Xiaomi’s Shipments Increase In Q2 2016, Thanks To Lei Jun

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Jun 23, 2016

One of the biggest problems with Xiaomi was not product quality or even specifications, rather it was the unavailability of its devices in the market. The company used to unveil great smartphones but once launched, the phone was hard to get, since the stock never seemed to be enough. As a result, the company has been severely criticized for its ready stock availability and we have seen competitors like OPPO and Vivo beating Xiaomi in terms of the shipments sold during the first quarter of 2016.

This was indeed a worrisome issue for the company as well as fans, which is why Lei Jun, the CEO of Xiaomi took it personally upon himself to head the supply department of the company. Looks like, that was a brilliant move, since Xiaomi is now said to be doing quite well in terms of smartphone shipments.

Earlier today, the secretary of the Chinese smartphone alliance revealed on Weibo that Xiaomi’s shipments have improved. In fact, the company seems to be shipping around 6 million smartphones every month in the second quarter of 2016. This is finally great news considering that fans can purchase Xiaomi’s smartphones right after its announcement. Well, at least the Redmi 3S was up for purchase after its announcement, and to be honest, it sold pretty well during JD.com’s grand sale. Even Xiaomi Mi5 is now available for open purchase.

Given that Xiaomi has finally managed to stabilize its shipments, we can expect the upcoming beasts — Xiaomi Mi5S and the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 to be in stock after the announcement. I don’t think Xiaomi can afford to make the same mistake as it did with the Mi5 earlier this year, which did hurt the company in terms of sales. So, when these two powerful flagships are announced sometime later in 2016, we can hope that the company readies a very good amount of stock to satisfy the demand from its fans.

Moto Z Sold In China Could Come With Lenovo’s Vibe UI

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 22, 2016

Moto Z and Z Force smartphones have been announced by the company but they will only be released later this year. These two models will also go on sale in China, however, they could have one major difference. HelloMotoHK reveals that Moto Z devices sold domestically will come with Lenovo’s Vibe UI instead of the traditional near Android look. Luckily, it looks like the Vibe UI will only be installed in the phones sold in China, which means other international regions still get the Moto Z with its Moto Pure Android system. Given that HelloMotoHK has a pretty good record when it comes to Motorola smartphones, this could indeed turn out to be true.

Another reason why this is possible is because Chinese people love customized UI interface. This is why we see most Chinese manufacturers having a heavy UI on top of the Android version. But that isn’t the case with international customers since we have seen that many love the clean Android look. So, it could be a win-win situation for all users.

As for the pricing, Moto Z is expected to retail at 2998 Yuan ($456) in China. The Moto Z Force model should cost around 5299 Yuan ($806).

So what do you think about Lenovo’s move to install its own custom UI on Moto smartphone sold in China?

Huawei Honor 8 Said To Be Launching On July 5 With Dual Cameras

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 22, 2016

Huawei seems to be launching new phones almost every month. Now, the latest rumors suggest that the Huawei Honor 8 mid-range flagship smartphone from the company will be announced on July 5. The phone will reportedly go on sale from July 12. In case you are wondering why the company hasn’t revealed launch details, it is said that we will get official confirmation by June 25. For the first time, we have some very specific dates for the Honor 8, so let’s wait and see if the event is indeed on July 5.

The Honor 8 is said to be the most beautiful smartphone from the company. We aren’t quite sure what exactly makes it so beautiful, but the phone is said to feature dual glass design with a metal body and very thin bezels. Since we don’t have any good renders of the device yet, we will have to wait for a few more days to see the device in the flesh.

As for the specs, the Honor 8 flagship will be an upper mid-range device. The phone is said to come with dual 12MP cameras at the back, similar to the setup found on the Honor V8. It looks like Huawei is going to make dual cameras standard among its important devices this year. Further, it should come with a 5.2-inch 1080p display, 3200mAh battery with fast charge, infrared port, fingerprint sensor, 4GB of RAM and USB Type-C. The processor should most likely be the Kirin 955.

