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Meizu MX6 Image teaser suggests ultra-powerful main camera

The Meizu MX6 smartphone, waiting to be launched later this month, precisely on July 19, is in the news for a good reason. The 5.5-inch device is said to pack a 12MP main camera unit at its back with  a powerful Sony IMX286 sensor as revealed by AnTuTu listing.

Meizu MX6 picture shot

Meizu’s VP Sales and Marketing, Li Nan took to Chinese social media site Weibo to share a picture that was allegedly shot using the MX6’s rear camera. The picture is a clear, crisp closeup shot of the beautiful feather of a peacock and the output is beyond outstanding. The quality of the image, apparently coming from the shutter of a 12MP camera gives cause for doubt.

More so, Meizu’s earlier devices like the MX4 and MX5 had always spotted a 20.7 MP rear camera unit which could be rated as just OK, and nothing spectacular. So it beats our imagination that MX6’s 12MP camera can deliver such a stunning shot.

Meizu MX6 picture weibo
Li Nan’s Weibo post

But then, it’s not an impossible accomplishment, after all some manufacturers like Elephone have ditched ramping up the pixels on their cameras instead gone for the option of providing a more powerful sensor for the camera and the results have been top notch.

The Meizu MX6’s Sony IMX286 sensor is the same with that on the Huawei P9 which has a 12MP rear camera setup, and whose dual camera has been its strongest selling point. Huawei has centered the device’s marketing around the camera quality. The Elephone P9000’s camera with a resolution of 13MP also sports this same Sony IMX286 sensor.

So it’s possible that the MX6’s sensor had done the magic and had given the device a wonderful camera. If that be the case, then we might just be looking at a device in a class of its own.

But then, the photo is coming from the hands of the VP, Sales and Marketing. What won’t marketers do to sell their gadgets? The Huawei P9 / Canon DLSR photo debacle is still very fresh in our mind.

 

iPhone 7 Plus Images Show Smart Connectors

A set of real photos of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were posted online this morning and we noticed an interesting feature on the iPhone 7 Plus. Smart connectors. Yes, it seems the iPhone 7 will have smart connectors just like the iPad Pro. This confirms the cases we covered last week are indeed for the iPhone 7 Plus.

 

iPhone-7-vs-iPhone-7Plus-Pro

 

We don’t know if Apple is changing the way it will work on the iPhone 7 Plus, but on the iPad Pro, the smart connectors allows you to provide power and data to accessories such as a keyboard (Logitech’s CREATE Keyboard or Apple’s smart keyboard) or charge the device via the connectors instead of the lightning port. One issue that has affected the success of this new technology is the lack of accessories. Many companies are not making hardware for it. Logitech which appears to be the only company excluding Apple who has accessories for it, said they had to work closely with Apple on the project. So unless Apple has solved this issue by not regulating how the smart connectors should work, it’ll just be another feature that has promising capabilities but won’t hit it off.

 

iPhone-7-Plus-Dummy-03

 

iPhone-7-Plus-Dummy-01

 

iPhone-7-1

The images show nothing new about the iPhone 7 and have been cleverly taken to avoid disclosing the presence or absence of a 3.5 mm audio jack.

Apple will announce both phones by fall. They will be featuring faster A10 processors and start at 32GB of storage (no more 16GB).

(source)

Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe: First Phone with Snapdragon 821

ASUS loves setting records. After being the first manufacturer to announce a 4GB RAM phone at last year’s Mobile World Congress, they are setting another one again this year by announcing the Zenfone 3 Deluxe as the first phone with the new Snapdragon 821 processor.

 

The Snapdragon 821 processor is a slightly upgraded version of the successful SD 820 which has been gracing this year’s flagship devices. Rumours had earlier said that the Galaxy Note 7 will be the first phone to feature the SoC but ASUS beat Samsung (and even Xiaomi) to it. The processor has a higher clock speed (2.4GHz) and pushes power efficiency even farther than the Snapdragon 820 processor.

 

ASUS Zenfone 3 Deluxe

 

The Zenfone 3 Deluxe sports a 5.7” FHD screen, 6GB of RAM, multiple built-in storage variants which start at 64GB and maxes out at 256GB.  ASUS has put a 23MP camera that features ASUS’s TriTech Focus.

