Elephone S3 Review – Budget Bezel-less Smartphone

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Jul 1, 2016

Elephone has one unique device – the S3. The main selling points of this phone are its bezel-less design and affordable price. This is Linus, find out if this phone is any good in our full review.

Thanks to Elephone.cc Shop for sending Elephone S3 for a review.

Buy Elephone S3 for only $149.99 at Elephone.cc

Elephone S3 Review: VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLzJ6Vdgh6A[/embedyt]

Elephone S3 Review: UNBOXING

The phone ships in quite a premium hard plastic box and the contents of the packaging include some paperwork, SIM ejector pin, a charging brick and a nice tangle-free USB cable.

Elephone S3 Review: SPECS

Display	5.2″ 1080p (Full-HD)
Processor	Mediatek MTK6753, 64-bit, octa-core (up to 1.3GHz)
RAM	3GB
Camera	5MP Front/13MP Back
Connectivity	Bluetooth, 3G, 4G, GPS, WIFI, GSM,EDGE, GPRS, UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, dual-SIM.
Battery	2.100 mAh (non-removable)
Dimensions	142 x 70.5 x 8.3mm / 145g
OS	Android 6.0
Storage	16GB (expandable via microSD card slot up to 256GB)

Elephone S3 Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

Elephone S3 stands out from the crowd of affordable devices due to its bezel-less display. I have to tell you that it indeed looks great. However, the view on the very edges of the display is distorted quite a bit to make that bezel-less look but I’m okay with that.

The 5.2” 1080p LCD panel itself is great. It is sharp and crisp, and color reproduction is good.

We have a 5MP selfie shooter along with the non-customisable LED flash on the top and on-screen navigation buttons instead of capacitive ones.

Also, the phone sports all-metal design and superb flagship-grade build quality. The buttons are nice and tactile and the phone feels very nice in the hand.

We have a 13MP Sony camera coupled with a single LED flash. Right below the camera, there is a fingerprint scanner, which is accurate and recognizes a fingerprint from the standby mode. However, I found the display to respond slower than usual if you unlock the phone very quickly several times in a row.

The loudspeaker sits on the bottom and the sound quality is okay but as usual to the budget phones, the sound lacks depth.

Overall, I really love the top-notch build quality of the phone and the device looks great due to its bezel-less design.

Elephone S3 Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

When it comes to hardware, it is obvious that Elephone S3 is a budget device after all. It sports an octa-core MTK6753 chip (1.3GHz), 3GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage.

These specs will let you enjoy 3D games only if you play them on medium graphics. Still, you should expect occasional stutter and quite a few skipped frames. Also, the phone tends to get warm pretty quickly but does not overheat.

Elephone S3 Review: BENCHMARKS

Elephone S3 Review: USER INTERFACE

When it comes to the UI, we have a few options out of the box. You can either go with ELE launcher, which removed the app tray and has some redesigned icons or you can select a stock Android launcher for a more conventional look.

Either way, the phone runs on Android 6.0. We have some customization options like a baked-in theming engine, the ability to change the transition effects and so on.

Also, we have plenty of gesture controls that work fine. As usual, I just use a couple of them e.g. double tap to wake gesture.

Overall, the UI runs fast and fluid, and I just had a few minor hiccups over the time but you don’t need to worry about that.

Elephone S3 Review: IMAGE QUALITY

The image quality is kind of a disappointment. The main issues are with soft and uneven focus throughout the image. That means that most of the images will not look good.

Some decent looking macro shots are possible but again, they could look better.

The low-light camera performance does not impress and the images look darker than in reality, there is quite a bit of noise and low amount of detail.

A 5MP selfie shooter will do the trick will social media but again, there is a lack of detail in most of the shots.

The video quality is okay in general but the main issue here is aggressive auto color shifting once you move the camera. See a video review for a video sample.

Elephone S3 Review: CONNECTIVITY

As for connectivity, I don’t have any complaints as everything has been working fine. However, the GPS lock speeds could be slightly faster.

Elephone S3 Review: BATTERY LIFE

The phone ships with just 2100mAh battery and it is one of the weakest points of this device. I could get just over 2 hours of screen-on time on a mixed use. Also, the phone tends to drain quite a bit of power on standby. Hopefully, Elephone improves the power management in the future software updates.

Elephone S3 Review: CONCLUSIONS

Elephone S3 tries to stand out from the crowd of the budget smartphones and it delivers in certain ways.

Its bezel-less design, sharp display and top-notch (or even flagship-grade) build quality are the best aspects of this phone.

Also, we have the UI, which has some nice customization options and it runs fast most of the times.

However, the gaming performance could be better, the camera does not impress and the battery life is disappointing.

All in all, we should applaud Elephone’s effort trying to stand out from the crowd but we also have to say that this phone delivers in some ways but falls short in quite a few departments.

Buy Elephone S3 for only $149.99 at Elephone.cc

Two New Xiaomi Models Spotted, New Redmis Coming ?

By

androidbrick

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Jul 1, 2016

Xiaomi seems to be releasing new Redmi models every few months. In June, the company unveiled two new Redmi models, the Redmi 3S and the Redmi 3X (carrier version of the 3S). Now, we might have just spotted two more Redmi variants.

