Xiaomi has opened its first Mi Home Experience Store in Chennai, located at Phoenix Market City Mall in Velachery. This marks the company’s 25th Mi Home store in the country and will be open for customers from March 1, 2018.
The aim of this experience store is to showcase products from the company that has not been launched in India, and not just the products that have been launched in India. The China-based company says that it is on track to open its 100th store in India by the end of this year.
Manu Kumar Jain, Xiaomi India’s MD and Xiaomi’s Global Vice President said, “think of this as a flagship Mi Home, where we will show not just the products that we have already launched in India, but also the ones that we want to bring to the market.”
This new Mi Home Experience Store in Chennai is divided into three parts – the first showcases products such as the Ninebot Plus “hoverboard”, and the Mi Robot Builder. The second part showcases different phones that the company is selling and products such as the Mi Air Purifier. The third part again shows products that are not yet available in India, such as the company’s laptops, its rice cooker, and water purifier, among others.
Manu Kumar Jain adds, “most people think of Xiaomi as only a phone brand, but actually, there are a host of products that we have that are not being sold in India. We have a portable air purifier that you can take in a car, smart scooters, laptops, robot vacuum cleaners, our electric toothbrush, and more.”
According to Xiaomi, the idea behind showcasing these products to Indian consumers is to gauge interest in bringing them to the country and to work out how to customize these products to make them successful in India.
The company is also planning to open at least one Mi Home Experience Store in the major cities of India, and after Chennai, the next two planned cities are Delhi and Mumbai. In India, the company has recently launched Mi Smart LED TV 4 and two new smartphones — Redmi Note 5 and the Note 5 Pro.
Essential Phone has received several updates improving the camera performance and functionality and now, the company has released yet another update pertaining camera features. The new camera update for the Essential PH-1 brings selfie flash, stability fixes, and a beta version of a ‘Tiny Planet’ mode.
The Tiny Planet is one of the most exciting features coming to the phone. If you have the Essential 360 Camera accessory, Tiny Planet allows you to capture 360-degree photos and videos, which it displays as if on its own planet.
The Tiny Planet creations can be edited directly within the Essential Camera application and everything making the changes, users can share it on the social media platform of their choice.
The other feature that comes with this update is selfie flash. It works by turning the screen bright white as the selfie is taken in order to illuminate the faces of the people in the picture. While it’s not as powerful as a dedicated hardware flash, it can still be useful for lighting up a dark environment.
The camera updates for the Essential Phone have become a regular thing. It’s good to see that the company is focusing on improving the camera performance after it was heavily criticized upon the phone’s release, with several issues, including poor processing and slow speeds.
Previous camera update from the company, which was released a few weeks ago, introduced features such as Auto-HDR, along with stability fixes, and boosted capture speeds.
Recently, reports emerged suggesting that the company could soon launch its Essential Phone Halo Gray variant in India, which is one of the largest smartphone markets in the world, for a price of about Rs. 24,999 (approximately $388). This has led many to believe that the company is looking to clear stocks before it starts working on the successor of Essential PH-1.
Following the launch of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, it appears Samsung’s next product launch will be targeted at the entry-level/mid-range category. In the last few weeks, there have been a number of J-series phones showing up across benchmarking sites. Today, its the Galaxy J8 that has been seen on Geekbench.
The Samsung Galaxy J8 is benchmarked as the samsung SM-J800FN and like the SM-J600F, it is powered by an Exynos 7870 chip.
The 14nm octa-core chip is clocked at 1.59GHz (1.6GHz) and paired with 3GB of RAM. The device is also running Android 8.0.0 Oreo.
The benchmark scores are also similar to that of the Galaxy J6 seen on the site yesterday. The single-core score is 728 and the multi-core score is 3683 points.
Indian smartphone maker Lava has joined the fast-growing train of Android phone makers who are embracing Google’s Android Go platform. The company Tuesday announced its first smartphone running Android Ore0(Go edition) also known as Android Go. The model is christened Lava Z50 was showcased at the ongoing MWC 2018 and will go on sale in mid-March across stores in India.
The Lava Z50 is the product of a collaboration between Lava and Airtel as part of the telecom giant’s Mera Pehla Smartphone initiative. So, the device comes with an Rs. 2,000 cashback courtesy of Airtel. It also offers 2 years warranty just like other smartphones in Lava’s Z series.
Lava Z50 features a 4.5-inch FWVGA display with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass for protection but a resolution of 480×854 pixels. The device is also powered by a 1.1GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6737M SoC paired with 1GB of RAM. There is also an 8GB native storage onboard the device.
