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LeEco Le Pro 3 Elite Edition with SD 820 Chip, 4GB RAM, Large Battery Announced

After a long period of silence, Chinese smartphone giant LeEco has launched a new edition of the Le Pro 3 introduced late last year. The smartphone is dubbed LeEco Le Pro 3 Elite Edition but curiously it does not feature an elitist specs table, rather a trimmed down hardware lineup.

LeEco Le Pro 3 Elite Edition

 

The Le Pro 3 Elite Edition comes with a Snapdragon 820 chipset instead of the Snapdragon 821 onboard the Le Pro 3. The new edition also does not feature NFC but all other specifications align with those of the Le Pro 3 which happens to be one of LeEco’s smartphones to go on sale in the US.

LeEco Le Pro 3 Elite Edition

The LeEco Le Pro 3 Elite Edition features an all-metal body with gold color only and is equipped with a large 4070mAh battery. The smartphone comes with a capable 4GB RAM as well as 32GB of internal storage. The phone also come with exclusive 3 months membership access to LeEco’s video streaming service.

Read Also: LeEco Le Pro 3 Debuts in the US, Along with Newly Introduced Le S3

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The LeEco Le Pro 3 Elite Edition comes with a price tag of 1699 Yuan ($246) and is already available online via Jingdong, LeEco Mall, Lynx.

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Xiaomi & 90 Minutes Tease Next Mijia Product Launching March 9, Likely Sports Shoes

It is starting to look like a daily affair, Xiaomi is gearing up to release its 68th product on the crowdfunding Mijia platform. This is coming on the heels of the launch of the 399 Yuan ($58) Scishare coffee machine. The company has released a new poster which teases the launch of what would likely be a sports shoe line.

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The launch will take place on March 9 at 10.00am and as usual, we have to use our intuition to deduce what the likely product is. The poster just contained the teaser “Air at the bottom” which suggests a pair of running shoes or sneakers which would likely be similar to the Nike Air Jordan lineup of sports shoes.

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Read Also: Powerful AI Products in the Pipeline for Xiaomi, Reveals CEO Lei Jun

Since Xiaomi does not directly manufacture the products, this sports shoes seems to be from the stables of 90 Minutes. The company re-posted Xiaomi’s teaser of the launch event, even adding some insight into the upcoming product. Unfortunately, they too failed to reveal the identity of the product in clear terms. There is no doubt, though, that it is likely a pair of sports shoes. We’ll get to know the full details on March 9 at 10am.

(source)

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Google Pixel 2, Pixel XL 2 Rumors: Will Google Ditch 3.5mm Headphone Jack?

An internal Google document has revealed that Google’s upcoming Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 smartphones will not feature the standard 3.5 mm headphone jack. When Google had launched Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones last year, it advertised that 3.5 mm audio jack is one of the key features of Pixel phones over iPhone 7 and iPhones 7 Plus smartphones that came without it.

9to5 Google stated that it has not shared the internal document as it will put the source at risk. It also stated that the news come from a single source and there is no secondary proof to support this information.

In January, the publication had reported that according to a tipster, Google is testing different chipsets like Snapdragon 83X and Intel chips on Pixel 2. However, the tipster did not reveal any information on the axing of 3.5 mm audio jack on Pixel 2. Hence, it is likely that Google is yet to decide whether to remove the feature or keep it. Hence, Gizmo China readers are taking this report with a pinch of salt as it is an unconfirmed rumor.

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Related: Google Pixel 2 Renders Leaked

The same leakster also revealed that upcoming Pixel phones may come with a waterproof chassis. He also added that Google is working on providing a better camera on the next-generation Pixel phones. The camera will not have large-sized megapixels, but it will rather come with additional features like advanced low-light photography.

Currently, Google is receiving feedback from the users through the Pixel User Community to know what people like or dislike about the Pixel and Pixel XL and what improvements they would like to see. So Pixel phone fans who do not wish to see the standard headphone jack on next-generation Pixel phones can post their feedback.

The Senior VP for Hardware with Google, Rick Osterloh, had confirmed in the previous week that new Pixel smartphones would be releasing later this year. It is likely that the alleged Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 would be launched in October this year.

