Apple is expected to launch newly redesigned MacBooks next year, most probably powered by the company’s own Apple Silicon chipset. Now, ahead of that, a new patent application by the Cupertino-giant has been published by the US Patent & Trademark Office.

It reveals that Apple has filed a patent for a new Touch Bar which is almost the same as the current one, but it features Force Touch technology that can identify touch pressure on the screen to perform different actions.

EDITOR’S PICK: India’s Lava Mobiles has reportedly started manufacturing smartphones for Nokia and other brands

The force touch technology, first appeared in Apple Watch, was introduced in MacBook trackpad in 2015. The company had also introduced it in the iPhone 6s as 3D Touch but was later discontinued.

Currently, it is now known how Apple is planning to have users use this force touch on the MacBook’s Touch Bar. For those who are unaware, Touch Bar is a small interactive OLED strip on top of the keyboard on the MacBook Pro models.

This new patent from Apple confirms that the Touch Bar is here to stay, at least for the MacBook Pro models for the foreseeable future, even though many users dislike this new addition because of accidental touches and many users consider it to not be much useful.

UP NEXT: TCL 20 5G renders and specifications leak reveal 6.67-inch display, Snapdragon 690 SoC, 48MP triple rear cameras, and more

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Samsung‘s much-anticipated and talked-about Galaxy X foldable smartphone is expected to be unveiled this year. The device is expected to utilize a foldable display design and among the rumored features the device is tipped to pack, the latest one is a 3D Touch-like technology. Apple calls its own 3D touch while Huawei christened its own Force Touch. 

Samsung had filed for a patent last year for a technology similar to Apple’s 3D Touch and Huawei’s Force Touch. The application is very much similar to what Apple implemented on its iPhones but it is applied to a flexible display instead. This is what fuels speculations that the technology could be utilized on the Galaxy X. This is obviously different from the pressure-sensitive technology which Samsung implemented on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ which is only present around the virtual home button.

Read Also: Samsung Foldable Phone Will Feature An In-Folding Design, Launches in 2018

There is no confirmation if this technology would actually feature on the Galaxy X foldable smartphone. Samsung would likely utilize such new technology on the flagship Galaxy S9 and S9+ thus, the speculation may not be true. However, we promise to bring you further details as they unfold.

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Now, an insider seems to have revealed some details about the upcoming Mate 9 handset on Weibo. He states that the Huawei Mate 9 should be using the Kirin 970 chipset. What’s more, he adds that the chip will be built on the highly efficient TSMC’s 10nm FinFET process. The source further states that Helio X30 is another chip that is going to use this ultra-efficient manufacturing node from this Taiwanese semiconductor foundry.

Now, we have been hearing rumors that the upcoming flagship was going to feature Kirin 960. In fact, we even have the possible specs of the 960 chip, unlike the Kirin 970 (about which we have hardly any info) mentioned by this insider. According to the previous information, the Kirin 960 chip is supposed to come with ARM Cortex A73 Artemis cores and Cortex A53 cores in big.LITTLE architecture with an upgraded GPU (possibly octa-core) and new LTE baseband including CDMA and Cat. 12 support. Moreover, this chip is said to be manufactured on TSMC’s 16nm process.

RELATED: Mate 9 Rumored to come with 20MP dual cameras at the back

Considering the new information (rumor) we have at hand, it’s possible that Huawei decides to use the Kirin 960 for some of its upper mid-range smartphones like the upcoming Mate S2 and Kirin 970 for Mate 9 and next year’s top-end flagships.

The Mate S2 is almost confirmed to meet us on September first week, while expect the Mate 9 to be released around November-December period this year.

The post Huawei Mate 9 Said to come with Kirin 970 Chip Based On TSMC’s 10nm Process! appeared first on Gizmochina.

ZTE is definitely one of the most respectable Chinese smartphone makers since our reviews have already proven that the company is capable of producing high quality products. We have already reviewed the ZTE Axon Elite and even compared it to other Chinese flagships of 2015.

