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.

Just when we thought we wouldn’t be seeing Lenovo-branded smartphones anymore, a Lenovo K series phone was seen on Geekbench. A teaser released on their Facebook showed a partially-revealed figure “8” revealing the phone will launch as the Lenovo K8 Note.

Today, two devices have been spotted on Geekbench with the K8 name. One is the Lenovo K8 Note and the other is the Lenovo K8 Plus. The Geekbench listing shows that both devices are powered by Mediatek processors.

Lenovo K8 Note

The Lenovo K8 Note is powered by the MT6797 a.k.a Helio X20. The deca-core chip is clocked at 1.85GHz and is paired with 4GB of RAM. The benchmark results are not very far off from the first one we saw. The K8 Note scored 1551 points in the single-core test and 4664 points in the multi-core test. The device is shown as running Android 7.1.1.

Lenovo K8 Plus

The Lenovo K8 Plus on the other hand is powered by a MT6757CD octa-core SoC a.k.a Helio P25. There is 3GB of RAM and it also runs Android 7.1.1. It recorded 861 points in the single-core test and 3761 points in the multi-core test.

READ MORE: Lenovo TechWorld 2017: AI and AR Take Center Stage

Lenovo India says the K8 Note will be unveiled on August 9 (Wednesday) but we don’t know if the K8 Plus will also be released along with it. Since Geekbench doesn’t reveal much about a phone, we will have to wait till it is official to find out the rest of the specs.

Report also has it that Lenovo has dropped its Vibe Pure UI and instead will use stock Android. The “new” UI is expected to debut on the K8 Note.

(Sources: 1, 2; via)

The post Lenovo K8 Note and Lenovo K8 Plus Visit Geekbench, Both Powered By Mediatek Chips appeared first on Gizmochina.

However, a recent report on Taiwan’s Economic Daily has revealed that MediaTek has quite a large cache of Helio X20 inventory which is due to the fact that patronage for the chip isn’t enough to clear up the inventory. The MediaTek Helio X20 is the world’s first deca-core processor and is built on a 20nm process. The report also disclosed that the Helio X20 comes with a unit cost of $20 which isn’t too much compared to other high-end chipsets. But overall demand for the X20 is said to have slowed down resulting in the build up.

Read More: Helio X20 Is Reportedly 2x Cheaper Than SD820

The recent release of the mid-range Snapdragon 660 and 630 which are touted to post strong performances, both built on more efficient 14nm process will not in anyway help the plight of MediaTek and the Helo X20. MediaTek may resort to further drop the unit price of the X20 in order to attract manufacturers even though the problem seems to sterm from the public perception that Qualcomm chips are better. This notion isn’t entirely correct but MediaTek has a lot of PR to do in order to change that perception.

The post World’s First Deca-Core Processor, MTK Helio X20 Has A Lot Of Inventory Backlog: Report appeared first on Gizmochina.

When Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 4X last month, it was only available with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Xiaomi however teased that there would be a 4GB RAM variant with 64GB ROM. The rumor back then was that it was also going to have a different Snapdragon processor, most likely the Snapdragon 653. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Xiaomi has decided to power the Redmi Note 4X with a Helio X20 chip instead. Yes, that’s the deca-core chip we saw in the TENAA listing earlier today.

The info comes from Xiaomi’s official website where the details of the new variant have already been uploaded. The high-end version will have the Mali T880MP4 GPU clocked at 700MHz 4GB RAM.It will also support SD cards of up to 128GB  in size. The remaining specifications are the same as the 3GB RAM version.

READ MORE: Redmi 4X vs Redmi 4A vs Redmi 4 vs Redmi 4 Prime: Which 4 is Right 4 You?

There is no price yet but some say it will be priced at ¥1099 ($160). That price seems to be unlikely since the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Exclusive Version with exactly the same features which was released a few weeks ago is priced at ¥1399 ($203).

(Source)

The post High End Version of Redmi Note 4X Shows Up on Official Website, Sports Helio X20 Chip appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi has continued its tweaking of the Redmi Note 4 in order to re-jig the device for better sales. This time around, the company has announced a new Redmi Note 4 version with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is a successor to the highly successful Redmi Note 3 which courted global attention and recorded monumental sales figures earning it the record as one f the most successful Redmi sereis smartphones. Unfortunately, the Redmi Note 4 has been unable to make its mark since its release last year. This first prompted Xiaomi to look outside China with the launch of a Snapdragon 625-powered version of the Redmi Note 4. Xiaomi also recently announced the Redmi Note 4X, an upgraded and version of the Redmi Note 4.

According to the listing, the new Redmi Note 4 comes with a 4GB + 64GB combo and adopts a price tag of 1,399 Yuan ($202). Before now, there are two versions of the Note 4 having 3GB + 32GB priced at 999 Yuan ($144) and 3GB + 64GB priced at 1199 Yuan ($173) respectively. Other specifications are the same with the Chinese version which is powered by a deca-core Helio X20 chip clocked at 2.1GHz.

Read More: Nokia 6 vs Moto G4 Plus vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 4

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (4GB + 64GB) will go on sale starting March 14 (tomorrow) simultaneously on Xiaomi Mall, Mi Home, Jingdong (JD.com), Lynx and Suning. This version is only available in elegant black and light blue color options.

(source)

The post Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Gets A Top End Version With 4GB RAM! appeared first on Gizmochina.

Vernee made an appearance at this year’s edition of Mobile World Congress as a way to garner global recognition. They even had a prototype of their Helio X30 flagship, the Apollo 2 on display. However, due to a delay said to be from Mediatek, the Apollo 2 will be launching late. A press release has confirmed that Vernee’s first phone for 2017 will be the Apollo X and it will launch with VOS.

The Apollo X will be released this month and will be the first to launch with VOS (Vernee Operating System). VOS is said to be very close to stock android but will definitely come with some new features Vernee thinks is necessary to enhance users’ experience. VOS will also be available to all existing Vernee phone but the decision to use it will boil down to you.

The Apollo X is a special edition of Vernee’s Apollo series and will launch with a Helio X20 processor. The Helio X20 might be a chip from last year but it has proved that it can hold its own when it comes to performance and power consumption. The processor has ten cores arranged in a tri-cluster framework: 2 x Cortex-A72 clocked at between 2.1GHz to 2.3GHz; 4 x Cortex-A53 clocked at 1.85GHz; and 4 x Cortex-A53 clocked at 1.4GHz.

READ MORE: Vernee Apollo Lite is Now $90 off on Gearbest

Apart from the new OS announcement, Vernee also posted on its Facebook page that it will keep its promise of an Android Nougat update.

The post Vernee Apollo X will be the First to Feature VOS (Vernee OS) appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi has just announced the international version of the popular Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 smartphone and as expected, there’s one major difference in this new model as compared to the original version — the processor inside. Continuing the tradition, the company announced the Redmi Note 4 with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chip inside, instead of the Helio X20 chipset that powers the Chinese variant of the model.

So, which ones better in terms of performance?

Helio X20 vs Snapdragon 625: Performance

If we are strictly comparing the performance of the two versions, then the Chinese Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 with Helio X20 is definitely the winner here. Mediatek’s Helio X20 chip is actually meant to power flagship models, but like its predecessor — the Helio X10, the chip also ended up in mid-rangers like the Redmi Note series. This is great for mid-rangers because their performance is now taken to a whole new level. Considering how most Helio X20 models have at least 3GB or 4GB RAM versions, the combination of a powerful processor + ample RAM actually makes phones like the Redmi Note 4 great performers.