Rumors state that the pricing of the phone should be quite competitive as well. The Honor 8 could come in four different variants. The 4GB + 32GB standard model should retail for 1999 Yuan ($308) and will lack NFC. The other three variants, i.e. 4GB + 32GB (supports all networks) should cost 2199 Yuan ($334), 4GB + 64GB should be priced at 2499 Yuan ($380) and the top-end model with 2K display, 4GB RAM + 128GB storage should retail for 2799 Yuan ($425).

OPPO Find 9 Specs Leaked: SD821, 8GB RAM & a Large Battery

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 22, 2016

OPPO’s Find series has always been one of the best, featuring top-end specs and good looks. However, if you remember, the last OPPO Find smartphone, namely the OPPO Find 7 was announced back in 2014, which means it’s been two years since the company updated the lineup. We have been hearing rumors about the OPPO Find 9 coming sometime in 2016 and now, a new leak reveals the basic render of the device along with its powerful specifications.

OPPO Find 9 has some big shoes to fill, considering it will be the top-end smartphone of a manufacturer who is doing quite well in 2016. So, in this rat race, OPPO can’t afford to compromise on the hardware inside the new flagship device. Well, according to the latest leak, it doesn’t look like OPPO has compromised in any area on the new device.

First of all, looking at the render, the OPPO Find 9 comes with a similar design as the previous generation OPPO Find 7. However, the major difference will be at the back, as the phone comes with dual camera sensors, which seems to have become a trend among smartphone makers in 2016. Further, on the back panel, you have the OPPO logo as well as a speaker grill.

Coming to the specs, the OPPO Find 9 flagship is said to come with a 5.5-inch dual edge AMOLED display with QHD resolution. Under the hood, like the Mi Note 2, the phone is expected to feature Snapdragon 821 chipset. As for the RAM, it is said that the phone will feature a whopping 8GB RAM module, taking it to the level of the rumored LeEco flagship. There will be 128GB of internal storage on board as well.

At the back, the phone will come with a 21MP rear camera sensor with OPPO’s smart stabilization tech that was showcased at MWC 2016. Although the render reveals dual cameras, there’s no mention of such a setup in the specs department. Up front, expect a 16MP sensor. Another tech is the Super VOOC fast charging along with a 4100mAh battery which is the perfect combination i.e. a large battery which fills up within an hour! Other rumored features include USB Type-C port (USB 2.0) and Android 5.1 based Color OS (we hope it comes with at least Android 6 at launch).

These are some powerful specs and with OPPO’s Super VOOC tech on board, there’s nothing to complain about the device. Most rumors said that the OPPO Find 9 will be announced in June this year, however, we still haven’t heard any event confirmation from the company.

Elephone P20 Full Specs Revealed! Helio P20, 6GB RAM, FHD Display & More

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Joel Joseph

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Jun 22, 2016

Elephone P9000 Edge’s release is just around the corner, but that doesn’t stop the details about the new Elephone P20 from coming out. The new phone from the company is going to be yet another powerful device, coming with the Helio P20 chipset inside. This particular chip is manufactured using the 16nm process, which should make it quite efficient as well.

As for the other specs, the latest information reveals that the Elephone P20 will come with 6GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The screen, like the P9000 Edge, will be bezel-less measuring 5.5-inches with 1080p resolution. On top, it will have 3D glass. The body will be made out of metal, which has become a trend among flagship devices.

At the back, like we mentioned previously, the Elephone P20 will feature a 12MP sensor with f/1.7 aperture. Up front, there will be an 8MP front facing shooter. The phone will feature NXP Box AAC speakers along with connectivity features such as 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C, Bluetooth 4.1 and NFC. While we still don’t know the battery capacity of the device, it is said that the phone will come with MediaTek’s Pump Express+ fast charging which gives you 4 hours of talktime in just 5 minutes of charging. Finally, there will be a fingerprint sensor as well.

Xiaomi Mi5S Said To come with pressure sensitive display & ultrasonic fingerprint

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 22, 2016

We have previously heard about the Xiaomi Mi5S model, which is said to launch sometime in the second half of 2016. However, until now, the features and specifications of the device were unclear, since we didn’t hear much about the device via leaks or rumors. But that changes today, as new leak reveals a few important details about the upcoming Xiaomi Mi5S flagship.

mi5s details

Yes, it is reportedly going to be a flagship smartphone coming with top-end specs. The weibo source revealed that the new Mi5S is going to come with powerful specifications. Well, the name sort of revealed that the phone was going to be a flagship, since the Mi5S should be an in between update, in terms of specs, to the already powerful Xiaomi Mi5 smartphone. The source also says that the Mi Note 2 will come with dual cameras. Also, the Xiaomi Notebook is in the works as well (but we already know this!).

