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LeEco Pro 3 Geekbench Scores: 6GB RAM and Snapdragon 821

LeEco’s CEO Jia Yueting has confirmed that the launch of the snapdragon 821 Le Pro 3 is tomorrow which means the phone will indeed be the first Snapdragon 821 device released in China.

In his weibo post, the CEO says the LeEco Pro 3 will be the world’s first widely available snapdragon 821 phone. You might think that should go to ASUS with their Zenfone 3 Deluxe but not at all, as the phone is still only available in Taiwan for now.

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In preparation for the launch, the phone’s Geekbench scores have surfaced online with the same model number (LEX720) as the Le 2s Pro whose Antutu score showed up 3 weeks ago. The results showed it was uploaded yesterday at about 5:26 pm.

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The phone scores 1865 points on the single-core test and 4452 on the multi-core test. Other details revealed by the benchmarking site confirms the use of a Snapdragon 821 processor clocked at 2.19 GHz and 6GB of RAM. It will also come with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Mi 5s Confirmed to Feature Under-Glass Fingerprint Scanner

Previous reports mention that the company will launch an 8GB RAM version of the LeEco Pro 3 with 256GB of built-in storage. The 6GB RAM version will have 64GB of ROM. LeEco is known for not including SD card slots in their phones just like Google and Apple does with their devices. So if you are going to settle for the 64GB version of the Pro 3, I think that should still be enough.

The company also released a couple of posters last week mocking Apple’s new phones for their small battery and lack of fast charging.

Are you excited about the launch tomorrow? What features are you eager to know about? Do drop your thoughts in the comment box.

HTC Desire 10 Pro and Desire 10 Lifestyle also Official

HTC has also officially released the HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle and Desire 10 Pro smartphones after a protracted romance with rumors and leaks, thus putting the rumor mill to rest. The Desire 10 Pro packs a specs line-up that places it high above its Desire 10 Lifestyle counterpart but both smartphones come in Stone Black, Polar White, Royal Blue and Valentine Lux color variants.

HTC Desire 10 Pro

On the specs bench, the HTC Desire 10 Pro comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS 1080 pixel display with Gorilla Glass protection., The smartphone is powered by a MediaTek Helio P10 processor accompanied by a 4GB RAM as well as an expansive 64GB of internal storage which can as well be expanded up to 2TB via microSD card. There’s also a second version with 3GB RAM and 32GB of built-in storage.

HTC Desire 10 Pro
HTC Desire 10 Pro

The HTC Desire 10 Pro goes pro with its camera, packing a 20MP main camera at its rear with f/2.2 aperture, laser autofocus and dual-LED flash. Even selfies are designed to be spotless with a 13MP sensor calling the shots on the front camera. You may not need a selfie stick to take a group selfie with this one because there’s a a 150-degree panorama mode for group shots.

The Desire 10 Pro also has a fingerprint sensor mounted on its back which also controls the camera aside unlocking the device and under its hood there is a 3,000mAh battery with support for fast charge keeping the lights on. There is a whole lot of connectivity options available on the device such as Wi-Fi a/b/g/n (but no ac), Bluetooth v4.2, NFC, AGPS + GLONASS and Cat. 6 LTE. The Desire 10 Pro has a dimension of 156.5 x 76 x 7.9mm, weighing in at 165g.

HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle
HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle

HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle

The Desire 10 Lifestyle features a 5.5-inch HD Super LCD display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection and resolution of1280 x 720 pixels. The smartphone is powered by a Snapdragon 400 processor with Adreno 305 GPU and on the memory aspect it comes with two variants, one holding 3GB of RAM and 32GB built-in storage and a second one with 2GB RAM and 16GB built-in storage. Both variants can be notched higher up to 2TB via microSD.

HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle

On the software angle, the HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle runs on Android Marshmallow 6.0 with HTC Sense UI on top. It also features a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash, f/2.2 aperture and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with f/2.8 aperture. There is a 2700mAh battery providing the power and the device comes with Dual-SIM support. Available connectivity options include 4G LTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS and GLONASS.  The device also launches with HTC BoomSound technology with 24-bit Hi-Res audio certification and Dolby Audio enhancement. It measures 156.9 x 76.9 x 7.7mm and weights 155 grams.

