Xiaomi Mi 5 Teardown: Check Out What’s Inside The New Flagship

By

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Feb 24, 2016

Xiaomi launched the Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship yesterday, and since that time, we have come across lots of coverage about the device. In fact, a few hours ago, we revealed the real world benchmark results of the Mi 5 and they were quite good. And now, the Xiaomi Mi 5 is getting the teardown treatment. Yes, less than 24 hours after the phone was launched, someone decided that a Xiaomi Mi 5 teardown was necessary.

This is the ceramic version (top end) of the flagship, and not the 3D glass back version. So, let’s take a look what the company has used inside its newest flagship smartphone.

We have added comments wherever possible to ensure that you understand what’s going on in the pictures given below.

Xiaomi Mi 5 Teardown

First of all, this teardown confirms that there is no MicroSD card slot on the device. As for connectivity, the phone supports dual SIM 4G+ (LTE A) SIM cards.

Starting with the teardown, the Mi 5 doesn’t come with a removable back. So, you will have to use a suction cup to remove the back cover from the overall body.

Once you remove the 3D ceramic back cover, you will find a number of screws. These screws are covered with stickers, which means you will lose official warranty once they are removed.

The inside of the Mi 5 uses a three-stage layout. The portion above the battery and below it can be taken off, once the supporting screws are removed. And yes, there’s NFC (as labelled in the image).

Like mentioned in the specs, the phone comes with a compact 3000mAh lithium ion polymer battery inside. You could replace it without much hassle, but that will void your warranty.

The top PCB board is supported by a metal frame wherever needed. The chipset is coated with thermal grease / gel. But there doesn’t seem to be any other equipment for cooling the CPU. So, looks like Qualcomm did a good job with Snapdragon 820 in terms of heat efficiency.

So, these are the camera units. On the left is the 16MP Sony IMX298 sensor with 4-Axis Image Stabilization which is the rear camera. On the right is the 4MP Ultrapixel sensor used on the front.

This is the USB Type-C data interface from the Mi 5.

Next up is the physical home button, integrated with a fingerprint sensor. ~~Unfortunately, the picture doesn’t reveal the maker of the fingerprint sensor on the device~~. So, its confirmed that the FPC 1245 fingerprint sensor is inside.

This picture shows us the closeup of the Synaptics IC. It says that this is the fingerprint sensor, but I believe that the chip is actually the touch controller.

The mighty Snapdragon 820 chipset above along with the 4GB RAM module.

The 128GB flash memory on board the Mi 5, which is using the latest UFS 2.0 standard, faster as well as more efficient than eMMC 5.0.

So, this was the Xiaomi Mi 5 teardown. To be honest, I didn’t expect to see someone teardown this beast so fast.

Like you can see in the pictures above, the Mi 5 teardown reveals how well the company has placed all the components inside its thin 7.25mm body.

Hands On With The Xiaomi Mi 5 Flagship

By

Joel Joseph

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Feb 24, 2016

Xiaomi Mi 5 was just announced a couple of hours and we are all now excited to see a hands-on with the device. We were present at MWC 2016 in Barcelona, Spain where the company showcased its newest device. Luckily, among the hundreds of attendees, we got a short time with the Xiaomi Mi 5 and the experience was quite good.

The phone features a similar 3D back design as the Mi Note, but its better in many ways. There’s a ceramic version of the phone as well, which boasts of up to 9H Mohs hardness. It super thin, measuring just 7.25mm in thickness and lightweight as well, weighing just 129 grams. The overall size is compact, thanks to its small 5.15-inch display with thin bezels.

Under the hood, the phone features SD820 with 3GB / 4GB RAM, 32/ 62GB /128GB storage options. There a powerful 16MP Sony IMX298 with DTI pixel isolation tech, PDAF and 4-Axis Image stabilization (OIS). Other notable features include a 3000mAh battery with QC 3.0, 4G LTE, VoLTE USB Type-C, Infrared, and NFC.

We have added some images that we managed to capture at the event as well as hands on images from Pheonix technologies from China. The latter seems to be the best hands-on images of the Mi 5 available right now, so it’s definitely worth checking out. You can check them all from down below.

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Xiaomi Mi 5 vs iPhone 6S Plus: Official Camera Samples Compared

By

Joel Joseph

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Feb 24, 2016

Xiaomi announced the Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship with much fanfare at its Spring Conference in Beijing China. The phone comes with powerful specs, but the company has paid special attention to one particular area — its CAMERA. The 16MP sensor at the back will come with DTI technology which will reportedly help the sensor to utilize more light and reduce noise and blur. Further, the presence of 4-axis OIS helps in making sure that all the pictures turn out to be clear and crisp, even when you are taking a shot of an object in motion.

The Sony IMX 298 16MP sensor at the back will come with DTI technology which will reportedly help the sensor to utilize more light and reduce noise and blur. Further, the presence of 4-axis OIS helps in making sure that all the pictures turn out to be clear and crisp, even when you are taking a shot of an object in motion.

During the conference, Xiaomi didn’t waste any opportunity to compare its new flagship, the Mi 5 with Apple’s most recent handset, the iPhone 6S Plus. In terms of weight, dimensions, and even camera, the company tried to prove that the Mi 5 is better than the iPhone model.

In fact, in the conference, the company shared some samples of the Xiaomi Mi 5 directly compared with the same shot taken by the iPhone 6S Plus. In a couple of pictures, the Mi 5 does take pictures with better light as well as richer colors. So, there seems to be a visible improvement in the quality of pictures taken with the Mi 5, but we will reserve that judgement for later.

Meanwhile, you can check out these images. What do you think? Which ones better?

You can read all about the Xiaomi Mi 5 specs and pricing from our launch article.

