Meizu M5 Note Hits TENAA Ahead of December 6 Launch

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Nov 27, 2016

Turns out the Meizu product launch schedule which was leaked towards the end of last week was correct about the M5 Note launching in December. The Meizu M5 Note launch has officially been teased to hold on December 6. The teaser also features the real image of the device.

The Meizu M5 Note was earlier rumored to launch alongside the Meizu X which would go official on November 30. That has, however, been put to rest with the release of this latestinvitation by Meizu. The invitation also reveals that the Meizu M3 Note has hit 20 million units produced since inception and that the M5 Note launch would signal the end of production.

As for the expected specs of the device, earlier appearance on AnTuTu has given us a glimpse of that. According to the AnTuTu records, the M5 Note would launch sporting a 1080 pixels display resolution which is thought to be a 5.5-inch screen. The device will also feature a MediaTek Helio P20 chipset along with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The device packs a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing camera as well as run on Android Marshmallow 6.0 from the go.

The Meizu M5 Note is rumored to launch with an 899 yuan ($130) price tag. We are not sure about that but if it turns out to be true, that would be amazing.

ZUK Edge Real Images Leaked By Lenovo’s Vice-President, Launching Next Week

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Nov 27, 2016

Lenovo‘s ZUK Edge flagship is one of the devices currently making waves even before they are released. The device wasa recently spotted on AnTuTu where it was revealed to have the Snapdragon 821 chip onboard. Images of the sleek and stunning looking device had appeared online before now, revealing its unique design. Again, renders of the device has leaked right from the doorstep of Lenovo’s vice-President on Weibo.

The images further reveal the ZUK Edge’s design captured from both the front and back sides of the device. The most stunning feature should be the ultra thin bezels at the sides of the display which make the device looks like the Xiaomi Mi Mix concept phone. That is because the device is composed almost entirely of the display at the front as a result of the tiny bezels. There is a physical home button up front, though, which also functions as a fingerprint sensor. The flagship device also has a front camera at the top.

There is no doubt this is the real device as the paper box casing bears the name of the device. The box casing comes in the same black color as the device but we had earlier seen the white colored variant. The ZUK Edge also seem to come with a protective casing which is likely because of the large display that may be prone to damage easily.

The vice-President of Lenovo Group, apart from gifting us these stunning renders, also hinted that the device would be officially released next week. The ZUK Edge comes packing a 2.35GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chip with Adreno 530 GPU, and back by 6GB of RAM. There is also 64GB of internal storage on the device that would run on Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box.

Further, the device is said to feature a 5.5-inch display with Full HD resolution (1980 x 1080 pixels) and at the rear there is a 13MP camera. While there is an 8MP front-facing camera.

10nm BattleChip: Snapdragon 835 vs Helio X30 vs Kirin 970

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Nov 27, 2016

Next year is the year of 10nm chips and most of the major chip manufacturers have announced their own 10nm SoCs. Qualcomm already announced its Snapdragon 835 processor which will be manufactured by Samsung. Mediatek has also announced the deca-core Helio X30 which is being manufactured by TSMC, and we have heard rumors of a Kirin 970 chip from Huawei. While it is too early to decide which one is best, there is no harm in doing a comparison with the amount of info already out there.

Number of Cores

Qualcomm is sticking to eight-cores in a 4+4 combination for the Snapdragon 835. Mediatek on the other hand is not new to deca-cores chips; the Helio X20 and Helio X25 both have 10 cores, and the trend is set to continue with the X30. The Helio X30 will consist of four Cortex-A73 cores, four Cortex-A53 cores and two Cortex-A53 cores. The Kirin 970, just like the Kirin 960, is expected to use an 8-core setup (4 x Cortex-A73 cores+4 x Cortex-A53 cores).

Clock Speed

The SD 835 SoC will have a maximum clock speed of 3.0GHz but expect some manufacturers like Xiaomi to lower the clock speed. During the launch of the Helio X30, Mediatek already said the Cortex-A73 cores will be able to reach a clock speed of up to 2.8GHz. The clock speed for Huawei’s Kirin 970 is unknown but we assume it will be between 2.8GHz – 3.0GHz.

LTE Categories

Qualcomm is going all out by using using a combination of Cat. 13 and Cat. 16 for downlink and uplink. Mediatek’s Helio X30 will use a combination of Cat.10 and Cat.12 while the Kirin 970 is expected to use Cat. 12.

