Meizu is one company that has gone unsung for quite a while in the Chinese tech industry. The company started out as an MP3 player manufacturer and has grown to become one of the top 10 Chinese phone makers. We believe the company deserves to be in the top 5 if innovation is all that counts. The Chinese company recently launched the Meizu 15 series models and along with the smartphones came two sleek earbuds. The Meizu POP wireless earbud and the Meizu Halo Laser Earphones. We spotted a couple of unboxing pictures of the Meizu POP and felt it was worth sharing.
The Meizu POP Wireless earbuds comes as a pair and are similar to Apple’s Airpods and Samsung’s Gear IconX. As you would guess, the POP is way cheaper than the two despite having a build quality that would give the two of them a run for their money.
The POP comes in white with an equally beautiful and white case that doubles as a charger. The earbuds are light, weighing just 5.8g each, and have an 85mAh battery that lasts 3 hours on a single charge. The charging case provides an additional 12 hours of battery life via its own 700mAh built-in battery, that means it can charge the earbuds four times. The case itself can be recharged via a USB-C port or can be placed on a wireless charging pad.
The earbuds connect via Bluetooth 4.2. The POP has touch-sensitive controls which can be used to pause, play, or change songs. It can also be used to answer/reject calls, or wake the voice assistant. Waking the Meizu voice assistant requires the phone runs Flyme 7.0. However, it can be different for those using other brands.
The Meizu POP fits perfectly in the ears and can be worn while exercising. You also don’t have to worry about sweats as it has an IPX5 rating. The Meizu POP is priced at ¥599 (~$79) and as already gone on sale in China with the available units sold out in seconds. We can’t say when the POP would be available outside China but it may not be long before you find this on GearBest or Banggood. More pictures of the Meizu POP can be found below.
Xiaomi is reportedly putting finishing touches to its plans to go official with a $10 billion IPO. The public offer will be hosted on the Hong Kong IPO market and is touted to likely be the world’s biggest initial public offering of 2018. This, however, may be a double-edged sword for Hong Kong, analysts hint.
The Hong Kong IPO market usually sees offerings oversubscribed and the oversubscription could get as high as by hundreds of times in some cases. In most cases too, investors borrow heavily to place orders. A reference was made to China Literature Ltd.’s $1.1 billion IPO last year to explain how the Xiaomi IPO may likely affect the entire Hong Kong market. The China Literature Ltd.’s IPO locked up a third of the city’s monetary base, the South China Morning Post reported at the time. Also, an IPO offer by Online-to-offline (O2O) healthcare servicing platform, Ping An Good Doctor last week resulted in the key interbank interest rate jumping by the most in nearly a decade. A higher Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate (Hibor) affects the cost of everything from housing mortgages to corporate loans; and if everyone’s using their margin loans to subscribe for an IPO, that can mean less money sloshing around in the city’s $5.6 trillion equity market.
Ronald Man, a strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong disclosed that a very notable increase in Hibor is expected if an IPO is very oversubscribed. Hong Kong interbank rates are already climbing after years at ultra-low levels as the city’s monetary authority buys local dollars to defend a currency peg, thereby sucking up liquidity.
Xiaomi is yet to reveal details of its IPO but there are speculations the company may submit its IPO application this week and may be listed as early as June ending, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reported, citing unidentified people. The IPO could be the largest worldwide since Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. raised $25 billion in its 2014 debut in New York. Demand for Xiaomi’s offer is expected to be strong.
Apple is reportedly cutting down on iPhone X components orders as a result of the poor performance of its sales. But is the iPhone X really performing badly in sales? Well, to Apple’s expectations it is, but market data shows the Apple flagship still remains the best-selling smartphone globally as at February 2018.
According to the latest data from Counterpoint Research, iPhone X is not only the best-selling model of all iPhone models, but also the best-selling smartphone in the world by overcoming Samsung’s flagship model. The good news for Apple is that four of the five best-selling devices in the second month of this year which is February 2018. Apple’s iPhone sales were up by 5% from the same period last year.
