Xiaomi To Launch Two Snapdragon 670 Phones Code-named Sirius and Comet

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Apr 8, 2018

The Snapdragon 670 has not been officially unveiled yet. However, there are rumors a phone from 360 Mobiles will be the first to launch with the chip. New reports say Xiaomi also has two phones in the pipeline that will be powered by the processor.

The info comes from the editor-in-chief of XDA Developers, Mishaal Rahman. In a tweet posted last night, he said that the Chinese giant has two devices powered by the Snapdragon 670 in development. He adds that the phones are codenamed “Comet” and “Sirius”.

Xiaomi has (at least) 2 devices with the unannounced Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 (sdm670) in the works: "comet" and "sirius".

Also confirms @rquandt's report which showed sdm670's little cluster has 6 cores and the big cluster has 2 cores. (targetconfig.xml in /vendor/etc/perf).

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) April 7, 2018

If we were to take a wild guess we would say one of the two phones is the Mi Note 4. This makes sense since the Mi Note 3 is powered by a Snapdragon 660 processor. For the second phone, our guess is the Mi Max 3 but that is a long shot. Notwithstanding, the release of both phones are probably still months away, so there is enough time to find out if our guesses are correct.

Apart from the codenames for the two phones, it is also revealed that it has been confirmed that the Snapdragon 670 indeed has a 2+6 CPU core arrangement.

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OPPO Creates Research Institute To Develop AI and 5G Technology

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Habeeb Onawole

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Apr 8, 2018

Churning out great phones that are competitively priced isn’t the only thing a phone manufacturer should do. Research and Development (R&D) is also an important aspect. Not only do you get to make better phones, but you can also license your technology to others.

OPPO is known for its focus on research and it has decided to take it a level higher by establishing a research and development institute with branches across the globe.

A report from Chinese media iFeng.com, says the headquarters of the OPPO Research Institute will be based in Shenzhen with branches in Beijing, Shanghai, Dongguan, Yokohama (Japan), and Silicon Valley (US). The institute will focus on three things – software, hardware, and standards. It will also conduct research on 5G, AI, image processing, and the use of new materials.

There was an official opening ceremony of the institute on March 29. In attendance, were the CEO Chen Mingyong, and senior vice president Zeng Yuanqing. It was also announced that the dean of the institute will be Mr. Liu Chang.

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Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro And Mi Note 2 Get The Official TWRP Support

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Michele Ingelido

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Apr 8, 2018

If you are bored of MIUI installed on your Xiaomi device, there are two most important ways to customize the software: installing a launcher or installing a custom ROM. If you prefer the second option and you own a Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro or a Mi Note 2, you will be glad to know that the two handsets have just received the official TWRP support.

TWRP is the most famous recovery mode which is mainly used to install custom ROMs on every Android handset. Starting from now, it is possible to flash it on Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro and Xiaomi Mi Note 2 just like on the other supported Android devices. Besides Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro and Xiaomi Mi Note 2, two more devices have just received the official support to TWRP.

The first is the newly-announced Sony Xperia XA2 which made its debut at CES 2018 in Las Vegas. The second is Verizon Wear24, a smartwatch which is available in the U.S. You can get the official TWRP app here or, at the following links, you can download the TWRP recovery mode for each of the four devices which have just received the official support:

(Via)

New OnePlus 6 Renders Shows The Phone In New Colors With Red Alert Slider

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Habeeb Onawole

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Apr 8, 2018

The OnePlus 6 is billed to release earlier than expected this year. OnePlus itself has started teasing features of the new flagship which further confirms this. They have also released a few specs and an official photo that confirms it has a notch.

However, we still haven’t seen any photos of the rear but it is said to be different from that of the OPPO R15. Why is this difference important? OnePlus’s last two phones – the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T – share a striking resemblance to the OPPO R11 and OPPO R11s respectively. Since both brands are sister companies and the last two phones share a near-identical design, you can’t blame anyone for thinking the same will happen again.

