Xiaomi Mi A2 and Motorola One Power both receive Android Pie update in India

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Nov 16, 2018

Asus has today confirmed that it will launch the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 gaming smartphone at a launch event in Indonesia on 11th December. The phone will be the successor of the Zenfone Max Pro M1, which has been well-received by the users.

Interestingly, the Zenfone Max Pro M2 is first getting launched in Indonesia whereas its predecessor was first launched in India. Also, the company is claiming that the Zenfone Max Pro M2 is a gaming smartphone.

While the company claims it to be a gaming smartphone, it’s likely that the phone will have a gaming-focused software features similar to the Honor Play instead of features on an actual gaming phone like ROG Phone.

Previous reports suggest that the phone will feature a 6-3inch IPS LCD display having a Full HD+ screen resolution. The device is expected to pack 4GB of RAM and will have two models based on the internal storage — 64GB and 128GB. We are also expecting another variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.

Under the hood, the phone will be running on an octa-core 14nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 AIE processor under the hood, which offers an impressive improvement in graphics performance compared to the Snapdragon 636 chipset that powers the current model.

For photography, the phone is expected to feature a triple-camera setup on the back, where the primary camera sensor will be of 13-megapixel. As for the software, the phone will be running the latest Android 9 Pie operating system out-of-the-box.

While the company has not revealed, there’s a possibility that Asus could also launch the Zenfone Max M2 along with the Zenfone Max Pro M2 next month. The phone is also expected to be available in India soon after Indonesia launch if not before.

OPPO A7 is official with waterdrop notch display, SD450 and 4,230mAh battery in multiple markets

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Nov 16, 2018

In September, OPPO had launched the Helio P60 chipset powered OPPO A7X smartphone in China. Today, the Chinese manufacturer has launched the OPPO A7 smartphone with less powerful Snapdragon 450 chipset in multiple Asian markets such as China, Nepal and Sir Lanka. It is also equipped with a waterdrop notch display and an impressive battery.

Oppo A7 Specifications and Features

The OPPO A7 for China has a glossy finish for the back panel whereas the non-Chinese edition of the smartphone has a textured appeal. Measuring 155.9 x 75.4 x 8.1mm and weighing 168 grams, the OPPO A7 mid-range phone houses a 6.2-inch IPS LCD notch screen that offers a screen space of 88.3 percent. The big display has anti-reflective coating and Corning Gorilla Glass protection.

The 1.8 GHz Snapdragon 450 SoC and 4 GB of RAM powers the OPPO A7. The native storage of the phone is 64 GB. It carries support for microSD card. In some of the other countries, the smartphone is equipped another model that includes 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of inbuilt storage.

The 13-megapixel + 2-megapixel horizontal dual camera setup is present on the rear of OPPO A7. It can capture studio-quality portrait shots with bokeh effect through AI beauty technology. For capturing vivid videos, it carries support for multi-frame image stabilization technology. The HDR mode enabled 16-megapixel wide-angle lens is fitted inside the front notch of the phone. The handset includes support for AR stickers.

The ColorOS 5.2 based Android 8.1 Oreo OS is available preloaded on the phone. It includes a huge battery of 4,230mAh battery. The handset features AI battery management for extending its battery performance. The other features that are available on the OPPO A7 are 4G VoLTE, support for dual SIM cards, Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, USB OTG, microUSB 2.0, GPS and 3.5mm headphone jack.

Read More: Two new OPPO phones with big batteries and large displays appear on TENAA

Oppo A7 Price and Release Date

The OPPO A7 costs 1,599 Yuan in China. The reservations for the smartphone have started on the official OPPO shop online store in the home market. The handset is scheduled to hit the market on Nov. 22 at 10 AM. It can be availed in colors like Fresh Pink, Lake Light Green and Amber Gold.

In other regions, the OPPO A7 comes in Glaring Gold and Glaze Blue colors. Rumors have it that the smartphone will be announced in India on Nov. 22.

Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro to soon get Rose Gold color option in India

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Nov 16, 2018

A few months ago, Xiaomi launched Redmi 6 Pro smartphone in the Indian market. The phone is currently available in four color options — Black, Blue, Gold, and Red. If the latest report is to be believed, then the Chinese company will soon add a new color option — Rose Gold.

