Huawei has been allowing users to unlock the bootloaders of its devices since several years. The Chinese manufacturer had even created a dedicated support page for bootloader unlocking. Hence, it was considered as a developer-friendly OEM. Installing TWRP, using custom ROMs and getting root access were all possible on Huawei devices as the company had provide an easy procedure for unlocking the bootloaders. However, at the beginning of this month, Huawei and sub-brand Honor had reportedly removed the aforementioned support page and later the company claimed that it would be providing unlock codes directly through email support system. The Chinese firm has today confirmed that its devices sold after May 24 will not be coming with unlockable bootloaders. It has also stated that the service will be stopped 60 days after today’s announcement for the devices that were sold before May 24.
Shown below is the screengrab of the official announcement. It is taken from the Huawei unlock page. The above message states that the company has taken such a step to provide better user experience and to avoid problems caused by flashing of ROM.
Developers will be no longer interested in Huawei devices as they stopped giving unlock codes. Many Huawei phone users are complaining on Twitter and Reddit that they will switch to other brands. Some have even claimed that they return newly purchased Honor 10 and Huawei P20 since the company has modified its policy.
Huawei is yet to release an official statement on the issue. Are you disappointed to know that Huawei devices will no longer allow its users to flash custom ROMs? Share us your views by posting your comments below.
Huawei has unveiled a new smartphone called Enjoy 8e Youth. This entry-level smartphone carries an attractive price tag of 799 Yuan (~$125). The newly introduced phone is the lowest configuration phone among the other Enjoy 8 series like Enjoy 8, Enjoy 8 Plus and Enjoy 8e that were launched in March this year. Here is all the information available on its specifications and features.
Huawei Enjoy 8e Youth features a metallic chassis that measures 146.5 x 7.09 x 8.3mm and it weighs 142 grams. It comes in three color variants such as black, blue and gold. The smartphone houses a 5.45-inch display that supports HD+ resolution of 720 x 1440 pixels.
The low-end MediaTek MT6739 chipset includes a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor and PowerVR GE8100 graphics is present under the hood of the Enjoy 8e Youth. The SoC is coupled with 2 GB of RAM. It has a native storage of 32 GB. The dedicated external storage slot supports up to 256 GB of microSD card. The handset receives power from 3,020mAh battery.
In terms of photography, the Huawei Enjoy 8e Youth has a soft-light LED enabled front-facing camera of 5-megapixel. The selfie camera can automatically recognize ambient light to snap better shots. Also, it also features a beauty mode for snapping enhanced selfies. The backside of the phone has a 13-megapixel camera that is enabled with features like autofocus, PDAF and dual-tone LED flash.
The handset is preinstalled with Android 8.1 Oreo and EMUI 8.0. Other features of the smartphone include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, microUSB 2.0, 3.5mm audio jack and GPS. There is no fingerprint scanner available on this phone.
The Enjoy 8e Youth is now available for reservations. The official sales of the smartphone will begin on June 1.
China-based smartphone manufacturer iVoomi has launched yet another budget smartphone in the Indian market — iVoomi i2. It is the successor of the iVoomi i1 And i1s which were launched about five months ago.
The smartphone will be available in four color options — Bronze Gold, Olive Black, and Indigo Blue for a price of Rs. 7,499 (approx. $111) and will be exclusively available from online marketplace Flipkart.
The smartphone comes with 5.45-inch HD+ Full-View display with screen resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels, 18:9 aspect ratio and 2.5D curved glass.
Under the hood, the device is powered by 1.5GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6739 64-bit processor with PowerVR Rogue GE8100 GPU. It packs 3GB RAM, 32GB of internal storage and comes with a microSD card slot enabling users to further expand the storage capacity up to 128GB.
As for the camera, it comes with a dual camera setup at the back, stacked vertically. It features a 13-megapixel primary camera and a 2-megapixel secondary sensor. On the front side, there’s an 8-megapixel snapper with soft LED flash. It also comes with Face Unlock feature.
Connectivity options on the device include Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, and GPS. The device is running Android 8.1 Oreo operating system out of the box and is powered by a big 4,000mAh battery.
There are several launch offer associated with the smartphone. Flipkart is offering No Cost EMI option on the purchase of iVoomi i2, along with an exchange offer up to Rs. 7,000.
