Google recently unveiled the affordable Pixel smartphone series – Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL at the Google I/O 2019 developer conference. Both the devices feature mid-range specifications like Snapdragon 670 processor, 6GB RAM, and 64GB internal storage. Despite these specifications, the Pixel 3a carries a feature which Pixel 3 does not have, and that is the 3.5 mm audio jack.

In an interview, Google product manager Soniya Jobanputra explained different changes in the Pixel 3a series. Similarly, she described the existence of headphone jack on the Pixel 3a series and said, “We debated on this headphone jack, but we really felt that consumers at this price point, in this price tier, really needed flexibility and that’s what that headphone jack gives you.”

In other words, it appears some officials at the Google premises believe that the customers of Pixel 3a series can’t afford Bluetooth headphones. A 3.5mm jack allows users to leverage existing headphones without the need for USB-C adapter.

However, Google will keep facilitating the standard Pixel devices with the digital audio as it is the “the ultimate way to consume your audio.”

• Read More: Google Pixel 3a teardown shows that the phone is easier to repair

Google suspended the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL from the official Android Q beta support. The reason behind it is unknown, but the devices will remain on the March Security update until next month. The formal OTA upgrade is suspended until June, whereas users can still sideload the OTA image from the Android Developers page. Despite being not eligible, some Pixel 3a users successfully managed to sign-up for the Android Beta program.

(via 1, 2)

The post Google explains the existence of Pixel 3a headphone jack; It won’t get Android Q Beta access until June appeared first on Gizmochina.

There are a handful of phones with triple front-facing cameras. The ones that come to mind are the Meitu V7 and the Honor Magic 2. A published patent has revealed LG may be joining the pretty short list in the future.

The Korean phone maker filed a patent with the World Intellectual property Office for a phone with three front cameras…..housed inside a notch. Yeah, it appears the notch will remain for quite some time on LG phones.

The configuration is unknown for the triple cameras but we want to believe one of the sensors is a ToF 3D camera. The LG G8 ThinQ has dual front-facing cameras – a wide angle sensor and a ToF camera. For this device, the new sensor might be an ultra-wide angle camera.

The patent diagram also shows the phone has triple rear cameras and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner (it seems LG is still not sold on in-display fingerprint scanners). The volume control and AI assistant buttons are on the left while the power button and SIM tray are on the right.

While the cameras might be the big deal here, there is actually a more important detail that the patent shows (or doesn’t show). The device doesn’t have an audio jack! LG is one of the few manufacturers that have kept the 3.5mm audio jack on their phones but this patent shows it may be removed in future devices.

READ MORE: Android 9.0 update schedule for LG V30, V35, and V40 ThinQ revealed

LG not only keeps the audio jack on its phones but its flagships are usually praised for their impressive audio thanks to the Quad-DAC. For fans of the brand, the removal of the audio jack might result in them ditching LG for other brands.

(Source, Via)

The post LG patents phone with triple front cameras, removes key feature appeared first on Gizmochina.

In the latest interview with CNET, OnePlus CEO, Pete Lau has shed some light on various aspects of their upcoming flagship device, OnePlus 6T. He explained every new perspective of the device and justified the headphone jack removal. He even talked about the new in-screen fingerprint sensor which will help you to unlock the device with ease. Despite the huge demand from users, OnePlus has taken a ‘tough’ decision to remove headphone jack. Additionally, OnePlus 6T is expected to arrive at an event on October 17.

In-Screen display explanation

In detail, Pete Lau explains that in-screen fingerprint will allow the users to complete the unlocking action with less number of steps. It is an efficient and reliable way to unlock the system than the new Face unlock tech. It will also help in unlocking the device without picking up the phone as we did in the OnePlus 6 due to the sensor’s presence on the back side of the device. Pete Lau added that “After you experience the Screen Unlock you’ll fall in love with it,” he said. “[You’ll] realize that it’s the experience that you wanted.”

Headphone jack removal justification

Removing the headphone jack has been the most challenging task for Pete Lau. He explained that despite the high demand removing a feature was not easy but ultimately they sorted it without the headphone jack. In a bid to explain the removal he added that “The most difficult task in the day-to-day is… finding a balance in what’s ultimately going to be part of the end product and what has to be said ‘No’ to.” The other reason for the removal is to make space for the in-screen fingerprint sensor. Even, OnePlus CEO justified it by giving a reference to the recent survey, where 59% of users have already opted for wireless headphones.

OnePlus 6T will be 0.45 mm thicker than its predecessor, OnePlus 6. Well, its CEO has hinted that features like on-screen fingerprint will make it little costlier. “Screen Unlock technology is something very new, and there’s a definite cost required for that new technology,” said Lau in the interview. “It’s not cheap.”

