In the past week, the Huawei Mate 10 launch invitation had surfaced to reveal the Oct. 16 launch date. Now, the Chinese firm has released a new teaser that not contains an image of the Huawei Mate 10 but also confirms the same launch date.
The above teaser of the Huawei Mate 10 has appeared on the Twitter account of Huawei Mate 10. As it can be seen, the tweet contains all the images of the Huawei flagships with dual rear cameras that have released in 2016 and this year. In April 2016, Huawei had released the Huawei P9 and P9 Plus and in November, it had unveiled the Huawei Mate 9.
This year, the Huawei P10 and P10 Plus were unveiled in April and on Oct. 16, the company will be unveiling the Huawei Mate 10. A previous report has revealed that Mate 10 launch event will be held at Munich, Germany. The tweet takes a dig at Samsung as it contains the #beyondgalaxy hashtag. It suggests that the Mate 10 would be a better smartphone than the recently unveiled Galaxy Note 8.
As the Huawei Mate 9 came with vertically arranged dual rear cameras from Leica, its successor will also sport Leica branded dual rear cameras. The Mate 10’s dual rear camera module is expected to feature a 12-megapixel RGB sensor and a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor. Rumors have it that the Huawei will be launching Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro this year.
The former is expected to house a regular display and a front-mounted fingerprint reader. The latter is pegged to arrive with a full-screen EntireView display and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. Since the picture of the Mate 10 in the above tweet does not feature a rear-mounted fingerprint reader, it seems that the image belongs to the Mate 10. The rumor mill has also revealed that a low-end version of the smartphone will be also available as Huawei Mate 10 Lite.
Huawei has confirmed through a tweet that it will be present at IFA 2017 at 2 PM on Sept. 2 with a #HuaweiMobileAI hashtag. It is expected to unveil a AI processor that will be also powering the Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro along with Kirin 970 chipset.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was launched in August last year, but due because of the faulty battery problem that caused the phablet to explode suddenly, it was discontinued in October. Soon after the discontinuation of the Note 7, Samsung had claimed that it would be offering some discounts to those Note 8 buyers who owned a Note 7 by trading their current smartphone. The South Korean company has fulfilled its promise as it has confirmed that such Note 8 customers will be receiving a massive discount.
The Galaxy Note 7 came with a dual-edge curved display and a slim chassis with a large battery of 3,500mAh battery. The phablet had to be recalled twice. The investigation of the Note 7 explosions revealed that the phablet featured a small battery casing that led to short-circuiting. It also revealed that Samsung Galaxy Note 7 with different batteries were introduced after the first recall, but these batteries came with wielding defects.
Samsung offered full refunds to customers who purchase the Galaxy Note 7. It had also offer trade-in discounts as well. However, the popularity of the phablet was such that were some customers who held on to their Note 7 as they argued that its benefits outweighed the risks associated with the battery.
The Galaxy Note 8 is unlikely to explode because it is larger device than the Note 7 and it comes with a smaller battery of 3,300 mAh capacity. During its unveil event, Samsung confirmed that customers who bought Note 7 will have to trade-in their existing phone to get a hefty trade-in discount of up to $425 through Samsung.com. This discount will make it will cut the cost of the Note 8 into half, with the U.S. carriers selling it between $930 and $960. The unlocked Galaxy Note 8 is priced at $930 in the U.S.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 pre-orders starts on Aug. 24 and it will be available for buying from Sept. 15. The phablet features a 6.3-inch Infinity Display S-AMOLED with QHD+ resolution. In the U.S. and China, the Note 8 will be available with Snapdragon 835 chipset and the other markets will be receiving its Exynos 8895 version.
The official camera samples of the dual camera setup featuring 12-megapixel wide-angle lens + 12-megapixel telephoto lens have been revealed. It features an 8-megapixel front camera. It features a S Pen stylus, a USB-C port and a 3,300mAh battery.
Production for the iPhone 8 is underway and news reaching us from China reveals the storage variants. According to a post by a Weibo user, the iPhone 8 will be setting the record for storage.
The post says the device will have 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB models. It also reveals the suppliers for the flash storage. Long time Apple supplier Toshiba, will produce the 64GB and 256GB flash storage along with SanDisk. For the 512GB flash storage, rival and business partner Samsung, will supply it alongside Hynix.
A previous post by the same user says that the iPhone 7s, iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 will have new storage variants. Although there is no confirmation yet about the above storage variants but even if true, some like the 512GB version might be limited to the iPhone 8 only.
