Within the next few minutes, Gearbest will launch a big brand lightning flash sale on its website wherein you can get your favorite products from brands such as Xiaomi, Vernee and other at great prices. The price will be available for a limited time and you’ll get to know the final offer price only after the lightning deal kicks off.
Some of the popular products up for discount on the site include the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, Xiaomi Mi 6, the Mijia Pen. There are many other brands (deal coming soon) such as Vernee (Apollo, Apollo X and even Thor are listed for this sale), Elephone, ILIFE Robot Vacuum cleaner lineup etc. There are many tablet convertibles being offered as well, like Teclast Tbook series, or even basic cheap tablets like Teclast X80.
Just check out the deal page link added below to get the final prices during this lightning flash sale.
Huawei is currently the biggest smartphone manufacturer in China. It’s recent flagship, the P10 and P10 Plus have been under fire for its use of different flash storage. Although Huawei has issued an official regarding that issue, its problems are not over yet.
Fresh trouble brewing for Huawei is related to a faulty Huawei P10 charger that nearly burnt a house down. The owner of the phone who goes by @WEN Xiao Xiang on Weibo took to the microblogging site to explain his displeasure about the matter.
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In his post, he explained that the incident occurred the second time the charger was used. After plugging the phone and leaving it to charge for a while, he noticed the charger had started to burn. The fire was said to have even damaged the power outlet and stained the wall with smoke.
Upon contacting Huawei, WEN Xiao Xiang said he was surprised at the way the company handled the matter. Huawei officials were sent to his house to retrieve the charger for testing to check if the fire was caused by the charger or the wiring system of his house.
Before the test result was out, the Huawei after-sales center in Tengzhou brought a professional electrician to check his home’s wiring. The electrician didn’t find any issue with his home. However, the Huawei staff declined to write a report absolving him of any fault. His reason was that the Jinan office had refused to take the blame until the test results were out.
From the rest of his posts, it appears Huawei is trying not to take responsibility for the incident and instead put the blame on his home on 6-year old home. He has also provided the original receipt gotten from the Huawei store he purchased the three day-old phone, as proof that he bought the phone from a certified store.
After a long silence from smartphone releases, Coolpad has gone official with its latest smartphone which is dubbed Cool Play 6. The Coolpad Cool Play 6 is projected as a gaming smartphone and so, comes with a hardware lineup that can withstand heavy games.
Design
On the design aspect, the Coolpad Cool Play 6 features a premium metal body which is available in black and soft gold colours. The display comes with bezels on all sides, with the bottom bezels looking usually large despite the absence of a physical home button. While at the rear, the Cool play 6 features as its main highlight, a dual camera setup aligned in the vertical plane. The device also comes with a fingerprint sensor located just under the rear cameras. The back casing looks like what is non-removable considering that the battery isn’t removable. The speaker grills just at the bottom edge add some beauty to the sleek design Coolpad used on the Coolplay 6.
Coolpad Cool Play 6 Specifications
Piloting the affairs on the smartphone is a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 chipset which is backed by a large 6GB RAM. The Cool Play 6 also comes with a 64GB storage on board. The device also features a 5.5-inch display. The dual camera setup is comprised of a 13MP Sony sensor combining with a black and white secondary sensor which is likely a depth of field sensor. The main sensor comes with 6P lens, autofocus as well as a f/2.0 aperture. Up front, you get an ample 8MP sensor for cool selfie snapshots.
In addition, the Coolpad Cool Play 6 packs a large built-in 4,060mAh battery which offers up to 252 hours on standby, up to 9 hours of internet browsing, 8hours of video watching and 6hours of extreme gaming. The phone is also touted to feature a built-in intelligent temperature control technology which ensures it doesn’t get too hot even while running heavy games. This will, in turn, ensure that the battery does not get drained on time. The Cool Play 6 also features Wi-Fi performance optimization. Coolpad has also reached an agreement with Tencent and the Play 6 users will get access to game content platform FreshDay where they can play live games and others. This is a limited gift pack, by the way. The phone runs on Coolpad’s own Journey UI based on the Android kernel.
As for the price, the Coolpad Cool play 6 has a price tag of 1499 Yuan ($217) which is a reasonable amount for the specs you get. Registration for the Cool Play 6 is already on but the smartphone will be available as from May 16 at 10 AM on Jingdong.
Apple is silent on iPhone 8, but the rumor mill is consistently speculating on its specs and features. Fresh renders of iPhone 8 that are based on CAD images have appeared.
Though the new renders appear quite real, there is still no confirmation on whether the iPhone 8 will look same as what we see in the renders here. The reason behind it is that the Cupertino company may be experimenting the design of the upcoming iPhone with numerous iPhone 8 prototypes. Hence, the final version of the iPhone 8 could appear quite different from the renders here
The iPhone 8 reportedly features a 5.8-inch OLED screen which is rumored to be placed in a smaller body that measures 1435 x 70.9 x 7.7mm. The render show that there are no bezels around the screen. Even the front-facing Touch ID sensor is missing. It indicates that the Touch ID sensor may come embedded under the screen.
