Vernee Thor E Review – Unique Smartphone for just $99!

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Jun 25, 2017

A few weeks ago, we reported that smartphone maker, VKWorld has a Nokia 3310 (2017) clone in the works. News, reaching us today lets us know that the VKWorld Z3310 will go on sale next week for just $25. That’s less than half the price of the Nokia 3310 (2017).

VKworld Z3310

The VKWorld Z3310 will have a 2.4-inch 240 x 320 display protected by a 3D water-drop glass. There is a 2MP super clear camera with flash and another LED at the top for seeing in the dark.

It will also come with a FM radio that can work without plugging in earphones. A Class K amplifier helps pump out sounds at a high volume. VKWorld is shipping the Z3310 with a 1450mAh battery which is larger than that of the Nokia 3310 (1200mAh) and should last 2 weeks on standby. The phone will also have 20 built-in languages.

Full List of Meizu Devices Getting Android Nougat Released

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Jun 25, 2017

They say “better late than never” and that is exactly what Meizu is doing with the Nougat update for its devices. Just as we eagerly anticipate the final unveiling of Android O, the Chinese company has released a list of devices getting Android Nougat.

If you own any of the following devices, you may want to do a happy dance at the end of this post: Pro 6 Plus, Pro 6, Pro 6s, Pro 5, MX6, M5 Note, M3 Note, and M3 Max.

Meizu says owners of any of these devices will be able to register for the open beta program from today till July 2. Update itself will begin rolling out to devices on the 10th of July.

The update will be in three batches: first batch will receive the update on July 10, the second batch on July 17, and the final batch on July 31.

Fresh Details Emerge on Taimen and Walleye Pixel Phones

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Jun 25, 2017

Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL phones are two of the best Android phones you can buy at the moment. Released last year to replace the Nexus line, Google will be releasing a second generation in a few months.

Initially, there were three devices, codenamed Walleye, Muskie, and Taimen. However, Muskie which was believed to be the Pixel XL 2 is said to have been cancelled, leaving Walleye and Taimen. Taimen has a larger screen than the cancelled Muskie and will reportedly be built by LG.

New details have emerged regarding the specifications of both devices. According to XDA Developers, a trusted source who has spent time with the devices revealed the info to them.

Taimen

The device which will be built by LG will have a 5.99-inch 1440 OLED display (supplied by LG as well). This is even larger than the LG G6 which has a 5.7-inch device. If you loved the Motorola-built Nexus 6, then you will appreciate the extra screen estate but with smaller bezels than the first-gen Pixel XL

Taimen will also have a 128GB variant along with 4GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 835 chip clocked at 2.45GHz. Its rear will retain the half metal and half glass finish from the previous model. However, the top glass part won’t cover the fingerprint scanner (rear-mounted again). Camera for Taimen is a single sensor with dual LED flash.

Walleye

Walleye a.k.a Pixel 2 will have a 4.97-inch 1080p display. The design is reported to be almost identical to last year’s model down to the bezels. One addition Google is adding is stereo speakers. The extra speaker will sadly come at the death of the 3.5mm audio jack which the source says Taimen doesn’t have.

RAM and processor are the same with Taimen but storage comes in at 64GB.

Nexus Imprint

The source says that he discovered that the pre-production software on Taimen referred to the fingerprint scanner as “Nexus Imprint” while Walleye’s settings referred to its own scanner as “Pixel Imprint”.

It is still unclear what this means. Google already announced that it was done with the Nexus line, so we do not want to jump into conclusions. It may also be an error that wasn’t fixed or a sort of throwback to when LG used to make Nexus devices.

Android 7.0 Update Now Available for Original Mi Max

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Jun 24, 2017

The Mi Max 2 might not seem like much of an upgrade but it does bring a number of new features, one being Android Nougat. The original was stuck on Android Marshmallow for a while until now.

Android 7.0 is rolling out in form of a MIUI 8.5.1 update to the Mi Max. The report comes from a Facebook Group “Greek Xiaomi Lovers” with screenshots as proof. Apart from the bump in Android version number, the update also brings May’s security patch, a more efficient CPU allocation and some app lock features.

