It’s been two days since the release of the OnePlus 5 and many fans and reviewers have already been able to test out OnePlus 5’s flashy new camera features. There is, however, been a feature that OnePlus has not been transparent about; this being the ‘optical zoom’ feature.
The OnePlus 5’s dual camera setup houses a 16-megapixel IMX398 regular sensor with f/1.7 lens and a 20-megapixel IMX350 sensor with f/2.6 telephoto lens. The latter provides the further zoom that the 16-megapixel sensor cannot handle. This method operates the same as many other devices, such as Oppo’s R11 and Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus.
Optical zoom theoretically provides consistent quality; however, the claim OnePlus had published on their website and announcement about OnePlus 5’s 2.0x “lossless” zoom isn’t purely optical.
According to the co-founder Carl Pei, the telephoto lens zooms to a maximum at 1.6x zoom, then the OnePlus 5 switches to software-powered ‘SmartCapture Multiframe Technology’, known as ‘digital zoom’, providing the remaining 0.4x zoom.
Optical zoom is at 1.6x, the remaining 0.4x is realized through SmartCapture multiframe technology.
Carl Pei, Co-Founder of OnePlus, officially tweeted that they have advertised the OnePlus 5 provides 2x lossless zoom, and not optical. This is an attempt to clear uncertainty for consumers and fans who have hit confusion about OnePlus’ marketing.
Uncertainty and initial disappointment haven’t been limited to the camera either, as more users have discovered the OnePlus 5 has its predecessor’s display leading to more concern on what other unclear components we do not know currently.
What are your thoughts on OnePlus 5’s Lossless Zoom Feature?
One big surprise of 2016 has been OPPO. The brand, which was relatively unknown to the world, has managed to get into the big players club, a feat for which, many companies have struggled for years. The strategy adopted by the company has been pretty straightforward, create a standard quality smartphone with upper mid-range specs, market it like crazy to the common masses –especially the young generation — by roping in popular celebrities to promote the product and create a super strong offline channel which will drive sales. This has worked wonders for the brand, with its OPPO R9 model, released early last year, becoming the best-selling smartphone of the year.
OPPO R11
The company has continued a similar strategy for its successor, which brings us to the OPPO R11. The phone has some big shoes to fill and it is an extremely important phone for the brand as this model will decide whether OPPO continues its mind-boggling growth in 2017 as well.
Recently, we got to play around with the OPPO R11 and we can confirm that the basic strategy of the company remains the same. The phone looks and feels solid, the UI is fluid and the camera is pretty good. This is just our first impressions and we are going to test it in detail very soon.
OPPO has never been the smartphone company that shies away from copying a good design, and it’s all the more evident with the OPPO R11. Apple came up with a good design for the iPhone 7 Plus and OPPO thought it was about time Android lovers got a taste of this. The R11 replicates the exact dual camera arrangement as the iPhone 7 Plus, making it look so much like the Apple flagship.
Antenna band design
Even the antenna bands are similarly placed near the edges. To be fair, calling this as a direct copy from Apple would be wrong. Many smartphones have adopted this less intrusive antenna band design (placed near to the edges) and the R11, in fact, differentiates itself with a two line antenna design, instead of a single thick one.
But overall, the phone does have an iPhone-esque feel.
OPPO R11 Dual Cameras
The front of the phone is simple, with a large sensor on top and a physical home button at the bottom of the display. The bezels on the sides are also sufficiently thin. The fingerprint is fast and responsive and so is the touch screen.
Coming to the back, you have an iPhone-like dual camera placement, along with dual tone flash. The back has a smooth finish.
OPPO R11 top
All the important ports, including the 3.5mm headphone jack, are located at the bottom of the phone. Note that the phone comes with a hybrid dual SIM slot, so you can use a MicroSD card slot at the expense of a nano SIM.
OPPO R11 bottom ports
So you’ll find a speaker, USB port, and a headphone jack at the bottom. While it’s great to see that the phone didn’t copy Apple in ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack, it’s extremely disappointing to see OPPO continue its tradition of going with the old MicroUSB 2.0 port. I haven’t seen a USB Type-C OPPO phone yet, which leads me to believe that there’s a big reason why OPPO is still sticking with the MicroUSB standard. Maybe it has something to do with the company’s proprietary fast charging tech, VOOC, but we haven’t got an official explanation yet.
