Ahead of its launch slated for later today, the Vivo X9 has featured in a set of leaked renders courtesy of popular tipster @kjuma. The renders show the device having a white-colored front face around the display while it comes with silver color at the back, which is most likely one of its color variants.
The front view render shows the device’s most potent offering which is the front dual camera, with both sensors sitting at one side of the front earpiece while the proximity sensor is at the other end. The device is also shown to have a physical home button at the front which would likely function as a fingerprint scanner.
At the back, the main camera is located at the top left corner of the device, with an LED flash lying at its side. The Vivo X9 also comes with an antenna band design that is similar to those on the iPhone 7. We are beginning to see more devices adopting this form of antenna band design, by the way. The phone also features a design with narrow bezels around the display screen.
We had earlier seen the key specifications of the Vivo X9 and X9 Plus via a leaked box casing. However as a reminder, the X9 features a 5.5-inch Full HD display, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and an unspecified Snapdragon processor which is tipped to be the Snapdragon 625 chip. The front facing cameras are a combination of a 20MP sensor and an 8MP sensor with soft light, and there is a 16MP shooter on the rear.
In addition, the Vivo X9 will have a 3050mAh battery, a front fingerprint scanner,and a dedicated AK4376 HiFi audio chip. The bands supported have also been listed as: B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B8, B38, B39, B40, and B41 while the device would run Android 6.0 Marshmallow-based Funtouch OS 3.0. There is also dual SIM/ Dual standby support on the device.
ZUK managed to release one of the cheapest Snapdragon 820 smartphones in the market today with the price of the ZUK Z2 going as low as 1499 Yuan ($219). While the company is known to make affordable flagship phones, it does have some powerful handsets in its lineup like the ZUK Z2 Pro with 6GB of RAM. Now, it looks like Lenovo’s ZUK brand is preparing to release another smartphone called the ZUK Edge.
Chang Cheng, the head of ZUK, recently revealed a new image which reveals the name ZUK Edge. This basically confirms the existence of the device, but he failed to reveal more details such as a release date. Since there are two colors shown in the image, it is likely that the ZUK Edge comes in black and white color options.
The timing of this image is interesting given that we found a new ZUK smartphone pass through TENAA a few days back. However, the ZUK Z2151 model, certified on the website doesn’t seem to feature a curved display. So, if this is the ZUK Edge, why is it called the ‘Edge’? Either this could be a different smartphone or there are some who say that the screen proportion of the model will be very high, justifying its Edge name tag.
TENAA revealed that the ZUK Edge will come with Snapdragon 821 chipset inside with 4GB RAM and 32GB / 64GB ROM options. There will be a 5.5-inch 1080p display, 13MP rear camera, and an 8MP front shooter.
As you can see, while these specs are pretty good, it still lags behind some flagships in the market like the OnePlus 3T, Google Pixel XL, and Mi 5S Plus. At this point, we can’t be sure that the model that passed through TENAA is indeed the ZUK Edge, so we better wait for more details.
Xiaomi has today officially launched the latest version of its Mi TV Box, this time around dubbed the Mi Box 3s. The Xiaomi Mi Box 3s comes with a design that looks alike with that of its predecessor’s smallish but sleek-looking body like that of a flat pebble.
The Xiaomi Mi Box 3s features rounded shell with a matte texture, with Xiaomi’s MI logo complementing the design. The TV Box also features an AV interface, an HDMI interface, a USB port, and a power connector.
The Mi Box 3s packs a flagship Amlogic S905X processor which supports HDMI 2.0a. The set top box also supports VP94K at 60 frames per seconds hardware decoding. There is a large 2GB RAM and 8GB storage onboard which is double of what the previous version offers, thus better performance.
In addition, the TV Box comes with support for high dynamic range HDR image technology and offers more contents from various video streaming sites in China like Tencent, Youku, Iqiyi, Sohu video site Big Four etc. There is also a new improved remote control and the device also comes with Wi-Fi 802.11ac, 2.4 / 5GHz dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, as well as support for Dolby and DTS sound.
Relatively, the Mi Box 3s comes with hardware and software upgrades, a larger range and more functionality. However, it is not yet known why the device is said to have artificial intelligence. More details on that and the price later.
Huawei is in the news again, not because of the Mate 9 or any of its siblings but because of the company’s next expected flagship, the Huawei P10. Renders which are said to be those of the Huawei P10 were recently leaked on the internet, giving us a peek at the device and some of its physical attributes.
The renders capture the device both from the front and from the back view of which an horizontally aligned dual camera set up forms one of the main highlight that could be seen from them. There is also a new antenna design which adopts similar approach as the iPhone 7’s with the antenna bands located at the top and the bottom edges. The P10’s design looks somewhat similar to that of the Mate 9, with it also having well curved edges as well as narrow bezels at the side. There is a physical homebutton just below the display which is also said to function as a fingerprint sensor reinforcing earlier rumors of a front fingerprint sensor on the P10.
The Huawei P10 isn’t expected until next year, so we just have to be rest assured that more leaks would come out to confirm if these renders are indeed true representation of the device or not. Meanwhile, the P10 passed through GeekBench recently as Huawei LON-L29 and the specs are listed as a 5.5-inch Quad HD display, powered by the Kirin 960 chip clocked at 2.3GHz and supported by 6GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The device is also listed as running Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box, tagging along a 12MP rear camera as well as an 8MP front sensor.
The phone whose model number is LON-L29 (the Huawei P9′ model number is LON-L19) has a 5.5” Quad HD display and is powered by Huawei’s latest processor, the Kirin 960 which is clocked at 2.3GHz. The Kirin 960 is the same processor present in the recently released Huawei Mate 9. The P10 sports 6GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and runs Android 7.0 Nougat. There is also NFC on board and there is likely a 4GB RAM version coming also.
Xiaomi is the Chinese company that constantly challenges the concept of flagship smartphones by producing some devices that have top-shelf specs, premium design and a very low price. The Mi 5s is one of those phones. How does it stack up against the 8 month old Samsung Galaxy S7 edge? Learn more in our comparison review.
First of all, the price. The prices of the Mi 5s start at about $330 via the third part resellers. The Galaxy s7 edge still costs at least as twice as much despite the fact it was released back in March.
When it comes to the design, we have a little bit different approaches here but let’s talk about the similarities first.
Both phones look and feel premium but the Mi 5s has unibody metal design as opposed to the glass on the S7 edge, which attracts fingerprints and smudges very easily….but you can always wash those smudges out as the Galaxy s7 edge is water resistant.
Both devices have capable selfie shooters, notification LED lights and fingerprint scanners on the front. The Mi5 s is a clear winner when it comes to fingerprint security as it is simply faster and more reliable.
The Mi 5s ships with just 5.15” 1080p display but the S7 edge is not that larger despite the fact it has a 5.5” 2k resolution panel.
Speaking of those displays, both are great but the S7 edge has a better overall panel, which looks sharper, more punchy and more visible outdoors.
When it comes to optics, we have 12MP Sony shooters on both devices. The S7 edge has an edge since it has a built-in OIS and a much brighter f/1.7 aperture as opposed to f/2.0 aperture on the Mi 5s.
As for loudspeakers, neither phone will impress you. Still, the Galaxy device has a better sound quality. Keep in mind that that S7 edge uses the micro USB port whereas the Mi 5s uses the USB type C port.
HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE
When it comes to hardware, things are getting interesting since the Xiaomi Mi 5s is a more powerful phone, at least on paper.
I have the high-end model that sports a brand new Snapdragon 821 chip, 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and whopping 128GB UFS 2.0-based storage.
You can also opt in for a lower-end model that has 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Keep in mind, however, that only the high-end model has a pressure-sensitive display.
The Galaxy S7 edge is already 8 months old but it still rocks some impressive hardware components.
My review unit is the EU model and it sports a home-brewed octa-core Exynos 8890 chip with the clock speeds of up to 2.6GHz, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage.
As expected, both phones can handle anything you throw at them and the latest 3D just fly.
USER INTERFACE
Xiaomi and Samsung have completely different approaches when it comes to the user interface.
The Mi 5s runs on the MIUI 8, which is based on Android 6.0.
As usual, we have a ton of customization options, various settings, tweaks and little features to make the phone look your own.
One of the key features is the pressure-sensitive display, which works great with certain apps. It is not a feature I can’t live without but hey, if you get used to using it, it may increase your productivity.
The Galaxy S7 edge runs on the very familiar Touchwiz skin.
If you’ve used a Samsung device before, you will feel pretty familiar with the user interface. We have a bit cartoonish looking icons, a lot of quick settings toggles and what has become usual to the South-Korean manufacturer, quite a lot of features and customization options.
One of my favorite features is the always-on display, which makes the best out the power-efficient Amoled panel.
Both phones are pretty similar in terms of the UI performance as everything has been running smoothly without any lag.
IMAGE QUALITY
Xiaomi Mi 5s:
Galaxy s7 edge:
When it comes to the image quality, the Galaxy S7 edge is a better performer in most of the situations as the pictures usually look sharper and have more detail.
The s7 edge also tends to perform better in low-light thanks to the faster lens and OIS. Also, the Samsung phone shoots 4k videos that one of the best on any phone.
Still, the Xiaomi Mi 5s does a fairly impressive job both in picture taking and 4k video recording, and it definitely has one of the best cameras in its price range.
BATTERY LIFE
When it comes to the battery life, both phones perform great.
The Xiaomi Mi 5s has a smaller 3100mAh battery that supports Quick Charge 3.0 but the phone does not ship with the fast charger. The phone will get you through the day even if you are a heavy user and you will get at least two full days if you are a light user. That translates to over 6 hours of screen-on time, depending on the usage.
The S7 Edge has a 3600mAh battery that can be charged using the supplied fast charger in just 1:15 mins. Also, you can charge the phone wirelessly, which is very convenient in practice.
The battery life is very similar on the Galaxy phone. You will get around 2 full days or around 5-6 hours of SOT, depending on the usage.
CONCLUSIONS
So, there you have it, Xiaomi Mi 5s vs. Galaxy S7 edge.
Obviously, the S7 edge is a better phone overall but the Xiaomi Mi 5s is no slouch at all.
Sure, the Galaxy phone has a better camera, water resistance, wireless charging, sharper display but when I say better, the gap is not always that significant.
The Mi 5s is comparable to the Galaxy S7 edge in some of the departments and it is even better in others like 128GB of on-board storage or more features in the UI.
Even though the Samsung phone has an edge, the Xiaomi Mi 5s is a very solid phone, for half the price.
OnePlus is back with a brand new flagship, the OnePlus 3T, which is faster and more capable than the existing OnePlus 3. While the new device may not be better than the current gen. model in all aspects, it still packs just enough upgrades to justify its release.
So, what’s changed on the OnePlus 3T?
The new flagship comes with a faster chipset, larger battery as well as a more capable front facing camera ideal for selfies. Rest of the phone seems to be exactly the same as the OnePlus 3 including the size (152.7 x 74.7 x 7.35) and the weight (158g)
Inside, the OnePlus 3T comes with the new Snapdragon 821 chipset clocked at 2.35GHz. Qualcomm reveals that this new chip is 10% faster than the Snapdragon 820 processor that powers the old OnePlus 3. Yes, I just used the word old because with the 3T in town, the OnePlus 3 is now a generation behind. Not fair for users who just bought the device, but that’s just how the tech industry works.
Unlike the earlier rumors, there isn’t 8GB of RAM inside. So, you are still stuck with 6GB of RAM but now you have up to 128GB storage. So, there is a 64GB variant as well as a 128GB variant with UFS 2.0 standard. The phone retains the fingerprint sensor on the front which unlocks the phone in just 0.2 seconds. OnePlus CEO had said that future OnePlus smartphones will continue to use AMOLED displays. So, the OnePlus 3T also comes with the company’s Optic AMOLED panel with 1080p resolution. There are dual SIM card slots on board and USB Type-C along with a regular 3.5mm headphone jack.
While the rear camera seems to be the same 16MP sensor as found on the OnePlus 3 (with OIS, EIS, and 4K video support), what’s significantly upgraded is the front camera sensor on the new device. OnePlus has fitted the 3T with a 16MP sensor on the front, making sure that the phone is now capable of taking clear selfies even in low light. For selfie fanatics, this is definitely a welcome move. But to be honest, I hoped the rear camera sensor was upgraded to something more powerful (apart from adding EIS) as well to justify the new release.
Another upgrade is in the battery department, with the phone now featuring a larger 3400mAh battery (13 percent better battery life as compared to the OP3) with Dash Charge (5V, 4A). As for the software, the phone will be stuck on Android Marshmallow OS with OxygenOS on top. However, the company seems to have confirmed Android 7 Nougat on both the OnePlus 3T and the OnePlus 3 by the end of the year.
There are two color options, Gunmetal and Soft Gold.
So, that was the OnePlus 3T. As you can see, there aren’t many upgrades on the new device, at least not significant enough for OnePlus 3 users to be disappointed. The upgrade in the processor department with SD821 won’t make the phone significantly faster and neither will a 400mAh battery increase. The 16MP front camera could be a reason for the upgrade, but that’s going to be an individual choice, especially because the OnePlus 3T asks for a slightly premium price tag as compared to the OnePlus 3.
The OnePlus 3T will go on sale on November 22 in the US for $439 (64GB model) and $479 ($128GB model). In Europe, the phone will start selling from November 28.
So, what’s your take on the new OnePlus 3T? Will you be ready to shell out $40 more for the above-mentioned upgrades?
Chinese smartphone maker Vivo has officially announced its latest smartphone in India today. The Vivo V5 comes with a spectacular 20MP front-facing camera as its main highlight. This no doubt means the device is targeted at the teeming number of persons who are selfie-centric. Apart from the powerful selfie shooter, the V5 packs a mid-level specs set up housed inside a stylish metallic chassis. The company also announced the Vivo V5 Plus but no other details were made available on its availability or price.
Design & Specification
The Vivo V5 adopts an all-metal unibody design with a matte finish at the back as well as an engraved Vivo logo giving it a premium look. The device is slim, coming in at just 7.55mm thick and weighing 154g. The edges are curved and that makes it quite easy to grip in the hand.
Talking about the hardware, the Vivo V5 features a 5.5-inch 720 pixels display with 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass protection on top. The device is poweredby an Octa-core 64-bit MediaTek MT6750 chipset clocked at 1.5GHz which is supported by a large 4GB RAM. The device also packs an ample 32GB of internal storage which can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD.
Further, the device features a 13MP rear facing camera with LED flash which should perform well in daylight,with little noise while indoors or in poor light conditions. As stated earlier, the device also sports a 20MP Sony IMX376 sensor upfront with Moonlight Glow technology for clearer and better selfies, a f/2.0 aperture, and a 5P lens. The smartphone also comes preloaded with the Face Beauty 6.0 app.
In addition, the Vivo V5 also packs in the custom built AK4376 Hi-Fi audio chipset that promises an appreciable audio experience by giving a signal-to-noise ratio of up to 115dB. There is also a fingerprint sensor mounted at the front just under the display and it also functions as the home button. The Vivo V5 boasts of a 3000mAh non-removable battery and there is a microUSB port for charging the device. On the software end, the V5 comes with the Vivo’s proprietary Funtouch OS 2.6 running on top of Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The company is touting the device as having a Smart Split 2.0 feature that lets users use two apps side-by-side. Also touted is an Eye Protection Mode that filters blue light.
Pricing
The 4G-enabled Vivo V5 comes in Crown Gold and Grey colours and Vivo has pegged the V5 retail price at 17,980 Rupees in India ( around 1,819 Yuan, $265). The phone will be available for pre-order in 22 cities across India from November 16, and would go on sale on November 26.
Waiting for Android 7 update for your Xiaomi smartphone? Experience tells us that there is a very good chance that your Mi phones, older than a year, won’t get the latest Android version, at least not officially. You will get MIUI 9, but it will likely be based on Marshmallow.
Xiaomi is yet to reveal an official timetable for the release of the new Android 7 based MIUI 9 OS, but there is some good news for Xiaomi Mi 3, Mi 4 and Mi Note users (both standard and Mi Note Pro versions). The famous Mr. Ivan has once again ported stock Android 7 for the above-mentioned devices, which although unofficial, will get you the first taste of the Nougat update on your old smartphones.
Note that not all China Unicom and Telecom versions of the Xiaomi Mi 3 support this ROM. Also, this being an unofficial version, there are going to be bugs, so make sure you know the risk while flashing your smartphones with this ROM. Links are given below.
It’s been a couple of months since Google released its latest version of android and based on the latest fragmentation report, Nougat is available on only 0.3% of android devices, which is pretty sad.
However a few manufacturers are already releasing beta updates for select devices before a final release is rolled out. One of those manufacturers is Xiaomi as there is already an Android 7.0 beta page on the MIUI forum for Xiaomi Mi 5. The page which is for recruiting beta testers for the new update is still not accessible to most users but one important detail gotten is that the beta update may be our first look at MIUI 9.
While this is good news for those who own the Mi 5, it is a sign that Nougat may only be available to other Xiaomi flagships like the Mi 5s, Mi Note 2, and Xiaomi Mi Mix while the other mid-range devices will remain on older versions of android, although they might get updated to MIUI 9.
The Huawei Mate 9, Mate 9 Pro and Mate 9 Porsche Design were all released in China yesterday. While we had seen the duo of Mate 9 and Mate 9 Porsche Design earlier on when they both went official in Germany, the Mate 9 Pro was a new addition which was outed for the first time. We have got beautiful images of the Mate 9 Ceramic white and Mate 9 Pro Rose gold versions courtesy the guys at iT168.
The Huawei Mate 9 and Mate 9 Pro are not similar in most aspects but the Mate 9 Pro and Mate 9 Porsche Design has a number of similarities. In simple terms, the Mate 9 Pro is a cheaper version of the Porsche Design, same design but lacking the Porsche branded logo. The Mate 9 and Mate 9 Pro comes in different display sizes. While the Mate 9 has a bigger 5.9-inch 1080 pixel flat AMOLED display, the Mate 9 Pro features a 5.5-inch curved AMOLED display with a higher 2K resolution.
However one feature which stands out on both devices are the narrow black borders at the edge of the display. The borders are very much visible on the white ceramic version of the Mate 9 and Rose gold version of the Mate 9 Pro both on display here. That is because both versions come in white colors on the front panel.
If you think the black borders are a turn-off or deal breaker, then perhaps you should stick with the black variant of either the Mate 9 or Mate 9 Pro. The black borders won’t be very obvious since the front panel is black as well. That doesn’t in anyway reduce the beautiful, sleek designs of the Mate 9 and Mate 9 Pro, though.
Vivo is launching its dual-camera toting Vivo X9 and Vivo X9 Plus tomorrow and less than 24 hours to the launch, the X9 has appeared on GeekBench, revealing new details of the new phone.
The GeekBench specs are no different from the specifications which were leaked last week. The only new details are the confirmation of the SoC in the phone and its performance scores.
The benchmark test shows the Vivo X9 is equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 625 (msm8953) octa-core chip clocked at 2.0GHz. There is 4GB of RAM and it is running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box.
Moving to test scores, the phone nets 954 points in the single-core test and 5070 points in the multi-core test.
It does not appear as if Xiaomi is done releasing products for the year as yesterday a poster teasing the launch of a new generation Mi TV Box was seen on their official Weibo page. Today, the account has also teased a redesigned Mi Remote set to debut alongside the new TV box.
Mi TV Box (4th Gen)
The ”fourth generation” Mi Box is said to come bundled with a form of artificial intelligence whose mode of function is still unknown. It is also expected to feature a magazine page layout and categorize content based on a study of the owner’s viewing habits.
Mi Remote
Xiaomi has also released a poster teasing a new remote for the set-top box. The image shows the first gen Mi remote, the second (and third gen remote), and a silhouette of a new remote. The accompanying text says the company had to develop a new remote to go along with the artificial intelligence feature of the new box set to launch tomorrow.
While there is no leaked info about the features of the new Mi Remote, some folks are guessing it might have a touch screen display similar to the render below. One thing we are sure about is voice control though, that should still remain.
Seems today’s headlines would be dominated by the Meizu Pro 7 which is expected as Meizu’s next flagship device. Just after the rumor that the Pro 7 would likely come packing Huawei’s latest Kirin 960 chipset, a set of renders of what is said to be the Meizu Pro 7’s.
Well for the avidance of doubt, these set of renders are not known if they are those of the official Pro 7, but they seem to be those of a fan-generated concept design. We still don’t know for sure what the real Meizu pro 7 looks like and we are not even certain if the flagship would actually look anything similar to these renders.
The design looks quite similar to that of the Xiaomi Mix, using a design pattern that consists of the front being entirely the display. There is no physical button on the front but looks like there are capacitive keys at the sides. The device is said to be 5.62 inches in size, with a resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels (2 : 1). Also, the front-facing camera is hidden and there is an on-screen fingerprint recognition technology, powered by Sonavation.
The back part of the device is said to be made of metal and comes as a flat design. There are also antenna bands at the upper and lower edges running on a horizontal plane. The device also seem to feature a round flash lying under the rear camera.
The latest rumor on this is that the expected Meizu Pro 7 might use an Hisilicon Kirin 960 chip, Huawei’s latest. The Kirin 960 has only been used on the Huawei Mate 9, Mate 9 Porsche Design and Mate 9 Pro, all part of the Mate 9 series.
Now the Meizu Pro 7 is expected as Meizu’s next generation flagship and it wouldn’t be a bad idea if the device is powered by the Kirin 960. Meizu doesn’t use Qualcomm chips nor Samsung’s on its devices but rather had consistently stuck with MediaTek chipset. A shift to Kirin would infuse a breath of freshness into the flagship device.
Huawei did reveal that it is ready to sell the Kirin 960 chips to other phone manufacturers. However, it is unlikely that such a scenario would be possible presently. According to the vice-President of Huawei phones, Huawei is very busy at present selling its latest products that there might not be time to do other work aside selling.
Gizmochina along with Elephone official is conducting a Elephone S7 phone Giveaway to gift a brand new device to one of our lucky readers. Like always, you just have to follow the steps mentioned on the Gleam widget to get a chance to win this amazing smartphone.
The Elephone S7 presale period is reaching its end date. In 3 days that is. And according to Elephone, the presale number is nearly reaching to 110,000 units. Elephone S7 features the deca-core Helio X20 SoC with 2GB/3GB/4GB RAM, and runs Android 6.0 system out of the box . The use of bezel-less 3D radian IN-cell FHD display and outstanding Lumia wave on the back makes it a beautiful design by all means device. Lastly, the price starts from $139.99 for the base model. If you want one too, go ahead and pre-order one from the link below.
Elephone S7 Main Features: Display: 5.5 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels FHD screen CPU: MTK Helio X20 System: Android 6.0 RAM :2GB/3GB/4GB Camera: 13.0MP rear camera + 5.0MP front camera Sensor: Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, Gravity Sensor, Gyroscope Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Hall Sensor SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, dual nano SIM cards Feature: GPS
Update: Please sure you have visited Elephone official Facebook page, and Liked it. We will pick winner from who liked Elephone’s Facebook page. Thanks for your understanding.
Update 2: The winner was picked, It’s Μάρκος Σ, from Greece. Congradulation! Elephone will send the free gift as soon as possible. Thank you all.
A Chinese man by the name Mr. Zhang has taken Xiaomi to court over the company’s failure to release an update that unlocks the full function of the NFC chip in his phone.
Mr Zhang had earlier purchased a Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus after reading on the company’s website that a stable MIUI update that will bring the full features of NFC such as the use of bus cards and bank cards will be released in late October.
Now that we are already half way into November, no update has been released yet and Mr Zhang isn’t happy. After writing to the company to table his complaint, he requested for a refund and compensation which the company has failed to respond to. He has therefore decided to file a suit against the phone manufacturer.
The suit is valid due to the consumer protection act which can hold businesses accountable for actions which can be deemed unfair to consumers. While the case is still pending, the court will most likely rule in favour of the plaintiff as the statement on the website led him to purchase the device in the first place.
Earlier today, Huawei held the Chinese launch of the Huawei Mate 9 and Mate 9 Pro in Shanghai. But those were not the only devices launched, as in a move similar to what Xiaomi did during the Mi Note 2 launch, the company announced its own VR glasses called Huawei VR.
The Huawei VR is not entirely new as it surfaced earlier this year at the Huawei P9 launch. It kind of looks like a white Galaxy VR with straps that go over and around the head, touch controls on the side, and a focus ring on the top.
The Huawei VR has a 360° field of view, 2K support, and sound synchronization. The glasses will work with 5.5” devices such as the Huawei Mate 9 Pro, Mate 9 Porsche Design, and Huawei P9 Plus. There is no mention of it working with the 5.2” Huawei P9 but the prototype displayed earlier this year worked with the P9. So you might want to confirm that before buying.
Huawei says they already have close to 5000+ free movies, hundreds of panoramic videos and a number of games that you can watch and play on the Huawei VR. The Huawei VR is priced at ¥599 ($88) and should be available for purchase anytime soon.
No one envisaged Huawei still had a surprise up its sleeves regarding the Mate 9 variants. Well, not until the Huawei Mate 9 was unveiled in China today and it came along with an all new Mate 9 Pro variant together with the Mate 9 Porsche Design. The Huawei Mate 9 Pro follows suit in having almost similar specs with the Mate 9 Porsche Design and also a sleek beautiful design.
Here is an array of amazing hands-on images of the Mate 9 Pro, so you’ll have a close glimpse of the device in these stunning images captured from different angles. You might think this is the Mate 9 Porsche Design we have on display here but it is not. The Huawei Mate 9 Pro looks as beautiful as the Mate 9 Porsche Design but lacks the Porsche branding engraved on the screen of the Mate 9 Porsche Design. The device also comes in four color variants namely amber gold, rose gold, silver and gray.
The Huawei Mate 9 Pro comes with a 5.5-inch curved flexible display with the resolution bumped up to 2K and the fingerprint placed on the front. So here you have it, a Huawei smartphone with front mounted fingerprint sensor. The device has an all metal body with fine finishing at the front but at the rear the body seems to take some brushed metal look.
The Mate 9 Pro retains the dual camera setup at the rear of same 20MP + 12MP sensors combo. But since the fingerprint sensor is at the home button, there is no rear fingerprint sensor. In addition, the Mate 9 Pro also has on the inside a Kirin 960 processor as well as two storage versions of 4GB + 64GB and 6GB + 128GB respectively, a 4000mAh battery with fast charge support and lots more offerings.
As the device is beautiful on the outside, so also is the interface as the Mate 9 Pro runs EMUI 5.0 based on Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box.
The Hauwei Mate 9 Pro starts at 4699 Yuan ($687) for the 4GB + 64GB and goes up to 5299 Yuan ($775) for the 6GB + 128GB version. The device is already on sale in China.
Quite a number of people are of the opinion that the next Meizu flagship will have a Samsung Exynos processor since their falling out with Qualcomm hasn’t yet been resolved. It appears that won’t be the case as a Weibo post from an industry analyst says otherwise.
The post which was made by @MochaSocialistWorker mentions that Meizu’s next flagship will use a Helio X30 processor. The Helio X30 chip was announced in September, and the deca-core chipset clocked at 2.8GHz is currently the most powerful SoC from the chip manufacturer and the first to be built on a 10nm TSMC process.
Mediatek has worked hard on this chip and ironed out most of the issues that have plagued their previous processors such as the GPU. The new chip will also support up to 8GB of RAM and UFS 2.1 storage.
According to @MochaSocialistWorker, the decision to not use Samsung’s processor is as a result of product schedule delays. The company has also been asked to pay a fine to Qualcomm which will set it back a bit before their working relationship can continue.
After the grand release of the Mate 9 and the Mate 9 Porsche Design back in Europe a few days back, now it was time for Huawei to release its new models in its home country, China. However apart from releasing the above-mentioned devices, the tech giant also unveiled a China-exclusive model, the Huawei Mate 9 Pro at the event today.
Since two of the models were already released internationally, you must already be familiar with their design and specs. As for the Mate 9 Pro, take it as a Mate 9 Porsche Design variant, without the Porsche branding to inflate the price.
Here are the key differences between the three models.
The Huawei Mate 9 comes with a 5.9-inch Super AMOLED display with 1080p resolution and a rear placed fingerprint sensor. There are six color options for this standard model including mocha gold, champagne gold, silver moonlight, ceramic white, gray sky and bright black.
Huawei Mate 9 Pro
The Huawei Mate 9 Pro on the other hand, comes with a 5.5-inch curved flexible display with the resolution bumped up to 2K and the fingerprint placed on the front. There are four color options for the Pro variant namely amber gold, rose gold, silver and gray.
Finally, the Mate 9 Porsche design version comes with a unique look, as explained in our international launch coverage, featuring a 5.5-inch flexible 2K display, 7.5mm thin body, and front facing fingerprint sensor. This particular limited edition is only available in black color.
While there were some differences, the basic hardware seems to be the same on all the three devices. They are powered by Huawei’s latest chip, the Kirin 960 octa-core processor with Mali-G71 GPU with support for Vulkan graphics standards. These phones support Huawei Pay and also come with chip level built-in security features. There’s a large 4000mAh battery common to the three models with SuperCharge fast charging that promises quick charging times thanks to 3.5-5V / 5A charging standards. They also support Cat. 12 LTE speeds.
The camera is definitely the highlight of the Mate series, and all three have a 20MP monochrome + 12MP color sensor dual camera module at the back. Other camera features include 2x zoom, Laser Focus, OIS, and dual LED flash. Up front, there’s an 8MP f/1.9 aperture shooter. Coming to the software, the three models will run on Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box based on EMUI 5.0 interface.
As for the pricing, the Huawei Mate 9 4GB + 32GB version is priced at 3399 Yuan ($497), 4GB + 64GB version is priced at 3899 Yuan ($570), and 6GB + 128GB version is priced at 4499 Yuan ($658).
The Mate 9 Pro starts at 4699 Yuan ($687) for the 4GB + 64GB and goes up to 5299 Yuan ($775) for the 6GB + 128GB version.
The Huawei Mate 9 Porsche Design version is priced at 8999 Yuan ($1316) with 6GB + 128GB.
The Mate 9 and Mate 9 Pro will go on sale via major retailers in China from today i.e. November 14. The Mate 9 Porsche Design limited edition model will go on sale on December 15.
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