Samsung announced its breakthrough in the development of 8GB LPDDR4 RAM for mobile phones and tablet few months back but it looks like Samsung isn’t going to have a monopoly of that RAM size. South Korean company SK Hynix has equally announced that it has manufactured a new generation of 8GB LPDDR4 memory in a single chip package suitable for smart phones, tablets and PCs.
The SK Hynix 8GB (64GB) LPDDR4 memory incorporates four 2GB (16GB) DRAM ICs with a nominal data transfer rate or frequency of 3733MT/s (that is 3733MHz). This is lower than the 4266MHz frequency the Samsung 8GB LPDDR4 memory is said to have. The Hynix memory chip also comes with a bandwidth of 29.8GB/s.
Unlike Samsung’s own 8GB LPDDR4 memory which uses the 10nm manufacturing process, the Hynix chip uses a 21nm manufacturing process but is compatible with mainstream mobile phones. It also supports UFS NAND flash memory, voltage rating of 1.8 / 1.1V. This version is now shipping. There is another version with a broader 0.6V ultra low-grade voltage rating which is more energy efficient but this version would ship in the first quarter (Q1) of 2017. This version has as its product number – H9HKNNNFBMMUDR-NMH.
About SK Hynix
In case you don’t know, SK Hynix is the world’s second largest chipmaker after Samsung and the World’s fifth-largest semiconductor company. The company is also known as Hyundai Electronics and in fact, Hynix is an abbreviated form of Hyundai Electronics. A merger with fellow Korean company, SK group gave rise to the name SK Hynix.
The company supplies memory semiconductors of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and flash memory chips. Its clientèle cuts across from Apple, Asus, IBM, Dell, right to Hewlett-Packard. Hynix memory is used by Apple in some of their iMac, MacBook and MacBook Pro computers. Hynix memory is also used by Asus in their Google-branded Nexus 7 tablet, an OEM provider for IBM System x servers, and is used in PC desktops as well as the ASUS Eee PC. Dell and Hewlett-Packard have also used Hynix memory as OEM equipment. Other products that use Hynix memory include DVD players, cellular phones, set-top boxes, personal digital assistants, networking equipment, and hard disk drives.
If you are out for a new phone and what something with a powerful processor, like the Snapdragon 820 which is only second to the Snapdragon 821 right now, you can do so with just $200. Before, you could only snag the ZUK Z2 at that price, but LeEco not wanting to be left behind have also cut the price of their flagship, the Le Max 2.
When the Le Max 2 was released this year it sold for 2099 yuan for the 4GB+32GB model but over the months, it has had its price cut multiple times. Now you can pick up a unit with the same configuration above for just 1299 yuan (~$187)!
The Le Max 2 apart from sporting a Snapdragon 820 chip, also features a 5.7-inch 2K display, a 21MP rear camera, an 8MP selfie shooter, and an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. There is full network support, VoLTE and its is one of the few phones out of China with a wide range of band support that lets it work in over 200 countries. The Le Max 2 has a 3100mAh battery that supports QC 3.0 fast charging technology. It also comes with Android Marshmallow out of the box, though we hope LeEco announces an Android Nougat update for it soon.
Do not forget that the Le Max 2 doesn’t have an audio jack but instead provides lossless audio via the USB type-C port,
MediaTek announced its next generation Helio X30 flagship chip about four months back but since then nothing has been heard about the processor built on a 10nM manufacturing process. But presently, a pictorial data said to be the Geekbench posting of the MediaTek Helio X30 has surfaced.
The Helio X30 is said to come with a deca-core design and perhaps for the purpose of the test and the machine is it infused into, the chip was clocked at 1.59GHz while providing the interface is Android Nougat 7.0 and there is a 6GB RAM backing the processor.
We are not so sure, though, that this is actually MediaTek’s X30 chip onboard the device as it only managed to pull a single core test score of 1504 points. On the multi-core test, it recorded a score of 4666 points. Now, that is way lower than the scores posted by its contemporaries, talking about the Qualcomm Snapdagon 821 and Huawei’s latest HiSilicon Kirin 960.
If actually, it is indeed an Helio X30 chip onboard, then this isn’t its normal level. When MediaTek announced the flagship chip few months back its configuration include being a deca-core chipset and having the same tri-cluster design in series like Helio X20 and Helio X25. The X30 is manufactured using TSMC’s 10nm FinFET process and talking about cores, there are 4 Cortex-A73 cores clocked at 2.8GHz, which is claimed to maul down heaviest of tasks, 4 Cortex A-53 cores clocked at 2.2GHz, and 2 Cortex A-35 cores clocked at 2GHz. Compared to the Helio X20 is comes with up to 53% improvement in power consumption and 43% performance improvement.