Nevertheless, fresh new renders have surfaced online and they just might be what the final device looks like.

The renders were posted on Weibo and show the device in three colors – blue, black, and white. On the front, the OnePlus 6’s display wears a notch that houses the front camera, earpiece and sensor. The display has rounded corners and there is a bit of bezel at the bottom. There is no branding on the front just like its predecessors.

The rear is actually more interesting. The metal back has been switched to glass but is curved at the sides. The dual cameras sit in the middle of the device and are stacked vertically. There is a LED flash and a fingerprint scanner with a new design directly underneath.

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Huawei P8 Lite (2017) Gets Android Oreo With Project Treble (Beta)

By

Michele Ingelido

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Apr 8, 2018

There is no complete data regarding the sales of the Huawei P8 Lite (2017), but we are sure that it is one of the best selling devices of 2017. Thousands of units of this device has been sold every day in the past few months months, and now the handset, launched with Android Nougat out of the box, is officially getting the first beta of Android 8.0 Oreo. It is not an OTA update and it is the first beta build of Oreo for this device, so don’t expect a stable firmware suitable for daily use. Further, the beta update to Android Oreo is actually available only for Chinese users who adhered to the beta testing phase.

In China, Huawei P8 Lite (2017) has been released as Honor 8 Lite, so if you own the Honor 8 Lite, you can install this update. Through this new firmware, the company brings support to Project Treble. Thanks to Project Treble, the operating system gets split into two frameworks: one with the Android core OS and one with the company’s customisation. In this way, Huawei will be able to release its upcoming updates in quick and easy manner.

Obviously, the update contains all the core features of Android Oreo, and it is customized with EMUI 8.0. In case you don’t know, LineageOS team has already released a custom ROM for Huawei P8 Lite (2017) / Honor 8 Lite based on Android Oreo 8.1. If you do not want to install the official beta of Android Oreo but want to use the stable LineageOS ROM based on the latest version of the operating system, just head to this link and you will find all the information about it and its download links. Note that NFC does not work in this version.

(Via)

The next Essential Phone Will Boast A Better Camera

By

Michele Ingelido

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Apr 8, 2018

Essential Phone PH-1 is one of the unique releases of 2017. It’s a flagship device launched by the founder of Android and it managed to get the attention of customers pretty quickly, even though the sales haven’t been that impressive. Many people may not know it, but this phone was announced with a notch even before the iPhone X. And this isn’t its only innovation, given that this is the first device to sport a frame made of titanium and a ceramic back.

But this phone had a major flaw: we are talking about its camera performance, which is a bit disappointing. Many users complained about the bad camera performance of the Essential Phone PH-1, and the company did listen to them and released an update to improve the camera. But it was not enough to let it rock like the cameras of Samsung Galaxy S8, Mate 10 Pro, and other 2017 flagships. Well, according to the company, the next Essential Phone will change things in this department. In an interview released to Business Insider, Essential declared that its next device will feature a better camera. Here’s an excerpt from the interview with Linda Jiang, head of industrial design at Essential:

In general, one thing that we got hit hard with was the quality of our camera, and we’re really looking forward to improving that with our next-gen, making sure that we’re listening to our customers and their pain points… We’re going to make it better for you.

However, we don’t know when the next Essential Phone will be announced. Given that the company has released just one phone until now, and that there are no official declarations about the launch date of its next device, we cannot tell you if the company plans to release new flagships annually. Recently, a patent regarding this device was filed, and it was revealed that it may come with a pop-up camera like the Vivo APEX.

(Source)

Xiaomi Reportedly Targeting Record Shipment For 2018 Exceeding 100 Million Units

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Apr 7, 2018

A recent report by research firm IDC had revealed a 5% decline in the Chinese smartphone market in 2017. That decline is heavily linked to the saturation the Chinese market witnessed as a result of the flurry of new smartphones released last year. In order to tackle this decline, the top Chinese phone makers were recently reported to be planning big for the global market. A new piece of information alleged to have emanated from sources inside the Taiwanese supply chain has again reiterated that the Chinese manufacturers are formulating a very aggressive development plan for 2018.