Some rumors are claiming that the iPhone 8 may arrive with rear-facing Touch ID sensor. Rumors also hint that iPhone 8 may also feature facial recognition feature.
The bottom side of the iPhone 8 in the renders seem to feature a USB Type-C port placed between two external speaker grilles. The right edge of the iPhone 8 has a Power key and a SIM card tray. The left side features the volume buttons.
The rear side of the iPhone 8 features a vertically stacked dual rear camera setup with an LED flash placed between the two sensors. Rumors have revealed that the vertically arranged camera may carry support for advanced augmented reality features. The back panel appears to be made up of glass and its corners have rounded appeal.
A report from KGI Securities has revealed that the iPhone 8 has encountered production problems. The delay is probably because of the overhaul improvements coming to IPhone. 8. Apple is speculated to release three iPhones this year, the iPhone 7 featuring a 4.7-inch screen, the iPhone 7 Plus with 5.5-inch display and the iPhone 8 that will come packed with a 5.8-inch display.
Apple follows a traditional pattern of unleashing the iPhones in September each year. This year too, the company is speculated the upcoming iPhones in the same month.
Apple is known for acquiring smaller tech firms so that the products and services from such firms can be sold under Apple’s branding. The Cupertino company has now acquired a firm called Beddit, a maker of sleep tracker which can be placed between the sheet and mattress while sleeping. For monitoring sleep, users of Beddit Sleep Tracker do not require wearing any wearable device. All that the user is required to do is sleep with the tracker placed between the sheet and mattress.
Apple confirmed the acquisition by updating the privacy policy page of Beddit. It now reads as “Beddit has been acquired by Apple. Your personal data will be collected, used and disclosed in accordance with the Apple Privacy Policy.” The Beddit Sleep Tracker is available for purchase on Apple stores with a pricing of $150. The financial terms of the acquisition have not been revealed.
The Beddit Sleep Tracker which appears like a duct tape makes use of ballistocardiography methods to measure the mechanical activity of various vital organs of the body such hearts and lungs. The sleep tracker can provide information on the quantity and quality of sleep, heart rate, number of breathes per minute, snoring indicator for poor sleep quality and it also provides details on how to optimize bedroom environment for better sleep. The sleep tracker can tell which takes done in the day can affect the sleep. It can provide details on how to make good sleep a habit.
The acquisition shows that Apple wants to provide native sleep tracking feature to its users. It is likely that Apple may add some sleep tracking feature on iOS or integrate Beddit features on Apple Watch. At present, iOS and Apple Watch can monitor sleep only through third-party apps or add-ons devices.
Beddit is no longer advertising its watchOS app which indicates that the Beddit’s sleep tracking technology will be incorporated in Apple Watch. A research by CDC has revealed that 50 to 70 million adults in the U.S. suffering through a sleep disorder which indicates that there is indeed a market for sleep monitoring.
Meizu has officially announced the splitting of the company into three new divisions where they now have the Meizu brand, Blue Charm and the Flyme divisions. The new reorganisation also sees the reshuffling of the various portfolio with some execs moving upward. Meizu President, Huang Zhang, also known as Jack Wong, remains as Chairman and CEO of the company, overseeing the entire operations of the company. Mr Wang will also directly oversee the high-end Meizu products and we do hope we’ll finally get to see his “dream machine” which we believe is the Pro 7.
Apart from Huang, the entire top executive structure has been restructured. Li Nan who was formerly Meizu VP for sales and marketing now heads the newly created Blue Charm division as President in addition to his duties as head of branding, sales and marketing.
Former CEO Bai Yongxiang who was running Meizu while Jack Wong was away, steps up to head the Meizu division as President and would report directly to Jack Wong. While Yang Yan who was senior vice president of Meizu technology and president of Flyme division will continue to oversee the Flyme operating system.
No reason was given for the reshuffling but it is believed to be geared towards repositioning the innovative brand for future growth. Since releasing its first smartphone, Meizu M8 in 2009, Meizu has gone on to grow into a formidable force in the Chinese smartphone industry and from their latest innovation in fast charging technology, the company isn’t planning to relent soon.
The Smartisan Nut Pro is now official. Unveiled at an event this evening in China, Smartisan’s new phone is a mid-ranger with a premium design.
Smartisan Nut Pro Design
Built from a mixture of metal and glass and available in carbon black, red wine, and a special edition called “Thin Red Line”, the Smartisan Nut Pro looks like a very sophisticated iPhone SE. The phone is just 6.98mm thick, weighs 158g but still manages to hold a 3500mAh battery.
The Nut Pro has dual rear cameras that sit at the top left corner and are spaced apart. Right in the middle of the phone is Smartisan’s logo and at the base is the manufacturer’s name. The base is in symmetry with the lower bezel in front that holds the physical home button. A simple but classy design.