Coming to the Snapdragon 625, it’s pretty decent. It’s definitely not as powerful as the X20, no doubt about it. The SD625 comes with eight octa-core Cortex A53 cores clocked at 2.0GHz which is actually a tried and tested combination. It doesn’t provide amazing performance as some tech enthusiasts would like, but it will be decent enough for normal users. In comparison, the Helio X20 features 2 x Cortex A72 cores @ 2.1GHz (power cores) + 2 X Cortex A53 @1.8GHz + 4 x Cortex A53 @ 1.4GHz (efficient cores). As for the GPU performance, both the chips should handle graphics pretty well.

Here are the AnTuTu and Geekbench scores for reference. Note that benchmarks don’t really mirror real life performance, but they come in handy for comparing two chipsets.

Helio X20 scores around 85-90K on AnTuTu while SD625 scores around 60-65K. 

On Geekbench, Helio X20 gets around 1500 on Single-core and 4406 on multi-core tests. On the other hand, SD625 gets around 850 and 3160 in the same two tests respectively. 

RELATED: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Review (Helio X20 version)

Helio X20 vs Snapdragon 625: Power Efficiency

Here, the Snapdragon 625 should have an edge. The chip comes with eight power efficient cores, which although may not be powerful, they are super efficient. This along with the 14nm manufacturing process will ensure that the battery on the Redmi Note 4 is amazing. Remember that both the models come with 4100mAh battery and on paper, the battery life should be better on the SD625 version as compared to the Helio X20 model.

Interestingly, Mediatek has always maintained Helio X20 to be super efficient, thanks to its tri-cluster architecture and 20nm manufacturing process. So, be sure of one thing, the battery life on both the versions are going to be pretty good! It’s a pity that both the models don’t feature fast charging.

RELATED: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 vs Moto G4 Plus vs Nokia 6

Helio X20 vs Snapdragon 625: Version Pricing

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 with Helio X20 was launched a while back (in August 2016) starting at around $135. The Redmi Note 4 with SD625 that was announced today start at $146.

RELATED: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Gets New Color Variants

So, which version would you prefer? I know the two versions are kind of exclusive to a particular region (Helio X20 in China and SD625 in India) but if you had to choose between the two, which one would you pick? I personally feel, something like the Snapdragon 650 would have been a better choice inside the Indian version, as the two Cortex A72 cores make sure that it’s better than the SD625 in terms of performance. The big battery anyway ensures that the phone will last more than a day, so efficiency shouldn’t have been a big factor in choosing the chip.

What are your thoughts?

The post Helio X20 vs Snapdragon 625: Chips Inside the Redmi Note 4 Versions Compared appeared first on Gizmochina.

So you have got some spare money left from the holidays or maybe you lost your phone when you were on vacation, bottom line is you need a new phone but don’t want to buy something pricey. So you narrow down your options to three phones: the Nokia 6, the Moto G4 Plus, and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4. Which one of the phones deserve your money?

Display

All three phones have a 5.5-inch 1080p display but if you care about screen protection, that is where the differences come in.

The Nokia 6 and Moto G4 Plus boasts Corning Gorilla Glass 3 but Xiaomi is not known to use any form of display protection for its Redmi phones, so you might want to steer clear from it.

Just because there is no screen protection doesn’t mean the Redmi Note 4 is a total loser with respect to displays. It actually offers a higher screen-to-body ratio than the other two devices and this is as a result of its shorter frame.

Software

This is another round where Xiaomi loses. The Nokia 6 comes with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box, and while the Moto G4 Plus comes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow from the factory, there is already a Nougat update available.

Xiaomi on the other hand is still working on MIUI 9 which is said to be based on Android Nougat. It will be available later this year but there is no assurance if the android version of the Redmi Note 4 will change after the update. The reason is because Xiaomi is fond of releasing updates to its MIUI ROM but not updating the android version for some devices even though they get the new ROM update. So it is quite possible to see a Xiaomi phone running MIUI 8 while still on Android Kitkat.

RAM and ROM

The Moto G4 Plus and Redmi Note 4 are available in multiple RAM and storage variants. For the sake of this article we will keep the variants limited to 4GB + 64GB for the Moto G4 Plus; 3GB +32GB and 3GB + 64GB for the Redmi Note 4. The Nokia 6 comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

The good thing about all three devices is that they all support microSD cards of up to 256GB.

Processor

This is a deciding factor for a lot of people when it comes to purchasing phones. The Snapdragon 430 chip in the Nokia 6 is more or less its most popular spec as most people are displeased with Nokia’s SoC choice. It is clocked at 1.4GHz and consists of eight Cortex-A53 cores. The Moto G4 Plus doesn’t fare much better. It sports a Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor (4 x 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4 x 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53) which was released back in 2015.

Xiaomi has gone all out with the chip in the Redmi Note 4. There is a Helio X20 deca-core processor clocked at 2.1GHz (2 x Cortex A-72 & 8 x Cortex-A53). So while all three processors will handle your regular apps and tasks easily, only the Helio X20 will be able to handle high performance tasks without any sweat due to its Cortex-A72 cores.

The GPU is also pretty important. The Nokia 6 has an Adreno 505 GPU and the Moto G4 Plus has an Adreno 405 GPU. Inside the  Redmi Note 4 is a Mali T880-MP4.

Camera

The Nokia 6 sports a 16MP shooter with a  f/2.0 aperture, PDAF and dual-LED flash. Up front is an 8MP camera for selfies.

The Moto G4 Plus has a 16MP camera with the same f/2.0 aperture. In addition to Phase Detection Auto Focus, the G4 Plus also has laser autofocus. The front camera is a 5MP shooter.

The Redmi Note 4 has a f/2.0 13MP rear camera with PDAF and dual LED flash and the front facing camera is a 5MP sensor.

Battery and Extra Features

The Moto G4 Plus and the Nokia 6 both feature 3000mAh batteries with support for fast charging but their batteries are small compared to that of the Redmi Note 4 which is an impressive 4100mAh capacity. Not the biggest in a mid-range phone but large enough to give you a few extra hours of screen-on-time. It also supports fast charging.

All three phones have fingerprint scanners but the Xiaomi is the only one with its mounted on the rear. They all have audio jacks but the Moto G4 Plus lacks any form of audio enhancement. The Nokia 6 comes with Dolby Atmos while the Xiaomi comes with 24-bit hi-res audio support.

READ MORE: Vernee Apollo vs OnePlus 3T Design Comparison

Price

Nokia’s first phone is heavily priced at about $250, a price generally agreed to be on the high side. The Moto G4 Plus actually costs more; priced at $269 for the 4GB+64GB version and $194.99 for the 2GB+16GB variant. The price for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 isn’t surprising as the company is known for its aggressive pricing. The 3GB + 32GB variant will set you back $150 while the 3GB + 64GB variant is priced at around $170.

Conclusion

The price alone should make the Xiaomi your choice but if you are bent on having the latest software version, you will have to consider either the Nokia 6 or the Moto G4 Plus. Just remember that you will be shelling out more money not only for the latest software but for a likely better camera, more RAM, and a smaller battery.

The post Nokia 6 vs Moto G4 Plus vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 appeared first on Gizmochina.

When a phone gets a new color variant its like its launching afresh. An example is what Samsung did with the Samsung S7 Edge, releasing a Coral Blue and Black Pearl variant and raking in more money in sales. Surprisingly, very few companies cash in on that but it seems Xiaomi gets the idea seeing as they have released two new color variants for the Redmi Note 4.

Originally available in gold, silver, and gray, Xiaomi has added blue and black color variants to the Redmi N0te 4. And they sure look very beautiful. The Redmi Note 4 takes over from last year’s Redmi Note 3 and should naturally be the head of the Redmi line but instead it is the dual-camera wielding Redmi Pro that takes the position.

