Two New ASUS Zenfone 3 Variants Visit TENAA

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Sep 15, 2016

The new Zenfone 3 was released way back in May and didn’t go on sale until last month in select markets. From the looks of it, it should be available in China soon as two variants have made it to TENAA for certifications.

One of the variants has 3GB RAM with 32GB of storage while the other has 4GB of RAM and doubles the storage to 64GB. Both units sport 5.5” Super IPS screens, 16MP rear cameras with 4-axis optical image stabilisation, laser focus, and PDAF; and an 8MP selfie shooter.

There is a snapdragon 625 processor under the hood clocked at 2.0GHz and an Adreno 506 GPU on board. Other features include dual SIM slots with one doubling as a SD card slot, a fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C, 3.5 mm audio jack, dual Wi-Fi bands, Bluetooth 4.2, Cat 6 LTE, and a 3000mAh battery.

ASUS has changed the design of the Zenfone 3. The volume rocker is no longer on the back like that of the Zenfone 2 but is now on the right beside the power button (which used to be at the top).

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New Render of Google’s Pixel XL Based on Latest Leak Shows Up

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 15, 2016

A new set of ~~Nexus~~ Pixel phones will soon be upon us. The Pixel name isn’t new to Google (remember the Pixel C?), but quite a number of people are used to the phones going by Nexus, so the new name might take a while to get used to. The HTC-made phones are called the Pixel and Pixel XL and have leaked multiple times in recent weeks.

A real image of the Pixel XL surfaced on twitter recently and a Reddit user by the name bndki decided to make a render based on it. The original image and the render have been mashed together to make the gif below.

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Eyecare Smart Lamp 2 Review: Xiaomi and Philips Collaboration!

By

Linus

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Sep 15, 2016

We all know that Xiaomi produces all sorts of gadgets including desk lamps. In fact, the company collaborated with Philips to bring you one of the best looking smart desk LED lamps.

Get Xiaomi Philips Eyecare Smart Lamp from Gearbest

Philips-Xiaomi Desk Lamp Review: VIDEO

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

Philips-Xiaomi Desk Lamp Review: UNBOXING

The lamp comes with some paperwork and a charging plug.

Philips-Xiaomi Desk Lamp Review: DESIGN and FEATURES

Once you take the lamp out of the box, you are going to notice a very good build quality of it.

First of all, it is very flexible, so you can use it at many different angles. Also, it has 2 LED lights for even more flexibility and luminance area and that translates to a total power output of 10W. In fact, the combo of 2 LED lights is one of my favorite features of the device.

The lamp has a very responsive and convenient touch panel to control brightness. Also, there is an ambient light sensor, so the lamp dims automatically to reduce the eye strain.

Since the Xiaomi Philips Eyecare Smart Lamp has a built-in Wifi, it can be controlled wirelessly using the Mi Home app.

Within the app, you can adjust the brightness, select from a few eye care presets, set the timer for the lamp to turn itself off and adjust various other settings.

Philips-Xiaomi Desk Lamp Review: CONCLUSIONS

I’ve used this lamp for 3 weeks already and I have to say it’s been working fine. It is flexible, so I can adjust the angles of it. Most importantly, I can confirm that LED lights itself assure a noticeably better eye comfort in comparison to some other LED desk lamps I’ve tested.

The Philips-Xiaomi desk lamp costs $55 and some may say it is a lot for a desk lamp but given the overall feature set, great design and outstanding build quality, it is a great option if you are in the market of smart desk LED lamps.

Get Xiaomi Philips Eyecare Smart Lamp from Gearbest

Coupon: XPHILIPS Price: $54.99

Xiaomi Deals Zone

LeEco Releases Another Teaser Poster for Upcoming Event

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 15, 2016

LeEco isn’t holding back when it comes to drumming up hype for their upcoming phone, the LeEco Pro 3. The company released a poster yesterday teasing the small capacity batteries in the new iPhones. Today, they’ve released another image taking aim at the lack of fast charging in Apple’s new release.

