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Showing posts from October, 2020

Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro long-term review

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  Introduction It just turned ten, but Xiaomi already feels like a grownup, and that's especially because of the Mi 10 Pro, which looks like it's the company's first true flagship. Sure, it's dabbled in 'flagship killers' a lot in the past, with good results, but the Mi 10 Pro seems like it's the first phone by Xiaomi that wasn't necessarily built to accommodate a specific price point. So what happens when you give Xiaomi designers and engineers free rein to come up with the best device they can think of in 2020? That's what we were trying to find out, so we used the Mi 10 Pro for an extended period of time to figure out how good the first no holds barred Xiaomi flagship actually is in day to day use, when you live with it in real life, outside of the confines of lab testing and the likes. Speaking of likes, spoiler alert - we have a lot of those. But as by now, you're probably used to reading, no one smartphone can be perfect for everyone, and t

Realme 7 Pro review

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  Indeed, the Realme 7 Pro is hardly an update over the Realme 6 Pro. While it does bring a Super AMOLED screen, it's a smaller panel and omits high refresh rate support. Realme has made various polls on the social networks asking users to choose between a 60Hz OLED and 90HZ LCD, and the people have spoken. The Realme 7 Pro has also lost the telephoto camera and the ultrawide selfie shooter, but it gained new features like stereo speakers and 65W SuperDart Charging. While the phone has shrunk in size a bit due to its .2" smaller screen, it didn't lose any of the battery capacity - just on the contrary. The Realme 7 Pro is powered by a 4,500 mAh battery - up from 4,300 mAh in the 6 Pro. As we mentioned, it supports 65W fast charging, which should get you from flat to full in 34 mins. We'll see about that in a bit. The camera setup on the back is your typical quad-camera on the cheap - a 64MP primary, am 8MP ultrawide, a 2MP macro, and a 2MP depth sensor. There is no tel

Samsung Galaxy Tab A7, Galaxy Fit2 are official, Wireless Charging Trio comes along

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  Alongside the   partial Galaxy A42 5G announcement , Samsung lifted the veil off its latest tablet, smart tracker and wireless charger. Say hello to the   Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 , Samsung Galaxy Fit2 and Wireless Charging Trio. The Galaxy Tab A7 is the latest affordable slate by the Korean company, but don't confuse it with the dated  Galaxy Tab A 7.0 (2016) . This one comes with a 10.4” TFT with a resolution of 2000x1200 pixels and about 80% screen-to-body ratio. The new tablet is powered by an unspecified octa-core CPU (3 cores running at 2GHz, the rest at1.8 GHz), coupled with 3GB RAM and 32GB or 64GB storage (there’s a slot for microSD as well). A quartet of speakers makes sure it will offer more immersive multimedia experience than the majority of its direct rivals.     Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 The rear camera is 8MP, the one on the front is 5MP, and this tablet comes with a 7,040 mAh battery, charged through the USB-C port. Next to it, we can see a 3.5 mm audio jack. Connectivi

Samsung Galaxy Fit2 arrives in India

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  The Samsung Galaxy Fit2   announced   last month has arrived in India. It's priced at INR3,999 ($55/€45), comes in Black and Scarlet colors, and will go on sale later today through Samsung's official website, Amazon.in, and select offline retails stores across the country. The Galaxy Fit2 sports a 1.1" color AMOLED screen of 294x196 pixels with 3D curved glass and features a multi-function touch button. The smartband comes with activity and sleep tracking and can also measure your heart rate and stress levels. Additionally, it reminds you to wash your hands at regular intervals keeping the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in mind. The Galaxy Fit2 is IP68 dust and water-resistant and ships with a 159 mAh battery, which is claimed to offer 15 to 21 days of endurance on a single charge.

Samsung Galaxy S9-series start receiving One UI 2.5

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  The firmware version of the software is   G96xFXXUCFTJ2   and users getting the update are from Germany but, baring the discovery of any major issues, it won't be long before users from other countries tart receiving it. One of the most notable features coming with the One UI 2.5 is the wireless DeX support along with Samsung's newer, smarter keyboard with enhanced functionality and the ability to search directly on YouTube.

