The year 2019 is the year when the 5G technology is slated to be commercialized. While many smartphone manufacturers have launched their 5G smartphones and many are slated to launch, the availability of 5G networks still remains a work in progress, even in major countries.
Recently, South Korea became one of the early adopters of the 5G technology and three of the companies network operators announced their 5G pricing, which starts at 55,000 won, which roughly converts to 325 Yuan or $48.
Samsung Galaxy S10 5G
Now, China Unicom has announced the first batch of 5G smartphones that the company will provide support for 5G connectivity. The list includes 12 brands and 15 smartphone models and CPEs from companies like Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE among others.
Prior to this announcement, China Mobile and China Telecom had carried out corresponding 5G equipment testing and 5G network testing. Last week, the company had announced that it successfully made a call using a 5G smartphone on the Beijing 5G trial network.
Next generation 5G capability is expected to enable faster data transmission and lower latency features that will be vital for advanced technologies such as AI, ML, and autonomous driving.
After South Korea and China, US-based Sprint is planning to launch the country’s first commercial 5G services in May in four cities. But for most markets, including China, the nationwide commercial rollout is not expected until next year.
The Samsung Galaxy A9s launched as the first phone with quad rear cameras. There are other quad camera phones now like the Huawei P30 Pro and Galaxy S10 5G and both devices are currently the best camera phones money can buy, at least according to DxOMark. Nevertheless, the camera-review labs have also reviewed the pioneer of the quad-camera trend and the result is quite interesting.
The Galaxy A9s has the same number of cameras as the Huawei P30 Pro and Galaxy S10 5G but it doesn’t perform as well as either of the two phones. Heck! it is not even as good as the POCOPHONE F1 but it sure scores higher than the LG G7 ThinQ.
The Galaxy A9s quad camera setup includes a 24MP f/1.7 primary camera, a 10MP f/2.4 telephoto camera, an 8MP f/2.4 ultra-wide angle camera, and a 5MP f/2.2 depth sensor.
DxOMark has given the Galaxy A9s a total score of 86 which is split between 90 for photo and 77 for video. The A9s is praised for its accurate white balance (indoors and outdoors) and it is also great at capturing details when you use zoom outdoors. Where it falls short is in its limited dynamic range. It also doesn’t handle bokeh well, even blurring the subject in some cases.
For videos, the Galaxy A9s is said to have an effective stabilization and also controls noise well when shooting outdoors. However, the colors are unsaturated and the autofocus is slow.
The Galaxy A9s/Galaxy A9 (2018) actually has a good camera for a mid-range phone but with a price tag of INR 28,990 (~$415) for the 6GB + 128GB version, you are better off buying the POCOPHONE F1 which has a better camera, is much more powerful and costs much less. Unless you really need the ultra-wide angle sensor in the Samsung, we see no reason why you should pick it over the POCO F1.
A couple of months ago, Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 7 smartphone in the Indian market, making it one of the best offerings in its price range. Till now, the phone was available for purchase through flash sales, which isn’t anyone’s favorite method.
Now, the company has announced that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 will be available for purchase in India through the open sale in India. The phones will be available for purchase through Flipkart, Mi.com, and Mi Home Stores across the country.
As for the pricing, the phone is priced at Rs. 9,999 (approximately $141) for the 3GB RAM model while the 4GB RAM model costs Rs. 11,999 (approximately $169). The smartphone comes in three color options – Onyx Black, Ruby Red, and Sapphire Blue.
Coming to the features, the Redmi Note 7 flaunts a 6.3-inch Full-HD+ “dot notch” display with 2340 x 1080 pixels screen resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, and 409ppi pixel density. Under the hood, it packs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 660 octa-core processor, clocked at 2.2 GHz and coupled with Adreno 512 GPU.
The phone comes in two variants — 3GB RAM and 4GB RAM. The 3GB RAM model has 32GB internal storage while the 4GB RAM model comes with 64GB internal storage. There’s a microSD card slot for expanding the phone’s storage capacity up to 256GB.
