OPPO is the second on the list of smartphone manufacturers in China. That is no small feat and must have required a lot of hard work to get there. OPPO’s new flagship, the R11 went on sale yesterday and in less than an hour, it surpassed the sales of the R9, with still enough units in stock. So how does OPPO do it while other manufacturers (insert Xiaomi) have supply issues?
Industry analyst, Mocha RQ takes to Weibo to give an insight as to what the company is doing right. His explanation is that OPPO has a very good relationship with its suppliers. It pays them on time; orders a single large batch and not in small quantities; and the supplier doesn’t have to worry about issues like patents infringements. He also says outside its business activities with its suppliers, OPPO organizes informal events such as dinners with them.
With the iPhone 8 rumor mill turning and fingers pointing to a suggested September release, more leaks have surfaced of what appears to be iPhone 8 ‘clones’.
A microblogger called @DigitalChatStation have revealed a video showing someone holding what appears to be an iPhone clone. From the what we can see, this device has the obvious Apple Logo on the back of the device. What’s interesting is how the device has, what we can guess is, an iPhone 7 camera set-up rotated 90 degrees clockwise.
The home-button has been repositioned at the back of the device, leading to what we can see at the front of the phone is a button-less ‘iPhone’, the screen-to-body ratio seems to be extremely large, hovering around 80-90%, with a slim top and bottom bezels.
What also stands out is the curved sides of the screen, making the iPhone seemingly conceding to the trend for curved screens that have been pioneered by Samsung.
A couple of months ago, another concept, showing a more Samsung S8’esque’ design also removed the physical home button from the front, however it didn’t indicate whether the ‘iPhone’ had a physical home button on the back, or if the smartphone had an optical fingerprint sensor underneath the location of the virtual home button. A more detailed article can be found here.
We can also see that the screen resembles an uncanny feel mirroring a Samsung S8; notably the curved sides and the rounded corners of the screen.
Rounding it up; questionable leaks have been seen, to what resembles an iPhone 8 clone but also clear inspiration from Samsung S7 and S8’s display. Personally, this leak should be rather doubtful to believe. However, it doesn’t hurt to imagine what a cross-design between two popular devices can create.
What are your thoughts on this ‘iPhone 8’? Do you think the official iPhone 8 would resemble anything close to this?
A Full-screen forum was held in the Shenzhen district of China’s Guangdong province on Thursday with the deliberations bothering squarely on full display technology, innovations, concepts and other new things that could change the way we use smartphones. The forum had in attendance individuals from all walk of life.
The Full-screen forum is a clear demonstration of the growing admiration for bezel-less displays in China. The Xiaomi Mi Mix was the first to break the barrier and launch a full-screen phone with up to 93% screen-to-body ratio. Thereafter South Korean giant Samsung caught the bug and released the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus with a bezel-less Infinity display having 84% screen-to-body ratio. Samsung seems to have leveraged on the wide receivership the Mi Mix but the Galaxy S8 is looking way more superior and successful than the Mi Mix.
The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are already demolishing previous sales records set by the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. That is perhaps why Lee Hyun Hong ShaneLee, Director of Samsung China Design Institute thinks Samsung shocked the entire Chinese smartphone manufacturers with the release of its latest flagship. In actual sense, the frenzy was already catching on before Samsung launched the Galaxy flagships. Xiaomi, not Samsung kickstarted the whole thing with the LG G6 coming out with a similar design even before Samsung’s flagships. But then, Samsung’s position as a global market leader is the best form of promotion the new smartphone design could get. The success of the Mi Mix and the monumental feats achieved by the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus so far will only make more manufacturers want to key into the design style.
Already, several Chinese manufacturers have different models in the works like the Doogee Mix, Maze Alpha, Bluboo S1,IDWell D10, Leagoo T-Mix, all with various degrees of full displays. There are indicators such as the huge turn out experienced during the Full-screen forum which points to the likelihood of next year being flooded with full-screen models. Before then, expect more models this year, like the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2. Huawei and Vivo are also expected to launch full-screen models this year.
Xiaomi is known for producing all sorts of gadgets but they also make a lot of home or lifestyle products. We just came across a high-quality travel suitcase that costs about $70 and it looks great. Learn more in the full Xiaomi 90 Minutes Spinner Wheel Luggage Suitcase review.
