Borofone BE5 Bluetooth Sports Earbuds Review

-

May 4, 2017

The Xiaomi Mi 6 flagship went on its first flash sale on April 28 and already the device is in the hands of those that were lucky enough to grab a copy. There is no question as to if the Mi 6 is a beautiful smartphone neither is the specification questionable. However, the device comes with a sight issue which makes the smartphone reboot at regular intervals while it is being charged.

The issue is a software issue that might have been caused by a bug or software error and Xiaomi has acknowledged that they are aware of it. The most likely culprit is the Snapdragon 835 platform, considering that some Samsung Galaxy S8 also experiences similar issues with restarting while charging. There are some reports on XDA forum and Samsung official forum of Galaxy S8 units with restart issues. Samsung is expected to push the firmware that would take care of the problem.

On the part of the Mi 6, Xiaomi has responded to inquiries by stating that its MIUI engineers are working to fix the issue and the new fixed version would be pushed next week. This is an indication that the issue can be tackled using software update. Since the Mi 6 is also going on its next flash sale tomorrow, it is expected that the new batch would have had the bug fix as well.

(via)

Gionee VP Teases the Gionee S10 Rumored to Sport Dual Front & Rear Cameras

By

-

May 4, 2017

Gionee VP, Yu Lei has teased the company’s upcoming smartphone, the Gionee S10 via a post on Weibo. The teaser comes in an unusual way because he didn’t share a video of the device or a post about its specs. Rather, the VP shared a short Weibo post containing only the word “test”. What makes the post spectacular is that it could be noticed to have been sent from the Gionee S10.

The Gionee S10 has earlier made the rounds on TENAA where it received certification. According to the TENAA data, the S10 sports a similar 5.5-inch FHD display as the Gionee S9 released last year. The device is powered by a 2.0GHz octa-core processor backed by 4GB while there is a 64GB storage onboard.

The Gionee S10 is rumoured to pack a dual camera setup both at the front and back but that is not certain. The TENAA document only listed a dual-lens camera at the rear which is a 13MP + 13MP setup. On the other hand, the front camera is a single 16MP sensor. The S10 also packs a 3700mAh battery and runs Android 7.0 Nougat from the go.

The product launch is probably not too far away considering the latest teaser which the VP later deleted from his Weibo account. Another feeler which could point at an imminent launch is the unveiling of a new brand ambassador by the company in China. There is, however, no specific date yet for the S10 launch.

Fake Nokia 3310 Pops Up in China, Buyers Beware

By

-

May 4, 2017

This year, HMD Global released a bunch of new Nokia Android phones. However, their MWC 2017 highlight was the announcement of a new Nokia 3310. The buzz around the reincarnated legend was even more than that of the other Nokia Android phones announced at the event.

The Nokia 3310 which is priced at EUR 49 shares some design similarities with the original model but also sports some new features. Features you best recognize as a fake has been reported sighted in China.

Fake Nokia 3310 (L), Genuine Nokia 3310 (R)

The clone is well made such that it can pass for the original but a few differences should keep you safe from falling for it. The image above shows the fake on the left and the genuine version on the right.

The first key difference is the homescreen. You can see they are outlined differently. On the fake, the menu button sits on the left instead of the middle and the “Go to” button is missing as well. The screen quality is also low and the fonts are different.

The other difference is the keypad. The keys are smaller and are coated with black ink on the fake unlike that of the original which are bigger and are coated in silver. The body of the fake is also coated in a paint of yellow that appears dull compared to the original. This last difference might not be very visible to those who have difficulties distinguishing colors but the others mentioned above should help.

Apple Won’t be Launching an iPhone with 4GB of RAM This Year Says Analyst

By

-

May 4, 2017

Back in 2015 when Apple released the iPhone 6s with 2GB of RAM, there were already Android phones with double that RAM. The ASUS Zenfone 2 and OnePlus 2 are best examples. The iPhone 7 Plus released last year is the only 3GB RAM iPhone and there are tens of Android phones with double that already.

There are speculations that one of the iPhones released this year will have 4GB of RAM but analysts at TrendForce think otherwise. They believe the increase in prices of LPDDR4 RAM is affecting the growth in smartphone RAM this year.