Two new models with code numbers 2,016,020 and 2,016,021 are seen at National Quality Certification Center’s website in China. Both are equipped with 5V/2A charger specifications and dated for 29th June. Judging this info, we might say these are probably the new Redmi series models, or maybe new variants of the Xiaomi Max series with 2GB RAM options.

For now, there is no announcement from Xiaomi about these phones, let’s see what will come up in the next days.

Xiaomi Notebook Image Leaked, Looks Very Similar to the Macbook Pro

By

Joel Joseph

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Jul 1, 2016

For the past few months, Xiaomi has been rumored to release its first laptop in the second half of 2016. Since, today, we officially enter the second half, we are all excited to see when the new Xiaomi laptop will be officially announced. While recently, Xiaomi CEO, Lei Jun said that “he couldn’t talk about the product yet“, it kind of confirms the existence of the laptop. And a few hours ago, a new alleged image of the Xiaomi laptop was leaked online.

This is probably the first real and clear image of the Mi laptop that we have seen. And it does reveal a few things about the upcoming device. First of all, like expected, it looks like the Mi laptop has been heavily inspired from the Apple Macbook Pro. The all metal silver design with the Mi logo up front, is almost identical to Apple’s Macbook Pro series.

According to the previous rumors, the Xiaomi Notebook is expected to come in three display variants, 12.5-inches, 13.3-inches and a 15.6-inch model. The small display variants are expected to hit the market first. The specs are expected to be high-end and the pricing should be aggressive as well. The company is said to target the young generation with this new laptop, unlike Huawei, who was targeting the business users with its new Matebook convertible.

The Xiaomi Notebook is expected to release in Summer this year, sometime in the month of September. We haven’t got an official confirmation of the product yet, but for now, the CEO’s comment on this matter is good enough to confirm that the laptop exists and is in development.

Giveaways, Coupons & Flash Sales During Vernee’s July Sales Campaign

By

Joel Joseph

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Jul 1, 2016

Vernee is all set to promote the two new devices that it announced in the market this year, namely the Vernee Apollo Lite and the Vernee Thor. The company is keeping promotional sales activity throughout this month which will give readers a chance to win free smartphones, participate in discounted flash sales as well as get coupons for purchasing smartphones from Vernee.

For example, in order to get a $30 coupon, you just have to submit your e-mail address and you will be emailed a $30 OFF coupon for purchasing the Vernee Apollo Lite flagship. You can even participate in the flash sales campaign organized by the company every Friday during this period, wherein the Apollo Lite will be available for just $199.99. If you want your phone shipped early, you better participate in the campaign soon as the first batch of Apollo Lite shipments will be out on July 10.

If you are looking to purchase the Vernee Thor, the company has got you covered here as well. You can participate in the Vernee Thor flash sale every Wednesday during this campaign period, wherein you can purchase the device for just $99.99. The Thor shipments are already in stock, so it should ship quite fast.

Finally, the company is also giving away Apollo Lite and Thor to its fans during this promo period. You can check out more details from the company’s official website.

Vernee official campaign : www.vernee.cc

Vernee Apollo Lite SPECS:

Display: 5.5 inch FHD 1920x1080p Sharp IGZO

CPU: MTK Helio X20 (MT6797), 10-core, 20nm

RAM: 4GB LPDDR 3

ROM: 32GB eMMC 5.1 (up to 128GB)

Rear Camera: 16.0MP Samsung S5K3P3 sensor, 6P lens, ISOCELL , RWB

Front Camera: 5.0MP Samsung S5K5E2 sensor

Battery: 3180mAH Li-polymer

OS: Android 6.0 out of the box (Open Kernel Code)

Vernee Thor Specs:

8-core LTE chipset
3GB RAM
16GB ROM
5.0 inch HD arc
13.0MP
2800mAh

Meizu MX6 Ubuntu Edition Spotted In Promo Pictures

By

Joel Joseph

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Jul 1, 2016

Unlike other manufacturers, Meizu has a unique strategy when it comes to smartphones. It was one of the few manufacturers to use Samsung’s chipsets inside its flagship phones, and for other devices, it uses Mediatek and not Qualcomm chips. Further, it has become a tradition for the company to unveil Ubuntu edition variants of its flagship smartphones, and it looks like this year, the company will continue the same. So, after releasing Meizu MX4, and Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition, the company is now set to release the Meizu MX6 Ubuntu Edition model. Today, a few promo pictures of the device were leaked online.

This year it looks like the MX6 is getting the Ubuntu variant. The images confirm the model as well as the pricing, which will be 399 Euros. Another confirmation is the processor inside, which will be none other than the deca-core Helio X20 chip with Mali-T880 GPU.

Looks wise, there are no surprises. We already have seen a couple of back cover images of the MX6 in previous leaks, but this is probably how it will end up looking on the front. These images also confirm that the phone will feature the company’s mBack home button which should also have a fingerprint sensor on board.

Our previous experience tells us that the Ubuntu editions have specs identical to the regular Flyme powered versions. So, it is likely that the MX6 regular edition also runs on Helio X20. Other possible features similar on both the variants should be 4GB of RAM. According to the latest information, Meizu is expected to unveil the brand new device on July 19 but we haven’t received a confirmation from the company yet.

