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Huawei Mate 8 Spotted On AnTuTu, Scores Above 79,000 Points

Today, we have come across a lot of new information about the Huawei Mate 8 flagship. First, it was a report which revealed the cost of manufacturing the device and then, it was another leak which showed us some real life pictures of the device along with possible pricing. Now, the same device has just passed through AnTuTu, which means we know its specifications and benchmark performance.

Huawei Mate 8 Antutu benchmark specs

The Huawei Mate 8 will reportedly come in two different variants, one with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage while the other with 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage. It will be powered by the octa-core Kirin 950 processor and will feature a large 6-inch display with FHD 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. There will be a 16MP camera at the back along with a 8MP front facing shooter. Also, it will run the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS.

Huawei Mate 8 AnTuTu benchmark score

With these specifications, we can expect pretty good scores on AnTuTu. According to today’s listing, the phone scores between 76K and 79K on AnTuTu. This is higher than the Meizu Pro 5 handset with Exynos 7420 on board. What’s even more interesting is that this is the v5.x of AnTuTu and it is said that Huawei’s Kirin chips should post better results in the new AnTuTu v6.0. The new version is said to be developed in consideration with a number of chipmakers including Huawei for an open and fair evaluation of all chips.

Huawei Mate 8 will be the first smartphone to feature the Cortex A72 powered Kirin 950 chipset. From today’s listing we can see it posts great results on AnTuTu. Hopefully, it will be able to fulfill our expectations in real life as well.

 

Redmi 2 Pro / Redmi 3 Leaked In Gold [Updated]

UPDATE: So, initially we thought this was the Redmi Note 2 Pro, however there are a few subtle differences in design. So, it could be a different model like Redmi 3 or Redmi 2S or Redmi 2 Pro!. We can’t be sure of that at the moment. So, better wait for the official release.

Meanwhile, you can expect to meet the device shown in the images down below on November 24 in any of the above mentioned names. Our best guess would be the name Redmi 2 Pro.

The launch is just a few days away, till then, relish the high quality pictures of the device that we have added down below.

 

Yesterday Xiaomi’s President Lin Bin had teased a gold colored version of Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Pro smartphone. But for those who were looking for more, today, we have come across some high-quality images of the upcoming Note 2 Pro handset  Redmi 3 or Redmi 2 Pro handset.

The phone comes in an all metal design in beautiful gold color. Unlike usual leaks, which are of low quality, these images are of extremely good quality, which means we now know how good the device looks in real life. The gold color in particular gives it a premium look on its all metal body.

redmi note 2 pro leak 01

The phone’s design is similar to the one we saw on TENAA a few days back. But there are a few differences which could mean that this is a different device. For example, there’s only single LED flash, also it sports a camera sensor with a ring around it, both of which were not found on the TENAA images of the Note 2 Pro. But there’s a fingerprint sensor below it like the previous leak. On the right, there’s the power button and the volume button while on the left, you have the SIM card slot. At the bottom, on the right, there’s the traditional USB connector (unfortunately no USB Type-C) and on top, you get an headphone jack. We can see that there are microphone openings on both the top as well as the bottom.

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redmi note 2 pro leak 04Well, there’s no denying that the design seems to be inspired from the Meizu’s Blue Charm lineup. As for the specs, if this is a new device like the Redmi 2 Pro or the Redmi 3, we have very little information. If we had to guess, we could expect MT6752 and 2GB RAM on board, but lets wait for some official information.

So, what do you think? Is this the Redmi 3 or the Redmi 2 Pro?

Vivo X6 Flagship Launch Event Confirmed On November 30

We have been patiently waiting for the official launch of the Vivo X6 flagship. The company has been teasing this device from the start of this month, but didn’t reveal any specific release date till now. However, earlier today, Vivo via its official Weibo page revealed that we will meet the Vivo X6 flagship on November 30. That’s less than 2 weeks away!
vivo x6 launch date

Vivo has also started sending out invites for the event in China. Its going to be held at the beautiful National Aquatics Center also known as Water Cube in Beijing, China. 

vivo x6 invite 01

In the past couple of weeks, we have received a lot of information about the new Vivo flagship. The phone is confirmed to feature 4GB of RAM along with a fingerprint sensor at the back that supports payments. While we are unsure about the processor, a recent leak revealed that we could see the mid-range MT6752 octa-core chip under the hood. But that’s highly unlikely considering the other high-end specs, so you can expect something like Helio X20 or at least Helio X10 inside. As for the display, the phone is expected to come with a large 5.5-inch screen with full HD 1080p resolution. The flagship will feature all metal unibody in at least three different colors namely, gold, rose gold and silver.

vivo x6 color options

One of the highlights of the phone will be the recently teased dual charging technology. Its reportedly faster than traditional methods of charging and features dual charging chips and dual circuits for speeding up the charging process.

As for the pricing, with such features, don’t expect it to be cheap. The X6 should retail anywhere upwards of 2500 Yuan ($390).

