Rumor: Google Pixel XL 2 A.K.A Taimen To Be Built By LG

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Jun 13, 2017

Google is hard at work on the next generation Pixel smartphones. Originally though to be three, new info says there are now just two. Muskie, the codename for the Pixel XL 2 is reported to have been cancelled and replaced by Taimen.

A report from 9to5Google says Taimen may be built by LG and they cite a bug entry on the Android Issue Tracker as proof. The bug entry was reported by an employee of LG. A Google employee requested that the bug be moved to thread: Android > Partner > External > LGE > Taimen > power. LGE is presumed to stand for LG Electronics.

If this is true, this will be LG’s 4th device in partnership with Google. The Korean manufacturer is responsible for the Nexus 4, the Nexus 5, and the Nexus 5X. However, this time we won’t see their name on the device. The Pixel and Pixel XL were made by HTC but have no HTC branding on them.

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Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 Could Feature An All Display Design

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 13, 2017

Full display smartphones have been on the increase since Xiaomi blaze the trail with the release of the Mi Mix flagship. A similar trend would be followed by LG on the G6 and recently, Samsung on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ as well as Nubia and its sleek Nubia Z17 flagship. Apple is expected to tow the same line on the iPhone 8 which would be launched later this year. There are also several other Chinese brands working on full-screen phones like Doogee, Bluboo and a host of others. In keeping with the emerging trend, there are indications that the expected Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 may present with a full display design.

There has been an earlier report Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo and others are also interested in having a full display phone which has prompted display manufacturers in Taiwan to commence manufacture of displays with 18:9 screen-to-body ratio. Xiaomi is specifically tipped to use the display type on the Redmi Pro 2. The display that would be featured on the Redmi Pro 2 was said to be on display at Computex in Taipei recently and would be manufactured by Tainma. According to a diagram of the prototype, the screen has only about 0.5mm bezel at the sides while the bottom bezel is about 1.8mm. The screen comes with an 18:9 aspect ratio.

According to the rumoured schedule, the sample would be out this June even though the Redmi Pro 2 is tipped for launch in July. There are speculations that the Redmi Pro 2 will feature a Snapdragon 660 processor along with 6GB RAM and 64GB of storage. The device is expected with a 5.1-inch 1080p display while the camera will be a single 12MP sensor at the rear. There is no way to verify if these details are factual but we know Xiaomi is indeed working on the Redmi Pro 2 after its brief appearance on the tech giant’s official website. Apart from that, there is always some facts in every rumour coming out of the Chinese smartphone industry.

(source)

Mi Band 2 Gets New Blue Strap in Addition To Black and Green

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 13, 2017

Xiaomi’s Mi Band 2 is one of the top selling smart wearables in the market at the moment. It is cheap, has a heart rate sensor and an IP67 rating.

If you have been putting off buying the Mi Band 2 because of its limited colors, then you may want to get it now. The Mi Band 2 was originally launched in graphite black, with the option to purchase an extra green strap. Now Xiaomi has added a new blue strap to the mix.

It doesn’t mean you get to choose the color of the strap at the point of purchase. Nope, you have to buy it in black then buy the extra strap. To be honest, Xiaomi is kinda late to the party.

There are several resellers that sell third-party straps in a bunch of colors. They have it in red, orange (which Xiaomi advertises but isn’t available for purchase), blue, purple, yellow, pink and even chain. They also cost less than Xiaomi’s ¥19.9 ($3) asking price.

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Qualcomm Will No Longer Use MSMxxxx Nomenclature for Its Mobile Platforms

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 13, 2017

Earlier this year, Qualcomm announced its chipsets will no longer be referred to as “processors” but as “Mobile Platforms”. So you have the Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform, the Snapdragon 660 Mobile platform and so on.

Although people haven’t fully switched to calling them mobile platforms, Qualcomm is bringing a new change. You know how the chips usually have special model numbers that has the alphabets MSM and four digits after e.g. MSM8998, MSM8996 or MSM8976. That too is going out the window.

Instead it will use the SDMxxx short form you must have come across in several write-ups. That means the Snapdragon 845 will be referred to as SDM845 and not MSM9000. The info comes from Weibo user @I iceUniverse.