The Desire 10 Lifestyle will be available in the UK and other markets starting today for £249 (about $324, 2160 Yuan) for the 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM version, while the Desire 10 Pro will arrive in next month for a yet to be determined price. HTC has hinted that it would sell the smartphones globally, but their availability in the US is still to be decided.

Xiaomi Mi 5S Will Have NFC and Support Mi Pay

Xiaomi will launch a new phone come September 27 and it is no secret that it’s the Xiaomi Mi 5S. Some of the details already leaked include a 3D touch display, an under-glass ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, Snapdragon 821, and 6GB of RAM. New details emerging today mentions that the Mi 5S will also get a NFC chip and support for bus card and bank card payments.

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Xiaomi announced its own form of mobile payment last month called MI Pay. It will allow users store card details on their phone and allow them make payments at supported terminals. The payment platform already supports seven banks with an additional six to be added later this month. However, the supported banks are Chinese banks.

READ MORE: OxygenOS 3.5.2 Community Build Rolls Out for OnePlus 3

Huawei MediaPad M3 Officially Launched in China

Huawei has officially launched its MediaPad M3 tablet in China. The MediaPad M3 was first announced at the IFA 2016 in Berlin but is yet to go on sale globally but now Huawei has unveiled its latest tablet in its home country for the first time.

Huawei Mediapad M3

One of the main highlight of the Huawei MediaPad M3 is the audio system which uses an independent DAC chip and dual stereo speakers certified by renowned brand, Harman Kardon. The tablet comes with an 8.4-inch display having a very fine resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. There is also a fingerprint sensor on the tablet located under the home screen button on the device which also wears a beautiful all-metal design.

Huawei Mediapad M3

Powering the device is a Kirin 950 chipset, complemented by a 4GB RAM, while there are three storage variants of 32GB, 64GB and a top-most model with 128GB of built-in storage. All versions feature options for expansion of the storages up to a further 128GB.

Huawei Mediapad M3

For the lovers of mobile photography, the Huawei MediaPad M3 sports an 8MP rear-facing camera unit unfortunately, without LED flash and up front there is equally an 8MP selfie shooter. In addition, the tablet comes running Android 6.0-based EMUI 4.1 and rocks a 5,100mAh battery.

Huawei Mediapad M3

As for the price, the Wi-Fi version of the Huawei Mediapad tablet with 32GB starts at 1888 Yuan($284), while that with 64GB storage is priced at 2288 Yuan ($344), and the 64GB version costs 2688 Yuan ($404). On the other hand, the LTE version with 32GB and 64GB are priced the same at 2388 Yuan ($359) while the top-end model with 64GB storage starts at 2688 Yuan ($404). Huawei is already accepting registrations for the device and the tablet will officially go on sale on September 26.

Google Confirms October 4 Launch Date and Teases Camera Samples

It is official already. October 4 is Pixel Day. Earlier today, Google uploaded a video on their Youtube channel which confirms an event slated for October 4.  The video entitled Google: Oct 4 is a 30-second clip that is filled with quadrilaterals or let’s say one quadrilateral that morphs into various forms.

The shape starts as the rectangle search bar and slowly transforms into  a vertical rectangle similar to the form factor of a phone. During the transformation you can make out the shape of a Nexus 7 and a Nexus 9.

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

The video’s description mentions a link (google.com/tenfour). If you decide to check it out, you see a shorter clip of the video in gif format and a space for entering your e-mail to get notifications. What you see afterwards is the basis for our second article. A gif of various pictures which I presume to be taken with one or both of the new Pixel phones.

READ MORE: Leagoo V1 Comes With Built-in Security Features

24k Gold-Plated and Diamond Encrusted iPhone 7 & 7 Plus Available

Karalux is a Vietnam-based firm specialising in customisation and gold-plating of high-end gifts and supercars. Over the years the company has gold-plated a bunch of phones such as the Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 5, and iPhone 6, 6s, and 6s Plus. Now they are offering the same treatment to the newly released iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

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If you own the new iPhone already, the company will coat it in 24-karat gold for you or black gold if your unit is the black or plain black. They say the whole process will take up to 8 hours and the surface will have a nano-coating to protect the phone from wear. The apple logo on the back will also be diamond-encrusted.

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If you also want, Karalux will engrave a text or an image  on your phone. So all you lovebirds out there can have your partner’s name engraved on your phone or on their phone if you intend to give them as a gift.

