Three Unknown Vivo Midrange Models Certified By China’s TENAA

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Jun 6, 2018

Chinese smartphone maker Vivo has been pretty busy in the market lately with a couple of new releases, some of which were done unannounced. The company recently unveiled the Snapdragon 660-powered premium midranger- Vivo Z1 and while we were still savouring the beauty, the Vivo Y83 was launched quietly with a new Helio P22 chipset, the first device to feature such. Vivo seems to be on a drive to consolidate its grip on the mid-range market with the impending release of three more models. The models have just been certified by TENAA in China.

The models are identified with the model numbers Vivo V1732A, V1732T and V1801A0. The Vivo V1801A0 looks like a higher model than the other two. It comes with a dual rear camera setup and is believed to be the upcoming Vivo V9. The device is listed with a 6.26-inch TFT display with a resolution of 2280 x 1080p. It is powered by an unnamed processor with its CPU clocked at 2.2GHz. The device also packs a 3180mAh battery under its hood and will be available in Champagne Gold, Rose Gold, and Matte Black colours.

On the other hand, the Vivo V1732A and V1732T models have the same specs lineup and design which means they are likely the same device but perhaps different variants. The models could be variants of another Y-series model, likely the Y81. The listing reveals the presence of a processor with CPU clocked at 2GHz which is likely the Helio P60 chip. The RAM is 3 GB, while the internal storage is 64 GB. There is only one camera on the back that is 8 MP (but reaches 13 MP with software enhancements), while the selfie cam is 5 MP. The models do not have fingerprint scanners but pack a 6.22-inch display apiece. Both models are also listed to pack a battery capacity of 3,180 mAh.

(source 1, 2, 3)

Geekbench Listing Confirms Vivo Nex S Is The Flagship

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 6, 2018

Vivo is expected to launch three variants of its bezel-less and notch-less phone – the Vivo NEX. The three models are the NEX, NEX S, and NEX A. An earlier report said the Vivo NEX S will come with a Snapdragon 710 but a Geekbench listing has disproved it.

The Vivo NEX S was seen on Geekbench today and the benchmarking site revealed that the phone will come with a Snapdragon 845 processor and not the Snapdragon 710. It will also have 8GB of RAM. While storage isn’t mentioned, we presume it will be 256GB.

Geekbench also revealed the device runs Android 8.1 Oreo. The Vivo NEX S scored 2419 points in the single-core test and 9085 points in the multi-core test.

The Vivo NEX is the launch name for the Vivo APEX that was revealed earlier this year. Vivo has provided no explanation for why it changed the name. Nevertheless, it is nice to see Vivo is releasing a proper flagship this year. Last year, it skipped the Snapdragon 835 and didn’t release the Xplay7.

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The Affordable Lenovo Z5 Unboxing Pictures Highlight Its Premium Design

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 6, 2018

Okay, we gave Lenovo some knocks a while ago for over-hyping the Z5 and delivering to us a smartphone that really wasn’t up to the picture they painted and the lofty claims made. That won’t make us lose sight of the fact that the Lenovo Z5 isn’t in anyway a bad device. Well, that is if you don’t mind yet another notch display-packing phone. The device ticks most of the boxes to be crowned as a premium midranger even though some still argue it is a flagship model.

The device comes with a design that we are not going to bore you comparing with the one featured on the pre-launch teasers. The design is sleek, with one of the variants having the Aurora gradient back which we have only seen on flagship models like the Huawei P20 Pro.

The Lenovo Z5 comes with a 6.2-inch full-screen display with 19:9 aspect ratio and FHD+ resolution of 2240 x 1080p. The display is covered with a 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass. The screen as a 90% screen-to-body ratio which is pretty impressive. At the rear, we find a glass back with a vertically arranged dual camera setup on the left and a fingerprint sensor at the centre. The dual camera is a powerful setup with AI technology and the camera samples testify to that.

The disappointment of not having a design that redefines bezel-less phones is eroded when we look at the prices it is pegged at. Pricing starts from 1299 Yuan ($202) for the 6GB + 64GB version and goes up to 1799 Yuan ($281) for the 6GB + 128GB edition. Thi is definitely an amazing one for such a device. Unfortunately, it is uncertain if Lenovo will sell the model outside China. Check out the pictures and camera samples of the Z5 on the image gallery below.

(source)

HTC Desire 12 And Desire 12+ Launched In India, Price Starts At Rs. 15,800 ($236)

By

Jeet

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Jun 6, 2018

After HTC teased the HTC Desire 12 launch earlier this week, the company has now officially launched the HTC Desire 12 and HTC Desire 12+ in India. Both the smartphones were originally launched in March earlier this year.

Both devices come with the trendy full-screen display with 18:9 aspect ratio and durable acrylic glass back surface. The Desire 12 features a 5.5-inch HD+ IPS display with screen resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels and 18:9 aspect ratio.

Under the hood, the phone is powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT6739 SoC, coupled with PowerVR Rogue GE8100 GPU, 3GB RAM, and 32GB internal storage. There’s also a microSD card slot, which enables users to further expand the phone’s storage capacity up to 2TB.

