Xiaomi yesterday pushed the third batch of MIUI 9 Closed Beta to participants of the beta program and just as we reported, the third batch is made up of a whole lot of Xiaomi models. Except for the Mi 1 and Redmi 2A and a few others whose hardware setup are not robust enough to accommodate the upgrade, all other models not captured in the first and second batch have now gotten the upgrade to MIUI 9.
The MIUI 9 upgrade roll out has been pretty fast and that pace is expected to continue as Xiaomi is expected to release the Developer ROM (open beta) to the public within the next two weeks. After the roll out of the Open beta version of MIUI 9 Developer ROM, the next aspect would be the Stable version. We now have an idea of when Xiaomi will release the MIUI 9 Stable version and it is coming from the VP Marketing at MIUI while responding to a question of when the Stable ROM will be available. The Xiaomi official did not give a specific date but disclosed that usually, the Stable version becomes available about two months or so after the release of a new MIUI version. The official added that this new generation MIUI 9 system upgrade may take longer as the company would not want to push a stable ROM that would later be discovered to still have some issues. The Stable ROM is the final product so it is expected to come with most of the bugs fixed since is updated only once a month or twice or even longer unlike Developer ROM that gets weekly updates.
The VP did not give a definite release date but from his statement, MIUI 9 Stable ROM may likely roll out by the end of October or in the early part of November. We don’t know for now which models will get first but Xiaomi may likely stick with the same format in which the Developer ROM (closed beta) was rolled out, that is the Mi 6 and Mi 5X first.
DisplayMate is well-known for benchmarking various kinds of displays. The Samsung Galaxy S8 had scored the highest ever score of A+ on tests conducted by DisplayMate. Even the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge from last year were appreciated as the Best Performing Display by DisplayMate. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 features a slightly larger Infinity Display than the Galaxy S8+. DisplayMate has tested the display of the Note 8 and has awarded the highest grade ever of A+
The Galaxy Note 8 features a 6.3-inch flexible OLED screen flanked with the full-screen design. Its display is 20 percent larger and 22 percent brighter than the 5.8-inch screen of the Galaxy S8. The highest brightness offered by Galaxy Note 8’s screen is more than 1,200 nits. No other smartphone offers such a high brightness. DisplayMate claims the Galaxy Note 8 has the most innovative and high-performance smartphone display that it has ever tested.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8’s screen supports a 3K resolution of 2,960 x 1,440 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18.5:9 = 2.05. Most smartphones offer an aspect ratio of 1.78. It supports an accurate 100 percent DCI-P3c color gamut that is mainly used on 4K TV screens.
Since it has acquired certification from UHD Alliance and Mobile HDR Premium, it can support the most recent content that has been designed for 4K UHD Premium televisions.The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 5 and comes with Always-on Display. It offers a pixel density of 521 ppi.
Compared to Galaxy S8, the Galaxy Note 8 comes with various enhancements for absolute color accuracy, view angle, always-on display, personalized auto-brightness control, image processor, performance modes and more. The Galaxy Note 8 also features ambient sensors at its front and rear sides for enhanced automatic brightness. For better night viewing, the phablet features a new night mode blue light filter.
The Galaxy Note 8 is the first Samsung phone to feature dual rear cameras. It is powered by Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8895 SoC depending on the market. It comes in storage sizes like 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB. Other specs include S Pen stylus, Android Nougat OS and 3,300mAh battery.
By rewarding the Galaxy Note 8’s screen with A+ grade, DisplayMate calls it the Best Performing Smartphone Display. To know more on the various tests DisplayMate has conducted on the screen of the Note 8, readers can visit the source link.
Gizmochina along with Banggood is conducting a Doogee BL7000 big battery phone as Giveaway gift to one of our lucky readers. Like always, you just have to follow the steps mentioned on the Gleam widget to get a chance to win this amazing phone.
How to entry this giveaway? Just follow these steps via Gleam widget:
Visit Doogee BL7000 phone on Banggood;
Share this article to your Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or other social media;
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 Gleam widget to participate in the giveaway.
Yesterday, the rumor mill had reveal some images of an upcoming Huawei smartphone with dual rear cameras. Early speculations claimed that it could be the Honor V9 Mini. Fresh information suggests that the mysterious Huawei Honor phone that has appeared in leaked images is the Honor 7X. Several details of the smartphone have been revealed. The alleged smartphone has received 3C certification in China.