• Read More: OnePlus releases first teaser for OnePlus 6T, announces The LAB early testing program

So let’s see what happens at the launch event on October 17th. It is expected to carry similar specs as the OnePlus 6 with some little changes in the design, display and fingerprint sensor. Recent leaks suggest that the device will come in two different colour variants such as Midnight Black and Mirror Black.

(Source)

The post CEO lauds OnePlus 6T in-screen fingerprint while justifying headphone jack removal appeared first on Gizmochina.

OnePlus will finally announce its newest flagship, the OnePlus 6 later this week. Like tradition, most of the details of the smartphone are already available, which leaves basically the price tag to be revealed on the launch date. Today, a number of OnePlus 6 cases have been leaked, once again, confirming the design of the device. The new case leak has no surprises and conforms to the what we’ve seen earlier.

The big takeaways from this case leak are the vertically arranged camera setup and the 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom. The dual cameras are placed vertically at the back with LED flash and the fingerprint reader below it. Right below the fingerprint sensor lies the OnePlus logo. So, the basic back design remains the same as its predecessor (even OP5T had a fingerprint sensor at the back with the logo below it), save for the placement of the camera sensor.

OnePlus had already confirmed the headphone jack on the OnePlus 6. It looks like the placement will be similar to the one on the OP5T. In fact, the case confirms that the bottom design will be the same as its predecessor.

Apart from these features, the OnePlus 6 is confirmed to feature the notch on top, a Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. A teaser even hints at waterproofing, a first for a OnePlus flagship. Given the presence of the glass back (instead of metal as found on the previous two generations), there’s a lot of speculation that the phone will feature wireless charging too. But that remains to be confirmed.

Expect the OnePlus 6 to be priced below $600 for the base version. But the company is likely going to charge a premium for its new flagship, so a price hike is expected.

READ MORE: OnePlus 6’s New Teaser Could Be Hinting At A Heart Rate Sensor

For the complete set of case renders, head over to the source link.

(Source)

The post OnePlus 6 Cases Confirm The Complete Design Of The Upcoming Flagship appeared first on Gizmochina.

Huawei P20 Pro is the best smartphone from the Chinese giant. The phone has almost everything that you would expect in a top-end device, making it one of the best choices in the premium segment. However, the phone isn’t without flaws. There are a few things that we would have loved to see on the device, and in this article, we try to pick the four major drawbacks of the P20 Pro. While these flaws aren’t exactly deal breakers, but for a flagship that costs more than $1000, we would have expected to see them on board.

Notch Front Design

Huawei isn’t new to designing beautiful smartphones. The Huawei Mate series and even the Honor 8 models have simple yet elegant designs. However, with the P20 Pro, the company decided to follow the crowd. Hence the notch up front. This makes the phone just another model in the crowd. I agree that the gradient back looks beautiful but most users are likely to cover that up with a case. So the front design doesn’t do justice to the real flagship that the P20 Pro is. We could have definitely used a better front design.

No Wireless Charging

Wireless Charging is a feature that has been around for years now, but its adoption hasn’t been widespread. That’s going to change in the coming months, especially after Apple added Wireless Charging support to its premium iPhone X model. Most flagships, including Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, Xperia XZ2 Premium, Galaxy S9, support Qi based Wireless Charging standard. So, the P20 Pro misses out on this premium feature.

No 4K OIS

The Huawei P20 Pro is a great camera flagship. In fact DxOMark rates it as the best smartphone camera in the market right now. The phone is an amazing video shooter too. In our review of the P20 Pro, we found that the phone manages to capture great 1080p and 4K videos. However, there was one major feature missing in 4K video shooting mode — stabilisation. Despite the powerful camera hardware, the Huawei P20 Pro doesn’t have stabilisation while shooting in UHD resolution. This is really a shame as more often than not, the 4K videos from the P20 Pro would turn out to be shaky, ruining the experience. Competitors like Samsung and Sony have made sure to add stabilisation to their flagships even at 4K, so this is definitely a drawback of the device. Check the 4K video sample down below.

No Headphone Jack

By now, customers have started to realise that headphone jack may not last the next few years. However, there is still a section of the population who can’t live without their wired headphones. They love the vanilla audio experience without any add-on adapters or bluetooth headphones. Considering that companies like Samsung and LG still provide 3.5mm headphone jacks on their premium flagships, the lack of this port on the P20 Pro looks like a drawback to a potential customer.

So these were the major drawbacks of the Huawei P20 Pro that we could think of. Nevertheless, the P20 Pro is one of the best smartphones that you can buy today.

So what do you love or hate about the P20 Pro?

The post Huawei P20 Pro: 4 Major Drawbacks Of the Phone appeared first on Gizmochina.

