Android

The OnePlus 7 and 7T series will begin receiving Android 11 and OxygenOS 11 from December, according to a company spokesperson. It is unclear whether these will be beta or stable builds, but the likes of the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7T Pro will at least get a taste of Android 11 before the year is out.

According to a teaser posted by Realme India's CEO, the company has plans to release the Realme X7 and Realme X7 Pro in the country. Both phones will be the first MediaTek Dimensity-powered devices to be sold outside of China. We can expect to hear more about the smartphones' launch in the coming weeks.

Huawei has a good mid-range tablet on offer: the MatePad 10.4. The 10.4-inch Android tablet did a good job during our review and we were particularly impressed by its good price-to-performance ratio and connectivity. The MatePad 10.4 lacks access to Google services, however. Find out whether we can still recommend this tablet in our review highlights.

Xiaomi has brought the Mi CC9 Pro, Mi Note 10 and Mi Note 10 Pro onto Android 11, courtesy of a new closed beta update. The update can be downloaded on an unlocked handset via TWRP and is an encouraging sign of development for Xiaomi's 108 MP smartphone.

OnePlus has released a new version of the Nord, its budget alternative to the likes of the OnePlus 8T and OnePlus 8 Pro. The Gray Ash variant is only available with the premium storage option of the OnePlus Nord though, making it just £80 cheaper than the entry-level OnePlus 8T.

A South Korean media outlet says that Samsung is planning to release the Galaxy S21 series early. Its launch could be pushed to as early as late December 2020, but January 2021 seems more likely. The report also states that the Galaxy S21 Ultra will ship with an S Pen.

Mobvoi, the OEM behind popular lines of smartwatch and AirPod-clone accessories, has announced discounts on some newer models of these wearables. They include the TicWatch Pro 2020, as well as the stainless steel-cased TicWatch C2+ and TicPods ANC. Most of these products are 30% off their regular prices.

ASUS has begun issuing Android 11 beta builds to the ZenFone 7 Pro, stealing a march on other Android OEMs. The first beta build for the recently released flagship introduces a host of changes, not just Android 11.

Samsung has started beta testing One UI 3.0 in Europe. Testing began in South Korea and the US last month and remains limited to the Galaxy S20 series. The S20 FE is not eligible for One UI 3.0 beta yet though, and you must have an unlocked S20, S20 Plus or S20 Ultra to participate.

Android 11 may be slowing down smartphones like the Pixel 4a and Pixel 4 XL, HotHardware has discovered. The two Google smartphones perform demonstrably worse in benchmarks running Android 11 than they do on Android 10; the website is not the only one to be complaining of slowdowns on Android 11, either.

The first MIUI 12 update has arrived for the global version of the Redmi Note 9 Pro. Currently rolling out to Turkish handsets, the arrival of V12.0.1.0.QJZTRXM should predate equivalent updates for the global and European branches of MIUI by a few days. The inaugural MIUI 12 update has formally landed for the Redmi Note 7 Pro, too.

A new Poco smartphone is in development, and it is intended for the global market. However, a recent certification listing suggests that the device may be a rebrand of another upcoming Xiaomi smartphone, the Redmi Note 10 4G.

The CAD renders leaked a few months ago might be showing the regular Mate 40, while the Pro version could feature a new design, or Huawei just decided to change some design elements in the meantime. In any case, the sneak peek render posted by He Gang himself shows that the rear camera bump is not circular anymore, and the volume button appears to be back.

The Redmi Note 8 Pro seems unmovable in AnTuTu’s price-performance charts as the latest Android tables from the noted smartphone benchmark has shown the Note 8 Pro is still the number one pick for the budget end. At the other end of the scale, the iQOO 5 Pro is far ahead of rivals like the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra and Mi 10 Pro.

A well-known and reliable leaker has divulged that several smartphone manufacturers are working towards delivering next-generation wireless fast-charging. Apparently, the technologies will be capable of transferring up to 100 W wirelessly, which would be a generational leap for smartphones.

