Phablet

Huawei made the potentially underwhelming choice to launch a new foldable mobile device with an outdated form-factor in 2022. However, the OEM is now tipped to have returned to a more Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4-like design in its successor. The "Mate X3" is said to have made it beyond the prototype stage and may now be close to launch.

While the Jabra Elite 7 Active TWS sports earbuds with adjustable ANC go as low as US$95.45 (47% discount, only for the Navy color), the less sporty Elite 7 Pro go down to US$119.99, after a 40% discount. Both feature Alexa integration, 6 mm custom speakers, customization and firmware updates via the Jabra Sound+ app, and more.

OPPO'S purported next-gen flagship Android smartphone, the Find X6 Pro, is now believed to have premium finish options that might include leather and ceramic in 2023. However, this potential appeal may have a catch: the device's pocketability. Its supposedly enlarged, upgraded camera hump might be a particularly prominent issue for some consumers.

A device newly registered by Motorola with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is thought to be the brand's next high-end Android smartphone due to its exceptionally fast top charging rate. It also has other features seen in its putative predecessor the Edge X30, also known as the 30 Pro.

OPPO has been tipped to release a second-gen foldable flagship Android smartphone with the potential advantage of reduced mass compared to its predecessor. Now, according to a famous leaker, it will be at least 13% lighter, in fact, possibly outdoing even a top-end iPhone in this regard. Should this new tip prove accurate, it could be a major win for the "Find N2" in its category.

Xiaomi has prepared a new Imaging Limited Edition gift-box for the 12S Ultra, which presents the super-premium smartphone alongside compatible filters. They can be screwed onto the smartphone thanks to a case with threads for its circular rear camera hump, and, according to the OEM, can get the best out of the device's main 1-inch Leica-branded camera sensor.

Sony has announced that the image sensors usually known as the IMX line are to be released under a new brand name going forward. The OEM believes that the new LYTIA moniker will reflect the quality and experience it aims to confer on its CMOS for the cameras found in the mobile devices of the near future. Its release may or may not coincide with the 20-year anniversary of Sony's presence in this business coming up in 2023.

Huawei's Kirin line of processors were once a main rival for Qualcomm's Snapdragon mobile SoC series, particularly at the higher end. However, they have been sanctioned out of existence by the US government. There have been rumors of their return in 2023; however, the OEM has reportedly dismissed them as fake news.

OPPO is a smartphone OEM strongly associated with some of the fastest charging in the industry, thanks to its own SuperVOOC technology. Currently, it goes up to 150W in market-ready devices, with 240W rumored to become the next available upgrade. This potentially blistering form of mobile device power tech is now rumored to debut in a new smartphone in early 2023.

Available for free with a new line, the new OnePlus Nord N300 5G has a full retail price that starts at US$228. This handset features a MediaTek Dimensity 810 processor, a generous 6.56-inch 90 Hz display, 4/64 GB of memory/storage, a 5000 mAh battery, and is only available in Midnight Jade finish.

Huawei is now strongly hinting at an upcoming new feature for its latest top-end foldable smartphone, the Mate Xs 2, to be unveiled during the OEM's upcoming Developer Conference. The upgrade could put the premium device on par with the latest iPhone 14 series in terms of cutting-edge innovations - then again, it might have its limits.

Vivo's press conference for the next generation of flagship-grade, Zeiss-branded, mobile camera solutions of today (October 24, 2022) has met with an initial leak suggesting how they will look in devices such as the rumored X90 premium Android smartphone series. They are touted to come with upgraded low-light and portrait performance, as well as a new dedicated image signal processor (ISP).

Samsung's official US webstore is holding a multi-day event during which a consumer can buy a new Galaxy S22-series device with 256GB of internal storage for the price of a 128GB base model. There are also deals on the new top-end Galaxy Z Fold4, as well as potentially improved trade-in offers.

Vivo's announcement that its "imaging strategy conference" for 2022 is imminent has led to speculation that the OEM will showcase new specs or features that could manifest in the successors to its "camera-centric" X80 smartphones. The upcoming Android devices are, for example, projected to feature a new in-house chipset that could control a 1-inch sensor in an X90-series flagship.

Honor is now said to have three new Android smartphones on the way with a different processor and main rear camera apiece. The base model of the bunch might get a new MediaTek SoC; however, the flagship might outshine it considerably with a top-end Snapdragon 8-series chipset and 200MP main shooter. Then again, all three are tipped to finally dispense with the design choices that have plagued their series for years now.

Samsung and China Telecom have just made the W23 - and W23 Flip - official. The high-end take on the existing Galaxy Z Fold4 has arrived alongside one on the latest Galaxy Z Flip for the first time. Both have been modified to have more RAM than standard SKUs, and to have a new high-end finish with more gold accents, ceramic finishes or both than usual.

