Android

In addition to the Xiaomi 12 and the Xiaomi 12 Pro the Chinese OEM also sells a more affordable entry-level model named Xiaomi 12X. It features the exact same design language as its more expensive siblings, and it performs strikingly similar as well. Mid-range competitors watch out, there's a new sheriff in town.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE launched with a US$699 price tag barely a month before the Galaxy S22 series debuted, making it something of a poor value proposition. Samsung is remedying that, though, by offering the phone with a US$100 discount.

Motorola is forging ahead with its current Android 12 upgrade program with the latest update going to the Moto G30. The device might be over a year old now, and yet is the latest G-series device to see such an OTA. It is being reported by users in one of the device's biggest markets right now.

The GT Neo3 is currently being touted as the first ever Realme phone to launch with its latest 150W charging tech. However, the OEM has also now suggested that there might be a second variant with a slower, yet still new to 2022, 80W standard instead. Then again, fans of speed may still be happy with the phone's also-hyped "Le Mans" colorway.

According to reports from Samsung's South Korean supply chain, the company remains committed to improving S Pen support on this year's Galaxy Z Fold. Reputedly, the Galaxy Z Fold4 will debut 'Super UTG', a stronger and more scratch-resistant ultra-thin glass than the ones included in the Galaxy Z Fold2 and Galaxy Z Fold3.

The next major upgrade to Android seems right on track with the release of its second developer-preview version (or DP2). It now provides a system pop-up for users to allow or prevent apps from sending notifications. Android 13 DP2 also seems to pertain to the OS' emerging tablet version, adding new and possibly welcome tweaks to its UI.

OnePlus has started a program whereby a small number of its Community website members can be the first to own and review its upcoming 2022 flagship smartphone, the 10 Pro. This device's stint in the "OnePlus Lab" may or may not hint at when its formal international product event will be held.

After sending out the MIUI 13 update to the Poco X3 Pro globally a few weeks ago, Xiaomi is now expanding the MIUI 13 rollout for the fan-favorite by gracing owners of the phone in Europe with a similar Android 12-based MIUI 13 update. The Mi 11 Ultra also receives new builds, both in Europe and globally.

Plenty of power, an up-to-date processor, and Ready For software - Motorola's flagship has quite a few things to offer. Find out in our extensive review why still had a gripe with its camera system.

Advertised as the world's first stock Android 12 rugged smartphone that also sports the loudest phone speaker available (up to 109 dB), the AGM H5 can be pre-ordered until the end of the month with a 15 percent discount (regular price is US$269 for the 4/64 GB variant), alongside free earbuds and charging dock. Shipments will start on April 18.

Samsung has revealed the Galaxy A73 5G, a smartphone that rounds out the Galaxy A series. Paired with a Snapdragon 778G, the Galaxy A73 5G features a 108 MP primary camera with OIS, a 5,000 mAh battery and a 120 Hz display. The Galaxy A73 5G will be available in three colours from next month but only in some markets.

Motorola promised a forthcoming special edition of its Moto Edge X30 flagship smartphone on its late-2021 launch in China. Today (March 17, 2022), this new version has arrived with an upgrade on its punch-hole selfie camera as expected. It adds a truly edge-to-edge screen to the X30's existing specs, its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC included - and for a potentially surprising price, too.

Honor may have just presented the Magic4 Ultimate, but the smartphone has found its way to the top of DxOMark's smartphone camera leaderboard. The Honor Magic4 Ultimate combines a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC with a ceramic body and a large 1/1.12-inch camera sensor, among other features.

The Redmi K50 Pro has arrived in China, where it starts at CNY 2,999 (~US$472). The new smartphone has a Dimensity 9000 SoC, a 1440p display and a 108 MP primary camera. A 5,000 mAh battery is also onboard, as is up to 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage.

Xiaomi has released the Redmi K40S, a re-branded Redmi K40 with OIS. The Redmi K40S has a Snapdragon 870 SoC and many of the same features included in the Redmi K50. The Redmi K40S starts at a much more affordable CNY 1,799 (~US$283) though and is also available with up 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.

Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy A33 5G, an Exynos 1280-powered smartphone with a 90 Hz and 1080p display. Available for €369, the Galaxy A33 5G has a Super AMOLED panel, a 5,000 mAh battery and five cameras. Better still, the Galaxy A33 5G will receive just as long software support as the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Ultra.

The Galaxy A53 5G has arrived, and it has longer software support than some current flagship smartphones. Samsung has also equipped the handset with other impressive features, including a 120 Hz Super AMOLED display, a 5nm SoC and expandable storage. The Galaxy A53 5G starts for less than €450 too.

Xiaomi has showcased the Redmi K50 in China, the entry-level model in the Redmi K50 series. Launched alongside the Redmi K50 Pro, the Redmi K50 features a 120 Hz AMOLED display, a 48 MP camera with OIS and a Dimensity 8100 SoC. The Redmi K50 starts at CNY 2,399 (~US$378) with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.

Benchmarks of the MediaTek Dimensity 8100's Mali G610-MC6 GPU have now surfaced, providing insight into how it performs in comparison to the Snapdragon 888 and Snapdragon 870.

LG has released Android 12 to the LG Velvet, the first of a few smartphones that the company will upgrade to Google's latest OS. Android 12 has landed on South Korean handsets first and could take a few months to reach other markets.

