I know, you are surprised. We are just as surprised as you are, if not more. The Lenovo ZUK Edge is barely 2 months old and we are already getting leaks of not the ZUK Edge II but the ZUK Edge II Special Edition.
Yesterday we reported the first leak of the ZUK Edge II Special Edition and mentioned the similarity to the recently announced Redmi Note 4X Hatsune Miku Limited Edition. The latter’s theme is also based on a vocaloid called Luo Tianyi. Today we get first look at what the phone is reported to look like.
ZUK Edge II Special Edition Doubles It Up
Yes this is the ZUK Edge II and Lenovo literally doubles it up. The leaked images shows the phone will launch with dual rear cameras and a dual-curved display. The camera design is similar to that of the ZUK Edge which looks like a disc. They are housed separately and almost extend to the middle of the phone. There is a laser focus module below the camera setup and a LED flash sitting a good distance above.
While we were quite disappointed that the ZUK Edge didn’t feature a curved display, they seem to want to give it to us in full measure now. The display is curved on both sides but so also is the top and lower part of the rear plate.
The display size is unknown but the bezels are thin. Chances are that the display might be about 5.7 inches – 5.9 inches. To account for the large display, the power button and volume rocker have been brought lower to allow your fingers reach them easily.
The color variants of the ZUK Edge II Special Edition shown are blue, white and black. There is no news of a release date and Lenovo/ZUK have not confirmed the existence of the device yet. One thing I have come to realize is that nothing is certain. There is no news as to how the sales of the ZUK Edge is fairing. If they decide to release a successor so soon and stop production of the ZUK Edge, who can fault them?
In the previous month, Huawei had reportedly released a timetable that revealed that it plans for rolling out the Android 7.0 Nougat update for its smartphones like Huawei P9, Huawei P9 Plus, Huawei Mate 8 and so on. Fresh information suggest that software update rollout is well on track to be available for smartphones by this month and March.
The Chinese smartphone manufacturer has officially confirmed on Facebook that it is currently testing the beta version of Nougat update for Huawei Honor 5c (GT3) in Ukraine. The public beta testing is only available for 20 users and the update rollout that began on Feb. 13 will continue until Feb. 24.
The beta version has been released to Honor 5C users so that Huawei can fix all the bugs. Alexandr Ivanyk, a local Huawei coordinator has said that the all software issues will be fixed within a span of two weeks. Hence, the Huawei Android 7.0 Nougat update with Emotion UI 5.0 for Honor 5C is expected to be available by next month.
A Russian tech site has further revealed that Huawei will also begin the rollout of Nougat update for Huawei GR5 2017 (Honor 6X), Huawei Nova and Huawei P9. Huawei has officially begun the rollout of the Android 7.0 Nougat update from Feb. 11. The update is expected to be available for all the owner Honor 8 users by the end of this month.
The timetable of software update that was revealed in the previous month stated that Huawei Mate 8, Huawei P9, Huawei P9 Plus, Honor V8, Honor 8 and Huawei Nova are all slated to get the update in the first quarter of 2017. In the second quarter, the update is expected to be available for other devices like Huawei G9 Plus, Honor Note 8 and M3 tablet are expected to get the software update in the second quarter of this year.
Meizu officially unveiled its budget M5S smartphone today and already we’ve got a large cache of hands-on images of the device right here. The Meizu M5S happens to be Meizu’s first smartphone for the year and it really doesn’t disappoint in the design aspect and even on the specs table.
The Meizu M5S adopts almost similar design language to those of its previous gen models. The device adorns an all-metal body with CNC finish, giving the device a sleek look that some make you forget this meant to be a mid-budget smartphone. Added to a premium design, the M5S has got up to four different paint jobs. It comes in champagne gold, rose gold, moonlight silver and start gray color variants.
Added to the great colors, the device also has a lightweight body build, coming in at 143g. The display is a 5.2-inch display with HD resolution (720 pixels). There is a 2.5D curved glass b top the screen. Meizu M5S packs a decent octa-core MediaTek MT6753 processor. The processor is supplemented by 3GB of RAM and feature a 16GB as well as 32GB storage versions.