It appears Qualcomm as been using the new naming format already as it was seen in a leaked document that first mentioned the Snapdragon 845 back in May. A screenshot of the document shows the SDM630, SDM 660 and SDM845 mobile processors. I think this naming is much better as folks and easier for people to follow.

The SDM845 is reported to be manufactured by TSMC and will be a 7nm chip. It will offer a 25% increase in performance and a 35% decrease in power consumption over the SD835. The new chip should power the Samsung Galaxy S9 and the LG G7 next year.

(Source, via)

Qualcomm to Work With TSMC on 7nm Mobile Chips

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Zhen Wan

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Jun 13, 2017

An emerging report claims Qualcomm has opened new relationship talks with TSMC to develop a 7nm system-on-chip (SoC). Since the past few years, Qualcomm has collaborated with Samsung to produce its chips, such as the Snapdragon 820 and 835-series. However, judging by the reporter, it appears Qualcomm has lost interest in prolonging their partnership and have turned to TSMC to draw up a new business relationship, the same company that previously manufactured the Snapdragon 810.

There isn’t any clarification why Qualcomm has made a switch to TSMC, speculation indicates that Samsung’s in-house Exynos chipsets’ success may have played a decisive role in the change in Qualcomm’s tactics. We do know that Samsung has been pushing other third-party chips out of their system and replacing them their own ones, note: the Samsung S8’s CPU chip in one of the variants is a Samsung Exynos.

There are also rumors that Samsung has a GPU under the works, if this is true, this would place Samsung and Qualcomm directly head to head; and with Samsung currently making Qualcomm’s chips, this makes the relationship’s situation quite troublesome.

Other factors, affecting Qualcomm’s decision, could be the fact that TSMC has increased the development process of the 7nm, contrary to the 10nm process. With a schedule set at late 2018 to produce the 7nm chips, Qualcomm would like to jump ahead of the processor game and take advantage of the potential benefits that competitors like Samsung could be behind in development.

If any of the rumors happen to be true, we are likely to see the first TSMC-manufactured chips available at the beginning of 2019, on schedule for the announcement of the year’s early flagship phones.

How do you feel about Qualcomm and TSMC reunion? In consideration with the Snapdragon’s 810 issues. Share your thoughts and comment below.

(Source, via)

iPhone 8 Front, Rear Panels Appear in Live Photos to Reveals Like Edge-to-Edge Display, Dual Cam

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Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jun 13, 2017

An insider from Apple’s supply chain has reportedly leaked some photos of the front and back panels of the iPhone 8. Both the panels confirm the rumors the surrounding the highly anticipated iPhone 8 (aka iPhone X). The front panel shows that the iPhone 8 would be coming with an edge-to-edge screen as well as a sensor sitting at the top. The back panel reveals that it will be arriving with a vertically arranged dual camera system.

The design of the iPhones has remained almost the same since the time iPhone 6 was launched in 2014. Hence, Apple is expected to launch redesigned iPhones this year. The year 2017 is the tenth anniversary of Apple iPhones. Hence, the iPhone 8/X is expected to come with a new design. Speculations have it that this special iPhone 8 would be gracing a 5.8-inch OLED scree. The Touch ID sensor is rumored to be embedded under the display.

Since the expected launch of next-generation iPhones in September is drawing near, the frequency of iPhone 8 rumors has increased all the more in the recent weeks. The first image alleged shows the front panel of the iPhone 8 with super-slim bezels and at the top-center, there is a slightly thicker bezel dubbed as sensor bar that houses earpiece and the front camera. The back panel has a vertically designed dual cameras that is separated by a LED flash. Also, the rear panel appears to be made up of glass which indicates that it may come with wireless charging feature.

The above image showcases the three different iPhones, the iPhone 7S, iPhone 7S Plus and the iPhone 8 that are expected to release this year. The three iPhones can be differentiated on the basis of camera housing of each unit. The iPhone 7S is rumored to come with a single-lens 12-megapixel camera.