On the camera aspect, the Z50 packs a 5MP camera both at the front and rear. The front and rear camera are also accompanied by LED flashlights. Lava said the Z50 will offer a Bokeh mode. As stated earlier, the device runs Android 8.1 Oreo (Go edition). The version of Android has been optimised to provide a smooth experience on low-end handsets with less than 1GB of RAM. It comes preloaded with apps such as YouTube Go and others. The device will be available in Black and Gold colour variants.
Xiaomi is already working on the Mi Band 3 but we still don’t know when it would launch. If you live in India and can’t wait, you can buy the Mi Band 2 as it is now back in stock.
The Mi Band 2 has been out of stock for months before Xiaomi released the Mi Band HRX Edition specifically for India about 5 months ago. However, the HRX Edition lacks a heart rate sensor but it sells for less.
Xiaomi has not only restocked the Mi Band 2 but has also dropped the price. Instead of its original Rs. 1,999 (~$31) launch price, the Mi Band 2 now sells for Rs 1,799 (~$28) with free delivery. The specs remain the same though.
There is an 0.42-inch OLED display, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, a 70mAh battery and its IP67 rated. The straps are also replaceable and the Mi Band 2 works with Android devices running Android Kitkat and up and iOS devices running iOS 7.0 and above.
HMD Global has now started rolling out Android Oreo beta update for its Nokia 3 phone, which was launched in February 2017. The long-delayed update was announced last month and now, HMD Global’s Chief Product Officer Juho Sarvikas took to Twitter to announce this update rollout.
Users of Nokia 3 can sign up for the beta on the company’s site to get access to the Android Oreo update preview. After registering with device’s IMEI number and confirming mobile operator, users will get Android Oreo software update notification.
This new version of the Android operating system, Android 8.0 Oreo is around 1.6GB in size and brings a ton of new features to the Nokia 3, including Picture-in-Picture mode, notifications dots, adaptive icons, notification channels, system optimizations, and performance improvements.
The Beta Labs Program, under which users get access to the beta build of the upcoming software updates from the company, was started with Nokia 8 and later, it was extended to the Nokia 6 and the Nokia 5 as well.
To recall, the Nokia 3 comes with a 5-inch display having a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. Under the hood, it is powered by 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek 6737 processor and it comes with 2GB of RAM. The phone packs 16GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 128GB through a microSD card.
As far as the cameras are concerned, the device features an 8-megapixel primary camera on the rear and an 8-megapixel front-facing shooter for selfies and video calling. The device runs Android 7.0 Nougat operating system out-of-the-box and is powered by a 2,630mAh non-removable battery.
At the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, HMD Global has launched five new phones, which includes the Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 1 with Android Oreo (Go Edition), Nokia 6 (2018), and the reincarnated version of Nokia 8110.
CES 2018 may not have been as great as we expected, but MWC 2018 definitely didn’t disappoint. Despite the fact that majority of the manufacturers (Huawei, LG, HTC, Xiaomi) decided to skip this event to unveil their big guns, the event currently going on in Barcelona still managed to keep us all interested with launches like the Vivo Apex and the Matebook X Pro.
So, let’s take a look at the top launches from MWC 2018.
DAY ZERO:
Sunday was an exceptionally busy day for tech enthusiasts given that three major manufacturers had lined up announcements one after the other. And yes, there was the LG announcement too, launching the LG V30S ThinQ model, but to be honest, that wasn’t the highlight of the day.
The following were the top products announced on Sunday.
HUAWEI MATEBOOK X PRO
Huawei kicked off MWC 2018 with its amazing Matebook X Pro. There’s no doubt that the new laptop is inspired by the bezel-less design of the Dell XPS 13 but the company has taken things to another level. The company has integrated the web camera as a pop up component on the keyboard, ensuring you are away from prying eyes when the camera is not in use. Not only that, the Matebook X Pro features a 3:2 aspect ratio that enables more pixels on the screen with a resolution of 3000 x 2000. Coming from a company that entered the laptop market just a couple of years ago, the Matebook X Pro is definitely a product worthy of your attention.
Nokia managed to impress us with its strategy last year, slowing gaining ground in the ever competitive smartphone market. The company used the event on Sunday to unveil a number of new smartphones for the global market. First of all, the Nokia 6 2018 model is finally coming to markets outside of China. It’s a great phone (our hands on here!) in the budget segment.
Nokia 8 Sirocco
New announcements of the day included the Nokia 8 Sirocco edition with upgraded features and specs. Basically, the Sirocco is what the Nokia 8 should have been and with Snapdragon 835 inside, the phone could have been a great option back in 2017. But it might be a little too late to the party in 2018, especially with its costly price tag.
Nokia 7 Plus
The Nokia 7 Plus is actually the most interesting smartphone of the lot. The phone features the powerful Snapdragon 660 chipset with dual cameras and 2X optical zoom. It’s being marketed as a premium mid-ranger and also adopts the current trend of 18:9 aspect ratio for its display, which is something that the Nokia 6 2018 model skipped. For less than $400, the phone offers pretty amazing value. Read more about the model here! Note that there’s a Nokia 7 Plus China edition too, which is cheaper by the way.