Azdome is the Chinese manufacturer that specializes in the making car dash cameras and other accessories. The DAB211 is one of the latest company’s products that offers a lot of features for a low price.
DAB211 is equipped with Ambarella A12 chip and OV4689 sensor, which ensures a good experience for users including CPU performance, operation speed, image quality and overall functionality. In addition to this, this camera has a lot of practical functions including 1440p, 150-degree ultra wide angle, built-in GPS, ADAS, HDR, night vision or hidden design.
Check out the official unboxing video learn more about the design, features and the contents that come with this dash camera:
Nokia 6 was launched in China on Jan. 20 and it was showcased at the Mobile World Congress even in February this year. However, the smartphone was made available for purchase for the first time in India through the flash sale exclusively on Amazon on Aug. 23. All the Nokia 6 units were sold out within a minute.
The Nokia 6 pre-bookings on Amazon India began on Aug. 21. Only those people who pre-registered for the Nokia 6 were able to purchase it on Aug. 23. The smartphone is priced at Rs. 14,999 (~$234) in India. Just as the Nokia 6 met with tremendous response during the multiple flash sales in China, the smartphone was sold in a minute on Amazon India yesterday.
Amazon India is given Rs. 1,000 (~$15) cash back for Prime customers who purchase the handset through Amazon Pay balance. Also, all the Nokia 6 customers who sign-up in the Kindle app can take advantage of 80 percent off on Kindle eBooks. In addition to these offers, Nokia 6 buyers can benefit from Rs. 2,500 discount on Make My Trip. Vodafone is also giving 45 GB of 4G data for free for five months.
Those customers who registered for the Nokia 6 but were not able to buy it yesterday are required to register again for the next sale. Amazon India will begin the next sale on Aug. 30. The Nokia 6 is available on Amazon India in three colors like Black, Silver and Tempered Blue.
The Nokia 6 comes with a 5.5-inch full HD display that is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 and it is powered by Snapdragon 430 chipset. The SoC is coupled with 3 GB of RAM and an internal storage of 32 GB. It also features an external storage that supports up to 128 GB of microSD card.
It comes preinstalled with Android Nougat OS. HMD Global has claimed that it will be launching Android 8.0 Oreo update for Nokia 6 soon. It features a 16-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel selfie snapper. It features a Dolby Atoms powered dual speakers. A 3,000 mAh battery provides power to the Nokia 6.
In the past week, HMD Global had introduced the Nokia 8 flagship smartphone. It is expected to arrive in Europe, Latin America, China and U.S. It is expected to debut in India on October.
Xiaomi has announced a couple of cool gadgets for the kids and one of them is the Beiwa Beva Children Scooter which is designed for children between the ages of 3 years and 10 years.
The Beva Children Scooter comes in pink and green colours in order to appeal to both male and females and is also manufactured using components that are environmentally safe. It has a thick aluminum tube frame which can withstand a weight of 50kg, ensuring that kids of all weight sizes can be accommodated. The handle frame comes with an adjustable height which can be fixed at 69cm, 79cm and 89cm as desired.
The base is manufactured using flexible polyurethane material and fibre with a widened area which ensures the kids would be stable on top of the stand. It has a surface which isn’t slippery and it has an improved shock absorption property. The scooter has two tires at the front and just one at the front. The tires come with ABEC-5 precision bearing, high-quality ball retainer which would ensure that the scooter can glide for a long distance with each stomp. The handle is designed in such a way that by just tilting it slightly to the left, the two front wheels turn left up to 35 degrees and vice versa.
The Xiaomi Children scooter has a price tag of 179 Yuan(~$27) and is available on the Mi Home crowdfunding portal. The gadget is expected to ship on September 25.
The Galaxy Note 8 has been unveiled by Samsung. The South Korean company was also rumored to debut the Gear Fit 2 Pro fitness band at the Note 8 launch event. However, it was not unveiled. Samsung would be showcasing the Galaxy Note 8 at the IFA 2017 show. Speculations are rife that the Gear Fit 2 Pro will be also unveiled at the upcoming tech trade exhibition. It appears that the company may also debut a new smartwatch on Aug. 30
Soon after the unveiling of the Galaxy Note 8, the Gear Fit 2 Pro appeared on the Spanish and Malaysian edition of Samsung’s website. It appears that the fitness band had accidentally appeared on Samsung’s sites as there was no official announcement for it. The listings have been taken down, but the product pages had revealed plenty of information on the fitness band.