READ MORE: Yi Technology Announces Yi M1 Mirrorless Camera

OPPO R9S Now Rumored to Launch in October

After the success of the OPPO R9 spurred by its fast charging feature, it is hardly surprising that OPPO’s expected R9S is planning to come with even more fast charging capability. The OPPO R9S was rumored to drop on September 12 but that’s come and gone and nothing happened.

OPPO R9S

However, a new leak has emerged from China’s Weibo platform about the expected OPPO R9S. It is now rumored that the OPPO R9S will now drop sometime in October and that the new smartphone will feature on the camera end, image stabilization technology powered by a new OPPO SmartSensor. Apart from that the phone will feature the company’s new ultra-fast Super VOOC fast charging technology, which would give the device the capacity to deliver up to 10 hours of talk time with just 5 minutes charge time.

Furthermore, as had earlier been leaked, the OPPO R9S is likely to get a new design without visible antenna band and this design concept comes in a way that signal isn’t affected. We’ll get to see more of that when the smartphone pops.

Related: OPPO R9s certified by TENAA, Thin Metal body similar to its predecessor

The R9S had also cleared TENAA not too long ago, posting a device retaining the same 5.5-inch 1080p display with the R9. There is also a 16MP front camera and a 13MP main camera, dual-SIM/ dual standby feature, entire network support and a 2850mAh battery. However, the R9S will be seeing a shift on the processor end, sporting a Snapdragon 625 chipset as against the Helio P10 on the R9.

Lei Jun confirms a New Xiaomi PowerBank coming, Offers two-way Fast charge

Xiaomi had last week sent out a press invite of an event holding on September 21. The poster contained a teaser of what should be a power bank to be released on the said date even thought it wasn’t explicitly stated on the press invite. Now it has been confirmed by no less a person than Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s CEO that a new power bank is in the works and this he did via a Weibo post. The CEO hinted about the release of a Xiaomi Mobile power 2 soon and even shared a photo of what the expected power bank looks like.

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One product from Xiaomi which has acquired worldwide admiration, even from those who don’t like Xiaomi smartphones, is the Xiaomi powerbank. In just around two years of its first release, the Xiaomi powerbank have gone on to rake in over 20 million units in sales. Presently, Xiaomi has different power banks with capacities ranging from 5000mAh, 10,000mAh to 20,000mAh.

Read More: Teaser Hints at New Mi Powerbank with Type-C port Launching on Sept 21

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The picture shared by Lei Jun only reveals a 10000mAh power bank and that’s nothing higher in capacity from what we have seen from his company in the past. However, this one is billed to provide a lot more features than its predecessors. There is a USB Type-C interface and a USB charging output interface and this comes with support for two-way fast charging and perhaps more. We’ll have to wait till September 21 when it would be officially unveiled to know the other features on offer and if its going be so much more for less, talking about the price. The 10000mAh Mi Powerbank Pro with quite similar features, released earlier on, started at just 149 Yuan which comes to around $22-$23.

The Most Premium Super Cheap Android Phone?

I came across the Umi London, which is a $69 phone, it has decent specs and it sports a very good build quality.  In fact, it may be the most premium-looking super cheap Android smartphone we have tested so far. Learn more in our full review.

Thanks to Chinavasion for sending Umi London Umi Smartphone

Umi London Review: VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsl_DWl8t9g[/embedyt]

Umi London Review: UNBOXING

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The device ships with all the usual stuff you would expect to come with any smartphone.

Umi London Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

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The very first thing you are going to notice is that the device has a fantastic build quality for the phone this cheap.

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It uses a solid metal frame, tactile metal buttons and rounded edges that definitely help with the grip.

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The phone has a 5” 720p display, which may not sport the highest resolution but it is sharp enough for the daily use.

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The capacitive buttons are not backlit but we have a notification LED light that most of the cheap phones lack.

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One annoying thing is that the backplate is very hard to remove and I suggest using a credit card to do that. Under the hood, you can find 2 SIM card slots, microSD card slot and a removable 2050mAh battery.

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The loudspeaker quality is just average as on most of the cheap phones.

Umi London Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

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The Umi London sports a quad-core MTK6580 chip, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage.

