Xolo Era 5X with 5.7-inch HD+ display, 3GB RAM, 13MP front camera launched in India

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Jan 9, 2019

HMD Global has begun rolling out the Android Pie update to the Nokia 8 Sirocco. The company’s chief product officer, Juho Sarvikas took to Twitter to confirm the update is now rolling out although some users already reported receiving the update hours earlier.

Here's to the latest member of the Android 9 Pie family. Welcome, Nokia 8 Sirocco! pic.twitter.com/AqnjbM7LgI

— Juho Sarvikas (@sarvikas) January 9, 2019

Some members of the Nokia community who have received the update have shared screenshots. The update is about 1.4GB in size and brings the usual Android Pie features and December’s security patch. Below is the complete changelog:

Notification

Software upgrade – Android 9.0 Pie (V4.120)

What’s New

New system navigation, settings menu, and notifications
Adaptive battery power prioritization for users’ most commonly used apps/services
Adaptive and optimized brightness levels
Predictive Applications Actions
Google Security Patch 2018-12

The Nokia 8 Sirocco has a 5.5-inch 2560 x 1440 P-OLED screen with Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It is powered by the Snapdragon 835 processor paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of non-expandable storage.

Honor Play 8A vs Realme C1 vs Vivo Y93: Specs Comparison

By

Michele Ingelido

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Jan 9, 2019

Nowadays, you can get a more than sufficient smartphone even in the entry-level segment. Honor Play 8A is a perfect example of it as it offers a smooth user experience and a well-balanced specs sheet even though its price is inferior to $200. Two other great devices in its price range are the recently-unveiled Realme C1 and Vivo Y93. They are awesome devices when it comes to quality-price ratio, for both performance and battery life. Here is a specs comparison between three of the best value for money of the moment.

Huawei Honor Play 8A vs Oppo Realme C1 vs Vivo Y93

	Huawei Honor Play 8A	Oppo Realme C1	Xiaomi Mi Play
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT	156.28 x 73.5 x 8 mm, 150 grams	156.2 x 75.6 x 8.2 mm, 168 grams	155.1 x 75.1 x 8.3 mm, 163 grams
DISPLAY	6.09 inches, 720 x 1560p (HD+), 290 ppi, IPS LCD	6.2 inches, 720 x 1520p (HD+), 271 ppi, IPS LCD	6.22 inches, 720 x 1520p (HD+), 270 ppi, IPS LCD
PROCESSOR	MediaTek Helio P35, octa-core 2.3 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 450, octa-core 1.8 GHz	MediaTek Helio P22, octa-core 2 GHz
MEMORY	3 GB RAM, 32 GB – 3 GB RAM, 64 GB – micro SD slot	2 GB RAM, 16 GB – micro SD dedicated slot	4 GB RAM, 32 GB – micro SD slot
SOFTWARE	Android 9 Pie, EMUI	Android 8.1 Oreo, Color OS	Android 8.1 Oreo, Funtouch OS
CONNECTIVITY	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS
CAMERA	13 MP f/1.8 8 MP f/2.0 front camera	Dual 13 + 2 MP f/2.2 and f/2.4 5 MP f/2.2 front camera	Dual 13 +2 MP f/2.2 and f/2.4 8 MP f/2.0 front camera
BATTERY	3000 mAh	4230 mAh	4030 mAh
ADDITIONAL FEATURES	Hybrid Dual SIM slot	Dual SIM slot	Hybrid Dual SIM slot

Design

Huawei Honor Play 8A is the device that you should consider if you want a sleek and compact design allowing your phone to fit better in a pocket, easy to use with one hand. But if we exclude the comfortable size, the best design is the one of the Vivo Y93. It is the only to sport a back cover available in gradient colors and it also has a very high screen-to-body ratio with a waterdrop notch and a narrow chin. Realme C1 is less attractive due to its bigger notch and its anonymous plastic body, while Honor Play 8A has a waterdrop notch as well, so it is definitely better.

Display

All the displays of these devices are below-average. They do not provide a very high level of detail due to their HD+ resolution, but this benefits the battery life as HD+ displays have a lower energy consumption. Oppo Realme C1 and Vivo Y93 come with a bigger size, so they are more comfortable for advanced users. Further, the Realme C1 is protected by Gorilla Glass 3, so it has a more resistant display. I would personally choose the Realme C1 for this reason, because each of these devices has a similar viewing quality to each other.