He added that Pixel phones would remain premium and ended the rumors of a budget-friendly Pixel phone. After this, the same tipster surfaced again to state that Google’s Pixel team is also working on a low-priced smartphone with modest specs, but it won’t be carrying Pixel brand name. It may be a new Android One phone from Google.

Would you like to see the next Pixel smartphone without a 3.5mm headphone jack? Do share your thoughts by adding your comments below.

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ZTE Fined $1.19 Billion for Violating U.S. Laws, False Statement for Selling Products to Iran, North Korea

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act prevents the U.S.-made tech products and services to be sold in some countries such as Iran and North Korea. However, since 2012 ZTE Corp. from China have been accused for selling its software and telecom equipment manufactured in the U.S. to Iran. It has been found guilty for doing so between January 2010 to April 2016.

When the investigation had started, ZTE had claimed that it was not guilty. However, now that the investigation is complete, it has been found that the Chinese firm had indeed signed numerous agreements for shipping hardware and software worth millions of dollars to a telecom carrier in Iran.

Since 2010 ZTE has sold its U.S.-made items worth around $32 million directly or indirectly to Iran without procuring export licenses from the government of the U.S. Moreover, it had lied during the federal investigation that it had stopped its shipments to Iran.

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Related: ZTE Blade V8 Hands On: The Second in Line With Dual Cameras

The company is also accused for shipping 283 devices such as microprocessors, routers and servers to North Korea. The U.S. laws does not allow shipping of these controlled items to countries that have repeatedly provided support for international terrorism.

The U.S. Commerce Department and U.S. Department of Treasury has ordered ZTE to pay $892 million as settlement fine for violating the U.S. laws as well as for making false statement. It will be paying additional amount of $298 for shipping regulated items to North Korea.

The total amount that it will paying as settlement fine is $1.19 billion out of which $661 million will go to the Commerce’s Bureau of Industry Security (BIS) as penalty fees, with $300 million suspended if ZTE adheres to the requirements of the agreement during the probationary period of seven years. It will pay $430 as criminal charges and forfeiture. The Chinese firm will be also paying $101 million to Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). A

ZTE Chairman Chief Executive, Zhao Xiamming said on Tuesday, ““ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them, and remains committed to positive change in the company.” Since March 2016, the U.S. suppliers are required to avail a license to work with ZTE. However, this issue will be resolved, if ZTE clears all its fins and adheres to the agreement of the settlement.

ZTE can continue to sell its smartphones and other telecom equipment in the country, but the verdict announced today can certainly impact the confidence of the customers on the Chinese firm. ZTE is one of the biggest manufacturers of telecom equipment in the world and it is the fourth largest smartphone vendor in the U.S. that sells its phones through carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint. It products feature components from leading U.S. firms like Qualcomm, Microsoft and Intel.

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Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X Hatsune Miku Edition out of the Box Tour

There is probably no argument about the fact that Xiaomi got it right once again with the sleek design it adopted on the Redmi Note 4X. How about the superfly Hatsune Miku edition of the Note 4X with its green paint job? It is just beyond stunning to say the least, more so, considering that the smartphone isn’t a flagship Mi series device but a Redmi smartphone that comes cheap.  We can’t seem to get enough of the images of the smartphone and here’s more hands-on/unboxing images fresh out of its box.

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The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X Hatsune Miku Edition brings out the sleek and premium design the smartphone features as a result of the attractive color it adorns. The customized Redmi Note 4X features a fused antenna band design with the antenna band coated in silver. The camera and fingerprint sensor also have silver-coated thin ring surrounding them.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X Hastune Miku Edition

As you would know by now, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X Hastune Miku Edition shares the same specs lineup with the regular Redmi Note 4X which includes a 5.5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 625 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 13MP rear camera, a 5MP front-facing camera as well as a large 4,100mAh battery. The Redmi Note 4X also come with dual SIM card / dual standby, and full Network support.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X Hastune Miku Edition

RelatedXiaomi Redmi Note 4X $25 off at Lightinthebox (coupon)

The device is already on sale in China for 1,299 Yuan ($189). You can check out more unboxing images of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X Hastune Miku Edition from down below.

