It’s just a little over one week since Xiaomi‘s MIUI 9 was officially launched and the Beta ROM has only been pushed to just a few models, yet the custom ROM has reportedly found its way into the OnePlus 3T. The OnePlus 3T was announced last year packing a Snapdragon 821 chip as a slight upgrade of the OP3. The ROM in question is an unofficial Patch of the MIUI 9 ROM which was released by developers whose identity we cannot ascertain. But from the screenshot we can guess this emanated from China because the texts are all in Chinese.
The patch was possible as a result of the open source nature of Android ROM and MIUI and the modifications made it possible for the custom UI to run on the OnePlus 3T. There are a couple of screenshots to back the claim that the OnePlus 3T has got a taste of MIUI 9. The screenshots also reveal the version is MIUI 9 7.7.31 Developer ROM, meaning it was last updated on July 31. One of the screenshots is that of the”About Phone” page and the model and its features are clearly seen to belong to the OnePlus 3T (A3010).
Further more, the MIUI 9 Theme can also be seen, as well as the split screen features and a couple of other features of MIUI9 are reportedly available on the phone. According to the developer, the MIUI 9 Bootloader can booth the OnePlus 3T normally but there are still a couple of bugs that are yet to be fixed on the Patch ROM. For those that are interested, the new Patch ROM package will be released on Sunday. But do note that this isn’t an official release and so, will likely contain bugs that can compromise the security of your smartphone. Xiaomi in the near future will likely release the Patch ROM tool for MIUI 9 in order for developers to modify it for other non-Xiaomi models. The tool is available right from MIUI 2.3 to MIUI 8.
Sharp has been making bezel-less smartphones for years before the Xiaomi Mi MIX was released last year. However, it was the popularity of the latter that kick-started the current craze for bezel-less and full-screen phones.
The latest report is that some of the other big names in China are planning to release full-screen phones before the end of the year. One of them is OPPO, the second biggest manufacturer in China and the fourth in the world.
The image above was released online recently and shows a user interface said to be for OPPO’s upcoming full-screen smartphone. The biggest change in the UI is the presence of on-screen buttons for navigation.
OPPO smartphones usually feature capacitive buttons (dots), with a large oval button serving as the home key/fingerprint scanner. Switching to on-screen buttons means the fingerprint scanner is probably moving to the back or to the side (power button) allowing for a display that stretches further downwards.
Nubia released the Z17 as its flagship of the year in June. Available in two variants – 6GB of RAM + 64GB/128GB ROM and 8GB RAM + 128GB ROM. We may be getting a new variant soon as a new Nubia Z17 has been spotted on TENAA.
The new variant is actually an 8GB RAM model with 64GB of built-in storage. It’s price will see it positioned between the 6GB RAM + 128GB model and the 8GB RAM + 128GB model. The latter is priced at ¥3999 (~$587), so we presume this should be between $530 and $550. There is also a possibility that this may be destined for other markets such as India.
The Nubia Z17 is a fantastic device, though it is one of the pricier Snapdragon 835-powered phones in China. It is the first smartphone to have a single slit antenna design and it uses a new design called aRC 3.0 to keep the front glass thin and the display without side bezels.
It has a 5.5-inch display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, a 16MP front facing camera and its signature red-holo circle adorning the front. The rear is where you will find its dual rear cameras, a 23MP f/2.0 sensor paired with a 12MP f/1.8 one with 2X lossless zoom, and dual LED flash. Keeping the rear cameras company is a fingerprint scanner.
The Nubia Z17 is also the first smartphone to support Quick Charge 4+, allowing you charge its 3200mAh battery from 0 to 50% in just 20 minutes.
Philips is one of the oldest electronics manufacturers in the world. The Dutch manufacturer makes a range of electronics but is mainly known as the leader when it comes to lighting. In the last three decades or thereabout, it has also included phones to its product line. A new Philips phone with model number S310X has been seen on TENAA and the specs put it in the entry-level/mid-range category.
The Philips S310X is the third Philips smartphone listed on the Chinese site this year. A few months ago, the Philips S329 and Philips X598 were seen on TENAA’s database but both devices still haven’t been released yet.
The S310X is listed as having a 5-inch HD display, with multiple RAM and ROM variants. RAM starts at 1GB and maxes out at 3GB, while storage starts at 8GB, doubles to 16GB and maxes out at 32GB. There is support for a microSD card (32GB max).
There is a quad-core processor clocked at 1.25GHz and it draws power from a 2000mAh battery. The rear camera is an 8MP sensor and the selfie camera is 5MP. Both cameras are interpolated. The S310X runs Android 6.0, and is available in white, black,and gray. It also has LTE support.
