Just like Nokia licensed its brand name to HMD Global, Blackberry also did the same but not to one but three licensees. TCL may be the most popular of the three since it releases its own BlackBerry phones globally but there are two others. There is BB Merah Putih for Indonesia and Optiemus Infracom in India.
Of the three licensees, only Optiemus Infracom hasn’t released its own BlackBerry phone yet. According to a new leak by Evan Blass (@evleaks) that will be changing soon.
BlackBerry 'Ghost': a bezel-less, premium Android handset from licensee Optiemus; coming soon to India. pic.twitter.com/KTAvKbDl5v
The leaker shared a render of a bezel-less phone called the BlackBerry Ghost. The premium Android phone from Optiemus is said to be “coming soon to India”.
The image doesn’t reveal much about the BlackBerry Ghost. The phone is completely covered in glass in front and has a metal frame. There is a selfie camera on the left of the top bezel and the earpiece sits in the middle.
We can also make out a SIM tray and an antenna line on the left side of the phone. There is no front-mounted fingerprint scanner which means it is most likely on the rear but might also be on the side.
Motorola doesn’t seem to be launching any new device at MWC this year. There have been no adverts or invites sent out, so the guess is that its new line-up will be unveiled at a private event(s). While we wait for Motorola to announce a date, a new leak of the Moto E5 Plus has surfaced online.
The leak is an official render of the 5th generation Moto E posted on Twitter by Evan Blass (@evleaks)and it shows the lower mid-range phone rocking a premium design.
The Moto E5 Plus now sports an 18:9 display. The top bezel has been shaved off to accommodate the taller display but the lower bezel is more or less the same as that of the E4 Plus.
There is a notification LED, a sensor and front camera on the left side of the top bezel and a LED flash on the right. The earpiece sits in the middle. There is also a 3.5mm audio jack at the top and a USB port at the bottom.
It appears Motorola has ditched the metal design of the Moto E4 Plus and settled for a glass back or polished metal judging from the reflective nature of the rear.
The back panel is not the only big change on the rear. The Moto E5 Plus also appears to have dual rear cameras but upon zooming in, we realized the left hole doesn’t house a lens. Weird, right? Probably an incomplete render. We’ll keep our fingers crossed on this one.
Xiaomi has confirmed that the Snapdragon 845 chipset powered Mi MIX 2S flagship phone will be unleashed on March 27. Since the beginning of this year, the rumor mill has been revealing plenty of information on the specs and features of the Mi MIX 2S. Moreover, plenty of key details of the smartphone had appeared through its firmware files recently. Today, a screengrab of the “About Screen” page of the Mi MIX 2S showing its key specifications have surfaced.
The below image shows that the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S is fueled by Snapdragon 845 chipset. It features a 6.01-inch display that supports FHD+ resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels. It indicates that the screen will deliver an aspect ratio of 18:9.
The SoC is supported by 8 GB of RAM. It has a native storage of 256 GB. There is a possibility that there could be lower RAM and storage variants of Mi MIX 2S. The Xiaomi phone is fitted with a 16-megapixel camera. It is fueled by a 4,400mAh battery. However, firmware files of Mi MIX 2S have revealed that it includes a 3,400mAh battery and Sony IMX363 as primary camera sensor.
The information that has appeared in the new screengrab is nothing new as these details have surfaced in previous reports. The new leak corroborates with the recent leaks of Mi MIX 2S.
HMD Global has just showcased Nokia 8 Sirocco at MWC 2018, a new variant of the Nokia 8. Usually, variants are not so different from their original versions, but this is definitely not the case. The Sirocco version of the flagship is a huge improvement over its predecessor and it is way different from the standard edition. So, in this Nokia 8 vs Nokia 8 Sirocco comparison, we will see the main differences and improvements between these two smartphones, and you will discover whether or not it is worth spending some money to buy this new and powerful variant.
