Android

A new leak points to an upcoming Xiaomi phone with what is most likely the Snapdragon 662 processor. It is thought to be the Redmi Note 10 - the 4G/LTE version, that is. Meanwhile, it is rumored to get 5G variants with much newer SoCs and possibly higher-end specs.

After beating Apple in the US in terms of smartphone sales after many years, Samsung also managed to grab the leading place in India. Now, we find out in a new report that five devices out of the top ten best-selling smartphones worldwide are made by Samsung. In the third quarter, Samsung shipped over 10 million Galaxy A21s handsets.

One of the most useful features added by OPPO to the ColorOS 11 firmware protects the handset's battery by pausing the night charging process at 80 percent and restarting in time for the user to wake up with a fully charged smartphone. Sony introduced the same feature as Qnovo Battery Care back in 2016.

Recent leaks have pointed to the existence of upcoming phones called the Redmi Note 9 5G and 9 Pro 5G. Now, a Weibo tipster asserts that this new series will start at 1000 yuan on its Chinese launch. The Pro variant, on the other hand, might cost 1500 yuan. This means the devices are now rumored to start at well below US$200.

Google is ending its free unlimited photo storage on Google Photos. The change will take effect from June 1, 2021, and will affect all but owners of Pixel smartphones. From that date, Google will count all photos backed up to Google Photos against a 15 GB data limit.

OnePlus may now sell three Nord-branded smartphones, but the company will not afford the same software support for all models. Two will receive just one OS update, and they arguably should have been released on Android 11 anyway.

A tech blog claims to have learned from "exclusive" sources that Samsung is working on a next-gen budget Galaxy M-series phone with a battery rated for an impressive 7000mAh in capacity. This "M12" is also apparently destined for a 6.7-inch display with a punch-hole selfie camera. These claims may be backed up by new images of a rear panel for this putative device.

A hands-on image of two new flagship smartphones has been posted online, but some people have mistaken them for the Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro. Sadly for Xiaomi fans, the image is actually of the Vivo X60 series, not Xiaomi's 2021-bound flagships.

The OnePlus 5 has received a fixed OxygenOS 10 update, six months on from the disaster that was OxygenOS 10.0.0. OxygenOS 10.0.1 promises to fix the call recording, de-activated alarm and EIS issues that were present on the original Android 10 update, among other changes. OnePlus states that OxygenOS 10.0.1 will arrive on the OnePlus 5T too, although it has not said when.

Honor has introduced a phone called the 10X Lite to the European market. With its 6.67-inch FHD+ display, Kirin 710A SoC, 4GB of RAM and 5000 mAh battery, it is distinctly pitched at the low- to mid-tier market in this region. Its normal price is €265 (~US$311), although this has been reduced to €229.90 (~$270) as one of the brand's new 2020 holiday deals.

The US government has granted Qualcomm a licence to trade with Huawei, allowing the chipmaker to supply hardware to the sanction-stricken Chinese company. The timing of the news aligns perfectly for Huawei and its P50 series, according to a new report.

The Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook Enterprise 2-in-1 is one of, if not the, best Chromebooks we have ever tested. However, for ~$1580 and up, it is far too expensive for a Chromebook.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S has received a new MIUI 12 update, this time in Europe. V12.0.2.0.QJWEUXM replaces V12.0.2.0.QJWEUXM and is available as an OTA upgrade.

Huawei has started rolling out EMUI 11 to 10 devices, including to the Mate 30 Pro, P40 Pro and MatePad Pro. The Mate 30 Pro 5G is seemingly the first device to receive EMUI 11 outside of China, but Huawei also plans to have HarmonyOS beta builds ready for next month.

The release of the Galaxy S21 series isn't that far off any more and more information has surfaced about the line-leading Galaxy S21 Ultra. Notable takeaways include faster charging than the Note 20 Ultra, a new 108 MP camera, and much-awaited display improvements.

Samsung appears to be prepping a successor to the Galaxy A51 5G. Predictably called the Galaxy A52 5G, the device seemingly features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chipset and 6 GB of RAM.