Nokia 8110
The new Nokia 8110 Slider refreshes the iconic banana phone. With a banana yellow shade, the company is definitely trying to bring back the trend to current market. However, apart from the looks, the phone has nothing extraordinary. So, we wonder who will end up buying this one, despite its iconic design. More about the phone here.
Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+
Galaxy S9+
The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ unveil were the two most powerful launches on Sunday. The South Korean giant has retained what was good about the S8 and made some minor yet necessary upgrades in the new S9 & S9+ models. Powered by SD845 (in US and China) and Exynos 9810 in other markets, the phone is the most powerful flagship from Samsung till date. The camera gets a super slo-mo bump at 960 fps at 720p among other upgrades. The S9 keeps a single camera module, while the S9+ gets the expected dual camera upgrade.
The first official day of the MWC 2018 saw Sony & Vivo grab all the attention.
Vivo Apex
Vivo Apex
Vivo surprised us all by revealing the Vivo Apex Concept smartphone on Monday. It is definitely one of the most interesting smartphone concepts that we have seen lately. The phone features a nearly 98% screen to body ratio, which is insane for a smartphone. The company reportedly made this possible by integrating the microchips directly into the flexible circuit board. Further, the phone features a unique pop up periscope front camera, which enabled the company to limit the front bezel to a bare minimum. Further, there are other high-end tech for its speakers and ear piece.
Sony’s smartphone department wasn’t doing so well in the past few years. Some of its phones have been promising, but as an overall package, the Japanese giant often failed to impress. However, with the XZ2 series, the company is hoping to change some things. First of all, it has ditched the omnibalance design and now, the new models feature an 18:9 aspect ratio display along with a revamped ‘ambient flow’ design. The XZ2 flagship features wireless charging as well.
Overall, if priced correctly the Sony Xperia XZ2 series could be a game changer for the company. You can read all about these two models from here.
Helio P60
Mediatekhas given up on its flagship X series chipsets but that doesn’t mean that the company is out of the smartphone market. MTK unveiled the brand new Helio P60 chipset on Monday at MWC 2018, featuring promising specs that can take on the SD660 chip. The company plans to compete in the premium mid-range segment with its new chipset and comes with the new NeuroPilot AI processing tech along with Mali-G73 MP3 GPU to ensure it can handle the premium features of a flagship grade smartphone.
The second day at MWC 2018 saw Nubia and ASUS revealing its top phones for the year.
NUBIA’s First Gaming Phone
nubia gaming phone concept
Smartphone manufacturers seem to be interested in the concept of gaming phones and Nubia is the first Chinese smartphone company to reveal details about its new Gaming phone. Inspired by a super car design, Nubia’s gaming flagship concept features several cuts and creases at the back with the camera module arranged vertically. The design retains its symmetry and Nubia seems to have done a fine job in making this smartphone design.
The phone is confirmed to launch in China sometime in the coming months, so it’s not just another concept that may never see the light of the day. You can read more about the company’s gaming concept here.
ASUS Zenfone 5Z and Zenfone 5
ASUS Zenfone 5Z
ASUS unveiled its big guns yesterday, announcing the Zenfone 5 and the Zenfone 5Z models. The Zenfone 5Z is the pick of the lot featuring SD845, 6GB RAM, a 6.2-inch FHD+ display with 90% screen to body ratio — in under $500! But the Zenfone 5 is also a great smartphone, differing from the 5Z model in the processor department (SD636) and memory (4GB RAM).
ASUS isn’t ashamed to accept that the two phones are iPhone X inspired, but it does add that their notch is smaller.
While everyone seems to have jumped on the notched display bandwagon, a new patent shows that LG will be taking a different approach.
The display arm of the Korean electronics giant has had one of its patents published that shows a new take on its FullVision full-screen displays. The patent was filed in September last year and was published on Friday, February 23.
[envira-gallery id=”176201″]
The display has rounded corners like we have seen on LG’s recent releases. However, what catches your attention is a hole within the display, positioned just a few mm to the top. Our guess is that the hole will house the earpiece, sensor, and possibly the front camera too.
Is this a better take on full-screen displays? Maybe not, as we can already think of how distracting the hole can be like a bunch of dead pixels on the screen. Nevertheless, we are still eager to see how the user interface works with the display.
Recent reports have revealed plenty of information about the upcoming Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S smartphone that is slated to get unveiled on March 27. Fresh information suggests that Xiaomi has been ordering 6.01-inch OLED panels from Samsung Display since December. Hence, it is speculated that the upcoming Mi MIX 2S and Mi 7 flagship phones may feature 6.01-inch OLED screen.
