Apple Watch Series 2, Airpods, Pokemon Go & Other Big News from the Apple Event

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Sep 7, 2016

Apple has launched the much talked about iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in a ceremony held in San Francisco, US. Both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus debuts with a wide range of new features and upgraded specs from the iPhone 6s. One very spectacular feature missing on the new generation iPhones is the 3.5mm audio jack which had long been captured in rumors to be leaving the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. You don’t have to worry, though, because Apple will include an adapter to enable you still use the 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.

Apple has given the iPhone 7 a 4.7-inch Retina HD display with 3D touch. There is also a new processor in town, a quad-core Apple A10 Fusion chipset which comes along with 3.3 billion transistors making it 40% faster than the previous A9 chips. The A10 processor also comes along with a hexa-core GPU. There is a new 12MP iSight camera with 6-element lens, f/1.8 aperture, High-speed Sensor (60% faster, 30% efficient), support for 4K video recording and quad LED dual-tone flash. It also has a new 7MP Facetime camera. The iPhone 7 comes with 2GB of RAM and 32GB, 128GB and 256GB built-in storage options.

On the software, the iPhone 7 runs on the latest iOS 10. In addition, the phone comes with an IP67 rating meaning it is water and dust resistant. The iPhone 7 also has a new home button and this houses the fingerprint sensor. The home button is pressure sensitive with Taptic Engine, so instead of having the feel you pressed the button because it clicked, it will vibrate.

Not only that, the iPhone 7, for the first time, comes with stereo speakers with volume output touted to be twice the volume of the iPhone 6s speakers. There is also some improvement in the battery life of the non-removable battery on the iPhone 7.

iPhone 7 Plus

The iPhone 7 Plus, on the other hand, features a 5.5-inch Retina HD display with 3D touch and powered by a new quad-core A10 Fusion chipset as well. The processor is accompanied by a 3GB RAM and there are three storage versions available, 32GB, 128GB and 256GB.

The iPhone 7 Plus comes with dual 12MP rear cameras with one having a wide-angle with f/1.8 aperture and the other lens, a telephoto lens with f/2.8 aperture for new depth-of-field. The camera also has OIS along with Quad-LED True Tone flash.On the selfie shooter, there is a new 7MP Facetime camera.

Just like the iPhone 7, the 7 Plus also comes with IP67 water and dust resistance rating. The home button is also pressure sensitive, with Taptic Engine and the fingerprint sensor is embedded on it.

Now coming to the prices, the iPhone 7 starts at $650 ( about 4,334 Yuan), same as the iPhone 6s while the higher-end iPhone 7 Plus will retail at $770 (5,134 Yuan). They come in Silver, Gold, Rose Gold, Black and the new Jet Black finish.

ZTE Booth at IFA Berlin 2016: Axon 7 Mini, V7 Models & More (Video)

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Sep 7, 2016

Linas got a considerable amount of time at the ZTE Booth at IFA Berlin this year. You can check out the video below for details about the device.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arEls_K43HY

The Axon 7 mini is a baby Axon 7. It sports most of the great qualities of its bigger brother. For example, it’s made of metal, it sports Hi-Fi audio chips, Dolby Atmos audio system, and powerful front-facing speakers. In fact, the Axon 7 mini won the Technical Innovation award for the exceptional audio quality.

The phone sports 5.2” 1080p AMOLED screen, it has an octa-core Snapdragon 617 chip, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage.

Other key features include a 16MP camera on the back, a fingerprint scanner and 8MP camera on the front.

Finally, it will retail for just $299 and sound like a compelling offering but we will tell our final verdict in our full review.

Also, there were some other devices that you could take a look at the ZTE booth.

For example, V7 series smartphones that include the V7, V7 Lite and V7 Max fall into budget smartphone category.

All of these phones run on MediaTek processors. The most powerful is the V7 Max as it sports an MTK6755 chip, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage and 5.5” 1080p display.

