Xiaomi recently released new updates for MIUI. In addition to bringing new features to the phones, some devices have also gotten updated to a new Android version. Xiaomi says it plans to update a total of 14 devices to Android Nougat and has released a list containing eligible devices.
The Mi Note Pro, Mi 5, Mi 5s, Mi 5s Plus, Redmi 4X and Redmi Note 4X are among the fourteen devices said to have been updated or will be updated to Android Nougat.
The list also mentions the devices that will get an upgrade to Android 7.1 or 7.1.1. Devices on this list are the Mi 6, Mi Max 2, Mi 5C and Redmi 4X.
Xiaomi is known to provide regular updates for MIUI but slow at upgrading them to new Android OS versions. If you are planning to get a Xiaomi phone, this list will help you decide which device to purchase especially if you care for software updates.
Xiaomi has announced a Jackie Chan Limited Edition of its latest Snapdragon 835 powered flagship – Xiaomi Mi 6. The new Mi 6 Jackie Chan Limited edition is released to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Jackie Chan stunt team. The initial team was first reunited after a long period in February this year and the new Edition of Xiaomi’s best smartphone yet is meant to pay tribute to a legendary martial arts actor.
The new Mi 6 edition doesn’t really come with a lot of differences from the regular version but it has a unique gift box which is designed with Jackie’s autograph at the front. The Mi 6 wasn’t unboxed for us to see if the autograph is also stamped on the back of the Mi 6 itself but a group photo of Jackie Chan and his entire stunt team has the “Shot on Mi 6” watermark. In addition, the configuration isn’t revealed but the new edition could have the same specs as the Mi 6 as well, with perhaps, a Jackie Chan themed set of wallpapers onboard.
Jackie Chan is a well-known celebrity actor popular all over the world. He was awarded an honorary Oscars for his works over the years in November last year. No doubt the Jackie Chan edition would have a lot of fans scampering to get one but since it is limited, we can’t say how many units would be available for purchase. We also don’t know when it would be available for purchase and the price tag.
The last time we got a mini version of Samsung’s flagship was in 2014 (Galaxy S5 Mini). For the Galaxy S6 Mini we only saw a retailer list it online as coming soon but it never saw the light of day. There was no announcement of a Galaxy S7 Mini. Now there is news of a Galaxy S8 Mini and we are not excited.
Specifications of the device is said to have leaked online by an undisclosed source. According to the source, the Galaxy S8 Mini will retain the infinity display present in its bigger siblings but will be smaller. Actual dimension is said to be 5.3-inches but due to the thin bezels, the phone will have a 4.7-inch form factor. Although the source says the bezels won’t be as thin as that of the Galaxy S8 and S8+.
The S8 Mini is said to come with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. For the processor, it is said Samsung will use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor present in the Galaxy Note FE.
New details have now been revealed by XDA Developers that points at the likelihood that the OnePlus 5 screen scrolling issues reported by several users may have been caused by the device using an inverted screen. OnePlus has already issued a response about the display issue which stated thus, “the OnePlus 5 uses the same level of high-quality components as all OnePlus devices, including the AMOLED display. We’ve received feedback from a small number of users saying that at times they notice a subtle visual effect when scrolling. This is natural and there’s no variance in screens between devices.”
https://youtu.be/Y2X50k9Bj9Y
This response does nothing to allay the concerns and dissatisfaction of customers whose units are having such glitches. The statement did not even address the root cause of the jelly effect noticed during scrolling (demonstrated in the video above) but the cause seems to have been uncovered.
According to details posted on XDA-developers forum, the OnePlus 5 screen panel is indeed inverted and that was evident from the teardown when compared with that of the OnePlus 3T and others. Also, the kernel source code for the display was dug up by a developer and it clearly showed the inversion was captured in the source code.