The iPhone 7S Plus is rumored to house a horizontally designed dual rear camera system and third one belongs to the alleged iPhone 8. These iPhones do not seem to feature a rear-facing fingerprint reader. Hence, all of them are expected to come with screen-embedded Touch ID sensors. Since the iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus also seem to feature glass panels, they are also expected to support wireless charging.

These are some of the iPhone 8 renders that shows off its new design. The smartphone is shown running on iOS 11.

(source 1,2)

Honor 9 Jingdong Reservations Almost Hitting 400,000 in Less Than 24 Hours

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 13, 2017

Huawei‘s elite Honor brand yesterday launched the Honor 9 flagship in China and immediately the device opened for reservation on Jingdong. Barely 2 hours after, the Honor 9 reservation is almost getting to 400,00, pegged at 365,066 as at the time we grabbed the screen shot from Jingdong. In a few minutes, the figure had reached 367,349.

Apart from Jingdong, the Honor 9 would also go on sale via Huawei Mall (Vmall), Lynx, Suning and on Amazon.cn but the data is just for Jingdong alone. What this implies is that the Honor 9 reservation may just be over 1 million presently. Thankfully, Huawei hinted that the Honor 9’s release was delayed in order for the company to increase the produced stock before its launch. So, even though the reservations may not translate into sales or demand but the figures show the demand would be high and there is just a good deal of stock to satisfy the demand. The Honor 9 is still expected to be sold out in seconds, though, when it goes on sale.

As a reminder, the Huawei Honor 9 features a 5.15-inch 1080p display and is powered by a Hisilicon Kirin 960 chip with 4GB /6GB RAM as well as 64GB /128GB storage versions. The device also packs a 3200mAh battery and a dual 20MP + 12MP camera similar to the Mate 9 and Huawei P10’s but without the Leica branding. Up front is an 8MP sensor. The Honor 9 comes in Sea Blue, Amber Gold, Black and Seagull Gray colours and starts at 2299 Yuan (∼$338).

(source)

Huawei Honor 9 Release Was Delayed By A Month To Ensure Adequate Stock

By

Zhen Wan

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Jun 13, 2017

Huawei’s Honor 9 has officially been released in China and judging from the immediate specs, we are looking at a fit contender to Xiaomi’s Mi 6.

Spokesperson Hu Ge stated that Zhao Ming, President of Huawei Honor brand, has responded to the feedback on previous launches of Honor models; reassuring there is a sufficient amount of stock to meet consumer demand.

According to NetEase’s reports, the Honor 9 release conference was postponed for one month to assure consumers that there was an adequate supply of devices available after the announcement.

Other smartphones have suffered from the demand for new 2017 Snapdragon 835 devices. Mi 6, and other expected smartphones, powered by the Snapdragon 835 and equipped UFS Storage, have been affected by stock shortages due to the tight supply chain distributing to the manufacturing of the Samsung S8.

The Honor 9 seems to be unlikely to be affected due to being powered by Huawei’s in-house CPU Chipset, Kirin 960; found in last year’s flagship models such as the Mate 9. This is expected due to reports of stable, consistent production and high successful yields.

Making the Honor 9 a very attractive rival to the Mi 6, this including the included 3.5mm headphone jack, MicroSD expansion, and dual camera setup. The likely swing factors being a choice between UIs and the market prices.

The Honor 9 release will be in Sea Blue, Amber Gold, Black and a new Seagull Gray color. Pre-orders start on 13^th, ending 15^th and official sales in June. For more details, click here.

Is the Honor 9 a perfect contender to the Mi 6? Which one is better? Share your thoughts and comments below.

(via)

Oneplus 5 Camera Sample in Black & White Released by CEO

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 13, 2017

The OnePlus 5 flagship is expected to come with a powerful camera setup, apart from the powerful Snapdragon 835 chip and 6GB / 8GB RAM it is already revealed on benchmark website as featuring. The flagship device has been revealed as featuring a dual camera setup at the rear and really, we have seen a couple of sample images purportedly shot by the OP5’s camera. A couple of days back, OnePlus CEO Liu Zuotu posted a night shot which made bare the OnePlus 5’s camera capability in low light condition.

