Chinese Tech

In a statement issued to stockholders today, ZTE said that the it was suspending all "major operating activities" due to the sales ban placed on the company by the U.S. Department of Commerce. While ZTE has enough cash on hand to fulfill its current commercial obligations, the future looks bleak for the Chinese smartphone manufacturer.

The next gen Kirin 980 is being manufactured at TSMC's foundries and uses the 7 nm process. Huawei will also include a new AI chip from Cambricon and an improved GPU, so the upcoming Kirin 980 will surely battle it out with Samsung's Exynos 9820 and Apple's A12 SoCs. The latest HiSilicon chip is scheduled to be launched with the Mate 20 flagships later this year.

The 7 nm manufacturing process will be superseded by the 5 nm one by 2020. Right now, TSMC is working to improve the extreme ultraviolet lithography tech that should lead to reduced power consumption and considerable performance gains for the 7+ nm chips in late 2018. TSMC estimates that the performance gains and power requirements will see minor improvements with the 5 nm stepping.

Leaker Ice Universe claims that TSMC is manufacturing A12 prototypes using the new 7 nm process, and the performance gains over the current A11 are considerable, sitting at ~30%. However, the power consumption is not on par with what 7 nm chips should yield, and this could be caused by the lacking lithography. The A12 SoCs should be launched next year wit the tri-cam smartphones.

Lenovo has announced the M720 and M920 updates to the ThinkCentre tower, small form factor (SFF), and 'Tiny' models. These business orientated machines feature affordable price tags and optional Thunderbolt 3 and dGPU.

The 5.45-inch ZenFone Live L1 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, next to 1 GB or 2 GB of memory, a 13 MP main camera, and 16 GB of internal storage space. The pricing details are not official yet, but a price tag around the equivalent of US$107 is expected for India, where this handset should debut later this month.

Last week, the Taiwanese government announced that ZTE would have to take permission before embarking on any business partnerships with a Taiwanese company. That permission has been granted now, though, allow ZTE to do business with MediaTek.

Nubia CEO Ni Fei has claimed that the company's upcoming Nubia Z18 will have a full-screen more impressive than the 90.36% screen-to-body ratio on the Nubia Z17s. There's a problem with that, though: The Nubia Z17s has an 81.5% screen-to-body ratio.

The Mate 10 Pro launched in the United States for $800 three months ago, but it can now be purchased for $150 less through major online retailers like Amazon, Newegg, and B&H. Huawei's mid-range MateBook D laptop will also be $200 cheaper for only this upcoming week. The temporary price cuts aim to bolster sales in the backdrop of U.S. surveillance and suspicion of Chinese-branded telecommunication devices.

Xiaomi's upcoming Redmi S2 has been spotted on an AliExpress listing. The seller is a reputable store, so details of the device have been all but confirmed now.

A mysterious Xiaomi device has been spotted on Geekbench. The device is listed as being powered by...a Snapdragon 638, whatever that is.

Huawei is currently sending out Oreo beta updates to users of the Huawei Mate 8, Huawei P9, Honor 6X, Honor 8, and Honor Note 8 in China. The Oreo update will likely be the final update these devices receive.

Xiaomi ended 2017 with a bang and has carried that fine form into the new year. According to a report by IDC, the company shipped 28 million smartphone units in Q1 2018, ending the quarter as the fourth-largest smartphone company in the world, ahead of OPPO.

The Huawei P20 devices may not be coming to the US but they will make the trip over to Canada. Carriers Rogers and Fido currently have the P20 and P20 Pro on pre-order. The P20 Lite is, of course, duly ignored.

Live images of the upcoming OnePlus 6 have surfaced, shining some more light on what we should expect from OnePlus's upcoming flagship killer. There's a notch present but the bezels are slim and there's also a headphone jack, so it's not all bad.

Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, the new Coolpad Note 6 smartphone has a 5.5-inch display, 4 GB RAM, and comes with either 32 GB or 64 GB internal storage. Sadly, it only comes with Android 7.1 Nougat onboard, but the starting price of around US$135 should make up for that, at least partially.

A firmware teardown by XDA-Developers has revealed the existence of two new Android One Xiaomi devices. The first of those will be powered by the Snapdragon 660, while the other will feature a Snapdragon 625 and will likely be a budget Redmi device.

