The latest Everyday Story is of a team of two who found a way to measure heart rate without the need for touching the patient. Yu-Ting Chen and Tung-Chien Chen who both work for MediaTek developed the procedure using smartphones powered by MediaTek’s Helio P10 and Helio X20 processors.

The common way to record the heart rate of an individual is by feeling the pulse and this requires you to touch the individual. The team of two found out that you can also measure the heart rate by using a smartphone’s camera.

According to their findings, when the heart beats and pumps blood, your skin flushes slightly. Using the camera of a phone powered by a Helio P10 or Helio X20 processor, these slight changes in skin color can be recorded thanks to MediaTek’s visual processing technology. The recorded data is then translated with a visual processing app that provides the result (heart rate) in a few seconds.

READ MORE: Report: Helio P60 Chipset Will Steer MediaTek’s Q2 2018 Sales

While this technology is commendable, we don’t think it is perfect. Sudden skin color changes are easily noticed in people with low melanin. So, for dark skinned people, this will most probably not work.

Nevertheless, the technology comes in handy with the recent development in remote diagnostics. It is also useful in places where expensive equipment for health monitoring isn’t available.

(Source)

The post Team Develops Contactless Heart Rate Measurement Using Helio P10/X20 Smartphone appeared first on Gizmochina.

Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer, Mediatek is reported to have cut its orders for 28nm chips. The chips in this category include the Helio P10 and Helio P15 and are made by TSMC.

The reduction in orders total 20,000 wafers which is about 30% of the their total wafer for the process each quarter and are for the months of June, July, and August.

Some say the reduction is to allow for an increase in the production of other more efficient 16nm chips that can compete with 14nm chips from Qualcomm such as the Snapdragon 626 and Snapdragon 660.

Others also say the reduction is part of a move by Mediatek to be conservative about its business in Q3 2017. The semiconductor manufacturer is set to hold an investors’ meeting on the 28th of April where it will discuss its Q1 performance.

READ MORE: Mediatek Chipset Shipments Fall to Only 100 Million in First Quarter

Mediatek recorded NT$56.08 Billion in revenue in the first quarter of the year. Although the figure represents a 0.3% increase compared to the same period last year, it is an 18.3% reduction from that of the previous quarter.

(Sources: 1, 2)

The post Mediatek Cuts TSMC Production of 28nm Chips, To Make Way for Smaller and More Efficient Chips appeared first on Gizmochina.

HTC has a new phone, the HTC One X10 and its release could be termed as a silent one. News of the device first surfaced on Tuesday when an official poster was leaked. Now the device is live on HTC’s Russian website.

HTC One X10 Specs

The leaked poster teased one major feature, a large battery and HTC delivers on that. The HTC One X10 packs a 4000mAh battery under its all-metal back. The battery is said to last almost 2 days on a single charge.

The rest of the specs on the HTC One X10 are not outstanding. We have seen them in phones launched as far back as early 2016. There is a 5.5-inch FHD display with Corning Gorilla Glass. You get 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage which can be expanded via a MicroSD slot that accepts up to 2TB cards.

The HTC One X10 is powered by the same Helio P10 processor in the HTC U Play. The P10 is old and its successor, the Helio P20 was announced at last year’s CES but HTC is still putting the Helio P10 in phones released in 2017.

There is a f/2.0 16MP rear camera on the X10 with a pixel size of  1 μm. The rear camera has a LED flash flanking it on the right and there is a fingerprint scanner below it. HTC says the rear camera will perform well under low-light. For the front camera, there is an 8MP 86° wide-angle sensor, that allows you fit all your friends in one frame.

READ MORE: HTC U massive leak: Full Specifications, All Features Revealed As Release Draws Near

HTC One X10 Design

One thing HTC does get right with the One X10 is the design. Its a beautiful phone with a metal back and a 2.5D glass front. The silver painted antenna lines on both color variants are also pleasing to the eyes.

HTC One X10 Price

The HTC One X10 doesn’t have a price neither is there any info on availability yet. Nevertheless, if you require a phone with a bigger battery and a bigger display from HTC, you might want to pick this over the HTC U Play. You get a bigger screen and a bigger battery too but lose 1GB of RAM though. The One X10 is available in black and silver.

The post All Metal HTC One X10 Official in Russia: A Better Alternative to The U Play? appeared first on Gizmochina.

HTC unveiled two new phones at an event in Taiwan today: the HTC U Ultra and U Play, and just the way the Moto Z Force and Moto Z Play belong to the same series but are targeted at different categories so also are HTC’s new phones.

The new U series are the pioneers of a new design from HTC. Both phones have a curved glass back HTC calls liquid surface. Their fingerprint scanners are front-mounted and like the HTC Bolt, they are also missing audio jacks.

HTC U Ultra

The U Ultra is the higher variant with a 5.7-inch Quad HD display with corning gorilla glass 5 and a smaller 2-inch (160 x 1040) display at the top just like that of the LG V20 and pretty much does the same work too. There is a Snapdragon 821 processor underneath the hood, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a SD card slot.

The primary camera of the HTC U Ultra is a 12MP UltraPixel sensor with a f/1.8 aperture and 1.55-micron pixels, PDAF,and laser focus. The front facing camera is a 16MP shooter.

The U Ultra comes with some cool features such as four omni-directional microphones that records sound in 360° for immersive audio. It also has a new software feature called HTC Sense Companion that learns about your usage over time and improves how your phone works, sort of like an AI assistant. The U Ultra has a 3000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0.

HTC U Play

The U Play tones down things a lot. There is a single 5.2-inch 1080p display and the processor is Mediatek’s Helio P10. Dependng on the region, there is a 3GB + 32GB model or a 4GB + 64GB model. The rear and front camera are both 16MP sensors but the front facing camera also has a special 4MP UltraPixel shooting mode. There is a 2500mAh battery inside which is pretty small considering the display is 5.2-inches.

