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.
Just a little over a week after ZTE Corp. was slammed with a potentially catastrophic ban by U.S authorities, the company has released its financial statement for the first quarter of 2018. Surprisingly, the company still posted a 39 percent rise in first-quarter net profit which was attributed to improved sales in its telecom equipment and consumer businesses.
Unfortunately, the consumer business is about crumbling under the weight of the U.S sanctions which prevents any U.S company from selling made in American parts and software to the Chinese company. U.S. firms are estimated to provide 25 to 30 percent of components used in ZTE products such as smartphones and telecommunication network equipment. ZTE has responded, condemning the ban as unacceptable and that it threatened its existence.
ZTE admits that it was pretty difficult to assess the impact of the U.S. sales ban on its latest financial result. Bu the financial report shows the company’s profit for January to March reached 1.69 Billion yuan ($267 million), up from 1.2 billion yuan in the same period last year. It is difficult to tell if ZTE will still record profits in subsequent quarters of the year. Already, the ban has led to a suspension in trading of ZTE’s mainland- and Hong Kong-listed shares and that suspension remains in effect s at the time of writing this article. Also, Chinese mutual fund managers have since cut the value of ZTE stock in their portfolios by 20 to 30 percent. We sincerely hope this could be resolved amicably soon. Even if the company survives the next few quarters, how long can it hold on until the ban elapses in seven years time?
Last year Xiaomi released its first Android One phone, the Mi A1. Even though it was just a rebranded Mi 5X with stock Android instead of MIUI, the phone was well received. Right up to this moment, the Mi A1 is one of the best phones in the $200 segment.
Now that the Mi 5X has gotten a successor in form of the Mi 6X, fans of the brand are looking forward to when it will be announced as the Mi A2 – Xiaomi’s second Android One phone.
Xiaomi Mi 6X which is expected to launch as the Mi A1’s successor
However, while there is still no confirmation the Mi 6X will be launched as the Mi A2 outside China, the guys at XDA say there is confirmation that the Mi A1 will indeed have a successor but it won’t be the only Android One phone from Xiaomi this year.
First, let’s have a look at the details of the Mi A1’s successor.
The Xiaomi Mi A1 is codenamed “tissot_sprout”. “Sprout” is actually a name unique to first-gen Android One devices. In new firmware files, the name “jasmine_sprout” was found.
The firmware files were gotten by @FunkyHuawei, a name which should be familiar to those who have heard of FunkyHuaweiClub, a service for updating, rebranding (changing the region), and unbricking Huawei and Honor devices.
He was kind enough to share them with XDA Developers, although they couldn’t get the full dump of the firmware but were able to view key files from a partial dump and find out key info about the phone.
Not only did they find the “sprout” suffix, there are also no MIUI system apps in the build. The Android framework, SystemUI, and other system apps are stock Android-based.
There is also a file with the name “com.google.android.feature.ANDROID_ONE_EXPERIENCE.xml” under system permissions. It is said that this special permission can be read by apps to guard whether or not the app should have access to the device. A similar file is said to be found in Google Pixel phones to guard apps like the Google Camera. Lastly, the device has A/B partitions for seamless updates.
The firmware makes no mention of the device’s official name but there are some other hardware details. First, the device is powered by a Snapdragon 660 as revealed by the build.prop file and the mmi.xml file that contains hardware testing parameters.
There are also multiple camera-based parameters that are similar to that of the Xiaomi Mi 6X such as the EXIF model and the front camera. As seen below, the name “WAYNE” which is the codename for the Mi 6X is present in the firmware so also is (Sony) IMX376 which is the camera sensor found on the front of the Mi 6X.
These list of evidence point at jasmine_sprout being similar to the Mi 6X. When it does launch, it will come with Android 8.1 Oreo and support Project Treble.
Now that we are done with the Mi A1’s successor, let’s dive into the details of the second Android One device from Xiaomi.
While the first Xiaomi Android One device for the year will be from the Mi family, the second is likely from the Redmi family. The CEO, Lei Jun, actually made a statement (below) related to it last week.
“Yes, we plan to have more Android One devices. Some of our users in India seem to like stock Android, and we are willing to bring in more devices with Android One including the Redmi series.” – Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun
XDA Developers have found details of the device including its codename which is “daisy_sprout”. They say the device is powered by a msm8953 a.k.a. Snapdragon 625 processor just like the Mi A1 but will likely have a cheaper price tag.
Xiaomi already released a Snapdragon 625 Redmi phone recently and that is the Redmi 5 Plus but it also has another one on the way which is the Redmi S2.
The Xiaomi Redmi S2 may be the first Android One Redmi device
Xiaomi plans to ship up to 100 million smartphones that year and with a saturated market, it means the tech giant will look to expand to new markets. The Chinese tech giant launched its Mi Store in Spain in November last year. Six months after, it is reportedly set to continue that expansion to yet another European country, this time France.