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You can see the official invite for the X6 event in pictures down below.

vivo x6 invite 03

vivo x6 invite 02 vivo x6 invite 04

Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Pro Will Be Thin According To New Teaser

November 24 isn’t very far off and now we know for sure that we will see at least one device at the event, i.e. the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Pro. After sending out event invites, the company has started teasing the device on its official Weibo page. The latest teaser hints that the phone is going to be thin.

xiaomi redmi note 2 pro thin

The new teaser revealed by the company earlier today shows a digital caliper with three question marks on its display. This clearly hints that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Pro is going to be thin. But the title of the post further reveals some possible features of the device. The title says that designing a phone is complex in the sense that adding a new feature means compromising on some other feature. 

So, what is Xiaomi trying to say with this picture? Well, my best guess would be that the battery on the Note 2 Pro is going to be large. Since we see a caliper in the image, the phone could come with a thin body with a large battery. So, how large? Well, we can’t be sure of that right now, but anywhere around 3000mAh on a thin body is considered quite impressive.

As for the other specs, it going to be the same as the Redmi Note 2. So, expect MT6795 Helio X10 chip with 2GB RAM, 13MP rear camera, and 5.5-inch FHD display. Additionally, the Note 2 Pro variant will come with a fingerprint sensor at the back as seen on TENAA images as well as an all metal body in gold color as well.

Since Xiaomi has started releasing teasers for the device, expect more features to be revealed in the coming days before launch.

Mixcder Basso Review – Great Sounding Cheap Sports Bluetooth Earphones

If you are into sports and looking for some cheap yet decent pair of Bluetooth earphones, the Mixcder Basso may be something to look at under the budget of $25. Find out more in a full review.
We wanted to say thanks to Mixcder for sending Mixcder Basso Earphones for a review.

Please visit Mixcder official page.

Check out Mixcder on Facebook.

Mixcder Basso Sports Earphones Review: VIDEO

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCWGHp8UsTI[/embedyt]

Mixcder Basso Sports Earphones Review: UNBOXING

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The earphones are packed in a neat carrying case. Other contents of the packaging include some extra earbuds, micro USB cable for charging and some documentation.

Mixcder Basso Sports Earphones Review: DESIGN

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When it comes to the design, the Mixcder Basso uses metal, rubber and plastic in its construction.
The earphone part is made of metal and it feels high quality. Also, it can rotate in 360 degrees for maximum flexibility.
The on-ear support is made of rubber and it is designed to make sure that the earphones don’t fall off when exercising. Well, they serve the purpose but not all the time and I would love to see a better implementation here as the right earphone fell off several times.
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Another thing that I didn’t like is the green cable, which is sticking out. It is far from the deal breaker but it simply doesn’t look appealing.
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As far as controller, which feels a bit plasticky, we have volume up/down and play/pause buttons as well as the micro USB port for charging. Also, there is a mic for hands-free calling, which is working quite well indoors but it not that well in windy or noisy environments.

Mixcder Basso Sports Earphones Review: SOUND QUALITY

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The sound quality for $25 sports Bluetooth earphones is fantastic. There is a lot of bass and depth to the sound, the volume output is very good and you simply can’t expect more from such a cheap pair of earphones.

Mixcder Basso Bluetooth Sports Earphones Review: TEST NOTES and CONCLUSIONS

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So there you have it, the Mixcder Basso Bluetooth sports earphones. In short, they have a great value for the price but that doesn’t mean they are perfect.
First of all, these were not the most comfortable earphones I’ve used, because they don’t always sit tight in your ears. Also, it happened a few times that right earphone simply fell off the ear because the controller is installed too close to the earphone.
The second flaw is the battery life. I could get around 3 hours of listening time of them. Well, it’s not a deal breaker but if you exercise a lot, be prepared to charge the earphones a lot.
Other than that, I have no complaints about the range or connectivity or any other issues.
Finally, if you are looking for the pair of good sounding budget Bluetooth earphones for sports, the Mixcder Basso can be your option if you don’t mind a few shortcomings.

Xiaomi Mi 5 May Have Just Received China’s 3C Certification

November 24 is an important date for Xiaomi fans as the rumored Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Pro as well as the Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 devices are expected to be unveiled at the “Grand Finale” event. While there were rumors about Xiaomi Mi 5 also launching on the same date, Pan Jiutang, an IHS analyst dismissed those claims and revealed that we will see the Mi Pad 2 at the event.

xiaomi mi 5 3c certificate

Now a couple of new devices have just passed China’s 3C Quality certification website and among them could be the Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship. Two new devices with the model number 2015815, and 2015811 were spotted on the website which could be Mi 5 variants. However, its hard to confirm that right now. As for the third new device that was certified today, 2015055, it is most likely the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Pro variant given that a few days back, the 2015056 was certified on the site.

