Get Big Discounts On BESTEK-Branded Products With Promo Codes Before They Expire

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Apr 20, 2018

UPDATE: OnePlus reached out to us to confirm that the May 18 release date of the OnePlus 6 mentioned in the report is FALSE. So, we still don’t have an official date.

OnePlus 5T is only available in 64 GB storage edition on Amazon India. Its 128 GB edition has been out of stock since the beginning of this month. Hence, the rumor mill has been claiming that the arrival of the OP6 could be close at hand. A new report on Money Control, an Indian publication, claims that the OnePlus 6 will launch on May 18. It has also states that the smartphone is likely to be available with a pricing of Rs. 39,999 (~$605).

Based on the recent rumors and the teasers released by OnePlus, the publication claims that the OnePlus 6 will be sporting an iPhone X-like notch design. For people who do not like the notch, the handset will offer an option to hide it. It will be arrived with a waterproof body, but there is no confirmation on whether it will be IP67 or IP68 rated device.

OnePlus India has recently released a teaser that suggests that the company could be releasing a special edition OnePlus 6 with an Avengers theme. Even though the publication has speculated that OP6 could be priced at Rs. 39,999, it hasn’t clearly mentioned whether the pricing belongs to the base model or the one with highest configuration.

The 64 GB OnePlus 5T with 6 GB of RAM was launched with a price tag of Rs. 32,999 and the 128 GB model with 8 GB of RAM carried a pricing of Rs. 37,999. Recently, another Indian site that had accurately guessed the OP5T pricing last year had claimed that the OnePlus 6 will be available in three variants in India.

It had stated that the 64 GB storage + 6 GB RAM, 128 GB storage + 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage + 8 GB RAM variants could be respectively priced Rs. 33,999 – Rs, 36,999, Rs. 38,999 – Rs. 42,999, and Rs. 44,999 – Rs. 48,999. It had also claimed that India would be also receiving the OnePlus Bullets Wireless earbuds that had passed Bluetooth certification in the previous month. Also, like the predecessor model, the OnePlus 6 will be exclusively available on Amazon India.

Last year, the OnePlus 5T was launched in China after it was made official in India. The Chinese manufacturer is known for launching its smartphone first in overseas countries before announcing it in China. A recent report had claimed that OnePlus 6 may go official in China on May 5. If the May 18 launch date is true for India, then the OP6 is may not get unveiled on May 5 in the home country but may become official after May 18.

Huawei Is Testing Android P On Mate 10 and 10 Pro: Here’s How It Looks

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Michele Ingelido

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Apr 20, 2018

About a year after Huawei started testing Android Oreo on the Mate 9, new evidence suggests that the Chinese company is testing Android P on Huawei Mate 10 and 10 Pro. According to XDA Developers, the hi-tech giant has started testing the new version of Google’s operating system on the Chinese variant of the Mate 10 identified by the model number ALP-AL00. With the aid of a service called FunkyHuawei specialized in updating, rebranding, and unbricking Huawei phones, guys from XDA Developers have been able to rebrand a Mate 10 Pro to the Chinese variant of the Mate 10 and they managed to install the Android P test firmware.

Three photos showing the build installed on the Huawei Mate 10 Pro have then been published. The first shows the Android P Easter egg, while the second shows the About screen, confirming that the testing firmware contains the EMUI 8.2 based on Android 9.0.0. However, it is likely that the final Android P release will be customized with EMUI 9.0. The third photo shows the Developer Options menu. The new user interface does not contain the changes noticed on the first Android P Developer Preview called Material Design 2, and neither the recently-leaked iPhone X-like navigation bar which replaces the multi-tasking key with a gesture.

But it is likely that the company should already be working on a similar navigation bar to include in the final build. Other things included in this firmware are Android P’s restrictions on apps that use non-SDK Java APIs, global actions for Accessibility Services, restrictions on third-party OMS overlays and text selection zoom. Currently, the first Developer Preview of Android P is only available on the latest Google phones: Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. There are still no custom ROMs based on Android P for Huawei Mate 10 and all other handsets as there is still no source code available.

(via)

Samsung Gets Second Patent For a Multi-Fold Tablet With Physical Keyboard

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Apr 20, 2018

We have lost count of the number of patents Samsung have presently related to foldable phones. The Chinese OEM also has a design patent for a multi-fold tablet which was approved in September 2016. The global market leader received a fresh patent for a multi-fold tablet.

Just like the patented design from 2016, this new design also comes with a physical keyboard on the backside of one of the folding panels. The rear aspect of the foldable part of the screen that lacks a keyboard is capable of displaying notifications at a glance using an unspecified mechanism. The design is a multi-fold one where the device can be folded into more than two aspects, making it easy to carry around. It seems the functions are also multiple as Samsung mentioned in the patent documentation. Mention was made of cellular capabilities and specifically, it is stated that Samsung envisioned a tablet that would allow users to make phone calls without further details.