READ MORE: HTC Vive Smartphone with Stunning Unique Designs in Works

Both phones are running Android Nougat and will first be available in Taiwan. The U Ultra will be available globally for $749 unlocked and you can pre-order it on HTC.com starting today. The U Play will be released in certain regions but the price is still unknown for now.

(Source)

The post HTC Announces The HTC U Ultra and U Play appeared first on Gizmochina.

HTC released a teaser announcing the impending launch on January 12 of a device that belongs to its U series. The teaser just contained the words “for U”, with the letter “U” made extra bold. At first we had thought the device was the HTC One X10 but then on closer scrutiny it certainly isn’t. But the HTC One X10 will launch sometime in Q1 2017, according to popular tipster Eva Bass (@evleaks).

Apart from revealing the HTC One X10 will launch in Q1 2017, the tipster also posted a leaked real live render of the smartphone. From the renders, it can be gathered that the HTC One X10 will not come with a physical home button but has virtual buttons which would function as home key, back button and quick app launcher. At the rear, there is a unique straight line antenna band which runs at the top and bottom edges. The rear camera sits centrally while the LED flash is located by the side of the camera. The X10 also has a rear mounted fingerprint sensor located under the rear camera. The power button and volume rocker are located at the right side of the phone.

The HTC One X10 will take over the rein from last year’s 5.5-inch One X9 phablet and it is just slightly different from its predecessor. The device is also expected to feature a 5.5-inch display with FHD resolution (1080 x 1920 pixels). Powering the device will be a MediaTek Helio P10 chipset with octa-core processor and a clock frequency of 2GHz. The graphics will be fired up by a Mali-T860 GPU clocking at 700 MHz. The X10 is also expected to pack 3GB RAM, 32GB ROM onboard as well as a 16.3MP rear camera with OIS and a 7.9MP front camera.

Related: HTC One X10 Specifications, Pricing, Leaked Photos Surface; Launch Date in January 2017?

The HTC One X10 is expected to carry a price hovering around 2,000 yuan ($288), cheaper than the X9’s price which started at 2399 Yuan ($345).

(source)

The post HTC One X10 Real Live Render Leaks appeared first on Gizmochina.

Just a little into the year, we had a mid-range battle between the Meizu M3 Note and Redmi Note 3. Eight months later, we are switching the fighters but the teams are still the same. This battle is for the same thing, Middle Earth Range and its between the just launched Meizu M5 Note and the Redmi Note 4.

Introduction

Both phones are the mid-range flag bearers for their respective manufacturers and sport specs that are not flagship level but are not slouches as well.

Design

The Redmi Note 4 and Meizu M5 Note are an huge upgrade in design over their predecessors. They are thinner and sleeker and have a 2.5D glass over their displays.

The M5 Note is thinner at 8.1mm compared to the Redmi Note 4 which has a thickness of 8.35mm. The Redmi is smaller at 151mm against the M5 Note’s 153.6mm which results in it having a higher-screen to body ratio. Both phones weigh 175g.

Xiaomi’s Redmi series is known to have its fingerprint scanner at the back and the Note 4 is no different, Meizu prefers it in front underneath the mBack button. Depending on which side of the divide you are, this might be a deciding factor for you.

Camera placements, power button, volume rocker, and SIM tray are the same  on both phones. The Meizu M5 Note has its earphone jack at the bottom, on the left hand side of the USB port and lacks an IR blaster but Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 3 has its audio jack at the top on the other side of the IR blaster.

Display

The Redmi Note 4 and Meizu M5 Note are equipped with the same 5.5” screens and Full HD resolution. While the Redmi has a higher screen-to-body ratio, the Meizu has a higher ppi. However, this differences are negligible and would probably not be noticed.

RAM and ROM

This is where both phones really differ. The Meizu comes in three storage variants: 3GB+16GB/32GB and 4GB+64GB. There is also an option to use a SD card slot which can add up to 128GB of extra storage. The Redmi Note 4 on the other hand is also available in three memory options: a 2GB RAM model with 16GB of storage and a 3GB RAM version with 32GB or 64GB ROM. You can also decide to expand the storage via the SD card slot which allows you add up to an extra 256GB.

Software

Meizu just launched a new version of its Flyme OS and the Meizu Note 5 is one of the phones that comes with it out of the box. The Flyme 6 OS runs atop Android 6.0 Marshmallow and it brings a ton of new features. Meizu also says it has a built-in AI engine called One Mind.

Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 4 also runs Android Marshmallow with the company’s heavily skinned MIUI 8 overlay. It doesn’t have an AI engine but it gives you a deeper level of customization you won’t find on stock android.

Cameras and Processors

The Meizu M5 Note has a 13MP f/2.2 Sony camera with a 5P lens PDAF, and dual-tone LED flash on the rear.The front camera is a 5MP f/2.0 with ArcSoft beautification technology.

Xiaomi’s camera is a 13MP f/2.0 sensor.It also has a 5P lens, dual-color temperature flash, HDR, PDAF, and real-time filters when taking pictures. The selfie camera is a 5MP sensor too with the same f/2.0 aperture.

Theoretically, the Xiaomi’s main camera should take better pictures because of its large aperture which will let it take in more light, but that is not the only factor for determining the better camera as post processing and other software enhancements.

Both phones use Mediatek processors but while the Xiaomi uses the Helio X20, the Meizu uses the Helio P10. They are built on different architectures (20nm for the X20 and 28nm for the P10) and feature different number of cores (10 cores against the P10’s 8 cores). The X20 chip offers a better all-round performance than the P10, from a higher clock-speed due to its more powerful Cortex-A73 cores, to its better GPU and more advanced fingerprint technology.

