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Meizu Also Developing a Foldable Display, Patent Filing Reveals

Flexible display is turning to be the possible future of mobile displays considering the rate at which smartphone manufactures are developing concepts  with flexible displays. Samsung, Xiaomi, LG, Lenovo, OPPO and of late Meizu has joined the train.

meizu

A patent filing made back in August by Meizu has just been spotted online it reveals a device with flexible, foldable display. The patent was filed precisely on August 28 in China with the title “Flexible Display Device with an application number 201610634752.2. From the attached description, we could gather that the device is one with folding display with appearance similar to clam-shell flip phones. The outside of the device is covered by the flexible display in this case.

meizu flexible display

Recall that Samsung filed a patient for a somewhat similar foldable phone with flexible display. The only difference between this and Samsung’s own is that the display on this one stays outside while Samsung’s stays inside when the flip is covered. It is not clear, though, what becomes of this patent filing as Meizu has not revealed anything about the patent since then.

Read More: Spy Photos of New Meizu M1611 Phone Released

The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 was recently disclosed to be coming with a flexible curved display said to be supplied by LG, even though the flexible display would still be under the rigid glass touchscreen. In addition, Vivo XPlay and Huawei Mate S2 are also rumored by the same source as featuring similar curved flexible display. Perhaps we would be seeing more and more devices with flexible, curved displays in the near future.

New Lenovo ZUK Phone with Snapdragon 821 Spotted on TENAA

ZUK was launched in may 2015 as a spin-off of PC manufacturing giant, Lenovo. A year later, the company has already launched 3 phones: the ZUK Z1 which was released last year, and the Z2 and Z2 Pro  released this year. But as it appears, the company is not done for the year as a new ZUK phone has been spotted on TENAA.

ZUK Phone

ZUK Phone

The new phone sports Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 821 chip clocked at 2.35 GHz. ZUK is also going back to using a larger screen (5.5” 1080p) like they did with the Z1. There is 4GB of RAM on board and storage comes in 32GB and 64GB variants.

ZUK Phone ZUK Phone

ZUK’s new phone is equipped with a 13 megapixel rear camera that protrudes and an 8 megapixel shooter up front. It runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and is listed as having full network support. Some of the 4G bands supported include bands 1, 2, 3, 38, 39, 40 and 41.

ZUK Phone ZUK Phone

The phone is equipped with a 3000mAh battery which is the smallest battery on a ZUK phone. The Z1 has a 4100mAh battery, the Z2 which has a 5-inch screen even has a 3500mAh battery, and the Z2 Pro has a 3100mAh battery. Looking at the pattern, the company is always using a smaller battery when they launch a new phone. While we can’t deny that the power consumption of newer processors has gotten better, but putting a 3000mAh battery in a 5.5” phone still doesn’t sit right with me. I guess it’s all about the thin profile as the new phone is just 7.68 mm thick and weighs 160g.

READ MORE: Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro Features Antenna Design Similar to OPPO R9s

There is no news of the price tag of the new phone but ZUK should take note of the fact that the cheapest SD 821 phone right now is the 4G+32GB LeEco Pro 3 which costs 1799 Yuan ($267), has a larger battery (4070mAh), and is even thinner at 7.5 mm.

Nubia Z11 Mini S Hands on Images: 98% Metal Body, New Antenna Design & Rear Fingerprint

ZTE’s sub-brand Nubia just released a brand new smartphone in China, the ZTE Nubia Z11 Mini S. This will be an upgraded version of the Z11 Mini that was announced six months back powered by Snapdragon 617.

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The new generation Nubia Z11 Mini S comes with a 64-bit Snapdragon 625 octa-core chipset with 4GB RAM and 64GB / 128GB of internal storage further expandable up to 200GB via MicroSD. At the back, the phone comes with a powerful 23MP camera while up front, there is a 13MP shooter. Inside, you get a 3000mAh battery as well. Other features of the phone include a fast fingerprint sensor located at the back, fingerprint payments, dual SIM dual standby and a 5.2-inch 1080p display with 2.5D glass on top.

RELATED: Nubia Z11 Review: A True Flagship

The Z11 Mini S comes with an all metal body (98% metal) and new antenna design. You will also find the traditional red colored circle for home button on the front. Overall, the Nubia Z11 Mini S is a good-looking smartphone and at 1499 Yuan ($223), it quite decently priced as well, at least, according to Nubia’s standards.