Further, the company is also offering 5 percent discount on Axis Bank Debit EMIs for select users, 5 percent instant discount on Visa cards for first 3 online payments, and 5 percent extra discount to Axis Bank Buzz Credit Card users.
Earlier this week, Nokia X6, the Finland-based company’s latest smartphone, went on sale in China and was sold out within 10 seconds. Now, today, the smartphone again went on sale and according to the company, this time also, the device went out of stock within seconds.
However, similar to the previous sale, the company has not announced how many units of the Nokia X6 were sold during the flash sale. The next sale is now scheduled on 30th May. Given the phone’s interest in China, there’s a possibility that the global rollout of the smartphone could get delayed.
The Nokia X6 comes in three color options — Black, Blue, and Silver. As of the pricing, the 4GB RAM + 32GB internal storage model is priced at 1,299 Yuan (approximately $204) while the 4GB RAM + 64GB storage model costs 1,499 Yuan (approximately $236). The top-end model with 6GB RAM and 64GB onboard storage will be available for 1,699 Yuan, which roughly converts to $266.
The smartphone comes with a 5.8-inch Full-HD+ display having a screen resolution of 2280 × 1080 pixels and 19:9 aspect ratio. There’s a notch on top of the display, similar to that of Apple iPhone X. There’s a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top of the display for protection from minor scratches.
Under the hood, the device is powered by Qualcomm’s recently launched Snapdragon 636 octa-core processor. It supports microSD card, which enables users to further expand the phone’s storage capacity up to 256GB.
As for the photography, the device features a dual camera setup, having a 16-megapixel RGB primary sensor with f/2.0 aperture and a 5-megapixel secondary monochrome sensor with f/2.2 aperture. On the front side, there’s a 16-megapixel snapper with f/2.0 aperture and 1.0um pixel size.
HMD Global is touting the presence of artificial intelligence (AI) features for improved photography, such as optimized color, field, and portrait lighting effects, as well as face recognition. It also offers the Bothie feature, which enables users to use both front and rear cameras simultaneously.
While there’s a fingerprint sensor on the back panel, the phone also comes with a Face Unlock feature for added security. Connectivity options on the device include 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, and USB Type-C.
The smartphone runs on Android 8.1 Oreo operating system out of the box and also comes with Do Not Disturb mode for gaming. The device is fuelled by a 3,060mAh battery which supports Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging technology that can deliver up to 50 percent of charge in 30 minutes.
Smartwatches are gradually becoming very much popular as they get crammed with more features. Mobvoi is one brand that created a storm sort of with the TicWatch S and TicWatch E which were launched last year packing Android Wear OS. The company has now unveiled a more interesting product dubbed TicWatch Pro.
As can be gathered from the “Pro” moniker, the TicWatch Pro comes with several features that set it apart from its predecessors. Some of the features include a heart rate sensor, NFC for Google Pay, GPS and an OLED display. These are ordinarily not exclusive features since they are also found on other Wear OS running smartwatches like the LG Watch Sport and Huawei Watch 2. The TicWatch Pro sets itself apart with the inclusion of a FTSN LCD display on top of the OLED display.
The OLED display underneath is the main display where the Wear OS and its attractive UI are shown. Whereas the FTSN LCD display is transparent and shows your heart rate, step count, and the time. The secondary display is obviously a low power display which will be always on. The smartwatch turns off the Wear OS display when left alone and when you need to use the watch, it turns back on.
The TicWatch Pro comes with an Essential Mode which runs on only the low-power FTSN LCD display. In the Essential Mode, the TicWatch Pro still monitors your steps and heart rate, as well as the calories burned theoretically. The smartwatch can run for up to 30 days if running on Essential Mode. A little snag with this is that you’ll have to wait a full minute if you want to switch to Wear OS.
The smartwatch will be available soon and will be priced under $300. The watch might get an LTE model for the U.S in due course.
Xiaomi Mi 8 and MIUI 10 are the only products that are confirmed to get announced on May 31. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun had recently said that the company would be unleashing a variety of new products at the upcoming event. Some of the Xiaomi fans have carefully examined the launch poster of the Mi 8 and have claimed that it includes some hidden clues on the devices that will be announced in the next week. Here is the modified launch poster of Mi 8 that shows the different products hidden in it.