Its really hard to say which devices will meet us at the Nov 24 event. Our guess is the Redmi Note 2 Pro and the Xiaomi Mi Pad, but after today’s certification, things get a bit more confusing. Hopefully, in the coming days, Xiaomi could clear out a few things via official teasers.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Umi Voix Earphones Review

Umi is known for its cheap smartphones portfolio but they also produce some other products in the audio/music department. This time around we are looking at the cheap (±$10) Umi Voix earphones. They look promising but do they sound? Find out in our full review.

Thanks to Getone for sending Umi Voix earphones for a review.

Umi Voix Earphones Review: UNBOXING

The earphones come in a neat metal box and what you are getting are some extra earbuds for different sizes of ears and some documentation. Overall, presentation is really neat, doesn’t look or feel cheap at all.

Umi Voix Earphones Review: DESIGN and BUILD

The very first thing Umi surprised me was an excellent build quality and the choice of materials. The earphones are very well crafted and are made almost entirely of metal. The earbuds are very easy to replace too.

However, you should keep in mind that the earphones are just a tad larger than the ones you are used to. This doesn’t alter the comfort but you want to know this point.

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As far as cable goes, it is tangle-free from top to bottom (not like other manufacturers choose a tangle material like a sticky rubber on the top part for some reasons).

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There is a little metal-made controller and here we have a mic for hands-free calling. During my testing I made/received at least 5 calls and the call quality was pretty good. However, when I was outside, the noise reduction was not excellent as the mic picked up the wind very easily.

The “On/off” button as actually a multi-functional key and it works as an answer call, play/pause button and if you double click it, it will also skip tracks.

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Lastly, the headset jack part is also very well made. Again, it uses a metal enclosure.

Umi Voix Earphones Review: SOUND QUALITY

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When it comes to the actual sound quality, it is a mixed bad. On one hand, it has a good amount of bass, which is also deep and soft at the same time.

On the other hand, the sound could have a bit more clarity and depth in it. Well, you simply can’t expect much from such a cheap pair of earphones but once I compared the Umi Voix to the Xiaomi Pistons 3, which are arguably the best cheap earphones, I preferred the ones made by Xiaomi immediately.

It does not mean that Umi Voix earphones are bad as they have a really good amount of nice bass but they are not the best out there in terms of sound quality.

Still, given the recent price drops, it is impossible to find anything better at $10 price tag.

Umi Voix Earphones Review: CONCLUSIONS

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Umi Voix are are good earphones considering a very low price tag. They offer an excellent build quality and great design. Also, they come in a premium packaging with extra earbuds to fit any sizes of ears.

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When it comes to the sound quality, Umi Voix earphones produce a good amount of clean and punchy bass but when it comes to the overall clarity and depth, they are not the best out there.

However, given the recent price drops, you may have a hard time finding anything better at the price of just $10.

Vivo X6 Will Feature Dual Charging Technology For Faster Charging Speeds

Vivo has been teasing its upcoming flagship, the Vivo X6 for the past couple of weeks. We already know that the company is aiming for the high-end market with this device and till now, the specifications revealed have been quite impressive. Earlier today, Vivo revealed another important feature of the Vivo X6. The company states that the phone will feature twin engine fast charging technology which will make sure that the phone charges faster than competitors.

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According to the company, this twin engine fast charging technology makes use of dual charging chips as well as dual charging circuits to speed up the rate of charging of the device. The company has yet again revealed this feature via a gif image. It shows two smartphones, one using the traditional charging technology while the other using the twin engine charging. The latter is shown to charge the smartphone much faster then the traditional one.

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We still don’t know how exactly this technology works or how fast it is as compared to the regular charging technology. But we can expect those details at the time of the phone’s announcement, which should happen sometime in the next couple of weeks.

As for the other specs, the Vivo X6 will feature 4GB of RAM with split screen multi-tasking feature. There will be a fast fingerprint sensor on board with support for fingerprint enabled payments. As for the other specs, we are sure the company will reveal more details pretty soon. So stay tuned to the site in the coming days.

 

Octa-Core Version Of Snapdragon 820 To Debut Next Year

This year, Qualcomm has repeatedly said that the industry doesn’t need more cores, instead it needs better cores. That’s exactly what the company did with its new Snapdragon 820, featuring just four custom Kryo cores instead of eight cores on the Snapdragon 810.

snapdragon-820-qualcomm

But we were doubtful whether a quad-core chip even with its powerful custom Kryo cores will be able to compete with the likes of Samsung Exynos 8890 and Kirin 950, both of which are octa-core chips. Well, it looks like our doubts were valid to some extent as a new report states that Qualcomm will announce an octa-core version of Snapdragon 820 sometime early 2016.

An octa-core version should be more powerful than the quad-core version and will be ideal for high-end flagships. Which brings us to the question, which segment is the company then targeting with the recently launched quad-core Snapdragon 820?

The report comes from Digitimes, who are usually quite reliable. They also add that Qualcomm is following the trend set by competitors like Samsung and Huawei who have octa-core chips for their flagships in 2016.

Anyways, if you are interested in seeing what’s the difference between the Kirin 950, Exynos 8890 and Snapdragon 820, check out this comparison. 

