Huawei Mate 20 Pro likely to feature ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, 3D face unlock

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Jul 31, 2018

Huawei has decreased its reliance on Qualcomm’s smartphone chipsets since it has been using its homegrown Kirin SoCs. New information reveals that the two companies have teamed again as the upcoming Mate 20 Pro flagship phone is likely to introduce Qualcomm’s second-generation ultrasonic fingerprint scanner.

A Chinese publication has claimed that the Huawei Mate 20 may feature a conventional under-display fingerprint scanner. The Huawei Mate RS Porsche Design which is first in-display fingerprint scanner enabled phone from the company features the optical in-screen fingerprint technology supplied by Goodix. Hence, the Mate 20 may feature the same technology.

On the other side, the Mate 20 Pro will be an advanced phone that may offer reliable and accurate results through ultrasonic fingerprint scanning. The other advantage of this new technology by Qualcomm is that it can be incorporated under thicker glass. The traditional capacitive fingerprint scanners can only work under 200 – 300 microns of glass, but Qualcomm’s second-generation ultrasonic fingerprint scanning technology can function accurately under thicker glass of up to 800 microns.

Whether the fingers are wet or greasy, users will be able to instantly unlock a smartphone that is fitted with such a sensor. The report claims that the deal between Qualcomm and Huawei allows the latter to be the only company to use ultrasonic fingerprint scanning technology by the U.S-based firm until February 2019. Other smartphone OEMs could be able to use Qualcomm’s ultrasonic fingerprint scanning solution by the remaining first half of 2019.

A report that had surfaced four months ago had also claimed that the upcoming Huawei flagship will feature Qualcomm’s under-display fingerprint scanner. The report had revealed that since 3D structured light module for 3D face scanning is expensive, the Mate 20 series won’t be featuring it. However, newer report claims that the Mate 20 series will be arriving with support for 3D face unlock and because of it they will be priced expensively.

A leaked image of the alleged Mate20 Pro had surfaced yesterday to show its front design. The leak revealed that it will be coming with notch-less display with very high screen space, pop-up selfie camera, triple camera setup, 40W fast charging, Kirin 980, GPU Turbo and 5,000 Yuan pricing (~$732).

(source)

Buy The Chuwi Hi10 Plus Tablet For Just $169.99 On Banggood [Discount Coupon Inside]

By

Vinay Patel

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Jul 31, 2018

Chuwi made its H10 Plus tablet available to the public in June 2016. Even a couple of years after hitting the store shelves, the dual-OS tablet continues to garner popularity among tech buffs.

The H10 Plus is currently up for grabs bearing a price tag of $195.99 on Banggood. While the tablet’s top-end specs completely justify the steep price it carries, we’ll show how you can save a considerable amount of money on the device’s retail price.

In order to get 26% off on the Chuwi Hi10 Plus tablet’s original asking price, all you need to do is use coupon code ‘f986b3’ at the time of checking out. This will help you save $26 and thus bring your grand total down to $169.99 without breaking much of a sweat.
Despite its reduced price, the Hi10 Plus is an irresistible tablet, given that it sports a mammoth 10.8-inch HD surface screen with 1920×1280 pixels resolution. Housed in an intensity enhancing metal body, the tablet offers a screen ratio of 3:2, coupled with 450-nits screen brightness.

Furthermore, it packs a powerful Intel Cherry Trail X5 processor with 1.92GHz speeds along with an Intel HD Graphics 400 GPU, under the hood. It offers 4GB of high-speed DDR3L RAM and 64GB of onboard storage that can be expanded up to 128GB.

With a dual-camera setup, the Hi10 Plus houses a 2.0MP camera on the back and a 2.0MP camera in front for face-to-face video chatting. The device runs on Windows10/Android 5.1 operating system and is backed by an 8400mAh battery that delivers 5 hours video playing time.

Aside from that, the Chuwi Hi10 Plus tablet features the highly useful G-sensor. The device supports a variety of other apps including Skype, and YouTube. It has an array of other features such as Wi-Fi, Calendar, Bluetooth, Calculator, Browser, and OTG.

You can head straight to this link in order to check out the full specification and use the discount coupon before it expires.