There are three red-colored circles in the above image. Each one of them features a smartphone. According to ITHome, it is now being speculated that the Chinese manufacturer may debut three smartphones namely Xiaomi Mi 8, Mi 8 Plus and Mi 7 at the forthcoming Shenzhen event.
The black circle below the huge-sized number 8 seems to be hinting the arrival of Mi Band 3 fitness tracker. The green circle below could be showing the wireless charging pad that suggests that the upcoming flagship phones will be enabled with support for wireless charging. The number 8 has a circuit board inside it which indicates that the Chinese firm may announce Surge S2 SoC that was speculated to get unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 in February.
Earlier today, Xiaomi released a new teaser to hint that a new unlock feature would be available on the Mi 8. It is speculated that the new unlock feature could be 3D facial recognition or under-display fingerprint scanner. There are only 6 days remaining for the annual product launch event and Xiaomi is expected to release new teasers on daily basis until the launch event. Some of the speculated devices may get confirmed through the forthcoming teasers. Hence, it is recommended to digest the above report with a grain of salt.
The 55-inch Xiaomi Mi TV 4X is blessed with ultra-narrow bezels and piano paint design. It features a standard 4K HDR display. The TV 4X receives power from 64-bit quad-core processor and 2 GB of RAM. It includes an inbuilt storage of 8 GB. It has two 8W speakers and includes Dolby / DTS audio decoding. It comes with Bluetooth audio remote control. This television is priced at 2,799 Yuan (~$438).
The 55-inch metal-bodied Xiaomi Mi TV 4S features a curved 4K display with 4000R curvature with direct type backlight. It is equipped with 64-bit quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, 8 GB of native storage, two 8W speakers, support for H.264/265 decoding, support for Dolby Audio/DTS-HD audio decoding and Bluetooth audio remote control. The pricing of the 55-inch Mi TV 4S is 3,299 Yuan (~$516).
The 43-inch Xiaomi Mi TV 4S houses a 4K HDR display. It houses 1 GB of RAM and has an inbuilt storage of 8 GB. The Mi TV 4S has a pair of 6W speakers and carries support for Dolby / DTS dual decoding. It can be availed for 1,799 Yuan (~$281).
The Xiaomi Mi TV 4C features a 32-inch display that supports 1366 x 768 resolution and offers a viewing angle of 178 degrees. It features 1 GB of RAM and 4 GB of native storage. The connectivity ports available on the Mi TV 4C include two HMDI ports, 1 USB and 3.5mm audio jack. The TV is equipped with dual 8W speakers and carries support for DTS-HD decoding. The device weighs only 3.85kg. It has a super attractive price of 999 Yuan (~$156).
The bookings for 55-inch Mi TV 4X, 43-inch and 55-inch Mi TV 4S and 32-inch Mi TV 4C have started from today in China. These new Mi TV models will available for buying starting from May 31. On the very same day, Xiaomi will be holding a launch event in Shenzhen to launch Xiaomi Mi 8, MIUI 10 and variety of new products through it annual product launch event.
Today, Xiaomi has released a new teaser to show that only 6 days are remaining for the upcoming annual product launch event that will be held at Shenzhen, China. The teaser states that the Xiaomi Mi 8 will be arriving with a new phone unlock feature. Xiaomi fans are now speculating that the company could be hinting that the Mi 8 could be equipped with an advanced 3D facial recognition or the in-screen fingerprint reader feature.
Leaked images of the front panel of the Xiaomi Mi 8 that have surfaced earlier in this month have revealed that it features a wider notch compared to other Android phones that have notched display design. It is widely reported that the Mi 8 is equipped with structured light 3D module that will enable 3D facial recognition feature on the phone.
The complex module is rumored to be packed with various components such as selfie camera, proximity sensor, ambient sensor, infrared lens, flood illuminator and dot projector. These components will allow the users of the Xiaomi Mi 8 to unlock it by scanning their face in 3D. It is expected to work perfectly in low-light conditions. Hence, it is speculated that the Mi 8 will become the first Android smartphone to come with 3D facial recognition feature.
As mentioned before, the above poster could be also hinting the presence of under-display fingerprint reader on the Xiaomi Mi 8. According to MyDrivers, the number 6 resembles with structured light 3D module and the pattern seen in the small circle inside the number could be hinting under display fingerprint reader. Hence, there is a possibility that the Mi 8 could be equipping with two advanced unlocking features.