They say if Apple plans to maintain its annual shipment target of about 200 million,then 3GB of RAM should suffice for the 5.8-inch iPhone with an AMOLED display and the 5.5-inch version with an LCD display. The 4.7-inch LCD version will also make do with 2GB RAM.

OPPO F3 Dual Selfie Camera Phone is Official; Pre-orders, Price, Specifications, Features

By

-

May 4, 2017

OPPO has finally introduced the OPPO F3, the smaller sibling of the OPPO F3 Plus that debuted in the previous month. Both OPPO F3 and F3 Plus belong to the “Selfie-Expert” series of smartphones from the company that are enabled with dual selfie cameras.

OPPO F3 Specifications & Features

The OPPO F3 has arrived with a 5.5-inch full HD in-Cell TFT display that offers a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. Its larger sibling features a 6-inch full HD screen. The display of the phone is protected by Gorilla Glass 5.

The F3 is running on MediaTek MT6750T chipset that includes an octa-core processor which works at 1.5 GHz and Mali-T860 graphics. The SoC of the phone is supported by 4 GB of RAM.

The OPPO F3 provides its users with a native storage of 64 GB and it also includes an external storage that supports up to 128 GB of microSD card. The phone comes with a triple-slot tray which includes dedicated slots for two nano-sized SIM cards and a microSD card.

The rear-facing camera of the OPPO F3 is of 13-megapixel. The 1.3-inch camera sensor is enabled with features like LED flash and PDADF. The USP of the phone is the dual selfie camera which includes a 1.2-inch 16-megapixel sensor with f/2.0 aperture that supports 120-degree wide angel shooting and an 8-megapixel sensor that offers 76.4-degree wide angel shooting. The Smart Facial Recognition feature automatically chooses the right lens among the two lenses to snap the best photos. The dual selfie camera is enabled with features like Beautify 4.0 app, Screen Flash, Palm Shutter and Selfie Panorama.

The F3 is running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS that is modified with ColorOS 3.0 which brings a new feature called Clone Apps. It allows users to launch two accounts of the same app simultaneously. For instance, users can make use of two WhatsApp accounts on the same phone by using Clone Apps. The connectivity features available on the phone include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4GHz and 5 GHz), v4.0 Bluetooth, GPS, 3.5mm headphone port and microUSB port.

The OPPO F3 has the fingerprint reader placed under the physical Home button at the front. It includes a non-removable battery of 3,200 mAh capacity. The F3 comes with a full metal unibody and its design is similar to its elder sibling. It measures 153.3 x 75.3 x7.3 mm and its weight is 153 grams.

OPPO F3 Pre-orders & Price

The OPPO F3 Plus was introduced with a pricing of Rs. 30,990 ($482) in India and the OPPO F3 has been launched with a price tag of Rs. 19,990 ($311) In India. The pre-orders of the OPPO F3 has started from today and it will end on May 12. The shipment of the pre-ordered units will begin on May 13 in the country.

MIUI 9 Features Leak: Split Screen & Picture-in-Picture

By

-

May 4, 2017

Xiaomi kick-started the development of the next major version of its custom ROM dubbed MIUI 9 about six months ago. While devices are still getting upgrades based on MIUI 8 and new features keeps entering the latest version, the company has been shown to still be working on the MIUI 9. A recent letter by Xiaomi to its developers have revealed more of the features the MIUI 9 would bring to the table.

According to the document, the MIUI 9 would come with two new features identified as “split screen” and picture-in-picture (PIP). The document gives the relevant recommendations to developers who we believe are working on the new MIUI 9. You can peruse the document on Split screen from here, while the Picture-in-Picture description can be seen from here.

The documents didn’t specifically mention the MIUI 9 even though Xiaomi had signalled from its inception that it is working on the next-gen ROM. But it is indicated in the letter that the features would be for the MIUI next version. More so, the features would be adapted for Android 7.0 and Xiaomi asked developers to adapt their work to the Android standard interface without the need for MIUI for the adaptation work. That is another pointer to the fact that the features would not be restricted to the current versions of MIUI.