If the front view of the Meizu M5S looks pretty, the back takes it a notch higher with a more beautiful design styling. The rear camera lens is said to have an oleophobic coating on the rear camera lens. There is no fingerprint sensor mounted at the rear instead, the M5S features Meizu’s mTouch fingerprint sensor embedded on the home button up front. Other features you get on the cheap smartphone include 4G VoLTE, dual SIM / dual standby, and lots more.
Providing the interface on the sleek smartphone is Meizu’s Flyme 6 OS with One Mind AI but what is perhaps the most standout feature on the M5S is the 18W fast charging technology it packs. The M5S packs a modest battery and in order to keep the smartphone running 24/7, Meizu has included a fast charge technology on the budget smartphone.
Despite these flagship grade features and design, the Meizu M5S comes with a cheap price tag of 799 yuan ($117) for the 3GB + 16GB version and then 999 Yuan ($145) for the 3GB + 32GB version. The device will go on sale on February 20 but registration for the smartphone is already on. You can check out more hands-on images of the Meizu M5S from down below.
Aside the Meizu M5S released today, Meizu also announced a new bluetooth speaker. The new bluetooth speaker which has a round design is priced at ¥169 (~$25).
The Meizu bluetooth speaker has a tilted circular base so that it directs the sound at you when placed on a flat surface. It weighs 170 grams and measures 108 x 108 x 55 mm. The body is made of brushed aluminium and the speaker unit has a 45mm diameter. Meizu says the speaker features MAXX Audio enhancement technology from Grammy Award winning Israeli company, Waves.
The speaker comes with a built-in 1800mAh battery that should last for up to 8 hours on a single charge at maximum volume and up to 15 hours of continuous playback when volume is at 50%. Charging time is estimated to take 4 hours. You can attach the speaker to your bag via a lanyard cable that comes with it.
The Meizu Bluetooth Speaker has Dynamic Range Compression (DRC) and can be paired to your device via Bluetooth 4.2 or via the 3.5mm aux port.
The Meizu Bluetooth Speaker is available in Moon White and Deep Space Gray. It will go on sale on the 17th of February at 10:00 am on Meizu’s official website. It will also be available on Lynx and JD Mall on the 20th of February. If you purchase the speaker together with the Meizu M5S, you get ¥20 (~$3) off.
LG’s new flagship is set to launch exactly eleven days from now. Not very far off but that is not stopping more details from coming out. New details have emerged about the battery capacity of the LG G6.
A Korean Media announced yesterday that the LG G6 will ship with a battery larger than 3200mAh, citing an unnamed senior official as their source. The battery is expected to last about 12 hours on a single charge if all you do is web browsing. However, a real life test will be needed to confirm this claim.
The image above is a comparison of the battery capacities of LG’s G Series since inception. Last year’s LG G5 shipped with a 2800mAh battery but it also had a smaller 5.3-inch QHD display. Considering the fact that the LG G6 will have a 5.7-inch display with a 2880 x 1440 resolution, a battery larger than 3000mAh sounds alright.
The exact capacity of the battery is assumed to be between 3200mAh and 3300mAh. If it were higher than 3300mAh, the official could have simply said so. Like previously reported, the LG G6′ battery will not be user-removable but the phone will have water and dust resistance.
Barely few days after the Xiaomi Mi 6 was rumored to have a flat 5.2-inch 1080p TFT LCD display as against the curved AMOLED that was being expected, a fresh rumor has emerged about the Mi 6. Also emerging from the same source is the rumor that the Mi 6 won’t have an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor.
Weibo user @Mocha Socialist Workers who leaked the first news of a lack of curved AMOLED display on the Mi 6, also added some more details of the expected flagship. The leakster has rumored that the ultrasonic fingerprint scanner which Xiaomi first featured on the Mi 5S would be missing on the Mi 6. Instead, Xiaomi would patronize one of the local manufacturers of fingerprint technology. The ultrasonic technology featured on the Mi 5S was manufactured by US company Qualcomm.
The tipster also revealed that the Mi 6 would be available in April. He also assured that the Mi 6 would pack Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 chip just as expected. It is very likely then, that the Mi 6 would be released sometime in March if it will actually go on sale in April.