The LeEco Le Max 2 supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 and uses a 24W high power charger for it’s 3100mAh battery. Both versions of the Le Pro 3 will feature batteries with higher capacities than that of the Le Max 2 (4070mAh and 5000mAh). So it’s a no-brainer that they should support fast charge (most likely Quick Charge 3.0) as well.

The LeEco Le Pro 3 will launch on the 21st of September and is already shaping up to be one of the best devices of the year. Users will be able to choose either a 6GB+64GB version with a 16MP rear camera and an 8MP front facing camera or the industry’s first 8GB RAM phone which has 256GB of storage, dual 13 megapixel cameras on the rear, and a 16MP camera in front. Both units will sport Qualcomm’s newest SD 821 chip and will be priced between $314 and $449.

If you feel you don’t need all those specs, the LeEco Le Max 2 is one of the best value for money flagships right now. It has a 2K display, uses a snapdragon 820 chip, has a 21MP rear camera with OIS and PDAF, NFC, and a fingerprint scanner. The icing on the cake is that it sells for less than $270 for the 4GB RAM version with 32GB of built-in storage.

Samsung’s Exynos 8895 Chip Details Leaked: Up to 3.0GHz clock speed

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Sep 14, 2016

Samsung is alleged to be working on an Exynos 8895 chipset which would use the 10nm process and run at a maximum power of just 5 watts. Now, a new rumor out of China alleges that the expected Exynos 8895 chip will feature improvements in image processing by up to between 70% and 80% and is capable of reaching a clock speed of up to 3.0GHz. That is a whole lot of processing speed.

The Exynos 8895 chip if actually manufactured on the 10nm process would be Samsung’s first chip manufactured on that level and also Samsung’s first to run at a max power draw of just 5 watts. This could improve processing speed to a lightning bolt level and at the same time the device won’t get too hot.

The Exynos 8895 found a worthy rival in Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 830 chips which would likely hit the market next year, also manufactured on the 10nm process. Already, the Exynos 8895 is alleged to have hit Geekbench, pulling an amazing score of 2301 for the single-core and 7019 for multi-core tests.

We are already getting rumors of an early debut for next year’s Galaxy S8 and S8 Edge flagships due to the Note 7’s mishap. The model numbers of the duo have been leaked, meaning they are already in the works and it is believed they would launch spotting the Exynos 8895. It is only then we can determine the true power of Samsung’s next-gen chip.

Qualcomm unveils Clear Sight Dual Camera technology similar to Huawei P9’s

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Sep 14, 2016

The use of dual cameras in smartphones is not new, many brands including Huawei, Xiaomi, LG and of late Apple as well as others have adopted the technology but yet the trend seems to be growing large by the day. Qualcomm has unveiled it latest dual camera system which they called Clear Sight. The dual camera technology was developed mainly to promote the upgraded photo quality photo on offer, working with its own set of systems. The Clear Sight technology is touted to simulate human vision, thus giving users amazing picture quality.

The Qualcomm Clear Sight dual cameras are similar in dynamics to Huawei P9’s Leica dual cameras in the kind of sensors they use. The both use one camera sensor, while the other is a black and white sensor as well as packing powerful optimization software. The dual camera lenses can thus simultaneously capture two different images and stitch them in real time. The advantage of this process is that the black and white filters behind the lens can accommodate more light, resulting in sharper picture output, with reduced image noise and increase focusing speed. Images captured with this system produces a special bokeh effect where the background images are blurred, with the main target clearly captured.

This technology is different from that Apple infused into the iPhone 7 Plus, in that the dual cameras on the 7 Plus cannot work at the same time because one of the lenses is to produce wide angle view of up to 140 degrees, and the second lens is to zoom in.

The Clear Sight dual camera system can work well powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 and 821 processors. Before now, we had gotten wind of an impending flagship phone launch by Xiaomi, equipped with Snapdragon 821 processor, and dual cameras. It is possible that the expected Xiaomi phone may adopt this technology or something similar.