As far as the specs of the Xiaomi Mi 8 is concerned, it is expected to arrive with a 6.2-inch notched OLED display that will include support for 19:9 aspect ratio and FHD+ resolution. The Snapdragon 845 SoC is pegged to power the phone along with 6 GB of RAM. It is likely to arrive with 128 GB of storage. The Mi 8 is expected to arrive with MIUI 10 preinstalled.
The other rumored specs of the Xiaomi Mi 8 include 3,300mAh battery, 16-megapixel front camera with f/2.0 aperture, and 20-megapixel with f/1.7 aperture + 16-megapixel with f/2.0 aperture dual camera setup. It is likely to release with a price tag of 2,999 Yuan (~$469).
Citing people familiar with the matter, a fresh report on Bloomberg states that Essential Phone has not only canceled the development of its second-generation flagship phone, but also it has hired Credit Suisse Group AG’s advisors for finding potential buyers to sell the brand.
Bloomberg’s report had claimed that Essential has considered selling off everything from devices to patent profile. Also, one of the suitors is already interested in acquiring Essential. Soon after the report came out in the public, Andy Rubin released a new tweet that neither denies that the company is up for sale, nor confirms that the successor of the Essential Phone will not be coming.
Ruin has said that the company has been working on multiple product simultaneously and have canceled some in favor of those products that may good reception from audience. He added that company is putting more efforts in its upcoming mobile and home products.
Bloomberg’s report has clearly stated that the company has canceled its next smartphone. Its sources have revealed the firm is now workin on a smart home device. This product is expected to debut by 2019.
According to the publication, Essential may reenter into phone business later and the company has even approached another manufacturer other than Foxconn to build an Essential branded device. This will not only let it overcome developmental process difficulties, but also give them a presence in the market
Bloomberg has claimed that the Essential Phone PH-1 did not sell well mainly because of the various issues it encountered at the beginning such as high starting price of $699, weak camera hardware, touchscreen problems and difficulties in making phone calls. The company has reportedly sold over 150,000 Essential Phone PH-1 units and in the process, it has rolled out a number software updates, introduced new color variants and reduced the pricing to as low as $399.
Apart from lukewarm towards its first smartphone, the internal issues within the company has caused many hardware and software engineers to leave the firm. Also, many top executives such as Brian Wallace who worked as the vice president of marketing and Joe Tate who served as the head of hardware engineering have left the company.
Ahead of the phone’s official launch today, the Vivo Z1 has already gone on sale. The company has already started taking pre-orders for the Vivo Z1 in China. The device has been listed for a price of 1,798 Yuan, which roughly converts to $282.
The Vivo Z1 is the first smartphone in the company’s new budget Z-series lineup focusing on the mid-range market. It comes with a 6.26-inch Full-Screen display with a screen resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels, 19:9 aspect ratio and a trendy notch on top.
Under the hood, the device is powered by Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 660 AIE processor — the same chipset that is found inside company’s flagship Vivo X21 and X21 UD. The Snapdragon 660 is manufactured using the 14nm design process and has Kryo 260 architecture, with octa-core CPU with clock speed of 2.2GHz, coupled with Adreno 512 graphics processor.
According to the listing, the smartphone packs 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. There’s also a microSD card slot, which enables users to further expand the phone’s storage capacity up to 256GB.
Coming to the camera department, the smartphone comes with a dual camera setup on the back, consisting of a 13-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel secondary sensor. On the front side, there’s a 24-megapixel snapper for taking selfies and video calling.
As for the connectivity options, the device comes with Dual SIM, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, and GPS. While there’s a fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone, it also comes with a Face Unlock feature for added security.
The smartphone runs on Android 8.1 Oreo operating system out of the box with the company’s own custom user interface on top. The device is fuelled by a 3,260mAh non-removable battery.
As said, the smartphone has been officially listed online with a price tag of 1,799 Yuan, which roughly converts to $282. While the smartphone is already available for pre-orders in China, it will start shipping from 4th June.
It can be recalled that OnePlus had teamed up with Disney and Lucasfilm to release a special OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition last year. The Chinese handset manufacturer has once again teamed with Disney in a bid to develop an exclusive Avenger: Infinity War edition of its recently launched OnePlus 6 smartphone.
The Avengers version of the OnePlus 6 packs more awe-inspiring specs and features than its predecessor, the Stars Wars-themed OnePlus 5T. For the sake of instance, the phone replaces the Mirror Black finish with an eye-catching Kevlar design on the back panel.