New information that has appeared on Weibo states that Xiaomi and Samsung Display had entered a deal for 6.01-inch OLED last year. The consignment reportedly began in December with a shipment of around 1.1 million units in the first month and 2.2 million units in the second month. Hence, it seems that this deal will ensure steady supply of OLED panels for upcoming Xiaomi smartphones. Recent leaks suggest that the Mi MIX 2S and Mi 7 may both feature 6.01-inch sized display.
The original Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 came with 5.99-inch IPS LCD panel. Since the Mi MIX 2S is expected to arrive as an improved version of the original phone, it was expected that it will continue to sport same-sized IPS LCD display but may come with in departments like chipset and camera. However, a freshly spotted leaked image of the About Phone page of the alleged Mi MIX 2S had revealed that it would arriving with a 6.01-inch display.
A report from six months ago had claimed the Xiaomi Mi 7 would be equipped with an OLED panel supplied by Samsung. Also, it was recently revealed through the alleged firmware files of Mi 7 that it would be coming with an OLED panel to carry support for Always-On Display feature. And the fresh information on the deal between Xiaomi and Samsung Display suggests that the Mi 7 could be arriving with a 6.01-inch OLED screen. It may carry support for FHD+ resolution.
A recent report had revealed that the Mi 7’s display will sport a notch like iPhone X. Also, the Chinese manufacturer is speculated to introduce in-screen fingerprint scanner on this phone. It will be fueled by Snapdragon 845 chipset and it may come in 6 GB and 8 GB RAM options. It is expected to arrive with 3,170mAh battery that will carry support 7.5W wireless charging. The handset is expected to debut in June this year.
Do you think that Mi MIX 2S and Mi 7 will both feature 6.01-inch OLED panel? Share us your views by posting your comments below.
Huawei P20 is slated to get announced on March 27. While briefing with media at the launch event of Matebook X Pro laptop at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018, Huawei CEO Richard Yu not only claimed that the upcoming P20 will be better than iPhone X, but also stated that the company would leapfrog Apple in a year or two.
Talking about the Huawei P20, he said that it will be better than the iPhone X that is priced at $999. It indicates that the Huawei P20 could be an affordable device compared to the iPhone X.
“We will have some very big, bold, big innovation on camera technology. It will be much much better than all the phones,” Yu said. By this he could be talking about the triple lens camera setup that is rumored to arrive on the alleged Huawei P20 Plus/Pro smartphone. He further stated that, “Maybe I’m not humble, but ours is better, it’s not just a little bit better, but much better.”
In a short span of time, Huawei has managed to become the third-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. Currently, Samsung is leading the pack while is holding on to the number second spot. Yu is of the view that Huawei will soon surpass Apple.
Yu said to the media that within or two years, it will become the top smartphone manufacturer. It aims to dethrone Samsung from its numero uno position in four to five years. Unlike Samsung and Apple, Huawei is yet to popular brand across the world. Yu said that the company will be working on making Huawei a trusted brand among consumers.
Xiaomi had rolled out Android 8.0 Oreo beta update for Mi 6 users in the previous month. Today, the company has rolled out the latest MIUI 9.2.3 Global Stable ROM that brings along the Android 8.0 Oreo OS. The update can be installed through OTA update as well as by manually installing the ROM. The Chinese manufacturer has also released the kernel source code to the public.
Xiaomi has confirmed on the arrival of the MIUI 9.2.3 flavored Oreo update for Mi 6 through an official announcement on MUI Official Forum. By this, it becomes the first Xiaomi phone to be blessed with Oreo update.
As of this writing, Xiaomi has not confirmed on the other phones that will be getting the MIUI 9.2.3 update. However, it is speculated that the Mi MIX 2 smartphone may receive it in the near future. The upcoming Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S and Xiaomi Mi 7 flagship phones are rumored to come pre-installed with Android 8.0 Oreo OS.
Compared to other smartphone OEMs, Xiaomi is usually slow at releasing kernel source codes for its smartphones. It has recently released Android Nougat based kernel source codes for Mi A1 and Redmi 4X. Now that the Oreo kernel source code has been released for Mi 6, developers will soon release custom software builds for it.
The Xiaomi Mi 6 was launched with MIUI 8 based Android 7.1.1 Nougat. It features 5.15-inch FHD display. It is powered by Snapdragon 835. It comes in 64 GB and 128 GB storage options and 4 GB and 6 GB RAM options. It includes 12-megapixel camera sensors on its rear whereas its frontside is flanked with 8-megapixel selfie camera. It includes 3,350mAh battery.