 

The Zenfone 3 Deluxe with Snapdragon 821 will be priced at  24,990 TWD ($776) for the 6GB RAM/256GB ROM version which is a fair price. If you are not willing to shell out such an amount, the Zenfone 3 Deluxe with Snapdragon 820, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of built-in storage will be available for 15,990 TWD ($496) and another with the same SD 820 chip but 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage for 17,990 ($559).

Xiaomi Capricorn With Snapdragon 820 & 3GB RAM Spotted, Could Be Mi Note 2

Several Xiaomi executives have confirmed that a couple of flagships from the company are coming in the second half of the year. While we still haven’t got a release date, rumors state that the launch could be anytime around the end of July or August this year. The company’s top-end flagship that should meet us soon will be none other than the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 and it looks like the lower end version of the Mi Note 2 or the Mi5S has just been spotted on the Geekbench benchmark.

xiaomi capricorn

A new model called Xiaomi Capricorn was found on the Geekbench test results page a few days back. The listing reveals that the phone will come with the Snapdragon 820 chipset (MSM8996) clocked at 2Ghz with 3GB RAM and Android 6.0.1 version. This isn’t exactly top-end hardware for a flagship device, so it’s either a test device or the base / low-end variant of the Mi Note 2 / Mi5S. The reason why we say this is a Mi device is because Xiaomi has a tradition of naming their flagship models with zodiac signs. In case you are wondering, here are the different code names for the Xiaomi Mi phones that have been announced till now.

Xiaomi Mi2/S = Aries

Xiaomi Mi2A = Taurus

Xiaomi Mi3 (TD-SCDMA) = Pisces

Xiaomi Mi3/4 = Cancro

Xiaomi Mi Note = Virgo

Xiaomi Mi4C = Libra

Xiaomi Mi5 = Gemini

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 / Mi5S = Capricorn??

So, Xiaomi Capricorn definitely hints that this is a Mi device and not a Redmi model (Xiaomi uses popular fashion brand names such as dior, gucci for Redmi models). So, it’s a matter of whether it’s the new Xiaomi Mi Note 2 or the Mi5S. The scores on the benchmark are quite decent for a flagship model. It scored 2335 in the single-core test and 5659 in the multi-core test.

RELATED: Metal Xiaomi Phone With Dual Cameras Spotted, Could Be Redmi Note 4

We are not quite sure of the release date of the new Xiaomi devices, but expect them to be in the coming weeks. There have been rumors about a release on July 25, but till now, we haven’t got any confirmation from the company.

 

 

 

Nexus Marlin & Sailfish to likely use Snapdragon 821 processor

The Snapdragon 821 processor from chipset maker Qualcomm went official yesterday, offering a cool 10% improvement in speed over the flagship grade Snapdragon 820. Already, speculations have started to heighten about the identity of the smartphones that will be among the early birds to feature the new SD821 processor.

Nexus Marlin & Sailfish

Quite a number of smartphones have been tipped to feature the new chipset with names like the upcoming Xiaomi Mi Note 2, LeEco’s expected flagship, and even the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 said to feature this upgraded Snapdragon 821 version.

In addition, Google’s upcoming Nexus devices dubbed Nexus Marlin and Sailfish is believed to feature this new top-end chipset according to reliable information from multiple sources

Based on information from multiple and reliable sources, we believe it is extremely likely both of Google’s upcoming Nexus phones, Sailfish and Marlin, will be using the Snapdragon 821.

The details about the specs both Nexus phones will feature have been hazy all these while but it had earlier been rumored that the Nexus Marlin alone will feature the Snapdragon 821 processor. The new information takes it to an all new level, that both the Nexus Marlin and Nexus Sailfish will feature the Snapdragon 821 processor, internally known by its model designation MSM8996 Pro.

But then its all a rumor, nothing is certain until it is officially announced. However, as long as Qualcomm doesn’t unveil a faster 820-series of the Snapdragon in the next couple of months, we can probably be rest assured that both Nexus Marlin and Sailfish will be rocking the Snapdragon 821 processor on launch day.

(Source)

Xiaomi to release Cost-Effective High-end device this year, reaffirms Co-founder

Xiaomi’s co-founder and Senior Vice-President, Liwan Jiang has reaffirmed the plan of the company to release high-end but cost effective smartphones this year.