The Xiaomi Mi MIX was one of the highlight of 2016. It amassed much praise back in China and abroad and it is only fitting that such a phone deserves a successor.It appears Xiaomi is already working on it.
CEO, Lei Jun took to his Weibo page to release some details about the successor which will be called the Xiaomi Mi MIX II. First, he mentioned that the designer of the Mi MIX, Frenchman, Philippe Starck will be returning to design the new device.
According to Lei Jun, the both of them have met and gone over the design of the Mi MIX II to see how both sides can bring his innovative design into reality. The company is said to be aiming for a phone with a screen that covers the entire front of the phone and that doesn’t have any physical buttons.
The dream of making a phone whose screen covers the front is said to be shared by Apple too. An analyst, Sun Changxu claims that an iPhone 8 prototype (he probably saw) has a screen that nearly covers the front. The home button has been removed and the bezel on the chin and forehead are about 8mm in width. He also says the phone lacks any sort of physical button on the entire body.
If Xiaomi is able to achieve the design their aiming for, the Mi MIX II will be the first Chinese phone to not have a physical button.
Meizu released a brand new smartphone today, the Meizu M5S. Thanks to the numerous leaks in the past few days, we already knew a lot about the phone, especially regarding its fast charging capabilities.
Meizu M5S will take on its Xiaomi Redmi counterparts with its super fast 18W charging. While the Redmi smartphones like the Redmi 4 boast of large 4000mAh+ batteries inside, the Meizu M5S comes with a decent 3000mAh capacity battery inside. So, fast charging will definitely be one of the highlights of the phone. The company claims that the phone can charge up to 56% in just 30 minutes.
Looks wise, the Meizu M5S continues the same design philosophy as its previous generation models, coming in an all metal body with CNC finish and four color options viz. champagne gold, rose gold, moonlight silver, and star gray. The phone features a 5.2-inch compact display with 720p resolution and 2.5D curved glass on top. It’s a pretty lightweight phone, weighing just 143 grams with 148.2 x 72.5 x 8.4mm body.
Inside, the Meizu M5S comes with a decent octa-core MT6753 processor (eight-core Cortex A53 architecture). there seems to be just one RAM version viz. 3GB but there are two storage versions, 16GB and 32GB, which are further expandable up to 128GB via MicroSD. At the back, the phone features a 13MP camera with an oleophobic coating on the lens, 5P lens, PDAF, dual LED flash and f/2.2 aperture. Up front, there is a 5MP f/2.0 shooter with beauty algorithm for flawless selfies.
Other features of the Meizu M5S include VoLTE, dual SIM dual standby, mTouch fingerprint sensor embedded into the home button, and Flyme 6 OS with One Mind AI.
The phone goes on sale on February 20 for 799 Yuan (16GB) ~$117 and 999 Yuan (32GB) ~ $145. The registrations for the Feb 20 sale have already begun.
ZTE’s Axon lineup has been quite successful as these phones bring a lot of value for the price. Back in September of 2016, I was at IFA Berlin when the Axon 7 mini was launched but I managed to get the phone for the review just now. I think it’s a pretty solid phone for the price but if you want to learn more, check out our full review.
The phone ships with all the usual stuff and some extras include a soft TPU case and a pair of earphones.
DESIGN and DISPLAY
If you have ever held the ZTE Axon 7 in your hand, you will notice that the mini version looks almost exactly the same with just a few minor differences.
It has the same premium look and feel thanks to the all-metal design and tactile metal buttons. Also, the Axon 7 mini has dual front-facing speakers that are just fantastic and they are easily the best in this price range.
If you plug in the earphones, things get even better. The built-in Hi-Fi audio chip delivers a crisp, clear and rich sound, and there are no distortions at the highest volume settings, just like on the loudspeaker.
Obviously, the mini is a bit smaller than the Axon 7 due to its 5.2” 1080p Amoled display, which is sharp and vibrant both for indoor and outdoor use and it is covered with the Gorilla Glass 4.
Just above the display, we have an 8MP selfie shooter and a multi-color LED notification light.
On the bottom, you can find customizable on-screen navigation keys.
When it comes to optics, there is a 16MP camera with f/1.9 aperture and a single LED flash. The fingerprint scanner is fast, accurate and it unlocks the phone straight from the standby mode.
HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE
The ZTE Axon 7 mini is midrange phone as it has an octa-core Snapdragon 617 chip, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage.
These specs don’t look impressive at all but in reality, I have no complaints with the phone’s performance. It handles even the most demanding 3D games without any issues, with just a few skipped frames but I can’t really complain about that.
USER INTERFACE
When it comes to user interface, the phone runs on the MiFavor 4.0, which is built on top of Android 6.0.
As usual to the ZTE phones, there is no app tray and there are quite a few design touches. I mean the icons look kind of cartoonish to me. Also, you can customize the phone in a lot of different ways. Just to name a few, you can select from different themes, use the Mi Pop button or tweak the display settings.
You can also play with different motion and gesture controls or use the fingerprint scanner to open up apps or take pictures. Even though I’m not a huge fan of the redesigned iconsand I don’t really use all those extra features, I have no complaints with the phone’s daily performance.
CAMERA
The built-in camera app allows you to take pictures quite fast. Also, you can select from a few shooting modes like a pro mode if you want to adjust the image settings manually.
IMAGE QUALITY
IT IS HIGHLY-RECOMMENDED TO DOWNLOAD FULL RESOLUTION CAMERA SAMPLES TO SEE THE ACTUAL IMAGE QUALITY. THE PICTURES UPLOADED ON THE WEBSITE ARE 50% SMALLER IN RESOLUTION.
I could only test the camera on the cloudy day and we may see a bit better results under better lighting conditions. In general, the image quality is decent but I expected to see a bit more detail and sharpness. Also, some shots came out underexposed, meaning that the auto dynamic range adjustment is mediocre.
The night images look okay but not really impressive. As usual, the level of detail is much lower and there is quite a bit of noise.
The 1080p video looks pretty good but there could be more detail and the auto-focus is jumping quite a lot.
The selfies could look a bit sharper but they will do the trick for social media.
When it comes to connectivity, the phone supports 4G and it can take either 2 SIM cards or a combo of 1 SIM and the microSD card.
I’ve used the Axon 7 mini in various locations to thoroughly test all the connectivity options. The phone performed well all the time whether I needed to make a call or use the GPS to find my way home.
BATTERY LIFE
2705 mAh battery will usually get you through the day if you are a moderate user. I was able to get about 4-5 hours of SOT when using the phone mainly for social media, web browsing, a bit of gaming and taking some pictures.
The supplied charger can fully charge the phone in about 1h and 15 mins, thanks to the Quick Charge tech.
CONCLUSIONS
The ZTE Axon 7 mini may not be the most powerful smartphone for the price of about $300 if you only care about the sheer specs but it is a pretty solid midrange smartphone nevertheless.
It is definitely a looker thanks to the excellent all-metal build, the Amoled display is really sharp and vibrant and the Hi-Fi audio quality is one of the best you can find on any phone. Also, the front-facing speakers simply blow any other phone out of the water in this price category.
Even though the specs may not impress you, the phone performs well when it comes to daily performance and even gaming.
However, the camera can definitely take good pictures for the price of the phone but I would love to see more detail in some of the shots. Also, there is no 4k video recording. Finally, the MiFavor UI may not be for everyone’s taste due to a bit cartoonish look.
Other than that, the ZTE Axon 7 mini is a pretty solid mid-ranger. Even though it is not the most powerful phone on paper (if you are a specshead), it performs great in real life and most importantly, it has Hi-Fi audio setup that is not only the best in class but also one of the best on any phone.
It is almost certain now that Huawei will be taking the wraps off the much-touted P10 flagship this month. Already, what could be taken as an official teaser announcing the coming of the Huawei P10 at MWC 2017 in Barcelona has been outed by the company. Also, the company has sent press invite for the launch of a couple of smartphones on February 21.
Ahead of the P10’s launch, the device has appeared n benchmarking outfit – Geekbench’s database and the appearance reveal not just the key specs of the flagship P-series smartphone but also the capabilities of the gadget. The device appears as Huawei VTR-L09 but is said to be the P10 and it is listed as running Android 7.0 Nougat. The device is also listed with an Octa-core 1.84GHz chipset which is the Kirin 960 SoC.