Stay tuned for more details.

(source)

Vernee Apollo Lite Up for grabs at just $199.99 On Gearbest For A Limited time

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 30, 2016

Vernee Apollo Lite is one the most sought after mid-range flagship in the market, coming with the Helio X20 deca-core chip and 4GB of RAM inside. The official retail price of the handset is $229.99, but you can get it on stores like Gearbest for just $199.99. In fact, Gearbest is currently selling the Apollo Lite for just $199.99 without the need for any coupons but for a limited number of units. The sale started with 400 units and now less than 100 units are left for grabs to customers. So, if you were planning to purchase the new Vernee flagship, head over to the Gearbest website for more details.

To recap, the Vernee Apollo Lite comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and a solid aluminum unibody. There will be 32GB of internal storage, further expandable up to 128GB via MicroSD. At the back, the phone comes with the Samsung S5K3P3 16MP sensor with PDAF and 4K recording support while up front, you get a 5MP shooter.

The phone supports dual SIM dual standby with Cat. 6 4G LTE. It runs on Android 6.0 out of the box. Other features of the Apollo Lite include a fingerprint sensor located on the back which unlocks in 0.1 seconds, 3180mAh battery with Pump Express 3.0 fast charging, USB Type-C audio output, and 3.5mm headphone jack. There are two colors available right now, Moonlight Silver and Space Gray.

As you can see, the Apollo Lite is a powerful flagship smartphone that is priced aggressively. You can check out more details from the Gearbest listing page.

Pre-order Vernee Apollo Lite For $199.99

LEAGOO Launches World’s First Non-breakpoint All-metal Frame Smartphone

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 30, 2016

There have been minor rumors going around recently about a new smartphone from the Chinese company Leagoo, called as the Leagoo M5. Now, we have a few more details to add about this upcoming device.

The new image reveals that the Leagoo M5 will come with a metal frame. We are not quite sure whether the body is made out of plastic or glass. But what we do know is that the phone will be compact, since it is expected to come with a 5-inch display. The compact and slim body should be good enough for one-handed operation. The volume buttons and the power button are all located on the right side of the device, while the USB port is situated at the bottom. This should mean that the speakers are located on the back of the phone.

As for the specs, the Leagoo M5 is said to come with 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. The company will be using the FreemeOS 6.0 on the device, which is based on Android 6.0. We have no idea about the CPU inside, but it should be an entry level mid-ranger. While we don’t see it in the picture, at the back, the phone is also said to come with a fingerprint sensor, which has become a standard feature among Leagoo smartphones recently.

The price is said to be reasonable, but we have no official figures as of now. Stay tuned for more details in the coming days.

Vivo X7 and X7 Plus Official With Snapdragon 652 & 16MP Front Camera

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 30, 2016

Vivo is establishing its presence in the smartphone market, and what better way than to release products that cater to the needs of the customers. Today, this Chinese company known for its Hi-Fi equipped smartphones just unveiled two new products, namely the Vivo X7 and the Vivo X7 Plus. It looks like Vivo is trying to follow a similar path as the OPPO, as both the models have similar design and configuration as the OPPO R9 series model which are doing very well in China.

Design wise, the Vivo X7 and the X7 Plus come with a thin body, measuring just 7.2mm. The body is made out of magnesium aluminum alloy with matte double C technology and 3D cutting and trimming. The full dimensions of both the models are as follows:

Vivo X7 – 147.3mm x 71.85mm x 7.24mm Weight: 151 grams

Vivo X7 Plus – 158.86mm x 77.94mm x 7.49mm Weight: 183.5 grams

So, the overall finish of both the models should be top-notch. The Vivo X7 comes with a compact 5.2-inch FHD Super AMOLED display, while the X7 Plus bumps up the size to 5.7-inches. Both feature 1080p resolutions.

Under the hood, both the models have surprisingly the same chipset, namely the Snapdragon 652 octa-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz. The memory combination is also the same, i.e. 4GB RAM + 64GB of internal storage. But the Vivo X7 Plus gets an additional 128GB storage variant. Remember that there’s no expandable storage on board.

As for the camera, at the back of the X7, you have a 13MP shooter with PDAF and f/2.2 aperture. The X7 is one of the rare smartphones in the market which feature a better camera up front. On the front, you get a 16MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture and moonlight studio flash. So, selfies are never going to be a problem, even at night when there’s no light. Coming to the Vivo X7 Plus, you get a 16MP f/2.0 (Sony IMX298) on both the front as well as the back. Also, like the X7, there’s flash on the front and the back. The company has partnered with Arcsoft to improve low light imaging on both the smartphones, making images sharper and blur free.

Under the hood, the Vivo X7 comes with a 3000mAh battery, while the larger X7 Plus features a 4000mAh capacity battery. There’s support for fast charging as well. Other features of both the devices include Hi-Fi AK4376 chip (supports QQ Music), dual SIM dual standby with 4G+, USB 2.0, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi etc. Unfortunately, for software, both the devices are still running on Android 5.1. But these Vivo phones feature split screen multi-tasking as well as the company’s wisdom engine. Also, both the phones have fingerprint sensors embedded into the home button, which supports fingerprint payments. The phone unlocks with the fingerprint in just 0.2 seconds (from sleep). You can also double-click the home button to directly open up your favorite application.

