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Apple is rumoured to announce the third-generation of the iPhone SE in a few months, with April targeted as a release date for the budget handset. Concept renders have shown what the device might look like too, but only if Apple decides to give an affordable iPhone a modern design.

Samsung may have committed to delivering three OS updates to its smartphones and tablets, but it remains conservative in other areas regarding Android updates. The Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra are the latest Samsung smartphones that do not support A/B seamless system updates, which has become standard among competitors. There is an advantage to not adopting seamless Android updates, though.

A Chinese retailer has hinted that the Xiaomi Redmi K40 series will be purchasable from the middle of next month. We may only be two weeks from the Redmi K40 series' debut though, which may coincide with New Year's Eve in China. Supposed hands-on images of the Redmi K40 Pro have appeared online too, but we are doubtful of their authenticity.

Earlier, the YouTuber Frankie Tech tested the Xiaomi Mi 11 and iQOO 7 - the only phones with the latest Snapdragon 888 processor at the time - in terms of their AnTuTu benchmarking performance, and found that both phones seemed to overheat in response. Now, the vlogger has pitted the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra against the Mi 11 in the same way, with interesting results.

Realme is mostly known for its phones and audio devices; however, like Xiaomi and Huawei before it, it is now rumored to get into the laptop game as well. According to a well-known leaker, the first of these new products will debut in June 2021. Meanwhile, the OEM has teased a new initiative called TechLife, which will launch in February.

MediaTek invented a whole new tier of its high-end mobile chipsets with the introduction of the Dimensity 1100 alongside its outright flagship counterpart the 1200. A new leak indicates that Vivo has a device with this new premium-ish mid-range processor in the works. It is to have 12GB of RAM and an FHD+ display.

The OEM ZTE had a landmark 2020 in that it was first to launch a smartphone with a cutting-edge under-display selfie camera. Now, it has confirmed the existence of a phone with a name that not only sounds like a next generation for the Axon 20, but is a Pro variant as well. It is being hyped as a device with industry-leading cameras.

Thanks to prolific leaker @OnLeaks, we have our first look at Sony's upcoming Xperia 1 III flagship smartphone. It features three rear cameras; one of which is a periscope lens. A side-mounted fingerprint sensor, an all-glass body and a programmable button are also included.

The Redmi K40 series has been all but confirmed to ship without a charger by default and it appears the Redmi Note 10 series could also tow that path. Redmi executive Lu Weibing has now heavily hinted as much, which could pave the way for budget and mid-range phones to also not ship without a charging brick.

Micron has launched its latest form of DRAM, which is also now in volume production. It is based on the company's 1-alpha (1α, or fourth-generation) 10 nanometer (nm) node, and also incorporates 176-layer NAND for the first time. Micron asserts that has up to 40% more memory cells, and is up to 15% more power-efficient, than its predecessor.

The tipster Digital Chat Station claims to have found new premium phones from Meizu on the 3C regulatory website. One might be called the 18 and support 30-watt (W) charging, while the other might be a 40W 18 Pro. However, despite these specs, it is said that the company will follow Apple and Samsung's example in leaving the necessary power bricks out of their retail boxes.

Shortly after its release, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has landed in Jerry's hands for the usual torture session. Thankfully for the OEM and its fans, the new handset lives up to the expectations overall, although its durability alone does not justify the quite painful price of US$1,200.

The Sony Xperia 10 II is finally receiving the Android 11 update. Its version number is 59.1.A.0.485, and it is approximately 1GB in size. Apart from the usual Android 11 features, the update also adds a new Battery Care feature.

A new Xiaomi patent for an “electronic device” has given an idea of what the heir apparent to the stalled Mi Mix line could look like or what it could feature. The potential Xiaomi Mi Mix smartphone in this patent has a slider mechanism that can be voice activated, and it has a display that wraps over the bottom edge and onto the rear side.

LG has added more features to the Wing with its latest software update. Currently rolling out in South Korea, V11b-Jan-19-2021 adds dedicated scroll functionality to the second screen's touchpad, among other changes.

Xiaomi has submitted another Redmi smartphone with the FCC, the EEC and the TKDN. This time, the M2101K7AG has been certified, which is believed to be the Redmi Note 10. The listings confirm that the M2101K7AG will receive a global launch. Meanwhile, the Redmi General Manager Lu Weibing has begun teasing the launch of the Redmi Note 10 series.