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Will Not Have 8GB of RAM

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Nov 27, 2016

You would have though that since Samsung is the first in the industry to release an 8GB RAM module for phones and tablets, naturally their upcoming flagship, the Galaxy S8 will be one of the first devices to feature it. Surprisingly, that will not be happening.

A leaked report says the Korean giant thinks 6GB of RAM is still enough for high-end smartphones come 2017. Samsung’s major flagships released this year don’t even have more than 4GB of RAM and its only 6GB RAM phone is the Samsung C9 Pro which is a China exclusive. To be honest 8GB of RAM on a phone is still overkill and what will suffer is battery life.

Rumors say Samsung will not only be upgrading the RAM to 6GB but will also be putting a generous amount of storage, probably 256GB. Another info leaked is that Samsung will be increasing the screen size of the S8 to placate lovers of the Note 7. That way, those who love the Note series because of its large screen estate can settle for the Galaxy S8.

The Nokia Pixel is Actually A Nokia X2 Running A Custom Nougat ROM

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Nov 27, 2016

A few days ago, a ”new” Nokia phone called the Nokia Pixel was seen on Geekbench. The low-end specifications of the phone coupled with the fact that it runs Android Nougat gave people the impression that Nokia was working on a low-budget phone that will launch with the latest version of Android. However, it appears that won’t be happening as it has been found out that the Nokia Pixel is actually the Nokia X2.

Not this guy below………

……It’s this guy in green.

It was discovered that the person who uploaded the results changed the device name to trick people into thinking Nokia has a low-spec’d Nougat phone in the pipeline.

Apart from the fact that the specs are outdated, the benchmark scores are very close to that of the Nokia Ara which was the codename for the Nokia X2 before it was released. The fact that it is even running a newer version of Android does nothing to boost the scores.

Qualcomm Official Confirms OPPO Find 9 Won’t Launch March 2017

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Nov 26, 2016

We reported yesterday that analyst, Pan Jiutang, posted on Weibo that the OPPO Find 9 will not be released next March, hence those who are waiting for it should either settle for the newly released OnePlus 3T or the Vivo Xplay 6. Apart from the fact the two phones he mentioned are pretty good devices, all three brands (OPPO, OnePlus, and Vivo) are owned by the same parent company which is BBK Electronics.

The statement of the Find 9 not launching in March has also been confirmed by an internal staff at Qualcomm, @Anunnaki, on weibo. He said in his post that the news about the OPPO Find 9 launching in March are rumors. Since the statement is coming from a Qualcomm staff who probably has information about new phones that will launch with the company’s processors, we have no reason to doubt him.

OPPO Find 9

Rumor: Apple May Team Up With LG On A 3D Camera for The iPhone 8

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Nov 26, 2016

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Apple might want to make the next iPhone very different from the previous ones since it coincides with the iphone’s 10th anniversary. What will surprise us are the new features the phone will launch with. Rumors coming out of Korea says Apple may equip the iPhone 8 with a 3D camera and may be working with LG on the project.

The news which is from a report in the Korea Economic Daily presumes that Apple may be working with LG to use dual-lens camera made by LG Innotek. LG Innotek is a part of the bigger LG brand that specializes in the manufacture and development of components such as LEDs, PCBs, mobiles, displays, and automotives.

The report goes on to say that Apple is currently studying how to apply its 3D technology into LG’s Innotek smartphone camera. It is also important to note that LG has its own 3D camera technology. Both companies working together will see them exchange ideas and iron out issues they might be facing with their respective technologies and birthing a more refined and functional one.

3D cameras take images that appear to have three dimensions to them unlike regular cameras that have only 2 dimensions. Using two lenses that capture the same view at the same time, the software then stitches them together into one picture or video that creates the illusion of depth.

The iPhone 8′ 3D camera may not only be used for pictures but may feature 3D depth mapping as the article says Apple-acquired firm, Linx Imaging, which is known for 3D mapping and light enhancements is working on the project as well.

Likely Images Of Meizu’s Flyme 6 User Interface Leak

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Nov 25, 2016

Among the series of teasers Meizu employed in sending out invites for its upcoming November 30 conference, there is one containing the “Make 6 Great Again” mantra. This is in reference to the release of a new Flyme 6 operating system. The new user interface would probably be pre-installed on the Meizu X which would be announced same day.