OnePlus is yet to officially respond to this theory but an official is reported to have hinted that the inverted screen isn’t an error but its engineers deliberately designed the device that way for unknown reasons. The company official further stated that there is no evidence the jelly screen effect is caused by the inverted screen but they may be related. Also, from its earlier statement, this isn’t a problem the company is going to be worried about since it did not in any way affect the functioning of the phone. The company claims that this issue is not the result of a manufacturing defect, Quality Assurance mishap, or software bug. So, we won’t be seeing a bug fix via an update just like Samsung did for the Galaxy S8’s red tint display issue anytime soon.
For now, only a handful of persons have reported this glitch on their device, that is likely why it is not being taken seriously by OnePlus. As time goes on and more complaints keep popping up, the tech giant may decide to address the issue more seriously. For now, the best bet for concerned fans is to either grapple with it or return the device for a refund or swap.
Electronics maker Hisense has joined the super-selfie train with its new Hisense H10 smartphone. The new device packs a 20MP front facing camera with soft flash for those beautiful selfies.
The camera may be the highlight of the phone but the rest of its specs are not bad. The Hisense H10 has a 5.5-inch 1080p display. There is 4GB of RAM and 64GB of built-in storage and just like its previous phone, the Hisense Rock, this also has a Snapdragon 430 processor.
The rear camera is a 12MP Sony IMX386 and keeping it company on the back is a fingerprint scanner. The phone has a metallic build that is just 7.2mm thick and underneath it lies a 3500mAh battery. That should see you through a day since it is paired with the low-power Snapdragon 430 mobile platform.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will be the first flagship from the South Korean company to feature dual rear cameras. However, if we believe what a Chinese leakster is claiming, the upcoming Galaxy C (2017) and Galaxy A (2018) models will be decked with dual rear cameras.
The Galaxy C10 duo are expected to succeed the Galaxy C9 Pro. The leakster has recently claimed that since Samsung has employed its significant amount of its workforce towards the testing of Galaxy Note 8, the arrival of the Galaxy C10 duo has been delayed.
The Samsung Galaxy C7 and Galaxy C5 Pro (2017) that is speculated to be driven either by Snapdragon 660 or Snapdragon 630 is also speculated to come with dual rear cameras. Apart from these 2017 Galaxy C series phones, the South Korean company is also speculated to bring dual rear cameras on Galaxy A (2018) phones. The leakster has also revealed that the Chinese Galaxy J7 (2017) with model number SM-J7310 will be also equipped with dual rear cameras.
Samsung Galaxy phones are struggling in China. Since the manufacturing costs for dual rear camera systems have dropped down significantly, a lot of well-known and even lesser known brands are providing dual rear cameras on their smartphones. Hence, dual cameras on mid-range Samsung phones will allow it to compete with other smartphone OEMs in China.
Since the launch of Galaxy C10 duo has been delayed, there is no information on which will be the first Samsung phone to feature dual rear cameras. Recent leaks have revealed that the Galaxy Note 8 will be totting horizontally arranged dual rear cameras. with dual-tone dual-LED flash on its right. Rumors also suggest that the Galaxy S9 could be the first Galaxy S series phone with dual rear cameras. As far as Galaxy Note 8’s release is concerned, it is speculated to launch either in August or second half of September. The Galaxy C10 series is now rumored to launch later this year.
At a recent event in Ghana, Lenovo-owned Motorola launched a few of its phones including the Moto Z and also announced a new Moto360 camera Mod.
The info was shared on Twitter by @Evleaks and shows the Mod with a white back and a 360° camera on top. The Moto 360 Camera Mod clips on the back of your Moto Z, Z Play or Z2 Play via the moto mod pins and allows you to record 360° videos on the go via the camera at the top.
Information about the specs of the camera, pricing and availability are still unknown at the moment. Once we get our hands on it, we’ll update the post
Motorola is serious about the future of its Moto Mods and has said it will launch at least 12 moto mods each year. When the Moto 2 Play was announced it lunched alongside a new Moto Gamepad Mod, a 2nd-Gen JBL SoundBoost Mod, a TurboPower battery pack and new Moto Style Shells that add wireless charging to your phone.