The suitcase is made of high-quality PC material that is very strong yet lightweight and scratch-resistant. Therefore, the suitcase is really light, which is important for air travel.
I found the aluminum alloy drawbars to be sturdy and the slide easily. There are 4 segments to adjust the height.
The wheels are one of my favorite parts of this suitcase. They are very smooth and thus, it is very easy to push the suitcase in any direction you want.
I have a 20” suitcase that can fit up to 36l of stuff. There is also a larger 24” model that has the capacity of 64l. The suitcase does not have many fancy compartments or anything but it has a multi-layer design, so you can store everything neatly.
Also, I found the zippers to be working fine and they don’t seem to brake anytime soon. You can simply close the suitcase using the zippers or use the code to lock it up.
All in all, the Xiaomi suitcase is a high-quality product. I can’t assert that this is the one and only good suitcase on the market but for the price of about $70, you are getting a well-made product that uses high-quality materials in the construction, the craftsmanship is outstanding and so far it looks like new after a couple of trips I used it for.
The Huawei’s Honor 9 has arrived fully-spec’d to rival Xiaomi’s Mi 6 in the affordable high-end flagship battle. For all smartphone enthusiasts or consumers who would like a good price for a high-end device, picking the right device is a tricky decision. So, it makes sense to compare the two flagships from China, the Huawei Honor 9 vs Xiaomi Mi 6.
In this article, we will be comparing each phones’ primary features and help determine which option is best for you.
Display & Design
In terms of design, both smartphones share very similar characteristics, front and back glass-covered bodies with a metal rim on the sides. Dimensionally, the Xiaomi Mi 6 sizes at 145.17 x 70.49 x 7.45 mm whilst the Honor 9 at 147.3 x 70.9 x 7.5 mm; both devices operate as very slim slates, with the Honor 9 only thicker by a meager 0.05mm in depth, 2.13mm by height and 0.41mm by width. For long period use both phones come in light packages, Mi 6 at 168g and Honor 9 at a superlight 155g. Note: The Mi 6 also comes in a premium ceramic model, weighing at 182g.
Display
Both smartphones come with IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass, both sporting 5.15inch and resolution at 1080p (Full HD) at ~428 PPI pixel density. Mi 6’s screen covers at ~71.4% body to screen ratio, whilst the Honor 9 at ~69.9% body to screen ratio1.
In terms of display quality, we will be acquiring an Honor 9 unit soon for more accurate details; however, from our review on the Xiaomi Mi 6, the device hasn’t disappointed in the balance of vibrancy, sharpness and color reproduction. Xiaomi has also pushed the minimum brightness down to a single nit of brightness, which is very impressive in comparison to other 1080p smartphones panels.
Color Options
The Mi 6 is available four body color options: Black, Blue, White, and Ceramic Black; whilst the Honor 9 is available in: Sea Blue, Amber Gold, Black, Seagull Gray.
The Honor 9 provides more choice in color whilst Mi 6 offers more choice in material (glass and ceramic), screens are similar on paper, however, the Mi 6 offers a smaller dimensional package but the Honor 9 weighs 13g less. Still, here the Honor 9 steal the win here as they have provided a 3.5mm headphone jack also.
Hardware Specifications
Processor, RAM, and Storage:
The Mi6 will be powered by Qualcomm’s current fastest Snapdragon 835 processor. It has octa-core chipset which includes four 2.35 GHz Kryo & four 1.9 GHz Kryo processors coupled with Adreno 540 GPU. The Honor 9 is run with an in-house Kirin 960 Octa Core four 2.4 GHz Cortex-A73 & four 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53.
In terms of RAM and the storage, the Mi 6 comes with 64 or 128 GB of internal storage options with 6 GB RAM. Whereas the Honor 9 comes in two variants, 64GB + 4 GB RAM and 64 or 128 GB + 6 GB RAM.
The Honor 9 offers external microSD expansion supporting up to 256GB, however, the Mi 6 does not support storage expansion slots. Keeping this in mind, it’s important for you to decide which variant to purchase in consideration to your future storage needs.
Battery:
The Mi 6 comes with 3350 mAh and the Honor 9 with 3200mAh, both of which are non-removable batteries.