Xiaomi Mi 5 vs Le Max Pro: Quick Specs Comparison

By

Joel Joseph

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Feb 24, 2016

Now that the Xiaomi Mi 5 is officially announced, its time to look at how it compares with the LeEco Le Max Pro which was announced back in January. The new Xiaomi flagship comes with plenty of innovative features meant to disrupt the industry. However, what really is the highlight of the phone is the price tag. Xiaomi has always been aggressive with its pricing and slapping a price tag of just 1999 Yuan for the device is just amazing.

But given that the Le Max Pro comes with 4GB of RAM, we will compare the top end version of the Xiaomi Mi 5 also coming with 4GB of RAM. So, without wasting any more time, let’s look at a quick Xiaomi Mi 5 vs Le Max Pro comparison.

DISPLAY:

Both the companies are targeting different consumers with its flagships. The Le Max Pro comes with a massive 6-inch display with 2K resolution while the Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with a much more compact 5.15-inch LCD display with FHD 1920 x 1080p resolution. As you can see, if you are looking for a compact flagship, Mi 5 is your best bet. But if you want something big that can fulfill all your entertainment needs, the Le Max Pro is the one for you, with a large 6.3-inch panel.

PROCESSOR & MEMORY:

Not much is different in this category, both featuring Snapdragon 820 chips. The SD820 inside Mi 5 is clocked at 2.15GHz, while the one inside Le Max Pro is clocked at a slightly higher 2.2GHz. As for the GPU, both have Adreno 530. Again, both feature 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and UFS 2.0 storage. While the LeEco flagship comes with 64GB of storage, the high-end variant of the Mi 5 comes with a whopping 128GB storage.

Xiaomi Mi 5 vs Le Max Pro – CAMERAS:

We can’t usually judge the camera performance just on the basis of specs, so we leave that for later during our review. But for specs, the Le Max Pro comes with 21MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture, OIS, PDAF and dual LED flash. On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with a 16MP sensor with DTI technology (better light utilization), four axis OIS, PDAF and dual LED flash.

As for the front camera, you get a large 4MP with 2-micron pixels on the Mi 5. Similarly, the Le Max Pro also comes with a 4MP front camera.

BATTERY:

The Battery is a bit larger on the Le Max Pro, with a capacity of 3400mAh and it supports QC 3.0 as well. On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with a slightly smaller 3000mAh capacity battery.

To be honest, the Mi 5 should have a better battery owing to the FHD resolution vs 2K on Max Pro and a smaller and compact display measuring just 5.15-inches. But we will have to wait and see, how much screen on time both the devices can provide.

CONNECTIVITY & MISC:

So, for connectivity, both feature dual SIM Dual standby, 4G LTE, VoLTE, USB Type-C port. We are not quite sure whether Le Max Pro has NFC (probably not), but the Xiaomi Mi 5 has this feature.

Both have fingerprint sensors on board. But they use different sensors. While the Le Max Pro comes with Qualcomm’s new Ultrasonic 360 degrees sensor, we are not quite sure what sensor is inside the Mi 5.

PRICING & AVAILABILITY:

Le Max Pro recently went on sale at 1999 Yuan ($305) but only 1000 engineering units were made available for sale. The open sale date or pricing is yet to be announced, but it’s going to be much costlier than this figure.

On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi 5 is confirmed to go on sale from March 1, i.e next week at a starting price tag of 1999 Yuan ($305). If you are looking to purchase the prestige edition (most powerful version), i.e. the one compared in this article, then it will cost you 2699 Yuan ($413).

	COMPARISON: Xiaomi Mi 5 vs Le Max Pro
No.	SPECS	Le Max Pro	Xiaomi Mi 5
1	DISPLAY	6.33-inch LCD 2560 x 1440p (464 ppi)	5.15-inch LCD 1920 x 1080p
2	CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 @2.2GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 @ 2.15GHz
3	GPU	Adreno 530	Adreno 530
4	RAM	4GB LPDDR4	4GB LPDDR4
5	STORAGE	64GB UFS 2.0 NO MicroSD slot	128GB UFS 2.0
6	CAMERAS	21MP f/2.0 6P Lens OIS PDAF dual LED color temp flash5MP Secondary 81 degrees wide angle	16MP 6P Lens 4 Axis OIS PDAF dual LED color temp flash4MP Secondary 2-micron pixel
7	BATTERY	3400mAh (non-removable)	3000mAh
8	OS	Android M + EUI	Android 6.0 + MIUI 7
10	FEATURES	4G LTE, VoLTE USB Type-C QC 3.0 Hi-Fi, Dolby Atmos Ultrasonic Fingerprint ID	4G LTE, VoLTE USB Type-C QC 3.0 Fingerprint ID
11	PRICE	TBA	$413 (128GB)

So, that was it. Xiaomi Mi 5 vs Le Max Pro. As you can see, this is not an extensive comparison, rather it’s just a quick specs comparison. It helps you to figure out what each model offers to the consumers.

Which one would you pick? Although I know what’s the answer going to be for most of our readers.

Get $13 Off the 1byone 3100mAh iPhone 6/6s Battery Charger Case

By

Linus

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Feb 23, 2016

Despite all the new announcements in MWC Barselona, iPhone 6s will still remain one of the most popular smartphones on the market. However, one of its biggest weaknesses is the battery life. 1byone has a pretty good solution for that – a 3100mAh battery case and at the moment you can get it for a pretty price.

One of the key features of this battery case is that it is slim and compact although it carries a pretty generous 3100mAh battery cell inside to power up your iPhone 6/6s.

The powerful 3,100 mAh Li-polymer rechargeable battery can effectively provide 100%+ extra battery life to your iPhone 6 / 6s, which is equivalent to add 14+ hours talk time or 10+ hours web browsing time.

