LG 5G smartphone to launch next month; packs Snapdragon 855 SoC and 4,000mAh battery

By

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Jan 24, 2019

As the 5G technology is set to go mainstream this year, many smartphone manufacturers have already announced that they are working on developing devices which are 5G-compatible. While Samsung and OnePlus are said to be among the first companies to launch a 5G-enabled smartphone, LG is not far behind. The South Korean company is also working on a 5G smartphone which will be launched later this year.

LG Electronics has already scheduled a launch event on 24th February in Barcelona, a day before the Mobile World Congress officially kicks-off. Now, the company has revealed that it will launch its 5G smartphone at CCIB in Barcelona on 24th February.

Right after the launch, the LG 5G smartphone will also be showcased during the Mobile World Congress (MWC 2019) from 25th February to 28th February in Barcelona. The company is also looking to partner with major network operators, especially in Korea, North America, and Europe where 5G service is scheduled to be commercially available later this year.

The smartphone will be powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 855 processor, which is claimed to offer 45 percent better performance. It will also come with a ‘Vapor Chamber’ which is 2.7 times bigger heat pipe (heatsink) than the one in LG V40 ThinQ and the liquid is also more than double the amount. Further, the phone is confirmed to pack 4,000mAh battery and we expect it to have fast charging support.

Despite the company raking up huge losses, the South Korean company believes that things will get better. The company’s hope lies on the 5G revolution. Earlier, president of LG’s mobile division, Hwang Jeong-Hwan, said that LG is one of three manufacturers ready to launch a 5G-ready smartphone when 5G roll-out begins.

A handset launch roadmap from LG reveals that the LG G8 won’t be the company’s first 5G smartphone. The company will be launching its 5G smartphone under new branding. This will enable the company to position the device appropriately and design a targeted marking campaign.

The company believes that the headstart in the 5G market should increase the company’s sales in the first half of 2019. LG already has a contract with Sprint which will see it release the carrier’s first 5G “shiny and distinct” smartphone in the first half of 2019. Apart from LG, smartphone manufacturers including Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Oppo among others are set to launch their 5G-compatible smartphones later this year.

(Source)

Huawei confirms launch of 5G foldable phone with Kirin 980 and Balong 5000 at MWC 2019

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jan 24, 2019

Earlier today in China, Huawei Consumer Business Groupe CEO Richard Yu announced the Balong 5000 as the world’s most powerful 5G modem that can deliver up to 6.5 Gbps of 5G speeds. At the same conference, Richard Yu confirmed that Huawei will be launching its 5G phone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 tech expo in Barcelona, Spain in the coming month. He confirmed that the 5G device launching next month will be a foldable device with Kirin 980 chipset and Balong 5000.

Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 LTE modem can offer peak download speeds of 5 Gbps. It does not support Standalone (SA) and FDD frequencies that are supported by Balong 5000 5G modem. The Balong 5000 also supports Non-Standalone (NSA) architecture along with 3G, 4G and 5G networks and consumes less power.

The Kirin 980 chipset that powers the current lot of Huawei and Honor flagship phones features the world’s first Cat. 21 LTE modem which makes it possible to achieve download speeds of up to 1.4 Gbps. Theoretically, the modem offers 4.5G connectivity. Since Kirin 980 is a 5G-ready chip, Huawei will be swapping its Cat. 21 LTE modem with the more powerful Balong 5000 5G modem.

Balong 5000 is the first 5G modem to achieve industry’s benchmark 5G peak download rate by achieving 4.6 Gbps in the sub-6GHz low frequency band and China’s main 5G frequency band along with 6.5 Gbps in the millimeter wave which is the highest frequency band and 5G extended band. To put it in simpler words, the Balong 5000 5G modem can deliver 10 times faster experience than 4G LTE.

Rumors surrounding Huawei’s foldable phone reveals that it will be sporting fold-out design and it will be fitted with flexible OLED panels by China’s BOE display maker. When unfolded, it may offer a screen area of around 8 inches and when folded, it will offer a display of 5 inches. A two-month old report had claimed that the company is considering names like Mate F, Mate Flex, Mate Flexi and Mate Fold names for its foldable smartphone.

Read More: Huawei clarifies misleading report of its phones deleting images from Twitter

Huawei’s chairman Hu Houkun (Ken Hu) had addressed at the World Economic Forum recently that the company has deployed 5G networks in 10 countries and it will be soon made available in 20 additional nations. He also confirmed that the company will be launching its 5G smartphone in June. Probably, he could be either referring to release date of the Huawei’s 5G foldable phone or the arrival of some other smartphone with 5G connectivity.

Realme’s upcoming smartphone teased as ‘Entertainment Ka Boss’, will be Flipkart exclusive

By

Jeet

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Jan 24, 2019

Realme, which has already launched five smartphones in the Indian market so far, is now gearing up to launch a new smartphone which seems to be focusing on the entertainment aspects.

The company has teased its upcoming smartphone as ‘Entertainment Ka Baap’, which translates to something like ‘Boss of Entertainment’. While the phone’s launch date is not yet known, the smartphone is confirmed to be sold exclusively through Flipkart.

Flipkart has also created a landing page for the upcoming smartphone on its platform. While no actual features or specifications have been listed on Flipkart, the landing page indicates that the smartphone will come with an impressively high onboard storage space and a display with a wide notch.

Realme 2 Pro and Realme U1, the most recent smartphones from the company features a waterdrop notch while the Realme C1 — the entry-level phone of Realme comes with the regular rectangular notch. As the upcoming phone has a wider notch, it seems that it’ll be positioned below the Realme U1 and Realme 2 Pro.

The company is also reportedly working on its Realme 3 smartphone, which is expected to launch by the end of March this year. However, nothing else if known related to the smartphone at this time. There were rumors about Realme’s 48MP camera smartphone but the company’s CEO denied it.

After expanding its offline presence in India, Realme is also looking to open exclusive experience stores. Madhav Sheth recently said that the company is currently working on the company’s structure and principles and is yet to finalize the location for its first experience store. However, we should expect such store in the second half of this year.

