Top stories from last week: ZTE and Sony announce new flagships, TCL’s new foldable concept phone is lit, Microsoft has a new Surface Laptop, and more

Habeeb Onawole — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 00:48:59 +0000

Not a week goes by without at least one product announcement. Last week was packed with the launch of new phones from TCL, Sony, and ZTE as well as a new computer from Microsoft and a few new smartwatches. If you missed out on these announcements, then here is your chance to get up to speed with this recap of the top stories from last week:

LG Wing gets a massive price cut in India (and the US)

The LG Wing was the last major device from LG Mobile before it announced its exit from the smartphone business. This dual-screen device which launched for Rs 69,990 (~$940) in India is now available for less than half the price at Rs 29,999 (~$401). In the US, you can grab the phone for $600 (from T-Mobile) which is still a significant cut from its $999 launch price.

If you are wondering if this is a good buy, maybe the fact that there is practically no device like this will convince you. Also, even though it is no longer making phones, LG has promised that it will update the Wing through to Android 13. That is three OS upgrades in total as the phone launched with Android 10 out of the box.

Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop 4 comes in blue

If you are a fan of Microsoft’s Surface lineup, then you will like the new Surface Laptop 4. The new notebook is available in two sizes – 13.5 inches and 15-inches – and in Intel and AMD variants. There is also a new blue color that is exclusive to the 13.5-inch model. Microsoft also announced a couple of hardware to enhance your work from experience.

ZTE Axon 30 Pro and Axon 30 Ultra are the latest Chinese flagships

ZTE announced two new flagships last week – the Axon 30 Pro and the Axon 30 Ultra. Both are powered by the Snapdragon 888 processor and run MyOS based on Android 11, and that is pretty much where their similarities end.

The Ultra has a curved display with a 144Hz refresh rate, four rear cameras with three being 64MP sensors, a 4600mAh battery, and support for 66W fast charging. The Pro model has a flat display and drops the refresh rate to 120Hz refresh rate. It also has four rear cameras but only two of them are 64MP sensors and its battery is smaller at 4200mAh and charges slower at 55W.

Sony’s new Xperia flagships bring new camera features but no price tags yet

Sony also announced two new flagship phones last week – the Xperia 1 III and the Xperia 5 III. The new phones are the first in the industry to have a telephoto camera that can switch between two focal lengths (70mm and 105mm for 2.9x and 4.4x optical zoom). They both have a MicroSD card slot and audio jack, two features you will hardly find on a flagship these days. Sony has also increased the battery capacity and charging speed in both phones when compared to their predecessors.

If you don’t want a flagship, then there is the Xperia 10 III, a Snapdragon 690-powered phone. It has an OLED display like its more powerful siblings but drops the 120Hz high refresh rate for the standard 60Hz. While its battery capacity is the same at 4500mAh, it charges slower at 18W compared to the 30W the other two support.

New TCL 20 phones but the TCL Fold ‘n Roll is the device we want but can’t have

TCL announced new models for its TCL 20 series. There are four new models, all with impressive displays for their price range but the highlight of the launch was the TCL Fold ‘n Roll, a concept phone that has a display that not only unfolds but also unrolls.

New smartwatches

Huami announced an eSIM version of the Amazfit GTR 2 but it is exclusive to China for now. boAt, India’s leading wearable maker has a new square-faced watch called the Xplorer but it doesn’t have a temperature sensor like the new Timex Fit smartwatch and Mobvoi’s TicWatch GTH. ZTE also announced a leather version of its Watch GT smartwatch.

TCL Fold ‘n Roll is a 3-in-1 concept phone that folds and unrolls

Habeeb Onawole — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 16:08:02 +0000

TCL is known to experiment with flexible displays. The company has shown concept phones with different forms of foldable displays and another with a rollable display, however, it is yet to release a commercially available foldable phone. At its launch event today, it showed off another concept device called the TCL Fold ‘n Roll. This phone not only folds but also unrolls, making it a 3-in-1 device.

The TCL Fold n’ Roll in its default state has an outward folding design. This means that in its folded state, the flexible screen covers both the front and the back.

In its folded state (smartphone mode), the front/cover display measures 6.87-inches. When unfolded, the display is 8.85-inches in size; TCL calls this phablet mode. Finally, when the display rolls out, you have a 10-inch tablet. So three different modes but a single device.

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The device has two slits at the bottom which we believe are for the speaker. There is a USB-C port and what appears to be a stylus right beside it. There is also a button at the top and we can make out three cameras that double as both front-facing cameras and rear cameras.

Is that a stylus on the far right?

TCL says the Fold ‘n Roll is a concept device but showed albeit very briefly a working prototype. Nevertheless, the company does plan to release its first commercially available foldable device later this year.

TCL Fold 'n Roll Archives - Gizmochina

Top stories from last week: ZTE and Sony announce new flagships, TCL’s new foldable concept phone is lit, Microsoft has a new Surface Laptop, and more

TCL Fold ‘n Roll is a 3-in-1 concept phone that folds and unrolls