Coming to the camera department, the smartphone features a dual camera setup on the back, however, the Indian variant has a different camera configuration than the one launched in China. It consists of a 12-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel secondary sensor with support for PDAF, Super Night Mode, EIS, Portrait Mode, AI Scene Recognition, and HDR.
On the front side, the device features a 13-megapixel sensor with AI Portrait Mode, AI Smart Beauty, HDR, and AI Scene Recognition. The phone runs Android 9 Pie-based MIUI 10 operating system out-of-the-box. The device is powered by a 4,000mAh battery and supports Quick Charge 4.0 fast charging technology.
Realme will be announcing the Realme 3 Pro smartphone on April 2. Few details on the specs of the phone have surfaced in the recent leaks. In the past few days, the company had released some teasers to confirm on the key features of Realme 3 Pro. Realme India has took to Twitter to confirm that company will be carrying out blind pre-orders for the smartphone form April 19. Blind pre-order probably means placing an order of the phone without knowing much about it.
The Realme 3 Pro pre-orders will begin at 00:00 hours on April 19 in India through realme.com. Customers who pre-order the phone will only know that it is fastest performing mid-range phone with impressive photography features such as night mode, burst mode, super slow-motion video shooting. Also, the phone will offer 60 fps for gaming and it will carry support for rapid charging.
Realme 3 Pro will be made official on April 22 at 12:30 PM through a launch event in Delhi University. Rumors have it that the smartphone will come equipped with a 6.3-inch IPS LCD display with waterdrop-style notch and it will carry support for full HD+ resolution.
The Snapdragon 710 mobile platform will be powering the smartphone. The Realme 2 Pro had come with 8 GB of RAM in its highest configuration model. Hence, there is a possibility that the Realme 2 Pro may come with up to 8 GB of RAM.
The Realme 3 Pro smartphone is expected to feature a 16-megapixel + 2-megapixel dual camera setup on it rear. The primary sensor of the phone could be Sony IMX519 which was available on the OnePlus 6T and OnePlus 6 smartphones from last year. For capturing selfies, the phone could be equipped with a front-facing camera of 25-megapixel. The smartphone will be a drawing power from a battery of around 4,000mAh capacity. It will be coupled with VOOC fast charging technology developed by OPPO. The Realme 3 Pro will be also available for purchase through Flipkart.
Realme is also expected to announce the Realme C2 entry-level phone alongside the Realme 3 Pro smartphone. The smartphone is expected to sport a waterdrop-style notched display, Helio P22 SoC, 13-megapixel + 2-megapixel dual camera setup, 8-megapixel front-facing camera and a 4000mAh+ battery. It could be arriving with a staring price of Rs. 8,000 (~$115).
One of the most intense high tech legal battle in the recent has now finally come to an end. Smartphone maker Apple and chipset manufacturer Qualcomm has announced that the companies are settling their lawsuits.
Effective immediately, all litigation between the two companies has been dropped, and the companies have signed a new patent license and chip supply agreements. The companies have not shed light on the details as the agreement is largely a private matter.
The settlement includes a payment from Apple to Qualcomm as well as a chipset supply agreement, suggesting that Apple will buy Qualcomm chips for future iPhones. However, the companies did not say how much the payment will be.
It seems that Apple will be making a one-time payment to Qualcomm to cover any IP use since Apple cut off payments to Qualcomm in 2017. Apple has also signed a 6-year patent license agreement with Qualcomm, which is being backdated to April 1st. The agreement includes a further 2-year extension option, which if Apple eventually chooses to exercise it, would take the agreement through April 2027.
Apple will also resume buying chips from Qualcomm. The companies have also signed a separate chipset supply agreement and the official announcement doesn’t say for how long beyond the fact that it’s a “multiyear” agreement. This suggests that the Qualcomm is once again going to be supplying modems for Apple’s iPhones and iPads.