The Huawei Honor 7X is rumored to house a 5.5-inch display that will produce a full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. The smartphone is expected to be powered by the new Kirin 670 mid-range chipset. The Kirin 670 is rumored to be built with 12nm manufacturing process. It is speculated to feature 2 x custom Moscow cores running at 2.2 GHz and four Cortex A52 cores clocking at 2.0 GHz. The chipset is expected to include Mali G72MP4 graphics.
The Kirin 670 chipset of the Honor 7X is expected to feature 4 GB of RAM. It is speculated to arrive in storage models like 32 GB and 64 GB. It will be preinstalled with Android 7.1 Nougat OS flavored with EMUI 5.1. Speculations have it that the Honor 7X will be featuring the dual rear cameras present on the Honor V9 smartphone. Hence, the Honor 7X is expected to arrive with dual camera system featuring a 12-megapixel RGB sensor and a 12-megapixel monochrome sensor. A 4,000mAh battery is expected to power the handset.
The Huawei Honor 7X is expected to feature a full metallic body. The leaked images of the smartphone show that its bottom features a USB-C port and a pair of external speakers. The fingerprint scanner of the Honor 7X can be seen on the rear panel. The design of the back panel of the Honor 7X is quite similar to the Honor V9. Hence, when its leaked images had appeared, it was speculated as the Honor 7X.
The base model of the Honor 7X featuring 32 GB storage is expected to be priced at 1,499 Yuan (~$227). The 64 GB Honor 7X is speculated to be available for 1,799 Yuan (~$272). As of this writing, there is no information available on its launch date. More information on the smartphone is expected to surface in the near future.
Xiaomi has recently released the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A budget phone and Xiaomi Mi 5X camera-centric smartphone. It seems that Huawei is working on Honor 6C to rival with Redmi Note 5A and the Honor 7X is rumored to be arriving to take on the Mi 5X.
The rumor mill has revealed plenty of information on the specifications and features of the upcoming Motorola Moto X4. Rumors had claimed that it may get unveiled through the Lenovo’s IFA 2017 event that will be held on Aug. 31. However, it appears that it may get unveiled on Sept. 2 as Motorola has now released a launch event teaser for the said date on its official Facebook page for Philippines.
The above image has been shared on the Philippines Facebook page of Motorola. It confirms that a launch event will be held on Sept. 2 starting at 6 PM local time. The “hellomoto X” text gives us a hint that Motorola is probably going to unveil the Moto X4 on Sept. 2.
The event will be livestreamed on Facebook and it would be hosted by popular actors from Philippines like Nadine Lustre and James Reid and the event is dubbed as Jadine FB Live. The Motorola Moto X4 has been recently certified by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S. and it has been also approved by Brazil’s Anatel agency.
A 5.2-inch AMOLED display is expected to be available on the Moto X4 that will produce full HD resolution. The Snapdragon 630 chipset is expected to power this smartphone. In the U.S., it is expected to arrive with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage. There will be another model featuring 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of native storage. It will come preloaded with Android Nougat.
A dual camera module featuring a 12-megapixel RGB sensor and a 12-megapixel monochrome sensor is expected to be present on the rear side of the phone. The frontside may feature a 16-megapixel snapper. It is expected to house a 3,000mAh battery. The smartphone is rumored to sport an impressive IP68 certified chassis and it will be coming in color choices like Sterling Blue, Gold and Super Black.
According to well-known leakster, Roland Quandt, the Moto X4 would be hitting the European markets with a pricing of 350 euros (~$419). Another leakster claims that the 32 GB and 64 GB Moto X4 would be arriving with a respective price tag of $349 and $399 in North America. It this is true, it would be cheapest Moto X series smartphone from Motorola. By the way, all the predecessor Moto X phones were flagship devices. However, the Moto X4 will be a mid-range phone.
In the previous week, the rumor mill had revealed that Apple would be unleashing the iPhone 8, iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus on Sept. 12. According to a new report on Wall Street Journal, Apple has decided on keeping a launch event on Sept. 12 at the newly built Steve Jobs theatres which is located on Apple’s campus.