According to the source, Huawei, OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi all plan to expand globally in order to placate the stagnation the Chinese market is witnessing. Of particular interest is the disclosure that Xiaomi is planning a massive rise in shipments and aims to ship between 120 million – 150 million smartphones this year.

This is a lofty target but going by official reports, Xiaomi is presently shipping over 10 million units of its Redmi and Mi models in Q1 2018. So, it looks possible to be able to achieve 120 million shipments this year. In addition, Xiaomi is targeting expansion into new markets globally as well as consolidating on its existing international market. We may likely see a record-breaking shipment by the Mi brand this year. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

(source)

Huawei Kirin 980 Mass Production Begins This Quarter, To Use TSMC’s 7nm Process

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Apr 7, 2018

The race for the 7nm chip is on and it appears Huawei may be the first to announce a chipset based on the new process and also the first to have it in a phone.

Latest reports say that Huawei will begin mass production of the Kirin 980 chipset this quarter. The 7nm chipset will be manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSMC).

We still do not know the configuration of the mobile processor but we have a few guesses. We believe the Kirin 980 will still have a dedicated but improved NPU. We also expect it to appear first in the Huawei Mate 20 and then the next P-series phone for 2019.

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April Security Update Brings Bluetooth 5.0 To The Essential Phone

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Apr 7, 2018

The Essential PH-1 received an update to Android 8.1 Oreo last month. Before then it was still on Android Nougat. Yesterday, it got a new update which brings April’s security patch and Bluetooth 5.0.

The update is 127MB in size and updates your security patch to that of April. There are other changes and fixes too but the biggest is that Bluetooth 5.0 has now been certified.

Bluetooth 5.0 is the latest version of the wireless technology and it comes with a number of new features. First, it lets you pair your phone to more than one speaker or wireless headphone at a time. So you can stream audio to two speakers or even stream different audio sources (music and video) to two speakers/headphones. However, they must be Bluetooth 5.0 devices too for you to get the feature.

Another update to Bluetooth 5.0 is the support for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for audio devices. BLE was only available to smartwatches, fitness trackers and other low-power devices. Bluetooth 5.0 also has an increased range and speed. Supported distance is now 240 meters and speed is now 2Mbps.

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It Is Official: Meizu 15 Launches April 22

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Apr 7, 2018

After months of what seemed to be endless leaks, the Meizu 15 has now received a release date. An official poster was shared on Weibo and it was also confirmed by Meizu’s head of global marketing.

The Meizu 15 will launch on April 22 at 7:30 PM. The venue is said to be the Wuzhen Internet International Convention Center. The Meizu 15 should launch alongside two other phones – the Meizu 15 Plus and the Meizu 15 Lite.

The specification details of all three phones have already been made public thanks to China’s certification agency, TENAA.

Meizu 15. April 22.

— Ard Boudeling (@ArdCB) April 7, 2018

The Meizu 15 will come with a 5.46” AMOLED display with the traditional 16:9 aspect ratio. The Lite version will keep the screen size above but will be LCD while the Meizu 15 Plus will come with a 5.95” QHD AMOLED screen.

Only the Lite version comes with a single rear camera while the other two come with dual rear cameras. All three phones sport a 20MP front facing camera, a front-mounted fingerprint scanner, and run Android Nougat.

We are also familiar with the look of the three phones as TENAA provided images and there have been a fair amount of leaked photos on the internet.

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Archos Launches Saphir 50X: An Affordable Rugged Phone With A 4000 mAh Battery

By

Michele Ingelido

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Apr 7, 2018

Rugged phones always need more premium and resistant materials to be manufactured. That is why their price is usually higher than traditional smartphones with similar specs. Archos Saphir 50X is a device which has been launched to solve this issue. It is a rugged device, but it will launch in Europe with a very affordable price tag: it will cost just €149.90 in the Old Continent, which roughly translates into $183.