The Huawei P10 is listed to have achieved a single core test score of 1884 points while on the multi-core test, it scored 5964 points. The test score is somewhat on the low side especially in the multi-core test, perhaps due to the underclocked 1.8GHz Kirin 960 in use. Even the Kirin 955 chip onboard the Huawei P9 performed better with a Geekbench score of 6415 points. The P10 is expected to powered by an Hisilicon Kirin 960 chipset with an octa-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz, as well as a Mali G71 GPU powering the graphics. The device will sport a 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display and have two memory variants of which the lower 4GB RAM version is listed on Geekbench. There is said to be a version of the P10 with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Also, the Huawei P10 is said to have a higher variant, the Huawei P10 Plus which was recently leaked as packing a 5.5-inch display as well as 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The monstrous RAM size may be inaccurate, though.
Xiaomi has teased the launch of its 62nd crowdfunded product and the product is likely a blue eye protective glasses. This launch is coming on the heels of the recent launch of the Xiaomi Smart Ukelele and children smart wristwatch.
Xiaomi first teased the launch yesterday, the post teasing the launch talked about the damage UV rays does to the eyes and further hinted that the product comes with harmful ray filters. The date for the launch is set for February 16 at 10am via Xiaomi mall.
Further teasers by Xiaomi show the expected eye protective glasses was produced using military grade materials and that ensures the device won’t break even under strong impact. Using a photo of a man wearing a military helmet further shows the strength and durability of the device. The protective glasses also protect against harmful rays. The full details of the upcoming product would be unleashed tomorrow, so we’ll wait for that.
In the end what will bring new surprises? We will wait and see.
In a bid to maintain its stronghold on the mid-range and low-end smartphone market, Qualcomm isn’t only setting its eyes on flagship chips but also on mid-range and low-level chips. The company is now rumored to be working on a couple of new chipsets identified as Snapdragon 630 and Snapdragon 635 SoCs.
Both the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 and Snapdragon 635 chips are said to be enhanced versions of the highly efficient Snapdragon 625 chipset which Xiaomi recently announced would feature on its Redmi Note 4X smartphone. The SD 625 is known to have very efficient power management and heat reduction such that battery life is extended. Thus, the Snapdragon 630 and Snapdragon 635 are expected to have such features and even more.
According to the leak, both mid-range chips would use eight Cortex-A53 cores in an octa-core arrangement. Some would have preferred the superior Cortex-A73 cores but then, it’s just a rumor until Qualcomm goes official with it. We don’t have further details of both rumored SoCs but since they are upgrades of the SD 625, we expect them to come with features such as support for LPDDR3 memory, LTE Cat. 7 baseband and a clock frequency of 2.0 – 2.2GHz as well as the Adreno 506 GPU or higher. The SD 625 came with these features, so an upgraded version would pack a more strengthened lineup.
In addition, Qualcomm is also said to be working on a Snapdragon 660 chip which would be manufactured using Samsung 14nm LPP process and have an octa-core arrangement which may be a combination of the Cortex-A73 and A53 cores. The SD 660 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. The rumor added that OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi will feature the chip in their upcoming smartphones. The Snapdragon 660 is expected to be available in September.
We reported earlier on that there are rumors that Nokia has plans to release three new budget smartphones at MWC 2017 in addition to the Nokia 8 flagship that has kept the rumor mills active for a while now. The smartphones were said to be Nokia 5, Nokia 3 and the classic Nokia 3310 feature phone.
The leak, however, failed to give details of the Nokia 3 features except that it would be an entry level smartphone running Android 7.0 Nougat and having a price tag around 149 Euro. Other details were sketchy but some have been revealed right now. According to the latest leak, the Nokia 3 will come with a 5.2 / 5.3-inch display with an HD resolution (1280 x 720 pixel). The entry-level phone is said to be powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset and that will be backed by 2GB of RAM. There is also 16GB of storage space on the device which will also run Android Nougat, as stated earlier on. The graphics is taken care of by an Adreno 308 GPU while on the camera end, the Nokia 3 packs a 13MP rear camera as well as a 5MP front-facing camera.
