Mysterious Device Powered By Snapdragon 845 Appears on Geekbench 4

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Feb 9, 2018

Qualcomm‘s next-gen chipset- Snapdragon 845 is expected to be super powerful and we are just about finding out how powerful that chipset is. A recently leaked AnTuTu benchmark for the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 showed that the device would pack a Snapdragon 845 chipset and the benchmark score shows it would be powerful. A new Geekbench listing for an unknown Snapdragon 845 running device has again appeared, pointing at a super powerful chip.

The listing was spotted on Geekbench 4 and this benchmark makes it easier to directly compare with other flagship models running SD 835 and downwards. Due to a major upgrade of the grading system on AnTuTu, such comparison wasn’t easy to accomplish.

The unknown Snapdragon 845 device in question had onboard the Android 8.0 Oreo operating system paired with 6GB of RAM. The device also scored slightly lower on the single core and multi-core tests compared to the Galaxy S9+ and Sony Xperia XZ2 but they all fall in this same range. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell if this is the Mi Mix 2s or Galaxy S9 but the unknown device is tipped to be the Samsung Galaxy S9. This sounds logical considering that the Galaxy S9 is usually clocked a little lower than the Galaxy S9+. However, it fared way better than the Galaxy S8+, Xperia XZ1 and Google Pixel 2 XL which all run on Snapdragon 835 chipsets, both in the single core and multi-core tests.

(source)

Snapdragon 845 Geekbench — Multi-core Test Results

LG V30s Specs and Pricing Leaked; Its Arriving with LG Lens at MWC 2018

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Feb 9, 2018

Previous reports have claimed that LG would be launching an advanced version of the LG V30 at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018. Fresh information reveals that the rumored smartphone would be launching with LG V30s moniker and it will be available for buying from early next month in South Korea.

LG is expected to announce the LG V30s smartphone at MWC 2018 on Feb. 26 at 11:30 AM. In South Korea, it is expected to be available through all the three major mobile operators such as SK Telecom, LG Uplus and KT Corporation. It is likely to carry a price tag of 1 million won (~$920). It is speculated that the LG V30s and Samsung Galaxy S9 will be hitting the South Korean market on the same date of March 9.

The LG V30 and V30+ models that were released last year respectively feature 64 GB and 128 GB internal storage. However, the upcoming LG V30s will be coming with 256 GB native storage. As far as the appearance of the smartphone is concerned, it will be identical to the LG V30. The rest of the specs of the LG V30s will be same as that of the V30. Hence, it will be coming with 6-inch FullVision OLED display with QHD+ resolution, Snapdragon 835 chipset, 16-megapixel dual rear cameras, 5-megapixel selfie camera, 3,300mAh battery.

What sets the LG V30s from V30 and V30+ is the inclusion of LG Lens function. In fact, the LG V30s will be the first smartphone from the company to feature it. It brings AI capabilities to the camera of the phone. It will function like the Bixby Vision on Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 phones and Google Lens on Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL phones.

If a user takes a photo of a product through the LG V30s with LG Lens enabled, it will be able to reveal details of that item available online. Once the image is recognized, it will be able to find similar products and other items with similar pricing. LG Lens will support bar-code recognition and QR code identification. It also includes support for foreign language translation. When a user takes a photo of English text using V30s LG Lens enabled camera, the text will be automatically translated in preferred language.

Through GPS, it will be able to calculate real-time location of the user and provide information on the surrounding places depending on the direction and angle of the camera. Augmented Reality will recommend users with fastest route for destination and it will also display information on popular restaurants.

Apple is known for adding “s” to the name of an iPhone when it is launched as an upgraded version of a flagship iPhone from the previous year. LG will be also using the same strategy to launch the upgraded version of the V30 as V30s. There is a possibility that it will also launch LG G7s as an upgraded version for the upcoming LG G7 and LG V40s as an enhanced version of LG V40 that will be launching in the second half of this year.

(source)

Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, ZTE, Nokia 5G Smartphones with Snapdragon X50 5G NR Arriving in 2019

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Feb 9, 2018

The Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem has been designed by Qualcomm to support 5G networks. Today, Qualcomm has confirmed that at least 18 different smartphone manufacturing companies will be launching Snapdragon X50 5G modem enabled smartphones. Moreover, the U.S.-based chip maker has confirmed that various telecom service providers from across the world will be starting the trail run of 5G networks soon.