The smartphone comes with a 13-megapixel BSI camera sensor on the back with PDAF and f/2.2 aperture, accompanied by an LED flash. On the front side, there’s a 5-megapixel BSI sensor with a f/2.4 aperture.

Connectivity options on the device include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 & 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS + GLONASS. Running on Android 7.0 Nougat operating system with HTC Sense UI on top, the phone is powered by a 2,730mAh battery.

On the other hand, the HTC Desire 12+ comes with a 6-inch HD+ IPS display with screen resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels with an 18:9 aspect ratio. It is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor, paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB storage.

Unlike the Desire 12, this one comes with a dual rear camera setup on the back, which includes a 13-megapixel BSI primary sensor and a secondary 2-megapixel sensor. The setup has a f/2.2 aperture and enables features such as Bokeh mode, Face detection, and Panorama mode. On the front side, there’s an 8-megapixel BSI camera sensor with f/2.0 aperture.

Connectivity options on the device include Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 & 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, and GPS + GLONASS. This one runs Android 8.0 Oreo operating system out of the box with HTC Sense custom interface and is powered by a 2,965mAh battery.

The HTC Desire 12 and Desire 12+ will be available in two color options in India — Cool Black and Warm Silver. While the Desire 12 is priced at Rs. 15,800 (approximately $236), the Desire 12+ costs Rs. 19,790 (approximately $296). Both smartphones will be available for pre-order through HTC eStore from tomorrow, June 7th and will be available through online and offline from June 11th.

Moto Z3 Play is Official: Bigger, Brighter, & Better

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 6, 2018

The first of the third-generation Moto Z devices has now been officially announced. The Moto Z3 Play brings a bigger display, a new design, and some cool new features.

Moto Z3 Play Design

Because Motorola has to keep compatibility with existing Moto Mods, the Z3 Play isn’t very different when it comes to dimensions. The phone is still pretty thin at 6.75mm but it does look very different from the Z2 Play.

The larger 18:9 display means the bezels have to be trimmed and Motorola has done just that. However, the fingerprint scanner had to find a new home. Since it can’t be moved to the back of the phone, the scanner now resides on the right side, just below the volume buttons.

There is 2.5D glass on both sides and the device has Motorola’s signature water-repellant coating which protects it from splashes and spills.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeEUR0nNjO8[/embedyt]

Moto Z3 Play Specs

The Moto Z3 Play has a 6-inch 18:9 display that Motorola has termed Max Vision. It is still AMOLED like its predecessors and the resolution is Full HD+.

The Snapdragon 626 from the Moto Z2 Play has now been replaced with the Snapdragon 636 mobile platform. There is 4GB of RAM and you can choose between 32GB or 64GB of internal storage.

Last year’s model skipped the dual camera train but the Z3 Play comes with two cameras on the rear. The primary camera is a 12MP f/1.7 sensor and it has been paired with a 5MP secondary sensor. There is an 8MP sensor for selfies.

The camera software is packed with tons of features. Apart from the usual portrait mode, beautification mode, and face filters, there are some new features too. Some are listed below:

Cinemagraphs for making custom gifs from videos;
Selective Black and White – which turns off color for all except the subject;
Cutout mode – for changing the background of your photos;
Spot color – which lets you select just a color from your photo while the rest turns black and white.

Moto Z3 Play Color Pop — Moto Z3 Play Spot Color Mode

The Moto Z3 Play also comes with smart camera features such as landmark and object recognition, real-time text translation, and optical character recognition thanks to Google Lens.

The phone runs Android 8.1 Oreo with Motorola’s own additional features like Moto Actions and Moto Voice. There is a 3000mAh battery with support for Moto’s TurboPower fast charging technology. Motorola claims the device has a 40-hour battery life when you snap on the 2,000mAh Moto Power Pack battery mod.

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ASUS ROG Gaming Smartphone Dazzles In These Hands On Pictures

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 6, 2018

ASUS announced and showcased its latest ROG gaming smartphone yesterday in Taiwan. As a model manufactured specifically for gaming, the phone presents with a top-level configuration and amazing design. The device is also bundled with several peripheral gadgets. The ROG phone and its accessories are here to meet with us, thanks to Chinese tech blog PCPOP.

The ROG Phone comes with a 6-inch AMOLED FHD+ screen with a refresh rate of 90Hz and a 1ms response time. The screen has a 108% DCI-P3 wide color gamut, a 10,000 : 1 contrast ratio, and supports HDR. What better processor to power the device other than the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor? Even at that, the processor is overclocked at 2.96GHz. It also has 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 512GB of storage.

The device has the ROG logo on the back which lights up while the display is on. Apart from the logo, the back design adopts a rather scientific approach, giving the device a truly gaming gadget outlook. There is a dual camera setup at the back arranged in a horizontal manner. On the camera end, the device comes with the same configuration as the Zenfone 5. There is an 8MP camera at the front and a 12MP+8MP dual camera combo. The ASUS ROG Phone has a 4,000mAh battery with support for ASUS HyperCharge fast charging technology. In order to reduce the amount of heat being dissipated by the smartphone, ASUS moved the charging chip from the phone to the power adapter.

