Android

The Samsung website currently lists 15 smartphones that belong to the Galaxy A series. In terms of looks, the differences are sometimes marginal, but in terms of price and features, they are quite noticeable. We took a closer look at the Galaxy A31.

Xiaomi has been updating devices to MIUI 12 for months, having started with the Mi 9 and Redmi K20 series in June. Now, the company claims that MIUI 12 is available on more than 30 smartphones, but many remain adrift on MIUI 11.

An alleged Samsung Galaxy S21 Geekbench listing has surfaced online. It appears to be running the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. The chipset gets a single-core score of 1,075 and a multi-core score of 2,916. While the former seems ok, the latter appears to be a tad low.

The Axon 20 5G was the first ever phone to launch with an under-display selfie camera. However, its maker ZTE has never made it available outside China. This will change, though, on December 21, 2020, when the OEM releases it to certain additional markets.

According to the leaker Ishan Agarwal, Samsung will launch a phone called the Galaxy F62, or SM-E62F, soon. The same model number has subsequently popped up on Geekbench 5. It indicates that this device is powered by the Exynos 9825 - the same SoC found in the 2019 flagships the Galaxy Note 10 and 10+.

The Pixel 5 has a sizeable hole in its back panel, but JerryRigEverything has demonstrated that it is nothing to worry about. Instead, it turns out that the Pixel 5 is more resistant to being twisted and abused, despite its cut out for wireless charging. The bio-resin coating is much thicker than the coating on the Pixel 4 series, too.

Xiaomi has rolled out Android 11 to all Mi 10 Pro handsets globally. The update, V12.2.1.0.RJAMIXM, has passed Xiaomi's Beta Stable testing and will reach devices as an over-the-air (OTA) upgrade. The new update includes a few changes besides the upgrade to Android 11, too.

Some Xiaomi Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro specifications have shown up online. Both phones are tipped to come with a 1440p screen that refreshes at 120Hz. The Mi 11 Pro will allegedly support fast charging at 120W. Xiaomi is expected to unveil the Mi 11 series by the end of December 2020.

Some Galaxy S20 users have reportedly received the One UI 3.0 update on their Samsung Galaxy S20 smartphones. The software gives several Stock apps a new look and comes with the October 2020 security patch. Other Galaxy S20 variants will likely receive the update in the coming weeks.

The Galaxy S9 is a 2018 flagship. Nevertheless, its maker Samsung has reportedly updated it with the latest Android security patch. The more recent premium mid-ranger the Galaxy S20 FE has joined it in this respect.

The Oukitel WP10 as a rugged phone with a massive 8000mAh battery. It is powered by the Dimensity 800 processor, which also makes it 5G. It launched at a price of US$670, but has a promotional event coming up that will bring that price down to $400 soon.

Qualcomm only unveiled the Snapdragon 888 yesterday, but a new entry on Geekbench with the chipset has already appeared. The device is codenamed the Vivo V2056A, but it is not the only device on the benchmarking website to feature the new flagship SoC.

Consumers will be spoilt for choice over smartphones with the Snapdragon 888, according to Qualcomm. The new flagship chipset will feature in devices from at least thirteen OEMs, even from the likes of LG.

Xiaomi has another smartphone release in India planned. This time it is a rebadged version of the Redmi Note 9 4G, which the company unveiled in China last month. The device will be sold as the Redmi 9 Power in India, according to the Google Play Console and an initial MIUI 12 build published by Xiaomi.

Xiaomi launched a new trio of Redmi Note 9 series devices a few days ago. The phones look to have stunned commercially, with company man Lu Weibing announcing that over 300,000 units of the new phones were sold on day one.

The electronics company Philips has petitioned the High Court of Delhi to block the sale, production or import of certain smartphones in India. Their OEM, Xiaomi, has been accused of infringing on Phliips' patents in making the devices in question. This case may result in financial penalties.