READ MORE: Meizu Pro 6 Official: A True Flagship with Exynos 8890, Quad HD Display and More

 Battery and Price

There is no much difference in the battery capacities of both phones. The Meizu M5 Note has a 4000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging while the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 has a 4100mAh battery with 5V 2A fast charging. Battery life will however vary depending on the usage, software optimization and the type of tasks you run.

Price is usually the determining factor especially when it comes to value for money. The Meizu starts at $130 for the 3GB and 16GB model and moves up to $146 for the 3GB + 32GB model. The 4GB + 64GB model closes it at $218.

Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 4 starts at $130 for the 2GB + 16GB version and $145 for the 3GB + 32GB version. The high-end 3GB + 64GB version is priced at $180.

At $130, the Meizu appears to be the better buy as you get more RAM. The 3GB+32GB version of the Redmi Note 4 is the better choice if your budget is $150 since you get a more powerful processor than that of the Meizu.

The top end is where the tough decision comes in. If you are fine with the Xiaomi’s 3GB of RAM, you are better of with it and will save almost $40, or you could settle for the Redmi Pro (3GB + 64GB) which offers a more powerful processor (X25), has dual cameras, an OLED screen, and sells for around $200. If more RAM appeals to you, then pick the Meizu M5 Note.

The post Battle for Middle-Range: Meizu M5 Note vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Not long after Meizu went official with the Meizu M5, another device going by the name Meizu M5 Note has been spotted on benchmark site GeekBench, where it went through some testing, along the line giving us a peek at some of its specs. The device seems to be a premium version of the M5 which launched with a 5.2-inch 720 pixels display and powered by a MediaTek MT6750 chip.

According to the GeekBench data, the Meizu M5 Note features the MediaTek Helio P10 processor (MT6755) inside it. The processor which is an Octa-core CPU ran at a clock speed of 1GHz, perhaps for the test. The device is also listed as having 3GB of RAM, a tad higher than the 2GB RAM on the M5 and running Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS. On the result bench, the Meizu M5 Note polled a score of 687 points on the single-core test and 2481 points on the multi-core test.

Related: Meizu M5 Hands On Images: Beauty in Many Colors For Just 699 Yuan ($103)

In another related development, a device suspected to be the M5 Note has also been revealed to have received 3C (CCC) certification in China. The device is listed as M682 and this is deduced to be the M5 Note giving the fact that the M3 Note was listed with the model number M681. The CCC certificate is required on all devices that is imported, used or sold in the Chinese market and this latest listing could be an indication that the device will likely launch soon.

The post Meizu M5 Note Spotted on GeekBench, Also Gets 3C Certification appeared first on Gizmochina.

Gionee‘s first smartphone coming with a dual rear camera set up was recently spotted on TENAA where it got certified. The TENAA listing gave us a peek of the device’s render as well as some of its specifications. The Gionee S9 has again appeared on benchmark site AnTuTu which does nothing but confirm the TENAA listed specifications and perhaps gives us the idea that a launch is imminent.

From the AnTuTu listing, the Gonee S9 features a Full HD (1080 pixels) resolution which would be on a 5.5-inch display, at least we know the display size from the TENAA data. The AnTuTu data further reveals a MediaTek Helio P10 (MT6755) octa-core processor would power the expected flagship device while a Mali-T860 GPU will power the graphics. There is also a memory combination of 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage on the device.

Read More: Gionee S9 Apears at TENAA: Sports 13MP+5MP Dual Rear Cameras

On the camera end, the Gionee S9 crams a 13MP front camera as well as a 13MP primary sensor at the rear. The rear camera, though, as revealed by the device’s appearance on TENAA is a dual camera set-up with the secondary or depth of field camera sporting a 5MP sensor. Additionally, the Gionee S9 comes pre-installed with Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS.

The post Gionee S9 with 4GB RAM, Helio P10 Appears on AnTuTu appeared first on Gizmochina.

After reviewing some previous phones made by Vernee, I have the impression that the company can make some quality phones at affordable price. This time around we have the Vernee Mars, which has an outstanding build quality, good specs and more. Learn more in our full review.

Vernee Mars Review: VIDEO REVIEW

Vernee Mars Review: UNBOXING

In the box, you can find a fast charger, USB-C cable, SIM ejector pin and some paperwork.

Vernee was also kind enough to send me a very nicely-made wood smartphone cradle.

Vernee Mars Review: SPECS

Vernee Mars Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

The very first thing you are going to notice is an outstanding build quality of the device. It is made entirely of metal and I absolutely love the design of the antenna inlays.

We have a 5.5” 1080p display, which is sharp and vibrant but it could be just a tad brighter.

Just above the display, we have a 5MP shooter, which sits next to the notification LED light.

The phone just looks and feels premium in the hand. Also, the buttons do not rattle and they are tactile.

As for the camera, we have 13MP shooter coupled with a dual tone dual-LED flash and PDAF.

We have a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, which is convenient to use. It is pretty accurate and it unlocks the phone 8/10, and it can do it straight from the standby mode.

The loudspeaker is placed on the bottom but the sound is kind of tinny and a little flat.

Vernee Mars Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

When it comes to hardware, the phone ships with an octa-core Mediatek Helio P10 chip with the clock speeds of 2.0GHz, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Helio P10 chips when it comes to gaming and the Vernee Mars is no exception. You should expect quite a few skipped frames and stutter if you want to play games like Asphalt 8 on the highest graphics. On the other hand, playing this game on medium graphics is much better and you may have some enjoyable gaming experience.

Vernee Mars Review: BENCHMARKS

Vernee Mars Review: USER INTERFACE

The Vernee Mars ships with the pretty much stock-looking Android 6.0.