We expect the smartphone to drop at MWC 2017 in Barcelona as earlier rumored. Already, Nokia has a launch event lined up for on February 26 and hopefully we’ll get to meet a couple of beautiful looking Nokia smartphones.
Huawei is preparing for the launch of its next flagship, the Huawei P10. Scheduled to be announced on the 26th of February at Barcelona, the company has been posting teasers of what to expect.
Yesterday, the official Huawei Mobile Twitter account posted a short video hinting at the possible colors the Huawei P10 will launch in. A follow up tweet says the colors of the phone were “inspired by the bold colors on the New York streets during the fashion week”. Judging from the colors in the video, the Huawei P10 should be available in blue, aquatic green, and gold.
Last month, a Weibo user @ichangezone had posted images of the possible color variants of the Huawei Mate 10. Comparing those images with Huawei’s teaser now confirms his leak was genuine.
A high-end Sony smartphone that goes by the name Sony Pikachu has been spotted on benchmark website GFXbench. The name is perhaps a code name which is perhaps different from the one the device would launch with. Even at that, what readily comes to mind when Pikachu is mentioned is Pokemon.
The Sony Pikachu packs high-end specifications which include Android 7.0 Nougat OS said to be Android Sony Edition. The Pikachu is listed with a 5-inch display but HD resolution (1280 x 720 pixels). The device is also listed as packing an octa-core CPU clocked at 2.3GHz and is powered by a MediaTek MT6757 chip, while the graphic renditions are taken care of by a Mali-T880 MP2 GPU. There is also 3GB of RAM onboard the device as well as 32GB of storage.
On the camera end, the Sony Pikachu is listed as featuring a 21MP rear camera with autofocus, face detection and LED flash. The Pikachu is also coming with a 7MP front-facing camera. Curiously, the Pikachu is listed to come with just one SIM card but it comes with lots of connectivity features including GPS and NFC.
At last year’s edition of Google I/O, one of the new features Google announced will be coming to Android soon is Instant Apps. Instant Apps are apps that you can use without installing on your phone. If you come across an instant app while searching on Google, all you have to do is tap on the icon and you are ready to use the app. The app can be as simple as a ticket booking app, a shopping app, or a weather app. Once you are done with it, that’s the end.
Image Credit: liliputing.com
Instant Apps are actually not new. In China, popular messaging app WeChat has what is called Mini Programs within its app. Mini Programs work in a similar fashion as instant apps. They are embedded within the app you are using and don’t show up in your main app list. You can install a mini program by scanning a QR code or installing one friend shares. While the apps remain within the WeChat app, a simple swipe is all you need to remove them.
A number of the mini-programs available on WeChat include a photo editing app like Prisma that applies filters faster than Prisma, a movie ticket booking app, and a McDonalds app for coupons. WeChat rolled out the service early January.
Some Android devices have started getting the service and the first app is shopping app, Wish. Instant Apps are going to be available to devices running Android 4.1 and up.
Instant Apps are built just the way your regular android app is. It uses the same APIs, the same package, and source code. The difference is that you do not need to head to the Play Store to install it. You also do not get features associated with regular apps such as background services, background notifications, or access unique device identifiers.
Last year popular open-source operating system for android devices, CyanogenMod announced it was shutting down. Following that, the company started afresh and became LineageOS. Over the past couple of weeks, they have announced builds for a number of devices. Today, they have added six new custom ROMs for the OnePlus 3T, OnePlus 3, ZTE Axon 7 and three other devices.
The ROMs all have build number 14.1, a continuation from CyanogenMod’s 14.0, and are based on Android Nougat 7.1. The company has merged the files of the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T, so you will see it as one device. Alongside the ZTE Axon 7, the LG G3, Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0, Galaxy Tab S2 9.7, HTC One M7 (GSM) and HTC One M7 (Verizon) have also gotten LineageOS 14.1.
LineageOS stats shows that the ROM for the OnePlus One (Bacon) is currently the most downloaded with a total of 35959. It is followed by Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 3 (Snapdragon Variant) with 18835 downloads and Samsung’s Galaxy S5 with 17100 downloads.
