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Notebookcheck has received written confirmation from Google that it deliberately blocked the installation of benchmarks on its Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro devices during the review embargo period. It confirms our earlier report on the issue while raising questions about the company’s practices.

iQOO's upcoming flagship smartphones are said to be the subject of a new leak that consists of a photo of a heretofore-unseen handset in the wild. Should that be the case, the 12 and 12 Pro have undergone a potentially significant design upgrade over their 11-series predecessors. It involves a camera hump that, while mounted in one corner, is so big it virtually spans the entire rear panel.

Geekbench 6 founder John Poole has responded to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro benchmarking controversy. In exclusive comments obtained by Notebookcheck, Poole says Primate Labs is unaware of any issues with compatibility that might have otherwise resulted in the app from being made unavailable to reviewers.

Anyone using a Google Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro can customize the look of the smartphone in numerous ways thanks to the Casetify Impact case. Casetify not only promises protection for Google's new flagships, but above all offers a gigantic selection of more than 900 designs.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 will soon come onto the market as a stylish retro edition, which can now be seen in leaked images. Meanwhile, Samsung claims that the functionality of the large secondary display has been significantly expanded over the past few months.

OnePlus has now started teasing the release of a new flagship, a day after debuting its first foldable. Described as a 'moment of historical significance for Chinese screens', the OnePlus 12 could make its debut as soon as next week with the world's first 3,000-nit smartphone display.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro may have one of the best camera systems around, but it cannot match the might of some of its competitors. In a reversal of last year, Google's latest flagship falls short of its Apple and Huawei equivalents, with there being a small gap between it and its predecessor this year, too.

PCIe 4.0 is finally coming to microSD Express cards, doubling the maximum speed to 1,969 MB/s. The latest SD 9.1 specs are also defining four SD Express classes with minimum read/write speeds between 150 and 600 MB/s, as well as offering improved power and heat management for all types of cards.

Popular YouTuber @Mrwhosetheboss has singled out the Google Tensor G3 as a major failing of the Pixel 8 Pro. According to the YouTuber, all of the new generative AI features found on the Pixel 8 Pro cannot be processed onboard the device, but need to be off-loaded to the cloud for processing, despite Google pitching the device as being “AI-first.”

A typically reliable leaker has shared details about Samsung's planned launch colours for the Galaxy S24 series. Due in January 2024, the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Ultra are all rumoured to be available in four identical launch colours with three additional online exclusive colours too.

The Redmi Note 13 series of potentially affordable new Android smartphones seems poised to go global very soon, with two of its members successfully completing FCC testing. They are the top-end Pro Plus (or Pro+) model, accompanied by what is probably the international version of the vanilla 13. Both have exhibited MIUI 14, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth and NFC in their new certifications.

OnePlus claims to have made one of the lightest, yet most durable, foldable smartphones of 2023 in its new Open. It boasts a new kind of hinge made of multiple high-tech materials, titanium alloy, carbon fiber and more exotic compounds included. They are touted to "surpass surgical stainless steel" in conferring an estimated 10 years of resilience on the new device.

Oppo has decided to launch the Find N3 Flip globally, nearly two months after the foldable's debut. The Find N3 Flip shares little to similarities with the Find N3 though, which Oppo also showcased today.

Oppo has finally unveiled the Find N3, shortly before OnePlus presents the OnePlus Open. The Find N3 will be the first member of the Find N series to be available outside China. The Oppo Find N3 is much taller than the Find N2, though.

An official teaser released on Weibo has confirmed that the Xiaomi 14 series will feature Leica’s higher end Summilux lenses, and will launch in China later this month. Summilux lenses are known for better low-light performance than Leica’s Summicron lenses, thanks to a wider F/1.4 aperture.

Honor has lifted the lid on the X9b, a new large smartphone based around a Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset. Set to be released in Sunrise Orange, Midnight Black and Emerald Green colours, the Honor X9b also has a 120 Hz OLED display backed by a 5,800 mAh battery.

Honor has presented the Play 8T, a mid-range smartphone equipped with a 1080p and 90 Hz display. The Honor Play 8T also has a 6,000 mAh battery, a 50 MP dual camera set-up and 12 GB of RAM, among other features.

Xiaomi is gearing to release HyperOS, its follow-up to MIUI 14. Currently, the company is expected to introduce HyperOS later this month alongside the Xiaomi 14 series. In the meantime, numerous screenshots of HyperOS have leaked online in which visual differences from MIUI can be seen.

With next month's MediaTek Dimensity 7050-powered V30 Pro rugged Android 13 handset, Doogee will push the limits of this niche once again. This time, the brand is raising the bar in the camera and storage categories by offering a 200 MP main camera and no less than 512 GB internal storage space.

Huawei has unleashed its latest flagship TWS earbuds on markets such as Germany today (October 18, 2023). The "Intelligent ANC 3.0" accessories are touted as even more stylish and comfortable than ever before, and to have up to 31 hours of battery life. They have launched at a price of US$212 and are bundled with the chance to get the OEM's latest fitness tracker as well at a potentially significant discount.

Samsung has released Beta 7 for One UI 6 public beta testers. The company has added stable builds for the Galaxy S23 to its test servers though, among other hints that the company is on the brink of delivering its first batch of Android 14 updates.

According to a new report, Samsung will bring LTPO backplanes to all its Galaxy S series flagships next year with the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus and Galaxy S24 Ultra. The Galaxy S24 series is said to match its new flagship competitors with significantly high peak brightness values too.

P-UP World has released a flip phone that returns to the roots of the form factor. Rather than using a foldable OLED display, the Mode 1 Retro II has a pair of small displays and physical controls for equivalent to US$199 in Japan.