Samsung plans to upgrade at least 41 devices to One UI 3.0 by September 2021, according to an official upgrade plan. The company will begin with the Galaxy S20 series this month, before moving onto the Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Z series. Most devices will not see One UI 3.0 until April 2021 and later, though.

Motorola is all set to launch a smartphone running Qualcomm's newest Snapdragon 888 SoC. Unlike the company's previous high-end offerings, this device will be released as a part of the Moto G series. The affordable flagship smartphone is likely to be unveiled in late 2021.

An earlier tip dropped a strong hint that the successors to the Galaxy Buds Live TWS earbuds would be called the Buds Pro. Now, their certification with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) all but confirms this state of affairs. Meanwhile, another prominent leaker has posted the first renders for these potential accessories.

A restructure of Samsung's flagship smartphones is afoot. Following multiple rumours concerning the end of the Galaxy Note series and the Galaxy Note21 being the last of its kind, Reuters now claims that Samsung will roll its S-Pen into the Galaxy S and Galaxy Z series, mothballing the Galaxy Note series in the process.

Realme has announced its next flagship smartphone. Codename 'Race', the device will debut with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 chipset. Realme is quiet on details about the Race, but the design and some specifications have already leaked.

The Wear OS H-MR2 update is now receiving a wider rollout, rolling its release on the Suunto 7 in September. H-MR2 continues to be based on Android 9.0 Pie, but it promises improved battery life and better performance among other changes. You may need to check manually for the update on your smartwatch, though.

The TicWatch Pro 3 4G/LTE is a 2020 dual-display smartwatch with standalone cellular connectivity. It is now on sale in Europe, although it is only usable through 1 carrier in the UK, Spain and Germany thus far. It is available on Amazon in these countries from now.

Xiaomi has now officially announced its next-gen flagship phone, Mi 11. While details of the device remain unknown, the company confirmed that it will be powered by the all-new Snapdragon 888—Qualcomm's most powerful chipset yet. Launch is rumored for January 2021.

With its first Chinese-manufactured SoC, Huawei did not prove to be competitive - at least not in the price range targeted by the Chinese manufacturer. Even the 230 Euros (~$275) recommended retail price for the P Smart 2021 are much too high for what you get. The potential of the chipset corresponds more to the current entry-level smartphones, and this dilemma may not change in the foreseeable future...

Samsung is planning to drop the price of its Galaxy S series, according to reports from South Korea. The price cut will be effective across the Galaxy S series, with the S21, S21 Plus and S21 Ultra set to be US$100-US$150 cheaper than their predecessors. The reduction would mean that the Galaxy S21 series would start at US$850-US$899, rather than US$999.

The Blade 20 Pro 5G is ZTE's latest smartphone. It is this OEM's take on the mid-range Snapdragon 765G-based device, having a waterdrop-notched-display and a 4000mAh battery. It also has a quad rear camera with a 64MP main sensor.

Xiaomi is sending out the November security patch to its lineup and the update has now been received by owners of the Mi Mix 3 5G and Mi A3. For the Mix 3 5G, the update is going out to the European version of the device. For the Mi A3, however, it's been sent out to both the European and Global models.

The Galaxy Z Fold2 is Samsung's second-gen foldable flagship mobile device that launched for close to US$2,000. Now, a well-regarded leaker asserts that this will not change much with its next generation in 2021. This is particularly off-putting as its series is reportedly intended to replace the Galaxy Notes in the fullness of time.

Xiaomi has published a rather odd update for the Redmi Note 8. The update is another Android 10 and MIUI 12-based build for the device, but it is a debut update for the European branch of MIUI. It is unclear why Xiaomi has established a new branch of MIUI for the Redmi Note 8, but it has published download links for the inaugural build.

The Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite has netted another update, this time one with the November 2020 security patch. V11.0.14.0.QDLMIXM is rolling out as an OTA for the Mi A2 Lite now.