These are definitely not the flagship-grade specs but the phone is doing an okay job handling some 3D games like Asphalt 8 on the medium graphics. Well, there are quite a few skipped frames and a bit of stutter but you can still enjoy playing the game.

Umi London Review: BENCHMARKS

Umi London Review: UI

The phone ships with the stock-looking Android 6.0, which has a few added features like a bunch of different gesture and motion controls. Most of them are gimmicky to me but the ones I usually use work fine.

Sometimes it may take a bit longer to load an app or switch between different apps but in general, the user interface performance is pretty good for a $69 phone. However, you may have a little bit of random stutter if you install a lot of apps, so keep that in mind.

Umi London Review: IMAGE QUALITY

As you may have guessed, the image quality is quite terrible. Well, you may get some usable shots for social media needs but nothing more. Same can be said about the 2MP front facing shooter.

Umi London Review: CONNECTIVITY

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I didn’t have any connectivity issues with this phone except for the fact the GPS lock speeds could be faster.

Umi London Review: BATTERY LIFE

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The 2050mAh battery does not sound impressive on paper and the performance of it is not so great.

The phone may get you through the day only if you are a light user. I could get just over 3 hours of screen-on time.

Umi London Review: CONCLUSIONS

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Umi London is yet another cheap phone from China but it has a very good build quality and it actually looks quite premium for just $69.

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The phone also rocks a pretty good display and Android 6.0 with some extra features out of the box.

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However, you have to know that you may have a little bit of stutter if you install a lot of apps on the phone. Also, both cameras are quite terrible, and the battery life is just average.

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All in all, Umi London is a premium-looking cheap Android phone that has quite a lot to offer but it has a few shortcomings that justify a low price of the device.

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Exists? Leaked Screenshot Emerge!

Xiaomi is preparing to launch its brand new Xiaomi Mi5S smartphone on September 27, which is just a few days away. While this is great news since the Mi5S is expected to come with powerful features, it did bring up the question of Xiaomi Mi Note 2 and its existence. A previous rumor even said that the phone may no longer exist, but today, a new screenshot has emerged, which is alleged to be of the Mi Note 2 Pro flagship.

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The screenshot reveals some very powerful specs on the device. It shows that the Mi Note 2 Pro comes with a quad-core 2.6GHz processor, most likely Snapdragon 821 along with massive 8GB of RAM on board. There’s even 256GB memory along with Android 7 Nougat. Overall, these specs are more powerful than any other handset in the market right now.

RELATED: Xiaomi Mi Note 2 To Be Called Xiaomi Mi Pro ?

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 renders 02

While we can’t verify the screenshot, if this is indeed real, there is a good chance that we won’t get to see it soon. Since the Mi5S is expected to be announced later this month, releasing another flagship like the Mi Note 2 should be logically a few months later. Further, it’s still quite early to see 8GB RAM smartphones, when 6GB RAM still has to become standard among flagship phones of 2016. Of course, LeEco could release the first 8GB RAM phone, but these are all just rumors.

For now, if you want a powerful Xiaomi smartphone, better wait for the Mi 5S flagship.

 

 

UMi Max Giveaway: Get This Amazing Smartphone From Gizmochina

UMi recently unveiled the UMi Max mid-ranger which is here to take on the affordable power phones in the market right now. The phone comes with pretty good specs, including the decent Helio P10 64-bit octa-core chipset and 3GB of RAM on board.

Now, Gizmochina along with Tomtop is conducting a UMi Max 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.

UMi Max Giveaway

Before we take a look at the specs of the UMi Max, we would like to thank Tomtop for providing this unit for Giveaway. Do check out their website for good deals and offers on your favorite Chinese smartphones.

To recap, the UMi Max comes with a beautiful all metal body with Helio P10, 3GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The storage is further expandable via MicroSD, so you don’t have to worry about the limited ROM. The phone comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p display and a large 4000mAh battery on board. At the back, you have a 13MP Panasonic camera while up front, you get a 5MP shooter. Other features of the device include Hi-Fi audio, fast fingerprint sensor and Pure Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS on board. It’s a pretty good smartphone and will fulfill almost all of your basic phone needs.

Just follow the steps mentioned in the Gleam widget to participate in the giveaway.