The Gear Fit 2 Pro seems to be a slight upgrade over the Gear Fit 2. As far as the design Fit 2 Pro, it appears very similar to the Gear Fit 2 as it also features a curved display. One of the USPs of the Gear Fit 2 Pro will be that it will be coming with 5 ATM support which means it can be used safely underwater up to a depth of 50 meters. This will allow users to track swimming related activities. It will be running on Tizen OS and will compatible with iOS and Android devices. And it will be packed with a 200mAh battery. More information on its specifications and features can be found in one of our previous reports.
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In related news, Samsung has confirmed that it will be holding pre-IFA press conference on Aug. 30 in Berlin, Germany. DJ Koh, the president of Samsung Mobile has told CNBC that the company would be launching a new Gear S smartwatch. He has neither revealed its moniker nor any information on its specs and features. Speculations are rife that the device could be either arrive as Gear S3 Pro or Gear S4. It is likely that the aforementioned Gear Fit 2 Pro will be unveiled through the same press conference.
In related news, Samsung is also rumored to working on a new hybrid smartwatch that is expected to launch as Gear Sport. The device has already received FCC and Wi-Fi Alliance certification which suggests that it may debut soon. The Samsung Gear Sport could be the first smartwatch from the company to run on Tizen 3.0 OS.
Koh had said that, “If we can put in place properly a smartwatch that can monitor everything for your health and provide information, then the market will grow. Today’s sensor do not look like enough.” This suggests that the smartwatch is expected to launch on Aug. 30 will have some health-centric features. The Gear Sport is also rumored to be a hybrid of a smartwatch and a fitness tracker.
Alcatel or rather TCL is preparing for this year’s edition of IFA Berlin. A few days ago, there was a leak that revealed some of the phones expected to be showcased at the event. One of them is the Alcatel A7 XL, a 6-inch phablet with dual rear cameras. A smaller version called the Alcatel A7 has been seen on GFXBench.
The Alcatel A7 was actually benchmarked as the Alcatel 5090. Unlike the A7 XL which has a larger HD screen, this comes with a 5.5-inch full HD screen. Geekbench shows two RAM variants: a 3GB version and a 4GB version. Built-in storage is 32GB.
The Alcatel A7 is powered by a MT6750T, an octa-core chip clocked at 1.5GHz. It has a 16MP rear camera, an 8MP front facing camera and runs Android 7.0 Nougat with Alcatel’s own UI overlay.
Popular leaker Roland Quandt has provided images of the device which reveal more details. The phone comes in black with gold accents in certain places.
There is a front LED flash for brighter selfies and it also has dual front facing speakers. The latter isn’t something you usually see on a mid-range device. There is a volume rocker on the right, just above a textured power button. No image of the rear was provided but Roland Quandt said he believes it has dual cameras.
Now that the Galaxy Note 8 is out of the way (check out the launch article and camera sample photos), another highly anticipated Android device is the Google Pixel 2 (and Pixel 2 XL).
We already have some details about both devices. The Pixel 2 will be made by HTC. It will have a 4.97-inch Full HD display and a squeezable frame just like the HTC U11. The larger Pixel 2 XL will be made by LG and will have a larger 5.99-inch QHD display. What we didn’t know was a release date, until today.
Google's second-generation Pixel handsets, powered by Snapdragon 836 SoC's, will be unveiled on October 5th.
Earlier this morning, Evan Blass tweeted that the 2017 Pixel handsets will be launched on October 5. He also mentioned that they will be powered by the Snapdragon 836. Now this is some exciting news!
The first gen Pixel devices were released on October 4, 2016. Exactly a day after the one year anniversary, the second gen Pixels will be released. It is also interesting to see another source confirm that the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will be powered by the Snapdragon 836 chip.
Sony’s next flagships are the Xperia XZ1 and Xperia XZ1 Compact. Both devices are scheduled to launch exactly a week from today at a special event in Berlin.
In the last few days there have been lots of leaks regarding the pricing details and specifications of both phones. Less than 24 hours ago, the Xperia XZ1 was listed on Amazon UK, revealing a black and pink variant. Though the images and other info about the device have been taken down, we were able to get our hands on the photos thanks to Roland Quandt.
The images are of both color variants mentioned above and give us a good look at the device before the official launch.
The Xperia XZ1 shares nearly the same design with the Xperia XZ Premium released earlier this year. The easily notable differences are the length of the speaker cut-outs up front; the design of the frame; and the position of the NFC chip. The NFC chip is placed in the middle of the phone on the XZ Premium but sits at the top in the Xperia XZ1. You can see the NFC logo that indicates the position of the chip sits next to the LED flash and laser focus module.
The rest of the design is the same. Power button, volume rocker and a dedicated camera button sit on the right and the SIM tray sits on the left.