You can check out the hands-on images of the Nubia Z11 Mini S from down below, courtesy of mydrivers.com.

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Xiaomi Launches Mi Power 2 for 79 Yuan ($12)

Last week ZMI/Xiaomi relaunched the Mi Pro Power Bank, throwing in a protective case, a cable that has both a USB Type-C and micro-USB head and giving it a new price. We thought that was the end of power banks from Xiaomi for the year, but we were wrong. The company has just released a second generation Mi power bank called the Mi Power 2.

Xiaomi says the Mi Power 2 uses a high density lithium polymer 10000mAh battery which is better than the previous type and the commonly used 18650 batteries but still retains the advantage of being easily moulded or shaped into thinner  profiles.

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The power bank also has the 2-way fast charge technology present in the Mi Power Bank Pro, allowing you to charge your phone quickly if it supports fast charge and also recharge the power bank quickly as well.

Mi Power 2 Mi Power 2 Mi Power 2

The Mi Power 2 is equipped with a Texas Instrument chip that provides 9 types of protection including temperature protection, input and output high voltage protection, short circuit protection, high current output protection, battery overcharge protection, and a reset function which lets you reset the circuit if the power bank doesn’t work by pushing the power button and returning it to working mode.

READ MORE: Blackview E7S Selling for $69.99 for a Limited Time

Mi Power 2 is made from a single piece of aluminium alloy with a 180° arc and an ergonomic design allowing it fit in your hands easily. Xiaomi has ditched the USB Type-C input port from the Mi Power Bank Pro and replaced it with a micro USB input port. You still have 4-LED lights to indicate the amount of charge left and a power button beside it. The 2nd gen Mi Power Bank comes in dark grey and silver colours and sells for just 79 Yuan ($12)

Full Specfications

  • Name: Mi Power 2
  • Model Number: PLM02ZM
  • Battery Type: ATL High Density Lithium Polymer
  • Capacity: 10000mAh  3.85v/38.5Wh
  • Rated Capacity: 6900mAh
  • Input: 5V/2A 9V/12V Max 18W
  • Output: 5V/2.4A 9V/12V Max 15W
  • Conversion Rate: >90%
  • Weight: 217g
  • Price: 79 Yuan ($12)

Source: anzhuo.cn

 

Nubia Z11 Mini S Launched Sporting 23MP Sony IMX318 Rear Camera

ZTE’s elite sub-brand Nubia has today launched a new sleek smartphone into its arsenal of powerful, well-designed smartphones. The device, Nubia Z11 Mini S comes as a successor to the Nubia Z11 Mini which in itself is a mini version of the flagship Nubia Z11.

Nubia Z11 Mini S

The Nubia Z11 Mini S comes with a whopping 23MP rear camera with Sony IMX378 sensor as one of its main selling points. Apart from that, the device is also touted as packing a battery with long battery life as well as a large memory. On the design aspect, the Z11 Mini S features a thin symmetrical design with its body made from aviation-grade aluminum alloy.

Nubia Z11 Mini S

The Z11 Mini S sports a 5.2-inch display with a resolution of 1080 pixels. The device comes powered by an Octa-core 64-bit Snapdragon 625  processor along with 4GB RAM. The device also features a 64GB internal storage and a higher version with 128GB storage and both storage versions are expandable up to 200GB via microSD.

Nubia Z11 Mini S

Related: Nubia Z11 Max Render Revealed, Amazing Screen To Body Ratio!

Coming to the camera which isa major highlight of the device with its 23MP Sony IMX318 sensor with CMOS, f2.0 aperture, FPDAF, 0.1 seconds speed focus, 6P lens. There is also a 13MP front-facing camera. The device also comes with full network support and there is a 3,000mAh battery on the device with NeoPower 2.0 technology. Nubia boasts that the battery can last up to 3.51 days. Another beautiful feature on the Nubia Z11 Mini S is a multi-functional rear fingerprint sensor which unlocks, wakes up, opens the camera, and functions in other aspects like AliPay and WeChat fingerprint payment.

The price of the device is yet to be announced.