The data showed that iPhone X ranked first among the top best-selling phones globally with 5.1% market share. It would be recalled that Counterpoint had also reported that only the iPhone X claimed a large 35% of the entire smartphone market share in Q4 2017. The iPhone X is closely followed by the iPhone 8 with 3.1% and iPhone 7 with a 2.2% share of the market. iphone 7 sales were able to remain positive despite the launch of a successor because of the cut in its price. The iPhone 8 Plus emerged as the fourth best-selling model in February with a 1.9% share, same as the budget Xiaomi’s Redmi 5A which took over from the highly successful Redmi 4A. The iPhone 8 Plus performance is an indication that fans prefer the smaller sized iPhones to the Plus-size variants.
By February, Samsung was yet to unveil the Galaxy S9 models so it is no surprise that only the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy J7 Pro made it into the list. You can check out the entire ranking from the chart above.
360 Mobiles has built a sizeable reputation for itself as a result of its nice smartphones that not only come with a solid build but also a powerful specs lineup. The company is expected to unveil a mid-range 360 N7 smartphone on May 8 but the chipset the device will pack still remains a contentious discuss. The device was thought to pack a Snapdragon 636 chipset but 360 Mobiles president is said to have put that speculation to rest by hinting that the device will not feature a SD 636 chip.
An AnTuTu benchmark score said to be for the N7 has now appeared online to shed some light on the device. The model is shown to have the model number 1807-A01 and its AnTuTu score is 133,810. Interestingly, this score falls in the region of the Snapdragon 660 chipset. Thus, the device will definitely not have a Snapdragon 636 chip which has a AnTuTu score of around 110,000 points. There is therefore a school of thought suggesting the chipset at play on the device is likely a MediaTek Helio P60 chipset. In addition, the Helio P60-powered OPPO F7 scored up to 121,353 points on AnTuTu which is within the range.
Furthermore, a photo of the N7’s charger surfaced online recently and it shows the charger has MediaTek’s PumpExpress fast charging technology. This also buttress talks of a MediaTek Helio P60 chip onboard. The MediaTek Helio P60 is built on TSMC’s 12nm FinFET process which offers 15% reduction in power consumption over 14nm chips. The octa-core chip clocked at 2.0GHz uses four Cortex A73 cores with a 2.0GHz clock speed and four Cortex-A53 cores also clocked at 2.0GHz. It also boasts of a new Mali-G72 MP3 GPU clocked at 800MHz which Mediatek claims offers a 70% boost in game performance over previous generation P-series.
When the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ were first announced they only came in 64GB variants. If you wanted more storage, you had to order from China where they have the 128GB version of the S9 or the 128GB/256GB Galaxy S9+. Starting today, that won’t be the case anymore.
Samsung has now announced the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ in new 128GB and 256GB models for both phones in the US. However, more storage means you will have to fork out more money.
The new 128GB Galaxy S9 will sell for $770 while the 256GB model will sell for $820. The Galaxy S9+, on the other hand, will set you back $890 for the 128GB model and $940 for the 256GB model. These prices are actually much cheaper than the official prices for China.
The question is do you really need the extra storage since the Galaxy S9/S9+ have microSD card support? If you want more storage and already have the 64GB model, you are better off picking up a 200GB SanDisk Ultra MicroSD card for under $70 on Amazon.
For those who have not purchased the phone yet, the choice is yours to make. You may want to shell out the extra cash or save and get a MicroSD card.
The advantage you get if you buy the new storage models is that the built-in memory is faster than a microSD card since it is UFS 2.1. So apps and files on the phone’s built-in storage will launch faster or can be accessed faster than on a memory card.