Our Pick: Tie.
This section is a very close call, both phones are powered with very powerful CPUs, benchmarks will show that the Snapdragon 835 edges higher in integer performance (completing simple tasks, e.g. web browsing). However, Kirin 960 remains close to the 835’s tail, outpacing the 820/821 also. The Honor 9 offers more choice in models with internal storage as well as MicroSD expansion, however, Mi 6 theoretically will last longer with a larger battery size.
Honor 9 vs Xiaomi Mi 6: Camera
Rear shooters:
For photo-fanatics, we are spoilt with both smartphones offering with dual-lens. Mi 6 is loaded with 12-megapixel wide-angle lens with f/1.8, and 12-megapixel telephoto lens f/2.6 aperture; the Honor 9 has a 20-megapixel lens (Mono) with f/2.2 and another 12-megapixel lens (RGB) with f/2.2. Note that the dual cameras on the Honor 9 are not Leica branded. Xiaomi has promoted the Mi 6s feature of 4-axis OIS improving steadiness of video capture, whilst featuring a lossless zoom (x2) and providing a (x10) digital zoom.
Front shooters:
Both these smartphone cameras have the common features namely geo-tagging pics, touch focus, face detection, etc.
For the selfie lot, the Honor 9 has a f/2.0 8-megapixel lens and Mi 6 has an 8-megapixel sensor but with unknown aperture.
Our Pick: Unsure.
This seems to be too close, I have not had the opportunity to test out each smartphone side by side to provide my honest opinion. On paper, both smartphones show great features and the smartphone will depend on whether you would prefer better contrast pictures from the Honor 9, due to the monochrome sensor, or better zoom and wide aspect photos from the Mi 6.
Features & OS
Both flagships are shipped with expected high-end smartphones features such as 4G LTE, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, fingerprint sensor, NFC, etc. The flagships both come with their own custom UIs, Mi 6 with MIUI 8.0 (based on Android v7.1.1) and Honor 9 EMUI 5.1 (based on v7.0).
Mi 6 wins due to adapting relatively the latest Android Version currently. Personally, I like MIUI since it provides stable updates on a regular basis. As for Honor 9’s EMUI 5, I haven’t used it yet to judge how good it is.
Availability & Pricing
The Mi 6 has an advantage here, as it has been released since April 2017 in the Chinese market already and available for the global market. The 64 GB and 128 GB versions of the release price for the Mi 6 is at ¥2,499 (~$367) and ¥2,899 (~$425) in China, these prices can be found cheaper on online retailers. Note: The price of the Ceramic version is much higher, priced at ~¥4132.81 ($607.99)3.
The Honor 9 will be on the backfoot here since it will be officially being on sale today. The Honor 9, 4GB RAM model will be priced at ¥2299 (∼$338), the 6GB RAM + 64GB variant will go for ¥2699 (∼$397), and the 6GB RAM + 128GB version will sell for ¥2999 (∼$441).
Opinion: Mi 6. Based on the release date prices, I believe the Mi 6 is the most ideal affordable smartphone to purchase on the date of publishing, this is because the Mi 6 is currently available and the directly competing models are more likely to be cheaper than the original release price from third-party retailers, not to forget the release prices for the Mi 6 are already lower. Huawei will need to receive comments from our reviewers and consumers on availability and price before further confirmation.
Honor 9 vs Xiaomi Mi 6: Conclusion
If you are already fans of either Xiaomi or Huawei, the choice will be rather simple, as both phone provide very similar specifications. However, if you are an indecisive consumer or looking to switch camps, these two flagships prove to be a very difficult couple to pick.
If you are someone who prefers a smartphone with the smallest footprint, different build material choice, bleeding edge internals, highest capacity battery, wide-angle & closeup photos, smoother videos; regular Android-based MIUI updates, connectivity with other same-branded products (Xiaomi’s smart-home products) and best prices (ex. Ceramic model), the Mi 6 is the best choice.
Whilst, if you prefer lightness, more ‘spec’ choices, 3.5mm headphone jack, powerful in-house CPU and better contrast photos, the Honor 9 is yours. Yes, the 3.5mm headphone jack could be a big advantage for the Honor 9, but we’ll have to see if it’s enough for consumers to pick the Honor 9 over Mi 6. The camera quality would be another big differentiating factor. We have seen that the Mi 6 manages to capture some great shots but we are yet to test Honor 9’s camera prowess.