According to the company, this device can fall from one meter of height without any damage. Further, it has IP68 certification which makes it fully waterproof and dust-resistant. Archos Saphir 50X can be put underwater up to 1.5 meters deep for 30 minutes at max. Given that it is an affordable device, it features low-end specs. The handset is equipped with a 5-inch display which shows images at an HD resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels with the IPS LCD technology.

On the hardware side, it has a quad-core MediaTek SoC, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. The main camera has a resolution of 13 MP, the front camera for selfies is a classic 5 MP snapper and the battery has a capacity of 4000 mAh. Archos Saphir 50X comes with Android Nougat out of the box and we do not know if it will ever update to Oreo.

(Via)

This Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Concept Video Envisions A New Design Style

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Apr 6, 2018

Since after the launch of the Galaxy S9 duo, the Galaxy Note 9 is the next Samsung device that has been reverberating the tech blogosphere. The last couple of weeks have seen an increase in the number of leaks centred on the next-gen flagship Note series model. The device has made an appearance on GeekBench and the name has been confirmed by Samsung’s trademark filing in faraway Colombia. There are even speculations that the Note 9 may make an early entrance this June. While all these rumours and leaks simmer on, we have got a concept design of the Galaxy Note 9 featured in a video by DBS Designing.

DBS Designing is known for its interesting concept design of upcoming smartphones and the Galaxy Note 9 Concept design is no less interesting. The designers are hoping that the Note 9 will use a different design style from the Galaxy Note 8. The concept design looks a bit more squared and angular despite the curved glass panel at the front and back. The design of the stylus pen is also tweaked to provide more colourful options for fans to choose from. The aspect ratio seems to also deviate from that of the note 8 as the Note 9 looks wider and a bit shorter in these concept renders.

On the specs angle, the Galaxy Note 9 is envisaged to come with a 6.3-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED Screen on board with almost zero bezels. The concept also hints at an in-display fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy Note 9 but that is yet to get some confirmation for real. The device is expected to run Android P out of the box and also feature an 8GB RAM variant. The Galaxy Note 9 is said to feature a bigger battery than its predecessor but is expected to have a slimmer build than the 8.5mm thick Galaxy Note 8. We may still have to wait a little longer for the real photos of the Note 9 to starts appearing. Before then, do check out the Galaxy Note 9 Concept design in the video below and tell us what you think in the comment section.

(source, via)

More Galaxy Note 9 Concept Renders;

Samsung Galaxy A6, A6+ Key Specifications Leaked as Launch Nears

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Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Apr 6, 2018

The upcoming Galaxy A6+ had briefly appeared on the official website of Samsung. However, the listing did not reveal any specifications of the phone, but only confirmed its model number as SM-A605FN/DS. In the previous month, the Galaxy A6 has received Wi-Fi certification. Earlier in this week, both the smartphones were also spotted on the website of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the telecom regulatory body from the U.S. The ah Today, a leakster has revealed some of the key specs of the Galaxy A6.

The Galaxy A6 and A6+ are rumored to arrive as lower versions of the Galaxy A8 and A8+ smartphones that were launched at the end of 2017. Fresh information reveals that the Galaxy A6 will featuring a 5.6-inch Infinity Display that will carry support for Full HD+ resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels and it will be powered by Exynos 7870 chipset and 3 GB of RAM. It will be arriving with a native storage of 32 GB.

On the other side, the Galaxy A6+ will be featuring a large display of 6 inches that will carry support for the same Full HD+ resolution like its smaller sibling. The Snapdragon 625 chipset is speculated to power the phone along with 4 GB of RAM. It will be arriving with a native storage of 32 GB.