Taiwanese fabless chip manufacturer MediaTek recently released its financial report for the first quarter of this year. The report shows the company’s revenue continues to soar month after month from January to March. The report coupled with the release of the Helio P60 and P70 chipset prompted industry analysts to project that the company’s revenue for Q2 may exceed 20% growth. However, the chipmaker’s revenue is expected to grow sequentially between 12% and 20%, below market watcher estimates of 20% and more.
According to a mobile SoC specialist, smartphone demand is expected to see a surge and that will drive the company’s revenue. The analyst also added that the combined shipments of MediaTek’s chips used for smartphones and tablets will experience a rebound and pitch its tent between 90-100 million units in the second quarter. MediaTek forecasts its revenue for the second quarter of 2018 will be between NT$55.6 billion (US$1.88 billion) and NT$59.6 billion, with a gross margin of 36.5-39.5% which is pretty ambitious.
MediaTek’s Q1 2018 financial statement showed that the company recorded a cumulative income of NTD 49,654 million (~$1.7 billion USD) for the three months. This is 11.46% lower than the NTD56,083 million which the company posted in Q1 2017. However, the company can take out some positives from the improved sales Month on Month recorded in March, compared to January and February 2018. The revenue in March represented a 58.24% Month on Month (MoM) increase in sales over February 2018.
MediaTek’s CEO Rick Tsai hinted that the company is striving to improve the gross margin of its smartphone SoC line, while shipments of its high-margin IoT and ASIC product segments continue to grow.
Samsung is currently working hard to roll out Android Oreo software version to all of its compatible units by the middle of May. In line with that, the South Korean giant is expected to roll out the new Android Oreo operating system update for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge.
In the Samsung Members portal, the company posted an update recently, where the company said that it was “doing its best” to have the update rolled out by the middle of next month. While the schedule on the forum is designed for the South Korean users, though the updates are likely to be pushed all across the globe soon after its debut in the South Korean region.
The US carrier versions of the Galaxy S7-series, as well as the unlocked variants of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, have recently received Android Oreo certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance. Samsung Canada previously suggested that the S7 Oreo update would land in the summer.
Alongside the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, Samsung is all set to bring the Android Oreo update to the Galaxy A5 (2017), Galaxy A7 (2017), and Galaxy Tab S3 LTE and Wi-Fi models in the first half of the year. Update rollouts for these devices are also subject to the development process and prior approval.
On the other hand, the Galaxy A5 (2017) and Galaxy A7 (2017) have already started getting updated to Android Oreo in some regions. The Android Oreo update from Samsung is also expected to include Samsung Experience 9.0 along with several interface-level tweaks.
Earlier this year, the South Korean giant rolled out Android Oreo for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. The update included features such as new launcher shortcuts, colored media notifications, dual messenger, and a revamped About Menu in Settings, among several other changes. It also came with several Android Oreo core features, including Notification dots, Smart Autofill, Picture-in-Picture mode, and faster boot time.
The HTC U12+ is expected to launch in May but the Taiwanese manufacturer has not officially announced a launch date yet. If you are eager to know how HTC’s next flagship performs in the camera department, then you may want to have a look at these new photo samples.
The photos were shared on Google+ and it says the phone is an HTC 2Q55100. The image info for some of the pictures also reveals it has a 12MP f/2.6 sensor and a 12MP f/1.8 sensor. This is different from early leaks that said the phone has a 12MP + 16MP combo on the rear.
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The pictures are not extraordinary but are well above average. Color reproduction looks good and the sensors perform well under artificial and natural light. Sadly, none of these photos are portrait images.
Chinese smartphone maker and BBK sub-brand, OPPO has disclosed that it would be going official with a new sub-brand meant for the India market and the launch will be in partnership with Amazon India. The new sub-brand will be officially unveiled on Tuesday.
Amazon India rolled out a “Notify Me” page dedicated to OPPO’s new brand went live earlier today on Amazon.in with an emphasis on technology and design of the smartphone, besides the brand’s after-sales services. For now, we don’t know the product that the new sub-brand would feature but it looks like a smartphone meant for the local market. Whatever it is, the product would be sold exclusively on Amazon India.