The Android Oreo OTA update rollout for the Honor 7X begins today. While users of the mid-ranger will get their full taste of Android Oreo today, there's still no specific date for the Oreo update rollouts of the Honor 8, Huawei Mate SE, Honor 6X, and Huawei P9.

A firmware teardown by XDA-Developers has revealed the details of the Redmi S2, a device that looks to be Xiaomi's next budget king. The S2 features an 18:9 display, dual rear cameras with EIS, and the trusty Snapdragon 625. Update: Further details and live images of the Redmi S2 have surfaced.

Xiaomi has apparently reached a "top secret" agreement with Taiwanese semiconductor company TSMC that will see the latter produce Xiaomi's upcoming in-house Surge SoC on its 16nm manufacturing process.

It has been reported that Huawei is working on a possible replacement of the ubiquitous Android OS. Anonymous sources talking to the South China Morning Post have commented that the Chinese tech giant is developing the alternative operating system in case the company ends up receiving a similar US-imposed ban to the one that ZTE is currently facing.

Oppo's A3 smartphone is among the first mid-rangers to feature the trendy notched display, which usually comes with high-end models. Also included are a large 6.2-inch FHD+ LCD and the MediTek Helio P60 octa-core SoC clocked at 2.0 GHz coupled with 4 GB of RAM and an impressive 128 GB storage capacity. The rear cam gets a 16 MP sensor, while the selfie shooter gets only 8 MP.

Meizu launched the Meizu 15 Plus a few days ago. The device offers a lot of features that would thrill Android enthusiasts—a 16:9 display, slim bezels, no notch, etc—but is ultimately let down by its less than spectacular software.

The new Alcatel A3 10 Android tablet has the same US$149 price tag of last year's model and features an IPS display, 4G LTE, a quad-core MediaTek processor, 3 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage, as well as a 4,600 mAh battery. Sadly, this slate will ship with Android 7.0 Nougat onboard and there is little hope for an Oreo update.

The successor of the Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 tablet is expected to become the first slate of this popular Chinese brand to use a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, although it might take a while for it to finally reach the market. According to XDA Developers, the Snapdragon 660 is the chip that will power the Mi Pad 4.

The graphics card demand drop is certainly a serious profitability issue for the Taiwanese suppliers, but this also means that gamers can now get the graphics cards they need for prices close to the original MSRP. Crypto miners are waiting to see if Bitmain's Ethereum ASICs are indeed worth it over GPU cards, however, if the upcoming GTX 11xx and AMD Navi cards would prove even better, we might see the price inflation scenario all over again.

The ZTE Iceberg concept that surfaced on the iF World Design Guide might have seemed nothing more but another over-the-top design, but now a patent showing a similar device has been spotted online. Now, it only remains to see if ZTE can still launch a dual-notch phone, since the Chinese company has been sailing some rough waters lately.

The Huawei P20 Pro rocked the smartphone world when it was launched a month ago. The device's tri-rear cameras and impressive image processing has seen critics hail it as debatably the best camera smartphone on the planet. However, some end users seem to think otherwise, and actually provide evidence pleading their cases. Updated.

Xiaomi has announced the launch of its new mid-range device, the Mi 6X. The Mi 6X will succeed the Mi 5X that was released last year and could very well be repackaged as an Android One Mi A2 later in the year.

A launch event date for the OnePlus 6 flagship smartphone has finally been announced. The new device will be unveiled at a large arena in London, UK, on May 16. The Shenzhen-based manufacturer has also revealed another launch event that will take place in Beijing, China, on May 17. Tickets for the London launch event went on sale today.

A report by Canalys has disclosed the current standings in the Indian smartphone market. The world's second-largest smartphone market belongs to Xiaomi, with the company boosting its stock over the first quarter of 2018 to reach an outstanding 31% market share.

Meizu, a while ago, launched its new 15-series devices. The devices offer fine hardware while sticking with some of the traditional features of Android phones—16:9 display, 3.5mm headphone jack, and no notch.

Although the upcoming OnePlus 6 flagship has no official launch date or price yet, both have been revealed in India. Last Thursday, MoneyControl published an article about this topic that was removed shortly after going online. According to it, the OnePlus 6 will launch on May 18 and will have a price of around US$602.