What is common to all 3 phones is that they run on the Android 6.0 with the ZTE’s skin on top of it, which has tons of features and customization options. Also, all the phones sports great build quality and they are made out metal.

Also, there were dedicated rooms where you could check out the audio, video and VR features of the ZTE devices.

Linas also had a chance to participate in the ZTE’s design panel where the company shared their vision about the design of the products and how their customers actually get involved in designing ZTE’s products.

So that would be it for this short video, I hope you guys enjoyed it and stay tuned for more coverage from IFA Berlin, 2016.

Leak confirms Meizu Pro 7, New Design Without Visible Antenna Bands Likely

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Sep 7, 2016

Meizu has released quite a number of smartphones this year but looks like it’s not done yet. The company is still expected to release a Pro 7 flagship, which aside some great specs, would boast of a different and unique design. There are rumors that the major changes on the Pro 7’s design would be in the back.

A recent Weibo post by a purported Meizu staff talked about testing the expected Meizu flagship. The staff also revealed that the back of the device will be without very prominent external antenna band. A recent leak also suggests OPPO is also adopting a similar design without antenna band.

The Meizu Pro 7 is also expected to come equipped with a Samsung Exynos 8890 chipset, wit 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. In addition, the device is rumored to come with a 2K screen and on the camera end, there’ll be a 12MP rear camera and 5MP sensor up front.

If rumors making the rounds are anything to go by, then we are likely to see the Meizu Pro 7 on September 13 for Meizu is rumored to launch the device that day.

More LeEco Pro 3 Details Leaked: Large Battery, Thin Body

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Sep 7, 2016

Remember the LeEco Pro 3 we covered last week? More details have been revealed about the Snapdragon 821 phone. An undisclosed source says the phone will feature a 5000 mAh battery in a 7 mm body.

le pro 3 benchmark antutu

LeEco Pro 3 b

That is pretty thin for a phone with such a large battery. The Gionee M6 which has a 5000 mAh battery is 8.2 mm thick. The Redmi Note 3 has a 4100mAh battery and is 8.7 mm thick. See where I’m going?

The LeEco LePro 3 is also expected to launch with a new software that covers video content, has social integration, and other forms of entertainment. We shouldn’t be surprised as LeEco is one of the largest video companies in China and this move may just mean better integration of their own content with 3rd party apps or better features.

Other features expected include 6GB of RAM, 64GB of ROM (don’t expect a SD card slot, LeEco is not known for that), 16MP rear camera, and an 8MP front-facing camera.

LG Officially Launches LG V20: Hi-Fi Quad DAC, Removable Battery, and Android Nougat

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Sep 7, 2016

The LG V20 is now official. Launched late last night, the phone brings along some new features while retaining some from the LG V10 such as the second display at the top.

First Android 7.0 Nougat Phone

The usual norm is for Google to launch the new version of android alongside the new nexus devices, but this year was different. The new nexus (Pixel) phones haven’t launched yet but older nexus devices are already running Android Nougat.

The LG V20 is the first phone to launch with Android Nougat out of the box and LG wants you to know that. However, it comes with LG’s UX 5.0+ on top.

Dual Cameras Out, Dual Cameras In

The LG V10 launched with 5MP dual front facing cameras and a 16MP rear camera. The V20 on the other hand drops one of the front cameras and adds an extra one to the rear. The camera in front is a 5MP f/1.9 wide angle shooter and the rear cameras are a combination of a 16MP f/1.8 camera with OIS and an 8MP f/2.4 135° wide-angle camera. There is also laser auto focus, PDAF, and dual LED flash.

Hi-Fi Audio, Hi-Fi Video

The LG V20 is the first phone in the world to feature 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC. The DAC chip helps reduce ambient noise levels by up to 50%. LG says listening to audio tracks will sound close to a live performance when using compatible wired headsets. Yes, the V20 has an audio jack.

The V20 also has Hi-Fi video recording which when activated lets you record lossless 24-bit audio alongside your video.