(via)

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OTA Update for OnePlus 3 Brings Google Assistant

Google Assistant launched as a Pixel exclusive last year. The only other way you could use it was via the Allo app if you did not want to go the hard way which involves rooting. Fast forward to present and Google Assistant as gone from being a Pixel exclusive to launching with a bunch of other devices and is now even rolling out to devices running Android Marshmallow and above.

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The feature is coming as an OTA update to Google Play Services so it is not carrier or manufacturer dependent. But because of the high number of android devices, it might take a while to reach your device. However, if you own a OnePlus 3 the update should have hit your phone or may do so anytime.

READ MORE: Amitabh Bachchan is OnePlus India First Brand Ambassador

Rumor: All-Metal Nokia Flagship with Dual Cameras and Snapdragon 835 Set for June Release

Rumor has it that Nokia has a dual-camera flagship in the pipeline with a release date set for June. You might be wondering what features HMD Global will be putting on this flagship device? Will it have PureView or Carl Zeiss optics? Sorry to burst your bubble, but it will feature neither of the two.

When Microsoft acquired the rights to release phones under the Nokia name, they also purchased Nokia’s PureView Imaging Technology. Now that HMD is the new licensee, it has no rights to use it.

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You might also be wondering what happened with Nokia’s other camera partner, Carl Zeiss. It turns out that Nokia is also done with them. This info was confirmed via the official Nokia Mobile twitter account but there was no reason attached to the response. But they do say they have “invested in excellent imaging solutions”.Nokia Carl Zeiss

Apart from the phone sporting dual camera lenses, it will also feature an all-metal design and a Snapdragon 835 processor. The source says this dual-camera flagship is different from the other Snapdragon 835 flagship also scheduled to be released later this year.

READ MORE: The Hisense Rock is The Nokia 6 We Deserve

News from Around the Galaxy: Note 8 is Codenamed “Great”, Refurbished Note 7 Heading to South Korea

If you are not aware that there is going to be a Galaxy Note 8, then you need to move out from under that rock. Initially there were speculations that Samsung was done with the Galaxy Note series following the sad and early demise of the Galaxy Note 7. However, that rumor was put down when President of Mobile, Samsung Electronics, Koh Dong-jin announced over a month ago that there will be a Note 8 (Samsung might want to add II to the name since there is already a Note 8).

Following that announcement, we heard rumors of the upcoming device and even learnt its codename is “Baikal” but new report says that is incorrect. The source says the Galaxy Note 8 actually goes by the codename “Great”. Yes, something “Great“ is coming your way from Samsung this year.

The source also revealed the model number of the Galaxy Note  8 is SM-N950F (European variant). The Note 7’s model number is SM-N930 but the Koreans consider the number 4 is unlucky, that’s why they are skipping it.

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The other part of the news is that there is a chance Samsung is working on selling refurbished units of the Galaxy Note 7 in its home country. The device is expected to go by the model number SM-N935 and codenamed Grace R(Refurbished).

READ MORE: AGM A8 vs Samsung Galaxy Xcover 4: Not Just Cheaper but Better Too

Samsung Galaxy S8 Clones Seen in China Ahead of Original Release

Samsung is yet to launch the Galaxy S8 and based on the latest report, the launch date has been postponed to April 28, which is a week later than the earlier scheduled date. That means we still have to wait 7 weeks before the phone is released. That’s really long. But if you are in China, you might not have to wait that long, depending on how you look at it.

A Weibo user @kumamoto posted pictures of a Galaxy Note 8 clone he got his hands on in one of China’s most popular electronics market, the Huaqiang North Market.

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The clone shares quite a number of similarities with the original based on leaked images but there are still some major differences. First is the position of the fingerprint scanner and the camera’s LED flash. On the original Galaxy S8, the LED flash is on the left and the fingerprint scanner is positioned on the right but the positions are switched on the clone. Another difference is in the design of the speaker grille, and the use of a microUSB port instead of USB Type-C.

READ MORE: Samsung Teaser Hints Dual Camera Tech Might End Up on the Upcoming Galaxy Models

Meizu’s Flyme 6 Stable Version Released, Features Camera Search Tool

Three months after being in the beta testing stage, Meizu has released a stable version of its Flyme 6 OS. Dubbed Flyme 6.0.2.0, the latest version comes with a number of cool new features.