OPPO continues its strides in the International scene with the latest report from Taiwan showing the company has again recorded some success in the Taiwanese market. Market data released by Taiwan Science and Technology Media showed the smartphone sales for the month of July 2017 was topped by the OPPO R11 in the Android segment but Apple had the largest market share.
The statistical data contains the performance of the top 20 models in the Taiwan market and it shows that Apple made a strong showing with the iPhone 7 Plus 128GB re-emerging as the top selling model in the month under review. On the Android scene, the OPPO R11 emerged as the most popular Android phone in the entire country. Oppo also had two models on the list; the OPPO A57 and OPPO A77 which were ranked 7th and 9th respectively.
The most spectacular thing about the R11’s performance in Taiwan is that the device just went up for sale about a month before then and surprisingly the smartphone raked in enough sales to become the second highest selling brand.
Samsung fell from the top spot but still stayed in the top 5 spots with the Galaxy J7 Prime and J2 Prime clinching the third and fourth spots. They Korean giant, however, had the most models on the list with a total of five different models including the Galaxy S8+. This is closely followed by Sony with the Xperia XZ Premium, Xperia XA1, Xperia XA1 Ultra, Xperia XZ.
In the previous week, the rumor mill had revealed the renders and pricing of the YotaPhone 3. It had been showcased at the China-Russia exhibition that was held in Harbin in June, but for some unknown reason the company decided to keep its details under the wraps. The smartphone has now been officially introduced. It has arrived to replace the YotaPhone 2 that had debuted in February 2014.
The YotaPhone 3, also known as YOTA3 in China and Asian markets, is fitted with a 5.5-inch AMOLED display that produces full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. The backside of the smartphone is flanked with its USP of a 5.2-inch secondary e-ink display that supports HD resolution of 720 x 1,280 pixels. The secondary grayscale screen is an always on display that consumes less power and does not strain the eyes.
The company claims that over 100 specialists from China and Russia have worked for 10 months to develop the YOTA 3. The presence of the Snapdragon 625 chipset under its hood confirms that it is a md-range device. A fingerprint scanner can be seen below the display.
The rear side of the YOTA3 features a 13-megapixel camera and it is coupled with dual-tone LED flash. On the front is the 12-megapixel selfie snapper. The smartphone is running on YotaOS 3.0 that is a customized edition of the Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS. It also features a USB-C port. A 3,300mAh battery powers the YotaPhone 3.
The YotaPhone 3 will be available in two models. The base model has 4 GB of RAM and a native storage of 64 GB. The other model features 4 GB of RAM and an inbuilt storage of 128 GB.
The 64 GB YotaPhone 3 is priced at 2,398 Yuan (~$360) and the 128 edition of the smartphone carries a pricing of 3,098 Yuan (~$465). JD.com will begin the pre-orders of the Yota3 will start from Sept. 5. The actual sales of the smartphone will start from Sept. 18. It will be also made available in the market later on through offline stores.
The smartphone will be also hitting the Russian markets with a pricing of 21,500 RUB (~$365) and 27,900 RUB (~$473) respectively for the 64 GB and 128 YotaPhone 3 models. It is likely to hit the Russian markets by the end of this year. The company expects to sell one million YotaPhone 3 phones in the first year.
The Galaxy Note 8 is the first smartphone from the company that features dual rear cameras. Samsung has released the official camera samples to show the prowess of Note 8’s dual camera system.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8’s horizontally aligned dual rear cameras includes a 12-megapixel wide-angle lens with f/1.7 aperture and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens with f/2.4 aperture with 2x optical zoom. Both the lenses come with optical image stabilization. No other dual rear camera sporting phone comes with OIS for both lenses. The frontside of the Galaxy Note 8 features an 8-megapixel f/1.7 aperture lens.
Like the Apple iPhone 7 Plus, the dual rear cameras present on the Galaxy Note 8 can snap photos by blurring the background and focusing on the subject. This feature is called Portrait mode on iPhone 7 Plus. On the Galaxy Note 8, this is feature is made available as Live Focus. The phablet allows the user to add the blurring effect before capturing the image. It provides a slider that can be adjusted to open f/1.7 aperture as wide as possible to get the desired blurring effect. On iPhone 7 Plus, Apple neither allows the user to edit the bokeh effect nor shows the soft focus in the viewfinder.
When the Live Focus mode is used to snap a photo, by default the Galaxy Note 8 makes use of the telephoto lens. However, there is a feature called Dual Capture that can be enabled or disabled by the user to use both the lenses to capture the same photo. After shooting a photo with blurring effect, users can also the view the same image without the bokeh effect and save it as an alternate image.
