Bezel-less displays are not new but after what Xiaomi did with the Mi Mix and the kind of positive reception it got, other manufacturers are already planning theirs. One such company is Samsung, who have announced that starting next year, they will release phones with bezel-less displays.
Chief Engineer of S-LCD, (a South Korean LCD manufacturing company jointly owned by Samsung and Sony) Park Wonsang, has been reported by Korean media to have said that Samsung will launch phones that will have more than 90% screen-to-body ratio and will increase it further to 99% in the next couple of years, covering the top, sides, and chin. Mr Wonsang however declined to comment if the Galaxy S8 will be one of such phones.
The displays will be sophisticated flexible OLEDs reaching up to 99% of the phone’s height and possibly sporting an embedded fingerprint scanner.
Ahead of the November 8 news conference where Lenovo is expected to pull the wraps off the Motorola Moto M, the device has appeared on popular benchmark site AnTuTu confirming some of the specs that had earlier been revealed.
Listed as Motorola M with model number XT1662, the Moto M is said to have pooled a sub-score of around 50,000 points, placing it in a mid-range category. The AnTuTu data also gives the Moto M as featuring a 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution on top of a 5.5-inch display. The device is powered by an Octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 (MT6755) chipset and packs a 4GB RAM inside, as well as a 32GB of internal storage. Powering the graphics is a Mali-T860 GPU.
Further, the Motorola Moto M sports a massive 16MP rear camera sensor at the rear and up front, there is an ample 8MP sensor for crisp clear selfie shots. The device is also listed to run on Android Marshmallow 6.0 out-of-the-box.
That’s all we could gather about the device from AnTuTu but as stated, the Moto M would likely go official on November 8. The device is said to be released along side the China release of the Lenovo Vibe P2 which was released in some clime as Lenovo P2.
Xiaomi just unveiled a new air purifier today called the Mi Air Purifier Pro. Fixing the complaint of a lack of a display and throwing in some new improvements.
Xiaomi’s previous air purifiers lack a screen, so owners had to open the app to check air quality and other details. The Mi Air Purifier Pro changes that. The display will provide real-time air quality and working conditions. It also has automatic brightness, allowing you to see the display clearly during the day and turning it down when it’s dark so it doesn’t hurt your eyes.
The edge of the display has a LED ring around it that changes colour based on the air quality. It will switch from green to orange and to red depending on how clean the air around the surrounding area is.
The air purifier also comes with a redesigned air flow path and pressure system. It has a Clean Air Delivery Rate value of 500m3/h and now covers an indoor area of 60 square meters which is an improvement from previous ones which had a CADR value of 406m3/h and a working area of 48 square meters. Xiaomi says there is a high precision laser sensor built into the device that can accurately detect particles of up to 0.3μm in diameter.
Although it has it’s own display now, that doesn’t mean you still can’t pair it to your phone via the Mi Home App. The Mi Air Purifier Pro will clean the air of allergens, animal fur, formaldehyde, dust, pollen, and cigarette smoke.
Once again, real live renders of the Huawei Mate 9 have leaked and this time around, the renders are of the device in action. This is coming on the heels of the imminent release of the device scheduled for November 3, just two days away.
The leaked renders were spotted on Finnish website SuomiMobiili and they reveal the device just fresh out of the box. One notable thing that could be observed from the working Mate 9 is the black bother at the edge of the display but it is not very wide. The render shows the Mate 9 bearing striking resemblance with the Mate 8 with just some slight difference.
At the rear, the dual Leica cameras could be seen seated at the upper edge of the device, aligned centrally. The dual Leica rear cameras would likely be one of the major marketing tool of the Mate 9 and Huawei has ensured that the Leica footprint is inscribed in between the two rear sensors.
The Mate 9’s LED flash and laser focus module could be seen located at both sides of the cameras. Also, lying under the camera set up is the the rear mounted fingerprint sensor. It’s worthy to note though, that the curved display version is rumored to have a front fingerprint sensor in addition to the rear mounted one.