The screenshot also shows that the version with the update is the 3GB RAM variant with a Snapdragon 650 processor. We have no info about the 4GB RAM + Snapdragon 652 Prime version.

The Mi Max has a 6.44-inch display, a 16MP rear camera, and a 5MP front facing shooter. There is a hybrid dual SIM slot that accepts up to 256GB microSD card. There is also a rear mounted fingerprint scanner and an IR blaster.

Another Moto G5S Plus Photo Render Leaks, Reveals New Color

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Jun 24, 2017

A couple of renders of the Moto G5S Plus had leaked a while back showing the device will be available in four different colour variants. The colours on display include Gold, Grey, Silver model with White front and Gold model with a white display bezels. A new render has leaked showing there is likely to be another colour variant which will have a Grey body and a Gold colour upfront on the display bezels.

The design of the new render is exactly the same as the earlier ones, showing a dual rear camera setup among other features. The tipster also revealed a few specs of the Moto G5S Plus including a 3,068mAh battery and what looks like the price in India which will likely fall between Rs. 18,999 – Rs. 19,999 ($295 – $310).

#Dual cam, 3068mAh battery and a NICE Rs18999 to Rs 19999 price? The #motoG5S+ has you covered. pic.twitter.com/Cw2G97IulZ

— Andri Yatim (@HeyAndri) June 15, 2017

The Moto G5s Plus is expected to be launched along with the Moto G5S but the specifications of both models are still unknown. They join a growing list of models Lenovo is expected to release this year under the Moto line. Other models like the Moto Z2, Moto Z2 Force, Moto Z2 Play, Moto E4, Moto E4 Plus, and Moto X4 are all expected this year. With such long lineup of models in the works, there is absolutely no doubt that Lenovo is really serious about focusing on the Moto brand to help its smartphone business which isn’t yet as successful as the PC arm.

Europe Will Get The ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom as The Zenfone Zoom S in July

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Jun 24, 2017

ASUS unveiled the third iteration of its camera-cenric Zoom series at CES this year. Called the Zenfone 3 Zoom, the new phone packs dual rear cameras in a design similar to that of the iPhone 7 Plus.

A few months later, there was news of a Zenfone Zoom S that was said to feature the same specs as the Zenfone 3 Zoom save for a smaller 5.2”/5.0” display. Turns out both phones are one and the same. Actually a case of different names for different markets. The Zenfone Zoom S is already available in Indonesia and it has the same ZE553KL model number as the Zenfone 3 Zoom.

The next stop for the Zenfone Zoom S is Europe and it will be arriving next month for €469. The phone has a 5.5-inch 1080p AMOLED display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, a Snapdragon 625 processor and a massive 5000mAh battery that supports reverse charging. RAM is 4GB and storage is 64GB.

The highlight of the phone is its dual rear cameras. One is a 12MP sensor with a f/1.7 aperture and the the other is another 12MP sensor with a f/2.8 aperture and 2.3X optical zoom. ASUS’ SuperPixel ™ Technology is present to help you take stunning pictures even in low-light conditions. There is also portrait mode present, OIS and EIS. The front facing camera is a 13MP sensor.

The LG V30 Will Have A Glass Back & Support Wireless Charging

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Jun 24, 2017

Latest report says the LG V30 may be announced at IFA Berlin 2017. Although the event is scheduled to start on September 1 and run through to September 6, the launch is said to be on August 31.We presume it will be unveiled at a sort of pre-event before IFA begins.

The LG V30 will be the third in the V-series and will be LG’s first Snapdragon 835 phone. According to leakster @OnLeaks, the LG V30 will be sporting a new design.

According to my sources, #LGV30 will support wireless charging and thus, very likely have glass back. Still have dual rear cam and rear FPS.

— Steve H.McFly (@OnLeaks) June 23, 2017

Unlike its predecessors which both have metal backs, the LG V30 will swap it for glass. The change in material also means the V30 gets wireless charging support. Other details mentioned by OnLeaks include the presence of dual rear cameras and a rear mounted fingerprint scanner.

Some say the change to glass is a move by LG to unify the design language of its flagships. The LG G6 and its newly announced siblings sport glass backs but only the G6 Plus supports wireless charging.