For software, the phone is running on Android 7.1.1 with ColorOS 3.1 on top.
oppo r11 camera ui
While we’ll compare the cameras on the R11 with all other flagship models very soon, our initial impression is that the dual camera performs well. It’s fast to focus and the photos come out clear and crisp. But we’ll soon see how good it is as compared to the top players in the Chinese market like the Huawei P10, Nubia Z17 in our upcoming comparison.
Check out the remaining OPPO R11 Hands on images down below and let us know what you think about the phone and its design.
With the launch of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus this year, we should expect to see more smartphones with the same 18:9 aspect ratio. Chinese company BLUBOO has entered the race with its upcoming phone, the BLUBOO S8.
The BLUBOO S8 is touted as the world’s first full-screen flagship phone powered by a MediaTek processor. The few details available says the phone will have a 5.7-inch HD+ screen with a 1440 x 720 resolution. It is said it will be powered by the still elusive Helio X30 processor.
The BLUBOO S8 will have a 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM model and a 6GB RAM + 128GB version. It will have dual Sony cameras on the back with dual LED flash. A leaked image of a working prototype shows it has on-screen buttons but is missing a front-mounted fingerprint scanner. So we expect the scanner is at the back.
There is no mention of a possible price range of the upcoming phone or when we should expect it.
Earlier today, a new ZTE smartphone with model number V0840 showed up on TENAA. A few hours later, the V0840 was announced as the ZTE Small Fresh 5.
The ZTE Small Fresh 5 is a mid-range phone that looks similar to the Blade V8 trio launched this year. It has a 5-inch HD display and is powered by the Snapdragon 425 mobile platform. There is a 3GB RAM variant with 16GB of built-in storage and a 4GB RAM model with 32GB ROM. Both models have a microSD card slot that accepts 128GB cards.
The ZTE Small Fresh 5 has some interesting features. It packs dual rear cameras (13MP + 2MP) spaced 20mm apart that can take bokeh pictures and 3D images. Apart the regular volume rocker and power buttons, the Small Fresh 5 has two extra physical buttons. Sadly ZTE doesn’t say what these two buttons are for. The phone also has a real time translation feature that supports up to 23 languages.
The front facing camera is a 5MP sensor and there is a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner too that can be used for payments. The phone comes with ZTE’s MiFavor UI 4.2 based on Android 7.1 Nougat. There is dual SIM support and under its metal body lies a 2500mAh battery.
The ZTE Small Fresh 5 is priced at ¥999 (~$146) for the 3GB model and ¥1399 (~$205) for the 4GB version. It is also available in Dark Gray and Elegant Gold. ZTE says the new phone will go on sale on July 5.
The OnePlus 5 will officially go on sale on the 27th of June. However you can pre-order from our online shop Giztop.com starting at $499.
OnePlus has released its new flagship in two variants: a 6GB RAM + 64GB model and an 8GB RAM + 128GB model. The former is available in gray for $499 on Giztop and you can grab the 8GB model in black for $599. Shipping is before June 26, which is a day earlier than the official date.
The OnePlus 5 is a 5.5-inch phone with an optic AMOLED display from Samsung. It has dual rear cameras (a 16MP main sensor and a 20MP telephoto lens) and another 16MP camera up front. There is a 3300mAh battery with Dash Charge, a 3.5mm audio jack, NFC and a front-mounted fingerprint scanner.
In need of a cheap smartphone that has the same 18:9 display ratio made popular by the Samsung Galaxy S8 (and S8 Plus)? Then you may want to wait for the Leagoo KIICAA S8.
According to Leagoo, the KIICAA S8 is the first of a series that will be sold online only. Apart from the unique display with its rounded corners, the KIICAA S8 brings a number of impressive specs at a budget price.
The KIICAA S8 will have a 5.72-inch display with rounded corners and a 1440 x 720 resolution. It will also come in two other variants: KIICAA S8 Lite and a KIICAA S8 Premium. The S8 Premium will reportedly have a 5.9-inch display.
It appears all three will be powered by MediaTek’s new MT6763 processor. This is an octa-core chip built using the 16nm process. It is clocked at 2.0GHz and consists of 8 Cortex-A53 cores paired with a Mali G71 MP2 GPU. RAM will start at 4GB and max out at 6GB and it will be paired with 64GB and 128GB of storage respectively.
The OnePlus 5 was unveiled two days ago and is also already on sale in some parts of the world, though global availability isn’t until June 27. But it appears the early availability in select locations in the world isn’t a problem. OnePlus co-founder, Carl Pei announced that the OnePlus 5 is its fastest selling device ever.