MIUI 9.2.3 Update Changelog:
Here is the changelog of MIUI 9.2.3.0 update for Xiaomi Mi 6:
Highlights
Optimization – Android 8.0 update (02-12)
Optimization – Protection from unintentional tapping for Dial pad (02-12)
System
Optimization – Android 8.0 update (02-12)
Fix – Apps changed Wi-Fi connection status without the user’s permission (02-12)
Fix – Apps stopped working in the background (02-12)
Fix – WhatsApp force closed in Split screen (02-12)
Phone
Fix – DTMF issues after pausing VoLTE video calls (02-12)
App Lock
New – Added the App lock step before unlocking using a new fingerprint for the first time (02-12)
Contacts
New – Improved layout and readability for search results in Contacts (02-12)
Optimization – Protection from unintentional tapping for Dial pad (02-12)
Fix – Contact search didn’t work properly for Russian and Ukranian (02-12)
Messaging
Fix – OTP messages were grouped with notification SMS (02-12)
Fix – Time in Messaging didn’t change when the system was switched to 12-hour format (02-12)
Fix – Messages with one-time passwords disappeared (02-12)
Delete – Adjustments for Messaging: service and promo SMS, scheduled SMS, and group messages. (02-12)
Lockscreen, Status Bar, Notification Bar
Optimization – Vibration for notifications during calls (02-12)
In May 2016, Lenovo had released a teaser that suggested that it will be bringing back the older Motorola RAZR flip phone. It did not happen so as the company had unveiled the Motorola Moto Z with modular capabilities. During a press meet at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018, Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing hinted that the company may relaunch the RAZR phone with foldable design.
HMD Global has so far launched revamped edition of older phones like Nokia 3310 and Nokia 8110. It appears that Lenovo too will resurrect some of the phones that were released in the past. When Yuanqing was asked whether the company would be reviving the Motorola RAZR, he responded by saying, “With the new technology, particularly foldable screens, I think you will see more and more innovation on our smartphone design. So hopefully what you just described (referring to the Moto RAZR brand) will be developed or realized very soon.”
When he was specifically asked whether he was talking about the Motorola RAZR, he said, “I think I have already answered the question.” This is clear indication that the new Motorola RAZR will be announced in the near future.
Motorola RAZR is one of the popular phones from the company as it had sold 130 million units since its launch in 2004. Shown above is the teaser that the firm had released in May 2016 that hinted a future return of the RAZR phone. There is a possibility that the company may bring back only the RAZR branding to launch its foldable smartphones.
Motorola is expected to soon debut the Moto G6 and G6 Plus smartphones. It is also rumored to release Moto Z3, Z3 Play and Z3 Plus in summer year. The company will be also releasing Moto X5 this year.
Do you think that the new RAZR phone will be an updated edition of the older phone or a new branding for Lenovo-owned Motorola’s foldable phones? Shar us your views by posting your comments below.
Looks like Xiaomi fans are in for a treat. The Beijing-based online retail company, LightInTheBox is currently offering considerable discounts on the original asking price of two well-received Xiaomi-branded smartphones. Let’s check out the details.
Xiaomi MI A1
The MI A1 is up for grabs for only $197.99 on LightInTheBox. This is a significant 34% reduction in the phone’s actual selling price of $299.99.
The MI A1 garnered huge popularity among smartphone lovers after hitting the store shelves in September, last year. The phone sports a 5.5 inches LTPS IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels.
Under the hood, it packs 4GB of RAM, 64GB of onboard storage and a powerful Qualcomm MSM8953 Snapdragon 625 processor. It runs on Android 7.1.2 Nougat operating system with MIUI 9 on top.
On the back, it sports 12 megapixels + 12 megapixels dual camera setup and a 5 megapixels camera with LED flash and 1080P in the front. It is backed by a built-in 3,080mAh Lithium-ion battery.
You can click here to buy the gold or black color version of the Xiaomi MI A1 4G smartphone. It’s worth noting that the promo is slated to end soon.
Xiaomi Redmi 4A
The equally-coveted Xiaomi Redmi 4A smartphone was launched in November 2016. As expected, it swept smartphone lovers off their feet straight away.
Much to the delight of budget-conscious buyers who have restlessly been waiting to get their hands on the Redmi 4A without emptying their pockets, LightInTheBox is giving a massive 58% off on the phone’s original asking price of $212.33.
You can now buy the Redmi 4A 4G smartphone by shelling out only $89.09. However, the promo will be ending soon.
The Redmi 4A sports a 5.0 inches IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels at a pixel density of 296 PPI (pixel per inch). The phone is housed in a plastic body.
It is powered by a robust Qualcomm MSM8917 Snapdragon 425 processor and it runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow operating system with MIUI 8 on top. Under the hood, it offers 2GB of RAM and 16GB ROM.
On the photography front, the Redmi 4A features a 13 megapixels camera on the back and a 5-megapixel front snapper for the selfie addicts. The hybrid dual-SIM smartphone comes with Adreno 308 GPU (graphics processing unit). You can click here to buy the Xiaomi Redmi 4A 4G smartphone without shelling out a fortune.