 

 

 

Doogee Valencia2 Y100 Review – Innovative Cheap Phone but…

Today we are looking at a very cheap Doogee Valencia 2 Y100. This phone costs below $100 and it falls into cheap phones category. Find out if it is any good in our full review.

We wanted to say thanks to Focalprice for sending Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 for a review.

Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 Review: VIDEO

Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 Review: SPECS

Display
5″ 720p (HD)
Processor
MTK6592, Octa-core, 1.4GHz
RAM
1GB
Camera
8MP Front/13MP Back
Connectivity
Bluetooth, 3G, GPS, WIFI, GSM,EDGE, GPRS, UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, dual-SIM
Battery
2.200 mAh (removable)
Dimensions
142.5 x 71.4 x 8.25mm
OS
Android 4.4.2
Storage
8GB (expandable via microSD card slot up to 64GB)

 

Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 Review: UNBOXING

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The Doogee phone comes in a usual box you would expect for a cheap device. The contents include a charging brick, USB cable, a pair of earphones, a screen protector and some paperwork.

Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 Review: DESIGN

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When it comes to the design, we are looking at a compact 5” device and my review unit is in a flashy yellow colour.
The phone has an 8MP selfie shooter and all other usual stuff on the front top and on the bottom there are 3 non-backlit capacitive buttons.
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The back is made of textured plastic and on the top we have a 13MP shooter with a single LED flash and a speaker grill.
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On the right we have power on/off key and the volume rocker, which, however, feel a bit mushy.
On the left, there is a trio of LED lights and all of them are used for different tasks. I have to say that they look pretty good and I’ve never seen a phone with this type of implementation before.
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On the top we have a headset jack, a charging port and on the bottom there is just a mic.
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The back cover can be removed and underneath it you can find a removable 2200mAh battery, dual SIM card and the microSD card slots.
Overall, the phone has a decent build quality although it uses plastic in its construction and the buttons could have a better tactile feedback.

Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 Review: DISPLAY

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Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 has a 5” 720p panel, which is pretty good for a cheap phone but not spectacular in general. It could definitely look sharper and the colours look more natural.

Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 Review: UI

As far as UI, we have an outdated Android 4.4.2 Kitkat with quite a heavy Doogee’s skin on top of it.
All the apps with the redesigned system apps’ icons sit on the home screens.
One of the selling points of this device is the back touch panel and it can be used for a variety of different things like scrolling up/down or to the sides, triggering the camera and so on.
However, I found the key feature of scrolling up/down not working at all as I could scroll only to the sides. Also, the double tap to access camera feature has become very annoying as I kept opening the camera accidentally.
Other features include gesture controls and they seem to be working well.
Overall, the UI of the Valencia 2 Y100 is fluid and responsive most of the times but there is just a bit of stutter from time to time. Also, turning off the back touch panel feature increases the overall UI performance significantly.

Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 Review: HARDWARE and PERFROMANCE

Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 has an octa-core MTK6592 chip with the clock speeds of 1.4GHz, 1GB of RAM and just 8GB of expandable storage (up to 64GB via the microSD card slot).
All these specs result in the okay gaming performance with not so impressive graphics but the stutter is just occasional, so it is still possible to enjoy some 3D gaming.

Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 Review: MULTIMEDIA

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When it comes to the multimedia, there are no issues consuming Full-HD content. Also, the loudspeaker quality is pretty good for a budget phone.

Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 Review: CAMERA

Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 Review: IMAGE QUALITY

When it comes to the image quality, the 13MP camera does not impress.
The problem is that most of the images came out a bit blurry meaning that the camera struggles with focusing. Also, the pictures could have more details.
The good point is that the colours are pretty natural and the contrast levels are decent.
When it comes to the video recording, the footage does not impress either.

Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 Review: CONNECTIVITY

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As far as connectivity, I have no major complaints but as usual with some MTK chips, the GPS lock speeds are not the fastest out there.

Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 Review: BATTERY LIFE

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When it comes to the battery life, the 2200mAh unit can get you through the day if you are a light user as I was able to get around 4 hours of screen-on time (SOT) when doing basic tasks but the SOT decreased with more demanding tasks.

Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 Review: CONCLUSIONS

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Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 is a phone that wants to be different in the budget devices category. Well, it succeeds at some points.
It is compact, lightweight and it has a flashy design. Also, Doogee tried to kind of innovate with the 3 LED lights on the side of the phone and they look nice.
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However, the UI is not always perfectly smooth and while the back touch panel is indeed a great addition to the budget phones’ category, it simply does not work if you want to scroll up/down. Also, if the touch control feature is enabled, it alters otherwise decent UI performance.
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Also, the camera leaves a lot to be desired with both image and video quality but it is hard to expect something significantly better in this price range.
All in all, Doogee Valencia 2 Y100 is an interesting addition to the cheap Chinese phones market but you have to take all the cons into consideration before making the purchase.