OnePlus 5 Said to Release Around June End with Snapdragon 835 & 1080p Display

By

-

May 4, 2017

Sony, Samsung, and Xiaomi have launched their Snapdragon 835 chipset driven flagship smartphones. Even HTC is slated to announce the HTC U 11 running on Snapdragon 835 on May 16. Now the rumor mill is spilling information on one of the most awaited smartphones of the year, the OnePlus 5 that is also powered by Snapdragon 835. Well-known leakster, Mocha RQ has revealed fresh information on OnePlus 5.

According to the leakster, the OnePlus 5 will be releasing at the end of June. The rumor mill has been claiming that the OnePlus 5 would be featuring a 2K display. Using 2K display on OnePlus 5 can make the phone consume more battery power. Hence, the leakster claims that the OnePlus 5 will continue to sport a 5.5-inch screen that will support full HD resolution like its predecessor, the OnePlus 3T.

The leakster claims that the OnePlus 5 would be arriving with a dual rear camera. Leaked information coming from another source on Weibo, Kumamoto Technology also states that the upcoming flagship will come with a horizontally arranged dual rear camera, even though recent rumors said that it will feature vertically arranged dual camera setup. In the previous month, leaked photos showing the leaked case of OnePlus 5 with the horizontally arranged dual rear camera were spotted. The EXIF data of the leaked camera samples that were alleged taken from OnePlus 5 also suggest that they were shot through its twin rear cameras.

Initial rumors of OnePlus 5 have revealed that the Snapdragon 835 chipset would be coupled with 8 GB of RAM. The increased cost of production of 8 GB of RAM and using it and on a large number of OnePlus 5 units would not be easy for the company. Hence, both the sources have claimed that OnePlus 5 would be arriving with 6 GB of RAM. The forthcoming OnePlus 5 flagship is pegged to come with 128 GB of native storage. Like the predecessor phone, OnePlus 5 is speculated to come with a front-facing fingerprint reader that will be probably embedded under the screen.

New leaks also suggest that the OnePlus 5 would come with a 3,600 mAh battery. The company is expected to bring 25 percent faster charging on OnePlus 5. There is still no confirmation on whether OnePlus will axe the 3.5mm audio jack on the upcoming flagship.

(source 1,2)

Xiaomi Launches Aqara Smart Curtain Controller Priced at 999 Yuan ($145)

By

-

May 4, 2017

Xiaomi is gradually turning its releases under the crowdfunding platform into a daily affair. Just a day after going official with its 80th crowdfunding project, which is the Qicycle children bicycle, the company has announced a new smart product. The company’s 81st MIJIA product it is, and it’s the Aqara Smart curtain controller. The product is a motorized window shades and blinds which can be controlled wirelessly. The gadget works on Zigbee curtains and blinds.

The Aqara Smart Curtain motor/controller utilizes low-power ZigBee communication protocol via the Mi multi-functional Smart home gateway or Aqara air-conditioning pathway to connect to the smart home network. Thus, the home curtains can be controlled via the Mi App. Also, the Smart gadget allows the homeowner to also set the timer in the Mi app to when the blinds are expected to open and close and the blinds respond automatically when it gets to the set time.

In addition, there is a wireless switch which can alternatively be used to open and close the blinds with just a gentle tap. The gadget also connects with the Mi home sensor such that when the user goes to the window, the home sensor will automatically trigger the opening of the blinds and as soon as the user leaves, the blinds close. How else can we describe a connected smart home gadget.

Further, the Aqara Smart curtain motor has a touch start function, such that with just a light pull, the motor starts opening the blinds automatically. It also stops when it encounters a resistance or obstruction while opening or closing. It is also a noiseless device with its operating noise ess than 30dB. The product also comes with other support services like door and window measurement, customised window rails and others.

The Aqara Smart Silent curtain motor / controller carries a price tag of 999 Yuan and is currently available on the Mi Home crowdfunding platform for funding.

Qualcomm Reportedly Seeking Banning of iPhone Import in U.S.

By

-

May 4, 2017

The ongoing battle between Apple and Qualcomm has taken a new turn as the U.S. based chip maker is reportedly seeking the banning of iPhone imports in the U.S. The new report has emerged after Apple said in the previous week that it would not be paying royalties of $1 billion to Qualcomm until the dispute between the two companies is resolved. Apple’s decision has caused Qualcomm to cut down its annual third-quarter guidance range from $5.3 to 5.1 billion, to $4.8 to 5.6 billion.