Buy The Chuwi Hi10 Plus Tablet At Discounted Price On Banggood

Huawei expected to announce Kirin 980 soon as invites for IFA keynote goes out

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jul 31, 2018

Huawei has started sending out invites for an event that would hold on August 31 in Berlin, Germany. The event which would hold on the sidelines of IFA 2018 is tipped to be for the unveiling of the next-gen Hisilicon Kirin 980 flagship chipset. The same scenario played out last year so, there may likely be no new surprises. Huawei’s IFA Keynote event is just 45 minutes long and as such, we won’t likely see more than the Kirin 980.

The Kirin 980 SoC is expected to pack a Quad-core setup of Cortex A77 CPU and quad cores of Cortex A55. The chipset is also rumoured to have its own graphics processor inside it. The performance of the GPU of the Kirin 980 is speculated to be 1.5 times better than Adreno 630 that comes with Snapdragon 845 by up to 50%. The chip is expected to be among the first o be built on TSMC’s 7nm process.

Like the Kirin 970 which came with a dedicated NPU unit, the Kirin 980 that is arriving as its successor will also be equipped with second-generation NPU 1M unit for enhanced AI performance. Cambricon Technologies that had worked with HiSilicon for building the NPU unit for Kirin 970 will be providing the second-generation NPU unit for Kirin 980 that is expected to deliver 5 trillion calculations per watt. Depending on AI processing required, it will be available in dual, quad and octa-core versions. Also, the smartphones powered by the new SoC will also be equipped with GPU Turbo graphics acceleration technology.

Coolpad Cool Play 7 officially released in China, pricing starts at 799 Yuan ($117)

By

Jeet

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Jul 31, 2018

Last week, Coolpad Cool Play 7 was unveiled in China. Now, the company has officially released the smartphone in China for a starting price of 799 Yuan, which roughly converts to $117. It will be available for purchase from 2nd August.

The phone comes in two variants — 4GB RAM and 32GB internal storage and 4GB RAM with 64GB internal storage. The 32GB storage variant costs 799 Yuan (approximately $117) while the 64GB storage model is priced at 899 Yuan, which roughly converts to $132. There are three color options — Black, Blue, and White.

The Coolpad Cool Play 7 features a 5.85-inch HD display with 19:9 aspect ratio and a notch on the top. It has a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio. The back is also made of glass with an oleophobic coating, just like the front and the frame is made of zinc alloy.

While its predecessor was powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 653 SoC, this time the company has opted for MediaTek‘s MT6750 octa-core processor which is clocked at 1.5GHz and is paired with 4GB RAM. There are two storage options — 32GB and 64GB. It comes with microSD card slot expanding the phone’s storage capacity.

In terms of optics, the phone sports two 13-megapixel camera sensors on the back and an 8-megapixel front-facing shooter with a bunch of beauty filters. Although the phone has a fingerprint sensor on the back, it also comes with support for Face Unlock that according to the company can accurately detect facial features of 5 face input at the same time.

The phone also comes with a built-in artificial intelligence based voice assistant that is useful for hands-free usage. Through voice commands, it can perform tasks such as launch apps, make calls, and set reminders.

It has a standard set of connectivity options, including 4G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, FM radio, and a 3.5mm audio jack. It runs on an Android operating system with a custom interface and is powered by a 2,800mAh battery.

Get Big Discounts On High-End Versions Of The Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro Laptops On LightInTheBox [Coupon Codes]

By

Vinay Patel

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Jul 31, 2018

LightInTheBox is currently doling out big discounts on two variants of the well-received Mi Notebook Pro laptops from Xiaomi. Aside from shedding light on the aforesaid discounts, we’ll even show how you can save a considerable amount of more money during the checkout process.

Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro Laptop (with i5-8250U)

Touted as the MacBook Pro clone, the Xiaomi Pro notebook is a power-packed professional laptop. The device packs the latest 8th generation Intel core CPU, coupled with Nvidia MX150 discrete graphics card.

Sporting a big 15.6-inches IPS display with a screen resolution of 1920 X 1080 pixels, this version offers 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. On top of that, it houses a single 1.0MP front webcam for face-to-face video chatting.

The feature-laden Mi Notebook Pro would ideally set you back $2,397 on online stores. But LightInTheBox is giving buyers who are on a tight budget an opportunity to get their hands on the device at a dropped price of just $1,608.