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One of the cool features which the new Flyme 6.0.2.0 brings is 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.

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This is perhaps the standout feature on the new Flyme OS and the photo search is said to cover a wide range of subjects including school courses like Physics, Chemistry, English language, Political science, history and other. Meizu claims it has got more than 65 million study questions with their answers in its database.

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The feature sounds similar to the picture search feature of the Google translate app but you won’t need to download a separate app for this as it is integrated with the OS. All that is needed is to put on the camera, select the mode for search and when the image is detected you manually select what you want to search. Where the picture is blurred or even tilted or is in an individual’s handwriting, the search can still pick it up.

Read Also: UI Showdown: MIUI 8 vs Flyme 6 vs EMUI 5.0 vs Smartisan OS 3.0

The new Flyme 6.0.2.0 also lets users edit the theme onboard in order to personalize them and the videos on the gallery can be edited and filters added. The updated version is available for download on Meizu’s Flme official site. It is available for a total of 24 models making it the single largest upgrade ever for Meizu. As usual, the update will be pushed to eligible models in batches.

Xiaomi’s New Retail Plan Bets Big On Offline Stores In China

Xiaomi had hinted of plans to establish several offline retail shops in China in order to shift from the online sales only model which has been hugely successful but inadequate to help keep the company at the top. As a result, Xiaomi has for consecutive years lost out to minions like OPPO and Vivo in the ranking of the top Chinese brands in terms of sales.

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun

To stem that tide, Xiaomi did set a goal of 1000 offline physical stores in China by 2020. The company kick-started the project by establishing a total of 51 stores across China last year and this year, it has hinted at plans to set up an additional 250. CEO, Lei Jun at a news conference held in Beijing on Monday reiterated this long-term plan and also disclosed this year’s business plan in that regard.

Lei Jun seems to have been caught up with the concept of “New Retail” made popular by Alibaba founder and Chairman, Jack Ma who predicted that the era of e-commerce would end in 10 or 20 years to give way to New Retail that combines online and offline sales and logistics services. Lei Jun thinks Xiaomi has found a feasible and highly efficient format for New Retail by establishing its own bricks-and-mortar stores rather than buying off small business chains like Alibaba did recently, spending over 2 billion yuan buying about one-third of popular supermarket chain Sanjiang shopping, based in Ningbo, Zhejiang province.

Read Also: Xiaomi To Focus on Offline Sales In the Future

Lei Jun also believes the prices of the products sold offline could still be kept down despite rising rent and labor costs by measures such as optimizing the manufacturing process and analyzing customers’ needs with big data. The era of offline retail shopping saw a hit at the introduction of e-commerce which made shopping an easy venture that can be contracted right from home. But it is turning out, a return to offline shopping is gathering momentum and it won’t be surprising to see that turn into a frenzy among the major players in the e-commerce sector. There was a time offline sales was king, later on, online sales model became the beautiful bride and now a blend of both looks inevitable. In the end, it is all a circus, with sales the ultimate goal. Unfortunately, Mr Lei Jun did not say if the company’s expansion plans involve setting up more physical stores outside of China, something a lot of Xiaomi fans yearn for.

(via)

Xiaomi Launches Scishare Coffee Machine Priced at 399 Yuan ($58)

Xiaomi has launched a new product on its crowdfunding platform and it is a Coffee Machine just as we predicted. As you might have known by now, the product isn’t directly manufactured by Xiaomi but it provides the platform and creates an avenue to generate interest and funding for the manufacturing company.

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In this case, the coffee maker carries the Scishare branding and is a product of the Ningbo Heart Technology Co. Ltd. The product consists of the main pressure pump with a maximum pressure rating of 19 Bars. The pressure pump is said to have been imported from Italy and has a power rating of 1200W. The machine also comes with some concentration adjustment and is compatible with multi-brand capsules. These all ensure that the coffee is well extracted.

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In terms of size, the Coffee machine measures 34 x 10 x 26 cm and for controls, there is a power button sitting alongside a button for extraction. On the whole, the machine is easy to clean and easy to operate. There are also LED lights for direction as well as a flow control lever.

