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Nokia 10 Concept Renders Show Amazing Penta-Lens Camera Setup

The rumored Nokia 9 flagship phone that is speculated to get unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 is likely to sport dual edge curved display like the Galaxy Note 8. Leaked photos of the Nokia 7 Plus have revealed that it could be HMD Global’s first smartphone to come equipped with 18:9 aspect ratio display. Rumors have it that the Nokia 10 phone that may launch later this year could be the first flagship phone to come with full screen design. Moreover, it will be equipped with penta-lens camera system. Designers at TechConfigurations have built Nokia 10 concept renders that reveal how the penta-lens totting smartphone may appear.

Nokia 10 concept renders penta-lens

The Nokia 10 concept model can be seen sporting a 6.2-inch display that will carry support for QHD resolution. Rumors have revealed that upcoming smartphones from various brands will be sporting iPhone X-like notch design. However, full screen design of the Nokia 10 concept phone lacks a notch and it offers 85 percent screen-to-body ratio.

Nokia 10 concept renders display

The screen of the Nokia 10 concept is supported by super-slim bezels. The upper bezel that appears a bit thick houses dual selfie camera setup that includes autofocus enabled pair of 8-megapixel sensors with f.2.0 aperture.

Nokia 10 concept renders front selfie camera

The rear side of the concept phone sports a round-shaped camera housing that includes the penta-lens setup. It houses a pair of 16-megapixel dual cameras that is coupled with features like rotatory lens system, five different aperture levels, up to 10x optical zoom and dual OIS and PDAF.

Nokia 10 concept renders front and rear

The bottom side of the Nokia 10 concept render features a USB-C port that is placed between a pair of external speakers. The sides of the phone do not feature 3.5mm audio jack. It indicates that the functionalities of the 3.5mm headphone jack will be available through USB-C.

Nokia 10 concept renders external speakers

Nokia 10 concept renders color model

The Snapdragon 845 chipset fuels the concept handset’s variants like 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 256 GB. It is powered by 4,000mAh battery that carries support for Quick Charge 4.0. The new renders reveal that the Nokia 10 concept phone would be coming in color choices like bed, blue, and gray.

Read More: Nokia 4 Powered with Snapdragon 450 May Have Passed FCC Certification

The above renders are not leaked photos of Nokia 10. It is a concept model created through the imagination of the designer on the basis of the rumored Nokia 10. What do you think about the design of the Nokia 10 concept model? Will the real handset resemble with the concept phone? Share us your views by posting your comments below.

Facebook Is Reportedly Going To Launch Its Own Smart Speakers This Year

Facebook, the social media giant, is reportedly gearing up to launch its own smart speakers, which is currently one of the hottest category in the consumer electronics market.

As per the reports, the US-based social media giant could launch two smart speakers — “Fiona” and “Aloha”. The report further says that these speakers could get launched as early as in July this year.

Aloha, which is said to be the larger of the two, is expected to come with a 15-inch touchscreen, along with facial and voice recognition. However, very little is known about Fiona, which is supposedly coming with a Siri-like voice assistant.

A report suggests that Aloha will have social features by way of Facebook and Messenger. Since it is also expected to come with a touchscreen as well as camera, addition of support for video calls seem like the most obvious choice. Previously, it was said that 13-inch version of Aloha could also be in the works.

According to the report, the display panel will come from LG Display, and both units will be assembled by contract manufacturer Pegatron. Facebook has also reportedly signed music licensing deals with Sony and Universal Music to provide content.

The smart speaker category was initially started by Amazon with the launch of Amazon Echo in the year 2015. The smart speaker comes with virtual voice assistant which can be used to control smart appliances as well as to perform various tasks.

Following Amazon, Google also decided to enter the smart speakers market in 2016 with Google Home and brought its personal voice assistant Google Assistant into the mainstream. One of the latest entrant in this market is Apple with the recent launch of Apple Homepod which is also one of the most expensive unit yet.

Read More: Anker Launches Kettlebell-Shaped Zolo Model Zero Smart Speaker With Google Assistant

It appears that this year is going to be the year of smart speaker. And with so many global giants entering the market, the competition to be the leader in the smart speakers market is going to intensify.

(Source)

 

Nokia 4 Powered with Snapdragon 450 May Have Passed FCC Certification

A new Nokia phone with model number TA-1048 has received certification from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S. Speculations are rife that it could be the Nokia 4 that was first spotted alongside other unannounced Nokia phones such as Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 8 Sirocco through the Nokia Camera app APK teardown.