This is a noteworthy 33% reduction in the laptop’s retail price, and it will be valid for the gray color version for 1 day. You can use coupon code ‘LITBTXIAOMIPRO730’ at the time of checking out to bring your already reduced grand total further down to just $757.

You can follow this link in order to take the discount before the promo comes to an end. Note that the coupon is also likely to expire soon.

Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro Laptop (with i7-8550U)

The Intel Core i7 processor-powered version of the Mi Notebook Pro laptop usually carries a steep price tag of $2,858 on LightInTheBox. But taking its skyrocketing popularity into consideration, the Beijing-based international online retail company is offering a 15% discount on the device’s retail price.

With the reduction, the above-mentioned variant of the Mi Notebook Pro laptop is now up for grabs at a discounted price of $2,418. But if that doesn’t impress you much, you can apply coupon code ‘LITBTXIAOMIPRO1730’ to further lower your grand total to just $999 while checking out.

It is worth noting that this discount will only be valid for the gray color version. You can follow this link to check out the details and avail the discount which is slated to end in just 1 day.

Get 33% Off On Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro Laptop On LightInTheBox

Get 15% Off On Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro Laptop On LightInTheBox

Lenovo L38031 TENAA listing reveal full specs and images

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jul 31, 2018

Lenovo Z5, Lenovo K5 Note and Lenovo A5 smartphones that were announced in June are now available for purchase in China. A new Lenovo smartphone from the company that has a model number of L38031 has surfaced on TENAA will full specifications and images. The smartphone was spotted with MediaTek MT6765 SoC on Geekbench benchmarking platform in the previous month.

According to the TENAA listing of the Lenovo L38031 smartphone, its dimensions are 153.8 x 72.9 x 7.95mm and it weighs 149 grams. The color choices of the handset include black, blue, silver and gold.

It features a 5.7-inch display that produces HD+ resolution of 720 x 1440 pixels. It means that the handset is equipped with 18:9 aspect ratio screen. It is fueled by 2,970mAh battery.

The Lenovo L38031 smartphone is powered by 2.0 GHz octa-core processor. There is a possibility that it could be driven by MediaTek Helio P22 SoC. It is likely that the 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB storage models of the Lenovo L38031 smartphone will respectively feature 2 GB, 3 GB and 4 GB of RAM. There is a microSD slot on the phone for adding more storage. The handset is preinstalled with the latest Android 8.1 Oreo.

A closer look at the top bezel of the smartphone reveals that it could be fitted with dual front-facing cameras. The rear side of the phone has a horizontal dual camera setup and a fingerprint scanner. The TENAA listing has not mentioned the exact camera configurations of the Lenovo L38031 smartphone. It has only stated that the both the dual camera modules feature a primary sensor of 13-megapixel.

It is not clear what could be the actual product name of the L38031. Also, the rumor mill is yet to reveal its launch date and pricing. The handset has also bagged 3C certification in the recent past.

(source)

Motorola One full specifications leaked through TENAA listing

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jul 31, 2018

Motorola One and Motorola One Power are rumored to debut on Aug. 2 as Android One smartphones. Last week, the Motorola One Power with model number XT1942-1 was spotted on TENAA with its entire specifications. Today, the XT1941-1 smartphone that is believed to be the Motorola One handset has appeared on TENAA with full specifications. However, the TENAA listing does not contain any images of the smartphone yet. Past leaks have suggested that the Motorola One and One Power smartphones will be sporting very similar design with slight differences. The TENAA images that have been added to this post belongs to Motorola One Power smartphone.

The Motorola XT1943-1 handset measures 155.8 x 75.9 x 8.9mm and it weighs 170 grams. It is slimmer than the Motorola XT1942-1 phone that measures 155.8x 75.9 x 9.98mm. Its color variants are black, silver and gold. Like the Motorola One Power smartphone, its weaker sibling features 6.18-inch display that produces 2246 x 1080 pixels. It is very likely that the screen that supports 19:9 aspect ratio could be equipped with a notch.

An octa-core processor that has clocking speed between 1.8 GHz and 1.6 GHz is present under the hood of the Motorola XT1943-1. Its RAM variants include 3 GB, 4 GB and 6 GB and its storage models are 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB. The handset also features a microSD card slot for additional storage. It will come loaded with Android 8.1 Oreo.