On the downside, the coveted Avengers edition will cost you a pretty penny. Much to the chagrin of price-conscious buyers, the black tinted OnePlus 6 The Avengers Version smartphone will set you back $949.99 on Banggood.
But if you’re a tight budget and aren’t willing to break the bank, we’ll tell you exactly how you can save a considerable amount of money on the OnePlus 6 The Avengers Version. In order to save $130, all you have to do is apply discount coupon ‘523AVENGERSCO’ at the time of checking out.
In other words, you can bring your grand total down to only $819.99 simply by applying the aforesaid coupon code. The OnePlus 6 The Avengers edition is an irresistible smartphone that sports a mammoth 6.28 Inch AMOLED capacitive display with a screen resolution of 2280 X 1080 pixels. The phone comes with 3D Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5 for added protection.
Moreover, the OnePlus 6 The Avengers edition packs a powerful Snapdragon 845 2.8GHz processor and uses an equally robust Adreno 630 graphics processing unit, under the hood. The phone offers 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and a hearty 128GB of non-expandable onboard storage.
On the photography front, the OnePlus 6 The Avengers edition smartphone houses a 16-megapixel + 20-megapixel dual camera setup with f/1.7 aperture and dual-LED flash. Up front, there’s a 20-megapixel (Sony IMX 519) camera with 1.0 µm f/2.0 aperture for selfies and face-to-face video chatting.
Aside from that, it includes a slew of other features such as exclusive official Avengers wallpaper. While the phone itself is no different than the regular OnePlus 6, it is touted as the highest-spec version.
You can follow this link in order to use the coupon code and check out the full specification of OnePlus 6 The Avengers version smartphone. Note that the discount coupon is likely to expire soon.
Blackberry has already revealed that the Key2 will be launched on June 7 in New York City. The smartphone maker has now released a new video teaser that shows off some of the features the Blackberry Key2 will pack.
The video teaser is a short one but it gives us an idea of what to expect. Talking about what to expect, we are quite surprised to find the device will have a third button alongside the power button and volume rocker at the side. We can’t say what the button’s function will be. The new button appears to be an app drawer shortcut of some sort. In addition, the video also shows the Key2 will have dual cameras at the rear starked horizontally in the top left corner. It will also feature dual-tone LED flash sitting by the side of the camera. The KeyOne was spectacular because of its physical QWERTY keyboard. the Key2 will equally have a keyboard but there seems to have been some minor tweaks added to the buttons which may bring some short cut functions.
The Blackberry KEY2 is a mid-range model and is expected to pack a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor, coupled with 6GB RAM and 64GB internal memory. The full specifications of the phone are yet to be revealed but we expect an impressive lineup since the Snapdragon 660 is in the drivers’ seat.
Remeber when an update could brick your phone or cause it to be stuck in a bootloop? To fix the issue, Google introduced a new feature for Android called A/B system updates or seamless updates. The new OnePlus 6 comes with the feature.
The way seamless updates work is explained as follows: when there is a new update, your phone downloads the update and installs it even while your phone is in use. However, while installing the new update, the phone creates a partition for your current working OS.
When the update is done, you receive a prompt for a reboot. The reboot doesn’t take long and is more or less like you are restarting your device on a normal day. In a situation whereby the OTA fails, rather than end up with a non-working device, the phone boots into the old partition.
Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei has partnered with OneAssist to offer accidental and liquid damage protection plans to the users of Huawei and Honor devices in India.
The protection plan, which is designed to cover accidental and damage impacts, starts at Rs. 1,249 (approximately $18) and come with a validity of one year from the date of activation. Currently, the protection plans are available for Huawei P20 Pro, Huawei P20 Lite as well as the Honor 7X, Honor V10, and Honor 8 Pro among others.
According to the company, the protection plans cover any kinds of accidental and liquid damage to devices, including unintentional drops. Further, customers will also receive benefits such as free pick up and drop, 24×7 on-call assistance, and cashless claim service.
Further, the company states that the free pickup-drop service will be available on a pan-India basis, and the plans will auto-active within 15 days of purchase. In a statement, P Sanjeev, Vice President – Sales, Huawei India – Consumer Business Group, said, “Having collaborated with one of the pioneers of smartphone protection and assistance, OneAssist, we strive to provide consumers with unmatched services. We are confident that this association will be fruitful for our customers and will provide unparalleled, innovative services to our customers.”