In addition, the Helio X30 is touted to support camera sensors up to 40MP and video capture up to 24MP. Further, Helio X30 will support up to 8GB of RAM further supporting LPDDR4 (Package-On-Package) POP 1600MHz channels. It is further equipped with PowerVR 7XT quad-core GPU. This graphic engine will highly enhance the graphic performance and will be perfect for VR as well. The Helio X30 will also support LTE CAT 12.
The chipset isn’t expected to ship until sometime next year and we can expect some devices to show up powered by this chipset in the second half of 2017. Perhaps when that happens, we’ll get to see the true fire power of the Helio X30 but for now, we’ll take this alleged Geekbench posting with a pinch of salt.
Meizu announced a new wireless speaker back in May. The speaker which gives off the illusion that it floats hence the name Gravity, was designed by Kosho Tsuboi. The speaker was crowdfunded on Indiegogo and marked the company’s entry into the US market.
According to the timeline of events provided on the Indiegogo page, the Gravity wireless speaker is supposed to ship this month to early backers who paid less ($169) instead of the official $249 price when it launches. However, that won’t be happening as a statement from the company this morning says shipments have been pushed to the first quarter of 2017. The reason for the delay is as a result of design problems related to the main speaker.
The product manager of Gravity, Lola Wu, took to Weibo to explain about the delay. In her post, she said the design issues of the main speaker unit has caused them to replace the mold of the speaker up to seven times. They still have not gotten the desired effect and will rather achieve that than ship a sub-par speaker. Supply partners are not happy with the multiple changes and backers will be dissatisfied as well.
While this is not a new thing when it comes to crowdfunded items, it usually creates a negative impression of the company. Let’s hope the company meets up with their Q1 2017 delivery promise and throws in a free gift as compensation for the delay.
It appears Xiaomi might be considering a small-screen flagship device for those who do not fancy phones with large displays. The information comes in form of a number of images of a phone called the Xiaomi Mi S posted on Weibo by @C数码猫 (C Digital cat).
The Xiaomi Mi S is expected to feature a 4.6-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 821 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of UFS 2.0 storage. It will come with a 2600mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 and will have a 12MP main camera and a 4MP front facing shooter. You might think since the Xiaomi Mi S will be featuring a small battery and display it will have a thin profile, but surprisingly, the dimensions of the phone puts its thickness at 8.2mm, its length at 128.3mm and width at 64.2mm.
A more detailed description of the specs says the main camera which is positioned at the top right corner with a dual LED flash beside it, is a Sony IMX378 sensor with PDAF, f/2.0 aperture, and an 80° viewing angle. The camera will be able to shoot 4K videos at 30fps and 1080p videos at 120fps.
The Xiaomi Mi S appears to use a single nano-sim card with support for 3x carrier aggregation(3xCA). The phone will support 4G+, 4G, 3G,and 2G networks. It will also have NFC, dual WiFi band support, WiDi, and WiFi Direct.
The use of face masks and air purifiers is witnessing a surge this season due to the hazy conditions which means the air is unsafe to be inhaled, filled with dust and impurities. Recently, a photo of a man traveling in a high-speed rail and using the Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier emerged. The image generated lots of response as the air purifier is too bulky to be carried all around. Even fXiaomi’s CEO, Lei Jun also weighed in, suggesting that the company will work on a portable air purifier which can be used while in transit.
Already, Xiaomi has three different versions of its Air purifier in its kitty which includes the Xiaomi Air Purifier, Xiaomi Air Purifier 2 and Xiaomi Air Purifier Pro, but they are all mean’t for indoor use. Now due to the strong haze, there is a need for an anti-haze equipment while outside the house, and this seem to have prompted Xiaomi to do a portable car air purifier.
According to a post on the official Mijia Weibo page, the air purifier is coming soon and a Xiaomi exec even took it further by revealing it would be launched as early as next week. Further details also shared by anothe Xiaomi official reveals the possibility of the M Air purifier coming with a large CADR ratio (clean air output ratio) which is likely higher than those of other brands in the market presently.
It must be noted that there are several car air purifiers in the market presently but they are not cheap, but we expect the Xiaomi air purifier to change that by adopting a cheap price tag which is one of Xiaomi’s hallmark.