ZTE has launched a new low-cost 5G-ready smartphone. The ZTE Blade X1 5G features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G SoC, four rear cameras, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, NFC, and a 4,000mAh battery. It is exclusive to Visible and costs US$384

Sony has finally announced the Xperia PRO's price, and it is absurd when compared to the going-rate of modern flagship smartphones. Comparing the Xperia PRO against professional-grade camera monitors puts the smartphone in a better light, but it is still effectively just an Xperia 1 II with an HDMI input.

Apple has updated some product safety material found in the Support section of its website to clarify the potential of its new MagSafe feature to interfere with pacemakers. It notes that, while the extra magnetism involved should not make the technology more dangerous than the average wireless-charging device or accessory, a user with a medical device should keep it a certain distance away from the relevant devices.

Wireless smart tags for possession-tracking seem to be one of the major trends for mobile device OEMs in 2021. According to a new patent application discovered on the CNIPA database, OPPO may be the next to jump onto this bandwagon. Its new Bluetooth tag looks much like that of Samsung's, although there are no indications as yet that the two would work in the exact same way.

Huawei has now blessed owners of the Mate 10 Pro with yet another update after the last one was sent out back in October. The update brings a security patch for some major vulnerabilities, which should gladden the hearts of Mate 20 Pro owners after their phones were delisted from Huawei's update schedule this month.

The DOOGEE S88 Pro stood out among toughphones with its 10,000mAh battery and the "robot-eye" LEDs in its rear panel. The new S88 Plus retains these, but also comes with 8GB of RAM, as opposed to 6GB in its predecessor. It also packs reverse wireless charging so as to share its giant capacity in an emergency, and has a special introductory price for its launch on AliExpress.

A few months after the latest reports concerning its arrival, the next-gen Samsung Galaxy XCover surfaces on Geekbench. The list of specs does not include 5G, or at least the 5G variant is not ready yet. The SM-G525F handset runs on Android 11 and is powered by Samsung's Exynos 850 processor, paired with 4 GB of memory.

The Samsung Health Monitor app has finally acquired the CE mark of approval in Europe. This means that the Galaxy Watch3 can finally use its electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood-pressure monitoring features, as can the Galaxy Watch Active2, across the European Economic Area (EEA). This is also true of the UK, UAE, Chilean and Indonesian markets.

Motorola's newest affordable flagship is finally here. The Motorola Edge S comes with an impressive spec sheet that includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset, a 6.7-inch LCD screen clocked at 90Hz, four rear cameras, two selfie cameras, and a 5,000mAh battery that supports fast charging at 20W. It has been launched in China for RMB 1,999 (US$310).

Well-known Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station says that Xiaomi will reportedly relaunch the Mi 10 soon. It will ship with Qualcomm's newest Snapdragon 870 SoC. The remaining Mi 10 specifications will remain identical. Xiaomi could launch the device alongside the Mi 11 Pro in February 2021.

An alleged live photo of the Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro has been shared on Chinese social media and has been met with something of a lukewarm response so far. The Snapdragon 888 phone has been called “ugly”, with the Mi 11 Pro having a large main camera system housing that stretches over a significant portion of the rear side.

A recent Cowen analysts' reports paints a rosy picture for Apple iPhone sales this year. The complete iPhone 12 lineup is expected to sell over 55 million units by the end of Q1 2021. The iPhone 12 Mini, however, Apple's budget play, continued to disappoint with lower-than-expected sales volume.

Samsung has partnered with Tesla to supply its cars with processors for their "auto-pilot" functions in the past, although the silicon in question has come from 14 nanometer (nm) process nodes. However, a Korean news outlet now asserts that these automotive SoCs are to evolve all the way to 5nm soon. They might control in-car entertainment as well as self-driving abilities in the future.

Blackview touted its Dimensity 800-powered BL6000 Pro as the "toughest 5G phone in the world" on its launch. Now, it has an upcoming successor, the BL8000, which upgrades to the Dimensity 1200 - MediaTek's new flagship SoC. This could make the impending device a very powerful rugged phone indeed.

Motorola seems to be carrying on with its new 2021 trend of resort island-based code-names for its upcoming budget phones. The latest of these is apparently the "Ibiza", a device rumored to launch with the new Snapdragon 480 SoC for budget 5G phones. It may also have been registered with the Wi-Fi Alliance, suggesting it will be here soon.

XDA contributors claim to have found code in the latest version of the OnePlus camera app for new features that are likely to launch alongside the upcoming 9 flagship series. They include distinctly pro-sounding abilities including Focus Peaking and Tilt-Shift. It seems the OEM is also going trendy with other features such as Moon Mode and Starburst.