Xiaomi Confirms Mi Note 2 Announcement On October 25, Curved Display in Tow

We have been hearing a lot about the upcoming Xiaomi Mi Note 2 flagship in the past couple of weeks. Now, the company has confirmed that the Mi Note 2 will be announced on Tuesday, October 25. The company has officially revealed that the flagship will be announced on that day, and also confirmed the official spokesperson for the event, the popular Hong Kong actor, Tony Leung.

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Further, the first teaser also confirms that the phone will come with a curved display. One of the tags in the teaser says it’s curved, and also the phone used to post this message is none other than the curved Xiaomi Mi Note 2. So, it’s confirmed that the Mi Note 2 will be Xiaomi‘s first curved screen smartphone.

RELATED: Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Leak Reveals Vertical Dual Cameras

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So, turns out, the earlier rumors were true. We are going to meet the brand new flagship, which should come with much better specs than the Mi 5S Plus, next week. There have been some great rumors going around about the device, like a curved OLED display supplied by LG, Snapdragon 821 chipset, dual cameras etc, so this flagship is something that we are all excited to meet.

Given its premium placement, it is said that the phone could be priced around 4000 Yuan ($600), making it costlier than other Xiaomi smartphones in the market right now. Now that the release date of the Mi Note 2 is out, expect a lot more news coming your way in the next few days.

 

New Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Leaked Images Reveal A True Bezel-less Design, Similar To Sharp Aquos Crystal

Xiaomi’s CEO, Lei Jun has confirmed that the Mi Note 2 exists and this has led to the flood of numerous leaks about the device. We have already seen a working prototype of a flexible display smartphone from Xiaomi, alleged to be the Mi Note 2. Today, we have got some new images and renders of the Mi Note 2, this time featuring a true bezel-less display, on all the four sides. In fact, the phone looks a lot like the Sharp Aquos Crystal model which was released a few years back.

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There are both, real life images as well as renders of this bezel-less smartphone. The phone is indeed without any significant borders on any side and it is possible that the display is supplied by Sharp. Because of its design, the phone looks great, however, we couldn’t find a camera on the top, which is not a practical design in this age, considering how users are obsessed with selfies.

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Apart from the real life images, there are a couple of renders of the device as well. They reveal a simple yet elegant design language, with no bezels on any side, even eliminating the physical home button. However, it’s possible that the fingerprint sensor is located on the front, below the display, if it’s a Qualcomm 3D Sense Ultrasonic sensor.

This bezel-less design seems much more plausible than the flexible display design that we saw a couple of days back. Just a few minutes ago we reported that the Mi Note 2 could use curved OLED panels supplied by LG. The earlier report said that the display would be curved but this design is a lot different than what we anticipated.

RELATED: Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Will Be Costly Says Analyst, Get Ready To Shell Out Around $600

To be honest, this design looks good, but the Mi Note 2 is probably not going to feature such a bezel-less look. Something more practical would be a curved display design, similar to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.

Since the CEO has confirmed the phone’s existence, we can expect the Mi Note 2 to release in the coming few weeks.

 

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Could Feature Curved OLED Display From LG

xiaomi mi note 2

Within the coming weeks or months, we would likely be seeing the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 and talking about that device, it has been the subject of numerous leaks and rumors most of which are yet to be substantiated. The latest rumor about the Mi Note 2 is that the flagship device would feature curved OLED displays which would be manufactured by LG.

Xiaomi Mi note 2

This latest revelation as most others, originated from China’s microblogging website Weibo and according to the Weibo user, the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 would feature curved display which would be flexible and would be made of AMOLED panel and LG, not Samsung would supply the panels. Earlier on, the Mi Note 2 displays were rumored as likely to be supplied either by LG or Samsung bu this rumor pin-points LG as the supplier. Going on, the tipster revealed that the production of the Mi Note 2 would be the first mass production of the flexible LG AMOLED panels so that explains the delays in releasing the device.

Read More: Latest Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Rumors: October 25 Launch, Flexible Displays & More!

The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 had featured in series of leaks last week which suggested that the device would use a flexible display that bends in all directions. How that would work out  have been bothering our minds, no doubt, but the Weibo user also clarified that the OLED display films are actually flexible but then the touchscreen displays are made of glass so you may not get the opportunity of actually touching the panel directly to bend it. This theory sounds quite saner, so if you’ve been looking forward to a curved edge Mi Note 2, that is still likely to be the design.