This new patent, no doubt, confirms that Samsung is still busy on the drawing board in trying to develop foldable electronics gadgets. We are yet to see anyone going commercial but that may happen soon. The Galaxy X foldable phone is tipped to launch next year even though the tech giant is yet to reveal a timeline for the launch.

(via)

Samsung’s Market Share in China & India Declining Steadily

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Apr 19, 2018

Samsung‘s market share in two of the world’s largest smartphone market, India and China, has reportedly continued to slump. According to data compiled by Strategic Analytics, the Korean tech giant saw its share in China’s smartphone market slide to 0.8% in the fourth quarter of 2017 from a lofty of 20% share it commanded five years ago. The data also revealed Samsung shipped 9.8 million smartphones in China in Q4 2017 and this is noted to be the first time the Korean giant’s quarterly shipments fell below the 10 million-unit mark.

A breakdown of the statistics reveals that Sammy’s market share in China fell from 3.1% in the first quarter of 2017 to 2.7% in the second quarter and it went further south to 2% in the third quarters. For the entire 2017, the Korean vendor had a 2.1% share in China, which is just about one-fifth of the figures it posted in 2013. This year may not see an improvement despite the launch of the Galaxy S9 models as the company’s market share is expected to remain at 0.8% in Q1 2018. The hefty price tags of the models are likely going to discourage a lot of fans in China from picking up one. The midrange market has also slipped out of the grip of the Korean phone maker.

The same thing applies to India where the company also face stiff competition in the midrange segment from Chinese OEMs like Huawei, OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi whose smartphones have equally high quality and are better priced than Samsung models. The company has been the top phone maker in India for six years but last year saw Xiaomi outperform the tech giant in the fourth quarter. Samsung share also fell from26.2% to 23.9%. Samsung still remains the largest smartphone maker globally but observers are of the opinion that the global market leader faces the prospects of a further drop in the Indian and Chinese market in the near future.

Moto E5 Plus launches With 5,000mAh Battery, Moto E5 and Moto E5 Play Tag Along

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Apr 19, 2018

Other than the Moto G6 series launched today, we also got the Moto E5 series. The Moto E5 series includes the Moto E5 Plus which is the leader of the pack and the Moto E5 and Moto E5 Play.

The Moto E5 Plus is the biggest of all three. It sports a 6” display with a 1440 x 720 resolution and has polymer glass on the rear. It has 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. A Snapdragon 435 processor is the chipset of choice.

Although the Moto E5 Plus looks like it has dual rear cameras, it only has one. It is a 12MP f/2.0 (1.25um) sensor. The hole beside it is home to a laser focus module. It also has an 8MP front-facing camera with a dedicated LED flash.

Other than the large display, another selling point of the Moto E5 plus is its massive 5,000mAh battery. It runs Android 8.0 Oreo.

The Moto E5 is smaller at 5.7” but has the same HD+ resolution. It is powered by a Snapdragon 425 SoC paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage.

It has a 13MP f/2.0 sensor with a 1.12um pixel size as its main camera and a 5MP sensor as the front-facing camera. There is also a front LED flash.

The Moto E5 comes with a 4,000mAh battery which should be sufficient for more than a day.

The last is the Moto E5 Play. Just like the Moto E5, the rear is covered in polycarbonate. However, it is removable for access to the battery.

The display is 5.2” HD display and it comes with a Snapdragon 425/Snapdragon 427 depending on the market. RAM is 2GB and built-in storage is 16GB with support for expansion.

There is an 8MP f/2.0 sensor on the rear and a 5MP camera with flash sits above the display. It also has a fingerprint scanner buried under the Moto logo on the rear like its siblings.

Compared to the rest, the battery is small at 2,800mAh. It comes with a 10W charger and runs Android 8.0 Oreo.

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Motorola Unveils The Moto G6 Family: Brings New Design, New Display, & Improved Cameras

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Apr 19, 2018

Motorola has launched the new Moto G6 family at an event in Brazil. The sixth generation Moto G series includes the Moto G6, the Moto G6 Play, and the Moto G6 Plus.

Moto G6, Moto G6 Play, and Moto G6 Plus

The Moto G6 series all have a revamped design. Motorola has ditched metal in favor of 3D glass for the rear. It also now sports a new display called MAX Vision with an 18:9 aspect ratio and a redesigned/repositioned fingerprint scanner.

Moto G6 – the Moto G6 has a 5.7” display with a FHD+ display. The back of the Moto G6 is covered in Gorilla Glass 3 on both sides. Under the glass is a Snapdragon 450 processor, 3GB/4GB of RAM, and 32GB/64GB of expandable storage.