See Also: A List of Our Favorite Xiaomi Smart Products

The machine is also designed to express the coffee beans based on the different concentration preference of individuals. There are also 8 difference cup sizes ranging from 15-85ml. The Coffee machine is available for funding on the crowdfunding platform and each participant will get 50 imported coffee capsules. The first batch of the product is expected to ship on April 18. You can head on to Xiaomi’s Mi home in case you are interested in finding out more about the product or grabbing one for yourself. It cost just 399 Yuan ($58).

Samsung Teaser Hints Dual Camera Tech, Might End Up On the Upcoming Galaxy Models

Earlier rumors were hinting that Samsung would introduce rear-facing dual cameras on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones. However, large number of leaks that have surfaced in the recent weeks clearly show that these flagship phones would not be featuring a dual camera setup on their rear panels. However, an official promo of Exynos 8995 chipset suggests that Samsung’s upcoming smartphone may feature a dual camera setup.

On the official Twitter account of Samsung Exynos, a promo of Exynos 8895 can be seen that says that the chipset is equipped with Dual ISP (Image Signal Processor). It hints that a future smartphone from the South Korean company running on Exynos 8895 chipset would feature twin cameras. The specs sheet of Exynos 8895 states that it can support up to 28-mgapixel + 16-megapixel dual cameras.

Related: Galaxy Note 8 to be Better, Safer, and Innovative, Confirms Samsung

The Exynos 8895 is the same chipset that will be introduced on Galaxy S8 and S8+. It is built with 10nm FinFET manufacturing processor and it features four cores of Exynos M2 running at 2.5 GHz and another four cores of Cortex A53 working at 1.7 GHz. Rumors have it that for the U.S. and China, Samsung will be powering the Galaxy S8 models with Snapdragon 835 chipset. Other regions are speculated to receive the Exynos 8895 chipset variant.

Even though the Exynos 8895 chipset is now confirmed to support dual camera feature, there seems to be lesser chance to see the Galaxy S8 models sport the new camera feature. As mentioned above, none of the recent leaks have revealed dual camera feature for Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. Some sources claim that the Seoul-based company may release a third version of Galaxy S8 with dual camera feature in the near future.

It is likely that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 that is speculated to launch later this year may come with a dual camera feature. The Galaxy Note 8 will be a flagship phone and it is expected to be driven by Exynos 8895 chipset. Moreover, the company would want to provide a unique feature of dual camera on Note 8 to set it apart from the Galaxy S8 models.

Also, the company may be trying to build hype around the upcoming phablet by confirming the dual camera feature through an official tweet. This may be possible as the company to win the hearts of its potential customers after the infamous Galaxy Note 7 debacle. If the Exynos 8895 chipset will power the Galaxy Note 8, the specs sheet of the SoC suggest that it may feature a 4K display, 6 GB of RAM, UFS 2.1 storage and of course a safer battery.

ProTruly Diamond: World’s VR Smartphone with 360-Degree Camera Launched at MWC 2017

These days smartphone manufacturers are putting lot of efforts in providing unique features on their devices. ProTruly, one of the lesser known brands from China, was present at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 to showcase a smartphone that boasts a strip of diamonds and a 360-degree rear camera.

Darling features a pair of enormous13-megapixel cameras with wide-angle fisheye lenses on the front and rear sides that enables users to shooter 360-degree images and videos. This unique feature makes it the first smartphone to arrive with an inbuilt 360-degree camera. It is also called the world’s first VR smartphone.

It lets users to preview the recorded videos in weird looking globes as it can be seen in the video. The 360-degree can be directly shared on sites such as YouTube, Facebook and other sites that support such type of videos.

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ProTruly’s Darling comes in two editions. The standard version is priced around $600 whereas the high-end version carriers a pricing of $1,300, China Daily reported. The standard edition has a fingerprint scanner embedded on the physical Home button on the front side whereas the higher-end has a rear-facing fingerprint scanner.

ProTruly Darling standard

Related: Diamond Display Enabled Smartphones with Competitive Pricing Releasing By 2017 End

The camera housing of the standard variant is plastic whereas the higher-end variant appears like a luxury device that has a champagne gold metallic chassis that weighs 3.08 grams and it is flanked with a strip of four diamonds on the rear side fixed on a full-grain leather from Italy at its front.