As for the pricing, the Vivo X7 starts at 2498 Yuan ($376) and will go on sale in China on July 7. Vivo didn’t reveal the price tag for the X7 Plus, but we will get more details on July 15 during the company’s Shanghai sales meet.

LTE Band support:

Vivo X7:

4G TDD-LTE B38/B39/B40/B414G FDD-LTE

FDD-LTE B1/ B3

Vivo X7 Plus:

4G TDD-LTE B38/B39/B40/B41（100M）

4G FDD-LTE B1/B2/B3 /B4/B5/B8

Two Snapdragon 821 Variants Spotted On Zauba Website

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 30, 2016

The Indian export and import record website, Zauba has brought many devices into the limelight before its official launch. Looks like the website has just revealed us two versions of an upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, which should end up being called either as the Snapdragon 821 or the Snapdragon 823. While we are still unsure about the identity of the chipset, the website did give us a few details about them.

snapdragon

There are going to be two variants of the chip, which actually makes sense, as even the Snapdragon 820 has two variants. The first version (faster) MSM 8996SG (001-Y8) will come with second generation performance Hydra CPU clocked at 2.35GHz. Now, we aren’t exactly sure of what to expect from the Hydra CPU but last year, there were rumors about Qualcomm working on Hydra cores which will be custom made for the server market. However, later the rumors died down, so we aren’t sure whether this CPU has any resemblance to the earlier rumored one.

sd821 zauba

The GPU is still Adreno 530 clocked at 653MHz. Other features include LPDDR4 RAM support, 3x CA @ 60MHz and CDMA. The less powerful model, namely the MSM8996SD (001-Y8) comes with the same CPU clocked at slightly lower 2.15GHz with Adreno 530 GPU at 624MHz.

According to the latest information, Xiaomi should be the first model with the new Snapdragon 821 chip. It could either be the Mi Note 2 or the Mi5S model. Soon, other manufacturers like LeEco should follow Xiaomi in releasing a Snapdragon 821 powered flagship in the market.

(via 1 , 2)

360 N4S Coming In July With A Very Large Battery

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 30, 2016

360 Mobiles have turned out to be an interesting smartphone maker, after re-branding itself into the new name and severing ties with Coolpad. The company released the 360 N4 smartphone back in May, and within two months, it looks like the company is all set to announce an upgraded version of the handset. 360 Mobiles announced earlier today that it will officially take the wraps of a new smartphone, the 360 N4S on July 15. Considering the N4 came with great specs and an aggressive price tag, we can expect the 360 N4S to take things a level further up.

The company hasn’t revealed any specs of the N4S, however, according to the words written alongside the new teaser, it looks like the phone will focus on the battery life in particular. It is said that the phone will provide battery life up to 2 days which would be great, considering that it is going to be a mid-ranger. And guess what, we could have already seen this device on TENAA earlier this month.

So, for upgrades, the 360 N4S will come with a metal body (including a gold color) along with a large battery. How large you ask? Well, it’s very large, measuring 4920mAh in capacity. So, two day battery life won’t be a problem for the device. As for the rest of the specs, its the same as the N4. Thich means it will feature the Helio X20 deca-core chip clocked at 2GHz inside with 4GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage and a 5.5-inch 1080p display. At the back, the phone will feature a 13MP Sony IMX258 sensor, while the front sports a 5MP shooter.

The 360 N4 model was priced at $138, so we can expect this upgraded version to retail for under $200. Let’s wait for more details.

Meizu MX6 Back Cover Leaks, Reveals A Similar Design As The Pro 6

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 30, 2016

Meizu is said to unveil the Meizu MX6 flagship smartphone on July 19. While we are waiting for a confirmation from the company, a new leaked image reveals the back cover of the MX6. While the image claims to be of the upcoming Meizu smartphone, the design looks very much like the Pro 6 flagship that was announced back in April 2016. However, the major difference in the body should be the size of the screen on board, with the MX6 expected to come with a 5.5-inch 1080p display. Also, it is said that the treatment process of the body of the MX6 should be a bit lower than that of the Pro 6.

Along with this image, the retail box of the phone was also leaked. It comes in all white with the Meizu logo right on top and the model name, MX6 on the side. Unfortunately, we didn’t find any specs listed on the box. But previous rumors have given us a good idea as to what to expect from the new flagship.

The Meizu MX6 was previously rumored to feature pressure sensitive display, however, new information states that the phone might not have this feature. As for the other specs, the phone is said to come with the Helio X20 deca-core chip with 3GB RAM and 32GB of storage. There should be a 3050mAh+ battery inside a 7.55mm thin body. Pricing is rumored to be around 1799 Yuan ($271).

This is all information we have of the Meizu MX6 flagship today. But hopefully, we can get some more details and pictures of the device before launch.