There is a fingerprint scanner below the display that can be used to control the device using gestures. There is a 12MP f/1.8 rear camera and an additional 5MP camera for capturing depth of field information. The front camera is an 8MP sensor with its own LED flash.

It runs Android 8.0 Oreo, has Bluetooth 4.2, a USB-C port and a 3,000mAh battery with support for TurboPower fast charging.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNIosf0wZ-k[/embedyt]

Moto G6 Play – It has a 5.7” MAX Vision display too but with an HD+ resolution. The back is covered in glass but polymer glass in this case. It is powered by a Snapdragon 430 processor and comes in 3GB/4GB RAM variants with 32GB/64GB variants. There is support for storage expansion.

There is 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. Its fingerprint reader is on the back and it packs a larger 4,000mAh battery.

Moto G6 Plus – The Moto G6 Plus has a larger 5.9” MAX Vision FHD+ display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The glass on the back is Gorilla Glass too. It has a more powerful Snapdragon 630 processor and comes in 4GB/6GB RAM variants with 64GB/128GB of storage. There is also support for up to an additional 128GB via a MicroSD card slot.

It has a 12MP f/1.7 rear camera and a 5MP secondary camera for depth of field. It can also record in 4K and has dual Pixel autofocus. Selfie camera is 8MP too with a LED flash. A smaller 3,200mAh battery powers it and its fingerprint scanner is below the display. It also has a USB-C port and Bluetooth 5.0.

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Samsung’s Foldable Phone Will Adopt A Note 8 Design But with a Bendable Midpoint

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Apr 19, 2018

Samsung‘s foldable phone which is tipped to go by the name Galaxy X or Galaxy Wing has been on the drawing board for quite some time now. Samsung may finally release the phone sometime soon as the Korea media tips the device to be completed in June.

There were reports that Samsung showcased two prototypes at a secret meeting held during the CES expo earlier this year. the two prototypes include an in-folding and an out-folding design. The in-folding prototype shown to select individuals at CES is said to have two halves measuring 3.5 inches each and there is a third 3.5-inch screen at the outside which displays information and notifications.When opened, the device is said not to be longer than the Galaxy Note 8. The company may likely utilise the in-folding design on the upcoming Galaxy X.

Sources familiar with Samsung’s dealings on the foldable device say the Korean giant is making trial batches and preparing for 500,000 to 2 million units overall. However, the device isn’t expected to land until next year at the earliest.

(Source)

Nubia Red Magic Gaming Smartphone Launched, Comes With 5.99-Inch 18:9 Display, SD 835 SoC And 8GB RAM For $399

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Jeet

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Apr 19, 2018

As expected, at a press conference in Beijing, China, ZTE’s sub-brand Nubia announced the launch of its first gaming smartphone under its Red Magic gaming brand — Nubia Red Magic Phone.

The smartphone comes with a 5.99-inch Full HD+ display with an edge-to-edge 2.5D NEG T2X-1 screen, 18:9 aspect ratio and 1500:1 contrast ratio. Under the hood, the smartphone is powered by Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 835 processor.

This is quite disappointing given that its successor — Snapdragon 845 has already been launched and is being used by most flagship smartphones launched this year. In fact, the competitor of Nubia Red Magic smartphone — Xiaomi-based Black Shark is also powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor.

The smartphone is made out of aluminum and is ergonomically designed for extended gameplay. It uses advanced thermal modeling techniques and is claimed to be the first smartphone to use an all-new air convection cooling system.

The cooling system is designed in a way that it dissipates heat effectively across its diamond-cut design without compromising on performance. To make it stand out from the competition, the phone is branded with a distinctive RGB LED strip.

The processor is coupled Adreno 540 GPU, as well as 8GB RAM and 128GB dual-channel flash memory. The Nubia Red Magic comes with a GameBoost mode, which frees up memory-intensive resources and delivers higher frame rates.

As of the photography, there’s a 24-megapixel Samsung 5K2X7SX rear camera sensor with 0.9μm pixel size, f/1.7 aperture and supports 4K video recording at 30fps and slow-motion 720p video recording at 120fps.

On the front side, there’s an 8-megapixel SK Hynix HI-846 sensor with 1.12μm pixel size and f/2.0 aperture. Connectivity options on the device include 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, MIMO 2×2, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, GPS and GLONASS.

It comes with DTS Technology and Smart Amplifier system for an immersive sound experience. The smartphone runs on Android 8.1 Oreo operating system out-of-the-box and is powered by a 3,800mAh battery which can provide up to 7 hours of gameplay on a single charge.