According to Bloomberg, an anonymous source has revealed to it that the U.S. based chipset manufacturer is prepping up to question the International Trade Commission (ITC) in order to prevent the iPhones that are being manufactured in Asia and sold in the U.S. Such a step can hinder the production of the upcoming iPhones that are slated to get announced in September this year.

Regardless of whether the devices are powered with Qualcomm chipsets, the patents of Qualcomm allow it to charge a percentage of cost of every new smartphone that supports high-speed data connectivity. The Cupertino company claims that it is unfair and has accused Qualcomm that it is using the revenue generated form licensing payments to illegally power its semiconductor wing. The battle between took an ugly turn when Apple decided to stop paying licensing payments to Qualcomm’s branch in San Diego.

The ITC wing in Washington has the power to prevent the imports of goods in the country. It can process its decision faster than federal district courts in the U.S. Qualcomm claims that “we continue to carry ~$1 billion in other current liabilities for unpaid disputed amounts with respect to the Cooperation Agreement with Apple.”’

If Qualcomm manages to successfully appeal to the ITC, it could prevent the sales of iPhones in the U.S. and this can greatly impact Apple as 40 percent of its total sales come from iPhones that are built in Asia. An analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence has forecasted that the Qualcomm may take the matters to courts in the U.K., Germany and China as these countries have testing courts that are known for making quicker decisions.

Current situation suggests that there is hardly any room for resolving the issue through settlement. On the ongoing legal dispute, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “We strongly believe we’re in the right. And I’m sure they believe that they are. And that’s what courts are for. And so we’ll let it go with that.”

This is What the Meizu Pro 7 Could Look like, Inspired By The Galaxy S8

By

-

May 4, 2017

The Meizu Pro 7 is one smartphone that has been the subject of series of leaks and quite frankly, the model commands a lot of attraction from fans and others. Unfortunately, Meizu is yet to meet our expectations by releasing its flagship Pro 7. So, we still have to continue feasting on leaked renders and rumors instead of the real deal.

Here one of such renders of the Meizu Pro 7 which we can’t say is the real device but certainly looks good to behold. The design sure looks like that of the Pro 6S and Pro 6 Plus but the device comes with an unusually large display which almost covers the entire screen. There are just some bezels at the top which houses the front camera and earpiece and bottom of the display but the sides are completely bezel-less. The device may likely use onscreen buttons given the lack of a physical home button up front.

Except we don’t expect the Pro 7 to launch this year, if not this renders are likely not going to be the design of the Pro 7. This is likely so because Meizu VP had hinted that the company isn’t planning to release a full-screen bezel-less phone this year. So, this is very likely a fan-made concept render of the Pro 7 which might just be for your delight and nothing more. But we’re not sure Meizu will run through the year without releasing a flagship model. What that model would look like we can’t tell just yet but the likely specs have been the subject of recent rumours.

An earlier leak had tipped the Meizu Pro 7 to come with a 5.7-inch 4K display (resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels) with support for AOD display screen technology. The flagship is also said to feature an Helio X30 chipset and would also come packing a rear camera with 12MP Sony IMX362 CMOS sensor among several other features. We are not entirely sure, though, that we’ll finally get to see the long-awaited Pro 7 this month. It could turn out to be another model.

Alcatel Idol 5 Key Specifications Appear on GFXBench; Hints MediaTek Helio P20, Snapdragon 652 Variants

By

-

May 4, 2017

The Alcatel 6060 had appeared in the previous month on GFXBench benchmarking platform. The same handset has been spotted yet again on GFXBench, but there seems to be some difference in both the listings. Speculations are rife that the Alcatel 6060 would be launching as Alcatel Idol 5.

