Huawei just released the brand new Honor 7i smartphone. It comes with a unique flip-up camera which can rotate up to 180 degrees. The good news is that the camera can take a number of positions which opens up a lot of new camera angle possibilities. Well, many of you may have already thought of ways to use this innovative 13MP camera module, but to give you some inspiration, Huawei shows us how exactly can we use this camera for taking creative pictures.
In the latest promo video, we can see that the Honor 7i camera can take a lot of creative shots in different camera angles, thanks to its special rotating design. With f/2.0 aperture and SLR grade ISP, you can expect to take great pictures with the device. The company has even included a bunch of software features such as beautification mode, new algorithms to intelligently fill light in low lighting conditions and a even a number of camera filters.
Huawei released the unique Honor 7i smartphone with a flip-up camera module earlier today. The phone is particularly targeted at the young crowd with powerful camera features. It comes with a 5.2-inch FHD display and Snapdragon 616 underneath with 3GB RAM, 32GB storage and a 3100mAh battery. The camera at the back is of 13MP with f/2.0 large aperture and SLR grade ISP. So, you can expect to take beautiful pictures even in low light.
Now, we take a look at the overall design of the device, which is somewhat similar to Honor 7. But, that’s actually a good thing as the Honor 7i looks extremely well built and premium despite its affordable 1599 Yuan price tag. Take a look at the Honor 7i hands on pictures below, to see the handset in its full glory!
Honor 7i Hands On Pictures:
If not for the flip-up camera, from the front, the Honor 7i and the Honor 7 look identical. The body is quite thin at 7.8mm, even thinner than Honor 7’s 8.5mm profile. It weighs just about 160 grams.
The camera can be flipped up to act as the front facing shooter. As you can see, even the dual LED flash comes on top.
The unique grip pattern continues from the back to the front.
Down below, you can see the fingerprint sensor. Its a side mounted sensor instead of a traditional rear placed one that we saw on the Honor 7. The fingerprint recognition speed is said to be just 0.5 seconds.
As you can see below, the pattern is particularly visible on the Champagne Gold version.
Although you can see two speaker grills at the bottom, they are not dual speakers.
Like expected, Huawei announced the brand new Honor 7i smartphone in an event today in China. The company had been teasing this unique device for the past couple of weeks, and now, its finally official. Like we saw in the TENAA images, the Honor 7i will indeed feature a flip-up camera module, which means, similar to the OPPO N1, the rear camera unit itself will be the front facing camera. However, instead of a rotating module, the Honor 7i’s camera unit will flip-up manually to take front facing shots.
This is definitely the best feature of the device. The flip-up camera can be adjusted to almost any angle within 180 degrees. This makes the phone ideal for taking low-angle shots. You can practically experiment with different angles to get the perfect shot that you need. With a powerful sensor at the back, you can take great pictures with the new Honor 7i.
The rear camera module is a 13MP sensor with a large f/2.0 aperture. The phone supports 4As, namely Auto Exposure, Auto White Balance, Automatic Face Recognition and Auto Smile Shutter. Huawei claims that the camera comes with SLR grade ISP translating into better low light performance, balance and less noise.The phone features multi-frame algorithm that intelligently fills light when under low lighting conditions.
It looks like the company has put in a lot of efforts in the Honor 7i’s camera module. Moreover, Huawei claims that you don’t have to worry about the flip-up camera, as its extremely sturdy and reliable. It is said that even if you use flip-up the camera module 132 times a day, it will still last for up to 2 years.
Another interesting feature of the Honor 7i is the side-mounted fingerprint sensor. Instead of a rear placed one like the Honor 7, this new device will feature the sensor on the side. This is an interesting placement not usually seen on smartphones, so we will have to see if this is more convenient than Home button integrated and rear placed sensors.
Apart from these two innovative features, the Honor 7i is pretty much a mid-range flagship. The phone comes with a 5.2-inch FHD LCD Negative display with a screen to body ratio of 79.8%. Under the hood, there’s the new Snapdragon 616 chipset with eight cores, reportedly much stable and low power consuming than its previous generation. There will be 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM on board along with 32GB of internal storage. As you can see, apart from the rotating camera & chipset, the specs are pretty much similar to the Honor 7 flagship. You further get 3100mAh battery, dual card dual standby and 4G LTE network connectivity.
Huawei has priced the Honor 7i quite aggressively. The phone will be available for pre-order later today for a starting price tag of 1599 Yuan (China Mobile version). The China Telecom version will cost you 1699 Yuan while the China Unicom version will cost you 1899 Yuan.