Xiaomi appears to be readying itself for the imminent release of the Xiaomi 14 series. Not only has CEO Lei Jun showcased what may well be the front of the smaller Xiaomi 14, but the back of both the Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Pro may have also been seen from afar.

Xiaomi has announced its indigenously developed Hyper OS will power the Xiaomi 14 series. It will be available globally and eventually replace MIUI on new and existing devices.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is expected to make a considerable performance leap in Europe thanks to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy. A benchmark leak now shows that Samsung's next-generation flagship achieves almost twice the graphics performance as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

Realme's first Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered smartphone is tipped to launch as the GT5 Pro. It is thought to ditch its existing vanilla sibling's look for one associated more with super-flagships such as the Xiaomi 13 Ultra. Its camera hump is said to be packed with the latest lenses for 2024 devices, and its display an upgrade on its predecessor.

Nubia is making progress with its next-gen flagship Android smartphones from its mobile gaming brand RedMagic, according to a new leak. It comes courtesy of the Wi-Fi Alliance, which has cleared two new devices from the OEM to use fast wireless connectivity. The standards specified hint at a class-leading SoC in the rumored 9 series.

According to a report from a typically reliable leaker, OnePlus is developing the OnePlus 12 with a new display. If correct, it would see the OnePlus 12 overtaking the Pixel 8 Pro as the brightest flagship smartphone with global availability.

OUKITEL has begun selling the WP23 Pro, a rugged smartphone based around a 10,600 mAh battery, a 6.52-inch display and a UNISOC Tiger T606 chipset. Available in three colours, the OUKITEL WP23 Pro also runs Android 13 and costs less than US$170 at launch.

Reportedly, Samsung has chosen the location for its next Galaxy Unpacked launch event. While unconfirmed for now, the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus and Galaxy S24 Ultra are all rumoured to debut in the vicinity of Apple's headquarters.

Oukitel has reportedly showcased its latest smartphone as the first of its line to debut with the same ultra-fast-charging technology as some much higher-end Android devices. The WP30 Pro is also touted to sport a rear-mounted display as well as its main 120Hz screen, and to have a primary camera with a resolution that is also in triple figures.

Samsung is now slated to have a new option in the mid-range Android smartphone market for 2024 or possibly even late 2023: the Galaxy M44. It has been identified as a 5G device in a new tip, which also confirms its model number and Bluetooth specs. Based on the latter alone, it is shaping up to be an affordable enough new handset on its release.

Google has lifted the block it placed on the ability for users to freely install benchmarking apps on its Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones. The block had been in place during the review embargo period but extended past the on sale period where customers purchasing the devices couldn’t install benchmarks on their new Pixels either.

Keeping with its predecessors, the Google Pixel 8 Pro seemingly does not aspire to greater performance heights. The new Google flagship phone fails to match its competitors in the GPU performance department, effectively only delivering graphical prowess on par with flagship chipsets released two years ago.

In September, Apple had problems with increased radiation exposure in an iPhone, which led to a sales stop of the affected smartphone in France. Apple has now spoken in more detail about the corresponding software update and clarified that the reduction of the transmission power could certainly cause problems.

The Galaxy A05s is one of the newest and also cheapest Android smartphones from Samsung around. Now, it is reportedly on the way to India with a launch event scheduled for later in October 2023. Its RAM options for this country have leaked out in advance, however, which explains the attractive feature mentioned in its first official poster for its new market.

OnePlus has confirmed that its first ever foldable Android device will also be its first smartphone to use a Sony LYTIA camera sensor. It is touted to have a cutting-edge double-stacked structure and to be tuned by Hasselblad for "exceptional imaging". The brand-first main shooter is also tipped to be joined by a new zoom lens also thought to feature in the successor to the conventional flagship OnePlus 11.

The Xiaomi 13T Pro impressed us in our test with its powerful performance and very good Leica main camera. In comparison to the predecessor generation, lots has been improved on, meaning its many new features should make themselves well known in everyday use.

The Pixel 8 Pro's Tensor G3 averaged an average of 33.5 FPS in Genshin Impact at High Settings. The phone also heats up a lot, with its surface temperature hovering at around 42 degrees Celcius.

Compared to the leaks from the last few weeks before the launch of the Pixel 8, some features did not make it into the final version of Android 14 or into the new Google apps. For example, the desktop mode in the style of Samsung's DeX stands out, but a camera feature heavily advertised by Samsung is only likely to appear in the Pixel 9 in 2024.

Google has taken the extraordinary step to block reviewers from being able to download popular chip testing benchmarks directly through its Play Store, surprising reviewers of its latest Pixel 8 series smartphones. Incredibly, the company has extended this block to include all new customers of its Pixel 8 phones following the launch, in attempt to suppress the widespread distribution of results.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy's Adreno GPU managed to outperform the Exynos 2400's Xclipse 940 in Geekbench's Vulkan and OpenCL benchmarks.

Huawei is now said to update its Nova line of smartphone with a 12 series of an all-new appearance and potentially upgraded specs. They allegedly include the newest Kirin SoC, said to go to the vanilla model along with triple rear cameras and faster charging. The 12 Pro, on the other hand, might get dual 50MP shooters and the same processor as the top-end Mate X5 foldable.

Qualcomm has revealed that it will cut over 1,200 jobs, or those of about 2.5% of its current employees, later in 2023. All of the affected staff members are located in the same region, although they will be obliged to leave their posts in two different facilities within it. Nevertheless, the OEM has announced its intention to keep investing in different business areas at around the same time.