The Nubia Red Magic Phone will be exclusively available through Indiegogo for an early-bird price of $399 starting from 23rd April. The company says that it will reveal further information related to pricing and availability in the coming weeks.

Android P Will Come With A Redesigned Recent Apps Interface

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Apr 19, 2018

Depending on the phone you use, the Android recent apps menu is usually different. For MIUI, the apps are arranged horizontally and can be shrunk to just icons or expanded. For OxygenOS and stock Android, the recent apps are arranged in a vertical card system. When Android P launches, the recent apps menu will be redesigned.

According to 9to5Google, Android P will switch to a horizontal arrangement for the recent apps menu. The apps will still be arranged behind each other and not side-by-side like in MIUI.

It will work in a similar fashion as the current vertical arrangement. Swipe to the left to select the app you want to switch to and a swipe upwards should close an app. However, that isn’t the only change coming.

The recent apps button may also be removed, leaving just the home button which is now pill-shaped and the back button. To access the recent apps menu, one will need to swipe the home button up. When at the home screen, the only visible button will be the pill-shaped home/recent apps button. The back button is said to disappear later.

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Honor Launches New Selfie Stick, Headphones, & Charger

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Apr 19, 2018

The Honor 10 and the Honor MagicBook Notebook were announced in China today. However, both devices were not the only new products Honor launched. It also unveiled a bunch of new headphones, a selfie stick, and a multi-port charger.

Honor Headphones

Honor announced three different headphones today which cover basically all the three major categories.

Honor Magic Sound 2 – this is a pair of wired earphones with Hi-Res audio, braided cable, gold-plated 3.5mm connector, and an in-built remote. It also has Huawei’s Histen immersive audio technology and Pure Monster Sound effect. It comes in blue, red , and purple. It is priced at ¥249 (~$40) and will go on sale on April 27.
Honor Momentum Bluetooth Headphones – This is targeted at the younger generation. It is a pair of over-the-ear headphones that connects via Bluetooth, 3.5mm connector, or via USB-C. There is no info on price and availability yet.
Honor Magic Diamond Wireless Earbuds – this is a pair of completely wireless earbuds with a polygon design. Nothing is known about its features, price, and availability.

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Honor Moonlight Selfie Stick

The Moonlight Selfie Stick is a selfie stick with its own LED flash. The six-LED flash is incorporated into the shaft and points at the direction of the subject. This comes in handy for those wide-angle selfies in low-light conditions.

The selfie stick when folded can serve as a desk lamp and can also work as an emergency flashlight. It comes in black and white and is priced at ¥139 (~$22). It will also go on sale on April 27.

[envira-gallery id=”186485″]

Honor Multi-port Charger

The Honor multi-port charger comes with three ports and a foldable plug. One port (colored purple) supports Huawei’s 5V/4.5A SuperCharge fast charge technology. This is for all Huawei and Honor devices that support the fast charging mode. The port also supports 9V/2A fast charging.

The other two ports (colored white) support 5V/2A and 5V/1A charging modes. The charger also has 9 different protection modes that should keep your devices safe when plugged in.

It is only available in white and costs ¥149 (~$24). And just like the other products, it will be available on April 27 on Vmall, JD.com, Suning, and Tmall.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Orchid Grey Color Variant Launched In India

By

Jeet

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Apr 19, 2018

Samsung launched its Galaxy Note 8 smartphone in India back in September. Now, the company has introduced a new Orchid Grey color variant in India, which is priced at Rs. 67,990 — similar to the pricing of other variants.

This new Orchid Grey color variant of Galaxy Note 8 will be available in India from April 17 across India and offline retail stores. Recently, the company had launched Burgundy Red color variant of the Galaxy S9 in India.

The Galaxy Note 8 comes with a 6.3-inch Infinity Display, a Super AMOLED screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection on top. Under the hood, the device is powered by Samsung’s own Exynos 8895 processor, which is clocked at 2.3GHz.

In India, the device packs 6GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. There’s also an option to expand the phone’s storage capacity up to another 256GB through a microSD slot.

Coming to the camera department, the device comes with a 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel dual-rear camera at the back with dual OIS. Both come with f/1.7 aperture with Dual Pixel technology and also supports 2x optical zoom. On the front side, there’s an 8-megapixel snapper for taking selfies and video calling.

One of the phone’s highlights is the S Pen, which is a stylus that enhances writing and other functions on this phone. This phone also receives the support of Samsung’s digital assistant — Bixby.

The device, which is water and dust resistant with IP68 certification support Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, GPS, and GLONASS as connectivity options. Sensors on the phone include a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, barometer, and Iris scanner.

The smartphone runs on Android Nougat operating system out-of-the-box and the company has recently started rolling out Android Oreo update. It drives power from a 3,300mAh battery.