OnePlus CEO has again shared another sample photo captured by the company’s upcoming flagship device but this time around, the image is a black and white photo. The CEO did not give any details which would tell us if the OnePlus 5 camera will come with a monochrome sensor or if the picture was captured using the monochrome mode of a regular camera. However, a leaked sample photo had earlier surfaced which suggested the presence of a monochrome sensor and this may just have confirmed that. The device is expected with a 16MP dual camera setup but the details of the sensors are still unofficial.

The OnePlus 5 is expected to be announced on June 20 when all the details of the flagship will be made bare. Keep a date.

(source)

LG Reportedly Working on AI Technology; LG G7 May Come Enabled with AI Assistant

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Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jun 13, 2017

A South Korean publication has revealed that LG has reportedly started the research and development of its Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. The South Korean company is said to have created a new division consisting of two research centers that will dedicatedly work on the development of AI tech. The AI tech is expected to be available on the wide range home products by LG. It is also likely that the company may be preparing to introduce its AI assistant on LG G7 flagship phone that will release next year.

As mentioned above, apart from smartphones, the LG AI tech will be coming to various kinds of home appliances and auto parts that are manufactured by the South Korean company. The new division built for AI consists of two wings, one will be providing AI tech in the robotics industry and the other wing will be mainly dealing with AI. Both the research centers will be supervised by the office of Chief Technology Officer.

The research center for robotics will be plainly concentrating on making core technologies for smart robotics. The research center for AI will be devoted towards research and development for deep learning. It will comprise of research wherein a computer will be able to emulate the functioning of the human brain.

Earlier this year, the South Korean company employed the concept of deep learning in some of its home appliances. The smart refrigerator from LG Is aimed towards providing more convenience to the users by recognizing their usage and eating patterns. With deep learning, the devices will be able to predict the activities of the user on the basis of their past behavior. The robotic vacuum cleaner is able to identity objects in the room by capturing images. This way it will be able to remember obstacles to avoid them.

Samsung introduced its Bixby AI assistant on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ flagship phones. The company is expected to make the feature available on more number of smartphones such as the Galaxy C10 in the near future. LG is already rumored to be working on LG G7 that is speculated to come powered with the upcoming Snapdragon 845 chipset. The LG G7 could be its first smartphone to arrive with its own AI assistant.

(source|via)

OnePlus CEO: OnePlus 5 Is Coming With UFS Storage

By

Zhen Wan

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Jun 13, 2017

Confirmation from the OnePlus CEO, Liu Zuohu, revealed that the OnePlus 5 will be released with UFS-type storage; providing more comfort for fans that OnePlus will not be using current alternatives for their internal storage. This reassurance comes after the unveiled scandals from Huawei’s Mate 9 and Samsung’s Galaxy S8’s mislabeling of storage types of EMMC instead of UFS 2.0 and UFS 2.0 instead of UFS 2.1, respectively.

Liu said in his Weibo post that UFS storage has surprisingly become a selling point. What he probably wants to hint from this post is that UFS should be standard inside flagship phones and it’s surprising to see companies are making it as a selling point.

UFS 2.1 is currently the fastest option available, found in some high-end flagship smartphones, UFS 2.0 being its predecessor and the EMMC as UFS’ slower competitor. These exposures have led to smartphone manufacturers to become more vigilant with their marketing and small text details in their tech spec pages.

Liu Zuohu’s comment brings us a clearer idea that OnePlus are about to release an all-star, near bleeding-edge “Flagship Killer” this month. Expect something like a UFS-type 128GB internal storage and Snapdragon 835 paired with 8 GB RAM. We are expecting OnePlus not to disappoint this summer.

For 1080p band camp and general users, the 1080p display will certainly remain ideal for everyday use and video playback. There is no confirmation whether OnePlus will be sticking to AMOLED panel (which they probably would — Optic AMOLED ), however, if they do, we will expect to see improved color reproduction from the OnePlus 3/T.

What other things don’t we know?