Soon after the announcement went public, Intel announced that it is exiting the 5G smartphone modem business. However, the company said that it will continue to invest in its 5G network infrastructure business. It’s noteworthy that Intel was the sole supplier for iPhone modems last year but the recent report said that Apple had concerns about Intel’s ability to supply next year’s iPhone models with 5G modems.
After the news about settlement broke, Qualcomm’s stock rose more than 20 percent, boosting its market cap by about $14.5 billion to more than $84 billion. This seems to be Qualcomm’s best day since 1999. Further, Apple was up less than 1 percent but Intel sharply dipped.
By March end, Xiaomi had announced its 100W Super Charge Turbo technology. After its announcement, Redmi General Manager Lu Weibing had claimed that Redmi will be mass producing the 100W rapid charging technology. Xiaomi President Lin Bin has now confirmed on Weibo that the company is working hard to mass produce it.
Yesterday, a user had asked Lin Bin on Weibo on whether the company has started the mass production of 100W fast charging. Bin responded by saying that the company is working hard to mass produce it. However, he did not share a specific time frame for it.
The Xiaomi Mi 9 flagship phone that was announced in February is the only Mi phone that supports the fastest wired and wireless charging. In fact, Mi 9 is the world’s first flagship to arrive with 20W wireless charging. During the launch of the Mi 9, the company had revealed that the 27W wired charging is 37 percent faster than the conventional 18W rapid charging. Also, the 20W wireless charging is also 37 percent faster than the traditional 10W wireless charging.
At present, the highest level of wired charging has been mass produced is the Super VOOC flash charging technology developed by OPPO. It offers 50W rapid charging on devices like OPPO Find X Super Flash Edition, OPPO Find X Lamborghini Edition and OPPO R17 Pro.
Xiaomi had demonstrated that its 100W fast charging can fully charge a 4,000mAh battery in just 17 minutes. In comparison, OPPO’s 50W Super VOOC flash charging could charge a 3,700mAh battery up to 65 percent. Since If Xiaomi manages to achieve mass production of 100W Super Charge Turbo technology, it will be a huge leap in rapid charging in the smartphone industry. The company is yet to reveal how it was able to develop such a high speed charging technology.
Xiaomi may want to introduce 100W Super Charge Turbo technology on a flagship smartphone. the Mi MIX 4 is expected to arrive next major flagship phone, probably it come with support for 100W charging. In future, a Redmi phone with 100W charging will be also released. It remains to be seen whether Redmi will release such a phone this year.
The OnePlus 7 series that will go official on May 14 will include OnePlus 7, OnePlus 7 Pro and OnePlus 7 Pro 5G phones. The renders of the OnePlus 7 Pro by OnLeaks that had surfaced at the beginning of this year had revealed that it will be arriving with a notch-less display, a triple camera setup and a pop-up selfie camera. The renders of the OnePlus 7 were released by an Indian publication in collaboration with OnLeaks to reveal that it will be equipped with a waterdrop-style notched display like OnePlus 6T along with dual rear cameras. Few hours ago, OnLeaks took to Twitter to share the preliminary differences between the two devices in terms of display and camera.
OnePlus 7
As recent reports have revealed, the tipster has also claimed that OnePlus will be holding a launch event on May 14 to announce the OnePlus 7 series. The OnePlus 7 phone will be arriving with a 6.4-inch flat display with waterdrop notch and it will be sporting a vertical dual rear camera with 48-megapixel primary sensor. The renders of the OnePlus 7 had revealed that it will be equipped with an in-screen fingerprint reader.
OnePlus 7 Pro
On the other side, the OnePlus 7 Pro will be a more advanced device with a 6.64-inch curved display with notch-less design and a pop-up selfie camera. The triple camera setup of the phone will include 48-megapixel primary sensor, a telephoto lens and an ultra wide-angle lens. It will also feature an in-display fingerprint scanner.