The battery case acts not only as a regular power bank but it does what cases usually do – protect your device from drops and scratches.

The battery case uses the sync-through technology, which ensures that you can sync your iPhone to a computer without having to take the battery case off. In addition, you can simultaneously charge your iPhone and battery case together with the included Micro-USB cable.

A convenient battery life indicator shows the juice level left in the power bank.

Furthermore, the battery case has optional frames, so you can dress up your iPhone differently on every single day.

Finally, you can get a generous $13 off this case on Amazon by simply using a coupon code A365AUL6.

Deal summary:

Start Date: 02/23/2016 6:00 AM PST
End Date: 03/01/2016 11:59 PM PST

Coupon Code: A365AUL6

Original price: $34.99

Discounted price: $21.99

You Save: $13

Buy 1byone 3100mAh iPhone 6/6s Battery Charger Case with a coupon code A365AUL6

Xiaomi Mi 5 Is Official With SD820, 16MP Camera & 3000mAh Battery: All Specs Inside

By

Joel Joseph

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Feb 23, 2016

Our wait has finally come to an end! Xiaomi has officially unveiled the Mi 5 flagship at its Spring Conference event today. The phone is everything we predicted it to be, featuring a premium body with powerful specs.

Now that the phone is official, here are all the details about the Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship, including the specs.

First of all, let’s take a look a the design. The phone is significantly different than its predecessor, Xiaomi Mi 4, with a rounder and smoother design. The company has used a new material on the flagship, zirconium 3D ceramic body, which it claims is 75% more expensive than traditional glass material. It’s extremely strong and resistant, up to 8 Mohs hardness. Design wise, Xiaomi has done a good job keeping the Mi 5 sleek and compact, the camera sensor flat (not protruding) and light weight. Oh yes, its super light weighing only 129 grams!! As for the dimensions, the phone 144.55 x 69.20 x 7.25mm.

For the first time, Xiaomi will be using a physical home button up front integrated with a fingerprint sensor. The company says that the sensor is super fast, but we don’t yet have an official unlock time for the sensor.

As for the specs, like confirmed earlier, the Xiaomi Mi 5 will come with Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor. The new chip is manufactured on the 14nm process and comes with Adreno 530 GPU, Hexagon 680 DSP, X12 LTE modem and support for Quick Charge 3.0. The new chip basically doubles the performance while cutting down the energy consumption to half.

There will be two different memory variants available, one with 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage, which is the standard version. The other, high-end edition will come with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The company adds that these are the UFS 2.0 high-speed flash memories, which is reportedly 87% faster than traditional memory standards. During the presentation, the company revealed that the 4GB + 128GB version of the Xiaomi Mi 5 scored an impressive 142, 084 on AnTuTu.

As for the display, the phone sports a beautiful 5.15-inch display with Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution.The bezels are super thin and the screen features ultra-low power bright backlit LEDs for better display quality. In fact, Xiaomi has 21 patents for the display on Mi 5, for things like sunlight screen, negative high contrast LCD tech etc.

At the back, you get a powerful 16MP camera with 6P lens and 4-axis OIS to make sure the pictures turn out to be blur free. This is probably why we saw CEO Lei Jun’s Mi 5 take great shots of the bird in motion. Throughout the presentation, the company compared the Xiaomi Mi 5’s camera with the iPhone 6S Plus to show that it was superior.

The camera is particularly the highlight of the Mi 5, as the company as used a new DTI pixel isolation tech on the device. This reportedly allows for greater utilization of light, thereby reducing noise and improving picture quality. As for the front camera, it’s a 4MP sensor with 2-micron pixels for better selfies.

The Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with VoLTE with a maximum download speed of 600Mbps. The high-density battery inside is of 3000mAh with QC 3.0 support. You can charge the phone for just 5 minutes and get up to 2.5 hours of talk time! Other notable connectivity features include dual SIM dual standby, VoLTE, Infrared Port and NFC.

As for the pricing, the phone starts at 1999 Yuan ($306) for the 3GB + 32GB version (Glass Body + [email protected]), 2299 Yuan ($352) for 3GB + 64GB (Ceramic body + faster clocked SD820 @2.15GHz) and goes up to 2699 Yuan ($413) for the high-end 4GB + 128GB variant (Ceramic body + [email protected]). These are some pretty aggressive pricing for a flagship of this level!

The phone goes on sale on March 1 at Mi.com.

So, what do you think? Are you impressed?

Meanwhile, check out these articles for more Xiaomi Mi 5 coverage:

Xiaomi Mi 5 vs Le Max Pro: Quick Specs Comparison

Xiaomi Mi 5 vs iPhone 6S Plus: Camera Samples Compared

Xiaomi Mi 4S vs Xiaomi Mi 4: Specs Compared

Where To Watch The Xiaomi Mi 5 Launch Event Live?

By

Joel Joseph

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Feb 23, 2016

We all have been waiting for quite a long time (almost 2 years!) for the launch of the new Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship. And today, that wait comes to an end! I am sure that everyone is excited for the unveiling of the Xiaomi Mi 5 and related products at the company’s Spring Conference. But you all must be wondering where to watch the event live.

Unlike earlier events, Xiaomi is actually live streaming the Xiaomi Mi 5 launch worldwide, so anyone with a decent internet connection can watch the entire event live. All you have to do is check out the youtube video down below. The event commences in just a couple of hours. To be exact, the event starts at 1:30PM Indian Standard Time, 3:00 AM EST (New York), 9AM CET Barcelona and 8AM (UK). The streaming starts an hour before, so if you want to be early, you can tune in to the live stream before the event starts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5xSfaMbLdc

So far, these are the specs confirmed on the Xiaomi Mi 5:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 with Adreno 530
FHD 1920 x 1080p display
Dual SIM Dual Standby
NFC
A Powerful Camera with fast focus

Rumors have filled in the information gaps like a 5.2-inch display, 16MP rear camera, 3600mAh battery, multiple body variants, 3GB / 4GB RAM options etc. But these features are yet to be confirmed.