Teaser Hints at New Mi Powerbank with Type-C port Launching on Sept 21

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Sep 14, 2016

Xiaomi has disclosed via the Mi community’s official Weibo page, that a new device would be released from its stable on September 21 which is just a week away. Although no other detail was revealed in the post, the teased photo announcing the date contained certain clues which give us an idea of what we should be expecting.

The number 100 is shown to be written on the teased and at the same time, the three digits which make up 100 are designed to look like different types of connectivity ports that would be on the USB. One of the ports resembles the USB Type-C interface which is an indication the Powerbank will likely feature a USB Type-C port. In addition, there is the drawing of the USB 2.0 port as well as another that looks like that of a typical charging port or data port.

Basically, the expected device would likely come with a line-up that includes the three ports, meaning it might be able to charge more than one device at the same time. this would require a large battery capacity, and the largest of Xiaomi’s Mi Powerbank boasts of a 20,000mAh battery capacity. It is possible that the expected power pack would get a notch in its battery capacity.

OPPO A59s Visits TENAA: 3GB RAM and 16MP Front Camera

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 14, 2016

OPPO holds the title of second largest manufacturer in China for H1 2016 and they are holding on to that spot as tightly as possible. The company launched the best-selling selfie-focused R9 earlier this year and even made a special FC Barcelona Edition. It seems they will be launching another camera-centric phone soon judging from the specs of a phone that showed up at TENAA for its certification.

This new device is the OPPO A59s. It shares design similarities to other OPPO phones which have been criticised for aping the iPhone 6s.

The phone is made out of metal, and has the camera sensor and LED flash at the top left corner just before the upper antenna line. There is the OPPO brand name sitting a few millimetres from the middle, a little text, and the lower antenna line. Nothing we have not seen before.

The OPPO A59s is equipped with 4GB of RAM, 32GB of built-in storage, a 16MP front-facing camera, and a 13MP rear camera. OPPO says there is a memory card slot for storage expansion, a 2980mAh battery, and a 64-bit 8-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz (probably the MT6750).

The phone will weigh 160 grams and will have a thickness of 7.38 mm. The phone’s fingerprint scanner will definitely be placed in front, doubling as a home button.

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Xiaomi Mi Max and Mi 4c Explodes in China

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 14, 2016

Unless you are living under a rock, I’m sure you must have heard about the spate of exploding phones happening in recent times. The phone suffering from this is the Galaxy Note 7 and Samsung has issued a compulsory recall. Xiaomi seems to have caught the exploding bug as reports say there have been 2 cases of Xiaomi phones exploding this month.

The first incident involved the large screen phablet, the Mi Max, which exploded while it was charging. The phone was said to be charged with the official travel charger before it exploded and damaged a part of the house.

The second case involved a Mi 4c that exploded while sitting in the back pocket of its owner. The man suffered 3rd degree burns as a result of the explosion. Both phones were said to have been purchased from Xiaomi’s official online store.

The company has appointed a 3rd-party organisation to carry out investigations related to both cases and will be offering compensation to affected victims. This is the third Xiaomi phone exploding in 2 months. Back in August we reported a case of a Mi 5 that burst into flames in China.

While Samsung has issued an official statement faulting an issue with the battery of the Note 7, Xiaomi has not made public the result of their findings. The incident has affected 3 different Xiaomi phones already which means it can happen to any other Xiaomi phone as well. Let’s hope the company issues an official statement before another incident occurs.

LeEco Mocks Apple’s New Phones in Poster

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 14, 2016

LeEco has a conference scheduled for September 21, which is exactly a week from now. The event will hold in Beijing and will see the company launch their new flagship device, the LeEco Pro 3.

In the spirit of the launch, a new poster for the event has been released on weibo, and apart from reminding us of the date, LeEco has gone further by dissing Apple’s recently launched iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

The poster mocks Apple’s statement that says the iPhone 7 Plus offers an extra hour of battery life over previous models. There is also an image of a battery squashing an apple with blood splattered around on the poster.

Part of the highlights of the upcoming phone is the new battery and in a leak from yesterday, we know there will be two versions of the Le Pro 3. One will have a battery capacity of 4070 mAh, and a higher-end version will have a larger 5000 mAh battery. If we compare these two battery sizes to that of the iPhone 7 (1960 mAh) and the iPhone 7 Plus (2900 mAh), LeEco sure has the bragging rights.