Specs & Software

Are you looking for the fastest and smoothest device which can handle heavy apps in a better way? Then you should go for the Honor Play 8A. After Xiaomi Mi Play, it is the first device equipped with the new octa-core Helio P35 SoC by MediaTek. It is a chipset that should be on par with the Snapdragon 632 and it should be the most powerful of the trio in almost every scenario. If for some reason you do not like it, Vivo Y93 is another phone with great performances due to its high quantity of RAM (4 GB). Despite its very interesting price tag, Realme U1 is the most disappointing as it only comes in a 2/16 GB configuration.

Camera

Honor Play 8A sports a surprising camera department for a device of its price range. It has a great 13 MP rear sensor with an f/1.8 aperture as well as a nice 8 MP selfie camera which does its job. It surprises especially for the level of detail in the photos, but only if light conditions are good. Vivo Y93 takes the second place with a sufficient dual camera including a depth sensor on its back, and an 8 MP selfie snapper. Realme U1 is more or less the same when it comes to rear cameras, but the selfie camera is inferior.

Battery

The weak point of the Honor Play 8A compared to its opponents is the battery life. It comes with just 3000 mAh of battery, while Realme U1 and Vivo Y93 have batteries with a capacity superior to 4000 mAh. Due to the high capacities and the very efficient components, Realme C1 and Vivo Y93 can last more than two days on a single charge, making them two of the most outstanding battery phone in the entry-level segment. Honor Play 8A remains more than sufficient but way inferior to its rivals.

Price

You can grab a unit of the Honor Play 8A or Oppo Realme C1 for just €100 at the actual change, while Vivo Y93 costs about €160. Excluding the battery, Honor Play 8A is the device I prefer because of its better performance and good camera performance.

Read More: Honor 8A is official with waterdrop notch screen, Helio P35 and 799 Yuan (~$116) price

Huawei Honor Play 8A vs Oppo Realme C1 vs Vivo Y93: PROs and CONS

Oppo Realme C1

PROs

Bigger battery
Micro SD dedicated slot
Good build quality
Affordable

CONS

Lower-end cameras

Vivo Y93

PROs

Big battery
Good design
Affordable price
High screen-to-body ratio

CONS

Average hardware

Huawei Honor Play 8A

PROs

Very affordable
Good cameras
Nice hardware
Android Pie

CONS

Smaller battery

Nokia 8.1 Plus renders reveal it will come with a punch hole display

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Jan 9, 2019

The Nokia 8.1 is still relatively new but it appears it might be getting a sibling soon. Renders of a device said to be the Nokia 8.1 Plus has surfaced and it shows Nokia will also adopt the punch hole display trend this year.

The renders are from OnLeaks in collaboration with 91Mobiles. The Nokia 8.1 Plus as shown in the images and video has slimmer bezels than the upcoming Nokia 9 flagship thanks to its punch hole display design which means the top bezel can be made as slim as possible. The punch hole display is on the left of the screen just like that of the Samsung Galaxy A8s but it appears to be much smaller.

[envira-gallery id=”231574″]

The phone is said to pack a 6.22-inch display and measures ~156.9 x 76.2 x 7.9 mm. The chin is pretty small but there is still a Nokia logo there. It appears HMD Global wants its phone to be easily recognizable since a lot of manufacturers will be using a similar design.

On the back, the Nokia 8.1 Plus has dual cameras arranged vertically. They are Carl Zeiss lens and there is an LED flash below the sensors. There is also a fingerprint scanner, a Nokia logo, and the Android One branding on the glass-covered back.

The phone has an audio jack at the top and a USB-C port at the bottom flanked by a speaker grille on the left and a microphone on the right. The volume and power buttons are on the right side of the frame.

OPPO joins Xiaomi to make a push for the UK market; maiden launch set for January 29

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Jan 9, 2019

In the face of a highly saturated domestic market, Chinese phone manufacturers have turned their attention to markets overseas in order to sell their smartphones. India has seen an influx of Chinese OEMs in recent time with companies such as Huawei, OPPO, Vivo, Xiaomi and other now dominating the domestic market. The push for more market shares recently shifted to Europe in the face of the difficult economic terrain in the US, the world’s largest market. Attention is now shifting to the UK as OPPO has announced that it will officially launch its smartphones in the UK on January 29.