Samsung has introduced the ISOCELL HPX as the latest in its steadily-growing portfolio of mobile image sensors with the current class-leading resolution of 200 megapixels (MP). It boasts the smallest pixel the OEM makes for CMOS of this caliber for recording at up to 8K/30fps, touted to deliver cinematic levels of image quality and color accuracy. It is also rated to use the Deep Trench Isolation (DTI) technique for potentially improved light sensitivity.

Motorola's latest effort in the foldable/rollable smartphone area, unveiled at the Lenovo Tech World 2022, is a 5-inch handset that extends to 6.5 inches by extending from the top, unlike similar concepts from other brands, which roll or fold from the side. Sadly, this is only a concept for now.

With 27 days left in the campaign, 77 backers, and US$13,872 pledged out of the US$19,574 goal, the UDU CONSOLE can be already considered beyond the "Kickstarter project looking for funding" stage. However, it might take a while for it to hit the market. If everything works as planned, shipments should start in April 2023.

Introduced in June 2022, Samsung's digital wallet platform is already very popular in major markets such as China, France, Germany, Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. By the end of the year, Samsung Wallet will reach 13 new markets, including Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.

China Telecom has validated rumors that it would debut a successor to its W22 5G of 2021. The carrier has yet to reveal its design, however; therefore, its status as a super-high-end re-brand for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 has yet to be confirmed outright. It may be unveiled as such in late October 2022.

Compared to last year's Pixel 6 lineup, the Google Pixel 7 family comes with a few solid improvements, one of them being the introduction of 10-bit HDR video support. Snapchat and TikTok will both support this on the Pixel 7, thus becoming the first Android apps to do so, with others expected to follow.

According to the data revealed by the company's preliminary earnings guidance, Samsung Electronics' operating profit took a nearly 32 percent dive in the third quarter, the first time it dropped in the last three years. This was most likely caused by the low demand for memory chips and came alongside a less than 3 percent revenue increase.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 impresses in our test with a robust and proven design. However, not much has changed compared to the Fold3. A new XXL foldable smartphone with a more user-friendly display format would have complemented the foldable Samsung lineup in a useful way.

Previously available for Samsung's more recent flagships like the Galaxy S22 series, Galaxy Z Fold 3, and the Galaxy Z Fold 4, the Expert RAW photography app is now gaining full support for more devices. The trio that joins the list consists of Galaxy S20 Ultra, Note 20 Ultra, and Galaxy Z Fold 2.

The latest Google Pixel 7 Pro specs sheet that comes from a Taiwanese mobile carrier confirms previously rumored details such as face and fingerprint unlocking, as well as 5X optical zoom. The 48 MP telephoto shooter joins the 50 MP + 12 MP ultrawide duo rumored to equip the vanilla Pixel 7.

Vivo has now acknowledged rumors of a launch for an even higher-end Plus version of its flagship-grade X80 Pro Android smartphone - however, it has also revealed that those plans have just been cancelled. The OEM has reportedly decided to redirect its efforts to a debut for next-gen X90-series devices instead, a Pro+ model included.

Apple continues to dominate DisplayMate's smartphone display rankings, as the brand's iPhone 14 Pro Max has just grabbed the crown from its predecessor, receiving the A+ rating. The highlights of this Samsung-made display include a peak brightness of over 2,300 nits, infinite contrast ratio, and more.

Two years and over one million units sold since its introduction, the MediaTek Helio G90-powered S96 Pro gets an update that keeps the overall design but improves the essentials. Doogee's S96 GT sports a MediaTek Helio G95, runs Android 12 out of the box, and is set to hit the market next month.

The latest set of specs reveal most of the essentials of the upcoming Google Pixel 7 handset, including a Tensor G2 SoC and a Titan chip, 8 GB of memory and up to 256 GB internal storage, Android 13, 4,700 mAh battery with 30 W fast charging and wireless charging, and more. However, all these are not confirmed by Google yet.

WhatsApp Companion mode, mentioned by rumors back in April, is a feature that allows users to link their accounts to a secondary phone or tablet. Now, some Android users got it with the latest beta of the application. However, it only works to connect a smartphone account to a tablet for now.

Huawei's latest range of premium phablets launched with 4G/LTE-only versions of their flagship-grade chipsets due to the US governmental embargoes under which the OEM operates. However, according to an eminent leaker, a Mate 50 customer may now buy a new third-party accessory that confers sub-6GHz connectivity to the device. The cases are even equipped with their own chipset for this purpose.