The Le Pro 3 will launch with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 processor and will have two versions: a base model with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of ROM, and a high-end version that will be the first phone to launch with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of built-in storage.

More on The Under-glass Fingerprint Scanner of Xiaomi Mi 5s

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 14, 2016

When the news for a particular phone starts coming in frequently, we usually hope the launch isn’t too far off. Earlier today, we reported that the Xiaomi Mi 5s which is the upgraded version of the original Mi 5 will feature an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner inserted beneath the front glass.

Some of us might be wondering how that will work, so we’ve gotten an image that explains it better. mi5s-underglass-fingerprint-ppt-leak

As you can see, there’s no physical button up front, just place your already registered fingerprint scanner and your phone unlocks. Very discreet, right?

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Xiaomi Mi 5s to Feature Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor, Ditch Physical Home Button

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Sep 13, 2016

Smartphone makers seem intent on starting a new trend of ditching the physical home key entirely, instead using a virtual one embedded on the display. This trend found its place in the iPhone 7 and now we have information that Xiaomi is including that on the expected Mi 5s flagship. This was exposed by Kevin Wang, Director of electronics research in China for IHS Technology, on a Weibo post that the Mi 5s will feature fingerprint recognition technology but that the sensor is hidden under the display with no physical button to press.

It is said that the technology is known as ultrasonic fingerprint technology, developed by Qualcomm and Xiaomi is pioneering this one in the Chinese phone industry. The fingerprint sensors would still work even when your hands are wet. This should be the main talking point of the Mi 5s and it seem to tow the line of the iPhone 7’s latest fingerprint technology.

The Mi 5S had earlier appeared on AnTuTu managing to pull a total score of about 150K points. The device was listed as coming with a Snapdragon 821 processor alongside an Andreno 531 GPU and Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS. Of course the OS will be embellished with MIUI 8. Aside the few AnTuTu details, the Mi 5s is said to sport a 5.15-inch display with 1080p resolution. There are no information yet about the camera but it is expected to see an improvement over the Mi 5’s camera sensors.

iPhone 8 to Feature Full-Screen Face with embedded Virtual button

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Sep 13, 2016

Apple iPhone 7 was released with some new innovations like the lightning connector which now plays the role of a charger and that of the 3.5mm audio jack that have been removed. There is also a virtual home button replacing the traditional home buttons that previous iPhones had featured. Now, early details have emerged that Apple is planning even more innovations on the iPhone 8 which would launch next year when Apple marks the 10th anniversary of its iPhone’s debut.

The new details which confirms earlier rumors were embedded inside a review of the new iPhone 7 done by a writer at New York Times. According to the reviewer, Apple is very much likely to continue manufacturing iPhiones without the 3.5mm headphone jacks. The writer also disclosed in the article that next year’s iPhones will have a full-screen face with the virtual button built directly into the display. The source of this information was from two insiders at Apple, who don’t to be quoted because the information about the product are supposed to still be private.

Even before the release of the iPhone 7, rumors about the iPhone 8 having an edge-to-edge display had been in the open but coming from inside sources, this may likely be a confirmation that the iPhone 8 might take a leap from its predecessors in design and features. The iPhone 8 is also earlier rumored to see a transition by Apple from LCD to OLED displays said to be supplied by Samsung. The front camera and fingerprint sensor / home button will be embedded on the display, and a more faster A11 chip which would bolt faster than the blazing A10 chipset is also touted.

The iPhone 8 will likely drop in the fall of 2017 and that’s a long time away from now. Enough time for us to get more juicy details about the next Apple flagship and perhaps see some sort of revolution in the phone industry, with rival competitors trying to catch up and even overtake Apple on these innovations.

(Source)

Analyst Says Don’t Expect SD652 Variant of Xiaomi Redmi Note 4

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 13, 2016

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 was launched 3 weeks ago. The phone sports a 5.5” FHD display like the Note 3, it also comes in two RAM+ROM variants (2GB+16GB and 3GB+64GB).