Kirin 950 vs Snapdragon 820 vs Exynos 8890: Can Huawei Take On Samsung & Qualcomm?

In the past couple of weeks, three major chip makers, namely Qualcomm, Samsung and Huawei unveiled their flagship processors for 2016. Huawei was the first to take the wraps off its Kirin 950 chip, followed by Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 and finally, last week, even Samsung joined the party by announcing the Exynos 8890 chipset.

kirin 950 vs exynos 8890 vs snapdragon 820

Now we have three major chips that will soon enter mass production. All the three chips bring tremendous improvements from its previous generation models, now faster and more efficient than before.

So, we decided to take a look at these three chips and compare them to see whether the newly announced Kirin 950 can compete with market leaders such as Samsung and Qualcomm. I know many of you would want to see Helio X20 included in this comparison but we will compare them all in another article. Here, we would like to see whether Huawei has done enough to take on the newly announced Exynos 8890 and Snapdragon 820.

 

Kirin 950 vs Snapdragon 820 vs Exynos 8890

 

Kirin 950 Exynos 8890 Snapdragon 820
CPU 4 X ARM Cortex-A72 @ 2.3 GHz
4 X ARM Cortex-A53 @ 1.8GHz
4 X Custom Cores
4 X ARM Cortex A-53
4 X Kryo Cores @ 2.2GHz
GPU Mali – T880MP4
(Four Core)
Mali – T880MP12
(Twelve Core)
Adreno 530
RAM 2 x LPDDR4 2 x LPDDR4 2 x LPDDR4
Manufacturing
Process
TSMC 16nm FinFET Samsung 14nm FinFET Samsung 14nm FinFET
LTE Modem LTE Cat. 6 LTE Cat. 12 / 13 LTE Cat. 12 / 13

 

MANUFACTURING NODE:

First of all, lets take a look each chip’s manufacturing node. I am sure many of our readers would already know that the smaller the size of the manufacturing node, the better it is for the chip. At present, flagship chips such as Exynos 7420 are manufactured using the efficient 14nm FinFET process. Samsung was one of the first ones to successfully develop this technology for mass production of mobile chipsets and has used this process for both Exynos 7420 and the latest Exynos 8890 chip. Since its currently the best technology out there, even Qualcomm has resorted to Samsung’s 14nm FinFET process for its Snapdragon 820. On the other hand, Huawei’s Kirin 950 is built using TSMC’s 16nm process.

samsung vs tsmc

Technically, 14nm manufacturing node should be faster and efficient than 16nm. However, that’s not always the case. We have seen in case of iPhone 6S, there are two known chip variants, one built on TSMC’s 16nm process and the other on Samsung’s 14nm process. Interestingly, there were some difference in the performance between these devices (read more about it from here) and the iPhone powered by the TSMC’s 16nm chip turned out to be better. So, in spite of using a slightly larger 16nm node, Huawei’s Kirin 950 could be as efficient as the Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8890.

 

CPU CORES:

Another important difference between these three chips is the CPU cores. Huawei went with standard ARM Cores (4 x A72 + 4 x A53) while Samsung features four custom Exynos M1 cores along with a cluster of standard ARM cores (4 x Custom Cores + 4 x A53). Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 features all four custom Kryo cores in two cluster formation (2 x Kryo HP + 2 x Kryo LP).

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Snapdragon 820

So, which ones better? Well, Huawei features four standard ARM Cortex A72 cores which are very powerful along with four Cortex A53 cores which are efficient in a big.LITTLE architecture. We have got a glimpse of the performance of the chip in a prototype device and the results were impressive. In comparison, the Samsung Exynos 8890 comes with four custom Exynos M1 cores and four standard ARM Cortex A53 cores. While we are unsure of the actual specifications of the custom cores, the company claims that they are 30 percent faster than previous generation 7 series and uses up to 10 percent less power. As for Snapdragon 820, Qualcomm has decided to use just four custom cores (Kryo), down from eight on the 810. The new Kryo cores inside the Snapdragon 820 are said to be twice as powerful as the previous generation. However, we will have to see whether the decision to reduce the cores inside the new chip will affect its multi-core performance significantly.

Now that we know what’s inside each of these chips, it time to see which ones better. Its hard to say that for sure at the moment, but on paper, Exynos 8890 seems to be the winner. It features four powerful custom Exynos M1 cores along with quad Cortex A53 which company claims is 30 percent more powerful than the already impressive Exynos 7 series octa generation. So, its likely that the big.LITTLE architecture on the 8890 will beat both Snapdragon 820 and Kirin 950. Also, with just four custom cores, Snapdragon 820 is unlikely to beat Kirin 850, but that remains to be seen. So, if we had to arrange them in the order of performance from highest to lowest, Exynos 8890 will probably be on top followed by Kirin 950 and then Snapdragon 820.

As for the co-processor, Kirin 950’s i5 is supposed to be ultra-power saving, translating into better battery life. Even Hexagon 680 DSP which controls some tasks for the CPU in Snapdragon 820, boasts of improved efficiency and faster process times. So, overall power consumption on both the chips should be reduced.