Design wise, the Philips S310X doesn’t offer anything beyond the basics. It appears to be made of plastic, weighing 138.5 g and measuring 144.8 x 72.2 x 2.3 mm. There are capacitive buttons in front and the back is a bit curved at the top and bottom edges. The rear camera, positioned at the top left corner also has a slight bump.
Thinner bezels, infinity displays, full-vision displays, and dual cameras are the key features you will find in flagships this year. However, Google is not boarding any of those trains. A leaked image of the Google Pixel 2 shared by Evan Blass doesn’t have any of those features. Instead, it shows just subtle changes from last year’s model.
The Pixel 2 will be manufactured by HTC while the Pixel XL 2 will be made by LG. While HTC doesn’t make its own displays, Google can simply have LG supply them with a full vision display similar to that of the LG G6 for the Pixel 2, but it seems Google simply doesn’t think it is ready to adopt that design.
Rather the device is shown sporting equally large bezels at the top and bottom just like last year’s model. The same is said for the larger Pixel XL 2.
So, no thinner bezels. But do we at least get dual rear cameras? Google is saying no once again with this year’s flagships.
While there were really no complaints about the Pixel and Pixel XL not having dual cameras, we weren’t expecting to see Google ditch it again this year. The Pixels’ have one of the best cameras you will find on a smartphone till date, so this might be a case of “don’t fix what isn’t broken”.
Google won’t be the only manufacturer without dual camera flagships this year, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have the same single sensors as last year’s Galaxy S7, HTC’s U Ultra and U 11 also have single sensors. But while Samsung will be launching its first phone with dual cameras this month, Google won’t have another go until next year.
The image above shows a larger sensor which may mean better low-light images, so that counts as an improvement. The camera’s software will definitely also get an upgrade.
So what has changed in the Pixel 2? A front facing speaker. The Pixel had its speaker at the bottom which can easily be covered with your fingers when you’re watching a video either in portrait or landscape mode. The leaked image shows the earpiece speaker is larger now, meaning it will do more than just pump out audio during calls. We can’t see another speaker at the bottom since this isn’t the sharpest of images but we will keep our fingers crossed for dual front facing speakers.
Since we already mentioned that the rear camera has a larger sensor, the other major change is the glass half of the back. It is smaller and doesn’t cover the fingerprint scanner anymore. It also appears to wrap around the sides this time.
The specs of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 leaked earlier this week and we reported it will feature a 3300mAh battery. An image said to be of the device’s battery has leaked confirming it will indeed feature a 3300mAh battery.
Huawei seems to be making progress in its bid to make an inroad into the lucrative U.S. market as telecom giant AT&T is reportedly in talks with Huawei to sell its flagship models, including the Mate 10, in the U.S. Although the agreement is said to be temporary, it at least presents some ray of hope for the Chinese market leader in its bid to take the battle to Apple and Samsung for the top spot in market share and revenue in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Recent data places Huawei as the third largest smartphone manufacturer in the whole world in terms of market shares and is fast closing in on Apple for the second spot. A presence in the U.S. will go a long way to helping the company grab a slice of the pie from not just Apple but Samsung. As the second largest carrier in the U.S. At&T is in a good position to help Huawei achieve its goal. The U.S. smartphone market is majorly carrier-based and Huawei has struggled unsuccessfully to build relationships with the major carriers in the country.This is said to due in part to the ban on Huawei’s professional equipment for carriers’ networks such as routers and antennas in the U.S. since a 2012 congressional report raised concerns that the Chinese government might use the company’s gear to spy on Americans. Huawei denied the allegations but its reputation was dealt a blow even though it wasn’t stopped from selling it smartphones in the United States.
The Mate 10 will be the first device that would be sold in the U.S. if indeed the deal becomes effective. It comes with the quality to help Huawei make another foray into the market. The Mate 10 was recently rumoured as coming with the company’s recently trademarked EntireView display and other stunning features. Talks are still underway and Huawei is already working with AT&T on its Kirin chipset and other technicalities. Until both companies reach an agreement on commercial terms and other modalities, we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed on this one. That may not be too far away, though, because the Mate 10 is rumoured to launch this October.
It’s no longer news that Meizu finally took the wraps off the Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus in a colourful ceremony last week. Just when we thought all about the two flagships have been unravelled, a new twist has appeared in the mix from benchmark platform Geekbench. Someone recently uploaded a benchmark result alleged to be that of the Meizu Pro 7 and you know what? The Pro 7 in question has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Systems-on-Chip (SoC) onboard.