Hybrid Dual SIM slot, water resistant (IP67 certified)
Aesthetically, the two handsets are completely different. While the first has a full metal unibody design, the second is a glass sandwich — featuring a stainless steel frame between two curved glasses. It not only has a better look, but it is also water resistant (IP67 certified), while its predecessor is just splash proof. The Sirocco version has a borderless display with the P-OLED technology which is way better than the “just above-average” IPS panel of the original Nokia 8. Further, the narrow bezels make the phone smaller even though the display size remains almost the same. There are no significant changes in the hardware side as the Finnish giant has launched this new variant with Snapdragon 835 SoC, again. But it is worth mentioning that Nokia 8 Sirocco comes with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box, while its predecessor had Nougat.
The dual camera should be much better given that it has a larger aperture (f/1.75), dual pixel PD autofocus and 2x optical zoom, besides its Carl Zeiss lens. On the other hand, the front camera has a much lower resolution (13 vs 5 MP). The battery is slightly bigger (3260 vs 3090 mAh): thanks to the higher capacity and with the OLED panel, it should last a bit more. Nokia 8 Sirocco will soon be launched in Europe with a price tag of €750, while Nokia 8 can be found at about €360 ($443) in its 4/64 GB configuration (note that Sirocco has 6 GB RAM and 128 GB ROM) thanks to online street prices. At the moment, the improvements made do not justify the much higher price, but when the price will drop to at least €550-600, Nokia 8 Sirocco will be a better choice.
Some great Huawei-related news came out from MWC 2018. The company is expected to launch the first phone with the 5G connectivity sometime by October to December 2019. At the most important trade show of the year related to mobile devices, the Chinese giant announced the first commercial 5G chipset. Its name is Balong 5G01 and it is the first with support to the 3GPP standard. It is faster than the latest modem by Qualcomm, the Snapdragon X24, which can reach a maximum download speed of 2 Gbps.
The new Balong 5G01 can arrive at 2.3 Gbps, which is the highest speed ever reached by a mobile chipset. It offers two different bands for 5G: Sub6GHz and mmWave, which have a low and a high frequency, respectively. The new chipset by Huawei can support two 5G modes: non-standalone, which relies on LTE, and standalone which is totally independent of LTE. The 5G networks will make networks evolve in the most revolutionary ways in the coming years: it will be a much more important technology than its predecessors. Indeed, it will not only be used for normal connections, but it will improve the IoT sector.
This is why Huawei is planning to launch many products related to object-based connections. Among these, there will be car boxes for self-driving cars and many devices in the smart home sector. Huawei has partnered with many carriers to bring 5G network, which should be ready by the end of 2018. In the fourth quarter of 2019, Huawei, one of the companies who has invested the most into 5G networks, should launch the first 5G-enabled phone. Usually, that time frame corresponds to the launch of new flagships from the Mate series.
Do you think Huawei Mate 12 will be the first smartphone with the support to 5G connectivity and its blazing speeds?
Sony went official with the Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact today and before that even happened, the Xperia XZ1 had received a $205 slash in its price. The Sony Xperia XZ1 is presently on offer at Amazon and is now offered for $495. This is the biggest price cut the device is taking, having started at $699.99 when it was announced last year.
Sony Xperia XZ1. Photo Credit- The Verge
The Sony Xperia XZ1 first got unveiled at IFA 2017 sporting a 5.2-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, a 19MP “Motion Eye” camera capable of 960fps slow-motion footage. The device also packs a 13MP selfie-shooter and a disappointing 2,700mAh battery. There is also an IP68 water-resistance and dual front-facing speakers as well. The Xperia XZ1 had the honour of being the first phone to ship with Android 8.0 Oreo.
The current price cut only affects the Black and Moonlit Blue colours which are on offer for just $495, to reiterate. The Venus Pink and Warm Silver options sell for around the $530-540 mark. The offer also comes with free shipping, something Amazon is known for.
The Huawei P20 launch invitation hints at the phone coming with triple cameras. However, it appears the main P20 won’t be coming with triple cameras but dual rear cameras.