Nubia Z11 Mini S with 23MP Rear Camera Clears TENAA, Likely Launching Soon

Nubia recently announced that it would be holding a conference on October 17 in Beijing and according to insider sources, the Nubia Z11 Mini S would likely be released. The Nubia Z11 Mini S was recently spotted on TENAA’s website after it had been certified.

The TENAA listing gave us a glimpse of the Z11 Mini S renders and the specs as well and indeed in terms of design, the Nuba Z11 Mini S looks strikingly similar to the Nubia Z11 which was released earlier this day. The device features a 2.5D arc glass and still retains the small round home button on its predecessor.  At the rear, the Z11 Mini sports the same antenna design as those of iPhone 7 and Meizu Pro 6, its rear camera is tilted to the top left corner while there is a fingerprint sensor at the back also.

Specs wise, the Nubia Z11 Mini S sports a 5.2-inch 1080 pixel display and comes with a dimension of 146 x 72.14 x 8.1 mm. The device weighs 160 grams and would be available in silver and gold color variants. There is also a 2930mAh battery inside the device and the device comes with entire network support.

Nubia Z11 Mini S

Furthermore, the Nubia Z11 Mini S is said to be powered by a 2.0GHz 0cta-core processor of unknown model likely Snapdragon 625, backed by 4GB of RAM and there is a generous 64GB internal storage space on the device. The standout feature of the Z11 Mini should be the 23MP rear camera it is listed as having, which is the highest by any Nubia of the phones. There is also a 13MP selfie camera up front on the  device which would run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS.

Nubia Z11 Mini S

As stated earlier, the Z11 Mini S would likely be released on October 17, and when that happens we would get to see the performance of the large pixels front and rear camera. The device is also teased as having a good battery performance as well.

Xiaomi Meri Rumoured to Feature In-House Processor

Early this year, a source reported that Xiaomi was planning to use in-house chips in their smartphones later this year. The chips will reportedly be used in lower-priced phones released in the second half of the year.

This move has actually been in the works for a while. Back in 2014 a company called Beijing Pinecone Electronics which is controlled by Xiaomi signed an agreement with Chinese chip designer Leadcore Technology Ltd, a subsidiary of state backed Datang Telecom, to jointly design 4G multiple mode chips.

meri-antutu pinecone

Weibo account @Science and Technology suspects the unknown chip in the Xiaomi Meri is one of the chips from the company. An information page from the phone’s Antutu result also shows the processor has a Mali-T860 GPU and that the Meri has a 5.46” 1080p screen. Another image which shows the EXIF data of a picture taken with the phone’s camera also has the word PINECONE.

READ MORE: Elephone R9 will Feature E-Touch 2.0 System on the Home Button

Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Confirms Huawei Mate 9

Tons of leaks in past months have talked about the Huawei Mate 9 coming soon but info from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology confirms the existence of the device.

The Mate 9 is code-named Manhattan and the name of the two devices found are MHA-TL00 and MHA-AL00. We believe the MHA prefix stands for Manhattan and that there will indeed be two variants of the device.

Mate 9 Mate 9

There is no much info revealed about both devices except that they have full network support and dual sim slots. But previous leaks have said the Huawei Mate 9 will feature a 5.9” display, Huawei’s own Kirin 960 processor, a 12MP and 20MP dual cameras combination reportedly from Leica with a f/2.0 aperture.

READ MORE: Working Xiaomi  Bendable Concept Phone Shows Up in Leaked Video

The Mate 9 has also been said to come in 4GB and 6GB variants with storage capacity going as high as 256GB and will come with Android Nougat out of the box. There is also the rumour of the Mate 9 coming with Huawei’s fast charge technology called Supercharge that can charge a phone to 50% in just five minutes.

Xiaomi Meri Benchmarked on Antutu and GeekBench. More Live Photos Included.

About a week ago we covered news of an unknown Xiaomi phone said to be the Xiaomi Mi 5c. According to recent reports, the phone is not the Mi 5c but the Xiaomi Meri. The Xiaomi Meri was benchmarked on Antutu and GeekBench yesterday revealing new details about the device.

xiaomi-meri-geekbench

Starting with GeekBench, the Xiaomi Meri scored 758 points in the single core test and 3105 in the multi-core test. Comparing these scores to that of the Nokia D1C, we can say both phones are in the same class. While the Xiaomi does score higher than the Nokia in the single score test, the Nokia D1C has a higher multi-core test score. The similarity of both devices doesn’t even end there. They both use 8-core processors clocked at 1.4GHz, although we already know the D1C is equipped with a Snapdragon 430 SoC but that of the Meri is unknown.