The Snapdragon X50 5G NR (New Radio) mobile modem chipset can attain download speeds of several gigabits. In October 2017, Qualcomm had unveiled the new 5G modem and confirmed that it would be commercially available during the first half of 2019. Now that Qualcomm has released press releases for the carriers and smartphone manufacturers that will be supporting and releasing 5G smartphones featuring Snapdragon X50 modem, it seems that the company is well on track of fulfilling the promise of making 5G phones available in 2019.

The smartphone OEMs that are working with Qualcomm to launch phones with Snapdragon X50 5G modem next year are Asus, Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu Connected Technologies Limited, HMD Global (Nokia), HTC, Inseego/Novatel Wireless, LG, NetComm Wireless, NETGEAR, OPPO, Sharp Corporation, Sierra Wireless, Sony Mobile, Telit, vivo, Wingtech, WNC, Xiaomi and ZTE.

Two of the major smartphone manufacturing companies namely, Apple and Huawei are missing from the list. Samsung has signed a separate cross-license partnership with Qualcomm recently which may also include plans to launch 5G enabled Samsung phones soon. Lenovo too is absent from the list.

The list of select global mobile operators that will conducing live and OTA mobile 5G NR trials include AT&T, British Telecom, China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, KDDI, KT Corporation, LG Uplus, NTT DOCOMO, Orange, Singtel, SK Telecom, Sprint, Telstra, TIM, Verizon and Vodafone Group.

Which smartphone company will be releasing the first 5G smartphone next year? OPPO CEO Tony Chen had confirmed in the previous month that it will be among the first manufacturers to release a 5G smartphone. ZTE CEO Lixin Cheng has recently claimed that a 5G ZTE phone would be launching at the end of 2018 or early 2019. Two months ago, Huawei CEO Yu Richard said that a 5G Huawei smartphone would be releasing in the second half of 2019.

5G smartphones featuring Snapdragon X50 will allow users to connect to public Wi-Fi without login. Such phones will offer ultrafast downloads, high-speed internet browsing, topnotch quality video and voice calls, lag free streaming of 360-degreee video and instant cloud access. Qualcomm will be also bringing 5G connectivity on other devices like Always Connected PCs, VR and AR.

(source 1, 2)

Snapdragon 670’s Entire Specifications Leaked, May Unveil at MWC 2018

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Feb 9, 2018

Qualcomm has already launched the Snapdragon 845 flagship chipset in December last year. It is expected to power smartphones like Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S, Sony Xperia XZ Pro, Xperia XZ2 and Nokia 8 Sirocco. Previous reports have revealed that the upper mid-range Snapdragon 670 SoC will be launched soon as a successor for Snapdragon 660 from last year. Well-known tipster Roland Quandt has revealed key details of the Snapdragon 670.

According to Quandt, the Snapdragon 670 will be a 10nm chipset that will not be based on the classic big.LITTLE architecture. Instead of four low-end and four high-end CPU cores, the Snapdragon 670 will be featuring a combination of low-end hexa-core processor and dual-core high-end processor.

The low-end cores called Kryo 300 Silver will deliver a maximum clocking speed of 2.6 GHz. The Kryo 300 Silver is nothing but an adapted edition of ARM Cortex A55. The high-performance cores are dubbed as Kryo 300 Gold, a custom version of ARM Cortex A75. The Kryo Gold will be able to churn out a max processing of 1.7 GHz. This shows that the smartphones driven by this new chipset will be able to deliver stellar performance.

Each of the cores has 32KB L1 cache and each cluster gets 128KB L2 cache. For the entire chipset, there is 1MB of L3 cache. The SoC also includes Adreno 615 that works at 430 MHz or 650 MHz and it can even reach 700 MHz dynamically.

The Snapdragon 670 will support up to WQHD display resolution, but the exact information on it is yet to surface. The Snapdragon X2X modem will be able to produce maximum download speeds of 1 Gbps. When it comes to memory, the SD670 offers support UFS 2.1 and eMMC 5.1.

The specialized image processor packed inside the Snapdragon 670 allows its Adreno 615 graphics to support dual camera configuration. As of this writing, there is no information available on the maximum camera resolution supported by this chipset. However, it has been found that the reference design hardware includes 13-megapixel + 23-megapixel dual camera setup.

As of this writing, there is no information available on the launch date of the new chipset. However, it is likely that the company may unveil it at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 event later this month in Barcelona, Spain. It is also speculated that the Snapdragon 670 powered smartphones would be arriving in the market soon.

