A new report has revealed that upcoming flagship smartphones from China based vendors will re-adopt ToF camera sensors (Time of Flight). The news arrives as even Apple gears up to include new ToF based LiDAR sensors on its 2021 iPhone Pro lineup.

According to a DigiTimes report, industry sources close to the matter have revealed that Chinese brands are raising orders for components and lenses related to the ToF cameras. An example being Honor, which recently adopted ToF sensors on its flagship Honor 50 Pro series through Taiwan based supply chain. The suppliers include GaAs foundries Win Semiconductors, Advanced Wireless Semiconductor (AWSC), and others that will also supply Apple with 3D face ID sensors and ToF LiDAR scanners for iPhones.

Furthermore, the source added that certain Huawei P50 series smartphone models will also adopt ToF cameras as well. On the other hand, major smartphone maker, Samsung Electronics, might not be bringing back ToF cameras in its new premium grade flagship handsets and is unlikely to release a smartphone that features this camera this year.

Although, the source believes that the Taiwanese suppliers are expected to see robust orders in the second half of this year, partly due to strong sales of 5G PA devices and VSCEL chips for new iPhones and flagship smartphones from China based vendors.

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The post Chinese brands to bring back ToF cameras in new flagship phones: Report appeared first on Gizmochina.

In the past couple of years, Chinese brands have changed the way we looked at flagship phones, with phones from companies like OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Meizu showing us that we needn’t spend $700 on a phone for getting the best performance. This year, more companies have come up to prove this very point, which has left us with plenty of smartphones that are very good on paper and does not cost a fortune.

So, here we list the best smartphones in the market today, ranging from $300 and going all the way up to $770. These are some of the best Chinese flagships that you can buy right now.

Almost everyone would agree that the best Chinese flagship phone list isn’t complete without a OnePlus smartphone. Since the past three years, OnePlus has etched out a niche market for itself — the one and only affordable flagship that you need and the tradition continues this year as well with the latest OnePlus flagship, the OnePlus 3T, which is one of the best phones you can buy for your money right now.

(OnePlus 3 Review Here)

The phone comes with the most powerful Qualcomm processor yet, the Snapdragon 821, 6GB of RAM for super fast multi-tasking and even a 128GB ROM option for those who found 64GB not enough on the OnePlus 3. The rear camera is pretty good, with a 16MP Sony sensor with OIS and PDAF, but what’s really the highlight is the front camera, a 16MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture, making it a handy device for clicking your selfies.

The 3400mAh battery will ensure that your phone is powered for a day and if you find that not enough, the Dash Charge, which gets you 60% battery in 30 minutes, will get the job done.

It’s definitely a great flagship costing just $439!

You can read the entire specifications of the OP3T here.

Xiaomi’s smartphones have always been affordable and value for money and recently the company has increased its efforts to make a mark in the high-end flagship segment. As a result, we have a few Xiaomi flagships that make it to the list here (three to be exact) and all the three are worthy enough of your hard earned money. They come with top-notch features at an affordable price, making it true value for money.

The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 makes it to this list, which is unsurprising, given its dual curved display and powerful specs.

This Xiaomi flagship is a bit different from other phones in the list because of its dual curved display. The phone is a bit larger as well, as it comes with a 5.7-inch 1080p display, as opposed to the 5.5-inchers that are in this list. But the larger display means you have more screen real estate which is great for your games and videos. Inside, you get the best Snapdragon 821 chip, with the top-end variant featuring 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage.

The phone features a great 22.5MP 1/2.6″ sensor with EIS (gyro), PDAF and dual LED flash. The phone also features a large 4070mAh battery with QC 3.0 (82% in just 30 minutes) making sure that your large screen will be powered throughout the day.

The phone’s official price starts at $413 in China and goes all the way up to $516 for the 6GB RAM model. However, as you know, one will have to shell out anywhere from $50-$100 premium for each variant model.

Check out the entire specs of the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 from here.

If you are looking for a Chinese flagship that’s compact and powerful, you should definitely check out the Xiaomi Mi 5S. The phone features a 5.15-inch compact display with 3D Touch on the top end 4GB + 128GB ROM version.

