However, its devices have never been easily available in the U.S. since they are not sold through U.S. carriers. Since Huawei is now included in the trade blacklist, it will be very difficult for the Chinese firm to do business with U.S. counterparts. The company’s attorneys are reportedly looking into the impact of the blacklist.

The impact of the ban will be minimal in China as Google mobile apps are banned in the country. But European operations will be affected as it is one of the major markets for the company.

RELATED: Huawei’s HiSilicon is keen to develop modem integrated 5G chipsets

Owing to the ongoing tensions between Huawei and the U.S. government, the Chinese firm has already developed its own operating system. In March, Huawei had claimed that its future devices will run on Android and Windows and it will only resort to using its own OS when it will be disallowed from using the U.S.-made operating systems.

Huawei P Smart Z renders — Huawei P Smart Z was recently launched in Europe with Android

Huawei phones are powered by Kirin chipsets that are manufactured by its subsidiary brand called HiSilicon. There are very few phones form the company that are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipsets. The Huawei Enjoy Max and Honor 8X Max from last year were powered by Snapdragon 636. However, it appears that future Huawei and Honor smartphones may not feature Snapdragon SoCs.

(source)

Xiaomi’s Redmi K20 flagship will launch on May 28 in China

By

Joel Joseph

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May 20, 2019

Xiaomi’s sub-brand has been teasing its Redmi K20 flagship smartphone for the past few weeks. The phone finally gets a launch date today: May 28. The brand will officially announce the device at an event in Beijing.

The Redmi K20 is the brand’s first attempt at a flagship smartphone. The phone is confirmed to feature the top-end Snapdragon 855 processor, capable of scoring really high on the AnTuTu benchmark. It will have a full-screen display, thanks to a pop-up selfie camera design. As for the rear camera, the phone will feature a 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor in a three camera arrangement. We don’t have official confirmation on the other two camera sensors but expect one to be a telephoto lens and another one to be a wide-angle lens.

RELATED: Redmi K20 specifications leaked ahead of launch

Another highlight of the Redmi K20 is its support for slo-mo videos. The brand’s GM, Lu Weibing confirmed yesterday that the phone will come with 960 fps slo-mo recording, same as the Xiaomi Mi 9.

After its launch in Beijing, China, the K20 flagship will also make its way to the Indian shores. An exact release date for India hasn’t been revealed, but expect more details very soon.

Giveaway – Win a MINIX NEO J50C–4 Mini PC

By

Cheky Zhu

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May 20, 2019

Gizmochina along with GearBest is conducting 1 unit MINIX NEO J50C – 4 Mini PC as giveaway gift to a lucky reader. Like always, you just have to follow the steps mentioned on the Rafflecopter widget to get a chance to win this amazing gift.

If you want to win the free MINIX NEO J50C – 4 Mini PC, it is important for you to visit the MINIX NEO J50C – 4 Mini PC page on GearBest.

The winner will be post at the Gizmochina’s twitter and GizmochinaDeals’s Facebook, so follow the pages.

Pre-installed with Windows 10 Pro (64 bit), NEO J50C-4 Mini PC is powered by Intel Gemini Lake Pentium J5005 processor and Intel HD Graphics 605 GPU, the mini PC is ready to run straight out the box and shows 4K high performance video. The Mini PC ships with HDMI port, Mini DisplayPort and USB-C outputS, allowing easy connection for up to three displays. NEO J50C-4 Mini PC has a built-in excellent cooling fan which ensures efficient and rapid heat dissipation. Designed with a 128GB SSD, this mini PC allows you to install various APP and store large quantities of music, games, videos and so on.

You can click here to get more information about the MINIX NEO J50C – 4 Mini PC.

Visit MINIX NEO J50C–4 Mini PC Page on GearBest

How to entry this giveaway? Just follow these steps via Rafflecopter widget:

Visit MINIX NEO J50C – 4 Mini PC on GearBest‘s website;
Share this giveaway contest on Facebook, Twitter and Reddit.