There are not too many features to talk about except for the fact that there are some customization options like the ability to switch the position of on-screen navigation buttons.

Most importantly, I didn’t have any issues with the phone’s daily performance even after installing quite a few apps and I would say that the Vernee Mars is a pretty fast performer.

Vernee Mars Review: IMAGE QUALITY

IT IS HIGHLY-RECOMMENDED TO DOWNLOAD FULL RESOLUTION CAMERA SAMPLES TO SEE THE ACTUAL IMAGE QUALITY. THE PICTURES UPLOADED ON THE WEBSITE ARE 50% SMALLER IN RESOLUTION.

When it comes to the image quality, the Vernee Mars can take some decent-looking images in daylight. I took most of the pictures in the cloudy day and they look quite good but there could be a little more detail. Also, some of the shots look under-exposed and the colors look washed out. Finally, the camera does not really impress in low-light as there is quite a lot of noise and grain in the pictures.

As for selfie camera, the image quality could be better. The selfies could look a lot sharper and there could be more detail.

When it comes to the 1080p video, it is kind of mediocre as the footage could look sharper. Also, there is no continuous auto-focus on board. See the video review for a video sample.

Download full resolution camera samples

Vernee Mars Review: CONNECTIVITY

The phone comes with a hybrid dual-SIM card tray, which can take either 2 SIM cards or 1 SIM and the microSD card.

When it comes to connectivity, I didn’t have any issues with the signal reception. Also, the wifi and the call quality are pretty good. The GPS signal may not be the best, but it may get the job done most of the times.

Vernee Mars Review: BATTERY LIFE

The phone ships with a 3000mAh battery that performs quite well. I could get around 4 or even 5 hours of screen-on time, depending on the usage.

In case you need to re-charge it, the supplied fast charge will do that in around 2 hours.

Vernee Mars Review: CONCLUSIONS

The Vernee Mars is yet another sub-$200 phone from China that aims to bring a lot of value to the table.

I have to say that it succeeds in quite a few ways since the device has a premium all-metal design, excellent build quality, and nice and sharp display.

Also, the Vernee Mars is a pretty fast performer when it comes to the day-to-day use and the battery life is pretty good.

However, the camera department is where the phone struggles. Sure, you can take some decent daylight images but the camera falls short in lower-lit or more challenging situations like cloudy days.

In addition, you have to know that the Helio P10 chip allows you to play the latest 3D games only on medium graphics.

At the end of the day, Vernee Mars is still a pretty solid smartphone for the price but you have to consider if the previously mentioned shortcomings are important to you or not.

At the moment, Gearbest has the Vernee Mars on sale and Gizmochina readers can get it for $199 using the coupon code 4ALLVMS.

Also, Gearbest has 13% OFF Coupon for phones. Coupon code: GBMBP

The post Vernee Mars Review – A Thing of Beauty! appeared first on Gizmochina.

Taiwanese chip maker, Mediatek, announced a new chip today. The new SoC called the Helio P15 is an upgrade to the Helio P10 released last year. The new chip is still built on the same TSMC 28nm HPC+ process and uses the same eight A-53 Cores as the P10. But what’s new about the Helio P15 is what is important.

The new chip has a higher clock speed of 2.2GHz and its Mali-T860 GPU also gets clocked higher at 800MHz compared to the 2.0GHz and 700MHz CPU and GPU clock speeds of the Helio P10. So this new chip offers a 10% increase in performance. However, Mediatek says the P15 offers a more optimal power performance. Mediatek didn’t reveal any new details about the modem, so we are assuming it still remains LTE Cat-6.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Confirms Mi Note 2 Launch is on October 25

This is the fifth chip following the Helio P20/P25 and Helio X30/X35 that Mediatek has announced in recent months. There is no news yet as to when the chip will be available but expect manufacturers to start announcing new phones in their pipeline that will ship with the processor.

The post Mediatek Announces Helio P15 SoC: To Succeed Helio P10 appeared first on Gizmochina.

The Redmi 4 was expected to launch alongside the Redmi Note 4 but it didn’t. It seems it’s launch is near as images have shown up on TENAA’s website.

The Redmi 4 appears to look more like a small sized Redmi Note 4, although it doesn’t seem to have that curve of the Note 4. It doesn’t seem like Xiaomi has any plans of changing the design of the capacitive buttons, so that remains the same. The speaker on the Redmi 4 has been removed from the back and will now be at the bottom flanking the charging port.

At the back, there is a fingerprint scanner below the rear camera which has the LED flash sitting on the left. The Mi logo sits a few inches from the antenna line at the base. Volume rocker and power buttons are still on the right and the SIM tray is on the left.

RELATED: Redmi Note 4 Unboxing Pictures

Specifications of the Redmi includes 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and a Full HD display which a lot of people are excited about considering its 699 Yuan ($105) price tag. The processor is clocked at 1.8 GHz which some have predicted to be the Helio P10. Though some say it is the Snapdragon 625. If it does come with a Helio P10 chip, trust Xiaomi to release a version with a SD 625 chip as well and tag it as the Redmi 4 Pro.

The Redmi 4 Pro will launch with MIUI 8 based on Android 6.0.1. There is no news on release date yet, but we believe it will get an official release soon.

The post Xiaomi Redmi 4 Images and Specs Appears on TENAA: FHD, 3GB RAM & 699 Yuan ($105) Price appeared first on Gizmochina.

The Meizu M3 Max is a large screen phone expected to launch on September 5. The phone is expected to be Meizu’s take on the Xiaomi Mi Max.

Earlier this week, we reported that the Meizu M3 Max is going to be the first phone to launch with a Helio P20 SoC but a benchmarking result of a phone with the Meizu M3 Max name instead shows a MT6755M a.k.a. Helio P10.