Buy Elephone P8 mini using a COUPON CODE: P8Mi

Elephone P8 mini Review – Surprisingly Good Budget Smartphone!

By

Linus

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Jun 24, 2017

Elephone is not a newcomer to the smartphone game as they have produced a lot of devices over the years. The P8 mini is one of their latest models and it has quite a few features including 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Learn more in the full Elephone P8 mini review.

VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3brc1lmhp8[/embedyt]

UNBOXING

The phone ships with all the usual stuff, no extras included.

DESIGN and DISPLAY

When it comes to the design, the P8 mini is one of those rare compact phones that have 5” 1080p display, which is actually great. It’s sharp and vibrant for both indoor and outdoor use.

The phone has a metal backplate, which is great but the top and bottom parts, as well as the frame, is made of plastic. On the other hand, the build quality is good, I have no complaints.

One of the key selling points of this phone is the dual-camera setup that consists of one 13MP shooter and another 2MP sensor.

There is no LED notification light but we have a beefy 16MP selfie camera with a front firing LED flash. Unfortunately, the capacitive keys are not backlit.

The loudspeaker quality does not really impress like on most of the budget phones.

The fingerprint scanner may not be the fastest out there but it gets the job done and it unlocks the phone straight from the standby mode.

HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

The phone sports pretty good specs for the price. The device ships with an octa-core MTK6750T chip (1.5GHz), 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage.

The gaming performance is pretty good if you play the 3D games like Asphalt 8 on medium graphics. However, you should expect quite a few skipped frames and stutter if you switch the graphics settings to the max.

BENCHMARKS

USER INTERFACE

The Elephone P8 mini ships with a stock Android 7.0 out of the box. There aren’t many features to talk about as the company did not add any of them but what is the most important is that the phone is really fast, fluid and responsive all the time, even after installing quite a few apps.

CAMERAS

The Elephone P8 mini can take some good-looking pictures in good lighting conditions. There is a good amount of detail, the pictures look quite sharp and in general, these are decent results from a $140 phone. However, dynamic range is usually off in most of the shots.

The dual-camera setup allows you to take some good-looking pictures with bokeh effect. Sure, this is not the flagship-grade quality but the results are quite impressive for such a cheap device.

The camera does not impress in low-light but honestly, there are a lot more cheap phones that perform worse than this.

Selfie pictures look pretty good. Sure, there could be less noise but in general, the quality is decent for a budget phone. The front-facing LED flash lets you take selfies at night. Don’t expect great image quality but you may find it useful from time to time.

The 1080p video quality is just mediocre. There could be more detail, less noise and there is no continuous auto-focus.

Selfie video quality is again, kind of mediocre but it is possible to use the camera for video chats or other stuff.

DOWNLOAD FULL RESOLUTION CAMERA SAMPLES

CONNECTIVITY

When it comes to connectivity, the call quality is above average, the Wifi works fine and GPS is usable for navigation although it is not the most accurate out there.

BATTERY LIFE

The 2860mAh battery performs quite well. I was able to get over 5 hours of screen-on time, which is a good result considering the fact that I used the phone quite intensively.

CONCLUSIONS

The Elephone P8 mini is yet another cheap phone from China that aims to deliver a lot of value for the price and it succeeds in quite a few ways.

The phone looks quite nice, it has great specs, the dual camera is pretty good for cheap phone and I love that the P8 mini is fast on the daily basis, thanks to the stock Android 7.0.

Obviously, you should consider some caveats like a lack of notification LED light or backlit capacitive keys, mediocre loudspeaker, average video quality and finally, MTK6750 chip is not designed for hardcore gamers.

At the end of the day, the Elephone P8 mini is surprisingly decent phone for the price of about $140 but as always, make sure to consider a few shortcomings like on any other budget phone.

Gizmochina readers can get a discount with a COUPON CODE: P8Mi

Buy Elephone P8 mini using a COUPON CODE: P8Mi

Gearbest Summer Smartphone Sale

OnePlus 5 To Get A New Mint Gold Color, TENAA Listing Reveals

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Jun 23, 2017

OnePlus 5 was launched only recently and is already on sale in China, available in Midnight Black version with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage going for around $539 and Slate Gray coloured version with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage selling for $479. That may not be the only two colours the device may come with as a TENAA listing for the OnePlus flagship has appeared online showing the smartphone will be available in three different colour variants.