Lenovo-owned ZUK announced its new flagship, the ZUK Edge, yesterday. The selling point of the phone is its thin bezels which results in the screen accounting for up to 86.4% of the surface area. Most people might have thought ZUK got the supply for the displays from big display companies like Samsung, JDI, or Sharp, but surprisingly the displays were supplied by a local company called TIANMA.
The finding was made by a Weibo user @老爆科技 (Old burst of Science and Technology) who made the discovery using system information app AIDA64. He has berated the company for settling to use locally made displays for a flagship device instead of screens from more popular display manufacturers. AIDA64 even shows the display as having a size of 4.97 inches instead 5.5 inches.
Some other Weibo users have actually praised Lenovo’s decision to settle for locally manufactured parts as a way to boost the industry and support its growth instead of going to other corporations based outside China.
Xiaomi‘s Mijia sub-brand is seen as Xiaomi’s departmental store where you can get variety of products ranging from smart gadgets, home product and others. The sub-brand has continued to grow bigger and bigger by the day and recent revelations by Xiaomi’s CEO indicate the company has this outgoing year amassed a large amount of revenue from sales of products under the Mijia sub-brand.
The China Mobile Global Partner conference was held recently and during the conference Lei Jun was reported to have disclosed the sales and revenue data from the sub-brand. According to records made available, Xiaomi has so far invested in 77 ecological chain company of which 30 released products during this period. This is aside Xiaomi’s core products like smartphones, MIUI software and others which form the core of the company.
It was revealed that expected revenue from the Xiaomi smart products are expected to run into billions of dollars. A breakdown statistical data shows the Xiaomi Power bank is expected with a total sales figure of 55 million units, the Xiaomi Mi band – 23 million, the Mi Air Purifier – 1 million pieces, Mi headset – 18 million, the Xiaomi keyboard – 5.5 million and the Small Ant camera – 3.3 million pieces.
It is also worthy of note that one of Xiaomi’s ecological chain partner, Huami technology Co., recently announced a total shipment of more than 16 million units of smart wearables totaling up to 1.5 Billion yuan in revenue, a huge rise in revenue. It is also speculated that Xiaomi will in the near future release more smart product like air-condition system, smart refridgerator, smart curtains, all already in the pipeline.
When the Xiaomi Mi MIX launched, the phone manufacturer already explained that it will be in short supply due to the difficulty associated with the production of its ceramic body. Quite a number of people complained as to why they had to settle for a ceramic body in the first place but I guess they wanted to score top marks for design.
Now that the hype around the phone has reduced, it seems they have had a rethink about the design and might be releasing a newer version of the phone with a body that is easier to make. According to the source, the newer version of the Mi MIX will be white and will sport a glass body.
If you remember, we reported about a month ago that there was going to be a white ceramic version of the phone. There were even leaked pictures of the device. While that might have been a production sample, we don’t know if Xiaomi has totally shelved it in favor of a version with a glass body.
If Xiaomi does release the Mi MIX with a glass body, we should expect it to cost less. Xiaomi did the same when they released the Mi 5 Pro with a glass body since they had production issues when making the ceramic version of the Mi 5 Pro.
Lynx store initially had a white Mi MIX listed for ¥3000 (~$432) before pulling the page down. Although it’s lesser than the official price of the ceramic black version which is priced at ¥3499 for the 128GB version and ¥3999 for the 256GB model, it doesn’t mean that will be the final selling price when it is available.
Global financial services firm Morgan Stanley has warned that China’s smartphone market will likely be flooded in the first quarter of next year with this year’s phone stock. The US-based financial corporation hinged its prediction on the large scale expansion of production capacity by Chinese smartphone manufacturers this year.
Earlier this month, Sweden’s Fingerprint Cards (FINGB-Stockholm) lowered its 2017 revenue forecast and since Chinese manufacturers are its major clients it only means that China’s smartphone industry stock had been too much.
According to Morgan Stanley’s Jasmine Lu, Huawei, OPPO and Vivo are optimistic about their shipments this year (seeking to achieve annual shipments growth of 31-123%). They recently raised the 2017 target again (an increase of 21-114%), and has been working to ensure access to key components (such as OLED panel, memory etc), in order to expand market share.
In addition, almost all the Chinese smartphone original equipment manufacturer (OEM) released new models in the third / fourth quarter of 2016, apparently in a bid to grab some of the market shares from the likes of Apple and Samsung Electronics and other global OEM competitors. However, in the face of fierce competition, the product cycle has shortened from at least six months to less than three months, and OEM flagship models almost pack similar features which makes large-scale expansion in the first half of 2017 for spare parts suppliers uncertain.