OVEVO is a known brand when it comes to wireless speakers and headsets. The OVEVO Fantasy Pro Z1 is a smart Bluetooth speaker which can act as a beside light too. The compact speaker can change its color with a simple touch of button, and there are millions of color options that you can choose from.
To be precise,you can choose from about 16 million kinds of colors, according to your ambiance and needs. A light touch on top can change the color accordingly. But if you need to customize things, then the Z1 Pro app gives you complete control over the color style, (warm/ cool) and even audio preferences. The app lets you automatically set time to start or stop the audio. You can even set the timing for lighting. And finally, OVEVO Fantasy Pro Z1 with the sound plus lighting combo can turn out to be a great alarm clock to wake you up every morning.
The Z1 Pro is compact enough to carry it around wherever you go. Its like your everyday personal bluetooth speaker. It takes around 2 hours to charge the bluetooth speaker completely. But once its fully charged, you can connect to your smartphones via Bluetooth 4.0 and play it for about 6 hours without charging it again.
Its a pretty neat device considering that you can get it for just $24.99. You can check out the OVEVO Fantasy Pro Z1 from the link below.
Xiaomi are well known for their range of high quality and well priced mobile handsets, what they are less well known for is their desire to fill our homes with gadgets that offer the same ideals.
I will shortly be receiving a Xiaomi Yeelight for review from Gearbest.com this is something that I am really looking forward to, as it offers great value when compared to comparable offerings from Phillips.
The lamp is controlled by touch input on the top of the unit, but more importantly for us gadget lovers, can be controlled via bluetoother and an app on your mobile device.
The Xiaomi Yeelight can produce 16 million Hughes and shades, allowing you to perfectly match your decoration, or set the mood in your chosen room.
Hopefully by the time I get back to the UK it will be waiting for me, ready to review.
Xiaomi officially released the MIUI 7 internationally a few hours back. With the event now finally over, we know the entire list of MIUI 7 features that the new version will bring to almost all Xiaomi devices in the coming months. The OTA update will start rolling out by next week, from Aug 24 and all current Xiaomi smartphones including the Redmi 1S will be upgraded to the new MIUI 7 version.
Now, its time to look at the entire list of fMIUI 7 features. Its kind of a long list, but there are many interesting features ahead, so make sure you check them all.
1. Performance Improvement
Xiaomi promises up to 30% faster response rate with the new MIUI 7 version. The OS is now optimized to load data and app animation in parallel which means, you get noticeable and surprising fast UI response.
2. Better Battery Life
Xiaomi claims that the new MIUI 7 version improves battery life up to 25% by restricting background data and GPS usage and aligning CPU wake up times. This means, you get up to 3 hours of extended usage everyday.
3. MUSE
MUSE allows MIUI users to create Themes with preset animations and content without any need for complex coding. Its pretty easy to build you own theme with MUSE, which means we should see more user created themes for the OS in the near future.
You no longer have to listen to long voice prompts, thanks to Interactive Visual Response (IVR). So, you can skip to the important part with the provided menu while booking air tickets or banking. The feature is currently supported by over 50 Indian partners.
6. Showtime
You can keep a short video loop on your Xiaomi smartphone for a contact (you can send it to other contacts too) running MIUI 7 with the help of Showtime. The feature will roll out in the coming months.
7. Auto DND:
When you sleep with the Xiaomi Mi Band, it will automatically switch your phone to DND (Do Not Disturb) so that you can sleep in peace.
8. Baby Album
With the help of facial recognition, MIUI automatically creates a Baby Album from your camera roll. You can even set your daily lockscreen sourced from your baby album.
9. XXL Text
You can now resize the font on MIUI 7 with ease. XXL Text can adjust conversational layouts and line brakes to provide greater readability. You can adjust not just messages but almost everything into a larger font.
10. Child Mode
In MIUI 7, you can limit access to personal info like emails, messages, and restrict the apps that can be used in child mode. You can approve the allowed apps from the settings itself.
Although Xiaomi had announced MIUI 7 in China back on August 13, the company kept a special international unveiling for its new ROM today. Now that MIUI 7 is released internationally, we know which all devices are going to get the update.
Unsurprisingly, almost all of the Xiaomi smartphones that are currently in the market including the old Redmi 1S will be upgraded to the new MIUI 7 OS. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that your Xiaomi smartphone will get Android 5.0, as older models will most likely end up with an Android 4.4 KitKat version of MIUI 7. You can read more about that from this article.
The OTA update will start rolling out in a week, i.e. from August 24. But if you want to get a taste of the new MIUI 7 themes, you can download them right now from here.