Finally! UK🇬🇧, we have landed! 😀 https://t.co/bRJVZ9u8tT

— OPPO Mobile UK (@OPPOMobileUK) January 9, 2019

The company made the announcement via its new official Twitter handle which has just been created. The company has also created a new OPPO UK website which we believe will go live on the launch day. Presently, the website only has the text “Coming soon” displayed on the landing page. We don’t know the smartphones the coming will launch during its maiden voyage but there are speculations that the OPPO Find X will be one of them as well as the RX17 Pro.

UK, OPPO mobile has landed!
We combine cutting edge #Technology, #Innovation and #Creativity into every smartphone, so you can light up the New Year in #Style. pic.twitter.com/YlR06dKdZG

— OPPO Mobile UK (@OPPOMobileUK) January 8, 2019

The entry of OPPO, one of BBK’s subsidiary, into U is coming on the heels of Xiaomi’s recent debut in the UK market in the fourth quarter of last year. Huawei also recently made an entry into the UK market after an unsuccessful attempt to launch the Mate 10 Pro in the US, a move that was scuttled by the US government citing security concerns. The UK and Europe still remains a fertile ground and soon we may see more Chinese OEMs heading there.

(source)

Sony LSPX-S2 Glass Sound Speaker is a decidedly classy speaker for the home

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Jan 9, 2019

After unveiling the GTK-PG10 party speakers which had a powerful output, big battery with up to 13 hours playback, cup holders and lots more features, Sony again took the centre stage at CES 2019 to announce a sleek, cool wireless speaker with a unique design. The new speaker is dubbed LSPX-S2 Glass Sound Speaker and obviously is more classy even though it looks more like a little lamp than a speaker. This model is a successor to the LSPX-S1 Glass Sound Speaker which was first unveiled in 2016.

In actual fact, the smart speaker doubles as a lamp and speaker. At the centre of a glass tube is a tiny LED light with 32levels of brightness and that can also be set to candlelight mode, which introduces candle-like flickering. Just below the LED light, hidden from view, are three actuators, spaced equally around the inside of the glass. These actuators vibrate the glass to create sound, in much the same way that the actuators on the back of the company’s OLED TVs produce sound by vibrating the panel. At the base is encased a woofer to add bass and lower mid-range, balancing up the higher frequencies produced by the actuators.

According to Sony, the idea behind the Glass Sound Speaker is that the audio travels up the glass tube and out of the bottom of the speaker and spreads evenly into the room in 360 degrees. In other words, there’s no sweet spot – the speaker should sound the same no matter where you’re standing in relation to it. Apart from its beauty, the Sony smart speaker is portable and has an impressive battery that can withstand 8 hours of playback. The device can also receive audio files sent to it using Bluetooth or wi-fi. In addition, it supports Spotify Connect and hi-res audio.

Sony LSPX-S2 Glass Sound Speaker won’t come cheap as it is said to carry a price tag of £550. The gadget will be available to buy in May which is about four months times from now.

Honor announces its own ¥99 (~$15) battery replacement program for 22 models

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Jan 9, 2019

Last year Huawei announced a battery replacement program for its phones. Meizu also did the same and now Honor has announced its own. It is a bit surprising that Honor is announcing its own since Huawei‘s replacement program does include some Honor devices.

The Honor battery replacement program costs ¥99 (~$15) and supports 22 models. Interested buyers will have to pay for the service on the official Huawei online mall and can choose to have the battery delivered to them at home, have a technician sent over, or select to have it replaced at the closest service center.

If you register for the battery replacement program and don’t use it within a 30-day period, your money will be automatically refunded to you and your order canceled. Your phone’s serial number will be requested at the point of purchase. The serial number can be gotten by dialing *#06# on your phone. It is also written on the phone’s retail box and also under the “About Phone” section under the settings menu.

The supported models are the Honor 10, Honor Play, Honor 8X, Honor 6X, Honor 5A, Honor Play 5C, Honor 5X, Honor 7A, Honor V10, Honor 9, Honor V9, Honor 7, Honor 7X, Honor V9 Play, Honor 9 Lite, Honor 9i, Honor Play 8C, Honor 6A, Honor 8, Honor 8 Lite, Honor Play 6, and Honor 6.

Bose QuietComfort Road Noise Control keeps the noise out while driving

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Jan 9, 2019

Bose is known for its headphones which boast impressive noise cancellation but not a lot of people know that it also offers noise cancellation solutions for cars. The manufacturer has announced a new noise cancellation solution called QuietComfort Road Noise Control (RNC) as part of its active sound management technology.