The rear side of the smartphone is fitted with 16-megapixel + 5-megapixel dual camera setup. On the front is an 8-megapixel selfie snapper. The device includes a 2,820mAh battery.

As of this writing, there is no information on the pricing of the Motorola One and One Power smartphones. The exact appearance of the Motorola One phone is very likely to get revealed through TENAA images before its official announcement.

Through the upcoming launch event that will be held on Thursday in Chicago, Motorola is expected to announce Moto Z3 flagship phone alongside Motorola One and One Power Android phones with mid-range specifications. Also, the company is rumored to announce Moto C2 and Moto C2 Plus Android Go phones at the same event.

(source)

Buy The Xiaomi Mi A2, Mi 8 And Mi A2 Lite Smartphones At Dropped Price On Banggood

By

Vinay Patel

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Jul 31, 2018

Look like Xiaomi fans are in for a treat. You can now buy Xiaomi’s newly arrived flagship smartphones including the Mi A2, the Mi 8 and the Mi A2 Lite at a heavily discounted price on Banggood.

Xiaomi Mi A2 Smartphone

Xiaomi took the wraps off its long-awaited Mi A2 smartphone in April this year. As expected, the phone became an instant hit among smartphone lovers and tech buffs thanks to the top-end specs and features it boasts.

The feature-laden Mi A2 smartphone would normally set you back $299.99 on Banggood but if you aren’t willing to spend that kind of money, we got good news for you. The Chinese online store that guarantees the best bang for your buck is currently doling out a 13% off on the phone’s retail price.
As a result, you can buy the Xiaomi Mi A2 smartphone at a dropped price of just $259.99. The discount will be valid for the black color version of the phone. Note that if you buy 2 pieces, you’d pay just $459.98. In other words, each piece will set you back just $229.99.

As if that weren’t enough, you can even earn 259 Banggood points with this order, but the site had already sold 83 pieces at the time of writing. If you’re interested in taking advantage of the discount, simply follow this link without wasting time.

Xiaomi Mi 8 Smartphone

Banggood is giving a 16% off on the Mi 8 smartphone’s original asking price of $635.99 as part of its recently kicked-off promo dubbed ‘Mi New Arrival Flagship.’ Thanks to the aforesaid discount, you can pre-order the recently unveiled phone at a reduced price of just $535.99.

If you’re on a tight budget, all you need to do is apply coupon code ‘BGMI128GB’ to get an additional 21% reduction during the check out process. You can bring your already discounted grand total further down to just $499.99 by applying the coupon.

Banggood is offering the discount on the black as well as the blue color versions of the Mi 8 smartphone. In order to avail this discount and earn 535 Banggood points, visit this link.

Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite Smartphone

Under the hood, the Mi A2 Lite smartphone packs a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Octa-core, Up to 2.0Ghz along with an Adreno 506, 650MHz GPU. The phone offers 4GB of RAM, coupled with 64GB of onboard storage (expandable up to 256GB).

The powerful Mi A2 Lite smartphone usually carries a steep price tag of $259.99 on Banggood but much to the delight of cost-conscious buyers, the site is offering a 23% off on the phone’s real selling price. With the discount, the phone is currently up for grabs at a reduced price of just $199.99.
This discount will be valid for the black color version and the promo is slated to end on August 6th. You can head straight to this link to receive the discount before the promotion comes to an end.

Aside from that, you can get big discounts on a broad range of other Xiaomi-branded smartphones as well. You can follow this link to check out the deals and seize additional discounts in the form of coupon codes that are likely to expire soon.

Get Big Discounts On The Mi A2, Mi 8 And Mi A2 Lite Smartphones On Banggood

Honor 9N with 19:9 display and Kirin 659 SoC to go on sale in India tomorrow for the first time

By

Jeet

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Jul 30, 2018

Last week, Honor launched its latest budget smartphone in the Indian market — Honor 9N, which is the rebranded version of the Honor 9i (2018) launched in China last month. The smartphone will go on sale in India tomorrow for the first time and will be available for purchase via flash sales exclusively on Flipkart and HiHonor website.

The 3GB RAM + 32GB storage model is priced at Rs. 11,999, which roughly converts to $175. The 4GB RAM and 64GB storage model costs Rs. 13,999 (approx. $204) while the 4GB RAM and 128GB storage version is priced at 17,999 (approximately $262).