Terms & Conditions:

1. The giveaway is an international giveaway.
2. We are not responsible for lost shipments.
3. We are not responsible for any duties, import taxes that you may incur.
4. We reserve all rights to make any changes to this giveaway.
5. The prize will be shipped in a month when the giveaway end.

Just follow the steps mentioned in the Rafflecopter widget to participate in the giveaway.

Once again, good luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Redmi K20 Pro will have 48MP Sony IMX586 camera and 960fps slow-motion recording

By

Habeeb Onawole

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May 19, 2019

Another day, another Redmi K20 Pro teaser. The official Redmi Weibo account has confirmed that the flagship will come with Sony’s IMX586 48MP sensor. While this is the sensor in a lot of phones that have been released this year, parameters like the aperture size, image processing algorithms, and other software features are what sets them apart.

The Redmi K20 will have a triple camera setup but only the spec of the primary sensor was revealed. We expect the phone will also have an ultra-wide angle camera and a telephoto lens/depth sensor as the third camera.

Apart from confirming the main primary camera, Redmi GM, Lu Weibing revealed in a separate post that the phone will support 960fps slow-motion recording. This is a feature the Mi 9 also has, so it is nice to know it will be available on the less-expensive Redmi flagship too. What we really do hope the Redmi K20 Pro has is optical image stabilization which the Mi 9 surprisingly skips.

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Vivo announces iQOO Space Knight Limited Edition gaming smartphone

By

Habeeb Onawole

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May 19, 2019

The iQOO is a gaming smartphone by Vivo that was launched on March 1. The phone comes in two color variants – Electro-optic Blue and Lava Orange. There is also a global limited edition released in partnership with Monster Energy which has 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. A few days ago, iQOO announced another limited edition called Space Knight.

The iQOO Space Knight Limited Edition is the result of a partnership between the phone manufacturer and the China National Space Administration. The phone comes in a futuristic custom made gift box that includes a unit of the Black Knight (Knight Black/Dark Knight) iQOO gaming smartphone which has 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage and a smaller box that contains an engraved nameplate made from a piece of metal from the Shenzhou spacecraft.

There is no mention of the price for this limited edition model but expect to pay a little more than the ¥4298 (~$621) price tag the Black Knight version sells for.

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Lenovo Z6 Youth Edition launching May 22, pre-order page reveals key specs and design

By

Habeeb Onawole

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May 19, 2019

The Lenovo Z6 Youth Edition is an upcoming smartphone from Lenovo. It is a less-powerful version of the Z6 Pro flagship which means it will also cost less. Lenovo has put up a pre-order page that reveals key details about the device.

First, the page confirms the Lenovo Z6 Youth Edition will be announced on Wednesday, May 22. With respect to design, the Z6 will have a waterdrop notch display with pretty thin side and top bezels. Lenovo says the display supports HDR10 but doesn’t mention the screen size and resolution.

The back of the Z6 Youth Edition has an 8-layer nanoscale coating. It is a single piece of glass that curves to the sides too, doubling as the frame. It appears there will be two color variants – black and a mix of green and purple. However, the green-purple variant is the more beautiful one. The back is green with gold accents around the AI triple rear cameras and fingerprint scanner while the “frame” takes on a purple hue. It is actually really pretty.

The Lenovo Z6 Youth Edition will have an audio jack and USB-C port at the bottom while its power button and volume controls will be on the right side. The SIM tray is on the left and it is a dual hybrid SIM slot. Lenovo says the phone has Dolby Atmos audio but just a single speaker. The phone will also come with a 4050mAh battery that should last you a full day.

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Black Shark 2 gets release date in India

By

Habeeb Onawole

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May 19, 2019

After more than two months since its launch in China and later in Europe, the Black Shark 2 gaming smartphone is heading to India. Black Shark has begun sending out invites for the launch of the phone.

The Black Shark 2 invites reveal the gaming smartphone will be officially unveiled in India on May 27. Unfortunately, the invite doesn’t mention the venue and time for the launch.

