Android

Three major market research firms have declared Xiaomi is now the world’s third-largest smartphone company in terms of units shipped for the third quarter of 2020. The good news for Xiaomi comes at the expense of Apple, which slips into fourth. Strong sales for the Redmi 9 series, Redmi K30 Ultra, and Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra have helped the Chinese OEM achieve impressive growth.

It has been speculated that one of the potential smartphone series of the year, the Redmi K40, has taken another step closer to being officially announced. The Redmi K40 and Redmi K40 Pro are expected to feature brand-new high-end chips from Qualcomm and may see the light of day before the year is up.

With OmniROM, owners of the Raspberry Pi 4 can now install the latest Android 11 on their small computer. Only a few features like screencast or the ability to open a hotspot are missing.

Huawei has published the list of devices that will be eligible to receive EMUI 11 beta. All devices should be brought onto the EMUI 11 beta program by the end of November. The list contains 37 devices, including some Honor handsets. Stable EMUI 11 updates start rolling out by the end of next month, too.

Realme launched its first ever 6000mAh battery phone in July 2020. The C15 also had a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS display, quad rear cameras and the MediaTek Helio G35 SoC. Now, the OEM is releasing a version of this phone with 1 crucial difference: a Snapdragon processor.

Samsung has obtained Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval for a device called the SM-A205M. This, according to several leaks, may be launched as the Galaxy A02 or possibly A02s. Its new registration shows that it is a 4G/LTE-only phone with a rectangular rear camera.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is all set to be the first Samsung device to come with five rear camera sensors. The 108MP wide-angle lens will likely be joined by two telephoto and one ultra-wide-angle lens, along with a ToF sensor. Samsung is likely to unveil the phone sometime in January 2021.

Sony may be on the verge of releasing a version of the Xperia 1 II with 12 GB of RAM, but it will not necessarily offer any performance improvements on the standard 8 GB model. To that end, Geekbench has shown the performance limits of going from 8 GB to 12 GB of RAM, with marginal improvements in single-core and multi-core tasks.

It seems that Xiaomi forgot to include several features in the first Android 10 and MIUI 12 update for the global version of the Redmi Note 8. According to multiple reports, V12.0.1.0.QCOMIXM is missing multiple elements of MIUI 12, like floating windows, new animations and even the Android 10 gesture navigation pill.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge have received a new update, over four-and-a-half years since their release in March 2016. The update brings the September 2020 security patch to the two devices, along with bug fixes, performance optimisations and stability improvements.

Xiaomi has started publishing volume two of its MIUI 12 Global ROM bug tracker report over at the Mi Community forum. The table contains a list of issues reported by Mi Pilot testers, with the POCO F1 featuring heavily. There are also entries for the Redmi Note 9 Pro, Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro, POCO F2 Pro, and Redmi 9A.

Google has announced several new initiatives to improve the environmental friendliness of its Pixel smartphones. From 2025, the packaging of Google's smartphones will be plastic-free, while at least 50% recycled or renewable plastic will be used in its Pixel or Nest hardware.

Unbridled MIUI 12 has finally arrived globally for the Pocophone F1. V12.0.2.0.QEJMIXM is available as an OTA download, but Xiaomi has also published the recovery and fastboot ROMs of the build, should you need to install one of those instead.

LG has just introduced its revolutionary Wing smartphone to the Indian market. The display-swiveling device has been joined there by a 4G/LTE version of the Velvet. This variant swaps its normal Snapdragon 765G processor for an 845 SoC. The two phones will start to become available from October 30, 2020.

Recently, the tipster Max J. asserted that OnePlus would introduce its first-ever smartwatch in October 2020. Now, the same leaker claims that this launch has been postponed, possibly due to development issues with the new product. The OEM apparently does not have a new date for the event at this time.

The purple smartphone may not be the sleekest or most powerful, but it's one of the least expensive Android 10 smartphones you can without being tied to year-long contracts.

A leaked internal document has revealed HMD Global's future plans for Nokia, which apparently include the release of a Nokia 10. The Nokia brand will remain committed to the Android One ecosystem too, which is becoming increasingly Nokia-dependent following the seeming withdrawal from the program by Xiaomi.

Mophie has released its latest Qi-enabled wireless battery charger, but this one has a twist. The new Mophie Juice Pack Connect has a modular design that clips on the back of any Qi-enabled smartphone to give it a wireless battery top-up.

Take to the streets in joy, Redmi Note 8 owners; MIUI 12 and Android 10 is finally here for you! After months of delays, Xiaomi is finally sending out the stable MIUI 12 and Android 10 update to the global version of the Redmi Note 8, with the update weighing a hefty 2.1 GB.

The Pro1 X is a collaboration between F(x)tec and XDA Developers with native support for both LineageOS and Ubuntu Touch. The price is high for outdated hardware and long lead-times, though.

The OEM Huami has held its global launch for the second-gen Amazfit GTR and GTS wearables, although they will only be released in the US and UK markets to start off with. These smartwatches feature blood-oxygen, heart-rate, sleep and stress monitors, which are analyzed using their in-house PAI system. They will be available through channels such as Amazon on their release.

After sending out the highly awaited MIUI 12 update to the European version of the Redmi Note 9S, Xiaomi has now expanded the rollout by sending a similar update to the global variant of the device. The Mi A3 also happens to be receiving the October security patch.