OnePlus 7 Pro 5G
The OnePlus 7 Pro 5G is likely to resemble the OnePlus 7 Pro smartphone in terms of design and specifications. As it can be guessed, the only major difference between the two devices could be presence of X50 5G modem on OnePlus 7 Pro 5G edition.
The OnePlus 7 variants may cost around $549 and $599 whereas the OnePlus 7 Pro could be priced between $699 and $749. The OnePlus 7 Pro 5G edition may cost as high as $899. The other details on the specs of the OnePlus 7 are expected to surface in the coming weeks.
The Meizu 16s is will have its launch date revealed tomorrow. There are rumors that Meizu will only announce the Meizu 16s as the Meizu 16s Plus has been canceled. Ahead of the announcement tomorrow, an unfinished promo video for the phone has leaked online and it not only shows us what the phone looks like but also reveals the price.
The 36-second video shows an unfinished render of the phone. Early leaks have revealed the phone has dual cameras. The camera housing has a slight bump and there is an LED flash below the sensors. The primary camera is a 48MP sensor and it is paired with a 5MP depth sensor. Last week, camera samples comparing it against the iPhone X, Mi 9 and Galaxy S10+ were released online.
The video reveals the Meizu 16s will sell for ¥3398 which converts to about ~$506. We are not sure about the RAM and storage configuration for this but it might be the base model. We can see from the video that there will be three color variants. We believe the three variants are white, black, and blue.
The rumour mills have been agog with leaks about OnePlus’ upcoming flagship(s). Usually, we would have expected the OnePlus 7 to drop alone but recent leaks suggest a OnePlus 7 Pro with an interesting design may drop as well. The date for the launch is still undisclosed but that may soon become public knowledge.
I know you guys are stoked to hear about the new device – check back to see my post this Wednesday 😬
Oneplus’ CEO Pete Lau took to Twitter yesterday to acknowledge that he was aware of how much fans yearn for more information about the “new device”. He then hinted that we should check back to see his post on Wednesday. We can’t say for sure what the CEO has in the offing but we believe the launch date for the OnePlus 7 may finally be announced.
The launch date may not be announced but the CEO may likely also release one of the major details of the device in the form of a teaser on Wednesday. We cant be so sure of that but thank goodness, Wednesday is upon us already. We’ll keep you posted when Mr Lau tweets.
Germany has said it will allow Huawei to build 5G infrastructure in their country if the Chinese telecommunications giant meets security requirements.
The info was revealed by Jochen Homann, the head of Bundesnetzagentur- Germany’s Federal Network Agency, in an interview with the Financial Times. Mr. Homann said no equipment suppliers “should, or may, be specifically excluded.”. He added that they haven’t found proof of Huawei being a security risk.
He also revealed that banning Huawei will affect Deutsche Telekom and its rivals which all work with Huawei technologies already. If they were to prevent Huawei from joining the race, it will slow down the roll-out of the new network technology.
The US which has banned Huawei from setting up 5G infrastructure in the States is urging its allies to do the same. While some like Australia, Japan, and New Zealand have followed suit, others like the EU have ignored the request. The US says it will reduce intelligence sharing with Germany if they allow Huawei to build their 5G equipment.
The UK, on the other hand, has confirmed there are indeed security risks, such as “poor software engineering” and a lack of “cybersecurity hygiene” which puts the networks at risk by anyone who can take advantage of them and not just the Chinese state government. However, it hasn’t issued a ban on the communications equipment manufacturer.
Germany is proposing a unified global convention is established that prevents all equipment suppliers from installing backdoors and also requires them to sign a no-spy agreement. CEO of Huawei, Ren Zhengfei said they are in support of the no-spy agreement with Germany in an interview on CNBC.
Chinese telecommunications equipment giant ZTE has released a video showing the company’s 5G test rate on Weibo. In the video, it can be seen that the 5G rate reached a massive 2Gbps, while the 5G peak rate reached 2018.14Mbps.
