Android

Honor has launched its latest 50-series smartphones today (June 16, 2021) as premium mid-rangers, which might make some fans wonder where the flagship counterpart has got to. However, the brand's CEO also confirmed that this device, the Magic 3, is on its way. It is now slated to debut in the third quarter of 2021 with the top-end Snapdragon 888 processor.

While Google is yet to detail all aspects of its Wear OS reboot, Mobvoi has released a new Wear OS smartwatch. The TicWatch E3 shares many features with the TicWatch Pro 3, including a Wear 4100 SoC and 1 GB of RAM. The TicWatch E3 is US$100 cheaper than the Pro 3, though.

Honor has finally released its new set of devices in China. The phones, the Honor 50 SE, Honor 50, and Honor 50 Pro offer powerful sub-premium chipsets as well 108 MP main cameras, at a starting price point under the equivalent of US$400. They'll also make the trip over to Europe in the near future.

The latest report from Counterpoint Research shows that the tablet market grew by 51% in the first quarter of 2021 (1Q2021) in terms of shipments. Apple, Samsung and Lenovo were leading brands in the space, whereas others such as Huawei and Amazon had dropped off somewhat.

OnePlus has announced that it is merging its operations with Oppo. The two companies are owned by the same parent company and had already merged their R&D teams five months ago.

The Huawei P50 series is expected to debut in August. Much has been said about the range-topping Huawei P50 Pro+'s expected 200x zoom. A set of images have now surfaced online, with a claim to being camera samples from the device. We're leery, though.

New phone cases for the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro smartphones have appeared in a number of live shots that were originally shared on a Chinese social media site. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro cases were also placed next to a case for the Google Pixel 4 XL to give an idea of their size and design evolution.

The FCC has added another three upcoming Samsung smartwatches to its database, bringing the total to five. In addition, the agency has confirmed that the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch Active 4 will feature round displays, mirroring Samsung's current smartwatches. Samsung will announce its 'New Watch Experience' on June 28.

Realme has now brought its performance-focused affordable premium phone, the Realme GT 5G, over to the global market. Europe, specifically. The Realme GT 5G offers a Snapdragon 888 and up to 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB while bearing a lithe €369 price tag for now.

OnePlus has announced another Nord smartphone, albeit only for North America. The Nord N200 5G is a cheaper option than the European and Indian-exclusive Nord CE 5G, and its specifications reflect that. The OnePlus Nord N200 5G will retail for US$249.

According to a renowned leaker, Xiaomi is planning another stab at releasing a foldable smartphone. The new device will feature significantly more impressive specifications than the Mi Mix Fold, which cannot keep pace with the Mate X2 or Galaxy Z Fold2 from Huawei and Samsung, respectively.

New details about the Galaxy S22 series have leaked. According to reports, Samsung's next flagships will be smaller than the current Galaxy S21 models, except for the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus have been tipped to feature 'reinforced polycarbonate' plastic back panels too.

Xiaomi has updated the Mi A2 once again, just under a week after it updated the Mi A2 Lite. The new update addresses over a dozen security flaws that Google has outlined as either critical or high.

Android 12 Beta 2 appears to have revealed details about the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro's wireless charging capabilities. According to a report, Google has added support for a wireless charger with a fan, implying that the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will support more than the 10 W to which Google restricts the Pixel 3, Pixel 4 and Pixel 5 series.

The DJI Mini SE has allegedly been spotted on a Walmart shelf, despite the fact the OEM has not even come close to announcing this new drone yet. According to its possible accidental release, it is a particularly light, compact UAV that may be a budget variant of the Mavic Mini. This is indicated mostly through its 2.7K camera spec.

Honor will launch its new 50-series smartphones on June 16, 2021, which means that some of its members seem to have just beaten this deadline to leak onto Geekbench 5. These new listings might prove that the OEM will introduce a Dimensity 900-powered SE variant alongside the vanilla and Pro Snapdragon 778G-based models.

