Flipkart Source Code Reveals Xiaomi Mi A1 Launches Tomorrow

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Sep 4, 2017

For over a week now, Xiaomi has been teasing a new flagship device scheduled to launch on September 5. The only hint provided is that it will have dual rear cameras. Our guess is that the device is the Mi A1, an Android One phone made in partnership with Google.

Xiaomi India hinted a few days ago that the device scheduled to launch tomorrow will be sold exclusively on Flipkart. The online store already has the teaser for the launch on its front page. Someone decided to check the source code for the page and found “Mi A1” appearing twice, thereby confirming the name. And as a previous leak has disclosed, the Mi A1 is actually the dual camera Mi 5X.

Although Xiaomi’s focus has been on the dual rear cameras on the phone, people are more excited at the news that it will run pure Android, similar to what you will find on Pixel and Nexus devices.

A Geekbench listing revealed that the Mi A1 runs Android 7.1.2 but since it is an Android One device, an update to Android 8.0 Oreo shouldn’t be too far off.

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Qualcomm Confirms Snapdragon 835 Inside The Mi Mix 2

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Sep 4, 2017

Xiaomi has already officially revealed that its flagship Mi Mix 2 will be launched on September 11 which is barely a week away. Between now and the launch event, we expect to see a lot of juicy details concerning the flagship model and already so have started streaming in. The sleek box casing for the Mix 2 was spotted not too long ago and now, Qualcomm China has officially confirmed that the Mi Mix 2 will feature a Snapdragon 835 processor.

It is already a regular in leaks and rumors that the Mi Mix 2 will utilize a Snapdragon 835 processor but this goes to confirm that indeed Qualcomm’s latest chip would be found on board the Mix 2. Apart from confirming the chipset, the Weibo post also teases the Mix 2 as coming with full-screen 2.0. Until Xiaomi unveils the device we can’t fully comprehend what that means but we sure do expect the Mix 2 to take the bezel-less full display technology used on the Mi Mix to a different level.

The Mi Mix 2 is tipped as coming with an 18:9 screen-to-body ratio, a front fingerprint sensor, piezoelectric ceramic audio technology, dual cameras and more. The device will also likely have a 6GB RAM + 64GB storage on its base model with a retail price of 3999 (around $612) while the higher variant may likely cost 4,999 Yuan (~$765). Recall also that the iPhone 8 will be launched on September 12 and no doubt, will hit China before the end of the year. Do you think the Mi Mix 2 will be a worthy alternative to the iPhone 8 considering it will come in cheaper?

(source)

Xiaomi Mi Calculator Now Available On The Play Store

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Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 4, 2017

Quite a number of Android phone manufacturers have been putting up their own exclusive phone apps on the Play Store. The earliest I remember is ASUS putting a number of its apps such as its contacts and dialer app and file manager app on the Play Store a few years ago. Xiaomi has joined the league and put up its Mi Calculator on the Play Store.

The Mi Calculator app is one of the best calculator apps I have used personally. Unlike other calculators I have come across which can do no more than basic calculation with a little bit of scientific function, the Mi App does so much more. It has a currency converter, a mortgage calculator, a scientific calculator and even a unit converter. It also has a history where you can view and edit previous calculations.

The currency converter is updated daily, so you don’t have to worry about the rates being outdated. The user interface is also pretty clean and the app is just under 5MB. So if you have been looking for a an app that combines basic and scientific calculation, currency conversion, unit conversion and mortgage calculation in a single app, the Mi Calculator is your best bet.

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Xiaomi Launches New Mi Electric Kettle Priced At 99 Yuan (~$15)

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Sep 4, 2017

Xiaomi has announced a new electric kettle under the MIJIA home products. Unlike the previous edition which is a smart kettle, this version does not feature connectivity features. The new electric kettle also comes with a more minimalistic design and is offered for almost half the price of the previous version.