Microsoft today launched a new keyboard that comes with a hidden fingerprint scanner. The Modern Keyboard is aimed at those who own PCs that lack a biometric scanner.
The highlight of the Modern Keyboard is its fingerprint scanner but unlike other devices where the scanner is visible and in most cases separated from the rest of the keyboard, this one is hidden. The fingerprint scanner on the Microsoft Modern Keyboard is a dedicated button placed between the ALT and the MENU Key.
This position makes it easy to be ignored. All you have to do is press the button with the registered finger and your Windows PC unlocks.
The Modern Keyboard can be used either as a fully wireless keyboard or a wired one. It connects via Bluetooth 4.0 and above devices or 2.4 GHz wireless networks. Range is said to be 10 meters in an open space or 5 meters in an office environment. It also has a rechargeable battery that can last up to 4 months on a single charge.
You should also note that it only works with Windows 10 devices.
A recent report pitches the Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 as the Xiaomi X1 which is revealed to replace what should have been the next-gen Redmi Pro-series. New details have now emerged which suggests the two models are not the same. In other words, the Redmi Pro 2 is likely still in the works and is distinct from the Xiaomi X1 which may be a new series Xiaomi is introducing.
A new leak has revealed the screen for the Redmi Pro 2 and the screen doesn’t seem to be a full-display screen as was rumoured. The display is a large 6-inch LCD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080pixels. The screen IC driver model is given as Hx8839c and isn’t manufactured by Tianma as also rumoured earlier on.
The Redmi Pro 2 camera is said to be a 12MP + 5MP dual camera setup at the rear with the main sensor being a 12MP Sony IMX362 sensor with a 1.4um individual pixel. The device is also tipped as coming with a 16MP Samsung S5K3P8 front-facing selfie camera with several other functions such as f/1.9 aperture. There are rumours that the Redmi Pro 2 will feature a Snapdragon 630 processor backed by 3GB RAM and could sell for a price of 2299 Yuan ($338) as against the 1999 Yuan ($229) price which the Redmi Pro sold for. This may be unlikely, seeing how close the price is to the flagship Mi 6.
Xiaomi is also rumoured to have recruited Wu Yifan, who contract is said to have ended with Huawei’s Honor, as the brand ambassador for the Redmi Pro 2. Both the Redmi Pro 2 and Xiaomi X1 is said to be launching at the end of this month which would enable us see what the design is and full specs are, as well as the prices.
The first-generation Motorola Moto M was announced in November 2016. It was exclusively available in China at launch, but later it was also made available in other markets. Speculations have it that the company is working on a second-generation edition of Moto M2. Well-known leakster, Andri Yatim has claimed that the Moto M2 would be launching in October 2017.
According to Yatim’s tweet, the Moto M2 will be releasing in more markets this year. It will be coming with 5.5-inch full HD display like the original Moto M. Its 64 GB storage variant will be coming with 4 GB of RAM whereas its 128 GB variant would be featuring 6 GB of RAM.
#motorola#motoM2 to be available in more markets, with cutting edge @MediaTek processors, by OCT 2017. 5.5FHD, 4/6GB RAM + 32/64GB.
The leakster also claims that the Moto M2 will be powered by a cutting edge MediaTek processor. A smartphone with model number Lenovo XT1920-3 that was recently spotted on Geekbench benchmarking platform and Wi-Fi Alliance certification site. Speculations are rife that it could be the Moto M2. The Geekbench and Wi-Fi Alliance listing have revealed that the alleged Moto M2 is driven by MediaTek Helio P20 chipset.
On Geekbench, it scored 1,163 points on single-core test and it recorded 4,835 points in multi-core test. The Helio P20 clocks at 1.85 GHz and is coupled with 4 GB of RAM. The phone is running on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. The Wi-Fi Alliance listing also revealed that the Lenovo XT1920-3 is driven by Helio P20 (MT6797CH) and Android 7.1.1 Nougat.