If the internals are accurate, we are still missing confirmation for several features: a 3.5mm headphone jack, the specification of the USB-C and speaker’s quality. From the OnePlus’ Twitter account, we can see the power button and SIM card are located on the right side; a logical guess would be OnePlus’ signature alert slider and volume control will be on the opposite.

Does the confirmation by Zuohu improve your opinion about the Oneplus 5?

(Source)

Huawei Claims It Outsold Apple in December 2016

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 13, 2017

Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has laid claims to figures which it says proved that the company recorded more sales volume than US-based tech giant Apple. The Chinese market leader currently sits at the third position in the global ranking but according to Huawei’s India director for product centre, Alex Wang, Huawei overtook Apple in the month of December 2016.

According to the Huawei director, the company’s shares for December 2016 reached 13.2% globally whereas Apple posted a figure in the range of 12%. Huawei claims to have shipped a total of 139 million smartphones last year which unfortunately didn’t transform into a very profitable venture for the company. The Huawei exec also hinted that although Samsung still maintains its lead in the global market in terms of sales volume, Huawei did overtake the Korean giant in some markets. In addition, the Honor brand is now the number one online smartphone brand in the world which sells across 74 countries, including India.

Curiously, market share reports for Q1 2017 still shows Huawei occupy the third position in sales volume with a record 34.55 million units sold. We also couldn’t find any report from the major market research firms to corroborate this claim by the Huawei exec. However, the company still maintain the number one spot as the highest grossing brand in China with OPPO and Vivo following closely.

(source)

Google Pixel XL 2 Muskie Cancelled? Reportedly Replaced by Larger Google Taimen

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jun 13, 2017

Since a few months, the rumor mill has been claiming that Google will be releasing three smartphones this year. Two of them is expected to be successor phones for Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 and the third one is said to be larger phone. However, newer information coming from Android Police suggests that the Google Pixel XL 2 that is codenamed as Muskie has been cancelled.

The publication had reported earlier this year that apart from Walleye (Pixel 2’s successor) and Muskie (Pixel XL 2’s successor), Google is also working on another large-sized phablet that is codenamed as Taimen. The new information revealed by the publication suggests that it will be releasing only two Google Pixel phones this year as Muskie has been replaced by Taimen.

As of this writing, there is no confirmation on how big the Google Taimen will be. Previous reports say that since Taimen is the largest salmonid in the world, it is speculated it may come with large screen of around 6 inches like the Nexus 6 from 2014.

Interestingly, in the previous week, the alleged Google Pixel XL 2 had appeared on GFXBench benchmarking platform. Since the codename of the phone was not revealed in the listing, the Pixel XL 2 may be the Taimen device and not Muskie. In the previous month, Google Taimen was spotted on Geekbench with Snapdragon 835, 4 GB of RAM and Android O.

The Pixel XL 2 GFXBench listing revealed that it features a 2,560 x 1,312 pixels resolution support screen of 5.6 inches. If the navigation bar is included then the Pixel XL 2 could be supporting a QHD resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels. Hence, the Google Pixel XL 2 may arrive with a screen size of 5.7 inches. The original Pixel XL came with a 5.5-inch screen. Rumors have it that the Pixel 2 duo would be coming with super-slim bezels.

What could be the reason behind axing the Muskie phone? The regular Galaxy S8 sports a large 5.8-inch screen and its Galaxy S8+ sibling has an even bigger screen of 6.2 inches. Hence, instead of launching a 5.5-inch handset with “XL” naming, Google may have decided to launch with a larger screen. Even though the Pixel XL 2 has been spotted with Snapdragon 835, rumors are rife that it may be powered with the upcoming Snapdragon 836 chip.

(source)

Meizu Pro 7 Gets 3C Certification, Reveals 24W Fast Charging and Rumored Possible July Release

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 13, 2017

The Meizu Pro 7 has been in the news quite frequently lately due to its unique design. While still unconfirmed, the phone is expected to feature a secondary e-ink display at the back that displays notifications.

The Meizu Pro 7 was seen on China’s 3C certification website listed as the Meizu M792C and M792Q smartphones. Unlike TENAA, the 3C site doesn’t reveal much. The only info is that the phone will have 24W fast charging.