According to the listing, the colour variants include the Midnight black and Space gray which is already available. However, the device will also come in a Mint gold colour variant which may be released sometime later.

The OnePlus 5 flash sale has seen the flagship selling out completely across all platforms despite assurance from OnePlus that there were enough units in stock await the start of sales. The company’s CEO even hinted that the company might mobilise more units from overseas market. But that isn’t likely going to include the Mint gold version. Rather, the Mint gold version may be released later on just like the Soft gold version of the OnePlus 3 and 3T was only released some months after the initial models were launched.

Huawei, OPPO & Vivo 2017 Smartphone Shipments Predicted to Be Below Expectations

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Jun 23, 2017

Huawei, OPPO and Vivo presently sit at the top of the charts in China in terms of smartphone shipments for last year in that order. That pace was expected to be continued this year but there are rumours that the trio may have lowered their targets for 2017 due to constraints in ramping up shipments to an appreciable level in non-China markets. This was contained in a recent report by Taiwan-based IC design houses.

Huawei who presently occupy the number one position in China is number three in the global standing but has continued to intensify efforts to break the ranks of Apple and Samsung, the world’s two largest phone manufacturers. Unfortunately, the company is yet to make headway in that regard despite huge investment in adverts and marketing in a bid to make headway in the U.S market.

The investment resulted in a reduction in its earnings last year but the company is still yet to make any progress. The company’s low presence in the US market is said to have resulted in a stagnated growth for the tech giant. A recent report by Korea-based Business Post states that Huawei’s shipment for Q2 2017 is expected to pitch at 30 million units which is a reduced figure compared to 32 million units shipped this same period last year. This may turn out to be an incorrect projection as IDC reported earlier that Huawei shipped 34.2 million smartphones in the Q1 2017, representing a 21.7% increase from last year’s figure. The whole of last year saw Huawei shipping a total of 139 million smartphones.

On the other hand, BBK subsidiaries OPPO and Vivo are reportedly struggling, albeit unsuccessfully to replicate their successes in China in several overseas markets by setting up several retail chains in those markets. Such capital-intensive moves are only capable of yielding results in the long term so, presently, the results are yet to start rolling in. Last year, OPPO shipped 99.4 million smartphones while Vivo recorded 77.3 million units in shipment. Both companies had set a target of 150 million units each for 2017 but that may be a difficult nut to crack as it stands.

OnePlus 5 Slate Gray & Midnight Black Hands On: Performance on Steroids

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 23, 2017

Sleek is the first word that comes to our mind when we take the OnePlus 5 in our hands. That’s not a new thing since the OnePlus 3T was a super slim device as well. But the OP5 takes things a bit further by slicing down the thickness to 7.3mm. To improve the ergonomics, the new flagship is curvier than its predecessor and this results in a better hands on feel.

While the phone does feel good in our hands, we can’t deny its striking resemblance to the iPhone 7 Plus. Taking inspiration from Apple isn’t usually a bad thing, considering how the Cupertino giant excels in product designs, but we would have hoped the resemblance was less evident. Still, if you can ignore this iPhone-esque design, the OnePlus 5 is a solid smartphone by all means and looks quite premium. Coming in two colors, at least for now (we probably have a mint gold color option coming according to a TENAA listing), Midnight Black and Slate Gray. We have got both the models with us today, and personally, I prefer the slate gray color because it looks distinct, unlike the black color option which we have seen in a few models already. But that’s just a personal preference.

The front of the phone is pretty much the same as the OnePlus 3T, only a tad bit longer. The placement of the front camera, earpiece, and even the physical home button is the same as the 3T. So, you’ll be forgiven if you mistake this for its predecessor. We even know that the company has used the same Optic AMOLED display panel as the earlier model, with 1080p resolution. Well, OnePlus probably thought — don’t fix something that ain’t broken. Still, I personally would have preferred some kind of change in the front design to distinguish the OnePlus 5 from its predecessor. But that’s just me.