While this is surprising, we want to believe that there is still a possibility of the Helio P20 chip showing up in the device. First, this benchmark result shows it was updated on August 22 which is about a week before the P20 news. There might have been a major change within a week with respect to the chip.

Another way to look at it is the fact that there are two versions coming out: a stylus-sporting unit and a base version without the mPen. It is possible that the version with the stylus may be getting the new chip. These are the reasons why we are not ruling out the possibility of the Meizu M3 Max launching with the processor. These are speculations though and we can only hope it turns out to be correct.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Unboxing

The geekbench test shows the phone scoring 785 points on the single-core test and 3041 points on the multi-core test. It also indicates that the phone has 3GB of RAM.

The launch of the Meizu M3 Max is said to be in Beijing on the 5th of September.

The post Meizu M3 Max Appears on Geekbench. Helio P10 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Umi has had it going well this year following the release of the Umi Super but they are cooking up something to challenge OPPO’s R9 in foreign markets. The OPPO R9 was instrumental in cementing OPPO’s spot in the top 5, selling over 700 million units in 88 days.

But while it has done very well in China, it has not really gotten positive reviews outside. Some people have complained about the fact that it runs the older Android Lollipop 5.1 which is based on Color OS. Others have complained about the design similarities to the iPhone 6S most especially the rose gold version and also the high price.

Umi believes it can take on the OPPO R9 with the Umi Max. A few details of the Umi Max says it will run Android 6.0 Marshmallow, have a USB Type-C port, Helio P10 SoC, a beautiful design, and a battery and price worth looking forward to.

We can clearly see that Umi is set to iron out the issues wrong with the R9, but a quick tip here. Android 6.0 is nice, but if the company promises Android Nougat and delivers, it will go a long way in increasing sales.

The post Umi Max Set to Challenge The OPPO R9 in Foreign Markets appeared first on Gizmochina.

Looks like a new smartphone will soon roll out from Coolpad because the device was spotted today on GFXBench listed as Coolpad A9S-9. That is not the big news though, the big news is that in the device, we’ll get to feel the all new, latest MediaTek Helio P20 processor announced by MediaTek early this year as the latest in the P series of its processors.

MediaTek unveiled the Helio P20 processor as a successor to last year’s Helio P10 spec and also announced that the Helio P20 should be expected in devices in the second half of 2016.

On first sight of the specs, you might confuse the P20 with the Helio X20 that uses a deca-core design, but the difference is the P20 is an octa-core product. The one listed as being on the CoolPad A9S-9 is listed as a 2.3GHz octa-core MT6757 processor which is the specs of the Helio P20.

MediaTek upgraded the frequency of the processor on the Helio P20 from 2GHz found on the Helio 10 to 2.3GHz and the graphics processing unit (GPU) from Mali-T860 MP2 700MHz to Mali-T880 MP2 900MHz. These are the two major overhauls on the P20 from P10, other aspects of the upgrade are really not obvious.

Since it packs a more powerful GPU and more frequency band, the Helio P20 is expected to offer a more seamless and faster performance than the P10, which isn’t a bad one either.

The post Helio P20 Powered Coolpad device Spotted On GFXBench appeared first on Gizmochina.

Ulefone may not be the first name you think of when it comes to smartphones but they have one interesting device, which is called the Future. Learn more in our full review.

Thanks to Bangood for sending Ulefone Future for a review.

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Ulefone Future Review: VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l0_xnVWnl0[/embedyt]

Ulefone Future Review: UNBOXING

The phone comes in a pretty nice box and the contents include all the usual items you would expect to come with any phone. Some extras include a fast charger, USB C to micro USB adapter and a high-quality TPU case.

Ulefone Future Review: SPECS

Ulefone Future Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

The phone stands out from the crowd of affordable devices due to its bezel-less display. I have to tell you that it indeed looks great. However, the view on the very edges of the display is a little distorted to make that bezel-less look but I’m okay with that.

The 5.5” 1080p LCD panel itself is great. It is sharp and crisp, and color reproduction is good.

We have a 5MP selfie shooter along with the non-customisable multi-colour LED flash on the top and on-screen navigation buttons instead of capacitive ones.

Also, the phone sports a premium all-metal design with nano-injected antenna lines and great build quality. The buttons are nice and tactile and the phone feels very nice in the hand. We don’t see a side fingerprint scanner very often on budget phones but it is actually very convenient to reach. The scanner is not the fastest I’ve tested but it gets the job done.

As far as camera, we have a 16MP Samsung shooter coupled with a dual LED flash.

The loudspeaker is on the bottom and it sounds tinny as on most of budget phones.

You can put either 2 SIMs or 1 SIM and the microSD card in this hybrid slot. I love the supplied SIM ejector pin. You can just insert it in the headset jack and leave it there.

Ulefone Future Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

Ulefone Future has some pretty good specs. The phone ships with an octa-core Mediatek Helio P10 chip with the clock speeds of 2GHz, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. These are pretty good specs for the price of the phone to say the least.

The gaming performance is good if you play games on medium graphics. If you set graphics to maximum, you should expect quite a bit of stutter and some skipped frames.

Ulefone Future Review: BENCHMARKS

Ulefone Future Review: USER INTERFACE

We have a pretty standard Android 6.0 user interface. We don’t have any fancy features or customization options but most importantly, the device is fast and you should not expect any hiccups on the daily basis.

Ulefone Future Review: CAMERA

The daylight image quality is pretty good yet not always consistent. You can get some nice and detailed shots but camera may struggle with dynamic range in some situations.

The low-light camera performance is not so great but this is what you usually get with the phones in this price range, anyway.

The selfie camera is not very impressive but it will be enough for social media.