Full Specifications of LG V20

5.7” QHD IPS Quantum Display and 2.1” IPS Quantum Display
Android 7.0 Nougat
Snapdragon 820
4GB RAM
64GB ROM expandable to 2 TB via SD slot
Rear cameras: 16MP f/1.8 camera and 8MP f/2.4 wide angle camera
Front camera: 5MP f/1.9 wide angle camera
Fingerprint scanner
USB Type-C
Cat 12 LTE, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC
3200mAh removable battery
Quick Charge 3.0
Dimensions: 159.7 x 78.1 x 7.7 mm
Weight: 173 g

Xiaomi’s Smart Router Sales Hit New Milestone: 500,000 in August!

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The Next Generation Xiaomi Router Is Here With 6TB Storage And Dual Antennas

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Sep 7, 2016

Xiaomi’s smart routers are getting its fair share of attention and the company has managed to sell millions of its devices in the market. Early last year, the company managed to sell only about a million Xiaomi routers, but that number increased to about 3 million by October 2015.

Earlier this year, Xiaomi confirmed that the total sales of its routers exceeded 5 million units! Now, the company has just reported a new milestone of its smart router sales. Xiaomi has revealed that for the first time ever, the company managed to sell over half a million (500,000) units of the Xiaomi router in the month of August.

This is a tremendous achievement for the company and at this pace, selling over a million Xiaomi smart routers in a month could be a possibility very soon!

You can read more about the company’s routers from down below.

Xiaomi Mi Router 3 With Four Antenna Design Announced For 149 Yuan ($23)

Xiaomi to release Commemorative Edition of Mi Router on September 19, costs 999 RMB (162.89 USD)

Turing Monolith Chaconne with Three SD 830 Chips, 18GB RAM Announced

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Sep 6, 2016

Just a few days ago, we were entertained with the Turing Phone Cadenza by Turing Robotics Industries (TRI), which looked more like a concept phone than a phone that would hit the market next year as they promised. While we are still looking forward to where it’ll all end up, TRI has come up again with yet another smartphone with a crazy specs line-up that honestly looks unrealistic, at least for now. They called this one Turing Monolith Chaconne.

If you think the Turing Phone Cadenza is insane, you might want to have a rethink because the Turing Monolith Chaconne packs even more crazy stuff. While the Cadenza was to come powered by two Snapdragon 830 chipsets, the Monolith Chaconne takes the idea even further, featuring three SD 830s. The Chaconne is also said to feature a huge 18GB RAM, that’s an additional 6GB to what the Cadenza boasts of.

In addition, the Turing Monolith Chaconne will sport a 6.4-inch 4K display and would have 768GB of built-in storage as well as two 256GB SD cards, bringing the total available storage to 1.2 TB. The hydrogen fuel cell-equipped battery on the Chaconne gets a boost of 20Wh to 120Wh. Specs shared with the Cadenza include Swordfish OS, the graphene oxide composite construction, the 60MP quad rear-facing camera, the 20MP dual front-facing camera, and quad nanoSIM capability.

That’s not all, the Monolith Chaconne will also have a slide-out keyboard, augmented reality with parallel tracking and mapping, and something called A.L.A.N which we’d get to know about later.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait longer to see if Turing can actually deliver this one because the Monolith Chaconne is slated for release in 2018. As a parting shot, can someone out there please tell me what we need a smartphone with these seemingly doubled up specs for at this point in time?

(Via)

OPPO R9S Coming on September 12

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Sep 6, 2016

OPPO R9 turned out to be the company’s best-seller this year, with over 10 million units being sold in the past few months. Now, we are all looking forward to the OPPO R9S, the successor to this model and it looks like the launch might be much closer than we thought.

According to the latest information from China, the OPPO R9S will be released on September 12 i.e. next Monday. The new device is said to feature the company’s ultra-fast Super VOOC fast charging technology, which it first showed off at MWC Barcelona. However, that probably won’t be the only highlight feature of the device, as it is said that the OPPO R9S will feature a special “No Antenna Band” design. We had seen a patent of OPPO’s new design recently and the same could be used on the new device.

