Honor Play gaming-centric smartphone to launch in Pakistan this month

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Aug 7, 2018

India has proven to be one of Xiaomi‘s key markets outside China. The company’s sojourn in India has been a success story all the way since its debut in 2014. the successful run saw the company emerge as the number 1 smartphone vendor in India, edging out Samsung from that spot. In a bid to consolidate on its progress, the Chinese company has revealed that one of its key components supplier Holitech will set up shop in India.

In a statement released recently, Xiaomi revealed the parts manufacturing factory will be sited at Tirupati in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Holitech will manufacture components such as camera modules, thin film transistor and fingerprint sensor. The move which is in line with the India government’s vision could pump in an investment of $2.5 billion and create as many as 50,000 jobs in India.

It would be recalled that New Dehli slammed a 10% tax on all importation of key smartphone components, including populated printed circuit boards. So apart from creating jobs and boosting the economy, the move could crash the prices of Xiaomi smartphones since they’ll now pay less tax. Holitech is expected to commence production at the factory by the first quarter of 2019 with an aim to generate 6,000 jobs in three years.

(via)

Xiaomi activates anti-rollback feature for Redmi 6 Pro and Mi 6X latest MIUI 10 versions

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Aug 6, 2018

It was reported recently that Xiaomi had introduced the anti-rollback feature to Redmi 6 Pro models running MIUI 10 China Development ROM version 8.7.30 as well as models running the Stable ROM version 9.6.16 and above. Xiaomi has now announced the anti-rollback feature will now apply to Mi 6X models running MIUI 10 China Development ROM version 8.8.6 as well as models running the Stable ROM version 9.6.4.0 and above. The anti-rollback feature means users will no longer be able to downgrade their MIUI versions to older versions after the update.

According to the press release by Xiaomi on the MIUI Community forum, the new feature is to maintain system stability and ensure the security of the models. It is important to note if you own any of the two models that you will no longer be able to downgrade to earlier versions after the update as this could brick the device and render it useless.

However, if your model hasn’t been updated to any of the versions listed, then you can still use the rollback feature.

Xiaomi’s POCOPHONE F1 specs and price leak online

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Aug 6, 2018

There is a possibility Xiaomi’s POCOPHONE F1 may launch this month. The device has already gotten its Bluetooth certification and has been certified at the FCC and EEC. Today, the phone’s full specs and pricing have been spotted on an online store.

The phone was spotted on a Romanian store called PC Garage. According to the listing, the phone has a 5.99-inch display with a 1080 x 2246 resolution and a pixel density of 416ppi. It is powered by the Snapdragon 845 which has its Kryo 385 Gold cores clocked at 2.7GHz and has a liquid cooled CPU.

The POCOPHONE F1 has 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. It also has a MicroSD card slot which doubles as the second SIM slot for an extra 128GB of storage.

The listing says the phone has a 12MP + 5MP dual camera system on its rear and a 20MP front-facing camera. This is the same configuration revealed by the Bluetooth certification site. The store also says the phone packs a 4000mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 3.0. For connectivity, there is a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB-C port, Bluetooth 5.0 and dual-band Wi-Fi.

ASUS ROG Phone costs over $900 according to Finnish carrier

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Aug 6, 2018

The ASUS ROG Phone is the most powerful gaming smartphone ever made. Announced more than two months ago, availability and pricing have been unknown. However, a new listing has revealed the price of the device in Finland.

The source is Finland’s carrier Telia and they are already taking pre-orders for the ROG Phone. The price on Telia is €999 (~$1154) or €27.75(~$32.07) per month. There is no doubt the price is high but Telia will ship all pre-orders along with a free ROG Delta Headphones that is worth €199 (~$230).

The ROG Phone has a 6.0-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and 1ms. It is powered by the Snapdragon 845 processor but is overclocked to 2.96GHz. RAM is 8GB and storage is 128GB. There is a 512GB version too but there is no info on its price.

On the back of the phone are 12MP + 8MP dual cameras, a fingerprint scanner, and a customizable RGB light. There is also an 8MP selfie camera above the display. It has three USB-C ports and a 3.5mm audio jack. It also has a 4000mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 4.0 and ASUS’s own HyperCharge Quick Charge.