The Xiaomi electric kettle is made of quality matte plastic and the inside of it is made of stainless steel. The stainless steel ensures the inside of the kettle does not rust or develop scales as a result of hard water. The kettle cannot connect to the Mi Smart app due to the lack of Bluetooth connectivity but it comes with three security features which make it a reliable home appliance. The kettle goes off when the water gets boiled which is a basic feature of most electric kettles. Also, if there isn’t water in the kettle, the power goes off and finally, the power connector is designed in such a way that it prevents electric shock and leakage when the kettle is on top. All these are aimed towards protecting the kettle from damage, from going up in flames and also to protect the users.

In addition, the electric kettle comes with a 130mm cover which can be opened up to 75 degrees so that the inside can be accessed for cleaning using the hand. Ordinarily, the cover only opens up to 30 degrees when the open button is pressed but the extension is possible for cleaning. It comes with a LED indicator which is covered with a transparent matte material, ensuring the light is not too bright even in the dark. In between the inner stainless steel body and the outer matter material, there is a hollow layer which ensures that even when the water is boiling at 100 degrees centigrade, the body doesn’t get more than 40 degrees centigrade hot.

The Xiaomi Electric Kettle will cost just 99 Yuan ($15) which is far lower than the 199 Yuan the Mi Smart Electric Kettle sells for. The kettle will go on sales from September 5 at 10 AM. Sales would take place simultaneously on Mi Mall, Mi Home, JD.com, and Suning Tesco.

(source)

Galaxy Note 8 Launching in China on September 13: This Makes Three Big Launches in Three days!

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Sep 4, 2017

Contrary to an earlier rumour of a September 29 launch, it looks like the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will be launched in China on September 13. To this end, a launch invitation to the Note 8 Unpacked which would be held in the Beijing 751 D -PARK 79 in China.

The timing of the launch event is quite interesting, considering that the Mi Mix 2 is already billed to launch in China on September 11 and in addition to that, the flagship Apple iPhone 8 is set to be announced on September 12 in the U.S. The Galaxy note 8 China launch makes it a schedule of three big events in three consecutive days. The three models are all expected to feature a bezel-less full-screen design.

The Galaxy Note 8 has already been launched in the U.S and so it is the only model among the three expected models whose specifications and photos as well as price are already in the open. Also, the Galaxy Note 8 China Edition has got TENAA certification with model numbers SM-N9500 and SM-N9508. The TENAA listing shows the Note China Edition will come in Black, Blue and Gold colors and the specs will basically similar to that launched in New York. The only difference seems to be that there will be a 4GB RAM version meant for the Chinese market, according to the TENAA listing. There might also be an 8GB RAM version just like it Samsung did for the botched Galaxy Note 7 in China.

As a reminder, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is equipped with a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED display with 2960 x 1440pixels resolution. The device comes with a Snapdragon 835 version as well as an Exynos 8895-powered model with 6GB RAM and 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB storage options.There is also a 3,300mAh battery on board. The Note 8 also packs a 12MP wide angle + 12MP Telephoto camera Both lenses support OIS optical image stabilization which is the first in the world. In addition, it also supports 2x optical zoom and 10x digital zoom. The device is expected to come with a price of 6,088 Yuan (~$915) in China for the 6GB base variant, perhaps.

(source)

Vivo X20, X20 Plus Alleged Specifications Appear as Official Launch Nears

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Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Sep 4, 2017

Vivo X20 and Vivo X20 Plus are the upcoming smartphones from Vivo. Speculations have it that X20 duo may debut on coming Thursday in India. Fresh information that have emerged from China have revealed the alleged specifications of the Vivo X20 and X20 Plus.

Previous reports have revealed the Vivo X20 and X20 Plus would be coming with a bezel-less smartphone. The real-life images of the smartphone of the alleged Vivo X20 phone that appeared in the previous week also corroborated on the rumors of bezel-less design. Fresh details coming from Chinese media has revealed that the Vivo X20 would be featuring a 5.2-inch display and the larger Vivo X20 Plus would be fitted with a 5.5-inch screen. These displays are expected to deliver an aspect ratio of 18:9.

The Snapdragon 630 is rumored to power the Vivo X20 whereas the Snapdragon 660 may be present under the hood of the X20 Plus. Both the chipsets are speculated to be accompanied by 6 GB of RAM. The Vivo X20 may house 64 GB of inbuilt storage and the X20 Plus may come with 128 GB of native storage. The report suggests that both phones will be coming with a front-facing camera of 24-megapixel.