Smartisan Nut Pro Specs
Available in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB storage options, the Smartisan Nut Pro varies in specification according to the storage capacity. All three have a 5.5-inch in-cell full HD display, 4GB of RAM, and dual 13MP rear cameras with f/2.0 aperture and PDAF. Where they vary is in the front facing camera, processor and some additional features.
The 32GB variant has an 8MP f/2.0 front camera while the 64GB and 128GB variants sport 16MP f/2.0 sensors. The 32GB is also powered by a Snapdragon 625 processor while the remaining two use the more recent Snapdragon 626. If you want NFC, you can only get that on the 128GB version.
The rest of the specs remain the same. There is a fingerprint scanner under the home button that can store up to ten different prints and also supports Alipay. The phone uses a dual hybrid SIM tray, supports dual band WiFi, and has Bluetooth 4.2. It also has a 3500mAh battery that supports Quick Charge 3.0.
Smartisan Nut Pro Price
The Smartisan Nut Pro starts at ¥1499 (~$217) for the 32GB version which is only available in carbon black; ¥1799 for the 64GB version (~$260) available in carbon black and red wine; and ¥2299 (~$333) for the 128GB version which is available in carbon black, red wine, and The Thin Red Line special edition.
The phone manufacturer also announced Smartisan 3.6/3.7, the latest iteration of its OS. Some of the new features include quick record which lets you take down voice notes by holding down the home button. It also supports optical character recognition (OCR) which lets you convert written text into machine encoded text. This will be useful when copying information from business cards, flyers and noticeboards.
Previous features such as One Step and Bing Bang (Smartisan’s version of Google Now on Tap) have also both been updated to version 1.5 and 2.0 respectively.
Recently ZTE released Nubia Z17 Mini and it might be one of the most significant mid-range releases in the year 2017. I have to highlight it has an amazing dual and selfie camera that belong only to the camera champions in the market.
When a middle range phone is released from a Chinese brand, it is wise to be careful before making the buying decision. There are many potential drawbacks, but that’s why we’ll size and measure all the pros and cons before cutting. ZTE has proved in the past that they know to make a sexy phone with some great features and astonishing performance. Considering that Cristiano Ronaldo is posing on the ad of Nubia Z17 Mini, you can bet that ZTE has big expectations from this model. And what should your expectations be? Let’s roll it.
Top-level Nubia Z17 Specification
Cards Slots: Dual Nano-SIM or SIM + memory card up to 200GB
Display: LTPS IPS LCD, 5.2 inches, 1080 x 1920 res (424ppi), Gorilla Glass
Nubia UI v4.0 runs on Android 6 (Marshmallow)
Standard edition: CPU Octa-core Snapdragon 652 (4 x 1.8GHz plus 4 x 1.4GHz); Memory: 4GB / 64GB; GPU: Adreno 510
High edition: CPU Octa-core Snapdragon 653 (4 x 1.95GHz plus 4 x 1.4GHz); Memory: 6GB / 64GB; GPU: Adreno 510
Rear Camera – Dual 13MP
Selfie Camera – 16MP
Video: 4k
Battery: 2950 mAh
Nubia Z17 Mini Review: Design, the feel, and the hardware
I remember back in 2015 when Nubia Z9 got launched. It was a big shift for ZTE and it attracted the attention of many right away. Even some designers were happy to see a ‘fresh face’, and those guys are usually picky. With Z17 Mini, Nubia follows this stylish design. It is very hard to accurately rate design because of personal preferences, but this model deserves high marks for it. The phone feels sturdy and sits well in the hand.
It comes in four colour combinations: 1) Elegant Black (my personal favorite); 2) Gold Black; 3) Champagne Gold; and 4) Red. It has red as a part of their branding and the phones feature great camera features that symbolically means that photography is user’s passion.
Interestingly, 97% of Z17 Mini’s body is made of aluminum, which gives a premium feel. It’s worth mentioning the curves on the edges are not fully rounded. Instead, a part of the curve is cut and that gives the phone a bit different feel in hands and a better grip. Although, it feels a bit slippery in the beginning. Adding to it weight of 155 gr, the general feel of Z17 Mini is convincing in a way that you are holding a premium handset. With its dimensions (146.7 x 72.5 x 7.5 mm (5.78 x 2.85 x 0.30 in)), the phone feels compact enough.
Many phone makers nowadays put the fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone, and to be honest, this place isn’t very useful for me personally, as I prefer the scanner on the side. But if you see what Samsung has done with the position of the fingerprint sensor on the new Galaxy 8, then I can’t complain much about Nubia’s decision.
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The home button is a nice stylish red circle below the screen, while Back and Recent buttons are just small dots. In fact, this follows Nubia’s elegant design. On the bottom edge, there are holes for two speakers but when I played some music and covered the right one, the music got muted, which means there is no stereo speakers. The other one is an oversized microphone hole, which is fair enough decision for the pure aesthetics.