A market research firm has revealed that there is a huge demand for the premium iPhone 8. The research revealed that 52 percent of the consumers who are looking forward to purchasing a smartphone in the next three months have said that they wish to buy an iPhone. This is highest ever demand for buying an iPhone since 2010.
The Cupertino company is expected to launch a new premium iPhone in celebration of the tenth anniversary of iPhones. Even though the rumor mill is referring to it as the iPhone 8, it is not the official name. Some reports are calling it iPhone X or iPhone Pro.
The iPhone 8 could be the first smartphone from Apple to feature an OLED screen with a full-screen design. Reports claim that it may not feature a Touch ID sensor, but may feature a robust facial recognition system. It is also expected to house an L-shaped battery that will deliver a longer battery and is also pegged to carry support for wireless charging. The Apple A11 chipset is rumored to power the iPhone 8 that will feature some AR capabilities. Speculations have it that it would be coming in storage sizes like 64 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB and it would be priced around $1,000 to $1,400.
Apple is also expected to launch the iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus as upgraded models for the last year’s iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. These smartphones are expected to feature LCD screens, Touch ID, Apple A11 chipset and wireless charging. The Cupertino company is also rumored to debut LTE enabled Apple Watch 3 at the same launch event. It is likely to feature an embedded SIM to make it possible to access the internet without pairing with an iPhone.
The construction of the 1000-seater Steve Jobs Theater is still not finished yet. If the construction does not finish on time, the company may hold the launch event at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco where it has been keep launching events since the past two years.
Flip phones are not dead yet and Samsung seems to be the only major manufacturer keeping the design alive. About a month ago, the Korean company announced the SM-G9298, a flip phone with dual screens and a Snapdragon 820 SoC. That’s pretty high end for a flip phone. The Vkworld T2 Plus is also a flip phone but keeps the specs moderate and the price affordable.
The T2 Plus will have a 4.2-inch display with a 1280 x 768 resolution on both sides. Both screens will be covered by Gorilla Glass 4 for protection. The Vkworld T2 Plus also packs a titanium body just like the Essential Phone, that makes it more durable than your regular device. This is the first time we will hear of a flip phone with a titanium body.
Vkworld will release the phone in two variants. There will be a 2GB RAM +16GB ROM version and a 3GB RAM +32GB model. It will have a 13MP sensor on the rear and a 5MP camera in front for selfies.
There are still some details that haven’t been released yet such as the processor, battery capacity, the version of Android, and the pricing. Rumor has it that the Vkworld T2 Plus will be priced under $150.
The Vkworld T2 Plus will come in three styles. There will be one with a glass design, another with a leather design and the last will be another leather design with a different pattern
Leagoo is one of those Chinese manufacturers that usually produces great phones at affordable prices. The Leagoo T5 offers very good specs like 64GB of storage, 4GB of RAM for less than $130. My name is Linus, stay tuned.
The phone ships with all the usual stuff and some extras include a pair of cheap earphones and a soft TPU case.
DESIGN and DISPLAY
When it comes to the design, we are looking at a well-built phone that is made mostly of metal. The device feels sturdy and I have no complaints about the build quality. A 5.5” 1080p display is great. It’s sharp and vibrant and even the sunlight legibility is decent.
There is no LED notification light but we have LED flash for night selfies that can be taken with a beefy 13MP camera. The on-screen navigation keys can be customized, which is great.
You also get a dual-camera setup that consists of one 13MP shooter and another 5MP sensor. The fingerprint scanner is on the front and it is accurate but I found that the display lights up quite slowly once the fingerprint is recognized.
The loudspeaker quality is just average. Also, the sound starts crackling at the highest volume settings.
The sound quality via the headset jack is surprisingly good for such a cheap phone.
HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE
The Leagoo T5 has really good specs for the price that includes an octa-core MTK6750T CPU (1.5GHz), 64GB of expandable storage and 4GB of RAM.
The gaming performance is surprisingly good. I was able to play most of the games on the highest graphics settings with just some skipped frames. If you reduce the graphics settings, the phone can handle 3D games without any issues. However, I found the device to get quite warm quickly.
BENCHMARKS
USER INTERFACE
The phone ships with Android 7.0 with the Leagoo’s skin on top of it that has some extra features and customization options. You can select from quite a few themes, wallpapers or choose different transition effects. There are also a few gesture controls. Some of them work fine while other gestures are not always recognized fast.