These handsets are expected to come preloaded with Android 7.1 Nougat OS. A leaked render of the Vivo X20 shows the front and backside of the phone. The fingerprint scanner is not visible on either side of the phone which indicates that it may feature an in-screen fingerprint reader. A 3,500mAh battery is speculated to power both phones. These phones are expected to arrive with full metallic chassis.

Some markets are expected to receive these smartphones as Vivo X20 and Vivo X20 Plus. Some markets like India are speculated to receive them as Vivo V7 and Vivo V7+. In the previous month, the Chinese firm had confirmed that it would be holding a launch event in India on Sept. 7 to unveil the selfie focused Vivo V7+. The image shown in the press invite suggests that Vivo V7+ would be arriving with bezel-less design just like the render of the Vivo X20 render shown above.

There is no information available on the launch date of the Vivo X20 and X20 Plus and their pricing. More information are expected to surface soon in this week through the unveiling of Vivo V7+.

(source)

LG V30 Pre-Release Units Reportedly Shooting Photos with f/1.7 Aperture, Instead of Advertised F/1.6

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Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Sep 4, 2017

Before the launch of the LG V30, the phablet was officially confirmed to arrive with a f/1.6 aperture lens as the primary sensor for its dual rear camera system. The photos snapped with the main sensor of the dual cameras of the pre-production units of the LG V30 has revealed that it is a f/1.7 aperture lens instead of a f/1.6 aperture

LG says that the dual camera module of the LG V30 features a 16-megapixel f/1.6 aperture lens that can shoot amazing shots in low light conditions and it includes a 13-megapixel f/1.9 aperture lens. However, the photos taken through the LG V30 does not support the company claims of f/1.6 aperture lens.

When a snap taken by using the primary sensor of the LG V30 was seen in LG’s galley app or Google Photos, it revealed an aperture of f/1.7. Through the desktop edition of the Google Photos it has been found that the LG V30’s primary sensor has f/1.69 aperture. Even the secondary sensor is found to be f/2.0 on the phone and f/1.99 on the desktop.

The incorrect stats could be because of a glitch with the software. Hence, there is a possibility that the camera app of the phone has not been updated to reflect the latest camera hardware. This should not be a major problem for most users as the photos taken by the LG V30 have been appreciated by various reviewers. Also, the issue has been found on the pre-production unit of the LG V30. The South Korean company has already said that there is an issue with a camera app it may shut down automatically.

Since the source site has already reached out to LG for official confirmation on the issue, the company is likely to reveal an official statement on it the coming days.

Another publication has revealed that the LG V30 is an amazing smartphone for shooting topnotch videos. The Cine Video mode allows users to enhance the videos with Hollywood-like effects with available presets. The “Point Zoom” feature allows users to pick any spot on the video’s frame and focus on it. The on-screen slider can be used then to get close to the focused point.

LG did not reveal any information on the pricing of the LG V30 at its unveil event. Fresh information suggests that it would be coming hitting the U.S. markets with a pricing of $749.

(source)

Samsung Galaxy S7 Reportedly Explodes Leading to Severe Blisters

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Sep 4, 2017

Last year, the Galaxy Note 7 had to be discontinued within few months of its official in launch in August. Today, a report from South Korea has revealed that a Galaxy S7 exploded when it kept for charging.

Samsung had launched the Galaxy S7 in the first half of 2016 and it was provided in exchange for the recalled units of the Galaxy Note 7. On Aug. 14, a 20-year-old Galaxy S7 user had left it for charging and at around 3 AM it exploded. The sparks resulting from the fire not only damaged the flooring and furniture of her bedroom, but also resulted in severe burns on her hands.

The user claimed that she has been using the official charger from Samsung to charge her Galaxy S7. She said that she had been using the smartphone since July 2016 and she did not face any problems since with it before. After her Galaxy S7 exploded, she gave the phone to the service center which returned it to her in two days. For further investigation, she gave the handset to the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS).

An official from KATS said it would take some time to complete the investigation as the previous probe on the Note 7 lasted for around six months. A representative from Samsung Electronics said that none of the Galaxy S7 devices that have been sold so far had met such a consequence. He added that are waiting for the examination reports from KATS.