Realme is a new smartphone brand launched last year after splitting from Oppo and has already made its mark in the budget smartphone segment in India — one of the biggest smartphone markets globally. The company has even expanded to six other geographies — Malaysia, Vietnam, the Phillippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Egypt.

Huawei announces Balong 5000 5G modem with up to 6.5 Gbps 5G speeds in China

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jan 24, 2019

Through the 5G conference and MWC 2019 pre-communication meeting in Beijing, Huawei consumer business CEO Richard Yu announced the Balong 5000 as the most powerful 5G modem that can deliver maximum 5G speeds of up to 6.5 Gbps. The Balong 5000 5G modem was first announced alongside the 7nm Kirin 980 chip at the IFA 2018 event.

Balong 5000

The Balong 5000 is the first ever 5G modem that is compatible with Non-Standalone (NSA) and Standalone (SA) 5G network architecture. The 5G modem by Huawei can support 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G connectivity.

At the unveil event, Huawei claimed that the Balong 5000 is the world’s first TDD/FDD full-spectrum access platform. The Snapdragon X50 LTE modem by Qualcomm that peaks at 5 Gbps does not support Standalone (SA) architecture and FDD. Balong 5000 is the first to achieve industry’s benchmark 5G peak download rate by achieving 4.6 Gbps in the sub-6GHz low frequency band and China’s main 5G frequency band along with 6.5 Gbps in the millimeter wave which is the highest frequency band and 5G extended band.

In simpler terms, it delivers in offers tenfold better experience than 4G LTE. Balong 5000 is also the first multimode chip in the world to support V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication that offers a highly reliable car networking solution with low latency.

Huwaei 5G CPE Pro

At today’s event, the company also revealed Huawei 5G CPE Pro router. With Balong 5000 onboard, it can support 4G and 5G networks. It can download 1 GB HD video file in just 3 seconds through 5G.

The Huawei 5G CPE Pro is designed for home as well as medium-sized enterprises to provide high quality broadband access. With Wi-Fi 6 technology, it can achieve up to 4.8 Gbps speeds. Also, it is the first CPE router from the company to support HiLink, a smart home interconnection platform developed by Huawei.

The Balong 5G modem along with Kirin 980 will be present inside the Huawei’s 5G phone that will debut at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 event that will be held in Barcelona, Spain in the coming month.

Honor Play 8A gets a new Flame Red colour variant

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jan 24, 2019

It is sort of a custom in China for phone manufacturers to release a special red variant of a few of their models during the Spring festival. That is what Huawei’s Honor has just done. The company has released a Flame Red variant of the Honor Play 8A. This is coming barely two weeks after the model was initially launched in China in three different colours of Magic Night Black, Aurora Blue and Platinum Gold.

The new Flame Red variant comes as the fourth colour options the Play 8A is now available in. The variant looks elegant in red but the paint job wasn’t enough for Honor to change the retail price. The pricing of the new variant will start at 799 yuan (around $116) and it will go on sale at 10.08AM on January 29. For now, the Honor Play 8A is only available in China but there are speculations it will be launched in India soon. The four colour options of the budget Honor phone may likely be unleashed at once in India.

As a recap of the specifications, the Honor Play 8A features a polycarbonate body along with a metal frame. The device packs a big 6.09-inch waterdrop notch screen with HD+ resolution of 720 x 1560 pixels. The Play 8A is the second model after Xiaomi’s Mi Play to feature a MediaTek Helio P35 chipset. It comes in 3GB+32GB and 3GB+64GB combo with microSD card slot for expanding the storage. The device equally packs a single 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and autofocus while there is an 8-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture at the front. The device is fueled by a 3,020mAh battery and carries support for 5V/1A charging. Other connectivity features that are included on the Honor 8A are dual-SIM support, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, microUSB 2.0 and 3.5mm audio jack. Unfortunately, there is no fingerprint scanner.

Redmi Note 7 gets Super Night Scene Mode via new update

By

Jeet

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Jan 24, 2019

Redmi Note 7, the first smartphone from the newly independent Redmi brand, was launched earlier this year. The phone comes with a 48-megapixel Samsung GM1 camera sensor to offer stunning photography experience.

Earlier, the company had announced that the phone will soon get the Night Scene Mode, which will further improve the phone’s low-light photography experience. Now, the Redmi Note 7 has received a new update that brings Super Night Scene Mode.

The Night Scene mode was first introduced on the Mi Mix 3 and later on the Mi 8 Pro, and the Mix 2s. The feature allows users to take HDR photos at night that appear super bright even if lighting is poor. The Night Scene mode takes several photos at different exposures and combines them into a single image that is bright and with as less noise as possible.

The Redmi Note 7 comes with a 48MP main camera which has Samsung ISOCELL GM1 Ultra Clear sensor with a 1/2-inch size. The super-sensing area is second only to the SonyIMX600 sensor used in the Huawei P/Mate series flagship. It is said to be on par with the Sony IMX586 sensor used on the Nova 4.

The ultra-high pixels provides more detailed performance for Samsung GM1 products. Samsung GM1 sensor also adopts Quad Bayer pixel arrangement, which can combine four 0.8μm pixels into one by four-in-one pixel technology. A large pixel of 1.6 μm increases the amount of light entering the camera.

The Redmi Note 7 comes with a premium glass body and a massive screen-to-body ratio thanks to the waterdrop notch display. It features a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display with 2340 x 1080 pixels screen resolution and 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The display carries support for 450-nits brightness, 1,500:1 contrast ratio, sun legibility, and eye protection mode.

Under the hood, the device is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 octa-core chipset with 3GB/4GB/6GB RAM and 32GB/64GB internal storage. It also comes with a dedicated microSD card slot allowing users to expand the storage capacity.

The device comes with an f/1.8 aperture 48-megapixel primary sensor and a 5-megapixel secondary camera with artificial intelligence technology. On the front side, there’s a 13-megapixel camera housed in the display notch. It is also equipped with features like AI Smart Beauty and AI face unlock.