OPPO no antenna band design patent — OPPO’s new design patent

As for the specs, the OPPO R9S will reportedly come with the Snapdragon 625 chipset instead of Helio P10. The display should be the same as before, a 5.5-inch panel with 1080p resolution. At the front, you should find a 16MP shooter while at the back, a 13MP sensor. Other possible features include 2850mAh battery and dual SIM dual standby with entire network support in China.

Huawei P9 Gross over 6 million Units So far

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Sep 6, 2016

Huawei’s flagship P9 smartphone with the world acclaimed dual Leica camera set up has continued to make waves over six months after the device was introduced alongside the P9 Plus. Huawei reportedly sold over 2.6 million units of the P9 and P9 Plus in just about six weeks of the smartphones’ outing. Now, the flagship Huawei P9 is alone reported to have grossed over 6 million units for the Chinese phone makers globally.

Huawei P9

This was contained in an official release sent out by the company and it is coming out on the heels of the P9 getting two more color variants which could further help boost sales of the flagship smartphone. The two colors, red agate and blue topaz infuse more zest and life to the bubbling smartphone whose main selling point has been the dual camera setup at the rear manufactured by legendary German camera makers, Leica.

Huawei P9

Apart from the dual Leica cameras, the P9 comes equipped with a Kirin 955 processor, backed by 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage and boots Emotion UI 4.1 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The 5.2-inch 1080p device comes with a battery capacity of 3,000mAh, a fingerprint sensor and an 8MP front camera sensor which delivers awesome selfies.

Earlier reports had hinted that Huawei has set a target of selling 10 million units of the P9 before the end of the year and from the way things are going, that figure seems very much achievable. The new dark red and blue colored variants would sure bring some more buyers into the mix especially from the lucrative European market. Perhaps that’s why Huawei chose the IFA Berlin 2016, in the heart of Europe to release the new variants.

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 to support 3D Touch?

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Sep 6, 2016

After Huawei and Apple, most Chinese smartphone companies are reportedly working on 3D Touch enabled smartphones. While Meizu was expected to release a 3D Touch enabled smartphone earlier this year, we haven’t seen it yet. However, looks like Xiaomi could soon release a smartphone with pressure sensitive display and it could be an upcoming model like the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 or the Xiaomi Mi5S.

Recently, Xiaomi users found that 3D Touch feature was already available in their system, hidden away, probably because the hardware couldn’t support it. But given that the feature is built into the system, this could be a good indication that Xiaomi is readying a smartphone with 3D Touch display.

We have already heard rumors that Xiaomi is planning to release the Mi Note 2 in September. If the release is this month, expect more details soon.

Moto Z and Moto Z Play Officially Launches in China

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Sep 6, 2016

If you are living in China and you are out for a new phone, you might want to consider the Moto Z and Moto Z Play which has just been officially launched for the Chinese market.

Moto Z

The Moto Z was announced in June during Lenovo’s Tech World event in San Francisco and has now found its way to mainland China. The Moto Z has a 5.5” 2K display, 4GB of RAM, 64GB ROM, 13MP f/1.8 rear camera with laser focus and OIS, 5MP front-facing camera, and a 2600mAh battery with Motorola’s TurboPower fast charge technology. It is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 CPU and Adreno 530 GPU. It also has a SD card slot that can take in up to 2TB cards (good luck finding one though)!

The Moto Z is built from a 7000 series aviation grade aluminium and high steel backplate which is also corrosion resistant. Lenovo has employed a closed-loop antenna design for the NFC chip and communication module to achieve its 5.2 mm thinness (thickness). The Moto Z also features a P2i liquid repellent nano-coating to protect it from liquids.

Moto Z Play

The Moto Z Play was first announced last week at the IFA Berlin tech expo.