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Variants Leaked In Detail: Top-End Specs Including Dual Cameras

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 29, 2016

Ever since Lin Bin revealed that Xiaomi will release a flagship smartphone in the second half of 2016, we have received a lot of leaks and rumors about the device. This includes recent information about three variants of the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 as well as specs of the upcoming Xiaomi Mi5S. However, today, we have an even more extensive leak, revealing the specs, variants as well as the pricing of the Xiaomi Mi Note 2, which should succeed the Mi Note flagship released last year. Since analyst Pan Jiutang is of the opinion that Xiaomi should be the first smartphone manufacturer with Snapdragon 821, we expect the release to be within the next few months. So, all the details about the upcoming flagship are as given below.

First of all, the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 and all its variants (there are a few) should be announced at the Xiaomi Summer Conference 2016. Unfortunately, we don’t have a specific time frame for this conference. What we do have is the Mi Note 2 variants and specs.

So, Xiaomi is said to be working on three different variants of the Mi Note 2 this year. All the three models should feature a 5.7-inch display, but the standard version will feature 1080p resolution while the high-end and the Edge variants will come with 2K resolution. Further, the high and the Edge models are expected to come with pressure sensitive displays, which will be a first for Xiaomi.

vivo xplay 5 (10) — Edge display on the Vivo XPlay 5

The Mi Note 2 will also be the company’s first 6GB RAM phone. While the standard variant is said to feature 4GB + 32GB memory configuration, the top/ high variant is said to come with 6GB RAM + 64GB ROM and the Edge variant with 6GB + 128GB. Also, the standard variant is expected to come with a single 16MP camera at the back, but the top and Edge variants should get 12MP dual cameras. Other features common in these variants include a hidden fingerprint sensor, 4000mAh battery with QC 3.0, NFC, Hi-Fi chip etc.

As for the pricing, it’s not going to be cheap. The standard version should retail for 2499 Yuan ($376), while the Top and the Edge variants should cost 2999 Yuan ($451) and 3499 Yuan ($526) respectively.

Unfortunately, it’s still too early to confirm these specs and variants. But if the information turns out to be true, then the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 will become Xiaomi’s first 6GB , dual camera, and dual curved display flagship!

OnePlus 3 Review – A Mature, Almost Perfect OnePlus

By

Linus

-

Jun 29, 2016

OnePlus drew a lot of attention once they released the OnePlus One and then the OnePlus 2. This year, the company released the third-generation model, which is more mature, has great specs and great price. Learn more in our full review.

Thanks to Oppomart for sending OnePlus 3 for a review.

Buy Oneplus 3 at Oppomart, $20 Off by Coupon Code: OP320F

OnePlus 3 Review: VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT1Hy-Pn9RM[/embedyt] [embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z0gSo5-t_Y[/embedyt]

OnePlus 3 Review: UNBOXING

As usual to the OnePlus, the phone comes in a nice and high-quality box, where all the items are packed neatly. The contents include quite a bit of paperwork, “Never Settle” sticker, SIM ejector pin, USB C cable and last but not least a fast charger, which is called Dash. More on that later on.

OnePlus 3 Review: SPECS

Display	5.5″ 1080 x 1920 pixels Amoled (~401 ppi pixel density)
Processor and GPU	Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820, Dual-core 2.15 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo, Adreno 530 GPU
RAM	6GB
Camera	8MP Front/16MP Back, OIS
Connectivity	Bluetooth, 3G, 4G, GPS, WIFI, GSM,EDGE, GPRS, UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, dual-SIM.
Battery	3.000 mAh (non-removable)
Dimensions	152.7 x 74.7 x 7.4 mm / 158g
OS	OxygenOS 3.1.2 (Android 6.0.1)
Storage	64GB (not expandable)

OnePlus 3 Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

Some people would say that the OnePlus 3 has quite a few design elements borrowed from HTC or Huawei.

Nevertheless, the phone looks and feels gorgeous. A combination of all-metal design, perfect build quality and tactile buttons make this phone look like a true flagship.

Speaking of the buttons, we have a 3-position customizable notification slider, which seems like a little thing but it is really nice in practice.

We have a dual nano SIM card tray to make traveling more convenient.

On the bottom, we have a loudspeaker, which sits next to the USB C port. The sound quality of it is good but not the best. A great thing is that the loudspeaker is loud but it is placed on the left side, so you may end up covering it up quite often.

We have an 8MP selfie camera and a highly customizable notification LED light on the top.

The capacitive buttons have a nice backlight and they are highly customizable too. If you don’t like them, you can switch to the on-screen navigation buttons anytime. Right in the middle we have a home button, which doubles as a fingerprint scanner and it is one of the fastest and most reliable scanners I’ve tested.

As far as display, we have a 5.5” 1080p Amoled panel. There have been some talks about the screen quality due to the Pentile pixel arrangement technology but I have to tell you that the display looks great and you don’t need to worry about that. Well, it is not on par with e.g. Samsung Galaxy S7 edge but it is plenty sharp, crisp and it has a decent sunlight legibility.

We have a 16MP camera with OIS and f/2.0 aperture coupled with a single LED flash.

Overall, the OnePlus 3 is nothing short of a true flagship phone in terms of the choice of materials and build quality.