The Meizu Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus were launched as the first models powered by MediaTek’s latest and first 10nm flagship Helio X30 chip, with some models packing an equally new Helio P25 processor. The Pro 7 Plus comes entirely with an Helio X30 processor while the Meizu Pro 7 had either an Helio X30 or Helio P25 chip onboard. But the Geekbench model has an SD 835 chip on board as well as 6GB of RAM. The model is listed with a single-core score of 1969 and a multi-core score of 6536 points which is almost similar to that of other Snapdragon 835 smartphones.
This piece of information will be of interest to the section of Meizu fans who seek for a Qualcomm-powered Meizu phone especially as that Qualcomm powered phone is likely turning out to be the “Lord of the Manor”, the company’s best model yet. But don’t get your hopes up too soon, this might just be a hoax put up by someone up to some mischief. Do look forward to seeing a Snapdragon-packing Meizu phone before the end of this year or at most next year, though.
The Nokia 8 is in the news again, this time around we have leaked screenshots of the device’s camera interface showing us what is possibly the design and we could still grab a couple of features from the shots. The images are credited to have emerged on China’s Baidu, also note that a good number of the leaks concerning the Nokia have come from China and that gives it some credibility. China is among the “first responders” who’ll get the flagship whenever it is official. The unveiling will likely be in China before spreading to other regions.
The main feature we can grab from the leaked Camera interface is that the Nokia 8 indeed has a dual camera setup and the two cameras will be a monochrome sensor and an RGB sensor. The arrangement of the icons on the menu seems to indicate that either sensor can function singly and in a dual camera arrangement. Users will have the option of choosing RGB, dual-lens or Monochrome from the drop down camera setup menu before taking the shot.
In addition, the second photo reveals the presence of a dual camera mode, where you use the rear and the front cameras to create a collage in real time. This isn’t a new feature but isn’t present on all dual camera packing Android phone so it’s nice that the Nokia 8 will have it. Other features are pretty basic, like the self-timer, HDR mode and flash settings.
As a reminder, the Nokia 8 is expected with a 5.7-inch 2K display with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor powering it up as well as up to 4GB / 6GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable internal storage. The dual rear camera setup is made up of a 12MP main sensor and Zeiss optics. The device is also expected to pack a 3000mAh battery and will run Android 7.1 out of the box.
The phone ships with all the usual stuff and some extras include a soft TPU case
DESIGN and DISPLAY
Let’s be clear, Cubot Magic imitates the design of the Honor Magic but it uses cheaper materials to reduce the cost of the device.
The phone is made entirely of plastic and it does lack premium materials but the build quality is good. The design highlight is that this phone is curved on each side, which really looks nice in practice.
We have a 5” 720p display, which may not be the sharpest out there but I think it is really good for a cheap phone. The capacitive buttons are not backlit but we have a pulsing notification light and LED flash for night selfies that can be taken with a 5MP front facing camera.
The backplate is a fingerprint magnet as it is made of glossy plastic. Another highlight of this cheap phone is a dual camera setup.
We have one 13MP shooter and another 2MP sensor.
The loudspeaker is not the best but it is okay for such a cheap phone.
HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE
When it comes to hardware, Cubot Magic is yet another budget phone with decent specs for the price. The phone ships with the MTK6737 chip, 16GB of expandable storage and 3GBof RAM.
The gaming performance is okay but you should expect for some skipped frames even if you play games like Asphalt 8 on medium graphics settings.
BENCHMARKS
USER INTERFACE
I love when manufacturers keep stock Android UI on these cheap phones and the Cubot Magic is no exception as it runs on Android 7 out of the box. Some extra features include a few gesture controls that I didn’t really use because, for some weird reason, they are in Spanish. Anyway, the phone is fast and fluid on the daily basis and that is the most important thing to me when it comes to budget phones.
IMAGE QUALITY
As for image quality, that dual-camera setup can take some decent-looking photos with the shallow depth of field effect. Obviously, you can’t compare the quality with some more expensive handsets but I’m quite impressed with the results from the $90 phone.
As for regular photos, you can’t expect much from any super cheap phones but you can still take some pretty good-looking pictures that are usable for social media.
However, the quality decreases quite dramatically in lower-lit situations.
The selfie image quality is not so great and the front-firing flash does not really help in low-light.
The 1080p video quality does not impress like on most of the cheap phones. The 1080p selfie video does not look impressive either but it is usable for social media or video chats.
CONNECTIVITY
When it comes to connectivity, the phone does everything quite well. The GPS lock speeds are fast and it is surprisingly accurate when used for navigation. The phone has only a few sensors and there is no gyroscope.