Android 9.0 Pie is official, already available on the Essential PH-1

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Aug 6, 2018

After months of beta testing, Android P is official. And no it is not called Android Pistachio Ice Cream as revealed by this Huawei employee but Android Pie! That’s not all. If you are a proud owner of the Essential Phone, the update should hit your device today.

Android 9.0 Pie comes with a ton of new features. One of the biggest changes is the navigation system. With Android Pie, navigation is now gesture-based. There is also a new feature called Adaptive Battery which uses machine learning to improve power management.

There are tons of other features which we will cover in a separate article or we just might update this one.

Android 9.0 Pie is already rolling out to the Essential Phone making it the first non-Pixel phone to receive the update. It is 1047.2MB in size. Below is the full changelog for the Essential Phone:

Gesture-based navigation
Adaptive Battery
Adaptive brightness
Refreshed Notifications
Rotation suggestion

We’re proud to bring Android 9 Pie to Essential Phone the same day it’s released! Check your phone now for the update. 🥧 pic.twitter.com/pniUDl9yr8

— Essential (@essential) August 6, 2018

Xiaomi’s Pocophone F1 spotted on AnTutu with a lofty score surpassing OnePlus 6!

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Aug 6, 2018

Xiaomi is expected to take the wraps off a new model which is said to go by the name Pocophone F1. No date has been set for the launch but we believe it is almost before us. Ahead of that, the device has allegedly appeared on AnTuTu benchmark showing the benchmark score. According to the screenshot which appeared online recently, the Pocophone F1 (listed as Poco F1), scored a lofty 285,302 points on AnTuTu benchmark.

While the score is not officially listed on AnTuTu’s website or official Weibo page, the screenshot is clearly that of the AnTuTu benchmark app interface. Apart from the over 285k score, the Pocophone F1 performed better than many of the flagship phones that have run through the benchmark in recent times.

From AnTuTu’s ranking of the top 10 best performing smartphones in July, only the Xiaomi Black Shark Gaming phone and OPPO Find X had a higher score as can be seen in the chart above. It ranks better than the Vivo NEX and OnePlus 6. Make no mistake, the Pocophone F1 isn’t powered by any other chipset than the Snapdragon 845 chip which has been featured on a number of flagships around. So, we can’t easily explain why it performed better. However, it may be related to the liquid cooling system and other optimization the device is expected to feature. Xiaomi Pocophone F1 is said to be targeted at the European market and so a higher benchmark score than the OnePlus 6 offers some prospects. But Xiaomi has got to offer much more to sway OnePlus’ teeming fans in Europe and other markets outside China.

BlackBerry releases video teaser for its first wireless charger

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Aug 6, 2018

The BlackBerry Evolve X which was announced last week is the second Blackberry phone to support wireless charging. The 2015 BlackBerry Priv (US model) is the first.

At the launch of the Evolve X, Optiemus, the Indian licensee behind the phone didn’t announce a wireless charger. Since there was no wireless charger for the Priv, we thought there wouldn’t be one for the Evolve X too and it’s not like there is a shortage of wireless chargers on the market.

However, it turns out that BlackBerry is actually making a wireless charger but we guess it isn’t ready yet that is why we didn’t see it at the launch last week. The official BlackBerry India YouTube channel has released a video showing off the wireless charger. The 20-second video shows the charger which is shaped like a shield much like the one BlackBerry uses for its Secure logo.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGUMkyg0Dmg[/embedyt]

On the top is the BlackBerry logo and on the sides are two blue LED lights. There are also anti-slip pads underneath to keep it from sliding off whatever surface you place it on.

Apparently this is a (brand compliant!) accessory for BlackBerry by Optiemus, though its functionality is unclear. Any ideas? pic.twitter.com/ajqhNgOtWn

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) April 10, 2018

The charger actually has the same design as sketches for an accessory leaked by Evan Blass back in April. Looking at the comments now, there were actually some folks that correctly guessed that it is a wireless charger.