I hope this comparison has helped you determine which phone you would like to purchase so far, and as the Honor 9 matures this comparison should be updated accordingly.
Chinese innovative tech company OnePlus is expected to announce its 2017 flagship model at a press conference scheduled to hold on June 21 in China. Ahead of the launch, the OnePlus 5 did open for reservation on e-commerce platform Jingdong (JD.com) since two days ago (June 14). The reservation is an official one as it is being executed on OnePlus’ official flagship store in Jingdong.
Barely two days after the reservation opened, the OnePlus 5 is already attracting lots of interests in form of bookings. At present, the reservation stands at 354,768 persons and the figure is continuously changing. The launch is still approximately 5 days away, so we can boldly predict that the bookings will double before its launch. The reservation may even surpass 1 million in the end.
Although reservations don’t necessarily translate into actual sales, they provide a clue as to how the product will likely fare in the market. As for the Oneplus 5, the device is already positioned in as a popular model considering Oneplus’ amazing track record and also the powerful specs the device packs. The OP5 is expected to feature a Snapdragon 835 chip and 8GB RAM on one of its versions. The question in this case, therefore, is if there will be enough stock to meet the level of interest. We can’t tell at this time, even though Oneplus has hinted that it is building a large stockpile. Remember, we are only talking of JD.com whereas the device is expected to be sold via other platforms as well.
Despite the R9S’ strong outing, the just released OPPO R11 is showing signs of posting a better result that its predecessor. The R11 went on its first sale in China today via Jingdong (JD.com) and it took only 5 minutes for the device to make a record as the top-selling device on its first sale. The OPPO R11’s huge sales were helped by OPPO making available enough stock ahead of the sales. Apart from having enough stock, the R11 is also proving to be a popular model because Jingdong recorded the R11 sales as exceeding the same figure achieved by the R9S in a day, in just 40 minutes! Isn’t that wonderful?
The OPPO R11 is only available via online sales channels presently but is expected to be available in the offline stores as time goes on. If we are to project from this first sales, we may just be seeing another monumental achievement from another R-series model. Well, the only casualty will be the elusive Find 9, which some hope, the company will launch sometime in the future.
Xiaomi Mi Mix’s designer Philippe Starck, Thursday made a visit to Xiaomi’s headquarters in China in what could be a pre-launch visit for the Mi Mix 2. Philippe Starck had made a similar visit to the Beijing-based headquarters of the tech giant a couple of months back. During that visit, it was disclosed that the French design would still design the Mi Mix 2.
The company shared some photos of the Mi Mix designer having an exciting time with staffs at the headquarters.Obviously, the visit is to discuss the Mi Mix 2 and they did state that. Xiaomi’s CEO even stated point-blank that Starck was at the headquarters to discuss the next generation of Mix. We didn’t get to find out the details of the discussion but we believe things will unravel as time goes on.
Already, there are rumours that the Mi Mix 2 will be released next month but we’re not so sure about that. An earlier rumoured had tipped the Mi Mix 2 to make its debut in the second half of the year and H2 2017 begins next month. Even though Xiaomi doesn’t drop the Mix 2 next month, it is likely the device may drop very soon. In addition, the Mi Mix 2 may be launched along with the Mi Note 3 just the same way Xiaomi announced the first-gen Mi Mix and Galaxy Note 2 together.
The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 is rumoured to feature an in-display fingerprint technology which would make the first smartphone from an indigenous Chinese manufacturer to use the fingerprint security feature, the Mi Mix 2 is also expected to come with a screen-to-body ratio higher than the 91.3% screen-to-body ratio the Mi Mix came with. There are also likely to be a number of innovative features on the next-gen concept flagship phone.
Ivvi has taken the wraps of its new smartphone called the V3. The Ivvi V3 which was launched at a special yacht party yesterday, has Chinese actress Zhao Liying (Zanilia Zhao) as its brand ambassador.