However, there’s no information available regarding the launch date of the Rose Gold color option for the Redmi 6 Pro. But it’s certain that apart from the different color, the phone’s specifications will remain the same.

The Redmi 6 Pro is the most advanced phone in the Redmi 6 family that also consists of Redmi 6 and 6A. The phone features a 5.84-inch full-screen IPS LCD screen that supports Full HD+ resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels.

Under the hood, the device is powered by Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 625 processor clocked at 2.0GHz and comes in two models based on memory configuration — 3GB RAM with 32GB internal storage and 4GB RAM with 64GB internal storage.

As for the camera, the handset features a 12-megapixel f/2.2 aperture primary camera sensor and a 5-megapixel f/2.2 aperture secondary camera on the back. On the front side, it comes with a 5-megapixel snapper for taking selfies and video calling.

Connectivity options on the device include Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, microUSB and 3.5mm audio jack. The phone runs Android 8.1 Oreo operating system out-of-the-box with the company’s own MIUI 9.6 on top and is backed by a 4,000mAh battery.

Meanwhile, Xiaomi has sent out media invites for a launch event on 22nd November in India, where the company will launch the Redmi Note 6 Pro. It was first launched in Thailand and has already made its way to Indonesia.

Qualcomm allegedly sponsoring anti-Apple campaign with same firm Facebook used

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Nov 16, 2018

A report was published yesterday by the New York Times which bothered on Facebook and several aspects of the company’s operations. The report dwelt on several issues like the company’s poor response to Russian abuse of its platform during the last US general election, Mark Zuckerberg’s disdain for Tim Cook, and more. The report also alleges that Facebook had worked with a public affairs firm, Definers Public Affairs, to spread negative information about competitors.

The report also mentioned that the PR firm also got funding from a “third technology company” to spread negative reports about Apple. A new report carried by Business Insider seems to have revealed the identity of the third tech company as US chipmaker Qualcomm. The report alleges that Qualcomm is also a client of the notorious PR firm, Definers Public Affairs and is in fact, the third technology company the NYTimes source referred to. This same allegation was also made by NBC News. Business Insider’s Kif Leswing disclosed that he was approached by the west coast head of Definers, Tim Miller, about a possible story related to the fines Apple “was incurring related to the legal action” between it and Qualcomm. Leswing says that Miller approached other reports at Business Insider about Qualcomm and Apple stories, as well.

This is coming on the heels of a protracted legal battle that Apple and Qualcomm are engaged in, with Apple having dropped Qualcomm as a supplier for modems used in the latest iPhone models. Qualcomm recently accused Apple of leaking its modem technology to Intel, an allegation Apple denies. Apparently, the legal battle isn’t going to end soon.

(source)

Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite 4 GB RAM + 128 GB storage goes on first sale in China

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Nov 16, 2018

Xiaomi had recently confirmed that it will be selling the new 4 GB RAM + 128 GB storage version of Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite smartphone from Nov. 16. The first sale of the phone kicked off today morning in China at 10 AM.

During the recent 11/11 Singles’ Day sale in China, the Mi 8 Lite sold like hotcakes on Tuning and Suning Chinese retailer platforms. Hence, the Mi 8 Lite is one of the best-selling phones from Xiaomi. The Chinese manufacturer has now introduced the 4 GB RAM + 128 GB storage variant for the Mi 8 Lite with a price tag of 1,799 Yuan (~$259). It joins the other three variants of the smartphone.

The base model of the phone features 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage model of the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite is priced at 1,399 Yuan (~$201). The second model has 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and it costs 1,699 Yuan (~$245). The highest variant of the smartphone has 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and it carries a pricing of 1,999 Yuan (~$289). Apart from Deep Gray, handset comes in two color gradient choices such as Twilight Gold and Dream Blue.

The 4 GB RAM + 128 GB storage edition of the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite is available in only two colors such as Deep Gray and Dream Blue. Probably, the Chinese manufacturer will be introduced its Twilight Gold edition some time later.

Read More: Test shows the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 slider can slide 600,000 times without any issues (Video)

The Mi 8 Lite comes with a 6.26-inch display that carries support for Full HD+ resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels. The Snapdragon 660 chipset powers the smartphone along with 4 GB / 6 GB of RAM. Apart from 64 GB / 128 GB storage, users can add a microSD card to the device for additional storage.