Coming to the back, don’t worry, you will never mistake the OnePlus 5 for the OnePlus 3T. But you may mistake it for the iPhone 7 Plus. The dual camera and flash arrangement are identical to the Apple flagship, but the +1 logo at the center will establish its identity.

Like the OnePlus 3T, the power button is on the right side of the phone, while the left side houses the volume buttons and the alert slider. I personally find the alert slider extremely useful to switch user profiles and it’s good to see the slider on the OnePlus 5 as well. The top of the phone is clean while the bottom features all the important components like the USB Type-C, speaker grill as well as 3.5mm headphone jack. But what the phone lacks is IP67 certification, which most flagships seem to boast in 2017. Ingress protection can seriously prolong the life of a flagship and it’s disappointing to see that OnePlus skipped on this.

Hardware is one area where the company didn’t cut any corners, equipping the phone with the highest configuration in a smartphone today. So you get the super fast Snapdragon 835 chip, 6GB / 8GB RAM options and dual cameras at the back. The dual cameras are also of the highest resolution in today’s market, but the real performance depends a lot on software optimizations. OnePlus seems to have done a good job in this regard, but we haven’t tested the camera in detail yet, and we’ll have to wait and see how it does in real life.

But the UI is super snappy, one of the fastest performances that we have seen on a smartphone. Apps load in an instant and the near-stock Android gives you a feeling that the phone is on steroids. So, kudos to OnePlus for making the phone super fast.

We’ll soon test the dual cameras at the back as well as compare it with other flagship phones of 2017. So stay tuned to Gizmochina for more updates.

Meanwhile, let us know which color do you prefer on the OnePlus 5?

Also, check out a basic OnePlus 5 hands on of the device in the video below. We’ll soon be bringing a comparison video of OnePlus 5 vs OPPO R11.

LG Announces Its Latest World’s First Flexible, Transparent 77-inch OLED display

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Jun 23, 2017

LG has today announced that it has manufactured a mammoth display that is not just large but also flexible and transparent. The LG display is touted to be the world’s first flexible transparent display standing at a tall 77 inches. On a lighter note, this display is reportedly taller than Tom Cruise who Google says is 5 feet 7 inches, or 170 centimetres tall. Here’s how that’s possible, the display is 77 inches when measured diagonally and has an aspect ratio of 16:9. This gives the display’s height as 170.5 centimetres, just a tad taller than Cruise, but not if Cruise wears shoes.

As for the specifications, the LG display features a UHD resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels and presents with 40% transparency. The display can be fixed in a manner that it makes a curvature of up to 80 degrees. LG shared a photo of how the display pans out and it can be seen to be a massive, curved screen with a transparency similar to a glass with a light tint.

Xiaomi 120-inch Hi-Res Projector Set To Released Soon?

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Zhen Wan

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Jun 23, 2017

Xiaomi has revealed another press conference but this time for a “MIJIA” product. According to the source, we are expecting Xiaomi to release a larger product than usual, and this could be a release of a Xiaomi 120-inch projector, according to the source.

From the photo provided, we can clearly see a projected image at a very wide span and what appears to be high-resolution imagery reproduced on the wall.

According to the sources, analyst Sun Changxu has hinted that this release could be a wide-screen projector.

If these rumors are true, Xiaomi’s projector can provide a competitive alternative to other rival companies. We can be looking at a less-pricey high-resolution counterpart in relation to Sony’s lineup of products. From the source, if Xiaomi does release a projector, it will be priced at an affordable price, like Xiaomi’s TV range, whilst providing very high-spec components and features.

We will have to take this with a grain of salt though as Xiaomi has not officially confirmed or teased any ideas of what their new product may be.

What are your thoughts on an affordable Xiaomi Projector? If the price was reasonable would you like to own one?

(via)

Meizu Pro 7 Said To Launch On July 26 With Helio X30

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Jun 23, 2017

Meizu has been unusually low in the number of smartphones they have released so far this year when compared with smartphones released last year. Apart from the launch of the Meizu E2 with its spectacular LED flash design, we are yet to see a new model with flagship design. But all that will likely be changing soon as the tech giant will launch the long awaited Pro 7 soon.