(Xiaomi Mi 5S Review Here)

It’s slim, weighs just 145 grams and is ideal for a small sized flagship. Internals are powerful, coming with Snapdragon 821 with Adreno 530 GPU, and a 1/2.3″ 12MP f/2.0 camera which should ensure good quality pictures even in low light. One feature missing from the camera is OIS. The battery is also decent measuring 3200mAh and QC 3.0 support helps in powering the phone all day long.

The pricing in China starts at around $300, going up to $350 for the 128GB version.

You can check out all the specs of the Xiaomi Mi 5S from here.

The Xiaomi Mi Mix is one of the biggest surprises of the year 2016 and hence, there is no way this list is complete without including this flagship. However, because of its super giant display, which covers more than 90% of the front, the Mi Mix is probably not for everyone. After all, using a 6.4-inch 1080p display on a day to day basis is not an easy task.

But if you are someone who loves big screens, the Xiaomi Mi Mix is probably one of the best-looking phones that you can buy right now. It is once again powered by the popular Snapdragon 821 chipset and even comes with a 256GB + 6GB RAM option for those who really want to take things to the next level.

While the camera is decent featuring a 16MP sensor with EIS and PDAF, it’s not the best in the market, which might be a let down for some. But it should still click some decent pictures. The battery is large, measuring 4400mAh which will ensure that you will get at least day long battery life despite its super large display.

The limited supply is probably its biggest drawback. This also makes the actual purchase price of the Mi Mix, higher than the official price tag of $516.

You can read more about the Xiaomi Mi Mix specs from here.

Despite its late entry into the smartphone market, LeEco has given us some of the best value for money smartphones available in the market right now. As a result, there is no surprise that this list includes the LeEco Le Pro 3 flagship that is powered by the mighty Snapdragon 821 chipset.

(Le Pro 3 Review Here)

In fact, the Le Pro 3 comes with all the bells and whistles found on a regular Android flagship today, including 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM option, a large 4070mAh battery, a decent 16MP camera with PDAF and a super slim 7.5mm body (slimmer than most phones in this list). However, what really sets this phone apart from others is the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack. The phone uses the company’s USB Type-C powered CDLA standard which it claims is better than standard headphone jacks.

If you can live without a traditional 3.5mm headphone jack, the Le Pro 3 is one of the most affordable Snapdragon 821 powered phones in the market.

It starts at around $270 in China and goes up to $300 for the 6GB RAM model. However, you can get the 6GB RAM version from sellers like OPPOMART for around $380, which is a good price even after the premium charged.

You can read the entire specs of the LeEco Le Pro 3 from here.

Your search for a good looking metal phablet ends with the Huawei Mate 9. It comes with everything that you wish for in a smartphone, including a Leica certified 20MP + 12MP dual cameras at the back. The Huawei P9 had one of the most interesting cameras in the segment and the Mate 9 aims to take things to a different level.

This Huawei flagship comes with a massive 5.9-inch display with 1080p display. Unlike the other phones in this list, the Huawei Mate 9 is powered by its own chipset, the Hisilicon Kirin 960, which to be honest has really caught up with other flagship processors in the market today. While there is no 6GB RAM option for this model, 4GB + 64GB storage along with MicroSD expansion up to 256GB should be enough for most users out there.

The dual cameras is the real focus of the phone, featuring 20MP + 12MP dual sensors with f/2.2 aperture, 2x zoom, PDAF + Laser Focus and dual tone flash. The front facing 8MP f/1.9 sensor should be enough for great selfies. Further, like all Mate series flagships, the Mate 9 also comes with a large 4000mAh battery.

This actually doesn’t fit in the affordable flagship category, with pricing starting upwards of $700. However, for this price, you get top-notch built quality, powerful hardware, Leica certified cameras as well as a premium experience. This is why it makes sense to include the phone in this list despite its costly price tag of $775.

You can check out the specs of the Mate 9 from here.

So, these were the top Chinese Flagships that you can buy in the market today. I would like to include some honorable mentions as well, like the 6GB version of ZUK Z2 Pro powered by Snapdragon 820 as well as the ZTE Axon 7 coming with a great audio experience. But if you are in the market to get the best Chinese flagship, the phones listed above are probably your best bet.