(source)

Samsung Galaxy S8 Active With Android Oreo Certified By Wi-Fi Alliance

By

Michele Ingelido

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Feb 9, 2018

Even though most of the most important smartphone manufacturers have already updated their main devices to Android Oreo or released at least one smartphone with the latest version of the operating system, we still haven’t seen any Samsung device running Android Oreo. But we are almost in the time frame in which Samsung usually updates its main flagships, so no more waiting to see Android Oreo on Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. According to a new certification, the Active variant of these devices will be updated as well, and it might happen very soon.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Active is the rugged version of the S8 series, which is actually the best flagship phone to sport a rugged design. The device, running Android Oreo, has been certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance in two versions: one identified by the code SM-G892U and another with the code SM-G892A. The first is the version launched by the U.S. carrier T-Mobile, while the second one is the Sprint version. This certification makes us think that Samsung Galaxy S8 Active may be updated to Android Oreo even before the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. Soon, Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be released as well: they will be showcased at MWC 2018 in an event that will be held on February 25 in Barcelona.

After these devices, the Galaxy S9 Active should be released as well. Some XML files found in a beta firmware of Android Oreo for the Galaxy Note 8 have confirmed the existence of the new rugged device, which is identified by the code name astarqlte. While the letter “A” may stand for active, the letter “Q” hints at the presence of a Qualcomm SoC. This means that it is the U.S. version as it is expected to have the Snapdragon 845, while the EU version of the S9 has a Samsung Exynos 9810.

(Via)

Buy Oukitel U18 4G Smartphone For Only $159.99 On Banggood

By

Vinay Patel

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Feb 9, 2018

The Oukitel U18 4G smartphone garnered considerable popularity among smartphone enthusiasts after hitting the store shelves in January 2018. You now have an opportunity to get your hands on the mid-budget smartphone at a discounted price. Let’s delve straight into the details.

Banggood is currently offering 11% off on the original $179.99 asking price of the U18, bringing it down to only $159.99. This is a big reduction in the already reasonable selling price of the phone.

Despite bearing a low price, the Oukitel U18 smartphone is brimming with awe-inspiring specs and features. Here’s a brief glimpse of what the 4G smartphone has to offer in terms of specifications.

The U18 sports a massive 5.85 inches IPS, LCD capacitive touchscreen display with a screen resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels at a pixel density of 275 PPI (pixels per inch). Under the hood, it packs a powerful MediaTek MT6750T processor, coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB ROM.

On the photography front, the dual-SIM handset sports a 13.0MP+2MP twofold camera setup at the back and a 13.0MP front shooter for selfie addicts. Moreover, the Oukitel U18 is backed by a massive 4000mAh (built-in) battery.

You can take advantage of the discount by heading straight to this link before it comes to an end. It’s also worth noting that there were only 85 pieces left at the time of writing.

Banggood Is Giving 11% Off On Oukitel U18 4G Smartphone’s Original Selling Price

Buy VKworld S8 4G Phablet For Only $171.99 On GearBest [Coupon Code]

By

Vinay Patel

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Feb 9, 2018

The VKworld S8 4G phablet was launched in October 2017 and as expected, it propelled straight to popularity among smartphone lovers. If you have been waiting to get your hands on the well-received device without burning a hole in your pocket, we have good news for you.

The black and blue versions of the S8 4G phablet are currently up for grabs on GearBest at a discounted price of $179.99 and $175.99, respectively. Let’s check out the details.

As part of its Flash Sale, GearBest is currently offering a considerable 11% discount on the original selling price of the blue version of VKworld S8 phablet. Likewise, the site is giving 9% off on the phone’s black version for a limited period of time.

You can get an additional discount on the blue version of the S8 4G phablet by using coupon code ‘GBFEB149’ at the time of checking out. After applying the aforesaid coupon code, your subtotal drops down to only $171.99. Here’s what you can expect to get by shelling out that much money.

As a phablet, the S8 offers 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. It sports a massive 5.99 inches IPS, FHD+ display with a screen resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels.

Under the hood, the S8 packs a powerful MediaTek MT6750T, 64-bit processor, paired with ARM Mali-T860 MP2, 650MHz, 2-Cores GPU (graphics processing unit). The dual-SIM phablet is backed by a robust 5,500 mAh Lithium-ion Polymer battery.