MIUI 12 is rolling out more widely for the global version of the Pocophone F1, according to multiple reports. V12.0.2.0.QEJMIXM is rolling out now as an OTA, while the Redmi 8A Dual has been upgraded to Android 10, sans MIUI 12.

Amazon's Prime Day is now in full swing in multiple regions, the US included. Here, the retail giant has good deals on the latest Samsung flagship smartphones, so long as the buyer wants a factory-unlocked version. They include up to 19% off the Galaxy Note 20 series, or 25% off most S20 and S10 variants.

The Rollme S08 is a smartwatch with 4G LTE, dual cameras and a built-in GPS module, along with 32 GB of storage and 3 GB of RAM. The smartwatch has a steel body, a ceramic bezel and is IP68 certified.

OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has quietly exited the company to start a new venture. Pei’s departure appears to have happened shortly after the OnePlus Nord was launched.

An AnTuTu listing reportedly belonging to the HiSilicon Kirin 9000 has been posted online. It nets an overall score of 693,603, putting it ahead of the Samsung Exynos 1080. The chip appears to use four ARM Cortex-A77 cores clocked at 3.1 GHz and an ARM Mali G78 GPU. Huawei is expected to unveil it alongside the Mate 40 series on October 22.

Fake MIUI 12 builds for the Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 7/7S have been discovered. The software versions apply to both the Global and India variants of the Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 7/7S. Owners of these smartphones are advised to disregard false information about these particular MIUI 12 forgeries.

The Redmi 10X Pro 5G and the Redmi 10X 5G are still the leaders of the pack in AnTuTu’s mid-range smartphone performance chart for September. Both devices are powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 820 processor. The rumored upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 775G will be a force to be reckoned with though.

Samsung has announced that the Galaxy Tab S7 and Galaxy Tab S7+ will soon be able to run Fortnite at 90 FPS. The functionality will arrive via a Galaxy Store update and will be available to all players soon. We can expect Samsung and Epic to bring the feature to other compatible devices soon.

The relatively unknown Chinese manufacturer Zeblaze has introduced the Thor 6, a new smartwatch which is actually more of a smartphone considering its specifications. For example, instead of a purpose built smartwatch processor the manufacturer decided to go with the Helio P22 made by MediaTek.

The Mi 10T Pro may well be Xiaomi's latest flagship smartphone, but it is not all that repairable. From soldered-on ports to a firmly-installed battery, the Mi 10T Pro will probably be an expensive smartphone to repair.

Xiaomi's Mi 55W Wireless Charging Stand has hit third-party retailers, and it is significantly cheaper than alternatives like the Google Pixel Stand. Xiaomi's wireless charger supports Qi EPP for fast-charging many modern smartphones, despite being designed to recharge the Mi 10 Ultra.

Xiaomi has cut the price of the Poco F2 Pro to £299 in its Prime Day deals, which start tomorrow. The company is throwing in a Mi Smart Band 5 and Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 Basic too, as it is in a comparable deal for the Mi 10 - which will cost £599.

The flipping camera technology of the ZenFone series has delivered again, according to camera reviewers DxOMark. According to the French website, the ZenFone 7 Pro records better selfie videos than any other smartphone, although it cannot quite match the photo quality of the Huawei P40 Pro.

A special edition of the OnePlus Nord will grace us this week, and it will see the return of the sandstone finish from early OnePlus smartphones. The new variant of the OnePlus Nord will be launched alongside the OnePlus 8T and the OnePlus Buds Z.

The Galaxy S20 Fan Edition (or FE) launched as a new way to get some 2020 Samsung flagship specs at a new, attractive price. However, there seems to be a sting in this tale for some buyers. Their up-to-120Hz displays reportedly exhibit touch issues of various kinds.

MIUI 12 will be arriving on the Redmi Note 8T later this month, according to an official Xiaomi timeline. The commencement of the update may coincide with the release of MIUI 12 to the likes of the Redmi Note 7, Redmi Note 8 and the global version of the Redmi Note 9 Pro. There are reports of MIUI 12 finally reaching more Redmi Note 7 Pro handsets, too.