The new GFXBench listing for A6060 reveals that the purported Alcatel Idol 5 would be featuring a 5.2-inch display that offers a full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. It is fueled by MediaTek MT6757CH chipset (Helio P20) that features an octa-core processor working at 2.3 GHz and Mali-T880. The SoC is supported by 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of native storage. It is running on Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS and supports NFC

The differences that can be seen in the previous GFXBench listing of the alleged Idol 5 is the inclusion of Snapdragon 652 chipset, 3 GB of RAM and Android 7.0 Nougat OS. Also, it does not support NFC. Both the listings also show that the smartphone would be featuring a 12-megapixel main camera that will carry support for 4K video shooting and HDR and 8-megapixel selfie snapper.

There is a possibility that Alcatel will be releasing the Idol 5 in two chipset variants of Snapdragon and MediaTek. The Idol 5 with Snapdragon 652 is expected to be available in the U.S. markets whereas the MediaTek variant may be arriving in Asian markets.

This is the Alcatel Idol 5S (6060C) for Cricket Wiress (left) next to the Idol 4. pic.twitter.com/VLf0XETLfY

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) April 19, 2017

The speculated Alcatel Idol 5 is expected to launch as a successor for Idol 4. A leaked photo of Idol 5 featuring it alongside the Idol 4 had appeared in April. The model that was revealed by popular leakster, Roland Quandt has a model number of 6060C. The leakster has claimed that the smartphone present on the left side in the above tweet would be launching as Cricket Wireless variant. The alleged Idol 4 seems to be featuring improved upper and lower external speakers. The position of the Boom key appears to be moved down a bit.

(source|via)

Sony Xperia XZ Premium Spotted on Geekbench, Records Impressive Performance With Snapdragon 835, Nougat

By

-

May 4, 2017

Some may think that the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones that debuted on March 29 are the first smartphones to feature Snapdragon 835 chipset. It may be true to a certain extent, but the Sony Xperia XZ Premium running on the same chipset was announced at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 in February before the launch of Galaxy S8 and S8+ phones. However, the Sony’s flagship is still not available for purchase yet. The smartphone has now appeared on Geekbench benchmarking platform to reveal what to expect from its performance.

According to Geekbench listing of Sony G8141 which is the model number of Sony Xperia XZ Premium, it is powered by Snapdragon 835 SoC and it is running on Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS. The SoC is coupled with 4 GB of RAM. In the single-core test, it has scored 1943 points and in the multi-core test, it has scored 5824 points.

There is no confirmation on whether the Xperia XZ Premium that has been spotted on Geekbench is a retail handset or a testing device. The Geekbench scores appear promising, but it is less than the scores of Galaxy S8 and S8+ and Xiaomi Mi 6.

The Galaxy S8 has recorded 2008 and 6575 points respectively on single-core and multi-core tests. And the larger Galaxy S8+ has score 2006 and 6708 points respectively on single-core and multi-core tests. The Xiaomi Mi 6 that appeared on Geekbench has recorded 2006 and 6438 points respectively on both tests.

These findings show that the multi-core performance of Xperia XZ Premium is still behind the Galaxy S8 duo and Xiaomi Mi 6 on Geekbench. However, the difference appears to be negligible. There is a possibility that the Xperia XZ Premium could be running on an under-clocked edition of Snapdragon 835 or the benchmark tests were carried out on a pre-production software.

It is also likely that the 4K display supporting a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels would be influencing the performance of the SD 835 chipset. In comparison to Xperia XZ Premium, the Galaxy S8 duo offers QHD+ resolution of 1,440 x 2,960 pixels resolution and Mi 6 produces full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels.

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium is expected to go on sale by this month. It is expected to be available on in the U.K with a pricing of £645 ($830) and its pre-orders are expected to begin on May 22. In Germany, O2 will begin shipments of the Sony’s flagship by June 1 with a price tag of €749 ($815).

(source|via)

Meizu Flyme 6 Now Available For Third Party Phone Models

By

-

May 3, 2017

Meizu has announced via a Weibo post that the latest version of its custom OS, Flyme 6 has now been adapted for use by other phone models and the company would be releasing the list of supported models on May 9. Already, the company has made the Android Marshmallow with Flyme overlay available on file sharing website Github.

It is not uncommon for custom ROM developers to adapt their ROM for third-party brands. Xiaomi currently does that for its MIUI ROM. The Flyme code can be injected into the native system’s framework and can enable the phone’s user to run their device entirely on Flyme 6 or enable some Flyme features on their devices. However, in this case, developers may need to independently adapt and continue to maintain and ensure synchronization updates for their our models.