With MIUI 7, you get some pretty great features, including performance improvements up to 30% at the system level. Other features include a baby album, XXL Mode, battery improvements etc. In fact, we have a separate article detailing all the new features of MIUI 7. You can check that out from the link.
Some more interesting news from ZUK today, the partnership with Cyanogen that was spoken about before the launch of the Z1 has now been made official.
ZUK reveals official partnership with Cyanogen
ZUK, established in May 28 2015, is an innovative Internet company invested by Lenovo Group Ltd. (LNVGY). With more than 400 outstanding top talents from famous Internet enterprises, ZUK takes aim at both mobile Internet and Internet of Things (IoT). ZUK revealed that they’ve established a software partnership with Cyanogen, a leading mobile OS company, for the international version of the ZUK Z1, which will bring the best customised Android experience to international users. The ZUK Z1 international version will be the first device from ZUK to come preloaded with the commercial Cyanogen OS. Combining Cyanogen OS 12.1 with the latest highest end hardware, the Z1 is poised to provide a fast, secure and beautiful device for Android users.
Cyanogen OS is a powerfully fast operating system with a number of advanced features that are optimised for performance, power consumption, security and privacy. Cyanogen enables deep customisation of the entire user interface with its theme app, including wallpapers, fonts, icons, boot animations, and 3rd party apps. Cyanogen leads in privacy with Privacy Guard, giving users granular control of their personal data to 3rd party apps. Other leading privacy and security features include PIN Scramble to randomise the numbers behind your password, the Protected Apps feature to keep your apps private in lockable folders, and Blocked Caller List to permanently block phone numbers.
Vikram Natarajan, Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships and Distribution for Cyanogen, will attend the ZUK Z1 international launch press conference on 21th August, 2015 in Shenzhen, in order to further strengthen the cooperation between the two parties.
We expected to see the Lenovo Vibe S1 handset as early as MWC 2015 in March 2015. However, for some reason, the company didn’t release the handset at that time. The phone recently visited TENAA, which gave us an idea about its specs as well as the design. However, it looks like we missed an important feature of the handset.
According to the latest leak @upleaks, the Lenovo Vibe S1 will feature dual selfie camera up front. You can clearly see two different cameras just above the display in the picture above. One is just besides the ear piece and the second one is to the right. While we don’t know the capability of the dual cameras, we can expect additional features such as bokeh effects like we saw on the HTC handsets. One of those is expected to be an 8MP sensor.
As for the specs, the Lenovo Vibe S1 is said to come with a 13MP rear facing camera with LED flash, octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor, 2GB RAM. 5-inch FHD 1080p display and 16GB of internal memory further expandable via MicroSD. The phone should run on Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box.
As for the release date, the company is yet to officially confirm the existence of the handset or even its pricing. So, we will have to wait for some more weeks to get some concrete information.
Elephone have today announced that they will be launching the P8000 in India via Snapdeal as part of an OEM collaboration with Auxus.
They have released the following statement on the Elephone.hk website:
Elephone P8000 enters India as Auxus PRIME P8000 exclusively on Snapdeal
With immense pleasure and proud, we would like to announce that Auxus , one of our OEM collaboration, will release our flagship phone Elephone P8000 in the name of Auxus PRIME P8000 in India.
Auxus PRIME P8000 is a specially customized version of Elephone P8000 for Indian Customers with the support of all the Indian frequencies and bands especially 4G LTE TDD B40 with 2300MHz frequency.Auxus PRIME P8000 will carry Auxus 1 year warranty and will be serviced by over 350+ authorized Auxus service centers across India, the list of which can be found on http://sc.iberry.asia.
Since PRIME P8000 is basically the same hardware specifications of Elephone P8000, all the 3rd party ROMs of Elephone found on Elephone Official Forum (bbs.elephone.hk) are also compatible with Auxus PRIME P8000.
Quote from Ji, CEO of Elephone: “We are very glad to have an OEM collaboration with Auxus for India market and we look forward to bringing in more products for Indian customers to meet their demand in terms of specifications and after-sales support.”
Auxus PRIME P8000 will be exclusively available for purchase on Snapdeal.com by end of this month. Check out Snapdeal.com and Auxus India for more details about the launch.
This is great news for Indian fans of Elephone and the P8000, hopefully it will lead to further releases.
Xiaomi has already announced MIUI 7 version for most of its smartphones in China. Many of the users have already started receiving the update, but for some, things weren’t as exciting as expected. Many of the older models have received the update, but according to the change log, MIUI 7 didn’t upgrade to Android 5.0 Lollipop version, instead, its still on Android 4.4 Kitkat. Now, this was surprising given that everyone expected MIUI 7 to be based on the updated Android 5.0 version.