In January this year, ZTE teamed up with China Unicom to make the first call from a 5G mobile phone. The call which was carried out at the Shenzhen 5G scale test field utilised 5G solutions provided by ZTE, including end-to-end products such as wireless access network, core network, transmission bearer network, and intelligent terminal. The 5G smartphone used for the call was ZTE’s 5G smartphone prototype that supports both the sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G mainstream bands.
With such successful tests, we expect a gradual rollout of the 5G services to commence in earnest soon. ZTE is set to begin sales of its 5G smartphone – Axon 10 Pro on May 1 which shows the rollout of 5G services in China is imminent. The Axon 10 Pro was first unveiled at MWC 2019 packing a Snapdragon 855 chipset. The device is equipped with a 6.47-inch curved full-screen AMOLED display with an FHD+ resolution and 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The Axon 10 Pro equally packs several flagships and powerful hardware under its hood, including a triple camera setup.
The Vivo Y17 is a mid-range phone with a massive battery expected to launch soon. Earlier today, some of its key specs leaked alongside a poster. It has now been followed by a complete leak of its specs as well as an image of its retail box.
The phone’s selling point might be its 5000mAh battery but it has more than that to offer. The Vivo Y17 has a 6.35-inch 1544 x 720 display with a waterdrop notch for a 20MP selfie camera.
The Vivo Y17 will be powered by an octa-core processor said to be the Helio P35. There is 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. There is no mention of a MicroSD card slot but there is OTG support.
It also has triple cameras on its back – a 13MP primary camera paired with an 8MP wide-angle camera and a 2MP depth sensor. The cameras are arranged vertically and share the same housing. There is also a fingerprint scanner on the back.
Vivo will launch the phone with Funtouch OS 9 which is based on Android 9 Pie. The Y17 has support for dual SIM and 4G LTE bands 1, 3, 5, 8, and 40. It measures 159.43 x 76.77 x 8.92 mm and weighs 190.5 grams.
The retail box is white and has a picture of the phone in front. The battery capacity, RAM, and storage are also indicated on the retail box.
Samsung Galaxy Fold is yet to hit the market but the level of interests it commands despite the pricing is admirable. While the focus has been on the design all this while, little attention has been paid to the internals. Master Lu has now released the benchmark test result for the Galaxy Fold on its platform, giving us an insight into the device’s internals.
Te galaxy Fold was recently confirmed to release in China with its certification by the country’s telecom’s regulatory agency TENAA. Thus, it is no surprise the predominantly Chinese benchmark app has got a hold of the device. The test touches several aspects ranging from the performance to the UFS storage speed, CPU, GPU and RAM speed.
The Galaxy Fold model number is listed as SM-F9000. It is powered by a Snapdragon 855 chipset paired with a massive 12GB LPDDR4X memory. Thus, it is no surprise, the device has a total score of 417,716 points. The score is in consonance with those of other SD855 models. However, the UFS speed reached a record level, exceeding 50,000 points which is higher than the score of other flash memories. The Fold had a read speed of 976MB/s and a write speed of 310MB/s. Samsung is an expert in the manufacture of flash memory and so, the score isn’t much of a surprise. The device also utilises the new 512GB UFS 3.0 flash memory which makes it the first flagship product with UFS 3.0 flash memory.
Meitu may have bid farewell to smartphone manufacturing but the brand has just announced a new beauty product. The product is dubbed Meitu Spa and will officially go on sale from April 23 priced at 598 yuan (~$89).
Meitu Spa is smart beauty product with a clamshell design. It is manufactured from food-grade silicone, the same type used for baby pacifiers. The metal parts are resistant treatment with sensitive materials and meet FDA standards. The device comes with four different skin care modes namely; Sonic Cleansing, Deep Derivation, Nourishing Import, and Sensitive Massage. The product also utilises an innovative AI integration known as AI depth customization, coupled with 12-speed intensity adjustment. With this combo, Meitu claims the device can achieve a cleansing experience for thousands of persons.