The OnePlus 7 series only launched last year, but the devices have reputedly been relegated to second-tier software support. While the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro have already received Android 11, the new version of OxygenOS will not be arriving on the OnePlus 7 series until 2021.

The OPPO A53s is a phone freshly added on Amazon.de. It seems to have the exact same specs as the A53, which is powered by the new Snapdragon 460 SoC and has a 90Hz 6.5-inch HD+ display. It can be pre-ordered with free TWS earbuds from this OEM prior to its release date of October 13, 2020.

An alleged AnTuTu score of Samsung's newly-released Exynos 1080 has been posted online. It nets an overall score of 693,600, effectively demolishing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ across the board. The chip is expected to make its debut alongside a Vivo device in late 2020.

The powerful Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra has been pushed out of its top spot in the AnTuTu flagship smartphone performance chart for September. The new ruler of the roost is the iQOO 5 Pro followed by the iQOO 5, with both smartphones managing average scores of over 660,000 points. All of the top 10 devices have Snapdragon 865 or 865 Plus processors.

The Redmi Note 10 and Redmi Note 10 Pro are shaping up to be incredible devices in regard to potential price/performance and features. A well-known tipster has revealed their Dimensity and Snapdragon SoCs, while there are rumors of a cheap base price of 1,000 yuan (US$149) and a potential third device in the Redmi Note 10 series.

Any number of products, devices and software included, is showcased on YouTube every day. Now, Bloomberg reports that Google has a new project that involves linking these items to sales pages generated by the Mountain View company itself through the medium of the vlogging site. This, apparently, will allow it to cash in on the prevailing online sales boom.

The global version of MIUI 12 has reached the Mi Mix 2, but there is a catch. Unlike many other devices, the Mi Mix 2 remains on Android 9.0 Pie, despite the existence of Android 10 and Android 11 versions of MIUI 12 being in circulation.

A tech blog claims to have heard from an exclusive source that Xiaomi will launch its latest power bank in Europe. This apparently 10,000mAh Mi Power Bank 3 Ultra Compact is also slated to have a new, texturized casing that might prevent drops or damage to the new product. It may have 2 USB type A ports with 1 type C ports, and charge devices at up to 22.5 watts (W).

Some new renders of the Xiaomi Mi 11 smartphone have appeared on Chinese social media. The images clearly look like fan-made concept designs rather than official renders from the OEM itself. It’s believed the upcoming Mi 11 will sport a Snapdragon 875 processor and attract buyers with an under-display selfie camera.

French premium audio brand Devialet has revealed its first set of true wireless (TWS) earphones. The Devialet brings several unique features to its Gemini earphones that it hopes will catch the eye of audiophiles who demand more from their listening experience.

Samsung's large Galaxy M51 mid-range phone brings a huge battery but otherwise presents itself a bit stuffy. We tested for whom it still might be worthwhile, and here is an overview of our results.

MIUI 12 testing for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7, Redmi Note 7S and Redmi Note 8 is almost done, according to reports. Xiaomi expects to release MIUI 12 for at least the Redmi Note 7 and Redmi Note 8 this month, too.

Based on some convincing leaks, the Infinix Note 8 will pose an effective challenge in the budget smartphone space, as it may offer the Helio G80 SoC, 6GB of RAM and a 64MP main rear camera. A new leak suggests that it will also have a dual punch-hole selfie camera and on-trend looks.

With the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro, two more smartphones will receive the Android 11 update, giving users a new UI and some new game space features. Also, the dark mode is made more easily accessible and gets a new feature.

ICARE Technologies has debuted its Aeklys by Starck Payment Ring. The NFC-based device does not need charging and can be used to make contactless payments and pay for public transport.

The POCO X3 smartphone heads Kimovil’s best sellers of the week chart and is followed by a huge list of Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO smartphones. Although the site trawls mainly through many Chinese and European retailers, it is still Xiaomi and its offshoots that command the table. The POCO X3 offers a 120 Hz display and even a 3.5 mm audio jack for a bargain price.