Android

Xiaomi is expected to unveil three premium tablets this month, according to Digital Chat Station. The real date may be June at the earliest, though. One of the three has already appeared on the 3C and with a sizeable battery that should challenge Samsung's hegemony over the Android premium tablet market.

According to reports, Samsung's next Android tablet will be the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus Lite, or Galaxy Tab S7+ Lite for short. Setting aside its mouthful of a name, the tablet should arrive in June with a Snapdragon 750G SoC, a 12.4-inch display and in a minimum of two colours.

ZTE's high-end brand Nubia has been rumored to have a successor to its Z20 flagship Android phone in the works. Now, the company's CEO, Ni Fei, has formally acknowledged a device of a corresponding name. It is now scheduled to launch on May 20, 2021, and may do so with a cutting-edge under-display camera.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G launched with a US$1,449 price-tag. However, a leaker now asserts that this clamshell phone's successor will start at about $1,000 instead. This might get the buyer a device with a 6.7-inch foldable display, at least 8GB of RAM and an updated design with possible vast improvements for its secondary screen.

A heretofore-unknown device called the Lenovo TB-X607Z has just appeared on Geekbench 4 with the Snapdragon 690 SoC and 4GB of RAM. According to a concurrent Google Play Console leak, it will be called the Tab M10 5G on launch. Therefore, this slate might be the first to bring next-gen connectivity to its line in 2021.

The latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android sheds light on one highly-anticipated feature. It shows chats being synced across multiple devices, indicating that the functionality is being tested.

Our review of the Redmi 9T reveals a really good entry-level smartphone with a well-rounded overall package for little money. You can read about the advantages of the Xiaomi smartphone compared with the Poco M3 here.

Xiaomi has brought its new Mi TV P1 series to Europe. The budget TVs start at around €280 and come in four sizes.

OPPO's latest product event was a bumper update for its device ecosystem in general. Not only did it introduce the new K9 smartphone, but it also revealed the new TVs of the same name. The Enco Air TWS earbuds also debuted at the show, as did the Vitality Edition of the OPPO Band.

Samsung launched the Galaxy Quantum 2 in its native South Korea recently, and is thought to rebrand it as the Galaxy A82 5G for the rest of the world. Despite its status as a new launch, a blog has dug up evidence that it will get just 4 new security patches per year. This may have something to do with its Snapdragon 855+ SoC.

Xiaomi has started distributing MIUI 12.5 internationally, beginning with the Mi 11. The flagship can now be upgraded to MIUI 12.5 on MIUI's European branch ahead of a wider rollout. Other devices should follow, including the Mi 10 series.

Google is ending unlimited high-quality Google Photos backups next month, including on current Pixel smartphones. However, changes within the Google Photos app suggest that the company will offer a comparable and unlimited backup method for future Pixel smartphones.

ASUS ZenFone 8 Flip specifications and renders have leaked just over a week ahead of the device's unveiling. The ZenFone 8 Flip is basically last year's ZenFone 7 series but with a Snapdragon 888 SoC, which seems fairly uninspired.

Google has inadvertently confirmed the existence of the first 'Google Silicon' chip, the GS101. Codenamed 'Whitechapel', the GS101 will debut in the 'P21', a possible collective term for the Pixel 6 series.

Renders and specifications of the ZenFone 8 have leaked, nixing the notion that ASUS plans to launch a ZenFone 8 mini next week. The ZenFone 8 will still be on the smaller side, although it forgoes the flip camera for which the ZenFone series has become known. The ZenFone 8 will have a Snapdragon 888 SoC and three cameras, with two on the rear.

Advertised as the world’s first smartphone with HDMI input, the new Xperia PRO by Sony is now official in Europe at a price of almost US$3,000. Shipments will kick off on May 10 and pre-orders are already live. This premium handset is available via authorized dealers throughout the UK, Germany, and Nordic regions.

Lenovo has teased what could be the rumored Yoga X tablet on its Weibo account with a very interesting new capability. The new tablet is pictured hooked up to a Nintendo Switch over an HDMI port allowing it to do double duty as a portable monitor.

The Motorola Moto G100 smartphone also acts as a PC replacement by means of a special desktop mode. And this even worked surprisingly well in our test.

Lenovo has announced a new tablet equipped with a compelling assortment of hardware. The iPad Pro lookalike has a 90 Hz OLED display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, quad speakers and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC. The 2.5K tablet is HDR 10 certified, too.

Xiaomi is planning to release three premium tablets this year, according to information gleaned from the MIUI Home app. The trio, which may well be the Mi Pad 5, Mi Pad 5 Pro and Mi Pad 5 Pro Plus, are expected to feature 120 Hz displays and last generation flagship SoCs.

Xiaomi's latest Redmi K40 handset may be receiving an international release. According to reports, Xiaomi has re-branded the Redmi K40 Gaming Enhanced Edition as the POCO F3 GT. The POCO F3 GT will be sold in India at the very least.

Four years after release, Samsung has finally turned off the hall lights for owners of the Galaxy S8 and S8+. The two smartphones are now to be considered legacy devices and will no longer receive any scheduled security updates from Samsung. The Galaxy Note 8 and S8 Active are next in line for a similar treatment.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5G is said to be succeeded by a device called the Z Flip3 in 2021. Its latest leak seems to confirm that it will still be a clamshell foldable smartphone, albeit one with a larger, potentially more useful secondary display. Its latest renders also show this putative feature alongside its main Dynamic AMOLED screen.

Most likely set to arrive before the end of the month, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite should hit the market with a full HD display and Android 11-based firmware. Both variants (WiFi only and WiFi + cellular) will use a MediaTek processor, and multiple country-specific models are also in the cards.