As a result, smartphone manufacturers may need to up their ante come 2017 in order to beat off stiffening competition and this will put pressure on parts suppliers, according to Morgan Stanley. It must be acknowledge, though, that phone sales have also increased tremendously and so we may not necessarily notice a large stock roll over into next year.
LeEco has officially unveiled a new TV box under its kitty, along with its Super TV range. The LeEco U4TV Box comes with a very portable shape and has a flat back and square shape. The device has a dimension of 100 × 100 × 10.8 mm and weighs 157 grams.
In terms of its configuration, the LeEco U4 comes equipped with an Amlogic S905 processor which is a quad-core processor clocked at 2.0GHz. The device also features a 750MHz Mali-450 GPU. There is equally 2GB of SSR3 RAM onboard and on the storage aspect you get two versions, one with 8GB of eMMC storage and another with 16GB of eMMC storage. The TV Box also packs a dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.1.
In addition, the LeEco U4 TV Box comes with video output support of up to 4K resolution as well as a wide range of video encoding formats and supported audio formats. The LeEco TV Box runs on EUI 5.8 based on Android Marshmallow 6.0 OS and features massive video content, and intelligent operations.
As for the prices, the LeEco U4 standard version with infrared remote control, 8GB storage and one month super sports membership subscription is priced at 299 Yuan. On the other hand, the U4 with infrared remote control, 8GB storage, one month super sports membership subscription and six months super cinema membership subscription starts at 399 Yuan. Finally, the U4 Pro Eco version with Bluetooth, voice remote control, 16GB storage, 1 month super sports membership, and 12-month super TV membership is priced at 499 yuan.
On Tuesday, Apple was granted a patent for a new type of slim-sized speakers system. It also received a patent for woven displays for smartwatch.
Hi-Definition Audio Through New Portable, Slimmer Speaker Systems
Mechanically actuated panel acoustic system with patent number 9,525,943 was filed with U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in November 2014. The patent suggests that it will feature a large panel-type speaker that would include smaller sub-panels.
These smaller panels that are divided by backing frames will function as individual diaphragms and each one of them will be able to produce different resonant frequency. Voice call motors along with embedded permanent magnets produce the movement required to create sound.
An inbuilt audio converter will be able to send appropriate audio signals to each of the sub-panels with dedicated voice calls. This will assist in producing highly accurate acoustics.
If Apple makes use of this patent in its future portable devices like iPhone, the new audio system would consume lesser space. Moreover, this would allow the company to include a larger battery inside iPhone. Hence, future iPhones with the new audio technology would be able to deliver longer battery life.
Woven Display – A Secondary Screen for Wearable Devices
Woven display with patent number 9,521,885 was filed in May 2014 with USPTO. The patent filing states that light-transmissive fibers can be interwoven in conventional fabrics. When it is connected to a light source like LEDs, images can be rendered through these fibers.
It can serve as secondary screens on wearable devices such as Apple Watch. The secondary screen will carry low resolution that will be suitable for displaying readable information. This screen will be capable of showing multicolor symbols or alphanumeric characters as simple notifications to the users depending on the stitch.
HTC is pegged to unleash a new midrange smartphone, the HTC One X10 in January 2017. The alleged specs and pricing of the smartphone have already surfaced.
HTC X10 Specifications, Features
The HTC X10 is rumored to release as a successor model for HTC One X9, a midranger smartphone that was launched in December 2015. It is expected to feature a 5.5-inch display that will produce a full HD resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels.
The MediaTek Helio P10 chipset featuring a true octa-core processor gunning at 2 GHz along with Mali-T860 GPU clocking at 700 MHz is expected to power the HTC One X10. The MediaTek SoC is rumored to be coupled with 3 GB of RAM.
A 13-megapixel camera enabled with OIS (optical image stabilization) is speculated to be present on the rear side of the smartphone. The details on the front camera and battery size are not known.
HTC One X10 Pricing
The HTC One X9 was launched with a pricing of 2399 Yuan ($345). However, its successor is pegged to come with a launch price of 2000 Yuan ($288).
Some speculations suggest that HTC may unveil the smartphone at the upcoming CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2017 that will be held in Las Vegas from Jan. 3 to 8. Interestingly, the Taiwanese company has sent out invitations for a Jan. 12 launch event.
The invitation does not reveal much as it only contains “for U” text. Also, the HTC logo at bottom right has its C turned 90 degrees to make it appear as U. Since there are rumors of HTC One X10, it is expected to get unleashed on Jan. 12.