The 1080p video quality is pretty good for a budget phone. See a video review for a video sample.

Download full resolution camera samples

Ulefone Future Review: CONNECTIVITY

I didn’t have any connectivity issues with the phone as the signal reception was good and the call quality was decent. Also, the Wifi worked fine. GPS may take a little longer to get the position but it is pretty accurate.

Ulefone Future Review: BATTERY LIFE

The 3000mAh battery can be fully charged 1 hour and 30 mins thanks to the included fast charger.

The battery life is pretty good. I could get over 4 hours of screen-on time on a mixed use.

Ulefone Future Review: CONCLUSIONS

Ulefone Future is one of those devices that wants to stand out from the crowd and the company succeeded in quite a few ways.

The bezel-less display design indeed looks great, the phone sports some great specifications, all-metal construction is premium and the phone looks and feels more expensive than it costs.

Also, we have a decent camera for daylight images, a fingerprint sensor and a fast charge support.

On the other hand, it would have been nice to see a more powerful processor for 3D gaming and a little bit faster fingerprint scanner.

At the price of $240 Ulefone Future may not be the only device you have to look for in this price range but if you want a phone with unique looks, decent specs and good day-to-day performance, it may be worth checking out.

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Meizu has confirmed that it has a new conference in China on June 13, wherein it will release a new Blue Charm device. Given that we have already seen two new handsets in the Blue Charm range back in April, this could be the metal variant of the Meizu M3 Note. The company had released the Meizu Metal smartphone last year and on June 13, we could possibly see the successor to the device.

Another good reason why it is possibly the Meizu M3 Metal is because, the phone has already passed TENAA certification and hence, it is only a matter of time till it’s released officially. We could also expect to see some new network variants of the M3 and maybe an Android version of the budget Meizu M3 instead of YunOS. But Meizu M3 Metal should be the star of the conference.

According to the TENAA certification, the Meizu M3 Metal will come with a 5.5-inch 1080p display with 2GB + 16GB and 3GB + 32GB memory variants. The storage is expandable up to 128GB via MicroSD. Inside, the phone comes with an octa-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz which should be the Helio P10. At the back, you get a 13MP camera while up front, there is a 5MP shooter. Other features include Android 5.1 OS and 4000mAh battery. Like the name suggests, this will be a metal bodied smartphone.

Expect more details in the coming days.

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If you have been keeping track of the Chinese smartphone market, you would know that Ulefone has announced the Ulefone Future bezel-less smartphone. The phone will be offered for sale for a price tag of $239.99, however, a limited number of lucky customers can get this device for even less, for an amazing price tag of $199.99.

Ulefone has informed us that there will be 2000 units available for purchase during the flash sale on May 4, i.e. Wednesday. The flash sale will start at GMT +8 17:00 and will continue till all the 2000 units are sold out. One tip, the company says that more number of units will be offered on Aliexpress during the flash sale than standalone websites, so you may have a better chance of bagging the phone from there.

Now, there is a good chance that you might not be able to get hold of one of the units of the Ulefone Future during the Flash sale on May 4. Even then, don’t be disappointed. The bezel-less device can still be yours for a slightly higher price tag of $239.99. For this price, you get some additional accessories, 7 in total, instead of just USB Type-C cable offered alongside the device during the flash sale on Wednesday.

As for the specs, the Ulefone Future comes with a 5.5-inch FHD bezel-less display, with a side mounted fingerprint sensor, Helio P10 chipset, 4GB RAM, 32GB of ROM, 16MP Samsung sensor, USB Type-C and a 3000mAh battery with 9V / 2V ~ 3A fast charging.

Pre-sale link:

http://ulefone.com/page-future-presale.html

Since this is a yet to be released device, Ulefone has also released a number of pictures of the Ulefone Future as well as videos for consumers to check out the device before purchase. You can see them all from down below.

New video:

Introducing the Ulefone Future:

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Smartphone manfuacturers seems to be obsessed about screen bezels. We have seen a few bezel-less smartphones from Chinese companies like Nubia, but now local smartphone makers like Ulefone are also invested in this technology. We have been hearing about the company’s first bezel-less smartphone, namely the Ulefone Future since MWC 2016, and now, the phone will finally go on pre-sale from May 4.

As a part of the initial promotion of the handset, the company will be offering the Ulefone Future for just $199.99, instead of the original price tag of $249.99. This is a good $70 discount from the earlier revealed price tag, making it quite an attractive option. However, this price is only for a limited number of units.

The company informs us that 2000 units of the Ulefone Future will be made available for sale on May 4 at 5PM (GMT +8) via 10 different partner stores of the company simultaneously. After the flash sale is over, the phone will be available for purchase for a slightly higher price tag of $239.99 until the pre-sale period is over i.e. May 25. This price includes the various accessories that the company will be providing along with your purchase, like 9V 2~3A fast charger, USB Type-C cable, USB Type-C to MicroUSB adapter, TPU case, screen protector, and dust plug. In case you are wondering, the orders placed during the flash sale at $199.99 will only come with the USB Type-C cable for accessories.

Coming to the specs of the phone, the Ulefone Future will come a bezel-less 5.5-inch display with the Helio P10 octa-core chip inside and 4GB of RAM. There will be 32GB of storage on board, a side mounted fingerprint scanner, 16MP Samsung S5K3P3 rear camera sensor with PDAF and dual tone LED flash and a 3000mAh battery with 9V 2A~3A fast charge. As for software, the phone runs on Android 6.0.

There will be two colors available to choose from, grey and golden.