🔥🔥🔥The first numbers are in, the OnePlus 5 is our fastest selling device ever!🔥🔥🔥
While he didn’t provide a figure for units sold, he was excited to share pictures of the long queues at pop-up locations around the world. These queues are similar to what you see when a new iPhone is about to go on sale and it is good to see an android phone pull that kind of fan loyalty.
Paris 🔥 London 🔥 Copenhagen 🔥 Berlin 🔥 Helsinki 🔥 Amsterdam 🔥 New York 🔥
The OnePlus 5 brings a ton of new features, biggest being the addition of dual rear cameras. There is also an 8GB RAM version, a Snapdragon 835 processor, DCI-P3 support, Global band support and a number of new additions for OxygenOS.
I have always liked the Bluetooth receivers since I have quite a few speakers that do not support any wireless streaming protocols but all of my music is on my phone. I have used a few Bluetooth transmitters in the past and I just came across the Mixcder TR008 2 in 1 Bluetooth transmitter & receiver that costs about $60. Learn more in the full Mixcder TR008 review.
UNBOXING
The device ships with the 3.5mm cable and audio jack adaptor, TOSLINK optical PDIF audio cable, 3.5mm to RCA adapter, micro USB charging cable and some paperwork.
DESIGN and FEATURES
The device is made of quality plastic and it is very compact.
On the right, we have a transmitter/receiver mode and the function key.
On the back of the unit, we have all the ports and the power button.
The bottom is made of rubber material to prevent the gadget from sliding on the table or other surfaces.
FUNCTIONALITY
I decided to test this gadget with my old-school speaker that does not have Bluetooth built-in. With the Mixcder TR008 unit, you can switch between TX and RX mode. Transmitter mode (TX) allows you to turn a non-Bluetooth TV, PC, CD player or other devices into a Bluetooth transmitter while pairing with Bluetooth devices. The Receiver mode (RX) lets you turn a non-Bluetooth speaker, headphones or other devices into a Bluetooth receiver.
I didn’t have any issues connecting the unit the speaker and then pairing it with my phone (tested with the Samsung Galaxy S8). The sound quality has been great and I didn’t have any connectivity issues thanks to the Bluetooth 4.2.
CONCLUSIONS
The Mixcder TR008 has been working fine so far as I’ve been testing it for a couple of weeks. It would have been nice if it was made of some premium materials like aluminum but that would be the only shortcoming that is worth mentioning. Other than that, the device works as advertised so far and thus, I can recommend it.
Mixcder is not a newcomer to the headphone game as the company has released quite a few different models. The Mixcder MS301 is one of their latest premium headsets that has good sound quality, great looks and more for the price of about $90. Learn more in the full Mixcder MS301 Bluetooth noise isolation headphones review.
UNBOXING
What you are getting in the box is the micro USB charging and the 3.5mm audio cables, and some documentation.
DESIGN
When it comes to the design of the headphones, they look really premium. The headset combines aluminum housing on the outside and soft leather on the inside.
The headphones are very elastic and the speaker part can be easily adjusted.
On the right we have a 3.5mm headset jack, a set of controls, which include volume up/down, skip tracks buttons, play/pause/answer call button as the Mixcder headphones have the embedded mic for hands-free calling. The call quality is good as I could hear everyone clearly and I did not have any complaints from the people I spoke to via the phone.
On the left headphone, we have a micro USB port for charging.
What’s most important – these headphones are very comfortable to wear and I didn’t want to take them off even after a few hours.
SOUND QUALITY
The sound quality is just impressive thanks to the 40mm large-aperture driver with advanced APTX-LL technology, that provides lossless transmission and crystal clear, smooth sound without compression or interruptions via Bluetooth.
The headphones are loud, the sound that is coming out is balanced, has rich tones and depth in it. The level of bass is really good too. Overall, I am very pleased with the sound quality.
As for noise isolation, it is not on par with the premium headsets from Sony or Bose but the headset still does a decent job canceling the outside noise.
CONNECTIVITY and BATTERY LIFE
The headphones work either via the Bluetooth 4.2 or via the 3.5mm headset cable. I did not have any latency issues and in general, I have no complaints about connectivity.
As for the battery, I could get over 18 hours of music playback, which is quite an impressive result.
CONCLUSIONS
Mixcder MS301 are pretty good Bluetooth noise isolation headphones that offer great build quality, they are comfortable to wear, the sound quality is really good, battery life is awesome and in general, we haven’t noticed any issues yet.