It has the same 5.5” Super AMOLED screen but uses a 1080p resolution instead. There’s 3GB of RAM and 64GB of ROM which can be expanded to 2TB via a SD card slot. It’s rear camera is a 16 MP shooter with laser focus and PDAF. For video calls and selfies, there’s a 5MP up front. The Moto Z Play uses a Snapdrgon 625 processor and has a larger 3510mAh battery which brings it’s thickness to 7 mm. There is also NFC for mobile payments and a fingerprint scanner.

moto z projector motomod — Projector Mod

Moto Mods

Four Moto mods were launched alongside the phones. The JBL speaker mod which has stereo speakers that can pump out sounds reaching up to 80dB and has a 1100mAh built-in battery; a projector mod with a 480p resolution and projected image size of 70 inches; battery mods made by various manufacturers like TUMI, Kate Spade New York, and Incipio which can offer an additional 22 hours of battery life when snapped on; and lastly, Hasselblad’s True Zoom camera mod which has a 10x optical zoom and xenon flash.

Xiaomi Sets Up Second Assembly Plant in India

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Sep 6, 2016

Xiaomi Inc. is setting up it’s second factory in collaboration with manufacturing giant, Foxconn, in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. The new plant which is said to have a production capacity of 2 million units per quarter when it attains full production will double what the company currently makes. The plant is spread across 65,000 sq ft and has already started work but will need time to reach full capacity.

Xiaomi’s new plant will put the company in the list of top local phone manufacturers in India, giving them the fourth spot behind Samsung, Micromax, and Intex.

Xiaomi has always emphasised the importance of the Indian market to their success. In Xiaomi’s words ”India is their biggest international market”, and they have shown that with the speed at which they have setup manufacturing plants following the announcement of their intention last year to manufacture locally.

Stats say the company sells between 1 to 1.5 million phones per quarter with 75% manufactured locally. The top manufacturers, Samsung and Intex churn out 3 million and 2 million phones per month.

Check which Galaxy Note 7 models won’t explode

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Sep 6, 2016

Samsung’s latest Galaxy Note 7 flagship have been hit by issues of exploding batteries which have resulted in the company recalling over 2.5 million units of the Note 7. What some probably don’t know is that not all units of the Galaxy Note 7 are affected by the explosion issue and subsequent global recall. First, the explosions of the Note 7 is not as a result of defects on the phone itself but due to faulty batteries.

The Galaxy Note 7 battery cells are manufactured by two companies, Samsung SDI Co, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics and Amperex Technology LTD (ATL). But they are packaged in the company’s Vietnam factory and through a Chinese branch of South Korea-based ITM Semiconductor Co. Ltd.

While Samsung SDI supplies about 70% of the batteries on the Galaxy Note 7 basically non-removable ones, Amperex made up the remaining 30%. Unfortunately, it’s the batteries manufactured by Samsung SDI which is defective. Apparently, a flaw in the battery cell resulted in negative and positive electrodes coming together which is abnormal.

According to an Amperex official, the company only supplies batteries for Galaxy Note 7 China Edition. This explains why the Note 7 launch in China still went ahead on September 1. So, If you are in China and own one of the Galaxy Note 7 launched on September 1, then your Note 7 is not among those at risk of explosion. If you’re planning to own one, then you’re good to go as long as you check to make sure the battery on the device is the one manufactured by Amperex Technology LTD.

You can also go ahead to confirm from the back of the phone’s casing if your Galaxy Note 7 is manufactured in Korea or Vietnam, then it probably has a defective Samsung SDI battery inside but if it is written made in China, then it contains a safe ATL battery inside and poses no risk of explosion. This information about where the phone is manufactured can also be accessed from the phone’s system settings.

Apart from China, the China edition of the Galaxy Note 7 with ATL batteries is said to also ship to Hong Kong, mainland China, and Macao. However, the T-Mobile carrier based version of the Note 7 is actually manufactured in China but has been recalled as well. This is just to allay the fears of Americans and not because the units are defective as well.