So, there you have it, the Xiaomi Mi 5 Launch is in a couple of hours. Stay tuned to gizmochina as we bring the latest news and updates on the powerful flagship in the next few hours.

Xiaomi May Release Xiaomi Mi 4S Alongside The Mi 5 Flagship Today

By

Joel Joseph

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Feb 23, 2016

Our wait is almost over. Xiaomi will release the Mi 5 flagship today at its Spring Conference at 2PM Beijing time. However, yesterday, we reported that an analyst said the Mi 5 may not be the only product announced tomorrow. There will be “one more thing” at the event. While at that time, things were unclear, now, we might have a faint idea as to what to expect from the conference.

According to a leaked poster from the retailer Suning, Xiaomi will most likely announce another handset at the event, namely the Xiaomi Mi 4S. Like the name suggests, this could be a slightly upgraded version of the Mi 4 flagship, targeted at users who want a cheaper device. From the image, the phone doesn’t look like a premium handset. Instead, the company could be looking at the mid-range segment who like thin devices.

The poster also reveals the specs of the Mi 4S. The phone will reportedly come with a 5-inch FHD 1920 x 1080p Sunlight display, with metal and glass body. Under the hood, there will be the Snapdragon 808 hexacore processor, the same one that powers the LG G4. At the back, it will have a 13MP camera with PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus) and dual LED flash. The Mi 4S will support all three major carriers in China and will come with dual SIM dual standby. Finally, the device will also feature a fingerprint sensor, which as we can see, will be located on the back side.

Given that the conference is just a couple of hours away, things will get clear quite soon. The specs and the overall image tells us that this device could be much cheaper than the Mi 5. Considering rumors say that the Mi 5 will start at 1999 Yuan, we can expect the Mi 4S to retail at a much lower price tag. If

If it’s priced at $220, would you consider it?

ZTE Focuses On Europe, Targets Overall Smartphone Sales Of 60-70 million in 2016

By

Joel Joseph

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Feb 23, 2016

ZTE, which is currently the sixth largest smartphone maker is reportedly aiming to sell about 60 million to 70 million smartphones in 2016.

The company has totally changed its image for better last year, releasing pretty impressive smartphones in the Axon and Blade lineup. In fact, the company unveiled two new devices this year at MWC, namely the ZTE Blade V7 and the V7 lite. Both are mid-range offerings aimed at budget customers who want a decent smartphone experience.

Apart from releasing value for money smartphones like the Axon Pro, the company is also investing in marketing. Recently, ZTE announced a sports marketing partnership with the Spanish football club Seville. This is not the first time the company is associating itself with sports, as the company has tie-ups with five different pro basketball teams.

Association with sports teams can be a good way to improve brand image, and this strategy has helped the company to push itself as the fourth largest smartphone maker in the United States. After establishing a strong presence in China and US, the company is now looking out to Europe to improve and expand its brand name in the region.

To build its brand in Europe, the company has started the ZTE Europe Tour. After the US, ZTE is now bringing its “Experience Buses” loaded with its devices in countries like Spain, Germany, Poland, Italy and France.

Aggressive marketing along with value for money smartphones will help the company to achieve its yearly target of 60 million units. We have seen a lot of Chinese smartphone lovers from Europe and it might be a good idea to leverage this interest to offer them better smartphone choices and experiences by focusing in the region.

TCL 302U Review

By

Linus

-

Feb 23, 2016

We have plenty of cheap phones and on of them is TCL 302U. Find out more in a full review.

A special thanks to LightInTheBox for sending TCL 302U for a review.

TCL 302U Review: VIDEO

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYIb3OHb90A[/embedyt]

TCL 302U Review: UNBOXING

The device comes with the USB cable, charging plug and some documentation.

TCL 302U Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

As for design, we are looking at a rather compact phone, which has a 5” display. However, the panel does not even have HD resolution and it is far from the best. My biggest complaints are that the colours start fading once you tilt the device just a little bit. Also, the display has a somewhat reflective coating, which gives a mirror effect.

On the front we have just 0.3MP camera and on the bottom there are 3 nicely backlit capacitive buttons.

The backplate is made of glossy plastic, which attracts fingerprints quite easily. As for optics, the phone ships with just a 5MP shooter.

The buttons feel nice and they have a good tactile feedback.

The backplate is removable but it is very hard to do that as it sits very tight. Under the hood you can find a removable 1800mAh battery, 2 SIM card slots and both of them support 4G. Finally, there is a microSD card slot.

Overall, the phone is well made and feels solid in the hand despite using plastic in its design.

TCL 302U Review: UI

The phone was released quite a while ago and it has never been updated to the newest version of Android. The device runs 4.4 Kitkat ROM and we have a pretty much stock looking UI.

Everything is running fast and fluid and probably the only extra feature worth mentioning is the built-in themes store, which allows you to customise your device.

However, I had some issues with the Google Play store as the apps could not be downloaded, so I had to re-install it manually to make it work.

TCL 302U Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

The TCL 302U sports a MTK 6735P chip, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. This combo of hardware is definitely not designed for gamers as the was a lot of lag and stutter while playing 3D games.

TCL 302U Review: MULTIMEDIA

The loudspeaker quality is pretty good for the phone this cheap but don’t expect anything spectacular from it.

TCL 302U Review: IMAGE QUALITY

We can’t expect stellar results from the budget phone’s camera. Some images turned out to be pretty good and can be used for social media but in general, pictures lack in detail, the camera struggles with focusing and the colours don’t always look natural.