Meizu launches premium UR Live Special Edition earphones

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  Meizu just launched a pair of Premium wireless earphones in China with neckband. Starting at CNY 1,299 ($195), the Meizu UR Live Special Edition are among the most expensive products in this form factors. The earphones are marketed as compact without sacrificing audio quality. In fact, they have two customized subwoofers that take care of the low-frequency sounds along with a dual-channel independent conductive structure for accurate-sounding low-frequency and high-frequency sounds. When it comes to design, the headphones promise a natural fit thanks to the thousands of ear molds that Meizu has collected. There's an oxygen-free copper wire connecting the two earphones while the connectors and panels are made of carbon, gold and silver foil. Unfortunately, though, the specs given on the official landing page are all about sound quality and nothing about battery life. The frequency response range is between 20Hz and 40kHz, the impedance is 18Q and the sensitivity is 97dB@1kHz.

The OnePlus 8T

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  ZTE became the first company in the world to launch a smartphone with an under-display camera, but hasn't done much else of note this year. In fact it's only now about to introduce the first 2020 member of its affordable Blade family. This is suggested by the new ZTE phone with midrange specs that popped up on TENAA. The timing suggests a launch in time for the November 11 sales event, better known in China as the Singles’ Day that sees a lot of phone launches and promos.       ZTE Z8012N The ZTE 8012N phone comes with an LCD screen and a waterdrop notch for the selfie camera. Sadly, the diagonal and the resolution are not mentioned, but the front-facing shooter is confirmed to have an 8MP sensor. There is a triple camera setup on the back - an 48MP main unit, an 8MP snapper (likely ultrawide cam) and a 2MP auxiliary unit. The camera setup on the back, arranged in a black rectangle, has a fingerprint scanner next to it for the company. The eight-core CPU of this ZTE phone wil

OnePlus 8T sales in China hit $30 million in 10 minutes, now available in Europe and the US

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  The   OnePlus 8T   topped the sales charts at JD and Suning, two major online retailers in China. To put that in terms of cold, hard cash, during the first minute the phone raked in CNY 100 million, which doubled to CNY 200 million at the ten minute mark. That’s $15/€12.7 million and $30/€25.3 million, respectively. As you can imagine, the supply of available units ran out pretty quickly. The next sale in China is scheduled for 10:00 on October 22 and chances are that the units will run out fast once again.       OnePlus 8T sold CNY 200 million worth phones in 10 minutes If you’re in Europe or North America, you can pick up an 8T today. All the online stores we checked report that they are ready to ship the phone within 24 hours, so there’s no need to rush. Besides the official OnePlus.com online store, you can also look for the 8T at your local Amazon. Head over to  our hands-on review  for a detailed look at the new phone or  watch the hands-on video  for a quick look at what we th

OnePlus 9 to arrive earlier than its predecessor

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  We don't have an exact date of the OnePlus 9's launch yet, but the publication claims it will be launched sometime in mid-March next year, which should allow the Chinese phone maker's 2021 number series flagships to get more time on the store shelves before their T models arrive.   OnePlus 8 Details are scarce about the OnePlus 9 right now, but it's safe to say that the smartphone will come with the yet-to-be-announced Snapdragon 875 SoC and 65W charging. We also expect the OnePlus 9 to feature a 120Hz AMOLED display since the  freshly announced   OnePlus 8T  packs one. More details about the OnePlus 9 - which is codenamed " Lemonade " - should hopefully surface in the coming weeks.

Huawei Y7a announced: Kirin 710A SoC, 48MP quad camera, and 5,000 mAh battery

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  Huawei today added a new mid-range smartphone to its Y series, dubbed Huawei Y7a. It is built around a 6.67" FullHD+ LCD, that has a hole up top in the center for the 8MP selfie camera. Around the back, you get a 48MP primary camera that's joined by an 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro and 2MP depth sensor units. On the inside, the Huawei Y7a has a Kirin 710A SoC paired with 4GB RAM. The smartphone boots Android 10-based EMUI 10.1 sans Google services and has two storage options - 64GB and 128GB. The former will be restricted to Latin American markets, but you do get a memory card slot in both variants for storage expansion by up to 512GB. Completing the package is a side-mounted fingerprint reader, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB-C port, and a 5,000 mAh battery with 22.5W charging. All this might sound familiar to you because the Huawei Y7a is a rebranded  P Smart 2021  that was  announced  last month. The Huawei Y7a is priced at RM799 ($190/€160) for the 128GB variant and will go on sale