 

GPU:

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Coming to the next important part of the chip, i.e. GPU, both Kirin 950 and Exynos 8890 feature Mali-T880. On the other hand, the Snapdragon 820 comes with Adreno 530 on board. While the GPU is Mali-T880 on Huawei and Samsung chips, they differ in terms of the number of cores. Samsung’s chip comes with Mali-T880 MP12 GPU which features 12 cores, on the other hand Kirin 950 comes with a four core Mali-T880 MP4. Kirin 950’s four cores are clocked at 900MHz, higher than Samsung’s. Still, with twelve cores at its disposal Samsung’s 8890 will be able to render 3D and high-end graphic games smoother than Kirin 950.

Qualcomm-Snapdragon-820

As for the Adreno 530, we are not quite sure how well it performs as compared to the Mali counterpart. Previously, Adreno had an edge over Mali GPUs but with Mali-T880 it could change. Unfortunately, we can’t be sure of that at the moment. So, for now, in the GPU department, it looks like Kirin 950 with its quad-core GPU is lagging behind both Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8890.

 

 

LTE CONNECTIVITY:

As for connectivity, the Kirin 950 features Cat. 6 LTE networks. This turned out to be surprising given that they could have used a better LTE chip. On the other hand, both Samsung and Qualcomm made the right move integrating high speed Cat. 12 / Cat. 13 LTE chip inside their processors with peak download speeds of up to 600Mbps.

In the end, we feel that the Exynos 8890 is better than the Kirin 950 in most areas. But both Snapdragon 820 and Kirin 950 are mighty contenders as well. So we will have to wait for their real life performance to actually judge which one turns out be the leader next year.

As for just talking about Kirin 950, we feel Huawei has come a long way as a chip maker and the latest release is just an example of their ability to develop and release fast and efficient chips on their own.

So, what do you think about these three chips? Do you think Samsung can retain its top position in the market (in terms of performance) with its new Exynos 8890?

 

 

Ulefone Be Touch 3 Is Flagship With Front Fingerprint Scanner

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For all people who want to buy a mobile phone with front fingerprint scanner for a budget under USD200, the options are still quite limited, while Ulefone Be Touch 3 is one of them.

Ulefone Be Touch 3’s fingerprint ID can be used as both home screen lock and app lock. The scanning component has adopted a ceramics sensing panel, which is believed to be more responsive than other materials and better fit the 2.5D Corning Gorilla 3 glass visually. Offering at most five fingerprint IDs, users of the device are expected to find themselves comfortable to apply the function in different circumstances, while a rear fingerprint scanner, Ulefone believes, will not provide such convenience even with multi-register of finger IDs.

ulefone be touch 3

Fingerprint scanner, 5.5-inch Full HD display, 3G RAM, and Sony MX214 13MP camera make Be Touch 3 stand at the top place of Ulefone’s product line. For chipset and operating system, the company has chosen the sophisticated scheme of MTK6753 plus Android 5.1 and they promise smoother user experiences as well as better energy efficiency out of the specs.

Ulefone be touch 3

Ulefone has started to supply the Be Touch 3 since November 16 and their stock is adequate enough to support shipping on the very day of order presently.

Learn more about this Ulefone be Touch 3, just click here.

Aukey 3 USB Ports USB AC Wall Charger Review – A Neat Cheap Gadget

Today we are looking at a simple yet very useful gadget – Aukey 3 USB ports USB AC wall fast charger.

Thanks to Getone for sending Aukey 3 USB Ports USB AC Wall Charger for a review!

 

Aukey 3 USB Ports USB AC Wall Charger Review: VIDEO

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRgSy5HwL1w[/embedyt]

Aukey 3 USB Ports USB AC Wall Charger Review: UNBOXING

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The $8 device comes in a little box and what you are getting is the charger itself and some documentation. I will leave a link in the description below for you.

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All right, so basically what the Aukey charger is that it has 3 USB ports and you can use all the ports at the same time. Also, the charger has a combined output of 6A, which means that your device is going to charge pretty fast.
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The Aukey charger is made of quality plastic and feels very sturdy overall. It’s definitely not one of those cheap power plugs that are going to break in a few weeks.
A few key features include the Alpower technology, whcih basically detects the maximum possible charging speed of the device you want to charge.

Aukey 3 USB Ports USB AC Wall Charger Review: CONCLUSIONS

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I’ve tested the Aukey charger with a variety of different gadgets and I pretty much know how long it takes to charge them up. I have to say that this charger indeed refills the batteries pretty quickly and it works well when all 3 USB ports are in use. For example, my old vivo Xshot was fully charged in about 15 minutes faster than using the original charger.
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All in all, the Aukey 3 USB port fast charger is a neat little gadget, which is made of quality materials both inside and out, it is not expensive and works as advertised.