The Xiaomi Meri runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow and has 3GB of RAM which is in accordance to last week’s leak but the surprising part is the processor. An image from the first leak shows the phone has a processor clocked at 2.2GHz, even one of the new pictures below still shows the same info but the processor on GeekBench is clocked at 1.4GHz. A possible explanation might be the use of two different processors, hinting at more than one variant of the phone.

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READ MORE: Qualcomm Sues Meizu in France, Germany and the USA

Going to Antutu, the Xiaomi Meri scores a total of 63,581 points which is way lower than what a high-end phone should score. The Meri is also compared against the LG V10 in one of the pictures above and even scores higher in some categories.

We have also added more leaked photos of the device below.

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Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro Features Antenna Design Similar to OPPO R9S

Yesterday, OPPO revealed an image of their upcoming R9S phone,showing off the new antenna design dubbed split antenna. Surprisingly, that same design is what is on the soon to be launched Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro.

Samsung C9 Pro

Pictures of the upcoming phone shows the same triple lines on the upper and lower part of the phone. The lines are not only better than the previous one that runs around the frame of all-metal phones, they also give the phone a premium look.

Samsung C9 Pro

Samsung C9 Pro

The lines are said to be less than a mm thick (0.4mm to be exact) and integrated into the chassis through a precise CNC process. The lines also sport the same colour as the rest of the phone and doesn’t appear visible from afar.

READ MORE: Preview of Android 7.0 Nougat on UMi Plus

Specifications of the C9 Pro are still unknown but it’s sibling, the C9 is expected to launch with a 6” display, 6GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, Snapdragon 652, and a 16MP rear camera. The C9 Pro may have a more powerful processor and keep the rest of the specs.

Huawei Nova Officially Released: A Lot Cheaper Than Europe

Huawei announced the Nova and Nova Plus at last month’s IFA Berlin Conference. Yesterday, they officially released the Nova in China and kicked off the first online sales.

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huawei-nova-launch

The Nova is a 5-inch phone with a 1080p screen that shares design similarities to the Nexus 6P also made by Huawei last year. So if you call the Nova a 5” Nexus 6P, you are not entirely wrong. The phone weighs 146g and comes in at 7.1mm thick even with an 89% metal body.

It comes in two variants: a 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM version and a 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM version. Both versions use Qualcomm’s eight-core Snapdragon 625 processor. Unlike the Nexus, the Nova has a SD card slot for storage expansion. Huawei has put a 12MP 1/2.8 ” f/2.0 sensor on the rear of the phone and an 8-megapixel camera up front for selfies and video calls. Huawei says the rear camera is pretty fast, locking on to an object in 0.2 seconds.

The device has dual SIM slots that both support 4G networks. It comes with Huawei’s EMUI 4.1 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. There is a fingerprint scanner under the hood and a 3020mAh battery that supplies juice.

READ MORE: Ulefone U007 Pro with 4G Support Released for $69.99

ZTE Axon 7 Max Leaked Images: Android Nougat, 6-inch screen, Dual cameras

When ZTE released the Axon last year, there were three models: the ZTE Axon, the ZTE Axon Mini, and the Axon Max. This year appears to follow the same trend. They have already launched the ZTE Axon 7 and ZTE Axon 7 Mini, and seem to be set for an Axon 7 Max launch judging from the leaked images of a large screen ZTE phone.

Axon 7 Max Axon 7 Max

Last years Axon Max launched with a 6” screen and ZTE is sticking to the same screen size and resolution for the Axon 7 Max. But a major upgrade coming to the phone is the use of dual rear cameras. The Axon 7 Max has its dual cameras stacked on each other and flanked on the left by a LED flash and on the right by a laser sensor. Details of the cameras are currently unknown, so we will have to wait for that to be disclosed. Below the camera setup is the fingerprint scanner which I think would be better if it were positioned a bit lower or even put up front based on the size of the display.

Axon 7 Max Axon 7 Max Axon 7 Max

There is a Snapdragon 625 processor under the hood, and one of the images shows there is 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. The Axon 7 Max will also run Android Nougat with ZTE’s MiFavor 4.0 UI overlay.