Xiaomi Mi 6X Selfie Camera Samples Showcase Stunning Portrait Mode

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Apr 19, 2018

Xiaomi is expected to launch the Mi 6X midrange smartphone on April 25 in China. Before now, the Chinese giant has shared a number of pictures and video of the real Mi 6X machine showing us the design which looks very similar to the Redmi Note 5X, including a vertically aligned dual camera lens. We have also seen some official sample photos captured by the Mi 6X rear cameras. The latest official promotional material we are getting is a couple of selfie camera samples which reveal the capabilities of the selfie camera to capture stunning portrait shots.

The sample photos clearly indicate the ability of the front camera to capture portraits with a bit of blur in the background. This is the Portrait mode. The quality of the picture looks like what was shot using an SLR camera but of course not on the same level. Xiaomi chose to go with a 20MP Sony IMX376 sensor with a f/2.2 aperture on the front camera and it looks like that isn’t a bad idea. The front camera may likely come with a selfie flash.

The rear cameras are also engineered to provide stunning photos which explain why Xiaomi promotes the Mi 6X with the slogan “shoot more beautiful”(sic). As a reminder, the Xiaomi Mi 6X is equipped with a 12MP Sony IMX486 primary sensor with f/1.8 aperture and a secondary 20MP Sony IMX376 sensor with f/1.8 aperture. The phone will support 4K resolution video shooting at 30 fps.

Other specifications of the Mi 6X include a 5.99-inch display that will carry support for Full HD+ resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels. It is speculated to be powered by an underclocked Snapdragon 660 chipset that may deliver a processing speed of 2.0 GHz. It will come preloaded with Android 8.1 Oreo-based MIUI 9 and it could feature a 2,910mAh battery. The device is expected to be available in three models such as 4 GB RAM + 32 GB storage, 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, all expandable storage.

Prices of Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 2i Raised After Record-Breaking Sales

By

Michele Ingelido

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Apr 19, 2018

Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 2i was released back in November 2017 on Mi.com and Mi Home stores. There are two variants of Power Bank 2i: a 10,000 mAh one and a bigger one with a capacity of 20,000 mAh.

Xiaomi has just decided to raise the price of both the battery packs in India. On Mi.com and Amazon India, the price has been increased to Rs. 899 for the 10,000 mAh version and Rs. 1,599 for the 20,000 mAh variant. It is Rs. 100 more than the official launch price. Here is how Xiaomi India spokesperson justified the new price hike:

Due to the change in tax structure we’ve had to marginally revise prices for our Mi Power Bank 2i series. This was done to ensure that Mi Power Bank 2i is still the high-quality product that buyers have come to expect from Xiaomi.

According to Xiaomi India chief Manu Kumar Jain, the sales of Xiaomi Mi Power Banks have been great last year. The company has been able to sell four times more units than its main competitor Lenovo. The 20,000 mAh version of Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 2i features a metal design with a thickness of 14.2 mm and a weight of 245 grams, while its bigger sibling has a polycarbonate body and a weight of 358 grams.

(Via)

Honor MagicBook With 14-Inch Display And 8th-Gen Intel Processors Launched, Price Starts At 4,999 Yuan

By

Jeet

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Apr 19, 2018

Along with its flagship smartphone Honor 10, China-based Huawei‘s sub-brand Honor also launched its new notebook — Honor MagicBook. One of the highlights of the notebook is that it can provide up to 12 hours of work time on a single charge.

According to the company, the Honor MagicBook has been built on the philosophy and attitude of a mobile smartphone. Further, the company said that it has been designed to be trendy and offer powerful performance, smart experience, and reliable quality.

It features a 14-inch anti-glare display with a screen-to-body ratio of 81 percent and a border of just 5.2mm. There’s also something called professional eye mode, which is aimed at professionals.

The laptop comes powered by Intel‘s eight-generation Core i7 -8550U processor, which is said to offer 40 percent better performance compared to the seventh-generation chipset. There’s also Nvidia MX150 2GB GDDR5 graphics processor.

There’s also another variant of the laptop which comes with Intel Core i5 processor along with Nvidia MX150 2GB GPU. While the Core i7 variant comes with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD, the Core i5 model packs 4GB RAM and 256GB SSD.

The notebook also supports 180-degree angle opening and closing of the lid and comes equipped with a full-size custom keyboard. It has 1.3mm key-range as well as a three-level backlight. There’s also customized mic mute switch, custom shortcuts, Wi-Fi switch, and independent Fn Lock key.

As said, one of the highlights of the Honor MagicBook is that it comes with a 57Wh battery which the company says can provide 12 hours of native 1080p video playback, 12 hours of web browsing, and 13 hours of document processing.