Huawei P20 Leaked By Evan Blass
Popular leaker Evan Blass (@evleaks) has shared a photo of the Huawei P20 and it has two rear cameras and not three. Although the cameras are still arranged like that of the iPhone X, the LED flash is positioned beneath the cameras. There is also the word “Shirley” printed at the bottom left corner.
If you have been following the news about the Huawei P20 series, then you already know that one of the models is codenamed “Shirley”. This is a prototype which explains why we have Shirley instead of Huawei printed on the phone.
The front of the device shows the phone still sports a notch. There is also a front-mounted fingerprint scanner on the chin. Even with the physical home key, users will be able to use on-screen buttons.
Evan’s new picture isn’t the first we have seen with the words Shirley printed on them. Last week, photos of the P20 Lite said to have been seen on the FCC website were leaked online. The photos showed a phone with dual cameras in a similar arrangement as the one above, a notched display, and the words Shirley printed on the front and rear.
Both are alike but have a major distinguishing feature. Unlike the one shared by Evan today, the one seen on FCC has its fingerprint scanner on the rear. Also, that device is referred to as the Huawei P20 Lite.
Samsung and Sony are two of the smartphone manufacturers that also make camera sensors. The new Galaxy S9 has a new sensor that lets it record super slow-motion videos at 960 frames per second (720p).
The Galaxy S9 (and S9+) can record at that frame rate as a result of the new ISOCELL Fast 2L3 sensor. News has it that the sensor may be made available to other manufacturers, particularly those from China.
The ISOCELL Fast 2LR Sensor with its 3-layer design
The 12MP ISOCELL Fast 2LR unlike other sensors has three silicon layers. The third layer is a 2-gigabit LPDDR4 DRAM which allows capturing of super slow-motion videos.
To understand how the added DRAM works, one needs to understand the process behind taking a picture.
Usually, when the sensor captures light information, the top layer converts it into an electric signal. This electric signal is then processed into a digital code by the second layer called the analog logic layer. The digital code then gets sent to the mobile processor for tuning before saving it to the phone’s DRAM. These processes happen very fast so you probably never notice.
However, the speed is not fast enough for super slow-motion capture. With the DRAM layer now added to the sensor, it can temporarily store the high-speed frames captured during slow-motion before they are then sent to the processor and the phone’s DRAM.
The sensor is not only great for slow-motion videos but also helps take pictures of fast moving objects. Since it is also storing multiple frames in the fraction of a second, it supports 3D Noise Reduction (3DNR) which helps with sharper pictures in low-light.
HMD Global-controlled Nokia officially launched the Nokia 7 Plus alongside a couple of other models on February 25. The Nokia 7 Plus, perhaps commanded the most attention alongside the Nokia 8 Sirocco edition. No word was given on the global rollout but it seems Nokia plans to release the models simultaneously in various regions. For China, Nokia unveiled the China version through its WeChat page and also revealed that the device will go on sale on March 7 with its price starting at 2,299 Yuan (~$364).
Basically, the specification of the Nokia 7 Plus China edition is the same as the one announced in Barcelona, Spain except for some few differences. The device features a 6-inch IPS Full HD+ display with a resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels. The display comes with a 500-nits brightness rating and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The device also comes with a 6000 series aluminium unibody and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor paired with 4GB of RAM and there is 64GB of internal storage. China also gets a 6GB RAM + 64GB version and both storages are expandable up to 256GB. The device also runs stock Android 8.0 Oreo which Nokia says will be upgraded to Android 8.1 soon.
One the camera aspect, the Nokia 7 Plus packs a 12-megapixel wide-angle primary camera with a f/1.75 aperture and 1.4-micron pixels, as well as a 13-megapixel camera with a f/2.6 aperture, 1um pixels, and 2x optical zoom. The duo is stacked in a vertical direction and is accompanied by a dual-tone LED flash and Zeiss optics. As for the front camera, the Nokia 7 Plus features a 16-megapixel fixed focus offering with a f/2.0 aperture, 1um pixels, and Zeiss optics. Other features include a 3800mAh battery, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, USB Type-C (2.0).