Bose QuietComfort RNC uses a plethora of devices that includes accelerometers, microphones, a proprietary signal-processing software, and the audio system of your car to control noise inside the car’s cabin generated from roads.

The accelerometers are installed around the car and using an algorithm created by Bose they measure vibrations that create noise. These vibrations can be caused by the different types of roads a car drives on. The info generated is used to create an “acoustically opposite signal”, pumped out through your car’s audio system, that reduces the noise.

The microphones are installed in the car and they monitor the residual noise level for future optimizations. The whole process of noise identification and cancellation is continuous and adjusts the older a car gets.

Bose already offers sound management solutions for cars. There is Engine Harmonic Cancellation (EHC) that reduces noise from the car engine and there is Engine Harmonic Enhancement (EHE) which uses the sound system of the car to enhance select engine sounds.

QuietComfort Road Noise Control will begin appearing in cars starting from 2021 and will work with cars that don’t even have Bose’s own audio system. The company will work with car manufacturers during the car’s development to customize the solution for the vehicle.

(Source)

Ticwatch E2 and Ticwatch S2 announced: run WearOS and powered by SDW2100

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Jan 9, 2019

About four months ago, Mobvoi put up a teaser on their website for the Ticwatch E2 smartwatch. We thought it would launch soon afterward but it didn’t, instead, we got the Ticwatch C2. Now, the smartwatch maker has announced the Ticwatch E2 at CES 2019 and it brings along another watch, the Ticwatch S2.

The Ticwatch E2 and Ticwatch S2 were both unveiled at CES 2019 and are much more similar than they are different. They have the same 1.39-inch AMOLED display with a 400 x 400 resolution. They are also powered by the Snapdragon Wear 2100.

Both watches also have the same 415mAh battery and come with GPS and a heart rate sensor. So battery life, put at 1 to 2 days by Mobvoi, should be the same for both watches.

So where do they differ? In their design. The Ticwatch E2 has a simple design though not like the Ticwatch C2. It has a polycarbonate body (the S2 does too) and a circular button on the right side. The Ticwatch S2, on the other hand, has a sporty look. There are minute markings on the dial and the button is rectangular.

Although they both have different straps that further differentiate them, you can actually swap them for each other as they both use 22mm bands. Mobvoi says the S2 can also withstand extreme conditions and environments.

The two smartwatches are water resistant (5 ATM) and can track swimming activities. If you don’t swim, they can also track a bunch of other activities. They run WearOS, so you get the usual apps, Google Assistant and downloadable watch faces.

Xiaomi confirms an additional mysterious product launch for tomorrow

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Jan 9, 2019

The media has been awash with rumours of Xiaomi phones both from the newly unbundled flagship Mi brand and the Redmi brand. The company is even expected to announce a new Redmi phone tomorrow and several teasers have been released in that regard. One of the teasers released today called the unknown device “Little King Kong”. The teaser post was reposted by the Mi phone Weibo account and the post seems to suggest that more than one product tomorrow. The post wasn’t specific about the other product(s) that would be launched alongside the Redmi phone which is likely the Redmi Note 7. We can’t even say for sure if it is a smartphone or other smart devices. However, a leaked video of a foldable phone said to be from Xiaomi appeared online recently. The phone’s icons are similar to those of Xiaomi’s MIUI but that can’t be authenticated. Thus, it is difficult to say if the foldable phone is among the products that Xiaomi will show off on January 10. There are rumours that the device will be showcased as well on January 10 but that’s nothing but a rumour.

It is also possible that the Chinese tech giant will be unveiling several of its latest smart gadgets during the event. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what the other products are.

(source)

$650 DJI Smart Controller announced for DJI drones with OcuSync 2.0

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Jan 9, 2019

DJI has announced a new controller for its drones at CES 2019. The DJI Smart Controller costs $650 but it has its own screen, so you can view what your drone sees in real time instead of using your smartphone.

The DJI Smart Controller has a 5.5-inch 1080p ultra-bright display. DJI says it has a brightness of 1000 cd/m² which is approximately twice that of your average smartphone/tablet.

The controller has OcuSync 2.0 and is only compatible with DJI drones which support it such as the Mavic 2 Zoom, Mavic 2 Pro, and Mavic 2 Enterprise. At the moment, the controller will only work with Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom. Support for other drones will come in the future.

With OcuSync, video transmission automatically switches between 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz to reduce interference and also ensure long-range transmission is reliable.