A Sony Xperia 1 III Pro, rather than an Xperia PRO II, is apparently being prepped for release according to a new rumor. The beefed-up variant of the Xperia 1 III will purportedly be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 successor (model number SM8450) and bring a decent RAM amount bump with it.

Leaks concerning a successor to Qualcomm's current top-end mobile SoC, the Snapdragon 888, have only just started to emerge. Nevertheless, there are hints that phone manufacturers have been sent samples of this alleged "895" to test already. According to a reliable tipster, these OEMs have one thing in common: they are all Chinese.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved 2 new Samsung devices, the SM-R880 and SM-R885, for sale. As they are thought to be 2 versions of the upcoming Galaxy Watch 4, this may put the flagship wearables closer to launch than ever. Furthermore, the regulator has confirmed that one of these products has 4G/LTE connectivity.

Mobvoi has updated its Android app to reflect that it will soon be selling the TicWatch E3, two days before its official unveiling. A hands-on video has confirmed most specifications about the smartwatch too, including its SoC, RAM and storage.

A new report says that Samsung may hold off on launching the Galaxy S21 FE in August. It seems that the company has trouble procuring the Snapdragon 888 chipsets that power the smartphone. Another rumour suggests that Samsung could postpone the entire Galaxy Unpacked event by a month or two.

A new Twitter leak suggests that Samsung has won the contract to supply Qualcomm with the successor to its flagship mobile SoC, the Snapdragon 888. Should this be the case, the South Korean giant will make this chipset alongside its own next-gen top-end processor, the Exynos 2200, possibly using the same "4nm" process.

Google is projected to return to offering an XL (even if it is rumored to be called the Pro now) variant with the upcoming Pixel 6 series. Now, a screen protector allegedly made for this phone has shown up on SlashLeaks, as has one for the vanilla 6. They seem to line up with earlier tips pointing to the devices' case designs.

The Galaxy M32 is a phone reportedly destined for the Indian market in 2021. The latest rumors state that Samsung will finally have this device ready to go in June of this year. It is expected to launch with quad rear cameras, a 6,000mAh battery and an FHD+ Super AMOLED display.

The smartphone brands Realme and OnePlus are rumored to be working on phones powered by the Dimensity 1200 SoC: the X9 Pro and the Nord 2 respectively. Now, a Weibo-based leaker insists that they are in fact one and the same, and will be marketed as the latter for international release. Meanwhile, a second X9 Pro with a different processor is slated to be a Chinese-market exclusive.

Samsung’s next major Galaxy Unpacked event is tipped for August 3. The event is expected to see the unveiling of the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Flip 3 and Galaxy Watch 4 series.

Realme has set the international launch of its flagship smartphone, the GT, for June 15, 2021. Now, its latest teasers hint that it has an additional new product by the same name to debut alongside it. This prospect is presented alongside images that might show the profiles of not only its rumored first laptop, but a tablet as well.

When a smartphone does exactly what is expected from its price range, this can definitely be an advantage. At least this is the impression given by the Oppo A94 5G.

HMD Global has presented the Nokia C20 Plus, another budget smartphone for the company. The C20 Plus retails for equivalent to US$110 and comes with 3 GB of RAM, a 4,950 mAh battery and 32 GB of expandable storage.

The June 2021 security patch has arrived for the Mi A2 Lite, courtesy of its V11.0.20.0.QDLMIXM update. V11.0.20.0.QDLMIXM is rolling out now as an OTA, but it may be the Mi A2 Lite's penultimate update.

The next major upgrade to Android, simply known as 12, has started on its path to a final form with the launch of its second beta. The vice-president (VP) of engineering at the OS' team has released an interesting statistic to go with this new milestone: its immediate predecessors apparently attracted the most downloads and installs of any pre-stable Android version in its history.

Contrary to previous reports, Mobvoi has denied that the TicWatch Pro 3 will necessarily receive Wear OS 3.0, or 'Wear' as Google now calls it. Supposedly, Mobvoi awaits 'official confirmation...from Google' on the matter.