As for the price, the Nokia 7 Plus 4GB + 64GB version is priced at 2,299 Yuan (~$364), while the 6GB + 64GB version is priced at 2,499 Yuan (~$396). Presale commences on February 26, that is today, while the device will go on sale on March 7 via Jingdong, Tmall and Suning. The Nokia 7 Plus will also be available offline in more than 100 cities nationwide.
ZTE kickstarted its 2018 campaign in Barcelona with the launch of the Blade V9 and Blade V9 Vita. The devices were unveiled in a ceremony held on Sunday, just before MWC 2018. The ZTE Blade V9 and Blade V9 Vita are here presented in these hands-on photos courtesy of GSMArena.
ZTE Blade V9
The Blade V9 and V9 Vita once again reiterate the transformation of the mid-range segment to one with a premium built and well-studded models that could pass for flagships. They seem to offer good value for the $300 and $250 price tags they are slammed with, going by the designs and specs.
ZTE Blade V9
Design wise, the ZTE Blade V9 is said to be relatively light despite packing a massive 5.7-inch display and a metal frame wrapped with glass on both sides. The ZTE Blade V9 Vita doesn’t have a glass covering and features a plastic body. Both models sport LCD displays but while the Blade V9 has an FHD+ display, the Blade V9 Vita comes with an HD+ display. Both models equally come with a full-screen display with the 18:9 aspect ratio calling the shots.
The devices pack dual camera setups at the rear located in the top left corner in both cases. There is also a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor on both the V9 and V9 Vita located in the middle. The models are also available in a number of colors like Dark Blue, Pink, Black, Gold, and Gray. Find more pictures below.
Xiaomi has recently confirmed that the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S would be officially announced on March 27. This means that the launch date of the Mi 7 flagship could be pushed back. Mocha RQ, a known industry insider has claimed that the Mi 7 will get official in June. He also revealed some fresh information on features of Mi 7.
The Mi MIX 2S is launching in March end. Launching the Mi 7 in April or May can affect the sales of the Mi MIX 2S. Hence, the company may want to launch the Mi 7 after a certain duration. Mocha RQ has speculated that the Mi 7 will be announced and released in the market in June. According to him, the company is working on adding in-screen fingerprint scanner on Mi 7. This could be another reason why the launch of Mi 7 could be delayed.
As previous rumors have claimed, the tipster also said that the Mi 7 will be equipped with 6-inch Samsung display. However, a new thing revealed by him is that the Mi 7 will be sporting a notch design, probably like the iPhone X. However, a leaked photo of the Mi 7 that had appeared yesterday did not feature a notch.
The tipster has stated the Mi 7 would be coming in RAM variants of 8 GB and 6 GB. Both the models will be powered by Snapdragon 845. The leaked information also reveals that the Mi 7 will come with AI integration and vertically stacked camera module like the iPhone X.
Leaked firmware files that reportedly belong to the Mi 7 had revealed in the previous week that it would be coming with an OLED display that will bring the new Always-On Display function. It may include a 3,170mAh battery that may carry support for wireless charging.
As part of its latest promo, Banggood is offering significant discounts and coupon codes valid for various home appliances for a limited period of time. Let’s check out the details.
Among a myriad of other useful items that come in handy in everyday life, you can purchase Cop Rose X6 Window Cleaning Robot Machine by shelling out only $288. This is a considerable 37% reduction in the item’s original selling price of $456.14.Banggood is also offering coupon codes that bring your grand total down by 10-30% when applied at the time of checking out. However, it’s worth noting the coupon code is only valid for specific items and some items sold as part of this promo have no discount.
Xiaomi Hot Sell
This category features Original Xiaomi Mijia Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner, which carries a reduced price tag of $329.99, thanks to a 36% discount on the device’s real selling price of $513.66. You can also get a huge 40% off on the original $105.60 asking price of Xiaomi Mi 1.5L Electric Water Kettle and purchase it for just $62.98.