In the first half of 2017, Motorola had released smartphones like the Moto G5, Moto G5 Plus, Moto C, Moto C Plus, Moto E4 and Moto E4 Plus. Motorola has numerous smartphones that are waiting to release in the second half of the year. The upcoming phones for the company are Moto G5S, Moto G5S Plus, Moto Z2, Moto Z2 Force and Moto X4. The Moto M2 is speculated to launch in October 2017.
The original Moto M is powered by MediaTek Helio P10. However, in India, the company had released its Helio P15 edition. The 32 GB Moto M came with 3 GB of RAM whereas its 64 GB model features 4 GB of RAM. Apart from the aforementioned details on Moto M2, there is no information on the specs of the phone. More details on Moto M2 specs may surface as its fourth quarter release draws near.
Chinese smartphone maker Meizu has launched a new smartphone in its Blue Charm series, making the device a budget model. The Meizu A5 is the company’s latest budget smartphone which comes in at just 699 Yuan ($103). Despite this cheap price tag, the A5 presents with a nice, premium body which looks way more than that of a $100 smartphone.
Design & Specifications
Design wise, the Meizu A5 features the traditional design for which Meizu is known but as stated earlier the device has a premium looking body manufactured using polycarbonate material, with the back cover moulded using high-precision CNC grinding process. The device has the usual capacitive keys at the right-hand side while at the rear, there is a single camera with a round LED flash design located under the camera. The device comes with a dimension of 144 x 70.5 x 8.3mm and weighs 140g.
Talking about the specs, the Meizu A5 sports a 5-inch 720p display and is powered by a 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6737 processor backed by 2GB of RAM with Mali-T720 GPU. The A5 also has a 16GB native storage which is likely expandable. The A5’s camera is composed of an 8MP rear camera unit and a modest 5MP front camera. The interface is provided by Meizu’s custom Flyme 6 based on Android Marshmallow while keeping the lights on is a large 3,060mAh built-in battery.
Meizu A5 Price & Availability
The 699 Yuan ($103) Meizu A5 will go on sale today July 3 at 10 AM in China. The device is available in Matte Black, Silver and Champagne Gold colours. At present, only the Matte Black version is available for sale and you can check out the official sales page here. We don’t know when the budget Blue Charm phone will starts shipping out of China.
Xiaomi is selling Mi series smartphones as high-end and flagship devices. The Redmi series includes midrange smartphones. Fresh information coming from a Chinese leakster suggests that Xiaomi may introduce a new series of phones called Xiaomi X and the Xiaomi X1 will be its very first device.
The leakster has revealed two variants of the Xiaomi X1 which includes a full-screen design version and a regular screen edition. The text on the following image states it is a TPU case for Xiaomi X1.
The first variant has a 5.5-inch Pegasus display with full-screen design. It will deliver a screen resolution of 2,160 x 1,080 pixels. It will be driven by Snapdragon 660 chipset. It will include a IMX362 or IMX386 dual camera system, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and a 3.5mm audio jack. The tipster has provided two sets of standard and high of Xiaomi X1 along with their pricing. The first set include:
Standard model
4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage for 1,999 Yuan (~$294) or 2,299 Yuan (~$339)
High model
6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage for 2,499 Yuan (~$368) or 2,799 Yuan (~$412)
The second set of standard and high models include:
Standard model
6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage for 2,299 Yuan (~$339)
High model
6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage for 2,799 Yuan (~$412)
The second Xiaomi X1 variant is expected to come with a regular screen. Its screen resolution is unavailable, but it is likely to support full HD resolution. It will be also fueled by Snapdragon 660 chipset. It may feature a front-facing fingerprint scanner, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. For this variant also, the leakster has provided the same set of pricing for two types of standard and high models.