The Galaxy Note 7 that came with a slim chassis boasted a large battery of 3,500mAh. The batteries were sourced from Samsung SDI and Amperex Technology Limited for the Galaxy Note 7. The overheating was caused by the batteries from both suppliers. Batteries from Samsung SDI short circuited because of insufficient space between protective pouch around the battery and the internals. Some of the batteries from Amperex Technology did not have insulation tape and others had sharp protrusions that damaged the separator between cathode and anode.

Samsung is quite confident that the recently launched Galaxy Note 8 will not explode as it features a smaller battery. Moreover, the Snapdragon 835 chipset is quite power efficient which will make the Note 8 to last longer even though it features a smaller battery. However, a battery life comparison between Note 7 and Note 8 has revealed that the former will deliver better battery performance.

(source)

Xiaomi Mi 7 Rumors: Arriving in Q1 2018 with 6-inch OLED Screen, Snapdragon 845

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Sep 4, 2017

Xiaomi Mi 6 flagship smartphone was released in April this year. It has not even been six months since its debut and the rumor mill has started talking on some of the key specs and launch period of the Xiaomi Mi 7.

An industry insider has revealed on Weibo that the Snapdragon 845 chipset would be powering the Mi 7 flagship phone. And it will be featuring a 6-inch OLED display from Samsung. As far as Xiaomi Mi 7 release date is concerned, it may get unveiled in the first quarter of the coming year. Like the Mi 6, the Xiaomi Mi 5 had gone on sale in April 2015. However, the Mi 7 may arrive between January and March 2018. Some of the other 2018 flagships like Samsung Galaxy S9 and LG G7 are also rumored to debut earlier in 2018.

Other things that have been revealed is that the Xiaomi Mi 7 may arrive in 6 GB and 8 GB RAM editions. Just like the dual camera system on the Mi 6 that includes a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens, the Xiaomi Mi 7 is also rumored to come with the same set kind of arrangement for its dual rear cameras. The Chinese firm is expected to continue with glass and ceramic body design for the Mi 7.

As mentioned above the Mi 7 may come with a huge display. Going by the current trend, it may feature a full-screen display which means that there won’t be enough space for a frontal home button that is embedded with a fingerprint reader. It may feature an in-screen fingerprint sensor. However, since it is expected to launch earlier in 2018, it may not feature an in-screen fingerprint reader.

The Xiaomi Mi 6 and Mi 5 have 5-inch displays and the older Xiaomi Mi 4 and Mi 3 smartphones have 5-inch screens. Hence, Xiaomi fans feel that the next-generation Mi series may not feature a huge display of 6 inches. However, its possibility cannot be ruled out as the 6-inch display totting Mi 7 may come with a similar form factor like its predecessor as it is expected to feature a full screen display

Readers are advised to digest this report with a pinch of salt. More information on the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 7 is expected to surface in the coming months.

(source)

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Box Package Appears Before Next Week’s Unveil

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Sep 4, 2017

Xiaomi has officially confirmed that it will be holding an unveiled event for the highly anticipated Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 on Sept. 11. Its leaked specs have also appeared in the past week. Today, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun has officially shared an image that shows a box packages of the Mi MIX 2.

As it can be seen in the above, the two box packages of the Mi MIX 2 do not appear same. The box on the left side carries “MIX” branding. And the one on the right shows another box with some Chinese text that says that the company continues to explore and invest. It also says that even if they have to put one percent effort, they are willing to give their one hundred percent. It also features a signature of Lei Jun.

There is a possibility that the box on the left could be the frontside of the Mi MIX 2’s packed and the on right could be its rear. The original Mi MIX was a concept phone, but recent reports have revealed that the Mi MIX 2 may not be a concept phone. Also, instead of ceramic casing, the Mi MIX 2 is expected to feature a metallic body. This will allow the Chinese firm to manufacture the Mi MIX 2 without facing production issues.

A recent report had revealed that the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones that are pegged to debut in October could be the first smartphones to be arriving with Snapdragon 836 chipset. However, just few days before its official unveil, its specifications have appeared in the form of a screenshot of the smartphone. It has revealed that the Snapdragon 836 chipset is present under the hood of the Mi MIX 2. The Snapdragon 836 could be a slightly enhanced edition of the Snapdragon 835 SoC.