OnePlus 3 Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

When it comes to the sheer power, OnePlus 3 is no slouch either. It comes with a Snapdragon 820 chip, 6GB of RAM and 64GB of on-board storage, which is, however, not expandable.

As you may have guessed, the phone handles all the 3D games at the highest graphics settings without any issues.

Also, 6GB of RAM assure that multitasking is a breeze and you can easily switch from one app to another.

OnePlus 3 Review: BENCHMARKS

OnePlus 3 Review: USER INTERFACE

We’ve come to the user interface part and this is where OnePlus 3 brings a perfect blend of stock Android 6.0 and some added features. The device runs on the home-brewed Oxygen OS, which brings a ton of customization options.

We’ve already mentioned the ability to customize the LED notification light and capacitive buttons. Other features that I love are the dark mode, which looks gorgeous on the Amoled panel. Also, you can change the accent colors, use some basic gesture controls that work great and do some other things to customize the phone.

However, the most important thing about the UI is the speed. The phone is very fast on a daily use and I absolutely enjoyed using it.

OnePlus 3 Review: CAMERA

The phone can take pictures very fast in daylight and slightly slower in dim situations. We have a pretty simple and easy to use camera app. There is a manual mode among other modes to let you take a full control of the pictures you take.

OnePlus 3 Review: IMAGE QUALITY

OnePlus 3 can take some great looking daylight images with a good amount of detail and natural looking colors. However, you may get some images with softer focus on the corners but I’m just being picky here.

The low-light camera is not as good as there is quite a bit of noise and less detail in the images. Still, the low-light camera performance is one of the best in class of sub-$400 phones.

The video quality is great too. The 4k footage looks sharp and there is plenty of detail. The 1080p video has less detail but in this mode, the OIS kicks in to reduce the shakiness and it does its job pretty well. See a video review for a video sample.

An 8MP selfie shooter is very good too and you will be able to take some detailed selfies in good lighting.

Overall, OnePlus 3 has a great if not the best camera in its class. Sure, it cannot rival the competition from Samsung but hey, this phone is a lot cheaper.

OnePlus 3 Review: CONNECTIVITY

I am happy with all the connectivity options as I didn’t have any issues. Call quality is great with both SIM cards, signal reception is excellent, Wifi and GPS work absolutely fine.

OnePlus 3 Review: BATTERY LIFE

Some people are a bit disappointed that the device has just 3000mAh battery but I have to tell you that it performs great.

On a light use, I could get over 5 hours of screen-on time (SOT). However, the SOT time reduces to around 4 hours if I use the phone more intensively.

In case you need to recharge your battery, a Dash charge tech comes handy. The supplied charger can fully charge the phone in just over 1 hour and that it one of the best results I have ever achieved on any phone.

OnePlus 3 Review: CONCLUSIONS

So, there you have it, the third generation OnePlus. This is a device the OnePlus have aimed to create for quite a while and they finally did it.

We have a premium all-metal phone that is thin and sits nicely in the hand, bleeding-edge specifications that include 6GB of RAM and stellar all-around performance.

Also, the OnePlus 3 will not disappoint you once you want to take a picture or shoot a video and you have plenty of customization options, which are baked in at the first glance stock looking Android 6.0.

If you consider some other great features like a Dash charge, notification slider and one of the best fingerprint scanners on the market, the OnePlus 3 is one of the best smartphones you can get at this price point. All in all, OnePlus 3 is a very easy buying recommendation.

Buy Oneplus 3 at Oppomart, $20 Off by Coupon Code: OP320F

ASUS ZenFone 3, ZenFone 3 Deluxe & ZenFone 3 Ultra To Go On Sale From July

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 29, 2016

ASUS updated the popular ZenFone lineup back at Computex last month. There were three models in the new lineup, namely the ZenFone 3, ZenFone 3 Deluxe and ZenFone 3 Ultra, all targeted at different categories of users. Although these three models were announced back then, the company failed to give out a release schedule for these devices. But now, after a month, it looks like we may have a date, thanks to a Taiwanese retailer.

ePrice website has just revealed that the above three ZenFone models from ASUS will go on sale from July 12 in Taiwan. Unfortunately, we still don’t have an international release date, but we can be sure that the global release should be a few weeks after this date.

ASUS has already revealed the prices for these three handsets. The ZenFone 3 starts at $249, while the ZenFone 3 Deluxe and ZenFone 3 Ultra are much costlier, priced at $499 and $479 respectively. Metal lovers are definitely going to love the design on the three handsets as they are super slim and come with a solid metal body. The ZenFone 3 and the Deluxe models feature fingerprint sensor at the back while the Zenfone 3 Ultra comes with a sensor right up front, mainly because of its monstrous size.

To recap, the ZenFone 3 comes with Snapdragon 625 chip inside with 3GB / 4GB RAM and 32GB / 64GB storage options. The phone features a 5.5-inch 1080p display. On the other hand, the ZenFone 3 Ultra comes with a large 6.8-inch FHD display with Snapdragon 625 inside and 4GB + 64GB memory combination. Finally, the ZenFone 3 Deluxe comes with a 5.7-inch FHD display with Snapdragon 820 chip and 6GB + 64GB memory. You can read all about these three smartphones from our launch coverage here.