Hence, it is likely that the regular screen totting Xiaomi X1 may come with 4 GB/64 GB standard and 4 GB/128 GB high models and the X1 featuring full-screen display may arrive with 6 GB/64 GB standard and 6 GB/128 high models. The Xiaomi X1 could be the Xiaomi Jason phone that has been spotted on GFXBench.
The tipster further claims that the Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 may have been canceled by the company probably because the original model may not have sold well. Hence, there is no information on its existence. During the Surge S1 conference presentation event held earlier this year, the company only spoke nothing about Redmi Pro series, but gave information on Redmi and Redmi Pro series. Hence, there is a possibility that the Redmi Pro 2 will not release and even Redmi Pro series has been cut off.
A report from the previous month speculated that the Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 would be coming with a full-screen display. However, it now seems that the rumored phone could be the Xiaomi X1. The leakster claims that the Xiaomi Mi 6 Plus, Xiaomi X1 and MIUI 9 ROM would be releasing in this month.
Samsung has finally relaunched the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 as the Galaxy Note FE (Fan Edition) in South Korea. As the rumor mill had revealed, the Galaxy Note FE has similar specs as the original Note 7, but it sports the user interface of Galaxy S8 along with the Bixby AI.
In South Korea, the phablet is available in four colors like Black Onyx, Blue Coral, Gold Platinum and Silver Titanium. The original Note 7 was also made available in same color options. With every order of Note FE, Samsung is also providing a cover case that matches with the color of the handset. It features a distinctive logo of Samsung Galaxy Note Fan Edition on its rear panel.
Is Galaxy Note FE Safe to Use?
Samsung states that the Galaxy Note FE is made from unused Galaxy Note 7 and unused components. Because of the faulty battery issue that caused the Note FE to explode, Samsung recalled 3 million units of the phablet and met with big financial loss. Since disposing so many Note 7 units could lead to environmental hazard, Samsung decided on selling refurbished Galaxy Note 7 which could also help in softening its financial loss.
In January, after investigating on multiple instances of Galaxy Note 7 explosions, Samsung confirmed that the faulty battery was the cause of the problem. Hence, it laid down an 8-point safety check procedure to ensure that the battery used in its phone is completely safe. The original Galaxy Note 7 came with 3,500mAh battery, but the newly launched Galaxy Note FE has a reduced battery of 3,200mAh capacity.
The Galaxy Note FE comes with a 5.7-inch S-AMOLED screen that produces a QHD resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels. It is driven by Snapdragon 821 chipset that includes a quad-core CPU and Adreno 530 graphics. The SoC is coupled with 4 GB of RAM and a native storage of 64 GB.
It sports a IP68 certified chassis that features that is fitted with security features like front-mounted fingerprint scanner and an iris scanner. It also comes with an S-Pen. It sports the same software that is available on the Galaxy S8 which includes features like “Always On” function and Bixby AI without a dedicated button for it. It includes a 3,200mAh battery.
A new tax rate implemented by the Indian Government will let its citizens buy iPhones at cheaper prices. The Indian government announced a new Goods and Services Tax as part of a tax reform process. The new tax rate has prompted Apple to lower the price of its products.
The base model of the iPhone 7 which used to be sold for ₹60,000 (∼$928) is now ₹56,200 (∼$869). The 128GB version has seen a price cut too and now sells for ₹65,200 (∼$1009) and the 256GB version is priced at ₹74,400 (∼$1150).
The iPhone 7 Plus on the other hand was reduced from ₹72,000 (∼$1114) to ₹67,300. The 128GB model is priced at ₹72,000 (∼$1114) and the 256GB model is ₹85,400 (∼$1321). The older iPhone 6s Plus also got a price cut to ₹56,100 (∼$868) while the iPhone SE dropped to ₹26,000 (∼$402).