Xiaomi announced the Redmi Note 4X Hatsune Miku Edition a couple of days back and since then the device has been hitting the airwaves in series of press renders. Until now, we were yet to see an hands-on image of the limited edition of the Redmi Note 4X but that is now in the past. Real live/ hands-on images of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X Hatsune Miku Edition have come out, giving us a glimpse of the green beauty.
On first sight, the Hatsune Miku Limited edition might be confused with a flagship device but the Redmi series are known to have cheap mid-range price tags. That doesn’t take away the fact that the design is premium and sleek. The customized version comes in green paint job only and has a fused antenna band design that is coated in silver. The camera and fingerprint sensor has a silver coated thin ring surrounding them.
The sleek design alone doesn’t account for the 1,299 Yuan ($189) price tag the Redmi Note 4X Hatsune Miku edition has got. In addition to a great looking smartphone, buyers also get a limited edition mobile power bank, a customized casing for the phone as well as the opportunity to download Hatsune theme in the future.
The Hatsune 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. The Redmi Note 4X, including the Hatsune Miku Edition went on sale in China today February 14 via Xiaomi Mall, Mi Home, Suning Tesco, Lynx official, and Jingdong.
Yesterday we reported that Xiaomi has two new products launching today via its Mijia crowdfunding platform. The first of the product is a smart ukulele called the Populele. For those who don’t know what a Ukulele (yoo-kə-lay-lee) is; it is a musical instrument resembling a small guitar but smaller and usually with less strings. It is of Hawaiian origin but has now spread all over the globe.
Now that we have put the history class behind us, let’s dive into what Xiaomi’s Populele does. Say you want to start playing the ukulele, you might need to get a teacher who will have to sit you through hours of boring classes that are pretty difficult. However with the Populele, what you need is your smartphone and the companion app.
The app which works with devices running Android 4.3 and above or iOS 8.0 and above teaches you how to play the Populele. All you have to do is follow the LED lights in-laid on the fingerboard of the Populele as it lights up. Once you push a key on the app, the corresponding LED lights up on your Populele. After learning the basics, you can go ahead and learn any of the over 100 songs that comes with the app, with regular practice you should be able to give a performance worthy of a standing ovation when next your friends come around or win the heart of your crush with a serenade. The product page even says 5 minutes is all you need to start playing.
Technical Specifications of the Populele
The Populele is made from high quality Indonesian rosewood and Italian Aquila nylon strings. It weighs just 500 grams and has a total of 72 LED lights in-laid on the fingerboard. It has a built-in 800mAh battery that charges via micro USB and Bluetooth 4.0 LE for easy pairing with your device. It also comes with a carrying bag.
Populele Price and Release Date
It costs just ¥399 (~$58). At the moment it has reached 397% of its crowdfunding goal which is quite impressive. Info on the crowdfunding page says shipping should start on the 28th of March.
Huawei has invariably confirmed that the P10 flagship with dual Leica cameras would be officially unveiled at MWC 2017. The confirmation comes in form of a video teaser which they released earlier today.
The video teaser has the hashtag “#HuaweiP10 is Coming!” ascribed at the top and the video itself projects the Huawei launch event billed for February 26 with the inscription Barcelona 26.02.17 embedded within the teaser. The company did not leave anyone in doubt as to whether the video teaser is meant for the P10 by inscribing the words “Huawei P10” at the end of the video. What the video seems to tease is even the fact that the P10 would feature a dual-lens camera setup at the rear. The dual cameras are expected to be similar to those on the Huawei P9, co-engineered with acclaimed German camera maker Leica.
The video accompanies several social media posts with the statement “Huawei P10 is coming”, so there is no doubt that the launch of the P10 flagship will hold at MWC 2017. This has been the subject of earlier rumors and these rumors also tipped the P10 to come with a 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display. The P10 will be powered by an Hisilicon Kirin 960 chipset with an octa-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz, as well as a Mali G71 GPU for the graphics. Also listed as coming with the P10 is 6GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. There may likely be more than one storage versions, with this one being the topmost. The P10 is also said to have a higher variant, the Huawei P10 Plus which was recently leaked on a Spanish retailer’s website as packing a 5.5-inch display as well as 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. You can check out the video teaser from down below.
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