Mi5 What’s actually interesting is the report from a Chinese media website which reveals some of the great specs on the Mi5S. It is said that the phone could come with a metal body, much like its upcoming brother, the Xiaomi Mi Note 2. Further, the Xiaomi Mi5S will reportedly feature pressure sensitive display — which will be a first for Xiaomi, ultrasonic fingerprint sensor from Qualcomm and dual cameras. As for the display and resolution, it is said that they will be on the same level as the Mi5, which means it should be a 5.15-inch panel with 1080p resolution. Further, as the source above claims that this is a top-end flagship, expect nothing less than 6GB RAM inside.

This does confuse us a bit, in terms of the placement of the two upcoming models. The Mi Note 2, like we reported today is expected to come in three variants! All featuring high-end hardware. If the Mi5S is also going to come with top-end hardware, one of the major differentiating features would be the display size, with the Mi Note 2 sporting a 5.7-inch screen while the Mi5S coming with a 5-inch display.

Of course, at this moment, nothing can be confirmed. But hopefully, things will start to clear up in the next few weeks.

(source)

Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Details Leaked: Three Versions, Including One With Curved Screen

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 22, 2016

Xiaomi’s flagship device of the year, the Xiaomi Mi5 has now been overtaken by the likes of OnePlus 3, ZUK Z2 Pro and even Le Max 2 with much more powerful specifications. However, Xiaomi isn’t a company that likes to be behind for long and looks like the company will soon release a new flagship phone, the Xiaomi Mi Note 2, which will take on some of the best phones in the market right now. The Mi Note series have always been the top-end flagship from the company and it seems that the new update will make sure that Xiaomi has a couple of models in the top-end segment. So, what can we expect to see on the new Mi Note 2?

zAccording to the latest information, the Mi Note 2 will come in three variants — standard version, high version and top-end version. While the Weibo source didn’t reveal the exact specifications of the three models, it mentioned some features that differentiate each of the three variants.

The Mi Note 2 Standard version is said to come with a single camera sensor at the back, Hi-Fi chip, and a regular quick charge feature.

The Mi Note 2 High version will come with dual cameras at the back (will be first for the company) with Hi-Fi as well as a super quick charging feature. We have no idea what kind of charging is meant by this super quick charge, but it’s probably faster and more efficient than the regular version.

Finally, there will be a Mi Note 2 top-end version which, for now, let’s call it the Mi Note Edge model. It will come with a curved screen display with a top-end Hi-Fi chip as well as the super quick charge tech found on the high version.

While the source hasn’t revealed any specs, considering the above information, we can expect the standard version to feature 4GB RAM while the other two variants to come with 6GB of RAM. After all, Xiaomi wouldn’t want Mi Note 2 to lose to other 6GB RAM phones. As for the display, it should be the same size as the first generation model, i.e. 5.7-inch with 1080p resolution on the standard and high version and 2K on the top-end curved screen model. Given that VR is turning out to be an important market for smartphone makers, the Mi Note 2 along with the Xiaomi Mi5S could be ideal phones for the company to focus its attention in this field.

While we don’t have a date yet, the Mi Note 2 is expected to be announced sometime in the next few months. Given its specifications, don’t expect it to be cheap. Hopefully, more details will emerge along with renders and pictures in the next few weeks.

Jim Wicks, Head of Motorola Design Team is Leaving The Company

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 22, 2016

Following the exit of Rick Osterloh (Former President of Motorola Mobility) in March, the company will be bidding farewell to another executive, in person of Jim Wicks who heads the design team.

Mr. Wicks had the opportunity of working on some of the company’s iconic devices such as the Motorola RAZR, Motorola Droid, Moto X, Moto G and Moto 360. He is said to be leaving next month for Northwestern University’s McCormik School of Engineering. What better way to go than to pass on that wealth of experience to the next generation?

Mr. Wicks will be replaced by Ruben Castano who is a senior design director at Motorola.

