Leaks / Rumors

Apple is thought to finally introduce iPhones with 120 hertz (Hz) refresh rates with the successors to the 12 series. However, only their highest-end variants are thought to get LTPO OLED displays, which, according to the latest word on this subject, are to be made by Samsung. However, LG might take over in this department in 2022.

If the anonymous sources from China prove to be right, the next-gen low-cost iPad will launch later this year with a design closely based on the third-generation iPad Air that was introduced back in 2019. The highlights will include the same 10.2-inch screen size, but lower weight and a thinner chassis.

Although HTC is no longer a key player in the smartphone market, they are still afloat. The next handset to come from this legendary brand is the HTC Desire 21 Pro 5G, which was recently spotted with three cameras on the back, dual-SIM capability, as well as Android 10-based firmware. There is no launch date or price to talk about yet, sadly.

The iQOO 7 is an upcoming Android flagship reported to have blown past the Huawei Mate 40 Pro and Xiaomi Mi 11 on benchmarks ahead of its launch. Its brand has been on Weibo to hype it up again, this time with details on its audio system, which has apparently been developed in conjunction with Monster. This teaser may also hint at a BMW Special Edition for the phone.

Honor's first phone of 2021 is said to be powered by a MediaTek chipset. However, according to a new report, its next launch after that may feature a Snapdragon processor instead. Now that it is out from under the Huawei umbrella, it can partner with Qualcomm to make "normal" Android phones again.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 has only just been launched; however, other members of its series are hot on its heels, according to recent rumors. The latest tip comes from a Vietnamese YouTube channel that asserts the 11 Lite is coming with a design similar to the vanilla model. However, it will have a mid-range Qualcomm processor and 6GB of RAM.

A South Korean news outlet has heard from an industry insider that Krafton is reportedly working on a PUBG and PUBG Mobile successor. Strictly speaking, the former can't be considered an actual successor, as it will only set in the PUBG universe. One of the two games is set to be unveiled by June 2021.

AnTuTu has published its midrange smartphone performance chart for December, and it is looking somewhat stale with the typical Dimensity (Redmi 10X) and Kirin (Huawei Nova 7) phones jostling for position. However, a potential Redmi K40 sporting a Snapdragon 7-series SoC could soon be in competition to be the fastest midrange smartphone.

It has been reported that AMD will launch the Radeon RX 6700 and RX 6700 XT graphics cards by the end of March. Apparently, both parts will feature 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and utilize Navi 22 GPUs. However, rival Nvidia appears to have a busy few months planned with rumors of numerous new GeForce RTX 30 series cards springing up.

Apple may very well introduce the much anticipated AirTags and other AR accessories such as an AR headset and/or AR glasses this year, according to Ming-Chi Kuo's latest research note. Kuo also notes that Apple will launch new Apple Silicon-powered MacBook Pros with mini-LED displays. Another report from DigiTimes speculates that all iPhone 13 models this year will be equipped with a LiDAR sensor.

The Redmi Note 8T was released as a variant of the Redmi Note 8, but with NFC support. Xiaomi is set to release the successor to that device, in the form of the Redmi Note 9T, and details of the phone have now surfaced ahead of launch.

The leaker Ice Universe claims to have found new AnTuTu benchmarking scores for an unreleased OPPO device, said to be the upcoming Find X3 flagship. Should this be the case, it has beaten the current official #1 in these terms, the Xiaomi Mi 11, as well as the also-rumored fellow Snapdragon 888 phone the iQOO 7 - and by a good margin, too.

The blog 91Mobiles claims to have been sent images of an upcoming device called the Samsung Galaxy Tab M62. Should this moniker be accurate, it would be the first slate-type device to launch from its line. It may have a central punch-hole selfie camera and debut in India in 2021.

The Honor V40 series of flagship smartphones was allegedly to debut on January 4, 2020. However, the OEM has obviously missed this date, and has instead now apparently set it to the 18th of this month instead. The devices may feature waterfall-style screens at this event - not to mention the Kirin 9000 SoC after all.

OnePlus has started officially teasing its upcoming fitness tracker that will feature useful tools such as SpO2 blood saturation monitoring and real-time heart-rate tracker. The alleged OnePlus Band price in India and its launch date have also been leaked along with some key specifications. The OnePlus Band is expected to cost around ₹2,499 (US$34).

A new leak from Evan Blass tells us everything there is to know about the Samsung Galaxy S21 series' camera prowess. The Samsung Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus will come with an identical camera setup with three sensors. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra will come with five lenses in total, including a laser autofocus module.