The new color variants are limited to the 3GB + 32GB and 3GB+64GB models only but the price still remains 999 yuan (~$144).

READ MORE: Xiaomi Portable car Air Purifier Launching Soon

The Redmi Note 4 has a 5.5-inch display, a Helio X20 chip, a 13MP rear camera with PDAF, 5P lens, and a f/2.0 aperture. There is a fingerprint scanner below the shooter, a 5MP camera up front, and a 4100mAh battery that is now becoming the signature battery size for the Redmi series.

The post Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Gets New Color Variants appeared first on Gizmochina.

A recent Geekbench listing for a LeEco phone has been spotted. The device is listed as LeMobile LEX622 and has in its arsenal, a MediaTek Helio X20 chip and 3GB RAM as the main highlight.

As usual, Geekbench listing doesn’t really reveal much about the specs of the device but the LEeco LeMobile LEX622 is also listed as running Android 6.0 Marshmallow. As stated earlier, the LEX622 is listed as powered by a 1.39GHz Mediatek’s Helio X20 chipset with deca-core processor and backed by 3GB of RAM.

Read More: The Snapdragon 652 LeEco Le 2 Gets a Price Cut, Now ¥899 ($130)

On the single core test, the device is listed to have polled a total of 1575 points while it score 5229 points in the multi-core test. Other details like launch and availability are still sketchy but as always we’ll keep you updated as more details unravel.

The post LeEco LEX622 with Helio X20, 3GB RAM Listed on Geekbench 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.

LeEco has been aggressively releasing new smartphones with killer specs in the two years that it has been in the market. The company recently released the Le Pro 3 and Le S3 models in the US and it looks like in November, it will announce another device, this time in China. Now, the phone seems to have hit the AnTuTu benchmarking app, revealing most of its specifications.

AnTuTu reveals that the phone will be called as the Le S3 (yes, the same name as the one launched in the US but with different specs). The phone will come with the Helio X20 chipset (MT6797) with a 1080p display (size unknown) and Android 6.0 Marshmallow on top. The rear camera is a 21MP sensor while up front, there is an 8MP sensor. The phone seems to be pretty powerful, with 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM options. The app revealed that the Le S3 managed to score around 95,000 in the benchmark test.

RELATED: LeEco LESEE Pro Electric Car Launched In the US

To recap, the Le S3 model announced in the US came with Snapdragon 652, 3GB RAM and a 16MP camera. So, this model seems to be different.

Another interesting highlight, which is yet to be confirmed, is the pricing. It is said that this phone will be targeted at the 1000 Yuan market, so the pricing should be near $150. Also, the phone is said to come with a 24W fast charging technology, which should ensure super fast charging speeds.

Now, if you remember, there has been a phone making rounds on the internet, called as the Le Dual 3. If you still can’t recall the device, I am talking about the AI phone with the funny looking dual camera module. The Le S3 and this Dual 3 seem to be different devices, although they could be launched together in an event.

We are waiting for more details to emerge about the company’s event, which is said to be in this month itself.

The post New LeEco Le S3 Model Pops Up On AnTuTu With Helio X20, Said To Be Cheap appeared first on Gizmochina.

There are indications that the Meizu Pro 6S flagship may likely be released before the end of the year with a refreshing new design and upgraded specs. Recall Meizu VP today lent some credence to rumors that the Meizu M5 would be released on October 31. The VP Li Nan seem to be in the mood of sharing details about upcoming devices today.

The VP has also hinted via a post on Weibo that the Meizu Pro 6S flagshipwould be seeing an upgrade, perhaps released before the year to crown up its year end sales. If not, how then do we explain the teaser? The post was accompanied by a photo containing two smartphones that looks like a black variant of the Meizu Pro 6.

The statement shows an upgrade is likely coming to the Pro 6 and perhaps both in the design and a few specifications. Meizu had earlier been rumored as preparing two flagships dubbed Pro 6S and Pro 6 Plus. The Chinese company was said to be working on redesigning the looks of the devices and is looking to create a design where the antenna bands are completely hidden thus creating a more refined and unified visual effect.

Related: 3C Certification Reveals Details of Meizu Pro 6S

Some details of the expected Pro 6S had earlier appeared via its 3C certification listing and earlier rumors had given the device as coming with the Helio P20 chipset inside. An earlier rumor had also talked on an Exynos 8890-powered flagship but that has been debunked by Meizu’s VP before now.

Yet, a recently leaked benchmark appearance featuring a couple of renders (pictured) of the device had given the Pro 6S as coming with an MT 6796 chip which is a derivative of the Helio X20 thus creating some sort of confusion around the device. Not much else is known for now but we’ll be on the look out and keep you updated as always.

The post Meizu Pro 6S to Feature New Design & Upgrades Plus Leaked Renders appeared first on Gizmochina.

Decades ago, memories were saved using products from American photography company, Kodak. The company’s tagline ”Kodak moment” even made into common lexicon to refer to personal events like the birth of a child or weddings that needed to be recorded for future reference. The company later filed for bankruptcy protection after years of struggling in the photography business due in part to their late entry into digital photography. Now out of bankruptcy, the company has launched a smartphone called Ektra which coincides with the 75th anniversary of the Ektra brand.

The Ektra is a camera first before a phone. Sporting a 21MP f/2.0 main shooter with Kodak non-reflective coating, optical image stabilisation, 4K recording, PDAF, and HDR. The Ektra does pack a punch.

The phone’s viewfinder is even designed like a DSLR and features a bunch of familiar presets like portrait mode, smart auto, manual mode, sports, macro, landscape, and  Bokeh. Kodak says the DSLR dial even has haptic feedback. The camera’s manual mode allows the user adjust shutter speed and ISO rating. Up front, there is a 13MP shooter for selfies.

Kodak also bundles the phone with a couple of photography apps like Google’s Snapseed for editing your pictures.

Now to what makes it a phone. The Ektra is fitted with a 5” FHD display with Gorilla Glass protection, runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow, has a Helio X20 processor clocked at 2.3GHz, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage which is expandable via a micro SD card slot because you need all the space you can get to put all those awesome photos. There is a 3000mAh battery under the hood and a USB type-C port.

The phone looks well made. There is gorilla glass on the steel-rimmed lens as well and the back is covered with leather with the Kodak logo engraved on it, that curves up to the lower part of the front. It also appears to have a dedicated camera button sitting on the right side of the phone along the silver frame that runs around it.

READ MORE: Smartisan Launches M1 & M1L Smartphones

Kodak has announced a bunch of real leather cases for the phone that are designed like old camera bags. The Ektra will be available by December starting in Europe and will sport a £450/€500/$550/3713 Yuan.

Below are some shots taken with the Ektra.

The post Kodak launches Ektra Android Phone with a 21MP Camera appeared first on Gizmochina.

Mediatek announced a new chip, the Helio X30, back in August. The Helio X30 is the world’s first mobile processor using 10nm fabrication process and will be manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

New details have been released about the new deca-core chip. We already know it will make use of a tri-cluster design consisting of two cortex A-73 cores clocked at 2.8GHz, four cortex-A53 cores clocked at 2.3GHz, and four Cortex-A35 cores clocked at 2.0GHz.

The A-73 cores are the new high-performance cores taking over from previous generation A-72. They will offer better performance and lower power consumption than the latter.

The A-53 cores are possibly ARM’s most balanced cores when it comes to performance and power efficiency. The A-35 cores are the most power-efficient cores from ARM with power consumption not exceeding 125mW and can even be less than 100mW in some cases.

Mediatek has released a performance sheet that compares the Helio X30 to the Helio X20 but the font is tiny and blurs out when you try to zoom in.