As for video recording, it is not really impressive neither. See a video review for a video sample.

TCL 302U Review: CONNECTIVITY

As for connectivity options, I have no major complaints except for the fact that the GPS is kind of slow to get a position lock.

TCL 302U Review: BATTERY LIFE

The battery life is actually pretty good. I could get over 4 hours of screen-on time with light usage and that is a pretty good result.

TCL 302U Review: CONCLUSIONS

The TCL 302U is designed to do the basic tasks and it does it well. It has a great design and sturdy construction, the UI is simple, easy to use and stutter-free. Also, the battery life is good.

However, the camera is not really impressive and the back cover is extremely hard to open. Also, the phone is still rocking outdated Android 4.4.

Overall, the phone is an option for those who want to get all the basics done right but don’t mind some shortcomings. However, you may also want to check out what the competition has to offer.

Buy TCL 302U from LightInTheBox

6GB RAM Vivo XPlay 5 AnTuTu Benchmark Results Leaked, New Renders Surface As Well

By

Joel Joseph

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Feb 23, 2016

Now that it’s all confirmed that the Vivo XPlay 5 will feature a whopping 6GB RAM, we are all patiently waiting for the first benchmark results of the device. Its pretty much given that the phone will beat other flagships that were announced recently, but by how much is something that we are all eager to see. Whether 6GB RAM will give the XPlay 5 significant edge over others, or whether the lead would just be of a couple of thousand points. Well, we don’t have to imagine anymore, as the first Vivo XPlay 5 AnTuTu benchmark results have surfaced online, and it’s impressive.

According to an alleged AnTuTu benchmark result of the Vivo XPlay 5, the phone scores an amazing 162,610 making it the fastest smartphone on the benchmarking app. The results are very powerful, with the device beating competitors like the Le Max Pro in pretty much every department. The scores in the RAM, UX, CPU and RAM are much higher than the Le Max Pro, which has resulted in such a high final score.

Of course, like always, we would advise you to take this leak with a pinch of salt. As of now, we cannot confirm whether this XPlay 5 AnTuTu benchmark is real or not. Also, we wonder whether an addition 2GB RAM can result in a difference of nearly 30K on AnTuTu. So, let’s wait for some concrete information before getting too excited.

In addition to the leaked benchmark score of the XPlay 5, the source also revealed two new renderings of the device. These two renders are way different than what we saw earlier today of the upcoming flagship, which makes things even more confusing.

But, this could be the real design of the XPlay 5 because it’s very similar to the recently released teaser from the company. It’s different than the earlier one in the sense that the dual curved edges are actually on the top and the bottom, rather than the sides. It’s a different design and we are curious to see what innovative function will such curved edges bring to the phone.

Anyways, take a look at these renders and let us know whether you like this design or the one leaked before.

Xiaomi Mi 5 May Not Be The Only Product Announced Tomorrow

By

Joel Joseph

-

Feb 23, 2016

Xiaomi is all set to launch the Xiaomi Mi 5 handset at its Spring Conference tomorrow in China. We have all been waiting patiently for this event for the past few weeks and our wait has almost come to an end. In less than 24 hours, the event kicks off and we will meet the one of the most awaited smartphones of the year, the Xiaomi Mi 5. However, it looks like this may not be the only product that will meet us at the event tomorrow.

According to the noted analyst, Pan Jiutang, Xiaomi may announce another product at the event tomorrow. This is possible since the event goes on for a whole two hours, which is long enough for a couple of product announcements. The analyst revealed this info via his weibo page. He said that there would be more products in addition to the Xiaomi Mi 5 and that he was looking forward to ‘one more thing’.

At this point of time, there are a couple of guesses for the second product. It could be the rumored Xiaomi drone, that we all have seen in renders and pictures. But given that an executive claims that the drone would be announced later, we are not quite sure of this.

However, what seems to be more likely is a new Mi Water Purifier. Now you may think that this possibility has come out of the blue. But there’s some backing to this reasoning. The company’s Mi Purifier account released a new teaser image a few hours back, which shows off a product that’s likely the next generation purifier. You can check out the image from above.

There could be other products as well, but Xiaomi is yet to reveal anything about them. Anyways, let’s wait for the event tomorrow, to get official details about the company’s new products.

Also, you can check out the live stream of the event tomorrow directly on Youtube from below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5xSfaMbLdc

Hands On: Ulefone Future Bezel-less Smartphone

By

Joel Joseph

-

Feb 22, 2016

Ulefone has been in the market for the past couple of years and in this time, we have seen some value for money devices from the company. Recently, Ulefone teased its latest flagship in the market, namely the Ulefone Future, which claimed to come with a bezel-less design. Given that a small time Chinese company is making such a big claim, we all were a bit skeptical whether the final product would be anywhere close to bezel-less. Now, after visiting their booth at MWC 2016, it looks like, yes, the Ulefone Future is indeed bezel-less.

The company seems to have kept the design quite simple on the Ulefone Future. The phone is indeed bezel-less with zero visible borders. This makes the display stand out pretty well and therefore, the front looks good. All the buttons are located on the right side of the phone. So, you have the volume keys as well as the power button on that side. You even get a side mounted fingerprint sensor on the same side, which is placed perfectly for your thumb. On the left side, you have the SIM card slots.

Coming to the back, it’s pretty plain. This is the company’s first unibody metal smartphone, and it has decided to keep things simple. You don’t even find a Ulefone branding at the back, but that’s because this is not the final commercial unit. The 16MP camera and the dual LED dual tone flash lies on the top left corner at the back. Finally, coming to the bottom, you can see dual speaker slots, but we are still not sure whether thy are just there for a symmetric design or if there are indeed two speakers on board. In between, you will find the USB Type-C port.