The FCC filing of alleged Nokia 4 with FCC ID:2AJOTTA-1048 has revealed that it will be coming with a hybrid SIM slot that will support a micro SD card slot and a micro SIM slot. Apart from this, there is no other information available on the handset.

It is highly likely that the Nokia 4 won’t land in China since the number 4 is considered as a bad omen. Since it has been certified in the U.S., it is likely to launch in the U.S.

Speculations are rife that the Nokia 3 will be succeeded by the Nokia 4. Fresh information claims that the device will be powered by Snapdragon 450 chipset. It is the very same chipset that powers the Redmi 5 and Vivo V7+.The Nokia 5 was also launched alongside the Nokia 3. However, there is no information available on its successor.

Nokia-4-FCC-Label-TA-1048-from-FCC

Read More: Nokia 7 Plus Live Photo Appears; India is Likely to Receive it Soon

As of this writing, there is no information available on the specs Nokia 4. The handset is expected to get unveiled alongside other rumored phones such as Nokia 1 Android Go phone, Nokia 7 Plus Android One smartphone, Nokia 8 Sirocco (could launch as Nokia 9), global versions of Nokia 6 (2018) and Nokia 3310 4G.

(source|via 1, 2)

 

Apple’s WWDC 2018 Schedule Appear; May Debut iOS 12, iPad X, iPhone SE 2

Between 2003 and 2016, Apple had organized its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. However, the WWDC 2017 was kept at McEnery Convention Center in San Jose. Fresh information revealed by an unnamed person who is aware of Apple’s plans has said that the WWDC 2018 will be held at the same spot this year.

Apple has been keeping its WWDC event in the month of June since several years. This year too it will happen in the same month. The company will be using the McEnery Convention Center for other events in June such as O’Reilly Velocity Conference that will be held between June 11 and 14, DataWorks Summit and Hadoop Summit that will be organized between June 17 and 21 and Sensors Expo & Conference between June 26 and 28. This indicates that the WWDC is likely to be held before the O’Reilly Velocity Conference.

It is speculated that the WWDC 2018 will be held between June 4 and 8. The company is likely to unleash iOS 12 as well as newer edition of watchOS, tvOS and macOS 10.14. It has also used the WWDC platform in the past to unveil new hardware. For instance, the existing Mac Pro was unveiled at WWDC 2013 and the new iPad Pros were announced at WWDC 2017.

WWDC-2018

Read More: Samsung Reportedly Left with Excess OLED Panels As iPhone X Production Cut in Half

Rumors have it that a new iPad Pro may get unveiled at WWDC 2018. It is speculated to feature a notch design like the iPhone X. Hence, the rumor mill has dubbed it as iPad X. It is pegged to feature TrueDepth Camera and Face ID. Some reports claim that the company may also announce the iPhone SE 2 at WWDC 2018. It is likely to borrow some innards from iPhone 7 and is likely to support for wireless charging.

WWDC 2017 was attended by nearly 5,000 developers and 1,000 engineers. The upcoming WWDC is expected to receive more audience even though the tickets are likely to be priced around $1,599. The event will also live streamed through WWDC website and its app.

(source)

 

 

Samsung Patent Reveals Foldable Smartphone With New Hinge Design

Samsung has been working on a foldable smartphone for years now. Last year, there were rumors it would eventually launch a foldable smartphone but it didn’t. A new patent granted to the Korean giant shows off a new design and may also provide some info as to what is going on at Samsung.

It appears there are issues with the current design of foldable phones with a flexible display. According to the patent description, when the radius of curvature of the flexible display is too small, the display may get damaged. This damage may occur both in an unfolded state (due to tensile force) or folded state (compressive force).

Samsung Foldable Device Patent

To avoid that, Samsung has come up with a structure that supports the display where it curves. This structure according to the diagrams in the patent is a hinge system which prevents damage from compressive or tensile force. The hinge system helps keep the radius of curvature at a set value, thereby preventing the display from damage.

The patent further explains that the hinge system also allows the foldable device to be bent to various angles. So rather than two main positions – completely folded and completely unfolded, the device can be partially folded or unfolded to a desired angle.