The move is perhaps targeted at curtailing Xiaomi who seems to have captured the market by launching India-exclusive models and exploring various distribution channels, both offline and online. A recent report by an industry research firm showed OPPO controlled just 5.8% of the market share in Q1 2018 in India as against 31.1% by Xiaomi. The new smartphone may likely be manufactured in India since OPPO has a new PCB factory there. We won’t have to wait long before finding out what the product is. In a couple of hours, it will be official.
Exactly three months have passed since Xiaomi confirmed its arrival in Italy with its first Mi Home Store which will be located in Milan. The company started hiring people back in January by opening five job positions for a Store Manager and four sales clerks. Now, our sources familiar with the company have confirmed that the store will be officially opened on May 26, which is less than a month away.
According to the job listing, the Store Manager in the first Italian Mi Home Store will have at least five years of experience in structured tech companies and a deep knowledge of the whole Xiaomi ecosystem and the main technological trends. But the company did not announce which product will be sold in the store. So, we do not know whether it will be possible to only purchase Xiaomi phones or also other hi-tech gadgets sold in Asia such as Mi Bands, drones, accessories and so on.
The Mi Store in Italy is not the first Xiaomi Store which is going to be opened in Europe in May. The company will also open a store in France on May 22 and, according to reports, it will open more Mi Stores in several French cities after the first one. Besides smartphones, Xiaomi should also bring other products such as the Mi Electric Scooter. Just to remind you, several Xiaomi phones can already be purchased in Italy through Amazon and even the most important physical electronics chains such as Mediaworld and Trony.
The details of the expected Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018) and A6+ (2018) are becoming fully known as a result of several leaks the models have featured in. The Galaxy A6 (2018) was recently spotted in a leaked training video while the A6+ (2018) received the approval of China’s Telecoms regulatory agency (TENAA). It is now the turn of the prices of both models to be outed and they’ve done just that on Twitter.
According to a tipster on Twitter, the Galaxy A6 (2018) will come at a price ranging between €300-€340 (around $362-$410) while the Galaxy A6+ (2018) will carry a price of €360-€400 ($434-$482). Both models are mid-range phones so the prices are kind of appropriate even though we wish Samsung will take its foot off the pedal some more when fixing the prices of its smartphones.
The tipster also shared a generous number of expected specifications of both models. What stands out is the presence of a Snapdragon 450 chipset onboard the Galaxy A6+ (201) instead of the Snapdragon 625 earlier rumoured. Also, there is an Exynos 7870 chipset onboard the Galaxy A6 (2018). The Galaxy A6 (201) is also expected to pack a 5.6-inch Super AMOLED with an HD+ resolution of 1440 x 720p resolution. The device also packs 3GB or in some countries 4GB of RAM. The A6 (2018) camera is a 16MP f/1.7 main camera and a 16MP f/1.9 selfie camera with both having LED flash. It also packs a 3000mAh battery. On the other hand, the Galaxy A6+ (2018) will sport a bigger 6.0-inch Super AMOLED display with a higher 2220 x 1080p resolution. The device will be available in 3GB or 4GB RAM options while on the camera end, there is a dual 16MP f/1.7 + 5MP f/1.9 main camera opposite a 24MP f/1.9 selfie camera with LED flash. Under the hood, there will be a 3500mAh battery. Both phones will launch with Android 8.1 Oreo and a triple slot for two SIM cards and a separate microSD card.
Smartisan may have recently released a new smartphone but the Nut 3 is just a mid-range device. The Smartisan R1 is the phone you should look forward to if you are searching for a flagship phone.
The Smartisan R1 will be powered by a Snapdragon 845 processor and will be the manufacturer’s first flagship in nearly two years. But how much will it cost?