On the photography front, the S8 sports a 16 Megapixels + 5 Megapixels dual camera setup at the back and a 13 Megapixel front shooter for selfies. It runs on Android 7.0 Nougat operating system.

The Flash Sale is slated to end in 3 days. On top of that, there were only 111 pieces of the blue version left at the time of writing. You can head straight to this link to take advantage of the discount and use the coupon code before it expires.

GearBest Is Offering Considerable Discount On The Black And Blue Versions Of VKworld S8 4G Phablet

Buy MX10 TV Box For Only $48.29 On LightInTheBox [Coupon Code]

By

Vinay Patel

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Feb 9, 2018

Touted as one of the first TV Boxes that runs on Android 7.1.2 operating system, the MX10 boasts an array of jaw-dropping features, enhanced stability, and delivers outstanding performance. On top of that, you can now get your hands on the coveted device without shelling out a fortune.

LightInTheBox is currently offering a massive 53% discount on the original $119.99 asking price of the MX10 TV Box as part of its Lightning Sale. As a result, you can buy the well-received TV Box for only $56.99.
But if that doesn’t impress you much, you can use coupon code ‘MX10LITB3’ at the time of checking out and get an additional $8.70 discount. This brings your grand total down to just $48.29. It’s also worth noting that the aforesaid coupon code is slated to expire on February 25.Similarly, it is imperative for you to bear in mind that the Lightning Sale will end soon. There were only 42 pieces remaining for Lightning Sale at the time of writing. You can click here to take advantage of the discount before the promo comes to an end.

LightInTheBox Is Offering A 53% Off On MX10 TV BOX

Huami Goes Public On New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Pricing of IPO Announced

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Feb 8, 2018

Huami has officially been listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday and would trade under the ticker symbol “HMI”. The smart wearable manufacturer reputed to be the world’s largest wearable company also announced the price details of its IPO. Huami plans to raise $110 million by offering 10 million ADSs at a price range of $10 to $12. In this context, ADSs stand for American depositary shares and they are U.S. dollar-denominated equity shares of a foreign-based company available for purchase on an American stock exchange.

Huami’s initial public offering consists of 10,000,000 American depositary shares (“ADSs”) at US$11.00 per ADS for a total offering size of approximately US$110.0 million, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option to purchase additional ADSs. Each ADS represents four Class A ordinary shares of the Company. The ADSs are already being traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

In a situation where there are over-allotments, Huami and the selling shareholders have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,500,000 additional ADSs to cover over-allotments and this is exercisable within 30 days from the date of the final prospectus. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and China Renaissance Securities (Hong Kong) Limited are acting as joint bookrunners for the offering. A registration statement related to these securities has been filed with and declared effective by, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

(source)

Honor 7X To Be Available Through Offline Stores In India, Red Edition Sale Starts On 9th Feb

By

Jeet

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Feb 8, 2018

Honor 7X was launched in India a couple of months ago as an online-exclusive devive. Now, the China-based company has announced that the phone will be available through online retail stores as well. The Honor 7X will now be available from the company’s authorized stores and resellers starting February 9 and will be priced at Rs 15,999.

The 64GB storage variant will be available through offline stores and not the 32GB internal storage model. Also, the limited edition — Honor 7X Red Edition, which was listed on Amazon India for Rs. 12,999, will go on sale in the country from 9th February at 1:00 PM.

The phone features a 5.93-inch Full HD+ full-screen display with narrow bezels and 18:9 aspect ratio with 1080 x 2160 pixels screen resolution and 2.5D curved screen on top. Under the hood, this device is powered by the company’s own octa-core Hisilicon Kirin 659 chipset — the same processor that powers Honor 9i.

The device packs Mali T830-MP2 GPU and 4GB RAM. The phone was launched in three variants based on internal storage — 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB. However, in India, the device is available in only two storage models — 32GB and 64GB. The smartphone also supports storage expansion through microSD card up to 256GB.

It comes with dual-camera setup, featuring a 16-megapixel and 2-megapixel sensors on the rear and an 8-megapixel camera sensor on the front. The smartphone packs a 3,340mAh battery and runs on Android 7.0 Nougat operating system based company’s own EMUI 5.1 custom skin.

However, the company has confirmed that the phone will soon receive Android 8.0 Oreo update. Connectivity options on the device include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, and GPS/GLONASS. There is also a fingerprint sensor on the back panel.