ASUS Confirms Android 6.0 Marshmallow Update For Number of Models

Ever since Google officially unveiled the new Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system, many manufacturers have come forward to reveal the existing models which will be upgraded to the new OS. Now, ASUS has just revealed some of the models which will get Android M update in the coming months.

Download-Android-6.0-Marshmallow

ASUS revealed on its official Zentalk forums that most of the latest models will be upgraded to the new Android 6.0 operating system. The list of models which will be upgraded are as follow:

  • PadFoneS (PF500KL)
  • ZenFone2 (ZE550ML/ZE551ML)
  • ZenFone2 Deluxe / Special Edition (ZE551ML)
  • ZenFone2 Laser (ZE500KG/ZE500KL/ZE550KL/ZE600KL/ZE601KL)
  • ZenFone Selfie (ZD551KL)

As you can see, the recent models are supported for the upgrade. However, the company has decided to leave out older models such as the ZenFone 5 and the first generation versions out of the upgrade. Not surprising given that they are more than a year old.

Unfortunately, the company has not revealed when you can expect the Android M update. Considering the company’s timing of lollipop update this year, we can expect the Android 6 rollout to start only by a few months into 2016.

 

Vivo X6 Confirmed To Feature Split Screen Multi-tasking

Vivo has been teasing a number of features on its upcoming Vivo X6 flagship smartphone. According to the latest teaser from the company, the Vivo X6 will feature split screen multi-tasking, making sure that you can make the most out of its 4GB RAM on board.

vivo x6 multi-task

Like tradition, even this particular teaser comes via gif image, wherein we can see that the phone can open up two apps side by side at one time. In the image, it was shown that the user could switch to split screen mode while watching a video to send a message. As we mentioned above, the phone will feature 4GB of RAM which will be more than enough to enable smooth multi-tasking on the device.

Apart from the split screen multi-tasking mode and 4GB of RAM, Vivo X6 is confirmed to feature a fast fingerprint sensor at the back. This sensor will support fingerprint enabled payment systems as well. The phone will come in an all metal body with a design similar to its previous models and will be available in at least three color options namely rose gold, silver and gold.

vivo x6 color options

Pricing is yet to be revealed, but don’t expect the phone to be cheap. The release is expected to be around the first week of December, which is just a few days away. Until then, we are sure to receive more details on the upcoming device, so stay tuned.

Huawei AM08 Bluetooth Speaker Review

Bluetooth speakers’ market is getting crowded as a lot of different manufacturers produce them. Huawei is one of them and they have a one tiny device at affordable price. Stay tuned for a full review.

Thanks to Pandawill for sending Huawei AM08 Bluetooth speaker for a review.

Huawei AM08 Bluetooth Speaker Review: VIDEO

Huawei AM08 Bluetooth Speaker Review: DESIGN

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First of all, the Huawei Bluetooth speaker is very compact and lightweight and it has only one speaker, which is capable of producing 1.8W of sound output.
It’s made of quality glossy plastic, which is, however, prone to fingerprints. The speaker sports rather unusual design. The bottom part is dedicated for audio and the top part has a nice pulsing light and the controls.
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The power on/off switch is on the bottom and all the usual set of  controls are on the top, which are embedded in the touchpad. It’s a nice and convenient idea but I found the volume up button to be irresponsive quite a few times and that is disappointing.
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There is a Bluetooth key in the middle, which also doubles as answer call or play/pause button. Speaking of hands-free operation, the call quality is just mediocre as my voice was not very clear to the people on the other end.
Overall, the design is great and build quality is very good.

Huawei AM08 Bluetooth Speaker Review: SOUND QUALITY

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When it comes to the sound quality, it is definitely good for the size of the speaker yet not the best I’ve heard in this price range. Also, only 1.8W of sound output means that it is definitely not the loudest Bluetooth speaker on the market.

Huawei AM08 Bluetooth Speaker Review: CONCLUSIONS

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The Huawei Bluetooth speaker is a good quality product, which sports a great design along with a good build quality and good sound quality. Also, some extras like a pulsing light and capacitive touchpad are nice additions in the price range of under $30.
However, I was disappointed that the volume up button is not responsive, the call quality is just mediocre. In addition, there are quite a few options in this price range that have at least 5W of sound output.
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As far as battery, I could get just about 4 hours, which is good but not great.
Finally, the Huawei AM08 Bluetooth speaker is not a bad device as it offers quite a lot of functionality but you may also want to check out what the competition has to offer in this price range.

Vivo X6 Specs Leaked, Features Mediatek MT6752 Instead Of Helio X20

We have been hearing rumors about Vivo X6 flagship for the past couple of weeks. While we still don’t know the exact specifications of the device, earlier rumors had hinted that the phone might come with Mediatek’s latest Helio X20 chipset. However, a few hours ago, a new leak revealed some interesting specifications of the device.