Nubia Z17 Mini Review: Display, connectivity, & battery
Z17 Mini is equipped with LTPS IPS LCD display. Speaking with no abbreviations, that’s a standard for mid-range phones. The viewing angle is very wide. The only thing that could behave better on this phone is brightness and contrast on the daylight. But, in this class with such performances that Z17 Mini offers, you can’t expect a much better screen as they are quite expensive. The screen is a higher number of 424 ppi (1080 x 1920 pixels) and the screen size is 5.2 inches – I really don’t know why it’s called “Mini”. The screen is sharp, crisp and has good colour contrasts. It is scratch protected with Gorilla Glass that is curved on the edges (2.5D). However, from the experience, never take it for granted and protect your screen with a foil, tempered glass or a case.
While I was testing Nubia Z17 Mini for this review, WiFi worked well, LTE and 3G network also exchanged data in a nice fashion. If that is particularly important to you, look for a handset that packs Snapdragon 820, 821 or the latest 835. Networking chips are integrated into processor’s module and that’s the most important when it comes to the quality of the network. iPhone also does a great job here, but we all know its price and limitations of iOS. There is one drawback for connectivity for now –Bluetooth has issues. My unit had a hard time making Bluetooth connections, and I hope it’s probably an issue fixable by a ROM upgrade.
Battery lasts for a day without a problem in a heavy usage regime. Of course, there is no a phone out there which you wouldn’t run out of juice if you really wanted so. That also depends on apps you use and how often you manage those working in background. Overall, the battery isn’t a hero, but it’s good enough, so you shouldn’t worry about it.
Nubia Z17 Mini Review: UI, Gestures & Apps
No matter how good specifications are, it is important that the core of UI is also well designed and that offers useful options. In terms of that, Nubia UI does a good job. When it comes to the design of the whole thing and sometimes UX of its apps, there are a few drawbacks. Worth mentioning that the Nubia 4.0 ROM reminds of MIUI a lot. Even some widgets are copied directly from there. For example, one tap to clean up RAM. However, there is also a nice widget “Lock screen” that allows you to lock the screen with just one tap. Usually, you can download it from Google Play, but software is always better to come as a part of the OS.
A very good thing about Nubia is its Theme market where you can find and download tons of free themes, and some of them are very cool. Unfortunately, the themes names and a lot of other text is in Chinese only. It is visual enough and it doesn’t stop you from using the app. But, in general, there are many parts of the system that are not translated in English. And those that are translated, usually are not written in a spirit of English language, so sometimes you need to stop and think what that means. It’s what we expats living in China call – Chinglish – a combo of English and Chinese mixed up. Also, there are some typos. All of these don’t really stop you to use all the features that Nubia offers, but it ruins UX a bit. Or makes you laugh depending on your spirit.
And good news regarding it. It seems that Z17 Mini will go internationally, including India and Europe (source to this leak). I assume it means that translations will be additionally polished and improved. Also, you can bet that the price in Europe and India will be significantly higher than here.
One of the reasons why you should consider getting Nubia Z17 is Edge Gestures. There are plenty of gestures that utilizes the side of the screen. On top of that, there are animations on how exactly to make the move and explanations of what they do.
Also, inside of the phone Settings, there is an Options Menu with various features. You can split-up the screen and easily adjust the size of each split which is sometimes a very useful option. One-handed mode – you can reduce the size of the active screen so that you can reach everything by using one hand. What I liked very much is that you can customize left and right button key. So, based on your habit with a previous phone, you can setup the Back button to be on left or on the right. Remember that buttons are only tiny red dots. Another cool feature is Super Screenshot that allows you to take screen shots of a specific part of the screen, or even to record the screen. Why saving only a copy of your screen at a moment when you make a video of it?
Besides these useful and handy features, you have integrated Security and Resources manager that helps you to manage safety and resources on your phone. And there are some features related to the fingerprint sensor that behaves like an additional physical button in some situations. That’s cool.
With all these features available, Nubia Z17 mini is a phone packed with features and you’ll be happy to have them.
Nubia Z17 Mini Review: Performance
There is a difference in high and standard version of Nubia Z17 Mini. In this review, I use the standard version with 4GB of RAM and Snapdragon 652. Both versions use the same graphic rendering chip (Adreno 510) and have the same amount of storage (64GB). The only two differences are Snapdragon 653 and 6GB of RAM. I haven’t tested the higher version on Antutu, but in terms of processing, the difference is tiny, not worth paying extra money just because of it. However, having additional 2GB of RAM comes handy and for those who can afford it, just go for it.
So, what Antutu says? The standard version scored around 83k which is a good score for a mid-range phone.
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But more than plain Antutu or Geekbench numbers, I prefer testing phones by overloading their memory and opening bunch of apps all at once. Then switching between them, typing, browsing, playing games, etc. If the phone works without lagging, that means that it performs well. And, Z17 mini did! I had opened Asphalt 8, Gmail, Viber, Google Maps, Google Docs, VPN client (this one is heavy), Facebook Messenger, Camera, Chrome, Instagram and a few other less known apps. I was switching between apps and using them without any problems.