The Meizu Pro 7, according to previous leaks is expected to have a 5.2-inch AMOLED display that may be FHD or QHD. It will be powered by Mediatek’s 10nm chip, the Helio X30. We will keep our fingers crossed on this last bit as no phone has launched with the chip up till this moment.

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Snapdragon 845 Likely to Deliver 1.2 Gbps Download Speeds with Snapdragon X20 LTE Modem

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jun 13, 2017

Qualcomm is reportedly working on Snapdragon 845, the successor chip for Snapdragon 835. The SD 845 will be powering the flagship phones that will launch in the next year. It has been found that the Snapdragon 845 will be featuring Snapdragon X20 LTE modem that will be able to deliver download speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps.

A LinkedIn profile of a Qualcomm Senior Staff Engineer has revealed that the company is working on Snapdragon 845 SoC and it will be equipped with Snapdragon X20 LTE modem. Here is the snapshot of the LinkedIn profile revealed by famous leakster, Roland Quandt:

If you were wondering what SoC that new Qualcomm X20 modem will end up in with its 1.2 GBit/s downlink. Yep, Snapdragon 845. (from LinkedIn) pic.twitter.com/lMd5lcovJf

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) June 11, 2017

The Snapdragon X20 LTE modem was first announced in February this year. It features a Category 18 LTE modem that is capable of producing downlink speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps. Apart from gigabit downlink speeds, the Snapdragon X20 can deliver maximum upload speeds of 150 Mbps through its 2 x 20 MHz carrier aggregation. Like the powerful Snapdragon 835 and the upcoming Snapdragon 845, the Snapdragon X20 is also built with 10nm FinFET manufacturing process. However, some rumors have claimed that it is a 7nm chip.

According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon X20 has been built to support 5G networks that will soon become a reality in the near future. The company has already provided smartphone OEMs with the samples of X20 modem at the beginning of this year.

Reports suggest that Qualcomm has been actively developing the Snapdragon 845 SoC. This year, Samsung managed to get the initial stocks of Snapdragon 835 for Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. This made other smartphone OEMs to wait for the launch of the Galaxy S8 duo in order to launch Snapdragon 835 powered smartphones.

Since the initial stock of Snapdragon 835 went to Galaxy S8 duo, LG had to settle with Snapdragon 821 SoC for LG G6 which was released before the Galaxy S8 and S8+. However, a recent report has revealed that LG has already managed to strike a deal with Qualcomm to ensure that the LG G7 is powered by Snapdragon 845.

The Snapdragon 845 chipset is expected to debut in January 2018. At present, Qualcomm is also rumored to be working on Snapdragon 836, an improved edition of Snapdragon 835. The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is rumored to launch as the first Snapdragon 836 powered smartphone.

(source)

Samsung Galaxy Note FE Rumored to Launch on July 7

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

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Jun 12, 2017

Samsung is releasing two Galaxy Note series smartphones this year. The Galaxy Note 8 flagship smartphone of 2017 is expected to debut in August or September. Before the Note 8 arrives, Samsung would be launching the refurbished Galaxy Note 7 with Galaxy Note FE (Fandom Edition) moniker. Previous rumors have suggested that the Note FE would be unveiled at the end of this month. However, newer information available on ET News, a South Korean publication, claims that the Galaxy Note FE may get official on July 7.

According to the publication, the Galaxy Note FE was expected to launch in the South Korean market by June 30. However, the company has decided to delay its launch by one week. One of main reasons why Samsung has delayed the launch of the refurbished phablet is that it wants to increase the number of Galaxy Note FE units available from 150,000 to 450,000.

The Note FE is expected to be available with a pricing of about $620 in the home country of Samsung. It is rumored to be available in colors like Blue Coral, Gold Platinum, Silver Titanium and Black Onyx. The original Note 7 was also available in the same four colors.