All the images shot through the Note 8 appear very clear and sharp even after zooming on them. Also, the dual rear cameras are capable of shooting impressive photos in dim-light conditions. This post includes two sets of image galleries. The first one shows the images shot using the main camera of the Galaxy Note 8 whereas the second gallery has photos snapped using the telephoto lens. Some of the images are cropped, but since they carry right amount of white balance and color reproduction, it shows the camera capabilities of the Galaxy Note 8. As of this writing, Samsung has not shared any images that were shot using the frontal camera of the Galaxy Note 8.
Sony is expected to go official with the Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 Compact on August 31 during IFA Berlin 2017. Before now, the Xperia XZ1 and its sibling have been making the rounds on leaks and severally on benchmark sites. The prices of the models have now leaked on Twitter courtesy of popular tipster @rquandt.
This is the first time we are seeing a leak concerning the prices of the flagship models whose specifications are already known. The leak reveals the prices both models would sell and from it, we can gather that the Xperia XZ1 will cost £599 which translates to around $770 while the Xperia XZ1 Compact will come in at £499 (~$640).
The leak also contains links to Amazon for both models, although the links are not working just yet.
The Xperia XZ1 is expected to feature a 5.2-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080p. The device is also coming with a Snapdragon 835 processor with 4GB RAM and 64GB UFS storage. Other listed details include a 13MP selfie shooter and a 19MP camera at the rear while there is also IP65/68 waterproof and dustproof properties. On the other hand, the Xperia XZ1 Compact features an unusual 4.6-inch 720p display on an SD 835 chip and a 2,800mAh battery, among others.
Phablet lovers, rejoice! Your beloved Samsung Galaxy Note series is back and this time around, it looks like the new Galaxy Note 8 is here to stay. For many, the wait has been frustrating. Given the sad fate of the Note 7, you were stuck with the old Samsung Galaxy Note 5 for nearly two years! But that’s no longer the case, as the new Galaxy Note 8 flagship has officially been announced and you can pre-order one as soon as tomorrow.
We already know a lot about the device, thanks to the hundreds of leaks in the past few months. So, let’s directly get on to the important stuff.
DESIGN
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ were two beautiful flagships with its infinity displays up front. Things are pretty much the same with the new Galaxy Note 8. The company has used a 6.3-inch screen up front with curved edges. It’s similar to the S8+ in its size, but has sharper corners, making it look taller. I love the infinity display on the S8+, so I’m happy to see the design continue over to its Note series sibling.
While the front looks beautiful, I can’t say the same about the back. The Note 8 comes with a fingerprint sensor at the back and it’s placement is still as bad as the S8. Further, the black bar that houses the dual cameras, flash, and fingerprint sensor is in black, which means, it stands out in colors other than Midnight Black. There are three other colors available, Orchid Gray, Maple Gold, and Deep Sea Blue. To be honest, the Note 8’s design isn’t extraordinary, but that’s fine, because what you get inside is quite impressive.
Some things to note: The phone has a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, MicroSD card slot, and also a dedicated Bixby button. And yes, the phone is IP68 certified.
DISPLAY
If you have seen Galaxy S8’s infinity screen, you’d know what to expect with the Note 8’s Quad HD 6.3-inch Super AMOLED display. It comes with a 18.5:9 aspect ratio as well. Important thing to note here is that the Note 8 continues with the pressure sensitive home button, first seen on the S8. So, you can press the bottom center of the device to get back to home, even when you are watching a video or working on an app.
SPECS
The Galaxy Note 8 comes in two versions as expected — a Snapdragon 835 powered model for the US market and an Exynos 8895 powered model for the other markets. The RAM is increased to 6GB and you get 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB storage options.
The battery is surprisingly smaller than even the S8+’s 3500mAh — just 3300mAh. Personally, I would have loved to see a larger battery on board, but can’t blame Samsung for playing it safe this year.
CAMERAS
While the design and display may not be unique, what’s interesting about the Note 8 are the new rear cameras. Yes, I said cameras, because it comes with two rear camera setup, one wide angle and another telephoto one. This is a familiar setup that we have seen on many phones before. So, there’s a 12MP f/1.7 primary sensor and another 12MP f/2.4 telephoto lens with 2X Optical Zoom. This means Samsung has finally joined the elite dual camera flagship club. But there’s more, the Galaxy Note 8 comes with OIS on each of these lenses, making it the first such smartphone in the market.