The device also comes equipped with four speakers with high-bass that also supports the Dolby Sound System. It comes with built-in 2×2 MIMO dual-antenna Wi-Fi and supports 360-degree shielding interference. There’s a fingerprint reader placed on the right side of the keyboard. According to the company, it can unlock the laptop in 0.9 seconds.

The Honor MagicBook will be available in three color options — Glacier Silver, Star Grey, and Nebula Violet. The company has promised to offer a 2-year warranty on the purchase of this laptop. While the Core i7 model is priced at 5,699 Yuan (approximately $908), the Core i5 variant is priced at 4,999 Yuan, which roughly converts to $796.

The laptop will be available for pre-orders starting today at 05:00 PM local time in China and will go on sale from 23rd April. The company is offering a discount of about 200 Yuan (~ $32) for the first sale. Currently, there is no information available regarding the availability of Honor MagicBook in other regions.

Honor 10 Launched for 2,599 Yuan (~$414), Packs 19:9 Display, AI 2.0, 6 GB RAM & Kirin 970

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Apr 19, 2018

Today through an unveil event in China, Huawei’s sub-brand Honor announced the arrival of the Honor 10 flagship smartphone. The same event was also used to unleash Honor’s first notebook called the Honor Magicbook.

The Honor 10 features a very impressive glass chassis that has the ability to show different colors when it is viewed from different angles. It is equipped with a notched display that offers a large screen space. Some of the other attractive features of the Honor 10 include improved AI 2.0, 6 GB RAM, 128 GB storage, AI driven dual cameras and more.

Design

The Honor 10 has an aluminum frame that is flanked with glass panels on both sides. The device measures 149.6 x 71.2 x 7.7 mm and weighs 153 grams. The Honor 10 uses a biaxial curved glass design that allows it to show off endless colors when it is viewed from different angles. In addition to Phantom Purple and Phantom Blue color variants that produce infinite colors, the Honor 10 will be also available in regular colors like Seagull Gray and Midnight Black in China.

Display

Like the P20, the Honor 10 features a notched display. It is fitted with a 5.84-inch LTPS IPS LCD screen that offers screen resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels along with an aspect ratio of 19:9.

The handset also provides an option to hide the notch by blackening the areas that are present on its either sides, similar to what we saw on the P20 Pro. The home button placed on the bottom bezel of the Honor 10 is integrated with an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. The Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor offers better security than a traditional sensor. Further, it can be used to unlock it even with wet fingers.

Performance

The Kirin 970 chipset brings along its NPU unit for handling AI tasks. Unlike the P20 that comes in a single option of 4 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, the Honor 10 comes in multiple variants. The different models of the Honor 10 are 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage. The 3,320mAh battery of the phone is enabled with support for SuperCharge 5V/4.5A fast charging technology. It allows the phone to gain 50 percent of power by charging it only for 25 minutes.

The Android 8.1 Oreo that is overlaid with EMUI 8.1 is available on the Honor 10. The handset includes AI 2.0 through which it can accurately identify dynamic pictures and it can process image effects twice as fast as iPhone X. AI 2.0 can also designed to deliver better work efficiency in while working on productivity apps. AI 2.0 has also learned different kinds of photography skills for capturing enhanced shots of people, pets, and landscapes.

Cameras

When it comes to photography, the Honor 10 offers its users with f/1.8 aperture 16-megapixel + f/1.8 aperture 24-megapixel dual camera setup. There is no Leica or SUMMILUX branding for the dual rear cameras that can be found on Huawei P20 and P20 Pro smartphones.

With AI 2.0, the horizontally arranged dual camera sensors carries support for scene recognition like food, scenery, and so on. When there are a lot of people in the scene, the Honor 10 can precisely blur others in the background and focus more on the subject. The smart fill light effect can automatically lighten up the face of the user according to the lighting of the surroundings in order to capture enhanced shots. The AI album available on the Honor 10 can smartly classify the images in different folders which makes it easier to find them.

The Honor 10 houses the same Sony IMX578 24-megapixel selfie camera that is available on the P20 series smartphones. Whether it is day or night, the selfie snapper is optimized to capture excellent photos in any lighting conditions. It can apply different optimization for hair, face, and background for shooting perfect selfie shots. It can also identify facial features and accordingly enhance specific areas like eyes and nose.

The front camera of the Honor 10 can be also used for facial recognition. It also carries support for AR stickers.

Other Features

The Honor 10 is packed with other usual features such as dual band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, USB-C port, GPS, and GLONASS. The handset lacks support for 3.5mm audio jack which means there is only one port that can be used for charging as well as for connecting a wired headphone. For enhanced audio experience, it features an AK4376A Hi-Fi chip that carries support for 7.1 multi-channel immersive sound output.