Featuring an all-metal unibody, the Ivvi V3 is a camera focused smartphone with its 13MP super wide-angle selfie camera. It packs a number of interesting features for that perfect selfie. From the beauty effects to the screen flash and the sensor’s ability to capture details in low-light conditions, owners should expect high quality pictures
It has a 5.5-inch HD display, an unspecified 64-bit processor and 3GB of RAM. Storage is 32GB and there is a 3200mAh battery under the hood. The Ivvi V3’s rear camera is also a 13MP sensor that sits in the top left corner of the phone. The sensor shares the same housing with the phone.
In the past couple of years, we have seen quite a lot of powerful tablets and laptops from Chinese manufacturers, opening up good choices for customers. The tablet range starts from a basic 7-inches and goes all the way up to 13.3-inches. But most of these are not just tablets or laptops, rather they are convertibles that work both as a tablet as well as a laptop, given the right accessory. Portability is one of the biggest features of these devices and if you are someone who travels a lot, these convertibles can come in extremely handy.
So, here’s a list of the top 5 tablets and laptops that are up for sale on Gearbest. If you are looking to purchase a brand new tablet for yourself, check out these powerful devices before making your decision. Wherever possible, we have included coupons for the tablets to get you a low price.
1. Cube Mix Plus 2-in-1
This is one of the most affordable beasts in this list as it comes with Intel Kaby Lake Core M3-7Y30 processor which is good enough for handling all of your tasks. 4GB of RAM, 128GB SSD and a 10.1-inch screen makes it an amazing tablet for your work as well as entertainment needs. If you want to further expand your SSD storage, just add in a MicroSD (up to 128GB). There’s a decent 4500mAh battery on board which should provide up to 4-6 of heavy usage. Other features include dual channel speakers, Wi-Fi n, Windows 10 OS and cameras on the front as well as back.
It’s a good deal at the usual price of $349 but you can get it for even less, at just $319 using the coupon: CubeMixS. You can add in a keyboard and stylus to complete the laptop setup for an additional $50.
If you are looking to get hold of a cheaper tablet that’s compact, check out the Xiaomi Mi Pad 3. The new generation Xiaomi tablet comes with a decent MTK8176 processor inside with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The 7.9-inch tablet boasts a resolution of 2048 x 1536 for crisp images and videos. One of the highlights of the tablet is its large 6600mAh battery which will ensure up to 12 hours of video playback and an entire day of other usages. The dual channel speakers, 13MP rear camera, premium metal body are the features which make the Mi Pad 3 a good buy at its current $223 price tag. But use the coupon Gearbest01to get the price down to $218.99 for a limited period.
If you are looking for a compact laptop, the Chuwi Laptop 12.3 is a good option. The laptop comes with a 12.3-inch IPS screen with 2730 x 1824 resolution ensuring crystal clear viewing experience. It is powered by the Intel Celeron N3450 processor, keeping a good balance between performance and energy efficiency. Further with 6GB of RAM on board, multi-tasking should be a breeze on the device.
Note that this is not a convertible tablet, rather a full-fledged slim laptop that offers a similar comfort level as a large screen tablet for work.
The Chuwi LapBook is available for just $319 but you can get this price further down to $299.99 using the coupon: CHUWI123. This coupon is for limited units, so make sure to avail the offer as soon as you can.
Another laptop powered by the Intel Apollo Lake N3450 processor. The specifications are similar to CHUWI LapBook, but the screen is larger and the resolution is lower. So, this model comes with a 13.3-inch display but the resolution is just 1080p. The laptop comes with 6GB of RAM inside as well as 64GB of expandable (via SSD) eMMC storage, which makes it a great multi-tasker. It also supports dual-band Wi-Fi for faster connections and comes with HDMI port and Windows 10 64-bit inside.
At a price of just $219, the Jumper EZBOOK 3 Pro is definitely a good deal.
If you are looking for something powerful that can handle everything that you throw at it, take a look at the CUBE Thinker Notebook. The laptop comes with the seventh generation Intel Core M3-7Y30 processor inside with 8GB of RAM to ensure that you are never short of power. There’s 256GB of SSD inside ensure super fast storage as well as a 13.5-inch touchscreen 3K IPS display to ensure amazing display quality.
With Windows 10 on board and a fingerprint sensor for security, the CUBE Thinker Notebook is made for people who want a powerful and secured laptop. The specs are great and it looks premium, making it a good option for those who want a more powerful option.