Pre-sale link: http://ulefone.com/page-future-presale.html
Future page: http://ulefone.com/products/future/features.html

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Blackview has been busy lately, focusing on its low-end and mid-range devices like the Blackview Ultra Plus and the Blackview A8. However, the company does not want to limit itself to the low-end market, which is why Blackview is developing a relatively powerful flagship for the year 2016. The upcoming device, called the Blackview R7 was already revealed in a couple of pictures late December last year, but now, the company confirms a few more details about the device.

The most important news today is the pricing of the Blackview R7. The company has confirmed that the phone will be available for purchase at just $159.99 via online retailers. The phone will be officially launched soon and the sales will start sometime in May 2016.

Now you must be thinking that $159.99 is a pretty high figure for a Blackview smartphone. But it does have good specs to justify the price. The phone is powered by the Helio P10 MT6755 octa-core chip that is used by a number of mid-range flagships in the market, including the OPPO R9. Further, there will be a 5.5-inch 1080p FHD display with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 and 2.5D arc screen. The phone is said to feature a borderless screen design.

As for the memory, the Blackview R7 will come with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage further expandable up to 128GB via MicroSD. At the back, there will be a 13MP camera sensor, while up front, you get an 8MP sensor. The fingerprint sensor will also be located at the back. The body will be made out of metal to give it a premium look. Finally, the phone will come with the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS on top. And yes, there will be a 3500mAh battery on board.

As you can see, these are pretty good specs for a $159.99 smartphone. Even the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro or the Meizu M3 Note which retails at the same price don’t offer this much value for the money.

Now, all we have to do is wait for the official release of the device which will be in May.

In case you are looking for something cheaper, you can check out the 5-inch Blackview A8 budget phone from here.

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Meizu has officially announced the Meizu M3 Note mid-ranger today at an event in Beijing, China. The phone is everything we expected it to be, and even better, thanks to a larger than expected battery on board. Before we move on to the specs of the device, which are quite impressive, let’s take a look at the pricing. Meizu has surprised us all by pricing the Meizu M3 Note at just 799 Yuan ($123) for the base variant (2GB RAM + 16GB ROM) and 999 Yuan ($154) for the higher-end model (3GB RAM + 32GB).

Now, let’s take a look at the features of the M3 Note.

First of all, Meizu had abandoned the traditional polycarbonate body on the Blue Charm series in favor of metal on the new M3 Note. This makes the phone look much more premium and good looking than its predecessors. Coming to the specs, the Meizu M3 Note features a 5.5-inch 1080p LTPS display up front, same as the previous versions. There will be two variants, one with 2GB RAM + 16GB storage and another with 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM. The company reveals that these are eMMC 5.1 storages which is a lot faster than previous versions.

Under the hood, the phone features the Helio P10 octa-core chipset, which is slightly under clocked as compared to the OPPO R9. So, it’s clocked at 1.8GHz instead fo 2GHz. There will be Mali-T760 GPU on board. At the back, the M3 Note comes with a 13MP camera sensor with f/2.2 aperture, PDAF and 5 element lens. Up front, there is a 5MP f/2.0 shooter. Like other Meizu phones, this particular device will feature dual SIM cards, but SIM2 slot is hybrid which means you can use it for MicroSD cards as well. As for the software, the phone runs on Android 5.1 out of the box with Flyme UI on top. The company reportedly has worked with Mediatek to make the UI on the phone smoother.

Continuing its tradition of using mBack buttons, Meizu has upgraded the home button up front with mTouch 2.1 fingerprint sensor which can unlock the phone in just 0.48 seconds. During the launch, the company mocked OPPO of using the same oval button design as Meizu. But OPPO’s fingerprint sensor is faster (unlocks in 0.2 seconds). The M3 Note measures 8.2mm in thickness and inside this body, the company has managed to pack in a large 4100mAh battery. The company claims that this battery is good enough for 17 hours of video playback and 32 hours of talktime. Also, the phone weighs 163 grams and supports VoLTE.

The phone will be available in three colors, namely Silver, Gold and Gray. Both the versions will go on sale for $123 and $154 respectively on April 11 via the company’s own website as well as other notable retailers in China.

Meizu is yet to reveal international release plans for the Meizu M3 Note.

Apart from the new smartphone, the company also unveiled a new Bong 2P fitness tracker that retails for 79 Yuan ($13) independently and 60 Yuan ($10) as a bundled option with the M3 Note. The fitness tracker boasts of a 40-day battery life, which is impressive.

Then there’s the EP51 Bluetooth headphones that boast of 6 hours of battery life, omni directional microphone, nano waterproof material and super light weight body. The headphones will retail for 269 Yuan ($41) independently or at 199 Yuan ($31) with the M3 Note.

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Remember UHANS, the Chinese startup company with a Vertu like design? Well, if you liked the phone’s design but were disappointed with the specs, here’s some good news. The company seems to be working on an updated version of the UHANS U100 and the U200 models. The design is expected to be the same as before, but the specs would be upgraded to be targeted at the upper mid-range segment.

One of the highlights of the new devices will be support for the much faster 4.5G network. This new network standard is 10 times faster than traditional 4G networks, which will make high-definition video streaming, internet calls etc much better.

Coming to the specs, the UHANS U100 will most likely be upgraded to the Mediatek Helio P10 chip, the same processor that powers the popular OPPO R9. In comparison, the old U100 featured a modest MT6735. Other specs include 4GB of RAM on board and a Full HD 5.2-inch display. So, it looks like the company is aiming big with the upcoming U100 handset. As for the UHANS U200, it’s still unclear whether an updated version will see the light of the day, but if it becomes a reality, expect mid-range specs on the device.

Like I mentioned in my previous coverage of the manufacturer, UHANS is one company which has carved out a niche market for its phone. Many love the different design, with a leather back and a metal body, while there are some who hate it.

So, which category do you fall in?