As a reminder, the Huawei Mate 9 would come powered by a Hisilicon Kirin 960 chipset and would sport a 5.9-inch 1080 pixels display while the curved screen version is saod to have a 2K resolution on its display. There is a 6GB RAM on board on the top version, along with a large storage of 256GB. There is also a base version with 4GB RAM and 32GB as well as 64GB internal storage versions. The device is also listed to run on EMUI 5.0 based on Android 7.0 Nougat OS. The device is also said to pack a 12MP + 20MP sensor at the dual Leica rear cameras.
We know that Vivo and OPPO are doing well this year, all thanks to its strong offline sales channels. Vivo’s recent releases have been decent, but nothing extraordinary as compared to its rivals. However, that will change with the Vivo X9 and X9 Plus models. The company confirmed earlier today that the Vivo X9 and X9 Plus models will come equipped with dual front cameras. Yes, you heard it right!
It’s confirmed that the Vivo X9 will be the first commercial smartphone with dual front-facing selfie cameras. The company has also made sure its going to be powerful, as one of the cameras will be a 20MP sensor while the second one should most likely be an 8MP sensor. The dual cameras up front should function similar to the Xiaomi Redmi Pro, bringing features such as bokeh to selfies.
As for the specs, both the Vivo X9 and the X9 Plus are said to feature Snapdragon 653 chipsets with 4GB and 6GB RAM options. The Vivo X9 will most likely feature a 5.5-inch 1080p display while the X9 Plus should come with a larger 6-inch 1080p panel. There is no information about the cameras at the back, but could Vivo equip its larger Vivo X9 Plus with dual cameras at the back as well? This will take the total to four cameras on the phone! But the company is yet to confirm the rear camera details, so we better wait for more details.
Meanwhile, the Vivo X9 and X9 Plus models are said to be announced mid-November, most likely on November 17. Design wise, the new models are said to look similar to the previous generation devices from the front, however, the back is said to rock an iPhone7-like antenna design.
LeEco has been aggressively releasing new smartphones with killer specs in the two years that it has been in the market. The company recently released the Le Pro 3 and Le S3 models in the US and it looks like in November, it will announce another device, this time in China. Now, the phone seems to have hit the AnTuTu benchmarking app, revealing most of its specifications.
AnTuTu reveals that the phone will be called as the Le S3 (yes, the same name as the one launched in the US but with different specs). The phone will come with the Helio X20 chipset (MT6797) with a 1080p display (size unknown) and Android 6.0 Marshmallow on top. The rear camera is a 21MP sensor while up front, there is an 8MP sensor. The phone seems to be pretty powerful, with 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM options. The app revealed that the Le S3 managed to score around 95,000 in the benchmark test.
To recap, the Le S3 model announced in the US came with Snapdragon 652, 3GB RAM and a 16MP camera. So, this model seems to be different.
Another interesting highlight, which is yet to be confirmed, is the pricing. It is said that this phone will be targeted at the 1000 Yuan market, so the pricing should be near $150. Also, the phone is said to come with a 24W fast charging technology, which should ensure super fast charging speeds.
Now, if you remember, there has been a phone making rounds on the internet, called as the Le Dual 3. If you still can’t recall the device, I am talking about the AI phone with the funny looking dual camera module. The Le S3 and this Dual 3 seem to be different devices, although they could be launched together in an event.
We are waiting for more details to emerge about the company’s event, which is said to be in this month itself.
The much talked about Xiaomi Mi Note 2 today went up on its first sale via Xiaomi official website in China and reports emerging indicate that just 50 seconds after the website opened for those who have already made reservations, the flagship device was indicated to have been sold out.
That is a clear evidence of the popularity and acceptance the Mi Note 2 has got among fans and non-fans of Xiaomi alike. One attractive feature is undoubtedly the double curved or hyperboloid display the Note 2 features and not only that, there are lots of other attractive features coupled with the great price tag.
Xiaomi is offering up the Standard Edition of the Mi Note 2 with 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM and a 2799 Yuan price tag as well as the higher version with 6GB RAM + 128 GB ROM and priced at 3299 Yuan, in the flash sale. Buyers also have the options of Bright black and glacier silver colors to choose from. The more pricey Mi Note 2 Global Edition is yet to go on sales by the way.