However, time and again, Xiaomi has stressed that MIUI 7 is not based on a single Android version. In fact, there is no particular relation between MIUI 7 and the Android version on which it runs. As a result, its possible to get MIUI 7 even on phones based on Android 4.4.
Users who got the update and were stuck on Android 4.4 started criticizing Xiaomi’s MIUI team as they expected their phones to be upgraded to Android 5.0 with the new MIUI 7. Now, Sun Peng, MIUI development Engineer has come forward to clarify a few things about the MIUI 7 OTA update.
He says that Xiaomi or MIUI is not to be blamed for this. It’s actually the fault of the chip manufacturers who don’t update their chipsets. As a result, even though MIUI team is anxious to upgrade all Xiaomi smartphones to the latest MIUI 7 based on Android 5.0, its not really in their hands to do so. So, if you are one of those unfortunate users who have a slightly old device (like Redmi 1S), you’ll probably get the new update but based on the old Android 4.4 KitKat version.
MIUI 7 is definitely a great upgrade irrespective of the Android version that it is based on. The company has said that the system optimization of the UI has helped increase the speed by up to 30% which the user will will reflect in the phone’s everyday performance. So, even if you are stuck with Android 4.4, you should see some performance improvements and feature additions with the new MIUI 7.
Xiaomi will release MIUI 7 internationally later today.
So, what do you think about this? Will you be happy with performance improvements on MIUI that’s based on Android 4.4? Or are you disappointed to hear that some phones may not upgrade to Android 5.0?
Not everything was going to be a great power and features at last. There are many times when we do not need the latest smartphone from the market. With those moments, you just take a look to realize that there are extremely cheap and with enviable features smartphones. If you do not ask a lot, not a bad idea to get one of these phones. In fact, lower-middle range is very popular in recent days, with promotions that we should not miss.
The Mlais M9 Plus enters the sector just as discussed. A smartphone from lower-middle range, not being the best in its field, it does allows for an excellent value. It is a phone with 5-inch screen IPS , MTK6592M octa-core processor at 1.4 GHz, 1 GB of RAM and 8GB ROM , and two cameras, a rear 8-megapixel and 5 megapixel front camera. And not to mention support of GPS, 3G networks and Dual SIM and Micro SIM, allowing us to have two SIM cards in one phone. It also has Android 5.0 Lollipop and 2100 mAh battery to complete a terminal with good performance. As you can see, the phone is not anything special, but it is very interesting if you want to carry over as much, or do not want spendest a fortune on a smartphone.
A design without any pretensions than to serve
The design of this Mlais M9 Plus is interesting, but you should not expect much from it. It is only available in 2 colors, black and white . The body is also nothing remarkable: the frames are saved, which are made of metal for a more durable look. Otherwise, you will find materials, in most cases, plastic. Durable if not give strong shock . Regarding the situation of the buttons , there are not many surprises: the front has the touch of home, back and menu, while the sides are reserved for on / off and volume. Rounding out the design weighing 100 grams and dimensions of 14.1 x 7.1 x 0.75 cm . Ideally you can carry it with one hand and without much problems. If you want a device to perform its tasks well and not give problems, this Mlais M9 Plus might be a good option. Always remember its price: $89 . In case you want something more powerful, you have to increase the budget.
This time around we are looking at the Bluetooth keyboard that costs just below $20 and it is made by a company named 1byone and it can be purchased via Amazon (see the links at the end of this article).
The device comes in a simple packaging and the contents include the Bluetooth keyboard, micro USB cable and instruction manuals.
The keyboard itself is made of quality plastic material and the back of it is made of brushed metal. Also, there are 4 silicone pads to prevent the keyboard from slipping and a little power on/off switch.
On the right side there is a micro USB charging port but you are not going to be using it a lot since the embedded 280mAh battery is said to last up to 4 months in standby mode and up to 90 days of continuous use.Overall, the build quality and the choice of materials are very good, the keys have a great tactile response and the keyboard is very light and portable.
In order to pair the keyboard with the device, you all you have to do is to turn on the keyboard, press FN + C buttons to turn the keyboard into the pairing mode and then connect it to the device of your choice like any other Bluetooth gadget.
As far as functionality goes, the keyboard is compatible with most of the Bluetooth devices. I’ve tested it with the iPad, Android phone, Macbook and Windows computer and it works just fine. There are 3 switch keys and you may want to use them to switch between the operating systems you work on to get the best user experience.