The phone is equipped with a 3.5mm audio jack and features an infrared blaster which makes it possible to use it as a remote control. A fingerprint scanner resides of the backside of the smartphone. It runs Android Pie-based MIUI 10 and is powered by a 4,000mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 4.0 fast charging technology.

Buy DOOGEE Y8 4G Smartphone For $69.99 On DealExtreme

By

Vinay Patel

-

Jan 24, 2019

DOOGEE made its long-awaited Y8 smartphone available to the public earlier this month. As expected, the recently launched smartphone became an instant hit among DOOGEE fans.
The DOOGEE Y8’s skyrocketing success can be attributed to its top-end specifications and awe-inspiring features. We usually associate such high-end specs and features with steeply-priced smartphones.

Much to the relief of those living on a tight budget, the DOOGEE Y8 will not set you back a pretty penny. In fact, you can get your hands on this feature-laden smartphone if you are willing to shell out just $69.99 on DealExtreme (dx.com).

The Y8 comes in three appealing color versions including Midnight Black, Phantom Purple, and Emerald Green.

The phone will grab your attention with its extra large, water drop 6.1-inch full-screen display that boasts an HD screen resolution of 600×1280 pixels at a pixel density of 270ppi (pixels-per-inch).

Under the hood, the phone packs a powerful MT6793 quad-core processor that ensures a superior system operating experience. Aside from that, it uses a highly competent IMG GE8100 graphics processing unit for advanced multitasking.

Moreover, the DOOGEE Y8 ships with 3GB of RAM and offers 16GB of onboard storage capacity that can be expanded up to 128GB using a microSD card.

On the photography front, the dual-SIM smartphone houses an 8.0MP+5.0MP dual-camera set up with F/2.2 auto-focus LED Flash on the back. Up front, there’s a 5.0MP front shooter with F/2.2 80 degree wide-angle.

The phone runs Android 9.0 Pie OS and draws its juices from a built-in 3400mAh polymer battery.

The DOOGEE Y8 features a slew of useful sensors including a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. Aside from that, it offers a face unlocking alternative for added protection.

You can head straight to this link to check out the full specifications of the DOOGEE Y8 smartphone and buy it at a modest price on DealExtreme.

Note that there were 9972 pieces available at the time of writing.

Buy DOOGEE Y8 Smartphone

Exynos 7904: Why it’s No Better than Snapdragon 636

By

Joel Joseph

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Jan 24, 2019

Over the past few years, Samsung has solidified its position as a chipset manufacturer with its ARM-based Exynos series chipsets. These processors take on the big players like Qualcomm and MediaTek, even in the mid-range market. Earlier this week, Samsung released its brand new Exynos 7 series 7904 processor. So, let’s take a closer look at where this processor stands among the competition.

Before we move on to the actual specifications of the processor, first let’s agree that Samsung has a messed up processor nomenclature. You can’t really make out where each processor stands in the lineup just by looking at their names. Unfortunately, this is a trend among various semiconductor companies. Both Qualcomm (I have tried to explain their mid-range chipsets here) and Intel have been criticized for their naming scheme and I guess, we can’t do much about it at the moment.

One thing we know for sure is that the new Exynos chipset is tailored for the Indian market. According to recent information, the new Samsung Galaxy M20 will most likely carry this chipset. However, we don’t know whether we’ll see this chip outside of India.

Exynos 7904 has a weaker CPU than the 7885

Coming back to the Exynos 7904, it should be seen inside mid-range smartphones from Samsung. It features 2 x ARM Cortex-A73 high-end cores clocked at 1.8GHz for heavy duty tasks and 6 x ARM Cortex-A53 power efficient cores clocked at 1.6GHz for basic activities. Seeing this specs sheet, we can say that the 7904 is not really built for power-hungry applications.

The A73 cores should be able to handle most moderate to high intensive tasks, but it will start to struggle if you try to multi-task. Even the Mali-G71MP2 GPU doesn’t instill confidence in its graphics processing capabilities. It might have a large core (similar to the 1.2GHz Mali-G71 MP1 on the Exynos 7885) but don’t expect it to handle heavy games like a Qualcomm SD660.

Honestly, when you look at the specs, the Exynos 7904 naming doesn’t look very appropriate. This might be a personal opinion, but the new Exynos chipset feels like an extension of the Exynos 7885 rather than a brand new chip. Here’s why:

Exynos 7904 vs Exynos 7885

Features	Exynos 7904	Exynos 7885
Node	14nm	14nm
CPU	2 X A73 @ 1.8GHz 6 x A53 @ 1.6GHz	2 x A73 @ 2.2GHz 6 x A53 @ 1.6Hz
GPU	Mali-G71 MP2	Mali-G71 MP2
RAM / Storage	LPDDR4X / eMMC	LPDDR4X / eMMC
Camera	Rear – 32MP + Front – 32MP Dual 16+16 Triple Cam Support	Rear – 21.7MP + Front – 21.7MP Dual 16+16
Video	4K @ 30fps FHD @ 120fps	4K @ 30fps FHD @ 120fps
Modem	Cat 12 (3xCA) / 13 600Mbps Download 150Mbps Upload	Cat 12 (3xCA) / 13 600Mbps Download 150Mbps Upload

There is one particular area where the Exynos 7904 is better than the 7885 — ISP. The new chip upgrades its ISP adding support for 32MP + 32MP (Front+Rear) or Dual 16MP + 16MP or triple cameras. Yes, the new chipset boasts of being capable enough to handle three cameras at the back. The third camera can reportedly function as a wide angle sensor or a bokeh sensor.

Now that we’ve established the Exynos 7904 is better than the 7885 only in some aspects, let’s take a look at where it stands among its competition.

RELATED: Samsung Galaxy A30 spotted on Geekbench, packs Exynos 7885 SoC and 4GB RAM

Exynos 7904 vs Snapdragon 636 vs Snapdragon 632

At present, the Snapdragon 636 is considered as the standard mid-range offering from Qualcomm. The SD630/632 are lower mid-range offerings while the SD670/710 are for upper mid-rangers.