However, only two models with 4GB RAM will be available tomorrow on Flipkart and HiHonorStore at 12:00 PM IST, in two color options — Midnight Black and Sapphire Blue. As for the launch offers, there’s a Reliance Jio cashback worth Rs. 2,200 and 100GB additional data, along with up to Rs. 1,200 Myntra voucher.

The Honor 9N boasts a 5.84-inch Full HD+ display with screen resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels, 2.5D curved glass, and 19:9 aspect ratio. As is the current trend, the device features a notch on top of the display. Under the hood, the device will be powered by the company’s own Kirin 659 octa-core processor with Mali T830-MP2 graphics processor.

The 3GB RAM model has 32GB of internal storage while the 4GB RAM variant comes in two options for onboard storage — 64GB and 128GB. There’s also a microSD card slot that enables users to further expand the storage capacity up to 256GB. The smartphone will be powered by a 3,000mAh battery.

In terms of optics, the smartphone features a dual camera setup on the back, consisting of a 13-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel secondary sensor. Both of them have an aperture of f/2.2 and supports phase detection autofocus. On the front side, there’s also a 16-megapixel snapper for taking selfies.

There’s a fingerprint sensor on the back panel and the phone also supports Direct Face Unlock. It also has Game Suite that enables users to play games without interruptions of notifications and calls. The device has Quick Payments support via Paytm and the Party Mode is coming through a new update that enables to sync music with up to 7 devices.

The phone runs on Android 8.0 Oreo operating system out-of-the-box and with a layer of the company’s own custom interface EMUI 8.0. The company has also promised to roll out GPU Turbo to the smartphone in the future through an over-the-air update.

Zenfone Max Pro (M1) heading to Europe August 13 for €250

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jul 30, 2018

ASUS’ Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 (Pro) killer is heading to Europe. Come August 13, the Zenfone Max Pro (M1) will go on sale in Spain.

Although ASUS itself has not made an official announcement, the device has been listed on the ASUS Spain online store. When it goes on sale, the Zenfone Max Pro (M1) will sell for €249 (~$292).

The phone packs a 6-inch Full HD+ display and feels like a 5.5-inch device. It is powered by the Snapdragon 636 and the version for sale in Europe will come with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. If you need more storage, the phone has a dedicated MicroSD card slot that lets you add up to 2TB of extra storage.

The Zenfone Max Pro (M1) has a 13MP + 5MP dual camera combo on its rear and an 8MP front-facing camera with support for face unlock and its own LED flash. There is a fingerprint scanner on the back too.

Continue

Top 10 UI with best performance released by Master Lu Benchmark: OnePlus wins

By

Michele Ingelido

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Jul 30, 2018

We are used to seeing benchmarking platforms testing the hardware side of smartphones in order to evaluate their performance. But the hardware side is not everything when it comes to the overall performance of a mobile device: among the other factors, there is also software optimization. When it comes to the software side of Android smartphones, manufacturers usually take two choices: make heavily customized versions of Android for their devices or release them with stock Android version with a low amount of customizations (or even with no UI customizations at all).

The first solution provides more features and useful applications, while the second one usually results in better performance. Master Lu Benchmark has released its personal top 10 of best Android user interfaces in terms of performance. According to the ranking, Hydrogen OS by OnePlus is the best one, and it is mostly a stock UI. At the second place, we find the EMUI by Huawei, which is instead a heavily customized Android version. The third spot is occupied by Smartisan OS by Smartisan, while the MIUI by Xiaomi takes the 4th place. Then we got Color OS by Oppo, the Samsung Experience found on Galaxy-series devices, Google Pixels’ UI, HTC’s Sense, Funtouch OS by Vivo and at last Nubia UI.

According to Master Lu Benchmark, the ranking has been created basing on desktop use, app usage, web content loading and sliding, photo viewing, file copying, boot-up speed and other operations. Obviously, it is impossible to evaluate every single scenario, so do not take this ranking as a comprehensive ranking. But we believe this ranking will be useful for many people to know that the SoC present inside a smartphone is not the only index of performance. Indeed, we often find several Android phones with midrange chipsets performing worse than low-end devices.