The company is marketing the Ulefone Future as a powerful flagship. It features the Helio P10 MT6755 chipset inside with 4GB RAM and 32GB of storage. The phone will be running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS right out fo the box.

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Here’re the Ulefone Future specs Summary:

5.5-inch 2.5D Bezel-less display with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution
Helio P10 (MT6755) True Octa-Core CPU @2.0GHz
Mali-T860 MP2 GPU
4GB LPDDR3 RAM
32GB Internal Storage
16MP Rear camera with dual-LED (dual tone) flash
8MP Front Camera
3000mAh battery
Side Mounted Fingerprint sensor
USB Type-C
Android 6.0 Marshmallow Version

Dual Curved Edge Vivo XPlay 5 Renders Emerge, Looks Beautiful!

By

Joel Joseph

-

Feb 22, 2016

Vivo is going big with its upcoming Vivo XPlay 5 flagship. The phone is confirmed to be the first 6GB RAM smartphone in the market. Along with such a large RAM module, the XPlay 5 will also feature one of the fastest chips this year, the Snapdragon 820. What’s more, the company has also confirmed that the phone will come with dual curved edge display, adding to the beauty of the device. As you can see from the specs, the phone is really going to be extraordinary.

Now, we might have a first look at the phone, thanks to the leaked Vivo XPlay 5 renders. To be honest, they look quite good and if the phone is anything like the one in the renders, then Vivo has done a very good job with its upcoming flagship. The phone features a borderless design, with the edges curved on both the sides like the Galaxy S6 Edge.

Taking these Vivo XPlay 5 renders into consideration, the phone most likely comes with a beautiful design. Plus the specs are powerful as confirmed by the company in the past few days, which is a deadly combination.

In fact, Vivo is sticking with its tradition of revealing a new feature every day, as a few hours back, the company confirmed that the Vivo XPlay 5 will come with Hi-Fi 3.0. In case you follow the brand, you would know that Vivo’s smartphone have always been known for their Hi-Fi audio, so its no surprise that the company decided to use the new Hi-Fi 3.0 standard in its flagship device.

Vivo XPlay 5 is turning out to be a beast with these features and we are now all the more excited to meet the device at the launch on March 1. However, considering Vivo’s pricing strategy, don’t expect this beast to be cheap. You might want deep pockets if you are planning to get hold of this device sometime in the coming weeks.

But if the phone is priced somewhere around $500-$600, would you be interested?

Limited Number Of Le Max Pro Units Go On Sale In China At Throwaway Price

By

Joel Joseph

-

Feb 22, 2016

Le Max Pro holds the title of the world’s first Snapdragon 820 smartphone, but despite its announcement back in January, the phone was not yet available for sale. However, earlier today, LeEco announced that the Le Max Pro with SD820 on board will also be the first phone with this chip to go on sale.

The company made limited 1000 units of the flagship available for purchase to its fans today at 12:00 PM (Feb 23). These are not commercial versions of the device, rather engineering models. So, it looks like the company rushed the sale as it wanted to bag the title of “first SD820 smartphone to go on sale”.

Now, coming to the most surprising part of the sale. The Le Max Pro engineering models are being sold at a throwaway price of 1999 Yuan ($306). We call it throwaway price because many rumors suggest that the commercial version of the phone is going to go on sale for a price around $500. In fact, the company claims that it incurs a loss on the sale of each unit. What’s more, the company is offering a number of add-ons like subscription to 3 months of LeTV Music. So, if you happen to live in China, this would have been a great opportunity to get your hands on this beast.

As for the specs, the powerful Le Max Pro comes with Snapdragon 820 chip under the hood with Adreno 530, 4GB LPDDR4 RAM and 64GB of internal storage. At the back, you have a large 21MP sensor while up front, you will find a 4MP Ultrapixel shooter. The screen is massive, measuring 6.33-inches with 2K resolution. Inside, you have a 3400mAh battery to power these specs. Other notable features of the phone include Qualcomm’s Ultrasonic Fingerprint sensor (at the back), Hi-Fi audio, Dolby sound, and dual card dual standby.

At 1999 Yuan, the Le Max Pro was really a steal deal! However, at the time of publishing this article (an hour after the sale), the phone would most likely be sold out.

Considering the specs on board, how much would you be willing to pay for the commercial version of the Le Max Pro?

Huawei Mate 8 Flagship Now $20 OFF At Lightinthebox (Coupon Inside)

By

Joel Joseph

-

Feb 22, 2016

Huawei announced the Mate 8 flagship late last year, however, the phone was finally available for sale only in 2016. The company announced and released the device in China, and now those who are looking to get hold of the flagship internationally can get it via the retailer lightinthebox. The store has listed the Mate 8 flagship for sale at a price tag of $599, but you can get it for $20 OFF if you buy it soon. The sale starts from 12AM on February 23 Beijing time. Just use the coupon HUAWEIMATE8 for availing the discount.

[NOTE: The coupon can be added in the payment section during checkout.]

Mate 8 with the new Kirin 950 chipset on board is considered as one of the best phablets in the market. The phone features a beautiful sleek body with premium specs, making it a powerful flagship in this price segment. In case you were looking forward to buy this beast, this would be a good time since you can get it for just $579. But there’s a catch, only the first 20 units sold from 12AM (Beijing time) tomorrow will be eligible for the $20 discount.

In case you are one of the unlucky customers, who miss the 20 unit limited sale ($579) price, then you may still have something to cheer about. The retailer is promising free shipping for the device. So, still you get to save a few dollars on your purchase.