Another visible design innovation on the sleek phone is the three USB-C ports it packs. Two of the ports are on the side and one at the bottom. All three ports are for charging the phone and this design was adopted so that users can charge the device with ease while gaming. The side ports also function as connectors for some of the peripheral accessories.

The ROG phone also comes with two linear vibration motors. We have seen some mobile phones that have provided realistic tactile feedback through linear motors. This time, the ROG Phone returns realistic sensations through a linear vibration motor. The realistic vibration feedback should give us an unparalleled gaming experience.

Another important aspect worth giving some thought is the peripherals and docking stations the phone comes with. They include the AeroActive Cooler which is a clip-on cooling fan that comes bundled with the phone. There is an app for turning on/off the fan and modifying speed. Another key peripheral device is the Gamevice Gamepad with a pair of shoulder buttons on each side. The TwinView Pedestal has a second 6-inch screen which lets users play a game on one screen and perform other tasks like chatting on the other. The add-on also comes with a built-in 6000mAh battery.

The ROG phone also has a Mobile Desktop Dock that lets you use the device as a desktop PC. There are several ports for connecting a monitor, keyboard, mouse and other peripherals. The dock also allows you use the phone as a second display for your regular PC. Finally, the ROG phone will have a WiGig Dock, a 60GHz 802.11ad dock that works with the Gamevice gamepad and lets you stream to a TV.

There is still no word on its pricing and availability but we don’t expect it to come with a cheap price. Also, most of the peripherals and docks will likely be sold separately.

(source)

Snapdragon 429 and Snapdragon 439 SoCs Coming, For Android Go Devices

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 6, 2018

The Snapdragon 425 has been the go-to chipset for manufacturers when making entry-level phones. Even though it has been two years since it was announced along with the Snapdragon 625 and Snapdragon 435, it is still showing up in devices. However, both the 425 and 435 will be getting upgrades soon in form of the Snapdragon 429 and Snapdragon 439 processors.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 429 — Qualcomm will soon announce Snapdragon 429 and Snapdragon 439 SoCs

According to Roland Quandt, Qualcomm will announce the Snapdragon 429 and Snapdragon 439 mobile platforms. He adds in the tweet that info is unavailable on the SD429 but the SD439 will be a variant of the SD625.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 429 and 439 incoming. Aimed at Android GO devices, but not exclusive to these. No idea what the 429 is, yet, but the 439 is a variant of the MSM8953 aka Snapdragon 625 = octacore ARM Cortex-A53, 14nm. No clue about speeds/other specs.

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) June 6, 2018

Now, we are not so excited about the SD439 since the Snapdragon 450 is practically an underclocked Snapdragon 625. So it seems Qualcomm is again recycling its old chipset. However, we’ll wait for an official announcement to see what differs between the three chipsets.

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Xiaomi Redmi Y2 Pricing, Storage and Color Variants Leaked Ahead of Launch

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jun 6, 2018

Xiaomi will be announcing a new selfie-centric Redmi smartphone on June 7. Rumors have it that the Chinese manufacturer will be debuting the Redmi Y2 tomorrow. It seems that the selfie-focused Redmi S2 phone that was launched in the previous month in China will be rebranded as Redmi Y2 for India. Today, a well-known Indian tipster Ishan Agarwal has revealed the storage + RAM variants, color options and pricing of the Redmi Y2.

According to a recent tweet from the tipster, the Redmi Y2 will be available in models like 32 GB storage + 3 GB RAM and 64 GB storage + 4 GB RAM in India. It will be available in color choices like Dark Grey, Gold and Rose Gold. The pricing of the Redmi Y2 variants have been also leaked. The 32 GB and 64 GB models are speculated to be respectively priced at Rs. 9,999 (~$149) and Rs. 11,999 (~$179).

Currently, Xiaomi is selling the 32 GB storage + 3 GB RAM and 64 GB storage + 4 GB RAM editions of the Redmi Note 5 is selling with respective pricing of Rs. 9,999 and Rs. 11,999. The leaked pricing and storage variants of Redmi Y2 are exactly same as Redmi Note 5. Hence, it is advisable to digest the pricing leak of Redmi Y2 with a pinch of salt and wait for tomorrow’s unveiling for official confirmation.

It has been recently confirmed that the handset will be exclusively available for buying through Amazon India. As far as the other specs of the phone are concerned, it may feature a 5.99-inch FHD+ display, Snapdragon 625 SoC, 3,080mAh battery and 12-megapixel + 5-megapixel dual camera setup. Its major USP will be AI equipped 16-megapixel front-facing camera that comes with features like soft-light LED and HDR.

In related news, the recently released MIUI 10 teaser by Manu Kumar Jain who is Xiaomi’s Global VP and Managing Director for India suggests that the company may confirm the global rollout of MIUI 10 Global ROM at tomorrow’s press event.

(source)

Xiaomi Mi A2 Visits Geekbench, May Launch Soon

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 6, 2018

Is the Mi A2 launching soon? Probably, seeing as the device has made an appearance on Geekbench. There is nothing new about the specs but the benchmark listing further confirms the device’ existence.

The Mi A2 is expected to be an Android One version of the Mi 6X released a few months ago. So everything should be the same in terms of hardware with the only difference being stock Android instead of MIUI.

