Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)’s Front Panel Leaked; Reveals Dual Selfie Cameras, Infinity Display

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Nov 27, 2017

Recent reports have revealed that Samsung is working on Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8 Plus (2018) smartphones. Leaked images of the display panel of the Galaxy A8 (2018) has revealed that it will be arriving with an Infinity Display design.

Samsung had introduced bezel-less design called Infinity Display on Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones. The same design has been also made available on the Galaxy Note 8. Rumors have revealed that the upcoming Galaxy A (2018) smartphones will be also arriving with Infinity Display design. This has become all the more evident through the leaked images of the display panel of the rumored Galaxy A8 (2018).

As it can be seen in the above images, the side bezels of the alleged Galaxy A8 (2018) are very slim. The upper bezel seems to feature dual selfie snappers. Since the home button is not present on the front side, the fingerprint sensor is likely to be placed on the back panel of the A8 (2018).

The SM-A530 and SM-A730 model numbers that have surfaced in recent rumors are speculated to debut as Galaxy A5 (2018) and Galaxy A7 (2018) phones. A Chinese leakster has claimed on his Twitter account that SM-A530 and SM-A730 phones will not launch as 2018 versions of Galaxy A5 and A7. He is of the view that these smartphones may respectively launch as Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8 Plus (2018).

The upcoming Galaxy A8 phones are rumored to arrive as mid-range versions of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ flagships. They are expected to get unveiled by next month or in January 2018.

(source)

Gionee F6, Gionee F205 & Gionee Steel 3 Launched: Trio Complete FullView Lineup

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Nov 26, 2017

Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Gionee might not be the first manufacturer to release a phone with an 18:9 display but it sure is the only one that has released 8 phones this year with the trending display.

Beginning with the Gionee M7 and M7 Power (Steel 2 Plus in some markets) in September, Gionee has added 6 more devices to the FullView lineup tonight at an event in China. Three of them are the Gionee S11 & S11s, and M7 Plus which are flagships and have been covered already. The rest are the F6, F205, and Steel 3 which are for the entry level and mid-range category and are covered below:

Gionee F6

The Gionee F6 has a similar rear design to the S11 and S11S. It keeps the reflective design as well as the 3D four-curved glass which should make it more appealing even though it is a mid-range device.

The F6 has a 5.7-inch 1440 x 720 display. It is powered by a Snapdragon 430 processor paired with 3GB of RAM. There is 32GB of storage which can be expanded via a microSD card slot (128GB max).

For optics, the F6 has 13MP+2MP dual rear cameras and a single 8MP front facing camera. The rear cameras pack a number of feature including support for 3D photos. There is a fingerprint scanner below the camera sensors while a 3.5mm jack and micro USB port sit at the bottom.

The Gionee F6 packs a 2970mAh battery and runs Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box. It has dual SIM support (nano only) and full Netcom support.

Gionee says the F6 will sell for ¥1299 (~$197). It is available in Star Blue, Black and Gold can be pre-ordered on the official website.

Gionee F205

The Gionee F205 comes with a much smaller 5.45-inch display but with the same resolution as the F6. It ditches the metal and glass design for a an all-metal body.

Just because it is metal doesn’t mean it lacks in beauty. Coated in red paint, the Gionee F205 has dual silver antenna lines that reminds one of Kylo Ren’s (Star Wars) mask.

The Gionee F205 has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. It is powered by the MediaTek MT6739 quad-core processor which brings support for dual VoLTE.

There is an 8MP camera on the rear and a 5MP front facing camera for selfies. Battery capacity is 2670mAh which should last a day on moderate use. It also comes with Android 7.1 Nougat.

The Gionee F205 will sell for ¥999 (~$151) and comes in red and gold.

Gionee Steel 3

The Gionee Steel 3 has an all-metal design too but one that is very different from that of the F205. The rear has a sort of two-texture design. The top and bottom parts that house the rear camera and loudspeaker have a smooth finish but the middle part has a different finish.

The Steel 3 has a 5.5” HD+ display. There is a Snapdragon 425 under the hood and it’s paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage (256GB max.).

There are 8MP sensors on both sides of the phone. Just like the Steel 2, the Steel 3 also has its speaker on the back. Gionee says its an AAC 1511 speaker which pumps out loud and clear sounds.

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Honor V10 Appears on Geekbench As Huawei BKL-AL20

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Nov 26, 2017

The Honor V10 will launch on November 28 and the flagship has been seen on GFXBench ahead of its Tuesday launch. The device was seen on TENAA last week but with model number BND-AL00. However, this device on Geekbench is listed as the Huawei BKL-AL20 and popular leaker @rquandt does say it is the V10.

The Huawei BKL-AL20 or Honor V10 is shown as running Android 8.0.0 which means it will be coming with EMUI 8.0 like the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro.

The phone has 6GB of RAM and is paired with an octa-core processor clocked at 1.84GHz. The Honor V10 is expected to launch with the Kirin 970, Huawei’s latest chip which has a dedicated NPU for AI-related tasks.

For the test scores, the V10 records 1915 points and 6558 points for the single-core and multi-core tests respectively.

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Gionee M7 Plus Luxury Smartphone Launches With Snapdragon 660, 10W Wireless Charging & ¥4399 Price

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Nov 26, 2017

The Gionee S11 and S11S launched earlier tonight might be considered as flagships but the Gionee M7 Plus is the true flagship of the night.

Gionee M7 Plus Design

The M7 Plus ditches the metal and glass design of the S11 duo for imported calfskin leather and 21K gold plated metal. The leather covers the back, while the metal frame and the rectangular metal plate housing the rear cameras get the gold-plating treatment.

Up front, the M7 Plus doesn’t look bad at all. The top and bottom bezels are significantly smaller and wear a blue coat rather than black and there are practically no bezels on the sides.

Overall, the Gionee M7 Plus isn’t quite the stunner but it does look better than the last Gionee phone with a leather body – the Gionee M2017.

Gionee M7 Plus Specs

The M7 Plus has a 6.43-inch AMOLED Full View screen with an 86% screen-to-body ratio. There is 6GB of RAM and 128GB of expandable storage which is more than sufficient. For the processor, Gionee has settled for the Snapdragon 660 mobile platform.

The Gionee M7 Plus packs dual rear cameras. One is a 16MP f/1.8 sensor and the other is an 8MP sensor. There is also an 8MP sensor in front for selfies.

The key features of the M7 Plus doesn’t end there. It packs a massive 5000mAh battery with support for 10W wireless fast charging – a first for Gionee phones. There is a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, Bluetooth 5.0, dual SIM slots, and a micro USB port.

Gionee also says the M7 Plus has dual security chips like most of its other flagship phones. One chip is for data encryption and the other is for secure payments and for fingerprint encryption.

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Gionee S11& S11S Official: Packs Full View Displays, 3D Glass Design, & Four Cameras

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Nov 26, 2017

Gionee’s mega launch event has kicked off and the first two devices announced are the Gionee S11 and Gionee S11s. Both phones are successors to the Gionee S10 series and bring a number of upgrades while keeping some.

Gionee S11S and Gionee S11 Design

For the new flagships, Gionee has settled for a glass body. The glass is 3D but curved on all four sides, a similar design is what Xiaomi used for the Mi 6. But while the glass on the Mi 6 is plain, the one on the S11S and S11 has a reflective finish just like that of the HTC U11.

Gionee S11S and Gionee S11 Specs

Gionee S11S

The Gionee S11S is the more powerful device of the two. It has a 6.01-inch AMOLED display with a FHD+ resolution. There is 6GB of RAM on board and its paired with a MediaTek Helio P30 processor. Built-in storage is 64GB.

One feature the S11S keeps from the Gionee S10 is the camera configuration. Just like its predecessor, the S11 has dual front and dual rear cameras. The front cameras are a 20MP sensor and an 8MP sensor while the cameras on the rear is a 16MP + 8MP combo.

The S11S has a fingerprint scanner on the rear. It also has NFC with support for mobile payment. Battery capacity is 3600mAh with 18W fast charging.

Gionee S11

The S11 packs a slightly smaller 5.99” display but with the same resolution and aspect ratio. It swaps the Helio P30 for the Helio P23 and has 4GB of RAM. Storage is still 64GB and there are four cameras too, however, the configuration is different. You have a 16MP+8MP combo in front and a 16MP+5MP combo on the rear. The battery capacity is also smaller at 3410mAh.

AMIGO OS 5.0

Both the Gionee S11S and Gionee S11 come with the new Amigo OS 5.0. It is still based on Android Nougat but comes with a bunch of new features.

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Huawei’s Founder Thanks Apple For Creating Room For It To Dominate The Market

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Nov 26, 2017

Huawei was recently reported to have shipped well over 112 million smartphones between January and October 2017 and this record-shipment didn’t come without other records. The company was also recently shown to have displaced Apple to emerge as the World’s second largest phone maker with record shipment in Q3 2017. Huawei’s founder and President Ren Zhengfei recently spoke about the company’s recent rise above Apple during a recent visit to Huawei’s Research Institute in Japan.

Huawei’s founder is credited to have showered fitting encomiums on Apple for opening up three areas in the tech world. The first area he mentioned was the introduction of the first PC, the second was Apple’s image processing technology, and the third one was its products iPhone and iPod Touch. Mr Ren admitted that Apple changed the world and really needed to be thanked for that. He also noted that the mobile internet economy contributed a great deal to where Huawei is today.

Apple has been experiencing some decline in recent times, especially in China and this has given Chinese smartphone manufacturers new opportunities. The Huawei president claims Apple’s overconfidence and its arrogance towards its users (this is very much disputable) are responsible for the decline in iPhone sales in the global market as well as in China where the decline is stronger. This, Ren noted, has given Huawei and other domestic mobile phone manufacturers an opportunity to free themselves from iPhone’s pressure. Apple’s sales figures have continued to go down in China despite the launch of iPhone X while Huawei continues to enjoy its dominance in the local market with the launch of the Huawei Mate 10 series models. In other news, Trendforce predicts that Apple may likely displace Samsung from the top spot in Q4 2017. So, we’ll have to wait until the end of the year to see if Huawei has really displaced Apple for good. It is not just about smartphone shipments, it is the revenue accrued that counts.

(source)

Gionee Steel 3 Seen Packing 5.5” Full View Display

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Nov 26, 2017

One of the eight smartphones with a Full View display Gionee is expected to launch today in China is the Steel 3. The phone is presumed to be the Gionee GN5006L seen on TENAA a few weeks ago. Ahead of its launch later today, the device was seen in public at a Chinese conference where someone took a picture of it.

The Gionee Steel 3 captured in the image above is the gold variant, one of the three colors it is expected to launch in. The other two colors are black and blue.

The phone still has bezels at the top and bottom but are slightly smaller than that of its predecessor, the Steel 2. The Full View display is 5.5” with a 1440 x 720 resolution that translates into an 2:1 aspect ratio or 18:9 as most people call it.

The new display has prompted some key changes to be made to the Steel 3. Instead of capacitive buttons, the Steel 3 is shown with on-screen buttons. The home button/fingerprint scanner is also missing, most likely now at the back. Its old position is now occupied by Gionee’s branding. The top bezel on the other hand houses the earpiece, sensor, and front camera.

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World’s First Smartphone-based Thermometer Unveiled

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Nov 26, 2017

A Korean tech company has unveiled what is arguably the world’s first micro-sized thermometer sensor module for smartphones. According to the Korean Herald, the gadget is able to measure a person’s body temperature in just 0.5 seconds using a connected application. We may have seen several apps in the past that claims to perform such functions but they end up being just gimmicks.

In this case, the module utilises an integrated-microelectromechanical system, also called i-MEMS. With this module, it is able to measure the temperature of humans or objects between -40 and 200 degrees Celcius. It wasn’t stated if it can register the temperature of animals but it most likely can do that as well since their basal temperature falls within the range. The sensor is attached to the internal of the smartphone and comes out through a module on the back cover. The entire setup is implemented in such as way that the smartphone’s working temperature doesn’t interfere with the measurements taken.

One spectacular thing about the technology is that it is contactless. That is users don’t really need to come in contact with the sensor in order to get a temperature reading. This in a way helps to reduce the risk of infection and widen the possible areas the technology can be applied apart from measuring the body temperature of humans unlike the mercury thermometer or other digital thermometers. There is no indication as to when this technology will find its way into smartphones but we just might find it onboard flagship models soon, perhaps the upcoming Samsung Galaxy series. Good thing is, once it gets caught up with the trend, you’ll find it onboard the mid-range or even budget models you can afford, so you don’t need to sell a kidney. That’s if the flagships are still way off your radar.

(source)

LG V30 With 6-Inch QHD+ Display To Launch In India Next Month At Rs. 47,990

By

Jeet

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Nov 26, 2017

A couple of months ago, LG launched its late-2017 flagship smartphone — LG V30 at IFA 2017 in Berlin. Now, the company is all set to debut the smartphone in the Indian market.

As per the report, the company will launch LG V30 smartphone in India in December and will carry a price tag of Rs. 47,990 (approx. $743). The company is also expected to provide the B&O Play headset in India along with the purchase of LG V30.

The smartphone comes with a MIL-STD-810G standard IP68 certified aluminium chassis with Gorilla Glass 5 panel on its rear side. It comes with a thermal pad and heat pipe present inside the smartphone aimed at cooling off all the heat generated inside it.

It features a 6-inch QHD+ FullVision display with a polymer-OLED (P-OLED) screen — the first flagship smartphone from LG to come with a P-OLED display. The HDR 10 compliant display has an aspect ratio of 18:9 and a screen resolution of 1,440 x 2,880 pixels.

Under the hood, it is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset along with 4GB of RAM. It is expected to be available in both variants — 64GB internal storage and 128GB onboard storage. There is also a microSD card slot that supports storage expansion up to 2TB.

The phone comes with a dual rear camera setup that includes the world’s widest f/1.6 aperture Crystal Clear lens of 16-megapixel, which includes features like 3-axis OIS, laser autofocus and phase detection autofocus (PDAF), coupled with a 13-megapixel secondary lens with f/1.9 aperture. On the front side, the device comes equipped with a 5-megapixel selfie snapper.

On the software front, the LG V30 runs Android 7.1 Nougat operating system based LG UX 6.0+. However, in India, we expect the smartphone to come loaded with Android 8.0 Oreo out-of-the-box, just like what LG did in Japan.

Along with the usual set of connectivity options, the phone also comes features a 32-bit advanced Hi-Fi Quad DAC which offers customizations like digital filters and sound presets. The smartphone is fueled by a non-removable 3,300mAh battery which as per the company can be charged quickly via USB-C due to the presence of Quick Charge 3.0 technology.

Once launched in India, it will compete against other premium flagship devices available in the country, including Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, and the recently launched OnePlus 5T among others.

(Via)

Oppo A79 With 6-Inch 18:9 Display And MediaTek Helio P23 SoC Launched In China

By

Jeet

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Nov 25, 2017

After launching its first full-screen 18:9 aspect ratio smartphone — Oppo F5, the company has now launched another smartphone in China. The company has launched Oppo A79, a mid-range smartphone. It is the same device that was spotted at TENAA and at China Telecom portal with full specifications, images and pricing details.

In terms of design, the smartphone looks quite similar to the recently launched Oppo F5 “selfie expert” smartphone. The Oppo A79 comes with a 6-inch FullView AMOLED display that has an aspect ratio of 18:9, with a screen resolution of 2180 x 1080 pixels. The display is almost bezel-less on the side edges and has slim bezels on the top and bottom.

Under the hood, the device is powered by a 2.5GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio P23 processor, coupled with 4GB of RAM. It has an internal storage capacity of 64GB that can be further expanded up to 128GB using a microSD card.

As of the camera specs, the smartphone comes with a 16-megapixel primary shooter with an aperture of f/1.8 and a 5P lens. On the front, the device features a 16-megapixel snapper with an aperture of f/2.0 and a 5P lens.

The smartphone also comes with a fingerprint sensor, located on the rear side, right above the brand’s logo. The device’s front-facing camera also supports facial recognition feature.

On the software front, the Oppo A79 runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat based company’s own Color OS 3.2 operating system. Connectivity options on the device include dual-SIM slots, 4G LTE, VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, USB Type-C and GPS. The handset is fuelled by a 3,000mAh battery, which also supports company’s own VOOC fast charging technology, ensuring that the device gets charged quickly.

The Oppo A79 smartphone has been priced at 2,399 Yuan in China, which is approximately $360. It will go on sale on December 1 in two colour options — Champagne and Black. The phone is currently available for pre-order in China through the company’s own website. There is no information available regarding the phone’s availability in other markets.

TCL A5 (or Alcatel 5) Tri-Bezel-less Phone Seen At Chinese Conference

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Nov 25, 2017

TCL may be known as the manufacturer behind Alcatel and one of the current licensees of the BlackBerry brand, that is not to say it has stopped releasing phones under its own name. At this year’s edition of the China Mobile Global Partner Conference Forum, a new phone called the TCL A5 made an appearance.

The first thing you notice about the TCL A5 is its tri-bezel-less design. Rather than have reduced bezels at the top and bottom, TCL has shaved only the lower bezel giving it a look similar to an inverted Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 or a Razer Phone with its lower bezel missing.

Specification details provided say the TCL A5 has a 5.7” 18:9 display. It is powered by MediaTek’s MT6750T octa-core processor and runs Android 7.0.

The TCL A5 has 16MP dual front facing cameras positioned on the left and a single rear camera of an undisclosed pixel count. It also has Dirac HD sound for Hi-Fi audio.

While this is said to be the TCL A5, the back of the phone has Alcatel’s branding which means this will launch under the brand in some markets. And we already know which Alcatel model this is.

Remember the Alcatel line-up leaked by Evan Blass last month, one of them is the Alcatel 5 and it has the exact design as the TCL A5. Come to think of it the name TCL A5 may actually just be short for TCL Alcatel 5.

The back of the phone is metal with a matte finish. The rear camera is positioned in the middle and below it is a LED flash and a fingerprint scanner. The rest of the specs are unknown but should equally be interesting.

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Giveaway – Win an Insta360 Air VR Camera

By

Shine Wong

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Nov 25, 2017

Gizmochina along with Gearbest is conducting an Insta360 Air VR camera as giveaway gift to one of our lucky readers. Like always, you just have to follow the steps mentioned on the Rafflecopter widget to get a chance to win this amazing VR camera.

How to entry this giveaway? Just follow these steps via Gleam widget:

Visit Gearbest’s biggest holiday promotion: click here;
Share this promotion to your Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or other social media;

Visit Gearbest’s Cyber Monday Promotion

Insta360 ONE 4K Panoramic VR Camera is on sale at Gearbest, the original price is $299 on Amazon, and now only $269 on Gearbest, and will get a Free Xiaomi Mi Band 2 as gift when place order now.

Visit Insta360 One VR Camera on Gearbest

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Terms & Conditions:

1. The giveaway is an international giveaway.
2. We are not responsible for lost shipments.
3. We are not responsible for any duties, import taxes that you may incur.
4. We reserve all rights to make any changes to this giveaway.
5. The prize will be shipped in a week when the giveaway end.

Just follow the steps mentioned in the Rafflecopter widget to participate in the giveaway.
Once again, good luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

OPPO F5 Youth Announced In The Philippines

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Nov 25, 2017

When the OPPO F5 was launched in India, a less powerful version called the OPPO F5 Youth was revealed. However, specification and pricing details were not revealed, though OPPO did say it would go on sale in December. Today, the OPPO F5 Youth has been officially launched in The Philippines.

OPPO F5 Youth Design & Specs

The F5 Youth shares nearly the same design as its sibling. The key difference is the missing antenna lines on the Youth. Other than that, they can pass for identical devices.

The F5 Youth has a 6.0” FHD+ display just as the OPPO F5. The chipset is also the same MediaTek MT6763T. Where it differs is in the RAM and storage. You get 3GB and 32GB respectively. However, storage is expandable to 256GB via a dedicated MicroSD card slot.

Asides the RAM and storage another major difference between the F5 Youth and its sibling is the cameras. It doesn’t get the 20MP AI Beauty Selfie camera nor the 16MP rear camera. Instead you have a 16MP f/2.0 2.0um AI beauty selfie camera and a 13MP f/2.0 rear camera.

The OPPO F5 Youth has a 3200mAh battery that charges via a micro USB port. There is an audio jack, Bluetooth 4.2, dual band Wi-Fi, and dual nano SIM slots. It also has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner in addition to Face Unlock.

The F5 Youth runs ColorOS 3.2 based on Android 7.1 which brings split-screen multitasking, DND gaming mode, and a Night Shield mode that reduces eye strain when in dark environments.

OPPO F5 Youth Price

The OPPO F5 Youth is available for purchase already for PHP 13,990 (~$275). Just like the 4GB RAM OPPO F5, the F5 Youth comes in black and gold.

(Source, via)

Honor 9 Youth Edition To Launch Alongside Honor V10

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Nov 25, 2017

It seems we may be getting more than one Honor phone on November 28. Unconfirmed reports say apart from the Honor V10, Huawei will also announce the Honor 9 Youth Edition (or Honor 9 Lite).

According to the source, the Honor 9 Youth Edition may keep the double-sided glass design of the Honor 9. Some of the colors it will be available in are Obsidian Black, Sea Blue, Pearl White, and Seagull Gray.

The Honor 9 Youth Edition said to be codenamed “Leland” is reported to have gotten its 3C certification. Some of its key specs include a 5.2-inch full HD display with a 16:9 aspect ratio, a Kirin 659 processor and 4GB of RAM. Built-in storage is 64GB but will most definitely be expandable.

For optics, the phone will have a single 13MP rear camera. However it will pack dual front cameras, one of which is a 2MP sensor. Battery capacity is not stated but it will have support for 5V/2A fast charging. The Honor 9 is expected to cost ¥1999 (~$303).

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OnePlus 5 Oreo Update Will Bring Face Unlock

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Nov 25, 2017

One of the features the OnePlus 5T brings other than a new display is Face Unlock. This is an alternative biometric security to fingerprint scanning and one of the praised features of the phone due to its speed.

A couple of days ago it was reported that the feature will not be available on the OnePlus 5. However, fresh details say the device will get Face Unlock when it receives its Android 8.0 Oreo update.

The feature is already available on the Android 8.0 Beta 2 update for the device. One user who has gotten the beta update has been kind enough to share screenshots. At the lockscreen of the image shared, there is now a prompt that asks to use Face Unlock or enter password. One of the screenshots also shows that the beta update comes with October’s security patch.

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Huawei Mate 10 Pro Pre-orders Break The Record in Europe

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Nov 25, 2017

Huawei continued its strong outing this year with the launch of the Mate 10 Pro and the standard Mate 10. Both models were unveiled alongside the Mate 10 Porsche design on October 16 in Germany. Coming out at a time the highly publicized Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Apple iPhone X were launched, the Mate 10 Pro has shown that it has what it takes to standard shoulder-to-shoulder with the duo.

Huawei has now revealed that the Mate 10 Pro has emerged as its fastest-selling smartphone in Western Europe. Huawei said this in an official statement revealed that the device surpassed all previous records for its pre-orders in Western Europe. Also, that the Mate 10 Pro exceeded internal sales targets for pre-order by over 100%. However, the tech giant failed to disclose exactly how many pre-orders were taken for the device.

The Huawei Mate 10 Pro is considered as one of the premium, top class bezel-less smartphones around. Not entirely bezel-less, the Mate 10 Pro comes with a full-screen design with the 18:9 aspect ratio. The device also packs a Kirin 970 chipset and an outstanding camera which is only second to the Pixel 2 XL in DXOMark’s rating. The device is sold in Europe for €799 (~$950) for the base model.

Nokia 8 Starts Receiving Android 8.0 Oreo Update

By

Jeet

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Nov 25, 2017

After releasing the beta version of Android Oreo update for the Nokia 8 users, HMD Global has now released the official Android 8.0 Oreo update for the smartphone. This was confirmed by Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer at HMD Global, through Twitter.

Earlier, the beta build of the latest Android operating system was rolled out to the users who opted to become a beta tester. Now, the company has started rolling out the final build to its users across India, Finland and Poland. It should be available to all users within two days.

The update is available over-the-air and is around 1518.1MB in size. It also contains the November Android security update. It also brings several new features such as Picture-in-picture, detailed Notification dots for every app and Autofill passwords. The update improves the boot time and enables users to run YouTube seamlessly in the dual app mode.

The company has also improved the camera performance on the Nokia 8 smartphone, however still doesn’t allow users to set up the ISO and shutter speed manually. Android Oreo also comes with features like snoozing individual notification, wide-gamut colour for apps, adaptive icons, companion device pairing, keyboard navigation, and more.

Other Nokia smartphones — Nokia 3, Nokia 5, and Nokia 6 and the most recently launched Nokia 2, will also get the Android 8.0 Oreo update. In fact, the devices are also slated to receive the upcoming Android P version, as confirmed by HMD Global last month.

The Nokia 8 smartphone features a 5.3-inch QHD IPS display with a screen resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels and a 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The IP54 rated device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC, coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of inbuilt storage.

It has a dual rear camera setup on the back, which comes with two 13-megapixel sensors – one is an RGB sensor and features optical image stabilisation (OIS), while the other is a monochrome sensor. On the front, the Nokia 8 bears another 13-megapixel sensor with PDAF, 1.12-micron pixels, a f/2.0 aperture, and a 78.4-degree wide-angle lens.

Both the camera sensors at the back comes with a f/2.0 aperture, 1.12-micron pixel elements, phase detection autofocus (PDAF), a 76.9-degree wide-angle lens, dual-tone LED flash and an IR rangefinder.

Connectivity options on the device include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, USB Type-C (v3.1), and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The smartphone is fueled by a 3,090mAh non-removable battery.

Apple Files Patent Application For A Foldable Display iPhone

By

Jeet

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Nov 25, 2017

The US Patent & Trademark Office has published an application filed by Apple for a smartphone with foldable display. This news is in line with the previous reports which suggested that Apple is working with LG for a flexible display iPhone.

Apple is one of the several companies which have partnered with LG for display technology. The US-based technology giant is also reported to be planning to make an investment LG‘s plant for production of a foldable display.

The patent describes a smartphone display that can be “opened and closed like a book”. The patent application filed by the company covers all the bases, referencing LCD, OLED and microLED. It reads:

Display may include an array of display pixels formed from liquid crystal display (LCD) components, an array of electrophoretic display pixels, an array of organic light-emitting diode display pixels, an array of pixels formed from crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies (sometimes referred to as micro-LEDs), an array of electrowetting display pixels, or display pixels based on other display technologies.

Apple has mentioned in the application that the flexible screen may have a flexible screen layer, a cover layer, a touch sensor interposed between the flexible screen layer and the cover layer, a support layer, and a polarizer layer.

The iPhone with a foldable display is expected to be unveiled in the year 2021. By that time, the company may have transitioned to microLED screens. Along with all the benefits of OLED, it further boosting brightness, saturation and power efficiency. Interestingly, Apple was recently reported to be working with TSMC on some of the technologies needed to use microLED panels.

However, there is a possibility that we won’t see Apple’s iPhone with a foldable display as not everything that gets patented goes into the production. While this doesn’t confirm that a foldable iPhone is on its way, it shows that Apple is atleast considered it.

While the foldable display iPhone is years away, if it’s ever coming, Samsung is gearing up to launch its foldable smartphone next year. It is expected to come with an “in-folding” design which would see the display fold inwards.

(Source)

The Full-Screen Gionee M7 Will Also Get New Colour Options on November 26, Gionee Reveals

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Nov 24, 2017

Gionee recently unleashed a poster which revealed it would be holding a press conference on November 26 where it intends to release an avalanche of smartphone models. The conference which would hold in Shenzhen, China will see the launch of eight smartphones including some models with the full-view display screen. Among the models expected to be launched is the full-screen Gionee F205 and Gionee F6 smartphones along with the Gionee M7 Plus, S11, S11S and Steel 3.

A new poster has now emerged, released on Gionee’s official Weibo page, showing that the Chinese company will also offer more colour variants for the full-screen Gionee M7 on November 26. The M7 which was first announced in September is already available in colours like the traditional black, Sapphire Blue, Star Blue, and Champagne Gold. The poster shows that colours like Maple Leaf Red and Amber Gold will be joining the pack.

Just in case you don’t remember, Gionee M7 is the first full-screen model in the company’s arsenal. The success of the model may have spurred the feast of full-screen smartphones we are about seeing from the company on November 26. The device sports a 6.01-inch FullView display with FHD+ resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio. The M7 features a 16MP + 8MP dual camera setup at the rear while at the front, there is an 8MP selfie sensor. The device also packs a massive 4000mAh battery under its slim body.

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Windows Phone Making A Comeback? WileyFox Pro Unveiled Running Windows 10

By

Jed John Ikoba

-

Nov 24, 2017

Windows phone may be considered dead, overshadowed by Android and iOS but one company is still giving one last shot at the once vibrant Mobile operating system that heralded the era of the Nokia Lumia series, later Microsoft Lumia. That company is British phone maker WileyFox. The company recently unveiled the WileyFox Pro business smartphone which runs Windows 10 OS out of the box.

The U.K based company seems to target the business community with the Windows-powered smartphone and have even promised software support for the OS until mid-2020. That could be a key selling point for the company as most businesses would appreciate the idea of software support for such an extended period, something many Android phones don’t offer.

Specs wise. the WileyFoxPro features a 5-inch HD display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. It is powered by an unnamed Quad-core processor which is touted as being enough for business multi-tasking and efficient working. The device is basically a budget smartphone as it packs just 16GB of storage but there is no indication if it is expandable. On the camera end, you get a most 8MP camera at the rear while selfies are taken care of by a disappointing 2MP front camera.

As for the price, the WileyFox Pro has a price tag of £189.99 (~$257). For such specs lineup, the device can be said to be an overpriced budget model. However, the design seems to be nice and for some, Windows phone still offers an amazing UI and lots of functions that aid businesses. So, if you’re interested, the model is presently on pre-orders at Amazon UK. The device will start shipping on December 4.

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