We were definitely impressed by an affordable yet premium handset and this time around we are looking at a little brother – ZTE Axon Mini. It turns out that it is not only another mini version of a flagship but it is one of the world’s first Android smartphones (along with the Huawei Mate S Luxury Edition) that has a force touch display technology. Find out more in our full review.

Thanks to the ZTE Official for sending ZTE Axon Mini for a review.

ZTE Axon Mini Review: VIDEO

ZTE Axon Mini: UNBOXING

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The ZTE Axon Mini comes in a premium looking packaging where all the items are packed neatly. The contents include the charging plug, USB cable, a pair of earphones, which actually sound pretty good; SIM ejector PIN, some documentation and a soft plastic case, which is always a nice addition to have.

ZTE Axon Mini: SPECS

ZTE Axon Mini: DESIGN

As far as the design, we are looking a really premium and well-crafted handset. It is made almost entirely of metal except for those top and bottom parts on the back, which imitate a leather finish with some fake stitching. It is very subjective and many people may not like it but I have to say that they look okay to me. As a matter of fact, they have a somewhat rubberised finish, which definitely helps with the grip.

The front top and bottom parts may give you an impression that the Axon Mini sports a dual stereo speakers setup. However, the top part is dedicated only for the earpiece, usual set of sensors, notification LED light and 8MP selfie snapper.

The bottom is the place where you can find a front firing speaker along with the main mic.

The ZTE Axon Mini keeps the same design language as its bigger brother but this time around it ditches the dual-camera setup and opts in for a more conventional 13MP shooter with dual-LED flash.

Underneath the camera there is a fingerprint scanner. I’ve setup it up since the first minute I had the phone and I have to say that it is super easy to setup, very fast and accurate to use. Also, the rear placement of the scanner feels much more natural than on the one found on the front. Again, this may be subjective.

On the top there is a headset jack and on the bottom – a regular micro USB charging port. On the right we have a power key and a dual SIM card and the microSD card slot for storage expansion. On the left, there is a just a volume rocker.

Overall, the build quality is top-notch and I love all-metal design of the phone. The Axon mini definitely feels great in the hand and I really appreciate the fact that it is easily manageable with one hand due to its 5.2″ display.

ZTE Axon Mini: Display

As far as display, we have a 5.2” 1080p Amoled panel, which is just gorgeous to look at. Honestly, it almost looks like an LCD display as it has all the good aspects like colour accuracy, brightness of liquid crystal displays but adds a little bit of punchiness and saturation, which is typical to  Amoled panels.

ZTE Axon Mini Review: UI

The Axon mini comes with the MiFlavor UI, which is built on top of Android 5.1. However, the app drawer has been removed and we are not huge fans of it.

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As usual to the Chinese skins, the MiFlavor has quite a few customisation options, gesture controls and a lot of little tweaks and extra features, which work pretty well but it depends on your habits if you will actually use them.

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For example, the Axon mini has one of the best implementations of the iris scanner but I’m not sure if this feature is actually needed. Well, it may be cool to show it off to someone in the bar.

The Pressure Sensitive Display Tech: Features and Functionality

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We’ve seen the latter features on other phones but the star of the show here is a force touch display technology and the Axon mini is one of the first Android phones to have it. Basically, it is a pressure sensitive display and, if we use Apple terminology, it works like peek and pop gesture as the panel recognises the amount of force of your pressure of your fingers.

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The main question here: is it useful? Once you get used to it, definitely yes. Does it work well? Again, when you get used to it, it is. Most of the force touch features are associated with the built-in apps and gallery, and they work pretty well. If the app does not support this feature, the screen will just blink. However, you may have a few accidental touches there and there. Finally, if you asked me if this feature is really necessary, I would say no but it is definitely a fun and innovative way of interacting with your phone. Also, ZTE did a pretty good job with the implementation. We suggest you checking out the video review to see how this technology works.

All in all, the UI is running fast and fluid, and it is really impressive given the early software build of the phone.