OnePlus' first-ever TWS earbuds were AirPod clones, but did come with a gray variant at least. They have been out of stock in many countries for some time, however. The OEM has now revealed that they are back in its store now, however, and that they are US$20 off their regular price right now.

DOOGEE's latest in its line of durable smartphones is the S96 Pro. This device counts a 20MP Sony "night vision" sensor among its 4 rear cameras. It also has a colossal battery of over 6000mAh in capacity, an ingress-protection rating of up to IP69K and the MediaTek Helio G90 SoC.

More clues about the design of the Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus have turned up online, seemingly confirming past leaks for Samsung's next trio of flagship smartphones. The Galaxy S21 Plus will reputedly resemble a slightly larger version of the Galaxy S21, even more so than the Galaxy S20 Plus does to the Galaxy S20.

Hacking Google apps and services have returned to Honor and Huawei devices, courtesy of Googlefier. The workaround can bring Google Mobile Services to devices like the Mate 30 Pro and P40 Pro.

In addition to the Sprint and T-Mobile customers that receive the One UI 3.0 beta update on the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra — alongside those who use the unlocked versions of these handsets — in the US. The good news is that this update is also rolling out in other markets, such as India and Germany.

Xiaomi has now launched its newest device, the Redmi K30S, in its home country of China. The Redmi K30S is, for all intents and purposes, a rebranded Mi 10T for certain markets, and it carries an appropriate price tag, starting at €325 versus the Mi 10T's €499.

Although it is not official yet, Samsung is expected to release the Galaxy S21 Ultra sometime in January 2021. The flagship will reportedly come with a 6.8-inch AMOLED panel clocked at 120Hz, a quad-camera array with two telephoto lenses, and a 5,000mAh battery that supports 45W fast charging. It is expected to retail at US$1,300 for the base variant with 128GB of storage and 12GB of RAM.

Vivo is rumored to launch its camera-centric successors to the X50 line of phones soon, perhaps before 2020 is out. These devices are also now thought to introduce a new Android skin developed by this company. This "Origin OS" is now slated to have the quality necessary to challenge rivals from OnePlus or Samsung.

LG now has a few generations of its TONE FREE AirPod-clones under its belt. Now, it has announced a new one. These buds look much like the old, except that they support active noise-cancelling (ANC) this time. Their series' UVnano self-disinfecting technology is also still here.

Redmi is set to add a new member to the K30 series tomorrow, albeit in China only. However, the rest of the world has apparently already seen this phone, as it is a rebranded Mi 10T. Nevertheless, it is projected to sell for prices in keeping with its budget-friendly flagship-killer kin.

OnePlus' two new low-cost smartphones are now up for grabs in Europe. The OnePlus Nord N10 5G comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 SoC, a quad-camera array, a 4,300mAh battery, and will cost €329. At €179, the OnePlus Nord N100 gets you a Snapdragon 460n, three rear cameras, and a 5,000mAh battery.

A reported update policy operated by Xiaomi in regard to MIUI and Android upgrades has shown the smartphone series favored by the Chinese OEM and which are more likely to be neglected. The unofficial list reveals that owners of Redmi (not Redmi K), Redmi Note, POCO M, and POCO C smartphones will receive the least upgrades.

Xiaomi is slowly continuing with the MIUI 12 rollout for the Snapdragon 720G-powered arm of the Redmi Note 9 family. The latest devices to receive MIUI 12 are the European variant of the Redmi Note 9S and the Indonesian model of the Redmi Note 9 Pro, keeping with reports from a week ago.

Microsoft’s Surface Duo is already starting to see some relatively steep price cuts of up to US$200. Naturally, early adopters aren’t happy and Microsoft isn’t doing a lot to appease customers other than pointing then to the 60-day return policy.

Samsung could be finally bringing S-Pen support to its Galaxy Z Fold line with next year’s model. According to a new report, the Galaxy Z Fold3 will add the long awaited feature thanks to the introduction of thicker foldable glass and some other tweaks.

German smartphone manufacturer Gigaset has announced the Gigaset GS4, a new smartphone that occupies an interesting niche in its price class. For €229, you get an otherwise average device with wireless charging and a removable battery.

iQOO has launched the uncharacteristically budget U1x smartphone in China. With its Snapdragon 662 SoC, relatively small HD display and 5000mAh battery, it should get a lot of screen-on time, at least. It has debuted alongside a new RAM/storage option for the more premium Dimensity 1000+-powered Z1.

More users of Xiaomi smartphones have been reporting issues with battery drain after installing the MIUI 12 update. The problem had already been mentioned on social media in connection to devices like the Redmi Note 8 Pro and Xiaomi Mi 9, with POCO F1 owners also recently complaining about the hitch. Xiaomi may address the issue with future firmware builds.

Some evidence of Samsung's next-gen super-budget smartphones has appeared in a new tip. It concerns a phone thought to be called the Galaxy A02s, which appears to be a 3GB RAM version of the also-rumored Galaxy A02. Oddly, however, the new benchmarking leaks for both possible phones lack SoC data.

New smartphones are constantly outbidding each other with ever faster displays. The newest example is the OnePlus 8T. But do 120-Hz panels really make sense in a smartphone?

A newly unearthed Xiaomi patent depicts an intriguing device with a design that would fit well with a future Mi Mix 4 (or Mi Mix 2021) thanks to a combination of foldable technology and a slider mechanism. It appears Xiaomi is pushing ahead with work on producing a foldable smartphone that will likely feature an external secondary display.