It’s costlier than other laptops/ tablets in the list but at $579.99, it becomes a good deal considering the specs featured inside.
The rumor mill had predicted that Xiaomi would be unleashing the Xiaomi Mi 6 Plus smartphone alongside the smaller Xiaomi Mi 6. However, the Chinese manufacturer only debuted the Mi 6 flagship in April. After the release of Mi 6, rumors claimed that Xiaomi Mi 6 Plus has been cancelled and the next flagship from the company would be the Xiaomi Mi Note 3 that will launch in September. Now, a leaked image showing the rear panel of the Mi 6 Plus phone has surfaced which has reignited the rumors that the larger Mi 6 would be arriving in the near future.
In the above image, the rear panel of Xiaomi Mi 6 Plus can be seen placed on the left side of the back panel of Xiaomi Mi 6. Both of them sport the same design and the only difference is that the Mi 6 Plus’s rear shell is bigger.
The bottom side of Mi 6 Plus’s rear shell has the Mi logo and there is no fingerprint reader available on it which indicates that it will be placed at the front. Interestingly, a leaked image of the protective case of the Xiaomi MI 6 Plus that appeared in the previous week also suggest that the device actually exists and may launch in the near future.
Previous rumors have suggested that the Xiaomi Mi 6 Plus would be coming with a 5.7-inch screen that will carry support for full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. It is expected to be powered by Snapdragon 835. It is expected to come with identical specs that are available on the smaller Mi 6. Hence, it is expected to come with 6 GB RAM, 64 GB / 128 GB storage, MIUI 8 flavored Android 7.1.1 Nougat and 12-megapixel + 8-megapixel dual rear cameras. It is rumored to come with a bigger battery of 4,500mAh capacity.
If the Xiaomi Mi 6 Plus really exist, more leaks are expected to surface in the near future.
Innovative and once bubbling Chinese smartphone and internet brand LeEco seems to be plunging deeper into financial woes. Just recently, a lawsuit was instituted against the company by a Chinese ad agency for non-payment of its marketing fees. The company has in the past been laying off workers estimated to be nearly 50% of its workforce. The innovative tech giant known for its cheap flagship models has been unable to release new smartphone models like it used to do. Currently, the company even seems to be shutting down some of its mobile phone service centres across China.
An internet user has exposed a notice posted on the door of one of LeEco’s third-party service centres located in Shanghai. As is known, Shanghai is one of the major cities in China but the poster informs customers that the business has been suspended due to operational adjustments and that the shop no longer accepts LeEco phones.
Also, a letter purportedly sent by a LeEco phone repair station to a fan using the brand’s model appears to indicate that the repair centre has been lacking spare parts for several months now due to the manufacturer’s inability to provide parts. The letter also stated that other accessories are available. We don’t know if these two cases are just isolated ones or if indeed the company’s mobile phone arm is gradually disintegrating. We do hope the company bounces back soon, it is high time we got a Snapdragon 835-powered LeEco phone with its cheap price tag. Now, that may not likely be happening anytime soon.
LG had introduced its first V series flagship smartphone as LG V10 in October 2015. In the previous year, it released the LG V20 in October. Hence, the rumor mill has been speculating that the LG V30 would be introduced in October this year. Fresh information coming through South Korean media suggests that LG may debut the V30 early this year. It is now speculated to launch as early as in August.
A report published on Aju Business Daily that has been cited by The Investor claims that the LG V30 is arriving in August this year. Moreover, it even states that the LG G7 would be launching in January 2018. First of all, we would like to convey our readers to take this report with a pinch of salt as there is no concrete evidence to support these claims.
If the new rumor about the LG V30 is true, the South Korean company may unleash it during the major press conferences that will be held on the last two days of August. It may then debut the V30 at the IFA event that officially begins on Sept. 1 in Berlin, Germany and release it on a later date.
LG has never used the IFA platform to announce the LG V series smartphones probably because these phones have not been launched in European markets. However, this year, LG may use a different strategy to unveil the LG V30. However, on the contrary, Samsung may launch the Galaxy Note 8 at August end and in September, the new iPhones will arrive. These high popular smartphones can completely disrupt the sales of LG G7 if it is launched in August.