So, what do you feel about this Chinese flagship list? Do you think I missed out on any great phone?

The post Top Chinese Flagships In 2016: Best Phones For Your Money (Year End Edition) appeared first on Gizmochina.

Lenovo did surprisingly well in the PC market, with the company rising to the top pretty soon after its entry. However, when it came to the smartphone market, this Chinese tech giant is struggling. Recently, it was said that the company’s acquisition of Motorola from Google wasn’t exactly successful and even outside of Motorola, the company’s own smartphone lineup hasn’t been able to make its mark in the industry.

We have seen some great phones from the company, but since it is mainly operating in the low-end and mid-range segment, the search for sales hasn’t exactly yeiled expected results or improved its image as a smartphone maker. But the company seems to be invested in this industry and it is said that in the next couple of years, it will make sure that it does well in one of the most important markets in the world, the Chinese smartphone market.

We have seen the Chinese market dominated by the likes of OPPO, Xiaomi, and Huawei, which means it’s not going to be easy for Lenovo to aggressively expand its market share in the region. What usually helps a company improve its share is aggressive pricing and looks like Lenovo is going to opt for the cost pricing strategy to take on competitors in China.

According to the Chinese media CNR, Lenovo Mobile Business Group President, Cheng Xudong said recently that the company plans to give up the race for profits by pricing its products at cost. He beleives that phones from the ZUK lineup as well as Moto lineup will help the company increase its presence in the Chinese market. And if it manages to make its mark in the super-competitive Chinese market, then Lenovo could easily take on competitors in the global market.

No wonder Lenovo priced the ZUK Z2 cheaper than the Xiaomi Mi5 at 1799 Yuan ($283)! But there’s no guarantee that a no profit strategy is going to work in the long run. We will have to wait and see how Lenovo performs in the coming years.

What are your thoughts? Can ZUK and Moto phones make Lenovo one of the top smartphone makers in China and in the world?

(Via)

The post Lenovo Reported To Sell Phones At Cost To Compete In Chinese Market appeared first on Gizmochina.

Its been almost two months since Xiaomi announced the Mi 5 flagship in China, but it looks like the production of this flagship device is still not in required volume quantities. We had seen that there were millions of registrations for the first flash sale of the Mi 5 and since then, constantly the phone has been sold out within a few seconds in the flash sales conducted by the company. While Xiaomi didn’t reveal the exact number of units made available for sale in each flash sale, we knew it wasn’t that much considering how fast they were all sold out.

Now, IHS research director, Kevin Wang has just revealed a few details about the volume production of the three major flagships in the market, namely Xiaomi Mi 5, Huawei Mate 8 and OPPO R9. First up, he reveals that Xiaomi Mi 5’s current production capacity is around 700,000 per month, which is low considering the huge demand for the device. So, it looks like the company still has to increase the total production to satisfy the demand. But increasing production won’t be that easy since the phone is powered by Snapdragon 820 chipset and there are lots of new flagships in the market that run on this chip. So, if the production of Mi 5 has to be boosted, the supply of SD820 chips also have to be increased.

Related: Xiaomi Mi 5 vs Le Max 2 vs ZUK Z2 Pro

But having your own chipset inside your flagship smartphone doesn’t help that much either. For example, the Huawei Mate 8 flagship which was announced last year has a volume production capacity of around 900,000, which although is higher than the Mi 5, but not by a big margin.

But what’s really the star of the market is the OPPO R9, which reportedly has a production capacity of nearly 2 million every month. That’s nearly three times the capacity of Mi 5. We knew the phone was received well and was selling well in the home market of China, but producing 2 million units a month is really an achievement. And guess what, the phone is powered by a Mediatek MT6755 Helio P10 chip inside.

The post Xiaomi Mi 5’s Production Volume Is Way Lower than OPPO R9 appeared first on Gizmochina.