The tipster has also claimed that it could feature the Snapdragon 450 SoC. These phones are expected to come loaded with Android 8.0 Oreo that could be customized with the latest Samsung Experience UI 9.0. As of this writing, there is no information on the camera configurations and battery capacity of these phones.

Recent reports have claimed that the Galaxy A6 duo will be coming to markets like the South America, Europe, Russia and the Middle East. Since the A6 and A6+ have passed some of the necessary certifications, the arrival of these phones seems imminent.

(source|via)

Samsung Expecting a Record Increase in Q1 2018 Profit Driven By DRAM Chip Sales

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Apr 6, 2018

Samsung, over the last one year, has seen record profits in its quarterly financial reports starting from the second half of 2017. The record earnings have not been driven by smartphone sales as one would ordinarily assume but were mostly due to a high demand for memory chips. Samsung is one of the major suppliers of DRAM chips globally.

According to a recent report obtained by Reuters, the leading global phone manufacturer is expected to post over 50% YoY rise in profits when the financial results for the first quarter of the year spanning January-March 2018 are eventually released. Samsung has now confirmed this in its guidance number announced today. The South Korean company is expected to rake in KRW60 trillion in consolidated sales (about $56.1 billion) and KRW15.6 trillion in operating profit (around $14.6 billion). It should be noted that this is an all-time high. When compared to the company’s earnings for Q1 2017 pegged at KRW 9.9 trillion, the figure is 57% higher.

The record profits are attributed to the new Galaxy S9 and S9+ flagships as well as the new Galaxy A8 (2018) smartphones. More significantly, the thriving DRAM chip market and its OLED panel sales were also instrumental to its success. According to previous reports, Samsung has 70 cents in operating profit of every $1 DRAM chips sold.

Samsung usually posts the detailed results for each quarter in the last Friday of the month following the quarter. So, we will have to wait for three more weeks to get the full breakdown of the company’s Q1 earnings.

(source)

Smartisan Nut 3 Will House A Big Battery In An Extremely Thin Body

By

Michele Ingelido

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Apr 6, 2018

Smartisan has always surprised us all when it comes to the design of its smartphones. The company usually releases very original devices in terms of aesthetics, and it seems that the upcoming Smartisan Nut 3 will surprise us again, but this time not only for its looks. The company has just published a poster which revealed important details about the aesthetics and the battery life of the handset. According to the poster, the smartphone will be 7.1 mm thin and it will weigh only 137 grams. Even though it will be extremely compact and lightweight, the handset will have a battery which will be able to last 35 hours on a single charge.

Usually, a very big battery is needed to make a smartphone last this long, with more than 4000mAh capacity. But it would be very difficult to include such a big battery in a 7.16 mm thin body and at the same time limit its weight to just 135 grams. So, Smartisan Nut 3 will either be a revolution or a device with a greatly-optimized software. According to reports, Smartisan Nut 3 will come with a Snapdragon 636 SoC, the same as Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro. This chipset is the successor of the Snapdragon 625 and 630, and it is known to be very power-efficient. That is why the long battery life starts to make sense, even though 35 hours remains an unbelievable figure.

The Snapdragon 636 by Qualcomm is said to be paired with 4 GB of RAM and 32, 64, or even 128 GB of internal storage depending on the variant that you will choose to buy. The device should also boast a display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, but it will include a physical Home key with a fingerprint reader embedded. From what rumors suggests, on the rear side there may be a 12 MP dual camera setup. Smartisan Nut 3 is expected to be priced at 1599 Yuan ($253) for the base version and the price is expected to raise up to 1999 Yuan ($316) for the most powerful configuration.

(Via)

Xiaomi Backed Black Shark Gaming Phone Stars In A New Official Teaser

By

Michele Ingelido

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Apr 6, 2018

In just a week, Black Shark, backed by Xiaomi is going to announce its first gaming phone. The company is going to compete with Razer Phone by releasing the first “real” gaming smartphone. According to an official teaser surfaced a few days ago, the handset will be officially announced on April 13. Now, another official teaser has been published and it reveals some details about the design of the phone. The teaser consists of an image with a fencer splitting its face with a sword.