Now, images of the Flyme 6 user interface have leaked online revealing the refreshing looks of the new operating system which would likely be based on Android Marshmallow. The images shows the Flyme 6 would bring an entirely different visual experience. There is a change in the looks of the status bar and it now looks similar to that of Apple’s iOS 10. The music player and voice assistant interfaces are also shown to have gotten new looks.

The images are just two, so its likely the Flyme 6 would adopt an entirely different look in many aspects. We’d get to see that when the OS is unveiled.

Leaked 2016 Launch Schedule Tips Meizu M5 Note For December Launch

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Nov 25, 2016

A leaked product launch schedule for 2016 said to be that of Meizu has revealed that the expected Meizu M5 Note won’t drop until sometime in December. Images of the schedule surfaced on Weibo and they specifically featured products launched in the past months in their correct order including the upcoming Meizu X. Meizu has been habitually releasing smartphones almost every month this year so its no surprise if actually there is a time-table.

The Meizu M5 Note has featured in several leaks and appeared on benchmarks. The device was thought to launch alongside the Meizu X on November 30 but that isn’t likely going to happen. The device may now be launched in December, if the schedule is to be believed. Although no specific date is ascribed to the launch, it may likely be launched before the 12.12 sales. Unfortunately, there is no indication that we’d be seeing a Meizu tablet anytime this year.

As a recap, the M5 Note would come sporting a 5.5-inch 1080pixels display, packing a MediaTek Helio P10 (MT6755M) processor along with the Mali-T860 GPU. The processor is supported by 3GB of RAM as well as 32GB of internal storage. The device is also listed as running Android Marshmallow 6.0 out-of-the-box. The M5 Note will also sport a 13MP rear camera as well as a 5MP front-facing camera for selfies.

Huawei P9 Gets Huge Price Cut, Making Way For the Huawei P10?

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Buy Huawei P9 For $399 at Oppomart

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Nov 25, 2016

We have recently been inundated by leaks of the Huawei P10 billed for launch early next year. The P10’s renders have severally been leaked showing us some key features on the design that the device would sport on launch day. The news seem to have rocked the boat and have affected the price of the Huawei P9. The P9 has seen a slash in its price online.

If not for anything, the Huawei P9 stands out because of its dual Leica cameras that is capable of delivering stunning shots with Bokeh effect. The P9 also packs several features onboard that sets it out as as a powerful flagship.

The P9 was released in April this year and sure deserves the 3088 Yuan ($477) price tag the standard version launched clutching. That price has seen a downward spiral since then, berthing at around 2,988 Yuan. But an online mall in China has been spotted to have listed the Huawei P9 for as low as 2,299 Yuan for the standard version having 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM.

It’s not certain, though, that the rumor about the P10 is responsible for the P9’s price cut because the next flagship won’t drop until next year. But we hope the price cut continues so some of us won’t need to sell an organ to get one.

Xiaomi Mi 6 Will Be the First Domestic Flagship To Feature Snapdragon 835 Says Analyst

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Joel Joseph

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Nov 25, 2016

Xiaomi seems to have done releasing major smartphones for the year 2016. Naturally, this will bring our attention to the next generation Mi smartphone, which should be none other than the Xiaomi Mi 6. Given that the Xiaomi Mi Mix and the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 have set a really high bar, we should expect some great upgrades on the Mi 6 as compared to the current generation Xiaomi Mi 5S and Mi 5S Plus.

Now, the popular analyst Kevin Wang revealed on his Weibo account that the Xiaomi Mi 6 should be the first domestic flagship to feature the new generation Snapdragon 835 chipset. He also added that Samsung Galaxy S8 will be the first international phone to feature this new Qualcomm processor.

Snapdragon 835 is said to be a powerful upgrade to the already powerful Snapdragon 821 chipset. According to the rumored specs that cropped up on Weibo earlier today, the new age chipset will increase the number of cores inside to eight, instead of four found on the SD821. Further, Qualcomm has already confirmed the X16 LTE model — first Gigabit-class modem for its new chipsets, which should include the SD835 as well. Other features of the new chip include increased clocked speed up to 3GHz, Adreno 540, UFS 2.1, 4K display support, UFS 2.1, four channel LPDDR4x memory and dual camera support.

Further, Kevin added that these two phone should go on sale sometime around early March 2017.

Of course, these are all just rumors for now, as neither Xiaomi or Qualcomm have confirmed these details. The Xiaomi Mi 6 being the first SD835 Chinese phone makes sense to some extent, given that Xiaomi Mi 5 was also almost the first Chinese flagship to feature SD820 chip (if not for the discontinued Le Max Pro).