For shooting selfies, the Mi 8 Lite possesses Sony IMX576 24-megapixel front-facing camera. The dual camera setup residing on the rear side of the phone has a 12-megapixel primary sensor and a 5-megapixel secondary sensor. The 3,350mAh battery of the Mi 8 Lite is equipped with support for 18W fast charging.

Test shows the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 slider can slide 600,000 times without any issues (Video)

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Nov 16, 2018

Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 slider design was one of the major attractions of the flagship model when it was announced last month. The design afforded the Chinese phone manufacturer an opportunity to further trim the bezels around the phone’s display. So the Mi Mix 3 comes with the highest screen to body ratio on any Xiaomi phone. However, the slider design which is somewhat mechanical gave rise to concerns about its durability especially as a result of persistent usage. Fair enough, Xiaomi has assured that the slider is durable and isn’t like the slider technology that was in use in the past. That claim has now been reaffirmed with an independent test carried out to ascertain the durability of the Mi Mix 3 slider.

The slider test is the second one that the Mi Mix 3 has been subjected to. The slider was reported slid 350,000 times in the first test. This one almost doubles the first test at 600,000 times. Even after the milestone has been achieved, the phone was slide vigorously tested hands-on and it still came out unscathed.

Thus, users are assured that the slider is the least problem they should worry about on the Mi Mix 3. Instead, with such mammoth display, users should be more concerned about not dropping the phone by accident as we are not sure the display screen will survive a single drop.

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus gets Android Pie-based Samsung One UI Beta update

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Nov 16, 2018

During its Samsung Developers Conference earlier this month, Samsung unveiled its new user interface — Samsung One UI and said that it’ll soon be available in beta phase for select devices.

Now, Samsung has started One UI Beta program for the users of Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus in South Korean and the United States. It is also expected to be soon available in Germany, Europe, and Asia. The stable release of the Android Pie-based Samsung One UI will be available in January next year.

To receive the One UI beta update, you’ll need to enroll into the One UI beta program through Samsung Members/Samsung+ app by tapping the “Notices” button. You can then download the newest Android Pie build by going into Settings > Software updates and tapping on “Download updates manually.”

The update, which is about 1896MB in size, brings official Android Pie to Samsung’s flagship lineup together with all of One UI’s newest improvements, both in the looks department as well as all in terms of features. It also comes with the latest November security patch for Android.

One UI brings a lot of new features such as a redesigned interface, redesigned notifications with the ability to reply directly from the notification panel, new Unicode 11.0 emojis, adaptive themes, Device Care and power saving features, new clock styles for the Always On display, improved Bixby search, redesigned Phone app, and more.

Samsung has also introduced a system-wide Night Mode that enables a dark, AMOLED-friendly theme throughout the UI and Samsung’s apps. The new Samsung One UI will also theme itself to match the color of the phone, similar to what Samsung offered on Galaxy Note 9 with its new S-Pen. You will be able to use Samsung DeX with supported HDMI adapters, without the need for a DeX station.

Comparing to the Samsung Experience UX which requires two hands to operate, the new One UI is claimed to have been built for a “more natural and comfortable” one-handed use cases. Samsung said that it has been working on the new experience for the past year, and the prime target is to make the interface less cluttered.

The focus of Samsung One UI is on keeping the most relevant content in the most useful place — bottom of the screen. All of Samsung’s apps have adopted a bottom bar layout for smaller navigation elements alongside larger header elements. Menus also pop-up at the bottom of the screen instead of the center.

(Via)

Realme confirms U-series smartphone powered by MediaTek Helio P70 SoC

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Nov 16, 2018

Last month, after MediaTek launched Helio P70 chipset — the successor of MediaTek Helio P60 — aimed for the mid-range smartphone, Realme had announced that it’ll be the first brand to launch MediaTek’s Helio P70-powered smartphone.

Recently, we reported that Realme is preparing to launch a new U-series smartphone in India. Now, the company has officially confirmed that the U-series smartphone will be the first globally to be powered by MediaTek’s Helio P70 chipset.

Apart from the fact that the Helio P70-powered phone will be a part of the company’s new U-series of devices, nothing more has been revealed by Realme. However, earlier it was reported that the U-series will be focused on offering selfie-centric smartphones.