Considering its specs, the Exynos 7904 would be better placed between the Snapdragon 636 and the Snapdragon 632. Snapdragon 636 is more powerful with its 4 x Cortex A73 Kryo cores. Even the Adreno 509 GPU and support for UFS storage gives it an edge over the new Exynos chip.

Snapdragon 636	Exynos 7904	Snapdragon 632
14nm	14nm	14nm
4 x Kryo 260G (A73) @ 1.8GHz 4 x Kryo 260S (A53) @ 1.8GHz	2 X A73 @ 1.8GHz 6 x A53 @ 1.6GHz	4 x Kryo 250G (A73) @ 1.8GHz 4 x Kryo 250S (A53) @ 1.8GHz
Adreno 509	Mali-G71 MP2	Adreno 506
LPDDR4X / UFS	LPDDR4X / eMMC	LPDDR3 / eMMC
24MP Single Dual 16+16MP	Rear – 32MP + Front – 32MP Dual 16+16MP Triple Cam Support	24MP Single Dual 13+13MP
4K @ 30fps FHD @ 120fps	4K @ 30fps FHD @ 120fps	4K @ 30fps FHD @ 120fps
X12 LTE Cat 12 (3xCA) / 13 600Mbps Download 150Mbps Upload	Cat 12 (3xCA) / 13 600Mbps Download 150Mbps Upload	X9 LTE Cat 7 (3xCA) / 13 300Mbps Download 150Mbps Upload

When compared to the SD632, the Exynos 7904 should be close to its performance. But even here, the Qualcomm chip should have an edge. The SD632 has four performance cores while the Exynos chip has just two. However, overall, when you look at CPU and GPU together, the Exynos 7904 should go head to head with this Qualcomm chip on paper. But there are a few areas where the Exynos model is clearly better. For example, the chip supports LPDDR4X and Cat 12 / 13 (downloads/uploads). Even the ISP is better than the SD632. So, the Exynos 7904 should ideally be placed between the SD636 and SD632.

Latest rumors suggest that the Galaxy M20, which is expected to feature the Exynos 7904 will be sold somewhere around $180. At this price, the new chip would offer pretty good value to customers.

But in general comparison, it’s still a lower mid-range processor. In terms of performance, both the Snapdragon 636 and Snapdragon 660 should do much better than the new Exynos model.

Realme India CEO clarifies that the company isn’t working on 48MP camera smartphone

By

Jeet

-

Jan 24, 2019

Recently, there were reports making rounds suggesting that Realme is working on a smartphone with 48-megapixel Sony IMX586 camera sensor. However, the rumors come to rest now after Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth clarified in AMA video.

In the video, Madhav Sheth clarified that the company isn’t working on a smartphone with a 48MP camera sensor and further added that Realme has no plans to launch a phone with such high megapixel-count camera sensor anytime soon.

In the statement debunking rumors of 48MP camera smartphone, Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth said:

For Realme, we are not going to adopt the high megapixel just for the sake of launching it because we believe that camera tuning and software optimization is even more important. We always strive to give our users the best combination of both hardware and software.

He further said that all the upcoming smartphone from the company will run Android 9 Pie operating system out-of-the-box. When asked about the Android Pie update for the existing smartphone models, he said that the company will follow the given timeline.

When inquired about the phone cases, Madhav Sheth said that the existing phones won’t get official mobile covers but the company may offer official phone cases for the upcoming smartphones. He also added that Realme could also launch a power bank.

Realme India CEO further added that the company plans to launch many new smartphone models in Q1 and Q2. Recently, it was reported that the company is working on Realme 3 which is scheduled to launch by the end of Q1 2019, i.e. by March this year.

Recently, when some users demanded a dedicated app store for Realme users on its community, the company responded to that by saying that it is considering to launch its own app store. When launched, the app store will work as an alternative to the Google Play Store for users to download apps and games.

Realme is a new smartphone brand launched last year after splitting from Oppo and has already made its mark in the budget smartphone segment in India — one of the biggest smartphone markets globally. The company has even expanded to six other geographies — Malaysia, Vietnam, the Phillippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Egypt.

After expanding its offline presence in India, Realme is also looking to open exclusive experience stores. Madhav Sheth recently said that the company is currently working on the company’s structure and principles and is yet to finalize the location for its first experience store. However, we should expect such store in the second half of this year.

The Newwear Q9 Smart Watch Is Now Available For Just $19.99 On Banggood

By

Vinay Patel

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Jan 24, 2019

If you’ve run out of Valentine’s Day gift ideas, Banggood’s got your back!

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, a lot of people start searching the internet in a bid to find an ideal Valentine’s Day gifts for their beloved.

While the internet is brimming with all sorts of Valentine’s Day gifts ideas for wives, husbands, boyfriends, and girlfriends, these ideas don’t necessarily suit your fancy. Banggood is bent on changing that.

Keeping in line with that, the Chinese online store that guarantees the best bang for your buck is now offering its users a chance to buy a perfect Valentine’s Day present without burning a hole in their pocket.

Sporting an awe-inspiring design that’s likely to sweep your sweetheart off her feet, the Newwear Q9 has gone up for sale carrying a considerably lowered price of just $19.99 on Banggood.
This is a whopping 50 percent reduction in the device’s original asking price of $39.99. On the downside, there were only 124 pieces remaining for this promo, which is slated to end on February 4th.

Aside from that, buyers qualify to receive the Newwear 20mm replacement leather wristband watch band strap as a gift option with this order.

But if that doesn’t impress you much, it might interest you to know that you can participate in the Newwear Q9 Snap-Up deal and stand a chance to get the coveted smartwatch at an unbelievably lowered price of just $9.99.

This recently kicked-off deal will be valid for six highly appealing color options. It is imperative for you to bear in mind that the $9.99 Snap-Up will be limited to only three pieces daily and it will start at 22:00 (UTC+8) every day.

This unmissable $9.99 Snap-Up Newwear Q9 deal will come to an end on January 19th.