An insider revealed on Weibo that next year’s Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus will launch with an Exynos 9810 that will have CDMA network support. He however didn’t mention if there will no longer be Snapdragon variants of the Galaxy S Series anymore.
When Samsung launches a new flagship, it usually comes in two versions: an Exynos powered variant and a Snapdragon variant. One of the major reasons for having a Qualcomm variant is because a large part of the CDMA technology used by cellular networks such as Sprint and Verizon is owned by Qualcomm.
If there will be no more Snapdragon variants of the Galaxy S series, then it means they both have reached an agreement in relation to CDMA patents issue. It may also mean Samsung will be able to sell its chips to third party OEMs.
Earlier this year, Taiwan’s fair Trade Commission accused Qualcomm of abusing the “Standard Essential Patent” by preventing Samsung from selling its chipsets and modems to other smartphone companies. Irrespective of the licensing issue between them, Samsung still made the Snapdragon 835 chip for Qualcomm. However, Qualcomm is moving to TSMC for the production of the Snapdragon 845.
This week’s release of the OnePlus 5 and Oppo’s R11 June 10 release, we can finally compare the OnePlus 5 and its sister Oppo R11 between each other.
Both the phones look very similar to each other and to the iPhone 7 Plus, but there are some key differences that set them apart from each other.
Design
From the image, we can see OnePlus has opted for antenna lines that curve toward the edges of the phones, same principle as the R11. But they are not exactly the same as the R11 has a three line design while OnePlus 5 uses a single band antenna design. Further OP5 differs from the R11 in terms of the notification slider, USB-C and the microphone between the cameras and flash on the OnePlus 5.
Hardware Specifications
In this department, we begin to see where the resemblance beings to depart. The CPUs powering each device differ, the OnePlus 5 housing Snapdragon’s high-end 835 processor compared to the Upper-Mid Tier Snapdragon 660. The RAM is greater in the OnePlus at 6/8GB whilst the R11 houses 4/6GB. OnePlus has also ensured consumers that internal storage will be 64/128GB UFS 2.1 whilst the R11 will come with 64GB with eMMC speeds.
Camera
Both smartphones run with dual-rear firing shooters, to the general consumer both smartphones almost share near-identical camera setups. The OnePlus 5 (16-megapixel IMX398 regular sensor with f/1.7 lens and a 20-megapixel IMX350 sensor with f/2.6 telephoto lens), R11 (16-megapixel IMX398 regular sensor with f/1.7 lens and a 20-megapixel IMX376 sensor with f/2.6 telephoto lens).
The clearest difference is the telephoto lens, it appears that the R11 will be using a more recent variant, however, following OnePlus and DxO’s collaboration, we should be expecting the OnePlus 5’s camera performance to be better.
As for the front-facing selfie shooter, there is more difference, the OnePlus 5 16-megapixel IMX371 with f/2.0 lens and the Oppo R11 20-megapixel with f/2.0 lens.
Features
The OnePlus includes NFC and USB-C (with audio output) not found on the R11. Whilst the R11 offers MicroSD expansion (up to 256GB). In terms of connectivity, both OnePlus 5 models will come with Global band support, whilst the R11 will support a limited amount.
Do the key differences provide a clearer division between OnePlus 5 and Oppo’s R11?
LG is prepping for the launch of its upcoming flagship, the LG V30. A South Korean publication had reported earlier in this month that LG may introduce the LG V30 earlier in 2017. Now, another South Korean publication has claimed that the LG V30 may get announced on August 31. It means LG would be for the first time using the IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) platform to unveil its flagship phone. The IFA 2017 will be held between Sept. 1 to Sept. 6. It means that the LG V30 would be announced on Aug. 31 through pre-IFA event and the phablet will be showcased at the IFA 2017 event.
Also, LG would for the making the LG V30 available on pre-orders, which will be first ever for a V series phone. The pre-orders are expected to last for a week or two through the three popular cellular operators in South Korea. The phone will be available for buying in September. As far as pricing is concerned, the LG V30 with 64 GB storage is expected to sell for 800,000 KRW (~$699). It is expected to come in other storage models like 32 GB and 128 GB.
One aspect in which the LG V30 will differ from its predecessors is that it will be coming with an OLED display. The Snapdragon 821 chipset powered LG G6 is equipped with a LCD panel. The publication indicates that the LG V30 would be equipped with a bezeless design like the LG G6. It is expected to sport a totally different design compared to the LG V20 and V10 smartphones. However, it will continue to sport its unique feature of secondary ticker screen.