It started out as Motorola but when Google acquired Motorola Mobility in 2012, phones from the American company were released under the Moto brand name. Fast forward to 2016 after Lenovo acquired them, the Chinese electronics giant announced a change to “Moto by Lenovo”, putting aside the Motorola name.
The announcement was made by Rick Osterloh, former Motorola Chief Operating Officer at CES 2016. His statement back then was “We’ll slowly phase out Motorola and focus on Moto,”. At the moment, it seems the Motorola name is being resurrected.
The Moto name was used by a number of the smartphone maker’s official Twitter accounts up until a few days ago. If you check now some of them have switched back to Motorola.
An example is the Motorola USA account. The account went by Moto US @Moto_USA but has now been changed to Motorola US @MotorolaUS.
The OnePlus 5 is selling fast. OnePlus says it is its fastest selling smartphone and Amazon India says it has set the record for a launch week sale. All these have been achieved even with a higher price.
OnePlus probably didn’t see this coming as the 8GB RAM version is now out of stock. If you head to the official OnePlus website, the 8GB RAM + 128GB version is said to ship in 4 weeks while the base variant (6GB RAM + 64GB version) ships immediately.
But you don’t have to wait for 4 weeks if you want the 8GB RAM version. Our online store, Giztop has it in stock and you can place your order and have it shipped to you anywhere in the world.
The Meizu Pro 7 is shaping up to be an interesting device, thanks to its secondary display.
Initially we had thought the Pro 7’s secondary display was an e-ink type but a bunch of live images that appeared last week revealed its a smaller LCD display.
More live images have been posted on Weibo by @Digital Chat Station and this time we get a closer look at the dual rear cameras. Leaked specification details say the rear cameras are a combination of a 12MP Sony IMX386 sensor and a 12MP IMX268. The former is the same sensor in the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 and the Meizu MX6.
The cameras are positioned horizontally and sit above the secondary display. There is also a dual LED flash flanking it on the left. It is unknown what configuration Meizu will use for its dual cameras. We have seen more big manufacturers join the wide angle + telephoto lens train but if it is aiming for a superior low light performance, Huawei’s way may be the path it takes.
In addition to the picture focusing on the camera, a second one shows the secondary display in action. From the looks of it, there is a PAC-MAN-like game running on it. It appears, the display will not only show notifications but work like the primary one.
In April, the rumor mill had revealed leaked photos and specifications of the alleged LG G6 Mini. Evan Blass, a well-known leakster has tweeted that the alleged LG G6 Mini could be launching as LG Q6.
According to the above tweet from the leakster, an LG phone with model number LG Q6 has been recently spotted on FCC with a model number of M700. He claims that the phone would be coming with an aspect ratio of 18:9. It will be featuring a single camera of 13-megapixel and its chipset will be supported by 3 GB of RAM. The tweet carries a link to a tweet from Jon Rettinger (@Jon4Lakers) that carries a link of an LG G6 Mini article that was published in April.
This will be known as the LG Q6 (recently hit FCC under model number M700) — also 18.5:9, but with a single 13MP camera & 3GB RAM. https://t.co/JdSJi8e4wL
Techno Buffalo that was first to reveal leaked specifications and plenty of pictures of smaller version of LG G6 had stated that the handset features a 5.4-inch screen that produces offers a screen-to-body ratio of under 80 percent. It would be supporting an aspect ratio of 18:9 like the LG G6’s 5.7-inch screen. The LG G6 offers a screen to body ratio of 78.6 percent.
There is no confirmation on whether the LG Q6 phone would be coming with the same specs as the LG G6. Hence, there is a possibility that it could feature the Snapdragon 821 SoC that is present under the hood of the LG G6 or it may be fueled by a mid-range processor.
The images showing the rear side of the phone suggest that it would be coming with dual rear cameras like the LG G6. However, Blass claims it will be coming with a single shooter of 13-megapixel. The rear side of the alleged LG G6 also featured a “G6” name at the bottom part, but the tipster states that it would be arriving as LG Q6. The leaked images reveal that the bottom side of the phone features a USB Type-C port and the topside has a 3.5mm jack. On the left edge are the volume controllers and a Power key.