The device is a smart product and so can be connected with a smartphone where the support app is installed. The device supports up to a range of temperature massage which can be adjusted through the app. There are three temperature categories; 39°C, 42°C and 44°C. Further, the Meitu Spa runs on a built-in 850mAh battery which can be used for up to 344 times on a single charge. The battery charges through wireless induction technology and has charge protection features against high-current, high temperature, high voltage, short circuit, low voltage, and overcharging. The portable electronic spa also comes with IPX7 waterproof and dustproof build.
With the advent of Xiaomi onboard distribution of the brand’s products, we expect the Meitu Spa to find its way overseas in the near future.
A lot of folks do not trust the DxOMark Mobile ranking for mobile phone cameras because some manufacturers use it as a marketing tool for their devices resulting in these folks believing the results are influenced. DxOMark clarified the issue last year: saying its tests are free and fair and aren’t influenced by manufacturers.
The Huawei P30 Pro is the current king of smartphone cameras, taking the top spot from its older sibling, the Mate 20 Pro when it launched last month. The Huawei flagship will have to share its crown with a phone from its main rival, Samsung.
DxOMark has reviewed the Galaxy S10 5G and has given it the same overall score as the Huawei P30 Pro – 112. It also gave it a selfie score of 97, higher than that the P30 Pro’s 89, though that is understandable since the Galaxy S10 5G has dual front-facing cameras.
A breakdown of the total score shows the Samsung flagship is better at video recording than the Huawei P30 Pro but scores less when it comes to stills. DxOMark says the impressive 5x zoom of the Huawei gives it the edge in photos.
The Galaxy S10 5G uses the same cameras for video recording as the S10+ but it has a higher video score. The reason is because of the S10 5G recording in 4K by default which improves texture, noise and artifact scores. The ToF camera for bokeh videos is said to not have any effect on their rating as it is not a parameter they test. However, this is a feature to consider for whoever is purchasing either of both phones.
In the past few days, there were a lot of rumors about Huawei talking to Apple for supplying 5G chips. To fuel this rumor, Huawei executive went on to say that it was open to selling chips to the Cupertino giant. However, the company has finally taken an official stand. Earlier today, at Huawei’s Analyst Summit 2019, the company dismissed this rumor.
Huawei’s 5G chip is called Balong 5000
During a Q&A session at the event, Huawei was asked whether there was any credibility to the rumor about Huawei supplying 5G chips for next-gen iPhone. And this was Huawei’s official reply.
“We have no change in our chipset strategy, and no communication with Apple on 5G modems.”
So now we know for sure that Huawei hasn’t been in talks with the iPhone maker.
Well, it did make sense why some people would think Huawei was the ideal company to supply Apple with 5G chips. The Cupertino giant and Qualcomm haven’t been in the best of terms recently. In fact, their latest lawsuit kicked off earlier this week. Intel would have been the next logical supplier, but the company seems to be a bit behind in schedule in its 5G chip. That leaves Samsung and Huawei. We are not quite sure how well Samsung can handle its 5G chip mass production. So, Huawei was the next logical option.
OnePlus’s 5G smartphone is based on Qualcomm’s modem
But with Huawei out of the picture, Intel or Samsung could come to Apple’s rescue. Unfortunately, Apple is yet to comment on this matter.
OnePlus‘ foray into the US market has started yielding fruits. A report by Counterpoint shows that the Chinese company made an entry into the top 5 highest selling phones globally in the premium phone category in 2018. This is the first time the company is achieving this feat and it is instructive to note that it is coming at the same time the company as making it into the top 5 rankings in the US in the same category. The company also made a dominant push in India in this category, ranking behind Samsung with a 36% market share.However, it is still nowhere near the top 5 in China where there are several competitors in that segment.
China and US boast of the two largest markets for premium phones and both countries account for 50% market share for premium phones. Other OEMs in this category include Apple with a 51% market share, Samsung with a 22% market share, Huawei with 10% and OPPO with a 6% share, in that order. OnePlus completes the ranking with a lump 2% market share. Strong sales of the OnePlus 6T accounted for the increase in market share, with China, India, and Western Europe driving 90% of its global shipments. The report also showed that the top 5 firms accounted for nearly 90% of the total premium models shipped globally even though there are up to 40 OEMs catering to this segment.