There are multiple camera features on board, the most prominent one being Live Focus. This is Samsung’s take on the portrait mode that we have seen on dual camera flagships in the past few months. What’s interesting about Live Focus is that it allows control over the amount of background blur, both while taking the shot as well as after you’ve taken it. Then there’s a special dual capture mode that takes both these shots simultaneously.
Coming to the front, you get an 8MP shooter with autofocus.
S Pen & Software
If you think the above features can be found on practically most flagships, this is where things change. The S Pen has been one loyal partner to the Note series and it makes a comeback in the Note 8 as well. Specs wise, it’s similar to the Note 7 with 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity, but software is really where the pen makes all the difference. Things like screen-off memo (take notes on your always on display) and Live messages (send gif like animated replies) make the S Pen unique and interesting. Given that there’s no real competitor to the S Pen in the smartphone market, the Note 8 is your best bet for a stylus equipped smartphone.
As for the software, you are still stuck with Android 7.1.1 with Samsung’s Experience UI on top. There’s a special App Pairs feature which launches two apps in a split screen format using just a tap. It aims to make full use of the phone’s large screen to increase productivity. Finally, there’s Bixby on board and with its dedicated button, the personal assistant is at your service 24 x 7.
Galaxy Note 8 Pricing & Release
The Note 8 goes on sale on September 15 and pre-orders start tomorrow. As expected, the phone isn’t cheap and starts at $930 unlocked in the US. That’s a premium price to pay for the dual cameras and S Pen stylus.
The Galaxy S8+ could be a pretty solid buy (~$200-$250 cheaper) instead of the Note 8 if you can give up on the stylus and dual cameras. What’s your take?
Luxury phone maker Vertu recently kissed the market goodbye after being enmeshed in huge debts but it seems the British phone company has got a quick replacement in Italian design firm Tonino Lamborghini. I’m sure the name sounds familiar even if you’re not a lover of luxury cars. Well, Tonino is the son of the Italian car maker Ferrucci Lamborghini and he has got a knack for manufacturing luxury goods. The company has just ventured into phone manufacturing with the Alpha One and as the name implies, the luxury phone is its first model.
Sporting a design that is unarguably luxurious and sleek, the Alpha One has a premium look with a smooth, high-class finishing and a body encased in premium leather. The smartphone sports 5.5-inch WQHD LCD display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection. The device is powered by a Snapdragon 820 processor paired with 4GB of RAM and the Adreno 530 GPU fires up the graphics. There is 64GB of storage with a microSD slot for expansion up to 128GB.
On the camera end, the Alpha One packs a 20MP f1.8 rear sensor with dual image stabilization (OIS + EIS). There is also an 8MP selfie camera . The device also comes with two front speakers, dedicated DAC, HiFi recording processor, Dolby Atmos Digital Surround and more. Ther is also a rear fingerprint sensor and it uses dual Nano-SIM cards with a separate expansion slot. Keeping the lights on is a 3250mAh battery with QC 3.0. The phone is unlocked, runs Android Nougat and comes with GPS, 4G and other connectivity features. The Signature Alpha One comes with a premium leather pouch manufactured in South Korea using materials sourced from Italy.
You’ll have to part with $2450 to have the Lamborghini Alpha One, excluding V.A.T. The new Lamborghini-branded smartphone is available for purchase starting this week in the UK and UAE, where you can pick it up from Harrods and Dubai Mall, respectively. It can also be shipped overseas from Italy if you make the order via Lamborghini Mobile’s website. See more photos from below.
A few days back, I wrote an in-depth article on how we can expect Meizu to bounce back in the coming months. At that time, I had assumed that the company would take at least a few months more to get things in order and release a Snapdragon powered smartphone in the market. It turns out, we don’t have to wait that long, as the company’s latest mid-ranger, the Meizu M6 Note comes with a Qualcomm chip, namely the Snapdragon 625 inside. This is the first ever Snapdragon smartphone from the company, which also makes it an important one.
But how good is the Meizu M6 Note? We try to find that out in this article!
At this moment, we cannot analyze the real feel and performance of the device but what we can do is see what it offers at a starting price tag of 1099 Yuan (~$165)
DESIGN
There’s nothing extraordinary about the Meizu M6 Note, at least, not in terms of design. But, with its all metal body, the phone is well built. There’s a 5.5-inch 1080p display up front along with a physical home button. I personally like having the fingerprint on the front, so extra marks for its mBack home button. The back features dual cameras in a simple vertical arrangement. But what’s unique about this phone is that it integrates the Quad-LED flash right inside the Antenna band. It may not be a significant design element, but it makes the design looks balanced.