There is no lag between typing and the letters appearing on the screen, the Bluetooth range of 10 meters is good and I didn’t have any connectivity issues. Basically, I have no complaints with this keyboard. Well, I couldn’t test it if the battery can really last you up to 90 days of continuous use but so far I wasn’t able to kill it on a heavy use in two weeks.
Overall, the 1byone Bluetooth keyboard may not be the only one on the market but for $20 you are getting a well built, light and portable keyboard that is compatible with most of the Bluetooth devices.
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Multiply Deep Great
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Every Behold One
You’ll Said Male
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Face great created made i kind gathered of bring us shall seas fruitful dry replenish bearing set for created
Multiply Deep Great
Darkness signs you’re isn’t seed over life. You’ll above you there. Waters void set. Living. Air upon green first for the for be be light stars can’t. God. Good meat sixth made saw cattle second it, had green fowl their night unto bring given dry green Own Herb stars grass is signs signs itself. Earth. So. Earth had lesser replenish fruit. Unto over meat fly. Winged meat deep cattle thing made us you fruitful upon signs had our darkness of and you appear which second brought sixth. Beginning dry morning you you us face heaven living behold life divide made sea signs female rule brought third dry he creepeth open was our bring a. Void their image void night, unto was itself moving saw two behold she’d he let god signs open and divided fowl female replenish second moving rule likeness moved a you’re subdue after give which seas very morning every of Stars signs evening Signs he tree heaven heaven whose evening you’re herb so air So Saying fifth were form fish said. Creepeth they’re.
Every Behold One
You’ll Said Male
Lights very set from gathered. Him they’re be firmament had.
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Meizu has repeatedly stressed that the company has scrapped the Meizu MX Pro lineup this year. However, that doesn’t mean we won’t see a high-end flagship in the second half. Meizu VP Li Nan had earlier said that the company was developing a super high-end device planned to launch in a few months. Looks like, we have got some more details about this device, as most of the specs of the phone have just been revealed.
According to the leak from Weibo, Meizu’s unnamed high-end flagship will feature Samsung’s Exynos 7422 chipset clocked at 2.1GHz, the same one that powers the Galaxy Note 5. It looks like the company is targeting large screen lovers with this device as it will feature a 6-inch display with an impressive 2K resolution screen. There will be 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 32GB of eMMC 5.0 storage.
For camera, there will be a 20.7MP sensor at the back, with OIS and sapphire lens. One of the highlights of the device will be its large 4100mAh battery inside a 7.2mm slim metal body. We will most likely see the same home button integrated fingerprint sensor that we saw on Meizu MX5 on this high-end handset. Also, there will be a single SIM card slot only. As for software, the new Meizu flagship is said to run on Android 5.1 with Flyme 5.0 on top. Like most Meizu top-end devices till date, the phone is said to support Hi-Fi audio.
Li Nan did not reveal an exact date of launch this year, but we expect the phone to be released at least by November. Remember that this leak comes via Weibo and we are not entirely sure about the specs. So, we advise you to take this news with a pinch of salt.
ZTE, one of the largest smartphone makers on the planet, needs no further introduction when it comes to the smartphone game. We usually talk about the ZTE’s sub-brand Nubia and its smartphones but this time around we are looking at the just announced ZTE Axon Chinese model, meaning that it has a fingerprint scanner and some other minor differences than the international variant.
We wanted to say thanks for GIZTOP.com for sending the ZTE Axon for a review.
32GB (expandable via microSD card slot up to 200GB)
ZTE Axon Fingerprint Model Review: UNBOXING
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Usually I don’t really care about the packaging but this one is worth looking at as this Chinese version of the Axon phone comes in a really premium looking box.
All the items are packed in a plastic box and I have to say that ZTE has made a real flagship-grade presentation here as everything is packed very nicely and neatly.
The contents include the the pair of high-quality earphones, which are not made by JBL as on the international model, USB cable, power plug, instruction manuals and the SIM ejector pin, which has a nice little carrying case.
Overall, the presentation looks nothing but premium.
ZTE Axon Fingerprint Model Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY
The ZTE Axon is a really beautiful phone that comes with a 5.5″ 1080p display (the international and the “Lux” models have the 2k panels).
It doesn’t matter that the panel is “only” 1080P but it is very sharp, vivid, has great viewing angles and good sunlight visibility. Overall, it is a very high-quality display and it is one of the best out there even if you compare it with any flagship device. In addition, it has a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 with the antimicrobial coating. I could not check if the antimicrobial feature really works but what I can say that it is much easier to clean the screen than other Gorilla Glass 3 glasses I’ve tested.
On the top side there is what may look like a speaker grill but it turns out that it is just a design element. Inside of it you can find just an earpiece, which is located on the right side.