The Q9 is housed in a sturdy metal frame and features an eye-catching tempered glass screen.

The smartwatch is loaded with useful functions like distance counter, calorie counter, a heart rate monitor, blood pressure monitor, and sedentary reminder just to name a few.

Moreover, with the Newwear Q9, you can either answer or reject an incoming call without requiring your smartphone. Long pressing will reject an incoming call.

The details including name and number of the caller are revealed on its 1.3-inch color touch display.

You can head straight to this link to check out more details about the Newwear Q9 smartwatch on the promotion page and take part in the $9.99 Newwear Q9 Snap Up deal.

Check Out Banggood’s $9.99 Snap-Up Newwear Q9

Vivo V11 Pro successor with pop-up front camera tipped to debut in February

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

-

Jan 24, 2019

A recent report had revealed that Vivo India is working on the launch of the successor edition of the Vivo V11 Pro that was unveiled in September last year. The exact name of the V11 Pro’s successor is not known yet, but the smartphone is tipped to debut in February. Citing information acquired from people who are familiar with the news surrounding the V11 Pro’s successor, BGR India has revealed that the Vivo V11 Pro will be arriving with a pop-up selfie camera feature like the Vivo NEX flagship phone.

Probably, the successor phone could be called Vivo V13 Pro or Vivo V15 Pro. Sibling brand OPPO had skipped the R13 moniker and had directly launched R15 series after the R11 phones. Hence, there is a possibility that Vivo too may skip the 13 number is considered unlucky in some countries. Hence, there is a possibility that the Vivo 11 Pro’s successor may break cover as Vivo 15 Pro.

Coming back to the main story, the inclusion of the pop-up selfie camera on the alleged V15 Pro suggests that the smartphone will also feature a notch-less display like the Vivo NEX smartphone. Since the V11 Pro handset comes with in-display fingerprint scanner, Vivo will make the same feature available on its successor edition.

There is no information available on the specifications of the alleged Vivo V15 Pro. As far as pricing is concerned, the handset is expected to cost higher than Rs. 25,990 which was the launch price of the V11 Pro.

Read More: Vivo APEX 2019 official render leaks ahead of tomorrow’s launch

The Vivo V11 Pro features a 6.4-inch HaloView S-AMOLED screen that produces full HD+ resolution. It is fueled by the Snapdragon 670 chipset and 6 GB of RAM. It receives power from a 3,400mAh battery which carries support for 18W fast charging. The V11 Pro comes with an inbuilt storage of 64 GB and a microSD card slot is also available on the device for more storage. For photography, there is 12-megapixel + 5-megapiel dual camera setup on the rear and a frontal shooter of 25-megapixel.

(source)

The Teclast X22 Air PC Has Gone Up For Sale Carrying A $358.53 Price Tag On GearBest

By

Vinay Patel

-

Jan 24, 2019

There’s no dearth of all-in-one PCs in the market today; however, they don’t come cheap.
Those who aren’t willing to shell out a lot of money on a top-branded all-in-one PC desktop, usually end up compromising on quality.

If you have restlessly been waiting to get your tech greedy hands on a feature rich all-in-one PC desktop that doesn’t cost a bomb, you might want to take a gander at the Teclast X22 Air.

Given that the device is manufactured by one of China’s most renowned brand, it is hardly surprising that it boasts an impressive of features and top-end specifications.

Sporting a premium design, the Teclast X22 Air is housed in a compact body and features a slim display.

Aside from offering a superior movie watching experience, the device enables you to effortlessly edit photos, view documents and perform a slew of other strenuous tasks without breaking a sweat.

This multifunctional device sports a mammoth 21.5-inch FHD LED display and packs a powerful Intel Celeron J3160 Quad Core 1.6GHz, up to 2.24GHz processor and Integrated Graphics with Intel HD Graphics 400, under the hood.

Furthermore, the Teclast X22 Air ships with 4GB of DDR3L RAM for a high-impact gaming experience, seamless operation and enhanced internet speed.

It also offers a hearty 128GB SSD hard disk memory, making it an ideal all-in-one PC desktop for both study and play.

As far as connectivity is concerned, the Teclast X22 features a supports an HDMI output, allowing the user to connect it to a high-definition monitor or projector.

Much to the delight of cost-conscious buyers, the white-tinted Teclast X22 has now gone up for sale bearing an affordable $358 price tag on GearBest.

You can visit this link to check out the full specifications of the Teclast X22 Air all-in-one PC desktop and buy it from GearBest.

Buy Teclast X22 Air All-in-one PC Desktop

GeekBuying Is Offering Two Variants Of The Redmi Note 7 At Dropped Prices [Coupons Inside]

By

Vinay Patel

-

Jan 24, 2019

Xiaomi fans can now get their tech greedy hands on a couple of variants of the Redmi Note 7 at lowered prices on GeekBuying.
Aside from taking advantage of the aforesaid discount, GeekBuying users can save a considerable amount of extra money at checkout with the help of specific coupon codes. So without wasting more time, let us check out the details.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Phablet (6GB RAM+64GB ROM)

The Redmi Note 7 variant that we’ll take a gander at first is the one that ships with 6GB of RAM and offers 64GB of internal storage capacity.

The aforesaid model would normally set you back $346 on both online and offline stores, but you can now buy it at a dropped price of only $299.99 on GeekBuying.

You can extend this 14 percent discount by apply coupon code GIZ_MFJRORQY during the checkout process.

The coupon helps you save $10 more by reducing the retail price of the Redmi Note 7 6GB RAM+64GB ROM model to just $289.99.

You can follow this link to avail the discount, which will be valid specifically for the black color version of the Redmi Note 7 phablet.

Get 14% Off On Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Smartphone With 6GB RAM And 64GB ROM

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Phablet (4GB RAM+64GB ROM)

The aforesaid variant of the Redmi Note 7 can now be yours if you are willing to shell out only $265.99.

This is a significant 16 percent drop in the original asking price of $314.99 of the variant that comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage capacity.