ZTE Axon Mini Review: BENCHMARKS

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ZTE Axon Mini Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

ZTE Axon Mini comes with an octa-core Snapdragon 616 chip with the maximum clock speeds of 1.5GHz, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage.

The 3D games work well but you have to make sure that any power saving features are off. The graphics look great although not that spectacular like on flagship phones. I encountered with just a few skipped frames but nothing major.

Finally, the phone doesn’t have any overheating issues.

ZTE Axon Mini Review: MULTIMEDIA

As far as multimedia consumption goes, the Axon mini is just fantastic. The front firing speaker is loud and it has quite a lot of depth in its sound. Also, listening to music via earphones is just a blast. The integrated Hi-Fi audio chips really make a difference if you love high quality sound with lots of depth and rich tones.

ZTE Axon Mini Review: CAMERA

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As far as the camera app, it is fast, responsive and easy to use. It has a few shooting modes to select but the settings menu works only in the portrait mode for some reason.

The 13MP camera can produce some nice and sharp looking images but it is inconsistent.

The positive side is that you will usually get a good looking image, which has a accurate colours, decent dynamic range and contrast.

If you are not lucky, you may take some daylight images with softer focus and not that impressive level of details.

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When it comes to the low light shots, some of them are pretty good but again, the camera is inconsistent as some of the images have a huge amount of noise and the lack of details.

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8MP selfie shooter is pretty good and will definitely do the tick for social media needs.

The phone can shoot videos at the max. resolution of 1080p. The most impressive thing is… the quality of sound recording. Other than that, the level of details is decent but the auto-exposure is too aggressive as it is jumping like crazy. Also, the footage looks shaky despite the fact that I tried to hold my hands as steady as possible. See a video review for the video sample.

All in all, the Axon mini has a good overall camera but hopefully we will see a software update as it needs some more polishing to show its full potential and be more consistent.

ZTE Axon Mini Review: CONNECTIVITY

The signal reception has been excellent and the call quality of  the Axon phone is good. Also, other connectivity options like Wifi, Bluetooth, GPS work absolutely fine.

ZTE Axon Mini Review: BATTERY LIFE

The 2800mAh non-removable battery performs very well both in terms of active usage and standby. I could constantly get over 4.5 hours of screen-on time using max. auto-brightness setting, browsing the web, checking emails and social media, taking pictures and so on.

ZTE Axon Mini Review: CONCLUSIONS

So, there you have, the ZTE Axon Mini Premium with a pressure sensitive display tech. I have to tell you that there is a lot to love about this phone. It all starts with great design and all-aluminum-titanium body makes it look like an expensive handset.

Also, the Axon mini is very compact considering today’s standards as it has 5.2” display, which is just brilliant to look at and pressure sensitive related features are definitely a fun way of interacting with your phone if you get used to using them.

Also, the phone has a great battery life, a microSD card slot, good performance, fast and accurate fingerprint scanner and high quality sound.

However, while the camera experience is mostly positive and you may get some good looking images, we may want to see a software update to improve its consistency. Also, the video recording quality could be a bit better overall.

Finally, the ZTE Axon Mini Premium is definitely a great all-around phone despite a few shortcomings that may be even fixed with future software updates. All in all, given the current pre-order price of just below $300, it is easy to recommend it.

Buy ZTE Axon Mini

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Those who want to try out the popular Force Touch display without having to spend a fortune can take a look at the ZTE Axon Mini Premium. The phone was one of the first models in the market to be announced with Force Touch display and usually retails for around $400. But as a part of a special one-day offer, the phone is currently being offered at just $299.99.

Force Touch brings a lot of new functionality to the device. For example, you can use the device as an electronic scale, or adjust the force with which you touch the screen while gaming or to even set 3D passwords which can identify whether your press is hard or light.

For the specs, the ZTE Axon Mini Premium comes with an FHD 1080p 5.2-inch display. The front features 2.5D glass and with such resolution, the pixel density goes up to 423ppi. Under the hood, the phone features the Snapdragon 616 octa-core chip with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage which can be further expanded via a MicroSD card slot.