It’s official! The OnePlus 5T is real and it’s coming soon. After the first teaser confirming the name, the company CEO has come out to talk about its upcoming flagship. While CEO Pete Lau hasn’t revealed an exact date of release of the handset (which btw we all are waiting to hear!), what he did confirm was the presence of the 3.5mm headphone jack. A few years back, no one would have ever thought mentioning the presence of a headphone jack would be a big smartphone feature. But in 2017, this seemingly standard 3.5mm headphone jack has split fans into two different sections — those who can live without it and those who cannot.

You don’t have to worry about this question as it turns out, OnePlus cares a lot about the 3.5mm headphone jack and it’s here to stay on the company’s upcoming smartphones. Not only did Pete confirmed the slot on the upcoming 5T, he even shared a render in the blog post. It shows just one part of the phone — where the headphone jack lies, but before you start claiming that this could be the render of the existing OP5, note that the company has made our lives easier by naming it “this is the OnePlus 5T Render no doubt about that”. So, take it as the first official render of the flagship.

Pete explained his company’s decision to keep the headphone jack and it boils down to two major points — 1. Cheap wireless headphones still aren’t as good as wired ones and 2. giving users the freedom of using whatever headphones you want, without any additional accessories. These are pretty valid points and it’s actually a good decision considering about 80% of OnePlus customers are wired headphone users.

With this post, one thing is clear — the launch is near! If previous reports are to be believed, the OnePlus 5T could meet us by the end of November. That’s like a few weeks away and during this period, expect us to be briefed about the phone via new leaks and official teasers.

Now that the phone is confirmed, it all comes down to the pricing of the OnePlus 5T. Considering the rumors, an 18:9 6-inch display is in tow, but how much premium would OnePlus charge for this change is something that will be interesting to see. Something like a premium version of the OnePlus 5 would be a logical move but if the company decides to replace the OnePlus 5 with this new model, existing users could feel a bit cheated, yet again!

Let’s wait and watch. Now, it’s just a matter of a few days!

(source)

The post OnePlus 5T Is Confirmed & So Is Its 3.5mm Headphone Jack appeared first on Gizmochina.

Seems like the rumors were true as today, we spotted a number of pictures which reveal that Apple is indeed doing away with the 3.5mm audio jack on the upcoming iPhones and will use the lightning port for audio.

**hands everyone a tissue**.

Pictures of what appears to be Apple’s lightning port earbuds were posted on Weibo. Earlier this year we learned that Apple was doing away with the 3.5mm port. The internet went crazy. About 300,000 people even signed a letter asking Apple not to cancel the beloved audio jack. But the decision was already made.

While we waited for Apple to make an official statement about it, Chinese phone maker, LeEco, released 3 phones (Le 2, Le 2 Pro,and Le Max 2) without the 3.5mm audio jack and instead use USB Type-C  digital headphones, becoming the first company to do so. Lenovo’s Motorola also announced the Moto Z without a 3.5mm audio jack but will be shipping the phone with a 3.5mm to USB-C headphone adapter which you can use with your favourite earphones and speakers.

There will definitely be 3.5mm to lightning port adapters as well. So you can stop the crying now. And Bluetooth earphones are still available, so it’s not that bad.

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will be released by Fall and we should get more details about the new lightning port earbuds then.

RIP 3.5mm Jack. We will always love you!!!

The post Leaked Pictures Reveal The New Apple Earbuds With Lightning Port appeared first on Gizmochina.

Le 2 will meet us on April 20, which is just a couple of days away. We know that the phone will be good, thanks to the numerous leaks that have been making rounds on the internet for the past few year. But will it be revolutionary? After seeing the new teaser from the Jia Yueting, we probably think so.

The new teaser from the CEO himself reveals a phone broken into pieces and we can clearly see the headphone connector reaching out towards the device. The 3.5mm jack seems to be broken and besides it, we can see a USB Type-C port, which could be a good indication that the Le 2 will abandon the traditional headphone jack in favor of a USB Type-C based headphones.

Also, the words on top of the image say, “USB Type-C Era, How To Open Up A New Generation Of Audio Revolution?”. Apart from the image, CEO also said that it is time to get rid of something. So, everything seems to reveal that the upcoming LeEco flagship might be the first one to abandon the 3.5mm headphone jack. Well, if Apple iPhone 7 was going to get rid of this slot, LeEco made sure that it won’t be the first.

Yesterday, the real Le 2 was allegedly leaked, which also showed that the traditional slot was missing.

As for other specs, the Le 2 is expected to come with a borderless design (Borderless technology 3.0) with a 5.5-inch 1080p display. Under the hood, there will be the Helio X20 chipset clocked at 2.3GHz and 3GB of RAM. The phone will feature a 16MP camera at the back and an 8MP front facing shooter. It is said that the base variant starts at 32GB storage.

The post New Teaser Hints Le 2 Has Abandoned The 3.5mm Headphone Jack appeared first on Gizmochina.