As for the specs, the Huawei Mate 8 sports a large 6-inch 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution IPS display with the Cortex A72 powered Kirin 950 chipset under the hood. The model being offered for sale comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage which is further expandable up to 128GB via MicroSD. There are dual SIM card slots with 4G LTE support. For optics, you have a powerful 16MP rear camera while up front, there is an 8MP Selfie shooter. The battery is pretty large as well, of 4000mAh capacity.

The overall package is quite attractive. The Mate 8 is costlier than other Chinese flagships out there, but Huawei has always aimed to compete with the likes of Samsung and Apple flagships. So, if you were planning to purchase the device, then head over to the listing and check out the device.

Remember that the $20 discount is only applicable for the first 20 units, so if interested, do hurry up on the purchase (starts in about an hour from the time of publishing this post).

Buy Huawei Mate 8 At $579 ($20 OFF — USE COUPON: HUAWEIMATE8 )

ZTE unveils two new mid-rangers, ZTE Blade V7 and V7 Lite at MWC 2016

By

Joel Joseph

-

Feb 22, 2016

Yesterday, ZTE officially unveiled its brand new ZTE SPro Plus smart projector. We hoped to see a new smartphone from the company at the event, but we were instead greeted by the new model in the projector series. But today, ZTE has unveiled two new models in its Blade series, namely, the Blade V7 and the V7 Lite. In case you are familiar with the company’s Blade series, you would know that these handsets are targeted at the mid-range markets.

Coming to the first model, the ZTE Blade V7, it features a larger 5.2-inch FHD IPS display with Mediatek’s MT6753 octa-core chip under the hood. There’s 2GB of RAM on board along with 16GB of storage, further expandable via MicroSD. At the back, there’s a 13MP standard shooter, while up front, you will find a 5MP shooter. The battery isn’t big, and is of 2500mAh capacity. Its pretty slim as well, with a 7.5mm thin body. You get Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS on board with ZTE’s UI on top.

As for the second and less powerful device, i.e. the ZTE Blade V7 Lite, it sports a 5-inch 720p display with Mediatek’s MT6735P quad-core chip under the hood. You get the same 2GB and 16GB expandable storage options as the larger model. At the back as well as front, there are 8MP shooters. Under the hood, you get a 2500mAh battery as well, and that’s inside a 7.5mm body.

Both phones support 4G LTE networks and run on Android 6.0. The phone will be available in Mexico, Spain, Germany and Thailand by Spring this year (same release period as the SPro Plus). However, the company is yet to announce pricing details for both these devices.

ZUK Z2 Coming This March, Expect New Features

By

Joel Joseph

-

Feb 21, 2016

Last year, Lenovo’s sub-brand ZUK released its first smartphone, the ZUK Z1 aimed at the affordable flagship market. The phone came with a neat design and good specs which made it quite an attractive package for its $300 price tag. Given that its been more than six months since the Z1 debuted, news about a second generation ZUK Z2 have started to come out. We already have heard rumors about the second gen device featuring a rotating camera module and Snapdragon 820, and now the CEO has confirmed that the phone will launch sometime in March.

It looks like the next few weeks are going to be pretty amazing for smartphone fans all around the world. We have already seen the innovative LG G5, Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Huawei Matebook 2-in-1 and there are a lot more announcements coming our way at MWC 2016. Further, the world’s first 6GB smartphone, Vivo XPlay 5 is all set to debut in March as well as this ZUK Z2 flagship, possibly with a rotating camera.

RELATED: ZUK Z1 REVIEW

Unfortunately, we haven’t received much news about the ZUK Z2 yet, but we can expect pretty powerful specs on the device. ZUK revealed via its official weibo page that the phone will come with innovative technology. It could be hinting at the rumored rotating camera or some other new tech. We will have to wait and see what this relatively new brand has in store for us.

Also, we hope that the ZUK Z2 is as affordable as the Z1. Since, its almost confirmed that the Z2 will launch in March, expect a lot more details about this upcoming flagship in the coming days.

Vivo XPlay 5 Confirmed To Feature 6GB RAM & Snapdragon 820

By

Joel Joseph

-

Feb 21, 2016

It looks like nearly two years of waiting for the Vivo XPlay 5 flagship was totally worth it. A few minutes ago, Vivo confirmed via its official weibo page that its upcoming Vivo XPlay 5 flagship will feature a whopping 6GB of RAM onboard. Yes, this is not a typo, and it’s confirmed directly by the company. So, on March 1, at Beijing’s Water Cube Convention Center, we will probably meet the world’s first 6GB RAM smartphone (unless Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with a 6GB version).

The Vivo XPlay 5 will really mark a new era of powerful smartphones with 6GB of RAM. Last year, we reported that Samsung’s new age DRAM chips made it possible for smartphones with 6GB of RAM. So, the RAM inside the Vivo flagship should be supplied by Samsung.

What’s more, you get the powerful Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor inside, which is once again confirmed by the company, to ensure that the phone performs better than most other flagships. Even the LG G5 and Galaxy S7 flagships which were announced yesterday came with just 4GB of RAM. So, Vivo seems to be have done a great job providing the additional 2GB RAM on board the XPlay 5 handset.

As for the specs, it’s confirmed that the phone will feature a dual edge display, probably with 2K resolution. Other rumored specs include a large 6-inch screen, 16MP rear camera, 8MP front camera and a 4300mAh battery. Given that Vivo has decided to reveal its important features via teasers ahead of its release, we can expect most of these specs to be confirmed before Vivo XPlay 5 releases officially.

The company is all set to announce the device on March 1, which is a week away. So, after the exciting series of announcements at MWC 2016, we will meet the powerful XPlay 5.

So, what do you think about adding 6GB RAM inside a smartphone? Is it overkill or do you think its practical?