On top of that, you can use coupon code GIZ_XYJTKATQ to get an extra $26 off.

In other words, you can bring the already lowered selling price of this Redmi Note 7 variant further down to only $239.99 simply by applying the above-mentioned coupon.

You can visit this link if you are interested in taking advantage of the discount before the promo comes to an end.
An absolute steal at this price, the Redmi Note 7 sports a mammoth 6.3 inches IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display with a screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. It has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top for added protection.

The phone packs a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 AIE, Octa core, 2.2GHz processor and a competent Adreno 512 graphics processing unit, under the hood.

Both variants include enough RAM to ensure seamless advanced multitasking and offer enough space for you to save your favorite photos, videos, and other multimedia content.

On the photography front, the Redmi Note 7 houses a 48.0MP+5.0MP dual-camera module on the back and a 13.0MP front shooter for superior self-portraits and video chatting experience.

The phablet runs MIUI 10 based on Android 9 Pie OS and draws its juices from a 4000mAh battery.

Aside from a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, the Redmi Note 7 features a slew of other useful sensors including an accelerometer, gyro, proximity, and compass.

Get 16% Off On Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Smartphone With 4GB RAM And 64GB ROM

Check Out GeekBuying’s 2019 Valentine’s Day

Buy Myinnov MKJI9x And I7S TWS Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds At Lowered Prices On GeekBuying [Coupons Inside]

By

Vinay Patel

-

Jan 24, 2019

valentine’s Day is just around the corner and if you are looking for awe-inspiring gift ideas for a music lover or a tech buff, GeekBuying’s got your back!

All products featured in GeekBuying’s ‘2019 Valentine’s Day’ promo have been added to various categories such as For Him, For Her, Smartphones & Laptops, TV Boxes & Gadgets, Outdoor & Toys and lots more.

Select items will be tagged with a “Rose.” Those buying these items will qualify to receive a surprise gift.

If you are looking for Valentine’s Day gift ideas for a music lover that won’t empty your pocket, we got good news for you.

Deemed as one of China’s best online stores for electronic items, GeekBuying is now doling out noteworthy discounts on the Myinnov MKJI9x and the I7S TWS Bluetooth earbuds.

Aside from shedding light on the aforesaid discount, we’ll show how you can save a considerable amount of extra money at checkout.

Myinnov MKJI9x TWS Dual Bluetooth 5.0 Earbuds

The Myinnov MKJI9x uses Bluetooth v5.0 technology to generate twice higher sound transmission speed. Aside from a stable connection, this improves the anti-interference performance.

Moreover, the Myinnov MKJI9x effectively avoid sound delays to ensure each call as well as game-playing is in real time. The earbuds adopt an ergonomically design that comfortably fits the contours of the ears.
The Myinnov MKJI9x would normally set you back a pretty penny, but you can now get your hands on it for only $19.99 on GeekBuying. This is a 33 percent reduction in the earbuds’ original asking price of $29.99.

Moreover, you can apply coupon code GIZ_CYMKDAQV to get an extra $4 off before placing your order. The aforesaid coupon helps you reduce the retail price of the Myinnov MKJI9x to only $15.99.

You can follow this link to avail the discount. Note that the promo was on the verge of wrapping up at the time of writing.

Get 33% Off On Myinnov MKJI9x TWS Dual Bluetooth 5.0 Earbuds

I7S TWS Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds

Thanks to the true wireless technology that the I7S adopts, you can now listen to your favorite music while enjoying your sports. Its ergonomic design protects the earphone from dropping even when you are exercising hard.

The I7S sports a compact and lightweight design for a comfortable wearing experience for a longer duration.

Furthermore, the 17S comes with an intelligent charging box that enables fast charge. You and your friend can listen to the same song without worrying about tangling wires.
While you’d expect top-branded headphones offering comparable features to cost a bomb, the I7S TWS wireless Bluetooth earbuds can now be yours if you are willing to shell out just $8.99 on GeekBuying.

This is a 10 percent drop in the device’s retail price of $9.99.

In order to extend this discount, all you need to do is to apply coupon code GIZ_LNFTQGGK before you hit the ‘Place Your Order’ button.

The coupon helps you save an extra $1 by bringing the already lowered retail price of the 17S earbuds further down to only $7.99.

You can follow this link to grab the discount, which will be valid for the black color version of the earbuds.

Alternatively, you can get a 20 percent off on the black-tinted I7S Bluetooth earbuds that usually sell for $9.99.

Thanks to the aforesaid discount, you can now buy this eye-catching color version of the I7S TWS wireless Bluetooth earbuds at a dropped price of just $7.99 on GeekBuying.

Get 20% Off On I7S TWS Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds

Check Out GeekBuying’s 2019 Valentine’s Day

Banggood’s Home Appliances Festival Launched Featuring An Unmissable Snap Up Deal, Big Discounts, Coupons And A Free Gift!

By

Vinay Patel

-

Jan 24, 2019

The market is brimming with all sorts of steeply-priced home appliances that come in handy in day to day life.

As part of its new promotion, Banggood is now offering a wide selection of top-branded home appliances at considerably lowered prices for a limited period of time.

Dubbed as the ‘Home Appliances Festival,’ the recently kicked-off promo is split into five categories including Brand Goods Flash Deal, The Best Selling Area, New Arrive & Free Gift, Exclusive Coupon and Featured Brands.

We’ll take a gander at the aforesaid sections and check out some of the products the Chinese online store is currently selling at discount.

The ‘Brand Goods Flash Deal’ category features three Digoo-branded items including the DG-FR200 smart alarm clock, DG-YS22 3 electric toothbrush, DG-FCR-1 Garden Porch Patio LED Lamp along with PUPPYOO WP511 vacuum cleaner.

More importantly, the aforesaid items have gone up for sale carrying heavily discounted price tags on Banggood. For the sake of an instance, the PUPPYOO WP511 usually retails for $183.59, but you can now get it at a dropped price of just $74.99.
You can even win a DIGOO DG-FR200 snap-up that gives you a chance to get this LED digital display alarm clock at an unbelievably lowered price of just $0.01. It is worth noting that the device would normally set you back $15.99.