This section of Banggood’s promo also has Original Xiaomi IH 3L Smart Electric Rice Cooker, which is currently up for grabs for only $139.89 as result of a 52% discount offered by the site. There’s a 55% off on Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier as well, which currently bears a discounted price tag of $149.99.
Smart Home
You can buy BlitzWolf BW-LT1 Eye Protection Smart LED Desk Lamp Table Lamp Light for only $47.77 in this section. Banggood is offering 34% discount on the item’s real selling price of $71.99.
Apart from receiving the aforesaid discount, you can further reduce the grand total by using coupon code ‘APP1’ at the time of checking out. This will bring your grand total down to just $42.99.
Alternatively, you can buy Digoo DG-TH8805 Five Day Forcast Version Outdoor Weather Station for just $27.99. But if that doesn’t impress you much, you can apply the same coupon code i.e. ‘APP1’ at the time of checking out to save $2.80 more. This will reduce your grand total to only $25.19.
Vacuum Cleaning Robot
Vacuum cleaners earned huge popularity in the domestic as well as commercial spaces since it’s the easiest and most time-saving appliance when it comes to completing the task of cleaning your homes and other areas quickly and efficiently. This category features a slew of vacuum cleaning robots that you can buy without burning a hole in your pocket.
Banggood is offering a massive 50% off on the original $399.99 selling price of BlitzWolf BW-XRC600 Ultrasonic Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner. You can now buy the highly useful robot vacuum cleaner for just $199.99.
Air Purifier
You can use coupon code ‘APP1’ to get additional discounts on the selling price of most of the items featured in this category of the Banggood promo.
For instance, there’s an 18% off on the selling price of CARZOR Z1 USB Portable Haze Negative Ion Purifier & Air Purifier, which brings the device’s price tag down to only $26.99. Similarly, you can use the coupon code ‘APP1’ to buy AUGIENB A-DST01 Desktop Air Purifier at a discounted price.
The item carries a price tag of $73.99; however, after applying the aforesaid coupon code at the time of checking, you can save $7.40. In other words, you need to shell out just $66.59.
Accessories
Banggood is offering a considerable 58% discount on cleaning robot accessories for Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Cleaner. While the item bears a price of $99.99, you can buy it for just $42.22 for a limited period of time.
You can use coupon code ‘APA1’ while checking out and save an additional $12.67. Your grand total drops down to only $29.55 after applying the aforesaid coupon code.
The site is also offering a massive 76% off on Original Xiaomi Peculiar Smell PM2.5 Formaldehyde Removal Air Purifier Filter Antibacterial Version, which carries an original price tag of $227.75. With the aforesaid discount, you can now get your hands on the item for just $53.99.
You can head straight to this link to check out all the products and take advantage of the promo before it comes to an end.
Sony has taken the wraps off the Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ2 Compact. Both phones are the first Sony smartphones to come with the trending 18:9 display. But the Xperia XZ2 duo pack more than a full-screen display.
Xperia XZ2
Design
Gone are the huge bezels that defined the OmniBalance design of Sony phones. In its place are smaller bezels in a new design Sony has dubbed “Ambient Flow”.
Ambient Flow not only brings smaller bezels, but also brings more curves. The corners are curved and the back is curved too. This allows for a more comfortable grip and feel in the hand.
Another major design change is the fingerprint scanner which now sits at the back instead of on the side and doesn’t seem to be market dependent anymore.
Even with the new design, both phones are still different. The Xperia XZ2 has Gorilla Glass 5 on both sides. While it does give it a premium appearance, it makes it slippery and a fingerprint magnet.
The Xperia XZ2 compact on the other hand has a polycarbonate back with a matte finish. Won’t turn eyes but won’t slide off the table too.
Xperia XZ2 Compact
Specs
The Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact both sport 5.7” and 5.0” 18:9 displays. Both are FHD+ screens but the compact has a higher PPI due to its smaller size. The displays also support HDR.