Reports emerging from France indicate that Xiaomi will be opening its first Mi Store in Paris on May 22. The report also alleges that the tech giant promised to open more Mi Stores in several major cities in France.
Xiaomi Mi Store will not only bring its range of Mi branded smartphones to the country but will also make available the wide range of Mi Ecosystem products like the Mi Electric scooter and others. No mention was made of the models the tech giant will introduce first during the maiden Mi Store opening but we expect a gradual build-up of the number of products available on the shelf.
Earlier this month, HMD Global unveiled its three new smartphones in the Indian market — Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 8 Sirocco and Nokia 6 2018. While the Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 8 Sirocco were available on pre-orders, the smartphones are now finally available for purchase in India.
The Nokia 7 Plus can be purchased through Amazon India while the Nokia 8 Sirocco is available through Flipkart. Apart from these online stores, both the devices are available through Nokia Shop as well as select offline retail stores across the nation. The Nokia 7 Plus is priced at Rs. 25,999 (approx. $392) while the Nokia 8 Sirocco costs Rs. 49,999, which roughly converts to $753.
The Nokia 7 Plus features a 6-inch Full-HD+ IPS LCD display with screen resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels and 18:9 aspect ratio. Under the hood, it is powered by Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 660 processor, along with 4GB RAM. It packs 64GB of onboard storage that is expandable up to 256GB using a microSD card.
The smartphone comes with a dual camera setup on the back consisting of a 12-megapixel primary sensor and a 13-megapixel secondary sensor. It supports 2x optical zoom and is accompanied by a dual-tone LED flash and Zeiss optics. On the front side, the smartphone sports a 16-megapixel fixed focus camera with f/2.0 aperture and Zeiss optics.
Connectivity options on the device include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, USB Type-C (2.0), and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Running on Android 8.1 Oreo operating system out-of-the-box, the smartphone packs a 3,800mAh battery.
On the other hand, the Nokia 8 Sirocco boasts a 5.5-inch QHD pOLED display with 1440 x 2560 pixels screen resolution, traditional 16:9 aspect ratio and a 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection on top. There is an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, coupled with 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB internal storage.
The smartphone has a dual rear camera setup that has a primary 12-megapixel image sensor with f/1.75 aperture, wide-angle lens and a secondary 13-megapixel sensor with f/2.6 aperture, telephoto lens. On the front, it packs a 5-megapixel sensor with a fixed-focus lens and f/2.0 aperture.
In terms of connectivity options, this one supports 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, and a USB Type-C port. This one too runs Android Oreo out-of-the-box and is powered by a 3,260mAh battery.
Motorola took the wraps off the Moto G6 family comprising the Moto G6, Moto G6 Play and Moto G6 Plus in an event held in Brazil. The models are yet to be available in many of the markets globally but that hasn’t stopped Motorola from releasing the Kernel source code for the Moto G6 Play. As you know, the Moto G6 Play runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box.
The source code was recently uploaded to GitHub where it is available for download. Developers and fans of the Moto brand can now have a look at the code and perhaps develop custom ROMs around it. On GitHub, the files are hosted under the device names “aljeter” and “jeter“.
As a reminder, the Moto G6 Play sports a 5.7-inch MAX Vision display with an HD+ resolution. The device also features a polymer glass back panel. It is powered by a Snapdragon 430 processor and comes in 3GB/4GB RAM variants with 32GB/64GB expandable storage variants.On the camera end, the G6 Play packs a 13MP F/2.0 camera and a 5MP camera secondary camera on the rear. It also has an 8MP front camera with LED flash too. Other features include a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and a generous 4,000mAh battery.
Audio quality hasn’t been the primary focus of smartphone manufacturers in the past few years. Just to prove this point, note that Samsung Galaxy S9 is the first Samsung flagship with stereo speakers. But LG has always paid attention to speakers and it will continue to do so. The Korean company has just revealed that LG G7 ThinQ will boast a feature called “Boombox Speaker” to enhance the audio quality.
Thanks to this feature, LG G7 ThinQ will be able to double the power of bass frequencies and it will increase the base level of the sound by more than 6 dB. Thanks to these enhancements, the upcoming flagship will produce bass frequencies 10x times more powerful than other phones, and these bass frequencies will be even more powerful when the handset lays on a surface or on a box.
The phone should also sport a resonance chamber which will contribute to enhancing the bass quality. And these enhancements will not be the only ones to improve the audio quality of the LG G7 ThinQ. The flagship will also have a Quad DAC Hi-Fi chip and it will support DTS:X technology to produce 3D surround effects through both speakers and earphones. LG G7 will officially debut on May 2.