As far as the LG G7’s January 2018 release is concerned, it seems that the company may unleash it through the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that will be held in the same month. However, the CES platform is normally used to showcase next-generation home appliances like TVs and refrigerators. It will make more sense if the LG G7 flagship smartphone is unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona that is usually used for showcasing mobile devices. It seems that LG is looking forward to launch the LG G7 before the Samsung Galaxy S9 is introduced. It may so happen that the LG G7 may get announced in January and then release in February.
It is starting to turn out positively that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 may be launched at IFA Berlin 2017 this September. Soon after the rumour of the impending launch surfaced, the Galaxy Note 8 has appeared in a benchmark test for its browser. The device was spotted in HTML5Test’s database where it is shown to be running Samsung’s latest Internet 5.2 web browser.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
HTML5test is a web application for evaluating a web browser’s accuracy in implementing the web standards HTML5 and Web SQL Database, as well as the WebGL standard. To test a web browser, the phone user must visit the home page of the website html5test.com. So it is glaring that someone using the Galaxy Note 8 did run a test on the HTML5Test’s website.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Galaxy Note 8 made its appearance with the model number SM-N950F which is possibly its official model number for one of the versions. The entire Galaxy Note 8 models would likely have the model number SM-N950x, with the last letter varying according to the carrier and international models. Note that the botched Galaxy Note 7 had the model number SM-N930F on one of its versions while its predecessor, the Galaxy Note 5 came with an SM-N920x lineup.
The listing does not reveal many details apart from the fact that the device runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat out-of-the-box and pulled a total score of 488 out of a total of 555 points in the test. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is earlier rumoured to pack a 6.3-inch Infinity Display, Dual rear cameras with 3x optical zoom, an 8MP selfie camera, either an Exynos 8895 processor or a Snapdragon 836 SoC. It is also reported to miss out on an in-screen fingerprint reader.
As it has done for its predecessor phones, OnePlus is now releasing teasers to add more hype to OnePlus 5 before its official launch on June 20. The newest teaser that it has revealed on Twitter as a video is that OnePlus 5 would be coming with a filter for blue light along with several new software features.
The video that has been added by OnePlus on its Twitter handle shows an eBook reader that comes with a manually adjustable setting for the screen’s color temperature. The video is about what OnePlus has refreshed on OxygenOS.
OnePlus is speculated to come with a 5.5-inch full HD display. Continuous viewing a screen that emits blue limit can not only affect the vision but also can impact the sleep by suppressing a hormone called melatonin. Hence, several smartphone OEMs are including blue light filter feature for better reading and screen viewing experience for longer durations. The feature can truly help in putting less strain while viewing the phone’s screen in the dark.
Xiaomi offers a feature called Read Mode in MIUI that turns the color of the display into a pale shade of yellow. Apple is also offering a similar feature called Night Shift in iOS. Also, there are several apps available for it on Play Store. The OnePlus 5 is confirmed to debut this feature. It seems that this feature will be also introduced on OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 3 smartphones.
Through another tweet, the company is conveying how smooth the OxygenOS experience will be on OnePlus 5. The tweet that is captioned as “software designed with style and refinement” probably refers to the latest version of OxygenOS that will be coming on OnePlus 5.
The background image in the above tweet suggests that it may carry support for UI themes. The current OnePlus UI allows users to color accents can be modified throughout the interface. The black and white portion in the image may hint to the monochrome sensor that will be present in its rear-facing dual camera system. A photo shared by OnePlus suggests that OnePlus 5 would be able to shoot photos with bokeh effect through its dual rear cameras.
Since the official launch of Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is couple of months away, the rumor mill is spilling newer information on the phablet. Fresh information that is said to be revealed by an industry insider reveals that Samsung may release an 8 GB RAM variant of Galaxy Note 8 this year. The same source even claims that the Galaxy Note 9 phablet that will be arriving in 2018 will have an astonishing 12 GB of RAM.
According to the source, the 8 GB RAM model of the phablet will be introduced to the world as Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Emperor Edition. This could be variant that will be aimed towards the Chinese markets. There is huge competition between smartphone OEMs to release smartphones with high-end specs in China. For instance, the recently launched ZTE Nubia Z17 is the first Snapdragon 835 chipset smartphone with 8 GB RAM. It is the second 8 GB RAM phone after the ASUS ZenFone AR that is powered by Snapdragon 821 SoC.