Underneath the earpiece there is an 8MP front facing snapper with wide angle lens and the proximity sensor.
On the bottom side there are 3 capacitive keys, which also have a backlight (although they are pretty much invisible outdoors).
Also, the home button serves as a notification LED, which is an implementation that comes from the ZTE’s Nubia line of smartphones. A great thing is that the capacitive keys are customisable (you can switch the menu and back buttons).
Underneath the capacitive buttons you can find another grill but only the right side is where the actual speaker can be found.
The back plate is made of champagne gold aluminium material but the top and bottom parts are made of plastic. These parts sport a somewhat leather-like finish (well, it is plastic) with some fake stitching. Nevertheless, the top and bottom parts don’t look cheap by any means and I really like the look and feel of them.
If we get a closer look to the top side, we can find a lot of things going on here. It all starts with the eye-catching duo camera setup. Yes, I know, we’ve heard about this before. Still, ZTE thinks it is a great idea and they implemented a 13MP Sony sensor with OIS, f/1.8 aperture and a single tone dual LED flash.
To make the above mentioned specs sound even more appealing, there is a dedicated2MP camera sensor, which collects depth information and it is mainly used for the bokeh shots and focus adjustments after taking the picture.
Just below the duo camera setup you can find a fingerprint scanner. Well, we’ve seen a lot of Chinese phones with this type of security option coming out lately and you may wonder how the one found on the ZTE’s flagship performs in real life.
First of all, some people may say that the placement is terrible since you have to reach the sensor on its back. However, I think differently. Since the phone has a huge footprint, it is actually more convenient as you don’t lose the grip of the phone and you are not taking a risk of dropping it.
Secondly, you may wonder how the finger print scanner actually works. After using the device for quite a while, I can say that it is one of the best fingerprint security implementations on the market. It is super fast, very accurate and reads your fingerprints even if they are a bit smudgy. It is on par with the iPhone 6, Galaxy S6 and any other top of the line device.
You may think that the fingerprint security is not a big deal since there are plenty of cheap phones, which have it. However, I can clearly see the difference in a cheap scanner and the premium scanner as the former one is lagging behind in terms of speed and accuracy.
On the bottom side there is just the ZTE logo with some certification info.
Here is the right side of the device and you can find twonano SIM card slots, which both support global-LTE networks (although I suggest you checking the bands with your local carrier). A really awesome thing is that the second slot also doubles as a microSD card slot, which can take cards up to 200GB. Please note that only the Chinese version (for some mysterious reason) of the phone has the storage expansion option.
Underneath the SIM card tray you can find a very clicky and responsive volume rocker.
On the right side there is a conveniently placed power on/off switch.
On the top there is a headset jack along with a noise-cancelling mic.
On the bottom you can find a micro USB port and the main mic.
Overall, I really like this phone as far the overall design package goes. It is definitely a looker, it has a superb build quality and it feels like you are holding a flagship-grade device in your hand. Finally, a one-hand operation may be a bit difficult but it is still possible.
ZTE Axon Fingerprint Model Review: USER INTERFACE
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The ZTE Axon runs MiFavor UI 3.2, which is company’s own take on the Android 5.0.2 Lollipop. The user interface has preserved the aesthetics of the stock Android but ZTE added quite a lot of its own by offering some extra features, nicely looking icons and tons of customisation options. As usual to the Chinese phones, there is no app drawer and all the apps sit on the home screens.
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ZTE added some functionality with the gesture controls and various interesting apps like a Karaoke. However, some of these apps are designed for the Chinese users as we have a Chinese version as a review unit.
The system ROM takes a hefty amount of 7.5GB. Fortunately enough, the device comes with the microSD card slot.
The ZTE Axon comes with the iris scanner! The company did not really advertise it but this may be a neat feature for some. It was quite interesting to test it out since I have recently reviewed a much cheaper Umi Iron phone, which has the same feature.
The setup was really easy as I just needed to scan my eyes a few times. How does it work? It actually works pretty good. I was able to unlock the phone using a retina security option most of the times and I believe this is one of the better iris scanner implementations I’ve used.
Overall, I am very pleased with how the UI works. It is fast, fluid and very responsive. Also, it has lots of customisation options and some neat features but it is not overblown with gimmicky functionality, which we would never use.
ZTE Axon Fingerprint Model Review: BENCHMARKS
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ZTE Axon Fingerprint Model Review: PERFORMANCE
Graphically intensive tasks like gaming (tested with Asphalt 8 and Mortal Combat X) just fly on the ZTE Axon and the graphics look stunning. A flagship-grade performance.