The post UHANS U100 & U200 With 4.5G Support & Updated Specs In The Works appeared first on Gizmochina.

Though Ulefone Power is well sold now, it will not guarantee Ulefone a bright prospect in 2016, because the flagship that leads the fleet must be something new. For the moment, Ulefone Future seems to be the very device the company needs for the future.

Ulefone Future will be more inspiring than anything Ulefone has created. It has a face without bezel between display and the left/right edges, so it will be slimmer than most 5.5-inch devices such as iPhone 6 Plus. You can’t find a volume rocker on its frame because there will be an invisible volume rocker for touch. Its fingerprint scanner will neither sits on the front side nor on the rear, because it will be located on the right edge. The Future will be Ulefone’s first metal uni-body device. And it will come with both Android 6.0 and CyanogenMod.

Inside, there will be MTK6755 2GHz octa-core 64-bit chipset, 4GB RAM, and 32GB storage. Definitely, it will be Ulefone’s flagship device in 2016.

We can see from the official video that UlefoneH has actually been making the bezel-less phone and since Ulefone need to reserve some marketing energy in the beginning of the year, the launch of new flagship may not be far away.

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The report comes via Fudzilla, who got a chance to meet Mediatek’s management and talk to them about the upcoming products in 2016. CJ (Ching-Jiang) Hsieh Vice Chairman & President of MediaTek, seems to have confirmed to the site that there will be more than 100 Helio P10 powered smartphones. So, it looks like the company’s chips have been well received by the industry.

The first batch of Helio P10 smartphones should hit the market sometime this quarter. The SoC already entered mass production in Q4 2015, so phones with the chip should start shipping very soon. There are a number of low-cost Chinese manufacturers that are expected to use the chip like Blackview, and Elephone. Even larger ones like Xiaomi and Meizu will most likely release P10 powered phones this year.

As for the much awaited, Helio X20, the executives failed to give out specific details. But according to rumors, we will see the chip first on Meizu smartphones sometime in the coming months.

Mediatek MT6755 Helio P10 chip will use TSMC’s HPC+ 28nm process. It packs a 2GHz, True Octa-core 64-bit Cortex-A53 CPU and a 700MHz, Dual-core 64-bit Mali-T860 GPU.

The post Mediatek Helio P10 MT6755 Will Be Inside More Than 100 Smartphones appeared first on Gizmochina.

Elephone P9000 Lite hands-on photos

We have today received images of the Elephone P9000 Lite hands-on photos this time rather than CGI renders.

Whilst the P9000 Lite dose still feature black bezels, unlike other Elephone handsets that have come before, the bezels are not butted up to an additional 1-2mm of metal chassis.

The 5.5″ LG LTPS OGS screen really appears to stand out against this thin black bezel and should help to give a much more ddesirable body to screen ratio.

The Elephone P9000 lite will come with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, running on a Mediatek MT6755 Helio P10 CPU, USB type-C and NFC.

Hopefully the new design statement of the P9000 Lite’s bezels will be the start of greater (or should that be lesser) things to come.

Elephone have provided several images that show the phone next to various other handsets to give a better idea of the bezels size.

Please leave comments and questions below

Regards Shanos

The Elephone P9000 is available to pre order here

Original article posted on Gadgetz.tv

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Remember a few days back, we got a report that Mediatek was working on a slightly upgraded variant of the existing MT6795 chip called as the Helio X12. Well, according to insiders who told the Chinese media website IT68, this chip may not actually exist. So, the rumors about the MT6795X aka Helio X12 could have been fake.

The same report had said that the X12 chip will be used in the Redmi 3 handset which is expected to be unveiled early 2016. However, it was surprising even at that time, given that Redmi 3 lies below the Note series and, it would really be crazy for Xiaomi to incorporate such a mid-range chip on an entry level device which may cost just about 599 Yuan ($94).

While the Helio X12 chip may not be real, we are quite positive that Xiaomi will launch the Redmi 3 early 2016. So, it would be interesting to see which processor Xiaomi plans to use inside this device.

What do you think? Will we see a Helio X10 powered Redmi 3 handset next year?  Or maybe it will be powered by the Helio P10 chip, which will make more sense.

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At the start of the year, Mediatek rebranded its high-end lineup as the Helio series. While the Helio X (X stands for Extreme Performance) series was meant to cater to the needs of a flagship with top-notch performance, the Helio P series (P stands for Premium) was targeted at the mid-range flagship smartphones.

Mediatek unveiled the Helio P10 MT6755 octa-core chip on June 1st, however, we have not yet seen a smartphone running this SoC. As a result, the performance of the handset is still not known.

Yesterday, Mediatek MT6755 or the Helio P10 was spotted on the Geekbench results, revealing the performance of its eight-cores for the first time. According to the results, the P10 managed to score 882 in the single core test, and 3371 in the multi-core test. In comparison, the Snapdragon 615 scores only about 700 points in the single core and 2700 points in the multi-core tests on an average. As a result, it looks like the Helio P10 will be much faster than the Snapdragon 615 chipset. However, we have to take into consideration that the 615 is a year old chip. When it comes to performance, the new Snapdragon 620 will definitely give the Helio P10 a run for its money (acc. to rumors).

Other specs of the Helio P10 include 2GHz, True Octa-core 64-bit Cortex-A53 CPU, 700MHz, Dual-core 64-bit Mali-T860 GPU, WorldMode LTE Cat-6, MediaTek’s CorePilot for optimized system load management, and MediaTek’s Non-contact Heart Rate Monitoring which uses the smartphone’s video camera to take heart rate readings.
Well, things are definitely going to get interesting in the mid-range and high-end smartphone segment in the coming months, with a number of powerful chips including Helio X20, P10, Snapdragon 820 and 620 expected to release before the end of the year.

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