All the best.
UMi Max Giveaway

 

Yi M1 Mirrorless Camera Official Photo Samples

Xiaoyi launched the Yi M1 Mirrorless camera today and already, the camera is almost getting soaked in controversy but for Xiaoyi’s timely intervention. The camera which is of DLSR standard carries a very affordable price tag of 2199 Yuan ($330) for the one with standard zoom lens, while the camera with the dual lens kit is priced at 2999 Yuan ($450).

Yi M1 photo sample

That isn’t the controversy, though. The thing is an official sample photo of the Yi M1 camera was released by the company (pictured above) showing a very high resolution capture of a high-speed rail track as proof of the camera len’s speed but it turns out that the same picture had been in the open on Weibo before the official release of the Yi M1. That has however been clarified that the Yi M1 camera prototype had been handed out for testing by a professional photographer who captured the stunning shot with the M1.

Yi M1 camera

To further buttress the fact that the Yi M1 mirrorless camera took the controversial shot, Xiaoyi went to to share the camera’s Exchangeable image file format (EXIF) metadata on the image and if you don’t know, the metadata can’t be modified.

Yi M1 Mirrorless camera

In order to completely convince the public of the wide capabilities of the 4K Yi M1 camera, Xiaoyi also shared some more captivating image samples shot on the Yi Mi and they should be enough to convince the doubters because the samples are just so perfect for a 2999 Yuan ($450) camera. This may just be a perfect and cheap alternative to the likes of the expensive Canon EOS 5D Mark III DLSR camera which is priced at $4500 along with the lens. Meanwhile you can check out more of the quality sample photos shot on the Yi M1.

Yi Mi Camera samples
Lens: XIAOYI 12-40mm F3.5-5.6 parameters: F5, shutter 1 / 320s, ISO-100
Xiaoyi Yi M1 camera
Lens: XIAOYI 12-40mm F3.5-5.6 parameters: F8, shutter 10s, ISO-100
Xiaoyi Yi M1 camera sample
Lens: XIAOYI 12-40mm F3.5-5.6 parameters: F5, shutter 1 / 100s, ISO-200

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Yi Technology Announces the brand new Yi M1 Mirrorless Camera

We had reported a couple of times earlier that Yi Technology was all set to release a brand new camera today. As expected, the company has officially released the Yi M1 Mirrorless camera at an event a couple of hours back. This will be the company’s latest powerful camera and comes with pretty powerful features.

yi m1 mirrorless camera

The Yi M1 comes with a relatively simple design with two color options, silver and black. You get a 3-inch screen at the back and four buttons on the device which controls all the function. It is said that using the camera is easy, with an interface similar to a mobile phone camera.

As for the internals, the Yi M1 comes with M4/3 Mirrorless setup with Sony IMX269 sensor with 20.16MP. The camera features a mechanical shutter, super fast continuous shooting, RAW support, 4K Video shooting and ISO upto 25600.

yi m1 mirrorless camera silver

Along with the M1 camera, Yi Technology also announced two lenses for the device. One is a 12-40mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens and the second one is a 42.5mm fixed focus lens with f/1.8 aperture.

The company also released a backpack for its M1 camera, priced at 399 Yuan along with accessories like UV filters, charger, straps etc.

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The Yi M1 Mirrorless camera with standard zoom lens is priced at 2199 Yuan ($330), while the camera with the dual lens kit is priced at 2999 Yuan ($450). The camera and lenses will go on sale from September 23 at JD.com.

Update: Here is the the first hands on video

New Huawei Mate 9 Leaks: Multiple Versions, Iris Scanner, Launch Date and Price

Apart from the LeEco Le 3 Pro, the Xiaomi Mi 5s (and Plus) and the Pixel Phones, one other phone that is greatly anticipated is Huawei’s Mate 9. Following the company’s success with the Huawei P9 and Honor 8, more people are expecting the new phone to raise the already high bar a bit more.

Recent leaks about the device reveals a lot of new details. First is the date. Sources say the Huawei Mate 9 may launch on the 8th of November and will have four versions.

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A standard version or base model that will have 4GB of RAM and 64GB of ROM; a high version that doubles the storage to 128GB but keeps the RAM at 4GB; and a top and monarch version with 6GB RAM and 256GB of built-in storage.

The versions have also been reported to sport different colour options. The standard version will be available in silver, grey, and gold; the high version will be available in rose gold and ceramic white. The top version will have all the colours listed above in addition to black enamel.