Under the glass or polycarbonate back is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 mobile platform paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Storage is expandable up to 400GB via a hybrid dual SIM slot.
They both have NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi, and USB 3.1 Type-C ports. There is no audio jack on either phones but they come with stereo front facing speakers. Sony will ship both phones with a Y-shaped USB-C adapter that allows you charge and use a 3.5mm connector at the same time.
Battery capacity on the Xperia XZ2 is 3180mAh with support for wireless charging while the XZ2 Compact comes with a 2870mAh battery without wireless charging support.
Cameras
The cameras on the Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact are pretty important and deserve their own separate section.
Sony has kept the sensors from last year’s models. It is a 19MP Sony IMX400 f/2.0 sensor. It also keeps all of the key features like 5-axis stabilization, hybrid laser-phase detection-contrast autofocus, and burst autofocus. The dedicated physical camera button remains too.
Sony has worked with Qualcomm on image processing. This has resulted in a new BIONZ image processing algorithm which handles colors, details, and noise reduction for low light images.
Another new feature is that the cameras can now record 960fps slo-motion at 1080p and also record 4K HDR videos. For the former, the duration of recording in slo-motion FHD is half that of 720p.
The front camera is a 5MP f/2.2 23mm wide-angle sensor. It also supports 3D creator like the rear camera.
In the previous month, Samsung had showcased the rumored Galaxy X foldable phone at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018 behind closed doors to its clients. It was revealed that the company may launch it at the end of the year or early 2019. Yesterday, during the launch event of the Galaxy S9 and S9+, Samsung mobile business CEO DJ Koh gave out some information on the highly awaited foldable phone to CNET.
In an interview with CNET, Koh said that Samsung’s first foldable phone is not a gimmick as the company is aiming to deliver best user experience through it. He also hinted that it will be arriving as a new category but refrained from revealing any information on the specs of the phone. He claimed that he will reveal more details on it when the time arrives to show off the device.
When he was specifically asked whether the foldable phone would be launched this year. He responded by saying, “Sometimes I do not listen. My ear is not so good.” Rumors have it that the alleged Galaxy X phone featuring 7.3-inch foldable display would enter production phase by November this year. Hence, the handset may get unveiled at the beginning of next year. The foldable phone is expected to arrive with in-fold design.
Koh confirmed that a Bixby voice assistant powered smart speaker will be launching later this year. He had previously confirmed that it would be arriving in the second half of 2018. Again, he did not reveal any information on the Bixby smart speaker.
MediaTek has unveiled its latest System-on-Chip at the on-going MWC 2018 in Barcelona. The new chipset called the Helio P60 brings tons of upgrades over last year’s Helio P-series.
The Helio P60 is built on TSMC’s 12nm FinFET process which offers 15% reduction in power consumption over 14nm chips. The octa-core chip clocked at 2.0GHz uses the big.LITTLE architecture. That is 4 x Cortex A53 cores and 4 x Cortex-A73 cores.
It also boasts a new Mali-G72 MP3 GPU clocked at 800MHz which Mediatek claims offers a 70% boost in game performance over previous generation P-series.
Like other chip manufacturers, MediaTek has also included a dedicated processing unit for AI tasks. NeuroPilot is the dedicated AI processing unit that handles AI-related tasks on the device. It is two times more power efficient than using a GPU and has a processing performance of 280GMAC/s.
NeuroPilot will handle tasks like deep-learning facial detection, object and scene identification, real-time beautification and AR/MR acceleration.
The Helio P60 also comes with improved photography performance. It comes with three ISPs that have been power-optimized and save up to 500mW of power or 18% reduction in power consumption over previous generation. It supports 20MP + 16MP or up to a single 32MP sensor.
The new chip is said to be able to auto-detect, display, and record HDR images in real-time, allowing users see what a picture would look like even before taking the shot.