Sony may have resurrected its Xperia Compact line, according to OnLeaks. The leaker has published multiple CAD renders of the device online, which reputedly is just 140 mm tall with a 5.5-inch display. While some people may be hoping for a new compact flagship smartphone from Sony, several design cues suggest that the handset will be a distinctly mid-range affair.

Sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters that Huawei is planning to sell the Huawei P and Huawei Mate line of smartphones to a consortium of investors affiliated with the Shanghai Government. Huawei has denied said report and states that it has no plans of selling any more of its assets.

A new leak suggests that Samsung's upcoming Exynos 1000 and Exynos 2000 series SoC could come with an AMD Radeon GPU. They are likely to be launched in Q2 or Q3 2021, presumably alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 21 or Galaxy Z Fold 3. Another forum post says that the Radeon-branded GPU manages to outperform the A14 Bionic.

Redmi general manager Lu Weibing has been hyping up the Redmi K40 smartphone on his Weibo channel. This time around, the executive has posted an image showing two Redmi K40 boxes – a thick one and a thin one. It seems Xiaomi is continuing with its no-charger option in a similar fashion to the launch of the Mi 11.

Xiaomi has announced that it sold over a million units of the Mi 11 in just 21 days. This comes after selling 350,000 units on the first day, and over 500,000 by the tenth. All of this translates into over US$600 million of revenue from Mi 11 sales alone, with the phone still yet to make its way outside China.

Millions of people search for news on Google or Facebook; therefore, those tech behemoths should pay media outlets for their content. At least, this is the Australian government's position in a dispute with the companies in question. Google has responded by threatening to deprive the country of its Search service.

The betas for Android's next major update may not be too far away at this point. This version is the one now rumored to implement a feature in which a phone can respond to double-taps on its rear panel to open shortcuts. Android 12 is also said to add App Pairs, a new form of split-screen mode, as well as more effective third-party app-market access.

Xiaomi has sent out the stable Android 11 update to a few of its phones, and the next in line is the Poco X2. The Poco mid-range phone is now receiving the stable beta Android 11 update along with the January security update. The Redmi Note 9 4G is getting its first taste of Android 11, too.

The Motorola Edge S might be the first Android device to launch with the new Snapdragon 870 SoC. According to a new allegedly official poster, this event is scheduled for later in January 2021. It also seems to confirm its quad rear cameras and color options.

The Galaxy A52 is an upcoming Samsung phone, the release of which is all but confirmed through new Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and Wi-Fi Alliance certifications. Then again, its additional specs, the Snapdragon 750G SoC included, have not been revealed in these new leaks.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro remains one of the most anticipated smartphones of 2021, despite the recent release of the Mi 11. Reputed cameras specifications claim that Xiaomi will utilise the Sony IMX766 for its next flagship capable of 120x digital zoom, which it will complement with a 48 MP telephoto camera, among other sensors.

Digital Chat Station has leaked more details about the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro. According to the whistleblower, the two devices will essentially have the same displays as the OnePlus 8T and OnePlus 8 Pro, but with smaller punch-holes for front-facing cameras.

OPPO is rumored to have a Lite version of its Find X3 2021 flagship smartphone in the works that is in fact a re-badged Reno5 5G. This idea has been given more weight by a new photo of what a prominent leaker asserts is this device's retail box. It shows a handset with very Reno-like rear cameras, presented on top of a large charging brick.

Honor has launched the V40 5G flagship smartphone. Although developed when Honor was still owned by Huawei, the device is the first to be launched by its new owners. This could help skirt the US ban on Huawei which means that it should be able to roll out to global markets with Google services on board.

As TSMC pushes ahead with their plans for 3nm FinFET lithography, Samsung's reportedly investing over US$10 billion in an Austin, TX facility to take their own 3nm manufacturing strategy forward.

Taiwanese chip makers MediaTek recently launched two new SoCs in the form of the Dimensity 1100 and Dimensity 1200. While neither chipset has appeared on any device yet, the latter has been slated to feature on an upcoming Realme phone—the Realme X9 Pro.

A shortlist of smartphones either already with or expected to feature LTPO screens in 2021 has revealed some interesting entrants and a notable absence. There is mention of an Apple iPhone 12s Pro, Huawei Mate 50 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, and even the Xiaomi Mi 12, but there seems to be no room for a Galaxy Note 21 here.