The Black Shark 2 has a 6.39-inch AMOLED display with a 1080 x 2340 resolution and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. It is powered by the Snapdragon 855 and comes with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

The phone has a 48MP primary camera on the back that is paired with a 12MP telephoto lens with 2x zoom. It also has a 20MP front-facing camera. There are stereo speakers, an in-display fingerprint scanner, and a 4000mAh battery with support for 27W fast-charging technology. It also has liquid cooling and a bunch of peripherals including a cooling fan and gamepads.

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New Redmi K20 teaser confirms pop-up selfie camera

By

Habeeb Onawole

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May 18, 2019

Redmi isn’t ready to announce a release date yet for the Redmi K20 flagship, so it has resorted to teasers to keep our attention. The latest teaser confirms an important feature of the phone.

The Redmi K20 has been reported to have a motorized selfie camera that slides out from the top frame. Leaked images have shown this and even an official video teaser (albeit a different design). The new teaser further confirms this as it shows the demon king sliding out from the top of the phone’s frame.

Redmi’s GM, Lu Weibing, shared the post on his timeline and revealed more details. In one post, he said the Redmi K20 is lighter than some other phones with pop-up selfie cameras as a result of optimizations carried out by the engineers. He also said durability tests carried out on the pop-up selfie camera exceeded 300,000 uses and will last more than 8 years if you were to take a 100 selfies per day.

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Vivo Z5x leaks: sports a punch hole display and a 5000mAh battery

By

Habeeb Onawole

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May 18, 2019

Vivo’s Z series may add a new member soon. The Z series already has 6 phones with the latest model being the Vivo Z3x. Now details of a new member called the Vivo Z5x have surfaced. The leak, which originated from Weibo, not only reveals some of the phone’s specs but also includes a live photo.

One of the biggest changes Vivo is making to the Z series with the Z5x will be its display. While previous models have had a notch (waterdrop or wide), the Z5x will have a punch hole in its display for the camera.

In the image above, the Z5X is pictured beside another phone which doesn’t have a notch or punch hole. Save for the punch hole in the Vivo Z5X’s display, both phones are nearly identical.

The source says the phone will pack a 5,000mAh battery, the biggest of any Vivo Z series smartphone. From the image, it seems Vivo has been able to keep the thickness of the phone under check.

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Realme CEO: Realme X may have different specs in India, priced around ₹18k

By

Habeeb Onawole

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May 18, 2019

The Realme X launched in China this week, marking the brand’s entry into China. The phone will be making its way to India very soon. However, its specs may be different according to Realme‘s CEO, Madhav Sheth.

The head of the year-old company revealed the info in a tweet earlier today. He said the Realme X may not necessarily launch with the same specs as the one sold in China. While he wasn’t specific about the changes, he did reveal the price will be around INR 18,000 (~$255).

#realmeX may not necessarily launch at the same specs in India.

We are planning to have an #realmeXIndian version and
pricing maybe around 18k.

Apart from Garlic and Onion, 😊

we will also have one more special variant for India.👍
RT and Guess?

— Madhav Sheth (@MadhavSheth1) May 18, 2019

That is roughly the price of the 8GB+128GB version when you convert from Chinese Renminbi to Indian Rupees. However, since the specs may be different, probably a more powerful processor and since we also don’t know the storage + RAM configuration, we can’t plainly say it is more expensive.

Another info the company head revealed is that the Indian version of the Realme X will get a third special variant in addition to the Garlic and Onion special variants already announced.

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Press renders show the OPPO K3 in all 3 color variants

By

Habeeb Onawole

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May 18, 2019

The OPPO K3 is an upper mid-range flagship scheduled to launch next week. The phone packs some interesting features but also has an eye-catching design. Yesterday, OPPO released a press render of the device to show us what it looks like. More renders have surfaced and they reveal the phone in all three color variants.

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The OPPO K3 will come in Nebula Purple, Morning White, and Farm Black which looks more like Emerald Green. The phone shares a similar design to the OPPO Reno but swaps the Shark Fin pop-up selfie camera for the regular pop-up selfie camera design. It also has a thicker lower bezel.

On the back, the OPPO K3 adopts the same dual-camera design which has one sensor bigger than the other. However, it has a different type of LED flash and ditches the band that runs through the middle of the device.