‘The Best Selling Area’ section comprises a slew of top-branded items that you can buy without emptying your pocket. Among other products, you can get 30 percent off on the Xiaomi Circle Joy CJ – EKPQ02 USB Charging Automatic Electric Bottle.

The product has gone up for pre-order carrying a dropped price of $19.99. Note that the Circle Joy CJ – EKPQ02 usually sells for $28.66 without the aforesaid discount.

‘The Best Selling Area’ category also features the BlitzWolf BW-AS2 wireless speaker and the Xiaomi Sothing Mini Heater. Both items have been assigned specific coupon codes that can be used at checkout to receive additional discounts.

Those who buy products from the ‘New Arrive & Free Gift’ section before January 31st will qualify to get a $10.99 Digoo fan for free. If you buy a single item in this area, you’d receive one fan and if you buy two items, you’d get two fans.

Likewise, in the section dubbed ‘Exclusive Coupon,’ you can use a $10 off coupon if you spend $50 or more. Those who end up spending $100 or more will be able to use a bigger coupon to get an extra $20 during the check out process.

The ‘Featured Brands’ category, on the other hand, is brimming with top-end products from popular manufacturers like Xiaomi, BlitzWolf, JIMMY, and Dibea. These brands have teamed up with Banggood to offer their select products at lowered prices.

You can click here to visit the promotion page and check out all the products and take full advantage of this 7-days only promotion before it wraps up!

Check Out Banggood’s Home Appliances Festival

Buy Alfawise V8S Robot Vacuum Cleaner For $189.25 On GearBest

By

Vinay Patel

-

Jan 24, 2019

Those who fancy keeping their surrounding clean and tidy all the time usually end up spending a lot of money on smart home cleaning devices.

While the list of cleaning tools that every home must have is endless, vacuum cleaners are the most popular gadgets used at home. On the downside, top-branded vacuum cleaners are usually not easy on the pocketbook.

GearBest has teamed up with Alfawise in order to make the V8S Robot available to those who are looking for a cost-effective vacuum cleaner that doesn’t compromise on quality.

Touted as ‘your reliable partner for a cleaner home,’ the Alfawise V8S comes with a built-in gyroscope and can move around the entire area in a zigzag pattern without bumping into an object.

Moreover, the V8S is the first robotic cleaner to use PSD (position sensitive detector). The device uses PSD to determine the distance and position to generate real-time mapping and dividing a room into multiple areas and then cleaning them one at a time.
It is powered by a high-performance brushless DC motor that generates a powerful suction without making noise. Its 880-1300 PA powerful vacuuming ensures that all impurities are sucked directly into the dustbin, leaving your home clean and tidy.

Aside from that, controlling the Alfawise V8S is a cakewalk. The device comes with a convenient remote control that lets you choose between three modes of Edge, Spot, and Planning to suit your need.

The Edge mode is ideal for wall side, the Auto mode comprises Planning, Edge switch. You can use the Spot mode for cleaning dirty areas, while the Planning mode involves L-shape cleaning for the regular place.

Unlike a wide selection of steeply-priced vacuum cleaners available in the market today, the black-tinted Alfawise V8S robot vacuum cleaner will set you back on $189.25 on GearBest.

You can follow this link to check out more details about the Alfawise V8S robot vacuum cleaner and buy it on GearBest without emptying your pocket.

Buy Alfawise V8S Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Image of Sony Xperia XZ4 home screen surfaces showing a rare 21:9 aspect ratio

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jan 23, 2019

Japanese tech giant Sony is expected to launch the Xperia XZ4 as its flagship for this year. Although the company is yet to officially reveal when the model will be launched, the rumour mill has been buzzing with renders and leaks about the flagship. The device was even rumoured to launch the device under a new moniker but that is not certain as well. The latest leak is a new image of the Sony Xperia XZ4’s home screen.

The most spectacular aspect is the unusual 21:9 aspect ratio which the model adopts. It also comes with Android 9.0 Pie’s gestures navigation. The render shows a while line on the side of the screen which is suspected to be Sony’s Side Sense. The Side Sense was first featured on the Xperia XZ3 and it allows you to double tap the side of the phone to bring out a list of AI-curated app shortcuts.

The renders also show the design of the Xperia XZ4 with a triple rear camera setup. Sony has been slow in trimming off the bezels around its displays but the XZ4 may come with a different design bearing a reduced bezel at the top and bottom. Sony will unveil the Xperia XZ4 at MWC next month alongside the XZ4 Compact. The company already has a an event scheduled for February 25.

(source)

Vivo APEX 2019 official render leaks ahead of tomorrow’s launch

By

Habeeb Onawole

-

Jan 23, 2019

The Vivo APEX 2019 will be unveiled tomorrow at an event in China. Vivo itself released teaser images of the phone but they only showed parts of the phone. Just a few hours to the launch, an official render has surfaced online that shows the device in full.

The Vivo APEX 2019 has a mirror-like silver finish. The back is highly reflective and is home to dual cameras stacked on top of each other. What appears to be an LED flash sits underneath.

The front of the phone is nearly all screen but there is still some bezels around with the chin being the thickest. Since the top bezel is gone, there is no front-facing camera or earpiece which means Vivo is sticking to a pop-up camera and a piezoelectric speaker.

Continue

Motorola rolls out Android Pie update to Moto Z3, brings support for 5G Moto Mod too

By

Habeeb Onawole

-

Jan 23, 2019

Motorola isn’t the fastest when it comes to updating its devices. Quite a number of its phones haven’t gotten the Android Pie update yet save for its Android One phones – the Motorola One and Motorola One Power. The update is now rolling out to the Moto Z3 and it brings more than just a slice of pie.

The update brings all the goodness of Android Pie which includes a redesigned navigation, new volume controls, new emojis, a redesigned settings menu, Adaptive Brightness, Adaptive Battery, temporary screen rotation, and a new way to manage your notifications.