Fortunately for us, we won’t have to wait until May 15th to have an idea of the price. Smartisan’s own CEO, Luo Yonghao took to Weibo to give us a price range for the upcoming device.
According to him, the Smartisan R1 will be priced between ¥3000 (~$474) and ¥15,000 (~$2369). $500 isn’t too much to ask for a Snapdragon 845 phone but the only reason for a phone to sell for over $2000 is if it is a luxury device. The chances of a luxury Smartisan phone are slim, so we’ll assume Mr. Yonghao is just messing with us.
He adds in his post that last year’s Nut Pro 2 is still the best device in the ¥2000 (~$316) category so it doesn’t make any sense pricing the more powerful R1 in the same category.
Xiaomi made a detour from its launch itinerary for last year by unveiling the Mi Mix 2s as its first flagship for 2018. That being the case, the next flagship the company is expected to unveil is the Mi 7. Already, a leaked poster which surfaced not quite long ago points at a May 23 launch but the poster is probably fake. Yet another leak has emerged and this time around it is the supposed tempered glass protective film for the Xiaomi Mi 7 flagship.
Earlier rumours, including leaked Mi 7 firmware data had tipped the device to have a cut-out on the display, otherwise called display notch. This leaked screen panel comes with a notch design which confirms the speculations. As with the leaked poster, we can’t confirm if this leaked protective film actually reflects the display design of the Mi 7.
This might be disappointing for those who hate to see any more smartphone with a notch on the display but it is probably in keeping up with the trend. Like it or not, the notch display design is gradually turning out to be a trending one since the iPhone X launch and it won’t be wise if Xiaomi doesn’t grab a slice of the pie.
Apart from the design of the display, the Xiaomi Mi 7 is expected to have the same specs lineup as the Mix 2s and this includes a 6GB RAM, a Snapdragon 845 chip and more. The Mi 7 is also rumoured to come with 3D facial recognition. A recent report had revealed that the Mi 7 launch may be delayed to the third quarter of the year as a result of some issues encountered with the 3D facial recognition feature.
ZTE, the Chinese network giant is going through rough times. Recently, the U.S. government banned American firms from sales to ZTE for seven years. Taiwanese government also ordered companies that sell to the China-based company to suspend shipments until they obtain approval.
With the company having troubles in the United States and Taiwan, ZTE is now looking at the faster development of domestic and self-developed chips. The Chinese company has now decided that it will continue to increase its investment for the Research & Development (R&D) of core chips and other products. With this, the company is aiming to become the leader in the development of 5G technology.
To support its ambitious goal of leading the 5G development, the company has decided to more than double its investment for the Research & Development compared to what it spent on the same last year. The company’s R&D expenditure last year stood at 12.96 billion yuan, which accounted for about 11.9 percent of the company’s operating revenue.
According to the reports, the company will specifically Research & Development investments for the products such as Pre-5G, 5G, high-end routers, SDN, OTN, and core chips.
US-based companies were banned from sales to ZTE for seven years. According to the US government, this step was taken because the company had failed to comply with a settlement related to ZTE shipping U.S.-made goods to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.
In response to that, ZTE has said the ban, which has been imposed as the United States and China spar over import tariffs, has threatened its survival.
Further, the Taiwanese government has ordered all of its companies that sell to ZTE Corp to suspend shipments until they obtain approval. Taiwanese chip designer MediaTek has said that it will comply with a government order to apply for a permit to export products to Chinse telecom equipment maker.
A MediaTek representative has said that the order from the Taiwanese economic ministry’s foreign trade bureau was more a routine measure to protect Taiwanese firms than about Sino-U.S. trade relations.
Sprint and T-Mobile have jointly announced a mega-merger agreement which is valued at $146 billion, including liabilities. The announcement was made on Sunday and reflects both company’s desire to catch up with rival operators AT&T and Verizon. AT&T and T-Mobile both provide service using the GSM standard while Verizon and Sprint primarily use CDMA. All four also operate networks using LTE standard for their 4G services.