The Xiaomi Mi A2 was benchmarked on May 31 and was first spotted by Smartprix. The device is powered by the Snapdragon 660 mobile platform and has 4GB of RAM. Its benchmark scores are 1630 points and 4657 points for the single-core and multi-core tests respectively. It is also shown to have Android 8.1 Oreo installed.

We won’t be surprised if the Mi A2 gets announced this month. It has been two months since the Mi 6X was announced which is the same duration between the launch of the Mi 5X and the Mi A1.

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BlackBerry KEY² Complete Spec Sheet & Price Leaked

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 6, 2018

Just a few days ago, we posted official renders of the upcoming BlackBerry KEY². Today, they have been followed by a complete leak of the specification sheet as well as pricing for various markets from yet the same source – Evan Blass (@evleaks).

BlackBerry KEY² Specs

The BlackBerry KEY² will have a 4.5-inch screen with a 1620 x 1080 resolution. It appears the screen just looks bigger, it is actually the same size as the first-gen model. The display is LCD and it is covered with Gorilla Glass 3.

Under the textured back of the KEY² is a Snapdragon 660 processor. It is paired with 6GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of built-in storage. The phone will also come with support for storage expansion (256GB max).

One of the big changes in the BlackBerry KEY² is the addition of an extra sensor on the rear of the phone. Now you have a 12MP f/1.8 1.28um sensor paired with another 12MP f/2.6 1.0um sensor. Up in front is an 8MP fixed focus camera for selfies.

The phone has a 3500mAh battery. There is a USB-C 3.0 port, NFC, a 3.5mm audio jack, and Bluetooth 5.0. It will come pre-loaded with tons of Blackberry Apps as well as default Android apps. It will run Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box.

The BlackBerry KEY² will have four variants – BBF100-1 for EU, Africa, AU, and Japan; BBF100-2 for NA and LATM; BBF100-4 model for China; and BBF100-6 model which has dual SIM slots for ME, APAC, India, and Indonesia.

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GearBest Kicks Off The Global First Launch For HOMTOM S99, Only $119.99 Using This Coupon

By

Vinay Patel

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Jun 6, 2018

HOMTOM made its long-awaited S99 4G phablet available to the public last month. Much to the delight of the Shenzhen based handset manufacturer, the device became an instant hit among tech buffs that have been waiting for a phablet that delivers an essential big-screen experience without emptying their pocket.

The HOMTOM S99 would normally set you back $149 on GearBest. But if you’re on a tight budget and aren’t willing to spend that kind of money on a phablet, we got good news for you.

The Chinese online store that sells all sorts of cool tech and the hottest gear is currently offering a noteworthy 19% off on the phablet’s original asking price. As a result, the HOMTOM S99 can now be yours at a lowered price of just $129.99.

But if that doesn’t impress you much, we’ll show how you can save a considerable amount of money apart from getting the discount offered by GearBest. All you have to do to get an additional deduction is use coupon code ‘HOMTOPS99’ at the time of checking out.

You can bring your grand total down to just $119.99 simply by applying the discount code. In other words, you can save an extra $10 without breaking much of a sweat, thanks to the above-mentioned coupon code.

At $119.99, the HOMTOM S99 is quite a bargain, given that it sports a big 5.5 inches IPS HD+ display with a screen resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels. Moreover, the device sports an eye-catching plastic and aluminum alloy body design.

The S99 packs a powerful MediaTek MTK6750, 64-bit processor along with an ARM Mali-T860 MP2, 650 MHz, 4-cores GPU, under the hood. It offers 4GB of LPDDR3 RAM and 64GB of onboard storage that can further be expanded up to 256GB.

The HOMTOM S99 phablet features a 21MP + 2MP dual camera setup with dual-LED and AF on the back. Apart from that, it houses a 13MP front shooter for selfies and face-to-face video chatting.

Furthermore, the HOMTOM branded phablet runs Android 8.0 Oreo operating system and draws its juices from a 6200mAh big capacity battery that delivers an unparalleled gaming experience. The device also houses a slew of useful sensors including G-sensor control, distance sensor, light sensor, and fingerprint recognition.

You can follow this link if you’re interested in taking advantage of the discount. It is also worth noting that the coupon code is likely to expire soon.

Get 19% Off On HOMTOM S99 4G Phablet On GearBest

Huawei MateBook D 14-Inch Model Announced, Packs AMD Ryzen 5-2500U Processor

By

Jeet

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Jun 6, 2018

Huawei has already launched a trio of laptops — MateBook D, MateBook E, and MateBook X. Earlier this year, Huawei announced a new refreshed edition of MateBook D, which is dubbed as Huawei MateBook D (2018).

Now, the company has launched a new edition of Huawei MateBook D which comes with a 14-inch display and is powered by AMD’s Ryzen 5 2500 processor and Radeon Vega 8 grpahics. Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) is a 64-bit microprocessor from AMD, designed to act as a central processing unit (CPU) and graphics accelerator unit (GPU) on a single die.

The Huawei MateBook D features a metal unibody design with thin bezels surrounding the display. There’s a 14-inch Full HD display with screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage.