On the left of the sword, there is its face, while on the right we can partially see the Xiaomi Black Shark smartphone. The gaming phone appears to have rounded corners unlike the Razer Phone which has a sharp design. It is a totally different form factor from the flagship by Razer. Further, the image reveals the presence of antenna bands near the corners, so it is confirmed that the device will sport a frame made of aluminum. The device appears with a power key on the right side, but there is no volume rocker near the power key, and this should mean that it will be placed on the opposite side.

Unfortunately, no other details about design and specs have been revealed through this teaser. According to the latest reports, Xiaomi Black Shark will come with an even better hardware side than Razer Phone. Under the hood, it is expected to have an octa-core Snapdragon 845 chipset, which is actually the best mobile platform ever released by Qualcomm, and it runs at a max frequency of 2.8 GHz. The SoC should be paired with up to 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of internal storage. We also expect to see a very innovative display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and the HDR technology.

Google Pixel 3 Makes First Appearance in AOSP, Hints At Improved Networking

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Apr 6, 2018

Google Pixel 3 is still more than six months away from going official. So, it is relatively early to start talking about the device. But the tech giant may well have started working on the next-gen flagship. XDA Developers have now reported on the spotting of what should be the first official mention of a Google Pixel successor, though probably by accident.

The name Pixel 3 was spotted on a new AOSP commit for a particular function of the Android OS codenamed Cherrypick. The new feature decides which Auto Selection Network UI to use. In case you don’t know, Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is an initiative created to guide the development of the Android mobile platform. The Android platform consists of the operating system (OS), middleware and integral mobile applications.

According to XDA Developers, HAL stands for Hardware Abstraction Layer, which is “a piece of software that bridges the gap between the Android OS and the hardware. What this means is that there may be a new kind of bond between software and radio, one that may allow Wi-Fi networks to scan continuously rather than have to hit refresh and wait for a few seconds.

The new feature may have come out unexpectedly since the source code for Android P is yet to be released. When that is done, we may be able to scoop more details about the Pixel 3. For now, nothing is known about the specifications of the Pixel model.

(source)

OnePlus 6’s Rumored Pricing for India Leaked; Three Variants Expected, Starting Price Could be Rs. 33,999

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Apr 6, 2018

Earlier this week, GizmoChina had exclusively revealed the pricing of three variants of the upcoming OnePlus 6 smartphone for China. Today, True-Tech, an Indian publication has leaked information on the alleged pricing of three variants of the phone that could be heading to India. Last year, the same publication had revealed the exact pricing of the OnePlus 5T for India.

According to our sources, the 64 GB storage + 6 GB RAM, 128 GB + 6 GB of RAM and 256 GB storage + 8 GB of RAM will be respectively priced at 3,299 Yuan (~$523), 3,599 Yuan (~$570) and 4,399 Yuan (~$697). The Indian publication claims that its sources have revealed that the OnePlus 6 will be available in 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB storage models in India. Moreover, India will be also receiving the OnePlus Bullets Wireless earbuds that had recently passed Bluetooth certification.

The above image shows that the decision on the cost of the three models of the OnePlus 6 is pending as of March 29. The table shows the possible price range for each of the storage mode.

The 64 GB OnePlus 6 may be priced between Rs. 33,999 (~$523) and Rs. 36,999 (~$569) in India. The 128 GB OnePlus 6 could be costing between Rs. 38,999 (~$599) and Rs. 42,999 (~$660). The highest storage model of 256 GB that is already confirmed to feature 8 GB of RAM is speculated to be priced between Rs. 44,999 (~$692) and Rs. 48,999 (~$753) in India. One of the previous leaks had claimed that the OnePlus 6 with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage could be costing $749 in some markets.