A successor to the Galaxy A31 is already underway, called the Galaxy A32 5G. Samsung has given the entry-level Galaxy A handset a makeover while retaining the good selection of I/O that the Galaxy A31 offers, too.

The M30 Pro is a budget tablet by Teclast that has plenty going for it. Priced at US$189.99, the M30 Pro ships with Android 10, supports dual-LTE connectivity and has a 7,500 mAh battery. Teclast has included 4 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage and an octa-core processor, too.

Huawei has started rolling out stable EMUI 11 updates to some handsets, only a week after it announced its global upgrade plans. The stable update has arrived ahead of schedule too, which is always good to see.

OnePlus apparently wants to further expand its flagship smartphone from range with a third model. A new report claims that this device is the OnePlus 9E, and it will arrive simultaneously with the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro. Apparently, the OnePlus 9E will be more premium than the current OnePlus Nord series.

Sony has announced its plans to release Android 11 to its Xperia smartphones. Only five devices appear to be eligible for the OS upgrade, from the Xperia 5 to the Xperia 1 II and the Xperia 10 II thrown in for good measure. The rollout will begin from next month, but only for the Xperia 1 II. All other devices must wait until 2021 for Android 11.

The Ace2 is a 2020 flagship smartphone with up to 40W wireless charging. It was made by OPPO - but its successor won't be. The eminent leaker Digital Chat Station asserts that the series has been adopted by this OEM's sister company Realme instead, which will continue its tradition of top-end processors combined with interesting features.

An earlier leak has hinted that Nokia has a successor to the mid-range 5.3 in the works that might launch before the end of the year. However, it failed to mention how much this putative phone might cost. Now, however, Australian retailers have posted pages for this device with this information in their currency.

The global versions of the Mi 10 Pro and Poco F2 Pro have begun to receive Xiaomi's Android 11 upgrade. The devices are some of the first to taste the OS upgrade outside of China, along with the Mi 10. Xiaomi has detailed some of the features that it has introduced to MIUI 12 as of Android 11, too.

A company insider has told a South Korean news outlet that Samsung plans on releasing one last Galaxy Note smartphone before retiring the series entirely in 2022. The Galaxy Note 21 will come in only one variant, presumably top-of-the-line hardware like the Exynos 2100/Snapdragon 875, an AMOLED panel that can push 120Hz at 1440p, and more.

Baseus has launched a series of new slim, high-tech third-party chargers equipped with gallium nitride (GaN) technology. One of them is rated to charge 2 devices at up to 60 watts (W) at once. This may make it a good companion for laptops such as the MacBook Pro.

Nokia launched its mid-range 5.3 in March 2020. However, a new leak alleges that an upgrade for this phone is already prepared for launch, which it may do alongside the 7.3. The phone is thought to have quad rear cameras, although its display and storage options may be a departure from its predecessor.

The respected leaker Ice Universe has posted images showing the upcoming Galaxy S21 in all the color options projected for this new phone on its 2021 launch. They also appear to confirm this device's new kind of frame/camera hump, and that it will be copper-colored in 1 of these SKUs.

The Poco M3 was recently launched and it appears to be doing reasonably well in terms of sales, with Poco confirming that it made over US$9 million dollars in just thirty minutes of early Poco M3 sales. Those are impressive numbers, considering the phone's very low price.

Realme has started to push its version of Android 11 to the 7 Pro. However, Indian users in this OS' early access program appear to be the only ones eligible to receive it thus far. The update contains a number of new features, including system optimizations, extra security features and camera options.

Zhiyun's Cinepeer C11 gimbal is an accessory with 3-axis stabilization and features such as object-tracking and motion-lapse features. It is also a 4000mAh power bank, thus allowing the user to keep recording for longer. It is currently 44% off its normal US$89 price for Black Friday.

Huawei often markets its flagship mobile devices as having cutting-edge camera technology. A new report suggests it has yet another supposedly ground-breaking spec in the works for their successors. This is a liquid lens, an adaptation directed at improved auto-focus in the sensor behind it.