Xiaomi Note 2 August release date

Liwan Jiang disclosed this while speaking at an interview very recently. The Senior VP reaffirmed the plan by Xiaomi to release high-end products in the second half of the year and further hinted that the company has shifted its attention to the launch of the high-end device.

Mr Jiang also reassured earlier stance that Xiaomi’s cost-effective policy will still not change as regards the high-end device and hinted at the possibility of a special brand name for the device. He, however did not disclose the specific name it’d be called.

It has been rumored that a Xiaomi news conference is scheduled to take place sometime in August where the new high-end device(s) is expected to be unveiled.

Also, on that same day in August, the long awaited Mi Note 2 is expected to be launched as well.

The 5.7-inch Mi Note 2 is expected to come with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 821 processor, 4GB / 6GB RAM options, fingerprint sensor, dual camera setup and lots more top specs. The Mi Note 2 is expected to be priced at 3000 Yuan (about $450) for the base model.

Xiaomi planning second Hong Kong store, says VP Xiaomi Global

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi is looking to open a second flagship store, which is beautifully named Mi Home, in Hong Kong even when Hong Kong’s retail sector is experiencing some sort of slowdown.

Xiaomi Mi Home

This was disclosed by the popular Vice-President Xiaomi Global, Hugo Barra at a product launch last week. Mr. Barra hinted that there was a “big chance” a second location would be added to its present store in Hong Kong.

Xiaomi opened its first Mi Home store in  Mong Kok, Hong Kong around this time last year, which also happened to be the first Mi Home store outside mainland China.

Mr. Barra, who joined Xiaomi from Google, also restated the plan while speaking to the South China Morning Post.

“Obviously we have to choose the locations very carefully. Retail is all about location and details,” he told the Post, adding that a date would be announced later.

“Suffice to say this (Mong Kok) location is such a huge hit that we think that the model is worth repeating.”

Xiaomi VP Global

Barra, a former Google senior exec, disclosed that Hong Kong was an all-important market for Xiaomi where it recently launched two smartphones and an air purifier. VP Barra further stressed the importance of the Hong Kong market to the tech company by hinting that the launch of the Mi Air Purifier 2 was the first time the company was launching an Internet of Things (IoT) product outside Mainland China. Barra also launched the latest 6.4-inch Mi Max phablet in Hong Kong during his visit last week.

The brand has in recent years positioned itself as more than a mobile phone manufacturer, producing wearables, headphones, cameras and even electric scooters. It has its own operating system called MIUI, on which its mobile devices run. The move to solidify its presence in Hong Kong may be unconnected to the company’s drive to ramp up dwindling sales through focusing on offline sales channels.

(Source)

Honor 8 Official With 12MP Dual Cameras & Beautiful Glass Body, Starts At $300

Huawei has just officially unveiled the brand new Honor 8 smartphone, which is the company’s mid-range flagship. The company seems to have given a lot of importance to the phone’s design, and to be honest, it looks like Huawei has done a good job in this department.

honor 8 official 01

Like expected, the Honor 8 comes with 2.5D double glass body. While this design is not new, as we have seen phones from brands like Nubia feature double glass design, it does make the device look premium and attractive. Also, for those who are not a big fan of metal, this glass design is worthy of your attention. Further, the dual camera setup along with the laser focus and dual LED flash module sits well on the top left corner of the back. The fingerprint sensor is also located on the back. The body measures 7.45mm in thickness, which is pretty slim and it weighs 153 grams.

honor 8 official 02

As for the specs, the Honor 8 comes with the Kirin 950 octa-core chipset clocked at 2.3GHz, which is the company’s SoC for flagships along with three memory variants —  3GB RAM + 32GB, 4GB RAM + 32GB and 4GB RAM + 64GB. There will be a 3000mAh battery (9V2A fast charging) on board, which has become the standard among mid-range phones. The screen will be of 5.2-inches with 1080p resolution (423 ppi). So, it’s much more compact than the Honor V8 flagship.

Coming to the camera, which is undoubtedly the highlight of the Honor 8, you get dual camera setup at the back. So there are two 12MP sensors at the back, one RGB sensor and a black and white sensor. These are IMX286 sensors from Sony. Like with other dual camera setups, you get features such as depth of field. Plus, there are Laser Autofocus and Contrast Focus. On the front, the Honor 8 features an 8MP sensor, which has large 1.4um pixels. So, expect the camera performance on the new flagship to be pretty good. The phone supports 1080p FHD video shooting and 720p 120fps slo-mo recording.