The Sony Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ2 Compact were unveiled with new full screen design at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 earlier this week. Sony did not confirm on the official pricing of these phone at the launch event. However, it has no revealed the pricing of XZ2 and XZ2 Compact for Germany.
In Germany, the Xperia XZ2 will be selling with a pricing of 800 euros (~$978). It will be costing 100 euros (~$122) more than the Xperia XZ1 smartphone that was unveiled in August last year. This indicates that the Xperia XZ2 may arrive in the U.S. with a price tag of $800 for the unlocked model.
The Xperia XZ2 includes 5.7-inch Full HD+ display and it is powered by Snapdragon 845 chipset and 4 GB of RAM. It has an internal storage of 64 GB. It features a 19-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel selfie snapper. It runs on Android 8.0 Oreo and is packed with a 3,180mAh battery.
On the other side, the Xperia XZ2 Compact will be available for 600 euros (~$733) in Germany. The predecessor phone was launched with the same pricing. This indicates that the unlocked Xperia XZ2 Compact may arrive in the U.S. with the same pricing as predecessor model. Hence, it is speculated to hit the U.S. market with a price tag of $600.
The Xperia XZ2 Compact features the same chipset, RAM, storage and cameras that are present on the Xperia XZ2 handset. It features a 5-inch display that offers FHD+ resolution and it is powered by 2,870mAh battery.
The Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ2 Compact are slated to release in the market by the second quarter of this year. It is likely that the XZ2 duo may become available by June.
As part of its latest Mega Mobile Gear Markdowns promo, GearBest is offering massive discounts and exclusive deals on a slew of products. These items have been split into multiple categories with each focusing on specific products. Here’s a brief glimpse of what each category has to offer.
Flash Sale
GearBest is giving a discount on the Original Xiaomi USB Type-C Charge and Sync Cable 1.15m and Xiaomi Mi USB Charger 4 Ports. While the Xiaomi-branded charge and sync cable carry a price tag of $4.47, you can now buy it for just $3.99 on GearBest.
Similarly, the Mi USB Charger bears a price tag of $18.60, but the site is selling it at a discounted price of only $15.99. But it is worth noting that only 170 pieces of the USB type-C charge and sync cable and only 92 pieces of the Original Xiaomi Mi USB charger were left at the time of writing.
Xiaomi
Xiaomi is associated with manufacturing state-of-the-art electronic items including smartphones, laptops and even mobile apps. In this segment of GearBest’s promo, you can get considerable discounts on selected products manufactured by the Beijing-based tech behemoth.
While the original Xiaomi 5000mAh Mobile Power Bank Li-Polymer Battery Charger sells for $14.83, you can buy it on GearBest for just $12.99 before the promo ends. There were only 72 pieces of the silver-tinted battery charger left.
Gocomma
The site is also offering significant discounts on various products manufactured by Gocomma. For instance, the 3 USB Ports QC 3.0 Power EU Plug Quick Adapter Charge is currently up for grabs for only $7.97 for a limited period of time.
Other Gocomma-branded items featured in this category include Gocomma Car Magnetic Air Outlet Phone Holder, Gocomma Car Air Vent Phone Holder, and Gocomma 1m Type-C USB Cable. It is imperative for you to bear in mind that the promo is valid only for a short span.
Baseus
GearBest is giving a considerable 39% off on the original $3.64 selling price of Baseus Stable Series 360 Degree Rotation Car Holder. You can now get your hands on the device for only $ 2.21. Apart from that, the category comprises several other products manufactured by Baseus. You can go for the Baseus iX Qi Wireless Fast Charger for iPhone 8 / 8 Plus / X, which is up for grabs for $16.65 on GearBest.
ASLING
In this section, you can buy 2 pieces of ASLING 2.5D Tempered Glass Screen Film for Xiaomi Redmi 4X smartphone for only $2.82. This is a significant 38% reduction in the item’s original selling price of $4.54.This division also features tempered glass protectors for the Xiaomi Mi Note 3 and Carbon Fiber TPU Soft Cover for Xiaomi Mi A1 smartphones. You can choose from black, cadet blue, gray and red color versions of the soft cover.
Luanke
This section is crammed with Luanke-manufactured mobile accessories. You can purchase Luanke Ultra-thin Anti-drop Protective Cover for OnePlus 5T by shelling out only $3.45 or get Luanke Tempered Glass Screen Film for LeEco Le S3 X626 for just $3.98. You can head straight to this link in order to check out rest of the products and take advantage of the promo before it comes to an end.