Earlier in this month, Huawei had confirmed that it will be launching be keeping a press conference on March 27 in Paris. The launch invitation image did not reveal the name of the product that will be unveiled on the said date, but it hinted that it may debut triple-lens enabled smartphone. By releasing a short video on Saturday, the Chinese manufacturer has confirmed that it will be launching Huawei P20 on March 27. The P20 will be taking on the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S that will be also announced on the same date.
Few months ago, Huawei had trademarked P11 and P20 names. Hence, there was a confusion regarding the name of the next-generation P series smartphone. The below promo video released by Huawei on Feb. 24 confirms the P20 moniker.
The short video that only lasts for 7 seconds has three circles that suggest that it will be coming with a three-camera setup. The other hint in the video is the word “moore” that has extra letters.
The Huawei P20 was recently spotted on TENAA with dual camera setup. Rumors have it that the advanced Huawei P20 Plus/Pro model would be coming with triple camera system. The images of the P20 that has appeared through its TENAA listing show that it will be coming with iPhone X-style notch design. Hence, there is a possibility that the P20 Plus/Pro may also feature the same design.
Huawei was previously rumored to debut the P20 series at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018. However, since it will be keeping a dedicated launch event in the coming month for P20 series, it only announced the Matebook X Pro laptop and MediaPad M5 tablets at the MWC 2018. By skipping the MWC event and launching the P20 series around a month later, the Chinese manufacturer will be able to fine tune its marketing strategy after checking the reception of the Galaxy S9 and S9+.
The Galaxy S9 duo are not the only rivals for the P20 flagship. Xiaomi will be taking on the Huawei flagship by introducing the Mi MIX 2S on the same date. Do you think that the P20 Plus/Pro will turn out to be a better phone than the Mi MIX 2S? Let us know your thoughts by posting your comments below.
Last night, Samsung “unpacked” its latest flagships – the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ and the internet has not stopped talking about them.
While most people are focused on the looks and the cameras, it is what is under the hood that interests those of us who are more tech savvy.
Like its predecessors, the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ come in two variants – an Exynos powered version which will be available internationally and a Snapdragon variant for the US market. However, it is said that only the Exynos 9810 variant was on display yesterday.
Phonearena got to play with a unit and ran some benchmark tests to see how Samsung’s latest chipset performs and the results are nothing short of outstanding.
We already saw some benchmark results before the phone launched though but these cover all the major benchmark tests.
Samsung’s Galaxy S9 scores a total of 241470 on AnTuTu. It even surpasses the iPhone X (Bionic A11) with over 15000 points. The Snapdragon 835-powered LG V30 comes in at number 4 with 174456. As we already know, Snapdragon 845 phones seen on AnTuTu like the Mi MIX 2S have a much higher score.
For graphics (GFXBench Manhattan), the Galaxy S9 doesn’t do badly. It comes after the iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus but is just two points ahead of the Galaxy S8.
However, it does score high on Geekbench. Its single-core score is over 3000 points. It is still below the iPhone X but it leaves the Snapdragon 835 in the dust. It also recorded 8750 points in the multi-core test.
Vivo has released a video on its Facebook and Weibo account to tease its new concept phone named APEX. The video does not reveal any information on the specifications of the APEX phone but reveals its stunning design and some of its key features. It seems to be the very same mysterious Vivo phone that had appeared with nearly 100 percent screen-to-body ratio. GizmoChina was first to speculate that it may arrive with a flip-up camera. The Vivo APEX concept phone was also demonstrated at the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018.
(PRNewsfoto/Vivo)
Elevating Front Camera
Vivo APEX concept has an 8-megapixel selfie camera. It remains inside the chassis of the phone and can be elevated when is required to be used. It takes only 0.8 seconds for the so-called Elevating Front Camera to pop-up like a periscope. When not in use, it goes back into the shell. Well, it seems to be a great way to avoid notch.