However, both Sprint and T-Mobile have reportedly lagged behind Verizon and AT&T who are the two largest wireless companies. The proposed deal is an all-stock deal which values Sprint at about $59 billion and the combined company at $146 billion, including debt. Without debt, the combined company is valued at $26.5 billion, showing how heavily indebted both companies are.
I’m excited to announce that @TMobile & @Sprint have reached an agreement to come together to form a new company – a larger, stronger competitor that will be a force for positive change for all US consumers and businesses! Watch this & click through for details.
The new company will be called T-Mobile and will retain the two headquarters at Bellevue, Washington and Overland Park, Kansas. T-Mobile’s current CEO John Legere will retain the top job in the newly formed carrier while SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son had to give up control of his company to make the merger happen. The deal isn’t a done deal, though, as it still has to face scrutiny from regulatory authorities in the U.S. If approved, the combined T-Mobile would have an estimated 120 million subscribers and would be in a good stead to take on Verizon and AT&T. Both merger also promises 5G technology in the near future.
Xiaomi is known for releasing best sellers. The Redmi Note series has always had an ardent fan following, thanks to its extremely value for money profile, giving the best hardware at the lowest price. But Xiaomi’s best sellers often have a less popular competition from Meizu. While it doesn’t look like this year’s Meizu E3 will overthrow Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 5 (Chinese Ver.), the former could be better than the Redmi model in some areas, especially in the camera department. On paper, the specs of the device looks pretty impressive, hence we decided to pit the Chinese Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 vs Meizu E3 to check out which one does a better job at capturing shots in different lighting situations.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 (China) vs Meizu E3
In this article, we will compare the two cameras in detail, so we’ll pick out a few samples and talk about each one side by side. This way, you know which one does better in which department. So make sure to read the entire article to know the camera performance of both the handsets.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro vs Meizu E3 Camera: Daylight Performance
In general, both have pretty good cameras for its price. So, daylight photos are going to come out well. On paper, you might think that the 12MP + 20MP sensor on the Meizu E3 might perform better than the 12MP+5MP sensors on the Redmi Note 5 (China). However that’s not really the case in real life, especially in daylight.
Both phones manage to capture good quality pictures with decent levels of detail. However, Xiaomi Redmi Note 5’s camera has a wider dynamic range and it makes many of the samples look better than the ones from the Meizu model. Take the example of the samples down below.
In this sample, the Meizu E3 manages to capture better colors which result in bluer blues and greener greens. Having said that, the dynamic range of the Redmi Note 5 is better and it makes this sample from the Xiaomi model look slightly better than the Meizu one. Clearly, the darker areas in the image look better on the RN5’s sample.
Note that in the areas where there’s ample sunlight, Meizu captures better details. For example, just zoom into the building in the background and check out the outlines of the air conditioning. The Meizu E3 has managed to capture those areas with better detail. However, overall, I like Redmi Note 5 Pro’s sample here because of its wider dynamic range.
In another example, where the dynamic range wasn’t put to test, both managed to do quite well, but Meizu was a bit better in terms of capturing intricate details. For example, in the image of the toy gun below, the Meizu E3 captured slightly better details, which makes its sample look better than the one from the RN5. Just zoom into the image and you’d see the slight difference in the quality.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 vs Meizu E3 Camera: Portrait Mode
Portrait mode on both the phones are good, but RN5 seems to be slightly better in this department. We found the Meizu E3’s camera to capture brighter portraits but this makes the colors look washed out at times. On the other hand, the portraits from the RN5 look richer with better blur and focus. Just check out the below samples and you’d know what I’m trying to explain here.
This is really where Meizu’s camera shines. On most occasions, Meizu E3 managed to capture more saturated samples with less noise. Colors pop out much better than the samples from the RN5 as they look a bit washed out.