At the back, there’s a 13MP Samsung 3M2 camera sensor with PDAF with f/2.2 aperture. The front features an 8MP sensor with f/2.2 aperture and wide angle lens for the perfect selfies. There are a lot of camera specific software features such as auto portrait perfection feature, creative manual mode and automatic face beautification.

Like its elder sibling, the ZTE Axon, the premium edition Axon Mini comes with three different types of biometric security features. So, you can unlock the device with voice commands, or via eye scan or even via the traditional fingerprint sensor located on the back. 

As for other features, there’s the AK4961 chip for better audio output, smart voice assistant, 2800mAh battery and dual SIM card slots with 4G LTE support. The supported LTE bands are as follows: FDD-LTE:800/900/1800/2100/2600.

Overall a great device for its price! You can check out more details from the link given below.

The post ZTE Axon Mini Premium With Force Touch Available At Just $299 For Today appeared first on Gizmochina.

ZTE is definitely one of the most respectable Chinese smartphone makers since our reviews have already proven that the company is capable of producing high quality products. We have already reviewed the ZTE Axon Elite and even compared it to other Chinese flagships of 2015.

We were definitely impressed by an affordable yet premium handset and this time around we are looking at a little brother – ZTE Axon Mini. It turns out that it is not only another mini version of a flagship but it is one of the world’s first Android smartphones (along with the Huawei Mate S Luxury Edition) that has a force touch display technology. Find out more in our unboxing and first impressions article.

Thanks to the ZTE Official for sending ZTE Axon Mini for a review.

ZTE Axon Mini: UNBOXING

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The ZTE Axon Mini comes in a premium looking packaging where all the items are packed neatly. The contents include the charging plug, USB cable, a pair of earphones, which actually sound pretty good; SIM ejector PIN, some documentation and a soft plastic case.

ZTE Axon Mini: DESIGN

As far as the design, we are looking a really premium and well-made design. It is made almost entirely of metal except for those top and bottom parts on the back, which imitate a leather finish with some fake stitching. It is very subjective and many people may not like it but I have to say that they are okay to me. As a matter of fact, they have a somewhat rubberised finish, which definitely helps with the grip.

The front top and bottom parts may give you an impression that the Axon Mini sports a dual stereo speakers setup. However, the top part is dedicated only for the earpiece, usual set of sensors, LED light and 8MP selfie snapper.

The bottom is the place where you can find a front firing speaker along with the main mic.

The ZTE Axon Mini keeps the same design language as its bigger brother but this time around it ditches the dual-camera setup and opts in for a more conventional 13MP shooter with dual-LED flash.

Underneath the camera there is a fingerprint scanner. I’ve setup it up since the first minute I had the phone and I have to say that it is super easy to setup and very fast, and accurate to use. Also, the placement of the scanner feels much more natural than on the front. However, it may be just my habit I acquired after having reviewed tons of phones.

ZTE Axon Mini in pictures:

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ZTE Axon Mini: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Honestly, I was pretty excited to test the ZTE Axon Mini but I have no reasons why. It may be due to the fact that I really liked the regular Axon phone.

Well, the reasons I like this phone start with a great presentation, which makes you believe that you have an expensive phone.

Of course, none of the presentations/packagings has ever made a phone great but as soon as you pick the ZTE Axon Mini up, you feel a well constructed device, which is compact due to its 5.2″ display, and it definitely feels great in the hand.

Also, I’ve played with the UI, camera (at the first glance the pictures seem to be pretty good), did some other stuff and everything seems to be running smoothly.

The force touch? Yes, it is working on the phone and it seems like a pretty neat feature. However, I need to spend a little more time with the device to tell my opinion.

All in all, the ZTE Axon Mini seems like a really decent offering for the price of just over $300. Stay tuned to our full review.

Buy ZTE Axon Mini

The post ZTE Axon Mini Unboxing and First Impressions: Great Phone with Force Touch Display! appeared first on Gizmochina.