According to reports, the next flash sale would come up on November 8 and seriously, that is a long time to wait for someone who missed out on getting his own copy during this first sale. The Mi Note 2 is worth the wait, though.
Just as a reminder, the Xiaomi MIX would be up for pre-order or reservations on November 3. Perhaps you are interested in having one of that, you can wait for it but predictably, the flash sale might not even last up to 20 seconds considering that Xiaomi doesn’t have a large enough stock of the Mi MIX due to its ceramic body. Getting it would almost be the same as winning the lottery, don’t you think?
Xiaomi has got a new product on its crowdfunding platform and it is a bag pack for outdoor and leisure activities. The product is dubbed the 90 minutes bag pack manufactured by popular wearable brand 90 Points which also launched the ultra-light 90 Minutes jacket months back.
The shoulder bag comes in gray color only and has a dimension of 395 x 290 x 160 mm with a net weight of 771 g. The 90 Minutes bag pack is made of 100% Polyester fabric with an inne lining of plyester fiber and polyamide fibers. The entire surface on all angles are water repellent and the bottom also has a waterproof coating, meaning the bag is entirely water proof.
The bag pack uses a front zipper which opens from the centre and extends t the two sides. The bag pack is also elastic and can expand. In addition, it can carry a 14-inch laptop as well as other valuables as there are enough protective material to cushion the gadgets from shock.
There are also an hidden carts just like the 90 Points suitcases which aids in rolling the bag should you become tired of carrying it on your back. In addition, the zipper slider is said to have a magnetic pull at the bottom for security purpose making it difficult for someone to just flip it open while its on your back.
The 90 Minutes bag pack carries a price tag of 179 Yuan ($26) and is already available via crowdfunding. The bag pack is expected to start shipping by December 13.
Cubot is more known as a smartphone manufacturer but we came across their cheap fitness tracker – V1. It has a great design, excellent build quality and a lot of features for just $16. Learn more in our full review.
The item ships with the USB cable and some paperwork.
DESIGN and FEATURES
The fitness tracker itself can be easily removed from the the band, which I found to be pretty comfortable to wear but not as comfortable as the Xiaomi Mi Band 2.
The build quality of the Cubot V1 smart band is top-notch. It is made of quality plastic and I did not scratch it while wearing it for a couple of weeks.
We have a nice and bright OLED display that shows all the basic info you need: clock, date, steps taken, calories burned, distance walked and so on.
In addition, it shows the notifications from various apps (Facebook, Twitter etc.), SMS messages and calls. What I love about the call notifications is that it shows both the contact name and the number (some other cheap trackers show just the phone number or vice versa).
You can charge the bracelet with any micro USB cable.
The App
You can easily connect the smart band to your phone using the Cubot app and I didn’t have any syncing issues after I was asked to create the Cubot account, which was a bit annoying (every registration requirement is annoying to me). Here you can find all the basic info about your fitness routines, set your goals, adjust some settings etc. The app gets the job done but as usual to most of the Chinese gadget-related apps, the translations to English are poor, so you have to get used to that.
BATTERY LIFE
The Cubot V1 is said to give you around 7 days of battery life and it delivers its promise. However, 7 days of standby is kind of short period of time compared to the competition.
CONCLUSIONS
The Cubot V1 is a cheap fitness tracker that has a ton of value of the price. It counts the steps accurately, it has a nice display and some other cool features. The only complaint would be just a 7 day battery life which is kind of a poor result compared to the competition. If you can live with that, the Cubot V1 can be recommended as a good cheap fitness tracker.
The Meizu M5 was released today in a colorful concert and one cool thing that we took out of the launch is the fact that the device would be available in an array of colors. The M5 comes with a polycarbonate body as against the all-metal body we were accustomed to on Meizu devices. Perhaps this afforded the company the leverage to experiment with several color shades and really it came out beautiful.
The M5 is said to be painted using a sophisticated pearlescent powder paint process, perhaps that explains the seamless and spotless colors we’ll have at our disposal whenever the device goes on sale.