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Xiaomi crowdfunds the Furrytail Pet Smart Feeder with app control for 199 yuan ($28)

By

Jed John Ikoba

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May 18, 2019

Xiaomi has announced the 339th product under the crowdfunding platform and it is the Furrytail Pet Smart Feeder. The gadget comes with an affordable 199 yuan ($28) price tag and is presently available on Xiaomi Youpin for funding. The product is expected to start shipping on June 30.

Just as the name implies, the gadget is designed to provide food for the pet at home. The device functions in the same way as a feed trough but the main difference is that there is a food storage compartment where the food smartly trickles down from the storage compartment into the feeding trough.

The smart feeder integrates a smart app control which can be used to set the time intervals food should be delivered. Whether you are travelled on a business trip or busy with trivial matters, you will be able to take care of your pet’s healthy diet, three meals a day, and let the pet eat on time, as long as you set the time and quantity of food that should be dispensed.

The pet smart feeder comes with an innovative six-part structure with a brushed soft rubber which ensures the food doesn’t get clogged in the process of serving. It has a 4L storage capacity which can hold 2kg of cat or dog food. The pet food is evenly divided into 6g / serving, to avoid accumulation and congestion in the grain process.

Further, the grain storage bucket is made of ABS plastic while the food bowl is a 304 stainless steel bowl which effectively reduces bacterial growth. The top cover has a silicone ring with triple locks while the main supply unit has a built-in drying box. The silicone sealing ring and the triple locks are designed to effectively block air from entering in order to prevent oxidation of the pet food.

The smart feeder even notifies the own when there is no food in the feeder with the ring LED light around the food outlet turning red and it blinks continuously. Also, an alert pops up on the connected smartphone via the app, reminding the owner to add food in time. There is even a smart weighing module at the bottom of the bowl which monitors the weight of the pet food at any time. You can check on the app to know how much food the pet eats daily. Through the Furrytail app, you can regularly and quantitatively feed the pet, since you know its dietary pattern.

(source)

OPPO to release new VOOC accessories on May 23

By

Habeeb Onawole

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May 18, 2019

OPPO will announce a new phone on May 23. The device which is called the OPPO K3 will have a pop-up selfie camera with a notch-less display and a Snapdragon 710 SoC. A new report says OPPO will also announce new VOOC accessories alongside the phone.

The info was revealed by the official OPPO Accessories Weibo page. The Chinese manufacturer will announce three new VOOC accessories and a SuperVOOC car charger. We are surprised about the latter since it launched a SuperVOOC car charger back in January. The other VOOC accessories are said to be power banks and one might even be Pikachu-branded just like the SuperVOOC one from last year. However, these power banks may support the new VOOC 3.0 fast charging technology.

It has also been reported that the OPPO K3 will also support VOOC 3.0 fast charging technology.

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Where to Buy Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Smart Wristwatch at Unbeatable Prices [Coupon]

By

Vinay Patel

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May 18, 2019

Fitness conscious people usually end up spending a lot of money on fitness bands and smartwatches that can keep track of their health and monitor various activities.

If you’re in the market for a cost-effective fitness band that boasts an impressive array of features, we got good news for you. Multiple online stores are now doling out noteworthy discounts on the coveted smart wristband from Xiaomi.

GearVita

The global version of the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Smart Bracelet Wristband has gone up for sale bearing a lowered price of only $21.99 on GearVita. This is a 37 percent drop in the device’s original asking price of $34.99.

Aside from that, you can use coupon code GVMBand3G and get an extra $1.49 off. In other words, you can bring the already reduced asking price of the Mi Band 3 further down to just $20.50 simply by applying the aforesaid coupon at checkout.

You can visit this link to avail the discount and use the coupon which is slated to expire soon.

Buy Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Smart Bracelet Wristband, Coupon Code GVMBand3G

Banggood

The Mi Band 3 smartwatch would normally set you back a pretty penny on both online as well as offline stores, but you can now buy it for a dropped price of only $37.11 from Banggood. This is a 35 percent drop in the device’s original asking price of $56.99.