The screengrab also reveals that the Mi MIX 2 has a 6.2-inch display that produces a resolution of 2,960 x 1,440 pixels. It is running on the latest Android 8.0 Oreo that is flavored with MIUI 9. It may feature a dual camera system on its rear and one of its sensors could be 20-megapixel.

It is also expected to feature a 3D sensing camera for facial recognition. The base model of the Mi MIX 2 could feature 6 GB of RAM + 128 GB of storage and it could be priced at 3,999 Yuan (~$610). The advanced may feature 8 GB of RAM + 256 GB of storage and its pricing could be 4,999 Yuan (~$763).

(source)

UMIDIGI S2 and UMIDIGI S2 Pro Appear in Offical Video

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 3, 2017

The UMIDIGI S2 and the UMIDIGI S2 Pro are two flagship smartphones with full-screen displays set to launch soon. UMIDIGI has released a video of the phones, giving us a glimpse of what to expect when they finally go on sale.

The UMIDIGI S2 and S2 Pro will be available in three colors – red, black and a special edition mercury silver. In the video we get to see only the red and black variants. Due to the 18:9 display, both phones are slightly longer than usual.

UMIDIGI has settled for a vertical arrangement for the dual Sony IMX258 13MP rear cameras. And with the fingerprint scanner positioned beneath the camera setup, users will be able to easily reach it.

The phone has a metallic back and a 2.5D glass covers the 5.99-inch display in front. It features the U-design for the antenna lines which are black on both color variants but easily visible on the red variant.

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Xiaomi Mi A1 Appears on Geekbench Sporting Snapdragon 625

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 3, 2017

The Xiaomi Mi A1 is one of three Xiaomi devices that has been in the news a lot lately. The other two are the Mi MIX 2 which is scheduled to launch on September 11 and the Mi Note 3 which doesn’t have a launch date yet.

The Mi A1 is said to be the Android One smartphone Xiaomi and Google are working on. It isn’t confirmed yet but the “A1” name seems to have been gotten from Android One (1). According to a recent leak the Mi A1 is said to be the Mi 5X but running pure Android, and the Mi A1’s Geekbench listing seems to confirm it.

The Mi A1 is listed as running Android 7.1.2. It is powered by the MSM 8953 A.K.A Snapdragon 625, an octa-core processor clocked at 2.0GHz. It also has 4GB of RAM.

The benchmark result reveals a score of 852 points for the single-core test and 3837 points for the multi-core test. These scores are not too different from what we have seen from some Mi 5X results on the benchmarking platform.

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First Windows 10 ARM PC With Snapdragon 835 Coming Soon – Qualcomm

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 3, 2017

It has been months since Microsoft and Qualcomm announced that they would launch a Windows PC powered by ARM chips. While both tech companies didn’t announce the PC at this year’s IFA, Qualcomm confirmed that the first Windows 10 ARM PC would come with a Snapdragon 835 SoC.

The PC is said to be scheduled for a Q4 launch. Although it would have made more sense to release the PC now that students are shopping for their return to school. Let’s hope they release it in time for the holidays. Apart from those two pieces of info, nothing else was revealed.

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Honor Launches Robin Egg Blue Honor 9 Variant For Europe At IFA 2017

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Sep 3, 2017

Huawei’s Honor brand took the center stage at IFA 2017 to unveil the Robin Egg Blue Limited Edition of the Honor 9 for the European market. The Honor 9 Robin Egg Blue variant was first unveiled in China about three weeks back and it is interesting to note that this isn’t going to be a China exclusive variant.

The new Honor 9 color variant comes with the same design and specifications with the other color variants and it joins other color options like Glacier Gray, Sapphire Blue, Gold and Midnight Black which fans can choose from. The Robin Egg Blue variant comes with a bright blue color on its back, while it is all white at the front. As you can recall, the Honor 9 features a metal body wrapped with glass and packs a dual camera setup on the back. There is also a fingerprint sensor embedded in the home button while it uses a curved body.