Vivo X6 MT6752

Some of the specs are in line with what we have been expecting till now like the 4GB of RAM and 1080p display resolution. However, one of the biggest surprises of the leak was the CPU. According to this leak, the Vivo X6 will feature the mid-range 1.7GHz MT6752 octa-core 64-bit chip as opposed to the much more powerful Helio X20 deca-core chip. This is really surprisingly and hard to believe given that the phone will come with pretty high-end features and a chip like MT6752 won’t be able to extract the full potential from the device.

Mali T760 MP4 GPU benchmark

Another surprise is the Mali-T760 MP4 GPU on board which is much inferior to the new generation Mali-T880 MP4 GPU. Despite having 4GB of RAM on board, a mid-range chipset won’t help the phone in the performance segment.

The camera is said to be of 12MP both on the front as well as the back which is once again a bit odd.

However, remember that this is just a leak and Vivo has not yet confirmed the processor inside the X6. So, for now, its best to wait for an official teaser or spec sheet from the company before getting disappointed.

Still what do you think? Will you be happy with MT6752 on board a flagship like Vivo X6?

 

New Vivo XShot3 Model Spotted, Features a Large Rear Camera Sensor

After a few months of silence, Vivo suddenly announced the teaser for its new flagship, the Vivo X6 a couple of weeks back. But it looks like this might not be the only smartphone that will meet us soon as earlier today a leaked picture of a new Vivo handset, most likely the Vivo XShot3 was spotted online. Xshot is often regarded as one of the best smartphone from the company till date and hence, its really exciting to hear that there’s a new generation version that will meet us soon.

vivo xshot3 01

According to the leaked images, the Vivo XShot3 will feature a large rear camera sensor located at the center. Its bigger than traditional camera sensors we have seen that once again hints that this phone is indeed the new XShot generation. The company has always focused on the camera on the XShot smartphones and hence, it really won’t be a surprise if we find something powerful like a 20MP shooter at the back. The image further reveals that there will be a single LED flash just below it along with a fingerprint sensor in the middle.

vivo xshot3 02

If you compare this leaked Vivo XShot3 picture with that of the upcoming Vivo X6, you will find some similarities such as the basic design and the placement of the fingerprint sensor. However, the XShot3 features a plain back design as opposed to the three stage design found on the X6. This leaked model also looks a bit larger, featuring 6-inch+ display.

We can see that there seems to be some collaboration between National Geographic and Vivo for the launch of the device. Not surprising given that even the Vivo XShot was reportedly used by some of the magazine’s photographers.

However, Vivo is yet to official reveal anything about the launch of a second handset. So, we better wait for some more concrete details about this device before getting too excited.

 

 

Huawei Shows Off Its New Quick Charge Tech, Its Really Really Fast!

In a year alone, Huawei has released a number of new devices such as the Huawei P8, Honor 7, Honor 7i, Mate S etc. There are also a few handsets which are coming soon such as the Huawei Mate 8. This really proves that the company is focused on its smartphone division. Now, this Chinese giant has just unveiled a new charging technology which is better than most other quick charge tech that we have seen till now.

huawei quick charge demo

Although the company is yet to officially name it something specific, Huawei’s Quick Charge tech can charge your large battery within a matter of minutes. And this is not just a claim, as the company released a video a couple of days back to prove it.

 

In the video, which you can see above, Huawei has taken a 3000mAh battery and placed it inside its prototype Quick Charge enabled device. You can see that within a matter of minutes, here its just 5 minutes, the battery charged from 0% to 48%. So, you get half a day’s worth of usage within the time you made a coffee for yourself. That’s really impressive and much faster than existing quick charging technologies.

But before you get too excited, we will have to remind you that this is just a prototype Quick Charge technology. It will take some years to make the tech viable for your everyday smartphones. But once it hits the market, you no longer have to worry about your phone’s battery as a simple 5 minutes of charging can get you running for hours.

 

 

Meizu Pro 5 Receives Flyme 5 Beta Update Finally

Back in September, Meizu revealed its new Flyme 5 OS alongside the Meizu Pro 5 flagship. Surprisingly, the new version was not immediately available for the Pro 5 handset. Instead, it was first released for the Meizu MX5 as the company said that it required a few more weeks until the OS could be tuned to the hardware of the Pro 5. Now, after nearly two months of waiting, Meizu has finally released the Flyme 5 Beta version for the device. This means, Pro 5 users can now install the new Flyme version on their newly bought flagships.

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You can now download and install the open beta version of the Flyme 5 OS on your Meizu Pro 5 flagship. Let me remind you, this is not the stable version, so you won’t be getting it via the OTA update. So, if you are interested in flashing this new version, you will have to do it manually. Or else, wait for a few weeks more until the company releases the final version for all users.

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Flyme 5.0 comes with a lot of new functionality and design changes. Apart from the split screen function and card taskbar, the company has also paid special attention to the phone’s camera UI. Now, you have a number of new shooting options such as slow motion, GIF, voice photographs etc.

Although we have yet to test the new Flyme 5 personally, it looks like a great improvement from the previous version. So, if you have the Pro 5 and want to test out the new version, you can download and flash it via the link given below.