On a positive note, I like the fact that you don’t need to remove the battery to access two SIM cards slots and the microSD card slot.
BATTERY LIFE
The 2600mAh battery performs quite well considering its size but you should not expect any stellar results. I was able to achieve just about 4.5h of screen-on time but your mileage may vary.
CONCLUSIONS
Cubot Magic is yet cheap another phone from China that offers quite a lot of value for the price. Its main selling point is design as the phone is curved on each side.
In general, it is a decent option for such a low amount of money but it would have been great if it had some premium materials used in the construction. Well, all of these budget phones have some tradeoffs and this is what you have to expect when you spend less than $100 for a phone.
Now, the state of Lenovo mobile phone business continues to get more confusing by the day. There had been rumours that the mobile phone business will fall under the Moto brand while the Lenovo brand continues to focus on flourishing laptop and PC business. But Lenovo later debunked that rumor even though all its social media and web addresses have been changed or redirected to reflect the Moto brand.
What we can make of this is that Lenovo still want to keep selling it’s Lenovo branded models in markets were it still thrives but the whole focus will likely be on the Moto models. India seems to be one of the markets where Lenovo’s mobile brand seems to thrive as the company has disclosed some details about its future models. Gadgets 360 quotes Any Dharma, Head of Product Marketing, Smartphones at Lenovo India to have disclosed that the company would be abandoning its Vibe UI in favour of stock Android. Lenovo’s Vibe UI which was later renamed Vibe Pure UI is the company’s own customization of the Android interface. The Lenovo exec also hinted that the new development would be implemented on the Lenovo K8 Note. The upcoming model would be the first smartphone from the company to ship with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out-of-the-box. Subsequent K series models will also get Android Nougat and will all get upgrade to Android O when it comes out.
It is unclear if the move will be applicable to markets outside India since it is emanating from India. It is possible to replicate this style in Europe and other markets but not in China where Custom UI holds sway. Well, except the K8 Note will not be sold in China. That is possible considering that Lenovo’s Weibo account and website has been changed to Moto.
With the fast growing number of consumers buying smart phones today, it’s been a big challenge for every other mobile manufacturer to cope up with the market demand and to fulfill the same accordingly. Since consumers are very choosy and they are ought to migrate on to another smart phone within no time companies are forced to offer better and worthy products on decent pricing at equal intervals. In such a scenario two companies have recently launched their flagship phones which not only offer the best hardware and software in the class but also comes at a reasonable price.
OnePlus 5 came with their new flagship device – OnePlus 5 and Huawei launched Honor 8 pro at around the same pricing. So without further adieu let’s begin with the OnePlus 5 Vs Honor 8 Pro comparison which might help you to choose your pick.
OnePlus 5 Vs Honor 8 Pro: Build Quality
OnePlus 5 no doubt comes with an outstanding build quality which feels immensely comfortable while gripping. Allegations are flooded with the design to be inspired from the iPhone 7 Plus & Opp R11 but let’s just keep that aside and discuss further. With 7.3 mm thickness and overall weight of 153 gram, the OnePlus is an ideal deal for all those who like power combined with looks and design.
At the same time Honor 8 Pro also resembles ‘A’ class design aspect which outshines the OnePlus 5 with 7 mm thickness but hikes the weight to 184 gram which is totally justified in the battery department.
OnePlus 5 Vs Honor 8 Pro: Display
The display on the OnePlus 5 is a 5.5-inch optic AMOLED display which sports a screen resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels which hasn’t changed since One Plus 3. Over the top, you have Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for extra protection and you get 401 pixels per inch which is pretty good when media is to be consumed. Output produced have not changed and is similar to the same on the OnePlus 3T.
Honor 8 Pro comes with 5.7 inch LTPS IPS LCD display which features a screen resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels along with 501 PPI as the pixel count. With this quality of the display, Honor 8 pro really nailed this department and really kills the OnePlus 5 when both the displays are compared. No doubt since the pixel count is large, quality of media consumed is out rightly the best in the class. Colors are vibrant, crisp and vivid. Pictures, video or even gaming can make the best use of the display with such a screen resolution and pixel count.
OnePlus 5 Vs Honor 8 Pro: Processor & Memory
OnePlus 5 has got the mighty Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835 chipset on an Octa Core CPU clocked at 2.45 GHz along with Adreno 540 GPU. It comes with 6GB/64GB & 8GB/128GB memory option to choose from. With this combination, OnePlus 5 becomes a beast when multi tasking, heavy gaming or even consuming super HD videos are concerned. No matter what you throw at this, it can very smoothly manage everything.