In the sample of the flower vase above, you can see that the Meizu E3’s sample looks more saturated which makes the yellow background pop out well. We do find the E3 to be a bit nosier than the RN5’s sample but it compensates that with better details. For example, you can see that the flower buds in the sample have better details on the Meizu E3’s sample. So, despite the slightly higher noise, the E3’s sample looks more detailed. Overall, I find the E3’s sample to be better than the one from the RN5.
Let’s take another example and this time at night. The image of the parking lot from the RN5 looks brighter but it comes at the cost of lesser details. On the other hand, the E3’s sample looks richer with better colors and higher details. Just take a look at the cars on the right side of the sample under the street light. E3’s sample shows better details on the cars as compared to RN5. Also, the blacks on the RN5 look a bit washed out. So, E3’s sample looks richer and better than the Redmi Note 5.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 vs Meizu E3 Camera: Conclusion
To conclude, it looks like the Redmi Note 5 does well in daylight and portrait shots. Meizu E3 is also pretty good, but the RN5 might have a slight advantage in many cases due to its wider dynamic range. Things get better with E3 when the sunlight is not that strong, like in the case of the sample of the pink flowers below.
As the light goes down, Meizu E3’s camera starts to shine. In general, the phone manages to capture richer photos with better details. So, when it comes to low light photography, it’s definitely better than Redmi Note 5’s 12MP+5MP dual camera setup at the back.
In short, both the cameras are pretty good. But if you want better low light shots, make sure to spend a little more and get the Meizu E3. However, that’s the only real advantage of the E3’s camera. If low light photography isn’t your primary concern, I would personally go with the RN5 as its camera is pretty good, is cheaper and has a larger battery too.
LG will be debuting the LG G7 ThinQ flagship phone on May 2. It is expected to unveil LG V35 ThinQ as improved version of the V30 ThinQ as well as LG V40 flagship phone later this year. However, since the company has recently filed a trademark for “Q Note” moniker, it is speculated that it may be also planning to debut stylus totting phablet.
LG has filed a trademark for Q Note with Korean Intellectual Property Rights Information Service (KIPRIS). The trademark has been classified as Cat 9 which includes devices like smartphones, mobile apps, display panels for handsets, battery for phones, wireless headsets and more. However, the Q Note name suggests that it could be a smartphone, but there is no official confirmation on it.
Just like the Galaxy Note series by Samsung that features a stylus for writing notes, the LG Q Note may also come with a stylus. Again, there is no confirmation whether the device will feature a stylus. LG has released phones with stylus in the past such as LG G3 Stylus (2014), G4 Stylus (2015), G Stylo (2015), Stylus 2 (2016), Stylo 2 (2016), Stylus 2 Plus (2016) and Stylus 3 (2016), but none of them have feature high-end specs. Hence, it is unclear whether it will be a mid-range or a high-end phone.
A recent report by Android Headlines had revealed that LG is prepping up to launch Stylo 4 budget phone with a stylus in the near future. However, the Q Note seems to be a different device.
Upcoming LG Stylo 4
Last year, LG had introduced the Q series by launching the LG Q6 phone. This year, it will be launching Q7 as its successor. The Q Note could belong to this Q lineup and it could be a budget-friendly device. As of this writing, there is no information available on the specs and features of the Q Note.
Researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University have created a prototype smartwatch which is dubbed LumiWatch. The smartwatch is unique in the sense that it presents with a feature that allows it to project images on the user’s arm. The smartwatch literally transforms the user’s arm into a touchscreen because the displayed image can be swiped and tapped.
The LumiWatch can project an image of up to 40 square centimetres, which is five times the size of a typical smartwatch display. That is made possible by the built-in 15-lumen projector which is crammed inside the smartwatch. The timepiece is powered by a Snapdragon quad-core CPU running at a clock speed of 1.2GHz. The processor is backed by a 768MB RAM while there is 4GB of native storage onboard. Keeping the watch running is a 740mAh battery, while the interface is provided by Android 5.1 Lollipop oS. In addition, the LumiWatch supports both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
The researchers offered some explanation on why the choice of the skin for use as a screen and that is because the skin is an attractive surface for projecting such an interactive display. Despite some physical and color distortions, the team working on the device says that the skin offers high resolution, high frame rate and superb image quality. In addition, the arm allows for a much larger surface area than a watch display.