Yesterday, ASUS had officially unveiled the ZenFone 5Z flagship, ZenFone 5 mid-range and ZenFone 5 Lite (5Q) smartphones at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018. Apart from these phones, it also unveiled the ZenFone Max (M1) budget smartphone as a smaller edition of the ZenFone Max Plus (M1) that was launched in Russia in November 2017 and showcased at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018 in the previous month.
ASUS ZenFone Max (M1) Specifications and Features
The ZenFone Max (M1) is fitted with a 5.5-inch HD+ display that produces resolution of 720 x 1440 pixels. It delivers an aspect ratio of 18:9. The display offers a screen-to-body ratio of 83 percent thanks to the slim bezels surrounding it. It is tucked under 2.5D curved glass.
The ZenFone Max (M1) comes in two chipset variants, namely Snapdragon 425 and Snapdragon 430. These chipset variants will be aimed towards different markets. Both variants feature 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of inbuilt storage. For additional storage, it feature a microSD card slot.
For photography, it features a dual camera setup on its back panel. It includes a 13-megapixel primary camera with f/2.0 aperture. It is equipped with features like LED flash, PDAF and autofocus. The secondary sensor is of 8-megapixel that offers 120-degree field of view. An 8-meagpixel camera with f/2.2 aperture sits on the frontside of the phone. Depending on the region, the selfie camera configuration may vary.
The back panel of the ZenFone Max (M1) also features a fingerprint scanner. It is loaded with Android 8.0 Oreo that is skinned with ZenUI 5.0. It is fueled by 4,000mAh battery. The connectivity features available on the smartphone include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB, 3.5mm audio jack and GPS.
It has an aluminum chassis that weighs 150 grams and it measures 147.3 x 70.9 x 8.7 mm. Its color variants include Deepsea Black, Sunlight Gold and Ruby Red.
As of this writing, there is no information available on the pricing and availability of the ZenFone Max (M1) smartphone. The larger version – the ZenFone Max Plus (M1) that was shown at CES 2018 is now available for buying in the U.S. with a price tag of $229. It can be availed in colors like Silver and Deepsea Black.
At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Jolla announced a newer version of its mobile operating system — Sailfish OS 3. At the product failed to rival Android, the company is now shifting its focus towards 4G feature phones.
The company has announced that the new Sailfish OS will soon be compatible with a bunch of new devices including the Sony Xperia XA2, the upcoming Gemini PDA, and a tablet from Russian brand Inoi. In addition, it will support feature phones later this year.
The Sailfish OS 3 from Finnish firm Jolla will be available for adoption in Q3 2018. The company claims that this new Sailfish 3 is 30 percent faster than its predecessor and comes with better security features and options. It comes with options such as fingerprint sensor, remote lock and wipe, just in case the device is stolen or lost. There’s also an option to encrypt data and communication through integrated VPN.
Further, the system also supports full cloud integration, ensuring that user’s data will be automatically synced, allowing them to take backup or access them on other devices. Sailfish 3 will also support 4G and VoLTE calling, enabling users to take advantage of faster 4G speeds.
In order to make the operating system more user-friendly, the company has adopted several changes in the user interface as well as for some pre-loaded apps such as email and calendar. It now comes with a redesigned top menu which has a dedicated section for settings and actions. Jolla claims to have improved the multi-tasking section and adds that the feature will help users switch between apps faster.
It will offer some “core” native apps alongside a special app store and compatibility with a selection of Android apps. There will also be a feature phone version of the system, which will support non-touch phones with numerical keyboards and directional control pads.
The company will be facing tough competition from Android One and Android Go initiative, which is basically a stripped down variant of the Google‘s Android operating system aimed at improving performance of low-end devices.
Budget-conscious smartphone lovers who have been waiting to get their hands on a big screen smartphone without emptying their pockets are in for a treat. You can now preorder the well-received Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 by shelling out only $473.59 on Banggood.
This is a considerable 32% reduction in the phone’s original asking price of $699.99. The discount is valid for the black color version of the Mi MIX 2 smartphone.
The Mi Mix 2 sports a 5.99 inches IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display with a screen resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels. The mammoth screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4.
The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 smartphone offers 6GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. Under the hood, it packs a powerful Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835 processor, which is paired with Adreno 540 GPU (graphics processing unit).
On the photography front, the Mi Mix 2 sports a 12 megapixels rear-mounted camera and a 5-megapixel front shooter for selfies. Moreover, it is backed by a non-removable Li-Ion 3400 mAh battery which supports Quick Charge 3.0, 9V 2A.
In addition to the aforesaid discount offered by Banggood, buyers can save an additional $37.89 by using coupon code ‘2BGXMix2’ at the time of checking out. This brings the grand total down to just $435.70.
You can head straight to this link to check out the full specifications of Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 smartphone and take advantage of the promo before it comes to an end.