MediaTek has been forecast to finish 2021 as the leading mobile chipset maker according to a report by Counterpoint Research. It will be the second consecutive year that it has beaten out Qualcomm, although Qualcomm edges out Apple as the leading maker of 5G-capable SoCs.

The OnePlus 9 Pro is a 2021 flagship Android phone launched in 3 color choices, one of which evinced the brand's signature Sandstone Black. However, according to the reliable leaker Max J., the OEM once considered a very different new option: Matte White. It also apparently mulled other, glossy finishes for its latest premium devices that ended up never seeing the light of day.

A new rumor about the Xiaomi MIUI 13 release date has started making the rounds, presumably with the specific day pointing to a domestic China release first before the Android overlay is rolled out around the world. Joining this MIUI 13 launch rumor is a speculative list of 80 Xiaomi, Redmi, Poco, and Black Shark smartphones that could be eligible for this update.

The prolific leaker Ice Universe has made new predictions concerning the Galaxy S22 series' Ultra variant. Not only does the tipster believe that it will introduce the mythical Samsung/AMD mobile GPU, it will also debut with a potential breakthrough in optical zoom for smartphones. The putative flagship may also drop the current central punch-hole selfie shooter for one that hides under the display.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 has seemingly appeared in numerous screenshots possibly taken from an official promo video. The leaked images reveal that the Galaxy Z Fold 3, which will apparently go into production in July, has an under display camera and restrained look to it. Buyers will get to select from four colors for the foldable phone.
Update: Designer Ben Geskin has created a clear render based on the current leaked images.

Oppo fans in Europe will be delighted to know that the Oppo A54 5G is now official in the region for EUR 269 (US$324). The smartphone comes with exciting specs, such as a 6.5-inch LCD screen clocked at 90Hz, four rear cameras, and a Snapdragon 480 chipset and a 5,000mAh battery.

The Oppo A74 5G has officially been launched in Europe. Some of its key specifications include a 6.5-inch 90Hz LCD screen, Snapdragon 480 chipset, 6GB RAM, four rear camera modules, and a 5,000mAh battery that supports 18W fast charging. It comes in two colour variants, Fluid Black and Space Silver, and costs EUR 299.

Images of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 have appeared online seemingly taken from an official promo video for the upcoming foldable phone. The screenshots show the Galaxy Z Flip 3 sporting at least four different colors; however, a noted industry source has stated that the Samsung flip phone will come in eight colors. Production of the device will apparently begin in July.

The ZTE brand Nubia has reportedly registered a new device called the NX667J. This new leak has led to speculation that it is a premium-grade phone called the Z30, not the least because it has been certified to use top-end 120 watt (W) charging. It might thus be combined with under-display camera technology in this potential upcoming flagship.

The Mi 11 Ultra is Xiaomi's new, camera-heavy flagship Android smartphone. It debuted in China in March 2021, but is still not available in various regions, Europe included. Now, however, a corporate Facebook page may have let a date for the release of the hyper-premium device in the Dutch market slip.

Death, taxes, and Xiaomi phones going up in flames—the three certainties of life. Or so it seems recently, anyway. Another Xiaomi phone has now blown up, just two weeks after a similar case with a Poco X3. The device in this case was a Redmi Note 9 Pro, however.

The Galaxy S20 Fan Edition (or FE) is rumored to get a successor in 2021. Now, a Samsung store website has reportedly posted an ad for a device by a corresponding name by accident. According to this new potential tip, it also looks much like the rest of the S21 series.

Huawei is currently said to have upgrades for its premium MatePad Pro and Watch in the works. A well-known leaker now asserts that they do in fact exist and will launch soon. The tipster also now claims that the Watch3 will have a Pro variant, which, according to other recent rumors, will not come cheap.

Recent reports suggest that Samsung is developing an "Armor"-themed series of new design features for its next-gen mobile devices, the latest of which could be applied to rear panels, displays or both. These leaked marketing buzzwords have sparked speculation that they are intended to enhance durability in next-gen products, the Galaxy Z Flips and Folds of the future included.

The Nord N100 and N10 5G are OnePlus' foray into the low- and mid-tiers of the smartphone market. Despite this, it has yet to be released in all the regions where the OEM is active. A new leak hints they might be destined for a new launch in India, however.

Xiaomi has announced a new round of MIUI 12.5 Global Stable ROM testing, albeit only for POCO devices this time. All POCO smartphones apart from the Pocophone F1 are eligible to join the program. Xiaomi has not explained why the Pocophone F1 is missing from the program.

More ZenFone 8 series details have been revealed, and it seems that only the ZenFone 8 Mini will have a flip-up camera. The 5.92-inch device will also have a 4,000 mAh battery and up to 16 GB of RAM. All ZenFone 8 devices should feature a 3.5 mm headphone jack, too.

Xiaomi has developed a penchant for raising the prices of its devices in India without warning, after launch. The latest victim is the Redmi Note 10 that was launched a few months ago, with the company raising prices by Rs 500 across all configurations of the device.

Samsung is reportedly developing the new "Armor" frame for the smartphones of the immediate future. Now, a new tip suggests the OEM might combine it with another new feature called Pro-Shield. It is apparently destined for various device categories, and might thus benefit the potential tri-folding tablets hinted at in another new leak.

Huawei is on the verge of launching the P50 series, although it remains to be seen in what capacity. Various dummy handsets have confirmed some earlier rumours about the upcoming flagship series, including its camera design and that it will run HarmonyOS rather than EMUI.