As of this writing, there is no confirmation on when the South Korean company will be launching the LG Q6. It is likely that the phone would be aimed towards emerging markets and may not launch in the U.S.
A recent rumour had hinted that Lenovo was planning to collapse the ZUK brand and instead focus its smartphone business under the Moto brand. The company had debunked such rumours but it has continued to fester and the recent redirecting of the Lenovo China official website to Motorola.com.cn only fuelled the rumours.
From the look of things, there may be more to it than meets the eye. For one, Lenovo may indeed have rested its smartphone brand as the Lenovo and ZUK websites both redirect to Motorola.com.cn. The new website contains a link to navigate to Lenovo’s official China website where only laptops, tablets, Smart home gadgets, printers etc, are exhibited for sale excluding mobile phones.
But Lenovo former VP and presently CEO of the ZUK brand seems to have hinted via his Weibo page that the ZUK Z3 may be coming. The CEO had posted an interesting piece where he hinted that the company will be having 4 different events in the space of three months, precisely between July and September. The post attracted lots of comments with one particularly asking if the ZUK Z3 is coming and Chang Cheng’s response was affirmative. Although subsequent response by the CEO may not have been very explicit, he did not in anyway disclose that the brand is dead. But one uncommon thing we noticed is that he was shown as blogging from a Galaxy S8 smartphone.
The ZUK Z3 is supposed to be the next ZUK mobile phone we’d be seeing. Recent rumours point at the Z3 coming as ZUK Z3 Nax, powered by the unannounced Snapdragon 836, 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. We are not so sure the rumour is fake. The likely turn of event is that Lenovo may have divested from ShenQi, the company which Lenovo invested in to make it the parent company of ZUK. So, it is possible ZUK mobile will be introducing its smartphones as an independent brand. Whatever it is, we expect to see four launch events within the next three months as hinted by the CEO. Until then, we’ll be on the look out for more details on this because the last has definitely not been heard.
All smartphone manufacturers appear to cut the corners of their displays and make them look bezel-less. There is not much practical use of that but those infinity displays just look great. The Chinese phone maker Doogee aims to deliver bezel less smartphone experience for just about $170. Stay tuned to find out if the Doogee Mix is worth the money in the full Doogee Mix Review.
The phone ships in quite a nice box and inside of it you can find all the usual stuff. Some extras include a case to protect the phone and a screen protector.
DESIGN and DISPLAY
The design is the key selling point of Doogee Mix but the main question is if the device is truly bezel-less. Well, there are tiny bezels along with the black bars but they are cut to the minimum. Even though I would not call the Doogee Mix a truly bezel-less phone, it is still one of the best-looking budget devices you can buy. Anyway, the Xiaomi Mi Mix is not fully bezel-less neither.
A Samsung-made 5.5” 1080p AMOLED display is just gorgeous to look at as it is punchy and vibrant. However, I found the colors to be slightly oversaturated for my taste. The sunlight legibility is not the best but it is quite decent.
The earpiece is on the top but the 5MP front facing camera is implemented on the bottom, so you would probably need to take selfies holding the phone upside down.
There are customizable on-screen navigation keys but you can also use a capacitive home key to navigate through the user interface and I found it really useful. The fingerprint scanner is not the fastest I’ve seen but it gets the job done to unlock the phone straight from the standby mode.
The overall build quality is good and the phone sits nicely in the hand. However, I found that the buttons a little bit rattle.
HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE
The Doogee Mix is not all about the looks as it is plenty powerful for the price. The device ships with an octa-core Helio P25 chip, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. You can also opt in for a slightly more expensive model that has 6GB of RAM.
The gaming performance is just great. I was able to run all the 3D games on the highest graphics settings without any issues, which is kind of impressive given the price of the phone. The device gets a little warm on the upper portion but that doesn’t impair the performance.