Geekbench listings of the upcoming Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo GX551QS and HP Omen 15 laptops featuring RTX 3080 Mobile and RTX 3070 Mobile GPUs, respectively confirm some of the specs of these mobile Ampere parts that we've already known so far. The RTX 3080 Mobile is a complete GA104 GPU with 6,144 CUDA cores. The RTX 3070 Mobile is also a GA104 part but with 5,120 CUDA cores.

Supposed Google Pixel 5a live images have been leaked online. Four photos of the smartphone reveal a few interesting tidbits about the rumored device; however, there is something fishy about the real-life pictures. It has been suggested that the Pixel 5a could be launched in May although a release in the second half of 2021 is more likely.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 has already been selling by the truckload in China, where it is currently on sale from 3,999 yuan (€505/US$618/£452) for the 8 GB + 128 GB model. While the Chinese OEM has declared the Mi 11 will be going global soon, those eager to get their hands on one before then can preorder the smartphone from €579 (US$709/£519).

New AMD variants viz. XTXH, XLE, and Nashira Point have been discovered on the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) website. It is not yet clear whether these are Navi 21 or Navi 22 parts. However, the XTXH variant could potentially be a Navi 21 GPU with HBM2(E) memory support.

Some recent leaks point to new TWS earbuds that are to accompany the Samsung Galaxy 21 series at the next Unpacked event. Now, an official webpage has confirmed that they definitely won't be introduced as the Buds Beyond. These Pros are said to have improved ANC at a higher price-tag on their release.

Motorola is now said to have a second-gen Moto G Stylus in the works. All of its previous leaks have pointed to a chassis for this phablet with quad rear cameras in a vertical orientation. A new tip from OnLeaks contradicts this, however, although it leaves its putative updated screen intact.

It has been rumored that Nvidia is working on even more Ampere-based graphics cards to join the growing GeForce RTX 30 series. Although the names for the two new parts are not currently known, it has been suggested that they could be the GeForce RTX 3070 Super and GeForce RTX 3080 Super cards.

AMD may possibly bring back 16-core SKUs to the HEDT Threadripper lineup with the upcoming Threadripper 5000 series as indicated by a cryptic tweet from developer 1usmus. The 16-core Threadripper SKU, which may be called the TR 5955X, is likely to be similar to the mainstream Ryzen 9 5950X but with support for quad-channel RAM and additional PCIe lanes.

OPPO has adopted a complicated approach to releasing its Reno smartphone series worldwide. The devices might have different SoCs for different markets, for example. However, there is now evidence that the well-spec’d new generation recently launched in China will make it into other countries unmodified.

According to a slew of recent certifications, Samsung has a new product called the Galaxy Smart Tag in the works. It, as the name suggests, is a Tile- or AirTag-like gadget that can connect to a phone via Bluetooth in order to locate it, or the other way around. It might be ready to debut alongside the OEM's new flagship phones.

It has been rumored that a HiSilicon Kirin 9010 chipset based on a 3 nm manufacturing process could be released in the second half of 2021, possibly to feature in a Huawei Mate 50 smartphone. On top of that, it’s also believed Qualcomm will produce a Snapdragon 888+ SoC at around the same time.

As powerful as the freshly-launched Mi 11 is, some may have been disappointed when its also-rumored Pro sibling did not debut alongside it. However, the reliable tipster Digital Chat Station asserts that its own launch is still on. It will apparently take place after the Chinese New Year.

Xiaomi launched a new, cost-effective 6000mAh phone it called the Redmi Note 9 4G in China recently. It then proceeded to re-brand the device as the 9 Power for the Indian market. Now, a new leak suggests it has yet another new name for an imminent debut in Thailand and possibly Europe.

An Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 GA503QS laptop has been spotted online revealing a potent combination of components. It seems the ROG Zephyrus G15 will be a Ryzen 5000 gaming laptop thanks to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800HS inside it, and it may also feature the 16 GB variant of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 mobile GPU.

An image claimed to be that of the upcoming Huawei P50 Pro has been posted for the first time. It may show that the flagship will rock yet another of the OEM's waterfall display. According to the new leak, the phone may also go back to a conventional call speaker, having experimented with a magnetic one in its predecessor.

2021 is expected to be the year in which the reasonably-priced Galaxy A3x smartphone series goes 5G for the first time. This is now all but set in stone thanks to this device's new Bluetooth certification. Its new connectivity is expected to be accompanied by a 6.5-inch display and 4GB of RAM.

iQOO is slated to launch a Snapdragon 888-powered flagship called the 7 shortly. A new Geekbench 5 listing may confirm this. These preliminary scores may show it is capable of matching up to Xiaomi's new phone based on the same platform in terms of specs and performance.

A noted tech leaker has suggested that Redmi is working on a cheap Snapdragon 888 smartphone that currently has the codename “Haydn model K11”. It’s not known if this is a completely new smartphone line for Redmi or whether it could actually be the long-expected Redmi K40 or Redmi K40 Pro.