LG's Android 11 testing is underway, according to Max Weinbach. Reputedly undergoing development on the V60 ThinQ, LG UX 10.0 will probably arrive in 2021 for most LG smartphones.

The Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 8T have received new MIUI 12 updates, bringing more variants onto Xiaomi's latest OS. The two updates are also based on Android 10 and are rolling out on the Indian and Russian branches of MIUI, respectively.

A well-known Weibo leaker now claims that OPPO - an OEM mostly known for its smartphones and wearables - is planning to also move into the tablet space. Similarly, it is also now said to start making its own laptops, much as Xiaomi and Huawei do now. Examples of these new product categories for the company might emerge as soon as 2021.

Expected to feature the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processor as the Reno 4, the upcoming OPPO Reno 5 will sport a 6.43-inch Full HD+ OLED screen with 60 Hz refresh, a 32 MP front camera, a 64 MP main camera (quad sensors), and a 4,300 mAh battery with 65 W fast charging capabilities. The price and release date are not even in the rumor mill yet.

Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi have taken up all 10 places in the Q3 2020 table for most shipped smartphones of the quarter. While Samsung has five different Galaxy A-branded devices in the charts and Xiaomi has great results with the Redmi Note 9 and Redmi 9, it’s the Apple iPhone 11 that rules the roost once again.

Word on the street is that the smartphone featuring the new wrap-around display would be part of the Galaxy Z series and could be launched soon in response to Xiaomi's commercial version for the Mi Mix Alpha. The upcoming Samsung phone would also come with sliding rear camera setup, in-display selfie cam and fingerprint sensor, wireless charging and no physical buttons, plus a host of new UI functions that make use of the expanded screen real estate.

Beta builds tend to include more bugs than stable ones, but few will wipe your data as a new update for the OnePlus 8, and OnePlus 8 Pro, on the Open Beta program has. OnePlus has, to its credit, provided a workaround to prevent data loss, though.

Huawei might be doing it tough with a shortage of components due to US sanctions, but it is still pushing ahead with the last of its major 2020 releases. Fresh certification for the Mate X2 66 W charging system in China suggests that it continues to be on track for release.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro has started receiving MIUI 12 globally. The update is called V12.0.1.0.QJZMIXM and is rolling out as an OTA following the arrival of similar updates for other regional variants of the Redmi Note 9 Pro.

OnePlus introduced a range of new always-on display (AOD) options with OxygenOS 11 (this OEM's take on Android 11) on its late-2020 flagship, the 8T. Now, one of these, Canvas, is available to this phone's immediate forebears the 8 and 8 Pro in a new "stable" update. The company has also addressed a serious error with a previous software version.

OnePlus is expected to release the low-cost OnePlus Nord SE sometime in March 2021. The smartphone is set to feature a 4,500mAh battery that supports fast charging at 65W. It will likely be released in India first, followed by the EU. A U.S launch seems unlikely.

Samsung has issued yet another fix to address the Galaxy S20 FE's touchscreen issues. Some users have reported that the update only partially addresses the problem, with some touchscreen functions not working as intended. The defect is likely due to faulty hardware, as multiple updates have failed to mend it.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 has received its call to Android 11. The Mi 10 is one of the first Xiaomi handsets to be upgraded to Android 11, albeit only in China for the time being. V12.2.2.0.RJBCNXM is rolling out as an OTA to devices now, but it is available to download manually.

Nokia has just completed its latest product unveiling, and it's a new version of the 8.3 5G. This smartphone is a variant optimized for the Verizon network in the United States. To this end, it has much the same specs as the original mid-ranger on which it is based, but also has 3 "powerful" antennae for its carrier's mmWave 5G.