The Meizu Pro has been the subject of recent rumours and has been a long awaited device. The flagship model has now tipped as coming on July 26. The tip is an unofficial one that can’t really be authenticated so we can treat it as a rumour. But then, anything is possible when it comes to China’s OEMs and rumours/ leaks.

The leaked renders of the Pro 7 which have made the rounds over the week, all make the Pro 7 a smartphone to look forward to. The design looks like an innovative one with a secondary display stationed at the back of the device. The secondary display will show notifications like incoming messages, missed calls, WeChat messages, date and time. The display is said to be an E-ink display.

Apart from the secondary display, the Meizu Pro 7 is also expected to come with an innovative design which includes an ultra-thin frame and Meizu’s mBack. The device is also tipped as packing a MediaTek Helio X30 chip, a 5.2-inch 1080p display up front and a dual Sony IMX386 + IMX286 dual cameras among others. The Meizu Pro 7 Plus is also expected to debut along with the Pro 7 with a larger 5.7-inch 2K screen and likely equipped with a Samsung Exynos 8895 processor, or Helio X30 standard version of the processor.

OPPO R11 Will Make Its Way To Taiwan for NT$ 15,990 ($525)

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Jun 23, 2017

The OPPO R11 and R11 Plus were unveiled a few weeks ago and they are already on sale in China. For those outside China, OPPO has announced that its first stop is Taiwan.

The dual camera smartphone is the world’s first Snapdragon 660 device. It has a 5.5-inch 1080p display, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The dual camera combo includes a 16MP f/1.7 Sony IMX398 sensor and a 20MP f/2.6 Sony IMX350 sensor with telephoto lens. The front camera is a 20MP f/2.0 sensor.

OPPO bundles the R11 with a 3000mAh battery with its VOOC fast charge technology. There is Android 7.1.1 Nougat on board with OPPO’s Color OS 3.1 on top.

Android 8.0 Rumored to Launch as Android Oatmeal Cookie, Not Oreo

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jun 23, 2017

Before the introduction of Android Nougat moniker, it was referred to as Android 7.0 and Android N. Now, when the tech enthusiasts are speculating on the launch name of Android 8.0, a leaked information has hinted that it would be launching as Android Oatmeal Cookie. However, previous speculations claimed that Google’s Android 8.0 would be introduced as Android Oreo.

The Android 8.0 source code and commit logs contains some references to “oc-dev.” It is now being speculated that “oc” may probably stand for “Oatmeal Cookie.” This is not just one evidence that claim that Android 8.0 would be called Oatmeal Cookie. It is said that there were references of Oatmeal Cookie at the Google I/O 2017 event that was held in May this year.

However, before accepting Android 8.0 as Oatmeal Cookie, one should also consider that it could be a temporary codename that is being internally used to referred to Android 8.0. In 2013, Google had referred to Android 4.4 as Key-Lime Pie, but it was actually launched as Android KitKat. Hence, there is a possibility that Google introduce Android 8.0 with a different moniker.

Here are the references of Oatmeal Cookie in Google I/O slide

Looks like at least internally Android O is “Oatmeal Cookie.” Noticed this in an I/O slide. pic.twitter.com/9AZD0Zdc8l

— Yoni Samlan (@ysamlan) June 6, 2017

Oatmeal Cookie appears at I/O as (presumably) the internal codename for O, so I’m still hopeful for a release name of Android Oreo 🙂 pic.twitter.com/LRHihJvtNs

— WhiteTiger (@WhiteTigerAE) May 19, 2017

Oatmeal cookie used on one of the slides. Might be the name of the next #Android version? #io17 pic.twitter.com/jxYj9c2Ng4

— bolot (@bolot) May 18, 2017

As far as Android Oreo moniker is concerned, it seems that it won’t be happening because Google and Nabisco reportedly could not development an agreement on using “Oreo” name for Android 8.0. The first developer preview of Android 8.0 was released in March. In May came its second developer preview. Earlier this month, the third Android 8.0 developer preview was released. Google is expected to release the last developer preview soon and in the third quarter of this year, Google will be releasing the final version of Android 8.0 At that time, its actual moniker will be announced.