Samsung Foldable Device Patent

Some of the images of the hinge system look familiar. One is shown to look like what Lenovo used for the Yoga Book while another looks like the hinge system of the Microsoft Surface Book.

READ MORE: Leaked Samsung Patent Sketch Tips Galaxy Note 9 To Pack An Under-display Fingerprint Scanner

Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ Pricing Leaked Again, Likely to be Costlier than Galaxy S8, S8+

The launch event of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ is drawing near. Recent leaks have revealed that the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will look quite similar to the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, but they will be arriving with upgraded innards. Hence, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are rumored to hit the market with higher pricing than their predecessor models. In fact, some reports have claimed that the Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be the costliest ever phones from Samsung. Today, well-known tipster Roland Quandt revealed the pricing of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ for Norway.

According to Quandt, the Galaxy S9 with 64 GB will be landing in Norway with a pricing of 8,790 NOK (Norwegian Krone) which converts to around $1130 in the U.S. The 64 GB Galaxy S9+ will be costing 9790 NOK (~$1260).

Norway will be receiving the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ in color options such as Midnight Black, Coral Blue and the new Lilac Purple. It seems that the Titanium Grey color option won’t be available in the country. The S9 and S9+ will be costing 1200 NOK and 1300 NOK more than their respective predecessor models.

Quandt added that the pricing of smartphones for Scandinavian regions like Norway are expensive than in continental Europe. Also, one should be aware of the fact that the European pricing are generally more than in the U.S.

Samsung Galaxy S9 Lilac Purple Press Render

Read More: A Redditor Who Claims To Have Used The Galaxy S9 Confirms Most of Its New Features

A report from the previous month had revealed that the Galaxy S9 would be costing between 950,000 (~$893) won to 999,000 won (~$939). The Galaxy S8 was launched in the U.S. with a price tag of $750. It is speculated that the Galaxy S9 would be arriving with a 10 percent increasing pricing in the U.S. Hence, it is likely to cost around $800.

Do you think that the higher price tag of the Galaxy S9 duo will impact its sales? Let us know your views by posting your comments below.

(source)

 

Samsung Reportedly Left with Excess OLED Panels As iPhone X Production Cut in Half

There have been conflicting reports about the sales of the iPhone X, the first OLED smartphone from the company. It was revealed at the beginning of this month that during the fiscal quarter, the average revenue generated by the sales of each iPhone unit indicated that Apple may sold impressive number of iPhone X units. However, it was also reported recently that Apple has cut down the productions of the iPhone X by 50 percent. Fresh information revealed by Japan’s Nikkei states that Samsung had ramped production of the OLED panels to the meet iPhone X’s demand initially. However, the South Korean company is now left with excess capacity of OLED panel as the Cupertino company has reportedly reduced the production of the iPhone X.

Samsung had reportedly hoped that other smartphone manufacturers would also approach it for OLED panels after Apple had struck a deal for OLED panels for iPhone X. Along with the touch sensors, each OLED panel is priced at $100. This cost is double the amount of Samsung’s LCD panels for iPhone 8 Plus. Because of the high pricing, other smartphone manufacturers have not switched to OLED panels and they are still using LCD panels.

iPhone X

Read More:Apple’s iPhone X, 8 & 8 Plus Q4 Sales Lower Than The iPhone 7 & 7 Plus YoY

Moreover, Samsung is now facing competition from OLED manufacturers from China that are rapidly expanding the production of cheaper OLED panels. Coming to iPhone X, Nikkei’s report claims that its production will be slashed to half by this quarter. In the previous month too, it had forecasted that Apple will be reducing the iPhone X production in half. It was reported that the company has taken such a decision because of the disappointing sales during the holiday season.

Another matter of concern for Samsung is that LG is likely to supply OLED displays for the rumored 6.5-inch iPhone arriving later this year. The Cupertino company has been trying to rely less on Samsung. With other options available, it is likely that Apple may strike deal with LG or OLED panel makers from China for its upcoming iPhones.

(source)

 

 

Samsung Shipping Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note8 With Free Gear IconX

The Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and Galaxy Note8 all come with a pair of  wired AKG earphones. The earphones are tuned by Harman Kardon – an audio company acquired by Samsung in 2016. If you are not into wired earphones, you can get something better.

Gear IconX promo

For a limited time, Samsung will ship any of the three phones with a pair of Gear IconX (2018) earbuds. However, you have to make your purchase (unlocked or select carriers) from the official Samsung US website or Shop Samsung app. It also runs from till March 1.