Huawei has also equipped the new Honor 8 with other essential connectivity features. For example, the phone comes with NFC with fingerprint payment, IR blaster which supports over 25,920 appliances from different brands, dual SIM dual standby, 4G+, VoLTE, intelligent dual antenna design, WLAN+ 3.0 etc. As for software, the phone runs on EMUI 4.1 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

LTE Band Support: 

TDD-LTE:B38/B39/B40/B41(2555MHz~2655MHz);

FDD-LTE:B1/B3/B4/B7;

TD-SCDMA:B34/B39;

WCDMA:B1/B2/B4/B5/B8

honor 8 prices

So, it’s basically equipped with most of the connectivity features found on a flagship smartphone. The Honor 8 starts at 1999 Yuan ($300) for the 3GB + 32GB model, then goes up to 2299 Yuan ($346) for the 4GB + 32GB model and 2499 Yuan ($375) for the top-end 4GB + 64GB of storage. The phone comes in five different colors namely Sapphire Blue, Pearl White, Midnight Black, Sunrise Gold and Sakura Pink.

Honor 8 official 04

Dual cameras at $300 makes the Honor 8 stand out from the crowd. So, what do you think about the device?

honor 8 design 02

Snapdragon 821 Official, Offers 10% Improvement Over SD820

Snapdragon 820 is the clear market leader when it comes to flagship grade processors in 2016, but this capable chip is soon going to be beaten by its successor, the Snapdragon 821. We have been hearing a lot about Snapdragon 821 and its presence in the upcoming flagship smartphones and now, Qualcomm has just made the chip official, further revealing that we can expect to see smartphones running this SoC in the second half of the year.

snapdragon

The chipmaker reveals that Snapdragon 821 will offer 10% increase in performance as compared to Snapdragon 820. It features the same quad-core architecture as the SD820 but runs at 2.4GHz instead of 2.2GHz. The company is yet to reveal detailed specs of the new chip, but the GPU and other specs are expected to be almost similar to the Snapdragon 820.

RELATED: Xiaomi Said To Launch First Smartphone With Snapdragon 821

There are a lot of smartphones that are expected to feature this new chip, including the upcoming Xiaomi Mi Note 2 which may debut later this month. Then there’s LeEco flagship and even the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is said to feature this upgraded Snapdragon 821 version.

Turns out, the Snapdragon 820 chip which started featuring inside flagships earlier this year, is old already!

 

Honor V8 Max Spotted On AnTuTu, Bigger Than Mi Max

Later today, Huawei will be holding a conference for the unveiling of the Honor 8. But it appears that the Honor V8 Max (which we talked about here) will be making an appearance as well.

Honor V8 Max

 

It is said to feature a massive 6.6” 2K screen which towers above Xiaomi’s Mi Max’s 6.44”. The V8 Max will be equipped with a Kirin 950 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of built-in memory. Camera configuration will be 8MP up front for selfies and 13MP at the rear which confirms the info about it not having dual cameras. The phone will draw juice from a 4400mAh battery which has support for fast charging.
honor 8 max

honor 8 max 2

 

There is also news of a high end version which will have 4GB of RAM and will double the storage to 64GB.

The Honor V8 Max is presumed to have a starting price of 1999 Yuan ($299) for the base version and 2499 Yuan ($374) for the high end version.

 

Kirin 950

 

The Kirin 950 is a top performance processor, therefore the V8 Max should be able to handle graphics demanding games well enough and not put that large screen to waste.

Xiaomi has sold over 110 million Redmi phones in 3 years

Chinese mega startup, Xiaomi today unveiled three official spokesperson for the company, and also announced that it had sold over 110 million units of the Redmi line of phones for the past three years since the Redmi series was unveiled.

Xiaomi Spokesperson

The Redmi series was first announced in July 2013 as a lower-cost range than the Mi series. Apart from the pocket friendly price tag, the Redmi series also tag along wonderful hardwares for their prices.