Xiaomi recently achieved another feat on its Smart TV business which emerged as the second largest TV brand in China after a record 550,000 units sales in China. The tech giant continues its renaissance with the addition of a new version of the Mi TV 4A. This time around, the company offers buyers a trimmed down version of the 43-inch Mi TV 4A with this model dubbed Mi TV 4A (43 inches) Youth Edition. It comes with an affordable price tag of 1699 Yuan (~$269), same with the recently launched 40-inch Mi TV 4A model.
In terms of design, the Mi TV 4A Youth Edition utilises a narrow frame design and has a resolution of 1920 x 1080pixels, a refresh rate of 60GHz. In addition, it has a viewing angle of 178 °. The body weighs 7.58kg (including the base) and the length is 965.89mm.
In case you are wondering where the difference with the Mi TV 4A (43-inch) lies, it is in the RAM size. This model packs a similar quad-core 64-bit high-performance Amlogic T962 processor clocked at 1.5GHz while the graphic is powered by a Mali 450 750MHz GPU. The processor is paired with just 1GB of DDR4 RAM. The device also offers jus 8GB eMMC5.1 flash memory which is equally the same as the Mi TV 4A (40 inches).
Furthermore, the Mi TV 4A Youth Edition comes with PatchWall OS and Artificial Intelligence voice control which allows its users to switch to a particular TV program, check the weather with voice command. The voice command can be activated via a dedicated button on the remote control. The AI technology becomes smarter as the user uses the feature more often.
In addition, the Mi TV 4A Youth Edition features support for HDR10 and the latest UHD HLG while also supporting the Dolby Vision format. The Smart TV also sports a dual-band WiFi connection as well as Bluetooth 4.2. The Bluetooth connectivity allows the TV to connect with accessories such as Bluetooth mouse, speakers, keyboard, gaming pad and others.
The Mi TV 4A Youth Edition will go on sale at 0.00Am GMT+8 on May 4 for just 1699 Yuan. If you are outside China, we expect this model to be available in the Indian market soon. It will also be possible to snap this up form online retailers like GearBest, Banggood and others in no distant time since most of the models, including the cheapest 32-inch model, are available on the e-retailers website for a while now.
Xiaomi, the China-based smartphone manufacturer has been shifting its focus towards offline channels through Mi Stores after mastering the online-only sales model. In line with its strategy, the company has announced that it is opening 61 new Mi Stores across various cities in China.
At the beginning of 2017, Xiaomi had said that it planned to open 200 new Mi Stores across China in a bid to boost its offline sales. The Chinese tech giant was able to achieve that goal, which resulted in the jump in its sales and the company being ranked amongst the top 5 smartphone makers globally for last year.
While the number of Mi Stores are increasing, the company is still struggling to meet the demands for its products. The company has already said that it is planning to open 2,000 such stores in three years. Half of the Mi Stores were planned to be located overseas and that mission is on course.
Apart from the Mi Stores in China and India — the company’s biggest markets, it recently opened its first Mi Stores in the Philippines. There are also Mi Stores in Russia, Spain, and Italy. In India, Xiaomi recently opened its first Mi Home Experience Store in Chennai, located at Phoenix Market City Mall in Velachery. This marks the company’s 25th Mi Home store in the country.
The company is also planning to open at least one Mi Home Experience Store in the major cities of India, and after Chennai, the next two planned cities are Delhi and Mumbai. The China-based company says that it is on track to open its 100th store in India by the end of this year.
Xiaomi’s offline strategy has been proved fruitful for the company. After a struggling year in terms of sales, the company decided to double-down on the expansion of its offline stores to reach a wider number of people. Combining its online and offline strategy, the company witnessed the result it was hoping for. Since the last couple of quarters, Xiaomi has been ranked as the number 1 smartphone brand in India.
The company has emerged as one of the fastest growing companies in recent times. Xiaomi is reportedly set for a Hong Kong IPO sometime later this year and it’s predicted that the company could be valued at $100 billion at the stock exchange.
OnePlus has recently confirmed that it will be debuting the OnePlus 6 flagship phone on May 17. Today, TrueTech.net has shared the pricing of the 64 GB and 128 GB OnePlus 6 variants. The publication claims that it has received information from a reliable and verified source. Last year, the same source had leaked the accurate pricing of the OnePlus 5 variants before its official announcement.
Leaked information reveals that the 64 GB and 128 GB storage models will be arriving in India with respective pricing of Rs. 36,999 (~$557) and Rs. 39,999 (~$602). Each year OnePlus has been consistently increasing the pricing of its smartphones. The OnePlus 5T that was launched in November was launched with Rs. 32,999 (~$496) pricing for the base model featuring 64 GB of storage and 6 GB of RAM. The 128 GB OnePlus 5T with 8 GB of RAM was made available for Rs. 37,999 (~$572).