The smart controller connects to your drone once it is powered on. It runs a customized version of Android with apps for sharing and editing. The new DJI Go Share app bundled with it makes it easy to share images and videos from the controller to your phone. You can also install third-party apps if you wish.

The controller has a microphone and a speaker in case you want to do a livestream. There is also an HDMI port for playback on a larger display at 4K 60fps. Built-in storage is just 16GB, so a MicroSD card (128GB max./UHS-1 Speed Grade 3) is necessary.

Renders of upcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch codenamed Pulse leaked

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Jan 9, 2019

A couple of weeks back, it was reported that Samsung is working on a new smartwatch bearing the codename “Pulse.” The smartwatch is expected to be the successor to the Gear Sport and is tipped to likely launch bearing the moniker Galaxy Sport considering that Samsung has since migrated ts smartwatches to the Galaxy brand with the Galaxy Watch. A couple of renders purported to be those of the smartwatch has now appeared online.

The renders were shared by Twitter tipster @onleaks who claims there are based on factory data. The Samsung Gear Sport came packing a 1.2-inch display and from the renders, the successor codenamed “Pulse” will also feature the same size. The device is said to come in black, green, silver and pink gold colors. The renders bear semblance with the design language of previous Samsung smartwatches but there is one obvious difference. That is the absence of fluted or toothed bezels as was the case with previous models. Instead, the bezels on the Galaxy Sport appears to be smooth but that doesn’t in any way mean it cannot rotate.

A previous leak had hinted that the Galaxy Sport smartwatch will retain the Tizen OS and come with 4GB of RAM. Since it would be the Gear Sport’s successor, its primary features will be fitness-related. The watch is also expected to come with Bixby as well as support for Bixby Reminder. This means that Bixby notifications on the connected smartphone will also appear on the watch. This feature is not present on the Galaxy Watch but may arrive with a firmware update later. Samsung is yet to reveal any detail relating to launching a new smartwatch any time soon but it is possible the new wearable device will be showcased alongside the Galaxy S10 next month remains to be seen.

(source)

Redmi Note 7 tipped to debut tomorrow

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jan 9, 2019

Redmi, the recently split brand from Xiaomi will be launching a new smartphone tomorrow. The unveil event will begin at 2 PM (local time) and it will be held at Beijing, China. Since Redmi has not confirmed on the name of the device that will be announced tomorrow, the rumor mill has been speculating that it could be Redmi Pro 2 or Redmi Note 7 or Redmi 7 Pro or Redmi 7. Few minutes ago, reliable tipster Ishan Agarwal has claimed through a tweet that the company will be indeed announcing the Redmi Note 7 phone tomorrow.

EXCLUSIVE! There are rumours that Redmi (by Xiaomi) may launch Redmi 7 or Redmi Note7 but I can confirm that they are indeed launching Redmi Note7/ Note 7 on 10th January! I do not have confirmation about any other phone but will update as soon as I get any info!
(Off. pic below) pic.twitter.com/nvl7PMaivm

— Ishan Agarwal (@ishanagarwal24) January 9, 2019

The tipster has claimed that he is unsure whether the company will be announcing other devices alongside the Redmi Note 7. If the Note 7 is indeed launching tomorrow, the M1901F7T, M1901F7C and M1901F7E models that were recently certified by TENAA authority could be its network variants.

The TENAA listing has revealed that the handset measures 159.21 x 75.21 x 8.1mm. It is equipped with a 6.3-inch display with waterdrop notch. It carries support for full HD+ resolution. The handset is packed with a 4,000mAh battery. The Redmi Note 7 handset was recently spotted on Geekbench with Snapdragon 660 chipset and 6 GB of RAM. The smartphone will come with 48-megapixel primary in its rear-mounted dual camera setup. Apart from Black, it will be available in Violet-Blue and Purple-Red color gradient options.

Read More: Redmi Note 7 rumor roundup: Specifications, features and pricing

The Redmi lineup from Xiaomi have featured Redmi and Redmi Note handsets priced between 599 Yuan (~$87) and 1,699 Yuan (~$248). Now that Redmi has been established as a separate brand, the upcoming Redmi Note series include high-end devices whereas the Redmi models may come with lower-end and mid-range specs. As far as Redmi Note 7 is concerned, it is rumored to be priced around 2,999 Yuan (~$439).

Lenovo announces portable smart clock with speaker and Google Assistant

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