It also brings January’s security update and support for Motorola’s 5G Mod which will work with Verizon’s 5G network. The Moto 5G Mod isn’t yet available for purchase yet but its good to know that you won’t need to wait for an update from Motorola for it to work when you eventually get your hands on a unit.

The notification for the update should hit your device but if you haven’t gotten it, you can go to System Updates under phone settings to check for it.

Continue

Meizu Zero vs Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 vs Oppo Find X: Specs Comparison

By

Michele Ingelido

-

Jan 23, 2019

2018 was the year of aesthetic innovations in the smartphones world and the trend is continuing even in 2019. Minimalism in the design became one of the most important priorities of smartphones manufacturers and the new Meizu Zero is a perfect example of it. The Chinese company announced a phone without ports, without speakers, and without physical keys in order to guarantee a totally clean design. Here, we will compare the new flagships with two other phones having an innovative design released in the last year: Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 and Oppo Find X.

Meizu Zero vs Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 vs Oppo Find X

	Meizu Zero	Xiaomi Mi Mix 3	Oppo Find X
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT	N/D	157.9 x 74.7 x 8.5 mm, 218 g	156.7 x 74.2 x 9.6 mm, 186 g
DISPLAY	5.99 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), AMOLED	6.39 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), Super AMOLED	6.42 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 19.5:9 ratio, AMOLED
PROCESSOR	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, octa-core 2.8 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, octa-core 2.8 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, octa-core 2.8 GHz
MEMORY	4 GB RAM, 64 GB – 4 GB RAM, 128 GB – 6 GB RAM, 64 GB – 6 GB RAM, 128 GB	6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB – 10 GB RAM, 512 GB	8 GB RAM, 256 GB
SOFTWARE	Android 9 Pie	Android 9 Pie, MIUI 10	Android 8.1 Oreo, ColorOS 5.1
CONNECTIVITY	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS
CAMERA	Dual 12 + 20 MP, f/1.8 20 MP front camera	Dual 12 + 12 MP, f/1.8 OIS Dual 24 + 2 MP front camera	Dual 16 + 20 MP, f/2.0 + f/2.2, OIS 25 MP, f/2.0 front camera
BATTERY	Fast charging 18W	3200 mAh, fast charging with Quick Charge 4.0+, wireless charging	3730 mAh, fast charging (VOOC Flash Charge) 5V / 4A
ADDITIONAL FEATURES	eSIM, no ports/speakers/keys, IP68 certification	Dual SIM slot, pop up cameras	Dual SIM slot, pop up cameras

Design

In my opinion, Meizu Zero is the most innovative and beautiful phone when it comes to aesthetics because it has the cleanest design without needing a slider design nor a notch. It does not have any port and it gets charged via Qi wireless charging, while data transfer happens through WiFi or data networks. It does not have physical keys which are replaced by touch controls at the side, and it does not even have a speaker thanks to the piezoelectric transductor in the display delivering the audio. It does not even have a SIM slot as it supports the eSIM. Further, it has the best build quality and it is fully waterproof and dustproof thanks to the IP68 certification.

Display

Unfortunately, we still have no chance to test the display of the Meizu Zero because it is still not in the market, but on the paper, the display of Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 seems better because of the HDR technology making colors look more realistic. It is also protected by Gorilla Glass 5. On the other hand, Oppo Find X has slimmer bezels around the display and this may result better for people who care a lot about the front design. Meizu Zero has thicker bezels, but unlike the Oppo Find X, it does not need a motorized slider housing the sensors and the front camera.

Hardware/Software

All these phones come with the same chipset, so you should not expect a significative difference in their performances. Whatever you choose, you will get a very fast and smooth phone in every scenario, including gaming and the most-demanding multi-tasking. Note that Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 comes with up to 10 GB of RAM, while Oppo Find X does not and we still do not know the configurations in which Meizu Zero will be available as the company did not reveal all the specs of the handset. So Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 may effectively be the most suitable handset for heavy usage patterns.

Camera

Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 has the most convincing rear camera, at least on the paper. It is a dual sensor with a 12 MP resolution and an f/1.8 aperture, and it supports both OIS and dual pixel autofocus. Even the front cameras seem to be better: they consist of two sensors with 24 and 2 MP (the secondary one is a depth sensor, while in the rear camera it is a telephoto lens), paired with a front-facing LED flash.

Battery

Unfortunately, Meizu did not reveal the battery capacity of the new Zero. Given the absence of ports, there may be more space for the battery, but we have no idea whether or not it will be big. Meanwhile, Oppo Find X has a long-lasting 3730 mAh, while Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 has an average 3200 mAh unit that is not able to last as long as its opponent. Note that Meizu Zero cannot be charged via a USB port, so the charging process is slower.

Price

Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 is an affordable flagship carrying a €560 price tag in the global market, Oppo Find X was launched with a starting price of €770, while we still do not know when Meizu Zero will hit the shelves, neither its price. Personally, I believe that Meizu Zero is a very innovative phone but it is still not so suitable for daily use. 18W wireless charging is still too slow for modern standards and piezoelectric speakers are still too poor in terms of audio experience, so I would not be so comfortable with a phone like that. Unless it comes with an affordable price. But it is still a great experiment and we appreciate it a lot, hoping that Meizu and other Chinese brands will keep innovating like that. The winner of the comparison is the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 due to its more affordable price tag, amazing camera performance, and great display, but some may like the Oppo Find X more due to its bigger battery, thinner bezels and its more innovative motorized slider.

Read More: Meizu Zero holeless phone with 18W wireless charging announced with key specifications

Meizu Zero vs Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 vs Oppo Find X: PRO and CONS

Meizu Zero

PROS

Portless, speakerless, keyless
Great ceramic design
Wireless charging
Nice hardware
Waterproof

CONS

eSIM

Xiaomi Mi Mix 3

PROS

Full borderless design
Outstanding hardware
Awesome camera
Affordable price

CONS

Smaller battery

Oppo Find X

PROS

Motorized slider design
High screen-to-body ratio
Amazing hardware
Bigger battery

CONS

Pricey