Snapdragon 810 = Overheating? No, not this time. The device gets warm a bit but it does not heat up to uncomfortable levels even after extended periods of gaming. It may feel a bit warmer than usual due to a natural heat dispersion on metal surfaces, though.
ZTE Axon Fingerprint Model Review: MULTIMEDIA
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The ZTE Axon is being advertised as the “First Hi-Fi smartphone in North America”. It may be true but we have already seen a lot of phones carrying Hi-Fi audio chips.
The sound via headphones is indeed very good, which has a very loud volume output, rich tones and a lot of depth. It is undoubtedly one of the best music phones out there.
The sound via loudspeaker, which is located on the bottom right of the device is also very good. It is loud and has a lot of depth and bass for a tiny speaker. Also, the placement on the front side of the device is the best you can possibly think of. A dual stereo speakers would have been nice but hey, you are getting a really good speaker.
Other multimedia options like 1080p or 4k video playback work flawlessly.
ZTE Axon Fingerprint Model Review: CAMERA
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The camera app is fast and responsive, and it has tons of controls, shooting modes and features. You may take pictures using the auto-mode and choose the “SLR mode” to take a full manual control of the camera. A neat feature is that you can play with the aperture number as well.
In addition, the “SLR mode” allows you to use the secondary 2MP camera sensor and change the focus point and level of it after taking the picture. I was actually really pleased with the results you can achieve with the extra camera sensor. Well, sometimes pictures may look a bit artificial but other times you can get some really professional looking images.
ZTE Axon Fingerprint Model Review: IMAGE QUALITY
The daylight images look great as they have plenty of details, colours look nice and pictures look sharp overall. Sometimes the dynamic range can be off, though. Keep in mind that all the images where shot at 10MP as it was a default setting due to wide screen (16:9) ratio. If you want to take 13MP images, the ratio changes to the old-school 4:3.
The images taken indoors can sometimes can look good but with a bit less lighting a visible noise kicks in and the amount of details goes down significantly.
The night shots are just okay as I expected a bit more from this device considering a great specs sheet of the camera it carries. It may be a software related issue as noise levels could be lower. I tried to play with the aperture and set it to the lowest – f/1.0 to see if it works. The image quality may be a tad better but there is no major improvement here.
I tried to play with the bokeh effect using the “SLR mode” to see what the secondary 2MP camera sensor is capable of. What I can say is that you can achieve some professional looking images but it will not happen all the time. Sometimes some objects may look a bit artificially. Still, this is one of the better implementations of duo camera setup I’ve tested (HTC One M8).
The 1080P footage looks quite good but I would love to see some more details in it. Also, the video could sharper overall if we compare it to some other top-shelf phones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQkdWmVh8D4
The 4K video looks sharper and has more details than the 1080p one. Overall, you may get some nice and sharp looking footage at the 4K resolution.
ZTE Axon Fingerprint Model Review: CONNECTIVITY
All the connectivity options like GPS, Bluetooth, Wifi and NFC work great. Also, the call quality is stellar as the earpiece is loud and the sound is very clear. Finally, the reception quality is very good on each of the nano SIM card slot.
ZTE Axon Fingerprint Model Review: BATTERY LIFE
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The battery life on the ZTE Axon is good but not great. It will most likely get you through the day as you can get just below 4 hours of screen on-time if you consume a lot of multimedia, use a lot camera and play some games.
The screen-on times may increase up to 4.5 or even 5 hours if you are not doing a lot of demanding tasks.
If it happens so that you need to recharge your battery in the middle of the day, the Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 comes handy.
ZTE Axon Fingerprint Model Review: CONCLUSIONS
So there you have, the ZTE Axon smartphone. To be honest, I don’t have any major complaints about this device and I believe that ZTE nailed it this time considering the price tag of $449.99 via third-party resellers.
It all starts with a beautiful design and a great choice of premium materials, which include metal, plastic and glass. No one will make a mistake this is a flagship quality smartphone.
Also, the device has a great display, fast and fluid UI and awesome overall performance.
In addition, the ZTE Axon has plenty of really nice features that work great like a fingerprint and retina scanners, tons of customisation options and the state of the art Hi-Fi audio experience, and much more.
The 13MP/2MP camera combo on the back works great in the daylight and its rich camera app allows you to play with lots of settings and shooting modes. The extra 2MP sensor not only looks nice on the back and makes other people think that the ZTE Axon is a killer camera phone, but also allows you to take some great looking images with the bokeh effect. However, the night shots could be better as a visible noise may ruin some images.