Apart from the storage option doubled in the 3GB RAM version, the other major change in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is the Mediatek Helio X20 SoC.

Most people speculated that Xiaomi will launch another version with a Snapdragon 652 processor, just like they launched a snapdragon 650 version of the Redmi Note 3, which originally came with a Helio X10 chip. But analyst, Pan Jiutang says that will not be happening.

So for those of you who have been staving off the purchase of a Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 because you are expecting a snapdragon version, Mr Jiutang says your wish will not be fulfilled so you better pick up the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 now.

If Xiaomi truly doesn’t launch a snapdragon version of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, that doesn’t mean they won’t do so for the Xiaomi Redmi Pro, which in my opinion needs a snapdragon version more than the former.

iPhone 7 A10 Fusion Chip Performance Test

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 13, 2016

The iPhone 7 was released last week and one of the many features highlighted during the launch is Apple’s new A10 Fusion chip which is touted as offering a 40% increase in performance over the A9 chip in the iPhone 6s and 120 times faster than the chip on the original iPhone.

The A10 Fusion processor is the first quad-core chip manufactured by the company. It is made up of two high performance cores and two low-performance cores.

A weibo user, @i, decided to confirm Apple’s claims and put the iPhone 7 through a web app performance test, and below are the screenshots of his results.

The test was carried out using Jetstream v1.1 and the results were compared alongside those of the iPhone 6s Plus, a Samsung Galaxy S7 with a SD 820 chip, a S7 Edge with Samsung’s Exynos 8890, and a Samsung S6 Edge.

The iPhone 7 scored 169.14 points and is followed by the iPhone 6s Plus with a score of 115.18. The S7 with a Snapdragon 820 managed to pull in a measly 36.9 points.

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Gizmochina Russia Website Launched: Latest Chinese Phone News Now In Russian!

By

Joel Joseph

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Updated Sep 22, 2016

Gizmochina has increased its efforts to deliver quick and latest Chinese smartphone news to our readers. However, our audience is not just based of English-speaking readers and we understand this. Given that a lot of our readers come from Russia, we have now launched our Gizmochina Russia sister website. It’s been a couple of weeks since the website was launched and we are currently delivering all the top Chinese news in Russian consistently on the website.

If you are a Russian visitor and want to read the latest Chinese news in Russian, please check out our sister website for all the latest news.

Also, please follow our Gizmochina Russia VK page to keep yourself updated.

In case you missed, LeEco has officially announced the Le 2 and Le Max 2 in Russia and they are priced pretty aggresively. You can read all about that here (in Russian).

Check Out Gizmochina’s Russian Website

New Xiaomi Yi Technology Action Camera Coming Soon

By

Jed John Ikoba

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Sep 13, 2016

Remember the Xiaomi Yi action camera? Of course, some persons will still remember the gadget because of its cheap price tag on top cool features. Xiaomi first unveiled the XiaoYi (Yi Technology) action camera for surveillance and security purposes last year under its crowdfunding platform. Thereafter an upgraded version was released earlier this year with a massive 4K resolution. It has been reported that a new model of the action camera will likely launch on September 19. A teaser to that effect has been spotted.

According to the leak source, the expected camera was developed in conjunction with former Fujitsu experts and will use M43 frame and Panasonic CMOS sensor which would aid the interchangeable lenses.

There isn’t much information other than these about the anticipated launch event or the new Yi Action camera but it is expected that aside the new innovations, the next Yi cam is expected to consolidate on the current version which has a 4K capable lens, while continuing the tradition of cheap price tag.

As a reminder, the Yi 4k action camera crams a Sony IMX377 sensor and also uses the US Ambarella A9SE75 processor with Broadcom BCM43340 dual-band chip. Other features include a Bosch BMI160 si-ais gyro sensor, with seven high definition optical glass lenses, and 330PPI gorilla retina touchscreen. The device packs an ATL professional custom 1400mAh battery which can provide up to two hours of 4K / 30-frame film recording level. The Small Ants motion camera also supports 157-degree wide-angle camera, 5G WiFi connectivity and has a variety of professional level camera and video mode. Despite all these specs, the 4K camera started at 1199 Yuan ($180) via crowdfunding.