Given that the Helio P70 comes with a dedicated APU for AI-based tasks, we expect that the front-facing camera of the upcoming smartphone will have several artificial intelligence-based features to justify the tag of a selfie-centric phone.

The MediaTek Helio P70 is the successor of the MediaTek P60 launched earlier this year. It is built using TSMC’s 12nm FinFET technology and comes with multi-core APU operating at up to 525MHz for fast and efficient edge-AI processing. The AI engine delivers a 10 to 30 percent AI processing boost compared to the Helio P60, says the company.

It has four ARM Cortex-A73 core clocked at 2.1GHz and four ARM Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 2.0GHz in an octa-core big.LITTLE configuration. It has ARM Mali-G72 MP3 GPU operating at up to 900MHz, which promises a 13 percent performance improvement compared to the Helio P60.

The chipset supports up to a single 32-megapixel camera or 24-megapixel +16-megapixel dual cameras. It also has a hardware warping engine for electronic image stabilization (EIS) that saves 23mA per second instead of assigning it to the GPU. Compared to Helio P60, the MediaTek Helio P70 chipset uses 35 percent less power and provides 7 percent DOU in games that require higher processing power.

The development comes a few days after an unnamed Redmi smartphone with model number RMX1833 was spotted on the Geekbench benchmarking portal. The phone is powered by MediaTek Helio P60 SoC, along with 4GB of RAM and was runs Android 8.1 Oreo out-of-the-box.

Xiaomi announces Rs. 1,000 price drop for Redmi Note 5 Pro, Mi A2, and Redmi Y2

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Nov 16, 2018

Xiaomi has today announced a price drop on a number of smartphones in the Indian market, including Redmi Note 5 Pro, Mi A2, and Redmi Y2. Explaining the reason behind the price drop, the company said that the cost of components for some of Xiaomi’s phones have reduced.

Further, the company said that it has a philosophy of honest pricing where they have capped their profit margin to 5 percent for a hardware product. So, if the company makes more profit, it gives back to the Mi Fans, and this development is a part of that philosophy.

The company has permanently dropped the prices of Redmi Note 5 Pro, Mi A2, and Redmi Y2 by Rs. 1,000, which roughly converts to $14. The 4GB RAM model of Redmi Note 5 Pro now costs Rs. 13,999 (~$195) while the 6GB RAM model costs Rs. 15,999 (approx. $223).

On the other hand, the Mi A2 4GB RAM model is available for Rs. 15,999 (~$223) and the 6GB RAM model is available for Rs. 18,999 (approximately $264). The selfie-centric Redmi Y2 will now be available for Rs. 11,999 (approx. $167).

Moreover, Xiaomi was announced as the number one smartphone vendor in India for the 5th consecutive quarter, as per IDC Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. Xiaomi said that as a celebration of that achievement, it has announced the price drop.

This development is contrary to what the company had said earlier in September. During the Redmi 6 line-up launch in India, Xiaomi hinted towards price hike because of fluctuating currency and said that it’ll wait for a few months to see how INR performs against USD before taking such a move.

Meizu Note 8 Plus leaked photo reveals four rear cameras [Update]

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Nov 16, 2018

Update: Meizu CEO Jack Wong has confirmed that the image is fake and Meizu won’t focus on adding more sensors to the setup. Rather, it will use its own approach to improve camera performance.

Original Story:

Last month, Meizu had launched the Meizu M8 Note smartphone with “national camera phone” tagline in China. The handset had carried an enticing starting price of 1,298 Yuan (~$187). It appears that the company could be planning to launch an advanced version of the same phone with Meizu Note 8 Plus moniker. Internationally, the handset is most likely to carry Meizu M8 Note Plus moniker. A leaked photo of the alleged phone has appeared on SlashLeaks. What’s interesting about the phone is that the handset is equipped with four rear-mounted cameras.

The SlashLeaks listing for the below shown leaked photo reveals that the Meizu handset has a model number of M1823. It seems to feature a metallic chassis with red paint job. A square-shaped camera module that houses four camera sensors resides above the fingerprint scanner.

It is speculated that the quad camera setup of the Meizu Note 8 Plus may borrow M8 Note’s Sony IMX362 main sensor. It will could be coupled with a depth sensor, a super wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens. Samsung has recently the Galaxy A9s smartphone as the world’s first smartphone with four rear cameras. Since Meizu shares a healthy business relation with Samsung, there is a possibility that it may adopt Samsung’s quad camera solution.

Read More: Meizu could be one of the first ones to use Snapdragon 8150

There is no information available on the specifications of the Meizu M8 Note. It could feature similar specs that are available on the M8 Note smartphone. The latter is equipped with a 6-inch IPS LCD display that supports FHD+ resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio. The Snapdragon 632 chipset powers the 4 GB and 6 GB RAM variants of the phone. It includes 64 GB of native storage and it also features an external storage slot.

The back panel of the phone has a 12-megaprixel + 5-megapixel dual camera module. It is equipped with a selfie shooter of 8-megapixel. The handset is loaded with Flyme UI based Android 8.1 Oreo OS. It is backed by 3,600mAh battery that carries support for 18W mCharge rapid charging technology. The handset is available in China in four colors like Black, Gray Blue, Smoker Purple and Flame Red.

Nokia X7 gets a new update in China with November Patch & Better Camera Performance

By

Simranpal Singh

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Nov 16, 2018

Today, Nokia took to Weibo to officially announce the Nokia X7 update equipped with the November Security patch and some other fixes in China. The same update was halted a few days ago when some users reported bricking of devices after updating to the November security patch. It seems now the bugs have been stabilized, and Nokia has again started to roll out the update to Nokia X7 aka Nokia 7.1 Plus in China.

As per the official changelog, the new update carries camera optimizations which will improve the image quality. As like of the Huawei and Pixel, Nokia is also implementing its function to make night shots more attractive. There is some change in the AI experience of the device by improving the camera scene recognition feature. There are many fixes and stable patches which will improve the overall fluency and stability of the device. It will also enhance its capability to handle the applications.

Nokia also said that the same update would be rolled out to other models shortly. Users who faced problem while installing the same update can now install it without any hitch. The HMD Global has stabilized it by fixing the bugs in the update.

Nokia X7 aka Nokia 7.1 Plus carries a 6.18 inch LCD having a resolution of 2246×1080 pixels. Its display supports intelligent AI features, with 86.5% of screen-to-body ratio and supports DCI-P3 color gamut display. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC coupled with a 6GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128 GB internal storage. Users can even expand its storage by means of microSD card of 128 GB. It supports 18W fast charging which takes around half an hour to fill its 3500 mAh battery. The phone retains a 3.5 mm audio jack and supports dual 4G VoLTE with Type-C USB.

Read More: Vivo X21s vs Oppo RX17 Neo vs Nokia X7: Specs Comparison

Further, it runs on Android 8.1 Oreo and is soon expected to receive the latest Android 9.0 update. In the camera department, it carries 12 megapixels + 13-megapixel dual cameras with f/1.8 aperture. It hosts Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), AI features, dual-core focus, dynamic photos, etc. On the front, Nokia has added a 20 megapixel shooter for selfeis equipped with AI beautify.

The update is currently rolling out in China, and you can soon expect it in other regions too.

(Via)

Amazfit working on a bunch of new Watch Faces for its smartwatches

By

Simranpal Singh

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Nov 16, 2018

Today, Huami Technology CEO Huang Wang took to Weibo to showcase some new Watch Faces for the Amazfit smartwatches. A total of eight new dials can be seen in different images posted on Weibo. Though all the designs are still in draft and we can’t confirm which one or how many are going to be made available after final revision. Huang Wang said that they are extremely serious about designing some beautiful and useful dials for the Amazfit watches.

Huami Technology has shared some new drafts of the Watch Faces which looks extremely good. You would have fallen in love with all of the newly drafted dials. The new Watch Faces are giving full information in a refined way for functions such as weather and heart rate. The new dials are entirely different from the already present user interfaces among the Amazfit watches.

We can see the new Watch Faces on the newly launched Amazfit smartwatch which was released in September this year. It supports multi-function NFC, heart rate monitoring, abnormal heart rate alarm and a round dial just for 79 Yuan. Already, the Amazfit smartwatch is equipped with 13 different watch faces, including three dials designed in collaboration with Territory studio based in San Francisco. Now, in an update, Huami seems to addon some more dials to the Amazfit watches.

Read More: Xiaomi Amazfit Olympic Marathon shoes gets two new colors, priced at 269 Yuan (~$39)

It is excellent news for Amazfit watch users, as they are going to get some more exclusive watch faces very soon. These watch faces brings-in additional advantage as these carry more information on the same screen. These will help users to be more productive with ease of accessibility for relevant information.

How many of you have already started looking for these new dials and which is your favorite?

Get 55% Off On Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Smart Wristband Download Banggood App For A $100 Off App Coupon

Buy Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Smart Wristband For Only $23.39 On Banggood [Coupon Inside]

By

Vinay Patel

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Nov 16, 2018

Xiaomi recently launched the long-awaited update to the well-received Mi Band 2 dubbed, the Mi Band 3. This Xiaomi-branded smart wristband became an instant hit among fitness purists who fancy monitoring their health.

In a bid to make the Mi Band 3 available to fitness conscious people living on a tight budget, the Chinese electronics is now offering a big discount on the device’s retail price. Moreover, we’ll be revealing a coupon code shortly that will help you get an extra discount while checking out.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 would normally set you back a pretty penny on both online and offline stores, but you can now buy it for just $26.99 on Banggood. This is a significant 55% drop in the device’s original asking price of $59.99. But there’s more for you to cheer about.
If you’re interested in saving a considerable amount of extra money without breaking much of a sweat, all you need to do is to apply coupon code 39miband at the time of checking out. This coupon helps you save an extra $3.60 by reducing your already lowered grand total to just $23.39 before you proceed to checkout.

The Mi Band 3 is an irresistible smart bracelet at this price, given that it sports an easily readable 0.78 inch OLED touchscreen with 128×80 pixels resolution. Moreover, since the Mi Band 3 comes with 5ATM water resistant rating, it can withstand pressures equivalent to a depth of 50m.

You do not need to tap the screen to brighten it, but you can simply raise your hand to take a gander at real-time stats such as time, heart rate and a slew of other sports data. The Mi Band 3 is capable of flawlessly monitoring the wearer’s pulses and heart rate changes (active and resting) and even generates a professional heart rate report.

You can follow this link to check out the full specification and avail this unmissable discount, which will be valid for the black color version of the Mi Band 3. Note that the above-mentioned coupon is also likely to expire soon.

Xiaomi reportedly partnering with Meitu for its advanced image algorithms and patents

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Nov 16, 2018

Meitu is a Chinese smartphone brand that was initially known for making selfie beautifying apps, but later on it started making phones with selfkie-centric smartphones. Meitu phones are not known much outside of China since it exclusively sells its devices in the home country. Xiaomi has reportedly negotiated with Meito for a new business deal. The two parties have allegedly met not to discuss merger or acquisition, but they may have entered a strategic cooperation related to using Meitu’s advanced image algorithms and patents.

Meitu’s revenue is divided into three parts such as internet business, online advertising business and smart hardware business. Although the company is known for its Xiu Xiu image editing software, Yen Camera selfie beautifying app and Meipai short video community, it generates 70 percent of its total revenue from smart hardware business which includes cameras and smartphones.

The Chinese smartphone market has been declining steadily. Industry experts are of the view that the China smartphone shipments may drop by over 10 percent in Q4 2018. In August, the revenue of Meitu’s smart hardware business was 1.48 billion yuan. It was a 23.4 percent year-over-year decline. Meitu smartphones are mainly targeted toward female users. Since, its phones are not aimed towards wider audience, its sales and revenue data are not very impressive.

Meitu is well-known for its beauty algorithms and imaging patents and its mobile business also has a certain female user base. Probably, Xiaomi may want to take advantage of these benefits by striking a deal with Meitu. Xiaomi phones offer best performance at affordable prices and greater number of its users are men. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun has previously expressed the idea of expanding the female user base by selling phones that promote beauty and capture better selfies.

Read More: Xiaomi Once Again Leads Indian Smartphone Market with 27 Percent Share in Q3, Topples Samsung

In the recent past, Xiaomi has focused on improving the photography experience on its smartphones. Since AI plays a vital role in smartphone photography, the Chinese manufacturer has thousands of researchers in the Xiaomi AI team.

Xiaomi has declined to comment on its partnership with Meitu. Cooperating with Meitu will certainly help in delivering better photography experience on its future phones. There is a possibility Xiaomi may release phones targeted towards female users.

Nokia 7.1 launched in Hong Kong and Macau for HK$2,588 ($330)

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Nov 16, 2018

HMD Global recently launched its Nokia 7.1 smartphone in select countries in the European market. Now, expanding the phone’s availability market, the company has launched the Nokia 7.1 in Hong Kong and Macau.

The phone will be available for purchase through authorized retailers, including 1O1O, Telecom Digital Mobile, Broadway, Fortress, Weixun, Suning, among others. The Nokia 7.1 is priced at 2,588 Hong Kong Dollars, which roughly converts to $330.

The Nokia 7.1 features a 5.84-inch Full HD+ “PureDisplay” with 19:9 screen aspect ratio with a notch on top. The company claims that the PureDisplay’s internal HDR can convert the SDR content into the HDR in real-time.

Under the hood, the device is powered by Qualcomm‘s mid-range Snapdragon 636 octa-core processor, which is claimed to deliver 40 percent improved performance over its predecessor Snapdragon 630. It is coupled with Adreno 509 GPU and comes in two models — 3GB RAM and 4GB RAM.

The 3GB RAM model packs 32GB of internal storage while the 4GB RAM model comes with 64GB of onboard storage. Both the models feature a microSD card slot, enabling you to further expand the phone’s storage capacity up to 400GB.

For photography, the phone comes with a new Zeiss imaging solution. The Nokia 7.1 has a dual camera setup on the back, with sensors stacked vertically in the top-center position. It comes with a 12-megapixel primary sensor and a 5-megapixel secondary sensor for depth sensing.

The camera comes with features like True Life HDR, Bokeh mode, Pro Camera mode, Livestream functionality, and Bothie. On the front side, it comes equipped with an AI-backed 8-megapixel snapper for taking selfies and video calling.

Like other Nokia phones, this one too is a part of Google‘s Android One programme. The phone runs Android 8.1 Oreo operating system out-of-the-box. The Finnish company has promised the Android Pie update soon and future updates for two years.

The phone comes with a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor for added security. Connectivity options on the device include Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, Type-C 2.0, and NFC. The phone drives power from a 3,060mAh battery with support for fast charging.

Lenovo Z5 Pro Being Sold at Higher Prices by Resellers, VP Chang Cheng Responds

By

Andrew

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Nov 16, 2018

Lenovo announced its most high-end handset in 2018, the Lenovo Z5 Pro, two weeks back in China. Not only does it come with razor-thin bezels and a slider design, but it is also the cheapest of all slider phones in the market coming in at just 1,998 Yuan (~$287). No wonder there was an overwhelming interest in the handset when reservations started and Lenovo recorded 500,000 registrations. The handset went on sale on November 15 for the second time and it quickly went out of stock just like the first sale. However, some potential buyers also found the handset being put on sale at Jingdong, Taobao, and even Weibo by purchasers at a higher price.

The VP of Lenovo, Chang Cheng, was quickly made aware of the situation and he has responded saying that Lenovo will be stepping up production to avoid similar incidents. The next round of sales on Jingdong Mall is displayed to be on November 22 10:00. The handset’s 6GB+64GB is priced 1998 yuan and the 6GB+128GB retails for 2298 yuan.

READ MORE: The Lenovo Z5 Pro Goes Up For Pre-Order On Giztop; See Details

The highlights of the handset include an extremely high 95.06% screen-to-body ratio on the 6.39-inch Samsung AMOLED display. The bezels have been advertised to be slimmer than even Xiaomi’s slider phone the Mi MIX 3. The other attention grabber is the fifth-generation photoelectric screen fingerprint which is considered to be faster and more accurate than previous generations. Under the hood, the handset boasts a Snapdragon 710 SoC and a battery capacity of 3350mAh. For more information on specs, visit this link here. It does, however, come in just one Black color option.

Get An Extra $10 Off Over $88 On Items Shipping From Oversea Warehouses

Avail Discounts On Items Shipping From Oversea Warehouses; Get An Extra $10 Off Over $88

By

Vinay Patel

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Nov 16, 2018

GearBest is doling out great discounts on a wide selection of products shipping from overseas warehouses as part of its recently kicked-off ‘11.11 Sale’ promo. Dubbed as ‘5 Days Arrival,’ the promo offer buyers an opportunity to save $10 if their cart value exceeds $88 and lots more.

In order to ensure easy accessibility to all warehouse specific items, this promo has been divided into multiple categories. So without further ado, let’s delve straight into the details.

Poland warehouse $ 10 off over $ 88

Items slated to ship from Poland-based warehouse have been included in this section. Here, you can get your hands on a slew of well-received electronic items like the Mi Band 3 and the Xiaomi Mi A2 4G phablet from Xiaomi.
More importantly, all items featured in the aforesaid category carry heavily discounted price tags. For instance, the Mi A2 phablet normally sells for $322.58 but you can now buy it for just $229.99. In addition to this 29% discount, you save $10 more since your grand total exceeds $88.

Czech Warehouse $10 off over $88

The next category called ‘Czech Warehouse $10 off over $88’ is crammed with all sorts of top-branded items that you can now buy at unbeatable prices. Aside from receiving big product-specific discounts, you can get an extra $10 off if your grand total is more than $88 for items shipping from a ‘Czech warehouse.

France Warehouse $ 10 off over $ 88

Likewise, buyers whose cart value is more than $88 are eligible for getting an extra $10 off on a slew of items included in the ‘France Warehouse $ 10 off over $ 88’ category. This section features heavily discounted items that will be shipped from a warehouse located in France.

Spain Warehouse $ 10 off over $ 88

The ‘Spain Warehouse $ 10 off over $ 88’ features the Xiaomi Amazfit Stratos, Xiaomi AMAZFIT Heart Rate Smartwatch, Xiaomi Huami AMAZFIT Bip Lite Version Smart Watch, the Mi Band 3 and an impressive range of other smartwatches and fitness bands. The category also includes high-end smartphones from Xioami and Cubot.

When you buy an item from this category, you can avail a big discount on its original asking price. Moreover, you can save $10 more if your cart value exceeds $88.

You can click here to visit the promotion page and take full advantage of the promotion before it comes to an end.

All new devices with Android 9 Pie will be Treble compliant

By

Simranpal Singh

-

Nov 16, 2018

Well, it seems an extra advantage for the users who are going to buy a new smartphone running Android 9.0 Pie. Project Treble will gradually help Android devices to get timely updates, and we hope it will end the Android fragmentation upto some levels. Last week at Android developers Summit 2018, Google demonstrated the benefits of Project Treble by running same GSI (Generic System Image) on all devices.

In step forward, now Google has conveyed that all the new devices launching on Android 9 Pie will endeavor Treble-compliance. All the new devices from every OEM can now take full advantage of the Treble architecture to deliver timely updates. We hope to see some significant improvements in the next month’s Android distribution charts. It would be good to see Android 9.0 Pie to get some big chunk of share in comparison to the last few months since its launch.

In a similar statement, Google said the aim is to “see more devices from OEMs running Android Pie at the end of 2018, as compared to the number of devices that were running Android Oreo at the end of 2017”.

The new experimented GSI build is built on AOSP source code with all other fixes and enhancements reported by manufacturers. It seems the makers have already played a lot with it, and now it’s time for third-party developers to test it and make it native for the devices. The app developers can also access the same build to harness the power of GSI build. It will help them to test their apps across different devices. The facility to test the app can be extended to any Treble compatible device that is unlocked.

The team behind the GSI is making it more competitive by inducing more and more features. They have also promised to bring in early access to future Android platform builds to start developing the app compatibility before the release.

Read More: OnePlus 5/5T gets Project Treble support in the latest OxygenOS 5.1.6 update

What is Project Treble?

As like of primitive Android version, where Google releases a new update to the ecosystem, then the chip makers like Qualcomm and MediaTek make it compatible with their processors by adding support via low-level code. Finally, the OEMs prepare the software update and rollout to the users. To eliminate this three-phase update process, Project Treble has been introduced.

Project Treble simplifies this whole process. Now, instead of waiting for new codes for chipsets by major chip makers, the OEMs can use the driver interface to push the latest updates. Smartphone manufacturers need not to wait for chip makers to start developing and testing the new Android distribution.