Pricing

The pre-orders of the Honor 10 will begin later today in China and its official sales will start on April 27 at 10:08 AM (local time). The 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage variants are respectively priced at 2,599 Yuan (~$414), 2,999 Yuan (`~$477). It will be available for purchase at Huawei Mall, Official Honor stores at Jingdong, Tmall and Suning.

At the Honor 10 launch event, the company also introduced accessories like Honor Moonlight Stick worth 139 Yuan (~$22), Honor Multi-Port Charger priced at 149 Yuan (~$23), Honor Monster headphones (2^nd gen) wroth 249 Yuan (~$39). These accessories will be available at aforementioned stores starting from 10:08 AM (local time) on April 27. We’ll cover them in a separate article soon.

Huawei P20, P20 Pro Launched in Taiwan for ‎NT$20,900 (~$712), ‎NT$26,900 (~$916) Respectively

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Apr 19, 2018

In the last month, Huawei had launched the Huawei P20 and P20 Pro flagship phones through an unveil event in Paris. In the previous week, the P20 duo were launched in China and today, the Chinese firm has introduced them in Taiwan.

Huawei P20 Pro and P20 Specifications and Features

One of the most striking feature of the Huawei P20 Pro is that it features a 6.1-inch AMOLED display that supports 2240 x 1080 pixels resolution and an aspect ratio of 18.7:9. It offers a screen-to-body ratio of 82 percent. The bezel lying the display features a fingerprint senor enabled home button.

The Huawei P20 Pro is the first smartphone ever to feature a triple camera setup that includes a 40-megapixel RGB sensor, an 8-megapixel telephoto sensor and a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor. The P20 Pro is currently leading the list of best smartphones for photography on DxOMark benchmarking platform. The Leica certified triple camera system offers features like phase detection, laser autofocus, 4K video shooting and LED flash. It has a selfie camera of 24-megapixel.

The Kirin 970 chipset is present under the hood of the P20 Pro. The SoC is coupled with 6 GB of RAM and it features an inbuilt storage of 128 GB. It does not feature a microSD card. The handset is loaded with Android 8.1 Oreo and the latest EMUI 8.1 skin. It has a big battery of 4,000mAh capacity that is assisted with 4.5V/5A fast charging technology.

On the other side, the Huawei P20 has a 5.8-inch LTPS IPS LCD screen that offers the same resolution and aspect ratio like P20 Pro. It features Kirin 970 SoC, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, dual camera setup featuring 12-megapixel RGB sensor and 20-megapixel monochrome sensor, 24-megapixel front camera and 3,400mAh battery.

The Huawei P20 and P20 Pro were introduced in Europe with respective pricing of 649 euros (~$805) and 899 euros (~$1,114). These phones have respectively arrived in Taiwan for 20,900 (~$712) and 26,900 (~$916). The official sales of the phone will begin in Taiwan from May 1. The P20 comes in Twilight, Pink and Black color options whereas the P20 is available in Black and Midnight Blue. Customers who pre-order it will be able to take advantage of one-time screen replacement service for free.

Huawei is working on bringing its P20 and P20 Pro smartphones in wider markets. It has recently confirmed that it will be debuting the P20 series in India on April 24.

Huawei Could Have Released A Notch Phone Way Before the iPhone X, But It Played Safe

By

Joel Joseph

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Apr 19, 2018

Notch is the new trend in the market and there’s no denying that the Apple iPhone X popularised the design. Soon after the iPX launch, Android manufacturers started to imitate the notch up front, and this included the world’s number three smartphone company, Huawei. However, turns out, Huawei could have considered using the notch design way before Apple and its iPhone X.

Huawei P20 Pro case 17 — Huawei P20 Pro with a Case

In an interview with Forbes’ Ben Sin, Huawei’s Mobile Head, Li took some time to talk about the notch design on the Huawei P20 series. He said that the company had conceptualised this design “three to four years ago”, however, Huawei decided to play it safe. With a notch up front, the symmetrical design that’s usually seen on most smartphones and loved by Chinese customers, would be ruined. This is why the company thought it was not the right time to release a flagship with a notch up front.

However, seeing the success of the notch-equipped iPhone X, Huawei realised that it played too safe. Li adds that the company missed their chance to pioneer the notch design.

Huawei P20 Pro 13 — Huawei P20 Pro Twilight Color

Li further said that the gradient twilight color for the P20 Pro almost didn’t materialise as many considered it to be a bit ‘too much’. However, Huawei decided to take a chance with this color and it definitely paid off, considering how this variant is a consumer favourite today.

End of the day, it’s not about who thought of the idea first but who managed to get it right and present it to the public on a commercial product. Clearly, Apple got it right with the notch and it looks like more and more smartphones will catch on with the trend in the coming months.

huawei p20 pro — Huawei P20 Pro Has 3 Cameras At The Back!