For clarity, the premium category is made up of phones selling for $400 and above. All through the year 2018, OPPO saw a massive 863% YoY increase in market share in this segment, with OnePlus coming in second with a 209% increase in market share. Xiaomi also saw a healthy 149% surge in market share in the premium segment, and overall the category accounted for 22% of all smartphone sales in 2018. It is worthy to note that Samsung and Apple’s market shares slumped slightly YoY while those of the remaining three OEMs, Huawei, OPPO and OnePlus experienced some gains YoY. We expect this trend to continue this year as interests in “affordable flagships” with powerful hardware and prices around $600 continue to rise. Huawei is hoping its premium phones will drive sales despite joining Samsung is selling its flagships above $1000. OnePlus is expected to consolidate on its gains by pumping in more phones. This year the company may likely launch more than the traditional two phones. With the OnePlus 7, and OP7 Pro already leaked, the Oneplus 7T still remains a possibility as well. Even though the prices may be jerked up slightly, we don’t see them hitting the $1000 mark.
Samsung has just announced its third Android Go smartphone: the Galaxy A2 Core. It is one of the most affordable alternatives for people who search for a smooth phone under 100 bucks. But just like flagship and midrange devices, even a device in the most affordable segment of the market has a lot of rivals, especially since Google released Android Go, the Lite version of Android for entry-level devices with low-end or outdated chipsets and a low quantity of RAM. Among the most recent Android Go phones there are the best-selling Redmi Go by Xiaomi and the Nokia 1 Plus: are they better or less impressive than Samsung Galaxy A2 Core? This specs comparison will let you find out.
Samsung Galaxy A2 Core vs Nokia 1 Plus vs Xiaomi Redmi Go
Unimpressive design and cheap materials in each case. Samsung Galaxy A2 Core, Xiaomi Redmi Go and Nokia 1 Plus all come with a standard plastic body and pretty thick bezels around the display. The most modern and beautiful one is the Nokia 1 Plus as it comes with a taller 18:9 aspect ratio, while Samsung Galaxy A2 Core and Xiaomi Redmi Go sport 16:9 displays. On the other hand, Nokia 1 Plus has bigger dimensions, so compact phone lovers may prefer its two rivals. But my choice when it comes to the aesthetics would definitely be the Nokia 1 Plus.
Display
As they are entry-level handsets, you can not expect a good detail and a nice color reproduction on these displays. Xiaomi Redmi Go is a clear winner because it is the only one to sport an HD panel, with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. The resolution of the Samsung Galaxy A2 Core and Nokia 1 Plus is below HD, so they are a bit disappointing under this point of view. But it is worth noting that Nokia 1 Plus has a bigger display, so it may be more comfortable for advanced tasks. But if you are only looking for the quality, then choose the Xiaomi Redmi Go without thinking twice.
Specs
Most of the time, when we compare the performances of Samsung midrange phones with Xiaomi phones, Xiaomi wins. But this time it is not so, as the Samsung Galaxy A2 Core is equipped with a better chipset than both the Xiaomi Redmi Go and Nokia 1 Plus. It sports the octa-core Exynos 7870, the same processor built at 14 nm that you can find on the Samsung Galaxy J7 (2018), just to give you an idea. You will not get the same performance as the J7 since there is just 1 GB of RAM, but we are talking about something definitely superior to the Snapdragon 425 and the cheap MediaTek chipset found on the Nokia 1 Plus. Nokia 1 Plus takes the second place: even though it has a better chipset than the Redmi Go, the latter comes with just 8 GB of internal storage, while Samsung Galaxy A2 Core and Nokia 1 Plus go up to 16 GB. Also note that Android Go on the Nokia 1 Plus is based on Android 9 Pie, while Redmi Go and Galaxy A2 Core are still based on Oreo.