AnTuTu has released a list of its top 10 highest performing smartphones for January 2018. The list is based on models which scored the highest points on AnTuTu benchmark. This is the first list that would be released by the benchmarking tool since the upgrade of its software version from V6.3.6 to v7.0.1. Of course, the list only contains Android smartphones. The iOS-powered Apple models with the A11 chip scores higher than its Android counterparts before the SD 845-powered Galaxy S9 was released.
Top of the list is the Kirin 970-powered Huawei Mate 10 Pro with a total score of 214580 points. The second spot is also occupied by the Mate 10 scoring a total of 212841 points. In a surprising twist, the Honor V10 which was announced with a Kirin 970 chip occupied the third spot with a score of 212557. OnePlus 5 is the first Snapdragon 835 smartphone on the list, sitting at number 4 spot with 211292 points. The OP5 is followed by the OnePlus 5T which scored 210134 points when it was benchmarked on AnTuTu. ZTE’s Nubia Z17 occupy the number 6 spot with 208922 points while the Xiaomi Mi 6 made the number 7 spot with 206571.
Another Xiaomi model, this time the Mi Mix 2 scored 205206 points to occupy the 8th place on the charts. Samsung joined the list at the 9th and 10th place with the Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S8+ respectively. But we expect this list to change significantly when the top 10 for February would be released since new Snapdragon 845-powered models would have gotten included by then.
The Zenfone 5 Lite is an exciting device but the Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 5z are the real stars of ASUS’ announcement.
The Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 5Z are nearly identical devices that differ only in processor and storage configuration. So we’ll only mention the Zenfone 5 except in cases where the Zenfone 5Z has a different specification.
Zenfone 5 Design
The Zenfone 5 has a double-sided glass design. Both are 2.5D curved Coring Gorilla Glass with a metal frame in between them. Like the leaks revealed, the Zenfone 5 has a notch in the display and ASUS isn’t ashamed to say they copied it from Apple, though they justify their action by saying their own notch is smaller.
Zenfone 5 And Zenfone 5Z Specs
The Zenfone (and 5Z) has a 6.2” FHD+ Super IPS display with a 19:9 aspect ratio, 95.4% color gamut and support for DCI-P3. Thanks to the bezel-less display, the Zenfone 5 boasts a 90% screen-to-body ratio giving it the form factor of a 5.5” phone.
Powering the Zenfone 5 is a Snapdragon 636 processor paired with 4GB or 6GB of ROM. Storage is 64GB on both variants but unlike the Zenfone 5 Lite, it doesn’t have a dedicated MicroSD card slot. So you either put a second nano SIM or add up to an additional 2TB of storage.
The Zenfone 5Z on the other hand is powered by the Snapdragon 845, the current Qualcomm champion. ASUS says there is an AI engine and a feature called AI boost which is just marketing for processor and software optimizations. It also comes with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage or 8GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB of storage.
There are stereo speakers and each has a NXP smart amplifier. There is also NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, FM radio, an audio jack, and support for Hi-Res audio and DTS. A new ZenUI based on Android Oreo also comes pre-installed.
The camera and notch are not the only things ASUS has copied from Apple’s iPhone X. The ASUS Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 5Z also have their own version of Animoji called ZeniMoji.
Battery capacity on the Zenfone 5 is 3300mAh with BoostMaster (fast charging). ASUS said it has added a new feature called AI Charging which helps double the lifespan of the battery.
According to ASUS, leaving your smartphone plugged in overnight when it is full degrades the battery. With AI Charging, you can still leave your phone plugged in. The phone studies your sleep pattern, so when you plug in before going to bed, it charges the battery up to 80% and leaves it there. Just before you wake up, it then resumes charging so you can wake up to a full battery.
Zenfone 5 Cameras
The Zenfone 5 has a 12MP Sony IMX363 sensor with a F/1.8 aperture and an 83° FOV. It is paired with a 120° wide-angle camera that allows for up to an extra 200% area into your photos.
The camera also comes with AI scene detection that can identify up to 16 different scenes and objects such as lakes, animals, sunsets, plants (flowers) and humans. There is also HDR and portrait mode.
Up front is an 8MP F/2.0 camera with Night HDR and portrait support, selfie panorama, and GIF animation.
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Looks like Xiaomi fans are in for a treat. The Beijing-based online retail company, LightInTheBox is currently offering considerable discounts on the original asking price of two well-received Xiaomi-branded smartphones. Let’s check out the details.
Apart from that, the category comprises several other products manufactured by Baseus. You can go for the Baseus iX Qi Wireless Fast Charger for iPhone 8 / 8 Plus / X, which is up for grabs for $16.65 on GearBest.
This division also features tempered glass protectors for the Xiaomi Mi Note 3 and Carbon Fiber TPU Soft Cover for Xiaomi Mi A1 smartphones. You can choose from black, cadet blue, gray and red color versions of the soft cover.
You can head straight to 