The Honor 7X Red Edition comes, which packs 4GB RAM and 32GB onboard storage, is priced at Rs. 12,999 in India. On the other hand, the standard edition with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage will be available through offline stores for Rs. 15,999 — same as the online pricing.

Huawei P20 Lite Appears in Real Skin in Multiple Images, Looks Really Tempting!

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Feb 8, 2018

A lot has been revealed about the Huawei P20 Lite since the beginning of this week. Yesterday, the dimensions and schematics of the smartphone were revealed through its FCC listing. The 360-degree renders of the P20 Lite created by well-known tipster @OnLeaks have revealed that it will be arriving with an impressive design. Today, a Spanish tech site has managed to gain some key information of the P20 Lite through a person who has accessed the device. The publication has also obtained some images of what appears to be the actual Huawei P20 Lite smartphone.

The source has confirmed that the Huawei P20 Lite will be arriving with a notch on its top bezel. The front camera present in the notch is said to carry support for facial recognition. The notch also features an earpiece and another sensor. The status bar that includes signal bars, battery capacity and time are located on the either sides of the notch.

The publication claims that the handset features a 5.8-inch display and supports 18:9 aspect ratio. Other reports have suggested because of the notch, it will be supporting screen resolution of 1080 x 2280 pixels and an aspect ratio of 19:9. The dimensions of the P20 Lite are 148 x 71 x 7.2mm.

The backside of the handset features a glass panel. Even though the handset can be seen in a pale pinkish white color, it is also expected to arrive in black version. The rear side of the handset has a vertically aligned dual camera setup at the top left corner. It is equipped with features like single LED flash and “Hybrid Zoom” feature that is also available with Huawei P10’s camera. A fingerprint sensor is also present on its back.

The metallic frame of the P20 Lite that has a rounded appeal that facilitates better grip. Its bottom edge features a 3.5mm audio jack, USB-C port and an external speaker. The presence of the USB-C port indicates that the handset supports fast charging capabilities for its 3,000mAh battery. The volume rocker and power button are present on the right side. The left edge houses a tray that supports two SIM cards or one SIM card and a microSD card slot.

Rumors have it that the Kirin 970 chipset will be powering the handset and it will come loaded with Android 8.0 Oreo. The publication has speculated that it may feature 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. The Huawei P20 Lite is a lower specced smartphone compared to the Huawei P20 and P20 Plus smartphones that are expected to get unveiled alongside it. Rumors have revealed that the P20 or P20 Plus will be equipped with triple camera lens.

Huawei has confirmed that it will be debuting its next-generation flagship phones through a dedicated launch event on March 27. At the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018, the Chinese manufacturer is pegged to unleash new Matebook and MediaPad M5 tablet.

What do you think about the design of the Huawei P20 Lite? Share us your thoughts by posting your comments below.

(source)

Honor 9 and 8 Pro Get EMUI 8.0 In France, Time Frame For Honor 8 And 7X Revealed

By

Michele Ingelido

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Feb 8, 2018

Honor France has revealed through a Twitter post that Honor 9 and Honor 8 Pro are getting the final update to EMUI 8.0, the latest version of the company’s user interface based on Android 8.0 Oreo. The update started rolling out yesterday (February 7) on the two high-end devices. The French division of Huawei’s sub-brand has also revealed the time frame in which two other handsets will get the update. We are referring to the older Honor 8 and the new midrange Honor 7X. In January Honor India declared that Honor 8 wouldn’t be getting EMUI 8.0 or Android Oreo because of software and hardware limitations, but it seems that they were wrong.

According to Honor France, the device will be updated to EMUI 8.0 in Q2 2018 (the period which goes from April to June), and the same will happen with the Honor 7X. At this point, we do not know who to believe about the Honor 8. The update is actually bringing important improvements to Honor 9 and 8 Pro. They include a better system stability and an optimized battery life, besides a visual refresh of the user interface. Further, new artificial intelligence features have been added.

They are similar to the ones provided by Kirin 970 and its Neural Processing Unit, even though the SoCs inside these phones do not have a dedicated module for AI. Automatic photo scene detection, instant translation, and automatic UI optimization have been added. Besides these exclusive features, there will obviously be the most important stock features included into Android Oreo. Among these, the Honor 9 and 8 Pro will get the picture-in-picture mode which will allow you to reduce app as small floating windows on the display, and you will be able to check them while doing other tasks.

Do you think the Honor 8 will be updated to EMUI 8.0 as well or it will stay with Nougat?