Raed More: Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Will Be World’s First SD836 Phone: Rumor

In order to attract more buyers, the South Korean company is also rumored to include Bixby AI assistant. an official from a cellular operator company revealed. However, a representative from Samsung has said that it cannot be confirmed whether the Note FE will feature Bixby AI. He further stated that the firm will work in various ways to ensure that the expectations of consumers are set. The Galaxy Note FE would be arriving first in South Korea. It won’t be coming to the U.S., but the phablet will be arriving in other markets soon.

Previous leaks have revealed that the Galaxy Note FE has a distinctive ‘R’ letter mentioned on its rear side to let the buyers easily understand that it is refurbished edition of Note 7. One of the major changes that is arriving on the Galaxy Note FE is that it features a smaller battery of 3,2000mAh capacity. This seems to be a sensible move as the faulty 3,500mAh battery caused the original Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to explode. Rest of the specs of Note FE are rumored to be as that of the original Note 7.

(source|via)

[Updated] Motorola USA Announces The Moto E4 and E4+, Will Be Available on June 22

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 12, 2017

UPDATE: RAM, ROM and CPU specifications have been updated for both phones.

Motorola USA just dropped a massive reveal on the Moto E4 and Moto E4+. The announcement was made on Twitter a short while ago, saying both phones will be available on June 22. A link to a blog post was included but now it no longer opens. However we were able to get the juicy details for our readers.

Moto E4

The 4th gen Moto E has a 5-inch HD display, 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. There will be two processor variants: one with a Snapdragon 425 and the other with a Snapdragon 427, both are quad-core chips clocked at 1.4GHz . There is an 8MP f/2.2 main camera and a 5MP shooter for selfies. The front camera is listed as having a front flash on the US site.

Motorola says the 2800mAh battery should last you for hours. The phone also has a water repellent coating and runs Android 7.1 Nougat

Moto E4 Price and Availability

Where it gets interesting is in the multiple versions available. There is the North American Variant and a variant for the rest of the world.

North America Version

It will be available in Fine Gold and Licorice Black in NA and will come in two variants. One will have a fingerprint scanner and the other won’t. Both variants won’t have NFC.
It will also be available to buy from Verizon Wireless in the same colors as above but without a fingerprint scanner.

Rest of The World

The rest of the world will get an additional color. There is Blush Gold, Iron Gray and Oxford Blue. There will be two variants: those with NFC and those without NFC. All will have fingerprint scanners.

The Moto E4 will start at $129.99/€149. It will also be available as an Amazon Prime Exclusive Phone with a different price that hasn’t been revealed yet.

Moto E4+

The Moto E4+ has a 5.5-inch HD display. It is powered by a Snapdragon 427 processor clocked at 1.4GHz and comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB/32GB ROM.

The E4+ lives up to its name with a massive 5000mAh battery that supports 10W fast charging. It also features a splash resistant metal body. There is a 13MP camera on the rear and a 5MP front camera with its own flash. The Moto E+ runs Android 7.1 out of the box.

Moto E4 Price and Availability

Moto E4+ North America:The Moto E4+ will come in Fine Gold and Iron Gray. Both have fingerprint scanners but there is no mention of NFC.
Moto E4+ Rest of The World:The rest of the world will get the E4+ in Blush Gold, Iron Gray and Oxford Blue. It will also have a fingerprint scanner but there is no mention of it having NFC too. Another subtle difference is that the international variant has its front LED flash on the left unlike the NA version which is on the right.

The Moto E4+ will start at $179.99/€199. There is no Verizon variant neither is there a mention of an Amazon Prime Exclusive model.

[envira-gallery id=”135972″] [envira-gallery id=”135971″]

Huawei Mobile Wifi Pro 2 Out of the Box Tour – 32 Users at a Go

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 12, 2017

Huawei released a new 4G LTE Mobile WiFi modem recently which it called the Huawei Mobile WiFi Pro 2 and which replaces the first-generation Mobile WiFi Pro. The Huawei Mobile WiFi Pro 2 is a portable WiFi device that can successfully fit into a trouser pocket. The device can securely connect up to 32 wireless devices at the same time whereas its predecessor only support 10 users.