We advise our readers to digest this report with a grain of salt as the Indian publications claims that the authenticity of the source could not be confirmed.

(source)

China’s Tech Trio of Huawei, Xiaomi & Vivo Working Towards a Major Push Overseas

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Apr 6, 2018

One of the major yearnings of the millions of fans Xiaomi has overseas is that the brand should become available in their country. So too, those who admire other top Chinese phone makers – Huawei, OPPO, Vivo, look forward to their presence in the global market. Huawei has never ceased to disclose its intention of going global. The company was already one foot into the U.S market before the US government’s intervention allegedly based on security concerns scuttled that move. There are indications that the Chinese phone makers, Huawei, Xiaomi and Vivo are individually perfecting plans towards taking their trade to overseas territories.

According to sources, overseas markets are likely going to be key to all brand’s growth strategies in 2018. With their major presence being in the Chinese market which is getting saturated, the tech giants can only record more shipment volumes by heading overseas. Xiaomi is expected to consolidate on the success recorded n India last year. The company will also include other emerging markets in their strategy of raking up 125 to 150 million shipments. The move will be bolstered using a number of premium devices which are reportedly in the works. This is in a bid to improving the company’s already lofty image.

Apart from Xiaomi, BBK subsidiaries – OPPO and Vivo are also looking to regain lost grounds. The growth rates of these brands have recently seen a decline. In order to remedy this situation, both companies are set to target emerging markets throughout the rest of 2018 with a number of budget-friendly and AI-focused smartphones set to begin shipping sometime this quarter.

Huawei ranks among the top 3 global phone makers in terms of shipment volume but that isn’t enough. The company shipped a total of 153 million devices in 2017, putting it just behind Apple in terms of shipments volume. However, the company is looking to overtake Apple as the second largest phone maker and even knock off Samsung out of the top spot. According to internal sources, Huawei is aiming for 200 million smartphone shipments in 2018 which could see them overtake Apple. That will be boosted by the calibre of new releases we see from the Chinese tech giant. The recently announced P20 lineup’s focus on AI and photography is expected to play a major role in capturing new customers. Huawei is also lining up the Honor 10 with a focus on” Beauty in AI” to join its arsenal next month. The Chinese firm hinted that it has not given up on the US market but in the meantime, its focus seems to have been shifted to Europe and the U.K. With these plans, it may not be too long before the likes of Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo become household names globally.

(source)

Nokia 6 (2018) 4 GB RAM Variant Priced at Rs. 18,999 Releasing Soon in India

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Apr 6, 2018

Earlier this week, HMD Global had held a dedicated launch event in India to announce the arrival of Nokia 1, Nokia 6 (2018), Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 8 Sirocco smartphones in the country. Starting from today, the Nokia 6 (2018) is available for purchase with a pricing of Rs. 16,999. At present, the company is selling only the 3 GB RAM edition of the phone. Fresh information reveals that the company will be soon releasing the 4 GB RAM variant of the Nokia 6 (2018) in India.

The Nokia Mobile Shop (official online store) and some select outlets in India have started selling the 3 GB RAM model of the Nokia 6 (2018) model that comes with an internal storage of 32 GB.

Nokia Power User claims that its sources have revealed that the Nokia 6 (2018) with 4 GB of RAM and an inbuilt storage of 64 G may arrive in India with a price tag of Rs. 18,999.

The new variant may arrive as early as next week in the country. If it does not release by the coming week, it may hit the shelves before the end of this month. People who are interested in buying the Nokia 6 (2018)’s upcoming variant should be aware of the fact the apart from increased RAM capacity and larger storage, it will be featuring the same specs as 3 GB RAM + 32 GB storage model.

The Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 8 Sirocco phones that are respectively priced at Rs. 25,999 and Rs. 49,999 will be available for pre-bookings in India from April 20. The sales of these phones will start from April 30.

Do you think that Nokia 6 (2018) should have launched with a cheaper pricing? Share us your views by posting your comments below.

(source)