Camera
We still did not test the cameras of these Android Go devices, but on the paper, Samsung Galaxy A2 Core seems more interesting. Despite coming with a lower resolution for the rear camera, it has a bright aperture and it may behave in a better way in low light conditions. Further, it can record 1080p video, while Nokia 1 Plus can not do it. Right after, we got the Xiaomi Redmi Go with its 8 MP rear camera.
Battery
Just looking at the specs on the paper, it is hard to understand which phone will last more on a single charge. The Samsung Galaxy A2 Core has a very efficient SoC as well as an efficient display panel with its below-HD resolution, but its battery is also smaller. On the other hand, the Nokia 1 Plus comes with Android Pie and the same resolution, but it has a bigger display and a less efficient SoC, while Xiaomi Redmi Go has a higher resolution but also a bigger battery. Only software optimization will prove who is better.
Price
Samsung Galaxy A2 Core starts from just €70, Xiaomi Redmi Go costs €80 and Nokia 1 Plus carries a €90 price tag. In my opinion, the winner of this comparison is the Samsung Galaxy A2 Core for its good chipset, its decent cameras and the internal storage going up to 16 GB.
Since all the major smartphone flagships for the first half of the year have already been revealed, we are left with OnePlus‘ new model, most likely to be called as the OnePlus 7. All these years, the company has tried to focus on one particular model in its six-month launch cycle. However, it looks like it could unveil two different OnePlus 7 variants this time, with the more powerful version being called as the OnePlus 7 Pro.
Last month, we saw the renders of the OnePlus 7 Pro version courtesy of Pricebaba and Onleaks. Today, the same duo has revealed renders of the standard version of the flagship, simply called as the OnePlus 7. Unlike the Pro variant, this particular model doesn’t have any significant changes. So, it will closely resemble its predecessor, the OnePlus 6T.
One difference that you might notice is the placement of the flash at the back. The OnePlus 7 is said to feature the flash right inside the camera housing, instead of a separate entity below the module. What’s more, the camera housing is likely going to protrude more than its predecessor, taking the total thickness of phone up to 9.5mm. As for the overall dimensions of the phone, these are the figures: 157.7 x 74.8 x 8.1mm.
There are apparently no other aesthetic changes on the upcoming model. So alert slider and power button remain on the right, while the volume rockers and SIM card slot stay on the left. USB Type-C port and a bunch of holes for speakers are placed at the bottom. Like the OnePlus 6T, the new model will feature an in-display fingerprint sensor as well.
In terms of specs, the report did mention that the display size will reduce to 6.2-inches, from the 6.41-inch panel on the older model.
As you can see, the OnePlus 7 model is without any of the fanfare or big features of its ‘Pro’ variant. There’s even a notch on the screen, unlike the pop-up camera on the more powerful version. So, it’s clear that the company will try to cover a wider price segment of the market this time around with a cheaper model. Maybe this is the company’s answer to the increasing competition in the premium segment from its fellow Chinese brands.
Talking about premium, OnePlus broke into the top 5 premium brands globally in 2018, with strong sales from the OnePlus 6T. The new model is expected to launch next month and we should hear more about it real soon.
The Huawei P30 and the P30 Pro have a number of differences with one of them being support for wireless charging on the latter. However, Huawei decided to make a wireless charging case for the P30 so owners don’t miss out on the feature.
When we first covered it last month, the wireless charging case didn’t have a price tag. Today, Huawei’s VP mobile phone business, Bruce Lee, took to Weibo to reveal the case will be available in China too. The wireless charging case is now available for purchase on Vmall.com for ¥299 (~$45). It comes in Dynamic Orange and Electric Blue and ships right away.
The case has a USB-C connector that plugs into your phone and an input port that allows you to connect your wired charger in case you do not want to charge wirelessly. This comes in handy so you don’t have to remove the case if you want to use the fast wired charger.
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