The LG V10 and V20 came with removable batteries, but the LG V30 is expected to come with a 3,200mAh capacity non-removable battery. This is an attempt from the company to make the flagship arrive with waterproof and dust resistant features.
The rear panel of the LG V30 is rumored to come with dual rear cameras. A leakster has recently revealed that it will be also equipped dual cameras at the front. Like the other 2017 flagship phones, the LG V30 will be driven by Snapdragon 835. Other rumors hint that it will be coming with 6 GB of RAM. With ESS’ new Quad DAC which would be better than audio qualities delivered by previous V series phones. It is expected to retain the 3.5mm audio jack.
According to a Shenzhen-based analyst, the reason why LG is using the IFA 2017 platform to showcase the LG V30 is that it wants to show the world that it has confidence in its upcoming flagship. The analyst further said that compared to other times, LG has put more efforts to take on its competitors of the LG V30 such as Galaxy Note 8 and iPhone 8.The LG V20 was not released in the Europe. The arrival of LG V30 at the IFA 2017 hints that the flagship phablet would be releasing in the European markets.
Xiaomi has produced all sorts of gadgets over the time and the Wifi amplifier is one of them. I’ve been using it for more than a year and I can assure that it works just great, covering the dead Wifi spots in the house. You can now get it for just $9.99 from lightinthebox.com, which sound like a great deal.
The Wifi Amplifier does wonders for just $10. I’ve always looked for a great yet cheap solution that can extend the Wifi coverage in my parents’ house (I don’t live there, I just help them lol). You see, there are some dead Wifi spots and this little gadget helps a lot.
It’s compatible with all the routers and all you have to do is to power it up, quickly set it up using the Mi Wifi app and you are good to go.
If you have the Xiaomi Wifi router, you just have to plug it in and everything will sync up automatically. The Wifi coverage area is said to increase up 2 times.
I can’t really confirm that but it definitely killed all the dead spots and I can definitely recommend it. You can now get it for just $9.99 from lightinthebox.com, which sound like a great deal.
The original Nokia 3310 is often dubbed as an indestructible phone because of its strong casing and construction. It could function flawlessly even if it was dropped multiple times. There are plenty of videos online that show the Nokia 3310 go through various kinds of damage tests and still working normally. What about the Nokia 3310 (2017)? Is it an indestructible phone like the original Nokia 3310?
A YouTuber has performed scratch, burn and bend tests on Nokia 3310 (2017) to show how durable the phone is. As it can be seen in the video, the guy performing the durability test on Nokia 3310 (2017) claims that he has been using the phone as daily driver for the past few weeks. Hence, the phone already has some scratches on its body even before any durability test is performed on it.
When a blade is used to scratch on the screen of Nokia 3310 (2017), it develops scratches easily. However, it does not get scratched easily with keys. It seems that the phone is fitted with a plastic screen. The plastic body and its buttons also develops scratches easily with a blade. The rear shell, camera lens and flash are all made up of plastic and can get scratched easily by daily items like keys. The Nokia logo can also chip off with daily use.
Since the screen is made up of plastic, it starts melting when flame is applied to it for about 10 seconds. In the bend test, the Nokia 3310 (2017) did not bend when a lot of pressure was applied on its rear by the YouTuber. When the pressure was applied from the front, its back panel popped out a bit but the phone did not bend. Also, there was no damage done to display on bending the phone.
The Nokia 3310 is a dual SIM phone that comes with a 2.4-inch TFT display that offers a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels. It has 16 MB of internal space and 2-megapixel camera with LED flash. It features a Bluetooth 3.0 and 1,200mAh removable battery. It other features include 2G network support and microUSB port. It is available in multiple colors like Red, Blue, Yellow and Grey.
Wang has asked the audience in his one of his recent posts on Weibo that who should be using JDI’s Full Active display. As it can be the seen in the users’ comments for Wang’s post, most of them are expecting to see the new display on a Xiaomi phone. The high resolution screen seems to be a suitable candidate for MI MIX 2. Hence, a Redmi device is unlikely to feature it. As far as, the alleged Redmi Pro 2 is concerned, it is expected to feature a full screen display from Pegasus.
According to an industry insider from Taiwan, Cold Creek Dev on Weibo, the second half of the year will see full screen display enabled smartphones equipped with 3D sensing camera technology that will bring improvement to iris recognition and facial scanning. He adds that the 3D sensing technology is likely to appear first on Huawei Mate flagship that is expected to debut in the second half of the year. The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 is also speculated to feature it. The mass adoption of 3D sensing technology is expected to begin next year.