The Xiaomi Redmi was the first in the series, followed by the Redmi 1s, 2 and 3. The Redmi Note was also released and thereafter Xiaomi released the Redmi Note 2 with a 16GB on-board storage as well as Redmi Note 2 Prime with 32GB storage on August 13, 2015. In quick succession, the Redmi Note 3 with a non-removable battery pack was launched in November 2015. The Redmi Note 3 Pro was also launched with a slightly higher specs package than the Note 3.

Xiaomi spokesperson

The evolution of the Redmi series have seen Xiaomi improve tremendously on the hardware setup over the years but still maintaining the series’ cheap and affordable price regime. So it is not surprising that Xoami has been able to rake in over 110 million sales in just three years.

However, Xiaomi has seen sales of its smartphone dwindle but CEO, Lei Jun is confident that its phone sales will rebound soon. This fall in sales may not be unconnected with stiff competition from rival phone manufacturers in China who are also striving to grab their share of the phone market. The fall in sales may also bear some relationship with the poor shipments of Xiaomi’s smartphones which are only sold through online channels.

xiaomi spokesperson

Perhaps, the new spokespersons who are well known figures will help the smartphone maker, known as the Apple of China, ramp up her dwindling sales. Coupled with news that Xiaomi is planning to open physical stores as well as turn its focus to offline sales channels.

 

High Definition Images and GeekBench Scores of Meizu MX6 Revealed

A new image showing the Meizu MX6 in high definition has been released. The image which shows the phone in grey and its power button and volume rocker on the right, also indicates that the camera is slightly raised.

 

meizu mx6 back

Another image also cropped up today, showing off the device with a white leather case. This could be one of the accessories that Meizu is rumored to release alongside the device.

meizu mx6 white case

The CEO complained about it looking so much like the Meizu Pro 6, which is a nice looking phone, no doubt. But frankly speaking, he could have just ordered for a new design.

 

Geekbench MX6

 

The Meizu MX6 has also showed up on bench-marking site, Geekbench. The MX6 scored 1822 points in the single core test and 5183 points in the multi-score test. The listing also confirms many of the already known specs such as the use of a Helio X20 processor, 4GB of RAM, Android 6.0 Marshmallow (which we are still angry about not making it to the Meizu M3s or M3 Note).

The MX6 will feature a 13MP/5MP camera configuration (not 12MP/5MP as listed on Antutu). A fingerprint scanner is also positioned beneath the mBack key which also doubles as the home button.

 

Metal Xiaomi Phone With Dual Cameras Spotted, Could Be Redmi Note 4

There’s no doubt that dual cameras are the new fad in the smartphone market, with companies equipping their mid-range and flagship phones with two cameras to bring the best camera experience to their devices. Huawei is one company that has taken dual cameras pretty seriously this year, first partnering with the renowned Lecia for its Huawei P9 flagship and later, releasing the Honor V8 and Honor 8 (confirmed to feature dual cameras). But Huawei isn’t the only Chinese company interested in using dual cameras on its smartphones as recent reports have said that LeEco and Xiaomi are also going to release dual camera phones.

xiaomi dual camera phone

Now, we might have our first glimpse of the real image of a Xiaomi smartphone with dual cameras at the back. Unlike other dual camera phones, it looks like Xiaomi’s new smartphone will come with two large sensors aligned vertically. In between the two camera sensors, we can see dual LED flash.

RELATED: Rumor Mill: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4

As for the design, the phone comes with a brushed metal finish. Both the sides are curved, which should ensure better grip and we can see the volume and power buttons are located on the right side. Further, there’s the Mi logo on the back, revealing that this is a Xiaomi phone.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3Xiaomi Redmi 3img_5764
redmi note 3

So, if you look closely, the raw design of this leaked handset is very much similar to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3. But instead of the fingerprint sensor at the back, in its place, we have the second camera sensor. This probably means that this particular model comes with a home button embedded sensor up front. This could also mean that this is a Redmi model and not the company’s flagship Mi series. Could it be the Redmi Note 4? It’s too early to say anything right now, but it is a possibility.

redmi note 4

RELATED: Dual Cameras On Xiaomi & LeEco phones Could Be Supplied By Samsung

This image of the Mi device comes just a few hours after a leaked image of the young Chinese actor Haoran Liu holding this leaked dual camera Xiaomi phone cropped up online. Considering that Liu was just signed as the official spokesperson of Xiaomi’s Redmi lineup, it is very much possible that the phone we see in the image is the upcoming Redmi Note 4.