The new tri-cluster architecture offers a 53% increase in power saving and 43% improvement in performance over the Helio X20. The Mali-T880 GPU has also been replaced with a PowerVR 7XT series that provides 2.4 times better performance and a 58% increase in power savings.

READ MORE: NO.1 G6 New Smartwatch Ready to Launch

The Helio X30 also adds 4K VP9 encode support for videos and ups the maximum camera sensor supported to 28MP from 25MP on the X20. Memory support also takes an upgrade. It will now support four 16-bit LPDDR4X (max. 8GB) and UFS 2.1 storage. Connectivity also gets an upgrade from Cat-6 to Cat-10.

If you want more details you can check the image below.

According to Mediatek, mass production should begin early next year.

The post Mediatek Announces More Details on the 10nm Helio X30 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi has yet again continued the tradition of unveiling new Redmi smartphones every few months. After releasing the Redmi 3X and the Redmi Pro smartphones in the past few weeks, now Xiaomi has unveiled the brand new Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 smartphone. The company is calling this device, the “Thousand Yuan Flagship”. Considering the specs, it is true, to some extent.

Unlike the Xiaomi Redmi Pro, which got much fanfare for its launch, the Redmi Note 4 got relatively less attention. Nevertheless, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is a pretty good smartphone. It comes with the same design as the recent Redmi smartphones, a metal body with a fingerprint sensor at the back. The dimensions of the phone are as follows: 151 x 76 x 8.35mm and it weighs 175 grams. If you remember, this is quite close to Redmi Pro’s dimensions and weight. There will be three color options available, silver, gray and gold.

The Redmi Note 4 comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p IPS LCD display with 450 nit brightness. Inside, the phone comes with the Helio X20 deca-core processor and it’s actually good to see this chip inside a cheap device. There are two memory versions available. The chip inside is the same, i.e. Helio X20 @ 2.1GHz. But you have the option to choose from the Standard version which comes with 2GB RAM + 16GB storage and high version which features 3GB RAM + 64GB storage. Both these versions have expandable hybrid storages.

At the back, the Redmi Note 4 comes with a single camera sensor of 13MP with 5P lens, f/2.0 aperture, color temperature flash, PDAF and HDR. The sensor is capable of recording at a max resolution of 1080p at 30 fps and 720p slo-mo at 120 fps. The front camera is of 5MP and comes with Beauty 2.0, f/2.0 aperture and facial recognition.

The phone supports dual SIM dual standby with entire network connectivity and comes with a 4100mAh battery with 5V 2A fast charging. The fingerprint sensor at the back also supports Ali and Mi payments. As for software, it will run on Android 6.0 based MIUI 8.

The Redmi Note 4 2GB + 16GB will retail for 899 Yuan ($135) while the 3GB + 64GB version costs 1199 Yuan ($180). The storage on the standard variant is a bit surprising since 32GB has become the standard on most phones. But the company probably decided to limit it to 16GB in order to keep the price under 999 Yuan.

Anyway, considering the pricing and the specs, the Redmi Note 4 is a pretty good option for budget users. What do you think?

And in case you are wondering, the 360 N4 offers better value (4GB + 32GB) at this price (except for a smaller battery). Read about the 360 N4 from here.

The post Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Official: Helio X20 & 4100mAh Battery for $135 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Meizu is all set to announce the Meizu MX6 flagship on July 19. While the phone has been in the news for a number of reasons previously, we now know the specs of the device thanks to its AnTuTu listing. The benchmarking app reveals most of the features of the device, so we know what to expect when we meet the handset after a few days.

Like expected, the Meizu MX6 will come with the Helio X20 deca-core chipset and Mali-T880 under the hood with 4GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage. While the display size is unknown (should be 5.5-inches), it will feature FHD 1080p resolution.  At the back, the phone will come with a 12MP camera sensor while up front, you get a 5MP shooter. As for software, the Meizu MX6 will come with Flyme 5.2.2 with Android 6.0 Marshmallow on top.

READ MORE: Meizu MX6 May Not Be As Cheap As We Previously Thought

Usually, AnTuTu also reveals the score of the handset that hits the app, but this time, we don’t have that information. However, considering Helio X20 is powering the device, the AnTuTu score of the MX6 should easily be above 90k points.

Meizu teased the MX6 today, confirming the July 19 release date of the flagship. It looks like the company plans to release a number of accessories as well, alongside the device at the event. Read more details from our previous article here.

The post Meizu MX6 Spotted On AnTuTu, Helio X20 & 4GB RAM in Tow appeared first on Gizmochina.

Elephone has been busy lately, working on the release of its upcoming Elephone P9000 Edge smartphone with a bezel-less display. Now, we have got some new details about an upcoming device from the company, which is going to be called as the Elephone P20. Apart from the name, we also got a few details on the phone’s specifications and a couple of pictures which gives us a glimpse of the device.

The Elephone P20 will be yet another powerful flagship from the company this year. The phone will come with 6GB of RAM, joining the ranks of high-profile smartphone makers like OnePlus, Vivo and LeEco to feature such a high RAM device. Further, the phone seems to come with a capable camera as well, featuring f/1.7 aperture. The sensor is probably from Samsung but we are not yet sure of that. Also, it looks like the P20 will most likely end up using the Helio X20 deca-core chipset or maybe Helio P20 (judging from the name) from Mediatek. From the leaked images, it will also feature a bezel-less display as the Elephone P9000 Edge. No fingerprint up front could only mean one thing, the fingerprint sensor is located at the back of the device.

We still don’t have any clue on the release date of the device, but don’t expect the Elephone P20 to be announced anytime soon, since we first have to meet the Elephone P9000 Edge. The Edge is yet another powerful flagship from the company which has been in the news for the past six months. You can read more about the specs about the P9000 Edge from here.

So, what do you think about the Elephone P20? Does Helio X20/ Helio P20, f/1.7 aperture camera and 6GB RAM interest you?

The post Elephone P20 Details Leaked, 6GB RAM & Powerful Camera appeared first on Gizmochina.

360 N4 turned out to be quite a powerful mid-ranger, coming with Helio X20 and 4GB of RAM on board. However, the company seems to be working on another version of this already powerful device and looks like the upgrades are going to be quite interesting.

First of all, the new device comes with the exact same design as the 360 N4 model that was announced a while back. However, the company has decided to upgrade the body material from plastic to metal. We just spotted this new version on TENAA in gold color. It comes with a round camera sensor, with dual LED flash and fingerprint sensor below it.

Even the specs are going to be the same as the 360 N4. So, you must be wondering, what’s so different about this device? Well, the huge difference is going to be the battery inside. This new model comes with a 4920mAh battery inside, which is one of the largest batteries we have seen on a mainstream smartphone. The thickness is also quite decent at 8.48mm! It is a bit weighted, as the metal body and large high-density battery increase the weight to 175.7 grams.

Rest of the specs are similar to the N4, which means it will feature the Helio X20 deca-core chip clocked at 2GHz inside with 4GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage and a 5.5-inch 1080p display. At the back, the phone will feature a 13MP Sony IMX258 sensor, while the front sports a 5MP shooter.

360 Mobiles has built a reputation of releasing aggressively priced handsets. The 360 N4 retails for just $138 (more about this model here), and given the slight bump up in specs and design, we can expect this phone to be released for around $150 – $170.

No official word on this particular version’s release yet, but looks like 360 Mobiles is going for a Meizu like strategy (Meizu will most likely announce the Meizu M3 Metal version on June 13). The company’s top-end flagship model, most likely called as the 360 Q4 also passed TENAA today. You can read more about that from here.

The post 360 N4 Metal Version With A Large Battery Spotted! appeared first on Gizmochina.

Usually, MX series smartphones are released around June-July period. It looks like the company is going to continue the tradition this year as well, as the release is expected to be on June 20. If true, this would make nearly four smartphone launches, all in different lineups in a matter of 3 months. That’s pretty aggressive even for a Chinese smartphone maker.

As for the specs, earlier leaks have said that the phone will feature 3GB RAM and 4GB RAM variants. The former could start at $275 and the latter at around $305, which would put it in competition with the Xiaomi Mi 5. But inside, this device is said to feature Mediatek’s Helio X20 instead of X25 chip that powers the Pro 6 flagship.

RELATED: Meizu’s Curved Screen Smartphone Leaked In Pictures

Considering the rumored specs and pricing, the Meizu MX6 should comfortably sit between the top-end Pro 6 and the mid-range Meizu M3 Note. Further, it is said that apart from the MX6, there is at least one more device from Meizu in the works — a dual curved edged smartphone with Exynos 8890. That is sure one flagship that we would want to see, but expect a launch only by the end of the year.

What are your thoughts?

The post Meizu MX6 Launching On June 20? appeared first on Gizmochina.

360 Mobiles, formerly known as Qiku released the budget 360 F4 and the F4 Pro model back in March. However, the company had revealed back then that there were two other smartphone lineups this year, namely the mid-range 360 N series and the top-end 360 Q series. Now, it looks like the 360 N4 mid-ranger has just passed through the TENAA certification.

Looks wise, the phone seems just normal. It comes with a white plastic body with a fingerprint sensor and the 360 logo at the back. The front seems to feature 2.5D glass.

As for the specs, the phone will be powered by the deca-core Helio X20 chipset clocked at 2GHz. This is much lower than the 2.3GHz clock speed of the X20, so it could be an underclocked version. Since MTK is known to release multiple variants of its chipsets, it is a possibility.

As for the other specs, you get 4GB of RAM on board and a 5.5-inch 1080p display. There will be 32GB of expandable storage with a 3000mAh battery, rear fingerprint sensor, dual SIM , 4G LTE, 13MP front and a 5MP rear camera. The 360 N4 will run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It isn’t the thinnest phone that we have seen with a 3000mAh battery at 8.4mm, but I guess, it’s acceptable. Also, it weighs about 160 grams.

Considering the specs of the device, the 360 N4 would be a good competitor to the recently announced Le 2 mid-ranger. It comes with similar specs and cost just 1099 Yuan ($170). So, expect the pricing to be on the similar lines for the N4.

So, it looks like the leaked photos of the new 360 smartphone wasn’t of the N4. The design looked premium and with dual cameras on board, it could be of the 360 Q series!

The post 360 N4 Visits TENAA With Deca-core Helio X20, Should Be Cheap appeared first on Gizmochina.

Now that the Vernee Thor is out of the pre-sale period and will soon start shipping, our focus is going to turn on the next major product launch from the company, namely the Vernee Apollo Lite. Most of the features of the phone have already been revealed by the company, and now, Vernee informs us that the phone will be coming with a customized IGZO LCD screen from Sharp.

So, what’s so special with an IGZO display? Vernee reveals a few details about the technology. IGZO stands for Indium Gallium Zinc and Oxygen and these crystals make for a unique crystalline structure that supports consistently stable performance. This helps deliver high resolution, natural color screen and also helps power consumption, especially for still image display. Further, the panel is said to come with operational improvements and ultra-sensitivity.

(Image Source: Sharp-world.com)

To recap, the Vernee Thor comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p panel. It aims to be the world’s cheapest Helio X20 smartphone in the market starting at just $199.99. Although less powerful than competitors like SD820 and Exynos 8890, the Mediatek flagship chip is a worthy processor capable of handling intensive tasks. In fact, the Helio X20 inside the ZOPO Speed 8 with similar configurations managed to score above 91K on AnTuTu.

Rest of the specs are as follows:

• 5.5 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display
• MediaTek Helio x20 MT6797 processor
• 4GB of RAM
• 32GB of storage
• 16 MP rear camera
• 5MP front camera
• USB Type-C
• Dual-SIM support (one SIM card slot can also be used as a microSD card reader)
• Android 6.0

For $200, these specs are quite good. The company will launch the device in May, so stay tuned for more updates soon.

The post Vernee Apollo Lite to come with Sharp’s IGZO LCD Screen appeared first on Gizmochina.

LeEco executives have already confirmed that the Le 2 flagship smartphone will release soon. Now, an unknown smartphone was spotted at an event for the LeEco Sports division, which could be the new Le 2 smartphone. The event was for the B Round funding of the Sports division of the company, wherein an executive was seen with the new device in hand.

It looks quite similar to the Le Max Pro handset, but Chinese media are of the opinion that this is a new device, most likely the Le 2. These pictures were directly released by the company’s official account earlier today.

While we are still doubtful about the identity of the phone in hand, what we do know is that the company is planning to release a new phone on April 20. LeEco has just released a new teaser via its Le smartphone official channel, where it starts a countdown for 8 days to the event.

Given that we have been hearing a lot about the Le 2 smartphone for the past few weeks, its very likely that the phone will meet us at the event on April 20. The specs as well as the design of the phone have already been leaked a couple of times, so we know what to expect.

Recent TENAA listing of the Le 2 revealed that the phone will come with Helio X20 chip inside with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. There will be  a 5.5-inch 1080p display on board. At the back, the phone will feature a 16MP shooter with dual tone flash and a fingerprint sensor. The phone comes with Android 6.0 with EUI and a 3000mAh battery.

This should be just one of the two versions of the Le 2. Another version is rumored to come with either Snapdragon 820 or Snapdragon 652 chip inside. Expect more details in the coming days.

The post Le 2 Spotted In An Event, Launch Likely On April 20 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Smartphone companies have multiple lineups targeted at different price segments. Recently, 360 Mobiles, formerly known as QiKu unveiled the 360 F4 smartphone which was a low cost device aimed to compete with the likes of Redmi 3 Pro. Now, the company has started teasing its next smartphone in the works, namely the 360 N4. And guess what, this is going to be a mid-range handset with a Helio chipset inside.

The company had revealed earlier that there would be three different smartphone lineups under the brand, namely the F series which is low-end segment, the N series which is the mid-range segment and the Q series which will be the high-end segment. So, the new 360 N4 smartphone will lie in the mid-range segment.

The new teaser revealed today says Hello _20 chipset. The blank could either be the Helio X20 flagship chip or it could be Helio P20 chip. Given that the latter is not yet announced, I think it’s safe to assume that the new 360 N4 will come with Helio X20. Another reason to say this is because we have already seen a deca-core powered smartphone from the company in an earlier AnTuTu listing and this could be that device. Another possibility is that the teaser is actually saying “Hello 820”, which would mean that SD820 powers the device, but it seems unlikely at the moment.

Back in March, we had seen the QK1503-M02 model with Helio X20 under the hood. Other specs revealed by AnTuTu included 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and a 1080p FHD screen with an unknown display size. At the back, the phone had a 13MP camera while up front, a 5MP shooter. It ran on Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS.

So, now, it could be time for 360 Mobiles to finally unveil this new mid-range smartphone. Release date is not yet known, but since the company has started teasing the device, expect to meet the device within this month.

The post 360 N4 Mid-Ranger With Helio X20 Could Meet Us Soon appeared first on Gizmochina.

Vernee rose to fame because of its power packed Vernee Apollo flagship. Even before the phone is officially announced and available for purchase, Vernee has revealed that they are working on another mid-range handset called as the Vernee Thor Lite. This would make it the third handset from the company so far, after the Apollo and the Thor.

In the past few weeks, we have seen that Vernee’s smartphones have multiple selling points to attract customers. So, what makes the Vernee Apollo Lite so special? Well, the first thing is the pricing. The company has confirmed that the Vernee Apollo Lite version will retail at an affordable price tag of $199.99. This is actually pretty affordable considering the specs on board the device.

So, the Apollo Lite still features the world’s first deca-core chipset, namely the Helio X20 as well as pretty good hardware. There will be 4GB of RAM on board along with 32GB of internal storage. For display, you get a 5.5-inch 1080p panel. At the back, the phone will feature a 16MP camera while up front, there will be a 5MP shooter. So, the company has downgraded the specs as compared to the Apollo, but still it turns out to be quite powerful. Other expected features of the Lite version include dual SIM card slot (SIM2 can be used as MicroSD), USB Type-C port and Android 6.0 Marshmallow update out of the box.

Vernee has confirmed that the phone will be officially announced in May and the pricing will be $199.99. You can check out more details about the company from their official website.

Meanwhile, the mid-range Vernee Thor is available for pre-sale via various retailers. There’s also a flash sale for Uber users wherein you can get the device for just $99.99. Check that out from here.

Buy Links:

The post Vernee Apollo Lite Aims To Be The Cheapest Helio X20 Smartphone At $199.99 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Now that the Ulefone Vienna is officially announced and is up for pre-order via various retailers, our focus is turned towards the bezel-less offering from the company, namely the Ulefone Future. We have been hearing a lot about the device in the past few weeks, in fact we also saw the device in action at MWC 2016. Now, the company has revealed more details about the upcoming flagship.

First of all, the company reveals that there will be a high-end variant of the Ulefone Future that would come with the deca-core Helio X20 chipset. However, given that the chipset is not yet readily available, this particular version will be released later. Also, considering the high-end targeting, the phone will ship with 128GB of internal storage.

Other specs of the phone will be similar to the standard bezel-less edition. So, you can expect 4GB of RAM on board. The screen resolution will be bumped up to 2K. At the back, there should be a 20MP CMOS sensor. No other specs details were revealed at present.

Along with these two editions, there would be another Ulefone Future edition, which will feature less powerful specs. The phone will abandon the bezel-less display, in favor of a regular screen but with narrow bezels. Inside, you can expect the same Helio P10 processor along with 4GB RAM. However, the camera sensor will be less powerful and the storage on board will be reduced as well. With this version, the company is looking to target the affordable smartphone segment, as it will retail for a cheaper price tag than the standard and high-end editions.

Now, coming to the standard edition, Ulefone Future will come with a 1080p 5.5-inch bezel-less display, with a 16MP rear Samsung camera, side mounted fingerprint sensor, Helio P10 octa-core chip and 4GB of RAM.

The company has confirmed that the standard edition will launch in April. The date is not yet fixed, but stay tuned for more details. You can check out the company’s official website from here.

The post Ulefone Future Helio X20 Version In The Works, Will Feature 128GB Storage appeared first on Gizmochina.

At that time, we wondered what could be the approximate price tag of SD820. Now, we may have a figure. According to new information, the Snapdragon 820 chip is priced around $70. In comparison, Mediatek’s top-end chip, namely the Helio X20 costs less than half of this figure. The wholesale price of X20 is reportedly only around $30.

We knew that the Helio X20 was cheap, but being less than 2x cheaper than SD820, it makes sense for manufacturers to include this chip inside upper mid-range flagships. According to initial benchmark results of the X20, it manages to reach around 90K on AnTuTu which is pretty good considering its cheap price tag. So, the Helio X20 could be ideal for affordable flagships. No wonder, LeEco decided to use this chip inside one of its upcoming Le 2 variants.

Now, things make better sense. MTK has Helio X20 for upper mid-range flagship and if you are looking for something even powerful, then there’s the newly announced Helio X25 chip. And if you want the best performance and are willing to shell out a few hundred bucks more, you can get a Snapdragon 820 based smartphone. To remind you, it is said that Le 2 does have a SD820 version.

So, what do you think? Will you go with a Helio X20 powered flagship or will you be ready to shell out more for SD820?

The post Helio X20 Is Reportedly 2x Cheaper Than SD820 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Today was a busy day for Mediatek as it announced two chipsets in China, namely the Helio X20 and the Helio X25. The chipmaker had already announced the X20 a few months back, but this seems to be its release event. Anyways, we have seen Helio X20 perform, thanks to ZOPO’s first deca-core flagship, the ZOPO Speed 8. From the benchmark results, we came to know that the company was targeting the upper mid-range market with this chip, while the Helio X25 will be taking care of the top-end segment.

Now that these two chipsets have been released, we are waiting for phones with them inside. We already know that Meizu Pro 6 will be the exclusive smartphone with Helio X25 (at least for the next few months) and now LeEco executives have confirmed that the second generation Le 2 smartphones will feature the mid-range Helio X20.

Although ZOPO was the first manufacturer to release an Helio X20 powered device, it looks like LeEco will be the first true large-scale manufacturer to adopt the chip. What’s more, LeEco’s President of the Mobile department, Feng Xing said that the company will prepare a stock of more than 1 million units of Helio X20 powered products. That’s pretty impressive and shows the confidence of the company in the chip.

However, if you are not a big fan of Mediatek, don’t worry, it is said that there will be a Snapdragon 820 powered Le 2 version as well. And if the phone looks anything like the renders we have come across recently, fans are definitely going to love the overall package.

LeEco is expected to release the Le 2 flagship sometime before the end of March, which means we could see an announcement in the next couple of weeks. Apart from LeEco, manufacturers like OPPO and Qihoo 360 (smartphone division) are also expected to release Helio X20 powered smartphones.

The post Le 2 Confirmed To Feature Helio X20 Chip, Will Stock Up More than 1 Million units appeared first on Gizmochina.

QiKu will release a number of handset this year and we have already seen one of the possible devices, thanks to an early AnTuTu listing. Now, another device from the company, this time featuring mid-range specs was spotted on the AnTuTu app, revealing much of the specs and performance of the device.

The new QiKu device with the model number QK1503-M02 comes with less powerful specs than the QK1509-A02 model that was spotted on the same benchmarking app yesterday. The new model will feature MT6797 Helio X20 deca-core chipset inside with Mali-T880 GPU. Like yesterday’s model, this one too will come with a 1920 x 1080p display but the screen size is not known.

There will be 3GB of RAM on board along with 32GB of internal storage. As for the camera, instead of a dual camera 13MP setup at the back, you will find a single 13MP sensor on the device. Up front, there will be a 5MP shooter. As for software, the phone runs on the new Android 6.0 Marshmallow version.

MT6797 hasn’t really impressed us with its initial performance figures, despite featuring 10 cores inside. Even this particular model is said to score only about 80K on AnTuTu which is quite low. In comparison, the Snapdragon 820 powered QiKu device could score about 125K in the same test. In fact, Xiaomi Mi 5 with similar specs was able to break the 130K mark on the benchmarking app which means even the QiKu device with similar specs has some room for improvement.

Since both these models have visited AnTuTu benchmark, we can expect to get more information about them in the coming days. QiKu had launched its three smartphones back in August. So, if the company is to follow the same release period, then there’s still a few months left for the new phones to launch.

The post Mid-Range QiKu Device With Helio X20 Deca-Core Chip Spotted On AnTuTu appeared first on Gizmochina.

Meizu has been relatively quiet in the first two months of 2016. The only major announcement that came from the company was that of the Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition, released at MWC this year. Further, the potential release of the Pro 5 Mini was spoilt due to the earthquake in Taiwan which caused damages to one of the company’s suppliers. Later, reports about the Meizu MX6 surfaced which said that the phone will launch sometime around April-May.

Now, one of the industry insiders says that Meizu will release a new smartphone in a brand new lineup. So, this won’t be a part of the company’s existing series like the Pro, Blue Charm or even the MX lineup. However, he didn’t reveal the name of the new series. But what he did say was that the new phone will feature an enhanced version of Helio X20 chipset, most likely called as the Helio X25. This MT6797T chip will be clocked at a higher frequency and will be much more powerful than the existing X20 chip.

Since there are two lineups, namely the MX series and the Pro series from Meizu, which feature powerful smartphones, this new lineup could be placed in between the low-end Blue Charm series and the MX series.

Another interesting information revealed by the insider was that Meizu as well as LeEco are set to release smartphones based on the new Helio X25 chipset. We have heard rumors about the Le 2 featuring powerful specs at an affordable price tag and it could be this model that the insider is hinting about. However, since we still haven’t seen many phones with X20 on board, it could be a little early to expect phones with the new chip to debut in the market.

What do you think? How good will this enhanced Helio X20 chipset be?

The post Rumor: Meizu To Release A Smartphone In A New Series With Helio X25 Chip appeared first on Gizmochina.

The company further added that Helio X20 overheating issues shouldn’t be a concern given that in the case of an increase in temperature, the chip will use only eight Cortex A53 based cores. The two Cortex A72 cores will be shut down. Mediatek said that the new Cortex A72 cores are quite energy efficient as well. The mass production of the chipset has already started and hence, we should be seeing the first X20 powered smartphones real soon.

To recap, Helio X20 is the world’s first 10-core chipset with a tri-cluster design. It features 2x Cortex-A72 @ 2.5GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 @ 2.0GHz and 4x Cortex-A53 @ 1.4GHz. The chip supports LPDDR3 RAM and Cat. 6 4G LTE networks.

The Helio X20 is an important chip for the company, which is probably why it was quick to refute claims about overheating. Remember last year, it was around the same time that rumors about Snapdragon 810 being super hot surfaced online. Even Qualcomm denied the rumors, but later it turned out to be true. But hopefully, since the chip uses the much more efficient Cortex A72 and A53 cores, we won’t have to see such an issue with Helio X20.

What do you think? Will the Helio X20 overheat?

The post Mediatek Denies Helio X20 Overheating issues appeared first on Gizmochina.

Overheating is not something that either Mediatek or everyday consumers would like to hear about the world’s first 10-core chip. However, according to a source from Weibo, Helio X20 has some overheating issues and many notable manufacturers have dropped projects based this chipset. The source has mentioned three big names, Xiaomi, HTC and Lenovo who have cancelled Helio X20 based smartphones.

Since this could turn out to be potentially disastrous for Mediatek, we would like to advise you to take this rumor with a pinch of salt. Although the source has given us some good information in the past, we can’t be entirely sure of this rumor. So, before making conclusions, it’s always better to wait for more concrete information.

Coming back to the issue, we would like to note that Helio X20 uses TSMC’s 20nm process. In case you remember, even Snapdragon 810 was using this process, which was plagued with the same overheating issue. Could there be a connection? We can’t be sure of that yet. Another thing to note is that this is the world’s first chip with a tri-cluster design. This is something that hasn’t been tried on a smartphone chip yet, so it would be interesting to see how well the chip is optimized to prevent overheating and improve efficiency.

Anyways, we will be keeping a close watch on the upcoming Helio X20 smartphones. And we are hoping that it doesn’t overheat like the Snapdragon 810!

We may probably see the first Helio X20 powered smartphone at MWC 2016, so stay tuned.

The post 10-core Mediatek Helio X20 Plagued By Overheating Issues? appeared first on Gizmochina.

Meizu MX6 is said to feature the MT6797 Helio X20 10-core chipset. The phone will probably be the first one to come with this new age Mediatek chip. The CPU will be clocked at 1.846GHz according to the listing. Along with this powerful processor, the phone will reportedly feature 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage Mali-T880 MP4 (four core) GPU and a 1080p display of unknown size. Also, given that we can expect the device to debut sometime later in 2016, it’s not surprising that the phone will come with Android 6.0 on board.

To recap, Mediatek’s MT6797 deca-core CPU is going to be the first smartphone chipset to feature a tri-cluster design. The company is of the opinion that such a three cluster design will help reduce power consumption of the CPU. The chip features two Cortex A72 cores clocked at 2.5GHz, four Cortex A53 cores clocked at 2.0 GHz and another four Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.4GHz. It will be manufactured using 20nm process.

Given the unique design of the MT6797, we will have to wait and see to check out the performance and efficiency of the chip. There’s still a few months for the first MT6797 phone to hit the market (which should be the Meizu MX6), so we have some time before things get official.

The post Meizu MX6 Specs Leaked, Features 10-Core Helio X20 MT6797 Chip appeared first on Gizmochina.

This year, ZOPO released its flagship Speed 7 which came with great specs at a mid-range price tag. The phone turned out to be quite popular, especially in Europe.

Recently, we have been hearing about a deca-core smartphone from the company, which will be powered by the powerful Helio X20 chipset. Now, ZOPO has just revealed that the phone will be the new Speed 8 flagship. It will be the successor to the existing Speed 7 and will be much powerful in terms of specs than the current model.

The company has also revealed the launch date of the device. The Speed 8 flagship will be unveiled at the MWC (Mobile World Congress) 2016 in Barcelona. The phone will be personally introduced by none other than the brand ambassador of the company, MotoGP World Champion, Jorge Lorenzo. The event will start at 10.30 AM on February 24 at ZOPO’s booth in the event, 7G50.

The company also reveals that the Speed 8 flagship will be one of the first smartphones to feature this powerful deca-core Helio X20 chipset. It will come with Android 6.0 OS out of the box and the company promises full support for future updates. So, it’s likely that the phone will get the Android N 7.0 update as well.

Apart from revealing new details about its deca-core flagship, the company also informs us that it has changed its motto and work methodology to “Tech It Easy”.

ZOPO is known for value for money devices, as a result, it’s really exciting to hear that we will soon meet the Speed 8 with Helio x20 on board. We can expect the other specs to be quite high-end to support the powerful processor.

For now, this is all the details we have on the ZOPO Speed 8 flagship. But we will update you with more details in the coming days.

The post ZOPO’s Deca-Core Speed 8 Flagship Will Be Unveiled At MWC 2016 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Although Mediatek was one of the first chip makers to announce its latest chip for 2016, the company hasn’t debuted it’s Helio X20 MT6797 deca-core chip on a smartphone yet. We know that the chip will feature 10-cores, of which two are Cortex A72 for high-end performance, four Cortex A53 cores clocked at 2.0 GHz for performance and efficiency and the remaining four Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.4GHz for low-end tasks.

In the past few weeks, we had the opportunity to see the benchmark scores of the rival chips like Snapdragon 820 and Huawei Kirin 950. But things have been relatively quite about the Helio X20, until now.

Earlier today, a device powered by the chip was spotted on the benchmarking website, Geekbench revealing the true power of its deca-core setup. We haven’t seen the chip in action lately, hence, we were left to wonder about its capability.

According to the benchmarking website, the MT6797 chip reportedly scores over 7000 points on the multi-core test, which is one of the highest scores we have seen from a smartphone chipset. Looks like the deca-core setup really enhances the performance of the chip. In the single core test, however, things were quite normal, scoring about 2100 points. This is comparable and even a bit less than the scores posted by other chipsets.

Helio X20 vs Snapdragon 820 vs Kirin 950 vs Apple A9: Geekbench Scores 

Since we now have the geekbench scores for all the four chipsets, its time to compare them to see which one comes out on top.

In the multi-core test, there’s really no comparison, with the Helio X20’s amazing score of 7000 points. Here are the scores of the other three chips in the multi-core tests.

Kirin 950: 6245

Snapdragon 820 (developer unit):  5400

Apple A9: 4578

On the other hand, the Apple A9 comes on top, in the single core test, with a score of 2576. The following are the scores posted by other chips in descending order.

Snapdragon 820: 2320

Helio X20: 2103

Kirin 950: 1871

From today’s benchmark visit, it looks like Helio X20 will be a powerful chip, at least on paper. However, these benchmarks only show us one aspect of the chipset and there are many other factors to consider before making conclusions. For example, we will have to see whether the chip overheats or whether its as effficients as rivals.

According to a company official, Helio X20 will enter mass production in the second quarter of 2016. We can expect leading Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi and Meizu to unveil a Helio X20 powered smartphone by that time.

The post Mediatek’s Helio X20 MT6797 Spotted On GeekBench, Multi-Core Performance Out Of the World appeared first on Gizmochina.

ZOPO revealed in a company blog post that it takes a lot of time and efforts to design a remarkable phone. In fact, the company has been investing a lot of time into the phone’s design. In the blog post, ZOPO revealed a number of prototype designs that were rejected by the company till date. You can check out these dummies in the pictures above. So, we now know that the phone won’t look like this. However, what it will end up looking is something that we don’t know for now.

As for the release, ZOPO says that the deca-core phone should be announced sometime early 2016. So, we can expect the phone to be launched around Q1-Q2 2016. Lets hope that the company sticks to the schedule as we are all excited to see a 10-core smartphone.

The post ZOPO’s Deca-Core Smartphone In The Works, Will Release Early Next Year appeared first on Gizmochina.

The source reveals that although Xiaomi is working on a Helio X20 powered device, the pricing is still a big mystery. This is because, the Helio X20 chip alone costs $30 and plus with the memory costing around7 $20, the total goes up to $50 for just these two components. Since, till now, Xiaomi has aggressively price its devices, like the yesterday’s Redmi Note 3 which costs just $140, it would be interesting to see how low the company can go with a this deca-core chip.

It is said that the Helio X20 device won’t be a flagship, which is kind of surprising given that its expected to perform at least at par with other flagship chips. So, we will have to wait and see which phone is upgraded with this new chip for a flagship like performance.

As for the release, expect to see the device only by first quarter of 2016, since Mediatek exec had hinted that the first batch of Helio X20 powered smartphones will debut by that time.

While it seems unlikely that a budget Redmi smartphone could feature such a powerful chip, we have to understand that a few months back, we thought the same with MT6795. But Xiaomi surprised us all with Redmi Note 2 featuring this new chip and yet being priced under $130. So, we can’t really rule out a Helio X20 powered Redmi device next year.

However, this is the first time we are hearing about such a Redmi device. If the phone is real, we are sure to get more details pretty soon. So, stay tuned.

The post Xiaomi Working On A Helio X20 Powered Redmi Device? appeared first on Gizmochina.

Although we had heard a few rumors about the upcoming UMi Zero flagship a few weeks back, recently, there hasn’t been much news about this device. However, earlier today, we came across another piece of information about the UMi Zero 2 flagship. It is said that the device will come with 4GB of RAM on board, which if true, will be a first for a UMi smartphone.

In fact, even today, there aren’t many 4GB RAM phones in the market. If this does turn out to be true, UMi will join the ranks of the few premium smartphone makers who have released such a device. This much amount of RAM means you no longer have to worry about lag during multi-tasking as it will handle any task thrown at it with ease.

As for the processor, the UMi Zero 2 will reportedly come with a Helio X series chipset. Given that the company is adding 4GB RAM inside, its likely that the phone will feature the deca-core Helio X20 chipset for maximum performance. However, this may drive up the cost unnecessarily, and hence, the company may decide to settle with the MT6795 Helio X10 octa-core chip. Even this processor is quite capable of powering flagship devices, so it won’t be disappointing to see it inside the Zero 2.

UMi seems to be making a smart decision by using the Helio X series processor instead of Snapdragon 810. Despite the claims from Qualcomm, Snapdragon 810 is still believed to overheat when used for a long time. As a result, this chip has often been the target of consumer criticism. So, using the powerful Helio X series chip (either X10 or X20) seems to be the right decision at the moment.

As per the previous rumors, UMi could be working on two variants of the flagship UMi Zero 2, one with the dual display and another with a real leather back cover, like the one on the LG G4. The phone will reportedly come with a 5.2-inch QHD panel, 20MP camera and the new USB Type-C port.

Unfortunately, we have no further information about the UMi Zero 2 at the moment, but we will keep you guys updated with new details in the coming weeks.

The post UMi Zero 2 To Feature 4GB of RAM & Helio X20? appeared first on Gizmochina.

While Xiaomi may not be the first one to use this deca core chip, it is said that the company has at least one machine with this chip that’s being tested right now. Even Xiaomi is expected to release this new handset sometime before the end of this year. From the previous leaks and the timing of the launch of the new chip, its likely that the report is talking about the upcoming Xiaomi Mi5 flagship.

As for the performance of the chip, its expected to be better, or atleast at par with Exynos 7420. The MT6797 Helio X20 chip is based on the 20nm process, with the worlds first Tri-Cluster architecture. The chip will come with 10 cores, with two Cortex A72 and eight Cortex A53 ones. Other specs include support for LTE Cat. 6 network and dual carrier aggregation.

It is said that Meizu’s upcoming flagship, the Meizu Pro 5 will have a low version which will be powered by Helio X20. The higher version is reportedly powered by Samsung’s Exynos 7420. Even Xiaomi Mi5 could have two different versions, with one of them powered by the Helio X20 chip.

So, what do you think? Can Mediatek take over the premium high-end market with its new deca-core Helio X20?

The post Xiaomi, HTC & Meizu To Use Helio X20 10-core chip, First Phones Coming in October appeared first on Gizmochina.

HTC is all set to announce two new flagships at its “The World Best Meets The Best” event on September 29. One of these devices will most likely be the HTC One A9 aka HTC Aero. The phone has been making the rounds on the internet for the past few weeks, boasting of high-end specs.

One of the highlights of the HTC One A9 is going to be the new deca-core Helio X20 MT6797 processor. The chip is said to be very powerful, with 10 cores in a tri-cluster design ready for any task. Now, the same chip powering the HTC One A9 has hit Geekbench, revealing its true power.

According to the Geekbench listing, the HTC One A9 with MT6797 scores an impressive 1835 in the single core test. That’s almost as much the dual-core NVIDIA Tegra K1 scores in the Nexus 9. In the multi-core test, the performance was even more impressive. Thanks to the 10 powerful cores, MT6797 managed to beat everyone including the Exynos 7420 with a mind-blowing score of 5884 points.

Clearly, this shows that Mediatek has created a powerhouse for flagships. The dual A72 cores and octa A53 cores makes sure that you get the maximum performance without sacrificing on the battery life. Moreover, Helio X20 comes with the new T8xx series graphics chip which outdoes PowerVR G6200 (in MT6795) in all respects.

Other specs include 4GB of RAM and Android 5.1 OS. We still don’t have much idea about the camera on the device, but it is said that the aperture will be large (f/1.9) and the sensor will be capable of taking pictures in RAW format. Also, the display is expected to be QHD.

Overall, the new HTC Aero is going to be a powerful device. If the Helio X20 is really this powerful, we might be looking at the new best smartphone chipset. Since the launch is on September 29, expect more details pretty soon.

The post HTC One A9 (Aero) With MT6797 deca-core chip hits Geekbench, beats Exynos 7420! appeared first on Gizmochina.