Nubia Z17 Mini Review: Call Quality, Multimedia & Audio Quality
The quality of the call is good and no issues with the sound. Chinese phone makers tend to have a metallic echo in the background, but Nubia is doing well and you can’t hear it. The speaker is good, a bit of a shallow sound and lack of bass, what I expect from Chinese phone maker.
Nubia Z17 Mini Review: Camera
Well, I didn’t have a title of this article ‘’Camera champion’’ not to be fascinated by it! The camera is simply amazing – dual back camera of 13 MP as well as a selfie shooter of 16 MP. Oh yes, it’s the good old Sony camera and the model is IMX258. It can be compared to the real pro SLR camera and you can pull of Bokeh effect with a simple click. However, that is not the best thing about it – the very best feature of this phone are all the apps you can use to play around with your fancy phone camera. 3D photo, panorama, Multi-expo, Star trail, Trajectory and much more. Photos in daylight and night have great colours and contrasts. The video is also great, producing some very well lit videos even during night time. It captivates environments better than our own eye in low light.
This brings me to the conclusion that this phone is targeting millennials and all people passionate about their photography. Personally, I don’t use selfie camera that much – except when posing for reviews, but what I do appreciate is having this option. The screen colours are bright, crisp and picture are sharp and clear. Overall, if you don’t mind a bit of Chinese user experience, this phone is amazing for the price tag.
Meizu has announced the release of its Flyme 6 OS for third-party models just as the company was tipped to do. The company has officially revealed the list of models that would support the package and really, it is a surprise package. The first batch of the models includes the OnePlus 3T just as rumoured. Smartphone models like the Nexus 6P, ZUK Z2, Xiaomi Mi 3, Mi Note (high-end version). Redmi Note 3 (high-end version), Redmi Note 2, Nexus 6 and several other models are also among the first batch.
Already, firmware for eight different models is available for download on the Meizu Flyme website. These eight models are the first batch of a long list of devices can be flashed to the Flyme 6 ROM. Here’s a list of the models and the download link. Installation is by flash recovery and there is a tutorial up on the blog. However, as you’d know by now, flash recovery is not something you do without prior knowledge or else you could permanently brick your device.
It is interesting to note that most of the models on the list are powered by a Qualcomm processor at a time Meizu uses MediaTek chip on its models. It is possible Meizu is trying to consolidate on its recent settlement with Qualcomm with this move. It could also be due to the superior firepower of the Qualcomm chip which would allow the Flyme OS lag on the models it is flash into.
Everyone sweats and now that summer is almost here, people are going to be sweating a whole lot more. When you sweat, it sticks to your clothes and if it doesn’t dry off quickly, you start to smell. To avoid that, it is important to wear clothes that can absorb sweat and dry off quickly, most especially your underwear.
This week, the new product on the Mijia crowdfunding platform called the Cottonsmith Underwear wants to keep you clean and fresh during the summer. Available for male and females, the underwear uses Wicking Windows™ technology to pull moisture away from the body and accelerates drying time. It is designed to dry 40% faster than your regular underwear, keeping you fresh all day.
Exclusive images of the OnePlus 5′ Geekbench results have surfaced online. The screenshots which were sent to gsmarena shows the OnePlus 5 test scores for the single and multi-core tests. It also reveals a few details about the phone.
The OnePlus 5 with model number A5000 is shown running Android 7.1.1 Nougat. The OnePlus 5 scores a total of 1963 points in the single-core test and 6687 points in the multi-core test.
For the single-core test, it is third to Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus and the Exynos 8895 powered Galaxy S8+. However, it tops the list for the multi-core test, scoring over 300 points more than the Exynos 8895 galaxy S8 and over 500 points more than the Huawei Mate 9.
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Comparing the scores to that of other Snapdragon 835 phones benchmarked already like the Galaxy S8 (single-core: 1929, multi-core: 6084) and the Xperia XZ Premium (single-core: 1943, multi-core: 5824), the OnePlus 5 performs better than they do. There is also a chance that the final product may not score as high since pre-production versions are sometimes tweaked for higher results. However, there shouldn’t be a significant difference between them.
A new Nubia smartphone has appeared on AnTuTu’s Weibo page revealing some key specs of the smartphone. The device hits AnTuTu with the model number Nubia NX563J and the major highlight on the device is the Snapdragon 835 processor it is listed to feature. The Nubia smartphone is very much believed to be the Nubia Z17 which has been the subject of leaks and rumors lately.
The Snapdragon 835 chip is backed by a 6GB RAM while there is a massive 128GB storage onboard. The Nubia smartphone is also listed to pack the Adreno 540 GPU and run on Android 7.0 Nougat. The display size isn’t listed but the suspected Nubia Z17 is pitched as having a 1920 x 1080 pixels display resolution. Finally, we had heard rumours that the Z17 will sport a dual-lens camera setup but all we have on the AnTuTu listing is a single 12MP main camera. That doesn’t rule out the likelihood of the Z17 packing dual cameras at the rear.