Huawei currently has 21 exclusive service centers and more than 250 authorized service centers across India. However, the China-based company is planning to expand its existing service network in the country and explore new forms of service to take on the competition.
This new offering from Huawei comes after other China-based companies — OnePlus and Xiaomi started offering accidental damage protection plans to its users. While Xiaomi has partnered with OneAssist to offer Mi Protect accidental cover protection, OnePlus is offering free 12-month accidental damage insurance from Servify to the OnePlus 6 buyers.
Samsung, in partnership with SK Telecom, has launched its new smartphone — Samsung Galaxy Wide 3, the successor of the Galaxy Wide 2 which was launched last year. Just like its predecessor, this one too is exclusively for the South Korean market.
Unlike the recently launched J-series smartphone which features “Infinity Display”, this one features a 5.5-inch HD display with screen resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. Under the hood, it is powered by an unspecified 1.6GHz octa-core processor along with 2GB of RAM. It packs 32GB of internal storage and has a microSD card slot, supporting memory card of up to 400GB.
The device comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, f/1.7 aperture, and 1080p video recording. On the front side too, the phone features a 13-megapixel camera sensor with f/1.9 aperture. The company says to have made some improvements on the software side to deliver enhanced imaging. Further, the phone also comes with a face recognition feature.
Connectivity options on the device include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, and GPS/ GLONASS. It runs on Android 8.0 Oreo operating system out of the box with the company’s own custom user interface on top. The smartphone is fuelled by a 3,300mAh battery.
SK Telecom says that it is targeting the device to those who are over the 40s, wanting a large screen phone for a small price. As per the details shared by SK Telecom, more than 1.3 million units of the Galaxy Wide and Galaxy Wide 2 have so far been sold in South Korea. Out of those, over 70 percent of Galaxy Wide 2 users are over the age of 40.
The Samsung Galaxy Wide 3 will be available in two color options — Silver and Black. The smartphone will go on sale in South Korea tomorrow for KRW 297,000, which roughly converts to $275.
One of the features of modern flagships and indeed smartphones is having support for fast charge. Usually, this isn’t a big deal since basically, most phones come with this feature. Not until you try your hands on a smartphone that have support for Qualcomm‘s Quick Charge technology, especially the latest version. Presently, Qualcomm has the Quick Charge 4.0 which was launched in 2017 and that was quickly followed by the QC 4.0+ which was unveiled a few months later.
Apparently, someone is trying to sell us the idea that the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 8 will support QC 4.0+. A screenshot of the list of supported models for QC 4.0 and QC 4.0+ emerged on Weibo with the Mi 8 listed among others. Thankfully, Qualcomm has the same list of smartphone models that have support for the various Quick Charge versions including QC4.0/4.0+. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the Mi 8 on the list which was updated this May and has the Smartisan R1 added as its latest entrant.
We won’t rule out the possibility of the Mi 8 coming with Quick Charge support. The device is launching as an Anniversary edition to commemorate Xiaomi’s eighth year in business. Thus, it is teased as being the ultimate flagship and QC 4.0+ will be a good one. Besides, the device is yet to go official so it would have been a surprise if it was actually listed on the document.
Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4+ has all the features that is available on QC 4.0 but there a couple of more improvements. Quick Charge 4+ is up to 3 degrees cooler, up to 15 percent faster and up to 30 percent more efficient than its previous version. You can read up more about QC 4.0+ from our article on the new fast charging technology.
My fellow colleagues from Italy started buying Xiaomi phones by importing them from China since the past few years, all the while attracted by their amazing quality-price ratio. But from now on, it won’t be necessary for Italian people to buy Mi devices through online retailers that ship via China. The 4th best smartphone brand in the world has officially landed in the country and it has just announced its first Mi Store in Italy in an official event. At the event, Xiaomi’s VP Wanx Xiang highlighted all the important milestones achieved by the company in the past few years and he also unveiled the products that will be sold at the store.