The above rumors hints that the Mi MIX 2 may possibly feature a JDI screen. Previous rumors have revealed that the Mi MIX 2 will continue to sport a full screen design and offer a higher screen-to-body ratio. It is also expected to feature a glass equipped along with dual rear cameras. It also rumored to deliver better call quality experience.
The full screen display from Japan Display is officially known as Full Active. It is a 6-inch LCD screen that produces a resolution of 1,080 x 2,160 pixels. As it can be seen in the official image provided by JDI, all the four sides of screen is surrounded by very slim bezels. With second-generation Pixel Eyes technology incorporated in JDI’s Full Active screen, it produces deeper blacks and delivers higher contrast. Also, the screen functions seamlessly with wet fingers. The Full Active screen is also expected to be available on the alleged Sony Xperia XZ1 smartphone that is expected to debut at IFA 2017.
Xiaomi’s MIJIA Smart home brand has announced that it will be holding a news conference on June 28 in Beijing. The conference looks like an annual event where the company is expected to unveil its latest Mi branded product. The difference between this launch event and the launch of the MIJIA crowdfunding products seems to be the fact that the product will bear the “Mi” branding and will be a smart home product.
Last year, the company launched the MIJIA brand which encompasses all Mi Ecosystem smart home products. The company later went on to launch the Mi IH Rice cooker under the MIJIA brand. The rice cooker comes in an all white design with a simple, yet appealing design and a stainless interior. The cooker users an interactive LED display panel which displays a variety of information when in use. Also, the new IH rice cooker uses a honeycomb inner cover and a new design for the air circulation and cooling system. One important feature of the IH Rice Cooker is the use of remote control through an app that can be installed on smartphones to control the cooker. Apart from the Rice cooker, there have been several other smart products.
One of the poster teasers released by Xiaomi seems to point in the direction of the product being a light technology. We can’t say what sort of light technology the product is going to be but whatever it is, the Mi Home products usually have Internet of Things (IoT) features and we expect this one not to be different.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X users are now receiving MIUI 8.2.10.0 update. It also includes the security patch for the May month. The Note 4X users should be aware of the fact that only its 3 GB RAM variant is receiving the update.
The MIUI 8.2.10.0 update does not bring any new features to the Redmi Note 4X. It only brings some bug fixes such as issues related to status bar and notification bar in the lock screen. It also fixes some issues related with microSD slot. Xiaomi is yet to begin the roll out of Android 7.0 Nougat flavored MIUI for its devices even though the arrival of Android O is drawing near.
Read More: Redmi Note 4X Gets New Blue Variant, Sports 4GB of RAM, 64GB ROM & SD 625
Currently, users from Greece have confirmed on receiving the update. Redmi Note 4X users in other regions are also speculated to receive the update soon. The update’s notification will automatically show up on the device, but users can also manually check for its availability by to Settings. on Note 4X. There is no information on when the 4 GB RAM model of Redmi Note 4X will be getting the MIUI 8.2.10.0 update. Here is the entire changelog:
Lockscreen, Status Bar and Notification Bar
Newly added Swipe to delete Lockscreen notifications.
Newly added UI adjustments for toggles.
Newly added Battery saver toggle can be added to the Notification shade.
Optimized Lock screen PIN layout.
Optimized changed icons for USB charging and switching keyboards.
Updated floating notifications won’t appear in DND mode.
Fixed notification shade issues during incoming call floating notifications.
Fixed Wi-Fi page made the device freeze when it was opened for the first time.
Fixed issues with opacity after using third party themes.
Fixed the first notification couldn’t be removed by a swipe.
Fixed landscape mode issues with third party themes. Homescreen
New Added Home screen settings added to the Settings.
Fixed Part of UI for deleting apps wasn’t visible on light backgrounds.
Fixed Minor adjustments for animations in the Launcher. Virus Scan
New Added Antivirus scans for the apps installed not from Google Play.
Homescreen
New Added Home screen settings added to the Settings.
Fixed Part of UI for deleting apps wasn’t visible on light backgrounds.
Fixed Minor adjustments for animations in the Launcher.
Virus Scan
New Added Antivirus scans for the apps installed not from Google Play.
According to sources, the phone that you see below is a prototype model taken by an insider.
From the image, we can see the recurring unconventional dual-camera placement with an e-ink display below on the left of the camera. With these leaked photos, the rumors have been made more concrete.