The WiFi Pro 2 features a sleek design with an OLED-LCD display upfront. Apart from that, the Huawei Mobile WiFi Pro 2 can also function as a mobile power bank to charge other electronic gadgets such as smartphones, tablet and others with its large 6400mAh battery which can last up to 25 hours and standby time of up to 1600 hours. The design is such that the lanyard used to hold the device also doubles as the USB port for charging .

The Mobile WiFi Pro 2 is configured to deliver high-speed internet connection, packing LTE Cat6 band which offers up to 300 Mbps internet connection speed and a more secured and stable Internet connection even in various mobility situations. The router provides multiple frequencies for Wi-Fi networks it creates and it is compatible with all the frequency spectrum such as 2.4G / 5G and various Wi-Fi standards including 802.11a / b / g / n / ac to suit all user needs. Mobile WiFi Pro 2, a connection can be established and devices can be identified using NFC technology or QR code and Huawei’s application HiLink without the need to search for the network and enter password to join the Wi-Fi network. By connecting the device to the router via NFC or using the QR code, various devices can be connected to the Internet directly.

The Huawei Mobile WiFi Pro 2 is currently on sale for 899 Yuan on Huawei’s official store. But the device presently supports only the 3G/4G networks of China telecom, China mobile and China Unicom. The price is just 100 Yuan higher than the previous model despite the ramped up specs. The following are a couple of unboxing / hands-on images of the device courtesy mydrivers.

(source)

Huawei Enjoy 7 Render, Specs and Pricing Surface Online

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 12, 2017

Huawei released a number of entry-level phones in recent weeks. Among them is the Enjoy 7 Plus, announced in April with a 4000mAh battery and a Snapdragon 435 SoC. Since the above is the Plus variant, it is not surprising to hear that the Enjoy 7 is on the way.

Details of the Huawei Enjoy 7 alongside a render image have surfaced online. The Enjoy 7 seems to have a metal back plate like the Plus variant. It has its fingerprint scanner at the back as well as visible antenna lines.

Where it differs is in the rear camera. This time, it is positioned on the left corner along the top antenna line. The design looks like what you will find on dual camera phones but it is actually a single sensor.

You have the volume rocker and power button on the right and the SIM tray on the left. The front camera and proximity sensor are positioned on the top left corner and there is Huaweí’s name sitting on the lower bezel. There is an audio jack at the top and a micro-USB port at the bottom flanked by two speaker grilles. this is a budget phone so don’t expect stereo speakers.

For specs, the Huawei Enjoy 7 will have a 5-inch 720p screen, a Snapdragon 425 processor and an Adreno 308 GPU. It will come with either 3GB of RAM paired with 32GB of storage or 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. Huawei’s EMUI 5.1 based on Android 7.0 will come pre-loaded.

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ZUK Edge Gets A New Lifeline Via Flyme OS

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Jun 12, 2017

Meizu‘s beautiful Flyme OS interface was announced to become available for third-party models last month with the OnePlus 3T, Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, Nexus 6P, ZUK Z2 and a host of other Qualcomm phones billed as the first set of models which will have compatible versions of the new Meizu interface. Today, Meizu’s Flyme 6 OS has the honour of welcoming a new third-party model, the ZUK Edge.

Although Lenovo refuted claims that it is killing its own brand for the Motorola brand, the company indeed disclosed that it would be resting the ZUK brand. What this means is that the ZUK Edge is the last model that would be released under the ZUK brand. Although the ZUK Edge comes pre-installed with the latest Android Nougat the chances of regular updates hitting the model is low, even though Lenovo promised it would continue providing updates. However, the Flyme ROM for ZUK Edge gives users of the ZUK model sort of a lifeline, a second option of changing the interface from the company’s ZUI to Meizu’s latest Flyme 6.0.

Flyme 6 stable ROM for Lenovo’s ZUK Edge is available on the Flyme website but it must be noted that it requires some bit of expertise on flashing a phone’s ROM to do this. Also, it is important to note that Flyme 6 downgrades the ZUK Edge to Android 6.0 Marshmallow which the Flyme 6 is based on whereas the ZUI is already on Android 7.0 Nougat. But then, you get a whole new interface, a cool one at that with a couple of custom Meizu features. You can get details on how to download from here.

(source)