Honor 8 pro, on the other hand, sports HiSilicon Kirin 960 chipset on an Octa Core CPU clocked at 2.4 GHz. It comes with 4/6GB RAM & 64 GB internal storage options to choose from. Multitasking, heavy gaming and even consumption of videos are an ease on the device. Heavy games like the Modern Combat, Asphalt 8 & real racing can be played on high settings with no frame drop what so ever. Video playback of high quality renders real life colours and quality.
OnePlus 5 Vs Honor 8 Pro: Camera
The camera on the OnePlus 5 is a dual camera setup with 16 MP first sensor and 20 MP second shooter having f/1.7 and f/2.6 aperture with Dual LED Flash respectively. The quality of the photos and video shot are average and do only what is required from a flagship. Biggest down side of the OnePlus 5 camera is with the absence of OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) and the presence of EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) which really does not provide any stabilisation when recording HD videos or 4K video. Videos glitters a lot and lack of stabilisation from a dedicated hardware is missing. Portrait shot on the rear camera does wonders with its bokeh effect. An important point to be noted is that pictures turn out to be well lit up and vibrant when proper lighting sources are found and do a great job when there’s sufficient lighting. However, low light performance does lack quality with a bit of noise in the final output of the camera. The rear camera provides good color reproduction and excellent quality of detailing the pictures being shot.
The front facing camera is 16 MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture. Pictures shot are good and same on the OnePlus 3T. Videos shot are pretty stable and do get the job done, no issues here.
Whereas, on the Honor 8 Pro you again get a dual camera setup having a dual 12 MP shooter with f/2.2 aperture. One sensor is a monochrome sensor whereas the other one is a normal RGB sensor. With normal lighting, the pictures turn out with good quality detailing and colors reproduction is satisfactory. Noise level on the pictures is low and cannot be traced out until looked up on. Dynamic range and exposure level handling on the camera is spectacular and worthy enough. OIS is present on this setup and does its job adequately.
The front facing camera is a 8 MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture and is capable of handling 1080p video perfectly. Check out the following video for a detailed comparison of the cameras in both these phones.
OnePlus 5 Vs Honor 8 Pro: Battery and Other Features
The battery on the OnePlus 5 is slightly lower than the on the OnePlus 3T with 3300 mAh battery whereas on the Honor Pro 8 you get a mammoth of 4000 mAh battery which provides ample backup throughout the day.
OnePlus 5 comes with Type C 1.0 USB port for data syncing and charging which does support dash charging 2.0 and it’s really fast. Gets us 95 percent of charge within 50 mins from a 5 percent start. Also, the finger print sensor is on the front and it’s again really faster when unlocking the device. Comes with WLAN, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, Radio. Sensors equipped are the accelerometer, gyro, proximity, and compass.
You get Midnight black and Slate grey colours to choose from.
Honour 8 Pro again comes with Type C 1.0 USB port for data syncing and charging which also supports efficient fast charging indeed. Finger print sensor is rear mounted coupled with the accelerometer, gyro, proximity, and compass. Connectivity options includes WLAN, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, NFC, Infrared Port, Radio.
You get to choose from Pearl White, Midnight Black, and Navy Blue colors.
OnePlus 5 Vs Honor 8 Pro: Pricing
One Plus is being exclusively sold on Amazon without invitation for Rs. 32,999 for the 6GB/64 GB model and Rs. 37,999 for the 8GB/128GB model.
Huawei Honor 8 Pro is being sold on Amazon for Rs. 29,999 for the 6GB/128 GB model.
Conclusion
Prima Facie Honor 8 Pro beats the OnePlus 5 on almost every ground mentioned above. Photos and videos shot on the OnePlus 5 are a bit on the winning side though since the Honor 8 Pro camera on majority could not compete under this category.
Battery backup is something Honor 8 Pro bags in the deal but does hike up the weight with almost 30 grams in total and thickness is .3 mm thinner than on the OnePlus 5.
The display is primarily superior on the Honor 8 Pro which is no doubt the king here when media consumption is considered whether it’s a high-end game, 4k videos playback, everything just looks so real, vivid, vibrant and crispier than the OnePlus 5.
Processor and the memory are almost equivalent but OnePlus 5 outshines here with the Snapdragon 835 chipset and 8 GB of RAM. Performance and speed are notably visible with the OnePlus 5 indeed.
Camera though is superior on the OnePlus 5 but the presence of OIS on the Honor 8 Pro would definitely be a reason for consumers to choose the Honor 8 pro over the OnePlus 5.