Although the AnTuTu listing isn’t the last we’d be hearing about the Nubia Z17 but it goes to show that a launch is imminent. The device had earlier appeared on GeekBench with the same NX563J model number and just recently, the Z17 was spotted on Nubia’s official website with similar specifications. We expect a launch any moment from now and if that happens, that would make Nubia one of the early birds to the Snapdragon 835 elite club.
Meitu is a Chinese smartphone manufacturer whose name sounds like that of fellow manufacturer, Meizu. But the latter has been around longer than Meitu and apart from phones, Meitu also makes selfie apps. I am sure you remember the controversial selfie app that was in the news back in January.
Meitu has released two new smartphones today, the M8 and an upgraded Meitu T8.
Meitu M8 Design
The Meitu M8 has the same hexagonal design as other Meitu phones. There is a large home button that greatly reminds us of the iPhone. The back and front are covered in glass and there is a middle frame that goes around it.
Meitu M8 Specs
Since Meitu is also a selfie app making company, you wouldn’t be wrong to expect that their imaging technology will make its way to their phones. And the M8 doesn’t disappoint. The front facing camera is a Sony IMX362 dual pixel self-timer camera. The camera has PDAF, OIS, and uses Meitu’s 4th-gen dual imaging tchnology. The rear camera is a 21MP Sony IMX230 sensor with a LED flash flanking it on each side.
Meitu says the M8 also comes with a built-in artificial intelligence system that helps take better selfies. When taking selfies, most phones can only detect age, gender, and a few facial features. The Meitu M8 takes things further by detecting hair color, skin color, and a number of other features.
The Meitu M8 has a 5.2-inch FHD display, 4GB of RAM, and a Helio X20 processor. There is 64GB of built-in storage, a 3000mAh battery with 9V 2A fast charge support, a dedicated HiFi audio chip, and a USB Type-C port.The Meitu M8 runs MEIOS 3.6 based on Android Marshmallow.
Meitu M8 Price
The phone is available in blue, red, white and pink alongside a special Hello Kitty Edition, and a Sailor Moon Pretty Soldier Edition. There is also the option to personally customize your phone.
The standard variant is priced at ¥2599 (~$376), the Hello Kitty Special Edition is ¥2799 ($405), the customized edition will set you back ¥2899 (~$420), and the Pretty Soldier Limited Edition with just 10,000 units will sell for ¥2999 (~$435).
Registration for the Meitu M8 will begin today and sales will commence on Friday, May 12 at noon on the official website. It will then be available for purchase on Jingdong and Suning at 8 pm on the same day.
Earlier this year, images revealing Meizu’s product road-map for 2017 surfaced online. The images showed that most of the phones will be powered by MediaTek processors just like last year, with one or two sporting Qualcomm chipsets.
A supply chain analyst (@Cold begs) has revealed more details about Meizu’s product lineup for the rest of the year. In his Weibo post, he mentions that this year, Meizu will release 10 phones in all and most will feature the Helio P20/P25.
Either of the two chips will be in the M6 Note and the new X series. The recently released Meizu E2 is one of the phones that will have the Helio P20 SoC. Last year, most of the phones released by Meizu were powered by the Helio P10 processor. The M3 Note, M5 Note, and the U20 are examples.
He also mentions that the Meizu Pro 7 will be the flagship phone and will join the dual-camera train. The Pro 7 might be equipped with a Samsung or Qualcomm high end chip.
Meizu is one of the major Chinese manufacturers that still relies heavily on Mediatek processors and it doesn’t seem that will be changing soon. A few months ago, there was a rumor that the OEM was working with Texas Instruments to develop its own processor but we haven’t heard anything after that.
UPDATE: Company representative makes it clear that the OnePlus 3T 128GB edition is just out of stock and not discontinued globally. While the website said discontinued, it looks like you’ll be able to get the larger storage model when the next wave of stock arrives.
Five months after the OnePlus 3T 128GB version was announced, the production of the high-end OP3T variant has been discontinued. The OnePlus 3T was announced last year and came in Gunmetal and Soft Gold variants as well as a 64GB and later on the 128GB version. But OnePlus‘ official website is showing that the OP3T 128GB version has been discontinued.
According to a OnePlus representative who was responding to an inquiry as to why the company discontinued the 128GB variant, OnePlus needed to focus its efforts one just “one flagship device” beign that the company is a small company. This could be taken to mean that the company may soon launch the OnePlus 5 who name has been officially confirmed via a teaser as there is no other flagship on the company’s radar other than the upcoming OP5.
Apparently, the OnePlus 3T 64GB version is still on sale ($439, available on Giztop for $399) and that is because there is a large inventory of this version available. Besides, there is still some months ahead before the OnePlus 5 will hit store shelves. The OnePlus 3T comes with a Snapdragon 821 chipset backed by 6GB of RAM while the upcoming OnePlus 5 is rumored to feature a Snapdragon 835 chip and there are talks of a 8GB RAM version as well as a dual camera setup onboard the flaghship.
The LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones feature huge displays that offer widescreen aspect ratios. Sony too is expected to follow this trend as it is rumored to be working on a phablet called Xperia X Ultra featuring a widescreen of 6.45 inches. Rumors have it that the Xperia X Ultra will be coming with a higher aspect ratio than the LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy S8 duos.
The 5.7-inch screen of LG G6 offers an aspect ratio of 18:9. The Galaxy S8 featuring a 5.8-inch screen and the Galaxy S8+ with 6.2-inch offer an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. Leaked information suggest that the 6.4-inch display of Xperia X Ultra will be able to deliver an aspect ratio of 21:9. There is no information available on the screen resolution of the phablet.
The leaked photos of the alleged Xperia X Ultra suggests that it will be coming with super-slim bezels. It also shows that the smartphone would be available in two colors like Red and Grey. The volume controllers can be seen present on the right side of the phone and there is a camera shutter key located at lower part of the same side. These images also suggest that the phablet would be arriving with a set of dual speakers. Even though the Xperia X Ultra boasts a premium appearance but it is unlikely to rival with other high-end smartphones.
Speculations have it that the Xperia X Ultra will be driven by Snapdragon 660 mobile platform, the newest midrange SoC from Qualcomm that has been built to deliver flagship-like performance on midrange devices. The SoC will be accompanied by 4 GB of RAM and the phone would be coming with a native storage of 64 GB. It is rumored to be running on Android 7.0 Nougat OS and is expected to come with an IP68 certified water and dust resistant chassis.
For photography, the Xperia X Ultra is pegged to include a 19-megapixel rear camera. The front side of the phone is expected to feature a 13-megapixel selfie snapper. Speculations state that it will be equipped with a X10 LTE modem. it is rumored to be equipped with a 3,050mAh battery that will carry support for Quick Charge 4.0 rapid charging.
After the success of ZTE Nubia Z17 Mini, the company is gearing up for the launch of the Nubia Z17. The alleged smartphone had appeared on the official to reveal some of its key specifications. A leaked shot of the listing was taken before the official listing was taken down. However, the authenticity of the leaked shot has not been confirmed.
The ZTE Nubia Z17 Mini has a horizontally arranged dual rear cameras, but the image of the alleged Nubia Z17 that has appeared on the official listing shows that it will be coming with a vertically stacked twin rear cameras. A fingerprint scanner can be seen present below the rear camera module. Speculations have it that the Nubia Z17 would be coming with 23-megapixel + 12-megapixel dual rear snappers. The phone is expected to come with a 16-megapixel frontal camera.
The frontside of the phone seems to feature dual-edge curved display as the side bezels are not visible. Rumors have revealed that the Nubia Z17 will be coming with a 5.5-inch display. The listing on the official site suggest that the ZTE Nubia Z17 will be available in two RAM variants in China. The base model features 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage whereas the second model has 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.
The ZTE Nubia Z17 can be seen listed in three color options such as Frosted Gray, Aurora Blue and Champagne Gold. The leaked images of Blue and Gold variants of Nubia Z17 have also appeared in leaked photos recently, but these images show the phone featuring a horizontally designed dual camera setup.
The alleged phone had spotted on Geekbench benchmarking platform in the previous week. It revealed that the smartphone has a model number of NX563J and it is powered by Snapdragon 835 chipset featuring a 1.9 GHz octa-core processor. However, Geekbench listing suggest that it features 4 GB of RAM. The ZTE Nubia Z17 that was used on Geekbench could be a prototype unit or a low-configured variant that is headed to another region outside of China. The ZTE Nubia Z17 is rumored to get announced on June 1.
After a wait of more than 1.5 years, Xiaomi finally updated its popular tablet lineup with the brand new Xiaomi Mi Pad 3. The tablet carries forward a similar design language as the Mi Pad 2, which isn’t really a bad thing given that the all-metal built looks quite premium on the tablet.
The Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 comes with a 7.9-inch 2K display and is powered by a large 6600mAh battery. This should be enough for nearly 12 hours of video playback on the device. Inside, the MTK MT8176 hexa-core processor sporting 2 x Cortex A72 cores + 4 x Cortex A53 cores and 4GB RAM ensures good performance. Overall, the Mi Pad 3 is a pretty decent upgrade over its predecessor.
The tablet was launched at around $215 in China and resellers are charging as much as $50-$100 premium on this price. However, during the current flash sale on Gearbest.com, the seller is offering the tablet at $269.99. Now, that may not really be the best price in the market today but to make things more interesting, we have just got a special coupon for the Mi Pad 3 flash sale.
You can purchase the Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 for just $256.99 right now using the coupon: TabPC. As of writing this article, I have personally checked the coupon and it does reduce the price to just $256.99. It’s a good price if you are in the market looking to purchase the new Xiaomi tablet. But please note that just 50 units are available on Gearbest at this price, so you might want to check it out as soon as possible, before the deal runs out!