As far as specifications are concerned, Darling has a 5.5-inch full HD AMOLED display and is powered by MediaTek’s Helio X20 chipset that features a 2.5 GHz deca-core processor. The SoC is coupled with 4 GB of RAM. The native storage provided on it is 64 GB. It comes loaded with Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS.

ProTruly Darling higher-end

Above the two fisheye lenses, the Darling smartphone has a 13-megapixel camera at the rear and a selfie snapper of 8-megapixel at the front. The VR camera mode in the camera app can be accessed to shoot videos and phots in 360-degree. It also features some a thermal sensor human body temperature without touching.

It also features a USB Type-C port. It has 3,560 mAh battery to keep the lights on. The phone will be exclusively available in China and will go on sale by the end of November. There is no information on its availability outside of China.

Powerful AI Products in the Pipeline for Xiaomi, Reveals CEO Lei Jun

Xiaomi’s CEO, Lei Jun has announced that AI will play a major role in Xiaomi products this year. The info was revealed at a media conference earlier today.

When the year began, Lei Jun listed three major goals he hopes to achieve: one of which is to accelerate the implementation of a national strategy on artificial intelligence. During the conference today, he said the future of technology companies is in artificial intelligence and now that significant breakthroughs have been made, Xiaomi will release in the near future key products based on artificial intelligence.

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun

He also revealed that the company already set up a laboratory to explore and develop AI products. In addition to that he foresees AI playing a major role in every day life in the next 3 to 5 years just like internet connectivity does now.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Mi MIX May Have Curved AMOLED Display Taking Up to 93% Front Area

Nokia 3, 5 & Nokia 6 Up For Preorder in Europe

Expectations were high pre-MWC 2017 that Nokia would release a couple of flagship smartphones at MWC 2017 including a Snapdragon 835-powered Nokia 8. Instead, Nokia released the trio of Nokia 3, 5 and Nokia 6 and also resurrected the Nokia 3310 with a new look.

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The Nokia 3, 5, 6 and Nokia 3310 are now up for pre-orders in parts of Europe. They were all initially billed to go on sale in the second quarter of the year which commences next month. Already, pre-orders for the Nokia3, Nokia 5 and 3310 are ongoing on the website of Dutch online retail outfit Belsimpel in the Netherlands. The listing doesn’t state when the phones will be available for purchase as it is only listed as “Available soon”. Also, UK’s retailers Clove and Carphone Warehouse have both put up all the Nokia new range of smartphones and feature phone for pre-order on their website. These listings only allow enrollees to get notified when the phones become available.

Read Also: New Nokia 3, Nokia 5 & Nokia 6 will be Manufactured in India

Although the smartphones all fall short of expectations in the hardware aspect, the mere fact that they are Nokia smartphones brings the possibility of a replication of the huge sales recorded in China. We’ll enter the second quarter of the year next month and do hope we’ll get to see the smartphones go global soon.

(via)

Amitabh Bachchan is OnePlus India First Brand Amabassador

OnePlus co-founder, Carl Pei just announced the company’s first brand ambassador, and it’s none other than Bollywood Legend, Amitabh Bachchan. Amitabh Bachchan is not just a Bollywood star but a global star and seems to be a great choice for the company.

The announcement was made about an hour ago by Carl Pei via his twitter account but was already tweeted by the superstar himself in the early hours of today. Mr Bachchan will be the face of OnePlus India, so chances are that you may be seeing his face appear in OnePlus ads henceforth.

Amitabh Bachchan OnePlus 2 Amitabh Bachchan OnePlus

READ MORE: OnePlus 3/3T Get Nougat-based Hydrogen OS 3.0 Update

Samsung Galaxy S8 Secretly Revealed at MWC 2017; New Leaked Photos Emerge

Fresh information coming from South Korea suggests that the Galaxy S8 was secretly showcased to select few during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 that was held between Feb. 26 to March 2. However, the official launch date of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ is March 29. With the official launch drawing closer, the rumor mill has been revealing lot of information on Samsung’s upcoming flagship. A fresh batch of photos allegedly coming from a case making company have surfaced.