Vivo has now confirmed that it will indeed launch a new Plus version of its top-end X Fold Android smartphone. The OEM has dropped hints as to how this upcoming foldable will look, which is mostly like its immediate predecessor with a new finish option. On the other hand, the Plus model is touted to have additional upgrades, even if they are mostly on the inside.

With MIUI 13.5 still stuck in the future, Xiaomi is now updating the Mi 10T Pro (and non-Pro, as usual) handsets with the latest security patch from Google. The size of the update is 301 MB, and there is nothing special to mention about the MIUI 13.0.9 Global Stable package apart from the increased security it promises.

NuCurrent and PopSocket have partnered to make the latter's upcoming second-gen PopPower the first ever wireless charging accessory to meet the former's latest MP-A24 specification. It allows a Qi-standard charger to deliver power at up to the current top rate of 15W using hardware that takes up 82% less space compared to preceding designs.

Vivo has announced that it will launch an X Fold Plus later in 2022. Now, the upcoming foldable Android flagship may have surfaced on the AnTuTu website, 120Hz display driven by the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor and all. These specs may have powered it to well over a million points on this benchmark, which may be a considerable improvement over its predecessor.

The carrier China Telecom is tipped to start selling the new Galaxy Z Flip4 and Fold4 soon, albeit in the guise of heavily-customized rebrands. According to a famous leaker, they will join the premium W series, which did much the same thing with the Fold3 of 2021. Therefore, there may be more exclusive accents and price-tags easily exceeding US$2,000 in these variants' futures.

Vivo has just registered a new product with the Chinese authority TENAA that, as is abundantly clear by the look of it, is the anticipated late-2022 refresh of the OEM's first-gen X Fold flagship smartphone. Its most valid leak to date might have uncovered one of the 'new' top-end Android foldable's most marketable upgrades already.

While the Galaxy S21 series and the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G are now both receiving this month's security patch on Android 12, the previous generation flagships should receive Android 13 before the end of the year. For the Galaxy S20 FE 5G, this is scheduled to take place in March 2023.

The Mate 50 E has the same Harmony OS 3 UI and basic design of the rest of its new premium smartphone series. It also has the same main rear camera and display as the vanilla 50, although the E variant has a premium mid-range Qualcomm SoC rather than a flagship-grade processor.

The Mate 50 RS has premiered as the highest-end of its new smartphone series. Its appearance has been altered in partnership with the Porsche Design Studio, although it has the same display as the 50 Pro. Despite its 4G/LTE-only nature, its single SKU has debuted at a price staggeringly close to US$2,000.

The 12S Ultra is the device in which Xiaomi has debuted the Sony IMX989 camera sensor for its smartphones. Despite this, the Leica-tuned flagship lags behind others from its OEM in terms of maximum charging speeds. Now, a famous leaker asserts that the company intends to correct this in the next premium mobile device to rock a 1-inch sensor.

The Xiaomi "13 Ultra" is currently believed to become the first premium smartphone to launch with the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 top-end SoC and Sony's ground-breaking 1-inch sensor for mobile devices, the IMX989. However, according to a reliable source, it will hardly be the only device on the market with the same specs in the near future, a prospect that might allow its class-leading camera spec to start appearing in new devices starting at under US$600 in China before too long.

One of Honor's top executives has been inspired by the recent sighting of a double rainbow over Beijing to drop a teaser for a new Android smartphone from this OEM with a design that apparently echoes the meme-worthy phenomenon. The teaser has given rise to rumors of a new top-end model that could match even the Xiaomi 12S Ultra in terms of camera specs.

Huawei typically backs the latest generation of its Mate line of flagship devices as super-premium phablets with the most innovative features possible. The recent changes in the OEM's fortunes notwithstanding, it now asserts that the upcoming 50 series will be no different. The company has now confirmed variable apertures for their XMAGE cameras outright, although it remains content to only hints at more unique specs also rumored to be found in the iPhone 14 series.

Available on Amazon starting today, the GameSir X2 Pro is an Xbox licensed mobile gaming controller that was designed for Xbox cloud gaming on Android smartphones. Its features include ALPS analog joysticks and Hall Effect analog triggers, textured rubber grips, and more. The price tag reads US$79.99.

Huawei has scheduled the launch of its Mate 50 series of mobile devices just ahead of that for Apple's iPhone 14 line in 2022. Despite this, the OEM has already opened reservations for the smartphones via an official website. It claims to have amassed well over a million of these expressions of interest in the 4G/LTE-only hardware so far.

Xiaomi has released a second-gen Mix Fold with its most advanced flexible display to date. However, its owners may be advised to look after it, as all that 120Hz Samsung AMOLED may make it very expensive to fix. Replacing its main screen may cost about half as much as the flagship smartphone itself.