Pixel XL May Be Google’s Most Expensive Phone

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 13, 2016

The Nexus 6P was the phone that kick-started Google’s high pricing and it seems the Pixel XL is taking things a bit higher, that’s if the leak is true.

Android Police editor, David Ruddock posted on twitter over the weekend that a rumour flying around says the Pixel XL will cost $649. Although he’s not sure if that is the price for the 32GB version or 128GB model. A preceding tweet already mentioned that there will only be two storage options i.e. 32GB and 128GB.

If it turns out that the price is for the 32GB version, it will still be in the price range of flagships from other manufacturers like Samsung and Apple. If the price is for the 128GB version, it will be no different from the launch price of the Nexus 6P 128GB version.

Google is expected to launch the Pixel and Pixel XL at an event slated for October 4, but we might be getting more leaks before then. The new phones are also expected to come with Android 7.1 Nougat and a new launcher called the Pixel Launcher. There are also rumours that the search giant plans to revive the 7” tablet line this year with one made by Huawei.

Source: Technobuffalo

Xiaomi Mi Note Price Down To Just 899 Yuan ($135)!

By

Joel Joseph

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Sep 13, 2016

According to the latest information, Xiaomi is all set to announce the successor in the Xiaomi Mi Note series sometime later this month with the name Xiaomi Mi Note 2 or Mi Pro. Given that the company’s Mi Note series has always been the flagship range, we expect pretty powerful specs on the upcoming handset. However, last year’s Mi Note is still a powerful handset and despite Xiaomi stopping the sales of the device a few months back, third party retailers are still selling the device and at throwaway prices.

The Xiaomi Mi Note flagship is now being sold in China via JD.com for an amazing price tag of 899 Yuan ($135). This is very cheap and considering the specs of the handset, you will be getting great value for your money. We had recently seen the price of the Mi note go down to 1099 Yuan ($165) but this is the first time we are seeing it go down below $150.

However, note that this is the China Mobile version of the Mi Note and the China Telecom supported version still retails at $165.

To recap, the Xiaomi Mi Note comes with the Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor with 3GB of RAM on board. The camera at the back of the device is pretty good, featuring a 13MP sensor with f/2.0 and OIS. At this price, you won’t find any devices with OIS on board. Other notable specs of the Mi Note include a 5.7-inch 1080p display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, 3000mAh battery with QC 2.0, a slim 7mm 3D Glass body and more.

LeEco’s Le Pro 3 To Feature 8GB of RAM?

By

Habeeb Onawole

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Sep 13, 2016

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been getting leaks of LeEco’s upcoming phone, the Le Pro 3 which is said to launch on September 21. While we expect it to come with a Snapdragon 821 chip and 6GB of RAM, it seems LeEco wants to blow our minds by going full force in the RAM department.

An image posted on Baidu earlier today mentions that the Le Pro 3 will have another version with 8GB of RAM!!! Yes, you read that right. LeEco is setting the record. The 8GB version will also feature 256GB of built-in storage, most probably UFS 2.0; dual 13 megapixel cameras on the rear and a 16 megapixel shooter in front.

Remember the large battery capacity we talked about here? It’s going into the 8GB RAM version, which makes sense as that extra 2GB of RAM will need all the juice it can get. Other features are a 5.7” 2K screen with a 2.5D curve.

The 6GB version will have a 2.5D 5.5” FHD screen, 64GB of ROM, a 16MP rear camera and an 8MP front facing shooter, Snapdragon 821, and a 4070mAh battery.

Le Pro 3 Price

The image also hints at the price range for both versions of the phone. The 8GB version is said to sell for 3x99 Yuan where x can fall between 0 to 9. So depending on the number you replace x with, the phone will cost between $463 – $599. The same method applies to the 6GB RAM version which is said to cost 2x99 Yuan which is between $314 – $449.

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