Overall if we were supposed to buy a smartphone, we would really bet on the Honor 8 Pro for the display, battery size, and superb build quality, and One Plus 5 would have been chosen for the looks, of course, more RAM, and camera quality. But then it’s totally up to you people what to choose but we hope the above differentiation would really add up to your decision making for the next purchase.
Do like the post, share it with friends and family and shoot a comment in case you want to discuss more on the above comparison.
MIUI 9 is in the news once again, this time around it has to do with the Closed Beta program which is currently on. Xiaomi is reported to have revealed that the MIUI 9 Closed Beta program has received applicants in tremendous numbers. Presently the number of applicants for the Closed Beta program has surpassed 1 million persons. Just recently, that figure was revealed to be around 700,000 which was seen as the largest in the company’s history.
Presently, the applications for the Closed Beta program is around 1.56 million persons, barely two weeks after the Beta program opened. Xiaomi first disclosed that it would be opening up registration for MIUI 9 closed beta program on July 19, while the program itself commenced on July 21. The first batch of models to get the Closed Beta included the Mi 6, Redmi Note 4X (Snapdragon version) and the Mi 5X which was launched recently with MIUI onboard. Xiaomi only earlier today hinted that the Mi 5 will get its own update (Closed Beta) on August 7 while the 12 models billed to get theirs on August 25 will get rolling in mid-August.
The news of a large number of interests in Xiaomi’s latest MIUI ROM shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. This is due to the fact that MIUI 9 has been hyped as coming with a lot of stunning features while shedding off features that are not useful, thus making it lightning fast and smooth. More so, Xiaomi has got an army of loyal users who are always ready to explore the rich array of innovation the tech company has to offer. Mind you, this is for the China ROM only, so we expect the Global ROM to come with a far bigger number of applicants. Already, the Closed beta has started pushing to registered Beta testers and the reviews make it even more interesting to get on the program.
HMD Global is pegged to unveil the Nokia 8 on Aug. 16 and the Finnish firm is also rumored to be working on an entry-level smartphone. The MediaTek MT6737 chipset driven Nokia 3 is the lowest configuration smartphone from the company. The upcoming Nokia 2 is speculated to come with even lower specs than the Nokia 3. Some of the key specs of the Nokia 2 has already appeared and now fresh images of what appears to be its prototype edition has appeared. Newer information reveals that the Nokia 2 has also received certification from Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
A report from the previous month had revealed the front and rear sides of the Nokia 2 smartphone alongside the drawing of Nokia 3. It revealed that the form factor of Nokia 2 would be similar to that of Nokia 3. The frontside of the handset shown in the new image has “brand” mentioned on the tip-right corner instead of the Nokia logo which indicates that it could be a prototype of the Nokia 2.
Since the Nokia 3 came with a 5-inch HD screen, the similarity sized Nokia 2 is also expected to come with a 5-inch IPS LCD display that will support an HD resolution of 720 x 1,280 pixels. The corners of the phone are rounded and it does not feature a fingerprint reader neither on the frontside or backside which indicates that the biometric recognition feature will not be present on it. The top bezel will feature a selfie camera and an earpiece.
The rear panel of the Nokia 2 has single camera and a LED flash. There is a speaker grille at the right corner of the back panel. A microUSB port can be seen at the bottom of the phone. The right side of the phone has volume controllers and a Power button.
Very few details are known on the configuration of Nokia 2. Its model number is TA-1029 and its Geekbench listing has revealed that the all new low-end Snapdragon 212 chipset will be powering the smartphone along with 1 GB of RAM. Speculations have it certain markets will be receiving MediaTek chipset edition of the Nokia 2. It will come loaded with Android 7.1. Nougat. It also features Bluetooth 4.1.
Since the Nokia 2 has been certified by FCC, there is a possibility it will be launched soon. However, there is no confirmation on whether it will be launching with Nokia 8 or it will be announced separately.
The first half of the year was a rough one for Taiwanese fabless chip manufacturer, MediaTek who saw its shipment for the quarter fall to only 100 million with only a slight rebound in the second quarter at 110-120 million shipments. While 100 million initially seems like a large number, for comparison, the company shipped over 480 million chipsets in 2016, a number the company will have a hard time to top or even match this year.
The drop in the company’s shipments is due to the recent dominance of US chipmaker Qualcomm in the mid-range/low-end market in China where MediaTek had held sway for long. Major Chinese OEMs such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, who have all shifted a portion of their orders from MediaTek to Qualcomm. A large chunk of the mid/low-end market is controlled by OPPO and Vivo who had always used MTK chips but the latest OPPO R11 featured a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chip. But Industry analyst Pan Jiutang has revealed that OPPO and Vivo will likely return to using MediaTek chips in the second half of the year.