We had reported a few months back that ZTE was working on a 3D Force Touch smartphone called as the ZTE Axon Mini. However, we had little details about the device since the company decided to keep it a secret till now. Since then, we have seen Force Touch on Huawei Mate S as well as a similar technology branded as 3D on the new iPhones.

Now, more details on the ZTE Axon Mini is official, and the specs show that this will be a upper mid-range device. First of all, the phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 616 octa-core chip with Adreno 405 GPU. There will be a 5.2-inch AMOLED display with 2.5D curved glass and full HD resolution. To aid the processor, it will come with 3GB of RAM and 32 of storage. There will be a 13MP camera with PDAF and 5P Lens at the back and an 8MP sensor up front. Finally, the phone will sport a decent 2800mAh battery at the back.

As you can see, the phone features quite impressive specs. The body is made out of aircraft grade aluminum and looks wise, its almost the same as the other Axon family smartphones. You also get the powerful AKM4961 Hi-Fi audio chip inside. Other highlighted features include voice search, biometric fingerprint and eye print authentication.

The phone will be available in three colors, Ion Gold, Chromium Silver at a starting price tag of $379 & Rose Gold at $399. There’s an NBA themed design option as well, but we have not yet received more details about the customization options available.

We had a quick hands on with the ZTE Axon Mini earlier. You can check out the few pictures down below. We hope to bring you a full review of the device real soon.

The post First Hands On With ZTE Axon Mini With Force Touch appeared first on Gizmochina.

Huawei will unveil the latest smartphone, the Huawei Mate S at IFA 2015 today, we have gotten some exclusive pictures of the real phone, and can’t wait to share them with you.

Huawei Mate S has similar appearance with Mate 7, but it built-in a 5.5 inch full HD 2.5D screen, integrated all-metal body with metal texture, the new material make the feeling excellent. As former report, the new phone powered Hisilicon kirin 935 processor, 3GB RAM and 64GB ROM, and support external microSD card up to 128GB. The Mate S use a 13-megapixel rear camera and 8-megapixel front camera, and a rear fingerprint scanner under the rear camera like the Mate 7. But the slim body only build 2700mAh battery. Huawei Mate S support dual Nano SIM card at same time, and expedited Cat.6 class LTE network.

Here are some pictures of the Huawei Mate S phone:

The post Exclusive: Huawei Mate S Hands On appeared first on Gizmochina.

We know Huawei will release a new flagship a couple of days before IFA Berlin in September. However, as the company failed to reveal any more details, we were confused whether it would be the Mate 7S/ Mate 7 Plus or the Mate 8.

Now, things are a bit more clear as the latest teaser posted by Zhu Ping, the President of Huawei’s consumer business in China shows the word “Unique S” written in bold at the center. While the given ‘S’ could mean a lot of things, its likely that he is hinting at the name of the next handset. We have heard rumors about the new flagship being the Huawei Mate 7S instead of the Mate 8, and this kind of confirms the news.

Another reason to believe that the next flagship isn’t the Mate 8 is because of the recently leaked images. A phone with the model number CRR-UL00 recently hit TENAA with strikingly similar looks as the Mate 7. It is believed that this is probably the Mate 7S that will be unveiled at the IFA event next month.

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Its unlikely that Huawei Mate 8 will feature almost the same looks as the Mate 7. So, with this teaser, we can almost confirm that we will see the Huawei Mate 7S in September.

There even have been rumors about a Force Touch display on the device, like the ZTE Axon Mini that we saw last month. And recently Yu Chengdong (Richard Yu) CEO of Huawei said something about the next flagship featuring the “Power Of Touch”, which could mean that it comes with Force Touch Display! This would be in line with what the company said about its next flagship featuring an advanced tech.

As for the specs, the Huawei Mate 7S is expected to feature a slightly smaller 5.7-inch 1080p display with Kirin 935 octa-core chip underneath and 3GB of RAM. There will be a an 13MP IMX 278 Sony sensor at the back too.

We hope to receive more details in the coming days, so stay tuned!

The post Huawei Almost Confirms Mate 7S as its Next Flagship, Could Feature Force Touch appeared first on Gizmochina.