The Gear IconX (2018) is the second gen version from Samsung. They are completely wireless earbuds with a charging case just like Apple’s Airpods. It serves dual functions – you can use it as regular bluetooth earphones or as standalone earbuds as it has 4GB of built-in memory for songs.

It can also track your exercise and provide a live coach while you work out. It has support for other Samsung phones, Android phones, and even works with iOS devices though not all its features are available on iOS.

The IconX (2018) is priced at $199 in the US and comes in silver, black, and pink. For the promo, Samsung will ship the black variant with your purchase.

READ MORE: Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+ Android 8.0 Oreo Update Abruptly Halted

Upcoming BlackBerry Phones May Be Codenamed Athena, Luna, and Uni: Here Are The Rumored Specs

TCL will reportedly launch three BlackBerry smartphones in 2018, and according to new rumors, their codenames are Athena, Luna, and Uni. There is no official info about any of these smartphones, so, at the moment, we can only rely on rumors and speculations. LetsGoDigital has just discovered some patents and trademarks filed by TCL which may be related to the phone codenamed Uni. According to the patents, the design of this device may be similar to BlackBerry Priv, the first Android phones released by the Canadian giant, before being acquired by TCL.

BlackBerry Krypton

The patent regards the camera module and if you want to get more info about it you can visit our dedicated article. Anyway, take it with a pinch of salt as some rumors are pointing out that this design is just a reference point to describe the patent.

 

RELATED: BlackBerry Patents New Camera Design, May Appear in A Priv Successor This Year

 

BlackBerry Athena is rumored to be a device with a physical QWERTY keyboard included, and it is expected to be released in two variants with different model numbers: BBE100-1 and BBF100-1. It is also tipped to come with 6 or even 8 GB of RAM, paired with 64 GB of internal storage. This makes us thinks that we may be talking about a high-end device: the first real high-end phone released by TCL under the BB brand. Rumors are suggesting that the phone may be powered by the octa-core Snapdragon 660 SoC, which is actually the best midrange SoC released by Qualcomm. At last, there is Luna, but we don’t have much details about it. It is rumored to be a mid-range phone which aims to focus on the quality-price ratio. It may come with a physical keyboard just as the Athena, but for now we are only talking about speculations.

(Via)

Samsung Notebook 9 Pen, Notebook 9 (2018), And Notebook 7 Spin (2018) Now Available For Purchase

Earlier this year, Samsung announced its three new devices — Samsung Notebook 9 Pen, Notebook 9 (2018) and Notebook 7 Spin (2018). While all three devices were showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show, they were not available for purchase.

However, the company has now started selling all three devices in the United States. At the time of announcement, the South Korea-based company had said that the devices will be available for buying in select markets including the U.S. in the first quarter of this year.

Samsung Notebook 9 Pen

The Notebook 9 Pen is a 2-in-1 laptop from Samsung that features a durable magnesium alloy chassis dubbed as Metal 21. It features a 360-degree hinge that allows users to conveniently use it as a laptop as well as a tablet. It measures 310.5 x 206.6 x 14.5-16.5mm and its weight is 995 grams.

The device features a 13.3-inch Full HD display and is powered by Intel Core i7 processor (8th generation), Intel HD graphics and up to 16GB of DDR4 RAM. It’s available in up to 512 GB of NVMe PCI storage option. The connectivity ports available on the device include USB-C, USB 3.0, HDMI, uSD card slot, headphone/microphone jack and DC-in.

It comes preloaded with Windows 10. The front-facing IR camera supports facial authentication through Windows Hello. It is equipped with an S Pen that has a tip of just 0.7mm.

Samsung Notebook 9 2018

The Samsung Notebook 9 (2018) comes in two screen sizes — 13.3-inches and 15-inches. It is also features Metal 21 chassis and it houses Samsung’s biggest 75Wh Hexacell battery. Both the display variants support Full HD resolution and they are driven by Intel Core i7 (8th generation) and Intel HD Graphics. However, the 15-inch Notebook 9 (2018) comes in another variant that features NVIDIA GeForce MX150 graphics.

This one too runs on Windows 10 and is available with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. These models feature 720p HD front-facing camera and are fitted with fingerprint scanner for security.