Vivo Nex Opens Beer Bottles With its pop up camera!

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Aug 6, 2018

Vivo NEX was launched a couple of months back and it did a good job in redefining the concept of bezel-less smartphones. The phone came with a very high screen to body ratio which is as a result of its much-reduced bezels on all four sides. Reducing the side bezels have been more or less a regular on most models but the top and bottom bezels have often been retained to a sizeable amount. However, in order to expand the screen ratio, the Vivo NEX took the lead in adopting a pop-up camera design. Co-traveller OPPO is the second OEM to utilize a similar design on the Find X.

This arrangement made it possible for the device to have ultra-thin bezels at the top edge without having to create a notch. The Vivo NEX pop-up camera operates mechanically and as a result of the tendency of the moving part to get damaged, the company carried out a demonstration to assure fans that the camera can’t be damaged easily.

However, a video has emerged online which shows the NEX popup front camera being used to open a beer crown cock. In the video, the tester popped up the front camera of the mobile phone and opened several bottles of beer in a row. Despite the physical strain involved, the Vivo NEX camera remained intact and unaffected. Previously, the NEX’s pop-up camera has been used to open a can of drink without any hassle.

Vivo’s official data touts the NEX’s front camera of being able to pop open and close for up to 50,000 times without any failure. That is a lofty claim but only time will tell if the technology will be a durable one. The camera housing is made from stainless steel which can withstand a strong pulling and torsion force. The pop-up lens automatically retracts if it meets external force on its way up. It also takes just about 1 seconds to pop up completely. The front lens is sold for just 165 yuan which is not too expensive.

Smartisan Nut Pro 2S retail box leaks, powered by Snapdragon 710 processor

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Aug 6, 2018

There is a successor on the way for the Smartisan Nut Pro 2 but it won’t be called the Nut Pro 3. A new leak has surfaced and it reveals the successor will be called the Nut Pro 2S.

The leak is a bunch of live photos of the retail box of the upcoming phone. Apart from revealing the name of the device, it also shows some of its specs.

The photos reveal Smartisan’s mid-ranger will come with a Snapdragon 710 processor. This is the same chipset powering the Mi 8 SE and the Vivo NEX A. Apart from that, the Smartisan Nut Pro 2S will also have dual rear cameras. The configuration on the box shows a 12MP + 5MP configuration. It will also have a 16MP selfie camera.

The Nut Pro 2S will run Smartisan OS which is based on Android but the manufacturer has failed to reveal what version it is based on. Nevertheless, we don’t expect it to come with anything older than Android Oreo.

The Nut Pro 2S should launch soon as it already got its 3C certification last month. Yes, the model number on the box “OE106” is the same as that of the phone that got certified a few weeks ago. The certification shows the phone will support 18W fast charging.

IDC Q2 2018 tablet market report shows Huawei, Apple & Samsung impress despite declining market

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Aug 6, 2018

The emergence of phablet-size smartphones with sizes extending up to 6.99 inches led to the steady decline in sales of tablets and that decline continues to persist in Q2 2018. A research report by IDC for Q2 2018 reveals that the global tablet market declined 13.5%. Notwithstanding, Apple still maintained its leadership of this segment with 34.9% market share, followed by Samsung with 15.1%.

The report expatiated further that Apple shipped a total of 11.5 million tablets in Q2 of 2018 representing a 0.9% growth year-over-year while Samsung shipped just 5 million units. Chinese market leader Huawei came in at the third position with 3.4 million tablet shipments representing a 10.3% market share. It is interesting to note that Huawei has been on the resurgence on all fronts as it had an impressive 7.7% growth YOY. Completing the top 4 is Lenovo with an estimated 2 million tablets shipment and 6% market share.