Huawei said to be working on a 7-inch Google Tablet to be Released soon

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Sep 5, 2016

Huawei and Google are rumored to be working on something big, a 7-inch tablet that could drop anytime soon. All attention over the couple of months have focused on the Nexus Marlin and Sailfish flagships that Google is expected to release soon. However, if rumors making the round is anything to go by, then Google may very well release a third device, a tablet, alongside the two smartphones.

According to popular tipster Evan Blass @evleaks, the Huawei -built 7-inch Google tablet will likely be released before the end of the year and would come with a whopping 4GB RAM. This is not the first rumor about a Huawei-manufactured Google tablet we are getting. Ever since Huawei developed Google’s last Nexus 6P smartphone, the duo have been rumored to be working on a Nexus 7, the name the device was hitherto expected to carry.

However, the idea of the next Google device carrying the Nexus brand name is rumored to be untenable. Google is said to tinkering on names using either “Google” or “Pixel” brand. Earlier leaked rumors even suggest that the two expected Nexus phones will go by the names – Pixel and Pixel XL.

Google's Huawei-built 7-inch tablet, with 4GB RAM, on track for release before the end of the year.

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) September 5, 2016

Google had hinted that they would be more opinionated about the design of the next Nexus device, so it is possible for that opinion to translate into the tech giant choosing a name for the device.

Basically, the expected Google tablet from Huawei has been tipped to be cheap, durable, decent-looking, and surprisingly pocketable. Huawei has got the pedigree to manufacture a tablet that would be a fan favorite and we expect nothing less than the best from the Asian market leader.

Meanwhile, Google is expected to hold an event on October 4 and we are already expecting two smartphones rumored to be Pixel and Pixel XL, a DayDream VR headset, a new 4k-enabled Chromeclast dongle as well and then perhaps, a new Google tablet. We are highly anticipating a very busy day if all these gadgets drop same day.

Xiaomi Launches Ultra-Light, 90 Minutes Jacket under Crowdfunding

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Sep 5, 2016

Xiaomi has got a new product under its crowdfunding platform and it is an ultra-light Jacket called 90 Minutes. The jacket is manufactured by popular wearable brand 90 Points, and it is designed for both men and women, coming in at just 229 Yuan ($35) via the Mi crowdfunding platform.

The 3D cut 90 minutes jacket comes with a windproof and water repellent outer coating and contains paddings which keep the temperature warm at all time. Aside that, the jacket is light and easy to store and can come in handy when traveling, commuting in cold conditions, going hiking or anywhere else in the outdoors.

The jacket was manufactured with quality materials and standards, ensuring it meets consumers requirements. And unlike other winter jackets, this one won’t feel puffed up or bloated on your body and yet brings long-lasting warmth experience. The outer coating is made from DuPont Teflon fabric, with Teflon EcoElite new fabric processing. As it is with Teflon materials, the 90 minutes jacket is water repellent and cannot be penetrated by water during rain storm. In addition, the jacket also uses a unique YKK zipper with openings on the handle where your headphones can be attached.

The 90 jacket comes in different sizes ranging from small (S), medium (M), large (L), extra large (XL), and extra-extra large (XXL) for the male models and you’ll get it in four different colors which include black, bright gray, dark blue and military green. While for the female models, only small (S), medium (M), large (L) and extra large (XL) sizes are available and the ladies have got three cool colors in black, light gray and rose red, to choose from.

The 90 minutes jacket are already available for registration on Xiaomi’s Mi platform main website but shipments would start on October 18. It costs just 229 Yuan ($35).

Xiaomi Launching a Jacket Tomorrow?

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Sep 5, 2016

Xiaomi has teased the launch of what appears to be a jacket through the Weibo account of its sub-brand, Mijia.

The first teaser is of a graph which might be hinting at the jacket’s design.

The second teaser is of a feather which can be translated to mean the jacket will be lightweight.