The analyst disclosed that MediaTek’s launch of new mid-range chips like the Helio P25 and the upcoming Helio P30 is the reason for the return to the Taiwanese chipmaker by two of China’s top-selling brands. Don’t forget MediaTek’s 10nm Helio X30 flagship chip was featured on the Meizu Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus and the benchmark shows it squares up with the likes of SD 835, Kirin 960 and others. It remains to be seen if the shift back to MTK chips would affect the company’s total shipments very much, considering that majority of orders for chips are made in the first half of the year. It is good news, though that MediaTek will be making a rebound, bringing healthy competition to the mobile chip market which would no doubt result in more innovative products.
LG V30 could be one of the major competitors for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. A recent leak has revealed that through the massive screen of 6.3 inches, the Galaxy Note 8 will deliver best multimedia experience. Fresh information suggest that the LG V30 will be also no less when it comes to multimedia experience.
The LG V10 from 2015 came with a manual video mode and it was equipped with 32-bit Hi-Fi DAC. It also came with dual rear cameras. The LG V20 arrive last year with the 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC, Hi-Fi video shooting from the front and rear cameras. And the upcoming LG V30 will be delivering even better multimedia experience.
It has been already revealed that the LG V30 will be the first ever smartphone to arrive with f/1.6 aperture camera sensor that will be coupled with features like crystal clear lens, Live Zoom and Cine Video.
The camera app of the LG V30 will be coming with DSLR-like features. The LG-Log for specific logging and Graphy for histogram features are something that are usually found on professional cameras.
Rumors have already revealed that LG V30’s Advanced Quad DAC will be an improved version of what’s present on LG V20. It will be also featuring Bang & Olufsen audio system, but there is no confirmation on whether the LG V30 will feature B&O speakers or an audio chip.
LG V30 will be coming with a new Hi-Fi Digital Filter and Sound pre-set. It will be accompanied with Hi-Fi Streaming with MQA that will allow streaming of high fidelity audio in a small file size that can be downloaded easily without any loss in audio quality.
The Hi-Fi video recording with receive as a mic (RAM) will be also available on the LG V30. This could mean that the phablet would provide some way to connect an external microphone. LG has also confirmed that the upcoming flagship phone’s huge 6-inch P-OLED display will be capable of supporting HDR-10 content. Also, LG V30 will be a Daydream VR ready handset.
These features indicate that the LG V30 will be a perfect smartphone that will impress its owners with its amazing cinematic video and audio experience apart from the amazing dual rear cameras. The South Korean will be launching the LG V30 on Aug. 31. Its pre-orders are expected to start on Sept. 17 in the U.S. and its sales will begin on Sept. 28.
Xiaomi‘s “lighting fast” latest interface, MIUI 9 was launched last week alongside the Mi 5X and Mi AI speaker. The new ROM is scheduled to become available on the Mi 6 and Redmi Note 4X in addition to the Mi 5X which featured the ROM out-of-the-box. Xiaomi has now revealed via its MIUI Weibo official handle that the Mi 5 will get MIUI 9 update on August 7 which is next week Monday.
The Mi 5 was initially among the next batch of models that would get MIUI 9 update but now, it is in an exclusive list of its own. The device happens to be one of Xiaomi’s top-selling models so, it is no wonder they are giving it a special treatment. That’s just by the way, but the MIUI 9 in question is the China Beta version which means to be able to get the update you’ll have to register for the Beta program right at the MIUI Forum.
In addition, Xiaomi also revealed that next batch of MIUI 9 Developer ROM (Closed Beta) for 12 different models will roll out in mid-August. MIUI comes in Developer ROM and Stable ROM, the Developer ROM is still in development and gets updates weekly except on China’s National holidays. To be able to use the Developer ROM, users must have knowledge of how to successfully flash the ROM on their Xiaomi phones. The models include the Mi MIX, Mi Note 2, Mi 5, Mi 5s, Mi 5s Plus, Mi 5c, Mi Max 2, Mi Max, Mi 4S, Mi 4c, Mi Note Pro, and Redmi 4X. This new date is against the August 25 date when the update was initially scheduled to roll out.
MIUI 9 comes with upgrades such as a split-screen feature which would allow users run two separate apps on the same screen. There is also a picture-in-picture mode, a redesigned dock bar, a Smart advert filter, Smart Assistant, Smart App launcher, System optimization and other features.
The Nokia 8 will be officially launching on Aug. 16. The smartphone has appeared times with Unknown Heart label on Geekbench. It has appeared yet again on Geekbench with key specs. This time around it has been found to be running on Android 8.0, the upcoming version of Android. It is likely that Nokia 8 may launch as the first smartphone preloaded with Android 8.0.