What do you think?

Gionee Rumored to Infuse Their phones with Security Chip

While we are looking forward to the launch of the Gionee M6 Pro, a sketch of a new Gionee phone was leaked online. The image which shows the usual chips associated with mobile devices, viz.: CPU and GPU, also features a third chip.

Gionee Security chip

 The CPU which is the brain of the phone, handles all the instructions we send to our phones with the efficiency of the CPU determined by how quickly these instructions are carried out. While the GPU is designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to  display.

So why does this sketch feature a third chip? Speculations floating around says it is a security chip and the phone sporting it will be the world’s first mass-produced device to achieve hardware-level security.

Gionee’s phones such as the M5, M5 Plus,and S8 are targeted at the business class. For this demographic, security is very important, hence Gionee’s reason to take security level higher by including a dedicated chip in the phone.

There are currently no details  about how it is supposed to work but once we get our hands on more information we sure will let you know.

Gionee movie

On a side note, Gionee announced a collaboration with famous film director, Feng Xiaogang, and movie star, Shawn. The result of the collaboration is an upcoming film translated to ”Mobile Core Wars”. There is a possibility that the security chip might be related to the movie in one way or the other.

Did A Chinese Celebrity Just Pose With the New iPhone 7?

Apple will soon release the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus models, most likely around September this year. The leaks about these two devices are already coming in fast but earlier today, the Chinese media went crazy after celebrity Cecelia posted a new photo on her Weibo account. It looked as if she was holding a new generation of the iPhone, as the design of the Apple device in her hand was a bit different than the current generation models.

iPhone 7 celebrity

Unfortunately, the picture isn’t very clear and zooming in doesn’t help in making out the key details of the phone’s back. But what made the Chinese media go crazy about the phone was that it didn’t have any antenna lines on the back. In case of the iPhone 6S, there are two antenna lines that go through the back of the device, which are clearly visible. However, in this case, there were no visible antenna lines, which is exactly what we expect from the new iPhone 7.

READ MORE: iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Pro and or Plus Sketches Surfaces

While the overall design of the iPhone 7 is said to be similar to the previous generation, as per the leaks and rumors which have been pretty consistent regarding this matter, the new iPhones should feature less obvious antenna lines, as they have been moved to the top and the bottom portion of the back cover. There seem to be some differences in the camera module as well, but they are less evident in this picture.

iphone6s-gray-select-2015
iPhone 6S Gray 64GB

Anyway, at this moment, we can’t really confirm whether this is the iPhone 7.

So, what do you think? Does it look like the new iPhone 7 model?

ZOPO Will Release Three New Phones This Month In Its Color Series

ZOPO is gearing up to release three new smartphones in its youth-oriented Color lineup this month. The three new phones, namely the ZOPO F2, F5 and C3 will be entry-level models coming with modest specs and cheap pricing. All the three models will be powered by the new MT6737 quad-core chipset with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The ROM is expandable up to 64GB via MicroSD. Also, all three models sport 8MP rear camera and 2MP front facing shooter with LED flash on both the locations.

zopo f2

So, if you are wondering what are the differences between these models, then note that the ZOPO Color F2 comes with a larger 5.5-inch HD display with a 2300mAh battery inside its 8.5mm body and has white, gold and black color options. The Color F5 comes with a smaller 5-inch HD IPS display, a unique textured back cover design, 2100mAh battery and an 8.5mm thin body. Finally, the Color C3 comes with a different design, smoother and curvier than the above two, an 8.8mm thin body and five different color options that include Rose Gold, Champagne Gold, Black, Blue, and Silver. While the F2 and F5 feature fingerprint sensors, the C3 doesn’t have one. All three phones come with Android 6 Marshmallow on top.

The new ZOPO Color phones also come with special software features such as PiP video (picture in picture) which allows you to play videos while using other apps, App lock using fingerprint and PIN, Gallery control, fingerprint camera control, and multi-account operation, that allows two accounts to work simultaneously on the same application. All three models are coming to Europe.

For more details, check out the company website from here.

 

Xiaomi To Focus on Offline Sales In the Future

Xiaomi was pushed out of the top 5 phone manufacturers last quarter. The surprising fact was that it was ousted by rivals like Oppo and Vivo. These two Chinese companies which are subsidiaries of BBK Electronics, focused on offline sales to get into the top 5. This is something Xiaomi has never done.