Well, I said Xiaomi was done releasing major phones for this year, but there are mid-rangers expected to be released in the next few weeks, including the rumored Xiaomi Meri aka Xiaomi 5C that should be the first Xiaomi phone to be powered by its own processor.

Rumor: Snapdragon 835 To Use Octa-core Kryo Architecture, Release In Q2 2017

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Joel Joseph

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Nov 25, 2016

We are all excited for the upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 which the company officially announced recently, along with Quick Charge 4.0 technology. However, the chipmaker is yet to give out essential details about the chipset, so we still have to rely on rumors and leaks for filling in those details.

A few minutes back, we reported about the upcoming Helio P35 chipset and its specs and the same source has also revealed details about the upcoming Snapdragon 835 chipset as well as Snapdragon 660 processor.

The user says that Snapdragon 835 will bring back octa-core architecture instead of quad-core architecture used by the previous generation Snapdragon 821. The cores are still Kryo, so there will be 4 x Kryo @ 3GHz and 4 x Kryo @ 2.4GHz. Other rumored features of the 835 include Adreno 540 GPU, 4K display support, UFS 2.1 standard for storage, dual camera support and LPDDR4x four channel memory support.

While what you read above are just rumored specs of the Snapdragon 835, Qualcomm today at an event in Shenzhen, China officially announced that its next generation Snapdragon series chipsets will come with the super fast and world’s first Gigabit-class X16 LTE modem. It promises up to 10x faster speeds as compared to first generation 4G LTE devices.

Coming back to the rumors, it is said that the next generation Snapdragon 660 chipset will feature an octa-core design (4 x Cortex A73 + 4 x Cortex A53) manufactured on a 14nm manufacturing node with Adreno 512 and 2K display support.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 is said to debut in the second quarter of 2017, while the Snapdragon 660 phones should only be available by the third quarter of next year.

MediaTek’s Helio P35 Using 10nm Manufacturing Node Could Power Mid-Rangers Next Year

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Joel Joseph

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Nov 25, 2016

The next big leap for smartphone chipsets is moving towards the much more power efficient 10nm manufacturing node. Reports have already revealed Apple‘s new A11 chipset, Huawei Kirin 970 and even Mediatek’s Helio X30 / X35 chipsets are said to be manufactured using this new age process.

While all the chips mentioned above are high-end processors that should end up in flagship phones, new rumor from China states that MediaTek could consider using the same 10nm manufacturing node for its budget Helio P35 chip as well. MediaTek’s P series chipsets which is the company’s ‘Performance’ series usually end up in mid-range phones that cost anywhere between $150-$400. If you remember, Helio’s latest P series chip is the Helio P20 that should be found inside the upcoming Meizu X smartphone.

Like some of you may have already noticed, it is said that MediaTek will skip a few numbers in naming its new P-series chip (so likely no Helio P30) and jump directly to Helio P35. This could be because the new mid-range chip is expected to come with some great specs, very similar to the flagship Helio x30.

The weibo post which revealed this info has even given a picture comparing the specs of the Helio X30 with Helio P35 and Snapdragon 835. We can see that Helio P35 and Helio X30 have the same 10 core architecture (2 x Cortex A73 + 4 x Cortex A53 + 4 X Cortex A35), however, the clock speed is a bit lower than the X series chipset. Another major difference should be in the GPU department, wherein the P35 is said to feature Mali-G71 MP3 GPU instead of the PowerVR graphics on the X30. Other rumored features of the P35 include dual channel LPDDR4x memory and 1080p display resolution support.

The user further said that the Helio P35 is expected to debut in the third quarter of next year and will be popular among 1000 Yuan mid-rangers ($150-$300 phones) because of its super-efficient 10nm manufacturing node.

So, what do you think, will 2017 finally be the year when MediaTek chipsets are good enough to take on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon series?

Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime GIVEAWAY

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Linus

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Nov 25, 2016

We all know that Black Friday is a huge thing in the U.S. and it has spread out throughout the world. Gearbest has some pretty good deals out there but just before you start checking them out, make sure to enter the giveaway where you can win a brand new Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1KPerX4qWE[/embedyt]

FULL GIVEAWAY RULES:

1. Make an official entry
2. Share this giveaway on any of your social networks
3. Leave a comment under the video above

GIVEAWAY PRIZE:

Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime

The Xiaomi Redmi 4 is one of the latest budget smartphones released by the Chinese giant. We all know Xiaomi’s quality and this device is no exception. It is made entirely of metal, it is compact and has some awesome specs like Snapdragon 625 chip, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, which is also expandable via the microSD card slot. We believe it is a great prize to win in the giveaway!