It goes without saying that the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 smartphones will come preinstalled with Android O. Also, the Android O be also brought first to last year’s Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. In 2016, the first non-Google branded smartphone to deliver Android 7.0 out-of-the-box experience was LG V20. Speculations have it that the LG V30 that is rumored to get announced on Aug. 31 would be the first non-Google phone to arrive preinstalled with it.

(source 1,2,3,4)

China Dominates 2016 Smartphone Shipments: 11 Out Of the Top 14 Brands Were Chinese

By

Zhen Wan

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Jun 23, 2017

IC Insights, a semiconductor market research company based in the US, published a report of 2016’s top smartphones shipments. According to the source, China’s smartphone companies have been a dominating force in the market, holding a total of 11 places out of the 14.

Among the Chinese manufacturers include, Huawei ranked 3rd, OPPO 4th, Vivo 5th, with ZTE holding 6th. In addition to this Lenovo, Xiaomi, TCL, Gionee, Meizu and LeEco/Coolpad came accordingly in order.

Last year’s report for Xiaomi’s shipments saw a decrease to 52.9 million units, down since 2015 by 25%. However, this year speculation believes that Xiaomi has recoiled back significantly.

According to the industry analyst, Kevin Wang, in Q2 2017, Xiaomi sales have reached 23 million, predicting 3Q17 will have another 28 million, and closing 2017 the expected figure will be expected to exceed 80 million shipped units.

What is also interesting to see is the rapid increase in popularity for companies OPPO and Vivo, seeing massive increases of 88% and 89%, respectively. The next largest increase has been Gionee by 53%.

OPPO and Vivo, both owned by BBK Electronics, have seen this large influx of shipments has been primarily due to home market interest in the photography/selfie smartphones. Phones such as Oppo’s R-series and Vivo’s V/Y-series are expected to be the key drivers to the rapid shipment increase between 2015 and 2016. This hasn’t been limited to the home market however, international shipments to countries such as India, Indonesia and in Oppo’s circumstance, with Australia and selected parts of Europe have also played important roles in boosting the company’s shipments.

Other Chinese manufacturers such as ZTE and Meizu have seen small but healthy increases to their shipments, however, it is uncertain what 2017 will bring, depending on what compelling devices they plan to release before the turn to 2018.

Whilst some Chinese manufacturers have seen positive outcomes after 2016’s report, companies such as Lenovo and especially LeEco’s side have felt the pinch in the fall in consumer demand for their phones. The backslash to LeEco’s business plan into the US has now left them tumbling on the leaderboard and unless the company’s negative shipments growth change or they improve their market approach, it is uncertain whether they’ll be appearing in next year’s report.

Lenovo felt similar effects especially in international shipments, where the company had dissolved the ZUK spinoff.

Have IC Insights’ Report surprised anyone? What are your thoughts on the top 14 companies? Were there any missing companies you’d expect on the leaderboard?

(Source)

MIUI 9 Officially Confirmed To Be In Development: Will Be More Powerful & Fluid

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Jun 23, 2017

A few days back Xiaomi’s MIUI official Weibo page released a teaser poster that talked about the MIUI in development and which is thought to refer to the upcoming MIUI 9. That news was captured in the video news summary of an online media outfit and MIUI official in sharing the news broadcast has officially indicated that the MIUI 9 is in development.

The confirmation was further boosted in the comment section where the MIUI official shared some details about the design of the new interface in response to a question about its design. The MIUI official hinted that the boss, that is Lei Jun says the MIUI 9 will be more stable, more smooth and more powerful

In addition, a purported screenshot of the MIUI 9 was leaked recently showing the background. It shows the WeChat app can be switched between the chat interface and the wallet just the same way you can switch apps. That could be a new feature which will allow a new interface to be opened in a new tab within the same app. The leaked screenshot could also mean MIUI 9 is already in an advanced stage and may soon enter closed beta.

MIUI 9 will be based on Android 7.0 Nougat from the start and another sign it could be coming soon is the observation that apart from the Mi 6 and 15 other models, MIUI 8 developer ROM closed beta and the stable version on all other Xiaomi models have been suspended for a while now. Obviously, we’ll be getting more details on this soon.