The total tablets shipments globally were estimated at 33 million which is lower than the 38.3 million shipments IDC reported the shipments was for last year. Out of this total shipment, slate tablets accounted for the majority of the market with 28.4 million units which is 14.5% lower than the previous year’s figure. On the other hand, detachable tablets accounted for the remaining numbers. The market is mainly driven by premium products from Microsoft and Apple and growth has slowed in recent months. That could change soon with the imminent launch of the Microsoft Surface Go, Chrome OS-based detachables, and perhaps a more affordable iPad Pro in the future. The Galaxy Tab S4 released last week also has the potentials to boost the detachable tablet market. Huawei’s detachable tablets also grew by over 200% in Q2 2018. In all, the market could perform better in the third quarter of 2018 as a result of new tablet releases like Xiaomi’s Mi Pad 4, Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 and several others. But manufacturers don’t seem to be too keen on the tablet market.

LG G7 ThinQ lands in India as a Flipkart exclusive

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Aug 6, 2018

The LG G7 ThinQ is the second flagship phone from LG this year. Announced back in May, the phone has now made its way to India.

The LG G7 ThinQ will be sold in India exclusively by Flipkart and the online store already has a live teaser page ahead of the phone’s official unveiling.

The LG G7 ThinQ comes with a 6.1-inch LCD FullVision display with a QHD+ resolution and a notch at the top. LG has added a feature to hide the notch if you don’t like it.

Powering the G7 is a Snapdragon 845 and 4GB of RAM. There is also 64GB of expandable storage. Apart from the display, LG has also redesigned the rear of the flagship. The dual cameras (both 16MP) now sit vertically instead of horizontally. The cameras take super-wide-angle images and have a bunch of AI features. There is also an 8MP sensor for selfies in front.

The LG G7 ThinQ has 7.1 channel surround sound, an IP-68 rating, and is MIL-certified. It has an audio jack, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0 and a dedicated physical button for calling up google Assistant. It runs Android Oreo out of the box and has a 3000mAh battery with support for wireless charging.

LG Q8 (2018) with 4GB RAM and Snapdragon 450 SoC announced

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Jeet

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Aug 6, 2018

After launching LG Q7, Q7 Plus and A7 Alpha smartphones a couple of months ago, LG has announced its latest smartphone in the company’s Q-series of devices — LG Q8 (2018).

The phone comes with a 6.2-inch Full HD+ FullVision display with 2160 x 1080 pixels screen resolution and 389ppi pixel density. The device is powered by Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 450 octa-core processor along with 4GB RAM.

It packs 64GB of internal storage and comes with a microSD card slot that enables users to further expand phone’s storage capacity up to 2TB. In the camera department, the phone features a 16-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and phase detection autofocus. On the front side, there’s a 5-megapixel snapper with 100-degree wide-angle lens for taking selfies and video calling.

The phone has a fingerprint sensor and comes with a built-in stylus. Further, the device is MIL-STD 810G certified for military grade build and is also IP68 certified, ensuring water and dust resistance. It also has a Portrait mode, QLens, Hi-Fi quality audio, DTS:X 3D Surround Sound, and Hi-Fi Quad DAC.

Connectivity options on the device include 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, GPS / GLONASS, and USB Type-C 2.0. Running on Android 8.1 Oreo operating system out of the box with the company’s own custom interface on top, the phone is powered by a 3,300mAh battery that also supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging technology.

The LG Q8 (2018) will be available in two color options — Aurora Black and Moroccan Blue. It is priced at 539,000 won, which roughly converts to $470 and will soon be available for purchase in Korea. The company has not yet announced its availability in any other region.

China smartphone shipments rebound in Q2 2018: Digitimes

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Aug 6, 2018

The Chinese smartphone market has been on a decline for a while, with shipments hitting its lowest level in Q1 2018. An earlier report by Canalys showed that the total number of phones shipped in China fell short of the 100 million mark in a quarter and that was the first time the market was witnessing such slump since 2013. A fresh report by Digitimes shows that the market may have experienced a rebound in the second quarter of the year. The report indicated that the market grew by 2.2% year-over-year (YOY). The growth is also estimated to be 10% higher than that of Q1, peaking at 94.2 million units. This is slightly higher than the less than 90 million units shipped between January and March.