Check out the Mi Pad 3 Deal on Gearbest down below.
In 2016, several mid-range smartphones were powered by Snapdragon 652 and Snapdragon 625 chipsets. Earlier today, Qualcomm unveiled their upgraded versions such as Snapdragon 660 and Snapdragon 630 chipsets that not only offers better performance but also promises faster LTE connectivity and enhanced battery life.
Snapdragon 660
The Snapdragon 660 is a 14nm chipset that includes four cores of Kryo 260 working at 2.2 GHz and another four cores of Kryo 260 functioning at 1.8 GHz. Qualcomm has not revealed any information on what constitutes the Kryo 260 cores, but it is likely that the company may have built it using ARM Cortex Technology that it used for Kryo 280 present in Snapdragon 835 chipset for flagship phones.
It features Adreno 512 graphics with Vulkan API support. According to Qualcomm, the CPU of the Snapdragon 660 offers 20 percent better performance and its GPU offers 30 percent better graphics performance than the Snapdragon 653 chipset.
The maximum resolution supported by the chipset is 2,560 x 1,600 pixels. It supports4K Ultra HD video shooting at 30 fps and full HD video shooting at 120 fps. The Snapdragon X12 LTE modem offers a maximum download speed of up to 600 Mbps and upload speeds of 150 Mbps. The Snapdragon 660 chipset includes Hexagon 680 DSP All-Ways Aware Hub, dual 14-bit Spectra 160 ISP with support for up to 24-megapixel camera, up to 8 GB LPDDR4 RAM, memory speeds of 1866 MHz, Bluetooth 5, USB Type-C 3.1, 2 x 2 MIMO Wi-Fi, and Quick Charge 4.0.
Snapdragon 630
The Snapdragon 630 is not so powerful in comparison to SD 660. The 14nm chipset has four cores of Cortex A53 working at 2.2 GHz whereas the remaining four cores of Cortex A53 function at 1.8 GHz. Its Adreno 508 graphics support Vulkan API.
The Snapdragon 630 carries support for a maximum screen resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels. It offers features like Hexagon 680 DSP All-Ways Aware Hub, dual 14-bit Spectra 160 ISP with support for up 24-megapixel camera, 4K UHD video recording at 30 fps and full HD video shooting at 120 fps, 8 GB LPDDR4 RAM, memory speeds of 1333 MHz, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C 3.1, Snapdragon X12 LTE modem with 600 Mbps downlink speeds and 150 Mbps and enhanced chips for machine learning, and Quick Charge 4.0
Also, both chipsets have been built to deliver improved battery performance. For example, while using location based services, users can experience around 50 to 75 percent lower consumption of battery. Even the power consumption during downloading on Wi-Fi has been reduced by 60 percent on Snapdragon 660.
The Snapdragon 660 and 630 chipsets have been manufactured to bring flagship-like performance on affordable smartphones. Qualcomm has also started shipping the Snapdragon 660 SoC whereas the Snapdragon 660 shipments will start at the end of this month. Smartphones running on these new chipsets are expected to get announced beginning from June and these devices can be made available for buying by the third quarter of this year. Some of the smartphones that are rumored to be powered by Snapdragon 660 include OPPO R11, Samsung Galaxy C10, Sony Xperia X Ultra, Vivo X9s Plus, Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2, Xiaomi Mi Max 2, and Nokia 7/8.
Since Xiaomi announced its flagship Mi 6 in April this year, the smartphone has gone up on flash sale on more than two occasions. The Snapdragon 835-powered device would again be available for purchase today in the Xiaomi Super Brand day on Tmall and Xiaomi has assured that there is large stock available for the sales festival. No doubt, the Mi 6 stock shortage isn’t as acute as was experienced on models like the Mi Note 2 or Mi Mix. However, there is no denying that there is not enough stock as the units available is far lower than the demand for the Mi 6 flagship.
According to an insider source, the reason for the shortage isn’t intentional to create artificial scarcity, neither is it as a result of a slow production process per se. But according to the source, the grade of material used on the design of the Mi 6 is too high and the key components are not supplied in high quantity to meet the demand. So, there is low supply of the key components needed to assemble the Mi 6. The major component which slows down the production of the Mi 6 shell is the ceramic glass body it uses, which is said to come with up to 8 times the hardness. The body material is difficult to produce and also costly and thus makes the supply of the Mi 6 limited.
Another reason is said to be the Snapdragon 835 chip the flagship uses which is still short in supply as compared to demand. The Snapdragon 835 chipset is manufactured using a new 10nm process and that has not helped matters. The fact that Samsung also needs the flagship chip for its Galaxy S8 and S8+ which is in high demand makes for a complex situation.
Overall, the Xiaomi Mi 6 flagship processor, memory, camera modules and other core components are said to fall within the final price tag of 2499 Yuan. So, Xiaomi isn’t offering the device for a price less than the production cost. Meanwhile, the Mi 6 is still available for purchase on Giztop if you’re outside of China and want this beautiful flagship.
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