The newer version of Samsung Notebook 7 Spin comes with a 13.3-inch display that supports Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It sports a sleek appeal thanks to its metallic body that measures 315.8 x 215.4 x 18.5mm and it weighs 1.53 kg. The backlit keyboard features a Precision Touchpad.

The device is powered by Intel Core i5 (8th generation) processor and 43Wh battery. It features 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage. The connectivity ports available on the device include a USB-C port, a USB 3.0 port, a USB 2.0 port, a headphone combo jack and an HDMI slot.

This one too runs on Microsoft‘s Windows 10 operating system and has Windows Hello-compatible fingerprint scanner for security. The improved Active Pen will be available for purchase separately. It can be used for taking notes or drawing.

Read More: Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 GFXBench Listing Hints it Could be Most Powerful Galaxy Tablet

Coming to the the pricing of these devices, the Samsung Notebook 9 starts at $1,200 for the 13-inch model and $1,300 for the 15-inch model. While the Samsung Notebook 9 Pen will be available for $1,400, the Samsung Notebook 7 Spin (2018) is priced at $900.

 

A Redditor Who Claims To Have Used The Galaxy S9 Confirms Most of Its New Features

It’s just a matter of days now before Samsung officially unveil the Galaxy S9 and S9+ at the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress 2018. The tech giant had hinted that it would take the wraps off its Galaxy S9 flagships on February 26.samsung galaxy s9+

The Samsung Galaxy S9 details have again got some confirmation from a Reddit user (also called Redditor) who claims to have spent about 20 minutes toying around with the phone. The thread turns out to be a very long and expository “Ask Me Anything” (Reddit AMA) session and is full of first-look impressions about the S9. The Reddit user hinted that indeed the Galaxy S9 is close in design to the S8 but the S9 doesn’t have a thicker side bezel just as seen on leaked renders. The major difference between both models is that this time around the fingerprint sensor is mounted underneath the rear camera and according to the dude, this still made him hit the rear camera a few times while trying to unlock the phone.Samsung-Galaxy-S9-Galaxy-S9-Plus-Glass-Rear

Another feature that got confirmed by the Redditor is the dual stereo speakers and a 3.5mm audio jack. One of the speakers would be located at the bottom, while a second one will be at the top, doubling as an earpiece. The sound output from the dual stereo speakers were said to have seen a major improvement compared to the Galaxy S8. Yet another major feature of the Galaxy S9 which could be its biggest selling point, apart from the chipset (Exynos 9810/SD 845) would be the cameras. The rear camera is earlier tipped as coming with variable aperture and  the source claims the camera can now do “4k60fps and higher framerates at 720p480 and 1080p240.” Looks like there is no 1000fps slow-mo, but the model which he had access to was the Snapdragon 845 model for the US, and the device in question was not a finalized retail version, so we could still get the slow mo.samsung galaxy s9 hands on

Read More: Samsung Galaxy S9 Official Promos Released to Slow-Mo Camera, Animated Emoji

Furthermore, the Redditor revealed that one feature that will be heavily promoted after the Galaxy S9 hits the market is the new 3D Emoji which allows users to create an avatar and control its facial features, similar to Apple’s animoji.  The guy didn’t disclose the pricing, claiming they aren’t allowed to discuss that but he just mentioned that the freebies that Samsung throws with the Galaxy S9 may take a different dimension compared to previous Galaxy S-series launches in the US.

(source)

Motorola Cuts $100 Off The Moto X4 Price In The US

The deals never seem to stop at Motorola. Earlier this year, the Lenovo-owned company discounted a bunch of its phones. It was then followed by Valentine’s Day deals. Now, the Moto X4 is getting a new price cut to celebrate President’s Day in the US.

Moto X4 President's Day Deal

The Moto X4 originally launched for $399 in the US, though it comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. This year alone, we have seen it sell for $349 but now you can pick it up for just $299 or $16.67/month. This is $100 off its launch price.

That’s not the cheapest you can get it. There are two versions of the Moto X4 in the US. The one above is the original variant with Amazon Alexa pre-installed. The second variant is an Android One version sold on the Project Fi Network. The latter can be bought for $249 or $10.38 for 24 months. That is $150 off its original list price.

Moto X4 Android One price

So depending on the one you go for, you can save $100 or $150. The official Moto site says the deal (non-Android one) lasts till March 3. There is no info as to how long the Project Fi variant will remain at that price.