But one things’ for sure, the billion of dollars being spent on Huawei’s R&D department is paying off. The three camera design is no gimmick and it delivers a stunning smartphone camera experience. The gradient back is nothing like we’ve seen before and gives the P20 Pro a unique identity. I’m sure in the coming months, more phone makers will try to release their own version of a gradient back as well as a triple camera setup. But we’ll always remember, Huawei was the first to pioneer both these elements in a smartphones.

You can read Ben’s interview with Li on Forbes from here.

Flyme 7 Coming to Older Phones Like Meizu PRO 5

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Apr 19, 2018

Earlier in this week, Meizu had confirmed that it will be introducing the Flyme 7 Android skin alongside the Meizu 15 series smartphones on April 22. The company is now in the process of recruiting beta testers to iron out the bugs and other issues from Flyme 7 before it is officially made available to wider audience. As of this writing, Meizu is yet to confirm on the list of the smartphones that will be receiving the new Flyme 7 UI. Since it has made the beta version available for the older Meizu PRO 5 phone, it seems that plenty of Meizu phones will be treated with Flyme 7.

The below shown image reveals that the Flyme 7 is now available for beta testing on two devices such as Meizu PRO 5 and Meizu M6 Note. As mentioned above, the Chinese manufacturer is yet to confirm on the list of supported Meizu phones for Flyme 7. The Meizu PRO 5 smartphone was launched in September 2015 and it is fueled by Exynos 7420 SoC. This indicates that apart from 2018 Meizu phones, the Flyme 7 could be available to all the Meizu devices that were launched in 2016 and 2017.

Hence, some of the popular Meizu phones from the past two years that are expected to receive the Flyme 7 include Meizu M5, M5 Note, M3, M3 Note, M3 Max, M3x, M3s, M3e, Pro 6, Pro 6 Plus, Pro 6s, and MX6. The 2017 Meizu phones such as Meizu PRO 7, PRO 7 Plus, M6, M5c, Meizu M5s and Meizu E2 are also expected to receive the Flyme 7 update. It goes without saying that this year’s Meizu M6s and Meizu E3 phones will also receive the Flyme 7 update.

The above shown leaked photo reveals that the Meizu PRO 5 and M6 Note has received the Flyme 7.8.4.17 daily edition. The version number suggests that it is a day-to-day test version that is being rolled out on a daily basis.

In order to try the beta version of the Flyme 7, one can enroll through the Flyme Community app. One should be aware of the fact that the beta edition may contain bugs. Hence, users who are interested to try the beta version are suggested to perform a backup of the device before installing it.

Moto Z3 Play Case Images Reveal Side-Mounted Fingerprint Reader

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Apr 19, 2018

Later today, Motorola will be holding its first launch event of the year. The Lenovo-owned company is expected to debut Moto G6 series phones such as Moto G6, Moto G6 Plus and Moto G6 Play. Some sources have claimed that it will be also launching Moto E5 series which includes Moto E5, Moto E5 Plus and Moto E5 Play. Apart from these phones, the company is also pegged to launch Moto Z3 series and Moto X5 in this year. Since the Moto Z2 Play and Z2 Force were launched in June last year, their successor models are expected to break cover by June this year. The CAD renders of Z3 Play that were released at the beginning of this month had revealed the presence of a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. Poetic Cases have already listed some renders of Z3 Play wearing its Karbon Shield case.

The below image shows that the Z3 Play will be featuring an 18:9 aspect ratio screen, but the exact size is not known. The reduced top bezel has an earpiece, a selfie camera and other sensors. The bottom bezel only houses a microphone and the company’s name.

The rear side of the Moto Z3 Play seems to be made out of glass. Hence, there is a possibility that it may include support for wireless charging. The round-shaped camera housing at the top features horizontally arranged dual cameras along with dual-tone LED flash. There is no cutout for the fingerprint scanner on the backside of the device. Also, the frontside of the phone does not feature a fingerprint sensor enabled home button. The below image shows the presence a large cutout for a side-mounted fingerprint scanner below the volume rocker on the right edge of the phone.

The power key is located on the left side of the Z3 Play. The bottom side has a USB-C port and the 3.5mm audio jack could not on the phone.

Previous leaks have revealed that depending on the market, the Moto Z3 Play will be available in single-SIM and dual-SIM editions. Also, some markets will be receiving its 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage variant while others will get its 4 GB RAM + 32 GB storage model. The appearance of the Z3 Play at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has revealed that it will be powered by Snapdragon 636 SoC. The rumor mill has revealed that the handset will be featuring a 6.1-inch Full HD+ screen and it will be packed with a 3,000mAh battery.