(Via)

90 Points colorful silicone Luggage tag and portable Umbrella launched

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jul 30, 2018

Xiaomi ecological chain company, Runmi Technology which operates under the brand name 90 points has just announced a couple of products that add value to our lives. 90 Points is known for several products that meet the needs of users such as its suitcases, jackets, sports wears, sports shoes and others. The new products include a luggage tag as well as a portable umbrella.

The new 90 Points colourful silicone luggage tag comes in at just 29 yuan (). the tag is available in five different colours which were specifically designed to ease the trouble of finding your luggage in the case of travellers. The colourful silicone luggage tag also has a simple but stylish design and can be used as an exquisite ornament to instantly enhance the looks of the luggage. The body of the tag is made of food grade silica gel and is odourless, safe and environmentally friendly. The surface is treated with a touch of oil. The texture is smooth and soft, and the ash is easy to clean.

In addition, there is an oval window on the luggage tag where the owner’s personal information such as name, phone number and contact address on the card. This could be helpful especially if the baggage gets missing in transit.

On the other hand, the 90 Points all-purpose umbrella comes with a portable design that can easily fit into a lady’s handbag or backpack. The umbrella has a large covered area when opened and is lightweight, weighing just 309g. It has a diameter of 115cm and can accommodate 2-3 persons.

The portable umbrella is priced at 59 yuan (~$8). Both products are available in China on Xiaomi Youpin.

(source 1, 2)

Android P coming to OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T, no Android 8.1 Oreo

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jul 30, 2018

The OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T were released in 2016 – one with a Snapdragon 820 and the latter with a Snapdragon 821 processor. Technically, both phones have received two major updates – Android Nougat and Android Oreo and should receive one more year of security updates. However, in what can be said to be the biggest surprise for owners of both phones, OnePlus has announced it will update them to Android P!!!

The info was revealed on the official OnePlus forum today by the operations manager for OxygenOS. It turns out this is the big surprise hinted at last week when both devices got updated to OxygenOS 5.0.4.

That update didn’t bring Android 8.1 Oreo but came with camera improvements and July’s security patch. The OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T will now join the OnePlus 5, OnePlus 5T, and OnePlus 6 in receiving Android P.

The Android P update will be available on the OnePlus 6, OnePlus 5/T and OnePlus 3/3T, in this order. We will keep you all updated in the coming months

However, there is no info on when exactly the update will arrive. Might be by the end of the year or maybe even next year but nevertheless, it is still good news for owners.

Continue

Xiaomi’s first foldable phone with fold-out design, cheaper pricing may launch in 2019

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jul 30, 2018

Huawei is reportedly looking forward to beat Samsung by launching the world’s first smartphone by the start of 2019. Fresh information has revealed that apart from Huawei, other Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi and Oppo are also working on foldable smartphones.

A South Korean publication has revealed that in a bid to launch foldable phones in 2019, Xiaomi and Oppo are procuring the required components for building such devices. Huawei has reportedly partnered with BOE Technology Group from China for flexible OLED panels. Xiaomi and OPPO are also speculated to receive foldable display panels from Chinese suppliers. There is a possibility that these companies may also consider dealing foreign display makers such as LG Display or Japan Display.

The foldable phones from Samsung and Huawei are expected to sport fold-in design. On the other hand, Xiaomi’s foldable smartphone may feature fold-out design. There is no information on the design OPPO may use for its foldable smartphone.

Xiaomi is known for flagship phones with cheaper pricing compared to Samsung and Huawei. Hence, there is a possibility that Xiaomi’s foldable smartphone arriving next year may carry cheaper price tag.

Samsung is yet to launch a smartphone with in-display fingerprint scanner even though it was one of the first companies to work on such a handset. Some of the Chinese manufacturers such as Vivo, Huawei and Xiaomi have already managed to launch smartphones featuring optical in-screen fingerprint scanner. It is speculated that the Samsung’s Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus arriving in Q1 2019 will be featuring ultrasonic fingerprint scanner that offers accurate results.

Samsung has been working on its foldable phone smartphone since 2013. In order to ensure that its customers are provided with the best user experience on its first foldable phone, it has been consistently delaying its arrival. However, Chinese manufacturers are expected to give tough competition to Samsung.

(source|via)

Half of smartphones sold in 2018 have Virtual Assistants – Strategy Analytics

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jul 30, 2018

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fast becoming an integral part of modern smartphones. Edge AI computing is pushing more processing on-device as vendors use more AI in several areas. Virtual assistants such as Siri, Bixby and Google Assistant are already becoming commonplace and on-device AI is increasing their abilities. Strategy Analytics has come out with an extensive report which looks at the progress of Artificial Intelligence technologies inside smartphones from 2010 to 2023.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Bixby Voice — The report is said to have tracked and forecasted the sales of smartphones with Artificial Intelligence technologies globally and across six regions. The report noted that Google Assistant has risen to be the top virtual assistant with over 50% share. This could be traced to the inclusion of the smart assistant on the latest Android versions. This is followed by Apple’s Siri. Worthy of note is the claim by Senior Analyst Ville-Petteri Ukonaho that “The fastest rising assistant comes from China where Baidu Duer is taking share and will capture second place within the next few years.”

The report concluded that by 2019, over half of smartphones globally will have the virtual assistant and the share will grow up to 90% by 2023. This is a good thing as it pushes the dream of smartphones becoming our everyday assistants closer to reality.

(source)

Mystery Solved: Mi 8 Explorer Edition Transparent Back Design

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jul 30, 2018

The Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition is the third and the most expensive variant of Xiaomi’s Mi 8 trio. When it launched back in May, its transparent rear got some folks curious and propped up questions as to its authenticity. Apparently, the internals of a phone doesn’t look that good which means what we are actually seeing isn’t the phone’s real internals.

Xiaomi released a statement saying the design isn’t a sticker slapped on to the rear and that the device is indeed transparent. They also added that what we see are actual parts of the mainboard. It turns out Xiaomi wasn’t entirely honest with its explanation.

The individual who first raised concerns about the design has posted images of what is actually inside the Mi 8 Explorer Edition. The images show what appears to be a 3D printed motherboard on a plate.

[envira-gallery id=”203824″]

According to the original source (@Ice Universe) of the photos, it is a complex etching process as the resistors and capacitors are 3-dimensional and likely real parts though they are just there for cosmetic reasons.

So to sum it all up, the back of the phone is transparent, what we see is not a sticker but actual components of a motherboard and not the motherboard.

Nevertheless, the news doesn’t seem to affect the sales of the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition. It went on sale today for the first time and is now out of stock, selling out in just a minute.

Priced at ¥3699 (~$543), the Mi 8 Explorer Edition comes with a 6.21-inch AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top. It has a 1080 x 2248 resolution and an 18.7:9 aspect ratio, thanks to the notch at the top.

That notch is home to a 20MP sensor and a 3D face unlock system like that of the iPhone X. It is powered by the Snapdragon 845 processor paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It also has 12MP dual cameras on its rear.

Continue

BlackBerry schedules a launch event in India on August 2, could launch Evolve and Evolve X

By

Jeet

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Jul 30, 2018

BlackBerry has sent out media invites for a launch event scheduled on August 8. While the company has not revealed which device it plans to introduce, reports suggest that the company could launch two smartphones — Evolve and Evolve X.

Recently, a BlackBerry smartphone codenamed “Ghost” surfaced online, featuring a bezel-less design. Later, it was reported that Optiemus will launch the smartphone in India in Q3 2018, but it will be offered in two models – Evolve and Evolve X.

Earlier, the phone’s image was surfaced online, revealing the metal frame, rounded corners, SIM card slot and antenna cutouts on the side and the bottom. Both the Evolve and the Evolve X are expected to come with full-screen 18:9 displays.

Under the hood, the devices will be powered by Qualcomm‘s powerful Snapdragon processors but the specific chipset model is not yet known. A few weeks ago, tipster Evan Blass revealed that the BlackBerry Ghost (i.e. BlackBerry Evolve) will pack a 4,000mAh battery.

The Evolve-series is expected to be a premium one as reports suggest that the smartphone will come with a dual rear camera setup with optical zoom and some custom enhancements for the low-light photography using the rear dual-cameras.

While no more information is available regarding BlackBerry’s two upcoming smartphones in the Indian market, we’ll know what the company has to offer when the devices launch on 8th August.