The OnePlus Band is seemingly in the works and should soon be ready to challenge the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 in the budget wearable sector. Rumors state that the OnePlus Band will be unleashed with a sub-US$40 price tag and may be launched in the Indian market first, where the Xiaomi Mi Band series has dominated affordable fitness tracker sales.

Asus is apparently refreshing its ROG Strix laptops for 2021 and the potential configurations will have gamers salivating. It’s believed up to an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX will be available as CPU/APU while an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, RTX 3070, or RTX 3080 can also be selected. There’s even going to be decent screens to be had with the Asus ROG Strix laptops.

An alleged successor to LG's Stylo 6 phablet had previously shown up in renders hinting at a highly original, pen-centric rear panel design. Its latest leak does not bear this out: however, it does purport to reveal a "Samsung Galaxy Note rival" with an appreciably large display and SKUs with a choice of connectivity.

Motorola has been busy teasing an upcoming premium phone with an SoC from the Snapdragon 800 series. It may have surfaced in a new set of benchmarking results that might confirm which processor this is to be for the first time. This leak also points to 8GB of RAM and Android 11 out of the box for this device.

Word on the street is that 2021 could be huge for Xbox with UPlay rumored to be coming to Xbox Game Pass next year. Several big ticket titles such as non-MMO Bethesda games, Forza Horizon 5, Starfield, Wolfenstein 3, and other AAA games are expected to come to Xbox in 2021. Microsoft's plans of acquiring Sega may also finally bear fruition next year.

After unveiling MIUI 12.5 yesterday, Xiaomi has now supposedly revealed its plans for sending out the update to its devices. Phones like the Mi 10 lead the line, while devices like the Redmi Note 8 Pro and Redmi Note 9 are expected to get it later alongside Android 11.

Motorola is said to be working on upcoming affordable phones with the code-name Capri. This moniker has just popped up again, on Geekbench this time. It hints that this line's Plus variant will be powered by the Snapdragon 662 processor and 4GB of RAM. However, it may have Android 11 out of the box, at least.

Microsoft could be planning on offering a much-needed minor but vital spec bump with the base variant of the upcoming Surface Pro 8. The entry level device in the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 series comes with i3 processor and 4 GB RAM. However, it’s believed the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 will come with an 8 GB RAM option for the basic model.

Supposed specifications and the price for the Sony Xperia 1 III have leaked online. Unsurprisingly, a Snapdragon 888 processor is onboard and the 6.5-inch 5G smartphone allegedly boasts a 4K OLED panel and 120 Hz refresh rate. The reported price tag is US$1,199, which is the same as the Sony Xperia 1 II’s launch price.

Specs of NVIDIA's Ampere successor codenamed Lovelace seem to be already available and all signs point to a monster of a GPU. Going by initial rumors, it seems that the AD102 GPU will have 2x the number of GPCs compared to Turing and a 71% higher CUDA core count compared to Ampere, which seemingly yields nearly 66 TFLOPs of FP32 horsepower.

iQOO is a premium sub-brand of the smartphone OEM Vivo. It launched the Snapdragon 865-powered 5 series in 2020. Now, there is an indication that these devices will get successors called the 7s. They may reprise iQOO's 120 watt (W) FlashCharge technology.

OnePlus is expected to launch its Snapdragon 888-powered smartphones in March 2021. A new leak indicates that the OEM will bring its 65 watt (W) charging and 30W wireless charging standards from previous flagships back. However, it will also apparently be included in the vanilla 9 this time.

The display-maker TCL is now the focus of allegations that it has included "backdoor" software in TVs intended for the American market. These suspicions allegedly come from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Then again, the OEM denies the claims, and that the administration in question has yet to bring these accusations to it directly.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 smartphone hasn’t even been officially launched yet and it already seems like it will be a great sales success for the company. Over 226,000 people have already signed up for Mi 11 preorders via a single platform. There is some speculation that sales for the Xiaomi Mi 11 series will start in China on January 1, 2021.
Update: The bookings figure has now reached over 400,000.

Initial single-core performance numbers from an Intel Rocket Lake-S Core i9-11900K QS indicate up to 33% higher scores than a Core i9-10900K and up to 7% more performance than an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X despite sub-optimal cooling. Also being leaked are clocks and power info of several ES variants including the Core i7-11700 ES1, Core i7-11700K ES2, and the Core i9-11900 ES2.

Xiaomi has opened up registration for MIUI 12.5 beta testing in China and the list of qualifying smartphones has been shared online. While it seems owners of the China ROM variants of the Redmi Note 7, Xiaomi Mi 9, Xiaomi Mi 10, and Redmi K30 can sign up, it seems there will be a wait ahead for Redmi Note 8 and Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite users.