(source)

LeEco Unveils Top-End Le Max 2 With 6GB RAM & 128GB storage

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 29, 2016

Le Max 2 is a pretty powerful flagship, coming with Snapdragon 820 inside with a maximum memory configuration of 6GB RAM and 64GB of storage. However, there are flagships in the market today like the ZUK Z2 Pro, Axon 7 and even the recently released Nubia Z11 that feature 6GB + 128GB ROM configuration. Well, it looks like LeEco didn’t want to lag behind these manufacturers as the company has officially unveiled the top-end version of the Le Max 2 model that features 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage. This puts the device right on top of the market, as you won’t find any other smartphone with such powerful specs.

While the rest of the specs of the Le Max 2 remains the same as the previously released variants, the company also announced a new color for the device today — Force Gold. It is said that the company consulted with color psychology experts and tech experts to come up with this special Force Gold color. Along with the Le Max 2, the Le 2 and the Le 2 Pro models are going to get this new color option.

So, now, there are three variants of the Le Max 2: 4GB + 32GB (2099 Yuan ~ $315), 6GB + 64GB (2499 Yuan ~ $375) and 6GB + 128GB (2799 Yuan ~ $421)

In case you are interested in this model, the Le Max 2 128GB version is already listed on OPPOMART for pre-order at $499. The retailer seems to have slashed the price for the other two variants by $80. Now, the Le Max 2 4GB + 32GB version is available at $319 while the 6GB + 64GB version is available at $449.

LeEco Launches EUI 5.8, Rolling Out From June 30

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 29, 2016

LeEco, formerly known as LeTV, launched the second generation of its smartphones (LeEco Le 2, Le 2 Pro, and Le Max 2) back in April alongside a new version of its OS, EUI 5.8, which is based on Android Marshmallow. The final version of the OS is ready and LeEco will start pushing the update to devices starting tomorrow i.e. June 30.

EUI 5.8 will be sporting a lot of new features such as an immersive VR interface, remote assistance, app lock, international roaming, a wallet app etc. LeEco says that it listened to the customers and the new EUI 5.8 version comes with more than 340 new features and it has applied for 482 patents with respect to the new OS.

So, finally, users will be able to upgrade from EUI 5.6 to 5.8 in the coming days.

Do you own a LeEco (or LeTV) phone? Do let us know when the update hits your phone and your favourite new features.

ZTE Nubia Z11 Up For Pre-order On OPPOMART

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 29, 2016

ZTE announced its flagship smartphone for 2016, the ZTE Nubia Z11 yesterday. The phone comes with top-end specs, but what makes this device really special is the bezel-less display on board. Last year, the Nubia Z9 came with a bezel-less screen and the company continued the tradition by using a second generation bezel-less panel on the new Nubia Z11. The phone also gets the new FiT (Fringe Interactive Tech) which enables gestures on the edge, to open, switch apps and even adjust the brightness of the display. It’s overall a pretty cool experience.

Now, OPPOMART has listed the Nubia Z11 flagship up for pre-order on its website. The official price tag of the device in China is around $376 and like expected, you will have to pay a premium price for ordering the device internationally. You can pre-order the phone on OPPOMART for $499. This is for the 4GB + 64GB ROM model, which is more than $100 mark up on the original price. While this is quite costly, it is one of the surest ways of getting hold of this device outside of China. The 6GB RAM version is also available, but you will have to shell out $200 more. You can choose between three colors — silver, gold and gray.

To recap, the Nubia Z11 comes with Snapdragon 820 chip inside with 4GB RAM + 64GB storage / 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variants. It is one of the most compact 5.5-inch smartphones in the market today measuring 151.8 x 72.3 x 7.5mm in dimensions and weighing just 162 grams. At the back, you get a powerful Sony IMX 298 16MP camera with OIS and EIS along with f/2.0 aperture, PDAF and the company’s NeoVision 6.0 technology. Up front, you have an 8MP shooter. Finally, inside, you get a 3000mAh battery that along with NeoPower battery saving tech helps you get more than a day’s battery life.

Check out more details from the link below.

Pre-order Nubia Z11 Flagship From OPPOMART

Xiaomi Inc. Expected to Go Public in 2025

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 29, 2016

Xiaomi Inc. was founded in April 2010 and has grown from being called the ”Apple of China” to become one of the world’s largest smartphone manufacturers. Xiaomi which has included a smart bike and scooter, a rice cooker, TVs, air purifiers, smart bulbs, and even a body scale in its manufacturing portfolio, is expected to go public in 2025.

Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s founder, mentioned during a tech expo on Tuesday that after the company was formed in 2010, he knew it would need at least 15 years to hold an initial public offering (IPO), which puts the date at 2025.

The company has suffered a recent drop in market share as it has now been bumped out of the top 5 by two other Chinese manufacturers, Oppo and Vivo which are actually owned by the same parent company (BBK Electronics).

Xiaomi which mainly used an online only sales model has started putting up brick and mortar shops in places like Beijing and plans to have five to six stores in major cities.

The company is also looking to expand to North America and Europe after having added Brazil and India to their list of offices. Xiaomi is expected to launch a set-top box running Android TV in the US later this year.