Last week, BlackBerry officially launched its KEY2 smartphone in the Indian market for Rs. 42,990 that roughly converts to $626. It features a 4.5-inch display with 433PPI, 3:2 aspect ratio, and Gorilla Glass 3. There’s a 4-row QWERTY physical backlit keyboard with a fingerprint sensor embedded in the spacebar.

It is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 660 octa-core processor along with Adreno 512 GPU, 6GB RAM and packs 64GB/128GB storage. There’s a dual camera setup on the back with a 12MP primary sensor and a 12MP secondary sensor. On the front side, there’s an 8MP shooter front-facing camera. It runs Android 8.1 Oreo and is powered by a 3,360mAh battery.

Sony Xperia XA3 reportedly certified by TENAA in China

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jul 30, 2018

Sony is likely going to announce a couple of its new smartphones at IFA 2018 which would commence at the tail-end of August. Traditionally, the company will unveil its flagship Xperia XZ series models of which the Xperia XZ3 will be one of them. A new leaked TENAA document seems to suggest the company may also announce the Xperia XA3 as well. The Xperia XA3 was recently certified by the Eurasian Commission and so, is actually in the works.

The device is listed on TENAA with the model number Sony H4413. The document also reveals the presence of LTE support, Android OS and dual standby Other than those, there aren’t any other details revealed. We expect a more detailed listing featuring the photos of the device as time goes on.

The Sony Xperia XA3 will be the successor of the Xperia XA2 which was launched at CES 2018 in January this year. The device packs a 5.2-inch FullHD 16:9 aspect ratio display. It is powered by a Snapdragon 630 chipset paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The device also offers a stunning camera department composed of a 23 MP f/2.0 rear sensor and a dual 16 + 8 MP front camera which is optically stabilized. We expect the Sony Xperia XA3 to improve on these specs.

(via)

Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy A (2019) series to reportedly feature triple-camera setup

By

Jeet

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Jul 30, 2018

After rumors about Samsung‘s next year’s flagship smartphone Galaxy S10 featuring a triple-camera setup, a new report suggests that the South Korean giant is now planning to introduce triple-camera setup to its premium mid-range Galaxy A (2019) series smartphones.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 has been rumored to be the first smartphone from the company to come with triple camera sensors, similar to what we saw on the Huawei P20 Pro. But the report indicates that the upcoming Galaxy A series device will be the first smartphone from Samsung to have triple cameras.

Further, the Galaxy A (2019) smartphones are also said to come with an in-display fingerprint sensor. According to the reports, Samsung will be using an optical display-based fingerprint sensor for the Galaxy A series smartphones.

According to the report, the company is looking to introduce triple-camera and in-display fingerprint sensor to Galaxy A (2019) lineup before these features are fully adopted for the company’s flagship Galaxy S-series smartphone. The global hardware development team of Samsung has reportedly started working on adding these features to Galaxy A series devices.

The Galaxy S10-series is also expected to have an in-display sensor but will feature a more premium ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. The quality of triple-camera on both the Galaxy S-series and Galaxy A-series are expected to be different as well.

Usually, the Galaxy A series smartphones gets launched a couple of months before the Galaxy S-series smartphones. If the South Korea-based company sticks to its usual schedule and doesn’t delay the Galaxy A (2019) launch, the Galaxy A-series will be the first from Samsung to have triple-camera and in-display fingerprint sensor.

There are very few devices available in the market which comes with features such as under-display fingerprint sensor and triple-cameras. Currently, only the Huawei Mate RS Porche Design features both — triple-cameras and in-display fingerprint sensor.

(Source)

The Vivo X21 Night Purple Edition with Aromatherapy Gift Set makes for a nice gift for your lady

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jul 30, 2018

When the Vivo X21 launched back in March, it was announced in three colors – Diamond Black, Aurora White, and Ruby Red. A few weeks ago, Vivo announced a fourth color variant called Night Purple.

The new color variant is now on sale and apparently, comes in four bundles. There is the standard set which only has just the phone; there is a gaming set which includes a gamepad similar to Motorola’s Moto Gamepad mod; another version comes with a smart band; the fourth comes with a scented candle and a bottle of aromatherapy oil.

The fourth version makes for a great gift if you are looking for something special for the woman in your life. The whole package includes a box that contains the candle and oil and a separate box that holds the phone.

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