The Moto X4 has a 5.2” 1920 x 1080 display and is powered by the Snapdragon 630 processor. It has dual rear cameras (12MP + 8MP) and a 16MP front facing camera with its own LED flash.

READ MORE: Moto G6 Series: Specs, Prices and New Press Renders Leaked

Nokia May Shutdown Its Withings Health Tech Business Just Like The Ozo VR Project

Nokia entered a deal to purchase French-based health product manufacturer Withings in June 2016 for a fee in the tune of $191 million U.S dollars.  The company later launched its first set of health products last year which included smartwatches, weighing scale, blood pressure monitor and others. It even went as far as redesigning the Withings Health app.Nokia-Withings

Turns out the venture has not been a very profitable one for the tech giant. Nokia recently announced in a blog post that it’s launching a “strategic review of its digital health business.” The Finnish company hinted that it was considering its “strategic options” with regards to health care and that this “may or may not result in any transaction or other changes.” The statement isn’t very clear but you don’t see a company reviewing its strategy when the results are superb. The company hasn’t really had a smooth ride since the Withings deal was struck. It even faced backlash for redesigning the Withings Health app and the withdrawal of experimental features from its smart scales and the finances have not been good too. Significantly, it announced a write-down of goodwill relating to the Withings purchase worth €141 million ($164 million) last October, meaning it had substantially overestimated the value of the company’s assets.

Nokia Steel HR

Read Also: Alleged Nokia 9 Spotted In The Hands Of HMD Official

It is still early to make a conclusion but the signs that Withings health products may be joining the Ozo Virtual Reality camera project among the heavy luggage Nokia will be shedding. The news of the strategic review was said to have resulted in more than 400 job loss. For now, Nokia other enterprise is still selling strongly with the bulk of its annual revenue worth around €23 billion coming from its multinational telecoms business. Nokia’s wide array of technology patents is yet another source of revenue.

(via)

Sony Xperia XZ2/XZ2 Pro’s FCC Redesign Request May Not Be For Its External Appearance

As we reported yesterday, Sony has written a dismissal request to FCC with “design change” as the primary reason. Seeing this, many started to wonder whether the company decided to totally change the aesthetics of the upcoming Sony Xperia XZ2 or Xperia XZ2 Pro, the alleged phone which will be unveiled soon at MWC 2018. Considering that one of these handsets is rumored to be the first phone with a 4K OLED display, some reports even said that the company decided to ditch this screen to opt for a classic LCD panel.

sony xperia xz2

But last minute changes to flagship designs are unheard of. At least not in the usual scenario. And for a company like Sony, it’s a big risk to change a finalized smartphone design just a few days before its release at a major international event. So, it’s likely that the change could be just in the smartphone radio specs and not in its external design.

Roland Quandt Comment on Xperia Design

Roland Quandt, the famous leakster notes that “it (the change) is highly likely just about radio stuff, not about what the phone looks like”. So, don’t expect a change in the aesthetics but just in the internals. Obviously, there will be a change over the previous generation, but that’s definitely not a last moment thing. In fact, in at least one of the upcoming flagships, Sony is expected to abandon its OmniBalance design by releasing a device with an 18:9 display and narrow bezels.

 

READ MORE: Sony Xperia XZ2 AnTuTu Score Breaks 200K+ Mark; Key Specs Like 18:9 Display, Snapdragon 845 Revealed

 

Some schematic renders of the device have already surfaced, and they suggest the presence of thin bezels on the upper and lower part. On the lower part, there will still be space for a front speaker. The handset will come with NFC, and on the back side, there will be the first rear dual camera setup ever seen on a Sony flagship. Until now, the only Sony Xperia device which was released with a dual camera setup is the Xperia XA2 Ultra, which has the setup on the front side for better bokeh effect on selfies. Sony Xperia XZ2 or Xperia XZ2 Pro will probably come with the best Qualcomm SoC under the hood: the new Snapdragon 845 with AI included.

 

 

Flagship ASUS Z01RD Gets Listed on AnTuTu With A Snapdragon 845 Chip, Likely Zenfone 5!

An upcoming ASUS model has been listed on benchmark website AnTuTu. The listing shows the benchmark score the device pulled as well as some of the key specs it is expected to feature. The device is listed as ASUS Z01RD and packs flagship specs lineup which is piloted by Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon 845 chip which we expect to make its debut in a smartphone this month.ASUS Z01RD

The flagship model is listed with a Full HD+ resolution of 2246 x 1080pixels which means it is a full view display with the 18:9 aspect ratio. The device also packs a 6GB RAM and runs Android 8.0 oreo out of the box.