From the source, it appears that Meizu will be opting for a glass-like build instead of a metal-unibody due to a complex manufacturing process. Although the insider has been able to provide photos of the prototype, the source has stated that construction of the Meizu Pro 7 has remained highly confidential.
Furthermore, according to the source, the space where the secondary display sits supposedly has a dummy cover fixed at the rear. Thus, there isn’t a fully functioning prototype at this moment in time.
From the uncensored sticker on the rear, labeled ‘Prototype 8’; suggests that Meizu has several other prototype variants of the Meizu Pro 7 in the works. This can mean these photos may not provide a final model of the smartphone.
In terms of hardware, it would be unlikely for Meizu to switch to a Qualcomm processor anytime soon, but judging from Meizu’s more radical design approach, we cannot assume what isn’t on Meizu design board at this moment in time.
We can expect is Meizu to provide the latest specs that are currently available like the Pro 7’s predecessors and a follow-up Pro 7 Plus later. From the sources, we could be expecting the Meizu Pro 7 to be released as soon as July this year.
What are you views on this leaked prototype of the Pro 7? Would this provide a more compelling reason to purchase this smartphone?
OnePlus has been accused for cheating in benchmarks of OnePlus 5 to produce maximum performance. In other words, every time a popular benchmark app is launched on OnePlus 5, it automatically recognizes it and produces impressive scores. However, Carl Pei, the co-founder of OnePlus as well as the head of global business for the company has responded on the issue on Reddit by saying that the company did not cheat in OnePlus 5 benchmarks.
According to Pei, the OxygenOS driven Android Nougat OS that comes preloaded with OnePlus 5 does increase the performance of the Snapdragon 835 SoC. However, it is similar to the chipset’s performance when OnePlus 5 is running 3D games or apps that consume a lot of resources.
The co-founder claims that by making the handset automatically produce high performance while running a benchmark app the company wanted to ensure that it can switch between multiple tasks smoothly and deliver faster performance. He emphasized that OnePlus 5 does not lower the screen’s resolution or overlocks the SD 835 chip, but the phone is simply delivering best performance when it detects that a benchmark apps is launched.
XDA Developers was the first one to reveal that OnePlus 5 is cheating in benchmarks apps. The publication had claimed that all the OnePlus 5 units that were sent by OnePlus to various publications for reviewing were manipulated to deliver optimal performance on benchmark apps. To address this claim, Pei said all the OnePlus 5 models are running on the same code suggesting that there is no chance of misleading.
Pei adds that running benchmarking apps are “not a useful proxy for real-life performance.” Users want to see the full potential of the phone while running benchmark apps on it without interference from tampering. He further stated that this is what the company wanted the users to see by making the phone deliver optimal performance on benchmarking apps.
The statement released by Carl Pei has not been well-appreciated by Redditors. Some stated that the phone’s temperature increased to 50-degree Celsius while running on GFXBench which makes it too difficult to hold. One of the Redditors stated that if OnePlus 5 will run a game in the same way it performs on a benchmark app, it would be difficult to play games while the device’s temperature is increased to 50-degree Celsius. Some others claimed that the deliberate attempt of OnePlus to make the OnePlus 5 produce optimal performance can be called as cheating as other OEMs are not resorting to such tactics.
What do you think about the OnePlus 5 benchmarks controversy? Has OnePlus cheated? Do let us know by sharing your views through comments.
Last year Xiaomi released the Mi Max and while it was definitely a niche product, it became very popular since the phone offered a lot of value for the price. This year, Xiaomi released the upgraded Mi Max 2 that has a humongous 6.44” display, metal body and a lot more. Learn more in our full Xiaomi Mi Max 2 review.
The phone ships with all the usual stuff, no extras included.
DESIGN and DISPLAY
Last year Xiaomi released the Mi Max and while it was definitely a niche product due to its large display, it became very popular since the phone offered a lot of value for the price.
Same as last year, the Mi Max 2 is definitely not for everyone since it is ridiculously huge due to it’s 6.44” 1080p display, which is really sharp and vibrant, and the sunlight legibility is decent. Some sources claim that the display is covered with the Gorilla Glass 4. I’m not 100% sure about that but I’m yet to scratch it.
The build quality is excellent as the phone is made entirely of metal, the antennas’ design looks better than on some older Xiaomi phones, the buttons do not rattle and in general, the Mi Max 2 looks and feels like a flagship phone.
We have a notification LED light, which is, however, not customizable like before.