According to reports, neither the Surface Duo nor the Surface Duo 2 will receive Android 12 this year. An Android 11 release date has been mooted for the Surface Duo, though. For some reason, Microsoft plans to release the Surface Duo 2 with what will be an outdated OS by that point, albeit with flagship components.

Samsung is continuing its habit of providing timely updates. The company sent out the June update to its current flagship phones last week and is now expanding the rollout to include its 2019 premium devices, the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 series.

Some consumers all set to buy the rumored Samsung Galaxy S21 FE may have been put off by leaks pointing to only 6GB of RAM for the upcoming flagship variant. However, the same model number quoted in this leak has turned up on Geekbench again, but with 8GB of RAM this time. It also still has its top-end Snapdragon 888 SoC.

The Honor 50 and 50 Pro are Android smartphones subject to numerous leaks that purport to out their design and specs ahead of their launch. The latest of these comes from AnTuTu, and may offer an insight into their new SoC, the Snapdragon 778G, for the first time. It also indicates that the Pro variant will debut with a 120Hz display.

MIUI 12.5 has now found its way to over 35 devices globally. Xiaomi's latest OS upgrade should reach even more devices by the end of the month, according to the company's official release schedules.

The Xperia 1 III may not be available globally yet, but Sony has already started selling it in China. Accordingly, the first hands-on videos of the new flagship have arrived, and it seems that Sony has stepped up its camera game compared with the Xperia 1 III compared to last year's model.

OnePlus has introduced three new additions to its upper midrange U-series smart TV range in 50, 55, and 65-inch variants. The new U1S series feature largely similar specifications as the previous 55U1 with some features removed to keep costs competitive. The company has also launched the OnePlus TV Camera for video conferencing with Google Duo.

Samsung has delivered on an earlier teaser with the launch of the ISOCELL JN1 camera for mobile devices today (June 10, 2021). It packs the industry's smallest pixel size of 0.64 microns, which fits in well with its relatively tiny overall size. The OEM asserts that it is ready to become the main, wide, ultra-wide or telephoto camera of the mid-range to flagship phones of the immediate future.

OnePlus has revealed the Nord CE 5G, its latest assault on the mid-range. The Nord CE 5G offers much of what the regular Nord does, but at an even more affordable price. The Nord CE 5G will be available with up to 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.

Facebook is prepping its first smartwatch that can also double as standalone camera of sorts. According to The Verge, the new smartwatch will feature two cameras and can be detached from a watch band and used for taking photos and videos.

The Sony Xperia 1 III will soon be available for pre-order in North America via one of Sony's authorized dealers. B&H Photo has added a pre-order date to its listing for the Xperia 1 III, although there is still no official price mentioned. Buyers will be limited to frosted black when it comes to colors though.

Samsung has set a date for presenting its 'New Watch Experience', following the announcement that Wear OS and Tizen will merge. The presentation is only a few weeks away, of which the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch Active 4 are expected to be a part.

Currently, Xiaomi's most premium Android smartphones include the Mi 11 Ultra and Mi Mix Fold. However, the renowned leaker Digital Chat Station claims to have information on an impending successor that could blow even these super-flagships out of the water. It will apparently do so with cutting-edge tech such as ultrawide-band (UWB) and under-display technology.

Motorola has launched a new low-cost 5G smartphone in the US. The Moto G Stylus 5G comes with significant upgrades, such as a newer Snapdragon chipset and a new stylus design. It will hit shelves on June 14 and cost US$400.

While the fate of existing Wear OS smartwatches remains undecided, Mobvoi has committed to upgrading the TicWatch Pro 3 to Google's new Wear OS platform. The TicWatch Pro 3 remains the most powerful Wear OS smartwatch, thanks to its Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 SoC, nearly nine months after its release.

Samsung is thought to introduce the Galaxy Watch 4 and Active 4 lines of smartwatches during its next major product event. Now, another domino in this rumored sequence might have fallen, in the form of 3C certification for new wearables from this OEM. It may confirm earlier leaks pointing to nearly unchanged charging specs for one new Active SKU.