Read Also: Asus Could Launch Zenfone 5 Series On 27th February At MWC 2018

The AnTuTu listing also included the benchmark score of the ASUS model and it is 238129 points. The score is relatively lower than the score of the Galaxy S9 SD 845  version and the Nubia NX606J managed to record a score of 271,674 on AnTuTu. We don’t know what moniker the ASUS Z01RD would adopt when it is launched but all feelers point at the Zenfone 5 series model. The display resolution is sort of different from that of other full-screen models we have seen already and that could be because of the notch the Zenfone 5 has on the display.

(source)

Red Honor 7X Gets Global Launch, New Gray Variant Tags Along

At CES 2018, Honor disclosed that its new mid-ranger, the Honor 7X would get a limited edition red variant. This red variant launched in the US for Valentine’s Day already but is now making it to other markets.

Honor 7X Italy

The red Honor 7X is available in Germany and Spain for €269.90 with 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM from now till March 31 while in Italy it is sold for €299. It is not in stock anymore in the US and several other countries too don’t seem to have the phone at all.

READ MORE: Honor 9 Lite With Its Quad Camera Design Is Officially Headed To Europe At €229

BlackBerry Patents New Camera Design, May Appear in A Priv Successor This Year

A patent for a new camera design has been granted to BlackBerry by the World Intellectual Patent Organization. The patent is titled “Electronic device and method of controlling same for capturing digital images,” and images provided show that it may be limited to devices with a slide mechanism.

The patent photos are of a phone that looks like the BlackBerry Priv with a slide out keyboard. Beneath the slide out keyboard is a front facing speaker.

BlackBerry Camera Patent

Unlike the Priv which has its rear camera on the back of the part that houses the keyboard, the diagram in the patent has the camera (504) on the display part. What appears to be another camera (520) is referred to as an auxiliary lens.

The patent description explains that the auxiliary lens “may be any suitable lens to provide further digital camera functionality”. It may be a wide-angle lens for capturing more area in a photo, a fish-eye lens, a zoom lens, or a macro lens. Just imagine the various lenses of a DSLR camera but on a much smaller scale. However, in this case, you will most likely be left with one type of lens.

BlackBerry Camera Patent

When you want to use the additional functionality of the auxiliary lens, you slide the phone down. For normal photos, you slide the device up. The hole labelled 522 is actually an optically clear cap to let the LED flash pass through when the phone is contracted. Since this is just like the Priv which has dual flash, the second hole serves the same function as 522.

Apart from the patent, TCL who is one of the current licensees of the BlackBerry brand also registered to trademark the name “Uni”. Last year, TCL trademarked the word “KEYone” before MWC and that became the name of the device which was initially referred to as BlackBerry Mercury.

UNI trademark

While one may think the new name may be related to an upcoming BlackBerry phone, the Trademark Electronic Search System reveals it is related to a VR device. If you also remember, the VR glasses that can be purchased with the Idol 5 is called the UNI360 VR Goggles.

READ MORE: BlackBerry DTEK50 And DTEK60 Updated With The February Security Patch For Spectre And Meltdown

Key Features of Motorola’s 2018 Smartphones Leaked; 2018 Moto C, C Plus May Not Launch This Year

Leaked information that surfaced in the previous month revealed that Lenovo-owned Motorola would be launching the Moto E5 series, Moto G6 series, Moto X5 and Moto Z3 series smartphones this year. A well-known leakster has claimed that Motorola will be releasing only these phones in this year. This suggests that the company may not launch successor versions of Moto C and C Plus this year.

According to the tipster, the Moto E series phones that will probably include Moto E5, Moto E5 Plus and Moto E5 Play will include basic specs and large battery.  He has also claimed that the Moto E5 Play would be replacing the Moto C series. The Moto G6 series may come with two-year old flagship specs. The Moto X5 may be branded as high-end phone.

moto e5
The Moto Z series phones such as Moto Z3 Play and Moto Z3 Force may come with futuristic tech which could probably mean that these handsets will carry support MotoMods accessories along with flagship specs.