The third image is a thermal imaging map of the human body with the torso and arms appearing warmer than other parts of the body, which are the parts a jacket will normally cover. We don’t know if it will be a regular jacket that has been designed to keep the heat in for long or if it will have smart features, but we hope to find out when it launches.

All three posters mention the date of launch is tomorrow, 6th of September, at 10 am.

Meizu Launches 199 Yuan ($30) Backpack

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Sep 5, 2016

Apart from the Meizu M3 Max that was launched today, the company also announced a travel backpack.

The backpack which has a simple design (you can’s see zips and pockets plastered around) is made of wear-resistant canvas. Meizu has also taken care not to plaster their name on the back but have written it on the edge close to the zipper which can’t be seen if you are walking.

Unzipping the bag presents you with a total of 9 compartments that lets you store your books, PC, tablet, smartphones, power banks, and a bunch of other stuffs.

It is also waterproof, so you don’t have to worry about your belongings getting wet if you get caught up in the rain.

Meizu’s backpack costs just 199 Yuan ($30). Meizu says buying the M3 Max alongside the backpack brings the price of the bag to 169 Yuan ($25). It is available in light grey but we hope the company releases other colours because the grey will probably get dirty easily.

Unboxing Pictures of Meizu M3 Max

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Sep 5, 2016

The Meizu M3 Max launched earlier today and although it doesn’t come with some of the specs leaked in previous weeks such as a Helio P20 processor and a stylus, it still has some impressive features.

The all metal M3 Max features a 6” FHD display, 3GB of RAM, 64GB of ROM, and has a 1.8 GHz Helio P10 under the hood. Its rear camera is a 13MP Sony IMX258 with PDAF and dual LED flash. For video calls and selfies, you get a 5MP sensor.

With a thickness of just 7.9 mm, Meizu has been able to fit in a 4100mAh battery which should get you over 9 hours of on-screen time based on the teaser from yesterday. They’ve also thrown in fast charge, VoLTE, an IR blaster, and a fingerprint sensor all for a price of 1699 Yuan ($255).

The M3 Max comes in a white pack that slides out to reveal a blue box with the name of the phone engraved in silver. The packaging looks really nice and is sure to catch the eyes of lots of folks.

Flip open the top of the box like a book and you are greeted by the large display staring at you. The unit above is the champagne gold variant with white front bezels.

The M3 Max has it’s power button and volume rocker on the right which is the design employed by most manufacturers these days. However, the button placements seems to be too far up, so unless you have large hands/long fingers, reaching for those buttons will be a bit frustrating.

The other items in the box include some paper work, the 24W fast charger, a USB Type-C cord, and a SIM ejection tool. There are no earbuds or additional accessories like a silicone case, but you might be lucky to find a re-seller that will throw in the latter as a free gift.

Meizu M3 Max unbox 13 — Meizu M3 Max and MX6

The Meizu M3 Max is also available in gray (which looks more like blue in the picture above and comes with black front bexels), silver, and rose gold.

Huawei Mate 9 Will Have Dual Leica Lens With OIS

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Sep 5, 2016

The expected launch date for the new Mate phones is still weeks away, but before then we should be getting details of the new phones in bits. The more anticipated device is the Huawei Mate 9 and we already know it will be coming with dual cameras but have been in the dark with respect to the setup until now.

Industry analysts have been talking about the dual camera configuration for the Mate 9. One of them, Lihuai Bin Robin, says the camera setup will be similar to Apple’s dual cameras, which has optical image stabilisation + analog zoom. Lihuai says the only difference will be that the Mate 9 will have one of its lens capturing colour photographs while the other takes monochrome shots.

Another analyst, Sun Changxu, says to solve the magnetic interference of double OIS, there will also be Auto Focus.

To cap it, familiar analyst, Pan Jiutang said that while the Mate 9 or Mate S2 is expected to have dual cameras, he believes the cameras will be supplied by Leica.

So to simplify it, the Mate 9 will have dual cameras supplied by Leica with OIS + AF + Analog Zoom.