The Flyme 6 comes with a number of cool features which includes a new search feature which allows users to search for answers on the internet via their phone’s camera. All that is needed is to snap the photo of the problem or question and then it gets uploaded up into the cloud (Meizu’s database) automatically. In some cases, it takes as fast as 0.5 seconds to display the answers and the answers are elaborate. Meizu claims it has got more than 65 million study questions with their answers in its database ranging from subjects like Physics, Chemistry, English language, Political science, History and other. The OS also lets users edit the theme onboard in order to personalize them and the videos in the gallery can be edited and filters added. There are much more the Flyme 6 offers but as they say, the taste of the pudding is in the eating.

What Specs Does The OnePlus 5 Need to Have to Be The 2017 Flagship Killer?

By

-

May 3, 2017

It is no news that OnePlus is working on the OnePlus 5 already. The Chinese manufacturer is doing a good job keeping details of the phone closely guarded. But we are itching to know more about this upcoming device. While we wait for more details to surface, we have put together a list of the features the OnePlus 5 needs to have to be 2017’s flagship killer.

Display/Design

I am lumping this together because the display plays an important role in the overall design of the phone. OnePlus CEO, Pete Lau, recently teased an image of a phone with a dual-curved display. Whether this is just to mislead the public or to hint at the OnePlus 5 coming with a curved screen is still unconfirmed. There is a chance the display might be bigger than the traditional 5.5-inches OnePlus has been using since their first phone launched. However, the phone itself need not be bigger. The only way to achieve that will be to trim the bezels.

We also hope OnePlus adds some new colors to the mix. A red variant and an electric blue variant are the favorites. Black should be a default color now and not a special edition. So grey, black, gold, red and blue.

Dual Cameras

Dual Cameras have been trending since 2016 and some are of the opinion that OnePlus needs to join the train. What really matters is how OnePlus takes advantage of the hardware. The performance must be better than what a single camera offers and the software must be optimized to make best use of the cameras. How the sensors are setup is left to OnePlus. The Huawei P10 is the king when it comes to the Monochrome + RGB format while the iPhone 7 Plus leads for the telephoto + wide angle lens configuration. Whichever one the OnePlus 5 comes with has to match either one of the two.

Water Resistance

Most flagships this year will have one form of water resistance. This may definitely drive up the price of the phone but its the sacrifice we have to make to survive that accidental drop in the sink or a spill. OnePlus may want to keep it at being just spill resistant like the Xiaomi Mi 6 just to keep the price less than $500.

3.5mm Audio Jack

Whatever excuse anyone might come up with to defend the removal of the audio jack on a phone won’t be accepted by the majority of consumers. But manufacturers keep trying to shove phones lacking the audio output port down our throat. This is one ship we never want to see OnePlus sail on and we hope they don’t. Audio Jack is bae, and the OnePlus 5 will definitely be bae if it keeps the audio jack.

MicroSD Card Slot

None of the five devices released by OnePlus so far has a microSD card slot. It is time OnePlus embraced support for expandable storage. 64GB or 128GB should be the memory variants for the OnePlus 5 but users should have the option to expand the memory at will. Maximum capacity supported can be capped at 2TB.

Snapdragon 835 Processor

I shouldn’t even be writing this because what else other than the Snapdragon 835 processor should power the OnePlus 5?

Huawei Updates Mate 9’s Description Again, UFS 2.1 Flash Memory Is Back

By

-

May 3, 2017

The dust is yet to settle on Huawei‘s decision to use an eMMC 5.1 storage on the P10 and P10 Plus which they attributed to a shortage of UFS 2.1 storage. Huawei had issued several statements both from its CEO and from the company but none seems to douse the furore generated by the issue.

Perhaps, the quell things, the company edited the product page for the Mate 9 and took off the part which states it came with UFS 2.1 flash memory. It later turned out the company was likely trying to play safe by avoiding more controversies because not just the P10, but the Mate 9 was part of the controversy. A Twitter user had revealed that some units of the Huawei Mate 9 shipped with a lesser UFS 2.0 storage. So, they ended up generating more controversy by removing the UFS 2.1 storage detail from the Mate 9 specs page.