Leaked information has revealed that the Moto E5 will coming with 5-inch display and large-sized battery. The Moto G6 and G6 Plus may feature 5.93-inch FHD+ resolution supporting display whereas the Moto G6 Play may feature a regular 5.7-inch HD display. The G6 and G6 Plus may respectively feature Snapdragon 630 and 450 chipsets whereas the low-budget G6 Play may come with Snapdragon 430. The G6, G6 Plus and G6 Play are rumored to respectively cost around ~$265, ~$235 and ~187.

Moto G6 Press Render

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The Moto X5 is expected to sport a notch-enabled full screen design like iPhone X flanked with quad cameras. The Moto Z3 and Z3 Play are expected to arrive with 6-inch screen with support 18:9 aspect ratio. It is speculated that there will be a third Moto Z3 model that may feature advanced specs like Snapdragon 845 and higher resolution display. It is quite obvious that all the Z3 models will include support for MotoMods accessories. The leakster has added that Motorola will not be using MediaTek chipset on its phones this year.

(source 1, 2)

Samsung Galaxy J4 Geekbench Benchmarks Reveal Key Specs

In the past week, the rumored Galaxy J4 was found mentioned as “j4lte” in the list of supported phones for the beta build of Android 8.0 Oreo for Galaxy Note 8. A mysterious Samsung phone with model number SM-J400F has appeared on Geekbench benchmarking platform. It is speculated that this model number belongs to the upcoming Samsung Galaxy J4.

The Geekbench listing has revealed that the SM-J400F is running on Android 8.0 Oreo and it has 2 GB of RAM. The device is powered by Exynos 7570. It is the very same SoC that lies under the hood of other budget-friendly phones such as Galaxy J3 (2017) and Galaxy Xcover 4.

In the single-core test, the Galaxy J4 has managed to reach a score of 623 whereas it has scored 1815 in multi-core test. These benchmarking scores suggest it will be an entry-level phone that may offer specs that are slightly better than Galaxy J3 (2017).

Samsung Galaxy J4 Geekbench

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The Android 8.0 Oreo that will be arriving preinstalled on the phone is expected to be overlaid with Samsung Experience UI. As of this writing, there is no information available on its other specs.

Samsung had launched the Galaxy J2 Pro (2018) as its first smartphone for this year. Leaked information suggests that some of the other Galaxy J series phones that will launch in 2018 include Galaxy J3 (2018), Galaxy J3 Neo, Galaxy J6 Galaxy J7 (2018) and Galaxy J8.

(source)

 

Huawei Achieves 3 Gbps Speeds in 5G Trials in Italy

On Thursday, Huawei had conducted 5G testing in Italy and it was able to reach milestone connectivity speeds of 3 Gbps. Such an ultra high-speed connectivity was achieved using an experimental setup using 100 MHz of bandwidth. The Chinese tech giant was able to attain the historic throughput in collaboration with local mobile operators like TIM and Fastweb in Turin, Italy.

The 5G testing also achieved a spectral efficiency of 30 bits/second/Hz. Hence, the 5G connectivity attained by Huawei is not only fast but also consumes seven times less bandwidth even with the most advanced 4G technology.

According to Huawei, ““Speed of connection, latency and efficiency in the use of the spectrum were the indicators object of the test of the first data connection, tested on a network chain end to end 5G including the terminal, the new radio access and the core network.” It further added that, “The positive outcome of the first data connection sets the stage for the first site to be switched on in the coming weeks.”

Huawei will be continuously conducting 5G trials in a bid to launch its first cell site by spring this year. In September 2017, the Ministry of Economic Department in the country awarded the spectrum in the 3.6 to 3.8 GHz frequencies to TIM, Fastweb and Huawei for testing 5G connectivity in cities like Bari and Matera.

Huawei-Logo-Stage

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The project aims to make the first 5G usable scenarios available by June this year and it targets to meet 75 percent 5G coverage by the end of this year. The Bari and Matera are expected to receive 100 percent 5G coverage by the end of 2019.

In Italy, Huawei is also working with Vodafone Italy for the commercialization of 5G networks. Both companies have managed to hit download speeds of 2.7 Gbps along with a latency of around one millisecond. The Chinese manufacturer has said that it will be investing around $800 million in 5G R&D this year. Huawei has collaborated with Canada’s Telus mobile operator to conduct 5G trails in Vancouver. Both companies have managed to achieve over 2 Gbps of 5G download speeds.