The store will be officially open from May 26 at 11:30 a.m. GMT 1, at “Il Centro” shopping mall located in Via Giuseppe Eugenio Luraghi, 11 – 20020 Arese (Milan). Three products will be initially sold in the store: Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, Redmi Note 5 and Mi Electric Scooter. The first is currently the best Xiaomi flagship. It comes with a ceramic back, an aluminum frame and a tri-bezel-less display with a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels. It is powered by the Snapdragon 845 chipset by Qualcomm, up to 8 GB RAM and up to 128 GB of internal storage in the configurations available in Italy. The 6/64 GB configuration will cost just €499.90, while the 8/128 GB version will be available for €599.90.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 (known as Redmi Note 5 (China) and Redmi Note 5 Pro in other markets) boasts a 5.99-inch Full HD+ display, a Snapdragon 636 SoC, and a 12 MP dual camera setup. It has been launched in two configurations in Italy: 3/32 GB with a price tag of €199.90 and 4/64 GB with a price of €249.90. At last, the Mi Electric Scooter will cost €349.90.
Xiaomi has already confirmed that other smartphones will arrive in the near future: we are talking about Xiaomi Redmi 5, Mi A1 with Android One and the older Mi Mix 2. The company will also launch the Mi TV Box, Mi Robot Builder, and Mi Action Camera (alongside its handheld gimbal) in the peninsula. Note that Xiaomi phones are also available on Amazon Italy and the most important Italian electronics chains such as Mediaworld.
By unveiling the Snapdragon 710, Qualcomm has launched a new series of mobile platforms which sits exactly in between flagship chipsets from the Snapdragon 8xx line-up and mid-range processors from the Snapdragon 6xx series. It is a chipset targeted at upper-midrange smartphones which will offer amazing performance even though its price will not be as expensive as the best flagship devices. In this article, we will compare the new Snapdragon 710 with Snapdragon 660 which was the best Qualcomm mid-range SoC before its launch, and with Helio P60 that is the best MediaTek chipset of 2018 and it has been made for upper-midrange devices as well.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 vs Snapdragon 660 vs MediaTek Helio P60
[envira-gallery id=”192923″]
Qualcomm Snapdragon 710
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
MediaTek Helio P60
CPU
octa-core
2x Kryo 360 2.2 GHz, 6x Kryo 360 1.7 GHz
10 nm FinFET LPP, 64 bit
octa-core
8x Kryo 260, Clock frequency: Up to 2.2 GHz
14 nm FinFET LPP, 64 bit
octa-core
4x Cortex A73 2 GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 2 Ghz
TSMC 12 nm, 64 bit
GPU
Adreno 616
Adreno 512
ARM Mali G72 MP3
Camera
Up to 32 MP Single
Up to 20 MP Dual
Up to 24 MP single camera
Up to 16 MP dual camera
Up to 32 MP single camera
Up to 16 + 24 MP Dual camera support
Video
Up to 4K Ultra HD (video recording)
Up to 4K at 30 fps (video playback)
Up to 4K Ultra HD at 30 fps (video recording)
Up to 4K Ultra HD (video playback)
Up to 4K Ultra HD at 30 fps (video recording)
Up to 4K Ultra HD (video playback)
Display
Up to Quad HD+
Up to Full HD+
Up to Full HD+
Connectivity
Dual Band Wi-Fi 2×2 802.11ac with MU-MIMO 867 Mbps
Bluetooth 5.0, NFC
Cellular Modem: Qualcomm Snapdragon X15 LTE up to 800 Mbps (download), up to 150 Mbps (upload)
Dual Band Wi-Fi 2×2 802.11ac with MU-MIMO, Speed: 867 Mbps
Bluetooth 5.0, NFC
Cellular Modem: Snapdragon X12 LTE, up to 600 Mbps download speed, up to 150 Mbps upload speed
Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 vs Snapdragon 660 vs MediaTek Helio P60
CPU
In terms of CPU performance, Snapdragon 710 is way better the other two chipsets in this compraison. According to Qualcomm, it will offer 20 percent faster performance compared with Snapdragon 660. In detail, it is 20% better overall, 25% faster at web browsing and 15% faster at launching apps. At present, Snapdragon 660, at least on the paper, provides better CPU performance than Helio P60 due to its more powerful cores. Note that each of these chipsets is perfect for daily use and even for playing games despite the fact that you will not get the maximum frame rate which you can obtain with Snapdragon SoCs from the 8xx series.
But if you want to pick one of these in CPU performance, it will definitely be the new SD710.