Nokia Confirmed To Re-Enter Smartphone Market

By

Joel Joseph

-

Feb 21, 2016

Nokia, who was once the top selling smartphone manufacturer, has undergone a lot of changes in the past couple of years. The company’s smartphone business was sold out to Microsoft at just over $7 billion in 2014, after which only a small portion of the original company was left. However, Nokia has been busy working and developing its other projects, like 4.5G / 5G technology and acquiring the network equipment manufacturer Alcatel-Lucent recently.

Given that Microsoft’s contract barred the company from entering the smartphone industry for a couple of years, Nokia was tight-lipped about any future plans to re-enter the industry. However, at MWC 2016, which is currently going on in Barcelona, Spain, Rajeev Suri, the CEO of Nokia, confirmed plans to re-enter the smartphone industry. This is definitely good news for all loyal Nokia fans still out there, wanting to see the manufacturer of their first phones, make a comeback in the market.

However, Rajeev didn’t give out a timeline for a smartphone release. The company can reportedly start selling smartphones under its name from Q4 2016, but we are not quite sure whether we will see handset from the company so soon. His exact words were “There’s no timeline, there’s no rush. It could happen in 2016, it could happen later.”

Less than a year after Microsoft’s acquisition, Nokia released its first tablet, the Nokia N1 based on Android. The company partnered with Foxconn to build the N1 tablet and we could see a similar strategy where the company controls the design for its upcoming products.

Anyways, this clears a lot of doubts regarding Nokia’s re-entry into the smartphone industry. Now, the question has changed from “Whether Nokia will enter the industry” to “When they will launch a new smartphone”. Like CEO said, it could be this year, or maybe next. But for now, we wait and watch.

Xiaomi Mi 5 Teardown

DISPLAY:

PROCESSOR & MEMORY:

Xiaomi Mi 5 vs Le Max Pro – CAMERAS:

BATTERY:

CONNECTIVITY & MISC:

PRICING & AVAILABILITY:

One of the key features of this battery case is that it is slim and compact although it carries a pretty generous 3100mAh battery cell inside to power up your iPhone 6/6s.

The powerful 3,100 mAh Li-polymer rechargeable battery can effectively provide 100%+ extra battery life to your iPhone 6 / 6s, which is equivalent to add 14+ hours talk time or 10+ hours web browsing time.

The battery case acts not only as a regular power bank but it does what cases usually do – protect your device from drops and scratches.

The battery case uses the sync-through technology, which ensures that you can sync your iPhone to a computer without having to take the battery case off. In addition, you can simultaneously charge your iPhone and battery case together with the included Micro-USB cable.

A convenient battery life indicator shows the juice level left in the power bank.

Furthermore, the battery case has optional frames, so you can dress up your iPhone differently on every single day.

Finally, you can get a generous $13 off this case on Amazon by simply using a coupon code A365AUL6.

Deal summary:

Start Date: 02/23/2016 6:00 AM PST End Date: 03/01/2016 11:59 PM PST

Coupon Code: A365AUL6

Original price: $34.99

Discounted price: $21.99

You Save: $13

We have plenty of cheap phones and on of them is TCL 302U. Find out more in a full review.

A special thanks to LightInTheBox for sending TCL 302U for a review.

TCL 302U Review: VIDEO

TCL 302U Review: UNBOXING

The device comes with the USB cable, charging plug and some documentation.

TCL 302U Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

On the front we have just 0.3MP camera and on the bottom there are 3 nicely backlit capacitive buttons.

The backplate is made of glossy plastic, which attracts fingerprints quite easily. As for optics, the phone ships with just a 5MP shooter.

The buttons feel nice and they have a good tactile feedback.

The backplate is removable but it is very hard to do that as it sits very tight. Under the hood you can find a removable 1800mAh battery, 2 SIM card slots and both of them support 4G. Finally, there is a microSD card slot.

Overall, the phone is well made and feels solid in the hand despite using plastic in its design.

TCL 302U Review: UI

The phone was released quite a while ago and it has never been updated to the newest version of Android. The device runs 4.4 Kitkat ROM and we have a pretty much stock looking UI.

Everything is running fast and fluid and probably the only extra feature worth mentioning is the built-in themes store, which allows you to customise your device.

However, I had some issues with the Google Play store as the apps could not be downloaded, so I had to re-install it manually to make it work.

TCL 302U Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

The TCL 302U sports a MTK 6735P chip, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. This combo of hardware is definitely not designed for gamers as the was a lot of lag and stutter while playing 3D games.

TCL 302U Review: MULTIMEDIA

The loudspeaker quality is pretty good for the phone this cheap but don’t expect anything spectacular from it.

TCL 302U Review: IMAGE QUALITY

We can’t expect stellar results from the budget phone’s camera. Some images turned out to be pretty good and can be used for social media but in general, pictures lack in detail, the camera struggles with focusing and the colours don’t always look natural.

As for video recording, it is not really impressive neither. See a video review for a video sample.

TCL 302U Review: CONNECTIVITY

As for connectivity options, I have no major complaints except for the fact that the GPS is kind of slow to get a position lock.

TCL 302U Review: BATTERY LIFE

The battery life is actually pretty good. I could get over 4 hours of screen-on time with light usage and that is a pretty good result.

TCL 302U Review: CONCLUSIONS

The TCL 302U is designed to do the basic tasks and it does it well. It has a great design and sturdy construction, the UI is simple, easy to use and stutter-free. Also, the battery life is good.

However, the camera is not really impressive and the back cover is extremely hard to open. Also, the phone is still rocking outdated Android 4.4.

Overall, the phone is an option for those who want to get all the basics done right but don’t mind some shortcomings. However, you may also want to check out what the competition has to offer.

Start Date: 02/23/2016 6:00 AM PST
End Date: 03/01/2016 11:59 PM PST