It comes with a USB Type-C port for charging which can also be used to charge smartphones or tablets. Further, the laptop comes equipped with Dolby Quad speakers with split frequency setup, in an attempt to offer an immersive sound experience.

The laptop weighs around 1.45 kg and measures about 15.8mm in thickness, ensuring its easy to carry around. It comes with a 57.4Wh capacity battery which should be enough to last about 12 hours on single charge.

For comparison, the Huawei MateBook D 2018 launched earlier this year comes with a 15.6-inch Full HD display and is powered by Intel‘s 8th Generation processor, Nvidia MX150 GPU, and 8GB of RAM.

The base model with Core i5 processor comes offers two options — one with 256GB SSD storage while another with 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD. The higher-end model is powered by Intel Core i7-8550U CPU, along with 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD storage.

The previously launched 15.6-inch model with Core i5 8th-gen processor and 256GB SSD storage has a starting price of CNY 5,188 (approximately $791). However, the company has not yet announced the pricing of this new Huawei MateBook D with a 14-inch display and Ryzen 5-2500 APU. Initially, the device is not expected to be available in China and will first go to the international market.

Honor Announces The Honor Play: Its First Phone With GPU Turbo & 4D Gaming

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 6, 2018

Honor had a busy day today announcing first its revolutionary GPU Turbo technology and then releasing its first ever smartphone featuring this tech, the Honor Play. Like the name suggests, the phone relies heavily on this technology to enhance the overall gaming experience of the smartphone user. The basic hardware on the Honor Play is standard flagship stuff, but the underlying technology that powers the device makes it a really good gaming device.

Before we move on to the basic specs details, let’s take a look at what makes the Honor Play special.

The new Honor flagship is basically a gaming centric smartphone. It’s the first Honor device to feature the revolutionary GPU Turbo technology that enhances GPU performance significantly by increasing graphics processing efficiency by up to 60%. This results in better gaming performance than flagships such as the Xiaomi Mi 8, iPhone X, and even the Mi Mix 2S. The company revealed that the phone manages to beat these flagships in terms of frame rate and jitters, thereby giving an enhanced gaming experience on the device.

Further, the phone boasts of 4D gaming experience, powered by the same GPU Turbo technology. 4D gaming is possible because the Honor Play can detect a number of gaming scenes including shots, explosions and quakes. You also get a 3D sound experience, so you’ll be able to clearly locate the angle of firing. The phone also reportedly features a special film on its screen to reduce reflection and improve gaming experience under light. It also features in-game network optimisation which promises seamless shift from Wi-Fi to mobile data in order to ensure uninterrupted gameplay.

Now coming to the standard stuff, the phone has a 6.3-inch FHD+ 2340 x 1080 display with a notch on top. Unlike other Honor flagships, this one features a metal back and U shaped antenna lines. The dual cameras are located on the left side while the fingerprint sensor lies around the centre at the back. There are three color options: Nebula Purple, Aurora Blue, and Midnight Black.

The Honor Play features the Kirin 970 chipset (Mali-G72 MP12) inside in two memory configurations (expandable up to 256GB): 4GB + 64GB and 6GB + 64GB. The rear dual camera setup is average, featuring a 16MP f/2.2 primary sensor paired with a 2MP f/2.4 secondary depth sensor with support for AI shooting and AR gestures. On the front, there’s a 16MP f/2.0 sensor for selfies.

The phone has a decent 3750mAh battery inside which should be good enough for a day’s worth of gaming. Other features include Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi ac, and GPS. The phone is running on EMUI 8.2 based on Android 8.1 OS.

Honor Play is cheaper than the flagship Honor 10 model and starts at 1999 Yuan ($312) for the 4GB + 64GB variant. The 6GB + 64GB variant will cost 2399 Yuan ($375). There’s a special Honor Play Cool limited edition with a special back design that retails for 2499 Yuan ($390). The regular editions go on sale on June 11 in China, while the special limited Cool edition will go on sale in July. One more thing, you get a free TPU case inside the box.

Honor 9i with Notched Display, Kirin 659, 4 GB RAM Goes Official for 1,399 Yuan (~$218)

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jun 6, 2018

Through an unveil event in Beijing, China, Huawei’s sub-brand Honor introduced multiple devices such as Honor 9i mid-range phone and Honor Play flagship smartphone that is powered by Kirin 970 and the all new GPU Turbo technology. Readers can visit dedicated articles on Honor Play and GPU Turbo to know more about them. As far as the Honor 9i is concerned, it is yet another notched display phone from the company that is packed with some impressive specs. Also, it comes with an affordable pricing.

Honor 9i Specifications and Features

The Honor 9i features a metal frame flanked with front and rear 2.5D glass panels. The 12 layers of nano-coating on the rear side of the phone makes it possible to deliver a dazzling mirror-like effect. It measures 149.2 x 71.8 x 7.7 mm and it weighs around 152 grams. The handset can be availed in colors like Magic Night Black, Charm Sea Blue, Jade Green and Dream Purple.

The Honor 9i includes a 5.84-inch IPS LCD display that produces FHD+ resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels. Since it is mid-range phone, the Honor has included the Kirin 659 SoC inside it. It comes in storage variants like 64 GB and 128 GB and both of them feature 4 GB of RAM.