OnePlus 3 Might Be Getting 2 New Colours : Red and Green

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 29, 2016

The OnePlus 3 is the rave of the moment. Its launch has reinforced the fact that High End Low Price (HELP) phones are here to stay.

The OP3 is available in only one colour for now i.e. graphite grey, and a soft gold version expected in July. Although, news reaching us today says the phone might be getting two more colour variants viz.: red and green. Don’t worry there’s no rose gold (we are tired of that colour already).

According to the source,the red version, which looks awesome by the way and matches with the red and white charging cable, was spotted on the OnePlus website but was later taken down. While we do not know the reason for its removal, we do hope the phone sees the light of day.

The green version on the other hand which looks more like teal is pretty attractive as well and will get heads turning when you pull it out of your pocket. Both pictures show that the phones will retain the black bands on the back and the black bezels in front.

If OnePlus decides not to release these new colours, we’ll just have to make do with the protective cases which comes in bamboo, karbon, rosewood, black apricot, and the much loved sandstone.

The OnePlus 3 has a 5.5” FHD optic AMOLED screen, a snapdragon 820 SoC, 6GB of RAM, 64GB of built-in storage, a fingerprint scanner, NFC, and a 3000mAh battery with DASH Charge just for $399.

ZTE Axon 7 Now Up For Pre-order in Europe via Amazon

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 29, 2016

ZTE unveiled the brand new ZTE Axon 7 flagship a few weeks back in China. However, unlike some Chinese companies who are limited to China and nearby markets, ZTE is preparing to expand its market reach to more mature markets of Europe this year. As a result, the newly announced ZTE Axon 7 smartphone is now available for pre-order in Europe via Amazon starting today (links are given at the end of the article). So, European customers can finally get hold of the 4GB RAM version of the handset (no 6GB RAM version for now).

It took around a month for the flagship to enter the European market, since the device was announced on May 26 in China. The phone will be available for pre-order on Amazon in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK for a price tag of 449 Euros. The company also informs us that the phone will be available for purchase via GrosBill (online) and offline at Media Markt and Phone House in the coming months.

ZTE Axon 7 is powerful flagship coming with Snapdragon 820 chipset inside and 4GB RAM with 64GB internal storage. The phone comes with a 2K 5.5-inch display with 2.5D glass and Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4 protection. Under the hood, the device has a 3250mAh with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging tech. At the back, the Axon 7 features a 20MP /1.8 aperture camera with OIS and EIS, while up front, the phone has an 8MP f/2.2 88-degree wide angle shooter.

One of the highlights of the new Axon 7 flagship is Hi-Fi audio on board along with dual speakers and Dolby Atmos surround sound. The company has particularly focused on the audio quality of the smartphone, making it an attractive option for audio lovers. As for software, the phone comes with Android M OS. At the back, you get a fingerprint sensor as well.

Preorder now on Amazon:

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B01HFYMUAG

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B01HG7DL0A

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01HG0UFEM

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01HGBVGPS

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B01HGO5UWA

Elephone S3 Review: VIDEO REVIEW

Elephone S3 Review: UNBOXING

Elephone S3 Review: SPECS

Display

5.2″ 1080p (Full-HD)

Processor

Mediatek MTK6753, 64-bit, octa-core (up to 1.3GHz)

RAM

3GB

Camera

5MP Front/13MP Back

Connectivity

Bluetooth, 3G, 4G, GPS, WIFI, GSM,EDGE, GPRS, UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, dual-SIM.

Battery

2.100 mAh (non-removable)

Dimensions

142 x 70.5 x 8.3mm / 145g

OS

Android 6.0

Storage

16GB (expandable via microSD card slot up to 256GB)

Elephone S3 Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

Elephone S3 Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

Elephone S3 Review: BENCHMARKS

Elephone S3 Review: USER INTERFACE

Elephone S3 Review: IMAGE QUALITY

Elephone S3 Review: CONNECTIVITY

Elephone S3 Review: BATTERY LIFE

Elephone S3 Review: CONCLUSIONS

OnePlus 3 Review: VIDEO REVIEW

OnePlus 3 Review: UNBOXING

OnePlus 3 Review: SPECS

Display

5.5″ 1080 x 1920 pixels Amoled (~401 ppi pixel density)

Processor and GPU

Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820, Dual-core 2.15 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo, Adreno 530 GPU

RAM

6GB

Camera

8MP Front/16MP Back, OIS

Connectivity

Bluetooth, 3G, 4G, GPS, WIFI, GSM,EDGE, GPRS, UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, dual-SIM.

Battery

3.000 mAh (non-removable)

Dimensions

152.7 x 74.7 x 7.4 mm / 158g

OS

OxygenOS 3.1.2 (Android 6.0.1)

Storage

64GB (not expandable)

OnePlus 3 Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

OnePlus 3 Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

OnePlus 3 Review: BENCHMARKS

OnePlus 3 Review: USER INTERFACE

OnePlus 3 Review: CAMERA

OnePlus 3 Review: IMAGE QUALITY

OnePlus 3 Review: CONNECTIVITY

OnePlus 3 Review: BATTERY LIFE

OnePlus 3 Review: CONCLUSIONS