We have got our hands on some beautiful hands-on images of the M5 for your delight and in all sincerity, the design is patently Meizu. The mBack home button is visible as well as other features common to Meizu devices. For sure, this is a budget device and news coming in indicate a mouthwatering price tag of 699 Yuan ($103) for the base version while the higher 3GB RAM version starts at 899 Yuan ($133).
Coming in at 5.2 inches, the Meizu M5 may not tickle your fancy if you are a lover of giant displays but it’s just enough to fit into your pocket and still stand out as a fairly large device. Also, the HD resolution (720 pixels) ensures a bright enough display. An Octa-core MediaTek chip clocked at 1.5GHz runs the show and there are two memory versions available. Ther is the option of a 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM and another option of 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM.
On the camera end, the M5 sports a cool 13MP rear camera with f/2.2 aperture, PDAF, fast auto-focus and dual tone LED flash along with a 5MP front-facing camera. The device runs on YunOS if you must know, but that shouldn’t take a thing out of the device. You also get a host of color options to choose from, like Mint Green, Blue, Matte Black, White, and Champagne gold.
The Meizu M5 can be purchased at 6 pm today on Meizu’s official online mall, Lynx, and Suning. It will be available on other online platforms on the 7th of November.
Xiaomi has today launched the first of four products which would be unveiled under its Mijia brand ahead of the Double 11 (11/11) grand sale. The latest product dubbed Mi IH Rice cooker is a follow up to the Rice cooker earlier released in March this year.
The Mi IH rice cooker comes in an all white design with a simply, yet appealing design. The cooker users an interactive LED display panel which displays a variety of information when in use. Also, the new IH rice cooker uses an honeycomb inner cover and a new design for the air circulation and cooling system.
In addition, the Mi IH Rice cooker comes with a steamer and is manufactured using food grade PP material which is safe and can withstand high temperature. The most prominent feature of the cooker is the use of IH electromagnetic heating which is through electromagnetic induction. This produces a strong heating power and excellent thermal conductivity as well as transfer of heat via convection which ensures the food is cooked in the shortest possible time and all parts are evenly cooked. With an inner lining 3mm thick, the Mi IH Rice cooker also retains heat.
One important feature of the IH Rice cooker is the use of remote control through an app that can be installed on smartphones to control the cooker. And in all of these you don’t have to bother about the pot getting stained as the interior is coated with Japan Daikin edible non-stick coating.
Meizu has officially taken the wraps of their new device, the Meizu M5, and it deviates from the norm by sporting a polycarbonate body.
The Meizu M5 is a beautiful and colourful phone and that is because the company decided to ditch the use of an all-metal body in favour of a plastic one. Meizu knows quite a number of us (I should be number one on that list) are tired of the champagne gold, pink gold, white gold and all the other boring colours found on all-metal phones, so they decided to spice things up. Apparently, bright colours appear really nice on plastic compared to metal, that’s why the M5 comes in a range of colours. Meizu says the body of the phone is painted using a sophisticated pearlescent powder paint process.
The Meizu M5 has a 5.2” 2.5D screen with a 720p display and is powered by an octa-core Mediatek chip clocked at 1.5GHz. It is available in 2GB + 16GB and 3GB + 32GB variants, has a 13MP f/2.2 primary shooter with PDAF, fast auto-focus, and dual tone LED flash; and a 5MP camera up front.
The M5 also has a fingerprint scanner on the chin that unlocks in 0.2s. Meizu has bundled the phone with a 3070mAh battery that is said to be able to offer up to 66 hours of music playback. Sim slot is the hybrid type that appears to be the standard now. Dual SIM slots or a single sim and a SD card are the options you have. Sadly, the Meizu runs Yun OS and there is no mention of an international variant.
Want to pick up the Meizu M5? There are a bunch of colours available such as Mint Green, Blue, Matte Black, white, and champagne gold (because some people still love it). There is no mention of the price yet, but we’ll update the article once it is announced.