Following the exit of Jim Wicks, the Lenovo-owned company might be heading towards a new direction with respect to what new devices will look like. Let’s just hope they ditch the flat tire design on the Moto 360 and keep the much-loved batwing logo.

Rumor Mill: Snapdragon 821 May Show Up in One of Upcoming HTC Nexus Phones

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Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 22, 2016

Back in April, popular phone leaker, Evan Blass revealed that HTC will be building two Nexus devices codenamed Marlin and Sailfish. New info tells us that the device named Marlin will be featuring a Snapdragon 821 processor which is basically an upgraded version of the SD820 SoC.

The new snapdragon processor is expected to launch alongside the Snapdragon 823 which is expected to show up in the new galaxy note. There’s no other news with respect to the two nexus devices but we expect more details when we enter into the third quarter.

Ponder on this: If HTC is indeed making two Nexus devices this year and Huawei is truly getting their Nexus contract renewed, will one of the devices be a tablet? Seeing as the Nexus 9 was launched 2 years ago and will no longer receive support after October 2016, it is safe to hope for a new tablet. We should definitely throw a party if we have 3 nexus devices this year.

Huawei Sales Target For 2016 Reduced To 120 Million Says Supply Chain

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 22, 2016

Huawei had a wonderful 2015, selling over 108 million smartphones in a single year, which is quite a big achievement for the company. This year, the company plans to sell even more smartphones, somewhere around 140 million which will be great, if it manages to reach this target. However, according to supply chain sources, Huawei has reduced this target to 120 million for 2016, as it failed to reach internal goals due to the high price of its top-end phones. Well, to be honest, 120 million isn’t bad for a smartphone company in this market. It still represents a good 11% growth, which is better than most other smartphone makers who are focused on the high-end market.

Huawei is still doing well in the high-end market and recently, in the grand sale on JD.com in China, the company managed to come out as one of the top three smartphone makers. Also, it’s interesting to see the company’s high-end smartphones managed to come on top, in the two high-priced segments during the sale. For example, in the 2500-2999 Yuan segment, Huawei Mate 8 as well as Honor V8 were the top three phones, and in the 3000-3999 Yuan segment as well, Huawei P9 and Huawei P9 Plus made it to the top three.

So, even if Huawei does not reach its far fetched goal of selling 140 million smartphones, doing well in the high-end market could turn out to be good for the company. According to the company, it has already sold more than 2.6 million Huawei P9 and P9 Plus units since launch.

One brand to watch out in 2016 is OPPO who is also doing incredibly well. The company has reportedly sold more than 7 million OPPO R9 / OPPO F1 Plus smartphone since its launch a few months back and if the company manages to reach analyst prediction of 77-80 million units of smartphones sold in 2016, then it would be a big milestone for the company. Given that OPPO’s strength is really in the high-end segment, it could turn out to be a Chinese smartphone maker that Huawei has to look out for in the coming years.

(source)

Xiaomi’s New Smart Bike Is Coming On June 23

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 22, 2016

Although most people would know Xiaomi because of its cheap smartphones, the company has a lot of non-smartphone products in the market right now, especially in the smart home segment. The company also has its own top-end smart bike, called as the Qicycle R1, but that is out of the reach of most buyers since it costs a good $3000! But looks like the company is going to release another smart bike in the market, and from the teasers, it looks like the launch is on June 23, i.e. tomorrow. The smart bike is being teased by MIJIA brand, which was recently launched by Xiaomi to bring all its smart products under one name.

While the teasers do not confirm that the new product launched tomorrow is going to be a bike, the red tail light, and tires, as well as the handlebars and the small information display, makes it quite clear that this is going to be a smart bike. The display especially is something to talk about, which will show all the details like the WATT generated, distance covered, speed, etc. There are a few more options as well, which means it will show most of the details about your bike and journey. And like most Xiaomi’s smart products, expect the bike to feature Bluetooth to connect to your smartphone and share all these journey details.

MIJIA will officially take the wraps off this new smart bike tomorrow at 2 PM. Stay tuned for more details

Huawei’s EMUI 5.0 Could See Major Design Changes Close To Stock Android

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 21, 2016

Huawei has evolved as a small time smartphone manufacturer, to the third largest phone maker in the world. Given that now millions of Huawei smartphones are being used by customers worldwide, it becomes necessary for the company to evolve its user interface well. For all those who thought that Huawei needed to revamp its EMUI ROM, here’s some good news. A new report states that Huawei plans to make major changes to the EMUI 5.0 version that will be announced later this year.