The Jan. 12 event seems to be big event and the company may not use such an event to unleash just a midranger. Also, in 2015, the launch event invitations for HTC One X9 carried a large sized ‘X.’ Hence, it is likely that may unleash its first smartwatch or HTC Vive 2 VR on Jan. 12.
What HTC unveil One X10 on Jan. 12? Do let us know your thoughts by adding comments below.
(Source)
Aside launching the ZUK Edge, Lenovo also unveiled its latest Tango enabled smartphone, the Phab2 Pro in China. The Lenovo Phab2 Pro was launched in the foreign market sometime around the middle of this year but this is the first time the powerful smartphone is being introduced to the local market in Lenovo’s home country- China.
Specification
As would be recalled, the Phab2 Pro is an AR (Augmented Reality) enabled smartphone and is in fact the world’s first use of Google’s Tango technology in a consumer device. The smartphone sports a 6.4-inch IPS display with 2K (QHD) resolution. It is also equipped with an array of sensors and sports three rear cameras for a better AR experience.
The Phab2 Pro is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor which is backed by 4GB of RAM as well as 64GB of internal storage, ensuring there is enough storage space for data. There is a large 4050mAh battery onboard the device which has support for fast charging.
As regards the camera specs, the Project Tango enabled Lenovo Phab2 Pro sports a 16MP main camera at the rear, as well as Tango motion detection and position sensors. There is also a rear fingerprint sensor just under the cameras. Up front, the Phab2 Pro features an ample 8MP front-facing camera for selfies. The device also comes with a Dolby Audio Capture 5.1 with Dolby Atmos audio system onboard.
Pricing
The Lenovo Phab2 Pro AR phone comes in gold and gray colors and carries a price tag of 3,999 Yuan (about $575). The phone will be available in Lenovo and Jingdong Mall from December 26
Lenovo Phab2 Plus – Specs & Price
Apart from the AR enabled Phab2 Pro, Lenovo also unveiled a non-AR phone – the Phab2 Plus. The Lenovo Phab2 Plus also sports a 6.44-inch IPS display but with an FHD resolution. The Phab2 Plus is powered by a MediaTek MT8783 chipset which is an octa-core processor and is clocked at 1.3GHz.
The Lenovo Phab2 Plus packs 3GB of RAM as well as 32GB of expandable storage. The Phab2 Plus also features a 13MP rear camera with LED flash and an 8MP front-facing sensor. The device equally packs a 4050mAh battery and is priced at 1399 yuan ($201).
People usually associate the brand Asus with computers or related accessories but the company has already proven that it is capable of producing some top quality phones. The Zenfone 3 is one of their latest models and it costs about $370. Is it worth the price? Learn more if this phone is any good in the full review.
The phone ships with all the usual stuff and some extras include a pair of earphones.
Asus Zenfone 3 Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY
The Zenfone 3 is a nice looking phone and it uses some premium materials like Gorilla Glass on the front and rear and a metal chassis.
Obviously, using glass has its tradeoffs as the phone is a huge fingerprint magnet.
However, the buttons are made of plastic and the hybrid dual SIM card tray rattles quite a bit.
On a positive note, the 5.5” 1080p display is just beautiful to look at. It is sharp, vibrant and bright both for indoor and outdoor use.
It’s great that we have an 8MP camera and the notification LED light but I don’t understand why Asus thinks that implementing the non-backlit capacitive buttons is okay. Also, I always love the back button on the right side.
The Zenfone 3 has a pretty powerful camera setup that includes a high-end 16MP Sony IMX298 sensor, 4-axis OIS, 6-axis EIS, hybrid laser/phase/contrast detection autofocus system and dual tone dual-LED flash. The fingerprint scanner is one of the best. It’s fast, accurate and it allows you to unlock the phone straight from the standby mode.
As far as audio, I love the quality of sound via the headset jack. Also, the loudspeaker is great. The volume output is good and the sound is crisp, and balanced.
Asus Zenfone 3 Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE, BATTERY LIFE
When it comes to hardware, the Zenfone 3 ships with the midrange-level Snapdragon 625 chip, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage.
The sheers specs may suggest the midrange nature of the phone but the Zenfone 3 is an excellent performer when it comes to 3D gaming. There are no skipped frames or stutter and the phone stays absolutely cold to the touch even after 30 mins of gaming. That’s really impressive.