Note that the dimensions 154.6 x 75.2 x 8.35mm and weight (173 grams) are very similar to that of the Redmi Note 4X.
Meizu M6 Note Peacock Blue
And with a beautiful Peacock Blue option available, I’m sure design is not going to be an area where you’ll be disappointed.
CPU
At $165, the Meizu M6 Note makes no mistake getting the most popular mid-range chipset in the market today. The Snapdragon 625 is powerful enough to tackle everything that you throw at it and is efficient enough to give you a great battery life. So, Meizu mid-rangers are no longer inferior to Xiaomi’s offerings, as the latest Redmi Note series also come with the same SD625 chip inside.
MEMORY
The M6 Note starts at 3GB + 16GB. There are two other variants, 3GB + 32GB and 4GB + 64GB. There’s a MicroSD card slot as well. This is similar to what Redmi Note 4X offers in China. Right now, the Redmi Note 4X is available in 3+ 32GB and 4GB+64GB variants, priced at around $150 and $195 respectively.
PRICES
The Meizu M6 Note is priced aggressively, starting at 1099 Yuan ($165) for the 3GB+16GB version, 1299 Yuan ($195) for the 3GB + 32GB version and 1699 Yuan ($254) for the 4GB + 64GB version. If we were to directly compare the price of the Redmi Note 4X, you would see that the Xiaomi model is cheaper. You get 32GB instead of 16GB at $150. But the Meizu M6 Note manages to justify this additional price in the camera specs, making it a better choice for customers looking for the best value.
CAMERA
The camera is one major area where Meizu out classes the Redmi Note 4X. The phone comes with dual camera setup at the back in 12MP + 5MP arrangement. Note that the primary, 12MP sensor is the top-end Sony IMx362 / Samsung 2L7 with 1.4µm pixel size and f/1.9 aperture. To support the primary sensor, there’s a 5MP secondary sensor. Together, the dual camera setup should be able to give you good quality shots, even in low light situations.
Meizu M6 Note Camera specs
In case you missed it, the IMX362 is one of the best sensors from Sony in the market today. This is the same sensor that powers HTC U11’s amazing rear camera. So, we can expect some great things from the M6 Note’s dual camera setup. Of course, the sensor is just one part of the story. We will have to see how the M6 Note processes these images, as it will determine the quality of images taken from the sensor. Meizu has partnered with Arcsoft to get customized software for its camera, but it’s best to wait for some real life samples to judge the camera quality.
Up front, there’s a 16MP f/2.0 camera.
BATTERY
Meizu has made no mistakes in this department, equipping the M6 Note with a large 4000mAh battery. There’s mCharge fast charging as well, which should be quick as it supports 18W charging.
SOFTWARE
In the software department, the Meizu M6 Note comes with Android 7.1.1 with Flyme 6 OS on top. The phone features OneMind AI as well.
Overall, as you can see, the Meizu M6 Note, at a starting price of $165 offers amazing value for money. The phone gives you the best in practically every department, like display, CPU, memory, camera, and even battery! There are hardly any mid-rangers in the market today that manage to do better than the M6 Note at its amazing $165 price tag. And if the IMX362/ 2L7 +5MP combination does as well as it should, there’s no reason why the phone won’t be a best seller.
My Meizu M6 Note vs Competition article (similar to the Nokia 8 vs competition article) should be out soon, so stay tuned for that.
Also, let me know your thoughts about the M6 Note down below.
Indian smartphone manufacturer, Micromax adds to the list of phones with an 18:9 display with its latest phone, the Canvas Infinity.
The Canvas Infinity has a 5.7-inch Full Vision display with a 720 x 1440 resolution. The display is covered with a 2.5D glass and provides enough real estate for media consumption.
The Micromax Canvas Infinity is powered by the Snapdragon 425 mobile platform paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The display is not the only highlight of the device. There is a 16MP f/2.0 front camera with soft flash, bokeh effect, and beauty mode for amazing selfies. On the rear is a 13MP sensor with a f/2.0 aperture.
The phone runs Android 7.0 Nougat, has a rear fingerprint scanner that unlocks in 0.2s, and is powered by a 2900mAh battery.
The Canvas Infinity will be an Amazon India Exclusive device where it will compete with the likes of the LG Q6. It will be available starting September 1st for INR 9,999 (~$156). That is significantly cheaper than the Q6, which retails for INR 14,990 (~$234) but comes with a Snapdragon 435 and a smaller but sharper display (5.5” 1080 x 2160).