The Robin Egg Blue Honor 9 is a limited edition and the device is already on presale in China since August 16. The new edition will hit the UK in mid-September and will sell for £459.99 in the UK. This price will likely be applicable across Europe but Honor did not disclose when it will ship to other European countries.

Payment Via Facial Recognition Now being Used In A KFC Outlet in China

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Sep 3, 2017

Reports from China indicate that a KFC outlet in the city of Hangzhou now offers diners the option to pay for their meal with just a smile. Customers will be able to use a “Smile to Pay” facial recognition system at the tech-heavy, health-focused concept store, part of a drive by Yum China to lure a younger generation of consumers.

Yum China, which broke off from its US parent Yum Brands last year, remains the largest fast food chain in China with over 7685 outlets. The new outlet in Hangzhou, called KPRO, is targeting a younger generation of Chinese who are expected to drive the lion’s share of China’s consumption growth over the next decade. The franchise is trying to rev up growth in the world’s second largest economy, where food safety scares and changing consumer tastes have dented sales since 2012.

The new facial recognition technology at KFC Hangzhou outlet is the result of a collaboration with Ant Financial, which developed the facial recognition software. Alibaba affiliate Ant said this is the first commercial application of the technology worldwide. Diners can pay by scanning their faces at an ordering kiosk and entering a phone number which is meant to guard against people cheating the system. The system is based on Ant Financial’s digital payment platform Alipay, which has more than half a billion users worldwide and already allows people to sign into its Chinese app using their face. According to Ant, the KFC restaurant is the first physical store in the world to use facial recognition software to make payments. In addition, the technology is touted as being secure in that the software analyzes more than 600 facial features to make a match, and uses a 3D camera and a “liveness” algorithm to make sure people aren’t trying to fool it with photos or videos of someone else.

(source)

The Samsung J7+ is Samsung’s Second Dual Camera Smartphone

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 3, 2017

Barely two weeks after Samsung announced its first dual camera smartphone, the Galaxy Note 8, it has released a second one. The Samsung J7+ unveiled in Thailand is the new dual camera smartphone from the Korean giant.

The Samsung J7+ is a mid-range device like its siblings, the Galaxy J7 (2017) and the Galaxy J7 Pro. It has a 5.5-inch FHD Super AMOLED display, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. There is a microSD card slot for expansion (256GB max.). However, it swaps the Exynos 7870 for a Helio P20 clocked at 2.4GHz.

The rear cameras are the highlight of the device. There is a f/1.7 13MP main sensor paired with a (f/1.9) 5MP rear camera. The latter captures depth of field information, thereby providing you with the option to adjust the blur level after the image has been taken. The front facing camera is a 16MP f/1.9 sensor with its own LED flash.

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Limited Edition Redmi Note 4 Lake Blue Announced, Proceeds Go Into Cleaning Indian Lakes

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 2, 2017

Xiaomi has released a new color variant of the Redmi Note 4 in India. The new color called Lake Blue looks very similar to the blue Redmi Note 4X released about three months ago. However this is a limited edition that has a purpose.

As part of its CSR, Xiaomi has started a campaign called “Wake the Lake” to clean up the lakes in the Indian city of Bengaluru (Bengalore), Karnataka. To involve its fans in the clean up, it released a limited edition phone whose proceeds will go into cleaning the lakes. So if you purchase a unit, you are helping to clean up the environment.

Xiaomi has chosen the city of Bengaluru as that is where it first set up camp in India. The first lake to be cleaned is the Kempambudhi Kere Lake. The funds will also be used to plant trees, construct sitting benches, install solar lights, as well as an outdoor fitness center with a play area for kids too.

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Huawei Unveils The Kirin 970, The World’s First Processor With A Dedicated NPU

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 2, 2017

The Kirin 970 is official and Huawei has set a record with the new flagship chip. The 10nm chip is the first mobile computing unit with a built-in AI computing Neural Processing Unit NPU.

Before we dive into the configuration of the Kirin 970, lets talk about its AI NPU. Instead of letting the CPU carry out AI computing tasks, the NPU is assigned the tasks and it does it better and faster. According to the figures provided, the Kirin 970’s NPU delivers performance that is 25 times more than the CPU’s, and efficiency that is 50 times greater. That means lesser time and power required for AI tasks.