Hence, in order to stay competitive with other brands that may release an 8 GB RAM phone in the near future, there is a possibility that Samsung may push its limits and launch an 8 GB RAM edition of Galaxy Note 8. As far as international model is expected to feature 6 GB of RAM.
Since the source is speculating that the Galaxy Note 9 coming in 2018 will be featuring 12 GB of RAM. There is a possibility that the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ that are speculated to launch at the start of the next year may feature 10 GB of RAM. These models could be dubbed as Emperor Editions. However, these things sound too good to be true.
Samsung has been struggling in China which is the largest smartphone market in the world. The market is dominated by domestic smartphone brands that are selling even flagship smartphones with affordable pricing. It has recently appointed Kwon Kye-hyun to pioneer and revive the phone business in China. Hence, there is a possibility that Samsung may launch Galaxy Note 8 Emperor Edition in China to attract flagship buyers.
More and more leaked information on Galaxy Note 8 are expected to surface in the coming weeks as Samsung is expected to introduce it at the end of August this year \just ahead of the IFA 2017 event that will be held at the beginning of September. It could be the first smartphone running on the upcoming Snapdragon 836 chipset.
The OnePlus 5 will launch in 5 days and ahead of its arrival, the OnePlus 3T is already out of stock in certain regions, never to be restocked again.
About three weeks ago, OnePlus announced that the OnePlus 3T was almost out of stock and hinted at it not being restocked. Right now if you reside in North America or Europe, you can’t purchase the OnePlus 3T. The “Buy Now” tab is missing from the page, leaving you to only check the features of the phone. The device is still available in the UK via O2 and India for now.
The reason for the discontinuation for the OnePlus 3T is not difficult to grasp. The OnePlus 3T is a premium phone with a very competitive price tag, selling for almost half the price of flagships from other manufacturers. Because of its price, its profit margin is small.
If it launches a new phone and keeps producing the old one, buyers will expect the old phone to sell for less meaning a smaller profit or even none at all. Its sale will also affect that of the new one.
If you own a Windows 10 laptop, a Windows 10 Mobile phone and an Xbox One Console you will notice that while all three run Windows 10, they appear different due to the shell they run. Windows is working on changing that by building an adaptive shell, called CShell that unifies the experience.
New images shows CShell in action on a Windows Phone, revealing how the interface now looks more like what you would get on a desktop.
The images are courtesy of Aggiornamenti Lumia and they cover areas like the Start Screen, Notification Center, Keyboard and Settings.
The Start Menu now has features such as live tile resizing, ability to turn it on or off or set the dimension to “large”. It also adds the option to uninstall an app right from the start menu.
The Honor 9 is the latest device from Huawei’s sub-brand. Unveiled this week, the new flagship improves upon the favorite features of its predecessor and brings some new features of its own.
Set to go on sale tomorrow, report reaching us says pre-order registrations for the Honor 9 is nearly 4 million. Huawei’s VMall is said to have received 2.83 million registrations; Jingdong Mall (JD.com) puts its own figures at 620,000; and Suning Tesco has recorded bookings of 320,000.
Sum them up and that is 3.77 million registrations in four days. The figure is said to even exclude some other online shops. It remains to be seen if there is enough stock tomorrow.
The Honor 9 has a 5.15-inch FHD display and is powered by the Kirin 960 chip. That is the same processor in the Huawei Mate 9, P10 and P10 Plus. There is a high-end version with 6GB RAM and 64GB or 128GB of storage and a base variant with 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM.
Earlier this week, E Ink, the pioneer company in e-ink display technology showed off its new foldable screen.
E Ink makes the displays you find in e-readers like Kindles and Nooks. These devices have very impressive battery life, thanks to the low-power display. Once an E-reader displays a page, the screen stops drawing power from the battery and stays that way till you flip or scroll down the page.
E Ink plans to make reading a whole lot more fun with its new display which folds like a real book. The new foldable display it showed off is a 10.2-inch flexible Carta Mobius based e-reader with a ppi of 220.
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