According to a leak, Leagoo is set to release a new flagship device—the Leagoo S10. Going by renders, this device, eh, borrows its design elements from smartphones like the Galaxy S9, Essential PH-1, and P20 Pro. An archetypal case of the saying: "Fake it till you make it."

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun has confirmed that the company will launch Android One Redmi devices in the near future. The company's Redmi line is widely regarded as offering excellent value for money, and the allure of stock Android on its devices would make them no-brainers in their price brackets.

Reuters has recently published an article stating that China will be ramping up efforts to greatly enhance its chip-making industry. The hefty seven-year ban on buying parts from US manufacturers that has been placed on Chinese tech firm ZTE by the US Department of Commerce has provided fresh impetus for the Asian state’s efforts in the semiconductor industry.

After getting hit with a 7-year ban barring them from buying anything from a U.S. company, ZTE released a new statement today. The statement calls the Department of Commerce's ban unfair and says that it will not only severely damage ZTE but will harm ZTE's partners, including some U.S. companies.

The Ulefone Power 5 is Ulefone's new battery monster. The device gets its running juice from a nigh-unparalleled 13000 mAh battery. It also features quad cameras, wireless charging, OIS, and a slew of features you wouldn't expect to find on a device that could very well power a house.

Apple's iPhone X may have been the first to integrate the FaceID feature, but Android smartphones are set to get a refined version with Qualcomm's latest 3D facial scanning this year. While Samsung and Huawei are hard at work on their own versions, the Qualcomm one is most likely to be implemented first in Xiaomi's Mi7 smartphone, which could be launched this summer.

The Meizu 15 will be one of Meizu's flagships for the year. The company has deviated from its Mediatek ways of recent and the Meizu 15 will continue on the new path, as it is powered by the Exynos 8895, Samsung's flagship SoC from 2017.

The ZTE Nubia Red Magic joins the Razer Phone and Xiaomi's Black Shark gaming smartphones, but it is powered by the older Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and has a 6-inch 1080p 2:1 display. Fortunately, it features 8 GB of memory, 128 GB UFS 2.1 internal storage, and will be available for pre-order via Indiegog for just US$399 starting next week.

Honor has introduced its first ultrabook. The all-aluminum design is similar to its cousin, the Huawei MateBook X, but is more affordable.

The E485 model will feature a 14-inch 1366 x 768 IPS screen, while the E585 will come with a 15.6-inch FHD display. Hardware configurations for both variants are identical and include AMD Ryzen Mobile CPUs all the way up to Ryzen 7 2700U coupled with up to 32 GB of DDR4 RAM and up to 1 TB HDDs, plus up to 512 GB NVMe SSDs on select SKUs.

At an event in Shenzhen, China, Huawei has announced that it will not be selling its Kirin SoCs to any third-party OEMs. This comes as bad news for ZTE after the latter was hit with a ban that will see it unable to use components made by American companies, Qualcomm included.

ZTE's poor fortunes continue, as a British government agency claims the use of ZTE manufactured equipment would cause a national security risk and mitigate measures currently in place to allow the use of equipment from Huawei.

Despite all the bad publicity ZTE is getting these days, the Chinese company is well on its way to officially reveal the Nubia Red Magic gaming smartphone on April 19. The latest leaked picture from Weibo reveals a 2:1 Infinity Display without the dreaded notch, as well as an RG LED strip on the back. This model is rumored to be powered by the Snapdragon 845 coupled with 8 GB of RAM.

According to a report from Reuters, ZTE may lose its Android license. As the current seventh-largest Android-based smartphone manufacturer, this would be a massive blow against the Shenzhen-based corporation. Even just losing access to the Google Play Store application would be incredibly detrimental to the beleaguered telecommunications-equipment maker.

TENAA reveals that the Honor 10 will come with a 5.84-inch LCD screen capable of displaying 2280 x 1080 pixels, and rumors claim that there's an upper notch, as well. The rear camera setup comprises a 16 P + 24 MP combo with “semantic image segmentation mode.” The phone is powered by the Kirin 970 SoC and there will be 4 GB RAM/ 64 GB storage and 6 GB RAM / 128 GB storage versions.