Bezel-less Display with Very High Screen-to-Body Ratio
The Vivo APEX has super-slim bezels around the display. To be precise, the top bezel is of 1.8 mm only, which will be slimmest ever for a smartphone. The thickness of its bottom bezel is of 4.3mm. This indicates that the 18:9 aspect ratio display may offer a screen-to-body ratio of nearly 98 percent. The Vivo APEX concept phone has a flexible OLED platform. Since its microchips directly on the flexible circuit board, it is able to sport a bezel-less design.
Half Screen Fingerprint Scanner
The X20 Plus UD by Vivo is the world’s first smartphone to feature under-display fingerprint scanner. It has the fingerprint sensor located at one spot at bottom portion of the display. The APEX concept phone features an even better under-display fingerprint scanner technology as it spans across the bottom-half of the display. Vivo has dubbed this technology as Half- Screen In-Display Fingerprint Scanning Technology.
Screen Sound Casting Technology
The new Screen Sound Casting Technology available on the Vivo APEX allows its display to function like a speaker and an earpiece. It vibrates the display to produce sound like a speaker. Compared to regular audio methods, this new technology consumes less power. With System in Package (SIP) technology onboard, the handset will be able to better Hi-Fi audio experience. Vivo has integrated three amplifiers and DAC under the hood of the concept phone.
Other Features
The space taken by the circuit board has been reduced by nearly 60 percent on the Vivo APEX. This has allowed the company to add a larger battery inside the concept phone. It is also equipped with some sort of cooling technology that prevents overheating.
The ambient sensor and proximity sensor are embedded under the display of the Vivo APEX concept phone. It is equipped with USB-C port, 3.5mm audio, a pair of external speakers and dual rear cameras. As of this writing, there is no information available on its specifications.
What do you think about the design of Vivo APEX concept phone? Share us your views by posting your comments below.
In a dedicated event at MWC 2018, HMD Global showcased several new smartphones, and the Finnish company has also announced that almost every Nokia smartphone will be joining the Android One program. In case you don’t know, Android One is a stock version of the operating system which is supported directly by Google with faster updates and more software support in the long-term.
Android One smartphones come with few pre-installed apps to save storage and provide maximum security, and its user interface does not have any form of customization to provide a clean and pure user experience. All Android One devices, including almost every HMD smartphone, receive security updates for three years after the launch, and the updates usually roll out well before other smartphones.
The smartphones which have officially joined the Android One program are Nokia 3, 5, 6, 6 (2018), 7, 7 Plus, 8 and 8 Sirocco. This means that besides the feature phones Nokia 3310 and the new 8110, the only phones which will not be included in the program are the Nokia 1 and 2. The owners of the Nokia 1 will not mind as it is already part of the Android Go program, a light version of the operating system for devices with very low-end specs.
You can now buy EleLight Anet E10 Desktop 3D Printer for just $369.88 on Amazon for a limited period of time. Let’s check out the details.
Manufactured by EleLight, the Anet E10 DIY Kit sports a 12864 LCD screen and keypad in order to facilitate offline use. Moreover, it supports TF card off-line printing, which comes in handy especially when you don’t have access to a computer.
The mini desktop 3D printer boasts a compact desktop design, along with a small footprint and basic, open frame design which is ample for any desks. On top of that, DIY customers can assemble the Anet E10 DIY Kit without breaking much of a sweat.
In addition to getting a considerable 7% reduction on the 3D printer’s original selling on Amazon, you can use coupon code ‘RRWQMJ23’ at the time of checking out on the site to get an additional discount. Your grand total drops to only $343.99 after using the aforesaid coupon code.
You can click here to check out the full specification of EleLight Anet E10 Desktop 3D Printer DIY Kit and take advantage of the promo before it comes to an end. It’s also worth noting that the coupon code will expire soon.
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Banggood is also offering coupon codes that bring your grand total down by 10-30% when applied at the time of checking out. However, it’s worth noting the coupon code is only valid for specific items and some items sold as part of this promo have no discount.
You can now buy EleLight Anet E10 Desktop 3D Printer for just $369.88 on Amazon for a limited period of time. Let’s check out the details.