The capacitive keys sport the same layout as usual and they are nicely backlit.
The fingerprint scanner is one of the best in class. It is fast, accurate and it allows you to unlock the phone straight from the standby mode.
HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE
The Mi Max 2 may look like a downgrade from the original Mi Max in terms of the processing power since it uses a slightly less powerful Snapdragon 625 chip, which is coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. You can also opt in for a 128GB model if you need a lot of local storage.
I have to tell you that you don’t need to worry about phone’s gaming performance. The Mi Max 2 handles each game I played on the highest graphics setting very well, with just a few skipped frames. Also, I didn’t notice any overheating issues even after 30 mins of gaming.
BENCHMARKS
USER INTERFACE
My Xiaomi Mi Max 2 runs on the MIUI Global ROM 8.5 that is based on Android 7.1. As usual, we have quite a few features, tweaks and customization options Xiaomi phones have been famous for.
Just to name a few, I like changing the transition effects, choosing from a variety of themes or wallpapers, quickly launching the camera from the standby mode, adjusting a few display settings manually or using a built-in app lock feature.
Most importantly, the Mi Max 2 is really fast and fluid no matter what I do with it even after installing quite a few apps.
MULTIMEDIA and ENTERTAINMENT
Since the Mi Max 2 has a huge display, a lot of people will most likely use it for multimedia consumption or entertainment. Therefore, you need a good loudspeaker and the Mi Max 2 delivers in this department with its stereo speakers setup. One is on the bottom and another is embedded in the earpiece. The sound quality is one of the best you can find on any sub-$300 phone. The sound is rich, crisp and clear and the volume output is very good.
The sound quality via the headset jack is also great. No distortions and balanced sound.
CAMERAS
When it comes to optics, the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 has a 12MP camera that has f/2.0 aperture lens and dual tone dual-LED flash. The selfie camera uses a 5MP sensor. The stock Xiaomi camera app allows you to take pictures very fast. Also, there are a few shooting modes like a manual mode that lets you adjust a few image settings.
The daylight image quality is pretty good considering this is a $300 phone. The pictures are sharp, there is a good amount of detail and colors look nice. However, some of the shots may come out underexposed.
The low-light camera performance is not so great as images are really noisy and grainy.
The 4k video looks quite good. The footage is detailed and quite sharp. However, you may see some auto-focus issues, some video artifacts, and the auto-exposure can work more gracefully. Also, the video stabilization could be better. The 1080p video looks quite good too but naturally, there is less detail compared to the 4k footage. The slow-motion video is decent but there is quite a bit of noise and the auto-focus seems to be jumping too quickly.
The selfies look quite good and there should definitely be enough quality for social media needs.
The 1080p selfie video quality is decent. The sound recording quality is quite good but the sound volume is quite low for some reason.
When it comes to connectivity, the Mi Max 2 almost excellent. Wifi speed and range are great and the Bluetooth 4.2 works fine. Also, the navigation is very accurate thanks to the built-in GPS, Beidou and Glonass receivers. There is also a built-in FM radio. However, you have to know that the phone lacks the LTE band 20, and there is no NFC.
The Mi Max 2 has a hybrid dual-SIM card tray that can take either 2 SIMs or 1 SIM and the microSD card. The call quality and signal reception are great using either SIM card slot.
As for sensors, the Mi Max 2 has an accelerometer, ambient light, gravity, proximity and gyroscope sensors that work just fine. There is also an IR blaster that allows you to control devices like TVs.
BATTERY LIFE
The 5200mAh battery on the Mi Max 2 is just fantastic.
Snapdragon 625 is one of the most efficient chips out there and thus, you can use the phone for days. That translates to over 11 hours of screen-on time, depending on how you use the phone. In other words, you can use this phone for 4 or even 5 days, which is just an amazing result.
In case you need to recharge the battery, it takes just about 2.5 hours to do it with the supplied fast charger.
CONCLUSIONS
The Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is one of the best oversized budget phablets you can buy.
For the price of less than $300, you will get an all-metal device that just looks premium, a humungous 6.44” display, great all around performance, MIUI 8 with a ton of features, stereo speakers setup, and a killer battery life.
The camera performs quite good in daylight but it struggles in lower-lit situations and in the video mode. Also, the phone lacks NFC, LTE Band 20 and finally, this phone is definitely not for everyone due to its sheer size.
At the end of the day, the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is still a fantastic option if you are looking for a super-sized phablet but as always, make sure to consider a few shortcomings before making a purchase.
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