LeEco announced three new devices in its second generation smartphone lineup and without any doubt, the Le Max 2 is the flagship model in the series. This puts it in direct competition with the numerous other Chinese flagships in the market today, like the Xiaomi Mi 5, Huawei P9 and even the recently announced Meizu Pro 6. Today, we decided to compare the hardware of these four smartphones to see which one has an edge over the other. So, without wasting any more time, let’s take a look at the Le Max 2 vs Xiaomi Mi 5 vs Huawei P9 vs Meizu Pro 6 comparison.

We will be essentially comparing the hardware of the four devices in question.

SCREEN:

The Le Max 2 has entered the phablet category by featuring a large 5.7-inch 2K display. On the other hand, the other three handsets have a compact screen with 1080p resolution. The Pro 6 and Huawei P9 both feature 5.2-inch displays while the Mi 5 comes with an even smaller 5.15-inch screen.

If you are looking for something compact, the above three devices should be perfect. But if you want something large, look no further than the Le Max 2 and its 2K screen.

SPECS:

So, for CPU, there’s no doubt that Le Max 2 and Mi 5 rule the market with Snapdragon 820 under the hood. On the other hand, the Pro 6 comes with the Helio X25 chipset that isn’t too bad, while the Huawei P9 comes with its own Kirin 955 chipset. The last two chipsets manage a score of about 95K on AnTuTu.

As for the memory, the Le Max 2 comes in three versions, 4GB RAM + 32GB / 64GB storages and 6GB RAM + 64GB storage. The Mi 5 comes in three variants as well, 3GB + 32GB, 3GB + 64GB and 4GB + 128GB. The Huawei P9 flagship has two versions, 3GB + 32GB and 4GB + 64GB. Finally, the Pro 6 comes in 4GB RAM + 32GB / 64GB versions.

As for the camera, the Le Max 2 comes with a 21MP Sony IMX230 sensor with OIS and PDAF. Up front, you get an 8MP shooter. Even the Pro 6 features a 21MP sensor with PDAF and Laser Autofocus. The highlight of the phone is the 10 LED ring flash at the back. Up front, you get a 5MP shooter. On the other hand, the Mi 5 comes with a 16MP rear shooter with 4-axis stabilization and PDAF. Up front, it comes with a 4MP Ultrapixel camera.

The Huawei P9 probably has the best camera of the lot, thanks to the dual 12MP sensors with Leica setup. We have seen some samples which were good and the performance of the phone especially in low light should be impressive. On the front, you have an 8MP selfie camera.

Another important feature of the phone is the battery. The Le Max 2 is the one with the largest battery, but not by a big margin. It comes with a 3100mAh capacity battery with Quick Charge 3.0. On the other hand, the Mi 5 and the Huawei P9 both have 3000mAh batteries with fast charging. What’s really disappointing is the battery inside the Pro 6, which is just 2560mAh. Agreed that it features a 1080p screen, but we would have definitely loved a bigger battery inside.

The Le Max 2, despite having a slightly larger battery, the battery life should be the same as others or even less, thanks to its larger 5.7-inch screen and 2K resolution.

Other features are pretty much similar such as VoLTE support, fingerprint sensor (although Le Max 2 has an ultrasonic sensor), thin bezels etc.

PRICING:

Apart from the Huawei P9, all the three other phones are affordable flagships. The P9 starts at 2988 Yuan ($461) for the 3GB + 32GB version and goes up till 3688 Yuan ($569) for the 4GB RAM + 64GB version.

The 4GB RAM + 64GB storage version of the Le Max 2 costs just 2299 Yuan ($355) while the top-end 6GB RAM + 64GB storage costs just 2499 Yuan ($386) which is one of the best deals we have seen in the market.

Mi 5 starts at 1999 Yuan for the 3GB + 32GB version ($308) and goes up to 2699 Yuan ($417) for the 4GB + 128GB version. Finally, the Meizu Pro 6 starts at 2499 Yuan ($386) for the 4GB + 32GB version and goes up to 2799 Yuan ($432) for the 4GB + 64GB varaint.

The Le Max 2 announced today seems like a powerful package at a wonderful price. Getting 6GB RAM for just $386 is just amazing.

So, which one of these models would you pick?

The post Le Max 2 vs Xiaomi Mi 5 vs Huawei P9 vs Meizu Pro 6: Battle of the flagships appeared first on Gizmochina.