The impressive Q2 2018 shipment is said to have been spurred by amazing performances by the top four market leaders namely Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo. The four companies had improvements in their shipments of up to 10% in the second quarter. However, the projections for the four companies by Digitimes for the remaining quarters of the year don’t look too promising. Xiaomi is expected to report flat shipments for the last half of the year, while Huawei, Oppo and Vivo could see single or even double-digit percentage declines domestically for the last two quarters of 2018.

Digitimes also captured the sales of Apple’s iPhone models which notably was on the decline. Sales of iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8 declined on a sequential basis, as did sales of older iPhone models. But that could potentially change in the remaining quarters with the three new models that Apple is expected to unveil and launch next month. In addition, the report also reaffirms Huawei’s global surge which saw it surpass Apple to emerge as the second largest smartphone manufacturer in the world.

ZTE is back: Blade V9 finally listed in China, Goes on sale soon

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Joel Joseph

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Aug 6, 2018

2018 has turned out to be one of the most challenging years for ZTE. But the company seems to be working hard to get back on track and the first step is to get the ZTE Blade V9 phone, initially announced at MWC 2018, on sale in China. The phone is finally listed in its home country, months after its announcement.

The phone is listed in two variants: 4GB + 32GB and 4GB+64GB and are priced at 999 Yuan (~$146) and 1199 Yuan (~$175) respectively. Currently, sites like JD.com are accepting reservations for the device and the phone is set to go on sale on August 15.

ZTE didn’t reveal any availability details for the Blade V9 back when it announced the phone at MWC 2018. However, it popped up on China’s TENAA certification website back in April, thereby confirming its launch in its home country. But it took nearly four months more for the phone to hit the markets.

The ZTE Blade V9 features a modest Snapdragon 450 chipset inside with a 5.7-inch 2160 x 1080p 18:9 display on board. The phone comes with a 16MP+5MP dual camera setup at the back and an 8MP selfie shooter up front. There’s a decent 3100mAh battery on board as well. Unlike other phones of 2018, the Blade V9 doesn’t have a notch and comes with an Honor like design.

Overall, the Blade V9 is a pretty good smartphone at its $146 price tag.

(Source1, Source2)

Cubot P20 is a $129.99 Huawei P20 Alternative!

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Linus

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Aug 6, 2018

Cubot has made quite a few phones over the time and it’s no secret that some of their devices are inspired by the top tier flagships. The Cubot P20 is a good example. It is made to look like the Huawei P20 and it has pretty good specs but it costs less than $130.

The Cubot P20 certainly brings a lot of value to the table as it sports a premium design. The phone is made of glass and metal and it sports an infamous notch.

The 6.18″ display is one of the highlights of the phone, especially knowing the fact that Cubot usually puts pretty good panels in their budget phones.

The Cubot P20 also ships with great specs for the price. The MTK6750T sits in the core of the device and it is coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. In addition, the phone ships with stock Android 8.0 user interface without any bloatware or gimmicky features.

What is also great is that the phone has a 4000mAh battery that should last you for a couple of days.

You can now get the Cubot P20 for just $129.99 ($40 off the retail price) which is a great value for the money. The flash sale will last until August 12th and then the price will go up to $169.99.

Buy Cubot P20 for just $129.99 (flash sale)

ASUS Zenfone Live (L1) Android Go Edition lands in the US for $110

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Aug 6, 2018

Back in May, ASUS launched the Zenfone Live (L1) in Indonesia. The phone comes in two variants – an Android Go edition and a regular Android version. Yesterday, ASUS launched the Android Go edition in the US.

The Zenfone Live (L1) Android Go Edition has a 5.5-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and a 1440 x 720 resolution. It is powered by a Snapdragon 425 processor paired with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. There is a MicroSD card slot that allows users add up to an extra 2TB of storage.

The phone has an 8MP camera with a 5-element lens and 0.3-second PDAF. The front camera is a 5MP sensor and has support for Face Unlock. That should come in handy since the phone is missing a fingerprint scanner.

The Zenfone Live (L1) Android Go Edition has dual-SIM support and both slots support 4G LTE. However, ASUS says only one slot can connect to 3G WCDMA or 4G LTE at a time. The phone also packs a 3000mAh battery, has a MicroUSB port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. It also has an FM radio.