You can follow this link to grab the discount, which will be valid for the black color version of the Mi Band 3 smartwatch. On top of that, you earn 37 BG points.

Get 35 Percent Off on Xiaomi Mi band 3 Smart Watch

Gearbest

The Xiaomi XMSH05HM Mi Band 3 smart bracelet usually retails for $51.92, but much to the delight of those who aren’t willing to spend a lot of money on a fitness gadget, it is now available for a reduced price of just $31.99 on Gearbest.

On the downside, this 38 percent discount will be valid for the remaining 54 pieces only. It is also worth mentioning here that the promo will come to an end in just twelve days. You can follow this link to receive the discount, which is available for the black international version of the Mi Band 3.

Get 21 Percent Off on Asus Zenfone 6 Smartphone

AliExpress

Multiple variants of the Mi Band 3 smart wristband that usually sell for $31.16 – $42.70 are currently up for grabs carrying considerably reduced price tags of $22.75 – $31.17 on AliExpress. In addition to availing this 27 percent discount, new users can take advantage of a $3 off coupon.

Furthermore, those who spend over $49 can apply a $2 off coupon during the checkout process and save extra money without breaking a sweat. You can head straight to this link to get the coupons and receive the discounts which will be valid for a limited period of time.

Get 38 Percent Off on Xiaomi XMSH05HM Mi Band 3 Smart Bracelet

GeekBuying

In order to get your hands on the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Smart Bracelet [NFC Version], you’d normally need to shell out $79.99, but GeekBuying users can now buy this well-received version of the Mi Band 3 for a lowered price of only $29.99.

This is a 63 percent reduction in the device’s original asking price. On the downside, this promo will only be valid for two days. You can visit this link in order to get the discount before the promo ends.

Get 27% Off on Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Miband 3 Smart Wristband

TENAA listing reveals Redmi 7A specs

By

Habeeb Onawole

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May 18, 2019

Photos of the Redmi 7A surfaced on the web yesterday. The images which were gotten from TENAA revealed the design of the Redmi 6A‘s successor. The agency has now revealed the full specs of the phone.

The Redmi 7A (with model numbers M1903C3EC and M1903C3EE) will keep the screen size and resolution of its predecessor. So you get a 5.4-inch 720 x 1440 IPS LCD display with no notch but bezels on all sides. There is a 5MP camera to the left of the earpiece and we are sure there is a proximity/light sensor on the right.

The phone has a single 13MP rear camera with an LED flash below it. The back which is made of polycarbonate hides a 3900mAh (~4000mAh battery) that will power a 1.4GHz octa-core processor. At first, we thought this SoC is the Snapdragon 435 but that is a step back from the 12nm Helio A22 in the Redmi 6A. Some are of the opinion that this is the 12nm Snapdragon 439 which has 4 of its cores clocked at 1.45GHz. That makes sense as it is possible TENAA has stated the clock speed of the lower cores and not that of the other four cores clocked at 2.0GHz.

The SoC is paired with 2GB, 3GB, or 4GB of RAM and 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of storage respectively. The phone will have a MicroSD card slot for adding up to an additional 256GB of storage.

The Redmi 7A will run Android 9 Pie out of the box. TENAA says it will be available in Black, Red, Blue, Pink, White, Green, Purple, and Gray. The phone weighs 150 grams and measures 146.30 x 70.41 x 9.55 millimeters.

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Buy Top Variants Of Asus Zenfone 6 Smartphone at Reduced Prices from Gearbest

By

Vinay Patel

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May 18, 2019

Asus fans that have restlessly been waiting to get their hands on the recently unveiled Zenfone 6 smartphone without spending a lot of money are in for a treat.

The Taiwan-based electronics giant has teamed-up with Gearbest to offer two well-received variants of the smartphone at considerably lowered prices. This Zenfone 6 special promotion kicked off on May 17th.

ASUS Zenfone 6 (6GB RAM + 64GB ROM)

This 6GB RAM, 64GB ROM variant of the Zenfone 6 smartphone comes in black color version and would normally set you back a pretty penny. Much to the relief of cost-conscious buyers, this model has now gone up for sale bearing a dropped price of just $559.99 on Gearbest.