In addition, I just love the Snapdragon 625 chip due to its power efficiency. The phone ships with the 3000mAh battery, which does not look impressive on paper but I could constantly get over 5 hours of screen-on time with the max. auto-brightness, using the phone quite heavily and having installed a lot of apps and 4 Google accounts.
Finally, the phone supports the Quick Charge 3.0 feature but it ships with a regular charger, so it takes about 2 hours to fully charge the phone.
Asus Zenfone 3 Review: BENCHMARKS
Asus Zenfone 3 Review: USER INTERFACE
The user interface is what makes the Asus phones unique. The phone runs on the Android 6.0 but we have a heavily customized ZenUI skin on top of it. Honestly, I didn’t like it at first but it started growing on me after 2 weeks of using this phone.
There are so many features, customization options and some little tweaks to make the phone look your own. Just to name a few, you can choose from a huge collection of themes, select from different icons packs and so on. Also, you can use some gesture and motion controls that work well. I’m not sure if you are going to use all the customization options since there are many more features to choose from.
Most importantly, the user interface performance is good on the daily basis. There is no stutter or lag despite all those extra features.
Asus Zenfone 3 Review: CAMERA
The camera app is a good example of how Asus looks into their smartphones. There are just so many shooting modes to choose from and I’m not really sure if an average user would use them all.
Firstly, you can tweak the image settings using the manual mode. Other modes that I found useful are super resolution mode that takes images at a whopping resolution of 66MP. Finally, I loved using the low-light and night modes.
Asus Zenfone 3 Review: 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.
When it comes to the actual image quality, the Asus Zenfone 3 can take some nice-looking photos that are pretty sharp, have a good amount of detail and accurate colors. Also, the white balance is usually spot on. My only complaint would be that some of the images look underexposed. Anyway, I tested the camera in the cloudy day.
As for low-light camera performance, it is actually very good. Sure, there is more noise but the camera takes some flagship-worthy night photos. The dedicated night mode will brighten up the image by lowering the shutter speed but the images usually turn out softer. The low-light mode takes 4MP images that have less noise but there is less detail too.
The selfie camera is usually good but the selfies I took came out slightly soft, so I may not have held my hand steadily.
The 4k video looks sharp and detailed, the color reproduction is accurate and the sound recording quality is decent. Also, the video stabilization works pretty well reducing the shakiness. A few complaints would be that there were a few noticeable video artefacts and the auto-exposure feature could work more gracefully.
When it comes to connectivity, I have zero complaints. The signal reception and the call quality are great using either SIM card as the phone comes with a hybrid dual SIM card tray.
Also, the GPS is very accurate, Bluetooth 4.2 and dual-band Wifi work absolutely fine.
Asus Zenfone 3 Review: CONCLUSIONS
The Asus Zenfone 3 is quite an interesting phone since it has a midrange-level chipset but the flagship-grade real life performance.
Also, the phone has a nice and premium-looking design, excellent display, great audio quality and a very capable camera
Even though the Snapdragon 625 chip is not as powerful as the 820-series processors, there is plenty of power under the hood to handle anything you throw at it. Also, a great power management of this chip leads to a good battery life.
I love that the user interface performance is great too. However, you may love it or hate it since you may not really need all those extra features, so you may end up using a third-party launcher.
Some more serious complaints would be the non-backlit capacitive keys, the SIM card tray rattles quite a bit and finally, the phone is an enormous fingerprint magnet.
At the end of the day, I still love the Asus Zenfone 3 after using it for a couple of weeks but it is up to you to decide if the midrange-level chip and the previously mentioned shortcomings are important to you or not.
UPDATE : LeEco Le 2 x620 / x620 Pro / x625 Pro baseband – imei repair
Here we are again, for another unbrick/rescue mission.
This time we will unbrick our LeEco Le 2 x620 / x620 Pro / x625 Pro series from so-called “Red light” brick. If you flash a wrong ROM using TWRP, your phone will have no sign of life, only a blinking red light when you plug USB cable and some Mediatek ports under your device manager (if you have drivers installed).
It was much easier for old MediaTek series like x600 or x500 from LeEco to flash an SP Flash tool ROM, but after Helio X20, things changed — there is secure boot protection and we can’t just flash like a regular MediaTek SP tool ROM. We need different “download agents” and a certain authentication file to bypass this protection. This guide works for both unlocked and YES for locked bootloaders. And there is a Youtube video that you can watch if reading can be confused sometimes, this is a tricky guide, but the only complete guide that will answer all your questions.