The alleged Nokia 8 listing on Geekbench suggests that it is powered by Snapdragon 835 chipset. The SoC is accompanied by 4 GB of RAM. It has scored 1,789 on single-core test and 6,494 on multi-core test. The presence of Android 8.0 on the alleged Nokia 8 suggests that the Finnish firm could be launching the handset with Android 7.1.1 Nougat and may be currently testing the major software update of Android 8.0. As mentioned above, there is a possibility that it may be the first smartphone to ship with Android 8.0.
In 2016, Google had released the Android 7.0 Nougat update on Aug. 22 to its Nexus device. After that, the LG had debuted the LG V20 flagship that arrived as the first smartphone preinstalled with Android 7.0 Nougat.
As far as Android O is concerned, it is speculated to release officially by the coming week. Hence, it is likely that the original Pixel phones and some Nexus devices may receive the Android 8.0 update as early as next week. The Nokia 8 may get announced as the first non-Google phone with Android O and possibly start shipping in few weeks.
So far, HMD Global has only released budget and midrange Nokia phones in this year and the fans of the Finnish firm are eagerly waiting to see a Nokia Android flagship smartphone. Hence, the Nokia 8 is one of the most awaited smartphones of this year.
The rumor mill has revealed has plenty of information on the upcoming Nokia flagship. It is expected to arrive with a 5.3-inch display that will produce Quad HD resolution. Rumors suggest that it may be also available in 6 GB RAM option. A pair of 13-megapixel rear cameras from ZIESS optics is expected to be present on the Nokia 8. A 3,000mAh battery is rumored to power the smartphone. It is expected to come in colors like blue, silver and gold.
Lenovo‘s drive to revive the Moto brand recently reared its head in India once again with the launch of a couple of exclusive retail stores. The exclusive stores dubbed Moto Hub opened their doors to customers on Thursday after its official launch with a brief ceremony.
The Moto Hubs are designed as experience centres where customers can get a feel of Motorola’s products. The retail stores which are six in total, adopt an open layout design with the entire shop covered with glass and are located inside large shopping Malls in major cities like Noida, Indirapuram, Mumbai and Thane. Motorola also revealed that more retail outlets would be opened in the near future. Motorola has indicated that it targets the opening of 50 Moto Hubs across major towns and cities in India before the end of their current fiscal year. The target is also to open the shops in locations where there is adequate traffic of persons.
The Moto brand has got a rich array of new products that would be on sale at the Moto Hubs. Models such as the Moto E, Moto C, Moto G range, as well as Moto Z2 play. The stores will also have on sale the Moto MODs along with Motorola branded accessories such as headphones, Moto shells, phone covers and pouches. The stores will also be an alternative means of getting Motorola mobile devices as they would also be sold online in India.
The official launch date of Aug.23 for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is fast approaching. The rumor mill is revealing newer information on the phablet with each passing day. A promotional banner image of the Galaxy Note 8 has been leaked to reveal the design of the phone and its stylus. It looks like a completed image of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8’s launch invitation.
The new image has the Galaxy Note8 text mentioned on the right corner. Even though various tech sites are addressing it as the Galaxy Note 8, the phablet will be officially mentioned as Galaxy Note8 on various promotional materials.
At the center of the image is the Galaxy Note 8 sporting its dual edge curved display panel. Since the handset has been placed horizontally, its upper bezel is positioned on the right. The cutouts for the sensors and selfie camera corresponds with the leaked images of the front panel of the Galaxy Note 8 that have surfaced in the recent past. The bottom bezel of the phablet is empty.
The image suggests that it will be coming with Infinity Display feature that was first introduced on Galaxy S8 duo. The image also indicates that appears that the marketing strategy used by Samsung for promoting the Infinity Display of Galaxy S8 will be also used for promoting the Note 8. The only difference will be that the Note 8’s screen will have a more squarish appeal. The S-Pen stylus can be also seen in the image.
Evan Blass has already leaked the entire specifications of the phablet earlier this week. It will be coming with a 6.3-inch QHD+ display, Snapdragon 835 chipset, 6 GB of RAM, internal storage option of 64 GB, improved S-Pen stylus, 12-megapixel dual rear cameras, 8-megapixel front camera and 3,300mAh battery. It is also expected to be available in 128 GB model.
One of the major rivals of the Galaxy Note 8 is the LG V30 that is getting announced on Aug. 31. Speculations are rife that the Note 8 will have a two-week preorder and it may release on Sept. 15 in South Korea. The LG V30 is also expected to go on sale on the same date in the home country.
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