A Korean publication has revealed that Samsung had built a temporary makeshift demonstration room to showcase a prototype of the Galaxy S8 to the local media outlets at the Hotel Porta Fira. The venue is located very close to the venue where MWC 2017 was held.

Only those who had received special invitation were able to see the Galaxy S8 before its upcoming official launch. There was only a temporary wall to prevent others from viewing the flagship. Samsung partners who received could get the glimpse of the Galaxy S8 stated that it was “very impressive.” However, they did not reveal any details on the specification and features of the S8.

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Related: Confidential Samsung Galaxy S8 Video Surfaces As Launch Date Draws Near

Also, no leaked photos have surfaced from the secret event. However, a case maker has reportedly reveal fresh and good quality images of the flagship phone.  From the images it cannot be confirmed whether the handset shown is Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+. However, some of the images carry “For Galaxy S8” text at the top whereas one image that shows the rear side of the phone carries “For Galaxy S8+” text.

The images suggest that the front is mainly occupied by the dual-edge curved screen with narrow bezels at the top and bottom. The display shows the presence of an on-screen Home button.

The image that seems to show the rear side of  Galaxy S8 Plus features the LED flash, main camera and fingerprint reader. Speculations have it that it could also function as a physical Home button.  The other images show all the four sides of the Galaxy S8. Both phones are expected to be available for pre-orders from April 10 and their shipments are likely to begin on April 21.

(Source 1 | Source 2)

Ceramic Body Production Capacity Should Increase Soon Following ¥8.7 Billion Investment

The Xiaomi Mi 5 was the first phone to launch with a ceramic body. While it did look nice, Xiaomi couldn’t meet up with demand because of the difficulty in production and had to revert back to using metal and glass. We thought Xiaomi had ditched the material since we didn’t see it on the Xiaomi Mi 5S and Xiaomi Mi 5S Plus, but to our amazement, it resurfaced in the Xiaomi Mi MIX and not without the same production problems.

It seems we might finally see the end of the production issues plaguing the use of ceramic. According to a Weibo post by industry analyst, Pan Jiutang, he says that leading ceramic manufacturer Changying Precision has announced a joint investment of ¥8.7 billion in the expansion and development of the production process. The investment is said to be due to the popularity of the Mi 5 and Mi MIX which have helped promote the new material.

Ceramic Body Production

READ MORE: Xiaomi Walkie Talkie hands-on Images Fresh Out of the Box

iPhone 8 Said to Sport a 5.8-inch OLED Screen

Postulations that Apple‘s “next big thing”, the iPhone 8 would feature an OLED display is gathering more weight. Popular Japanese news agency Nikkie has joined its voice in forecasting that the iPhone 8 would come with a 5.8-inch OLED screen. Nikkie claims, in a fresh report, that the next generation Apple flagship would have the biggest display of the three models Apple is expected to release this year.

iPhone 8 concept - Camera

Apart from the iPhone 8, Apple is said to also have in the works a 4.7-inch iPhone 7s as well as an iPhone 7s Plus with a 5.5-inch display. While the iPhone 8 is said to used an OLED screen, both the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus are expected to feature displays made of LCD panels. Nikkie also postulates that the increased screen size on the iPhone 8 will have an effect on the final unit price of the flagship phone. Presently, the iPhone 7 is priced around $700 but that could go up to around $1000, if recent rumors are anything to go by.

Related: Apple to Ramp up iPhone 8 Production Three Months Earlier

It is worthy of note that Nikkie’s recent forecast seems to align with that of KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that the iPhone 8 would feature a 5.8-inch display. Kuo also hinted that the iPhone 8 would feature a one in town front-facing camera which is capable of producing 3D selfies. The selfie camera would also provide face recognition to unlock the smartphone and also very the owner’s identity. The Apple analyst also said the face recognition is meant to replace the Touch ID which Apple featured on the iPhone 7 but latest rumors say the iPhone 8 would feature the in-display fingerprint sensor which was unveiled recently at MWC 2017 by Chinese company Goodix.

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The iPhone 8 is a special anniversary edition to mark 10 years of the iPhone’s existence and would likely pack lots of innovative features and new technologies. We won’t be surprised to see more coming out as the days roll by.

(source)