The frontside of the Honor 9i features a 16-megapixel photosensitive enhanced lens. With a pixel size of 2.0μm, the front-facing camera can capture better selfie shots in dim light conditions. Other features of the front camera include beauty mode and AR function. The selfie snapper can also double up as face unlock feature.

The 13-megapixel + 2-megapixel dual camera setup that is placed on the backside of the phone is equipped with features like dual-tone LED flash, PDAF, fast autofocus, scene detection and multi-frame image processing.

The Honor 9i is loaded with Android 8.1 Oreo that is modified with Huawei’s EMUI 8.0 custom ROM. The other features of the smartphone include dual SIM support, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, GPS and 3.5mm audio jack. The handset receives power from 3,000mAh battery. The backside of the phone features a fingerprint scanner.

Honor 9i Pricing and Availability

The 64 GB and 128 GB editions of the Honor 9i are respectively priced at 1,399 Yuan (~$218) and 1,699 Yuan (~$265). The official sales of the phone will begin on June 7. At the time of writing this post, the official website had also listed the Honor 9i in a lower variant with 32 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM. However, the listing is no longer available now. There is a possibility that the company may introduce this model after few months.

Lenovo’s 4TB of Lies: Lenovo Z5 Teasers Vs Reality

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 6, 2018

Lenovo took the wraps off the much-hyped “bezel-less” Lenovo Z5 yesterday and it left us all disappointed. The Z5 was nowhere near the device Lenovo has been teasing all this while. Lenovo began teasing the Z5 in May and the company’s Vice-President Chang Cheng was the source of virtually all the teasers we saw. Calling the device a vaporware is even a compliment at this present time because indeed the Z5 was announced but with a design that looks nothing like the ones which feature in the numerous teasers. We’ll expatiate on this claim of ours.

AI powered lies.#LenovoZ5 #Z5 pic.twitter.com/lMuiHRChVC

— Beebom (@beebomco) June 5, 2018

The renders and teasers of the Z5 promised us a bezel-less design and a screen ratio of up to 95% but in the end, the Z5 came with a notch. Yes, another one with the damn notch (apologies to those who find the notch attractive). Well, we’d have had no problem if they had hinted a notch design will be featured on the device but no, Mr Cheng instead painted and literally shared a con picture of a near bezel-less device with no sign of a notch up there. What about the 95% screen-to-body ratio? That too was a fluke. The Z5 was announced as having only a 90% screen ratio and that itself is doubtful. A Twitter user shared a picture of the Z5 showcased during the launch which is an official render and the device in real life. The size of the bezels is not the same. The bezels keep getting bigger on all sides for real. Check them out below.

Another aspect where Lenovo exhibited this deceit was teasing that the Z5 will come with 4TB of storage. This was right after Smartisan released the R1 packing a 1TB storage variant. While it remains a question begging for answer what we needed 4TB of storage for on a smartphone, we cannot ignore the fact that the Z5 was launched with no mention of a 4TB storage. Instead, what Lenovo launched was a 4TB Particle Cloud Storage device which will sell for almost the same price as the smartphone.

How can we forget the screaming teaser of the Z5 coming with a battery that can offer up to 45 days of standby time? Mr Cheng even teased further that the battery can offer up to 30 minutes of talk time at 0%. So you’d know, the device packs a miserable 3300mAh battery. We wonder the technological prowess at play that can get the juice to spew for up to 45days even when the phone is just on standby.

So you see, we didn’t get the ultimate device that would mark the rebirth of the ZUK brand, all we got was a pack of lies, 4TB of lies! That is not to say the Z5 was all a miss. The device comes with a 6.2-inch display with FHD+ resolution of 1080p resolution, dual 16-megapixel cameras, and it’s got 6GB of RAM with either 64GB or 128GB of storage. Despite all these, the device comes in at just 1299 Yuan ($202) for the base variant and 1799 Yuan ($281 for the higher version. These are amazing price tags considering the design and specs but we are still disappointed for the bunch of lies peddled about the device before its launch. We demand an apology, Lenovo!

Here’s Where You Can Buy The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Without Emptying Your Pocket!

By

Vinay Patel

-

Jun 6, 2018

Sporting a 0.42-inch touch-sensitive OLED display, the Mi Band 3 swept tech buffs off their feet after hitting the store shelves last month. That’s hardly surprising given that Xiaomi’s newest fitness tracker boasts a broad range of jaw-dropping specs and features.

If you’ve restlessly been waiting to get your hands on the Mi Band 3 smart wristband without burning a hole in your pocket, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a list of online shops where you can buy the coveted wristband at a considerably lowered price.

Xiaomi Mi Band 3 On Oppomart

The popular Chinese company is currently giving buyers who are on a tight budget, an opportunity to buy the Mi Band 3 smart wristband at a budget-friendly price of just $34.99. If you’re interested in saving a considerable amount of money on the well-received successor to the Mi Band 2, simply click here.

Buy Xiaomi Mi Band 3 on Oppomart

Xiaomi Mi Band 3 On Banggood

The original version of the Mi Band 3 is currently up for preorder on Banggood bearing a price tag of $36.99. The Chinese online store that guarantees the best bang for your buck is doling out 49 Banggood points as well.