Xiaomi has always sold their devices online by using flash sales, they also had to contend with supply issues. These problems will no longer surface next year as Xiaomi plans to set up brick and mortar stores in major cities and have already put in place solutions to increase supply.

lei jun

 

The CEO of Xiaomi, Lei Jun, says the company will be building over 1000 physical stores over the next couple of years which are to be 250 square meters large and expected to make monthly sales entering 50 million Yuan based on findings that physical stores make as much as 1.43 million Yuan daily.

While Xiaomi is primarily known for making phones, the company makes a bunch of other stuffs too such as TVs, drones, air purifiers, rice cookers, bluetooth speakers, smart scooters, and smart bikes. Lei Jun says the stores will have about 50 to 100 types of products, and it will be a great idea if these stores will offer some of these relatively unknown products for sale.

Real Photos of Meizu MX6 Surfaces: Looks a Lot Like The Pro 6

The Meizu Pro 6 is expected to launch on July 19. Yesterday, photos of the MX6 showed up on microblogging site, Weibo. The pictures show the Meizu MX6 sharing quite a number of design features to the already released Meizu Pro 6, further confirming the news from last week about the CEO not pleased with the similarities between both devices.

Meizu MX6 1
Front of the Meizu MX6

 

Meizu MX6 2
Rear of the Meizu MX6

 

The only notable physical differences between both devices are the screen size and screen type. Where the Pro 6 sports a 5.2” FHD Super AMOLED screen, the MX6 is given a 5.5” FHD IPS screen.

The Meizu MX6 is said to feature 4GB of RAM with the option for 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, a 12MP primary camera and a 5MP secondary camera, and a Helio X20 processor.

 

The MX6 is being marketed as a mid-range device and should be priced competitively. While we are still in the dark about the exact price, we presume it will be between $290 to $320. Meizu has also teased a version of the MX6 running Ubuntu, for fans of the OS which already has a price tag of €399 ($440).

Leagoo M5: First Nano All-Metal Closed Loop Frame Smartphone

Leagoo has a new device called the Leagoo M5 and they are touting it as the first nano all-metal closed loop frame smartphone in the world. That is a pretty long description and I’m sure you do want to know what that means.

Leagoo, in their own words says they have ”finally solved an engineering challenge after days of testing and focus to achieve a smooth and delicate all-metal frame body which has a tougher structure and delivers an amazing hand feeling”. To put it in simpler words, the phone features a tougher build quality and an amazing hand feel.

Leagoo M5

Leagoo says you should’t worry about the device suffering damages when it falls as the phone has been designed with a shock-proof panel to absorb falls.

 

The Leagoo M5 has a 5.0” 2.5D HD bullet-proof glass display, 2GB RAM, 16GB ROM which can be expanded to 128GB via a SD card slot, 1.3GHz MTK6580A processor, an 8MP rear camera with flash, 5Mp for selfies, a 2300mAh battery said to last more than a day, and a fingerprint scanner that unlocks the phone in 0.19 seconds. The M5 also runs Leagoo’s Freeme OS 6.0 which is based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and has dual SIM slots with only 3G and 2G networks supported.

Leagoo M5 1 Leagoo M5 2 Leagoo M5 4

The Leagoo M5 is available in galaxy white, champagne gold, and titanium grey. There is no info about the price, but Leagoo says it is sure going to  affordable.

Get $20 off The Umi Super on TomTop

UMi Super

The Umi Super is the latest flagship device from Umi and it has received generally positive reviews since its release.

The all-metal device sports a 5.5” FHD screen, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of ROM, a Mediatek Helio P10 processor clocked at 2.0 GHz, and a 4000mAh battery with Mediatek’s Pump Express Fast Charge technology, all for a price tag of $219.99; passing for one of the cheapest 4GB RAM devices in the market right now.

Online mall, TomTop is however offering customers a $20 coupon if you purchase a unit from their site, which brings down the price to $199.99. So if you’ve been holding off purchasing this phone just to save a few bucks, you should head over to TomTop and apply the coupon code: 20Super.

The code is supposed to be valid till 15th of this month.

Other features of the Umi Super includes a 5MP front facing camera and 13MP rear shooter, a fingerprint scanner, a SD card slot that can take up to 128GB, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow.