Samsung seems to be working on a rollable smartphone to take on Huawei’s tri-fold device in 2025. More details on this and other news in today’s roundup.

Today’s Tech Highlights:

1. Google’s 2025 Pixel Lineup Leak: Get more details into the rumored plans for Google’s extensive Pixel phone lineup for 2025, hinting at another year of diverse offerings.
2. Samsung’s Ambitious Rollable Phone: More details on Samsung’s innovative rollable phone concept, potentially offering a larger display than Huawei’s tri-fold device.
3. HMD Skyline’s Nostalgic Design: Know more about the launch of HMD’s new smartphone in India, featuring a design reminiscent of the beloved Nokia Lumia series.
4. Red Magic’s Powerhouse Gaming Tablet: Get the scoop on the world’s first gaming tablet featuring the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, set to launch globally as the Red Magic Nova.

Plus, don’t miss our roundup of other exciting stories, including Huawei’s global tablet launch, Xiaomi’s new budget 4K TVs, Infinix’s teased foldable phone, and the impressive repairability score of Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold!

2025 Pixel lineup leaks, five new phones are coming

It looks like Google isn’t hitting the brakes on its ever-expanding Pixel lineup. After launching a wave of five phones in 2024, a new leak suggests the company might be planning a repeat performance in 2025.

Samsung’s rollable phone reportedly packs a much larger display than Huawei’s tri-fold

Back in 2021, a patent application from Samsung about its rollable phone surfaced on the web. Since then, the development of the rollable phone has appeared in the news several times. The company’s first rollable phone was speculated to launch in 2025. After almost a year, we finally have some new information about the rollable phone.

HMD Skyline Launched In India With Lumia Like Design, Gen2 Repairability

HMD has introduced a new smartphone in India. The latest offering is the HMD Skyline which debuted globally few months ago. It takes you back to the Nokia Lumia era with the design.

World’s First Gaming Tablet with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Version launching soon

Red Magic is gearing up to launch its new gaming tablet, the Red Magic Nova, in the global market. The tablet, which was previously unveiled in China as the Red Magic Tablet Pro, is set to hit shelves on September 27th at 8:00 AM EST.

More Top Stories You Might Have Missed

• Huawei MatePad Pro 12.2 global launch is set for later this week
• Xiaomi’s New Budget 4K TVs Drop in 2 Screen Sizes
• Infinix Zero Flip officially teased, leaked image reveals complete design
• Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold Scores High in Repairability Test

The post GC Daily: Samsung to take on Huawei with a rollable, HMD Skyline with Lumia-like design launched appeared first on Gizmochina.

Smartphones have become an essential part of our lives, but they are also getting bigger and heavier as they pack more features and functions. Nowadays, you can really feel the heavy weight of the latest glass sandwich in the pocket of your pants. 

However, some technologies are emerging that could make smartphones thinner and lighter in the coming future. Here are the 3 technologies you might not know that will make smartphones thinner in the next 5 years.

1. Graphene Batteries

Graphene is a material made of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. It has many remarkable properties, such as high strength, flexibility, conductivity and transparency. Graphene batteries are expected to offer higher energy density, faster charging and a longer lifespan than conventional lithium-ion batteries. And smartphone manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Samsung are researching new battery tech such as graphene could enable high-capacity batteries in a smaller form factor. In turn, it translates to thinner and lighter smartphones with longer battery life.

2. Rollable Displays

Rollable displays are flexible screens that can be rolled up or folded when not in use. They can offer larger display sizes without increasing the device’s footprint or weight. Rollable displays are based on organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology, which produces bright and vivid colours with low power consumption. Some smartphone makers, such as Motorola and Samsung, have already showcased their prototypes of rollable smartphones that can expand or retract their screens with a simple button. 

For example, Motorola showcased the Motorola Rizr rollable at MWC Barcelona 2023, where the device is housed within a small 5-inch form factor but can transform into a 6.5-inch screen when fully rolled out. And in turn, you can still have the big screen in a small and thinner package.

3. Under-Display Cameras

Last on the list is under-display cameras. Under-display cameras are cameras that are hidden under the screen of a smartphone, eliminating the need for a notch or a hole-punch cutout. This can create a more immersive and seamless viewing experience for the user, and then the phones need not carve more screen space. Thus, no notch translates to less distraction, less extra screen space needed, and more importantly, a thinner and smaller smartphone overall.

Under-display cameras (UDC) use transparent OLED pixels that can switch between displaying content and letting light pass through to the camera sensor. Some smartphone makers, such as ZTE and Xiaomi, have already launched smartphones with under-display cameras. The technology is still in its early stages and it is expected that UDC image quality and performance will improve rapidly in the next 5 years with proper development with support from the industry.

On the topic of under-display cameras, the latest flagship from ZTE – the Nubia Z50 Ultra features a notch-less 120Hz AMOLED display, the latest and fastest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC from Qualcomm and more importantly a next-generation under-display camera.

To learn more about the Nubia Z50 Ultra, you can learn more about the smartphone from our review here. The Nubia Z50 Ultra is available on Giztop starting from 699 USD.

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• Nubia Z50 Ultra Full Review: Men will definitely love it
• Nubia Z50 Ultra Launched with Notch-less 120Hz AMOLED display, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 64MP Triple Cameras

The post 3 Technologies that Will Make Smartphones Thinner in the Next 5 Years appeared first on Gizmochina.

As the fitness band market slowly matures into a saturation point like the current generation of slab smartphones, the next expected upgrade would be more screen real estate for the user to utilise. For smartphones, the next generational leap is set to be foldables, like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Oppo Find N, and rollables such as the Oppo X 2021 and TCL concept devices with their flexible displays. 

For fitness bands, Xiaomi seems to think that flexible displays are the future for fitness bands as well because the company has been developing a new design for its fitness bands by utilising flexible displays.

The news comes from one of China’s patent databases as Xiaomi recently got approved of its design patent to build a fitness band that includes a rollable-type flexible display in the build of the device. The design of the device is as follows, whereby ‘A’ is pointing at the section where the flexible display will be installed.

According to the patent listing, the name of the patent design is called “Smart Bracelet”, and its function is categorised under wearables. The patent highlights that the unique design of smart band focuses on the shape and ergonomics of the fitness band. 

The patent includes views of the design of the fitness band from multiple angles and it is as follows:

Xiaomi is not the first manufacturer that has experimented with flexible display for wearables, as back in 2020, Nubia had released its Nubia Watch with a flexible display that rolled up until it could wrap the front of your wrists. 

The Nubia Watch features a 4.01-inch super flexible AMOLED screen that tends to wrap around the wrist. The dial is made from a lightweight aluminium alloy manufactured using a nano-injection process while it uses biomedical-grade ceramics on the side. The overall lightweight design makes it lighter to wear.

The Nubia Watch was launched on Kickstarter and carried a starting price of $179 in September 2020.

RELATED:

• Xiaomi Watch S1 Active, Xiaomi 12, 12X, 12 Pro renders for global markets leaked
• Xiaomi Mi Band 7 first leaks reveal bigger display, AOD, built-in GPS & more
• Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold becomes the cheapest horizontally foldable phone money can buy
• Upcoming Smartphones in March 2022: Apple, Samsung, Nothing, Xiaomi & more

(Via)

The post Xiaomi is Developing Rollable Display Technology for Fitness Bands – Patent Reveals appeared first on Gizmochina.

Back in November of last year, the Oppo X 2021 Rollable Concept Smartphone was unveiled. Now, its seems like Xiaomi is also working on a rollable design of its own after a recent patent has surfaced revealing a scroll like smartphone design.

The Chinese tech giant is working on a stretchable smartphone as well with a bold new design. The new patent was spotted on Qicha that was filed back in March and published earlier today (12th May 2021), carrying a publication number CN306531897S. As per the patent description, the company states that the product is a rollable smartphone design, which also includes the housing region that stores the display in a rolled up and unfolded state as well.

Looking at the images in the patent, we can see that the housing for the display adopts a cylindrical design, with the device having a speaker on the top and a camera on on side. Talking about the patented smartphone’s most interesting aspect, the flexible display can be pulled out of the cylinder housing which resembles a paper scroll design.

Unfortunately, it is currently unknown if the company is actually woring on such a product or is just covering all bases. Furthermore, the design and viability of the product is still questionable considering the unfurled display might be soft and prone to being damaged once pulled out by an accident. So stay tuned for more updates regarding this patent.

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• Xiaomi Mi Multi coil Fast Wireless Charging Pad is now on sale in China; buy yours from GizTop
• Xiaomi and US Department of Defense issues Joint Status Report for lawsuit settlement

The post Xiaomi patents a Rollable Scroll like Smartphone design appeared first on Gizmochina.

DSCC (Display Supply Chain Consultants) has released its new report on foldable displays for March 2021. According to the report, Samsung and Samsung Display will continue to remain dominant throughout this year, just like 2020. However, unlike the previous year, the shipments will see momentum only in the second half of 2021.

Foldable and Rollable Smartphones Performance Q4 2020

As per DSCC’s latest report, shipments of foldable smartphones grew 54% QoQ and 242% YoY in Q4 2020. Samsung Electronics was the leading brand in the fourth quarter of last year with a whopping 91% market share based on units.

Samsung Electronics led the foldable smartphone market throughout 2020 with an 87% unit market share. The overall market shipped 2.2 million units, which is 1000% more, compared to 2019.

Unsurprisingly, the Galaxy Z Flip was the most-shipped foldable smartphone with a 50% market share, followed by Galaxy Z Fold2. South Korea accounted for more than 50% share of Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Flip 5G worldwide.

Foldable and Rollable Smartphones Forecast 2021

According to Ross Young, the CEO of DSCC, Samsung Electronics has delayed the launch of its next-generation foldable smartphones until Q3 2021. The South Korean tech giant is expected to release at least three foldables. 

The Galaxy Z Fold series could replace the Galaxy Note series as the company’s second flagship series after the Galaxy S series. Additionally, the firm is also expected to launch a more-affordable Galaxy Z Flip clamshell foldable smartphone.

Further, Samsung Display, the sister company of Samsung Electronics will start selling foldable displays with UTG (Ultra-Thin Glass) to other brands in H2 2021. A total of at least 12 different foldable and rollable smartphones from 8 brands are expected to release in the market in the second half of this year.

Samsung Electronics is forecasted to lead the foldable and rollable smartphone market with an 81% unit share and a 76% revenue share in 2021. On the other hand, Samsung Display’s unit market share will increase from 83.5% in 2020 to 87% in 2021 since it will be selling displays to other brands in H2 2021.

However, the shipments of the entire foldable smartphone market are expected to surge by only 1% YoY and 40% YoY in Q1 2021 and Q2 2021 respectively. But the shipments should shoot up over 100% in the remaining quarters (Q3, Q4).

More than 5.1 million foldable and rollable smartphones are expected to be shipped this year. More than 3 million of these shipments are said to happen in Q4 2021. In other words, unit shipments could grow up to 128% while revenue may increment up to 137% to $8.6 billion, as compared to 2020.

Foldable smartphones with Galaxy Z Fold-like form factor (book-type) are expected to account for 49% of foldable and rollable smartphone revenues in 2021, up from 39% in 2020. That’s because new entrants in this category, like Google, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi are reported to release phones with the said form factor.

Last but not least, as per Ross Young, the devices from new entrants will feature in-folding displays as small as 7.1-inch and as large as 8.2-inch, in addition to sub-7-inch clamshell foldable phones.

RELATED:

• Leaker confirms Honor Magic will be a foldable; new mid-range phones and a tablet are coming soon too
• Samsung offers a 3 day trial for its foldable smartphones in South Korea
• Apple may launch 8-inch foldable iPhone in 2023: Ming-Chi Kuo
• BOE showcases a 360° foldable display prototype

The post Over 5.1 million foldable and rollable phones expected in 2021 from 8 different brands: DSCC appeared first on Gizmochina.

Samsung is the market leader in both regular smartphones as well as foldables. But now, all eyes are on rollables, thanks to OPPO X 2021 concept smartphone. However, there’s no solid report on Samsung launching a such smartphone in near future. Nevertheless, a concept video has been released by a well-known patent-related publication in collaboration with a popular concept designer.

According to a report, the launch of Galaxy Z Fold3 with S Pen stylus in June 2021 will mark the end of the Galaxy Note series. And it totally makes sense as the upcoming Galaxy S21 Ultra is said to have support for S Pen but will not have a silo to accommodate it. In other words, interested customers can pick up the stylus as an additional accessory if required. Above all, the Galaxy Z Fold series has always been looked at as the successor to the popular Galaxy Note series. 

Ahead of this report, LetsGoDigital and Concept Creator (Jermaine Smit) started working on a concept design for Galaxy Note as a rollable smartphone. Coincidentally, their video was released earlier today, a day after the report on the discontinuation of Galaxy Note.

That said, one might be wondering why not imagine a Galaxy Note as a Galaxy Z Fold foldable smartphones as it is intended to. We think the publication and the designer went with the rollable form factor because it simply feels refreshing and there have been already plenty of Galaxy Z Fold2 concepts with an S Pen stylus.

EDITOR’S PICK: Samsung reaches an all time high share in global TV market

With that out of the way, let us discuss this concept design. First and foremost, this design is inspired by the forthcoming Galaxy S21 series, however, it also includes design cues from the current-gen Galaxy Note20 series.

For instance, the triple camera module looks straight out of the Galaxy S21 smartphones. Whereas, the boxy footprint along with S Pen silo a the bottom right corner tells us that it is indeed a Galaxy Note. As an added bonus, Jermaine, the designer has also included stereo speakers and the fan-favorite 3.5mm headphone jack.

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Lastly and most importantly, the display with an in-screen camera can be unrolled by pulling the left side of the phone. The separation part remains hidden in normal mode as a result of a dual-tone finish that runs along the camera array with Samsung branding at the bottom.

Having said that, what are your thoughts on this design? Should Samsung release a similarly designed smartphone in the future? Do let us know in the comment section below.

UP NEXT: Samsung to pioneer its own UD Camera tech on the Galaxy Z Fold 3

The post A concept design imagines Galaxy Note as a rollable smartphone appeared first on Gizmochina.