The company may have realised its folly and has now included the detail that the Mate 9 features a UFS 2.1 storage. Recall that Huawei, in its defence of the use of eMMC 5.1 flash memory on the P10 stated that the eMMC 5.1 storage did not bring any reduction in the speed of the device because of the P10’s optimisation. But ironically, the product detail states that the Mate 9 comes with “new UFS 2.1 flash memory with data transfer speeds that are 100% faster than eMMC 5.1“. If you ask me, this contradicts the company’s earlier statement but then, you might likely notice this if you’re transferring large files to or from the P10 units using eMMC 5.1 or Mate 9 using UFS 2.0 storage. If not, the Mate 9 and P10 remain two capable flagship devices fired up by the latest Kirin 960 chip.

Huawei Planning A Notebook For Month-End, Set to Take on the MacBook

By

-

May 3, 2017

Yesterday, Microsoft unveiled its new Surface Laptop. Microsoft has compared some of its features to that of the MacBook and it seems it might just be the competitor powerful to take on Apple. Turns out Microsoft isn’t the only one planning to take on the MacBook. Financial Times reports that Huawei is set to release a high-powered notebook by month-end that will give Apple a run for its money.

The new notebook is said to be aimed at the average consumer and not necessarily the business professional. Although configuration details of the Windows 10 laptop weren’t mentioned, the pricing is said to be quite high.

Snapdragon 660 launching in China on May 9, Cheaper Alternative to SD835

By

-

May 3, 2017

Qualcomm was earlier this year rumored to be working on the Snapdragon 660, SD 630 and SD 635 chipsets which would help cement its stronghold on the mid-range market. Qualcomm presently almost enjoys a monopoly in the flagship category with its Snapdragon 835 chipset dominating debates and discussions, such that we forgot MediaTek has released the Helio X30 chip, which is yet to find a patron smartphone, by the way. Whereas the SNapdragon 835 is already on the Samsung Galaxy S8, Sony Xperia XZ, Xiaomi Mi 6 and soon on the HTC U11.

The US company has now sent out invitations to the launch of the Snapdragon 660 processor in China. According to the invitation, the Snapdragon 660 processor will be announced officially on May 9. The Snapdragon 660 will come as a ready alternative to smartphone manufacturers who cannot afford to have the Snapdragon 835 on their smartphones. The SD 660 is a mid-range chipset but it also comes with some level of optimization in performance, battery usage and others.

The Snapdragon 660 is rumored to have been manufactured using Samsung’s 14nm LPP process and have an octa-core arrangement which may be a combination of the Cortex-A73 and A53 cores. The chipset is said to come with the Adreno 512 GPU and support dual-channel LPDDR4X-1866 memory, UFS 2.1 storage, up to 24MP camera, LTE Cat. 10 and three carrier aggregation. Already, the OPPO R11 as well as Vivo X9s Plus are expected with the mid-range chip and many more will sure follow suit because its Snapdragon.

Smartisan Nut Pro Renders Shows A Brick-Like Device with Bezel-less Display

By

-

May 3, 2017

Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Smartisan has an event scheduled for May 9 at the Shenzhen Spring Cocoon Gymnasium. The event should see them announce a new phone called the Smartisan Nut Pro.

The Smartisan Nut Pro is rumored to be the Smartisan OD105 we saw on AnTuTu a week ago. Powered by the Snapdragon 626 and running Android 7.1.1, the Nut Pro should also launch with 18W fast charging. Although we saw a leaked image of the rear of the phone, the overall design of the phone is still unknown.

Weibo user @Xiang carp posted renders of the device and for the sake of designers who work hard day and night, we hope the phone never looks like this. The render can best be described as a refined block of wood.

The thickness of the device looks to be almost 1.5cm. It also sports a tri-bezel-less display only that instead of retaining the bottom bezel, it keeps the top one. There is a front facing camera and a cut-out for the earpiece but no sign of any other sensor. There is also what appears to be a power button at the top. The phone also doesn’t appear to have volume buttons or a SIM slot on any of the sides.

New Huawei Honor Smartphone Gets TENAA Certification

By