BENCHMARKS
USER INTERFACE
The Doogee Mix ships with the Android 7.0 out of the box but we have a proprietary skin on top of it that brings a little bit different look and it has quite a few extra features.
Just to name a few, you can read the latest news if you swipe to the left, choose from quite a few different themes or wallpapers, or use a floating gesture that I usually find annoying as it gets in my way. You can also choose from a variety of gesture controls that work pretty well or use one hand operation mode.
What is the most important for me on any phone is the speed and fluidity. I found the Doogee Mix to be quite fast but there is some occasional stutter if you simply swipe through menus back and forth. It just seems that some of the animations have some skipped frames. This is not a deal breaker but I believe we will see a software update quite soon since my device runs on an early software build.
CAMERAS
When it comes to optics, the Doogee Mix has quite an interesting dual-camera setup that consists of one 16MP shooter and another 8MP sensor. The camera app takes pictures really fast. There are some shooting modes to make the best out of dual camera setup like blur mode that takes pictures with the bokeh effect.
The pictures taken using this mode look quite okay but they are far from the flagship-grade quality.
The daylight image quality is disappointing for a $170 phone. I took most of the pictures under perfect lighting conditions but the images lack detail, sharpness, the colors are usually washed out and the dynamic range adjustment is kind of poor. Sure, you will be able to take some decent photos but you will usually see these shortcomings.
The low-light camera performance is just bad. There is plenty of noise and low amount of detail.
You can also utilize the secondary sensor to take pictures with up to 4x lossless zoom, at least this is what Doogee claims. Sure, the results are better than using just digital zoom but still, there is plenty of noise and the images lack detail.
You can also take black and white pictures, which look okay but I’m not a huge fan of black and white photography, anyway.
Selfie image quality is just mediocre. Sure, they are usable for social media but what bothers me the most is the red tint in most of the shots.
The Doogee Mix can shoot videos in 4k resolution but I think this is just an upscaled 1080p footage. There is a decent amount of detail but in general, the videos don’t look good because there is a lot of choppiness and shakiness and the EIS feature does not help at all.
The 1080p video does not look as choppy as 4k and I would rate the quality as average. What disappoints me the most if the lack of continuos auto-focus feature and the footage could look sharper.
The selfie video looks just horrible since it is only in 480p, at least this is what the stock camera app allows. Also, the sound is being recorded only to the left channel, which is again, really disappointing.
The Doogee implemented a loudspeaker on the bottom and the quality of it is just average, to say the least.
Same can be said about the quality of sound via the headset jack.
CONNECTIVITY
The Doogee Mix has a hybrid dual-SIM card tray that can take either 2 SIMs or 1 SIM and the microSD card. Also, the phone has most of the needed sensors like gyroscope, proximity and so on.
When it comes to connectivity, the Wifi speed and range are good and the GPS is accurate. The signal reception is good and the call quality is decent.
BATTERY LIFE
The phone has a 3380mAh battery that will let you use the phone for the entire day but not more, at least this was my experience. I can’t tell you the exact screen-on time due to a software bug but I would say that the phone will get you about 5 hours of SOT.
Finally, it takes about 1,5 h to fully charge the phone with the supplied fast charger.
CONCLUSIONS
So, there you have it, the Doogee Mix. The phone indeed offers quite a lot of value for the price but as usual to the cheap phones, it has a few shortcomings to consider.
The phone is definitely a looker, the gaming performance is great, the display is awesome and the battery life is decent.
However, I was not impressed by the overall camera performance, the user interface is not as smooth as it should be, the loudspeaker quality is mediocre and finally, I will let you decide if the phone is truly bezel-less.
In conclusion, the Doogee Mix is definitely an exceptional budget phone mainly because of its near bezel-less display but hopefully, we will see a few software improvements that will unleash a full potential of the phone’s hardware.
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