You can save $4 on the coveted smart wristband’s original asking price simply by applying coupon code ‘mi3band’ at the time of checking out. This reduces your grand total to just $36.99. You can head straight to this link to use the coupon code before it expires.

Buy Xiaomi Mi Band 3 on Banggood

Xiaomi Mi Band 3 On AliExpress

You can buy the black color version of the original Xiaomi Mi Band 3 for $30.99 on AliExpress. The Zhejiang based online retail service will be shipping the smart wristband bracelet from China warehouse. Click here to buy it.

Alternatively, you can go for the 100% original version of the Xiaomi Mi Band 3, which the site is currently selling for $30.50. You can buy the black color version of the device by following this link.

Buy Xiaomi Mi Band 3 on AliExpress

Xiaomi Mi Band 3 On GearBest

The recently launched Xiaomi branded fitness tracker is also available on GearBest. Since May 31st, the black tinted Mi Band 3 has been available on the site carrying a presale price tag of $34.99.

About 1026 buyers had already taken advantage of the presale price at the time of writing. It is imperative for you to bear in mind that the presale price will only be valid until July 15th. You can visit this link to grab the deal.

Buy Xiaomi Mi Band 3 on Gearbest

Xiaomi Mi Band 3 On GeekBuying

The standard and the NFC versions of the original Xiaomi Mi Band 3 sells for $99.99 and $ 75.99, respectively on GeekBuying. The site is giving buyers a chance to take advantage of the promo wherein the original version of the device is available at a reduced presale price of just $34.99.
Likewise, GeekBuying is handing out a considerable 21% discount on the original asking price of the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 NFC version. As a result, you can now buy it at a slashed price of just $34.99. You can click here to take advantage of the discounts.

Buy Xiaomi Mi Band 3 on Geekbuying

Nubia Z17 Mini is one of the best phones you can buy under $164 (Limited time)

By

Linus

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Jun 6, 2018

Nubia is known for producing quality phones and the Z17 mini is a great example. It offers a premium design, great cameras and good specs for the price. At the moment, you can buy the phone for just $163.99 from Gearbest (flash sale ends soon).

First of all, it’s worth mentioning that you will get a global version of the phone, meaning you will get Google Services out of the box and no bloatware.

The Nubia Z17 has one of the best cameras for the price. It uses a dual-optics system that consists of two 13MP shooters. There is a powerful 16MP snapper on the front too.

I have always been a fan of all-metal phones and if you are too, the Nubia Z17 mini may be a great option for you in the world of fragile glass-made smartphones.

For just about $160, you get great specs that include a Snapdragon 652 chipset, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage (+microSD slot). In addition, the phone has a 5.2″ FHD display and it has a 2950mAh battery to keep the lights on.

We think that Nubia Z17 mini brings a ton of value to the table knowing the quality of phones the company makes.

At the moment, you can buy the phone for just $163.99 from Gearbest (flash sale ends soon).

Buy Nubia Z17 mini

Honor Announces GPU Turbo: A Turbocharger for Your Smartphone Graphics!

By

Joel Joseph

-

Jun 6, 2018

We know Huawei has been spending billions of dollars in R&D and in the past couple of years, we’ve seen some incredible technologies come out from this department. Today, the company’s online brand, Honor, has just announced a revolutionary technology called GPU Turbo that’ll change the way we look at smartphone graphics.

As the world moves towards a more visual medium, smartphone UIs have become more intuitive, fluid, as well as lively. You have animations in almost every step of the interface, adding to a more natural user experience. And as phones are becoming more powerful, graphics intensive games have started to gain popularity. In these times, there’s often the conflict of how much graphics is good enough on smartphones. The conflict is not just about the right amount of GPU power but also about how efficient is the GPU and a balance has to be met for the best user experience. Honor claims that this balance is just about to be disturbed with its revolutionary GPU Turbo technology.

The GPU Turbo is special because it dramatically increases the Graphics Processing Efficiency on smartphones, thereby allowing smartphones to run heavier graphic intensive games without significantly affecting battery life. If you are looking for numbers, then this new tech from Huawei and Honor manages to increase graphics processing efficiency by 60% and reduces SoC power consumption by 30%. These are some significant numbers which when put in real life situations should give you a remarkable boost in graphics performance.

At today’s event, Huawei’s Richard Yu mentioned that with GPU Turbo, mid-range Honor smartphones’ single-thread performance can even beat multi-thread GPU performance of some flagship phones in the market today. This technology allows heavy smartphone games to run at higher fps than competitors. Further, it brings HDR picture quality and special effects in gaming making the overall experience rich and fluid.

The company managed to achieve this by restructuring the traditional graphics framework at the lower level system. The technology relies on hardware-software integrated GPU acceleration. It will benefit mobile games that require high level of graphics processing efficiency. Honor adds that GPU Turbo can support AR and VR in the future and it can be applied in the sectors including virtual teaching, online shopping and telemedicine.