And these changes will be for the good as it is said that the company’s EMUI 5.0 will now lean more towards a stock Android look. The company seems to have taken this decision with Western customers in mind. We have seen that most Android users love the simple stock Android UI on their smartphones, which is probably why the company is deciding to make over its user interface. Given that the company aims to strengthen its reach in the mature markets of US and Europe, this could be a much-needed change. The current generation EMUI versions like the EMUI 4.1 comes with complex UI design and menus. After the change, the UI will be simple, but Li Changzhu, Huawei’s Mobile Division executive assures that users will still be able to enjoy advanced features as well as customize the new UI.

Huawei had released EMUI 4 in the second half of 2015, and we can expect the new EMUI 5.0 to be unveiled sometime in the next few months. IFA would be an ideal time, as we will most likely meet a new Huawei Mate flagship at the event running this new interface.

(source)

Bezel-less Nubia Z11 Exposed In Multiple Leaks!

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 21, 2016

Nubia is all set to announce the bezel-less Nubia Z11 flagship on June 28. The phone will reportedly come with top-end specs to take on competitors like the Galaxy S7 Edge, Xiaomi Mi5 and other high-end models that currently rule the market. Yesterday, we saw the Nubia Z11 on the AnTuTu benchmark test and it scores upwards of 140K. Now, the same phone has been leaked in a couple of pictures, revealing the phone’s bezel-less design and metal body.

These pictures confirm that the phone will come with a bezel-less display, similar to the one that we saw last year on the Nubia Z9. Further, another picture confirms the metal body at the back, with a round fingerprint sensor. This is in line with what we saw in the previous images that were revealed by TENAA. Thanks to the bezel-less screen, it looks like the phone’s width will be controlled, as in the pictures, it seemed as if one handed operation was going to be possible. Also, up front, you have the traditional red colored Nubia home button (capacitive). The Z11 is also expected to be thin, as revealed by another leaked image, which is added below

nubia z11 thickness — Top: Oppo R9 (FC Bar Edition) (Thickness: 6.6mm)
Mid: Nubia Z11
Bottom: iPhone 6S Plus (Thickness: 7.3mm)

TENAA and AnTuTu have given us a very good idea of the specs of the Nubia Z11. The phone will come with the Snapdragon 820 chipset inside with 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. There’s no mention of a 6GB RAM edition, but given its flagship status, we expect one to be announced at the launch event. At the back, the phone will feature a 16MP camera, while up front, there will be an 8MP shooter. The screen will be bezel-less with a size of 5.5-inches and 1080p resolution. Also, the phone will be running on the new Android 6.0.1 version.

Rumors state that the Nubia Z11’s price should start at 2999 Yuan ($455) for the 4GB + 64GB model and go up to 3999 Yuan ($607) for the 6GB + 128GB model.

Nubia Z11 Leaks In A Real Image

LeEco To Announce New Smartphone On June 29, Could We Meet the SD821 Flagship?

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 21, 2016

LeEco is progressing pretty quickly as a smartphone maker. After launching the Le 1 phones, which were the first smartphones from the company, it has now transformed into an important player in the crowded phone market. All thanks to its aggressive pricing strategy. So, whenever LeEco announces a new smartphone launch conference, we all get excited.

Now, LeEco has released a new teaser for the launch of a smartphone on June 29 in Shanghai. Given that the Mobile World Congress – Shanghai commences on June 29, LeEco could be planning to announce this new smartphone and showcase it at the event.

Coming to the most important point here — which phone is the company planning to release on June 29? LeEco hasn’t revealed any details about the phone’s specifications, but we have some guesses.

We have been seeing rumors about a top-end flagship from LeEco, which is even more powerful than the Le Max 2 unveiled back in April. While the previous leaks have shown that the upcoming flagship was going to feature a very similar design as the Le Max 2, it will be coming in two new colors, blue and red. As for the specs, they are nothing less than extraordinary!