The TSMC-built Kirin 970 is an 8-core CPU with a clockspeed of uP to 2.4GHz i.e. 4 x Cortex A73 at 2.4GHz + 4 x Cortex 53 at 1.8GHz. It has a 12-core Mali G72MP12 GPU, making it the first commercially available chip to use ARM’s latest GPU. The GPU provides a 20% performance increase over the previous generation as well as a 50% increase in efficiency. Its Kirin NPU can perform 1.92 Teraflops when using 16-bit floating point numbers.

Huawei CEO RIchard Yu Announcing The Kirin 970

The Kirin 970 has 4.5G Cat.18 LTE and offers gigabit LTE speeds of 1.2Gbps. It also features an advanced dual ISP with face and motion detection, 4-hybrid focus, low-light and motion shooting. Since the Kirin 970 will be appearing in the Huawei Mate 10 series first, expect them to have an impressive camera performance.

The chip also has HDR10 support and 4K video encode and decode. It supports LPPDR 4X RAM (1883MHz) and UFS 2.1 storage. It also features an i7 sensor processor, iNSE and TEE security engines and support for HiFi audio.

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Once Upon A Time, There Was A Surface Mini, But It Was Canceled

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 2, 2017

Back in 2014, Microsoft was supposed to release two tablets – the Surface Pro 3 and the Surface Mini. Unfortunately, only the former made it to the market. The Surface Mini was scrapped. Earlier this year, images and specification details were leaked online by Windows Central. Today Evan Blass has provided more images and details of the tablet.

The Surface Mini unlike the Surface Pro 3 was supposed to launch with Microsoft’s made for ARM OS, Windows RT 8.1. It would have a 7.5-inch display with a 1440 x 1080 resolution and a 4:3 aspect ratio.

The device would be available in two variants – a 1GB RAM + 32GB model and a 2GB RAM + 64GB model. Both would be powered by the Snapdragon 800 and have storage expansion slots.

There would be a 5MP camera on the rear and a 2.1MP up front for video calls. Both sensors will be capable of recording 1080p. There would be two microphones and a pair of stereo speakers with Dolby sound.

The Surface Mini would have WiFi a/bg/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and a micro USB port with OTG support. It would also have a 3.5mm audio jack. Sadly, the battery capacity isn’t stated.

The Surface Mini was targeted as a productivity device, so it was going to have a Surface Pen. It is even said to be the exact same one as that of the Surface Pro 3.

Design wise the Surface Mini would not be acceptable by today’s standards. The image above shows it would have launched with thick bezels. Apart from that, everything else seems to be alright. Look t the image and it appears as if it is wearing a case. It is not. That is the body of the Surface Mini and it is described as soft and felt-like.

It has a kickstand that can be adjusted to three different positions – laptop mode but without a surface cover keyboard, a writing mode similar to the studio mode on the Surface Pro and another position in between the above mentioned ones.

Power button and volume rocker is on the right in portrait mode, and the micro USB port and audio jack sit at the bottom at the corners.

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Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana Become Buddies United Against Google Assistant

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 2, 2017

Amazon’s Alexa is a pretty big deal. It is one of the most popular smart assistants and is available on a variety of devices and even cars too. Microsoft’s Cortana on the the other hand is available on Windows 10 computers, phones, as well as the Xbox One. However, both giants have announced a partnership that will see the two assistants become buddies.

Cortana works mainly as a reminder while Alexa does so much more. It can answer questions, place orders on Amazon, and can also control smart devices like your lights. With the announcement it means you should be able to order that new Xbox controller on Amazon by calling up Cortana to open up Alexa or asking your Echo device to call up Cortana to check your work calendar. It is strange but I guess they have to make it work somehow.

Google on the other hand has added the ability to be able to shop on Walmart using the Google Assistant. So you can call the Amazon and Microsoft partnership a sort of take on Google and Walmart’s alliance.

Do you use Cortana? Are you excited about it coming to Echo devices or about Alexa coming to Windows 10 devices? Let us know what you think in the comment box.

(Source)