And there is a Youtube video that you can watch if reading can be confusing sometimes, as this is a tricky guide, but the only complete guide that will answer all your questions. There are less pictures in this guide, but the video shows every step, guide is written in the same timeline as the Youtube video.
Double click “flash_tool.exe” inside the x620_flash_tool folder. Choose “MT6797_Android_scatter.txt” in the ROM folder LeEco_x620_SP_Rom if you see an error, if you don’t, do it as the first step by clicking “Scatter-loading” tab right of the window. Next, click “Download Agent” above and choose “DA_PL_HIGH.bin” from “secureboot” folder in the flash tool program folder. Press CTRL + Alt + S to open “Authentication File” section in flash tool and browse to secureboot folder again and select “auth_sv5_letv.auth” file. Untick “recovery” and “boot” images from the list and make sure you have “Download only” selected. If you try to flash recovery and boot partitions too you will see an error like this:
Make sure your phone is completely off. Press “Download” (green arrow looking down), then just plug the USB cable without pressing any other button on the phone.
A new device will be found under device manager, use this driver to setup manually MediaTek Preloader VCOM USB port by selecting the inf file inside the driver folder.
Flashing will start like in the picture, if not, ignore any error, unplug the USB cable, press download again (green arrow looking down) and plug back USB cable in.
Wait until flashing is done, you will see a green “OK” sign showing its done.
Now, unplug the phone from PC. Next, we will flash recovery and boot partitions individually. We need to change download agent from DA_PL_HIGH.bin to DA_BR.bin as the first step here. Again, they are in the “secureboot” folder inside the SP flash tool program folder. Press “CTRL + Alt + V” to open “Write Memory” tab under “Window” menu above.
After you select “Write Memory” a new tab will come up looking like this:
We will flash boot image first, (the pictures are for recovery image flashing, don’t get confused, both will be flashed same way, only files and hex values be different) from “File Path” browse to the ROM folder and select “boot-verified.img” file.
Change the value in the “Begin Adress (HEX)” to “0xf900000” (copy paste from here), leave “Region” as “EMMC_USER”. Click “Write Memory” above (phone is unplugged and off).
Now this step is important: Press Volume + button on your Le 2 and plug in the USB cable, keep pressing Volume + button until flashing is done.
Keeping Volume + button constantly will open our desired MediaTek Preloader VCOM USB port, if you don’t, MediaTek USB port will open and flashing will give an error, if you keep pressing Volume + this will trigger Preloader port to open.
Look at the pictures to see port name.
From “File Path” browse to the ROM folder and select “recovery_stock_works _after_brick.img” file. Change the value in the “Begin Adress (HEX)” to “0x8000” this time (copy paste from here), leave “Region” as “EMMC_USER“. Rest will be the same as is described above.
Press Volume + button on your Le 2 and plug in the USB cable while phone is off, keep pressing Volume + button until flashing is done.
That’s it, now it’s time to power on our bricked Le 2 phone. Next guide will be Baseband and imei fix if you had lost them during brick.
Yet again, rumor about Apple‘s next generation iPhone 8 is hitting us despite the fact that the device isn’t expected until late next year. Even though we cannot verify the authenticity of the leaks and rumors we have heard so far, we can’t deny the possibility of some of them being true.
A Weibo user has revealed that Apple will release a total of three iPhones next year and they go by the model numbers D20, D21, and D22. Recall that the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus adopted the model numbers D10 and D20 respectively. It is likely that the D20 and D21 are the two upgrades of the iPhone 7 which are said to go by the names, iPhone 7S and 7S Plus.
The main highlight is said to be the D22 which is the iPhone 8 and the device is tipped as going by the code-name Ferrari. The device is rumored to feature a new design as well as a curved AMOLED display with a large screen ratio but retaining the same 5.2-inch size.
Internals
In addition, the source also hints that the iPhone 8 motherboard will be divided into the main board, the middle with a soft cable to connect the AP and AF part will have an independent design similar to that of the iPad. Apple is adopting this two-tier motherboard design in order to save space as it will be thinner than the original deign. This pattern also reduce s the difficulty to maintain. The CPU location is also moved to the hard disk opposite. Further, due to the new motherboard deign, the SIM card location is also changed in order to save space.
If this turns out to be true, it means the iPhone 8 holds a lot of surprises it will bring along with it. Apple has for long not changed the internal design of its iPhone o it will be a landmark change. Remember its the iPhone’s 10th year anniversary next year so we expect a spectacular iPhone 8.