This is a 21 percent drop in the device’s original asking price of $704.52. Moreover, you can get $10 off if your cart value exceeds $500. With 266 pieces remaining, this promo is slated to end in six days. You can visit this link to avail the discount before the promo ends.

Get 21 Percent Off on Asus Zenfone 6 Smartphone

ASUS Zenfone 6 (6GB RAM + 128GB ROM)

Alternatively, you can go for the slightly larger variant that ships with 6GB of RAM and offers a hearty 128GB of internal storage capacity for you to save your favorite music, videos, and other multimedia content. More importantly, you can now grab a 21 percent discount on this variant.

Thanks to the aforesaid discount, you can now buy the 6GB RAM+128GB ROM model for a lowered price of just $619.99. It is worth mentioning here that the variant usually retails for $780.60.

Aside from that, those spending over $500 will be eligible for getting an extra $10. Regrettably, there were only 282 pieces remaining for the promo, which will end in six days. You can follow this link to take advantage of the discount before the promo wraps up!

The Asus Zenfone 6 smartphone offers the following features:

6.4-inch display with 2340 x 1080 pixels resolution
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor
Adreno 640 GPU
13MP + 48MP dual camera set up at the back
13MP + 48MP front cameras
Android 9 Pie OS
5000mAh battery

Get 21 Percent Off on Asus Zenfone 6 Smartphone

Check Out Asus Zenfone 6 Special Promotion

Moto Razr foldable phone video render leaks and we think you’ll like it

By

Jed John Ikoba

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May 17, 2019

Motorola‘s Razr flip phone could be regarded as one of the vintage phones with sweet memories. The Lenovo-oned company has severally been rumoured as planning to re-enact that design on its next-gen foldable phone which may bear the same Moto Razr moniker. A video of the Moto RAZR that captures the device from all sides has appeared on China’s Weibo.

The video indeed reaffirms that the phone will adopt a clamshell design but there won’t be any physical keyboard. The good thing about this design is that the Moto Razr won’t reach the size of a tablet when unfolded and will allow you some portability when it is folded. There is a front screen which we don’t think will serve too many purposes aside previewing selfie frames, displaying notifications and such like. The screen has a resolution of 600 x 800 pixels but the screen size is unknown. Just under the small screen is the selfie camera.

Previous leaks tip the phone to arrive with a 6.2-inch OLED panel with 876 x 2142 pixels resolution. The Moto RAZR 2019 is speculated to be powered by the Snapdragon 710 SoC that includes an octa-core processor that works at 2.2 GHz and Adreno 616 graphics. The smartphone is expected to arrive in two variants such as 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage.

It is expected to arrive with a 2,730mAh battery that may carry support for 27W TurboPower charging. No word yet on when the model will go official ut it is likely going to bring an affordable option to the foldable phone segment.

(source, via)

Xiaomi Mi 9 discounted by up to 100 Yuan in China

By

Michele Ingelido

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May 17, 2019

After the recent launches from Lenovo, OnePlus, and Asus, the Xiaomi Mi 9 is not the only affordable flagship-killer in the market anymore. And it seems that Xiaomi is feeling the pressure of its competition as its latest flagship has just been discounted in China. On the famous Chinese store JD.com, the variant with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage was discounted from 2999 Yuan to 2949 Yuan, that is a 50 Yuan decrease.

The discount is even higher for the higher-end version with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage, which went down from 3299 Yuan to 3199 Yuan. The price of the most expensive memory variants (256 GB and the top-tier 12/256 GB) remain the same, at least for now. The price change did not reflect on other stores such as Suning, Tmall, and Xiaomi official store in China, so we still do not know if it is a decision by Xiaomi or just a promotion from Jingdong.

That is why it is still early to conclude if Xiaomi is facing the heat from the new entrants in the market. As we mentioned in our comparisons, Xiaomi Mi 9 still offers the most versatile camera department among affordable flagships in the lowest price range, with a 48 MP main sensor, an ultrawide lens and a telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom.