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Another feature the Mate 9 may sport is an iris-scanner just like the Galaxy Note 7. Users will be able to choose between this or the fingerprint scanner that will come with it by default.

I know some of you only care about the pricing, that’s why I have saved it for last. The Standard Version will cost 3199 Yuan ($480) and a full network version will sell for 3399 Yuan ($509); the High Version will sell for 3899 Yuan ($584); a full network Top Version will sell for 4699 Yuan ($704); and the Monarch Version which seems is the top version bundled with a 2nd gen Huawei smartwatch will sell for 7388 Yuan ($1108).

READ MORE: Two New ASUS Zenfone 3 Variants Visit TENAA

GlobalFoundries Announces New 7nm FinFET Process Using a Full Node Shrink

Semi-conductor foundry, GlobalFoundries (GF) is one of the popular semi-conductor foundries alongside TSMC (Taiwan Semi-Conductor Manufacturing Company) and Samsung. They are Apple’s second source manufacturer and also known to build AMD’s 14nm Polaris GPU. The company has had it rough for a few years with respect to building its own processing technology but are planning to make a comeback with a new 7nm FinFET process.

The interesting thing about the new process technology is that GlobalFoundries will use a full node shrink instead of a hybrid node. If you do not know what the differences between both nodes are, I”ll attempt to break it down to the best of my knowledge in the next paragraph.

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The process of semiconductor manufacturing can be split into three major steps:

  1. Front-End-of-Line (FEOL): this is the process of manufacturing transistors. It encompasses wafer production, lithography, and deposition
  2. Back-End-of-Line (BEOL): This is the process of connecting together the individual parts of a chips.
  3. Packaging

Samsung and TSMC are two semiconductor foundries that use hybrid nodes (14/16nm). What they do is combine a new transistor architecture (FEOL) with an already established set of design rules for how those transistors are connected together (BEOL). Shrinking or altering of FEOL and BEOL at the same time results in a full node.

READ MORE: Real Images of Samsung ”Veyron” SM-2017 Flip Phone

Expected Yi Technology Action Camera Images Leaked, Resembles Leica’s T-model

Yi Technology is all set to unveil a new model of its Yi action camera today. We had reported on the invitation to the launch last week and in case you don’t know, Yi Technology has finally started using the Yi brand name on its camera product. This is an indication it is no longer part of the Xiaomi Ecosystem.

Ahead of the launch, photos of the expected camera have leaked online showing the camera will use a design similar to the renowned Lecia T camera. The camera also has similar focus performance and EP2 double lens set as the Leica T. The Yi Technology will also come with support for 4K video capture similar to the Panasonic GX8 core’s but will not have a view finder.

Read More: New Xiaomi Yi Technology Action Camera Coming Soon

In addition,according to the earlier leak source, the expected camera was developed in conjunction with former Fujitsu experts and will use M43 frame and Panasonic CMOS sensor which would provide support for the interchangeable lenses.

Xiaomi Mi 5S Official Launch Date Teased for September 27

Xiaomi has officially announced it would be holding a news conference on September 27. The company dubbed the “Apple of China” has released a posted today which announced the conference date and the poster contained one major clue which points to the likely release of the Mi 5S on that date.

Mi 5S launch

The poster contained a huge letter “S” which is an indication that the much touted, rumored and leaked Xiaomi Mi 5S would be the main highlight of the said date. Xiaomi is very well known for not coming out in clear terms to reveal a device’s launch date but rather the dates are usually announced by way of teasers. It is likely that other devices will be unveiled on that day alongside the Mi 5S.

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The Mi 5S promises to usher in a new phase in mobile phone technology with the inclusion of the world’s first “Under Glass” ultrasonic fingerprint sensor technology pioneered by Qualcomm. The expected device will also feature a large improvement in other aspects over its Mi 5 predecessor.

Related: Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus Emerges, Specs Include Snapdragon 821

Furthermore, the Mi 5s is expected to feature a double curved screen design with a 5.15-inch display capable of 3D Touch functions. A Snapdragon 821 chipset clocked at 2.4GHz is likely to call the shots, along with a 6GB RAM and a top most storage option of 256GB. On the camera end, the smartphone is expected with a 16MP rear camera with f/1.8 aperture, PDAF, four-axis optical image stabilization and LED flash. The device will also come equipped with a 3410/3,490mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0, USB Type-C interface , dual-SIM slots, and most importantly, NFC.