The LumiWatch may still be a long time from becoming ready for mass production considering the state it is now but the Carnegie University researchers believe that they can get this smartwatch into the marketplace priced at $600. But when that will happen is still shrouded in mystery. Meanwhile, you can as well check out the LumiWatch in use in the video above.
Because of the newly introduced changes in the import taxes for PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly) as well as the depreciation of the Indian rupee from the start of 2018, Xiaomi has increased the prices of Redmi Note 5 Pro and 55-inch Mi TV 4. The new prices will come into effect starting from May 1 across Mi.com, Mi Store app, Mi Home outlets, Flipkart and offline retailers.
Xiaomi has only spiked the price of 64 GB storage + 4 GB RAM edition of the Redmi Note 5 Pro. It has been selling with a price tag of Rs. 13,999 (~$210). However, beginning from tomorrow, it will be available for buying for Rs. 14,999 (~$225). The 64 GB storage + 6 GB RAM variant of the Redmi Note 5 Pro will continue to sell for Rs. 16,999 (~$255).
The Mi TV 4 (55-inch) was introduced in February with a pricing of Rs. 39,999 (~$601). Starting from tomorrow, it will be selling for Rs. 44,999 (~$676) after a price spike of Rs. 5,000 (~$75). There is no change in the pricing of the other smart TVs from the company. The Mi TV 4A 43-inch and 32-inch are respectively available for Rs. 22,999 (~$346) and Rs. 13,999 (~$210).
The Redmi Note 5, Note 5 Pro and 55-inch Mi TV 4 that were launched in India in February this year have met with overwhelming sales. According Xiaomi’s Global VP and Managing Director for India, the company has been importing a significant amount of PCBAs for Note 5 Pro and Mi TV4 in to order to ramp up their supply. By increasing the manufacturing capacity, the company aims to stock up monthly volume of one million units of Redmi Note 5 Pro. He added that the company has increased the pricing of these two devices as the Indian government has increased the import tax on PCBAs by 10 percent and at the same time Indian rupee has depreciated by around 5 percent.
Xiaomi has already starting manufacturing various components including PCBAs in India. It is manufacturing PCBAs in collaboration with Taiwan-based Foxconn at the units in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. Jain claimed that the company is aiming to ramp up its production completely by the third quarter of this year. Hence, it seems that there is a hope that the company may reduce the price of these devices by the end of this year.
Earlier this month, we reported there would be a new smartphone from HMD Global called the Nokia X. The device was expected to launch on April 27 but it didn’t. Instead HMD Global had it on display at an event in China.
The Finnish company has sent out invites which reveal the Nokia X won’t launch until May 16. That is a good two weeks away from today.
We already know what the Nokia X looks like. First, it has a notch at the top of the display, a first for a Nokia device. It also has dual rear cameras, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, and glass on both sides. What we do not know are its specs.
Those who got to see the device on Friday were not able to find out its specs as the device was locked in some way to prevent any digging. However, there are rumors about the specs.
First, the display is said to be about 5.8” in size with an FHD+ resolution. It is also reported to be powered by the Helio P60 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM. The choice of the chipset is actually a big deal. If it turns out to be true, then it should boost the popularity of the processor.
Most of the phones powered by the Helio P60 are limited to Asia for now. If the Nokia X gets an international release, it may be the first Helio P60 phone officially sold outside of Asia.
It won’t be the first HMD Global Nokia phone powered by MTK SoCs, the Nokia 3 and Nokia 1 are powered by MediaTek chipsets but those are entry-level chipsets.
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