Most importantly, I found the phone to be fast on the daily basis. I didn’t have any hiccups or lag even after installing quite a few apps and running them in the background.
CAMERAS
The daylight images look quite good for a cheap phone but they are definitely not perfect. Most of the shots have a decent amount of detail while others could have more sharpness. Also, the dynamic range is usually off. That dual-camera setup allows you to take pictures with the bokeh effect. You can take some images that may look nice on social media but the blurred background may look artificial in some of the shots.
The night images are like on most of the cheap phones -they look kind of poor with lots of noise.
The selfie pictures look very good for a cheap phone.
The 1080p video looks kind of mediocre. Obviously, you can’t expect much better image quality in this price range of phones but I was very disappointed by a horrible sound recording quality.
Surprisingly, the sound recording quality is a lot better once you use the front facing camera for videos. The quality of the footage is pretty good, especially considering the fact that the videos can be recorded at the max. resolution of 480p.
As for connectivity, I didn’t have any issues with the call quality, signal reception, Wifi or Bluetooth. The GPS may not be the most accurate out there but it gets the job done for navigation.
The phone comes with a hybrid dual-SIM card tray that can take either 2 SIMs or 1 SIM and the microSD card. What is frustrating is that the Leagoo T5 lacks a gyroscope sensor meaning that you will not be able to use it with VR headsets.
BATTERY LIFE
A 3000mAh power bank delivers a pretty much standard battery life of about 5-5.5 hours of screen-on time while using the phone with a lot of apps installed and social media accounts running in the background. The supplied charger fully charges the phone in about 2 hours.
CONCLUSIONS
The Leagoo T5 is a surprisingly good phone that does not even cost $130. Obviously, the camera remains the weakest point of this device. Also, the phone lacks notification LED light and a gyroscope sensor.
However, if you consider all pros and cons, the Leagoo T5 offers a lot of value for the price as it has an all-metal build, brilliant display, and a good overall performance.
The Samsung Galaxy Note8 was announced in four colors – Orchid Gray, Midnight Black, Deep Sea Blue and Maple Gold. So far only three colors seem to be available for now.
In the US, there is Orchid Gray and Midnight Black. In Korea, KT Olleh’s Galaxy Note8 pre-order page lists the phone in Midnight Black and Deep Sea Blue. So it seems the Maple Gold variant is missing in action.
Move over to Taiwan and it is a different case entirely. The Samsung Taiwan website shows the Galaxy Note8 in Orchid Gray and Maple Gold. Not only does it get the Maple Gold, Samsung also unveiled a new Star Pink color variant. That makes it two new colors that are not available elsewhere for now. Taiwan also gets the Galaxy S8+ in Rose Pink.
Sources say the reason for releasing a pink variant is because the color is very popular among consumers, even accounting for up to 30% of all smartphones sold.
Meizu may as well be the only Chinese manufacturer to use processors from all the major chip makers. An interview conducted with an executive has revealed that Meizu phones will be powered by chips from the three SoC giants.
If you still remember, Qualcomm dragged Meizu to court last year following accusations of patent infringement. That case has been settled as both companies now have a good working relationship. Last week, it released its first Snapdragon-powered phone, the M6 Note.
Since it has settled with Qualcomm, you might be wondering which of the chip makers will be Meizu’s favorite. According to Li Nan, Senior VP at Meizu, “Blue Charm will use all three platforms, that is Qualcomm, Samsung, and MediaTek”.
While that does make for exciting news, there is a key info most people may have missed. He didn’t say “Meizu” but said “Blue Charm”. Now this is no mistake as he could have easily used “We” or “Meizu” but instead used “Blue Charm”. This means the news about the company splitting into two separate units is true. It also means we will see the Blue Charm series powered by Samsung’s Exynos SoCs.
Azdome is the Chinese manufacturer that specializes in the making car dash cameras and other accessories. As the first dual lens dash cam in this industry – Azdome GS65H, it has caused widespread concern since it was announced and becomes a popular product on Amazon.
The dash cam is equipped with Novatek96655 chip and Sony IMX323 sensor, away from blurring video quality. Meanwhile, GS65H is also a fashionable and beautiful dash cam with the unique appearance design, 2.4 inch LCD screen makes the device more compact, convenient for hidden installation.