Alleged details about the Redmi K40’s display have been leaked, and they seem to point to an intriguing improvement over the confusing situation of the screens used in the Redmi K30 smartphones. The Redmi K40 is predicted to appear in the first quarter of 2021 sporting a new Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

A list of devices that will receive One UI 3.0 has appeared online, suggesting that Samsung may bring Android 11 to up to 90 smartphones and tablets over the next few months. The list includes representatives from Samsung Galaxy A, M, Note, S and Tab series, among others.

The eagerly anticipated OnePlus Watch is said to have dumped Google’s WearOS according to a reliable leaker. Instead it will run an unspecified operating system that is presumably a bespoke solution.

Square Enix has published its earnings report for the last 6 months (ending on September 30, 2020). It claims to have made 172.7 billion yen (~US$1.7 billion), or 46% more in sales year-on-year (YoY), for this period. This was attributed to strong performance in areas of its business such as its games (mobile titles including) and merchandising arms.

The One UI 2.5 update has been sent out to a host of Galaxy smartphones across the globe. If you haven't received it, it may be a good idea to not install it even when you do get the OTA—if Google Camera support means anything to you.

The Your Phone facility in Windows 10 is Microsoft's answer to syncing an iPhone with a macOS device. However, it has been rather restrictive in that it only allows 1 Android app open on a given phone to be mirrored on a PC's screen at any one time. A new version now gradually rolling out from the Insider Preview addresses this issue, although there are caveats to the new solution.

Nokia has invited US fans to join it for a new live event set for November 9, 2020 (tomorrow). Based on the hastag used in the Twitter-based announcement for this launch, it is likely to pertain to new phones from this HMD Global brand. Therefore, long-anticipated units such as the 7.3 5G could make their debut very soon.

Another Xiaomi Android 11 update list has been uploaded by the Telegram group Xiaomi & MIUI News that shows a considerable change from the last list published in September. Apparently, the Xiaomi Mi A3, the popular Mi 9 series, and the devices created in cooperation with Black Shark have all moved to the internal testing phase.

More rumors have appeared in connection with the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 11, and this time they concern the camera equipment. It appears the Mi 11 could end up sporting a 48 MP ultra wide-angle lens in its main camera system, compared to the 20 MP sensors found in the Huawei Mate 40 Pro and Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra devices.

Smartphone shipments in India - one of the top 3 markets worldwide - shrank by a worrying 48% in the second quarter of 2020 (2Q2020). However, three months later, the story has changed: the same market had posted year-on-year (YoY) gains of 17%, whereas the US and China failed to show any growth for the same quarter at all.

Recently, signs of a new and more premium version of the popular Redmi Note 9 emerged in leak form. A new certification issued by the Chinese regulator TENAA may shed more light on these rumors: it may be a variant of this phone that is both Pro and 5G. It may launch soon with the new Snapdragon 750G SoC onboard.

Model numbers and key specifications for the OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro, and a potential OnePlus 9 “Ultra” have appeared online. Unsurprisingly the OnePlus 9 series of smartphones is expected to sport the cutting-edge Qualcomm Snapdragon 875 SoC, and a 144 Hz refresh rate will be made available to at least one of the SKUs.

The MIUI 12 rollout for the Global variant of the Redmi Note 8 has been stalled. Apparently, there has been an issue reported with the OTA (over the air) process that is preventing the Android 10-based MIUI 12 update from reaching owners of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8. It’s unknown how long a fix for this issue might take.

The 9.7-inch display variant of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 hails from all of five years ago. Nevertheless, its units served by the carrier Verizon have been issued with October 2020 security patches. Therefore, even though it remains on an older version of Android, it is up to date in one respect, at least.

The Mi 10 Pro will go down as Xiaomi's first actual flagship phone on par with the regular juggernauts of the segment but the company is already phasing the device out, likely in preparation for the release of the Mi 11. The Mi 10 Ultra remains available, however, but not for much longer.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 has just made its second Geekbench appearance. The Snapdragon 875-powered smartphone nets single and multi-core scores of 1,105 and 3,512, respectively. Although the multi-core score seems a bit lot, the results reconfirm what we already know about the chip. Xiaomi is expected to launch the Mi 11 in Q1 2020