There is no mention of the battery capacity but last year’s model launched with a non-removable 4140mAh battery with QC 2.0 support. This year’s edition might feature the same battery or bump it up a little and add QC 3.0.

READ MORE: LeEco’s Mysterious Phone Said to be Sporting Helio X27 Chip

Qualcomm Vs Meizu: Chip Maker Sues in France, Germany, and the USA

A few months ago, Qualcomm sued Meizu in China for patent infringements related to its 4G and 3G technologies. The chip maker sued Meizu for 520 million Yuan but the last we heard about the matter was that the phone maker wanted to settle out of court. But apparently, the case has not been settled as Qualcomm have taken the battle to North America and Europe by suing them in the United States, France and Germany.

qualcomm

Qualcomm’s executive Vice-President and general counsel, Don Rosenberg, said Meizu refused to negotiate in good faith with the company. And they can’t turn a blind eye to Meizu’s sale and distribution of products infringing on their patents, hence the reason for taking legal action to protect their patent rights.

Meizu has released no official statement in relation to the matter but an outcome such as payment of royalties or something more serious like a ban preventing them from selling their products will spell doom for them.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Teases a Mechanical Keyboard Launch?

Cubot Max Review – A Solid $114 Phablet

It seems that there has been a wave of super-sized smartphones from China and Cubot Max is one of them. It sports a 6” display, it has decent specs but it costs just $114. Learn more in our a full review.

Thanks t0 Efox-shop for sending Cubot Max for a review.

Cubot Max Review: VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGaM-gMQ4RE[/embedyt]

Cubot Max Review: UNBOXING

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The phone ships with all the usual stuff and some extras include a high-quality soft TPU case.

Cubot Max Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

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The very first thing you are going to notice about this phone is that it is really huge due to its 6” display. It has only 720p resolution but it is surprisingly sharp and nice panel.

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We don’t have backlit capacitive buttons but there is a notification LED light, which is a nice addition for a cheap phone like this.

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The phone is made of plastic and we have a textured vinyl-like finish on the back. I can’t say that the phone looks or feels premium but it is well made.

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The buttons feel nice and tactile.

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The loudspeaker sits on the bottom and it is okay but as usual to the cheap phones, the sound is flat.

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As for camera, we have a 13MP shooter with a single LED flash.

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The backplate can be easily removed to access a 4100mAh battery, two SIM card slots and the microSD card slot.

Cubot Max Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

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The Cubot Max sports some pretty good specs for the price. The phone ships with an octa-core MTK6753A chip, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.

The gaming performance is okay. You should be able to run most of the 2D games and 3D games on the medium graphics but you have to expect quite a bit of stutter on the highest graphics.

Cubot Max Review: BENCHMARKS

Cubot Max Review: USER INTERFACE

The Android 6.0-based user interface will give you a pretty much stock Android experience but there are some added features like a bunch of gesture and motion controls that work pretty well.

I didn’t have any major lags or hiccups even after installing quite a few apps and I believe this is the most important thing for a cheap phone.

Cubot Max Review: IMAGE QUALITY

As for image quality, the camera can take some okay-looking photos in daylight. However, most of the shots look overexposed, the dynamic range and white balance adjustment are poor and so on. Well, this is what you usually get from a cheap phone and the results get a lot worse in low-light situations.

As for selfie shooter, it will do the trick for social media but the quality of pictures is just mediocre.

The 1080p video is mediocre-looking too. See a video review for a video sample.

Cubot Max Review: CONNECTIVITY

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I didn’t have any connectivity issues and even the GPS lock speeds and accuracy were okay.

Cubot Max Review: BATTERY LIFE

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The 4100mAh battery performs pretty well on the daily basis. I got a full day or even 2 days of moderate usage out of this phone, which is a good result considering a large display.

Cubot Max Review: CONCLUSIONS

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Cubot Max is yet another cheap Chinese phone that offers a large 6” screen and some decent specs for the price.

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After using it for quite a bit of time, we have to say that a large screen is pretty fun for multimedia consumption. Also, the phone did not lag and it was fast on the daily basis.

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As usual to the cheap phones, you should not expect any stellar results from the camera. Also, the phone does not sport any premium materials like metal or glass and it lacks backlit capacitive buttons but it gets most of the basics right. If you add a great battery life, the Cubot Max is a decent offering for the price of just $114.