Rumors state that the new LeEco flagship will come with the Snapdragon 821 chipset under the hood with a whopping 8GB of RAM and a 25MP rear-facing camera. In case you are wondering, the Snapdragon 821 chipset is not expected to upgrade much in terms of configuration, but the clock speed is expected to be bumped up from 2.15GHz to 2.5GHz. Considering LeEco’s aggressive pricing, it shouldn’t retail for more than 2999 Yuan ($455), which if true, would be just amazing.

However, it seems a bit too early to meet a flagship such as the one mentioned above. SD821 hasn’t been announced yet and still 6GB RAM hasn’t become mainstream among all flagship phones. So, 8GB RAM phone in June seems a bit too early. There have been reports about LeEco releasing this beast sometime in August, which seems more plausible.

So, what can we expect at the launch event on June 29? Well, there are reports that LeEco will announce a special edition of the Le 2 model that was released back in April, most likely called Le 2 Eco edition. From the name, it looks like the phone will come with the company’s services inbuilt.

Anyway, we can expect more information about this launch in the next few days. So, stay tuned!

First Xiaomi Smartwatch Sketch Leaked: Check it out!

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 21, 2016

Xiaomi’s new Mi Band 2 wearable just went on sale earlier this month. The band was yet another successful product from the company, featuring a power efficient OLED display and heart rate sensor for a cheap price tag. However, this year, the new Mi Band isn’t the only wearable that’s coming from the company. It’s almost confirmed that there’s a Xiaomi smartwatch in the making and the product should soon be announced, according to an analyst.

While we still haven’t seen the new Xiaomi smartwatch in pictures, today a new sketch of the watch was leaked, which gives us a basic idea about the possible design of the new wearable. According to the image, the Xiaomi smartwatch should come with a regular design similar to other round watches in the market. We can see the Mi logo on the front as well as two buttons on the right side. The watch looks quite thick as well.

One of the interesting things revealed by this sketch is the bar at the bottom of the display. It could be hinting at a Moto 360 like design, which had a black bar on the display, ruining the true round watch experience. We hope that’s not going to be the case here.

As for the release, it is said that the new Xiaomi smartwatch should be announced sometime in September this year. So, there’s still a couple of months for the release, which means more information about the device should be leaked in the coming weeks.

Nubia Z11 Spotted On AnTuTu: Packs Snapdragon 820, 4GB RAM & Android 6.0

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 21, 2016

Nubia Z11 is one of the most important smartphones for the company this year, given that it will be coming with top-notch specs and a bezel-less display. The GM of the company, Ni Fei had recently confirmed the bezel-less display on the device, which clearly makes it one of the highlighted features of the device. However, apart from this, thanks to the past TENAA listing, we knew that the phone was going to come with powerful specs, including Snapdragon 820. But if you had any doubts, then today, you should know that the Nubia Z11 (NX531J) was spotted on AnTuTu benchmark confirming powerful specs and top-notch performance.

According to today’s AnTuTu listing, the Nubia Z11 comes with Snapdragon 820 with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. There will be a 16MP camera at the back and an 8MP shooter up front. Also, the phone will sport a 1080p display. While the screen size is not revealed here, TENAA listing confirmed that it will be a 5.5-inch panel. Inside, the phone features a 2900mAh battery. As for the software, it comes with Android 6.0.1. This is great news as both Z11 Mini and Z11 Max came with Android 5.1 lollipop on top.

Now, coming to the performance, on AnTuTu, the Nubia Z11 managed to score about 140,000 which is a pretty good score. This puts the phone in the top rankings alongside phones like the Xiaomi Mi5, Galaxy S7 and the Le Max 2.

So, what do you think about the Nubia Z11? It is turning out to be quite a powerful smartphone.

Company behind OPPO, Vivo & OnePlus Launches A New Smartphone Brand

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 21, 2016

You may have come across the company, BBK Electronics, in the past, as we have mentioned this name a couple of times in the past few years. The company is important to all Chinese smartphone lovers, as they are behind some of the most famous phone brands in the market right now, including OPPO, Vivo, and even OnePlus. So, if BBK is releasing a new smartphone brand, we can expect some pretty good products.