Another sign of the MIX 5 has appeared online, this time courtesy of Geekbench. Unsurprisingly, the MIX 5 contains flagship hardware, albeit it remains to be seen if the MIX 4 successor will launch outside China.

Xiaomi is only a day away from releasing more Redmi K50 series handsets, along with the Redmi K40S. Hands-on photos of the Redmi K40S and Redmi K50 Pro have already leaked online. There could be a nasty surprise for people hoping that the Redmi K50 Pro would offer an all round premium experience, though.

Xiaomi has announced for how long the Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro will receive software and security patch updates. Not only will the Xiaomi 12X be cut off from updates sooner than its siblings, but Xiaomi also cannot match Samsung for the longevity of software coverage it provides to its recent flagship smartphones.

The Google Pixel 6 debuted with a much larger footprint than the Pixel 5. Google looks set to make the Pixel 7 smaller, though, but barely so, while the Pixel 7 Pro is tipped to maintain the Pixel 6 Pro's 6.7-inch size.

A new leak has now revealed some more information on Google's upcoming foldable device, the Pixel Notepad. Codenamed "pipit", the Pixel Notepad could debut alongside the Pixel 7 series and may be more affordable than initially thought.

The Huawei P50 Pocket offers some interesting equipment in addition to the foldable OLED panel. However, the high price point of the foldable may not turn a purchase of the 1200-Euro (~$1310) smartphone from Huawei into an attractive proposition.

Foldables are increasingly likely to be the future of mobile devices; then again, even the highest-end of them come with some compromises right now, one of which is often a lack of in-display fingerprint readers. However, Vivo's rumored first-gen X Fold is now slated to have not just one but two of them.

Samsung has announced it will start distributing One UI 4.1 soon, starting with the Galaxy S21 series, the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G. The update introduces numerous Galaxy S22 series camera features to older flagships, such as the Expert RAW app and Object eraser functionality, among other changes.

Carl Pei's latest tech company, Nothing, has just revealed the date and time for its first product event since that for its inaugural ear (1) TWS buds. Apparently, that event was just a warm-up for the OEM's upcoming keynote, now scheduled for late March 2022. To date, there are already strong hints that it might introduce a new mobile device.

Honor has announced that it will follow its MWC 2022 launch for the new Magic4 series with one specifically for the Chinese market. This event, now set for an imminent March 2022 start-time, is said to introduce a novel Ultimate variant in addition to the models unveiled earlier. Should this rumor prove true, the new top-end handset might debut with a new main camera from Sony.

OPPO has already asserted that its K10 would be the first phone to launch with a MediaTek Dimensity 8000-series processor. Now, this mid-ranger's looks may have been revealed in a new leak. It points to an updated take on the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra-esque look debuted in its K9 predecessors, as well as the presence of a 3.5mm jack and triple rear cameras.

Xiaomi has introduced the Xiaomi 12 globally, its smallest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered smartphone. The Xiaomi 12 launches in three colours and two memory configurations, all of which have 4,500 mAh batteries, 50 MP primary cameras and a 120 Hz AMOLED display.

Xiaomi has released the Xiaomi 12 Pro outside China, two and half months after its debut in China. The Xiaomi 12 Pro retains most of its original features, but loses its entry-level 128 GB of storage configuration and its green colourway.

A new leak from a Chinese source has now revealed devils of the imminent Redmi K40S—a phone that could well debut outside China as the Poco F4—along with more important information on its stablemates, the Redmi K50 and Redmi K50 Pro.

Samsung will launch a couple of devices in its Galaxy A-series on March 17. The Galaxy A33, Galaxy A53, and Galaxy A73 are expected, and word on the grapevine now indicates that Samsung is lining up its Galaxy Buds Live earbuds as a gift for early buyers.

Redmi's K50 series event is not far away now; however, the OEM is still raising its hype with juicy details on the upcoming smartphones ahead of their launch. Now, it seems that not only will there be a new colorway, a high-res display with other potentially welcome attributes.

Vivo is a smartphone OEM projected to launch its inaugural foldable device soon. Now, this rumored flagship has allegedly leaked again, and in the wild this time. The live image in question has been posted to Weibo and may thus put the “X Fold’s” main display on show in real life for the first time.

DxOMark tested the three cameras in both of Samsung's cheaper flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22+. While the pair offer superior image quality than their predecessors, neither can surpass the Apple iPhone 13 or the Google Pixel 6, among others.

Earlier MediaTek Dimensity 9000 benchmarks were run on a prototype machine and showed the MediaTek chipset with a 40%+ efficiency advantage over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The Dimensity 9000 has now debuted on an actual smartphone, though—the OPPO Find X5 Pro—and new CPU benchmarks tell a different story.

Google has forced YouTube Vanced to end, just over four years after the service started. Reputedly, Google threatened YouTube Vanced with a cease and desist, and asked it to remove all references to YouTube. Existing YouTube Vanced installations will not be affected, though.

YouTube has had a toggle to open a transcript of a compatible video for some time now. However, it has only been available on via desktop browsers so far. Now, however, it has reportedly been spotted on the app's Android version. The feature seems to have been heavily modified for its new format.

The OnePlus Nord CE 2 is a recently-launched smartphone that is now expected to gain a Lite alternative soon. The latest leaks include renders that might show how this potentially affordable device might look. They have arrived alongside interesting allegations that it, like the CE 2, will support external storage and more.