Buy Cubot Max

Latest Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Rumors: October 25 Launch, Flexible Displays & More!

A couple of renders and a video clip of what is said to be a working Xiaomi flexible display was leaked online not long ago. It has now emerged  that indeed the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 would feature a version using the flexible display technology. But as should be experted it takes a huge toll on the price tag which is said to be 4,000 Yuan (around $595).

xiaomi mi note 2

This disclosure was made in a post by a user on Weibo who also revealed that the Mi Note 2 would be released on October 25. In addition, the Weibo user alleged that the Mi Note 2’s curved display would be supplied by Samsung and LG and the device would have a 5.7-inch screen. The higher version is said to sport a double ceramic glass body. The source also revealed the existence of a flat screen version since the version with flexible glass would take more time to produce, so perhaps be out of stock most times. According to the rumor, the flat screen version would cost less, coming in at 3000 Yuan ($446).

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 renders 04

As with most Weibo posts, we’ll take this with a pinch of salt until Xiaomi comes out to confirm it. Although some of the specs and details leaked align with previous leaks and rumors, like the 5.7-inch display and October launch date but previous rumors including that from Pan Jiutang wasn’t specific on an exact date in October.

Read More: Key Specs & User-Generated Mi Note 2 Render Surface Online

The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 is rumored to feature two versions, one with the flagship Snapdragon 821 processor and 8GB of RAM said to be a Pro version, although the RAM may likely be 6GB, and there is said to be another version with a Snapdragon 820 and 4GB of RAM. Both versions are expected to come with 5.7-inch 2K AMOLED curved displays with Force Touch. The Mi Note 2 Pro is also likely to have a battery capacity of 3600mAh with fast charge support.

OPPO R9S Plus Leaks, Likely Launching Along Side R9S

It has been revealed that the OPPO R9S would launch with a sibling in tow adopting the moniker R9S Plus. The OPPO R9S Plus is said to come with a larger display than the R9S. This was revealed in a leaked poster spotted online.

OPPO r9s plus

The poster was said to have originated from a real live official OPPO advert poster spotted inside an airport showcasing the yet to be released OPPO R9S and surprisingly indicating the existence of an OPPO R9S Plus as well.

OPPO R9S Plus

 

 

The specifications of the R9S Plus was also leaked and the device is rumored to sport a 6-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The device also crams under its hood a SoC identified as MSM8976, sad to be a 2.0GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 processor with Adreno 515 GPU. This is a new chipset and if true, the OPPO R9S Plus would be the world’s first smartphone to sport it. There is also a 4GB RAM on the device, same as on the R9S. The R9S Plus is also said to support fast charging and adopts the same split antenna band design we just saw on the R9S.

Read More: LeEco’s “Mysterious” Phone’s Unknown Chip Said to be Helio X27

OPPO R9S

There is no doubt if this turns out to be true, it would take the expectations about the cool R9S to a new level because users would have two devices to choose from and one of them is a massive phablet. Isn’t that lovely? Meanwhile, we have some more sleek and cool renders of the OPPO R9S that were teased today.

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Xiaomi To Release A Mechanical Keyboard Next Week? Teaser Unveiled!

Xiaomi has been launching a lot of new products via its crowdfunding platform recently, some under its own MIJIA brand and some via third party companies. Now, the company’s subsidiary Mi App Weibo account has just revealed via a new teaser that it will release a new product on October 18 i.e. next Tuesday.

Xiaomi Mi App teaser

This is not the first time we are hearing about a mechanical keyboard from Xiaomi. Earlier this year, there was a new leak which said that the company would release a new mechanical keyboard, which would be much cheaper than competitors, priced somewhere around 199 Yuan (~$29). However, later it was said that the company couldn’t find a perfect partner to release the device.

RELATED: Xiaomi Mi Alarm Clock with Bluetooth Speaker Announced

mi-app-teaser-crowdfunding

Now, taking a look at this teaser, it’s possible that the company will release a mechanical keyboard for the cheap. The gaming accessories market in China is large and a low-cost keyboard could turn out to be quite popular in the country. However, note that the teaser mentions that this is not a Mi product and it’s probably from a third party brand. So, even if it’s a keyboard, it’s going to be from a different brand launched via Xiaomi’s crowdfunding platform.

Expect more details in the next few days.