UPDATE: The Meizu M5 will start at ¥699 ($103) for the 2GB RAM + 16GB version and ¥899 ($133) for the 3GB RAM + 32GB version. It will go on sale at 6 pm today on Meizu’s official online mall, Lynx, and Suning. It will be available on other online platforms on the 7th of November.
Lenovo has scheduled November 8 for a news conference which is expected to be the official unveiling of the Moto M and the China release of the Lenovo (Vibe) P2.
Right now the specs for the Moto M stands at a 5.5” Full HD display, a Mediatek octa-core processor said to be the new Helio P15, 4GB of RAM, 32GB/64GB of storage, 16MP rear camera, 8MP front shooter, 3000mAh battery, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It will feature an all-metal body and the international version will be bundled with Microsoft apps.
For the price, some say it will be priced at ¥1000 ($148) while others say it will sell for ¥1999 ($295). That is a wide margin but the latter sounds more realistic.
Lenovo P2
The Vibe P2 on the other hand was first announced at the IFA Berlin conference but will just be getting a China launch. However, the version coming to China has specs different from the international version.
The Lenovo P2 has a 5.5” FHD screen, a Snapdragon 625 SoC, 4GB of RAM (not 3GB like the international variant), 32GB/64GB of ROM, a 5 megapixel front camera, a 13MP rear shooter, Android 6.0, and a 5000mAh battery.
The fingerprint scanner will be positioned in front and there will be a physical button that you can slide to activate low power mode which also turns the display into a monochrome screen. The Lenovo P2 will have NFC and be available in gold, silver, and gray colours. Price is expected to start at ¥1500 ($221).
A week ago, a source leaked that Vivo was planning a launch for two new phones: the Vivo X9 and Vivo XPlay 6. An official poster released by the phone maker already confirms that of the Vivo X9.
The image which shows two camera sensors verifies the info provided by the source that Vivo is also going the dual camera route with their new phone. Quite a number of manufacturers based in China have released dual-camera phones this year. Some have been spectacular and others have been sort of just there. But it’ll be interesting to see how Vivo’s new device performs against the competition.
The text on the poster when translated features two prominent words the words ”Jiu” and ”Mirror”, the first which means nine hints at the model of the phone and the latter which is most likely describing the cameras’ prowess, since only a mirror has the ability to perfectly reproduce what is in front of it. And since the dual-cameras are in front, it could mean they’ll provide mirror quality selfies.
Another detail leaked is that the Vivo X9 will feature smart Hi-Fi audio to provide owners with top notch music experience.
As would be recalled, Meizu has scheduled a concert holding today in Beijing China and during the concert we had gotten hint that the Meizu M5 would be officially launched. Turns out Meizu is also planning to unveil another device alongside the M5, which by the way sounds like a name from a James Bond movie. Ahead of the concert, renders of the Meizu H1 SmartBand has been teased also, and is said to likely be unveiled today.
Not much detail is known about the Meizu H1 SmartBand but the renders look very similar in design to those if the Xiaomi Mi Band and possibly, the specs would also be similar. The display is shown to be similar to the Mi Band with the time function in blue shown in the render above. The device may likely also feature other specs like heart rate monitor, sleep monitor, pedometer etc.
To further buttress the theory that the H1 SmartBand would likely be launched today, the live image of the wrist band has been leaked right from the concert venue. The H1 SmartBand image appears along with the likely price tag and is alleged to have been grabbed off the dress rehearsal for the concert. What we are not so sure about is the 499 Yuan ($73) price tag the device is listed to sell for.
The Mi Band 2, Xiaomi’s latest, retails for 149 Yuan ($22) and even on various unofficial channels the price doesn’t exceed 200 Yuan ($30). So it would be a big gamble if Meizu would nudge the H1 SmartBand’s price up to that extent. We’ll bring you more on this as they unfold during the concert. Keep the dial on Gizmochina.
For the past couple of days running, Xiaomi has been teasing a quartet of crowdfunded products launching under its Mijia brand consecutively on four straight days beginning from today to November 3. The four products are said to fall under the categories of food, good air, health and innocence. Already, the IH Rice Cooker has been released today priced at 399 Yuan. Also, what is likely a home air quality tester or air purifier had been teased few days back and that would go official on November 2.