The company has just released a new brand called as “imoo”. This particular brand will be focused on making educational smartphones. This is not actually a new market for BBK, as the company has been involved with educational toys for kids for the past few years. So, the company is now bringing its experience in the educational segment and the smartphone segment together to make educational smartphones under the imoo brand. We are not entirely sure what to expect from these so-called educational smartphones, but more details are coming in the next few days.

The new brand imoo also released the first teaser for its device recently, which reveals some details about the phone. First of all, the brand is calling it as the “imoo learning phone” and it will be officially announced on June 24. Also, from the image, we can confirm that the phone comes with a slim form factor and metal frame with at least one color option, gold.

Another interesting thing we noted here was that the company said “imoo is coming” in English. Plus, there are a lot of words in English on the teaser image. Could we see some learning material from Chinese to Eng or vice versa on this phone? Maybe, we are just speculating too much based on limited information. Anyway, we should hear more about the phone this week. Stay tuned!

Honor 5C Released in the Europe, Costlier than in China & without fingerprint

By

Joel Joseph

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Jun 21, 2016

Huawei’s Honor brand announced the new Honor 5C smartphone in Europe yesterday. The phone was announced in China back in April and now makes it way to the European market. However, this is not entirely the same phone that was announced in China. The Honor 5C that makes it to Europe will come without a fingerprint sensor. Also, the phone will be priced much higher than its pricing in China, which is not a surprise since that’s usually the case in international markets. But what is surprising is the company’s decision to leave out the fingerprint sensor, which seems to be a feature that’s found even on entry level phones. Another interesting thing is that Honor is launching only the low-end variant of the 5C in Europe, which comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage. So, no 3GB + 32GB variant here.

Rest of the specs are going to be the same as the Honor 5C announced in China. So, you get a 5.2-inch IPS LCD 1080p display. Under the hood, you have the Kirin 650 octa-core chipset that should be efficient since it features eight Cortex A53 cores and is manufactured on the 16nm node. There will be 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. At the back, the phone comes with 13MP sensor while up front, an 8MP shooter. Inside, the 5C features a 3000mAh battery which should be good enough for powering the phone for a day.

Pricing is a lot higher than the Honor 5C in China. In Europe / UK, the same phone without fingerprint ID costs, EUR 199 ($225), or £149 in the UK. On the other hand, the same 2GB RAM version costs 999 Yuan in China, which comes to $154.

Still, considering the mid-range options available in Europe, the Honor 5C turns out to be a pretty good smartphone.

Home-Button Fingerprint Scanner for The Huawei P10? Possibly

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 21, 2016

Just when the dust of the launch of the Huawei P9 and Honor V8 is just settling, Huawei is already working on one of their flagship devices for next year, the Huawei P10. Sounds very early but is not much of a surprise as Huawei did announce the dual-camera setup of the P9 six months before its release.

p10 — An Artist’s Rendition of the Huawei P10

The news for the Huawei P10 states that there is a possibility the phone will have its fingerprint scanner integrated into the home button. This is a different approach from the P9, Honor V8, and even the Nexus 6P which have their fingerprint scanners at the back.

However, there is no news stating if the P10 will feature the dual-camera setup. We are still 10 months from the launch though, so more details will definitely show up.

Rumor Mill: New Release Date for Meizu MX6

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Jun 21, 2016

Following the release of the Meizu M3S, we informed you of the launch of the Meizu MX6 which was rumored to launch yesterday i.e. June 20. But as we can see, that didn’t happen for reasons best known to Meizu. But here at Gizmochina, we want to believe someone at Meizu read our article and decided that it wasn’t wise to release 3 phones in one month.

So there’s a new rumor in town with respect to the launch date of the MX6. The new rumor says the launch has been moved forward by a month to the 19th of July. The leak didn’t give any more details and since there’s no way to confirm the veracity of the info, we just have to be patient and sit this one out until Meizu releases an official statement.

The Meizu MX6 is expected to have two variants, viz.: a 3GB RAM model which should have 32GB of built-in storage, and a 4GB RAM version which should ship with 64GB of ROM. The phone is expected to be clad in all-metal, sport a 5.5” pressure-sensitive FHD screen, have a 20.7MP rear camera, run Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and be priced at 1799 Yuan ($273).

We do hope Meizu will confirm some of these specs before the launch date.