Meizu had a launch event in China a few hours ago for the M6 Note. However before unveiling the smartphone, it announced the Meizu EP52 Sports Bluetooth Earphones, successor to the popular EP51. The former mp3 player maker also announced a new bag line.
Meizu EP52
The Meizu EP51 was a success, selling more than a million units. The EP52 plans to build on that success by offering better features.
The design of the EP52 is a bit different from the previous model. Meizu calls it “Free-Edge” design. The earbuds and the in-line control have changed but it still doesn’t make the switch to flat wires. Meizu does say the wire that goes round the neck is of the memory type.
The Meizu EP52 Earphones has Bluetooth 4.1 and Qualcomm’s aptX™ technology. The battery life has been bumped up, providing up to 8 hours of continuous music playback and lasting 150 hours on standby. Since it is a pair of sports earphones, the EP52 is IPX5 certified to protect against water and sweat.
The Meizu EP52 will sell for ¥299 (~$45) and comes in Black and Red for now. Meizu has also reduced the price of the EP51 to ¥229 ($34).
Meizu has finally taken the wraps off the M6 Note or Charm Blue Note 6 if you like in an action packed ceremony in China this afternoon. The Meizu M6 Note comes studded with lots of surprises, the most spectacular being that the mid-range smartphone features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor. We never saw this coming until very recently when a poster was spotted showing there will be an Helio P25-powered version and a Snapdragon 625 version as well. The device is thus, the first Meizu device to pack a Snapdragon processor ever and just the second Meizu model with a dual camera setup. The M6 Note also comes with a beautiful design, utilizing the nice quad-LED flash which made its debut on the Meizu E2 months back. Most of all, the device has a decent price tag which starts at 1099 Yuan (around $165).
Design & Specifications
The Meizu M6 Note comes with the traditional Meizu design on a metal unibody but with some little tweaking here and there that differentiates the device from previous models. It happens to be the first smartphone Meizu is releasing under the newly created Charm Blue Division and they did make sure the device dazzles both in design and specifications. It features the Meizu mBack button at the front which also functions as a fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint sensor is a fast one, touted to unlock the device in just 0.2 seconds and also supports AliPay fingerprint payment. At the back, the M6 Note has the dual cameras located at the middle while the Quad-LED flash is integrated with the upper antenna band. The edges are well curved to ensure that users can get a good grip.
Talking about the specifications, the Meizu M6 Note sports a 5.5-inch LCD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The device is powered by an energy saving Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor clocked at 2.0GHz paired with a GPU that brings a 71% efficiency over the previous generation. Apart from the performance, the processor also brings on Cat. 7 full Netcom support and an enhanced dual ISP image processing speed. The device is available in 3GB RAM + 16GB, 3GB + 32GB and 4GB + 64GB memory variants.
As far as the Dual cameras go, the M6 Note features a camera setup which would perhaps become the main focus of the device in the coming days. The rear camera consists of a 12 MP Sony IMX362 sensor with f1.9 aperture, 1.4um individual pixel size, and 6P lens, teaming up with a Samsung 2L7 secondary sensor. Meizu gave the M6 Note to two professionals photographers who captured a couple of sample photos with the camera and their reviews were all positive. The rear camera comes with Dual Phase Detection, Full pixel Dual-core focus, up to o.o3s fast. One of the reviewers, famous Photographer Amberly Valentine is reported to have described the camera’s picture quality and dynamic capture speed as amazing. Meizu even went as far as comparing the camera with that of the flagship Huawei P10. We’ll leave you to judge the performance(see the sample photos at the end of the article). The M6 Note also packs a 16MP front camera for stunning selfies.
The M6 Note also packs a large 4,000mAh battery which is said to be enough to withstand up to 10 hours of game play. The large battery capacity combined with the Snapdragon 625 chip ensures the device is power efficient. The device also comes with mCharge 18W fast charge support. The device also comes with dual SIM slots, 4G LTE and runs Flyme 6 with Meizu’s One Mind AI based on Android 7.1.2 Nougat.
Pricing & Availability
The Meizu M6 Note comes in Moonlight Silver, Champagne Gold, Blue and Obsidian Black colours and is priced as follows; 3GB + 16Gb variant -1099 Yuan (~$165), 3GB + 32GB version – 1299 Yuan (~$195) and finally the 4GB + 64 GB version will sell for 1699 Yuan (~$255). These are pretty decent prices for such a sleek device. The M6 Note will go on sale on Meizu Mall, TMall, JD.com, Suning and other online platforms as from September 1, 10.00 AM. While offline sales will begin on Meizu Store and other stores in China on September 2. Meanwhile, reservation for the first sale is already open on the online platforms.
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