(Via)

Snapdragon 845 Looks A Lot Faster Than Snapdragon 835 In New Benchmarks

By

Michele Ingelido

-

Feb 8, 2018

Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 845 in December, but we still did not have the chance to test it, as there isn’t any phone in the market with this SoC. When the specifications have been revealed, many people were left disappointed because this SoC is still based on 10 nm process. It is exactly the same production process as its predecessor Snapdragon 835, while people expected to see the first 7 nm mobile chipset. But, even though it is still built with a 10 nm process, it seems that the new processor will be way better than its predecessor.

According to new benchmarks, Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 is able to reach peak performance of more than 50% than the Snapdragon 835. The tests have been made on the famous platform AnTuTu. On the platform, two handsets have been compared: Xiaomi Mi6 with Snapdragon 835 and the upcoming Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, which should be the first SD845 phone together with the U.S. version of the Samsung Galaxy S9. The benchmarks show a superiority of the Snapdragon 845 in the CPU, GPU, and UX side. The total score achieved by Xiaomi Mi6 is 210,740 points, while Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S scored 270,461 points, that is a 28.3 percent improvement than its predecessor.

We don’t have info about the quantity of RAM of the Mi Mix 2S variant tested on AnTuTu, while we know that Xiaomi Mi6 has 6 GB of RAM. Obviously, benchmarks are not everything to evaluate the performance of a SoC like the Snapdragon 845, especially in daily use. So consider this as an indication of its peak performance. Just to remind you, Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 is an octa-core processor just like its predecessor, but it has a higher clock frequency. It is composed by 8x Kryo 385 cores with a max frequency of 2.8 GHz, and it also includes an X20 LTE Gigabit modem and an Adreno 630 GPU.

(Via)

Xiaomi May Emerge As China’s Second Largest Phonemaker in Q1 2018 Ahead of OPPO

By

Jed John Ikoba

-

Feb 8, 2018

Xiaomi is yet to release any smartphone since this year but a recent forecast by research firm DigiTimes tips that the Chinese tech company would likely overtake OPPO in the first quarter of this year to become the second-largest smartphone maker in China. According to industry sources, demand for parts from China’s top smartphone makers has rebounded recently, with some supply chain vendors already getting short-term orders from these companies. This means the decline in phone sales experienced last year in China may not continue this year. I this regard, Digitimes Research has released its forecast for the first quarter of 2018 for China.

According to the research firm, Huawei is expected to retain the number one spot as the largest smartphone company in the first quarter of this year. However, there is a strong likelihood that Xiaomi will replace OPPO as the second largest smartphone company in China, as sales of Xiaomi products in Russia and Eastern Europe are on the rise. Thus, DigiTimes Research predicts that OPPO will drop to the third position in the first quarter of this year while Vivo will occupy the fourth spot and Lenovo will come in at the number 5 position.

Xiaomi pulled a resurgent performance last year following a dismal performance in 2016. The company’s shift to markets outside China especially India and Eastern Europe and others were key to its rebound. While the international concerns were growing, the entire domestic market in China experienced a decline and it affected Xiaomi’s domestic growth. However, the company plans to re-jig its China market while expanding to newer turfs and consolidating on already established terrains. Its performance in the first quarter is key to determining how it would perform in China this year. Already, the Mi 7 and Mi Mix 2s are lined up for launch in the first quarter and they are both expected to do well in the market. Apart from that, the Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus, XIaomi’s first bezel-less full-screen phones are doing perfectly well in the market as well as older models.

(via)

LG’s Foldable Smartphone Patent Features Three Screens!

By

Jed John Ikoba

-

Feb 8, 2018

South Korean tech company LG has successfully secured a patent for a tri-fold smartphone design from the World Intellectual Property Organization. The patent application was filed for inspection in December 2014 but the application just got approved last November and is coming out now.

The patented device is depicted in the sketches accompanying this post and it is shown to consist of three parts which look thin and can be folded outward like a leaflet. The tri-fold display patent has three display patterns. On one of them, the main screen is in the middle and is equipped with a physical home button just underneath the display. The second and third design patterns see the side displays standing as the primary one and the others lying behind in a way whereby they can be pulled out from underneath it.

The three displays can be used for multi-tasking when fully unfolded and it is believed the single screen can function when the other two are closed. The three screens can also be used as one large single display but the aspect ratio would be somewhat elongated. All the screens are touchscreens but there are no further details. We don’t expect to find this patent in a commercial smartphone anytime soon. The closest we have seen is the Axon M which was unveiled last year and can’t really be called a top-performing smartphone.