Xiaomi teases Redmi K30S, rumor has it that it will be cheaper than the K30 Ultra

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  Redmi’s General Manager posted a teaser on Weibo and the President of Xiaomi’s Mobile division responded to the post – this increased activity is building up to the unveiling of the   Redmi K30S . Which will happen on October 27, according to one tipster, who adds that the phone will go on sale on November 1, days before the shopping spree on 11/11 (Singles’ Day). We haven’t gotten an official confirmation for that date yet. Digital Chat Station  says that the price of the K30S will be lower than expected, lower than the Dimensity 1000+ powered  Redmi K30 Ultra . The K30S will use a Snapdragon 865 chipset instead, in fact a China Mobile slip up revealed that the phone is a  rebranded Mi 10T . TENAA published a  detailed spec sheet  a day later, confirming that this is indeed based on the 10T, which launched in Europe earlier this week, but is not available in China. As for price, the K30 Ultra is CNY 2,000 currently (€255) for the 6/128 GB model. That’s half what the Mi 10T costs in

French iPhone 12 comes in two boxes to accommodate EarPods

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  In 2020 Apple took a stand against unnecessary carbon emissions (and spending money on accessory production) and took away the charger and earbuds from the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro retail package, as well as from that of the iPhone 11, SE (2020) and XR. But France requires manufacturers to ship headphones with phones by law, so Apple had to accommodate the EarPods with its iPhones. But because Apple's new smaller iPhone retail box is standard across the globe, it packed it inside a bigger box that contains the EarPods. Note that Apple still doesn't include a charger, just the earbuds. Big box holds EarPods and new standard small iPhone box Apple advises its customers to use existing chargers and EarPods, but also  sells a new  $19/€25 20W wired charger and $39/€45 wireless MagSafe charger and has deducted $10 from the price of EarPods - now $19/€19.

LG Wing 5G review

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  Introduction LG has been struggling to captivate consumers with its smartphones in the past few years. We've witnessed them embark on a new strategic path by coming up with new and unusual products to reverse this trend. It began with second screens for their phones. However, the latest product to come out of LG's innovation lab is more than an extra attachment. The LG Wing 5G is slated to start a brand new Explorer series, which will take LG's knack for breathing life into novel smartphone concepts to the new heights. The Wing is nothing short of bold, fresh, and experimental in nature. It's the very definition of trying new things and going beyond absolute practicality. The concept of the Wing feels exciting and stimulating to bitter reviewers like ourselves who are used to seeing one and the same phone form factor over and over again. LG Wing 5G Body:  169.5x74.5x10.9mm, 260g; IP54 splash proof, Water-repellent coating, MIL-STD-810G compliant (does not guarantee ru

Huawei Mate 30E Pro makes quiet debut with Kirin 990E chipset

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Huawei had a big day today, announcing the  Mate 40 ,   Mate 40 Pro ,   Mate 40 Pro+ , and   Porsche Design Mate 40 RS . As it turns out, however, those four just weren't enough, and so the company quietly unveiled a fifth phone in its home market, China. This is the  Huawei Mate 30E Pro , which is now up for reservation in the country. It's basically identical to the  Mate 30 Pro  from last year, save for one difference: the new model is powered by a new chipset, the Kirin 990E. This is itself an improved version of the Kirin 990 that made its debut in the Mate 30 Pro. The Kirin 990E in the Mate 30E Pro still has two Cortex-A76 performance cores clocked at up to 2.86 GHz, but the other six cores get a boost. The additional pair of A76s now go up to 2.36 GHz (up from 2.09 GHz), while the four Cortex-A55s are clocked at 1.95 GHz (up from 1.86 GHz). On the GPU side, we still get a Mali-G76, but with two less cores - it's an MP14 in the 990E, whereas the 990 had an MP16. The K