GPU
Snapdragon 710 boasts an Adreno 616 GPU which can achieve a 35% better graphics performance than the Adreno 512 found on the Snapdragon 660. So, this SoC is way better not only for general performance but also at gaming. MediaTek Helio P60 has a Mali G72 MP3 which is the worst among the three graphics processing units in terms of specs, but it can still deliver above-average performance in both multimedia and games.
Efficiency
When it comes to efficiency, Snapdragon 710 still wins the challenge. It has been made with a 10 nm production process and it has six cores underclocked to 1.7 GHz, and this means a lot of deficiency. Snapdragon 710 is 40% more efficient than SD660 in 4K video playback and gaming and 20% at video streaming. MediaTek Helio P60 obtains the second place with its 12 nm production process. Only the two Snapdragon chipsets have the Quick Charge 4 technology that is currently the fastest quick charging technology. Helio P60 has Pump Express (likely 4.0) which is quite fast too.
AI
Artificial intelligence is a strong presence in each of these SoCs: all of them have a dedicated modules for AI which is useful for facial recognition, scene detection, AR acceleration, bokeh effects, and more. However, Qualcomm has declared that the new Snapdragon 710 will give us twofold better performance with AI than Snapdragon 660.
Connectivity
The connectivity side on a SoC is more important than you may think. It includes the modem which defines the connection speed — so how fast you will be able to navigate, download and upload data. Snapdragon 710 has the fastest modem which can reach a download speed of 800 Mbps. Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 reaches a maximum download speed of 600 Mbps, while Helio P60 stops at 300 Mbps. All of them feature a maximum upload speed of 150 Mbps. Bluetooth 5.0 is another advantage of Snapdragon 710.
Supported components
The Snapdragon 710 is the only SoC which can support all the flagship-level components of a smartphone. A phone with SD710 can support Quad HD+ displays, up to 32 MP single cameras and up to 20 MP dual camera. Snapdragon 660 and Helio P60 support a max display resolution of 1080p, but Helio P60 can support higher-end cameras than SD660 and it reaches the same level of SD710 when it comes to cameras.
So, all three chipsets are quite powerful for a mid-range smartphone. The SD710 definitely has advantages over the other two in terms of CPU, GPU, and Connectivity, however, Qualcomm’s new chipsets are often quite expensive. So, for the time being, expect SD660 and Helio P60 to rule the affordable yet powerful upper mid-range market.
Nevertheless, the SD710 definitely outclasses the two other SoCs in almost every segment. Among all other features, being manufactured on the super efficient 10nm process — same as the flagship SD845 / 835 chips gives it the ultimate efficiency advantage.
Xiaomi has today announced Mi Credit service in India, in partnership with KreditBee which will be offering personal loans from Rs. 1,000 (approximately $15) up to Rs. 100,000, which roughly converts to $1,500.
The service, which is aimed at young professionals, can be initiated in less than 10 minutes with a simple KYC verification and offers tenure between 15 days to 90 days with interest rate of 3 percent per month. However, the service is currently available to MIUI users only and will not be available for stock Android phones like Xiaomi Mi A1.
The company says that Mi Credit acts as a platform for users to “initiate financial lending.” Xiaomi has also listed the financial loan providers on Mi Credit where users can log onto the platform and apply for quick loans.
The launch of Mi Credit marks the company’s third value-added internet service in India after the company launched Mi Music and Mi Video earlier this month. Commenting on this development, Manu Jain, Vice President, Xiaomi and Managing Director of Xiaomi India said, “Mi Credit is another big step in bringing an important internet service to India and we trust that our users would be able to truly benefit as the service becomes more sophisticated.”
Xiaomi is also gearing up to launch a new smartphone in India. The company has started sending out media invites to announce a new smartphone in India on 7th June. The invite hints at a camera-centric device. Xiaomi is believed to be launching Redmi S2 in India but is expected to be rebranded as Redmi Y2 in India.
A few days ago, Vivo announced that it will launch a new smartphone series. The first of the smartphone series will be the Vivo Z1 which will be announced tomorrow.
Today, the Chinese manufacturer released a new teaser poster that revealed that the Vivo Z1 will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 660 AIE processor. This is the same chipset found in Vivo’s X21 and X21 UD flagships.
The rest of the specs are still unknown but the two teasers Vivo has released so far show that the Z1 will also have a notch in its display and a small bezel at the bottom.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