Besides the practical functions, in terms of accessories, Azdome has also prepared carefully, a range of accessories includes the car charger with USB port, suction mount, 3.5m car charger cable, USB cable, cable clip, instruction book with multi-language.
The suction mount is of great importance to the dash cam, the dash cam will be unstable with inferior suction mount, and it can easily cause the shaking during driving process.
Azdome specially designed a kind of anti-shaking suction mount, which adopts silicone with greater force of friction on the bottom, the dash cam will be more stable with this kind of silicone suction mount and will not lead to shake, the use of silicone also makes it easier to install and take down the suction mount; and the suction mount supports 360 degrees rotation on the left and right, so the driver can easily adjust the direction and angle of the dash cam.
Have you ever noticed the unique design of GS65H suction mount?
MediaTek has announced two new processors in the mid-range Helio P series and they are the Helio P23 and P30 chips. The two chips join the Helio P25 to form what MediaTek calls its “premium” mid-range lineup. The processors are expected to feature on the top mid-range models like the Moto G.
The Helio P23 and Helio P30 come with almost similar configuration except for a few differences like the clock speed on the GPS. Both processors use the Mali G71 MP2 but while the Helio P23 features a clock speed of 770MHz, the Helio P30 has a clock speed of 950MHz. Another key difference is that the P30 is capable of handling dual 16-megapixel cameras or a single 25-megapixel camera but the Helio 23 can only handle dual 13-megapixel cameras or a single 24-megapixel camera.
Aside these two differences, both the P23 and P30 feature an octa-core Cortex-A53 cores running at a frequency of 2.3GHz. The processors also pack MediaTek’s CorePilot 4.0 technology which brings on power aware scheduling, thermal management, and UX monitoring. With this technology, this allows the chipsets to work well in high-performance mode, and still offer a consistent user-experience. The Helio P23 and P30, as usual, is touted to bring an increase in performance and reliable connectivity and also provide better battery life.
The Helio P23 offers world class dual SIM capabilities where both SIM slots have 4G VoLTE/ViLTE support. Both the Helio P23 and Helio P30 also come with 4G LTE WorldMode modem which means that both processors are capable of supporting every single network in the world on one chipset. MediaTek did specifically mention that this includes CDMA networks like those offered by China Telecom in China as well as on Sprint and Verizon in the U.S. The mid-range chipsets also utilize a unique combination of Cat-7/13 bands which offer download speeds of up to 300 megabit per second download and upload speed of 150 megabit per second. Both processors also pack MediaTek’s TAS 2.0 smart antenna technology inside which provides better signal.
Yet another unique feature is the new Vision Processing Unit (VPN) on the Helio P30. The VPN is a digital signal processor running at 500MHz. It is a standalone processor and frees up some of the resources on the device to accommodate other things. The VPU also reduces power consumption while providing a smoother visual experience by boosting performance.
As for their availability, both chips will be rolling out in smartphones globally in the fourth quarter of this year. The Helio P30 will first become available in China where MediaTek enjoys most of its patronage, before it will be available in other markets.
The K3 is the latest flagship from Chinese smartphone manufacturer OUKITEL. Starting today, the OUKITEL K3 goes on presale and will cost $139.99 instead of its original price of $179.99.
The OUKITEL K3 is marketed as a flagship for the business class. While it reflects that in its design, it also justifies it with some impressive specs and features.
The K3 has a 5.5-inch Full HD display supplied by Sharp and covered with Asahi Glass. It is powered by MediaTek’s MT6750T processor and packs 4GB of RAM and 64GB of built-in storage.
The OUKITEL K3 has two unique selling points. First it has 4 cameras, two on each side which are the same 16MP + 2MP configuration. It’s second selling point is its 6000mAh battery which supports 9V/2A fast charging. OUKITEL says the phone should be fully charged in under 2 hours.
Other features of the OUKITEL K3 include a front-mounted fingerprint scanner, a micro USB port with support for reverse charging, a gyroscope and a geomagnetic sensor. It also has a 3.5mm audio jack and runs Android 7.0 out of the box.
Previous rumors had revealed that the Samsung Galaxy J7+ could be the first smartphone from the South Korean to feature dual rear cameras. It was believed that before debuting the dual rear camera feature on a flagship, it would first make it available on a mid-range phone to check the market response. However, it appears that the South Korean company may have altered its strategy as the Galaxy Note 8 flanked with dual rear cameras was launched last week. It appears the arrival of the Galaxy J7+ is not so far away as new live images of the smartphone have appeared.
In the past week, several official looking promotional images of the Galaxy J7+ had appeared. The top bezel of the Galaxy J7+ features a selfie camera and a dedicated LED flash for it. The bottom bezel has a Home button that is embedded with a fingerprint reader. The side bezels of the screen appear slim.
Rumors have revealed that the Samsung Galaxy J7+ will be supporting full HD resolution on its 5.5-inch screen. Another image shows that the smartphone will carry support for Always-on Display feature that are available on Samsung’s flagship phones. It is speculated to come with a 5-megapixel selfie camera.
The backside of the smartphone has the vertically dual rear cameras. Previous reports have revealed that it includes a 13-megapixel sensor and a 5-megapixel sensor. The left side of the handset features an exclusive button for launching the Bixby voice assistant. The right side seems to feature the Power button and the volume controllers. The headphone slot is not visible in these leaked shots, but it appears it will retain the 3.5mm audio jack.
The Exynos 7870 chipset that includes a 2.4 GHz octa-core processor is expected to power the smartphone with 4 GB of RAM. It is expected to arrive with a native storage of 32 GB that will preloaded with Android Nougat OS. A 3,000mAh battery is expected to power the handset.
In one of the above photos, the Galaxy J7+ can be seen alongside the OPPO R11. Samsung’s market share has been drastically falling in China. There are plenty of budget friendly phones from various smartphone OEMs with dual rear cameras in China. The image suggests that the Galaxy J7+ will be competing with other mid-range phones dual rear cameras in China. There is no information on its launch date, but it is expected to arrive first in Asian markets starting with Thailand.
China is now set to enforce a new law which would make it compulsory for internet users posting comments on any blog or platform to show their real identities. The new law will become effective from October 1st and would require tech firms to take down the identities of every one that is posting a comment on internet message boards they control. The Chinese government explains that the new measure is a to discourage “false rumors, filthy language, and illegal messages.”
This isn’t coming as a surprise as it is just the latest in a series of clampdown which the government has continued to institute, with an increased intensity in the past few months. It is viewed as yet another censorship of the internet which is aimed at curtailing free speech. Truth is, fewer persons would now want to challenge or criticise the government knowing fully well that the security agents can easily track you down. China is well known for its clampdown on dissidents, some of whom are hurled into prison or placed under house arrest. Also recall that the government recently strengthened its grip on the internet with a recent order that the three main state-owned telecoms network carriers – China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom block all personal VPNs by February 1, 2018, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Apart from the recent clampdown on VPN, Facebook has for long being a casualty of the government’s internet censorship as well as Snapchat, Twitter and other social media apps, except those complying with the government’s censorship rules like WeChat, Weibo, and Baidu. Whatsapp was recently affected by the censorship policy as sending or receiving images and of course, videos via Whatsapp is practically impossible without the use of VPN. The government’s sledgehammer has also descended almost all of the foreign content hosted on the two popular video sharing websites — AcFun and Bilibili have vanished overnight. These two websites were extremely sought after by the Millennials in China because they had some of the most popular TV shows and movies from US, UK, South Korea and other foreign countries. Unlike Sina, iQiyi, and other Chinese video platforms, these two websites don’t have strict in-house censorship, which in turn made them popular hubs for foreign content. But all that has now changed, all thanks to the intervention of the Chinese government.
These moves are viewed as being precipitated by the upcoming national congress of China’s ruling party which will be held later this year. The government is known to often enforce strict clampdowns targetted at opposition elements in order to avoid anything that would be embarrassing to the government as well as to discourage criticism of party policies. Why this latest move is different is that the government is now going after the content directly unlike in the past when its censorship was centered around services.
Huawei’s Honor brand launched the Honor V9 in China at the tail end of February with a special dual camera-packing flagship look. The device later went on sale clutching a price tag starting at 2599 Yuan ($377) for the base version. The V9 ranked as one of the most preferred flagship in China and was top in its price category. The device was also among the Top 10 best selling models on Jingdong’s 6.18 sales. There are indications now that Honor has got a small-size version of the Honor V9 in the works, perhaps to continue the V9’s successful run. The photos of the Honor V9 have appeared in a couple of leaks on Weibo.
Honor V9 Black & Blue Variants
According to the leaksters, the Honor V9 look-alike will be called Honor V9 Mini and would only come with a slight difference in size from the phablet Honor V9. As a reminder, the Honor V9 packs a powerful Kirin 960 chip inside a 5.7-inch QHD LCD screen. The processor is backed by 4GB RAM on some models and 6GB of RAM on the top models. There is the option of a 64GB or 128GB storage version to choose from. The V9 also sports a 12 MP + 12 MP f/2.2 dual cameras on the back (one sensor is monochrome ) with laser autofocus, LED flash, and 4K video capture. This isn’t a Leica branded shooter, but it is still a decent setup. A 4,000mAh battery capacity ensures the device can give some extended hours of usage.
Suspected Honor V9 Mini (Blue)- Notice the smaller size?
From the leaked photos we can gather that the Honor V9 Mini will adopt a similar design to the Honor V9 but it seems to have a slim body and a smaller size which looks like 5.5 inches. We can’t say if the configuration is the same but that isn’t likely going to be the case. The V9 Mini also looks like what will have the same colour variants as the V9. The leaked photos reveal it will be available in Blue color. Another detail we can grab from the photo is that the 3.5mm audio jack will be absent on the Honor V9 Mini as seen in the second photo and also, the USB port will not be a Type-C port. It is possible, though, that the 3.5mm audio port is relocated to the upper edge since we have only seen the lower part. The rear camera is covered with the V9 on top and that has got us wondering if there is a surprise in that aspect too or it is going to be the same dual camera setup. The specifications are not known but since the real photo has leaked, its launch may not be too far off.
The LG V30 is debuting on Aug. 31 and it will be one of the major competitors for the Galaxy Note 8 and some of the upcoming flagships like the iPhone 8 and Google Pixel 2 XL. LG has revealed plenty of information on the upcoming features that will be arriving on the LG V30. Here is everything you wanted to know on its specifications, features and pricing.
LG V30 Launch Event and Livestream
The LG V30 unveil event will be held at Berlin, Germany at 9 AM CET on Aug. 31. In the U.S. it will begin at 3 AM EDT and in the U.K., it will be viewable at 8 AM BST. In China, it will start at 3 PM and in India, it will begin at 12:30 PM. The event will be livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook channels of LG Mobile. The LG V30 is also expected to be showcased at the IFA 2017 event that runs between Sept. 1 and 6.
LG V30 Design and Specifications
LG has confirmed that LG V30 will be coming with a 6-inch FullVision OLED display that will produce a resolution of 2,880 x 1,440 pixels and deliver an aspect ratio of 18:9. It will not feature a secondary ticker screen and instead feature a Floating Bar for view notifications and shortcuts. Since it features an OLED panel, it will also support always-on display feature.
Codenamed as Joan, the LG V30 is expected to arrive with an aluminum body that measures 151.4 x 752 x 7.4mm which makes it slimmer than the Note 8. It is expected to feature a removable battery of 3,300mAh capacity. The LG flagship will also feature the standard 3.5mm audio jack. The rear side of the smartphone features the dual rear cameras and the fingerprint scanner. Like its predecessor, it will also feature a microSD card slot and a USB-C port.
The Snapdragon 835 chipset will be powering the LG V30 and it may come in 4 GB and 6 GB RAM variants. It is also expected to come in 64 GB and 128 GB models. It will be running Android Nougat and LG UX 6.0+ UI.
LG V30 Will Deliver Impressive Multimedia Experience
LG has recently revealed a video to show the immersive audio experience that LG V30 will deliver. It will be equipped with Bang & Olufsen audio system and it will also feature Hi-Fi DAC. One of the 13-mgapixel dual rear camera sensors will be of f/1.6 aperture, an industry first from LG. It will deliver DSLR-like photography experience. The HD TouchSense technology will allow LG V30 users to get the feel of touching real buttons while using its touchscreen.
Xiaomi took to Twitter early this morning to announce the launch date for a new flagship phone with dual cameras. The date is September 5 which is next week Tuesday, a day before the end of IFA Berlin.