Now, a new teaser has been unveiled via the Mi Mijia Weibo page with the theme “building block evolution” and also centered on innocence. The teased poster is that of a colorful set of square and triangular building blocks with a sleek smartphone in sight also. From the look of things, the product is likely a Smart toy and it is likely aimed for the kids, hence the term “innocence”.
As the November 3 launch of the HuaweiMate 9 draws nearer, the device as should be expected would remain on the front burner of discussions till it is finally launched. The latest we have got on the Mate 9 is a picture that emanated from Weibo and is said to be a pre-launch page by China Mobile. The picture, which seems to have been grabbed from a smartphone, contains what is likely the main specs and actual render of the Mate 9.
Basically, the pictorial specs listing comes in to confirm some of the specifications we had already known would feature on the device but also bring along some new details. One of the latest detail is the specification of the Huawei Mate 9’s dual main cameras. According to the pictorial listing, the dual cameras would be a combo of a 12MP sensor and a 20MP sensor. Another is that the device would feature a front fingerprint sensor in addition to the one at the rear.
Other details listed include that the Huawei Mate 9 would sport a 5.9-inch 2k double curved display, and would be fired up by a Kirin 960 processor with a 6GB RAM assisting the SoC inside. That is an indication that the top-most version is being touted and it would have a large storage of 256GB on board. The device is also listed to run on Android 7.0 Nougat OS. Additionally, the Mate 9 is touted as seeing an upgrade on the fast charge aspect, as it is listed to support 5V / 8A charging output. Perhaps this would form part of the long battery life Huawei teased recently to feature on the Mate 9.
UPDATE: These images look exactly like the recently released Axon 7 Max. So, they seem to be photoshopped.
Just a few days to the official launch of the Mate 9, a user on Weibo has leaked real images of the phone and it looks like some of the earlier renders.
The unit is the champagne gold variant. The screen is large and fits the 5.9” or 5.88” description. There is Huawei’s name sitting on the chin and the top speaker is flanked by the front facing camera and the proximity sensor.
The back is where the action is. The dual cameras made by Leica have a vertical setup and are flanked on the left by the LED flash and on the left by the laser focus module. And below the cameras is the fingerprint scanner. The antenna lines are very visible due to their thickness but it isn’t like they make the phone ugly.
Rumours for the next iPhone started surfacing even before the iPhone 7 was officially released. Now that there’s nothing in its way, we should expect more details of Apple’s next phone (if there is no SE 2nd Gen or so), like this one from Japanese media, Nikkei, which is about the iPhone 8 Plus.
iPhone 8 Concept with OLED Display
A few days ago it was revealed that there will be 3 variants of the iPhone 8: a 4.7” variant, another with a 5” display and the third one will have a 5.5” screen size. The 5.5” version is assumed to be the iPhone 8 Plus, and Nikkei says it will feature a curved OLED display which will be manufactured in the US.
This is a first for Apple if it turns out to be true but it is not surprising either, seeing as next year will be the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, we expect something different. We already know what they did to mark the 25th anniversary of the first Mac laptop. But let’s hope it doesn’t share its high price tag.
In a few days, the Huawei Mate 9 will be announced in Germany, but that doesn’t mean we still won’t be getting details right up to the launch day.
This not-so-new info is from analyst, Pan Jiutang, confirming that the Mate 9 will have a 12MP+20MP rear camera combo. According to Mr Jiutang, the Mate 9’s camera prowess will double that of the Huawei P9 which by today’s standard is one of the best in the market.
He also mentions that there is a possibility of the Mate 9 featuring an embedded fingerprint scanner.
A few days ago, there was a post on Weibo about the screen sizes of the Mate 9 and there was no mention of a curved display, leading people to believe the company will not release a curved variant of the phone. But there are still rumours going round of the phone’s existence. The curved variant which will have the PRO suffix is expected to have a dual-curved screen, 6GB of RAM and IRIS recognition just like the Galaxy Note 7.
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