Read More: Xiaomi’s Zhang Guoquan shows off Mi 9 running Android Q

Other key specifications include an octa-core Snapdragon 855 chipset by Qualcomm running at a max frequency of 2.84 GHz and a Super AMOLED display with an in-display fingerprint scanner, a Full HD+ resolution, and the HDR10 support. The handset is not waterproof, but it offers solid protection thanks to its aluminum 7000 series frame and a Gorilla Glass 5 back. The battery has a capacity of 3300 mAh and it supports fast Qi wireless charging up to 20W.

(via)

Vivo patent shows two Reverse Notch smartphones

By

Michele Ingelido

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May 17, 2019

Smartphone manufacturers are trying a lot of solutions in order to get rid of bezels around the displays, so much that it is becoming hard to remember each of them. Vivo created the most interesting solution which allows getting rid of notches and other interruptions on the display while reaching a high screen-to-body ratio: the pop-up front camera which debuted on the Vivo NEX series. But the company is also testing other solutions, as a new patent suggests. The Chinese giant owned by BBK Electronics just patented two brand new smartphones designs.

The patent was filed mid-2018 at WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) and it was made public a few days ago, on May 14. The patent shows a comeback of the notch, but not as we know it. The attached images show the world’s first “reverse notches”. Both the smartphones shown in the images have notches, but they do not interrupt the display. Instead, they protrude out of the phones’ perimeter. In the first case, we are seeing a sort of half-moon protruding out of the phone on the upper part, which contains two front cameras and an earpiece in the middle.

Read More: Vivo Y3 goes official with Triple AI rear cameras, 5000mAh battery, priced at 1498 yuan (~$216)

In the second case, there are two separate waterdrop-like notches and each of them includes one front camera. Judging from the overall design, the two devices seem to be either entry-level or midrange affordable smartphones. Besides the reverse notches, the two Vivo handsets also sport thicker bezels and a 3.5 mm audio jack. On the lower border, they only have one single grille for a mono speaker. On the back, there is a cutout for either a dual camera setup or a single camera paired with a LED flash. Currently, it is unknown whether or not these patents will ever become a reality.

(via)

Huawei P20 Lite 2019 specifications leak confirm details for display, quad cameras and more

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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May 17, 2019

Earlier this week, WinFuture.de carried a report that contained the leaked renders of the upcoming Huawei P20 Lite 2019. The renders revealed that the phone will be arriving with a punch-hole screen and quad rear cameras. The report had also carried the speculated specs of the phone. It had claimed that the internals of the phone were similar to the Huawei P20 Lite phone from last year. However, a fresh report from the same publications states that the phone will be arriving with some updated innards.

The previous report by the publication had claimed that the Huawei P20 Lite 2019 has a 5.84-inch screen. However, fresh information shared by the publication states that it will be arriving with a 6.4-inch IPS LCD panel with a punch-hole at its top-left corner. It will carry support for 1080 x 2310 pixels full HD+ resolution. The punch-hole on the display will be housing an f/2.2 aperture 16-megapixel selfie camera.

The Kirin 710 chipset will be powering the phone with 4 GB of RAM. It will be coming with a native storage of 128 GB. There is a possibility that the phone could be available in 64 GB option as well.

The back panel of the Huawei P20 Lite 2019 has a quad camera setup that includes an f/1.8 aperture 24-megapixel primary lens, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens and a pair of 2-megapixel sensors for depth effects and macro shots. The smartphone will come loaded with Android 9 Pie OS customized with EMUI 9.1 skin will come preloaded on the device.

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The P20 Lite 2019 will be backed with a 4,000mAh battery. However, it will carry support for 10W charging rate only. It will take around 130 minutes for the handset to charge completely. The other features of the smartphone include rear-mounted fingerprint reader, NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, USB-C with OTG, 4G VoLTE and dual-SIM support.

The Huawei P20 Lite 2019 will be hitting in the European markets in color options like Midnight Black, Crush Blue and Charming Red. It could be priced between 280 euros and 330 euros. The smartphone is expected to go official in the coming weeks. Some rumors claim that the handset may debut as Nova 5i in some markets.

(source)