Xiaomi has not announced that it will be attending the mobile event in Germany and since the tweet ends with the hashtag #XiaomiGlobalLaunch, it makes us wonder if this is a late IFA announcement.
Not much is known about the device other than it having dual cameras. The teaser image shows two circles of different sizes hinting at the configuration of the cameras i.e. one wide-angle lens and another telephoto lens, just like the Mi 6.
Xiaomi may not have let the cat out of the bag about the device it is announcing, but our guess is that it is the Mi MIX 2. The second generation Mi MIX has been in the news lately. We have seen leaks of the device as well as teases, and a few days ago we saw an image that showed the shooting of a commercial for the phone.
So why a global launch this time? The Mi MIX was an unexpected surprise last year when it was announced at the Mi Note 2 launch. It received many reviews across the globe even though it didn’t have a global variant like the Mi Note 2. Seeing the kind of reception it received, it will be stupid for Xiaomi not to launch the second variant globally.
The Mi MIX 2 will push the bezel-less boundaries further than its predecessor. And with dual cameras, it seems set for another round of positive reviews.
In the last week, Samsung debuted the Galaxy Note 8 flagship phablet with much fanfare through a launch event in New York, U.S. It is the new Galaxy Note phablet after the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 that met with an early death because of its faulty battery. The Galaxy Note 8 promises to deliver a better battery life with a safer battery inside. During an Interview with The Investor, DJ Koh, the mobile chief of Samsung more information on the battery performance of the Galaxy Note 8.
The Galaxy Note 7 came with a 3,500mAh battery in a slim chassis of 7.9 mm. On the other hand, the Galaxy Note 8 sports a new full-screen design and the thickness of its chassis is increased to 8.6 mm. Moreover, it features a smaller battery of 3,300mAh capacity. Even the Note 8 is a larger phone, Samsung seems to be playing safe by including a smaller battery.
According to DJ Koh, there are some reasons on why Samsung decided on using a small-sized battery on Galaxy Note 8. First of all, the Note 8 is powered by 10nm Snapdragon 835 processor. The Note 7 featured the 14nm Snapdragon 821 chipset. The inclusion of an improved processor inside in the Galaxy Note 8 enhances its power efficiency by 30 percent.
He added that the Note 8 allows the users to improve the performance of the battery by adjusting its use according to the way they use the phablet. This again improves the efficiency of the Note 8’s battery. He went to say, “I can guarantee battery safety.” Even after two years of using the Note 8, it will be able to maintain 95 percent of the battery capacity. It appears that Koh is also trying to say that the smaller battery in Note 8 will not result in poor battery life.
Some critics have claimed that the Note 8 does not have “wow” factors. DJ Koh responded by saying the upgraded Note 8 has been released after conducting customer surveys. He further said that, “Customer demands are diverse. Some always want new features, while others want a phone that can be used for two to three years. We are not sticking to innovation itself. We will seek innovation that can be truly embraced by customers.”
Koh said that the Samsung sold 11 million units of the Note 5. He expects that the company will sell more than 11 million units. However, at present Samsung is more focused on selling more units of the Galaxy S8. The South Korean publication claims that the company aims to breach the target of 48 million units for the Galaxy S8 duo.
There is a new rumor in town that Huawei will be introducing the Honor 6C in the Chinese market to grab a slice of the market share in the budget category. The Honor 6C was first launched in Europe during the unveiling of the Honor 8 Pro in April, coming in at a price of €229.
Now, the device is said to be heading to China but the only twist is that the Honor 6C has exactly the same design and specs as the Huawei Enjoy 6S which was launched in December last year. That apart, the Honor 6C is also said to have a similar front design as the Redmi Note 5A except that it features a plastic body, unlike the metallic fuselage the Note 5A comes with.
Already, the Honor 6C has been certified by TENAA and specs wise, it features a 5.0-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The device is powered by a Snapdragon 435 processor (or Kirin 695) tagged along with 3GB of RAM. It will run EMUI 5.1 based on Android 7.0 Nougat which is different from the EMUI 4.1 based on Android Marshmallow which the Enjoy 6S featured. The new leaked detail reveals the Honor 6C will have a price tag of 799 Yuan (~$120) and at that price, it has the potential to compete with the cheap Redmi Note 5A.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