Lets not forget there are rumors of a Mi 5S Plus model said to be in the works. September 27 would possibly give us the answers to that.

Mi 5s confirmed to feature “Under Glass” Fingerprint sensor

Its a new week and already the social media is again buzzing about the Xiaomi Mi 5s which was expected to drop on September 14 but didn’t. We now have to look forward to another date which has not been officially disclosed, although September 27 is rumored.

Xiaomi Mi 5s

The Mi 5s has been the subject of several leaks and rumors for some time now. Just last week we got wind that the device will feature the world’s first under glass fingerprint technology manufactured by Qualcomm, which would make the device ditch the physical home button for a virtual one and is touted to work even with wet hands . Earlier on, AnTuTu’s Weibo page featured what was said to be the benchmark score and a few specs of the Mi 5s showing the device would be powered by the top-end Snapdragon 821 chipset, alongside a 5.15-inch 1080p display and Android 6.0 Marshmallow among others. The Mi 5s was revealed to have managed to pull a total score of 150k points.

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Also on the under glass fingerprint sensor, this rumor seem to have been confirmed by Xiaomi employees on microblogging site Weibo thus making the Mi 5s the world’s first smartphone to feature the “Under Glass” ultrasonic fingerprint technology. In addition, Apple is rumored as planning to include the new technology on its  iPhone 8 expected next year. Other specs also revealed in the Weibo post include the device would pack a 6GB RAM and would have three storage variants of 64GB, 128GB and 256GB, 2.5D curved glass, NFC, 3D Touch among others.

 

 

Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus Emerges, Specs Include Snapdragon 821

We are looking forward to the launch of the Xiaomi Mi 5s which sources have hinted may hold on the 27th of September. However, rumors say that might not be the only Mi 5 phone to launch. Alongside the Mi 5s, Xiaomi may be launching the Mi 5s Plus too.

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Reports say the Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus will feature a Snapdragon 821 processor, a 5.7″ dual-curve display, and probably the same under-glass ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. There are no details about the RAM, ROM, and camera configuration.

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In addition to the news of the Xiaomi Mi 5s, a new image of the phone was leaked earlier today in China. This time, it’s a low-quality image, and we can just make that the placement of the camera sensor at the back is a bit different than the Mi5 flagship. The camera is located around the middle, instead of the top left corner as found on the Mi5.

RELATED: Xiaomi Mi Note 2 To Be Called Xiaomi Mi Pro ?

In case you noticed, these specs are quite similar to the specs rumored for the Mi Note 2 /  Mi Note Pro smartphone. What’s even more interesting is a new rumor which states that Xiaomi Mi Note 2 may no longer exist. Now, this is indeed surprising given that we have been consistently hearing about the new flagship for the past few months.

Hopefully, things will get cleared in the days to come.

Huawei Mate 9 Will Release In Q4 2016, Asserts Analyst

Huawei P9 turned out to be a surprisingly good camera smartphone. Till now, Samsung and iPhone were considered to manufacture the best camera phones in the market, but that changed this year with the introduction of the Huawei P9 with its Lecia certified dual cameras at the back. Now, it’s been almost six months since the phone was released and we are expecting to see the Huawei Mate 9, which is the company’s top-end flagship of 2016 pretty soon.

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Now, IHS Analyst Kevin Wang has said that the Huawei Mate 9 flagship should be released in the fourth quarter of this year. This is in line with the expected release schedule as we saw the Mate 8 release in November last year. This year, we can expect the Mate 9 to release sometime in December.

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RELATED: Huawei Mate 9 Poster Leak: Kirin 960 & 20MP Dual Cameras

Since this is going to be the company’s best flagship of 2016, we expect the camera on the back of the device to be even better than the Huawei P9. According to the recent rumors, we should see a 20MP dual camera setup at the back, better than the 12MP dual cameras found on the back of the P9.

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Earlier Leaked Mate 9 Image

As for the other specs, the Huawei Mate 9 is said to come with the new Kirin 960 flagship chipset featuring Cortex A73 Artemis cores manufactured on 16nm process. Rest of the details about the upcoming flagship are scarce at the moment, but we can expect more details in the weeks to come. There’s still a few weeks left for December and more details should emerge by then.