To put very simply, it looks like Huawei has found a way to tweak how the GPU handles graphics processing to enhance its efficiency to a significant extent. Think of this tech as a smartphone turbocharger. What’s really exciting is that the existing hardware will also get the benefit of the GPU Turbo. Considering how a lot of Honor and Huawei smartphones feature the same chipset, it’s likely that a number of Honor phones will get this new technology.

GPU Turbo will first make it to the Honor Play smartphone that was announced today. Other Honor devices including Honor 10, Honor View 10, Honor 9 Lite and Honor 7X are confirmed to get this technological upgrade soon. So, this ground breaking tech is not just limited to the company’s flagship phones!

Huawei has made a habit of delivering breakthrough technology in smartphones, so I’m excited to see how GPU Turbo boosts smartphone performance in real life.

LG Q Stylus Series Smartphones Announced, Features 6.2-Inch 18:9 Display And Up To 4GB RAM

By

Jeet

-

Jun 6, 2018

Expanding its lineup of smartphones launched in 2018, LG has today announced its new mid-range smartphone series which consists of LG Q Stylus, LG Q Stylus Plus, and LG Q Stylus Alpha which comes packed with some premium features.

Depending on the market, the smartphone will be available in one or more configurations. The company has also revealed that the Q Stylus series will roll out on a limited basis starting this month in the US and Asia, followed by other key regions in the third quarter of the year.

All three smartphones feature a 6.2-inch Full-HD+ FullVision display with screen resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels with an 18:9 aspect ratio and 389ppi pixel density. Under the hood, there are two octa-core processor options depending on the region, clocked either at 1.5GHz or 1.8GHz. However, the company has not specified the chipset.

The LG Q Stylus and Q Stylus Alpha will pack 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage while the Q Stylus Plus will come with 4GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. Further, there’s a microSD card slot, allowing users to further expand the phone’s storage capacity up to 2TB.

Coming to the camera department, the LG Stylus and Q Stylus Plus boast a 16-megapixel rear camera sensor with a PDAF lens, while the Q Stylus Alpha sports a 13-megapixel sensor on the back. On the front, all three models have a super wide angle lens-equipped 5-megapixel camera sensor for taking selfies and video calling.

As of the connectivity options, all the devices support 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, and USB Type-C (version 2.0). Running on Android 8.1 Oreo operating system out of the box, the smartphones are fuelled by a 3,300mAh battery.

The smartphones come with a stylus that the company claims, adds “more convenience and functionality beyond the typical keyboard experience.” According to the company, the Q Stylus can recognize and record handwritten notes, even when the display is off.

All three smartphones come with a fingerprint sensor on the back for added security. Further, the Stylus and Stylus Plus models also come with IP68 water resistance certification.

The LG Q Stylus will be available in Moroccan Blue and Aurora Black, while the Q Stylus Plus will come in just one color — Aurora Black. On the other hand, the LG Q Stylus Plus will be offered in Lavender Violet color. Currently, LG has not revealed the pricing information and has said that the pricing and exact availability details will be announced locally.

Buy ZTE Nubia Z17 Lite Smartphone For Only $169.99 On Banggood [Coupon Code]

By

Vinay Patel

-

Jun 6, 2018

The ZTE Nubia Z17 Lite was launched in September last year and as expected; the phone garnered skyrocketing popularity among smartphone lovers. That was hardly surprising given that the Nubia Z17 Lite boasts an array of awe-inspiring specs and features.

The Nubia Z17 Lite is currently up for preorder on Banggood bearing a price tag of $239.99. But much to the delight of cost-conscious buyers who aren’t willing to break the bank, the site is offering a 17% off on the phone’s original asking price for a limited period of time.

The above-mentioned discount is valid for the black gold and blue color versions which you can now pre-order at a lowered price of just $199.99. Smartphone enthusiasts who are on a tight budget can also apply discount coupon ‘BGNZ17L’ at the time of checking out to bring the grand total further down to just $169.99.Apart from getting the discount, you end up saving an extra $30 simply by applying the aforesaid coupon code. At this heavily discounted price, the ZTE Nubia Z17 Lite is an irresistible smartphone, given that it sports a big 5.5 inches FHD IPS display with a screen resolution of 1080×1920 pixels.

The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro processor and uses a Qualcomm Adreno 510, 621.33 MHz GPU, under the hood. The Nubia Z17 Lite offers 6GB of RAM along with 64GB of non-expandable onboard storage.

On the photography front, the Nubia Z17 Lite smartphone houses a 13MP + 13MP (IMX258 RGB sensor + IMX258 MONO sensor) dual-camera setup with a 5-element lens, PDAF, Sapphire Glass lens, and ƒ/2.2 aperture. Up front, there’s a 16MP camera with 5-element lens, ƒ/2.0 aperture, and 80° wide angle for selfies.

The phone runs Nubia UI 5.0 based Android 7.1 Nougat operating system and is backed by a built-in 3200mAh, Lithium-ion polymer battery. On top of that, it is crammed with all sorts of useful sensors including gravity sensor, light sensor, distance sensor, electronic compass, and gyroscope.

You can follow this link in order to check out the full specification, take advantage of the discount and grab the coupon code before it expires.

Get 17% Off On ZTE Nubia Z17 Lite Smartphone On Banggood

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