This year is technically the year of Virtual Reality seeing as a number of the big players in the tech industry released their own VR headsets. While the affordable ones require you to use your phone as the engine behind the headset, the more expensive ones like the HTC Vive and PlayStation VR require a more powerful hardware and keeps you rooted to a particular area. However, there is a middle ground between those two categories: the VR headsets that have a built-in engine and provide the same freedom of mobility as the ones powered by a phone. That’s the category the Storm Mirror Matrix belongs too.
The Storm Mirror Matrix is a VR headset with a 3K display (1620 x 2880), a ppi of 705 and a 110° field of view. It is powered by a Snapdragon 820 processor and has 4GB of RAM.
The Matrix has adjustable focus to cater for those with myopia. You can change the focus by up to 600° via a knob at the top of the headset. Storm Mirror has put a 5000mAh battery that can last for up to 4 hours on a single charge in the Matrix. It also has Quick Charge 3.0 support, so you can recharge in a short time and get back to playing that game or watching that video.
Storm Mirror says the Matrix runs on a custom user interface called Magic UI 2.0. Sadly, they didn’t provide much details about it. The Storm Mirror Matrix is priced at ¥2499 (~$431) which is still expensive but not as pricey as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
ZUK officially released the ZUK Edge after weeks of teases and leaks. Although it doesn’t have a bezel-less display like the Xiaomi Mi MIX, the ZUK Edge holds the title of the phone with the highest screen-to-body ratio in the company’s lineup.
Sporting the same 5.5-inch display as the ZUK Z2 Pro and a thinner body than the ZUK Z2, the ZUK Edge comes with the new ZUI 2.5 OS based on Android Nougat. It also features a Snapdragon 821 processor and an under-glass fingerprint scanner.
Available in Titanium Black and Ceramic white, I’m sure most will agree that the black is the more beautiful one, as it does a great job in highlighting the high level of craftsmanship of the device.
The ZUK Edge has a 2.5D glass in front. Underneath it lies the fingerprint scanner. The 8MP front facing camera sits a few millimeters from the top right corner. In the top part of the phone is the speaker grille which surprisingly doesn’t take up the whole length but just the right half.
Chinese company Lenovo has officially launched its much anticipated ZUK Edge smartphone today. The Lenovo ZUK Edge was launched via an online conference and even though the company didn’t roll out the drums to herald the launch of another sleek flagship, the ZUK Edge’s specs lineup and spectacular design speaks volume about the smartphone.
Design
The ZUK Edge adopts its own design as it looks nothing like the Xiaomi Mi Mix, the screen-to-body ratio isn’t as high as was found on the Mi Mix as the Edge comes with a physical home button and other features which differentiate both high-end smartphones. The display only accounts for 86.4% of the entire screen, according to the official statement and that is amazing. The device also has a dimension of 142.9 x 74.5 x 7.68 mm.
There is a front home button under which is embedded the fingerprint scanner aboard the ZUK Edge. It is Lenovo’s first smartphone to use an underglass fingerprint sensor. Just as we saw in leaks, the ZUK Edge comes in black and white color variants only and of the two, the black color has a more rugged, and sophisticated look. Both variants adopt an all-metal body build with 2.5D glass on top. The screen is a flat one despite the device being called the ZUK Edge.
Specification – Lenovo ZUK Edge
Taking a look at the specs, the Lenovo ZUK Edge sports a 5.5-inch 1080 pixels display and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor clocked at 2.35GHz. The device comes in two storage versions, one having 4GB of RAM and another with 6GB of RAM. Both versions feature 64GB of internal memory which is likely expandable.
Camera wise, the ZUK Edge comes with a decent camera setup as the device features a 13MP rear camera with LED flash. There is also an ample 8MP front-facing camera for cool selfies. The ZUK Edge also has under its hood, a 3,100mAh battery and has support for dual SIM / dual standby as well as full network support.
In addition, Lenovo also launched a ZUK Edge L Model with a customized gift box. The L model is a customized version of the ZUK Edge with a Lee Min Ho themed gift box. In case you don’t know, Lee min Ho is a popular South Korean actor.
Pricing
As for the prices, the Lenovo ZUK Edge version with 4GB RAM + 64GB storage carries a price tag of 2,299 Yuan (around $330), while the version with 6GB RAM + 64GB ROM starts at 2,499 Yuan ($360). The customized ZUK Edge L Model carries a price tag of 2,499 Yuan ($360) as well. Reservations for the ZUK Edge is already on while the device will go on sale on January 1. You can also check out the full specs of the Lenovo ZUK Edge from here.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