Gearbest sells all sorts of products and if you’ve been looking to buy one today is the best day to do that since there are plenty of deals on the website.

Meizu’s Latest Moves Suggest A Meizu Tablet May Be Launched Soon

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Nov 24, 2016

The last time we wrote about a Meizu tablet coming is in 2014, same time the Xiaomi MiPad was set to drop. While Xiaomi’s first tablet dropped, Meizu’s own is yet to see the light of day. But that may soon be in the past as Meizu has shown signs that a tablet would soon join its frequently growing gadgets line-up.

Presently, Meizu has opened an official Weibo account for its tablet division. The Weibo account already follows a number of Meizu officials but is yet to get its first post. In addition, an image teasing the Meizu Flyme OS for tablets also appeared on the scene recently.

Despite all these moves, it is still not certain that the Meizu tablet would drop sometime very soon. Perhaps we could see a launch of the first Meizu tablet next year. But then, we cannot be completely sure about that, the device may still be unveiled this year. After all we are literally at the peak of the year when sales are spiking.

Analyst Plays Down Talks of OPPO Find 9 Dropping in March Next Year

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Nov 24, 2016

Yesterday a fresh rumor concerning the long awaited OPPO Find 9 flagship surfaced online hinting at a launch in March next year. The rumor also hints that the Find 9 would come equipped with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 chipset.

Before now industry analyst Pan Jiutang had hinted that the elusive OPPO Find 9 would find its way into the public domain sometime in the summer of next year. The analyst obviously did not keep mute in the face of a new rumored launch date, instead he took to Weibo to sort of reiterate his earlier stance that the device would drop in the summer of next year by downplaying any chance of the device dropping in the first half of next year.

In the end, they are all rumors and all theses rumors should have been put to rest if OPPO had released the Find 9 flagship before now. But due to the huge success of the R series, the Chinese company perhaps did not see the need of releasing a flagship device. The device is however expected to come with a lot of innovative technologies such as a mammoth 8GB RAM, 4K screen and other unique features.

Another Meizu X Image Leaks Ahead of Launch, Reveals Front View

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Nov 24, 2016

Just a day after the image of the expected Meizu X leaked in what should be its first outing, the device’s front view render has featured in a new leak. The front view render does nothing to assuage our earlier postulation that the device looks like the Honor 8. That resemblance is both on the front and rear aspects.

The render reveals a sleek device with a beautiful, yet simple design. The body is likely made of glass on top of a metal body frame. There is a physical home button front which looks like a virtual button. We earlier saw a rear mounted fingerprint sensor on the back render so it is not known if there will still be a front fingerprint sensor embedded with the home button. There are other capacitive keys at the side of the device, perhaps the volume controls and the power button.

The Meizu X would drop next week Wednesday (November 30) equipped with a powerful MediaTek Helio X20 chipset said to be about 20% faster than the Helio P10. We have already seen a test carried out by a Meizu engineer which reveals the device is capable of withstanding hardcore gaming for a longtime and still not get very hot.The processor will be backed by a large 4GB/6GB RAM and the device is said to also feature LTE Cat. 6 baseband with download speed of up to 300Mbps as well as dual-carrier aggregation.

The device is rumored to be available in 2 variants, a 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM variant that costs 1799 yuan ($260) and a 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM variant that costs 1999 yuan ($289). We are not sure about that but if it turns out to be true, those are decent price tags for such a sleek device.

Real Image of Meizu X: Sports Dual Cameras and Looks Like A Honor 8

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Nov 24, 2016

The Meizu X will be unveiled next week and there is a chance it will be the first Meizu phone to run the new Flyme 6 OS. The unique feature of the phone is its Helio P20 processor but that doesn’t seem to be the only thing going for it, as a leaked image of the phone shows that Meizu has also paid attention to its design.

The image was posted on Weibo today and we are shocked to see that the Meizu X sports dual cameras and a rear positioned fingerprint scanner. Those who can easily spot similarities between phones will be quick to notice that it looks so much like the Honor 8.

Left to me, that’s not a bad thing. Quite a number of manufacturers copy each other’s designs and Huawei isn’t left out.

OPPO Find 9 Rumored As Coming in March Next Year with Snapdragon 835

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