Finally, this is a great device that does not have any disadvantages that could be a deal breaker. For the price of $449.99 you are getting a phone that may not have the best battery life or the best low-light camera, but it is definitely a looker, performs great and will provide you with an amazing multimedia experience.
Although its been just a few months since LeTV entered the smartphone industry, the company has already made tremendous progress. Its the fastest growing smartphone company in the Chinese market right now and we already have seen three powerful models from the company. However, it looks like LeTV has another smartphone in the works which could feature the upcoming Snapdragon 820 flagship chipset.
LeTV recently posted a new teaser on its LeTV Hong Kong page, where we can see the front panel of the device with the words Snapdragon 820 on it. Its actually pretty easy to guess what it means. The company is hinting that a new LeTV smartphone is in the works which will come with the Snapdragon 820 chipset. Given that the company has already started releasing teasers, LeTV could be one of the first manufacturers to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset.
Translated Weibo post from LeTV CEO
While this was enough to say that a Snapdragon 820 powered LeTV phone is in the works, recently, LeTV executives, CEO Jia Yueting and COO Liang both forwarded a post from China Mobile about the new Snapdragon 820. The post said that the 500 series GPU (Adreno 530?) inside the 820 will cater to the needs of the Virtual reality world. Both the executives praised the chip for its VR capabilities. Since both have shown interest in this chip, it may be a hint that the new LeTV phone is coming with Snapdragon 820.
While we are still unsure about the specs, the Snapdragon 820 chip is expected to feature four 64-bit Kryo cores along with Adreno 530 GPU. The chip will reportedly be made using a smaller and more efficient manufacturing process (14nm from Samsung?) for better thermal management.
LeTV One Pro and LeTV One Max both came with Snapdragon 810 chips, so it won’t be surprising to see a new model powered by Qualcomm’s latest chipset.
We all expected Huawei to release the Mate 8 flagship at IFA Berlin. However, later the company released a new teaser which showed the letter ‘S’. Given that the recent leaked images of the flagship was almost similar to the Mate 7, we believed that the next Huawei flagship was going to be called as the Mate 7S. However, earlier today, we spotted the Huawei Mate S on a certification website, which means the name is almost official.
GCF (Global Certification Forum) recently certified a device with the marketing name as the Huawei Mate S. This kind of fixes the confusion that was associated with this device. So, we will most likely see the new Mate S handset at IFA Berlin this year.
We have already seen that the phone will look almost the same as last year’s Huawei Mate 7. The all metal body, camera and fingerprint sensor placement are all in line with the previous generation model. However, when it comes to specs, the Huawei Mate S is expected to feature the Kirin 935 chipset that powers the Huawei P8 flagship. Further, the phone is rumored to come with 3GB RAM, 5.7-inch full HD 1080p display,20MP rear camera sensor, and Android 5.0.
One of the highlights of the device is going to be the touchscreen. Richard Yu, the CEO of Huawei had earlier said that the new flagship Mate S was going to come with a unique touchscreen. Later we saw a couple of posters highlighting the words, “The power of touch”. From all these hints, it looks like the Mate S will feature a Force Touch display. We already know that the Axon Mini will come with this screen, but it look like the Mate S will probably release first in the market.
Xiaomi is expected to release its new flagship, the Xiaomi Mi5 sometime later this year. According to the recent speculations, the device is expected to come with the new high-end chipset from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 820. It was even said that the launch was delayed because Xiaomi wanted to use the new Snapdragon chip. Now, we may have some idea about the performance of the device, thanks to a leaked AnTuTu benchmark screenshot.
The leaked image shows that the Xiaomi Mi5 scored a mind blowing 73075 points. That’s even better than the Samsung Exynos 7420 that currently powers flagships like Galaxy S6, S6 Edge and Galaxy Note 5. Given that Snapdragon 820 is expected to power the Mi5, the performance that we saw on AnTuTu could very well be of the next Qualcomm chip. We expected Snapdragon 820 to perform well as recent rumors have said that the chip will most likely feature four custom Kyro cores clocked at 3.0GHz.
Another likely chip inside the Mi5 is the Helio X20 with 10 cores. The chip managed to score above 70K on AnTuTu back in April, so this Mi5 in the leaked screenshot could be powered by the MTK Helio X20 as well. But, that’s just a guess, because almost every recent leak has tipped Snapdragon 820 inside the Xiaomi Mi5.
As for the specs, the flagship is expected to come with a 5.2-inch 2K display, 4GB of RAM and a 16MP OIS camera. The launch could be around November this year. Pricing is expected to be under $400.
So, which chip would you like to see inside the Xiaomi Mi5? Snapdragon 820 or Helio x20?
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