(source)

Panasonic P100 Entry-Level Smartphone Launched In India, Price Starts At Rs. 5,299

By

Jeet

-

Feb 8, 2018

Panasonic has today announced a new entry-level smartphone in the Indian market. Dubbed as Panasonic P100, the phone’s pricing starts at Rs. 5,299. The phone will go on sale in India from today onwards, exclusively via online store Flipkart.

The phone features a 5-inch HD display with a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels with a 2.5D curved glass on top and a layer a Gorilla Glass for protection from minor scratches.

Under the hood, the device is powered by 1.2GHz MediaTek MT6737 quad-core processor, along with Mali-T720 GPU. It packs 16GB of internal storage with support for microSD card slot, enabling users to further expand storage capacity up to 128GB.

The device is available in two variants based on the RAM — 1GB and 2GB. For photography, it features an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with selfie flash.

The phone is running Android 7.0 Nougat operating system out-of-the-box and is powered by a 2,200mAh battery which comes with a Duraspeed technology that the company claims will “save battery and data by intelligently optimizing unused background apps.”

Connectivity options on the device include Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, micro USB 2.0 and support for USB OTG. There’s also a fingerprint sensor on the back for added protection. As of the features, the phone comes with Multi-Modes for image editing, On Body Detection Mode, Bluetooth Unlock Mode, Trusted Places, Trusted Face, and Trusted Voice Modes.

The 1GB RAM variant of the Panasonic P100 is priced at Rs. 5,299, the 2GB RAM variant of the phone costs Rs. 5,999. It is available in four color options — Blue, Black, Gold, and Dark Grey. At this price point, the Panasonic P100 will be competing against the likes of Xiaomi Redmi 5A and Amazon’s 10.or D, among others.

Xiaomi Reveals Reason For Its 2017 Comeback & Unveils Lofty Plans For 2018

By

Jed John Ikoba

-

Feb 8, 2018

Xiaomi recently held one of its most important annual events and it is its year-end gala night. During the event, Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun spoke about the company’s resurgence in the smartphone industry especially its amazing financial report for 2017 which includes crossing the 100 billion Yuan revenue threshold by October 2017. The CEO also unveiled the company’s lofty plans for this year.

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun — Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun

Lei Jun attributed the company’s 2017 results that saw it nearly double its global shipments, to the firm’s dedication to innovation. He particularly made reference to the release of the Surge S1 in-house chip and the bezel-less Mi Mix 2 as proof of such internal efforts. Another contributor to the company’s success the CEO mentioned was the strides in India. Xiaomi also recored successes in other markets such as Russia. Lei Jun also hinted that Xiaomi managed to break into the top five largest phone vendors in 16 countries last year. Although he left off without mentioning the countries specifically, we are certain India and Russia are among those countries. Lei Jun noted that the core of Xiaomi’s business model was building consumer trust and this was acheved by the establishment of the Quality Control Committee in early 2017 and a generally increased focus on product improvements.

During the speech, Lei Jun also unveiled e company’s plans for 2018 and it involves a increase in its international expansion efforts. The company hopes to strengthen its existing foreign markets and establishing new ones. Already Xiaomi will soon storm Italy with its products and a launch has been scheduled for later this month. The tech giant is also said to be in talks with some U.S. carriers over a retail partnership in late 2017. We can’t be so sure a major deal would be sealed any time soon considering the brick walls that have met Huawei’s efforts in this regard in the past few years. Finally, Lei Jun disclosed his new goal for Xiaomi and that is to retake the number one position in China within ten quarters, which translates into 3 years from now (by June of 2021). You can read the CEO’s full statement from the source link below.

(source)

Leaked Meizu E3 Invites Points At Two Variants – Gaming and Photography

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Feb 8, 2018

Meizu has a new mid-range phone in the works. Called the Meizu E3, the phone is scheduled to arrive on March 6. However, there is a chance we may be getting two variants of the phone.

Yesterday, photos from an unknown factory surfaced online. In the photos are line workers packing frying pans into boxes. You may be wondering what a frying pan has got to do with a phone.

If you are familiar with Meizu, you should know the company never fails to make a statement with its invites. In the past, it has sent out old Nokia phones and even a pair of sneakers as invites.