The pricing leak of the OnePlus 6 reveals that its base model will be costing Rs. 4,000 (~$60) more than the starting variant of the OP5T. The 128 GB OnePlus 6 will be priced Rs. 2,000 (~$30) more than the highest configuration model of OnePlus 5T. The increased pricing could be because of the new notched enabled full screen design, waterproofglass rear and the highly potent Snapdragon 845.
The publication claims that the source did not reveal any information on the pricing of the 256 GB storage model of the OnePlus 6 that is expected to include 8 GB of RAM. However, it has stated that there is a possibility that OnePlus may launch it alongside its other variants or later.
The latest OnePlus 6 leak does not include the amount of RAM for its 64 GB and 128 GB storage models. Recent leaks have revealed that the 64 GB variant will feature 6 GB of RAM whereas the 128 GB model will be housing 8 GB of RAM.
OnePlus 6 is confirmed to go official on May 16 in London. On the very next day, the Chinese manufacturer will be launching it in India and China. These regions will be also receive the special OnePlus 6 Marvel Avengers Limited Edition.
Amazon India that will be exclusively selling the OnePlus 6 online has already started receiving the registrations for it. Amazon Prime members will be able to take advantage of the Early Access Sale of OnePlus 6 starting from 12 PM on May 21.
The Mi 7 is the next flagship phone from Xiaomi. The Chinese manufacturer has already launched the Snapdragon 845 powered Mi MIX 2S in the previous month as the first flagship phone for 2018. Rumors surrounding the Mi 7 suggest that the company may launch it within the first half of this year. Today, a leaked launch poster of the Mi 7 has surfaced on Weibo. It states that the company will be launching the Mi 7 on May 23.
The launch posters that are released by Xiaomi are always of high quality. However, the above poster seems to be fake since it is a low-quality image with a blurry Mi logo at the top right corner. If Xiaomi launches the Mi 7 on May 23, it may cannibalize the sales of the Mi MIX 2S that was launched on March 27
The Xiaomi Mi 7 is expected to arrive with a notched display design, but when it comes to hardware specs, it may house the same chipset, RAM and storage that are available on the Mi MIX 2S. Hence, it seems unlikely that Xiaomi may launch Mi 7 within two months of launching Mi MIX 2S. Moreover, a recent report had revealed that Xiaomi has encountered some issues with 3D facial recognition feature on Mi 7 because of which its launch could be pushed to the third quarter of the year.
Recent reports have claimed that Xiaomi will be also debuting the Mi 7 Plus alongside the Mi 7 phone. Even before its official launch, Geekbuying has listed the Mi 7 Plus smartphone with a pricing of $473.99. The listing appears to be fake. The features mentioned on the Geekbuying’s Mi 7 Plus product page seems to be based on the rumors surrounding it.
According to the Mi 7 Plus listing on the Chinese retailer site, it features a 6.01-inch FHD+ display and the Snapdragon 845 SoC powers it with 6 GB of RAM. It has a native storage of 64 GB. Its rear features 20-megapixel + 12-megapixel dual camera setup and it has a front-facing camera of 20-megapixel. The Mi 7 Plus is powered by 3,500mAh battery and it includes support for wireless charging.
Every time a company innovates, we see several other manufacturers copy the trend. After Huawei launched gradient colors for its latest flagships Huawei P20, P20 Pro and Honor 10, UMIDIGI has confirmed the launch of its Z2 and Z2 Pro flagships with exactly the same hues. UMIDIGI Z2 and Z2 Pro will soon hit the market in the Twilight and Phantom color: the first hue is the same as Huawei P20 and P20 Pro, while the second is the one of the Honor 10. And the color is not the only feature which UMIDIGI Z2 and Z2 Pro share in common with the latest Huawei devices.
They even have a glass back and a notched display just like P20 and Honor 10. The only thing which does not make them look like perfect clones is the position of the rear camera, which is reminiscent of Huawei Mate 10 and 10 Pro. Indeed, the dual rear camera is placed at the center of the back cover and right under it, there is a circular fingerprint reader. The complete specs sheet of UMIDIGI Z2 and Z2 Pro is not known yet, but we know some of their key specs. They will boast a 6.2-inch display with a 19:9 aspect ratio which will show images at a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2280 pixels.
Under the hood, there will be an octa-core MediaTek Helio P60 chipset which will also support artificial intelligence. So, even though they will be UMIDIGI’s flagships, they will not be real flagship phones but just upper-midranges. Thanks to their glass backs, they will support wireless charging with a 15W power. They will also support NFC and all the bands for European customers. Android 8.1 Oreo will be installed out of the box.
We believe that Z2 and Z2 Pro will not be the last devices which will be released in these gradient colors as they are extremely attractive and appreciated by the public. Do you like them or would you define them as too fancy?
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