Each frying pan in these photos has a Meizu sticker on it with details of the launch written on it. Apart from the date, the invite also mentions the device is the “E3 G” where G presumably stands for gaming or game. The text above also loosely translates into “gaming more fun”.

However, there is a second invite. Instead of a frying pan, this box contains a mug shaped like a Canon camera lens. Sources say this is the Canon 70-200mm zoom lens which sells for about ¥5000 (~$790).

On the body of the mug is the same launch date (03/06) but instead of “E3 G” like the case of the frying pan, it has “E3 P” written on it, where P is supposed to denote photo(s) or photography.

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Huawei P20 Lite 3D Renders and Video Confirms Notched Display

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Feb 8, 2018

For its next flagship, Huawei is sure more than borrowing a leaf from Apple. Yesterday, a FCC listing confirmed that the Huawei P20 Lite will indeed have a notched display like the iPhone X. But it doesn’t end there. The camera setup on the rear is also in the same vertical arrangement as the iPhone X. While most people say it will house three sensors, a new 3D leak shows otherwise.

Popular leaker @OnLeaks has partnered with his friends at TigerMobiles to make 3D renders (and a video) of the upcoming Huawei P20 Lite. Looking at the images, we wouldn’t blame anyone that calls it an iPhone clone.

The Huawei P20 is home to a display that is said to be around 5.7” in size. Thanks to the FCC leak yesterday, we know it has a 19:9 aspect ratio and a 1080 x 2280 resolution.

Unlike the iPhone X which maintains the same bezel thickness all around, the Huawei P20 Lite has a much thicker bottom bezel and a thinnerer one at the top. The notch is home to the earpiece and is flanked on the sides by the front camera and sensor.

On the rear, the Huawei P20 Lite is covered with glass too. The cameras are raised and there are two sensors instead of three. Our guess is that the triple camera system is for the Huawei P20 and Huawei P20 Plus.

Beneath the slightly raised housing is a LED flash and about 2cm to its right is a fingerprint scanner. There is also a Huawei logo at the bottom left corner.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXfZMtpLGYM[/embedyt]

The Huawei P20 Lite is shown to have its SIM tray on the left, volume rockers and power button on the right, a USB-C port, speaker grille, and audio jack at the bottom, and a secondary microphone at the top.

A lot of the specs are still missing but we know it will come with a 2,900mAh battery and run Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. The dimensions are also listed as 148.6 x 71.2 x 7.4 mm (8.4mm including camera bump).

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Huawei’s MWC 2018 Event Likely to Unveil New Matebook, MediaPad Tablets, Watch 3

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Feb 8, 2018

Huawei has recently confirmed that it will be holding a press event on Feb. 25 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The company is unlikely to launch Huawei P20/P11 series smartphones at MWC 2018 as it will be holding a dedicated event in March this year to launch them. Hence, the rumor mill is now speculating on the devices that Huawei may unveil on Feb. 25. A promotional video shared through a Weibo post by Huawei Consumer Business Group CEO Richard Yu suggests that the company may unveil a new Matebook at the event.

The “Experience New Horizons” text that can be seen in the video indicates that the upcoming notebook from the company may feature slimmer bezels that will allow it sport larger display. The Weibo post by Yu that carries translated text like “a new horizon, a new realm, a new era” also hint that the upcoming notebook will be sporting ultra-thin bezels.

At present, mainstream laptops are sporting bezels of around 6mm. There are some notebooks that have bezels of 4.5 mm and 5 mm. The recently unveil Huawei smartphones like Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro have super-slim bezels. Hence, there is a possibility that the next-generation Matebook may arrive with slimmer bezels.

At MWC 2016, Huawei had launched the first Huawei Matebook with 2-in-1 laptop-tablet hybrid design. Last year, it had unveiled the MateBook X, MateBook E, Matebook D and D (2018) models. Huawei is silent on the market response of the Matebook devices. In a recent interview, Huawei Consumer Business COO Wan Biao revealed to the media that the market reputation and sales of the Matebook have met with internal expectations of the company.

The MediaPad M5 tablet is also speculated to debut at MWC 2018. Recent reports have revealed that it will be coming with an 8.4-inch QHD display, Kirin 960 chipset, 4 GB of RAM and Android 8.0 Oreo. It is speculated to debut the Huawei Watch 3 as a successor for Watch 2 smartwatch. There is a possibility that the company may announce some mid-range smartphones at MWC 2018.

Visit the source link below to check out the teaser video for Huawei’s upcoming Feb. 25 event.

(source)